Sun opposite Phous

Dear Friend and Reader:

Today the Sun is opposite Pholus.

We also have a Ceres aspect, trine Neptune. Though a number of different minor planets get my attention as needing to be front and center, I know that in my life Ceres needs a lot more attention — as a planet and as a habit. I am a pretty good eater, but I could be a lot better at it. I am sure that most people would say so! Try eliminating wheat from your diet and watch the list of junk food you get to cut out grow to the size of Santa’s New York City itinerary. Let’s come back to Ceres in a moment.

Pholus was the second centaur planet discovered. It’s discovery defined the class of small, orbit-crossing planets. Some encyclopedias say that all centaurs are icy and comet-like; Pholus is actually reddish and rocky.

Skipping over the mythology involved, Pholus tends to be about changes that come on rapidly. Chiron can come with a long ascent, struggle or cycle of activity: Pholus, in one of his incarnations, is fast acting. Its energy is like opening a hot, shaken-up bottle of ginger ale. It also has some subtler properties — things from past generations showing up, for example. And the keywords small cause, big effect (of Robert von Heeren) are some of the cleverest in the history of minor planet astrology.

The question is how we see this in the form of an opposition to the Sun. I would be looking for what is influencing (Pholus) how we express ourselves (the domain of the Sun). Pholus can represent a barely noticeable influence that turns out to have a profound effect. For example, someone explains something to you that shifts your perception of reality, or of yourself.

A conversation I had last night with a Pisces woman comes to mind. I found her outside my shop copying down the modeling info that’s in my window. I invited her in to see my work. We talked for about two hours. It was like hanging out in zero gravity. There was something about her mind, her speech and the way her thoughts are paced that was gradually shifting my consciousness.

In the last half hour, she started talking about David Bowie and Bono — how she feels that they are trying to convert her to being a lesbian. Now, thankfully I am an astrologer in my other job, so I am accustomed to people saying all manner of extremely interesting things, and I am great at giving the benefit of the doubt to the person talking. I may not “believe” them but I take what they are saying as true for them and as potentially true for me.

I am in the midst of yet another a deep exploration of my sexual orientation and gender identity, which has been going on quite a long time (Bowie was there at the beginning, incidentally, and photography is guiding the process in the present); and exploring my concept of what it means to be male; and how this influences my relationships with women. So I was very interested to hear her somewhat frightened notion of someone remotely accosting her sense of sexual orientation. I could feel her repulsion at the power afforded to these men by society; they are portrayed and treated as demigods.

Even though it seems like a conversation had in passing, her whole situation…her inner trip…is having an influence on me, if only because I can empathize what it feels like to have this kind of external control imposed on you and to not really understand what is going on. And as my own profile rises in the world, in particular as I refine my viewpoint and visual message to the point where their impact reaches out further, I need to keep a close eye on just what influence I have, as positive as people tell me that it is. What she expressed most was her disgust that she seemed to not have a choice in the matter, under the influence of these guys; I think that particularly in terms of sexuality, the prevailing message needs to be one of choice and emphasizing the fact that we have options.

So — a touch of Pholus. I plan to be completing a Book of Blue article about pornography for use with a series of articles Rachel Asher is developing for Planet Waves, and it will have some of this energy imprint.

Neptune is also in the picture today, with Ceres making a trine from Gemini to Aquarius. This is a caution to make sure your compromises are authentic. Tell the truth in any situation wherein you are called upon to compromise — that is the power you bring to the discussion. If you don’t fool yourself about what is true for you, you can make sure you hold other people to the fact of your existence.

Thursday 29 May 2008

Ceres (24+ Gemini) trine Neptune (24+ Aquarius Rx)
Sun (8+ Gemini) opposite Pholus (8+ Sagittarius Rx)
Amor (12+ Taurus) septile Kronos (3+ Cancer)
Sun (8+ Gemini) semisquare 1992 QB1 (23+ Aries)
Pallas (3+ Taurus) sextile Kronos (3+ Cancer)
Eros (18+ Gemini) opposite Quaoar (18+ Sagittarius Rx)
Arachne enters Libra (direct)
Arachne (0 Libra) opposite Aries Point (0 Aries)
Sun (8+ Gemini) quincunx Hidalgo (8+ Scorpio Rx)
Amor (12+ Taurus) quincunx Atlantis (12+ Libra Rx)
Mercury (21+ Gemini Rx) trine Chiron (21+ Aquarius Rx)

Today’s Oracle takes us back to Oct. 11, 2002

Aquarius – Weekly

In any aspect of your life that needs reshaping, strategy continues to be the main concept that will help you. There is a place in the world for written strategy, be it a business plan or agenda, but in any event, thinking strategically will be more than fruitful. Strategy involves thinking in terms of contingencies: that is, a series of possibilities, which can be combined with if/then statements. This may seem mathematical, and it is. While life is not made entirely of math, there are many aspects of living that respond well to mental structure. At the moment, professional plans and the way they intersect with personal relationships happens to be one of them.

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