By Len Wallick
“If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it.” –Abraham Lincoln
This day started off with the waxing Moon ingress into Capricorn, conjoining Pluto and squaring Saturn in short order. This (along with The Big Square being in separation but still functional, because as soon as Saturn goes retrograde, it will be applying again) resonates with the weekend immediately past. But that was then, and this is now.
The Scorpio Sun is entering a period of being pretty much void as we roll into the weekend, which when over will have seen the ingress into Sagittarius — hopefully allowing us to dry out our socks (or warm up after having stayed up late to see the Leonid meteor shower).
Mars in Leo has pulled into an opposition with Nessus (in Aquarius) with Venus (in Scorpio) finally catching up to t-square the both of them. This will make interesting, meaningful conversations — as long as we keep them in I statements.
Topping things off, Pallas (in Libra) is perfecting its opposition to Eris (in Aries) with Chiron in sextile to one, trine other. Chiron and Eris are in a long sextile, with Jupiter and Neptune amplifying the contact. There is something here about the unruly mind (Eris) being able to come along with the crowd (all that Aquarius). The addition of Pallas says: you can be smart if you want to. But it’s optional (a trine). Oh, Pallas in Libra adds the element of politics, which has been through the roof this week, if you happen to watch television. Indeed, of a woman in politics. Who could that be?
So what does this have to do with Abraham Lincoln?
Few remember that the now-famous “house divided” speech lost Lincoln an election and very nearly ended his political career. He was too far out ahead of the herd and he wasn’t heard — one of those times when it did not pay to be right EXCEPT in the long run. After all, it is politic to avoid contact with the proverbial raw nerve of the public (unless you abuse that power, which we’ve seen a lot of in recent years).
This humble correspondent finds himself on similarly shaky ground conveying his interpretation of today’s aspects, and given how unreceptive and censoriously the Chinese government was to our president’s appeal for freedom of expression a few days ago (censored on Chinese TV), the synchronous prospects of reception seem a bit intimidating, but here goes.
Centaur planets involve shadow material — the stuff of rage and the stuff of shame, or of injury. When they are working well, they focus healing power and we not only heal the original injuries, we gather a new kind of strength. Avoidance and anxiety are the usual easy route, however. Anger is the path of damage. Open discussion is the dangerous road to resolution. Nessus involves perhaps the most volatile shadow issue among men and women, that of inappropriate physical contact — or psychic invasion. Many things we consider abusive are not demonstrated through physical actions, but through mental invasion.
In recent months the blogs that have generated the most comments on this site have touched on this theme. Speaking as an American Caucasian male of a certain age, the simple fact that my countenance reminds so many women of someone else in their personal shadow is part of every day’s pain to accept and roll with with as much compassion as possible. With Venus and Mars sharing the 90-degree “T” with Nessus it is time (paraphrasing Eric’s New Moon blog of this last Monday) for something to finally happen.
All over the world, on the level of our personal lives, too many real, actual, literal houses are painfully divided on this issue. If we want world peace, it must literally start at home. This aspect is asking all of us: If not now, when? If not us, who?
In ancient Hellenistic mythology there were two female characters who were outside the box and beyond the comfort zone of the culture, Eris and Pallas (also known as Athena). Indeed it’s a tribute to Greek culture that the energies these two represent were not entirely suppressed.
Eris, of course, is the outcast woman. The one not invited to the party. The aunt or niece or sister that brings tension with the cranberry sauce to Thanksgiving dinner. Or she is the authentic one, who is set aside because she reminds everyone how phony they feel. She is the homeless woman with child that we turn our face away from. Or the angry refusal to be a victim. Sometimes she is the strident demand for justice, in our faces and off our radar.
Palllas was the new generation. Just as the deities of Olympus had supplanted the cruel and oppressive Titans, Athena overcame Jupiter’s attempt to deny her existence by literally making a headache of herself until she was not only accepted but accorded her rightful place as the only one with the integrity to be trusted with and the strength to hold the spare key to the armory of Zeus himself. What an adjustment it must have been for Mars, Pluto, Neptune or Apollo to see her in that magnificent gleaming suit, knowing that they had better not mess with her. At peace in herself. Nothing to prove. Nothing to fear. The divine expression of justice through simply being that quality.
Now these two oppose each other. One of the inner circle, the other outside. Not so different but a universe apart. The unresolved tension between them initiated the decay of the golden age and the abdication of the divine from the hopelessly corrupt earth. Now in opposition once again we humans are alone to attempt what the divine failed to do. If not us, who? If not now when?
Then Chiron, magnified by [planet] Jupiter, is reminding us that we had best not fritter this opportunity away. He is reminding us that there is no gulf that honest and courageous communication cannot bridge if we are willing to give up our investment in outrage and risk the pain of revisiting one more time. Warning us that, if we don’t drop the judgment, find genuine compassion and sit down to deal as though our lives depended on it then someone will surely come along to exploit the house divided and enslave us all. The stakes are high. We are even now being fitted for the chains, tailor made by our own choices. Acting together, with no soul excluded, the human race has a chance to break them.
Offered In Service. Additional writing by Eric Francis.
There’s no religion – just send your love
– what a great video, and beautiful morning thought
– thanks as usual, Mystes!
Half De Witte–
Sounds like very practical advise. It may take a bit of practice to implement. But certainly worth trying. Thank you for taking an interest, Amy
recognise that this is a perception with a historic weight and underlying belief, but that it can change. The way to change it is to make your own self-actualisation paramount. Don’t budge on that.
Attend to your self-discovery, the rest follows.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RiU2T4Psyc
well I hope that link works…
I want to thank Len & Mr. Fwaances for the excellent piece above.
I find myself in bits and pieces here reflected in words others offer-I’m grateful for the mirror, and for the resonance with familiar voices and places inside myself.
It’s strange for me to feel so spread out like so many parts of a cloud just moving along the waves of wind, not attached to anything really-perhaps not even myself.
By visiting this site I have found at last-I am not alone.
I can’t be sure why, because I don’t know much about The Indigo Girls but I’ve always loved this song in particular-and, after reading the news on these pages, watching it on television, and trying to make sense of things both inside and outside my personal life-this song felt the most appropriate to share.
I confess recently I’ve lost the courage I thought I had to do what I want to do…today, reading this article and all the responses-I realize I’ve got soooo much more development before I’m going to be ready to offer the services I thought I was ready to offer…more importantly I’m terrified to the point of paralysis-and I don’t know why anymore-I’ve forgotten what I’m so afraid of, and yet I know it’s this fear that keeps me stuck…for a long time I asked why me? the question shifted to why not me? then I discovered these- the words of Marianne Williamson:
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
I wonder if this is the lesson for Eris/Pallus…my take on their roles from the writing-(please correct me if I’m mistaken), is that there isn’t anything inherently wrong with either of these ‘women’ other than the sense of being ‘outside’ and isolated, or ‘inside’ and isolated. I’m piecing it all together in my head with Nessus, and what all of it means as we watch this dance unfold celestially and personally…what I wonder about is: “Nessus involves perhaps the most volatile shadow issue among men and women, that of inappropriate physical contact — or psychic invasion. Many things we consider abusive are not demonstrated through physical actions, but through mental invasion.”
Isolation and Invasion…these are the fundamentals for exerting agendas on others, no?
If not us, who…if not now, when?
I wonder if this energy has something to do with people coming together behind an idea we each agree serves the purposes of our forward movement both individually and collectively…we can’t build it if we don’t know what we want it to look like when we’re done…and I suppose it’s as simple as engineering honesty in our mirrors before we try to design it outside of ourselves.
OE
thanks for your patience with me and my questions, rambling ponderings…
Amazing article. I am SO grateful for this! I finally understand a good chunk of why people are reacting to me the way they are lately and what vibe I am putting off to attract that reaction. Something so simple as having Eris in Aries (my sun sign) has lifted such a huge weight off my shoulders. Thanks!!!
Hey Len, this was a solid piece of work. Wish I could bring more of a denouement to it, echo and somehow actualize its conclusions. Meh. The millennium is young.
This is the first day in almost two weeks I haven’t had a fever. As you know, it started out “under control” – then went into its mmmm maybe-not-so-much phase – then on to ‘uh-oh’ and finally, ‘now-this-might-actually-kick-the-door-closed’ so brought it down with my famous rootytoot tea.
In the spinning glory that is the mystosphere, the g/f might be considered Pallas, and any fool can see I am the Eris figure. Except since accepting my invitation to the Danse, everything –and I mean everything– in her world has changed, challenging her cool little Athena, owl-toting, list-kissing ways. I’ve had to learn enough Pallas-ese run simulations of the checklists that keep Type A’s out of the emergency room. Or in them, depending on the decade. (Speaking of patently stupid ideas: did you know that the Louvre just gave Umberto Eco like 7 million Euro to curate an exhibition on LISTS! Seriously. Because he said :: “We make lists because we are afraid to die.” My follow-up question would have been; “So il Signore, if I stop making lists will this cure my fear of life?” Imbeciles. )
Anyhoo… I would say, at the end of this exhausting day of wrangling with someone I adore but who does not love herself, I think we need more lyrics (thanks SheBear for the inspiration)
There’s no religion but sex and music
There’s no religion but sound and dancing
There’s no religion but line and color
There’s no religion but sacred trance
There’s no religion but the endless ocean
There’s no religion but the moon and stars
There’s no religion but time and motion
There’s no religion, just tribal scars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao_Uqx5HaVg
Goodnight,
Mystbreathing
half & genevieve —
thanks for the reminders! very timely…
Dear Len, Loved your description of Eris and Pallas. I am both of them, ‘the outcast woman’ and the one in ‘her rightful place.’ At peace with nothing to prove and nothing to fear. I’ve lived through one to get to the other but they both are at home in my heart. Thanks, susy
Len – great stuff! Thanks for keeping the space warm while Eric is creating the Cosmic Confidential!
Half De Witte – Very wise words of Wisdom!
Amy – Relationships often reflect/mirror what we are struggling with or the growth we need to do. I agree with Half De Witte, dysfunctional relationships are a good place to begin your journey of growth. Usually they are dysfunctional because the Universe is trying to wake you up to something inside of yourself and get you to grow. Go inward and discover more about yourself.
Hi Amy. One thing to avoid is the common trap of having more focus on attempting to understand your partner than on expressing your own life mission. You often find stuck people obsessing about their partner’s every trait.
If you are in a power imbalanced set-up (few aren’t) then looking at the relationship, even purportedly in concert, is a concession to the more powerful party. If you perceive yourself as the less powerful then first recognise that this is a perception with a historic weight and underlying belief, but that it can change. The way to change it is to make your own self-actualisation paramount. Don’t budge on that.
Attend to your self-discovery, the rest follows. Astrology can map the choices and open up a narrative context but when it comes to decision making – choose self and let others draw only from your surplus NOT your core.
You may need to practice this, but dysfunctional (or trivial) relationships are the right place to start. Good luck.
Hey Len, e and PW family n friends–
Len I must comment on your no B. S. approach to interpretation. I love the way you do not sugar coat but still mange to lay down the dirt with a silver tongue. You always make me think. I love that! It may also have to do with that e fella doing a tad of editing ;>
I am wondering, is anyone else getting all of this Eris opp. Pallas on a super personal(relationships/work) level? My husband of 25+ years has had Eris hanging around his Aries Sun @ 21 degrees and Mercury @ (dreaded) 29 degrees second house placement for both.
In business he can communicate like a jedi master, calm, cool, reassuring with a gentle even tone. As of late, on a personal relationship level, OMG Mercurial puts it mildly. I am wondering if he has all of his chairs pulled up to the table. Picture this, Jekyll and Hyde
Granted, he has always had a bit of caveman quality infused in his personal nature. I like the way it seems to balance his intellect, ( 12th house, moon 7 aquar., mars 19 aquar, chiron 21 aquar – Asc 22 aquar). And sexually I like cave men. But something is askew. I had to grab a few things and go stay at my Moms for the night. The air in my house has been so thick the past several weeks you need a machete to walk in a room.
I am not the turn and run type (mars 26 Gem applying to vulcanus 29 Gem to moon 5 cancer) Actually, the opposite. I have tried to have several peaceful ( me- merc 3 Libra, venus 14 Libra) conversations and they end with him huffing off and my feelings tossed into the garbage disposal. There is no gray with this fella, there is black and white(natal firey grand trine,sun, saturn, pluto)…..
I believe we have several “you are getting divorced” aspects. At least I do. But, We are both rather strong willed and neither one of us quits anything (deliberately). Maybe it is time to quit….. i dunno…..
After reading over what I just wrote, clearly it is a cry for “is anyone else dealing with this nightmare?”.
Thanks for any words of wisdom– Amy
Len and Eric, I really enjoyed this article and the part about the centaur planets and their affect on us quite startled me.
I have been having some difficulty with two people (therapists) at a place of work, for several weeks. I knew instinctively my reaction to both was way out of proportion to anything happening, yet I was deeply disturbed. I have found myself raging inside and I mean raging!! which is not all like the me that I know.
I am usually a calm and contemplative individual and look for reasons why, and for resolutions, rather than react. Particularly this year noticing that any discomfort in my life is a result of not being able to speak up for myself and I have been trying to understand and behave and think with compassion rather than project my feelings of unfairness. So I spoke up, tentatively and then when that didn’t work a bit more aggressively until in the case of the one who INSISTED I needed to be hugged any time he showed up, I actually had to shove him away; and then speak up.
This week Tuesday it all fell into place when I was talking with a client and shame was the issue, I felt it as she talked, it filled my chest choking me too. As I said the words “we are taught shame you know, we don’t just take it on out of no-where we are shamed into submission to doing and being what others want” I realised for myself that’s what my issues were too. The healing of being shamed one more time in my life; into complying, to accepting … yes, inappropriate touching rather than say NO!, into being someone I’m not just because that is someone else’s desire …
Compassion I am finding is the only way to really healing this for your self. Seeing you have the power you didn’t have before and then extending that toward the other who may be unconscious to their behaviour.
The second situation is not yet resolved but I know what it’s about (well some of it) I think this person sees his need for “professionalism” as “perfection” and well we all know how well THAT works for us! I’m a recovering “perfectionist” and I understand the awful suffering that comes with trying so hard all the time to get it right, failing again and again but hoping if you can just say the right thing, do the right thing then it will all be “perfect”. I am willing to be anything but that now, and am open about it and about being ‘real” . It’s totally liberating say OMG I totally messed up, I am so sorry! This person and I are at opposing odds because of this, so it will be interesting to see how I handle it.
So Len thank you, this was another confirmation that me and my healing path are on the same page, I have had my doubts lately in the middle of my hissing and spitting fits…of which there have been MANY! this is heavy heavy energy to work through but we must do it for ourselves so that others can see they can too! Shame shuts us down and paralyzes our growth, behaviour and thinking, and we create a facade of personality that makes honesty almost impossible so the chains that bind us feel like they’ve melted onto us. I have been saying to anyone lately speak up speak up, stop complaining for heaven’s sakes and do something productive like change the situation, but now I shall be more gentle both with myself and others.
with love
Luci
Len,
GREAT article. Thanks!
With love and admiration,
Linda
HDW: I’m looking forward to checking out your upcoming website — sounds great! I also enjoyed learning of the serendipitous moments in your life these days as they’re happening quite frequently for me as well.
I’d like to add this quote from Lou Reed’s “This the Time” as it certainly echoes the theme of the day.
“This is no time for Phony Rhetoric
This is no time for Political Speech
This is a time for Action
because the future’s Within Reach
This is the time”
Cheers.
Len – your stuff is great.
I just happen to be an editor as well as a writer. Look, it even says so on top of the webpage, in the banner!
I am also now officially an author. I edited my wikipedia page, after reading that Carrie Prejean is an “author.”
i want to publicly thank Eric Francis for his additions (which provided professional integrity) and his edits (which made the article more sensitive and palitable). It has been my objective to help ease Eric’s burden (no pun intended) by accepting his invite to do the Daily twice a week. It seems that i have not been completely successful in my attempt at service, but Eric’s unselfish show-how will sink in, i promise you.
In the meantime, i will say this again – Eric is truly IL MIGLIOR FABBRO.
Great collaboration in this piece – an embodiment of the spirit of the subject matter.
I, for one, have bitten the bullet. My forthcoming website is under construction and it will revolve around Wisdom strategies for active participation in the precise transformation envisaged above. I’m not an astrologer and I am absolutely thankful that, as a result, I can be nurtured by experts in this particular field of applied esotericism (what a phrase!) However, collaboration is important and so my friend (who is an expert e-solutions consultant) is providing infrastructure and will assist me pulling the web elements together – with a focus upon networking and cross-blogging. This is pure serendipity – as he himself noted (there has been a truckload or two in recent days, with various significant folk turning up from my past). I will hopefully be maximising the potential of cyberspace to encourage link-ups and strengthen integration – offered from my unique perspective.
If you had asked me even two weeks ago about this, it would have been a pipe dream.. My focus was upon getting my book out to as wide an audience as possible. Now, it has become clear (obvious) that the agenda must become much broader. My niche for contribution seems finally to be coming into clear and practical focus.
Eric, it has to be said that Planet Waves has been a key instrument in me locating my ‘spiritual’ compass. It’s taken a while – but the best preparation inevitably does. A new level of responsibility beckons. It feels like the fruit has finally ripened for the eating.
Get active folks – this is your time, our time.
I only need to see the wonderful expansion in Mr Wallick’s involvement and expression on here in recent months to have confirmed to me that each one of us can truly fulfill our potential, as we cut loose and dare to express that which is itching to burst forth from within us.
Here’s hoping to be linking up soon..
HDW
Wonderful Len! Thank you — the stakes are indeed high. We must surely continue to, hour by hour, nurture and muster our individual inner strengths with a concentrated devotion, in the hopes that a collective joining of like minded souls will boldly take that great leap forward. I honestly can’t bear to see us continue our chain bound existences any longer, due to lethargy and lack of faith. There is too much suffering in our world. This is the perfect wake up call. I am inspired.
We can do this. We must.
Thank you again.