At the cross…

Today’s “Eid Al Adha,” a special day for Muslims.  It’s a day of sacrifice and celebration, preceded by fasting. I can’t help but be struck how this Eid comes just before a lunar eclipse at 25-26 degrees of Aries/Libra. This is the same axis at which we celebrate Passover in the spring, just before Easter. Of course, in the theological grand scheme of Abrahamic religions, all of these events are connected.  Christians often link how the sacrifice of Jesus as God’s son is like Abraham’s sacrifice, commemorated as Isaac for Jews and Christians, but Ismail for Muslims.

Astrologically, it is the axis by which Courage (Aries) is balanced against Consideration (Libra).  With an illuminated moon in Aries, it’s time to reach for Victory, to stand with courage.  It may symbolize a moment when you have to go out on a limb to do something that you know is right, though you risk sacrificing something that’s also been dear to your heart. The stories surrounding the holidays on  this axis point suggest by going out on the limb, you’ll find the branch firm or if you fall, you won’t fall far or you’ll land softly on your feet.  In fact, it’s said for Eid Al Adha that your sins are forgiven for the year before and the year ahead if you fast.  That is a matter of faith and, in my experience, there’s no greater assurance of that except what you find true in your own heart.  But you have to be listening.  That’s the Libra-consideration-attentive-listening part!  And then you have to act, that’s the courageous part.  (Let’s all pray, meditate, chant or hope Congress is truly listening  with their hearts on Thursday, the day before this eclipse, and can act with courage.)

If you have planets or significant points–like your ascendant/descendant, midheaven/IC, or north/south nodes (like yours truly)–within roughly 7 of those 25-26 degrees of Aries or Libra, then you can expect this is going to be a significant time for you to take a stand. There may be fear, but this fear, by faith, can transformed into freedom and victory.  I tend to think eclipses generally manifest specific events roughly between a month to 3 months after they take place.  A colleague gives a more detailed breakdown about this eclipse and that idea here.  The planet or point will tell you in what ways and what areas of life can you expect the changes.  If you need help with that, you might consider a session with me or taking advantage of the special below, if you’re eligible.

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NEW SPECIAL

I’m offering 30 minute, RECORDED readings at $50 (normally $65) for anyone who is having a reading with me for the FIRST time. It has to be booked during eclipse season (October 8, 2013-November 4, 2013), but it can be scheduled to take place any time within the next six months, until April 8, 2014!  To book to meet in person at my office in NYC, click here.  To meet by phone or Skype, click here.  The other full 60 minute, recorded session is at the regular rate.

However, in the by and by, we have horoscopes below to give you the general landscape of what to expect by particular signs, whether they be your rising sign, moon sign, or Sun sign. If you’re curious to learn more about the difference between your Sun, moon or rising sign, please check out this.

Aries [March 21st to April 19th]

Taurus [April 20th to May 21st]

Gemini [May 22nd to June 20th]

Cancer [June 21st to July 21st]

Leo [July 22nd to Aug 21st]

Virgo [Aug 22nd to Sept 21st]

Libra [Sept 22nd to Oct 21st]

Scorpio [Oct 22nd to Nov 21st]

Sagittarius [Nov 22nd to Dec 21st]

Capricorn [Dec 22nd to Jan 20th]

Aquarius [Jan 21st to Feb 18th]

Pisces [Feb 18th to March 20th]

When a player gets played: Full Moons, Exorcisms and Jupiter in Virgo

Last week’s Full Moon on August 24th fell very close to my Jupiter in Virgo, so it “activated” it. Activate means that the topics of interest concerning the planet Jupiter and then all the other specific issues concerning my chart like the fact that my Jupiter is in Virgo, the other relationships that Jupiter has with the other planets in my chart and that it falls in my 7th house.First things first: what does Jupiter mean in my chart?

Symbol for Jupiter

Jupiter is the planetary signature that deals with spirituality, faith, philosophy, religion, devotion, noble thoughts, and generosity.  Next, all planets move or wander (as the word planet means “wanderer”) going from sign to sign. My Jupiter was wandering through the lush grainy fields of the Virgin or Virgo when I was born.  There’s another layer to understanding why my Jupiter in Virgo is a big deal for me. It is one of the strongest planets in my chart because it’s at what we call an angle. This happens when you have a planet in the 1st, 4th, 7th or 10th house.

Look at the numbers toward the center...

My Jupiter is in the 7th house and that’s the sector of a chart that deals with marriage, relationships, partners and adversaries. How did the full moon all pan out for me? Well, that’s where it gets complicated and simple. Let’s start with the simple manifestation or activation.

First, I was inspired to be generous. For one day only, I offered my “friends” on facebook (and their friends),  a free report to break down the natal chart and to see what planets were activated by the 8/24 full moon. (Don’t worry. I will do something like this again soon.)

The more complex “level” of activation is still going on as it’s more reflective.  This past weekend I saw “The Last Exorcism.” I won’t say too much about the movie as I don’t want to provide any spoilers. I enjoyed it, though I don’t know if a lot of people will. In the movie, the main character is a minister who has lost his faith and hires a film crew to do one last exorcism of a teenage girl.  Initially, he “stages” an exorcism only to discover quickly that he can’t tell what’s real and what’s “staged” anymore.  As a former Christian minister,  I can definitely relate, and I believe my Jupiter in Virgo prompts me to struggle with dimensions of faith all the time.  With a Jupiter in Virgo, I have an incessant need to rationally understand behavior and beliefs, especially with it being in the sector of my chart dealing with relationships (public and intimate). It also suggests that I have a highly analytical and critical nature.  In fact, my mother used to joke when I was younger that “Why?” would be the epitaph on my tombstone because I would ask her that question so much. I’m particularly attentive to my analytical nature with people and their beliefs or faith.

Here I need to make a distinction between belief and faith. Belief values a certain set of facts or principles that one assumes are true based on tradition, culture, valued opinions or experience.  Faith values a certain set of perspectives on the world based on one’s experience and/or one’s conscience that may or may not be based on one’s beliefs.  Faith puts us in the position of knowing only that we know and not having any particular beliefs that either affirm or deny that knowing. I take faith as a far more personal and perhaps mystical encounter with the known and unknown.  I think the problem with Jupiter in Virgo, considering that Jupiter does as planetary chief of staff in the opposite sign, Pisces, is that Jupiter isn’t inspired easily to faith, per se.  But you can’t fake the funk with faith. If you ain’t got it, you ain’t got it.  Watching “The Last Exorcism” is a good morality tale on what happens when you fake the funk with faith.  I almost went down that same path as the fake-ass exorcist.

When I was 19 and realized that I didn’t have much faith in my religion, I started talking with a few ministers about it. I learned many of them didn’t have much either! But they enjoyed the idea of helping people in life and there were other perks, like the schedule and the money weren’t too bad either. Many of them also had started young as I did. (I started when I was 12 years old, not too much older than the minister in “The Last Exorcism”) Well, I was too idealistic to care about schedule or money.  So I left and figured I would return to the ministry once I had answered my questions sufficiently.  I’ve never gone back, and it looks like I never will return back to the Christian ministry.  And I can say I’ve made the right choice.  Looking at this movie, I could see why and how real faith really re-surfaces.  Critical inquiry and rational thinking gets you to the precipice of faith, but it can never get you to take a leap of faith.  For me, astrology and a spiritual practice of meditation, reflection and discussion have encouraged me to get beyond “Why?” and more in the space to know. How I know this knowledge is not something I bother about (too much).  I step beyond belief and faith.  I go backwards along the path of the wanderer. Instead of embracing Jupiter IN Virgo, I step out of Virgo (critique and pruning) into Jupiter (faith and expansion), then into infinity. Not with most things and not all the time, but enough that I can move beyond faith.  That feels good…enough. 😉