I recently wrote an article for Sasstrology on Lilith in Synastry. I concentrated on the Black Moon Lilith and did a rundown of the aspects to it between a couple. I thought it was about time I featured a couple to show how this works in practice. I’m picking Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton because they are probably the most Black Moon Lilithy couple I can think of. Both magnetic, charismatic and glamourous, both battling their alcoholic demons.

There was certainly a strong sexual charge between them, and they famously divorced and remarried. Liz Taylor was more than a match for Richard Burton. Their fights were legendary, they were Holywoods Golden couple and for me had far more Lilith feisty energy than todays equivalent, Brad and Angelina….not my bag I’m afraid. Too “Worthy”, not that interesting for me astrologically.

ELIZABETH TAYLOR

Liz has a huge Black Moon Corridor, containing the North Node, Eris, Part of Fortune, and Venus conjunct Uranus which is near exact (05′). I’m not surprised to see discordant Eris in there! So these will all get the Lilith flavour and Venus conjunct Uranus certainly describes her sparkling, beauteous sexuality.

Her Sun conjunct Mercury get’s a square from demonic and mysterious Dark Moon Lilith which in turn squares Neptune. There’s the demon liquor and also the glamour. This forms a T square in her chart. The apex Dark Moon Lilith conjunct her DC, what she attracts in a partner. Perfectly brooding Burton.

Feminist Asteroid Lilith opposes Black Moon Lilith, attempting to reconcile rebelion and equality with sexual magnetism. Her Black Moon Lilith also semi-squares tightly her Sun/Mercury. Bewitching and beguiling words with an edge from this regal actress. Very much the Cleopatra she played so beautifully.

RICHARD BURTON

Richard’s birth data is DD, so I won’t pay attention to his angles. His BML sesqui Uranus, so like Liz, he has the same electric, magnetic sexuality, but with him it’s stronger as it’s in actual tight aspect and it’s a sparky one at that. Like Liz, BML is aspecting Mercury, but tightly by trine, he was famous for his mesmerising voice. Where her aspect is harsher, his is harmonious. He certainly had a seductive vocal delivery as an actor. His Asteroid Lilith opposes Neptune, so he is the rebellious drinker, the renegade.

His Dark Moon is semi sextile Eris, the outcast vibe here with a demonic flavour. He said he drank because he always felt like the “poor boy from Wales” amongst the Hollywood elite. He never felt he really fitted into their clique. Dark Moon is the exiled Lilith and Eris in myth was the angry goddess that wasn’t invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis.The Dark Moon demons coming out from hurt and vengeance, like the malevolent fairy in sleeping beauty.

Their Lilith Synastry Aspects (under 2 degs)

His Neptune trine her BML. Her Neptune semi-sextile his BML

His Neptune quincunx her Osc Lilith.

Not surprising to see mystical Neptune in a double whammy here. This combines the glamour of Hollywood with raw sexuality. Neptune is film. Also of course they were both heavy drinkers. Neptune with BML gives that Soul mate, star-crossed lovers touch. But also a great deal of fantasy and delusion.

His Ceres sextile her Asteroid Lilith, Her Ceres semi squared his Asteroid Lilith

His Ceres trine her BML.

Asteroid Lilith is all about fighting for equality, and it is competitive too. Interesting to see this double whammy Ceres. They were both actors so there must’ve been a certain amount of rivalry too. Burton was used to being the ladies-man and had a certain old fashioned sensibility (Ceres) It was ok for a man to flirt around, but he couldn’t handle it when jealous Liz did the same back to him. Lilith gives as good as she gets, hence their famous drunken brawls.

His Chiron conjunct her BML, His Chiron semi-sextile her Osc Lilith.

Chiron is not just about wounding (Tho there was plenty of that verbally between them), it is also about enlightenment. I’m sure their relationship provided them plenty of opportunity for soul growth. Liz was at home being the Diva, but when her spoilt princess act got too much, Richard would slap her back to reality. Richard was used to women falling at his feet. Meeting his equal meant his usual unquestioned male supremacy was put to the test.

Her Mars conjunct his Dark Moon

Her Eris semi-sextile his Dark Moon

Her Saturn semi-sextile his Dark moon

And this is where it was put to the test. His Dark Moon was the poor insecure Welsh boy that didn’t fit in, the drinking demon. All Liz’s strong, fighting planets are aspecting it. The Mars conjunction would be the number one cause of their fights. Eris is going to stick up for herself. And Saturn will not back down.

His Asteroid Lilith sextile her BML, Her BML sextile his Asteroid Lilith

His Asteroid Lilith semi-sextile Osc Lilith, Her Osc Lilith semi-sextile his Asteroid Lilith.

Asteroid Lilith features strongly between these too. The combination of the magical, sexual, glamour and the fighting, rebellious energy they generated between them very much conjures up a revolutionary Uranian Black Moon Lilith here. They were famous in the 60’s, reflecting the changing times, namely the tensions in the wider world between the sexes amplified by the Saturn Uranus opposition.

THE COMPOSITE CHART

The composite midpoint chart is laden with tense aspects. It shows powerful aspect patterns, that you’d expect from a such a stellar couple. Two intertwined fists of God no less. The one most interesting to me is the Neptune, Osc Lilith to the Sun. Osculating Lilith is the unstable Black Moon, potent, with sparks fuelled by the drink (Neptune) and apexing in their right royal egos. That Sun falls on the fixed star Nunki, the star on the vane of the arrow of the Archers hand, in the constellation of Sagittarius. With the Sun it is said to give “Influential public position” Robson. This constellation is associated with the Tarot card “The Lovers” The arrow nicely symbolising cupids bow.

This Fist Of God accurately describes their firey relationship to me. An easier aspect pattern they have is the minor grand trine, Neptune to Mars apexing in Ceres. Neptune glamourous and mystical side emphasised by its connection with the power and beauty of the fertile earth goddess. Neptune used for good. Had they resolved their alcohol problems this may have become a more potent player in their synastry. Mars, Neptune, Ceres could also describe the magic that came out when they were on screen. The entrancing but raw sexuality refined by sensual Ceres. Apple bomb throwing Eris is a big player too, squaring Mars and quincunxing Neptune. Surprisingly Dark Moon is totally inspected when they are together making it a bit of a wild card.

I picked Liz and Richard because I was sure the Liliths would tell a good story here, I wasn’t disappointed. We are still learning about Ceres and Eris and I found it interesting that Ceres came up strong, thought I certainly wasn’t surprised to see Eris featured. I’m getting a better understanding of these two new Goddesses and I am finding them increasingly indispensable in readings now.

You can read the run down between you and your partners Black Moon Liliths in my article here at Sasstrology: Black Moon Lilith In Synastry.

It’s coming up to the Full Moon, and quite aptly, I will be talking about Lilith on Astrologer Adam Sommers excellent podcast “Exploring Astrology”

We recorded it yesterday, but I fear, as it was my very first time being interviewed, (never mind the first time I have actually ever had to SPEAK about Lilith), I may have skirted over things too quickly in my nervousness.

I write much better than I speak, and even words are quite new, 20 years of Illustration has made me rely on pictures to do the talking. I have Neptune sextile Mercury, so I can blame it on that!

During the interview Adam brought up Tim Leary’s chart which I had mentioned in the Black Moon Lilith Rising post. I didn’t have the chart at hand so I bumbled over that a bit. But I would like to go into it now to cover what I missed.

Timothy Leary’s Liliths

The main thing that struck me about his Lilith profile was his tight Ceres/Pluto conjunction which opposed the midpoint of his Black Moon Lilith corridor. I mentioned this aptly described his use of psychedelic drugs, Liliths famous “forbidden fruit” to access the unconscious and to convey messages from Ceres herself. Ceres rules the plant world, herbs, entheogens or sacred medicines.

I didn’t go into his other Liliths in that article because he was one of a few other celebs and I just wanted to focus on Black Moon Liliths and the corridor.

So what I didn’t mention was in his first house he had a tight Mars/Asteroid Lilith conjunction which amped up his rebellion against the system. Asteroid Lilith is strong in activists and has an Uranian flavour.

His exiled, screech owl Dark Moon is close to the MC and tightly quincunx unconventional Uranus, which makes him even more of an outcast. In the eyes of the public he was “the most dangerous man in America” So Dark Moons demon was projected onto HIM. Being that it was in the 10th, he couldn’t really have a conventional career. His career would have to be exposing and releasing societies demons.
Not only that, his Dark moon is squared that Mars in the first, so it raises its profile now. So even tho I said at the end of the interview “forget about the Dark Moon” I was certainly just being flippant.

The complication of Lilith…

Dark Moon complicates things because it’s confusing, and that’s just what Lilith is, an enigma within a riddle, untidy, unruly and very difficult to put into words.
So with Lilith, in for a penny, in for a pound, you get sucked in! You have to look at her in her entirety for the full story. Dark Moon is the Lilith we don’t want to see. The Ugly sister, the old croney witch with the wart on her nose. Like her rebellious and more tomboyish younger sister Asteroid Lilith, she gets overlooked in favour of her sexy, magical Black Moon Lilith sisters (Mean & True.)
But looking at Tim Leary’s chart again, we see she really IS an important part of the jigsaw, if you want to see the whole Lilith picture.

Thank you Adam for coming along and forcing me out of my comfort zone ( hiding behind a pen.) What I might do as an exercise, even if no one listens, is turn each blog I write into a short Lilith podcast. I actually have the equipment. I have garageband and a good mike from when I did the music.

I don’t think there are any British women doing this, so it will be great to give a voice to Lilith and get some London accents out there!
Then I could come back on your show Adam and sound like a professional, Lilith-The Sequel?:)))

BEWITCHED!

Black Moon Lilith is the archetype of the Dark Goddess that I have mentioned in other Blogs. Her myth comes from Lilith, Adams first wife who refused to lay beneath him during the sexual act and otherwise. She chose to be exiled from paradise rather to submit to God. She is also the serpent who tempted Eve with the forbidden fruit (enlightenment/sex), which then banished both Adam & Eve from paradise also. There are many full versions of this myth on the net so I don’t want to repeat them all here. But for me she represents the Witch archetype. Magic, the kundalini, occult knowledge, the taboo, owning your sovereignty, the shadow, dreams, psychic ability, goddess power and creativity that is not just about making babies.

MEAN & OSCULATING.

With Black Moon Lilith there are two points that you can place in the chart. The Mean and the True (or Osculating.) I used to think the True wasn’t important until I saw it rising in the chart of Marilyn Monroe and then decided to look it up and see if it was relevant. I like what Juan Antonio Revilla says about it here:

“The Mean Apogee or Black Moon… It’s movement is actually as round and regular as the hands of a clock and it is very easy to calculate. This roundness of its motion is not a good representative of the nocturnal and magic demoness Lilith; “ he goes onto say. “The Osculating Apogee,… Some people reject it because it doesn’t make any sense to them to have it swing as much as 30 degrees from the mean position and have abrupt and irregular changes of velocity and direction, but I think it is precisely this erratic behavior what makes it the best representative of the irrational, instinctive, and primal symbolism of Lilith.”

THE HALLOWEEN ZONE

I am thinking True Osc Lilith could be the more unstable side of Lilith. The shadow, the instincts. Like a magic potion in the process of alchemy, and an anaretic planet it is in the last stages of regeneration, about to flip into something else. The Mean Lilith on the other hand is a more focused stable and mature magic.

Kelly Hunter writer of “ Living Lilith: Four Dimensions of the Cosmic Feminine.” proposes a Lilith corridor between these two, sometimes they can be up to 30 degrees apart. The closer they are, the more potent the energy, diluting as the gap widens. Any planet in there will have a Lilith flavour. Any transiting planet there will fall under it’s spell.

I think of it as being area where the boundaries to the spirit realms are thinnest, where you can tap into the collective consciousness and find divine inspiration. A kind of Haloween zone. But as barriers dissolve it can attract energy vampires. A very tight corridor could function like a black hole, it could suck things in very quickly, you’d have to work that much harder to slay off the demons. For me Black Moon Lilith has a Neptunian flavour. The glamour, the spiritualism, the altered states and it’s hypnotic, mesmerising quality.

To make things easier I will address True Lilith as Osc Lilith from now on because I think the Osc describes it’s unstableness very well, I like to think it has a sexy wiggle! I will address Mean Lilith as BML. (The Black Moon Lilith we all know and love) I decided to look at the Black Moon Liliths rising or featured in the 1st house. Such a strong firey placement for them should then push that type of Lilith energy to the forefront of a persons life and identity. Having them conjunct Mars or the Sun would do the same.

THE MYSTICS

Stanislas De Guaita came from an Italian noble family, then moved to Paris where he hung out with poets, artists and writers who were interested in the esoteric. In 1888 he formed the Cabalistic order of the Rosicrucian. An group of occultists who studied Jewish mysticism. In the first house Osc Lilith and BML bookend a power packed Lilith corridor containing Dark Moon, Venus and the Sun. It is all in spiritual Pisces. He has Neptune rising anyhow which is all to do with mysticism. Emphatically a wizard then. Osc Lilith is conjunct ghostly Dark Moon, which makes it doubly demonic, but as it is the the hands of a highly evolved soul, we can only imagine this compeling magic was put to it’s highest use. They are conjunct by only 39″ (seconds!) Both conjunct harmonic Venus (75′) His more stable BML is conjunct his Sun (2 degs) Very strong Lilith signature here for this “Warlock”.

1960’s counter culture “Guru” Timothy Leary had a black hole of a Lilith corridor, only 5 degs wide in the 1st. The midpoint of the Osc Lilith and BML opposing a Ceres/ Pluto conjunction (03′) . This aptly describes his use of psychedelics drugs. Using that Plutonic portal to access the shadow realms of the psyche. I see Ceres as being the wisdom of mother earth speaking to us through plants and herbs, psychedelics such as mushrooms and Ayahuasca fall under that category. Osc Lilith sextiles his North Node (62′) also trining Pluto/Ceres (2 degs) making this journey into sacred medicines part of his life’s calling. He also had the fortunate, fiery-red star Antares rising and Pluto/Ceres quincunx the AC. Great vehicle for his “tripping”.

Another “Warlock” in kind, author of “Lord Of the Rings” J R R Tolkien has a Lilith corridor in the 1st containing Saturn, crystallising his stories into a solid form of magic. His Osc Lilith trines North node on Algol.(85′) BML is sesqui the North Node/Algol also. (1 deg 6′) Obviously his life’s mission was to bring these fairytales and myths into the public realm as Timothy Leary’s mission was to raise public awareness of altered states.

Liz Green is probably one of the most famous Astrologers on the planet. Her psychological approach written in a highly digestible style winning her fans all over the world. Also behind Astro.com enabling the public to work magic with their own charts. Her 1st house is loaded with the 4 Liliths ALL in Scorpio. She has a powerful black hole there, Osc Lilith/BML conjunction trines psychological Pluto (71′) BML trines the MC.(24′) Magic and shadow work influence her career.

MESMERISING ARTISTES

Marilyn Monroe had a magnetism that was off the scales. The camera loved her osculating hips. She has a fragile and sensitive Osc Lilith in Cancer rising, opening a Lilith corridor from the 12th spanning down into the 1st. It contains glamourous Neptune and voluptuous Ceres. Osc Lilith is semi sextile sexually intense Pluto. (33′) BML is quincunx Uranus (04′) and square Asteroid Lilith (19′). So here we have the conflict, her sexuality V her emancipation. She did have a few lesbian flings (Uranus), disillusion by being treated as a sex object. Desperately insecure, her oozing sexuality overwhelmed her. That shining Leo BML is trined by an in-your-face Aries Venus.(18′) So not something you can hide!

Pablo Picasso was an artistic genius. The most prolific and famous artist of the 20th century. Still painting and sexually active at the age of 90! He had an black hole corridor in the first with Osc rising widely (3 degs). It squared Saturn (66′) giving him that wrinkly sex appeal and longevity as an artist. Osc Lilith also trines the Moon and North Node. That all important artistic mission aided by lunar imagination and the ladies.. His muses were his many wives and lovers. BML is quincunx hell raising Eris (43′) and trined Neptune (63′) his artistic experiments did challenge the established art world at the time.

Johann Sebastian Bach created music that hypnotised the ear. His magical harpsichord concertos sounded like heaven. And his famous organ piece Toccata & fugue is truly mesmerising. Osc Lilith leaning into the 1st quincunx racing Mars (26′) in intense scorpio, his pieces were FAST. And trined a majestic Leonine Saturn (75′) Technically structural masterpieces in his work house. BML is in musical taurus semi sextile his mystical rising Sun in the 12th house, uplifting heavenly music yes! His long Black Moon corridor spans the 2nd house of cash and contains the Lilith star Algol. He made music and money from taking us up to the heavens with his entrancing music. If Bach was alive today he’d probably be playing trance music on synths!

Johnny Cash, troubled Country singer and “Man In Black” His distinctive deep vocals intonating songs of sorrow and redemption. He got clean after a spiritual epiphany during a drug induced suicide attempt. All very Lilithian themes. Not surprising then to see he has Osc Lilith rising conjunct the North Node (06″) He has a long Lilith corridor spanning the whole of the Piscean 1st house which explains the spiritualism & the drugs. It contains Lilith flavoured Eris (outlaw), Venus (love) & Uranus (genius). It culminates with a BML in opposition to a purified Asteroid Lilith in Virgo (63′) on lucky musicians Star Spica. His 5 decade career and regeneration after meeting his 35yr work & soul mate June Carter, are beautifully described by his Lilith story. Traditionalists might look to Pluto to cover this. He does have Pluto trine the AC by 3 degs, but you don’t get the intricate details until you look at the bodies closer to home.

THE BLACKEST OF THE BLACK

Let’s start with the slate grey and get darker…

Cult filmmaker David Lynch famed for his portrayal of the dark underbelly of small town America. His surreal and ghostly work includes Erazerhead, The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks. He is also a practitioner of transcendental meditation. He has the more stable BML Lilith rising (04′) trining an EXACT Mars/Saturn conjunction (43″) giving it the gruesome edge. His Osc Lilith is Scorpio in the 1st, semi-sextile nightmarish Dark Moon. His Osc Lilith semi-squares mercury. His films have a disturbing quality that jolt the mind into facing it’s demons.

Blue eyed Boy David Soul, looked cute as Hutch in the 70’s hit cop show, but behind the pretty exterior and the romantic songs lurked an alcoholic wife beater. He reformed and moved to london were he regained success in the West end theatre. His intensely grouped Black Moon Lilith corridor starts with an Osc Lilith conjunct the Moon in sensitive Cancer (28′) sandwiched in between that Moon and BML is Pluto Domestic violence). That’s a pretty touchy bunch of explosives there, ignited by a trine to Osc Lilith from stick of dynamite in the shape of Eris. BML gets a trine from the Vertex in the 5th too, showing fateful encounters with lovers could calm or inflame this set up.

Ron Hubbard takes us back the the mesmerising aspect of Lilith. The cult leader of Scientology has his Osc Lilith rising in Scorpio by 65′. It’s at the door of his Halloween zone, spanning back into the Cult-ish 12th house with zealous Asteroid Lilith in the middle, culminating with BML on the fortunate, but said to be violent fixed star Antares. (The heart of the scorpion) Unstable Osc Llith is also square his Sun (05′) which would give his Solar presence a bewitching quality and quintile Chiron (07′) which further amps up his Guru qualities. All together gives him the great aura of a powerful spiritual healer.

British serial killer Peter “Yorkshire Ripper” Sutcliffe murdered 13 women mainly prostitutes, he brutally attacked many more women. He was married, but his wife was unable to bear children. He has a concentrated Scorpionic Lilith corridor with BML rising (72′) and Osc Lilith 4 degs away in the 12th, both straddling the AC. They are both sesqui the Vertex in the 8th house. He certainly had fateful sexual encounters, ending for his victims with the loss of their lives. Sex & death morbidly brought together here in the 8th house. Charming Venus quincunxing nasty Dark Moon plugs into this with a sickeningly mesmerising quintile to Osc Lilith, which was how he probably got away with it for so long. Interesting that while he was stealing womens lives, the negative side of Lilith was also stealing babies, his wife suffer many miscarriages.

Lastly in the deepest darkest Lilith pit we have British homosexual killer Dennis Nilsen, who murdered atleast 15 men and boys , then had sex with their corpses. Not surprised to see another tight dark corridor in the 1st house with BML squaring Pluto (05′) bringing out the raping and sadistic side of this icy hellhole. Not only that, Osc Lilith is squaring a demonic Dark Moon both in the power-hungry tenth. BML is the midpoint of Venus and Osc Lilith all in charming Libra, he was known as the “Kindly Killer” exclaiming “Good grief, how awful!” when police revealing there was human flesh blocking his drains. BML also opposes the Vertex forming a T square to Pluto. Vertex in the 7th. Again like Sutcliffe, fateful encounters fell into his Lilith deathtrap and ended up in his drains. (Pluto). 7th being the house of open enemies as well as relationship.

TABOO

As you can see Lilith has the potential to become severely warped. But it’s dangers come from it’s repression. For fear of being overwhelmed by its power, it can become the taboo area in your chart. With Lilith repressed or in difficult aspect, one is most likely to exhibit it’s negative side: manipulation, brainwashing, drug addiction, sadist/masochistic tendencies, raging anger, misogyny (in men) nymphomania and bunny boilerism.

As I said in my intro, Osculating Lilith and Mean Lilith can be as far as 30 degs apart. In this zone barriers to the spirit world are thinner. It describes a process. Osculating Lilith opens the door to the Black Moon corridor, but it’s an unstable magic potion. By the time you get to Mean Lilith, it’s magic has fermented into something more stable.

People with tight corridors will have a more concentrated, intense Lilith experience, one where the barriers are so thin as to be a hole. This is what I liken to a black hole. With so much psychic information coming in at once, it can be a battle sifting through what is demonic and what is a genuine intuitive flash. Any planets conjunct this area will give clues to where the battle will manifest.

Not everyone has a strong Lilith, which sometimes can be a blessing this patriarchal society. But things are changing and with Pluto making so many hard generation aspects over the next few years, society is being confronted with that what has been repressed more than ever before. On a personal level, Lilith works as an agent for Pluto in your own chart. Showing not only where to fight your demons, but ultimately where your gold is buried.

All the examples given using Western Sidereal Zodiac.

NEW! Lilith Readings.

Poetic Deals.

A Solar eclipse is a turbo charged New Moon where the Moon comes between the Earth and the Sun blotting out the light of the Sun. This makes it extra Lilith charged in my view. The Dark Moon and The Black Moon Lilith are all about equalizing and balancing male to female energy. When the New Moon blots out the Suns energy in this way it is stressing even more loudly to let intuition rule over reason and heart rule over head. It is asking you to cast aside ego and to trust in the Universe. I think this is a potent time for real magic to happen. And with this Eclipse it is even more so because of the aspects it is making to other transiting bodies that have Venusian/Artistic themes.

marinacaruso

First off it’s on the fixed star Terebellum, associated with Venus and Saturn by Ptolemy. According to Robson it “gives a fortune, but with regret and disgrace, cunning, a mercenary nature and repulsiveness.” To look at this in modern terms I would say this has to do with striking deals and entering into partnerships. Venus is all about harmony and Saturn is about structures and commitments. This could be about peace deals in the wider world. The cunning needed in handling players who are not so honorable.

Venus, Dark Moon Lilith & Kalliope.

Venus is also women and as this eclipse is also conjunct Venus, we could see this peace mission coming from female or Venusian type business’s, maybe some worldwide artistic project.

I guess it’s saying, quit dreaming and make these wishes and creative thoughts concrete reality! Now this could be through Neptune who is semi sextile by just ONE minute in sidereal Aquarius. Neptune is on the fixed star Sador, in the breast of the swan (Constellation Cygnus). The swan represents Jupiter, who seduced Leda by taking it’s snowy white form. Gives a dreamy, cultured and artistic influence. It will amplify the creative, imaginative side of Neptune here, but there is a glamourous deception going on with the Swan disguise. So we are adding more fantasy, mystical stuff onto this Eclipse. Lastly is also conjunct Kalliope the “beautiful-voiced” muse of heroic poetry ( She inspired Homer’s The Odyssey)

Cosmic Ordering.

Maybe the key to success here to to practice a bit of spin doctoring.Use some feminine wiles. Speak poetically. Be creative with the truth. Do not plow in there in an armoured tank!!

Of course we have also had the devastating Haiti earthquake which preceeded this eclipse. It is thought that Eclipse effects build a week or so before it happens. Like the point of Eclipse will bring the underlying transits to a head. Here we do have that nasty Saturn/Pluto square and in the Eclipse chart retrograde Mercury is applying to Pluto which could have been another trigger. It all looks pretty unstable with so much of the chart clumped across a few constellations, a lone Mars opposed it, with Saturn not too far away.

So if solar eclipses are normally about rebooting. This one is more like a complete re install. Wipe your harddrive and start again. Unfortunately the people of Haiti had no choice in the matter. I wonder how many people over this Mercury retrograde have had massive computer crashes where much data has been lost.

So what will this eclipse mean for you? Tropically it fell on 25 degs 01′ Capricorn. So anyone with something on or around that that degree will feel it extra strongly. For me it is on my Pluto/North node midpoint. So my personal themes of transformation and getting onto my North Node path are ramped up and boy do I feel it.

Return To Oz.

I have big dreams of starting a new life across the world in Australia, but I have a 6 year old with a very supportive father to consider. I knew this year would be very hard, but 3 days before the eclipse I had somehow negotiated a deal with my daughters father making it possible for me to return to Oz in March and also incredibly agreed to a 6 month stay with my daughter later in the year. I have no idea how that part happened, as her father was dead against it initially.

Must’ve been a bit of Dark Moon eclipse magic happening for me there.

In recent months I have been getting increasingly irritated by the signs in astrology. But I, like most people, astrologers and laymen alike, find the archetypes are so embedded into my psyche that I just can’t help but get caught up in them. It’s a hard habit to break. When I first got to know Funkstar, he gave me the most eye opening reading I’d ever had, but I was even more amazed when I realized he hadn’t used the signs AT ALL. He’d brought up stuff most Astrologers had overlooked due to my huge stellium in Aquarius and my total lack of fire. (Laughable!) To find out I was indeed plugged into some very firey Mars/Jupiter stars AND had a Lilith/Mars conjunction was a total revelation. (I only had a vague notion of her up till that point). Now she has become my career (In my 10th).

Western Sidereal Astrology.

In my own practice the signs had started fading to the background for me, using them only as rulerships to the house cusps. It still bothered me that many astrologers put so much emphasis on the dignities, because that to me was still placing the importance of how a planet functioned in a sign above all else. Then I started becoming interested in the fixed stars…..which brought me to the wonderful world of constellations. I then stumbled across some articles about western sidereal astrology. What they had to say struck a huge chord with me.

Initially with the sidereal V’s tropical debate I thought, “They can’t BOTH be right”. So yes, let’s just ignore or play down the signs all together and just look at the aspects, houses and fixed stars. Get to the essence. Aspect patterns would then become very important as that gives you a focus. And stelliums too because you can look at the house. But what if you have neither? You are left with the lights and the angles, then it’s back to their rulers…and you are forced to look at the signs again.

A member of our Forum, Phil, said: “The reason why the signs can seem like nonsense is because we’ve lost sight of their core character.” This is very true and I think it’s because of an unconscious blending of signs with their neighbours. This is most probably due to having to accommodate this sidereal and tropical paradox.”

Further reading has enlightened me as to how both these Zodiacs can be used without either being “wrong”: “….. tropical astrology lends itself more to looking at the personality-level experience of a person, while sidereal astrology lends itself to viewing the more transcendent patterns and cycles of growth occurring for the durative soul in the incarnation. This is also why sidereal astrology is more ideal for exploring the nature of soul growth for the entire collective consciousness on Earth. You might also consider the tropical system to be looking upward from the incarnate experience, as the spiritually aspiring incarnate personality; while the sidereal system is looking downward upon the incarnate person from the soul-aware level of consciousness.” – Nick Anthony Fiorenza.” From The Lunar Planner Forum.

Put more simply, I see it that Tropical Zodiac is how your friends and family expect you to behave on a personality level, but the Sidereal is how you are on a soul level.

The way I see it, is that the signs are very obvious things you look at when you first absorb a chart. If you see a Stellium in Capricorn. That’s what grabs you initially. If you see an aspect pattern, that is also what you focus on. These are usually the first things that hit you when you meet a person, their magnetism and general energy. Gradually you peel the onion. You deal with the personality traits (Aspects) that come out after you have known them for a while. We know the aspects, angles and fixed stars are common for both systems, so they really are the heart and soul of the person.

If you are a Sidereal Capricorn, then your progressed Sun will eventually progress to your natal tropical Aquarius which means you will feel more like your tropical sign than your sidereal for that time. All a bit confusing really…

Fuzzy Signs!

What I’m trying to get across is signs are very fuzzy here. I really do think that as the Tropical system is a seasonal construct, it is more connected with mundane matters. I think it would be more to do with how your nearest and dearest expect you to be on this earth. Of course those expectations that are projected on you are absorbed and you begin to behave that way. Those people lucky enough to have charts that keep their Sun and Mercury in same sign, don’t have that slight mismatch grating inside them.

Of course I am focusing heavily on signs here. This won’t be such a big deal for most people. But as someone who has tropically 4 personal planets and an MC in Aquarius, it’s hard for any Astrologer to not say how much I value my freedom, that I am incredibly humanitarian, am original, inventive, bla bla bla… With an Gemini AC. I’m just an airhead…..floating in an idealistic bubble. I think that’s how my family see me.

Stellium.

This is why I’m on such a mission with this. If your gonna focus primarly on the signs of the zodiac, use the system that was built for the Zodiac! The sidereal Zodiac is atleast more connected to the constellations from whence it came. It’s not perfect. There are not 12 exact 30 degs divisions over those constellations either. We are missing Ophiuchus which also falls along the ecliptic. But atleast acknowledging there is a sidereal Zodiac throws into question how signs should be used and how much importance to give them.

I feel completely at home with my newly discovered Capricorn Stellium. My rigid daily routines, my work ethic, my hermit behavior all make sense to me now. And the Taureans that used to drive me mad? Well it turn’s out I have a Taurus AC. Stubborn, Greedy, Indulgent, a bit of a bully. Who me?!……yes me. *GULP*

So then, my first project was redoing all my family’s and best friends charts in Sidereal. Some that were never very good fits signwise, suddenly made total sense. Recently I have noticed I guess (and have always guessed) people as their sidereal signs.

With my own chart, the battle with my Plutonic intensity when in love (I was supposed to be free spirited Saggy DC) drove me insane. Now with my newly acquired Scorpionic DC ruled by a Mars conjunct Lilith I can accept my passion. Ok… so I have fantasies of ripping the heads off any potential love rivals? My humanitarian Aqua tropical Sun can stop giving me a hard time. I’m not a robot!! Yes, I love my Scorpio DC.

The Sidereal chart reads better personally and for my closest friends. I have found a structure I can work with. And structures are important for a Cappy stellium like mine. I need an anchor, I don’t like floating around and having too many either/ors. Space is nebulous enough as it is!

Yes I need a huge heavy Saturnian anchor with a very, very long chain. Long enough to reach Altair, Spica, Capella and all those other twinkling gods.