Notes on The Taste of Cardinal Up a Notch

In a few hours, the Moon will enter the sign Libra. Normally I love being on Earth when Moon is in Libra, relating is so pleasant. I wonder how it will be today as Moon is greeted at the door by Saturn and squares Pluto. Well, we will soon see. Moon enters Libra at 6:23 pm in Hamburg; 12:23 midday in New York.

The last time Moon and Saturn were conjunct in Libra it was 1982 - and at that time Saturn and Pluto were conjunct in Libra. I was in my last year of art school and pretty darn nervous about life after art school and the future after that.

Above is a diagram of today's basic planets plus the Sun and Moon just as the Moon ingresses Libra. I set this chart up as a natural chart, which means 0° Aries is on the ascendant, or where 9:00 is located on a clock. This chart is so pure: Pluto is at Noon, Saturn and Moon are at 3:00.

The advice today, take action and mind The Golden Rule.

Regenerational Potential at the Cellular Level: A Note on the transit Pluto opposed Mars, or if you have Mars around 3° Cancer, this transit is now.

If you or someone you know has Mars at around 3° Cancer, then this post is dedicated to you.

When Pluto opposes Mars in our natal charts, a wave of energy may have been building up, perhaps our whole lives even, which may seem to involve sorting out deep psychological issues in our closest relationships. Pluto brings us in contact with our deepest psychological issues, Mars activates aggression, whether active or passive, and in an opposition, these issues are active in our closest relationships.

One thing which is important to remember is, this is no time to work things out alone, no matter how difficult it is to work with other people, that is the whole point. Because both Pluto and Mars are rulers of Scorpio, this means we are sorting out our common resources. Mixed in may be a deeply psychological, secretive and sexual vibration. The best way to use this time is to accomplish a lot and make sweeping changes in our lives. The ideal is to include everyone – our whole "family" system. This energy is best used as a group so that no one feels singularly dominated against, or threatened, because when this much energy is in the dynamic, people may feel threatened or paranoid.

With natal Mars is at 3° Cancer, the first two of the three passes of this are already in the past. The first pass was earlier this year, building up starting in January 2009 and the apex was around mid-March 2009. Then there was another wave right at the end of April and the beginning of May 2009. Although the first two passes may have been shocking or abrupt, this last pass is all about effectiveness, now as Saturn is making a square to Pluto simultaneously. For the first two passes, there was no Saturn square, and now that there is, the element of karma is bringing our most pressing issues to the foreground.

Any group or relationship that we are involved with now has the potential to become a completely different entity. In the ideal world this can be the revolution that puts a halt to the non-functioning parts of the group dynamic, and converts the common psychology to the highest vibration. Each person in the group is able to change deeply into every cell of their body, into the nucleus of their cells which can activate new DNA expressions.

The biggest challenge may be for us to know that in the end, in the very end, we (I mean the persons with Mars at 3° Cancer) will be acknowledged as the leader of a revolution. When Pluto opposes Mars, we are the alchemist, changing not only lead to gold, but also turning lead weight into golden opportunities.

Saturn Square Pluto: Tread Lightly

I remember in the 7th grade, it wasnt until the Vietnam War ended, that I realized it had been going on my whole life. Seeing pictures of guys fighting in the jungle, first in black and white, then in color, was a constant. I remember feeling a new, lighter potential in the landscape at that time - the protesting could finally stop. A few years later in the 11th grade we were studying the Vietnam War. I remember my history teacher saying, "We really missed the boat with Ho Chi Minh". In a 1967 interview with The Miami News and The Arkansas Gazette, Ho Chi Minh had this to say about Americans: "I don't understand how they can support their involvement in this war. Is the Statue of Liberty standing on her head?" His point was that The United States is made of colonies who gained independence in a revolution.

When I took a look at the chart for the end of the Vietnam War, a familiar Cardinal Cross popped into view. Pluto was in Libra at 7° and Saturn was at 13° Cancer. That means the last couple of years before the war ended there was a tight square between Saturn and Pluto. On the day the war ended, Moon was in Capricorn at 4° and Jupiter was in Aries at 10°. Each point of the Cardinal Cross was filled.

This chart seems like a close future relative of today. A Saturn Pluto square is nearly exact as General McChrystal requests 80,000 more troops to be sent to Afghanistan. The U.S. will probably send 34,000? Also as there was a tragedy at Fort Hood last week, aggression turned inward within the US Military on US soil with 13 dead and many wounded.

The advice this week is for us to tread so lightly. Irreparable damage is always so deeply regretted.

Astrology 2010: Eclipses Sorting Out The Material in Relationships

To get the current sky organized in my head, I made a diagram of where Pluto, Saturn, Mars and Mercury are for the 12 months. In this diagram, the background space is Pluto in Capricorn like a broad brush. The purple and blue lowest bar is Saturn grounding the structure, the next bar up is Mars activity, and then the top vertical bars are the sign changes of Mercury. The lime green letters mark direct and retrograde movements and the pink symbols on the yellow squares are eclipses.

Mainly what motivated me to make this was thinking about how to prepare for April through July, knowing that Saturn goes back into Virgo and wondering how Mars, having been retrograde, will contribute. After making this diagram, I felt all signs are pointing to the eclipses, which I wasn't expecting.

The first eclipse of 2010, is a solar eclipse on January 15 at 25° Capricorn. This eclipse occurs two days after its Capricorn ruler, Saturn, stations retrograde in Libra on January 13. Mars will still be retrograde too at that time. Mercury will have been retrograde since December 26 and will station direct on January 15, the same day as the eclipse. This is a lot of movement in Capricorn. A Capricorn eclipse on a Capricorn Mercury retrograde just after the Capricorn ruler goes retrograde may suggest that the next authority may step up to take control. Perhaps ideally we can also look at this as what we had previously let others control, this can be a good time for an inner shift.

I noticed that next summer both Mars and Saturn will be in Virgo at the same time. This will give us a lot of harvesting kind of energy to resolve issues that have been hard work for us which may have come about in the Fall of 2007. As well, during the time when Mars and Saturn are both in Virgo, (June 7, 2010 until July 21, 2010) what makes this time period even more significant, is that there are two eclipses occurring as well — the lunar eclipse at 4° Capricorn, and the solar eclipse at 19° Cancer. We can set out intentions now on what we want to resolve and achieve. This is a period when we can create change and when great shifts are possible and will be happening.

Making a diagram like this one above reveals patterns I may not normally see, like that the first three Mercury retrogrades happen in earth signs and more uniquely, Mercury stays in that same sign for the stations. This seems to put a lof of emphasis on material, as does the much broader picture with Pluto in Capricorn being squared by Saturn.

Last years big eclipse in July was at 29° Cancer creating changes we have experienced in our emotions, with our families and in our homes. With such an emphasis on Earth in 2010 we may now look at resolving emotional issues in a more literal and material way looking at banking, finances and our possessions and all that we will be bringing into our Libran relationships in the future.

In Honor of Neptune: Sherri Bustad, American Painter in Greece

In honor of the planet Neptune (because it is stationing forward in a few days) I decided to post this painting by Sherri Bustad, because the way she lives and paints is very Neptunian. On the day she was born, Neptune was conjunct the North Node in Libra in her 2nd house. Sherri grew up in the middle of the United States and did not see any ocean until she was 19 (the North Node return) when she went to California, which is where she began to paint. Sherri now lives on the Greek island, Naxos, in the middle of the Aegean Sea. She moved to this island so she could look out onto the sea and get her inspiration.

Sherri is a Gemini and her sun is in the 9th house. She lives far from the United States of America, where she was born. Mercury, the ruler of Gemini and her Virgo ascendant, is also in the 9th house. Sherri gets inspiration and feels grounded in foreign natural landscapes. With Mercury in the sign Taurus, before Sherri begins a new body of work, she rearranges her work space to reflect and organize her thoughts. Then, with the square coming from Uranus to Neptune, the image comes in a surprising flash. Sherri paints totally from her imagination.
Before she starts a painting, Sherri already has the image in her mind and then begins layering color until the image reveals what she has seen. This is a very Neptunian act. Neptune is conjunct Sherri's North Node - her life purpose is to create concrete manifestations of her imagination in a Scorpio way, which means reaching deeply into emotions. Neptune is not just about a pretty picture; Neptune is divine inspiration.

Whereas Sherri's life purpose is around expressing divine inspiration channeled from her imagination, her past life may have been more superficial, as Venus is conjunct the South Node. Earlier in this life, Sherri was a model as well as an interior designer. Jupiter is conjunct Moon in the tasteful and aesthetic sign Libra in her 2nd house - the 2nd house shows talents. Putting together fashion and arranging spaces is something that comes very naturally to Sherri, but painting is her life purpose.

Perhaps the most powerful aspect in Sherri's astrological chart, is the position of Chiron, which is retrograde and trining her Jupiter and Moon. A retrograde Chiron in the 6th is the sign of the master healer, and Chiron in positive aspect to Jupiter is healing with a good vibe. I have experienced this placement with my shiatsu massage therapist in Baltimore and now Sherri.
If you feel drawn to Sherri's work, you would probably benefit deeply from having her work in your life. This is the due the placement of the 6th house Chiron retrograde. Sherry attracts her clients magnetically (the nodes have a magnetic quality as do natal placements of retrograde planets). Many of Sherri's clients claim they have powerful experiences through the energy of the images — which serve as a kind of energetic mirror to reflect the soul. To me this makes perfect sense — clearly Sherri is channeling the divine, with a good vibration in the beautiful Greek landscape where she has made her home. To see more of Sherri Bustad's paintings see this site or contact her directly: sab3 - at - otenet.gr

Photos: Sherri Bustad