Astrology Institute Newsletter: December 2011
By Joseph Crane
December 21, 2011
Happy Solstice – Gift Certificate Consultations – recordings of December Chaos and Complexity Workshop – Mars retrograde and in Virgo – In Memorandum: James Hillman, Vaclav Havel
Well, it’s that time of year – the days are shorter and here the weather alternates between relatively balmy to a biting wind – and we in Rhode Island are awaiting our first real snowfall.
The word “solstice” means “Sun standing” and refers to the fact that in the days near the solstice the length of days and nights does not appear to change. In fact it won’t be until January until we begin to notice a difference. (Perhaps this is why the New Years Day is about ten days after the solstice.)
The winter solstice corresponds to the Sun’s southernmost-most declination corresponds to Earth’s latitude. if you’re in the temperate regions of the North you will notice that the Sun appears farther away at sunrise and sunset and during the day it traces a shorter arc across the sky and the shadows seem to be longer. This is different from six months from now, or six months ago, when the Sun would seem to be overhead – although it isn’t – and its daily arc across the sky is much wider. And of course in the Southern Hemisphere is the longest day of the year.
You might want to revisit an article I wrote last year about the seasonal symbolism in the fourteenth century classic Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Here’s the link: http://www.astrologyinstitute.com/Newsletters/News12_10.html
Sometimes astrologers use solstice and equinox charts in “mundane” astrology – politics, war, peace, and other national and international events. This might give us some information about the national nature of things over the next few months, at least from the US perspective.
Locating the chart at Washington DC, we see Sun in the fourth with an exact square from Uranus in the 7th. If the Sun represents a country’s leadership, then the square from Uranus gives it a level of unpredictability and weirdness. Expect this from the national government and also from those who want to be the next President in 2012. Given the circumstances this seems like a very safe prediction.
There’s another way to read the Sun-Uranus configuration. Given that the 7th place is about partners: it could signify unpredictability and weirdness internationally. I am thinking about the news of the recent death of North Korea’s rather enigmatic dictator, with the succession going to a completely unknown young son of the dictator. And there was a column today about a real estate bubble bursting – in China. Then there’s the usual news about Europe.
Note also that the Sun is in exact trine to Jupiter that happens to be at its station. This would be more promising except that Jupiter appears in the weak 8th place.
I am also concerned with the Moon, in fall in Scorpio, applying to a square to Neptune. The Moon in the 2nd may manifest economically and the influence of Neptune may make things even more insecure than they are now. We may also get extremes in weather, especially flooding.
And I hope I am wrong about all of this!
Astrology Session Gift Certificate
This offer is good until January 15, 2011. In the spirit of gift-giving, retail sales, and discretionary purchases, I am offering a discount for a full 75-minute astrology session, from the usual $135 to $90 that is the price of a yearly update.
It’s common for somebody to consult an astrologer when life is full of complexities and crossroads and this seems to describe many of our lives right now. We also have in our lives people with important choices to make or questions about the trajectory of their lives. An astrological session can be very helpful. As usual this session can be in person or by telephone or through Skype; a recording will be made of the session for the client.
Here is the certificate itself for you to give as gift. Click here for to print the gift certificate.
The certificate explains the process to somebody who hasn’t had an astrology session. When we recipient sends the gift certificate to me I’ll get in touch and we can begin.
In the meantime have a fine holiday season!
Chaos and Complexity Workshop Recordings
In early December I conducted a workshop called “Chaos, Complexity, and Astrology” to an all-star cast of students. This followed up on material from last summer’s class on astrology and the scientific revolution.
This presentation lasted four hours and discussed the history of the concept of chaos, the current scientific study that has been called “Chaos” over the past thirty-five years, and a discussion of the newer study of “complexity” and its implications for the dynamics of personal change and for the art of astrological consultation.
Unlike other attempts to join astrology with modern physics, the scientific study of Chaos shows has some features that would be interesting to people who are astrologers or who are interested in astrology.
This presentation is available for audio download and the PowerPoint slides are included. The cost is $60. Feel free to contact me at josephcrane@verizon.net for more information or if you would like the recording.
Mars Retrograde and in Virgo
Mars entered Virgo on November 10 2011 – it will stay in that sign for close to eight months, finally leaving for Libra on July 3, 2012.
Why does Mars spend so much time in Virgo? Because its stay in Virgo encompasses a retrograde period; the retrograde station is January 23 2012 at 23° of Virgo and its direct station is on April 13 at 3° Virgo. By the time Mars finally accelerates and moves the remaining 27° of Virgo, it will be early July. This is a very long time for Mars to spend in a sign.
What does the astrological Mars do? Mars does things – Mars transits can help somebody be more active, more effective and efficient (especially in Virgo). Mars transits are not a time for contemplation. And there are difficulties, for Mars was not called a “malefic” or “doer of evil” for no reason. Mars can make people excitable, argumentative, or irritable. Mars tends to overheat – and this may be a bad thing to the already irascible good thing if one’s general nature is on the more phlegmatic or overly congenial side.
It’s hard to apply this globally (although some will try to). Instead I tend to apply it to individual charts, especially those with Ascendants in the mutable signs Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces, for then transiting Mars is affecting an angular house or place and may have a stronger influence. And in a birth chart there may be planets in these mutable signs that will be affected by transiting Mars.
Here’s an example. Here is a slice from a “graphic ephemeris” that shows the motion of Mars in its course back and forth through Virgo. The straight horizontal lines shows my natal planets in the mutable signs and thus we see Mars’ transits to my natal planets.
The red dot indicates Mars moving into a mutable sign, indicated by “60°” on the far left. This is a ninety degree graphic ephemeris that shows conjunctions, oppositions, and squares, aspects that occur between planets in the same mode. On the right side are the positions of natal Moon at 7° Sagittarius, Mars at 13° Pisces, and far down is Mercury at 29° Sagittarius. Near Thanksgiving transiting Mars crossed the Moon line at 7° Virgo. You can see the slope flattening out in January as the planet approaches its station. The slope moving upwards indicates that Mars is retrograde and will transit both natal Moon and Mars retrograde. In April the upwards-moving line flattens out when Mars turns direct. Finally, at the beginning of July and on its way out of Virgo, Mars will square my Mercury in Sagittarius.
You may notice the blue line that stands for Neptune and the dot that appears in early February. This is Neptune’s ingress into Pisces to stay. We will look at Neptune going into Pisces next month.
In Memoriam James Hillman (1926-2011), Imagist and Iconoclast
This past autumn I was saddened to read that James Hillman had died. He is best known to the public for his role conducting experiential men’s groups in the 1980’s: the New York Times title of his obituary gave him the title “Therapist in Men’s Movement.” His best-selling The Soul’s Code in 1997 also brought him to the attention of the public. His legacy, however, was his role as a neo-Jungian writer and teacher. He developed an approach he called “Archetypal Psychology” although the argument has been made that he should have called his approach “Imaginal Psychology.” His approach radically departed from the reductionism and grounded itself in the experience of images and image-making. Hillman’s approach to mind and the world was symbolic, finding new ways to consider ordinary objects and routine experiences of life.
He was also an unyielding critic of contemporary trends in psychotherapy. In Thomas Moore’s prologue to Blue Fire that are selections from Hillman’s works, he describes Hillman this way: “He takes psychoanalysis out of the context of medicine and health, not only in the obvious ways, rejecting the medical model, but in subtle ways: asking us to give up fantasies of cure, repair, growth, self-improvement, understanding, and well-being as primary motives for psychological work. He is more a painter than a physician, more a musician than a social scientist, and more an alchemist than a traditional philosopher.” In his seminal Revisioning Psychology, Hillman argued that “pathologizing” is not something to be gotten rid of but a way in which the soul begins to reveal itself to the person: one could consider this sacred activity. This stands much of today’s psychotherapy on its head.
Because of his holistic approach to human psychology and his love for imagery and symbolism, modern astrologers have found Hillman’s work inspiring and a rich source of insights. In particular The Soul’s Code merges very well with the viewpoint that natal astrology can help disclose life purpose.
Hillman was trained as a Jungian therapist and in 1959 became the director of studies at the C. J. Jung Institute in Zurich. From the beginning he was considered unorthodox, even heretical. In the 1970’s he returned to the United States and began his career as a teacher and writer and establishment gadfly. He founded Spring Publications for the purpose of bringing these ideas to the public.
His chart is a beauty to behold.
We could begin with his very close Sun conjunct Moon in Aries in the 11th House or Place. Already we know something about his nature that has its qualities of defiance and irascibility. This is bolstered by Jupiter in the 9th House being in close sextile to the Sun and Moon, and Neptune that is opposite Jupiter in very close trine to his Sun and Moon. This adds a level of grandness – I would also say grandiosity – and desire to make a larger statement to a larger world. Neptune may give it a messianic quality but also tell us about his love of the “imaginal” (as opposed to the “imaginary” that we often contrast with the “real.”) I would consider that Hillman’s detractors would consider him sanctimonious and “a prophet in his own mind.”
We must also include Mars, the dispositor of the Sun and Moon that like Jupiter is in Aquarius. This adds even more of the warrior to the mix – and in Aquarius more likely a warrior with ideas.
Ancient astrologers would add that although Jupiter is “in sect” in Hillman’s daytime chart, Mars is “out of sect.” Jupiter’s expression is going to be more favorable but Mars may manifest as some of Mars’ less desirable qualities: anger, hostility, and a temperamental and difficult nature.
This brings us to his Ascendant in Gemini. We may think of the wide-ranging and trickster qualities of Gemini and its ruler Mercury. It’s hard to imagine Hillman as the guardian of any kind of orthodoxy, and he took care not to develop a School of James Hillman. Gemini in the 1st becomes even more pronounced Hillman was born at a New Moon: his Lots of Fortune, Spirit, Eros, and Necessity are all in the 1st. This man could take up a lot of space.
When we look at Hillman’s Mercury we see that it also is in Aries and also has Mars as a dispositor. You may also notice the planet of rebellion and eccentricity – Uranus – is close to Mercury, just across in the 10th House in Pisces. Here’s where things become even more interesting – Mercury and Uranus are closely across from the Aries-Libra axis and so are equally rising or contra-antiscia: these two planets are closely tied together as close as the Sun is to the Moon. Mercury and Uranus further suggests Hillman as an unorthodox thinker, one who might have little patience with the easy road of conventionality and who would instinctively take on odd perspectives. Interestingly, one of his favorite themes was a psychological attitude of “polytheism”; we are all diverse and should worship many “gods” who speak to the different qualities of who we are. One of his favorite causes was against conventional “ego psychology” or the unitary nature of any kind of “hero” archetype.
We continue. Venus is exalted in Pisces and conjunct the Midheaven degree – to the degree and minute. We could say that the Midheaven degree is about personal expression within the larger world. From his writings and Moore’s quote above, Hillman’s approach was not moral or clinical but aesthetic. (We will see another interesting manifestation of Venus at the Midheaven in the following chart, that of Vaclav Havel.)
I end by discussing Saturn. At first glance Saturn is not a particularly prominent planet: it’s in Scorpio and in the 6th place that is cadent and not very strong. However we must consider that Saturn is the dispositor of Jupiter and Mars in the 9th and has a dominating Tenth House square to Jupiter. We also see that Saturn and Mars are in mutual reception. How was Hillman Saturnine? Thomas Moore, in his prologue to Blue Fire, cites Hillman’s love of tradition; to that I will add his tenacity and willingness to outlast his critics and detractors and to stay true to his vision even when times became difficult. Indeed his message only developed further through his career – it never changed.
(Here’s a note to my astrology cognoscenti friends: check out Hillman’s Ninth Harmonic Chart. It contains Sun conjunct Neptune conjunct Moon and other wonders. I must leave a fuller exposition to another occasion.)
In Memoriam Vaclav Havel (1936-2011)
You may remember the heady days of autumn 1989 when the Eastern European countries, the former Soviet bloc, shook off their Communist governments. Its culminating moment was the fall of the Berlin Wall in early November 1989; beginning shortly afterwards was the fall of other Eastern European governments. Vaclav Havel was the dissident playwright in Communist Czechoslovakia who spearheaded its “Velvet Revolution” in late 1989 and 
then became his country’s leader. He was also the prominent personality of this radical change throughout Eastern Europe. Havel then served as President of Czechoslovakia and later, after the country divided into two, he was President of the Czech Republic. Throughout his long career he was renowned as a spokesperson for freedom and human dignity and had worldwide influence a moral beacon. He was pro-democratic but also criticized the nihilistic materialism of many Western capitalistic democracies.
Havel was from a prosperous family whose land was taken away after the Communist takeover when he was a teenager. The government also prevented him from attending college. Havel was drafted into the military in 1957, and responded by writing a satirical play. That began his literary career: much of his work revolved around the corruption of language and the moral corruption of the dictatorship that was running the country. He consistently protested the Communist government was often put in jail, once for over four years. His final incarceration was in 1989, shortly before he was to become the first President of post-Communist Czechoslovakia. (He and Nelson Mandela share the distinction of being the only Heads of State that were previously imprisoned by the country they were to govern.)
His natal chart is remarkable for the clarity of its symbolism. Almost every astrologer today would first note the “Grand Cross” in mutable signs that brings together Moon in Gemini, Neptune in Virgo, Jupiter in Sagittarius, and Saturn in Pisces – all aspects are extremely close to being exact and Moon, Neptune, and Saturn are within 10” of each other. However I am no big fan of the modern astrological doctrine of aspect configurations.
As a new astrologer in the 1980’s I found that large-scale aspect configurations like Havel’s Moon-Neptune-Jupiter-Saturn were very difficult to interpret without resorting to vague abstraction. Traditional astrology would give me better ways of finding my way into these closely-connected planets and applying them more coherently to life situations.
As usual I begin with the ruler of the Ascendant that is Saturn in Pisces. Saturn symbolizes tenacity and fixedness – qualities important to a Soviet-era dissident. (Ask Sakharov, Solzhenitsyn and others). Yet Havel was not a Saturnine character, for his wit and eloquence were not qualities of Saturn. Jupiter is the dispositor for Saturn in Pisces and is dignified in Sagittarius and in its “joy” in the 11th House, the ancient “Place of the Good Spirit”: we get a lighter touch as well alongside a strong sense of principle. I also note that Jupiter is “in sect” Havel’s diurnal chart. Jupiter is the most strongly-placed planet in Havel’s chart. This allows us to see Neptune contributing as a planet of idealism governing and perhaps enabling his Saturnine resolve.
Many were skeptical that Havel would be a suitable head of state, for his style and demeanor were rather informal. For all his idealism and evocation of moral authority, Havel was on the whole a good leader for his country. At this time he was an internationally acclaimed world leader and moral example, as Nelson Mandela would become a few years afterwards.
Our next destination for us to disentangle the Grand Cross is Moon, the most personal planet of this configuration. Moon is in a favorable 5th House and connects well with Havel’s love for language and verbal expression. It may also tell us how disturbed he was by the chronic abuse of language by totalitarian dictatorships. The aspects from Saturn and Neptune point to these factors. Additionally, Moon in Gemini also allows for flexibility and curiosity that he would apply not simply in his personal life but on the world stage. Importantly the Moon is applying to Jupiter that is another indication of Jupiter’s importance in his chart. The planets Saturn and Neptune squaring Moon may point to depression although Jupiter appears to have come to the rescue.
Now we can discuss Havel’s Sun in Libra in fall. Sun and Neptune and symmetrical to the Aries/Libra axis and Sun and Saturn are symmetrical to the Cancer/Capricorn axis! In my view this configuration that involves Saturn and Neptune on his Sun is more critical to his chart that his Grand Cross. Saturn and Neptune with Sun give connotation of a martyr or victim that was some of who he was early in his career. It also would make Havel subject to the large-scale trends of his time: his times put him in jail and it also put him in the presidential Castle. We may also note that the autumn of 1989 and the dissolution of Communist regimes in Eastern Europe was marked by a Saturn-Neptune conjunction in Capricorn. At that time the conjunction was in exact square to Havel’s natal Sun in Libra.
We conclude with his Venus-Uranus opposition in the 4th House of home and family and his 10th House of career. Venus in the 10th certainly tells us of his career in the arts – drama in his case. For career, we would also add that Mercury is close to his Lot of Fortune. Uranus in the Fourth is often interpreted as “disruption in the home”. From his home was taken over by the state and his father imprisoned when he was a teenager, and from his rather unsettled life in and out of jail, Havel certainly qualifies for this simple interpretation. I will add, however, that these events informed and inspired his calling in the world. Uranus opposite Venus has another meaning for Havel – his love of Western popular music. He counted Mick Jagger and Lou Reed among his friends and attempted to have his friend Frank Zappa become US Ambassador to his country. When US President Bill Clinton went to Czechoslovakia for a state visit they visited a jazz club together and Clinton tried his hand at improvising with the saxophone.
It seems that 2011 took one more great man from the world. Let’s end with a quote I’ve seen circulating since his death: “True politics, worthy of the name -- and the only kind I will practice -- is the politics of service to one's neighbour; service to the community; service to those who will succeed us.”