stellArium & ethereal counterparts

Mercury and its orbit - Ottoman illuminated and illustrated version of ʿAjāʾib al-makhlūqāt (Wonders of creation) by Zakarīyā al-Qazwīnī   The Mercury cycle according to Rudhyar :   In the usual kind of geocentric astrology no distinction is made between the two kinds of conjunction of Mercury and the Sun, except that at "inferior" conjunction Mercury is retrograde, while at "superior" conjunction Mercury is direct. In heliocentric astrology the situation is quite different, because an inferior geocentric conjunction of Mercury and the Sun means that the Earth is conjunct Mercury, while a superior geocentric conjunction indicates that the Earth is in opposition to Mercury. Thus when Mercury is retrograde geocentrically, Mercury is heliocentrically near the Earth; and at the heliocentric conjunction of Mercury and the earth, a line is formed by Sun, Mercury and Earth, with Mercury and Earth, with Mercury between the Sun and the Earth thus as

This Sagittarius New Moon on 25 November 2011 coincides with a partial Solar Eclipse. With nearly 90% obscuration of the Sun, the eclipse will be visible across Antartica and New Zealand. Solar Eclipse 25 November 2011, 6:09:40gmt, 7e15, 43n42 Symbol : Two men playing chess According to Rudhyar,  the transmutation of man's natural aggressiveness under most conditions of existence is essential to socio-cultural living. Many rituals, sports and games have no other basic aim. In chess, the struggle between light and darkness (the Yang and Yin forces) is ritualized, ending in most cases with the checkmating of the king (the ego, the conscious self). In a dualistic world such a contest between polarized forces is omnipresent. The chess game trains men to be more objective, more careful, more aware of whole situations — and less impulsive and intent upon side issues. This symbol deals with conflict, but at a group culture level. Keynote: The transcendent rituali

“Amid the whirling forces, I stand confused. I know them not, for, during all my past, they swept me up and down the land wherein I moved, blinded and unaware. From place to place and point to point, they drove me up and down the land and nowhere was there rest.” Esoteric Astrology, Alice A. Bailey Azar in November-December corresponds to Āçiyādiya, "Month of the worship of fire", whence Kaman or Nimasp (the centaur) represents a hunting divinity symbolised by the bow and arrow. It was called the Light of the White Face , the Flowing Day , the Smiting Sun Face and its constellation was the Star of the Bow with which Rukbat was associated. It is also called Sagittarius, the ninth Sign of the Zodiac. Alpha Sagittarii, a star in the Sagittarius constellation, has the traditional names Alrami and Rukbat, derived from the Arabic rukbat al-rāmī = the knee of the archer. Rukbat means 'knee' in Arabic.  In the stan

11.11.11 @ 11.11.11 ... if it is just another day, we can still look at its astrological patterns we perceive any given energy according to Universal Time and our Local view, as these operate from distinct areas of experience. on such day, we may also draw a Mandala along major aspects of the chart and interiorize their Sabian symbols. in the following case, perceived from a Local perspective : - the Universal Time places Pluto in the twelve house of fears and inhibitions and the Sun conjunct the Medium Coeli. while the separative oppositions from the Moon to the Sun or from Jupiter to Saturn (square to the Ascendant) are still playing in. - whereas the Local Time has Pluto conjunct the Ascendant only minutes apart, therefore aligning exactly with the Ascendant, the Grand Trine between Pluto (conjunct the Ascendant), Jupiter (conjunct the Nadir) and entered-in-Virgo Mars (opposite Neptune.Chiron).   11.11.11 @ 11:11:11 gmt, 7e15 43n42 the Universal Time in Local pl

November Full Moon, 10.11.2011, 20:16:05 gmt, 7e15, 43n42 Symbol 19° Taurus: A New Continent Rising Out Of The Ocean key word : spontaneity according to rudhyar : a new horizon emerges once the crisis is over. when the mind has been emptied and light has been called upon to purify the consciousness - freed from its attachment and contaminations - a new release of life can emerge out of the infinite Ocean of potentiality, the virgin SPACE. rudhyar ends with this question : what will it be used for? in the above full moon chart, aside from the Sun Moon opposition asking us to achieve a Mars-Venus balance between crisis-prone transformative passionate Scorpio and placid stability-loving Taurus or between the lord of the Underworld (Plutonian Scorpio) and Gaïa (Taurean Mother Earth), there is on one hand a rather cheerful and expansive conjunction between Mercury and Venus in Sagittarius slowly approaching the North Node which allows for a warm and wider perspective (

Scorpio, as illustrated in "Wonders of Creation" ca 13th c. The Constellations by Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi (15th c.) Sadwes - Satevis / Alpha Scorpii, Antares - found in the Každom (crooked tail) constellation / Scorpius one of the four brightest stars near the ecliptic, considered a royal star presiding over the 26000 yrs cycle, is the watcher of sunset and of the West - ruler of its cardinal direction, reaches dominance in mid-season after the Fall Equinox, oversees the element of water and guards one of the four vortexes, is associated with the right/left flow of solar energy and the winds blowing 'hot and cold'. Scorpius constellation (the bright star to the upper right is Antares) over the Sahara as seen by © TWAN © etherealcounterparts

The knot as an interconnection of spiritual energies with life forces. Full Moon chart for 12 October 2011, at 2:05:43 GMT, 7e15 43n42 symbol 19° aries  : The "Magic Carpet" Of Oriental Imagery according to Rudhyar this symbol refers to the "use of creative imagination' "A way of life refusing a hectic involvement in social competition and waste-producing overproduction allows for the development of unattached and transcendent understanding. The static floor (carpet) on which man's feet (symbols of understanding) rest can become transformed into the means for great flights of imagination and super-physical perception. The period of rest from outwardly directed activity bound to collective normality presents the creative mind with the possibility of surveying in dreams the totality of the present-day social situation, thus "to see whole." We can also consider a carpet as a grid made of knots and perceive its magical visu

On October 8th, Earth is plowing through a stream of dust from Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, with an outburst of Draconid meteors. Every 6.6 years Comet Giacobini-Zinner swings through the inner solar system. With each visit, it lays down a narrow filament of dust, over time forming a network of filaments that Earth encounters every year in early October.   comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner draconid meteors - © N.A.Sharp/NOAO/AURA/NSF   view from mid-northern latitudes  at about 9:00 p.m. local time around October 8 red line across the bottom of image represents the horizon. © etherealcounterparts

some reminders .. stages of considerations for the astrological year : for each of the four seasons we need to consider their ingress point chart, when the energies for the season to come are "inscribed", and their subsequent new moon chart, when the same energies are "subscribed". of foremost relevance within this sequence is the Aries chart because the unfolding of energies for the entire astrological year is inscribed in the spring equinox / Aries ingress point chart. the fall equinox its polar counterpart, usually offers a mirror "image" to further our understanding of the current planetary cycles and patterns in the year's development.   Vernal Equinox: 20 March 2011, 23:20:44 GMT, chart for 7e15 43n42 Norouz 1390 تحویل سال  - Tehran, 21 March 2011, 2:50:44 hr    Aries New Moon, 3 April 2011, 14:32:19 GMT, chart for 4e42 50n53  symbol 14° Aries: a serpent coiling near a man and a woman. Automnal Equinox, 23 Sept

  (from jodrellbank centre)  We are going through the last planetary occultation of Regulus (Qalb el Asad) in Leo after 5000 years (or the lesser wheel in recorded history). It enters the constellation Virgo in 2012 and is eclipsed by Mercury at last degree of Leo tonight (visible at dawn, low on the eastern horizon) The brightest Star in the constellation of Leo (Alpha Leonis) it is closest to the ecliptic (occasionally eclipsed by Mercury or Venus) In Zoroastrian belief (as found in the Zend-Avesta) Regulus (Venant) was considered as the guardian of the (South) Persian Kingdom and presiding over affairs of all kingdoms (literally and metaphorically).. 2012 will represent a shift in our universe A shift in our vision of the world, of ourselves We are officially entering a new age - after thousands of years, our perception of matter (4%) a very small proportion of the universe .. our concepts of power, energy, love, life, ego, identity, etc are to change !! With Neptune oppo

Thank you for your patience and the kind messages I received. I am doing quite fine! Here are a few thoughts about my time off from the blog : I need perspective and my winds back. During decades, I have spent hours calculating and drawing astrology charts by hand .. this step-by-step approach represented a connecting ritual: my doorway to energies at hand. I really operated like a methodic scanner or laser-beam. It was an intense experience. A successful reading for me consisted in covering all the mathematical aspects of a chart until hidden information would find its way through and allow for an all-embracing synthetic connection. When I used to make these calculations by hand, "mistakes" ( such as an erroneous hour of birth for instance) would become revealers for some crucial but less obvious aspects of the reading. Later on, I started using computer-generated charts because it saved time. So in the process I'd forsaken the type of experience I've men

"Blessed are the meek , for they shall inherit the earth ". (MATTHEW 5:5). With " A Large Diamond In The First Stages Of The Cutting Process " as a symbol .. reminding us how demanding an aspiration is "perfection" ! the July 1st Solar Eclipse that started a new 18yr Saros cycle - will be kept under triggers for some time into this month .. July in the meanwhile will be highlighted by Venus .. turning at first self-protective and private when she enters Cancer and also combust as she grows closer to her superior conjunction to the Sun by mid August. July 4th : She enters Cancer and trines Neptune (inspiration, compassion, soulfullness ..) July 7-8 : She trines Chiron and squares Uranus (a good time for healing on the margin of surprising events and irritations/impatience/hypersensitivities) July 8-9 : She opposes Pluto and sextiles Jupiter, amplifying their current trine - of wealth and unearthed treasures - while she may bring so

(fair culture 2) the wind harp © etherealcounterparts

"Any cycle of existence must begin in something. Life emerges out of one kind of seed or another. In the cycle of yearly vegetation, the seed lies hidden in the ground during the winter; then, as the sun's rays gain strength and spring begins, the great event of germination occurs. As the seed is torn asunder by some inner power of eager response to the sun, the rootlet stretches itself downward into the soil and the little germ reaches up to the crust of the soil, which it breaks in a magnificent gesture of liberation from the darkness of the past."   Meditations on Saturn by Dane Rudhyar The Total Lunar Eclipse at 25° Sagittarius during 15 June 2011 Full Moon, happens with the Earth perfectly aligned between the Sun and Moon - so 'she' will pass at the very center thru the Earth' shadow .. and will turn copper for even longer. Reactivating the same degree as that of December 2008 and closer to the Galactic center, the