stellArium & ethereal counterparts

Bronze astrolabe made in Iraq in 927-28 - the earliest known example of a dated astrolabe.

  Well as a stepping out of the memorable trials of 2010, this last month has been quite challenging ! We recently had the total Lunar Eclipse at 29° Gemini on the Solstice, less than two degrees opposite the Galactic Center, reactivating matters that had come to light during the course of the past few years; it was followed on December 26-27 by the Sun aligning with Pluto at 5° Capricorn thus indicating that certain "secrets" or issues are revealed and made manifest in a rather dense form. As if it were not enough then on the 29th, hours before Mercury finally went direct in Sagittarius - to progressively clear our recent muddy thinking - Mars in Capricorn squared Saturn in Libra, asking us to abide our time while testing our courage, patience and ability to meet frustrations, obstacles and restrictions! 2011 started on its first day in a lighter mode with the Moon entering Sagittarius after she'd fully activated during the last hours of a difficult year, a p...

“ I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing light of your own being.” Hafez As everyone has been writing extensively about the significance of having a Total Lunar Eclipse occur just hours before the Solstice, I will not enter the dispute over the last occurence of such astrological event and will only add my two penny with a few considerations. This total Lunar Eclipse occurring at 29° Gemini while the Full Moon is closely aligned to the Nodes, is joined by Mercury retrograde and Pluto, and is squared Uranus .. Days prior to this Sagittarius Sun. Gemini Moon opposition, time speeded up with Mars joining the North Node before a triple meeting with Pluto and Mercury gone retrograde: many probably have experienced breakdowns and breakthroughs .. revealing in due course the 'karmic' dimensions of the current times. But feeling that time to take important decisions was inevitably approaching, we've probably pondered over all poss...

Moon in Sagittarius from a Persian Manuscript Today a free-spirited New Moon in Sagittarius augurs many opportunities this month with the promise of solid results thanx to its exact sextile to Saturn in Libra .. this sensation of general improvement will be accelerated when hours later Uranus in Pisces turns direct. The new moon is also quintile Chiron/Neptune in Aquarius, asking us to think outside the box! And once Mars enters Capricorn just two days later on the 7th (date chosen for a mass run on the banks), confirming that action with the goal of achievement may move mountains.. it will activate high tides again when joining the Moon's Nodes after Mercury's passage and present conjunction to Pluto: as if recent civil protests and the revelation of certain leaks were only opening the way for a real stage Event in December! In short, on December 11 when Mercury and Mars' transit trigger the T-Square, it will prefigure precisely the path for a powerful lunar ecl...

  Full Moon 21 November 2010, 17:27:19GMT 7e15, 43n42 Symbol: A Peacock Parading On The Terrace Of An Old Castle according to Rudhyar, this symbol refers to "hereditary gifts that manifest on a personal level" - or from an occult point of view, it is about the coronation of individual efforts when these rest upon a spiritual legacy.. Children In Halloween Costumes Indulge In Various Pranks social rituals that periodically allow the release of rebellious immature energies and tensions By taking a slow look at the varied aspects of this Full Moon, its mixed messages urge us however towards an inspired and truthful grounding of our passionate self within Reality. No matter how ambivalent and slippery this one appears, we need to maintain our lucidity and exert sound judgement. The Pleiades Star Cluster - Nasa This Moon.Sun opposition occurs at 29°-30° Taurus - and the last degree of a sign points at endings giving way for new beginnings - in conjunction...

  © Rakesh K. Mathur The spiritual meaning of the Diwali celebration is about the awareness of the inner light , something beyond the physical body and mind which is pure, infinite, and eternal, also called the Atman. Diwali is the celebration of this inner light, in particular the knowing of which outshines all darkness .. to rejoice in the Inner Light (Atman) or the underlying reality of all things (Brahman) brings Ananda (joy or peace). (fr. " Diwali " in Wikipedia) 6 11 2010, 4:51:46GMT, 7e15 43n42 a New Moon at 14° Scorpio : Telephone Lineman At Work Installling New Connections according to Rudhyar, this represents the need for new channels of communication and understanding. A few things I notice here: - The Sun and Moon stand alone with Vesta, in a bare semi-sextile to Saturn in Libra and a trine to Lilith in Pisces. - Water is largely predominant with 5 bodies in Scorpio : Retrograde Venus which recently conjuncted the Sun is to leave it sho...

blue Venus 20/08/2010, 18:48 GMT, 7e15 43n42 To understand better the effects of today's Venus-Mars conjunction at 14° Libra which is the first of three conjunctions to occur in the next 9 months (due to Venus retrograde' motion in the fall) - please reflect on the summer 1978 - spring 1979 period, which corresponds to the last Venus Mars triple conjunction in similar signs. The mechanics behind human relationships follow subtle rules and escape our rational grasp, in particular when it comes to our own; so look at the aspects this conjunction makes to your own chart. This very special pattern involving the Venus-Mars cycle and the combining recurrence with Venus retrograde has important implications on the social dimension of our relationships. In fact there's bound to be a deep spiritual transformation of the nature of both our relational aspirations and our very commitment to one another during such a key moment .. but the visible effect can only be gradual. A...

Alignments of heavenly bodies are revealers - they operate and manifest thru progressive stages. The effects of eclipses are slow: they start with what is visible to the naked eye. After further scrutiny over the less perceptible, they reach a peak revealing then a need for rectification .. later on, what lied completely hidden at the beginning comes to the fore - in all clarity and full meaning. The same goes for any planetary cycle : there are as many stages of manifestations to be considered as there are aspects forming between two celestial bodies that move along. But we generally tend to reduce the cycle to four stages which represent the main 'crisis' points. The present Jupiter.Pluto cycle which started on December 11 2007 with a conjunction at 28°24 Sagittarius, was also aligned with the much talked about Galactic Center and has recently moved into its waxing square .. closing thereof the first chapter to this Jupiter.Pluto.Galactic Center story. When the God o...

Time has come to embrace 'it' and breathe gently into it - with all the life force you can muster .. Despite some flowing aspects such as Neptune's trine to the Sun (June 19) and later to Mercury (June 24), the week leading to the partial lunar eclipse (June 26) is laden with confusing polarization and tensions. 1 : Summer Solstice on June 21, 2010 at 11:28:30 GMT is interestingly aligned on a similar axis (ascendants and MCs are very close in degrees in both charts) as that of the lunar eclipse because they happen a few days and minutes apart .. Chart for June 21 2010 - 7e15, 43n42 - 11:28:30 GMT In this chart there are two major patterns to look at: a Grand Trine involving the Moon, Sun.Juno and Neptune.Quiron.Lilith on one side and a Grand Cross involving the Sun.Juno, Saturn, Jupiter.Uranus, Pluto.Ceres.NNode on the other. The Grand Trine and the Grand Cross both speak of a 'perfect' equilibrium: one is a gift from above and is here to help wh...

Jupiter Saturn cycles determine social trends and changes. They are very important at the mundane level, as Jupiter stands for legal systems, religion, philosophy, far distance travels and Saturn represents the lord of karma, the time keeper, the master, politics, structure .. to mention only a few aspects of their symbolism. We have many centuries of observation to rely on, for the interpretation of this particular planetary cycle to be reliable enough. Deeper transformations are activated by the transpersonnal planets such as Uranus, Pluto (both involved in the grand cross occurring now) and Neptune, all discovered in more recent human history. The last Jupiter Saturn cycle started ten years ago, with a conjunction at 23° Taurus (the powerful 14/05/10 lunation at 23°09 also occurred less than 16min away from this point). Taurus is the sign of tangible reality, security, personal property, values, gifts, the earth and fruitfulness. The symbol for 23° Taurus is "a jewe...

reciting the gayatri mantra (considered by many, mother of all mantras) can be of great help in reaching inner calm before meditation practice ... it also fosters and sharpens our faculties om bhur bhuvah svaha tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dhimahi dhiyo yonah prachodayat om, a similar sound as produced by the kinetic energy of planets and stars moving in the cosmos ..

BAHMAN (iranian solar month-roughly from January 20 to about February 19 / corresponding to the month of Aquarius) ... means AVALANCHE in farsi symbolically, avalanches are often identified to awakening - they may represent a new awareness and are linked to remarkable states of consciousness -- "lucid dreams" that can be used for all kinds of creative purposes and that lead to premonitions ...

may your soul dance in 2010 a partial eclipse paves our entrance into this new year : as our old individual & collective habits and ego 'assumptions' are precipitated, a new "authority" is emerging gradually - the process takes a long time... astraly, we need to understand that no one really is better than another, we also need to adapt our emotional container and embrace with optimism and humour the challenges lying ahead .. so may the coming year be for all more boon than bondage - may it bring victory over the dark - may it release the light within each one of us - may it erase regrets - may it heal the sick - may it feed the hungry - may it draw the chart of compassion in the rigid hearts - may it raise hope in the saddened ones - may it tame the wild angry ones - may it guide all those in need .. and may it bring common sense and vision amongst all leaders :) so our dreams and ideals of a better world come ever closer and true! bles...

saturn aligning in a square with pluto today : whatever aspirations we have to transform our world, they should be grounded in reality. outmoded global structures are on their way out, in particular the conservative financial systems which started under the influence of thatcher and reagan in the early 80s. whether we like it or not, we should let go of some aspects of our individual/collective lives and allow for a deep shift in our perceptions. with such a square between the lord of karma and the lord of the underworld, we can expect some breakthrough from "outside" .. don't forget to connect to your inner strength and resources! symbols- 2°libra : The Transmutation Of The Fruits Of Past Experiences Into The Seed-Realizations Of The Forever Creative Spirit 2°capricorn : Three Rose Windows In A Gothic Church, One Damaged By War chart drawn for: 11.15.09 - 7e15 43n42 - 15:18:52GMT i will expand on the forthcoming, in later notes. as time unfold...

this coming wednesday, the most powerful total solar eclipse of the 21st century ... will mark a radical new beginning @ last degree of cancer w the Moon at its closest to the Earth- freedom is to sweep the asian continent… Symbol for 30° Cancer is: A Daughter of the American Revolution. my answer to someone's skeptical response to this post: it's been demonstrated that the moon has influence on the ocean tides and water circulation .. it also has been demonstrated that the human body is mostly made of water - now please ponder on the effects of an eclipse on human behavior

This Full Moon on December 12th is in chatty fast moving light Gemini... but the chart shows a Grand Cross locking the energies of Sun, Mars, Saturn, Uranus and Moon. A Grand Cross is fundamentally a very stressful configuration, and because it involves four squares and two oppositions, this pattern affects our actions and energy drive as well as our capacity for balanced relationships : a Mutable Grand Cross can feel like pressure building up to easily disjointed and scattered energies. The image that comes to my mind is the breaking of glass : put intense consistent pressure on a window for instance, it will resist and resist and resist a bit more until it just shatters to smithereens ! Full Moon, Dec.12.08 16:37 GMT - Nice, FR The major challenge here arises from coordinating reactions. With a Mutable Grand Cross we should expect the unexpected and we shouldn't be surprised if this pattern hampers the mood in the usual end of the year activities or even ...

mutilation of uranus by saturn 3° Saturn, Uranus and Pluto bells already ringing for 2010 "The challenge to become a greater and more inclusive individual is usually felt…At such times, the “greater” initially tends to appear as the enemy of the status quo. Therefore, if the challenge is accepted, one must inevitably break with his traditions on some level of existence. Symbolically, then, he must pit Uranus against Saturn. Habit patterns will always resist change; and when the pressure of some creative challenge is felt, the ego will experience a sense of impending doom, generating fear and resisting change... The more rigid the ego [Saturn], the sharper the break must be in the end. If a crucial phase of the Saturn-Uranus cycle coincides with some overwhelming emotional crisis, the cause will always be the rigid inertia of social customs, privileges, personal habits, or assumed behavior patterns which resist the call of the creative spirit within...." Alexander R...

Hermes with his mischevious gaze... 2° Mercury goes retrograde on Sept. 24th until Oct. 15th 2008. There is an obsession amongst conventional astrologers with Mercury going retrograde. Many start panicking way in advance, and usually isolate it from the larger picture. It might well be that they depend much on the particulars of Mercury for their own mundane activities. My stand on the subject is more detached. Because Mercury is the fastest of all planets in the solar system, it goes retrograde several times a year and I see more significance in the retrograde motions of other planets. All the planets (except Sun and Moon which are luminaries) have retrograde periods. Mercury is most famous for them, probably because it rules all things pertaining to communication. This said, the coming Mercury retrograde will have an unusual impact on the individual level, considering the contacts it will be making along the way, activating mishaps in personal realms. In astrology, ret...

when the ecliptic crosses the celestial equator What I've learned throughout the years, is that no matter how you convey anything related to astrology, there are very few people (astrologers themselves included) who will take heed and act with greater consciousness or freedom of will. When I lived in New York City, I was regularly consulted by several Wall Street brokers (they helped me pay my way through my degree)... At some point I was even asked to work for the US government. Following my instinct I declined, resuming also my collaboration with the brokers (except for one: "P" who was my close friend) and eventually decided to buy my one way ticket to Europe. Over the years "P" has been consulting me on a yearly basis, but since last year the tempo has changed and I've done a number of different studies for him offering thorough advice and solutions. Last night he called me almost in tears and recognized that he never really followed any of my ...