Water and Wax
Sunday February 18th
The beginning of this week finds Mars in Sagittarius’ 2nd face separating from a square to Neptune where aggressive determination to keep will and effort, mind, body and resources exerted toward a goal or defend a philosophic position is put into a tension with the dissolving of boundaries, fantasy and excess of imagination. Imaginary factors flood into our philosophies which we so vehemently defend and drive towards. In one respect I imagine Don Quixote swashbuckling into action against hallucinatory phantoms and apophenic villainy. Or, perhaps classic cult leader maneuvers that send night clad ranks creepy crawling mansions; These are the far reaches of idealizing a philosophy excessively, believing your ideology dogmatically, assuming your trip is divine or from god. Another side might be fighting for any philosophy whatsoever since they are all the same anyway ultimately— as in joining the stronger seeming camp just to savor victory. On a positive note, floods of imagination and psychic intuition in philosophical or ideological battles is inspiring, and makes for great stories, the stuff subcultural upsurgence and unrelenting resistance is made of, although, extremist subterfuge and evangelist mania drink from the same cup. I’ll note Mars does have dignity by face here so he’s not up shits creek, but we should all practice the suspension of belief we learned from Chaos Magick techniques for a few days so we don’t find ourselves pawns or puppets or worse off.
Reasoning is maybe the last thing on the list as Mercury has passed into Pisces’ psychic and poetic logic, and is restricted to right-brained thinking. Concrete and mundane organization seems suddenly ridiculous and hopelessly confusing. That’s ok, if we are suspending belief we might as well axe belief in rationality right off the bat. Why not take a cue from the Gnostics and temporarily assume anyone could be working for the Hypercosmic Demiurge, even ourselves. A good thing to inquire inwardly every once and a while, as long as you remain functional, fall into the flow and banish paranoia.
Maybe the Sun’s ingress into Pisces can shed some light on our situation as our wills, identification, identities, volition, vision, spirit and intention gazes at the celestial, cosmic, spiritual, imaginative and mysterious and begins to identify with a porous, amorphous and much less concrete world. In religion this is seeking the spiritual path, in art free flowing unhindered vision, in psychology it is often pure escapism or worse; complete delusion and hallucination. As the Sun has no dignity here it tends to get lost even though it has a very artistic and compassionate outlook, it has trouble expressing itself as there are few boundaries between the self and everything else; all is one in Pisces, so the Solar individual and ego tend to dissolve. We look to Saturn for help who is luckily trine by sign in Capricorn, literally holding it down. We may be able sojourn through the looking glass while remaining anchored to our hourglass. This could be very productive; a moment when constructing a pyramid to the heavens is possible, or at least the laying of the plans. Will your poetry anthology into existence, or even stacks of them, then manifest monumental labyrinths with these books as bricks.
Venus proceeds into Pisces second face, which often rolls out considerable artist inspiration and skill as she is quite potent while gaining in exaltation as she advances. Of course, as any liberally dignified planet does, she encounters the problem of Venus-ing out too hard, being so fully into seeking pleasure and beauty and harmony that she loses sight of reality and can become very disappointed when it not freely provided with the stuff her full fantasy is made of— partly from tapping into both Jupiter and the Moon’s decanic rulership and is able to have her artistic and fantastical dreams mostly or most often fulfilled but may squander resources as she expects them to flow continually without stop. She can be a master of illusion in the sense that works of art and music and even acts of romance fully transport the viewer to the world they depict or evoke, but for Venus here there is no real division between the real or the imaginary anyway, so she also becomes hypnotized by her own pendulum.
That gives us five bodies in Pisces the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Neptune and Chiron. Pisces season full tilt.
Monday February 19th—Tuesday February 20th
Mercury conjoins the fixed star Fomalhaut in Pisces at 2am on February 20th as the Moon applies to Uranus, which will be pouring a potent poetic elixir into our already enchanted logic over the course of Monday, especially in the evening and saturates our dreamstates so we wake on Tuesday morning right brained and well fed with magical language by a star that promotes eminence from seeing the poetical subtlety that connects everything underneath the universe; the supernatural, preternatural, and mystical interplay of nature, spirit, word and number, the rhyming scheme symmetries, spiraling soliloquies, supernal symphonies and spectral similes. Think of Terrence McKenna’s ideas about how the universe is composed of language, or the Myths of Woden’s ecstatic poetry or Orpheus hypnotic cantors. This can easily engender magical thinking and speech, the streaming incantations from the Greek Magical Papyri that break down into Voces Magicea and Barbarous Names— elemental torrents of vowels or daemonic lists which forge poetry that alters reality. Despite Mercury’s debility in Pisces there is more than enough activity available to the operant at this time. Kill with quill, talk to God, ask an Angel, speak the truth, everything I say is a lie, spiral tongues, call a vortex, signal serpents made of saliva hiss as breath and bend the rules of syntax, lingual lux and larp, holler heralds harp. Whether you do it with poems, invocations, divination, jargon or jokes, loose lips sink more than ships When Mercury crosses the what water flows from Aquarius’ urn, a siren’s song sung amidst the emissions of Frey’s first seed, and if you’ve been considering the implications of Panspermia, then this is a whole big ball of wax in watery expansion.
Fantastically, Luna arrives again in exaltation on Tuesday around 4pm. the Moon’s monthly visit to Taurus where the focus is on organic and natural rhythm, healthy pace and getting what rest, food, stuff, sustenance and satiation we need. These are precious moments to savor (or get channeled into receptacles) before Uranus comes and makes the gentle terrain a vibration bed. Maybe you don’t like Saturn and the Moon aspecting, even when their trine, but having cold, still Saturn in harmony with Luna’s slow grow is better than the square we’ll get when Kronos enters Aquarius in three years. For now there’s enough earthy dignity to get on an angle, and you might think of it as the cold darkness a seed needs to germinate; it rots and starves of sunlight before it sprouts. More feminine Saturn mysteries to ponder.
Wednesday February 21st
Venus conjoins Neptune at 2pm so take the above descriptions of Venus in Pisces and Pisces in general and put them on heavy psychedelics, divinely inspire them, Venus in Pisces to consciousness melting levels, Venus in Pisces hopelessly idealized. Pure Dionysus bacchanal. Full visitations by the Virgin Mary. Sources say if we heard Angel’s real voices we would be obliterated. Some scholars say that angelic hierarchies are really ranks of Olympian deity and planetarily populated. I won’t go further into it, but if you’ve been with me up to now you get the idea. This is your moment to manifest spirit into form, and experience cascades of hallucinatory love. Obviously there are upsides and downsides to this configuration, but you can probably figure out how to make the best of it, and this is one of those really, wildly nice bests.
Meanwhile, Mercury sextiles Saturn at 3pm and poetic, free-association right brained logic and language is willing to work with structure, limits, foundations, stratagem and hierarchy, especially that of nature itself— a good time to write it all down, compose your poetic fantasies or communicate with nature spirits and elementals. The fact that all this Piscean juice is restricted to the hard and fast laws of nature and time I think is fantastic. It is the awe you feel of the prehistoric forest when it rears into your presence, or you stumble into its. The trees and stones so huge and so old and so heavy right there in the middle of your revelry, impressing their weight into your consciousness. This is a big perspective, trending ever bigger, but with massive limitations.
So it’s quite nice that Mars then steps upon the star Ras Algethi by 10pm, inciting the desire to live and act by a moral code and stick up for and defend justice; justice as something that is done, an act, rather than an abstraction to hold in mind. On the far end of the Sagittarian bonfire which glares over the surface-less Piscean waters, there can be an oversimplification of ideas or an idealistic view of social issues. Sometimes this is necessary; a child’s bitter anger at anyone who might knowingly cause animals harm; how could anyone kill a wolf? It’s simply unthinkable.
Thursday February 22nd
The Sun is next to conjoin Fomalhaut at 9am: charisma and idealistic vision of art, magic and poetry which inspires us to want to live magically or enact the life of a true artist, or simply to become divinely inspired, see the world as a magic place and to act out a character in it that is in accordance with magical charisma and enchanted virtues. The only thing to be weary of is the hubris of a novice wizard who has not yet become humbled by wearied wisdom.
Friday February 23rd
Cognitive language breaks down further as Mercury dives deeper into Pisces and passes into the second decan; an extreme inability to express subtle and profound feelings with words befalls us, and emotions as well as psychic sensitivity drown our speech and logical thinking. There might be times when you should put down the megaphone and pick up a saxophone or equivalent, as music can become your best bet for expressing what you are feeling and thinking, as feeling and thinking here become hopelessly blended.
Around noon the Moon squares Mercury from Gemini; this may help facilitate Mercury’s debility in Pisces to a degree, as current emotions are of a Geminiic flavor: cleverness, trickery, and curiosity— and odd and interesting pairing of mental moods as the intellect is caught doing what emotions should do and emotions doing what the intellect should do.
Saturday February 24th
Venus squares Mars at 6am on Sunday which means we will feel the build up of tension as they apply over the course of Saturday and Saturday night. Free flowing art and pleasure with no boundaries clash against a struggle to keep the will, mind, body, spirit and philosophy driving at an ideal target. The conflict is obvious; do we keep on track or keep having a good time? But there can easily also be a deeper seated sexual element when Venus and Mars square, experienced acutely as sexual tension, which can be both provocatively productive and particularly irritating as well as cause sensual spirals; as in illicit affairs and complete loss of purpose, misdirected energy subverted by libido. For many this might be intoxication based rather than sexualized; getting too drunk to keep momentum going. Another avenue is to imagine the scenes in Dušan Makavejev’s WR: Mysteries Of The Organism which depict wild free love communism compounds. An interesting time in history for us to enact a 70’s satire of 40’s-50’s paranoid thinking; what real McCarthyists thought Wilhelm Reich may have been up to in Rangely Maine is something similar to what many millennials are up to today, especially on Saturday, February 24th 2018.
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Moon of Hyldemoer Herbal Notes for Liminal Light
February 18-25, 2018
These notes are suggestions for herbal allies to assist with the effects of the cosmic influences of this week. As stated in earlier weeks, before imbibing any of the herbs recommended, research what is a recommended dosage, & ask yourself & research such questions as, Does this herb interfere with any medications I am taking?, Does this herb match with my constitution?, Do I really need to take this herb into my body? Be wise: listen to your own body, intuition, guiding spirits & the plants themselves.
Imbibing the herbs recommended is of course only one way of meeting the herbs. There are multitudinous manners of developing relationships with our herbal allies including sitting with the fresh or dry herbs, or a picture/drawing of the herb, making an amulet to wear or have on your altar (adhering to planetary hours/days is important here), visioning or meditating with the plant, & taking an herbal body or foot bath (In this case remember your skin is the largest organ of your body). Use your imagination & listen to the plants, they have been on this planet much longer than we have, are our Elders & have much wisdom to offer.
Sunday, February 18
With Mars in Sagittarius II, squaring Neptune in Pisces, it is recommended to call upon Mars ruled herbs that tend towards the dreamy side of things, including Damiana, Hops, Pennyroyal & Wormwood. (Caveat: Pennyroyal should not be used during pregnancy for its emmenagogue qualities.) Burning incense of Mars ruled Dragon’s Blood & Tobacco as offerings will call upon these plant spirits to guide you.
Throughout this Pisces heavy time, with the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Neptune & Chiron in this watery sign, it is be important to call upon Piscean allied plants & herbs. Some of these include our dear Milky Oats, Bladderwrack, Passionflower, & California Poppy. Making offerings of Myrrh incense will also bring communion.
Monday-Tuesday, February 19-20
As Mercury conjuncts Fomalhaut, & we are being bathed with cosmic poetry, have a cup of Mercurial Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) or Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) to promote abundant psychic awareness. Continue calling upon the visionary herbs of Sunday, February 18 throughout this Piscean time.
With the Moon’s exaltation in Taurus, add visionary Mugwort & Ashwaganda to the mix & burning incense of Rosemary to clear the space for the dream world to enter.
Wednesday, February 21
With the sextile of Saturn in Capricorn to Mercury in Pisces at 3 pm EST, have a mind focusing cup of Linden (Tillia cordata)or Ginger (Zingiber officinalis) tea. Add some Cayenne (Capsicum ) vinegar, tincture, or fresh fruit for a Mars style zing & clarity.
Thursday, February 22
As the Sun in Pisces now conjuncts Fomalhaut at 9 am EST, have a cup of St Joan/Tulsi/Rose tea to beckon divine inspiration. (Caveat: St Joan’s Wort [St. John’sWort] is contraindicated with MAO-inhibiting antidepressant drugs)
Friday February 23
To assist with the breakdown of language as Mercury heads into Pisces II, call upon Gemini ruling herbs as the Moon in this twin sign squares watery, elusive Mercury. Gemini herbs like Catnip, California Poppy, & Skullcap can bring mental assistance to the murky depths.
Friday-Saturday, February 24-25
There is a lot of action during these two days, especially Saturday, as Venus squares Mars offering possible sexual/creative tension, Mercury conjuncts Neptune adding the possibility of even more imaginational realms, the Moon in Cancer opposing Saturn in Capricorn seeking a balance between comfort & laying down structure, & finally the Sun sextiling Saturn assisting with a bright vision for this instability. When Venus & Mars are squaring, a Rose/Pine elixir/tea/incense would help the two work together. Enlightening & imaginative, but also boundary setting, Sun ruled Angelica (Angelica archangelica) will be the liason between the Cancer Moon & Capricorn Saturn.
References:
Cunningham, Scott. Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs Llewellyn Publications, 1997.
Wood, Matthew. The Earthwise Herbal: A Complete Guide to Old World Medicinal Plants North Atlantic Books, 2008.
Wood, Matthew. The Earthwise Herbal: A Complete Guide to New World Medicinal Plants North Atlantic Books, 2009.
http://www.wortsandcunning.com
Moon of Hyldemoer, Suzanne Stone, Community Herbalist.
This information is not a substitute for a health care practitioner. Not to be reproduced without permission.