Swimming In The Sky

When something with girth and gravity is lobbed into water it makes not only a splash but a heart slapping pulse of depth audible. This is the case when giant spheres in space wander from one long known territory of the earth’s sky into another; to us tiny torchlights meandering in an open field of darkness amongst glimmering diamonds set by some distant and extant jeweler, a piercer through the membrane revealing what milk pours through the camera obscura into the sphere of stone upon which we surf and volley. The roots of the zodiac are old, both etymologically and in cognitive myth. Coming from Greek via zodiaion (animals) and translating to literally “Circle Of Animals”, the proto-Indo-European root gwei-, which means ‘to live’, haunts the old tongue mechanics of Zodiac, which in Greek context we find under overturned stones both ‘bios’- "one's life, course or way of living, lifetime," and ‘zoe'- "animal life, organic life;”. The Zodiac is a circle of animals which are alive and organic, and the light wandering through them stimulates and catalyzes natural and unfolding processes. They are not simply zones, but as the decans and the mansions both are, spirits themselves, sentient and active. It’s much easier for us to give the planets life and personality, they can be measured with the eye, and be touched and tasted if we were to travel great distances, but the subtle quality of they that hang to the ecliptic invisibly are more allusive. Christian mystics, and those that preceded in their historical shadow, saw retinue of angels in the sky, it was a populated place en legioned. We are familiar with Indian depictions of avatars and chains of being in rank behind central characters, such as depicted on the cover of Axis Bold As Love, but less so in Olympic pantheon’s where the Gods tend to shape shift in their dramas rather than split off and deploy second versions of themselves to do their deeds elsewhere in manifestation. Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and the rest it has been suggested are such versions of Olympic deities proper, and in the Roman sense these would then also be the rank and file of the planets, who populate the skies and interact with the more primal beasts of the zodiac where the clashing and coalescing of angels, spirits, gods and animals mixes with varied chemistry, like people and their personalities thrown together into melee or mingle. The thema mundi and the traditional dignities begin to make more holistic sense; haunts and hangouts of certain planets where they and their entourage are more welcomed and celebrated by the throngs that co-habitate that space. When celestial bodies enter degrees that cramp their style it is as if hooligans flood your regular watering hole; unless you are yourself also a hooligan and it is your hole of course, this creates a tension that limits the activity in that space for either party, hooligan and non. This bar is for Angels only and is not the place for balls and brawls.

Uranus has recently pushed himself through the plate glass of the corner pub and sent shards of glass like lightning bolt trinkets showering into all the mash and meatloaf so fork-fulls hang in suspense before mouths and pints of ale sit suspect across the bar. Mars meanwhile did similar into the establishment catty corner across the square and in the combined commotion of their double penetration accidents and sudden occurrences churned in the wake. The game pieces scattered and the regular sequence of checkers becomes augmented, and in fact might never be the same. The trowels and hand hoes and other farming implements remember the torture of the forge and blush a glowing red readying for change. The reports I’ve been hearing from people for the past few weeks all include things scarier or more rare than the chains falling off their bicycle mid ride. Some of it has been good and some of it has been bad and much of it in between; a circlet of surprise in spherical storm spitting sparks betwixt the bull’s horns that concerns us more than stampedes and gorgings. Here is the thought bubble as it rises from the test tube frothing with mud and menses mingling, sexual fluids and herbal elixir stirred with gouges and carving chisels and cutlery. It glimmers with veriditas and over the spectral pastoral vortex Von Bingen smiles and calls for wormwood wine, the crescent of her devilish smirk worrying the church authorities more than her fresco mandalas or botany sketches or secular sequentia. The Earth rumbles, the womb shakes, fertility falters and in the interim AI and The Thing both become more eerily probable than before. Are famous and infamous and nefarious flickering light bulbs portend change, as they tend to in the sublunar realm generally, but now that promethean fire has landed in the pasture of Moon’s exaltation, the steady rhythm of skin drum scatters into syncopation; ready thyself then for ecstatic dance.

Perfect time really, as Saturn’s stay in Capricorn has many gravitating towards leveling sobriety, it has been that ecstatic experience has been strictly self initiated since last winter solstice, nobodies been handing out rave fliers in the streets and subway stations of the sky shall we say, but now that Uranus has ingressed Taurus the shake up is on for better or for worse and more than simple stimulants secretly percolate in the morning coffee, making for an interesting harvest as crops come up in surprising shapes and especially at alarming rates. The Rewilding movement lays in wait for imminent boost.

Both of the Moon’s houses are haunted, hers and her friend Venus’; as she will encounter Uranus by conjunction in Taurus each month and by sextile in Cancer (better over there than over here, NIMBY) where she also encounters Saturn by opposition. This is visceral stuff, we can feel it. So all that transpired in 2018 thus far has been sandwiched between two interesting solsticial events. The Sun passing into Capricorn last winter hand in hand with Saturn and then passing into sextile to Uranus when the King comes to call the kingdom of Cancer. Interesting symmetry in an eclipse period triggering the crown upon the Lion, as the bells being shadow-rung are in the Sun’s sign axis. With both luminaries locked in a strange bout of badminton, much is afoot, clearly seen and clearly felt.

Sunday June 17th

We can talk more about it as the Messenger himself swims cross Cancer entering the middle of the pool and Cancer’s second decan at 2pm (EST) on Sunday, where he achieves dignity of face in the Chaldean order scheme. This allows him the ability to lend his logic and language to the expression of needs and emotions, communicating in a way that soothes, protects and nurtures, like speaking balms and charms of healing speech, that may protect our minds and carry our voices with meaning. The voice of the home, the intelligence of the womb, as well as the clarity to analyze and organize our dreams. There is magical potential here, especially as the Moon is waxing, and not necessarily from astrological dignity alone, but from context. Dream work, protection spells, mercantile manifestation; invocations stream off the tongue as from gentle fountains and babble in water features which improve feng shui. Maybe a fine time to petition to the Lares and Penates, or ask what needs they may have and nurture a mutually beneficial relationship.

Tuesday June 19th

An especially fine time to milk Mercury comes at 3:45pm on Tuesday when communicating needs harmonizes with deep coherence of intense or primal engagements. What is the spiritual depth of coupling to mate or the philosophy of the wild hunt spelling out in alphabets of predator and prey? Traumas are likely vocalized, but wombs may wander around the body as Neptune lays in wait to trine both planets from only a few degrees space. Put it in poetic form rather than try to rationalize it. There is likely to be something there stirring the waters, but it could be zoologically impossible to categorize it. Trust the bower mists to whisper in the garden, but don’t cross the wall when they beckon or be abducted by Fey; unless of course that is your intention; simply be forwarned that Undines swim here and the sibylline can snatch your story and then sink to deleterious depths. Ask the oracle what you wish but don’t beleive every word they say; literally at least. Pocket the poesy for later looking; a gazing stone to add to your satchel.

The scrying might prove quite interesting as Venus steps upon on North Node earlier that morning at 9am. As eclipse season draws closer we may watch for sensitivities. Ponder what increase she might engender as one within the spotlight, able to seduce with aesthetic and pull pleasure from attention. Not a bad time for casting love charms so watch for her hour, and maybe eclipse event precognition could be possible, especially in composing self portraits or planning out strategic ensembles. It would make sense to compare to Mars’ extended stay hovering over the South Node and what opposite effects that might have made in your life. What manic maverick energy persists in your intellectual fringe? How does that relate to relationships, aesthetic, or creativity on the seat of imbalanced increase in visibility, truth and virtue? Watch this day for creative relationship characters in rapid manifestation.

Wednesday June 20th

Midweek marks the Moon square Sun at 7am and a ramp up of energy from the vision of myriad possibilities in tension against the intuitive awareness of processes closing, turning to emotions of balance and justice as Moon ingresses Libra. Later that night Mercury accomplishes the trine to Neptune, dissolving the boundaries in expressing emotional needs after getting caught up on the coherence of intense engagements. This would certainly be a time to pinch yourself and remember that you might be trippin’, even if there is stuff around to support your apophenia, remember the world is weird and often with a Y instead of an EI. Sometimes delusions prove to be true, and that is the secret to psychic solution, but to filter the serum you’ve got to be ambivalent to its presence. We should always follow threads of synchronicities, but as we tug on them to see where they lead we must also pull back and look at what the whole picture might suggest rather than get tangled up in the rigging of the SS Coincidence as it sails away into open seas with us as hapless stowaways. This is applied poetics. Even Robert Graves eventually admitted that The White Goddess was a crazy book and he should have never wrote it. Despite this afterthought, Traditional Craft still regularly burns its pages for light. You may be on to something this Wednesday, but heed well which way you frame it.

Thursday June 21st

The solar disc rolls into Cancerian waters at 6am Thursday morning marking summer solstice and the longest light of the year, when we can see our emotional selves clearly, and the long bath of light into the hours of the night mingles rational vision and impression in a much safer way than Mercury’s meetings with Neptune, even though this year they come in tandem. We see the world at night and watch colorful moths dance with fireflies and June bugs careen into broad barn-sides. Nature chirps and chatters as the skies host both birds and bats; frogs talk and porcupines part tall grass portly from chaw of tender greens, they climb to the tips of tree tops and drink from the Moon. The spectacle of what the Earth births seen clearly for its truth and what it generously gives, what it generates naturally. Our attention is drawn into identification with mother-child dynamics, both on the nurturing end of the spectrum as well as on the childish. We catch lightning bugs in jars and moisten their light with our petty tears, taking on emotional characters capable of creative attention.

This is not a typical pass, and that is concluded quickly with Venus opposing Mars at 1pm. Ascetic, maverick outsider action or aggression opposed to seductive beauty and over exposed aesthetics. Relationships that draw too much attention in full sight of impulses to escape centrality and act out on the frontiers. Attempting a balance between these polarities might help us navigate the tensions successfully to victory, Venus as much as you Mars upon the tightrope of the eclipse axis. This cable is likely to be woven into our eclipse stories and Mars retrograde stories and Uranus in Taurus stories, so tread carefully amongst what might get tossed up.

Friday June 22nd

Over Friday the play of dignities shift on our stage. At 9am Venus moves into Leo’s 2nd decan where identifying and embodying the principles of pleasure and desire in a practical, no-frills hedonism installed as an honest character trait is displayed.

Later on at 11pm Mercury proceeds into Cancer’s 3rd face: Logic of creative abundance, thoughts and expression of emotional philosophy and creative wellsprings. Sounds nice, but expect more emotional-analytical distortion, as the Messenger is no longer in his own decan. Where we source our creative and philosophical well water is a mark on the map we frequent, we as people must all admit to our own subjective confusions. When they are acknowledged we are free to flaunt them coloring the landscape we paint with subtle inflections, so the water is never flat blue but cerulean licked with pastel chartreuse and terra-cotta.

Saturday June 23rd

In the wee hours of calendrical Sunday (2am) the Sun sextiles Uranus. Mother/child dynamics or emotional characters seem able to work with sudden shifts and turbulence in fertility preparation and organic pace subject to material disruptions. This is interesting, and we’ll see how soft this aspect between the Luminary of day likes Uranus’ influence. We may see the poisoned world and how we’ve disrupted it from a mother’s perspective, the mess we’ve made of our child, or we might look up and see our mother has new plans for our future, convenient timing, and the plan sounds so crazy it might just work. Its time to understand the earth and how the earth creates differently from an emotional perspective. This lies at the heart of animistic paradigms; if everything is ensouled and has spirit then it is a different form of engagement; we interact emotionally with things that are animate and alive, we then have more complex and nuanced empathy for everything. I believe animism is part of the story in Uranus in Taurus, and the Sun’s first sextile to the Promethean planet will likely make some things subtly clear on Saturday as we look across the world from the hilltop of summer, scanning the scape we make certain discoveries, in this case they are game changers that flutter and fan our hearts.

Mercury then faces Pluto in the celestial square dance at 5:30am, another early morning aspect that alters what we awake to. Logic of emotional or creative philosophy opposed to mysterious raw power in the dark depths of the earth or structural hierarchies or society. What the Sun sees in Uranus Mercury thinks long and hard about; unprecedented trains of thought that trail into obscurity, the place where we initiate ourselves to the unknown. Incorporating new technology, new tactics, adapting to mutations as we mature not only puts Promethean torchlight in our hands, but flips the lid of Pandoras box wide, and before chaos itself emerges, we stare deep into the void and contemplate in the classic sense.