Amelia’s Blog

“We are called to be architects of the future, not its victims.” Buckminister Fuller

The Sun moves into the sign of Sagittarius today. Sagittarius is the sign of organized religion, philosophy, adventure and expansion. This is a very different influence than the sign of Scorpio which the Sun has transited for the last month- Scorpio which plumbs the depths and can be associated with payback and revenge scenarios on the less evolved side.

The influence of the planet Pluto – in mythology the god of the underworld and ruler of Scorpio – is still a strong influence this week as it aligns with the planet Venus. This combination can trigger cellular or past life memories of loss, lack and power-over struggles of a patriarchal nature. It is a time when there be concerns about personal safety and vulnerability. It is also a good time to think about what you can do to help protect the vulnerable.

In theosophical circles they hold the belief that the being of Christ was not a god appearing at one time only,  but a person who incarnates through various periods of time as a Master or a teacher of spiritual truth to help humanity in its evolutionary process. This is akin to many spiritual traditions  that await the appearance of a messiah at this time. Phillip Lindsay, the author and esoteric astrologer has noted that many theosophists believe that the next Christ figure or Master is on the planet now and travels between Syria and Egypt. This is an interesting idea to entertain in light of traditional Christianity’s Christ as having humble origins and casting the money changers out the temple. A person who put fear aside and worked to protect the vulnerable although facing powerful adversaries and being very vulnerable himself. A person who quite clearly prioritized spiritual values.

With Pluto in Capricorn the appropriate use of resources – natural and otherwise will be very much on the table for the foreseeable future.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,”A person studying a mandala in front of him with the help of a very ancient book.”

Sabian symbol quote from Lynda Hill

When I have astrology appointment to prepare for I often go to a local cafe and do research there. People wander in and out and sometimes, looking at my  books and charts spread out on the long table inquire,”Are you an astrologer?” I can have interesting encounters.

Yesterday was such a day. As I was working away a woman in  friendly,  intrigued tone said, “You must be an astrologer.” and we struck up a conversation. She is from a seaside town long known as an affluent, star studded summer resort area.

I grew up near there, I told her, and as a child had a friend whose mother had owned a house in that town. Once when I was visiting in the winter- when the town had an austere, abandoned and haunted feeling – we set off exploring the environs and the massive, foreboding Victorian mansions set up high on the windswept dunes overlooking the sea.

My friend’s family knew people who lived in one of those mansions and she wanted to show it to me. While exploring we found an open door and being lovers of ghost stories and haunted houses, decided to go in. It was dank and silent in the house and the thick, heavy velvet curtains blocked most of the light coming in from the massive windows. In the dim, dusty air you could make out the shapes of furniture- all covered with white sheets. It reminded us of  horror movies we had seen and we went running out.

I told the woman in the cafe about it and said,” I suppose all those houses have alarms now and she said,”Yes. They are all armed.”

The woman in the cafe was involved with managing properties like that and told me that one of the old mansions near the country club has a door that looks like it leads into the basement. Surprisingly though the unobtrusive door leads into a totally intact and well stocked speakeasy- built during Prohibition.

This Neptunian idea of hidden doors and secret places reminded me of a dream I once had. It was about a massive, rambling Victorian sea captain’s house where I had been the caretaker for years. People often saw ghosts there – men in black tie and women in long flowing gowns. The house had been built as a summer house where people from NY and Boston would come to attend large and formal parties. The house was set up high on a ridge and lightning would often strike it or very close by. When my friends were trying to sell it, on a couple of occasions prospective buyers would flee during those thunderstorms when the house grew very dark and lightning strikes would made the phones ring. I often dreamed of that place after we moved out – it was a place of mystery for me.

In one dream of this house I had gone back and my friends no longer lived there. I was wandering through the halls and discovered a secret door that I had never seen before. The door opened to a beautiful room – a lady’s dressing room with a Victorian dressing table on which stood antique glass perfume bottles. Sparkling jewels lay there also and light filtered in through a small stained glass window. It was very warm and fragrant there. I have always thought of the house in that dream as representing my life and the secret door a reminder of ways I might not be considering or exploring because I was navigating from a place of the known rather than being open to mystery.

The woman in the cafe told me about her chart and I talked a little bit about it. When she left she said,”Wow! I didn’t expect the have a mini astrology reading today.”

I smiled – I liked them very much – and said, “The field of astrology is governed by the planet Uranus – the planet of the unexpected.”

Neptune is the planet of dreams, visions and hidden things. When Neptune is strong in the sky it bodes well to pay attention to your dreams. It is a very good time for the imagination – for creativity and  musing as well as prayer and meditation.

“Let no man pull you so low as to hate him.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Astrologically there are strong similarities to the Sixties now – another time when the personal became political. And then as now we are seeing  stresses and strains placed on many friendships and relationships in a very heated climate.

One of the great gifts of Martin Luther King Jr during the upheaval of his tumultuous era was his constant reminder to keep the focus on spiritual values and Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolent resistance.

As we approach Thanksgiving in the US many families will gather together in the midst of testy times and testy astrological aspects. Venus will be conjunct Pluto – indicating a time of very deep feelings with the potential for revenge to enter the picture. It is also a time when powerful transformations can occur when coming from a deeper, wiser perspective.

In general if you have been striving to lead a more spiritual life now is the time to implement those values and – as Dr, King encouraged – to stay in touch with what is really important despite the risks, threats and obstructions. As Dr King so wisely said,“I have decided to stick to love… Hate is too great a burden to bear.”

With Mercury in close alignment to Saturn it bodes well to keep restraint in mind as well as right speech and action.

One of the Sabian symbols associated with aspects at Thanksgiving this year is,” A fire worshiper meditates on the ultimate realities of existence.”

Sabian Synbol quote from Lynda Hill

“People are like stained glass windows.They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but often when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.” Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

Venus enters the sign of Capricorn today and Mercury enters Sagittarius. Venus in this earthy, pragmatic placement can bring restraint and caution to the emotional climate and Mercury in Sagittarius can open the door to a more expansive perspective.

The energy is building towards the Monday’s Supermoon – a time when the Moon will be closer to the earth than it has been in decades. Emotional tides can be strong and building at this time. This Supermoon provides a good time for looking at what true security and stability means at this time and place. With the advent of the Age of Aquarius it is wise to keep in mind that we live on a small interconnected planet and that collaboration, cooperation, respect, restraint and coalition building with like minded groups help build a more enlightened path to the future.

One of the Sabian symbol associated with this time is,”Three stained glass windows in a Gothic church, one damaged by war.”

Quotes from Lynda Hill’s 360 Degrees of Wisdom

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” Anais Nin

There are several planets changing signs this week. This influence reminds me of being at a busy intersection with a lot going on.
Mars the planet of drive and aggression moves into Aquarius on the 9th, Venus enters Capricorn on the 11th and Mercury enters Sagittarius on the 12th.
Mars in Aquarius has an erratic, electrical current and bodes well for innovation, collaboration and cooperation. Venus in Capricorn bodes well for working on finances and financial planning and for connecting with people who can be of assistance in working towards your goals. It bodes well for putting plans into form. Mercury in Sagittarius ushers in a time that is good for learning, exploration and expanding your horizons.
In general the building Jupiter/Pluto/Uranus T-square indicates a time when strong, dogmatic views are present and conflict can arise easily. It can be a heady, cerebral time of strong opinions and it bodes well to stay in touch with your intuition and to keep in mind the underlying inter-connectedness of all life on our small planet.
One of the Sabian symbols for the T- square is,”The gate opens to the garden of all fulfilled desires.”

Sabian symbol reference from Lynda Hill’s 360 Degrees of WIsdom

“Neptune is conjoined with the South Node…and is trying to teach the practice of forgiving the past and living in just this moment with great trust and without fear and worry.” Patricia Liles

Today’s  New Moon in Scorpio ushers in a time when the powers of rejuvenation are strong. It bodes well to seek information from the deeper side of life and to get below the surface of the way you normally frame things in order to have a new energized start.

One of the things to consider is the Jupiter/Pluto square which has been a strong influence. This aspect can be associated with being right at all costs. The Sun and Moon in Scorpio are about the powers of transformation and it bodes well to examine the underpinnings of strong beliefs that may have been beneficial up to this point but may have outlived their purpose. Both Pluto and Jupiter have a connection to dogma and this does not just apply to religious beliefs but beliefs in general.

The Sun and Moon are trine the planet of dreams and inspiration – Neptune- boding well for creative solutions and approaches especially to business and financial endeavors. With Venus conjunct Saturn now do reaffirm commitments to your financial goals and stay out of the tendency to worry about scarcity. In general it is a spiritual time and tying your aspirations to the well being of all is a good idea.

It is also a good time to transform the present by honoring the gifts of the ancestors and reviewing the past through the lens of compassion and forgiveness.
One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,”The silvery moon shining across the beautiful gem of a lake.”

Sabian symbol quote from Lynda Hill

“The wind and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigator.” Edward Gibbon

Once I was reading an article in a Jungian journal about the inter-generational influence of traumatic experiences – how the  traumatic wounding of people in one generation gets passed down. This is in line with shamanic teachings which refer to these issues as generational curses.

We are at a threshold time now as the Sun moves into Scorpio today and Mercury follows on Monday. This ushers in a deeper, more mysterious time. Jupiter is making a quincunx aspect (indicating a need for adjustment) to Neptune and the South Node throughout the upcoming week. This opens a door of opportunity into seeing more clearly these inherited patterns or perceptions which can be related to addictive ways of thinking and acting. Basically with the Scorpio depth of perception things that can not be easily seen normally can be exposed – sparking an understanding and recognition that can lead to increased clarity about what holds you back and how to go forward in a freer way with increased consciousness.

The down side of this aspect can be associated with avoidance, denial and illusions. These inherited ancestral influences can be seen in astrology charts – if you are curious  about their influence in your life and how best to deal with them, do get in touch and book some time.

This Jupiter/Neptune aspect will be an influence for the next nine months or so and also deals with the higher meaning of love, spirituality and religion. It provides a good time to look at how you make love manifest in your life in terms of self love, love for others, love for your life and the world without rose colored glasses.

One of the Sabian Symbols for the Jupiter/Neptune aspect is, “People traveling a narrow path seeking illumination.”

Quote and Sabian symbol reference from Lynda Hill

“To cultivate kindness is a valuable part of the business of life.” Samuel Johnson.

Carl Jung has written about synchronicity – the chance occurrence of events and their a-casual meaning. Mercury is opposite Uranus this week and that does mean we are in that territory and the trickster is about!

Uranus has a strong electrical quality and when opposing Mercury can cause disruptions with electronic and mechanical devices. It will also be more easy to trigger conflict so do watch the tendency for tempers to flare as Mars and Pluto are conjunct at this time.

Much of my day yesterday was spent wrangling about how to fix a potentially damaging problem to my website in a very short amount of time  – as the person who works on the site was shortly to leave for vacation. If left unchecked the problem could result in the loss of a lot of work and the need for costly repairs. We had gone back and forth about it for a couple of days with the person who hosts the site. At nightfall I left for dinner with friends with the situation still unresolved. My nerves were on edge for sure and had been all day.

it was dark when I got home after supper and as my car pulled in the driveway a small animal was caught in the headlights. When I got out of the car it looked right at me- its eyes an electric blue.  I came into the house and opened my Medicine Card book and found from an illustration that it was an possum. When confronted by an enemy the possum plays dead with the result that predator turns its attention elsewhere.
The book advises that when a possum is seen, to adopt a similar strategy – meaning for me specifically –  to not re-engage the whole website dilemma and stop worrying that several days were likely to pass with its vulnerability totally exposed. I decided to let it go and do nothing.
Later I received an email from from one of the guys I had been working with. After departing for his vacation he had made a temporary fix which would stave off the possibility of serious problems until we could get to the source of the matter down the road.
Although I had been really worked up about the whole thing I was struck by how patient, calm and kind he had been when trying to work to resolve the problem.
Patience, empathy and kindness are good way to proceed now.
One of the Sabian symbols associated with the Mercury/Uranus opposition is, “A child giving birds a drink at a fountain.”

quote from Linda Hill’s 360 Degrees of Wisdom

“Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them-a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.” Muhammad Ali

This week Mars forms a conjunction to Pluto in Capricorn.This combination is highly motivated, competitive and has a tendency towards aggression. It is seen often in the charts of professional athletes.

The planet Mars is concerned with personal strength and power – making this a good time to consider how you build and fortify your strength over time with physical activity. If improvements are needed,  put plans in place and act. It is a good time for commitment and action in this realm.

Cosmic influences indicate a good time to get busy with projects and re-energize them if needed. Do pay attention to how you are directing your will and the focus needed to attain realistic goals.

One of the Sabian symbols for this aspect is,”School grounds filled with boys and girls in gymnasium suits.”

Quotes from Lynda Hill’s 360 Degrees of Wisdom.