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How does one write astrology at such a politically charged moment? It's probably when we need astrology more than ever, for this craft requires that we haul ourselves away from our personal responses in order to see what the planets are saying. The ...
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How does one write astrology at such a politically charged moment? It's probably when we need astrology more than ever, for this craft requires that we haul ourselves away from our personal responses in order to see what the planets are saying. The planets are not left or right wing. They are not promoting humanity's 'evolution' by favouring who we consider to be the 'good guys'. Their perspective is bigger than that, it is infinite. The best we can hope for is to catch awed glimpses of that infinitude - especially, perhaps, at times when our merely human desires and preferences as to what 'ought' to be are frustrated. Trump's re-accession to the US Presidency can be seen as the first event in the coming Saturn-Neptune conjunction, both of which planets will have entered Aries by late May 2025. The last conjunction was in 1989, and it led to the fall of the Berlin Wall. A seismic, world-defining event. This election seems similarly seismic. This Saturn-Neptune conjunction will not have Uranus sitting alongside it as in 1989. It will, however, sextile both Pluto and Uranus. This suggests a powerful transformation that also has an ease to it. The world does not have to fall apart for it to happen.
The US Sibly IC is at 1 Aries, so the US is entering a particularly transformational time, comparable to the Civil War period, when Neptune was also in this place (and, as is soon to come, Uranus conjunct Uranus). At that time, 2 different visions of the US brutally fought it out. I think that gives a clue to the meaning of the current, upcoming transit.My interpretation is that it is the end of progressive, post-war liberalism as we know it. The battle between left and right has been particularly intense in the US in recent years. In the US, and across Europe, we have been seeing the political right making considerable gains. It has been practically illegal to be right wing in Europe since the war, but all that has been changing, most notably in Germany. Note I am not saying 'far right', because that term is a judgement that comes from the left, and I am trying to be descriptive. Saturn-Neptune in Capricorn was a collapse of the structures (Capricorn) of the redemptive ideology (Neptune) of Communism. Saturn-Neptune in Aries is a new vision (Aries) of redemption (Neptune) through a move to the political right. Note I am not saying it IS a redemption, I am saying that is how it is seen by those who are voting it in. Human societies move between left and right over time, when they feel that one has gone too far. The right is like the centre of a wheel, that holds it all together, that unifies. The left is like the perimeter of the wheel, that allows for diversity and creativity. Both have their places, both are necessary.
The next few years will not be pretty in many ways. Think Margaret Thatcher in the UK in the 1980s. She effected a profound transformation from the political right, but there was much misery along the way, and many came to detest her. I think we will be seeing epoch-making change of that kind in the US under the Saturn-Neptune conjunction. I suspect that Trump will not serve a full term, as he has no major transits propelling him through, and Pluto is entering his 6th House of Health. JD Vance will finish the job, as Pluto empowers his Leo Sun.
All this, however, may not be what long-term history sees as the most significant event of this Saturn-Neptune period. What it may remember most, if Elon Musk has his way, is the first unmanned spaceship landing on Mars in 2026, followed by people in 2028. Now there's an Aries redemptive vision for you!
Whatever you think of the way Israel is dealing with the
terrorist group Hamas in Gaza, the snake's head that they need to remove is the
regime in Iran, which is funding both Hamas and Hezbollah. All these entities
want to exterminate the Jewish race, as the Oct 7th 2023 attack, which provoked
the war, showed very clearly.
On 22nd Oct, Mars will cross the Israeli MC. I
expect the retaliation against the Iranian missile attack to occur shortly
before that date, to maximise its effect on the US election, so as to favour
Trump. Mars will cross the Israeli 10th House Leo Moon in late November,
shortly before going retrograde. We can expect maximum military activity from
Israel until then, followed by a re-grouping, as Israel's Leonine pre-eminence
in the region sinks in.
THE STRANGE ASTROLOGY OF THE US ELECTION It is strange that neither US Presidential candidate has much in the way of major transits to lend power to the coming Presidency. Just a bit of Uranus. Meanwhile in 2025/26 the US Sibly chart will have Saturn and Neptune conjunct the IC, followed by a Uranus Return opposite the Asc. I don't know what it means, but it's very big. It's as though whoever wins will not be President for long, and something else, for better or for worse, will happen that will usher in a new era. Astrologically, Harris is just about the better bet to win, IMO. In 1860/61 there were, remarkably, the same 2 transits from Neptune and Uranus to the Sibly Chart. They ushered in the Civil War and the end of slavery. This time Saturn is involved too. It makes me think 'nervous breakdown', as the country's political polarisation intensifies. ------------------------------------------- Prediction:
the most significant event for humanity under the coming Saturn-Neptune
conjunction in Aries, will be Elon's Starship landing on Mars. ------------------------------------------- Over time Saturn lends us substance, and at the same time leads us to doubt it. ------------------------------------------- The limitations of material existence are, from Saturn's point of view, to be worked with, to create a vessel for the spirit. From Chiron's point of view, those limitations are to be accepted as inherent, and as a prompt to turn our gaze to the outer planets. Chiron is the crack in the earth, through which the oil riches pour upwards from the depths. Saturn is the rig at the surface that makes something of them. ------------------------------------------- SATURN-NEPTUNE AND THE 'I' WORDI think the Saturn-Neptune conjunction at the start of Aries in 25/26 will have everything to do with an uprising, probably quite ugly, against the uncontrolled immigration in both the US and Europe. Protest (Aries) against porous (Neptune) borders (Saturn). This is supported by the fact that it is politically impossible to talk about. If you try to talk about it, you get dismissed as 'far-right', a now meaningless term.The issue we cannot even mention in the UK is Muslims and any problems there might be with that section of the population. When something cannot be talked about, trouble is on its way.
The Saturn-Neptune conjunction will be bang on the IC for the US Sibly chart, the homeland symbolism being perfect for this issue. It's why I think Harris will probably win. If Trump wins, he will defuse the issue by continuing with the wall. The astrology does not look like it will be defused. Saturn and Neptune will not be far behind in starting to hard aspect the Sun, Moon and Angles of the UK chart.
NATURE, NURTURE & KARMA
There's Nature, there's Nurture and there's Karma. Karma is
the most powerful factor in who we are. Astrology, through it's concept of the
Nodes, understands this. Indeed, the 'evolutionary' astrologers centre their
chart interpretation around the Nodes. They are probably right to do so, but
wrong to call themselves 'evolutionary', for the soul is not 'going' anywhere.
Indigenous people think cyclically, and astrology thinks cyclically, whereas
the idea of evolution is linear and hierarchical, a product of the mind
alienated from nature.
With its insight, through the Nodes, that who we are is
essentially a profound mystery, astrology is the best antidote to modern
psychotherapy, which reduces the individual to an effect of her childhood. And
to science, psychotherapy's watchful elder brother, which reduces the
individual to an effect of DNA and environment.
We are cause, not effect, driven to live out the rich
patterning of the North Node.
THE STATE OF THE UNION Normally when a leader is elected, they have some strong transits that power them through their term of office. Trump's first Presidency had Neptune squaring his Sun and Moon; Biden had Neptune opposite MC followed by Pluto square Moon and Uranus opposite Sun.
I am left scratching my head, however, at the astrology of this year's candidates. Trump will have Uranus aspecting his Angles, Kamala her MC. And that will be that. It will be over for both of them in a couple of years. What sort of Presidency will that be? There is no sustained or steady progress here. After a rocky Uranian start, they will be a lame-duck President for the final 2 years of their term.
If I had to hazard a guess as to who will win, I would say Harris, because Uranus will be active for slightly longer, and in sign.
Looking
at the US Sibly Chart for the next 4 years, we see Neptune opposite MC
followed by a Uranus Return. The last time Neptune was here was in 1860,
the beginning of the Civil War. And, remarkably, there was also a
Uranus Return. This, perhaps, tells us why Harris/Trump won't get much
done: the present polarisation and division in Congress, and the culture
wars in the wider culture, are likely to become more intense and to
paralyse the country. This fits well with the divisive, Angular Uranus
Return in 2027. ----------------------------------------- Chiron's suffering is perfectly curable if we listen to the outer planets, for he is the bridge to them. The pain associated with Chiron only seems incurable if we attempt to address it according to collective norms and values. He is the call to our individual destiny. He asks us to be courageous. In the stories, he was the wise centaur who educated heroes such as Jason, Achilles and Hercules. ----------------------------------------- Cancer edges slowly and sideways towards the divine light of Leo, hanging on to what is familiar and homely as she goes. -----------------------------------------
THE US PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
Very few people are able to be
remotely impartial about Trump. There is so much to dislike and disapprove of
about the man personally, that no-one looks below the surface to ask but what
did he do as President? What are his policies now? In this respect he is a
great challenge to one's ability to be objective. It is much easier, and you will get far more approval from your peers, if
you continue to froth at the mouth at the mere mention of the man's name.
Caution: do not confuse your frothing at the mouth with insight into the
Donald.
Kamala is still in her honeymoon period as a candidate, and
further buoyed by the recent Democratic Convention. Everyone has an opinion on
Trump, which is not likely to change much at this stage. We know, or think we
know, him. We don't know Kamala very well.
Above is the chart for the first of their debates on 10th
Sept. How does it impact the 2 candidates' charts? Keeping it simple, I would
say that the strongest influence in the sky at that time is the
Sun-Moon-Saturn-Jupiter mutable Grand Cross.
This impacts on Kamala personally through her Venus in
Virgo. Virgo in a politician is popularity. With tr Saturn opposing it, she is
going to have to earn it. Retrograde in Pisces, this is not an easy Saturn. It
is good for collectives, but it needs to be channelled thoughtfully. Kamala's
weakness is needing notes to speak from. She doesn't have that political
instinct that knows what to say in the moment, which Trump has in spades,
whether or not you agree with him. Her tactic of wanting the microphones unmuted
is, I think, in the hope that Trump will keep interrupting her, and look bad
for that. The lack of uninterrupted time in which to speak may also help
conceal her difficulty with performing unscripted and thinking on her feet. If
Trump wants to win, he will have to shut up sometimes. Like he had to with
Biden because of the muted microphones, and it worked in his favour, as Biden
had the space to undo himself.
The Grand Cross impacts powerfully on Trump’s chart, much
more than it does Kamala’s, hard aspecting his Sun-Moon opposition in
Gemini-Sag. In this case the Saturn is not so much about earning as reaping,
because he is known and has a track record as President.
Saturn likes tangible evidence. Kamala is weak on specific
policies. She comes out with generalities such as going forwards not backwards,
and that her positions might have changed but her values haven’t. Trump can
very specific, when he isn’t spewing aggressive soundbites.
My prediction is that this debate will favour Trump. If
Kamala is referring to notes, Trump will make mincemeat of that. If she isn’t,
he will be able to dance around her and make her look fumbling. This is
reflected by Saturn tending to work against her, and in Trump’s favour.
As for the election itself, Uranus is impacting both the
candidates’ charts as their main transit, as well as squaring the US Moon. This
makes it very hard to predict. There could well be further unusual, unexpected
events. We have already had the assassination attempt, and Biden stepping down.
And whichever candidate is elected – and who is to say in this Uranian election
if the candidates still will be Trump and Harris – they will have a rocky time
as President, as Uranus continues to unsettle and divide and startle.
I have a fantasy novel, the Shapeshifters Trilogy, with an American publisher. They are being very slow! Here is the CV I wrote for the inside cover: Shapeshifting first happened to Barry Goddard in 2000, when a T-Rex turned up during a dance, took him over, and slowly wandered around the room, taking its first curious look at the earth after a 100-million-year absence. Since that time a menagerie of Animals has gradually presented itself, taking turns at feeling what it is like to be Barry Goddard. Roaring, whistling, speaking in tongues, and clearly no longer a rational well-behaved human, the Animals try to keep Barry behind closed doors to avoid the attentions of the men in white coats. But the Animals are always at his shoulder, taking care of him. In 2021, a Wolf showed up and suggested he write the Shapeshifters Trilogy, an offer he could not refuse. It has been a great adventure. When in human form, Barry lives on Dartmoor in the UK, and writes regularly for social media on Astrology and Shamanism. He also does Astrology readings. Below is the chart for when I began writing my first book (The Medicine Wheel) in 2021. It's a great chart. I might start to have some serious success in the next few years, as Neptune squares the Venus (popular appeal) and Pluto conjoins the Jupiter-Saturn. It may be my book on Chaos Shamanism, currently being written, that steps into the zeitgeist.
Sir Keir Starmer has a tight Sun-Pluto conjunction in Virgo, opposite Jupiter. The administrator (Virgo) who has found himself in a position of great power (Jupiter-Pluto). He has a huge majority, rules the Labout Party with an iron fist, and can do what he wants. How many of us could handle that?
The signs so far are worrying: he branded the protesters collectively as racist thugs, and has shown no inclination to listen to what the legitimate majority of them are unhappy about. And he has had the wrongdoers, both offline and online, in jail in record time, using his inside knowledge of the justice system as Director of Public Prosecutions. It already seems clear that, in his haste to keep control, innocent people have also been jailed.Empathy and bringing people with him are not his strong points. He is a charisma-free zone, and was elected as an act of desperation by the British people. Using the law (Jupiter) to make the population do his bidding seems to be how he thinks. The working classes, which as Labour leader he is supposed to represent, probably hate him already. Currently, he is acting like the head of an army junta. Labour has its values, but freedom of the individual has never been top of its list. -----------------------------------------
The cat sometimes spends hours asking to be let in through the posh entrance, before swallowing his pride and using the cat flap. "Don't you know who I am?" This tells us something about the nature of Leo. On the subject of which, 2 nights ago I had a dream in which I was sraightforwardly Leo Rising, not Virgo, as I have always been. Many astrologers also insist I must be Leo Rising. Below is my newly painted house. QED. NOT Virgo 🤣 -----------------------------------------
Integrating Mars energy is a soul journey for most women in the second half of life, just as Venus is for men. I think that the feminist critique of men, that sees them in largely negative terms, is mostly unlived Mars, projected in its shadow form. We men are generally much better than the public discourse would have us believe.
The issue of the day in the UK is immigration, but we are unable to talk about it. It is something that only 'racists' involve themselves with, and we don't want to be called that. But let us try to talk about it with a cool head. That is what astrology should enable us to do.
This issue is only going to get stronger as Neptune approaches the UK Desc in the coming years. The transit will begin in earnest in late 2024, as Neptune goes direct and moves to oppose natal Uranus, which is itself opposite the UK Desc. The Desc is 'others', so describes immigrants well. Anyone getting bothered yet, just by me talking about it? Am I 'othering' them, maybe I should say migrant or refugee? All these ways we have of not talking about it. Another way of not talking about it is to say it is a deflection of economic problems. But no, the astrology is saying it is immigration itself that will only be getting bigger as an issue.
Think about it: the population has grown by 15% since Blair opened the doors back in 2000. Of course such growth over such a short period has consequences.Remember that the UK is unusually welcoming to immigrants, and has been for a long time. That is why so many want to live here. Remember that as context, before you slip into a lazy denunciation of the 'racists'. Our North Node is in the 7th. Relations with foreign countries and foreigners are a big learning point, and maybe we have already learned more than most, multi-ethnic as we are. We had a Nodal Return back in May. That is why the issue is so big now. And why is it that we cannot talk about immigration? It's simple. The ruler of the Desc, Mars, is in the 8th, which is the things you don't talk about, the shadow. We are afraid of the anger (Mars) that it brings up, and very quick to condemn it. But these things are always better out in the open. Pluto will square the UK Mars in the next few years, which is one more astrological reason to see immigration coming to the fore. The bigger context for the UK can be seen through the main parts of the chart: the Sun, Moon and Angles are all between 7 and 19 of the Cardinal signs. So outer planet transits put us through long, grinding changes of national identity. Pluto was aspecting these points when we joined the EU in 1973, and again when we voted to leave in 2016. It was writ, which doesn't make it right or wrong, just Necessary, if you are an astrologer. We have recently emerged from the recent Pluto transits to the chart, out of Europe (another Desc issue), and not knowing who we are. There is often a long underworld period in these types of change, and that is where we are now, lurching from one unsatisfactory government to another, without clear direction. That new direction, that new identity will be provided by Neptune, as he begins next year his long series of transits to the UK Sun, Moon and Angles. We have some years of the swamp to go. Neptune will be conjoining the UK Desc and squaring the Sun at the time of the next election in 2029. Watch out for a Redeemer (Neptune) at the time. The most likely candidate currently is Farage, not least because he is willing to talk about immigration. And his Sun is within one minute of the UK Node. I am not saying this to either support or criticise him, I am just pointing it out. Love him or hate him, he will be playing a part in the national renewal. JOE BIDEN In Aug 2020, before the last US election, I wrote: I think the probablity is that Biden will win, and after a year or two will have to stand down due to ill health, and Harris will take over.
In March this year I wrote: Joe Biden's mental capacity was questioned in a recent report. This is not a good sign for him, in a year in which Uranus will be opposing both his Sun and Mercury. Expect this issue to develop. With Sun and Mercury hidden in both the 12th and in Scorpio, the issue is probably already a lot worse than we know.The stories of what it has really been like won't be out for a while yet. Maybe the phenomenal drive we exhibit to create AI is in proportion to our lack, to the size of the God-shaped hole in the universe. God is dead, so let us build one instead. As Elon Musk says, maybe AI will discover how the universe works, will give us the answers to everything.
This is as Pluto enters Aquarius: the power of the transhuman; as Neptune enters Aries: the new God; and as Uranus enters Gemini: the trickster God of data and algorithms. =================================== AN
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===================================
SHAPES IN THE MIST
Any astrologer can see that with all 3 outer planets
changing signs over the next 2 years, along with a Saturn-Neptune conjunction
in Aries, that also sextiles both Uranus and Pluto, we are at the dawn of a new
age. Comparable in magnitude to the early 90s and the end of the Cold War, when
there was a triple conjunction of Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
The nature of that new age, however, is probably impossible
to foresee. It was the same situation in the late 80s: astrologers could see
something very big coming up, but how many saw the collapse of the current
world order?
Maybe this says something about the astrologer's oracular
function. The gods want humanity to see the shapes in the mist, and to open
ourselves to the new. But if we thought we knew what those shapes portended, we
would no longer be open. In these times of big change we sense a greater
destiny at work, and listen. Something that a good astrologer is doing all the
time, even without the help of the stars.
This next great turning of the Wheel is already happening in
your bones. Feel it. =================================== Astrology is a faith. Part of the Mars journey for women lies in learning to tell the
difference between the appearance of competence in men, and the real
thing. Part of the Venus journey for men lies in learning to tell the
difference between a woman who wants you for reasons of status and
security, and one who loves you for who are. ===================================
MORALITY vs PSYCHOLOGY
'Spiritual bypass' is better described as the sin of pride,
in that we have awarded ourselves a spiritual status; and the sin of
dishonesty, in that we are not owning the evil in our own hearts.
Good old-fashioned morality has a lot going for it. It
doesn't care what happened to you in your childhood, or about diagnosing you
with exculpatory psychological syndromes. It says here is what you are doing
wrong in the eyes of the Great Spirit (or Gaia in Greek Mythology?) which is
also the voice of your conscience: change it, or you will continue to suffer,
and to be out of balance with yourself, with the world and with the
gods/planets.
I think the most important part of a chart reading is not so
much the description of someone's personality, as it is the unearthing of the
transformative moral choices open to them. Transits open up these kinds of
choices; change does not happen automatically. YOUTUBE I now have 45 10-minute astrology videos up on my youtube channel. I think they are a great free online resource  If you teach astrology, please pass on the link! Or search Barry Goddard astrology on youtube. The channel also has about 40 videos on Chaos Shamanism, which I invented in April. That is why I have been so quiet with this blog. I have also been writing a book on Chaos Shamanism, coming out of the videos. Here is the preface:
Shamanism
is a Spirit, winging its way through humanity, all the way down from
pre-history. It is rooted in our belonging to the natural world. It has no
founder, no holy book, no teachings that are not dispensable. It is the
original spirituality, seen as through a glass darkly by the major religions,
but often clearly so by their heretics.
Shamanism
is a current of energy, a high voltage cable. The teaching of Shamanism is as
much about the transmission of this spirit, this energy, as it is about words.
This is the real meaning of lineage – the passing down of that current through
the generations.
And
it is also playful. People get so serious when it comes to their
‘spirituality’. There is no such thing as ‘spirituality’. There is only life to
be lived in a balanced way.
This
book is made up largely of unscripted short talks I made for YouTube. This is
the most traditional, and I think the best, way to teach. Whoever heard of a
medicine person reading from a prepared text? No, the traditional way allows
for spontaneity and play, and allows room for the Spirit to speak.
Why
‘Chaos’ Shamanism? All traditions turn into religions, to a greater or lesser
degree. It is inevitable, and a necessary launch pad for many of us. We need to
know ‘what’s what’, and who the guy with the ‘answers’ is. A good teacher will
allow for this, and hand the projection back. But inevitably, it seems, the
forms will take over. The Upper, Middle and Lower Worlds become real places,
instead of ways of structuring experience. A Sweatlodge has to be built in
exactly the right way. Teachers come to believe in their pedestals. And so on.
Chaos
Shamanism has arisen as a necessary and ongoing response to
Shamanism-as-religion, much as Dzogchen, with its emphasis on direct
experience, arose in Tibetan Buddhism. It is Chaos in the deeper, ancient Greek
sense of the ground of existence. It is also Chaos in the sense that it cannot
be pinned down, being open to all practices and teachings, and allied with
none. As such, it is particularly suitable for the age we live in, where by
necessity we pick and choose from the available traditions.
Chaos
Shamanism is heretical in the best sense. ‘Heretic’ comes from the ancient
Greek word hairetikos, meaning 'able to choose'. Chaos Shamanism shows
us how to do that with depth and with wisdom.
Creating
this book was for me an exploration of what Chaos Shamanism might mean. It
seems to be a live idea that keeps unfolding. I hope you enjoy the ride!
Easter is not long gone, when Christians celebrate the great myth of the Resurrection. I call it 'great' because it is central to what used to be the defining myth of our culture. Since then, as Yeats put it in The Second Coming, "Things fall apart/The Centre cannot hold/Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world." Maybe so, but we are free openly to practise astrology as a result. No more proscription for summoning up demons, merely the puny derision of science to tolerate. The Christian myth speaks to us whether we like it or not. With our rational minds we may sincerely claim it has nothing to do with us. But that is not how your unconscious sees it. The old myths are very much alive. It is a powerful story: this guy is tortured to death, he descends to hell, where he opens its gates, so that salvation is now possible for all. Then he returns to his Father in Heaven. The Spirit of God is now present in the world, and it is enough to have faith in that to be saved. Something like that. I think it is better as an astrologer to acknowledge the power of that story, and keep it over there in some compartment of your psyche, than pretend to yourself it has no power for you. Otherwise you will be screaming for a priest on your deathbed! As astrologers, we are very open to myths, because what is our calling, but the telling of sky stories? The Christian myth is a strange one, but are our beliefs any less strange?
What I want to do here is to relativise the Christian myth of the Resurrection by simply pointing out that it is a repeating story, and we astrologers have our own one in the abduction by Hades of Persephone, who goes to the Underworld a girl, and emerges a woman, but afterwards always with one foot in that world. That story is older than the Christian myth. Earlier than that, from Mesopotamian times, is the story of the descent of the goddess Inanna into the Underworld. She is killed by her sister, and left as a lump of meat on a hook. Eventually she emerges, renewed.Persephone's abduction, descent and renewal is a story we regularly invoke as astrologers to describe the difficult process - the difficult initiation - of a Pluto transit. What we have over the Christians is that we do not see it as a unique event in history. The Christian faith, as far as I understand it, is dependent on their Resurrection being THE Resurrection, a unique and literal event in history. That of course leads to fundamentalism. With 10 different gods calling us, it is hard for astrologers to be fundamentalist, fundamentalism being when you consider there to be only one reality. Reality is neither single nor multiple: it is the Great Mystery. Fundamentalism is a human tendency, and you see it in astrologers when they lean too heavily on tradition. You could argue that what the Christians have over the astrologers is their literalism, because at least they consider their Resurrection to have been real. We moderns slip too easily into it being 'just' a story, unlike the 'facts' that science comes up with, which is what 'really' happens. Reality is a complex thing. What is most real for the psyche is not mere historical event, but myth. Did Hades really abduct Persephone? Yes, it is a truth to die for, for it is a truth about how life renews that we live by. Did Christ really have a resurrection? Yes, for the same reason. Was it a historical event? That seems doubtful to me, but that doesn't matter, for as an event it was more real than that, and as myth it is outside of time. It happens every Easter. And every time someone emerges from a Pluto transit. Maybe my other main point here is that we need to re-learn to see myths as facts. And to treat our modern 'facts' as myths, as stories. We can never know where the universe came from. But the Big Bang is quite a good story for our times. We live in an extraverted world, in which something either happened or it didn't. You need to experience the psyche, the inner world, as an objective reality - and not the mere 'subjective' to which it is nowadays relegated - to appreciate that the enduring stories are more real, more true, than 'fact'. Such a position is hard-won in a culture where the negative Saturn, which denies inward realities, holds so much sway. Astrology itself works when we feel the power of the planets. That is when we will say things that resonate, that the other person feels to be true. This, you could say is proof of the truth of that inner, inspirited world. It is more true, more real, than the world of the senses. It is more true to say that Hades abducted Persephone, than it is to say that the universe began with the Big Bang. Or that we are the product of Evolution. ISRAEL and the ECLIPSE The 8th April Total Eclipse will be within 4 degrees of opposing the Israeli Ascendant. Expect significant developments at this time. The rising tensions with Iran are one pointer. Mars had just passed over Israel's Asc, and the Node was about to oppose it, at the time of the October attacks. So it is a sensitive point. NORTHERN IRELAND and the TOTAL ECLIPSE This is a formative time for Northern Ireland, as Pluto crosses its MC this year and last year. The leader of the DUP, a party key to the fragile stability of NI, has resigned on a rape charge, throwing the province's political future into doubt. This is in the run-up to the total solar eclipse of 8th April, opposite natal Saturn in Libra, the MC ruler. This timing suggests that the event will have significant consequences for the political future of NI.
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TRANSGENDER: A SHAMANIC PERSPECTIVE Shamanism begins with a remembering that we belong to the natural world. We are part of her, and she takes care of us. We learn to trust her. And for the same reason, we trust the body we are born into, whether it is male or female. It is not the wrong body! This is very basic. But what happens if you experience the other gender within yourself? Again, TRUST IT! You have an interesting journey to undergo. You are both genders, you are gifted, you bring a perspective to life that others do not have. If your people are civilised, they will look to you. If they are uncivilised, they will taunt you for being different.
You may look just the same as everyone else. Or you may be a man living as a woman, or vice-versa. Many people do not like difference. They want to know what is what, and they fear the unknown. You will need to let their arrows bounce off you, and not take it personally. This is a warrior training that forges character, for few people have the strength to live outside herd approval.Your dual nature is a gift from Spirit. When you present as the other gender, there is a ceremonial element to it, an archetypal power that passes through you. You may want to do it all the time, or just when the call to do so is there. Gender is real and distinct for the great majority of people, and it tells them who they are. It is a partial identity, but it is the identity they need to live. To say that gender is just a social construct is to deny a very basic and ancient fact of existence. It is harmful to push this at people. If you grew up on a farm like I did, you will know that a lot of our gender-associated behaviour is biologically, not socially, determined. Basic as the distinction is between male and female, it is also fluid. In achieving a deeper balance during the course of our lifetimes, we may feel we have become both genders, or neither. This is what Jan Morris, one of the earliest men to have transgender surgery, said in his eighties. We live in a literalising culture that does not understand Ceremony and Spirit. When people opt for surgery and start to insist they are the other gender and that others must recognise them as such, they are literalising a god or goddess that is working through them; they are trying to become it, and in doing so they turn a gift into a curse. It is a tragedy. What is also a tragedy is young people joining a bandwagon, thinking that changing gender will solve their problems, and adults colluding in this and offering irreversible chemical and surgical mutilation. The stories of castrated or breastless young people who are now 'detransitioning' are heartbreaking. Their accounts are difficult to listen to. For most of them, the research shows that the real issue is that they are gay, and they need time to realise this. Identity is not such a big deal. It is ultimately illusory, even though ordinary humanity needs it for psychological well-being. Humans are relational as much as they are autonomous, and who we are is a product of a negotiation with the outside world. This is something we learn in the school playground. You can't insist on how people see you. It is natural and part of their development for a 2 year-old to insist that really they are a princess or a superhero, and adults play along with it. But for an adult male to insist they are 'really' a woman is delusional and infantile. It is fuelled by a medical lie that we can physically change gender. We cannot. There is only ersatz and mutilation. There is money to be made from this lie, doctors know it is a lie, and hopefully there will eventually be an accounting and a reckoning for this malpractice. If you are at ease with who you are, you do not need to insist on how others see you. Nor do you need to go on marches about it, displaying it in public. You quietly get on with who you are. The sacred is degraded when it is turned into a political campaign. Many people such as artists will have both genders working through them. Both are needed, to some degree, in order to be creative. They may not feel the need to present as other than the gender they were born into. There is a natural process whereby we encounter the other gender within during the second half of life: this is Jung's Anima and Animus. Men become better able to listen to themselves and to others, listen with their feelings; and women become better able to know what they want, and not feel so obliged to please others and to take care of them. It's a fruitful area in astrology readings. Women and Mars, men and Venus. It's a later life soul journey for both sexes.
So here's to masculine women and feminine men, and the riches they bring. My perspective is indebted to the Native American Two-Spirit tradition, which is worth looking up on Youtube.
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