Friday, May 10, 2019

The Scorpio Full Moon (5/18/19) and the Buddha

According to Buddhist tradition- the Buddha (Awakened One) was born on the Scorpio Full Moon (aka, Wesak Full Moon), attained enlightenment on the Scorpio Full Moon, and consciously left his body (i.e. mahāsamādhi) at the Full Moon in Scorpio.

Wesak Day
Wesak Day is a holiday to celebrate the birth of Buddha, his enlightenment, and his passing. It is celebrated on the Sunday that is closest to the full moon of May. It is one of the most important festivals that Buddhists celebrate and is known by a variety of different names in different countries. For instance, in Indonesia, it’s known as Waisak; In Japan, it’s known as Vesākha; In Korea, it’s known as “The Birthday of Buddha” and everywhere else it’s known as Vesak.

History of Wesak Day
Buddhism began about 500 B.C and was started by Siddhartha Gautama – a member of a wealthy family which lived in Nepal. Before he started Buddhism, he lived an extravagant life and was very privileged. However, that all came to an end when he realized that everyone eventually gets old, sick and dies. This is when he set his life of luxury aside and decided to wander his country looking for the meaning of life. He studied yoga extensively and thought that perhaps fasting was his path to enlightenment. That didn’t help him achieve enlightenment, though. What helped him achieve it was the idea that neither self-indulgence or fasting would help him on his path. Eventually, he attained the enlightenment he sought and became known as Buddha – the enlightened one.

Wesak Customs & Traditions
Wesak begins when the Buddhists gather in their temples at the break of dawn. While they are at the temple, they meditate on all of the precepts that make up the religion of Buddhism; precepts which include embracing celibacy, speaking wisely, honoring life and showing generosity to their fellow citizens. During this time, they are encouraged to also eat only at prescribed hours and to abstain from alcoholic beverages of any kind. Participants are also told not to listen to music, not to sleep too much and to avoid adorning one’s body during this time.

During the next 3 days, participants will attend religious services, pray and make donations. They also may make offerings of candles and flowers – gifts which show everyone that life is fleeting. After all, candles eventually melt down or burn out and flowers wilt and die. During the festivals that are held on this day, people hang and give away flags of Buddha. Another tradition that is practiced during these festivals is the symbolic washing of the statue of Buddha. It is believed that this ritual washing will cleanse their souls and purify their spirits. The end of the festivities usually begins with a parade that consists of many flower decorated floats and statues of Buddha. People often walk alongside these processions carrying lotus flowers and candles.

In other parts of the world, this holiday is often celebrated in other ways. However, while the celebration of this holiday differs from region to region, some of the same precepts are emphasized in all of them. These precepts include bringing happiness to other people, the ceremonial washing of a Buddha statue, paying homage to Buddha and giving to the poor or underprivileged.

Sunday, April 28, 2019


On Monday, April 29, the planet Saturn stations retrograde at 21*31' Capricorn- so its energy/influence is stronger, and more intense now than normal- even if Saturn is not transiting something in your natal chart. (But more so if it is.) And Saturn is retrograde until it stations direct on September 18, 2019 at 13*55' Capricorn. 

Perhaps, the exact conjunction between stationary Saturn and the Moon's South Node on April 30, suggests a reckoning, restructuring, and possible resolution of habitual behavior, and karmic conditions rooted in the past. However, Saturn is the planet of reality checks, and stress tests, that often involve some kind of pressure to bring about the necessary changes- by choice, or circumstance.

In Vedic (Indian) astrology, the Moon's South Node is referred to as Ketu, the Tail of the Serpent. And Ketu is a significator of one's spiritual desires, and moksha, i.e. liberation. Thus, the current Saturn-Ketu conjunction suggests a drive for self mastery, and liberation that requires focus, accountability, and hard work, in order to realize/actualize a greater freedom. Past actions and choices are up for serious review.

French writer, existentialist philosopher, novelist, essayist and playwright, Jean-Paul Sartre- was born during a Saturn-Ketu conjunction. His philosophy of existentialism stated that the world had no meaning for mankind, but instead proposed that the individual is responsible for his or her own purpose. After 1939, Sartre served as the leader of the French intelligensia. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature 1964 but declined on political grounds.,_Jean-Paul

Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese writer most known for "The Prophet," published September 1923- was a workaholic, that had physical and emotional collapses periodically. He was also born during a Ketu-Saturn (+ Neptune) conjunction.,_Kahlil

Look to the house in your natal chart where the sign of Capricorn resides, to determine the area (house) of life where these themes are manifesting. Ideally, we're in the process of building something with long term viability in that area/house- which may first entail an honest recognition of the factors hindering our ambitions and progress. (The Moon's Nodes are considered an axis of destiny. And Saturn is the planet of checks and balances.)

According to the brilliant astro-historian Richard Tarnas, "Saturn is a planetary archetype that represents the principle of limit, structure, and necessity. It governs the material world, time, tradition, the past, aging, death, and the endings of things. The Saturn archetype is associated with the Greek mythic figure of Kronos, the stern father of the gods, the Roman Saturn. Called the Great Malefic in traditional astrology, it is associated with such archetypal figures as Fate, Father Time, Death, and the Grim Reaper. In Jungian and archetypal psychology, Saturn is often called the senex.

Saturn represents the hard structure of things, the reality principle, the bottom line. It is in many ways the opposite of Jupiter in nature: where Jupiter expands and grants success, Saturn contracts and inhibits; where Jupiter is liberal and magnanimous, Saturn is conservative and strict; where Jupiter uplifts, Saturn oppresses. Indeed, Saturn can well seem to be a one-sidedly negative planet in the astrological pantheon, though in fact the situation is much more complicated. Saturn opposes and limits, but in doing so, it strengthens, grounds, forges, gives our soul substance and gravitas, makes us real.

In an important sense, Saturn is the ruler of the birth chart itself, for Saturn is Time, Chronos, as well as that which fixes a moment in time, creates through birth a separate embodiment of reality, and then sustains and works out through time all the meaning and challenges of that archetypal moment.

Saturn is the archetype that rules the structure of our lives. It is the matrix of things, that which provides both limit and structure, thereby permitting the possibility of manifestation itself. In limiting and bringing closure, Saturn defines. Saturn is also the principle of judgment, governing the consequences of our actions, confronting us with our past. Esoterically, it is considered to be the planet of karma, the carrier of karma from past lifetimes, the consequences of which we now have to encounter in the present life. It might be seen as the cross we bear, for it concerns our trials and sufferings which may often seem inexplicable and undeserved. In theological terms Saturn bears resemblance to some (though not all) aspects of the Hebrew Yahweh: the strict patriarchal ruler and law-giver of creation, the God of justice and retribution who condemns humankind to a life of separation, labor, suffering, disease, pain in childbirth, and death. Saturn is lord of the realm of finitude, imperfection, and mortality. At a deep level, Saturn can be seen as the archetypal birth labor of existence: that which constricts and limits, rigidifies, alienates, cuts one off from the primal union, makes us die to the womb--but also that which incarnates us, gives us embodiment, form, firmness, substance, material reality.

Saturn is therefore often symbolized as a skeleton, both as a symbol of death, the ultimate consuming power of time, but also as the skeletal structure and foundation of things, without which there would be no form, no stability, no supporting frame of strength and solidity which has slowly evolved through time and experience.

Saturn makes us stand alone and know solitude; it separates us from others--from the womb when we are born, from our childhood family as we grow older, and from everyone as we face our death. Yet it is also Saturn that makes us who we are, that disciplines and orders our existence until it has sculpted our essence. It is the superego inside us--our inner judge and conscience, that complex reflection of internalized social convention, religious tradition, and moral law. Saturn governs the consequences of error, guilt, pessimism, inferiority, depression, deprivation; yet it also gives us the capacity for rigor, order, concentration, endurance, seriousness, fidelity, responsibility, maturity. To continue the comparison with Jupiter, where Jupiter may be inflated, exaggerated, or overoptimistic, Saturn is judicious, grounded, and pragmatic. Saturn works slowly and gradually, painstakingly, often painfully, but effectively, with enduring results.

Saturn rules our work in the world, that which we do to make ends meet, the labor of life. It governs "reality" as we usually think of that term--that which makes concrete demands on us, which confronts us with material limitations, which brings us down to earth. It makes us know defeat, limiting our aspirations and negating our dreams. Saturn resists and oppresses us, and yet also defines us, brings us experience and wisdom, makes us take responsibility for ourselves so that we become our own master. As Nietzsche said, "He who cannot obey himself will be commanded." It is Saturn alone that can give us that special sense of inner authority which can only be purchased through time and experience.

The position of Saturn in one’s birth chart is thus a matter of great importance, and the major aspects it makes to other planets can tell us much about one’s principal concerns in life. Transits involving Saturn regularly mark periods of major developmental importance, often bringing times of personal trial, but also of deep maturation and the establishment of significant life structures involving one's career, important relationships, or major karmic responsibilities. Perhaps the main thing to remember--or to adopt as a working hypothesis--is that Saturn indicates that which we have chosen to work with and through in this life in order to achieve a higher level of spiritual awareness. The sufferings and frustrations it may bring can perhaps best be seen as serving a purpose which will in the long run be recognized as worth all the hard labor of life. Again, Saturn is that part of the archetypal birth process which oppresses and alienates, and yet slowly molds and structures, and, in the end, ushers us into a new level of existence. It is the guardian of the threshold." (Richard Tarnas)

Monday, April 22, 2019

Earth Day 2019

Today is Earth Day.

Interesting, that Earth Day 2019 corresponds with the Sun conjoining Uranus in the sign of Taurus. Some astrologers consider Uranus transiting Taurus as an indicator of sudden, and/or radical earth changes- among other things. And earth activists will be actively mobilized. 

The first Earth Day – April 22, 1970 – is sometimes said to have marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement. It predates the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, for example. It’s hard to imagine it now, but the first Earth Day was a revelation to many, a way not only of raising consciousness about environmental issues but also of bringing together separate groups that had been fighting separately against issues including oil spills, pollution from factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, the loss of wilderness, air pollution and more. At the first Earth Day in 1970, an estimated 20 million Americans – mostly white, mostly young – took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy environment and to participate in teach-ins.

Since then, Earth Day has always been celebrated on April 22.

Sunday, April 7, 2019

Stellar Readings & Consultations

Astrology readings and consultations are available at my art studio in the Mission, and by Skype or phone.

1. Natal chart interpretation
2. Yearly forecasts with transits, progressions, etc.
3. Relationship synastry & composite charts
4. AstroCartoGraphy & relocation charts
5. Elections (choosing the best time to do something)
Sliding scale.
Contact: / 415 235-7997
My studio is located at 3358 23rd St. near Bartlett St.

The basic principle of astrology is that the planets embody archetypal forces or principles which inform human life, and there's a meaningful correspondence between the celestial and terrestrial. The planets are like the hands of a watch that tells the time, but does not cause it.

The Greek God Hermes/Mercury, said it best: "As above, so below, as within, so without, as the universe, so the soul."

"In a universe that is teaming with life, intelligence, consciousness, and intrinsic order, the configurations of the celestial bodies at the moment of birth reflect a pattern of cosmic thought that initiates the span of a human life and points the direction towards which that life is headed. The end result is implicit in the beginning moment, as the oak tree is to the acorn. To the extent that we recognize and live out this innate purpose as an expression of our authentic self, despite the mixture of happiness and suffering that characterizes what it entails to be human, we acknowledge and fulfill the reason for our existence. Astrology provides a map that guides us towards our unique destination and gives the timing for each stage in our life journey." ~Demetra George

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Total Lunar Eclipses

Total eclipses are a freak of cosmic happenstance. Ever since the Moon formed, about 4.5 billion years ago, it has been inching away from our planet (by about 1.6 inches per year). The setup right now is perfect: the Moon is at the perfect distance for Earth's shadow to cover the Moon totally, but just barely. Billions of years from now, that won't be the case.

Lunar Eclipse Lore

Christopher Columbus leveraged a blood-red eclipse in 1504 to frighten natives on Jamaica into feeding him and his crew. It was on Columbus' fourth and final voyage to the New World. An epidemic of shipworms ate holes in the ships of his fleet; Columbus' was forced to abandon two ships. He then beached his last two on Jamaica on June 25, 1503. The natives welcomed the castaways and fed them. But after six months, Columbus' crew mutinied, and robbed and murdered some of the Jamaicans, who had grown weary of feeding the crew.

Columbus had an almanac that foretold a lunar eclipse on Feb. 29, 1504. He met the local chief, and told him the Christian god was angry with his people for no longer supplying food. Columbus said to expect a sign of God's displeasure three nights later, when he would make the full moon appear "inflamed with wrath." When the blood-red moon came to pass, the natives were terrified and "with great howling and lamentation came running from every direction to the ships laden with provisions," according to an account by Columbus' son.

Just before the total phase of the eclipse was about to end, Columbus said God had pardoned the natives and would bring the moon back. The crew was well fed until help arrived in November and Columbus and his men sailed back to Spain.