Happy 12th Birthday, Willow's Web Astrology Blog, at the Jupiter Return!

 Willow's Web Astrology blog birth chart - February 25, 2008

Willow's Web Astrology blog is 12 years old today! This is a milestone birthday because it coincides with the blog's Jupiter Return in Capricorn in the 3rd house. 

Capricorn is a sign that relates to perspective gained through experience, an exalted view that comes as we survey all that has come before. At a Jupiter Return, we're surveying, in particular, the past 12 years.

Through it all - a catastrophic health condition; poverty; multiple moves; multiple supplemental jobs; break-ups; deaths in the family; censorship; being plagiarized; being mocked, attacked, and discounted; even being straight-up disowned for a time by a family who thought I had gone plumb crazy for doing this work - I practised astrology and wrote this site. I researched and I studied and I wrote and I practised. It was the single common thread that I could follow through this bumpy-ass, seemingly disjointed, often incendiary life, and I wrote my way through all of it. I wrote a path for myself through a life on a planet that I, at times, didn't know if I wanted to exist on. And I hope this writing has helped its readers on their paths through life on this planet, too. That was always and always will be the goal: helping other people through at the same time as I help myself through.

Capricorn is a sign related to status, prestige, and public recognition for one's efforts, and these themes have certainly been challenges. Blog articles are definitely considered less prestigious in the mainstream than writing a book or reporting for the nightly news - though I do not personally agree with those perceptions. 

Writing in general has become very devalued in this digital age when every Tom, Dick, and Harry with a lifestyle blog or Twitter account considers themselves a writer. People have come to expect ever-updating, easy access "content" (I really dislike that term) for free because there's so much of it out there. (Quantity has certainly usurped quality, however...)

Venus Retrograde in Scorpio: the Re-Valuing of Astrology and the Mad Scorpio Skillz

I work at a couple casual jobs to supplement my astrology practise and writing, and I discovered that my Scorpio co-worker enjoys astrology. I sent her a copy of her birth chart and told her a few things about it, and she surprised me with this beautiful pottery mug as a thank you. I was delighted and a little amazed. This might seem like a small thing, but it was actually a somewhat profound experience for me. It's quite rare to come across a person who truly values astrology and astrological insight in my physical (non-online) life. 

Unfortunately, real astrology and astrological work continue to be chronically de-valued within most of society, even as "sound byte" pop astrology surges in popularity. I talked a little about that phenomenon in this video: "What is Astrology?"

Many people who do appreciate and utilize astrology maintain it as a "dirty little secret" in their lives for fear of judgment in a society that brands astrologers and people who "believe in" astrology as kooks or at the very least as silly and naive.

("I don't believe in astrology. I use it because it works." - Antero Alli)

This kind gesture and act of recognition from my Scorpio co-worker reminded me of one of the best qualities of Scorpio - the ability to suss out the neglected, the under-valued, the put upon, the languishing, and to feed it some desperately-needed energy and support, to inject new life. This is one of the most magical and under-recognized abilities of the sign of Scorpio.

This mutual exchange between me and my co-worker was one of the good Figure 8 dynamics associated with the sign. And I like it. I like it a whole lot.

Venus entered Scorpio this morning, and we now start to get down to brass tacks as far as the meaning and themes of the upcoming Venus retrograde in Scorpio/Libra (October 5 - November 16). With a Venus retrograde in Scorpio, along with Greater Benefic Jupiter completing its transit of the sign, the time is ripe for the re-valuing of astrology and all the Scorpionic skillz that are so often under-recognized, under-respected, and under-valued.

It's time to stop the chronic mockery and under-valuing of astrology. It's time to give astrology and real working astrologers the respect they deserve. This is only fair. And with Venus retrograding back into justice-oriented Libra, fairness is a big element of this retrograde process.

As an illustration of the insidious (and quite insane) de-valuing of astrology and astrologers, I'm re-posting an excerpt from an old article about a truly shit-tastic comment left on my blog like a steaming pile of cow dung (Scorpio/Pluto relate to excrement, too, let's not forget). I've fielded similar commentary throughout my decade+ as a professional astrologer, continuing to the present day.

There are a whole lot of assholes out there. And doesn't Venus in Scorpio know it?

What is Astrology?

 Willow's Web Astrology blog "birth" chart - February 26, 2008

Click to enlarge.

"What is astrology?" may seem like a simple question, but it is not always so simple to answer. Astrology is practised in many different ways by many different astrologers.

In this YouTube video, I talk about my own practise of astrology, which is professional intuitive astrology practised as a spiritual art.

 

* YouTube Video: Willow from Willow's Web Astrology on "What is Astrology?" *

Jupiter in Taurus and the Value of Real Astrological Knowledge

The people in the city I've moved to are cheap. Exceptionally cheap. Exasperatingly cheap. This is not something they would take as an insult, either. It's actually an odd point of pride. 

It's a prairie city, but that doesn't explain it completely. I've lived in a few prairie cities, and this one takes the cake. It's a fairly provincial city - meaning, it has some very set, old school attitudes. Most people are born and raised here. Not a lot of "outsiders" come through, and there is not a lot of exposure to what's going on in the rest of the world. It's a petri dish culture, so what grows and develops here is distinctly of this city. That has its pluses and minuses, to be sure. 

There's a deeply-rooted socio-political alternative culture, which I like. (There are also a tonne of freemasons here - who have teamed up with the New Age - which I don't dig so much, but that's another story...) 

I'm a minimalist, so I understand non-consumerism. But this is not non-consumerism. People still want stuff. They just want it for less than the stated price. They want something for nothing, basically. 

The chiselling down has been developed into a fine art here, and I find it difficult to deal with when interacting with people face-to-face. It's very slippery. 

To be clear, this is coming from people who are actually quite comfortable financially. In addition to rampant poverty, there is a lot of money here. A lot of it is old money, though, so they keep it on the down low. There are a number of high-end boutiques that do very well in this city, and you'd better believe people are not haggling over price there. The pubs and restaurants are doing fine. Bands are playing to packed houses. The malls are humming. People can always find the money when they really want something, and this is why I do not give discounts. 

One of the biggest problems is that people here do not seem aware of the value of astrological information from a professional astrologer. This happens, in part, because there are a lot of astrology hobbyists out there, and they're often willing to practise on people for free or for cheap. I'm not a hobbyist, though. And when people here in El Cheapoville ask me what my rates are, I can feel their minds being boggled. 

One woman in her senior years was absolutely baffled by my price for a 15-minute reading. "But...but, fifteen minutes is a very small amount of time!" What I'd like to explain in this post is the process that goes into a professional astrology reading - at least, from me - in hopes that it will help explain the value of the readings. 

For the people who are boggled by the prices, I would like them to be aware of these points: 

1. The process of doing an astrology reading requires a very concentrated and focused energy. It's energy-intensive work, and it deals with multiple layers. Readings require psychic energy, keen emotional intuition, analytical skills, strong navigation, and the use of my special mix of astrological techniques - and this energy expenditure needs to be compensated accordingly. 

2. I don't do cold readings. What this means is I don't set up a half-hour reading, print off the chart and then interact with the chart only for that scheduled 30 minutes. For me, that actually wouldn't produce the most effective reading. The information presented in a reading isn't pulled out of thin air. There's a whole process involved of studying charts, finding the pertinent information to be integrated, and then coming up with a coherent presentation of that information. To prepare for a reading, I put in between half an hour and 1.5 hours of intensive prep work. I may look at one chart; I may look at four. It all depends what the person is asking and where I need to go to find the information. I consult the ephemerides. I make notes. And then I let things percolate. By the time it's all consolidated into the reading, it is hopefully effective and to-the-point. 

3. The full value of a reading may not be apparent immediately after, but the information from an astrology reading will stay with you and assist you for months or years after the reading. Good astrological information and perspective can help you make stronger, more well-informed decisions, keeping you out of situations that are not in your best interests and saving you time, energy, heartache and money. A single point in an astrology reading can explain and validate huge parts of your life experience, providing self-awareness that can literally change your life's course for the better. It's potent stuff. 

4. I'm a self-taught astrologer with my own style which means that, though I've been influenced by other astrologers (we all have), I have developed my own system of astrology that you cannot get anywhere else. 

5. Astrology is not a hobby for me. This is how I make my living, along with other supplemental work, and it's how I expect I will be making my living for a while to come. So I don't do astrology readings for fun. This is work. Consider it along the lines of metaphysical dentistry. Another situation I'm running into that I'm surprised is still so ingrained here is the idea that if what you do has a "spiritual" aspect to it (what doesn't, really?), it's wrong to charge money for it. This actually makes no sense to me. Everyone is entitled to live life as he/she sees fit, but I truly resent people putting their stuff on me regarding this subject. To me, work is work. Work requires energy, and it requires a reciprocal energy exchange in the form of money if one is to survive in this society. People saying this stuff are generally financially supported in other ways, often doing "spiritual" work on the side, and can afford to take that type of stance. That's not my scenario. 

6. Hey, I'm Willow. I'm a cool chick, and I know my stuff. I ask for what I think a session with me is worth. If you don't agree, you can seek out a cheaper alternative. 

Anyway, I realize most people who read this blog already understand this stuff. I just wanted to put this out there because of the friction I'm coming up against in this new city. For the quality of the reading a person receives from me, my rates are very reasonable, and I'd like to reinforce that point.

The Precession of the Equinoxes, Shifting Astrological Eras and '2012'

I'd like to make it clear (as clear as possible with five planets in Pisces, which might be not very) that when I write about the Piscean and Aquarian eras, I'm talking about the precession of the equinoxes - the shift in placement of the Sun at March equinox from the sidereal (physical) constellation of Pisces into the sidereal constellation of Aquarius. 

This physical shift in the Sun's placement relates to the end of the astrological Piscean era and the beginning of the Aquarian - a time frame we are currently living through. (Recall that the position of the bodies in the sidereal zodiac/physical constellations shift over time. They don't in the tropical zodiac.) 

Uranus re-entering Aries March 11 marks the official end of the eight-year Uranus in Pisces - Neptune in Aquarius mutual reception. We've been experiencing this mutual reception since Uranus entered Pisces March 10, 2003, and it neatly winds up almost exactly eight years later on March 11, 2011. 

I read this mutual reception as the most strongly interwoven crossover period between astrological eras, and it now draws to a close. The ingress of Uranus into the first sign of the zodiac (Aries) combined with the conclusion of the mutual reception makes this an important birth point as far as new cycles go - picking up on the seeds planted in the summer of 2010 with the cardinal t-squares. 

We now start to experience a separation and shift into a stronger Aquarian overlay, tipping the scales out of astrological tail-end Pisces. 

All this relates to a very basic astrological idea - that when the planets shift signs, we shift into the different energetic themes, overlays and events that correspond with that sign. 

When the outer planets shift signs, it's broad, social/collective/global change that also affects us personally. Macro and micro are inter-related. 

Within the span of three years (2008-2011), we will have experienced all the outer planets changing signs. Pluto ingressed Capricorn January 25, 2008, Uranus ingressed Aries (initially) May 27, 2010, and Neptune ingresses Pisces April 4, 2011. We also have Chiron newly in Pisces. Big, multi-layered shifts. 

We'll be adopting and experiencing more Aquarian characteristics and themes in this new terrain, but there will still be a very strong Piscean flavour with Neptune in its domicile Pisces for 15 years and Chiron in Pisces for eight. 

Neptune moves from Aquarius into Pisces April 4, 2011, retrograding into Aquarius and re-entering Pisces for good February 3, 2012. 

There's no way to determine the exact date of the precession of the March equinox from sidereal Pisces to Aquarius. From the most commonly used astrological calculations of 2,160 years for each era, we have another 150 years of Pisces to go. 

Again, we don't just sweep all the mess and unlearned Piscean lessons under the rug and move into Aquarius, as many seem to be preaching. There is also the idea these days that we are completing an entire cycle of precessions through the whole twelve-sign zodiac, which is just under 26,000 years. I haven't been able to completely prove this to myself as of yet, and it isn't my area of research, so I can't say one way or the other. What I do believe is that you can take almost any cross-section, analyze it and come up with similar findings: we're living through big times, big shifts and lots of changes, and you can see this from the micro-est micro to the macro-est macro. 

What makes sense to me is the idea that the end of one astrological era and beginning of another is multi-layered. This has especially been the case during the Uranus-Neptune mutual reception, and this is why so many have been pouring the coal to it over the past eight years. We have been intensely challenged to complete and master certain aspects of the Piscean era, holding and applying that wisdom and understanding, while simultaneously anchoring and taking steps into the beginning of the Aquarian. These challenges continue. 

We're in both eras simultaneously in a lot of ways, working to make the best transition we can. It's been bizarre, demanding, bumpy as hell and touch-and-go at times. These are some of the themes I navigate on this blog. I do believe we're in a time period of important tipping points and directional openings on this planet between the two astrological overlays. I think our personal choices and directions matter greatly and have vast ripple effects at this time. This is why I think it's so important to ensure that we're directing ourselves according to our own deep, personal knowledge and beliefs rather than being caught up unaware in movements that do not have the best interests of humanity at heart. 

The end of the Mayan calendar or '2012' is not the same as the precession of the equinoxes, although there are people who correlate the two. 

Using astrology certainly does not mean you accept the ideology that is being promoted around the date of December 21, 2012. I'm also not referring to the New Age version of the Age of Aquarius with the tie-in to One World Government, One World Religion, global unity consciousness, "all paths leading to God" (ha), the fifth dimension, or creating a new reality for the true believers. 

I'm not talking your standard Fourth Reich New Age World Order, a global messiah, or a generation of messiah children who have come to save us by enlightening us and raising our vibrations and whatnot. (Keep your mitts off my vibration, please.) 

I'm not talking about traveling up the enlightenment paradigm ladder to achieve the consciousness of the Ascended Masters, guided by our Higher Selves, a couple gurus in India and a bookshelf full of New Age 101 lit. 

I'm talking in basic astrological terms. 

The North Node is in Sagittarius now disposited by Jupiter in Aries. Getting clear on our personal beliefs (and maybe more importantly, on what we don't believe), speaking up about it when necessary and directing ourselves accordingly are the keys to our successful progress here. This is how we head off and disempower the nightmare dystopia attempting to close in. 

As most people who read this blog are already aware, the "Universal Truths" of the New Age are not my truth. The words and advisements coming from their gurus and followers do not hold water with me. I hold no superiour, spiritual or otherwise, and this is the Aquarian era I would like to see for a free, healthy, unharassed and unfucked with humanity. 

I won't be shy about it. I believe the New Age movement and its doctrine are the spiritual arm of fascism. I believe that the Third Reich was connected to New Age doctrine just as I believe the Fourth Reich Global Governors and those handing out their orders are currently. I think it's part of a plan I do not wish to see become a reality on this planet. And I think a lot of people are passing this stuff along without a full awareness of what it is, where it comes from and what it's ultimate goals are. This is why I'm such a hard ass when it comes to deconstructing the New Age movement and exposing its roots. I don't see it as harmless, feel-good stuff. I see it as a spiritual control mechanism parasitizing people and keeping them from their true personal spiritual potency - a potency we desperately need more of on this planet. People deserve better. 

A couple posts I wrote on the subject in June when Uranus first dipped into Aries:  

Jupiter Conjunct Uranus in Aries: the Fourth Reich is Still Vicious and the New Agers are Still Dumbasses. More Change Required.  

Uranus in Aries and the Spiritual Supernova Point: Busting Out of the Structures that Will No Longer Contain Us  

Unfortunately, astrology has come to be understood as synonymous with New Age ideology in the minds of many people, which includes the 2012 furor. A lot of people are actually embarrassed to admit they are interested in astrology due to the associations with New Age. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Astrology is not New Age. Astrology is not a belief system. It's a symbolic language describing cycles and themes that we can use as a navigational tool. That's not all it is, but that's it in a nutshell. If it works for you, use it. If it doesn't, don't. I really don't mind. But please know that astrology is alive and well outside the confines of the New Age. 

Because so much astrology is insidiously merged with New Age doctrine, posts like this are necessary for differentiation. It's a continual effort. New Age doctrine is in the ethers in a lot of ways, forced to the saturation point, and with certain subjects, it tries to worm its way in. I watch my wording and try to change anything that might have a New Age tone or energy. I do my best, but this stuff is like sticky etheric honey laced with arsenic, oozing into every available opening. You just think you've rooted it out, and another tentacle finds its way in. 

It's very conflicting as I see, in this new city in which I'm living, how present and how organized New Age is. Again. Just like in the last city I lived in. It's everywhere, really. It's impossible, at this point, not to come into contact with it. So I just do my own thing. It's a very fine line to walk, though, and it's not a comfortable one.

Has My Sun Sign Really Changed? Nah, the Siderealists Are Just Acting Up Again

Every year or so, an article about how the zodiac signs have shifted comes out and gets a lot of hype. You're not a Sun sign Scorpio, it will claim. You're actually a Libra Sun, and everything you have ever learned about yourself through astrology is complete bunk!

A couple sidereal-based articles have recently come out making these claims and have gotten a lot of play, including one about a 13th sign called Ophiuchus. This has set off a ripple of panic through Facebook about what the real and true zodiac signs are.

The truth is, they can be either, depending which system you prefer.

See, there are two major branches of astrology - sidereal and tropical.

The sidereal zodiac uses the placement of the physical constellations in the sky, and they do move gradually. Things shift in the cosmos. We're in an ever-changing universe. This is true.

Tropical astrology uses the solstice/equinox points - the seasonal changes based on the relationship between the Sun and the Earth - and the zodiac is a sort of band that goes around the Earth based on those points. In the tropical system, March Equinox (Spring Equinox in the northern hemisphere) coincides with the Sun entering Aries, the first sign of the zodiac, which marks the astrological New Year.

In the sidereal system, the position of the Sun at March Equinox is currently at zero degrees in the physical constellation of Pisces and is just about to move into 29 degrees Aquarius. This is the "Age of Aquarius" stuff - the precession of the equinoxes bringing a shift in astrological eras from Piscean to Aquarian.

So yes, the equinoxes have precessed in sidereal astrology...not in tropical. And the difference right now is 30 degrees or one full sign. So it's correct to say that if you are a tropical Sun sign Scorpio, you would be a sidereal Sun sign Libra. If you are a tropical Moon sign Gemini, you would be a sidereal Moon sign Taurus. If you are a tropical Mercury sign Leo, you would be a sidereal Mercury sign Cancer, etc.

The problem, and what is generally the problem with these types of articles, is that the dudes in them are talking about sidereal astrology and are saying that their system means tropical astrology is bunk. This is not actually the case. They're just two different systems.

At one point, when the zodiac was first carved out, the two systems matched - the Sun entered the physical constellation of Aries at March Equinox. But over the centuries, there has been a divergence as one group of astrologers (tropical) used the original settings of Sun in Aries at March/Spring Equinox, Sun in Cancer at June/Summer Solstice, Sun in Libra at September/Fall Equinox and Sun in Capricorn at December/Winter Solstice. The other group (sidereal) followed the shifting physical constellations.

Astrology is basically a lens, a perspective, that we use to (hopefully) more deeply and intricately understand life on Planet Earth - especially natural cycles and energetic themes. Knowing these cycles and themes, in theory, helps us live our lives attuned to natural forces with at least a ballpark idea of what is being asked of us at certain times in our lives.

Sidereal and tropical are two different astrological lenses looking at life on this planet from different perspectives, and as an astrologer, I find both valuable. Both have merit. It just depends which system speaks to you more strongly (if either speaks to you at all). For me, it's tropical, so that's what I practise. But I also enjoy the sidereal perspective from good sidereal astrologers and integrate some of that perspective into my own - especially the shifting astrological ages from Pisces to Aquarius. This just hits me as true based on my own observations of the energetic shifts of these times.

It would be nice if people in articles such as these would explain the two different systems in their "everything you have ever learned about astrology is crap" stance, but they don't. I'm not sure why they don't. Maybe they don't know, maybe they don't care, or maybe they are just trying to tip the scales to more mass use of sidereal astrology.

Pop astrology horoscopes you see in all the magazines and newspapers are based in tropical astrology, and I can see it getting annoying and oppressive for siderealists that their system is so downplayed in the West.

Incidentally, most pop horoscopes also focus only on the Sun sign. We're Sun/masculine/yang heavy here in the West. And this makes for a highly simplistic astrology, as we actually have a zodiac sign for every body in the solar system and more: the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto along with a bunch of asteroids and geocentric points.

Inevitably, once the media interviews some tropical astrologers to balance things out, the hype simmers down. Some people decide to investigate the sidereal system or to make a switch. And a lot more learn that there are two astrological systems. So no harm, no foul, I guess. It's always good to see things from a different perspective...or at least to know that other perspectives do exist.

Things ARE shifting...very rapidly this year, in particular, and astrology will continue to shift and change along with the times.

But has your Sun sign changed? Only if you've decided to adopt sidereal astrology.

If you've already got it tattooed on your body somewhere, I'd suggest just sticking with tropical.

Fixed T-Square and a Taurus Full Moon - Things Are Getting Real With Some Samhain Online Activism

We're experiencing a squaring-off of planets in the fixed signs right now, continuing into the Taurus Full Moon, exact at 12:14 p.m. MST tomorrow.

This isn't a long-lasting t-square, as it involves the faster-moving planets, but it is a potent one.

We have Mars in early Leo (fully into its retrograde shadow) squaring Mercury in early Scorpio at 5:50 p.m. today, just five minutes after the Moon enters Taurus.

Also involved in that Mars-Mercury square is Ceres and the Sun in Scorpio. So in effect, we have a triple conjunction (if you include the asteroid Ceres) in Scorpio being squared by Mars in Leo and opposed by the Moon in Taurus, which is forming an ever-tightening fixed t-square as it moves to fullness. There are some definite fixed sign issues coming to culmination here.

This is a clash of the fixed titans. People will be digging their heels in. Any progress made now will be gritty and very hard-won, yet long-lasting and meaningful. Fixed sign issues are issues that stay with us and stick to us. The themes can be almost constants in our lives, and gaining movement with them takes a tremendous amount of effort for seemingly little progress. However, the progress that is made is also fixed - as in, it's not going anywhere.

Mars in Leo square Mercury in Scorpio can bring some passionate verbal sparring and a general feistiness to communications. Our words trigger deeper, multi-layered and complex issues now, often related to what has remained unsaid, unintegrated, taboo through generational lines.

Our Scorpionic realizations now can also fuel the huge new directions we're undertaking related to our personal creative processes, in focus over the next seven months as Mars retrogrades in Leo (December 19, 2009 to March 9, 2010).

Part of the tension here will be between us raring to go with our new creative goals (Mars in Leo) versus the slow, grounded timing related to bringing those creative directions into physical reality (Moon in Taurus). The impatience of Mars in Leo being tempered by the demands for patience and the wait for emotional readiness of the Moon in Taurus.

Mars square Mercury relates to the application of our will through our words. With Mars and Scorpio involved, things can get incendiary, and there can be a real attraction to getting down and dirty. Throwing some verbal punches. But there is a necessity with the square formation to stay in check - using the Taurean groundedness and boundaries and the Leonine playfulness and fun to temper the concentration in super-driven Scorpio.

We have to be careful not to cross those lines because there are things that must be accomplished with this square tension. As always with Scorpio energy, there are some very neglected truths that need to come to the surface. And in order to bring them to the surface, we have to stay in touch with our intuitive understanding of how to go about doing that while not letting the Scorpionic tendency to extremes push us to the point of meltdown, ruining our chances for that fixed sign movement.

Scorpionic insights are not comfortable for status-quo, steady-as-you-go Taurus or for expressive, fun-loving Leo. Scorpio has a "let's get it all out there in the open" drive that threatens to blow things wide open, shaking the Taurean foundations and the Leonine joie-de-vivre.

It's not all tension and harshness, though.

Luckily, we have a nice Venus in Libra trine to Neptune, stationing direct in Aquarius, in the late afternoon tomorrow (4:21 p.m. MST) to soften the T-Square edges. This Venus-Neptune trine will support us in keeping the peace by providing us with a broader, birds-eye understanding of these very important times we're living through. Our spiritual faith and guidance will be very accessible here to get us through any rough spots.

Appreciating what we find beautiful on this planet (with Venus in its own sign Libra and the Moon in Taurus) can also provide some uplifting and buoyance as we grind out the fixed squares/oppositions.

I experienced one of the square-induced rough spots online last night (Hallowe'en night) with a woman in an online forum I just joined (and subsequently left) who was claiming that Hallowe'en is an evil, Satan-worshipping occult ritual and that anyone who takes part in it is an unknowing pawn. She also grouped pagans and astrology into that category.

I was actually shocked to hear this type of thinking (I'm not exposed to it often).

The woman had no knowledge of the traditional roots of Hallowe'en/All Hallow's Eve/Samhain and was making blanket statements about it based solely on the commercialized form of Hallowe'en we experience today, as well as extreme examples of immoral and criminal behaviour committed on this day. IE. the Satan-worshipping stuff

While I respect the right of people to make their own judgements about things like Hallowe'en, I begged to differ with her blanket statements and attempted to explain the traditional roots of the day, pointing out that certain aspects of modern-day Hallowe'en being corrupted and misused by a small segment of the population did not mean that all people who participate in the day are unknowing pawns in that corrupted version.

For anyone who doesn't know, modern-day Hallowe'en stems from a thousands-of-years-old pagan festival called Samhain (pronounced sow-in) which was a day to celebrate the transition between the end of summer/harvest and the beginning of colder temperatures/the darker days of winter.

Outside the religious connotations (which don't relate to my use of the term), pagan means, very simply, country-dweller. So it refers to people who live connected to the land and the seasonal cycles, the harvests, etc.

I'm really not sure where this all-pervasive attitude that pagan is synonymous with "evil" comes from, but I must say that this ignorance (the same ignorance that would have led to my ancestors being burned at the stake) is certainly alive and well in 2009 North America.

Corresponding to the division between the lighter half of the year and the darker half, people traditionally thought Samhain/Hallowe'en was a day when the veil between the living and the dead was particularly thin. It has an association with ancestors and the sign Scorpio, corresponding to the modern-day focus on ghosts and haunted houses and such. Because this day and celebration relate to heading to the darker half of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway), there is a corresponding focus on the darker, more taboo elements of human existence. As well, it gives people a few delicious frights as we dress up and let loose from the constraints of daily workaday life - which forces most people to live according to the homogenous corporate time clock, not natural timing.

To me, the day has a sacred feel to it. Hallowe'en means "holy evening," and it's a day when you can feel close to your ancestors and honour all they went through to get you where you are today, including the dark, brutal aspects of human life.

Now, here lies a major distinction:

There is also an idea associated with this day that, because of the thinner veil and the potency of the day, you could draw on darker spirits, as well, if you so chose.

So of course, this means that a small segment of people will choose to use the energy of the day for irresponsible ends. Misuses of energy go on all the time. (The Secret, anyone?) But taking it to the dark, ritualistic extreme is done only by certain types of people. It's not a pre-requisite by any means, and celebrating Hallowe'en doesn't mean condoning murder, Satanism or immorality. To apply that corrupted version to everyone celebrating the day is just false.

But try explaining that to a person who thinks that the words pagan and astrology are synonyms for "evil."

This woman was using perversions of those terms, making them something sinister, and applying these perversions in a blanket sort of way to everyone involved. Sorry, but that's horseshit.

People who are connected to the seasonal cycles/nature have celebrated this day for thousands of years, alongside all the corruption and BS. To claim that we're all unknowing pawns in some sort of Satan-worshipping plot is just ridiculous to me.

Anyway, this was quite an interesting Hallowe'en, if irritating and neck-stiffening. But I'm sure my ancestors were gathered round as we did our little part.

Again, Happy Hallowe'en and let's never forget the real, strong, true roots of the day and what it really means to those of us who stay connected to beautiful Earth.

In Defense of Astrology as a Catalytic Tool for Understanding

I keep running into people (online or in daily life) who challenge me on my use of astrology. These people are sometimes straight-up skeptics or sometimes they are people who are curious about astrology but can't reconcile their interest in it with all they've been taught about how it's a bunch of wishy-washy garbage. 

People often want to engage me in debates about the validity of astrology. I always decline. 

I'm not interested in debating. It's a waste of my time and energy to talk in circles with people who are already convinced there is nothing of value in astrology. I'm not even interested in talking to the curious yet skeptical. I mean, it's really none of my concern whether they get into astrology. Astrology is the sort of thing that either speaks to you, or it doesn't. It makes sense to you, or it doesn't. And I'm fine with that. It's not my responsibility to try to convince skeptics that the thing I've devoted the last six years of my life to learning and developing has any inherent worth or meaning. 

Sometimes, I must admit, I consider whether I should drop the astrological analysis aspect of what I write. I realize by writing astrological analysis, especially combining it with political topics or current events, that I'm writing to a very small segment of the population - especially considering so many people seek out astrology that is strictly about their personalities and personal relationships. (There's much more to the process of self-understanding through astrology than just those two aspects of life and self.) 

But I keep coming back to the same answer on that one - no. I shouldn't drop it. 

I keep coming back to the value of astrology and the way it can provide such an in-depth, detailed understanding of ourselves and the world around us. For me, nothing else I've come across really compares. It's such a powerful tool for seeing beneath the surface, to energetic realities that would be missed otherwise. It connects us to something broader than our personal lives and gives us expanded context of our existences. It helps us understand ourselves and our lives within that context, again, in a way I have not found with other disciplines. 

So honestly, I'm irritated by the way I'm written off and often not taken seriously by people when I say I'm an astrologer. I'm especially pissed off when people group astrology in with New Age or refer to it as a belief system. 

As an astrologer I knew online, Antero Alli, says: "I don't believe in astrology. I use it because it works." 

I feel similarly. I'll continue to use astrology as a tool (and write about it) as long as it keeps giving me the perspective I need. The day it stops "working" will be the day I stop practising. 

But try explaining that concept to someone who has already made up his or her mind that astrology is a bunch of superstitious crap. A waste of time. Something no truly intelligent person would put any stock in. I had an online conversation about astrology recently. I wouldn't enter into a debate about it with a dude who was a skeptic. He referred to it as "pseudo-science." I told him I didn't consider astrology a science. To which he replied that science just means "knowledge." (ha!) But isn't it funny how the scientific community thinks it is the absolute judge of what is knowledge and what isn't? Generally, their version of knowledge is strictly the quantifiable, what can be proven by them. 

To me, that is nothing but arrogance and an example of the imbalance of masculine and feminine within the scientific community. 

I tried to explain to this guy that a lot of what I know, including the effectiveness and value of astrology, could not be proven to him. Nor could things like intuition or spiritual guidance, for example. 

And I realized that that dude and I were looking at each other across the divide between Piscean Age and Aquarian. The Aquarians are quick to write anything off that is unproveable by their scientific methods. 

But I still feel as if I know something they don't know.

Astrology: No Specific Belief System Required!

This is a follow-up to Astrology is Not New Age because I realize there is more to those points.

I think a helpful clarification is this: the use and practise of astrology does not require any specific belief system. 

Astrologers most certainly practise astrology from their own personal perspectives. This is something people should keep in mind. There is no such thing as purely objective astrological analysis. But there is no particular belief system required to use/practise astrology. 

What I come into contact with quite often is the merging of astrology with New Age beliefs, and what I'd like to see is an acknowledgement of this. 

A lot of people take issue with the term "New Age" and argue that these are actually ancient metaphysical ideas, not New Age. 

As I've said before, there is little "new" in New Age. People are using old concepts but putting their own New Agey spin on them for use and application in today's society. My problem comes when people do not look at (and acknowledge) the roots of their own belief systems and promote their personal beliefs as "universal truth." 

I ran into some examples of this on that same astrology message board, and, again, the fact that people are arguing these points shows a need for clarification. 

There was a poster who came from a New Age/metaphysical perspective who was arguing that the "Seven Rays" was a universal concept. 

Again, metaphysical/New Age system, perhaps. Universal concept? I don't think so. Universal concepts go beyond any particular belief system. Hence the term "universal." 

Another poster argued that the idea of "ascended masters" who guide us Earthlings to enlightenment had nothing to do with New Age but was basically a commonly held truth. 

Poster: "So Jesus from Nazareth was invented by New Age?" 

Willow: "The idea of Jesus as one of a group of "ascended masters" guiding us Earthlings to enlightenment is, sure." 

Poster: "You believe Jesus from Nazareth was operating all by himself? What about his disciples? What about his mom?" 

Willow: "I don't believe in Jesus of Nazareth. Or his disciples. Or his Mom. This is the point I'm making...no belief system at all is required to use and practise astrology. Rather, no specific belief system is required to use and practise astrology." 

Poster: "What the F* are we doing here anyway on this planet, if there's no such thing as striving for enlightenment? And if there IS such a striving, then why would it be so unheard of that there would be a group of people who already have mastered this plane? And who are also willing to guide us? Just imagine us without all this guidance..." 

Willow: "Those are your particular beliefs...not commonly held universal truths." 

Poster: "So you just live and breath without striving for anything?" 

Willow: "I'm not sure how you came to that conclusion. Because I don't hold your beliefs, I don't strive for anything? Seems like a bit of a leap." 

(Disclaimer: I was talking there about the beliefs that have been built up around Jesus/the idea of Jesus being one of the New Age's ascended masters, not about the man's existence or non-existence.) 

I run into this quite often - cases in which people don't recognize their own belief system and promote it as commonly or universally held. As in, "Everyone believes this! It's just the truth!"

This was a big part of the Pluto in Sagittarius transit (1995 - 2008) - getting to the root of and examining (Pluto) belief systems (Sagittarius). Purging what was past its prime and no longer personally true or meaningful. 

As a transition point between Pluto in Sagittarius and Pluto in Capricorn (retrograde Pluto in Capricorn is heading back to 0 degrees), we now look at how structures and also hierarchies are set up related to those belief systems and apply the Plutonic process to them. 

Under the context of this being the end of the astrological Piscean Era, I believe we have to look at spiritual hierarchy and structures, as well. The idea of spiritual hierarchy (an example of which is the idea of ascended masters guiding their followers to enlightenment) is something that I think is/was prominent in the Piscean Age, in general. The past 2,000 odd years... 

So this is not something strictly related to the current New Age movement as it has come about in the last 200 years or so, but it is a foundational tenet of the New Age movement. 

As far as there not being a system of belief within the current New Age movement (another common argument): 

As I've said, I can generally tell if someone is coming from a New Age belief system within a minute or two of speaking with them. There are commonalities.

One message board poster who argued from a New Age/spiritually hierarchical perspective (but didn't recognize it as such) gave me some fodder for this. He was basically arguing all around my main points, trying to wear me down. 

"I'm offering you a chance to reevaluate your notions of Astrology, and in doing so I am challenging my notions of what denotes patience and what denotes foolishness...," he posted. 

Perfect starting point. Condescending as all hell, too. 

 1) This is one of those common things within current establishment New Age: to want to "help people open up to the truth." IE. their truth. 

Along the same lines: helping people to "check their perceptions" or "repattern their beliefs" or "reevaluate their notions" or "get to the next level." The root idea being that whoever holds a differing perspective is just sadly misguided and needs the "more enlightened" New Ager's patience and enlightened words of wisdom to realize the errors of their ways. There is a hovering, indirect, wearing-you-down sort of energy as they attempt to increase your enlightenment level by osmosis, I suppose. 

2) They are taught that they are in "spiritual service" to people of lower enlightenment/consciousness levels and the proselytizing and inappropriate wearing people down is justified in this way. 

3) Subtle yet insidious promotion of whatever their particular program of thinking may be - a book, video, seminar, guru, ideology, location/country. 

Common examples: The Secret, the pushing of "positive thinking," "Love and Light," "transcendence" - of ego, duality, darkness, whatever, "manifesting abundance," "creating your own reality," purification, cleansing, raising your vibration, ascension, etc. 

 4) Passive aggressiveness and subtle verbal abuse when you make it clear that you have differing opinions or are not interested. It's very common to be called negative, dense, "stuck in 3D," closed, not on their level, not open to the truth - or sometimes it's something more subtle like a passo aggro tone. (Passive aggressiveness is huge in the New Age.) 

5) Preoccupation with everyone thinking as they do, getting along, love and light, "oneness," being "open." Rejection of anything that doesn't fit this model (including all critique) as being of a "lower dimension," "lower consciousness level," or "density." 

"You're just not there yet." 

 6) Belief that all they need to do is continue to promote their way of thinking and eventually the person will come around to their understanding of things. "Oneness consciousness." There is a belief that "increased consciousness" is inevitable from being exposed to these New Age ideas/beliefs. 

7) Belief in spiritual levels/levels of enlightenment, culminating in becoming an ascended master and transcending the Earth plane. This is where all the "getting to the next level/dimension" stuff comes from. 

8) A big old heaping helping of spiritual materialism often involving the purchase of books, videos, lectures, sessions, seminars, courses, retreats, workshops, trips to Sedona, crystals, and monk-blessed items, among others. Often there is a sort of hierarchical grappling and competition related to who knows it all, who knows the "new thing." A tendency to faddishness. 

9) Spiritual ego - a belief that people will or should treat them in a special sort of way due to their impressive higher spiritual level. 

10) Anger and rationalizing when people exert their boundaries. 

11) A focus on transcending the problems on Earth by reaching a consciousness level "beyond" them. There is near-zero sociological awareness or desire to concretely work to expose and confront corrupt power.

12) Belief that people experiencing problems and difficult situations are bringing it on themselves with a "negative" and "lower" consciousness level. This is mostly due to the proliferation of The Secret and its ideology, as far as I can tell. 

So yeah, I can't help but think, if there is no common thread, no common belief system running through much of the New Age movement, how am I able to predict with uncanny accuracy how these interactions are going to go down? Most of them really do follow a formula.

Astrology is Not New Age

Astrology is Not New Age...Part Two

Astrology is Not New Age

This was the title of a post I made recently on an astrology message board, and wow...what an uproar it caused!

My points were that astrology pre-dates the New Age movement and is therefore not an offshoot of the New Age movement.

(Just for illustration - the roots of astrology go to at least 3000 BC. The roots of the New Age movement go to the 1800s AD.)

Because the New Age movement has taken certain old school things like astrology under its umbrella - along with things like crystals, herbs, massage, yoga - there is quite a lot of permeation of astrology with New Age beliefs by astrologers who hold those beliefs, in whatever form.

To the point that a lot of people are not aware that astrology and New Age ideas are not one thing.

On the message board, people argued that the two were inextricably linked. Or chose to argue all around the subject.

You're not objective! (Of course not. Never said I was. I made it clear I was not New Age and had problems with the New Age movement.)
You're a bigot! (Erm...I wouldn't turn this into a religious persecution thing.)
New Age is not a movement! It's indefinable and means different things to different people! (Honestly, that whole "everything is subjective" thing is a common New Age argument and kind of a cop-out.)
Define New Age then! List all the New Age beliefs! (Gack. Did the best I could on that one, but are you serious? You think I have the time or inclination to spoon feed you all that information?)
These are old ideas, not New Age! (I didn't say the ideas were anything new. I'm talking about the spin on these old ideas, the use and application of them today by the current New Age movement. For example, the "law of attraction" becoming so widely popular through sale of The Secret and now its sequel Beyond the Secret.
You're making generalizations! (Yes, well, I've had a massive number of interactions with people who hold New Age beliefs, and there are definite commonalities. Such strong commonalities that I can generally tell if someone is New Age within a minute of speaking with them. When you stop presenting these commonalities, I'll stop talking about these commonalities.)

And on...and on...

How can we create an astrology that does not include the law of attraction, one poster asked, somewhat rhetorically?

To which I replied, we don't need to create that. It already exists.

The same poster argued that the "cornerstones of astrology" are based in New Age so astrology cannot be separated from New Age.

Again, not true.

Where is this supposed non-New Age astrology that you speak of, she asked?

Right in front of you, I said. I'm not New Age and I practise astrology. Again...this is my basic point. That other forms of astrology exist.

To me, the fact that people are even arguing this shows a need for clarification.

If you want to combine astrology with your own New Age ideas, all right. But to not acknowlege your own context? To claim that this is the only form of astrology that exists? And then to dodge my actual points with a bunch of diversional arguments?

Finally, I realized...hey! It's not my responsibility to educate people or to go over the minutiae of my subjectivity so that they can find some fatal flaw. I wasn't asking anyone else to do that. I also wasn't trying to convert anyone to my way of thinking. I was just trying to put forth my perspective as a breath of fresh air for people who feel similarly. Agree or disagree...really makes no difference to me.

Honestly, I know this is a subject most people couldn't give a rat's ass about. And I really do wish I would stop having interactions with New Age proponents that show me the need for some critique. But I have to call 'em as I see 'em. What's the point of a blog otherwise?

Sometimes I have to share my perspective even though I know it will cause the shit to hit the fan...actually, it seems especially in those cases. 

 

Astrology is Not New Age...Part Two