GENDER and THE SACRED

I've got a new handle on X: @theXastrologer. Quite pleased to have got that one before anyone else took it. 😀 You can find me on threads and instagram as the_x_astrologer.

GENDER and THE SACRED

 

If something occurs that is unusual, then for indigenous people it is sacred, because it takes us out of the ordinary and the everyday. So lightning is sacred, dangerous animals and poisonous plants are sacred. And so are the Two Spirits, those unusual people who feel themselves to be both genders, though being of one biological sex. For Native Americans, it has always been accepted that some men want to live as women, and vice-versa. These people are looked to as leaders and healers, because they have both gender perspectives, each to a high degree.

 

It seems to me like such a mess. We have taken a gift from Spirit and turned it into a curse, and an epidemic amongst teenagers who do not yet know who they are. And we have also reduced it to sexual orientation, when it is about something much broader: 'gay' is a wholly inadequate term for what I am talking about.

 

There is maybe a lesson here in what happens if you try to make the sacred ordinary. There is a difference between a man living as a woman, and a man claiming he has become a woman. The former has an element of the sacred, the latter is a violation of nature, of what is possible, and people are not necessarily prejudiced to feel repelled by it.

 

The quest for the other gender is natural in both men and women in the second half of life, if not earlier. I deal with it regularly in the astrology readings I do. Men are seeking Venus: learning to listen, to themselves and to others. And women are seeking Mars: no more people-pleasing. It is a sterotype because it is so commonly the case. And it is not just about adding on new pieces to the personality. It is a soul journey to the divine feminine or masculine. Mars in a woman does not look the same as in a man, it is not about becoming like a man, it is about something different and bigger: there is an archetypal, sacred dimension to it. And the same for Venus in a man. It is a compelling journey of the Spirit. We find these opposites on the East-West of the Medicine Wheel, the Blue Road, the road of Spirit, that is not under our control. It is about gifts of Spirit that become our inner path.

 

People for the most part need simple categories with which to understand the world. The sacred moves us out of this black-and-whiteness, but it needs to be approached with caution, or you'll frighten the horses. With our transgenderism, we are trying to make the sacred normal, and it has resulted in dogmatism on one side, and revulsion on the other.

 

I am thinking out loud here, because I don't think there are any easy answers. But I think there is a case for doing away with surgical transitioning, which I think is the literalising of a spirit gift. And for people who want to live as the opposite gender to be seen as part of a sacred calling, as monks and nuns are. We have, by and large, done away with the sacred, and that is perhaps a big part of the problem.

 

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ON SATURN NOT BEING THE BOSS PLANET

Saturn is still getting used to not being the boss planet, since the advent of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. He keeps his job of providing form and boundaries and making stuff happen, while the outer planets get on with deeper alchemies. But Saturn frequently messes up by not yielding, creating madness, addiction and terror respectively, or variants thereof.

I am thinking of the current transit of Saturn through Pisces. This sign is ruled by Neptune, and the transit involves giving form to the formless. That is not easy, because Pisces is not tangible. If you can open yourself to channelling the whole universe - not my Will but Thine - then you are in with a chance. More than a chance: this is as powerful as it gets. But it probably takes many years to be an adequate vehicle for this kind of energy, and not attempt to appropriate it as one's own. It is great for divinatory astrology, and it is interesting that I changed the name of this group under this transit.

Boris Johnson is a good example of natal Saturn in Pisces. He could win elections, because he could communicate a collective vision, whether or not you agreed with it. But on a personal level, he had little in the way of discipline, and that was his downfall. With his second Saturn return underway, he is experiencing the consequences of his actions, via censure from Parliament. I think this illustrates quite well the 2 ways this placement can go.

 

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Men need to yield to Venus; women need to claim Mars. This can be catalysed through relationship. It is the anima/animus journey that Jung writes about.

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As astrologers, we are essentially helping people find their genius. And to see Fate as a living, guiding thing, that enchants the universe by showing us that it knows us: through the chart, all those gods with their callings on us. And the difficult process of incarnating them: Saturn.

 

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There is nowhere that can give you a certificate in your own genius: etymology - spirit attendant from birth. What you were born to do. It gradually reveals itself, as long as you keep doing the next thing. Don't worry about the long-term plan, that is taken care of: Fate, a living principle for the ancient Greeks. And Nordic peoples. 

 

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Astrology shows us that we belong to the universe, not to ourselves. As such it is a remedy for modern individualism. Politically, it would tend to lean us towards responsibilities (transpersonal) over rights (personal).

ASTROLOGICAL DEBRIS

I'm not so inclined to write longer pieces at the moment, more the odd topical comment as it occurs to me. I tweet them (@Astrotabletalk), and I post them in the UK Astrologers Facebook group, which I have opened up for anyone to join.

Here are some recent ones, while they remain topical 😎

The military rebellion in Russia may well be the first sign of a revolution to come, as Pluto moves in on the Russian Moon (the people) in Aquarius (revolution) in the next few years.

 

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Chiron cannot be seen with the naked eye. He is therefore transpersonal. His apparent 'wounding' is a call to listen to the outer planets. If your life doesn't seem to work around your Chiron placement, then treat it as a blessing, as a calling.

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 Ceres' daughter was abducted by Pluto. This time she has been abducted by Neptune: there is currently an opposition between the two, and the Titanic sub has gone missing. Ceres changes sign on Wednesday 21st, so maybe it will be quickly located. (NB I was being hopeful when I wrote this! Privately, I wasn't optimistic with such a short astrological window. Also, there had been a void moon when they embarked on the Sunday.)

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The current economic woes are payback time for the lunacy of shutting down the economy over a minor disease. They will probably continue until Pluto - god of riches - finally moves to enter Aquarius in October 2024. Just in time to decide the next UK election.

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The transits for Boris Johnson's resignation as an MP, in response to having been found guilty of lying to Parliament over parties during lockdown. He is having his 2nd Saturn Return - the reaping of consequences - and it was today being activated by the Moon. Saturn in Pisces just can't keep its flies done up.

 

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After the 2nd Saturn Return, aged 58 or so, we need no longer pretend to be a responsible adult. It is time to play. And out of that can come our best work.

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Perhaps Jupiter in Taurus will give a boost to the world economy, after its Covid battering. Interestingly, he was last in Taurus in 2011, in the wake of the 2008/9 financial crisis, bringing a long bull-run (Taurus!) in his wake.

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 It would make sense that Prince Harry, having first left the vocation laid out for him (tr Uranus opp MC) should now separate from Meghan (tr Uranus conjunct Moon, the long-term partner for a man). Meghan was a catalyst along the way towards an entirely new life.

 

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The Northern Ireland chart has MC at 29 Capricorn. There are 2 more crossings by Pluto to go. I think this transit will see Sinn Fein decisively prevail, and it will be all over bar the shouting in favour of a united Ireland. And let's not forget the 2nd Chiron Return: the first, aged 50, was the start of 'the troubles' that led to the 1998 Belfast Agreement. The second Return recently completed, and Sinn Fein became the largest party in the NI Parliament.

 

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One aspect of the current Pluto-Jupiter square has been the call to legislate (Jupiter) AI (Pluto in Aquarius). The fear (Pluto) can be exaggerated (Jupiter), as we saw under the conjunction in 2020, when Covid hit and the world panicked in the face of the unknown.

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 With the advent of ChatGPT, many experts are worried about AI taking control. A Pluto in Aquarius issue. But maybe it will be a matter of opinion, and surely it will be politicised? Do social media already control us? Or does the government? Is anyone or anything ever in control?

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 I think that electional astrology runs counter to the divinatory nature of astrology. I think it is always best to do something at a time that seems right to you, and to use the chart of the event afterwards to understand what you did. Otherwise astrology becomes a substitute, instead of an aid, to the intuition. The guidance from within is all-important, it is what we are here to trust and to live from.

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 I think that evolutionary astrology attempts to place a linear model on a cyclical paradigm. It asks us to imagine that we are headed somewhere, as we emerge from putative past lives. This misunderstands the nature of astrology, which simply - and strenuously - asks us to live in balance with the calls of the different gods who inhabit us. It is not going anywhere, it is about our fate and a wise response to it.

 

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How you think about the so-called 13th sign of the zodiac maybe describes what kind of astrologer you are. The thing is, it works. But it makes a nonsense of the system-as-is.

 

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The thing with doing readings is that it's not just about the chart. It's also about the impact the person makes on me. And that may not clarify till afterwards, and it may be quite different to how they present themselves.

 

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And last but definitely not least, my 2 books: Surfing the Galactic Highways and The Medicine Wheel. The deal is that if you buy either of them from Amazon and leave a genuine rating, I will give you a free astrology or tarot reading.

BORIS JOHNSON'S ILLNESS

It will be interesting to see how the virus has affected Boris Johnson. Illnesses often change us, and as he said, it could have gone either way. 

 

With his loaded 9th, and a Nodal Return in Cancer in the 9th happening now, I think it has been incredibly significant for him. To do with what gives meaning to his life. And to do with compassion. People who have worked under him say he is a good boss. I think it may be that he turns out more compassionate than what you would expect from a Conservative leader.

With Chiron in Pisces conjunct 6th cusp, and Neptune still conjoining that, his illness has also been a sacrifice in service of the collective. And the story of the Fisher King comes to mind. Whom does the Grail serve? It has a mythological dimension.

 

Boris changed almost overnight on becoming Prime Minister, from the previous bumbling clown persona to something much more weighty and serious. This is reflected in his Solar Return chart, which began last June, and which has a Moon-Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn in the 10th: you don't get more gravitas than that! It can also suggest the near-death experience he has had, further indicated by Pluto's opposition to Mercury in the SR chart, ruler of his 6th House of Health.

 

THE DREAM OF ROME

This book, The Dream of Rome, was published in 2006, as the author’s Uranus Opposition completed, and as Pluto finished opposing his Mercury and was moving on to oppose his Sun (then MC). So it was a pivotal time in Johnson’s life, even though his public persona may not have revealed that. With Moon in Scorpio, Johnson is a very private, as well as public, man (revealed, perhaps, in the photo on the cover of the book.)

Notice how his Mercury is unaspected: that means that on the one hand he comes out with things best not said, he doesn’t find it easy to edit himself. But on the other, he will say things that need saying that nobody else will say. Gemini and its relation with the truth, an interesting area. Truth as well as lies, people often only see one half of this. Since becoming PM, and with his very weighty Solar Return for this year (Moon-Saturn-Pluto conjunction in 10th House Capricorn) he has become more considered and responsible in what he says,

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So 2006 was a time when Johnson’s underlying beliefs were becoming more formed, and giving him more genuine strength and gravitas: this is reflected in the sign of transiting Pluto (Sagittarius) and the natal House of Mercury and the Sun (the 9th).

The book analyses what it was that made the Roman Empire work, and compares it to the EU, which he neither damns nor extols. He concludes with a defence of Islam (another Pluto in Sag theme), which he says is no more dark and irrational - our historic fear - than Christianity was when it presided over Europe. With a great-grandfather who was a Muslim Turk, he makes the case for Turkey being allowed into the EU.

I recently read this author's book on the character of Churchill, another politician-writer. Johnson, a journalist, is always very readable. Whether or not you agree with Johnson's politics - and as with any politician, we will agree with some things and not others - there is no denying that he is a complex, thoughtful guy who we will gradually get to know. It can be quite exasperating when people try to reduce Johnson to one or the other of his past follies, which he seems to have largely put behind him since becoming PM.

When the referendum was called in early 2016, Pluto was just finishing opposing Johnson’s MC. A weighty time for him, in which he had to consider his vocation (MC). Remember how it took him some time to decide which side he was on. So many people said it was because he was weighing up what would advantage him personally. There is some truth in that, I am sure: as Johnson says in his book on Churchill, every politician is a mixture of idealism and being self-serving, and that is where the point of interest in them lies.

But what no-one seemed to consider is that maybe Johnson delayed because he was genuinely thinking about it. You sense a strong Europhilia in Johnson in his book, but not so much love for the EU. Like a good Gemini, he sees both sides, he is not rabid in any of his views in my opinion. And as I said earlier, you may not agree with his conclusions, but there is no denying his thoughtfulness, and the knowledge he brings to it, which most of us could not match. Compare this to the ignoramus Trump, or even to Tony Blair, having to acquaint himself with the Koran in the run-up to the Iraq War. We have an educated leader, as we ought.

JOHNSON'S UNDOING

It was the authoritarian impulse - in the sense of being able to take control and lead and not being too concerned to please - that was both the strength and undoing of Thatcher and Blair. The point at which it became their undoing was when they stopped listening. With Thatcher, it was the poll tax. With Blair, it was Iraq. With Johnson, I suspect it may be Scottish Independence, if his disregard of Ian Blackford is anything to go by. Blackford is the leader of the SNP in the Commons, and as he spoke recently, Johnson was playing with his mobile phone. That seemed pointed. Johnson may be a multi-tasking Gemini, but he also has Scorpio Moon: he knows the game of power and how to put opponents down.

It was his Scorpio Moon that became apparent as soon as he became PM. Up until then what had been most apparent was his Air: Sun, Mercury, Venus and Mars in Gemini, Libra Rising. The guy who seemed to be just playing around and charming people and making jokes and cocking up. But then this very instinctive, absolutely determined and hugely ambitious guy took over. His Moon rules his Cancer MC as well as being in Scorpio, so here is a guy who leads from gut instinct. And so far, it has served him well. Brexit was an issue the country had voted for, it had become enmired, and a leader was needed who would push it through regardless. It resonated with the needs of the country, Johnson has been sensitive to that, and it is why he won the election so convincingly. Just as Thatcher was sensitive to the need, for the sake of the country, to reduce the power of the miners, and why she kept winning elections. And sometimes an attack-dog is needed. Thatcher had Sun square Pluto and Scorpio rising, Blair had a (wide) Sun-Moon-Pluto t-square. So Pluto/Scorpio is common to all 3 of them.

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I offer skype/FB video astrology readings, by donation. Contact: BWGoddard1 (at)aol.co.uk

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Johnson feels strongly and instinctively that he wants to preserve the Union. He is intensely patriotic, and I think there is a lot that is good in that, as well as a lot that is blind. It seems clear that the popular feeling in Scotland is moving towards independence, particularly as we leave the EU. Johnson is not prepared to listen to that - as his disregard of Ian Blackford showed - and that is why I think it may be the beginning of his undoing, or at least a clue to the nature of his undoing - which may be a long slow fall, as it was with Blair and Thatcher.

In 2024 Pluto will exactly square Johnson's Moon. The year before, Pluto will cross the MC at 29 Capricorn of the Northern Ireland chart (the 1922 UK chart relocated to Belfast). This will be the decisive period for NI Independence, as demographic realities become pressing, and as the partial separation of NI as a consequence of Brexit - namely the border in the Irish Sea - bears fruit. This is an unspoken consequence of the deal that Johnson has negotiated with the EU. Everyone knows it, and no-one is saying it. Johnson doesn't want NI Independence, even though he is catalysing it. But because he has catalysed it, I think he will allow it. But it will be difficult for him, as the square transit of Pluto to his Moon at the time shows. The Moon is our patriotism, our love for home and roots.

Not so for Scotland. That will come a year or two later, if the chart above for Scotland is reliable, when Pluto opposes its Asc. Scotland is a more emotive issue. A good leader is able to negotiate the popular currents. Maybe it is difficult to be both: to be true to those currents, as well as to your own instincts, when they clash. Humans are generally only partial beings. So this is why I suspect that Scottish Independence may be the start of Johnson's downfall, because he will not be able to put the popular feeling in Scotland before his own Scorpionic instincts. Brexit and its aftermath will probably be what he is remembered for, and a consequnce of that, Scottish Independence, may be what gradually brings him down. As TS Eliot (and any astrologer) said, "In my beginning is my end".

Boris Johnson and Donald Trump: Gemini Tricksters

Gemini more than any other sign is the trickster archetype. In public life they do and say things that upset the status quo. They keep us entertained. They appal us, we wouldn’t trust them as far as we could throw them. And sometimes it can seem like Fate is intervening, as though Geminis are a vehicle for bizarre, rule-breaking events.

With Sun conjunct Uranus (another trickster, as is Eris) and North Node in Gemini, it is Donald Trump’s destiny to upset the status quo. American politics will never be the same again. 

DONALD TRUMP

As a human being, I hold him in low regard. Politicians are usually in it for a reason, they are trying to do something that they see is useful, and I think it is important to try to discern this, rather than just seeing everything as acting in bad faith, which I think is a cop-out that a lot of otherwise intelligent people engage in. But Trump…. I do find it hard to see, because everything he does is so entwined with his delusory self-regard. It is as though the Fates said this system needs shaking up, and we’ll use this guy, this is what he’s good for.

In the UK we have Boris Johnson, another Gemini. His behaviour over the EU referendum was classic Gemini. He couldn’t make up his mind until the last minute whether to back the Leave or Remain campaign. In the end he led the Leave campaign, in opposition to the Prime Minister. He told a whopper about using the money we’d save to fund the NHS. Like a good Gemini, he is now well-known for this piece of exaggeration. How much of all this is just manoeuvring for power on Johnson’s part, and how much what he genuinely thinks, is hard to say. Maybe we shall never know, maybe he doesn’t know himself.

But manoeuvring for power is what he does. He has Moon in Scorpio. The Moon is often hidden, and Scorpio of course can love to manoeuvre for power.

BORIS JOHNSON

BUT Boris Johnson has Sun in Gemini conjunct North Node and MC in Cancer. So maybe he really does want to improve the NHS. The other day he spoke out of turn, asking for more money for the Health Service. He is starting to have a history with the NHS.

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At any rate, the EU referendum has shaken up the UK, there is no doubt about that, and Gemini Boris played a part in that. As did Sun-Mercury-Venus in Gemini Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, who was a lukewarm Remainer, which isn’t how leaders are supposed to act: they are supposed to take one side and back it.

Something else Boris does is put his foot in it by speaking the truth. Which, as the country’s head diplomat, is an interesting quality. About a year ago, he said that Saudi Arabia was involved in proxy wars in the region. Everyone knows this, but no-one will say it. Furthermore, the UK was in the process of concluding a major arms deal with Saudi Arabia. So it really was NOT the thing to say. Maybe because it was Boris and he is, in a way, not taken seriously, it was smoothed over and the deal proceeded. But credit to Boris, IMO.

And then there is the British woman who has been imprisoned in Iran on charges of political subversion. She is a mother with young children back in the UK, and claims she was just in holiday. Step in Boris to help: he says that she was merely in Iran to ‘train journalists’. Of course, this set her case back, for it was used by the authorities as a means of confirming their suspicions. And Boris was widely condemned. What no-one is saying is that she probably WAS in the country for that reason, and Boris said it. Stupidly, and I won’t give him credit for that.

Uranus is starting to oppose Boris’ Moon at 0.35 Scorpio. And his Moon rules both his MC and his North Node. So I think we can expect to see continuing twists and turns in the Boris story this year, and I think they will include that manoeuvring for power that seems so obvious in him. And which he can get away with because Theresa May’s position is so weak.

I was prompted to write this piece because of a news item this morning: “Boris Johnson 'is descendant' of mummified Basel woman” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-42805485  

A mummified woman was found 10 years ago in Basel, and she turns out to be Boris’ great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother. It doesn’t get more bizarre than this. It could only happen to Boris. And it is something to do with being Gemini that attracts this sort of event to him.

His ancestor died of mercury poisoning, given as a treatment for syphilis. She got syphilis because she looked after people with syphilis. Yeah, right. If Boris is anything to go by, her husband was a philanderer, and that's why she got syphilis.