Astrologically Speaking

Pisces 2003 Edition

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Saturn Sun moves into the last sign of the zodiac, Pisces on February 18, 2003 at 6:00 P.M. PST. Sun stays in Pisces a little longer than it did in Aquarius, until March 20 at 5:00 P.M. PST. Pisces is the 12th sign of the zodiac and concludes the astrological year. Spring Equinox on March 20 starts when the Sun moves into the zodiacal sign of Aries. This is the premise of the tropical, western astrology.

This Pisces month is spectacular in terms of astrological cycles. A new era is about to start, Uranus the planet of revolutions, inventions, discoveries and the indicator of sudden, unexpected events, moves into the sign of Pisces for a seven year stay on March 10, 2003.

Why the dolphins? The symbol of Pisces is two fishes, the dolphin is a sea-dweller but it is a mammal. It is known as an intelligent animal, responding to sound and using the same to communicate. The ocean has its tunes, the very same tunes resonate throughout our Universe. Dolphins tune in, we can as well and the era we are entering offers us the opportunity to tune into the music of the spheres. We simply need to tune out the external din in order to hear.

Uranus into Pisces

In my 2003 write up I talked about this event at length. In review the period repeats from January 1920 through April 1927. The roaring twenties with jazz providing the melodies popularized psychoanalysis, automobiles, commercial flight and radio/TV broadcasting - the World started becoming a smaller place. In the last 84 years our global community (a Uranus concept) has shrunk down in size significantly. The common man can quite readily hop on the plane and travel across the world in a matter of hours. We live longer due to many of the medical discoveries that date to that period, including penicillin and insulin.

Fashions repeat themes, which has me wondering if the sleek hairstyles of the 1920's make a modernized comeback, and what happened to the bobby-pin hair waves? Will it be fashionable once again to be flat-chested, even if it means uncomfortable strapping?

As I write this February 1, 2003, the day of the second space shuttle incident during landing in 42 years (half a Uranus cycle), the threat of war is looming. Astrologers have a consensus that February 16-20 looks particularly ominous, and undoubtedly the full Moon and opposition of the Mars-Pluto conjunction in Leo and Saturn in Gemini coupled with Neptune and Mercury in Aquarius opposing Jupiter provides two axis of tension. However, we need to realize that the threat or fear of something appears in any stellar configuration almost as clearly as the actual event. I personally did not like the look of February 1, but due to the ongoing events, I could not have foreseen the actual event as opposed to the one I dreaded.

I guess when we write our ‘predictions' we'd all like to hit a biggie, to somehow prove that our craft is indeed accurate. I am opting to leave the speculation of the war out of the equation, that is my write up for the month of March. Instead, I want to look at the promise these configurations can bring. If the war is ongoing as you read this, pray, chant and focus on wishing for peace, thoughts can and do manifest, we are all proof of that.

Astrologically speaking planets shift from sign to sign at a precise moment in time. However, the term cusp, which is commonly equated by the general public to mean that they were born on the day the Sun changed signs, means more. One of the traditional rules of astrology states that a planet within 5° of a house cusp, affects the house it is close to and should be read as if in that house as well. Cusps are the lines that stipulate where a house division is calculated to be. There are numerous astrological house systems. With very few exceptions, rules always have those, the ascendant and midheaven are identical between house systems. The division of intermediate cusps that is 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11 and 12, i.e. 75% of the houses, vary between house systems. The equal house system uses the zenith which forms a 90° angle to the ascendant and uses no midheaven. All these systems have merits, sun sign astrology uses 12 houses with 0° on each cusp placing Aries, the first sign, on the eastern horizon. The eastern horizon is the ascendant.

From this flat chart perspective, all the cusps are at 0° signifying sign change. When a planet changes signs, it crosses one of the theoretical cusps. Applying the traditional rule about the 5° within orb, Uranus entered that position in March 2002. So he has been hovering on that cusp for almost a year, during which time we should be looking at it as in the sign of Pisces as well as the sign of Aquarius. Many of the things that emerge to our consciousness starting this March have already been in motion for a while.

In addition the last couple of degrees an outer planet spends in a sign seem to carry an element of desperation, that is it has to be or happen now, that proverbial now or never equation enters the picture.

A side step - The United States Moon

We can hear the shift in the pontificating dialogue from George Bush, as he is desperately trying to sell his agenda. Many astrologers call the February 16-20 stretch treacherous, for the United States Uranus forms an exact conjunction with the Moon on February 20. From my experience with people's charts the applying creates more havoc than the separating, giving us cause to concern up until the 20th, after which the energy settles from chaotic to plain disruptive. Based on the Sibly chart (July 4, 1776 at 5:10 PM in Philadelphia) for United States, the country has its Moon void of course. When the media in the States presents the news of disasters, no country grieves the losses so publicly, no country has more sorrow (observation). Typical of void of course Moon is over-reaction to events a Moon on course would likely take in its stride. The media is represented by the third house and that is the house that the Moon occupies.

Could we be witnessing the falling of an empire, for years the States have taken an active role in the issues of other nations. The US dollar has been the currency against which others are measured for decades, the German mark only gained that status within Europe, and the Sterling Pound has lost its clout. The newly formed currency of Europe, the Euro, has gained value over the US dollar. The countries of Europe have united under their stars, much like the states back in 1776, the same number of countries form the European Community, with a unified passport for its citizens, as those states that formed the United States.

The other side of Uranus

Uranus is the modern ruler of Aquarius and has dominion over the 11th house in the flat chart. The 11th house represents issues such as humanitarian effort, friends and acquaintance, wishes and aspirations, and on a mundane level we have organizations, congress, will of the people and societies. Uranus is called the higher octave of Mercury, which represents the mind and logic. Uranus would rule our collective mind and collective logic. Those intuitive thoughts and words we hear are our connection to the collective consciousness. Pisces we acknowledge as the realm of the subconscious or super-conscious. These two concepts have started to blend and meld (yeah that mind-meld of the star trek era), only to show that we are more tuned into to the collective than we used to be. We have learned to realize that humanity includes all of us, and for the next 7 years we get to tune in to the music of the spheres. Last month I mentioned a CD containing 10 sound tracks on the sounds of our genes (part of the genome project). Did anyone imagine 84 years ago that music and sound resonated to our bodies, not just to make us dance but to make us well. Over the years I have heard recordings of sounds from space, we have heard of experiments of playing music to unborn children or even talking to them. I expect remarkable advances in the area of sound and sound therapy. If wearing red colour makes us more energetic imagine if there is a sound for red that can be played to us when our energy levels plummet.

Mutual Reception

Uranus and Neptune are in mutual reception throughout his stay in the sign of Pisces. Neptune moves into Pisces in April 2011 a few weeks after Uranus moves into Aries in March 2011. When two planets are in mutual reception they are in effect in their own sign at that specific degree, so from that perspective Uranus does not leave Aquarius. Mutual receptions are strong, but for the reception to be true the two planets need to form a Ptolemaic aspect (60, 90, 120 and 180). Outside of the semantics, let's just keep on calling it a reception, as these two will be occupying each others space and will be in ‘harmony' with sharing what they gather and represent.

Case in point might very well be the popularization of vehicles, which use an alternate fuel source. Neptune represents oil and water and Uranus electricity. The hybrid car has already been invented and it is becoming popular, despite its cost, with ‘engineering' types, you know the ones that do their research before buying.

What follows Uranus in Pisces is Neptune in Pisces, which starts in 2011 and lasts approx. 15 years (2026). Neptune in Pisces is likely to be dissolution, and we will get a sense of that while the mutual reception is in force. Leading up to the next big shift we need to become ready for it. The planetary cycles are predictable, but giving words to all of the potential outcomes in the interim is not within the realm of the possible.

However, in the next seven years we get to experience a new level of consciousness, the once mystical occult knowledge becomes more mainstream, many of the current astrologers, including yours truly, have the propensity to attempt to demystify this knowledge. Undoubtedly many psychics are doing the very same with their work. Alternate healing will likely become something practiced by traditional health-care workers, as we learn to understand this connectivity we shared with life on Earth.

The symbol for Uranus looks like a transmitter or an antennae, with two arched disks on either side. It is often referred to as the higher octave of Mercury. Mercury is about learning, communication, logic and reason. If we take these concepts to the next level, can we perceive hearing sounds that aren't quite of this Earth, kind of like the psychics we are in awe of; who a simply tuned in to these higher frequencies.

If you can imagine it you can manifest is a well know axiom among people who study the occult. Remember some years ago a movie came out called the Frequency? In it communication took place between someone living now and someone who had died years earlier over a ham radio. Someone imagined that or did they? Could that become the realm. I could imagine as a child of having instant communication with people across the globe from the comfort of my office - and we have had that for years. We are all able to reach further than people who lived in the 1920's when communication and travel to a distance was in its infancy.

We could open our web-browser and explore the views of hundreds of people on the topic of astrology for example. Look at our world now. What is always guaranteed is that change is inevitable, our choice is to embrace or to resist.

To gather your own research about what is likely to take place in the next 7+ years, read the headlines on March 10 with the shift in mind. What topics catch your eye, what is happening with people you know and what is suddenly changing with your own perceptions.

The weekly version of Astrologically Speaking will address the horoscope side of my writing, I have had to stream-line my astrological work and those of you looking for a horoscope only - please visit the weekly column pages.