Jupiter in Aries

Whatever the effects of my forthcoming Saturn opposition, the most immediate influence comes from transiting Jupiter that will enter Aries on December 21st, pretty much coinciding with the solstice. Thereafter it will soon pass over all my planets in Aries according to the following schedule:

• contacts natal Mercury on January 9th 2023
• contacts natal Mars-Venus on February 17th 2023
• contacts natal Sun on March 5th 2023
• contacts transiting Chiron on March 12th 2023 (in 14°23')
• contacts natal Ascendant on April 26th 2023
• turns stationary retrograde  in 15°34' of Taurus on September 4th 2023

Despite turning retrograde in September, Jupiter will not reenter Aries during its current cycle so really its influence is fairly fleeting, from now up till early May of next year. Of course, it's already been in Aries earlier in 2022. To be specific:

• entered Aries on May 11th 2022
• contacted natal Mercury on May 23rd 2022
• stationed in 8°42' Aries on July 28th 2022
• contacted natal Mercury on October 8th 2022
• left Aries on October 29th 2022

The main effect during the year seems to have been my visit to the Kampung in Sumatra in July when the planet stationed near my natal Mars-Venus. This was my first significant journey outside of Jakarta since returning permanently at the start of 2020. I don't see the planet as having a major impact in 2023, although it is an opportunity for personal growth.

Saturn Opposition

It's been thirty years but transiting Saturn will soon be returning in opposition to its natal position. This last occurred in May of 1993, shortly after which it stationed in the first degree of Pisces in June of that year. I well remember the turmoil of those months and I wonder if something similar is not in store for me next year.

Saturn will enter Pisces on March 8th of 2023. It will move forward before retrograding and once again stationing in the first degree of Pisces before turning direct again. This station will occur on November 4th of 2023. Figure I shows the chart for May and Figure 2 shows the chart for November.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Everything old is new again, they say, and it certainly seems that the situation I was in back in 1992 is very similar to the situation that I am in now. How 2023 turns out remains to be seen but I sense that a similar change is coming, although perhaps not as drastic as occurred thirty years ago. Back in the early 90's, I was in my early forties and the opportunities and options available to me were quite different than they are now.

Of course, Desy will be profoundly affected by this coming Saturn transit given that her Sun is in the first degree of Virgo and her Sun/Saturn is opposite in early Pisces. Figure 3 shows how the transits affect her chart when Saturn stations in November of 2023.

Figure 3

Midday Accident

It was shortly after midday today that I encountered a protruding metal rod that collided with my left chin and broke my spectacles.

This happened shortly after midday on 31st October 2022. My glasses were knocked off and fell to the ground and it took me some time to recover them given my impaired natural vision. After a couple of minutes of futile searching I sat down on the concrete skirting near the metal rod (visible in the photo) and tried to regather my composure. I was still a little shaken.

While I sat there, I was witness to a minor accident that occurred across the road. A woman motorcyclist collided with another motorcycle and she fell off her bike. It was a low velocity accident and there were no serious injuries but it was certainly synchronistic that another minor accident should occur in close proximity, both in space and time.

I drew up a chart for the time of my accident that I estimate was about 12:03pm. See Figure 1.

Figure 1: time of accident

Studying the chart, it's clear that transiting Mars (25°36'R in Gemini) conjunct natal Uranus is a key factor as it is associated with sudden accidents. The conjunction took place in the third house of short term travel. Other contributing factors were the transiting Moon-Pluto conjunction with midpoint at 24°57' of Capricorn as well as transiting Mercury (2°20' Scorpio) quincunx natal Mercury and transiting Venus (9°52' Scorpio) quincunx natal Mars-Venus. The quincunx with its association with the eighth house is associated with accidents.

Date of Demise?

Looking ahead at when Uranus will be conjunct my natal Moon, I discovered that it occurs on June 26th 2025. My gall bladder collapse of 2016 occurred when Uranus was conjunct my Ascendant and so I would expect that this forthcoming conjunction on the cusp of my second house would have health consequences. Figure 1 shows the transits to my natal chart for this date.

Figure 1

It is a most interesting chart and I'll try to identify the most important features of it:

• Chiron (26°38' of Aries) is conjunct the North Node of my natal Moon.
  
  
• Saturn (1°41' of Aries) and Neptune (2°09' of Aries)  are conjunct my natal Mercury.
  
  
• Ceres (11°05' of Aries) is conjunct the mid-point of Mars/Venus and the Sun.
  
  
• Jupiter (3°39' of Cancer) is square Mercury (where Saturn and Neptune are conjunct).
  
  
• Pluto (3°31' of Aquarius) is sextile natal Mercury.

Of course, the conjunction of transiting Uranus with my natal Moon is the central feature. In early September, Uranus turns stationary retrograde in 1°27' of Gemini. It will pass over the Moon again in mid-December, turn stationary direct in 27°27' of Taurus and pass over the Moon again in mid-April of 2026.

I would surmise that this period from late June of 2025 to mid-April of 2026 will involve some serious health issues or even my demise. There is a clear focus on Mercury with the involvement of Saturn suggesting limitations in communication (speaking, thinking, processing received speech) and Neptune (confusion, lack of clarity and focus). The involvement of Uranus suggests suddenness as in the form of a stroke or some other sort of accident (internal or external).

Transiting Saturn and Neptune will continue on through Aries, eventually contacting my Mars-Venus conjunction, my Sun and Ascendant. It would be merciful if the lights were simply switched off rather having to grapple with the aftermath of a stroke. 

Of course, the aspects might also indicate a sudden lottery win so I shouldn't be totally negative in my prognostications. I simply don't know how it will play out but I await the outcome with interest.

Unearthing Some Old Charts

It's been a while since I posted here but as I explained in a post on my Astrological Meanderings blog, I've been without Astrolog for quite some time now. I also lost my data files and have had to rebuild them. I was fortunate enough however, to come across four copies of astrological charts from long, long ago. These were:

• my first friend at University: Steve Ross (see Figure 1)
• my brother Peter (see Figure 2)
• my father (see Figure 3)
• the time I realised that I'd won a new car (see Figure 4)

Steve Ross was born in Melbourne on September 28th 1948 at 10:10pm according to the data in the chart. I lost contact with him sometime in 1976. Internet searches haven't turned up any information about him.

Figure 1

Of course I remembered that my brother Peter was born on November 28th 1953 but I wasn't sure of the exact time, although I did recall that he had Capricorn rising. The time turned out to 7:15am. I haven't seen Peter since 1987 but he's still alive and has become an athletic coach of some renown.

Figure 2

Likewise I knew my father was born on January 9th 1924 and that he had 0 degrees of Virgo rising (even if I didn't know the exact time). The time turns out to 9pm or thereabouts.

Figure 3

The car win took place in 1986, on October 2nd 1986 at 1:15pm. It was quite a day and I remember it well.  The win came via a so-called "scratchie".

Figure 4

I'll now add this data to my Airtable database.

73rd Solar Return Approaches

Figure 1 shows the current transits as they affect my natal chart, a day before the Sun returns to the exact position it occupied at the time of my birth.

Figure 1

What struck me was the looming opposition of transiting Saturn to my natal Saturn. I'd forgotten how important the transits of this planet to its natal position have been in my past. Figure 2 shows the time in years since my birth when the planet has been in square, conjunction and opposition to its natal position. Of course these times are not exact because the ignore retrograde motion but they represent approximations.

Figure 2

All these times are associated with important events in my life and in particular the last opposition, soon after my 44th birthday in 1993, was quite dramatic in many ways. Could this coming opposition turn out to be similarly dramatic? Things are stirring, that's for sure. Time will tell.

Saturn in currently moving forward through Aquarius and will station in 25°15' on June 4th 2022. It will retreat to 18°35' by October 23rd 2022 and then move swiftly forward to an exact opposition in 0°01' of Pisces on March 8th 2023. After moving forward into Pisces, it will later retrograde before stationing in 0°30' Pisces on November 4th 2023. The full force of the aspect will probably be felt around that time. The 73.64 years shown in Figure 2 is a rough average of all these backwards and forwards motions of the planet.

It's interesting to note that transiting Pluto just hovers around Jupiter and my MC over this entire period. When Saturn stations opposite its natal position in November of 2023, Pluto is in 28°02' of Capricorn. Currently, on April 1st of 2022, it is in 28°24' of Capricorn! 

Update on the Mars-Venus Conjunction

The Mars-Venus conjunction of mid-February has passed and another conjunction of the two planets is about to occur. Figure 1 shows a chart in which the two planets are almost conjunct and right on the horizon here in Jakarta. Pluto as can be seen is very, very close by.

Figure 1

The two planets remain close together over the next few days. For example, currently (early Saturday morning) Mars is 28d55m of Capricorn and Venus is 28d45m. On Monday, at the same time, Mars will be in 0d25m Aquarius and Venus will be in 0d29m with the latter beginning to move slowly away.

This conjunction occurs in a sensitive area of my chart so I'll have to wait and see if there are any marked inner or outer effects. So far, all is quiet. I'll report back in a few days.

Mars-Venus Conjunction

In my last post, writing about the influence of Ceres in my natal chart, I wrote "It would seem to indicate a time of material well-being". Today Ceres stationed in 27°50' of Taurus and is now moving forward. Yesterday, my son and daughter-in-law bought me an iPhone 12 to replace my ageing Samsung A52 that I took possession of in April of 2017, almost five years ago now. For this, and other things, it is indeed "a time of material well-being".

Coming up on February 16th is the conjunction of Mars and Venus in 16°53' of Capricorn. At the time of this conjunction, the Sun and Moon are in a close opposition in 28°-27° of Aquarius and Leo. Pluto in 27°26' Capricorn is involved in this aspect and continues to dominate my chart, standing at the MC and casting aspects to many of my natal planets. Ceres and the North Node of the Moon surround my natal Moon. 

The Mars-Venus conjunction itself links to my natal Moon and Saturn via the sesquiquadrate aspect and also to natal Neptune by square. Figure 1 shows the annotated chart.

Figure 1

The Sun-Moon opposition is transient of course but the other aspects are substantial. The Sabian Symbol for the 17th degree of Capricorn is described by Dane Rudhyar as follows:

PHASE 287 (CAPRICORN 17°): A REPRESSED WOMAN FINDS A PSYCHOLOGICAL RELEASE IN NUDISM.

KEYNOTE: The escape from bondage to social inhibitions and a reliance upon the wisdom of the body.

Under the pressure of religions that have created a sharp and unwholesome division between soul and body, society has produced strict codes of values regarding the play of natural instincts, and has glorified them under the name of "decency" and "modesty." The growing trend toward nudism — which of course has nothing to do with the "pornographic" display of one's body — is a welcome protest against the depressing and neurosis-generating puritanism of the past. Men and women are demanding a psychologically as well as physically healthful freedom of the body as a means of overcoming the hypocrisy and constrictions of social behaviour.

In this second stage symbol we see how our society has been able to repress and distort the natural activity of the human body and its sensitivity to the elements. Thus a contrast is established between healthy youth at play and the neurotic subservience to a socio-religious tradition. The symbol is a call for RELEASE FROM INHIBITIONS.

As a male, the reference to "a repressed woman" would indicate my anima and the activation of this degree would indicate an opportunity to give expression in some form to this archetype that has been denied full and unfettered expression in consciousness.