Mars Attacks

I'd woken late, a couple of minutes before 10am, and made my way to the kitchen carrying the bucket of accumulated dishes to wash from yesterday's meals. As I stepped to the kitchen sink, I stepped on the shard of a broken cup that I'd broken on the day before. I thought I'd picked up all the fragments but this one had escaped me. 

The shard sliced my right foot and I began bleeding immediately and profusely. I don't think I've ever lost so much blood. Eventually I stemmed the bleeding, applied a bandaid and all was well, although I think I was in mild shock. The time was a little after 10am and I've set the chart time to 10:10am which is pretty close to the time the accident occurred. The date is January 22nd 2023 and the location is Jakarta.

I suspected the involvement of Mars of course and I wasn't wrong. Figure 1 shows my natal chart with the transit superimposed on the outer ring.

Figure 1

As can be seen, Mars about midway through my second house in 8°39' of Gemini almost exactly opposite my natal Chiron in 8°57'R of Sagittarius. Mercury is in 8°57' of Capricorn and so is exactly semisextile natal Chiron and quincunx transiting Mars. Of course, my natal Mars-Venus conjunction, with midpoint in 9°14' of Aries is involved as well. 

The designation of Chiron as the wounded healer comes to mind. I was definitely wounded in the leg, like the centaur Chiron, and this quote from Wikipedia is relevant:

In Greek mythology, the centaur Chiron was a "Wounded Healer", after being poisoned with an incurable wound by one of Hercules's arrows. Jung mentioned the Chiron myth "wounding by one's own arrow means, first of all, the state of introversion".

For Jung, "a good half of every treatment that probes at all deeply consists in the doctor's examining himself... it is his own hurt that gives a measure of his power to heal. This, and nothing else, is the meaning of the Greek myth of the wounded physician."

Jung felt that depth psychology can be potentially dangerous, because the analyst is vulnerable to being infected by his analysand's wounds by having his own wounds reopened. To avoid this, the analyst must have an ongoing relationship with the unconscious, otherwise he or she could identify with the "healer archetype", and create an inflated ego.

Withdrawal of both projections may however ultimately activate the powers of the inner healer in the patients themselves.

Jung’s closest colleague, Marie Louise Von Franz, said “the wounded healer IS the archetype of the Self [our wholeness, the God within] and is at the bottom of all genuine healing procedures.”

Jungians warn of the dangers of inflation and splitting in the helping professions, involving projection of the 'wounded' pole of the archetype onto the patient alone, with the analyst safely separated off as 'healer'.

I don't want to make too much of such a transient event but it was impactful psychologically to see one's life blood spilling so profusely and dramatically on the white tiles underfoot. I was reminded that, given my disillusionment with the medical mafia, I need to be my own healer and treat my own wounds, both psychological and physical. 

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!