Contemplations on the spirit of Liminal time
'In this liminal time, we can evoke what really matters to us. 
In this blog I contemplate the means to understand one self and the motivation that moves us to unfold in heart and soul.'

Astrological Framework pt. 2

When conversing about the Astrological framework one can't overlook the celestial beings that orbit so majestically around the Sun, the planets.


Of course we work, not only with the planets in our solar system. The Sun itself plays an important part aswel. Together with the Moon of our own planet Earth. These are known as the lights of the birth chart, however for convenience I will refer to the Sun and the Moon as planets together with the rest of them. There has been  contraversie about Pluto being a planet. Rest asure that this is a highly irrelevant discussion for Astrologers. The Archetypal force is present, just like the planets in our solar system, each representing a basic primordial need and ability within us.


When reading the work of Carl Jung and scientist that work with his heritage like Joseph Campbell and Erich Neumann for instance, one can find out about archetypes as primordial forces and ideas in the human collective subconscious. For example; we all have a basic, primordial need and ability for nourishment and care. Astrologers found a coherence between these primordial needs and abilities and the planets.


Dra. Karen Hamaker writes in her book, De buitenplaneten in een nieuw perspectief* mind blowing insights about the collective trends, such as inventions and developments during the period of discovery of the planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. But also in the way they where discovered. We can even see that during human evolution the archetypal forces unfolded within our human psyche during the course of time and simultaneously the planets where discovered. From this historical perspective we can observe the example above as the primordial or archetypal need for care and nourishment, represented by the Moon in our birth chart.


Just like the need for nourishment and care, we all share the need and ability to experience affection and harmony, this would be the realm of Venus. The same counts for the ability direct our energy and be assertive and even aggressive at times which would be the domain of Mars... Later on I will elaborate more on each planet in specific in a separate blog.


Vital interaction and free will...

In the image above you can see an Astrological birth chart. As you can see the large circle is divided in 12 "slices". These "slices" we refer to as Astrological Houses. In the olden days Astrologers drew birth charts and interpreted the Astrological Houses as realms of life and circumstances alone. Dra Hamaker Zondag writes in her book, Psyche en Astrologisch Symbool * (p29) ; "Modern psychological hypophysis introduced the perspective of a meaningful coherence between outer circumstances and ones psychological structure, hence forth expanding the realm of interpretation. From that perspective the Astrological Houses would also indicate parts of the human psyche." This to needs more in depth elaboration which I will get into in a separate blog in the future..


Aspects

(Don't you just HATE it when you're writing, full on mojo and BAM! everything deleted.... That just happened to me when I tried to add a link about YOD's... What are the (y)odds!!! Lalalala here we go!!)


So when you look at the image above, the inner circle shows a colorful pattern of lines. These are the aspects of the chart. As we all know we work with a geocentric image when working with Astrology. Meaning that we observe the planets (remember including Sun and Moon) as if they orbit around us: Earth. This is of course not the Astronomical reality.. click here to read about this in my previous blog.


So the colored lines basically tell us which angle the planets created visible from Earth at that time. For instance, the red lines are squares and opposition. Squares represent friction and or action. Now try to read this in the most neutral sense, friction can mean a bump in to road hence possible inconvenience.. And at the same time action can mean energy and amplification. So we always work with a field or a realm of possibilities, the exact outcome is depending on..... yes my friends: FREE WILL and circumstances. The blue lines: trines and sextile's, are what we call "harmonious". Again read this in a neutral sense please! Harmonious can mean that the planets (archetypal forces) involved work smoothly together (possible comfort and ease). On the other hand harmonious can mean lazy and dull. And then we have the green lines... (okay computer bare with me this is where we just lost each other..)


The green lines are quincunx. Now, quincunx are a special cookie. On the one hand they can be a "nip you in the butt, what just happened to me, ow lord thank God I survived" kinda trend.. And on the other hand quincunx can be a "lower belly, inner knowing, vibe my own way, told ya so, epiphany..". Very un predicable, hard to put your finger on and at the same time capable of miracles... Even more interesting are quincunx in transit and progression (forecasting Astrology) as two quincunx and one sextile can create a YOD (whoops there it is) A YOD is an aspect constellation that can stir up deeply ingrained family patterns. Read more here.

So below I will share an overview of the aspects and angles. We Astrologers always use a range in which this aspects work, these are called "orb". An orb is always a specific amount of degrees before and behind the exact point of the aspect. Sun and Moon always have a larger orb. I work with the Major Aspect set because these are most recognized for their effectiveness and I add quincunx because I found them interesting! See below:


  • Trine (120 degrees) Orbs: Sun and Moon 8 degrees, others 6.
  • Square (90 degrees) Orbs: Sun and Moon 8 degrees, others 6.
  • Sextile (60 degrees) Orbs: Sun and Moon 6 degrees, others 4.
  • Opposition (180 degrees) Orbs: Sun and Moon 8 degrees, others 6.
  • Conjunct (0 degrees) Orbs: Sun and Moon 8 degrees, others 6.
  • Quincunx (150 degrees)  Orbs: All 3


Like a fish in water...

Given the fact that we're working with archetypes we can see analogy and themes arising.

Every planet has a native sign and the same goes for the Astrological houses. We see for example in the zodiak sign Leo, the same analogy/ theme as in the Sun. At the same time we see a coherence between the star sign Leo and the 5th house. We say traditionally that the Sun is ruled by the sign Leo. So when we see a chart with the Sun in Leo in the 5th house we see that the Leo theme is strongly represented. This however does only work between the signs and the houses and between the signs and the planets. The planets and the houses are not fully 1:1 connected in analogy. I will go more in depth on this later on in a different blog.


That's it for this one, I'll be back on it soon!

Thank you for reading this blog. Feel free to reach out to me for any q's and or feedback.

My best, Melanie Webb


Source:

* De Buitenplaneten in een nieuw perspectief, Dra. Karen Hamaker- Zondag ISBN 90 74899 37 4

** Psyche en Astrologisch Symbool, Dra. Karen Hamaker- Zondag ISBN 90 6378 001 X

Images:

Above: Uranus 5. JPG google

Below: Astro Gold I phone app.

Saturn, Imposter syndrome and the Kleshas

By mmmwebbbbb • January 25, 2023
Saturn Now first off, I practice to read astrology and life as a meaningful bundle of symbols. In astrology, Saturn is our primal need and ability to structure, learn by cause and effect, develop a sense of responsibility and awareness of our own inner (and outer) limitations. Saturn was until the 1700’s the last planet visible form Earth and therefor represented the keeper of the gate to infinity/ death. Saturn was often referred to as water time as its distance from Earth is far and the course trough the zodiak very slow. (approximately 27-30 years) Once Saturn has finished its frist round trough the zodiak we often experience a sense of crisis or at least a deeper understanding of how our time here in this body is limited. This is the notorious “Saturn return” and I like to refer to this as the stage in life where we become an adult. Well, by that time we’ve had the chance to grow into and take responsibility for our life. We see the course of Saturn trough the astrological houses as a means to learn where we need to take responsibility and structure life. Often this results in a (minor) crisis due to the fact that Saturn within an astrological house tends to stir up un- resolved issues regarding the current house. Sometimes, issues that where (consciously) ignored or repressed. When Saturn enters an astrological house it will appear so as if a huge snow shovel scrapes off all the loose ends, bits, pieces and dirt for you to renown it. Yes, we all leave loose ends here and there that’s okay. But sooner or later we all need to take full ownership of our lives. Taking responsibility for what’s ours is empowering, even if it’s ugly and dirty. Taking ownership of our lives, hence at the same time being confronted with limitations. The imposter syndrome Don’t you just hate it when you know you have all that it takes to fulfill the tasks requested and still you hear the squeaking voice in the back of your head reminding you of all your limitations. More often we see this “inner critic” strongly represented with a dominant Saturn in the birth chart. Now, what is a dominant Saturn? In my next blog I will go deeper into the rulership and housing system. For now; Saturn in its domicile Capricorn Saturn in its exalted sign Libra Saturn aspecting the lights of the chart (Sun and Moon) especially conjunction, opposition, and square but any connection works Saturn aspecting (one of the) four corners in the birth chart ( ascendant, descendant, IC and or MC ) When and if you know you’re sensitive to this “inner critic” like me, we might take comfort in acknowledging our need to take time to grow into things. Acknowledging our need to make sure we have our task, assignment, day or moment well prepared. Every planet (according to the theory of microcosm/ macrocosm is a need and ability within us that needs and wants to be lived! What we can gift ourselves is to learn more about what Saturn in our birth chart holds and create the space to express it. This inner critic is a great theme to study in consultation. Very insightful most of the tim e. The Klesha's An other thing that we can look into are Patanjali’s yoga Sutras. Especially Sutra 2.3-2.10* Here the structure of the Klesha's is explained. (this deserves a whole separate blog, this is just a mere reference) According to the sage and saint Patanjali there are 5 root causes of human suffering of 5 root obstacles. Avidya: Ignorance (perceiving the impermanent as permanent) Asmita: Egoism (thinking that the world revolves around you) Raga: Attachment to pleasures Dvésa: Aversion/ resentment Abhinivesha: Attachment to bodily life/ fear of Death We can apply this structure of the klesha's as narrative whenever the inner critic I.e. the imposter syndrome comes up. Ask yourself: Is this permanent? Is it really about me? Am I looking for any kind of sense gratification? What us there to dislike/ resent? Will I live? Acknowledgement of the function of the need for structure and the realisation that most of life is impermanent. We learn trough cause and effect and, n the bigger picture there is no such thing as failure. Thanks for reading this blog. Take care! Image: Harvest of this mornings walk, Ganesha the remover of obstacles. *p 80-86 ISBN 978-1-938477-07-2

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Astrological Family patterns

By mmmwebbbbb • November 22, 2021
Astrological family patterns The way I always describe this to clients: Astrologers before us have found there are specific hereditary features in the birth chart which we call family patterns. These Astrologers observed birth charts of several generations within the family line. Here they found certain themes and /or needs and abilities which stood out due to specific conflict and or challenges visible in the constellation. These themes kept on repeating trough generations. At one point there is a child born, within that family line that has this certain theme and/ or need and ability strongly represented in the chart (i.e. psyche); simply impossible to ignore. In other words, this child will live this! No matter what! Drs. Karen Hamaker writes in her study on family patterns (1) in the birth chart that these are often patterns that transmute a vital role in development of certain themes, traditions and convictions within family's that are past along trough generations. In short: a certain ability and need that has been suppressed in generations past, either consciously suppressed, vallen into oblivion or simply due to limited circumstances. There are several ways in which family patterns accure in the birth chart, showed in the image above; 1. A planet * doesn't aspect ** any other planet in the birth chart: Un-regulated planets 2. Two planets* only aspect ** each other in the birth chart: a Duet **** 3. 3 planets, corners ***** or nodes ****** are connected in the birth chart trough an aspect ** constellation: a YOD *** Even tho it is impossible to be complete in describing the various outcomes and effect of family patters, below you find a summary on what one may experience when one has family pattern in ones chart: • You feel different from others, but you can also take a unique path of life. • Your life is characterized by a permanent "seeking" quality. • Your life is less easy to plan. • Totally unexpected turns and / or peak experiences. • It is not uncommon for the second half of life to be very different from the activities or approach first half of life. • YOD, as a hint of God, often point to exceptional talents or can point to one special role. • You don't really notice the utterances of YODS yourself. • People with YOD figures often play an important role in turning points in the family companies, in science and in society. If a company undergoes radical and unforeseen changes in the coming years (i.e. comes to a turning point), it will unnoticeably attract more employees with YOD figures and un- regulated planets. With Un-regulated Planets it's the s ame general tonic, but: • One-pointed: the dynamic takes place around a planet (also as a house owner) that is neither neither stimulated nor inhibited and can therefore show extremes. • In a Yod we see a constant interaction of conflicting energies with the result uncertainty and search. • With un- regulated planets we see a search for oneself. • You evoke reaction that you do not understand. • You maneuver yourself in intangible circumstances. • You experience things that you feel have no connection with you. Those things seem like outside, but have consequences for you. • The things that come your way often come with a shock, uncertainty or different uncomfortable situation. • You have the feeling that you cannot influence it in any way, it simply happens to you. • You often have the feeling of stalemate and a sense of injustice. • If something in the environment needs to "go wrong", it will happen to or around you, most likely without any influence and or responsibility on your part. • You often encounter situations in your life that are an exception to the rule and end up, getting negative projections. • With a Yod you have to make "impossible" choices Yods and un-regulated planets also have very special talents! • You are often not aware of those talents yourself, in fact: you doubt them. • They are often evoked or evident in "impossible" situations or situations where one feels cornered. • They may be talents that are also of (great) significance to others. In my practice... I have met many people with family patterns in the birth chart. There is not one thing that ties these life stories together as a whole, apart from the features described above. I found that people often felt a deep sense of relief and conformation when learning about this topic. The lives of people with family patterns are deeply ingrained with lessons, treasures and challenges. I've heard clients give examples and effects of their family patterns that I could have never made up myself. Ones personal motion in the celestial dance and their own personal magic in life is one we can't make up. And yet I found that trough practicing astrology, we are able to read a realm of possibilities which can bring clarity on the road to Self realization or as Carl Jung calls it; the path of Individuation. *A planet: one of the actual planets in our Solar system (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) and/ or the Sun and/ or the Moon **An aspect: is an angle that the planets make with each other in their orbit around the Sun visible from Earth. I.e. one of the Major Aspects in psychological astrology (conjunctie 0 degrees, sextile 60 degrees, square 90 degrees , trine 120 degrees, quincunx 150 degrees, opposition 180 degrees) ***A Yod is an aspect constellation formed by two quincunx and one sextile. YOD comes from the Hebrew word hand. The YOD in the birth chart is also referred to as A hint of God. It looks like a pizza slice: see image above ****A Duet is two planets in one Major aspect with only each other. In the reading we read the psychological effect of this similar to an Un- regulated planet. *****The corners of the birth chart are; Ascendent, Descendant, Medium Coeli & Imum Coeli. ******The nodes are the point where the ecliptica and the orbit of the moon meet in a 45 degree angle. The North and South node are always opposite to each other. In the chart they are displayed as two black horseshoes. 1. Here is referred to the study material on family patterns in the birth chart from Karen Hamaker- Zondag at her school, Astrologie College
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