Stargram
Week of May 10
Dear Friends,
If we disregard the Moon—which circles the zodiac in less than twenty-eight days—four planets will venture into new zodiacal realms this week. By its end, the Sun, Mercury, and the Moon (1° Taurus) will be flanked by Mars to the west (2° Aries) and Venus to the east (1° Gemini). The colors that correspond to the first three signs of the zodiac—Aries/red; Taurus/orange; Gemini/yellow—betray the warmth that emanates from this sector of the zodiac. This is the zodiacal quadrant of new beginnings!
When situated 60° apart (a ‘sextile’ aspect), Venus and Mars are thought to promote balance between the archetypes of feminine and masculine. Because sixty degrees is the span of the angles in an equilateral triangle, and precisely one-sixth of a circle, the sextile implies harmony. Such harmony is itself a source of strength: structures that employ triangles and hexagrams are the strongest (in terms of weight bearing) and the most efficient (in terms of capacity).
Overlighting the whole week are Jupiter (25° Gemini)—now aligned with Castor (the mortal brother set in the firmament through the devotion and love of his brother, Pollux)—and the North Node. The North Node now shares the zodiacal longitude of Deneb, with which the Sun was aligned at the feeding of the 5000 and at the miracle of walking on water. Be not afraid!
Let’s begin! Mars reaches Aries on Tuesday: Ray out awakening life. Once Mars finds his feet again, he’ll be cooking with gas—because the initiative, intensity, and individuality that we associate with Aries are qualities that come naturally to our valiant defender. Within the Christ chronicle, we find Mars in the first degree of Aries on 7/Jan/31, less than two weeks after the final conversion of Mary Magdalene. From Anne Catherine:
As soon as she arrived in Bethany, Magdalene went straight to the dwelling of her deceased sister, Mary the Silent, by whom she had been very much beloved. She spent the whole night in tears. When Martha went to her in the morning, she found her weeping on the grave of her sister, her hair unbound and flowing around her.
The women of Jerusalem had also returned to their homes, all making the journey on foot. Magdalene—though exhausted by her malady and by the shocks she had received, and wholly unaccustomed to such traveling—insisted upon walking like the others. Her feet bled more than once. The holy women, who, since her conversion, showed her unspeakable affection, were often obliged to come to her assistance. She was pale and exhausted from weeping. She could not resist her desire to express her gratitude to Jesus, so she went over an hour’s journey to meet him, threw herself at his feet, and bedewed them with repentant and grateful tears. [Visions, vol. 2, pp. 204–05]
The year’s second superior conjunction of the Sun and Mercury (28½° Aries) will occur on Thursday. As we hand off our prayers to Mercury (who will carry them aloft and offer them to the hierarchies), we can contemplate when the Sun reached this degree in 31 AD. This was the second day of the Sermon on the Mount. From Anne Catherine:
The next day, Jesus continued his teaching on the mountain. He again spoke of prayer, of the [importance of] love of neighbor, of vigilance [on behalf of righteousness], and of confidence in the goodness of God. He admonished the people not to allow themselves to be confounded by oppressors and calumniators.
The Pharisees today were even more disquieted. . . . They called him an agitator of the people, a mischief-maker. They accused him of enticing people to follow him around the country, thereby taking them away from their labor. They had their sabbath, their festivals, and their own teachings; there was no need of his innovations. . . .
Jesus nevertheless went on teaching in a very tender and impressive manner. As a great many of those on their return journey from Jerusalem (as well as others) had exhausted their provisions, Jesus directed the senior disciples to distribute among them bread, honey, and fish. . . . The holy women had seen to its preparation. Garments, pieces of linen, covers, sandals, and little tunics for the children were also distributed to the needy. [Visions, vol. 2, p. 349]
Shortly before Thursday’s end, Venus will glide into the realm of the Twins with a poise unmatched by all others in our planetary family! This placement suggests brotherly and sisterly love—although fair Venus would be wise to continue to nurture the faithfulness of heart for which the Bull is known. To love our ‘neighbors’, Tomberg wrote that we need only regard them as those who have been nearest to us since the beginning of time: as the ‘twin-souls’ with whom we beheld the dawn of mankind. [MOT, p. 126] That’s an innovation right there!
The cusp-crossing continues on Friday, when Mercury and the Sun will enter Taurus: Weave life’s thread; become bright, radiant being. Mercury-in-Taurus calls for rationalism—a thinking process that is guided by reason and practicality. This placement places before our consciousness the question, “What do we value most?” In the absence of a spiritual orientation, Mercury in the foreground of the stars of the Bull can engender an outsized preoccupation with financial security. (It was present when Jesus rebuked the temple vendors by turning over their tables.)
During the month when the Sun is moving before the constellation of the Bull, the Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones of that realm urge us to direct our ‘horns’ toward the totality of the cosmos—and to behold the material world as a creation of the Word! A great love of the natural world is commonly seen in those born under this astral signature (Emerson being one notable example).
Finally, on Saturday, Sun and Moon will meet at 1° Taurus. A New Moon at this same degree occurred on 21/April/30, when (according to the account of Anne Catherine Emmerich), Jesus returned to John’s first place of baptism.
May we never allow ourselves to be confounded by our oppressors and calumniators!
~ Julie H.