PHOENIX ASTROLOGY

Hope you have all invested in good woolly hats and decent heaters as the cold snap we have been waiting for all winter finally arrives.

On the astrological front Mars is retrograding in Virgo and Neptune enters Pisces later today, remaining there until 2025. These create a movement into two opposite directions. Mars in Virgo pushes ever deeper into the interior centre of our subjective being, the individual looking out into the world and seeking out the best way to interact and contribute to it. Neptune in Pisces turns us 180° around and takes us away from the earth and into something altogether transcendent. From a vantage point on the higher levels of consciousness we can see all of humanity, ourselves included, scurrying around trying to avoid things that give us pain and seek out that which gives us pleasure ignorant of the fact that this very movement is the cause of most of our suffering.

We all have our preferred mode of being that will favour one or other of these movements but to do so would obviously create an imbalance and lead to a certain degree of paralysis. This post will focus mostly on Mars in Virgo and I'll be covering Neptune in Pisces later on.

Virgo is an Earth sign and is depicted as a goddess of the land holding an ear of grain. It is a practical sign that is grounded in everyday reality.  In the body Virgo rules the intestines and digestive organs, and is prone to over-thinking and anxiety. The problem is that we have lost touch with the natural intelligence of our biological and instinctive centre. We have gone so far into abstract thinking and problem solving to function in the modern world that we have forgotten how to listen to the language of the body, its inherent rhythms and basic needs. The only symptom we are aware of is that state of deep unease, an anxiety without a specific focus, a sign that the earth element is out of balance.

Virgo is also a mutable sign which means it is adaptable and can change according to the needs of the environment. Much of our conditioning has been to inform us of our strengths and weaknesses and to encourage us to have firmly held views and principles. This is so that we can fit in to an increasingly specialised society. However, periods of crisis and change demand a great deal of flexibility and adaptability so that we are able to respond effectively to changing conditions. As Mars retrogrades through Virgo it is an opportunity to return to the body, to the earth and to our centre and rediscover our inherent flexible nature. Mars brings a confident, ‘can do’ attitude so that if my economic, social, family, or health circumstances change then there is a basic confidence that I can adapt to meet these new challenges.

It is this confidence that will calm the current pervasive anxiety but this confidence only comes when one is deeply in touch with the body’s natural intelligence and to do that we must first empty the current content of our fixed perceptions, views and opinions.  This is where Mars and Neptune are able to work together. Mars is the planet of elimination and helps to throw things out that are not needed while Neptune helps to dissolve and let go of any views that promote separation. It all comes down to perception. If we perceive these fixed ideas about who we are to be vital to our security and self-definition then they inevitably persist but if we can see that these fixed beliefs were just part of our conditioning and are false then the elimination process starts to kick in automatically. This strength and flexibility that comes from emptiness is one described very well in Daoism and in disciplines such as tai chi and qi gong.

The famous Daoist writer Lao Tsu wrote:

Thirty spokes join together in the hub.

 It is because of what is not there that the cart is useful.

Clay is formed into a vessel.

It is because of its emptiness that the vessel is useful.

Cut doors and windows to make a room.

It is because of its emptiness that the room is useful.

Therefore, what is present is used for profit.

But it is in absence that there is usefulness

London visit

I will be in London between 14 – 18 February and am available for consultations on 14 & 15 February.

There will be an astrology meditation evening on Wednesday 15 February at 7pm at Bermondsey Fayre, 212 Bermondsey Street. Cost - £8

All the best

Nick

From an astrological perspective 2012 promises to be quite an exciting and dramatic year although its highly unlikely the world will end!

The main transit for this year is the Uranus-Pluto square. Its influence began around 2010 and will continue until 2017 with the most intense years being 2012-15. This transit brings a lot of social, political and economic change throughout the world. It breaks down established political and economic structures, increases the revolutionary impulse among the people and can give rise to extremism. The last time we saw a similar transit was in the 1930s during the great depression that followed the Wall Street Crash. It brought about the rise of Hitler and fascism, the break up of empires and technological developments in aviation, car production, radio and television propelled the world into the modern era.

Over the next few years the world will go through an equally turbulent transition process. Rather than being something to fear or escape from it will bring a great deal of opportunity for new ways of seeing and engaging with the world. In times of stability it is very difficult to bring about a deep change in the status quo at both a material and subtle level but in times of crisis and flux thinking outside the box and radical new ideas have a greater chance of taking hold. However, many ideas that appear new and bold are simply rehashed from the old way of thinking. To bring forth something truly new the change is needed to take place at a very deep layer of the individual and collective psyche. This is the real challenge facing us over the next few years rather than coming up with external short term solutions to the current problems facing the world.

As if the Uranus-Pluto square was not enough to create the intensity needed for change we will soon be entering the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese Calendar. This begins with the New Moon on 23^rd January and promises to bring passion, unpredictability and a tendency to throw caution to the wind and embark on bold new ventures.

Consultations and talks in London

Astrology consults

I will be available for astrology consults from Monday (16^th) to Wednesday (18^th) January.

If you would like a consultation but are busy here are the future dates when I’ll be in London.

14/15 February

20/21 March

17/18 April

11&14 May

19/20 June

17/18 July

Talks

I will be giving two talks on the astrology for 2012.

-          11-5.30pm Saturday 14^th January in Kensington - £50

-          7-8.15pm Wednesday 18^th  January in Bermondsey Fayre, 212 Bermondsey Street - £8

The all day talk will obviously be more detailed and there will be an opportunity to go through your individual birth charts and how they will be impacted by the astrology of 2012. Both talks will involve a combination of explaining the key astrological transits and alignments for the year and then tuning in to them at an energetic level through meditation.

Please let me know if you would like to attend either of these talks as space is limited and I need to know numbers in advance.

Wishing you all the best for 2012

The main astrological focus at the moment is on the Gemini – Sagittarius axis. There was a solar Eclipse at 2° Sagittarius on Friday 25^th November with Mercury going retrograde, also in Sagittarius, the day before. Mercury will continue to retrograde through Sagittarius until 13 December just a few days after the Lunar Eclipse at 18° Gemini on 10 December.

The Gemini – Sagittarius axis is about knowledge and wisdom, relative and absolute truth, the particular and the universal. During times of crisis there is often a feeling of confusion and not knowing the best way forward. It is at these times we can search for knowledge, a philosophical or spiritual ideal that gives us hope and provides a framework with which to organise our lives around. The deeper the crisis the more uncompromising the belief and the stronger we cling to it. The belief system may be in science, socialism, organised or alternative spirituality or even astrology! and we see and interpret all the events in our lives and the world around us according to those set of beliefs. Individuals with Sagittarius strongly present in their natal charts are often the ones trying to influence the world teaching and promoting their own set of principles and beliefs.

The two eclipses and Mercury going retrograde in Sagittarius encourage us to question and examine our beliefs, ideals and principles. Maybe there is no God, maybe science cannot solve the worlds problems, maybe astrology and homoeopathy are both just made up!? However, rather than refine these or replace them with better models it is good to ask the question do we need them at all. To have an ideal, a philosophy or a principle to live by is to engage with life from a fixed place. How can we relate to an ever changing world with a static viewpoint or conclusion, no matter how lofty and beautiful it may appear to be? There is a fear that if we abandon all such beliefs and ideals we will be in chaos, having no moral or social ideal to strive for. The fact is that the opposite is true as it is the myriad of conflicting ideals, religions, and principles have led to all the wars and social, economic and environmental disasters we find ourselves in today. Liberating the Gemini – Sagittarius axis from the fixed ideals and dogmas it is prone to, enables us to meet the world empty of theories and so that we can see the world clearly and without duality.

Coming to London

I will coming to London between 6-10 December and am available for astrology consultations on Tuesday 6^th and Wednesday 7^th.

Astrology Meditation Evening.

This will be taking place at the usual place Bermondsey Fayre, 212 Bermondsey Street at 7pm on 7^th December. Let me know if you are would like to come along.

So it seems that the warm weather has finally left us for this year and we are entering the cooler, darker autumnal season more and more each day. 

Astrologically, this equates to movement of the Sun and inner planets from Libra into Scorpio. This year Mercury and Venus will be unusually close to each other for their entire journey through Scorpio and into the first part of Sagittarius. You will be able to see them together in the west just after the sun sets.

Scorpio is a lot do with the uncivilised aspects of life that often get pushed into the shadowy worlds of the individual and collective subconscious.

Traditionally in the West, anything associated with the animalistic side to life such as bodily fluids, sexuality, desire etc have been considered negative or in need of controlling. This, of course, leads to fragmentation into the conscious civilised parts of us and our repressed desires that have been forced to live in the dark and only come out when the inhibiting conscious mind is temporarily unable to contain them. Robert Louis Stevenson (Sun, Mercury and Mars all in Scorpio) captured this very well in ‘The Strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’. Dr Jekyll thought it would be beneficial to liberate these two sides of his nature so that each side could pursue its natural inclinations without being trapped by the other. However, when Dr Jekyll decided to end the experiment he found it would take place spontaneously and in the end he realised he would be permanently changed into Mr Hyde as the potion to change him back no longer worked.

This has parallels with what is going on in medicine today. It was announced recently that there will soon be no treatment available for gonorrhoea and some other infectious diseases as the bacteria has now become resistant to all the antibiotic treatments given for the condition. The desire to eradicate something perceived as ‘negative’ only makes it more resistant to eradication.

Another angle on the nature of the subconscious was presented in a TV programme on language presented by Stephen Fry. It described how the most primitive parts of the brain are a repository for swear words and taboo subjects and that these are usually inhibited by the more advanced structures within the brain. In some individuals, such as those suffering from Tourettes syndrome or those who have suffered brain damage, these higher faculties have been weakened and are unable to control the more primitive part of the brain from uttering these expletives and carrying out actions they would normally inhibit. This principle can be applied to all forms of behaviour, not just language, and indicates that the most well-adjusted, respectable people in society may simply be the best able to control and manage their more primitive side. Management, however, is clearly not the best way to deal with the situation for it perpetuates the duality and division in consciousness and the whole system is liable to break down whenever that higher management is compromised.

Everyone knows that the world is in a period of great transition both in consciousness and in our external social and natural environment. Part of this transition involves the collapse of these systems to manage the primitive and repressed parts of ourselves as individuals and as a collective. So the fact that the more receptive individuals are experiencing a greater level of chaos in their internal and external worlds is a natural and inevitable progression. It is a chance to really witness and become aware of the subconscious and all it holds. This primitive nature is wild, dangerous, raw, unprocessed and totally uncivilised. It is therefore far closer to the beauty and awe of life than the calculated and ordered world of our supposedly higher thinking. 

Part of the hype and paranoia surrounding the end of the Mayan calendar is that there is a collective sense that the ability to keep the subconscious in check is steadily weakening and that we know there will come a day where we have to face the content of our subconscious and it is this rather than any external catastrophe that completely terrifies us.

One revised date for the ending of the mayan calendar is 28 October 2011. This just so happens to coincide with my visit to London as does the dark moon in Scorpio which will take place on  Wednesday 26 October, the same evening as I’ll be running my astrology meditation evening.

If anyone would like an astrology session then I am available on Tuesday 25^th and Wednesday 26^th October.

The astrology meditation evening will take place on Wednesday 26^th at 7pm at Bermondsey Fayre, 212 Bermondsey Street

Wishing you all a wonderful Halloween. If a portal to the underworld opens and the dead start coming through, just keep calm and point them in the direction home.

This week saw the release of the big budget spy movie, Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy based on the novel by John Le Carre. As John Le Carre was himself a spy he was really able to capture that whole murky, paranoid world extremely well. If you were to describe the world of espionage astrologically you would have to say that it must be governed by the sign Scorpio and the planets Mercury, Neptune and Pluto. However, having done a little research on the charts of well known British spies (when I should have been getting on with more important work) I noticed that Venus and Libra were often very prominent. The reason for this is that Venus and Libra are generally very easy to get on with, diplomatic and disarming. Unlike Aries, who are assertive and make natural soldiers, Librans seek peace and therefore do not appear to pose a threat. It is precisely this quality that makes them successful spies.

Of course, not all spies are Libran nor do all Librans make good spies. For many spies the Sun, Mercury or Venus are aspecting Neptune or Pluto or there are a number of planets in Scorpio as well as Libra. In John Le Carre’s own birth chart he has Sun conjunct Mercury in Libra opposite Uranus and square Pluto with Venus in Scorpio. A very similar planetary configuration will be taking place just after the Autumnal Equinox when the new moon in Libra on 27 September will be opposing Uranus and squaring Pluto, while Venus conjuncts Saturn also in Libra. Perfect timing for the film to be great success.

So how is any of this relevant to those of us who are not currently employed by MI5 or MI6? Well Libra is the sign of relationship and is an expert in handling the dynamics and interchanges between human beings with tact and diplomacy. However, this diplomacy has a shadow side especially when Pluto is involved. There can be backroom deals with plenty of reassuring handshakes while at the same time trying to stab the other in the back. This is likely to be going on in most political arenas both national and international but it also can play out in everyday work and social relationships. While maintaining harmony with colleagues, romantic partners and family is obviously a good thing, it is important to make sure that peace has not come at too high a price and that truth has not been sacrificed for the sake of good relations. It is often better to bring out an issue of contention than sweep it under a carpet of smiles. Having said that, one should be wary of emulating George Smiley, the protagonist of John Le Carre’s story, and descend into paranoia, believing that everyone close to you has a hidden agenda and a secret to hide.

It just so happens that my train arrives into London Paddington at the exact time of the Libra new Moon on the 27^th September but I won’t read too much into that.

Astrology Consultations

I’ll be offering consultations in London from 27^th to 30^th September. If you are interested then just get in touch.

Astrology Meditation Evening

The next one will be held on Wednesday 28 September at 7pm

Venue: Bermondsey Fayre, 212 Bermondsey Street.

Cost: £8

Astrology Foundation Course

The course starts on 1 & 2 October and is held in Highbury N5.

There are still spaces available if anyone wants to learn the wonderful art and science of astrology.

The course is run over ten weekends a year and costs £850.

Astrology consultations and meditation evenings in BRISTOL

 For anyone who lives in or around Bristol I will doing astrology meditation evenings on

  Friday 7 October

  Friday 11 November

I will also be available for consultations in Bristol earlier in the day.

Events and Courses from Sept 2011

Yoga and Astrology retreat in Turkey – 17-22 October

I know this is late notice but if anyone is interested in coming to this 5 day retreat that includes yoga, body work, personal astrology sessions and meditations as well as some time on the beach then please get in contact. The cost is just £415 as it is the first retreat we are running and it’s a late booking. There is no scarcity of places available but we do need to know soon for practical reasons of organisation.

For more details about the retreat please visit Liz Dillon's website

Astrology Foundation Course

This is a one year grounding in all basics of astrology and is necessary for anyone thinking of doing more advanced courses such as the Medical and spiritual astrology course I run with Yubraj.

The course is run over 10 weekends, the first being 1-2 October and costs £85 a weekend.

The classes will be held in Highbury Grove, N5.

More details are available from my website or just contact me directly.

www.phoenixschoolofastrology.co.uk

London consultations

I will be in London and available for consults on 27 and 28 September so if you would like to have a session just get in touch.

The Astrology meditation evening will be on 28 September 7pm at Bermondsey Fayre, 212 Bermondsey street. Cost £8

Devon Programme

I am finally getting my act together and starting an astrology programme of events in Devon. Some will be regular monthly events while others will be one off workshops. So if you are in the area or fancy coming down for a break from the city then just get in touch. All events will take place in Exeter

One Day Astrology workshops

Sat 8 October – Reconnecting with the Stars: A journey of self discovery through astrology.

This one day workshop takes some of the experiential work I have been doing in the meditation evenings but applying it to our individual natal charts.

Sat 12 November – Exploring the long dance of Mercury and Venus.

Mercury and Venus form conjunctions at least three or four times a year but these mostly last just two or three days. However, from mid October to late November the two planets will be side by side locked in a dance that can open up new ways of thinking and communicating in relationships. The workshop will also look at how this dance interacts with our natal charts.

Astrology meditation evenings

These evenings will be along the same lines as the ones being run in London.

Wednesday 12 October - 6pm-7.15pm

Wednesday 16 November - 6pm-7.15pm

At the moment we are in a season the Chinese refer to as ‘late summer’ which is ruled by the Earth element and roughly corresponds to the movement of the Sun through the sign of Virgo. The constellation Virgo is often represented as a fertility goddess holding a sheath of grain and is symbolic of the harvests that happen at this time of year.

The theme of this time is about being centred. The Earth element in Chinese thought occupies the central position while other elements of wood, fire, metal and water relate to the cardinal directions of east, south, west and north respectively. The earth element and Virgo also rule the digestive organs which reside in the centre of the body. It is therefore a good to pay particular attention to the physical body, to eat good quality food, to do some exercise, join a yoga class and maybe get some massage or other body work. All these things nourish the earth element and help get back in touch with the body.

Emotionally Virgo and the Earth are damaged by anxiety and worry which will not only distort clear thinking but may disturb the digestion and assimilation of food.

On a deeper level it is about connecting to one’s centre. This is not an ego centre but the centre of one’s physical existence. What we often find there is a survival anxiety or fear of lack, an age old worry that the harvests won’t be enough to feed us. This is greatly exacerbated by the media reports of rising oil and food prices, fewer jobs, greater threats of violence and theft etc. The whole marketing culture is also based on creating a sense of scarcity in time and space so that a product has a limited availability or a special offer is available for a limited period. Now is the time to connect with these concerns not on an intellectual level but at the visceral level of the guts which do not listen to rational explanations.

The ability to receive from the earth is determined by the condition of this physical centre within our digestive organs more than it is by our external circumstances. It is not so much about changing our thoughts about receiving but meeting and engaging with our deeply rooted biological conditioning.

Mercury will be going retrograde on 3 August at 1° Virgo and returning to 18° Leo by 26 August after which it will start to move forward again.

Mercury has just entered Virgo and is exactly opposing Neptune and because both planets are moving slowly or retrograde this opposition will last until mid August when normally it would only last for a day or two. Mercury retrograde can confuse the linear thinking mind at the best of times but when tied to Neptune it can really exaggerate that confusion leading to a mind that cannot see things clearly. As the two planets are in opposition, which is an angle of relationship, it will especially bring out misunderstandings in communication and deception, intentional or otherwise. Certainly not a great time to go shopping for a second hand car.

This relationship is not confined to just one-to-one relationships it can also play out in our relationship with the world out there. As Mercury retrogrades through Leo it has an individualising effect. It will encourage us to think about what makes us unique, if we are fully expressing ourselves or if we have lost touch with our innate loves. This will be seen in contrast to the generic, homogenous mass culture we are surrounded by and very much part of. We all like to think we are unique and not following the crowd but that very thought is itself an indication of being part of the collective herd. Rather than resist the crowd and an invent an independent ‘I’ it is probably more worthwhile to see just how much we are caught up in mass consciousness, to see how our hopes, fears, desires are in their essence the same as everyone else. This recognition can actually help to unlock something genuinely creative and original within us.

This individual and creative impulse may peak around 16 August which sees an exact triple conjunction involving the Sun, Mercury and Venus at 23° Leo. 

A lot of what is going on at the moment seems to concern the sign of Cancer. Cancer deals with issues to do with family, the home, nurturing and security. The recent attacks in Norway may not seem related to Cancer but if you read about what motivated them then it becomes clearer. The perpetrator had far right political views especially regarding Islamic immigrants and saw his role as one of protecting Norway and its people from this malevolent and insidious invasion. This idea of protecting our family, our tribe, our national security all come under the sign of Cancer and the violence committed by both terrorists and governments in the name of protecting their people and their home has been with us for thousands of years.

I have also had quite a few clients in recent weeks who are going through difficult and stressful family situations. A common scenario is where divorced parents use the children to get at each other or skeletons in the family closet being revealed. The two ends of the Cancer spectrum are feeling claustrophobic or trapped through emotional manipulation and neediness or being abandoned and neglected by those who are closest to you. No matter how conscious and grounded we think we are, there is nothing like a family crisis to disturb our emotional waters so that it distorts our ability to perceive what is really going on. As our actions are based on our perceptions wholly inappropriate and unreasonable behaviour can result from the need to protect our family and security.

The Sun and Venus have left Cancer but Mars is about to enter and when it forms a grand cross with Uranus, Pluto and Saturn, which will last most of August, the need to take action within the family or home will be strong. Action may well be necessary but knowing the best thing to do amid emotional upheaval is never straightforward.