Lynda Hill's Sabian Symbols

Emerging From the Mine to Flying in Formation: October's Aries Full Moon

I met a hundred men going to Delhi and every one is my brother. Indian Saying

There is a destiny that makes us brothers,
No one goes his way alone;
All that we send into the lives of others,
Comes back into our own.
Edwin Markham

In isolation I ruthlessly plow the deep silences, seeking my opportunities like a miner seeking veins of treasures. In what shallow glimmering space shall I find what glimmering glory? Jamaica Kincaid

Underground issues from one relationship or context invariably fuel our fires in another. Harriet Lerner

Don't refuse to go on an occasional wild goose chase. That's what wild geese are made for. Henry S. Haskins

October's full Moon promises to be a very interesting one. Falling on Sunday October 4, this Moon has very interesting mixed messages for our consideration (consider is an interesting word literally "to observe the stars".) The full Moon degree is Aries 12: A Flock of Wild Geese:

Head Honcho or Playing Second Fiddle: September's Virgo New Moon

Everybody can be great... because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The second fiddle. I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find someone who can play the second fiddle with enthusiasm - that’s a problem. And if we have no second fiddle, we have no harmony. Leonard Bernstein

A man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own greatness. Chinese proverb

It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. Harry S. Truman

Freedom - to walk free and own no superior. Walt Whitman

Have you felt the tension and the pressure? Many are saying they have felt pushed and rather drained from their responsibilities and the energy has been pretty full on. There's so much to say about this new Moon that it's a bit hard to know where to start...

The Saturn Uranus opposition last year was smack on November 4, the day of the US elections when Barack Obama won. The opposition then was surely about the titanic struggle between the old and the new, the tried and untried and in many people's minds, the good and the bad. Indeed, for many, it felt like the possibility of a new beginning and it certainly felt that way; many felt euphoria and release as Obama won the election and the old guard fell quickly into obscurity. Of course, the old guard is trying to scramble their way back - almost using 'castration techniques' (if you're interested, Google it and read the myth of Saturn castrating Uranus) in an effort to destabilize and undermine the new President, to discredit, defame and generally teabag and deflate. Naturally, as happens, things haven't magically become better and a lot of people have been, and still are, feeling a sense of disillusionment. The birth of the new can be painful and it takes time. Of course, the castration of Uranus lead to the birth of Aphrodite (Venus) and it seems to me that a good, considered dose of Venus is the way to soften the edges of this opposition.

Well, this new Moon is a doozy - exactly conjunct Saturn and opposing Uranus = it is a new Moon largely defined by and constrained by the current Saturn Uranus opposition. The new Moon occurs on September 19 in Australia and September 18 in the United States. The Sabian Symbol is Virgo 26: A Boy With a Censer Serves Near the Priest at the Altar. The 'Boy' doesn’t have the experience or social position of the 'Priest', but that shouldn't put him off his duties or what needs to be done. His position and responsibilities are still important. In a Catholic church service, wine is drunk as a symbol of the blood of Christ. Wafers are placed on the tongues of the believers as the representation of the body of Christ. How the 'Boy' reacts to the ritual or ceremony will depend on his upbringing, beliefs or temperament. He could be rapt with fascination at what is being played out or he could be indifferent, bored and really preferring to go home. It is unclear whether the 'Boy' wants to eventually take the position of the older 'Priest', or colleague, or not. He may grow up to do other things, but right now he's got his position or duty to fulfill. This may be less than he's actually able to do or is truly "qualified" to do. 

This Symbol brings up feelings of being second best, playing second fiddle; feeling like one has no authority. Of course, one can be 'The Priest' - you don't have to be 'The Boy With the Censer', however it is very likely that issues of having a position will come up. Are you fulfilling your duties, your karma, your desires, so completely that you will be able to take your position as the authority in your life? Are you living your life with people that talk down to you, abuse you, don't give you credit, don't listen, don't care and are only there to fulfill their own feelings of aggrandizement and glory? It could be time to stake your claim to those things that will reward you.

I would be remiss if I didn't bring up the Symbol of Virgo 27 as the new Moon falls right on 25Virgo59 = the very last minute of Virgo 26. The Sabian Symbol for Virgo 27 is Aristocratic Elderly Ladies Drinking Afternoon Tea in a Wealthy Home. This definitely has the spirit of feeling 'at home', feeling amongst your peers, taking time out, being able to relax, handing responsibilities on to others. So, this is a fine mix of having to do and finding time to just relax and catch up with others. The pic to the left is my interpretation of this degree ;) (love it!).

The Saturn Uranus opposition is asking for big changes, big let goes and for us to take charge of a sense of personal authority that can (and will) move us into new life, new possibilities, new realities. We must accept the rewards that personal authority can bring, of course, and we may have to stand up and be firm about it. This is made more manifest by Pluto's placement at Capricorn 1: An Indian Chief Claims Power and Recognition From the Assembled Tribe. This clearly speaks about claiming power and recognition from those around you. Still, we often find that others are doing this at our expense. How to rectify this? Check out the parameters of your own influence, your own sphere and stick to those with a sense of authority, grace and strength. Your 'Assembled Tribe' can be the disparate parts of yourself that can contain differing messages; your career self may feel very much in charge while your relationship self is floundering (or vice-versa). You may be quite strong when it comes to issues to do with your family and those close to you, but like a fish out of water in social situations (or vice-versa). This placement of Pluto asks that we line up the various parts of our personalities and get them to work in concert. This is an empowering placement for Pluto, but we sometimes have to face what we fear before the rewards come flooding in.

Mercury is retrograding back into Virgo now. The Sabian Symbol for Mercury on this new Moon is Virgo 30: Having an Urgent Task to Complete, A Man Doesn't Look to Any Distractions. We all feel 'distracted' from time to time, this is quite normal. Distracted is an interesting word; going off the tracks, going off the rails, not being on target. We need one pointedness of application with Mercury here, staying true to yourself and remaining on the path or on the job. Mercury asks that we don't look to things that derail us. There's a reward here as well - Mercury will very soon head back to Virgo 29: A Man Is Gaining Secret Knowledge From an Ancient Scroll He Is Reading.  This is a wonderful degree, particularly for Mercury to be going over. During the coming week, Mercury will retrograde over the degrees that Saturn is currently highlighting: Virgo 25: A Flag at Half-Mast in Front of a Public Building and Virgo 26: A Boy With a Censer Serves Near the Priest at the Altar. It's certainly time to be letting go - big time! Along with letting go is the acceptance of personal authority.

All of the above can relate to your relationships, of course, and the issue of relationships comes up pretty quickly with Venus on Leo 29: A Mermaid Has Climbed to the Rocky Shore of a Bleak Coast; She Awaits the Prince Who Will Bring Her Immortality. This speaks of coming into conscious form, new ways of being, transformation, looking for love and a relationship that confirms rather than denies your sense of integrity. This is particularly interesting because in this last week Saturn has been on Virgo 24: Mary and Her White Lamb. This speaks of dependence and co dependence and asks you to examine the spaces you have between you and others, particularly significant others and close friendships. Allowing that space for everyone to be more authentically who they are meant to be can bring wonderful rewards and realisations.

Push Me Pull You: It's All Happening With the Saturn-Uranus opposition

Life must be lived and curiosity kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life. Eleanor Roosevelt

Letting go doesn’t mean giving up, but rather accepting that there are things that cannot be. Anon

There are things that we never want to let go of, people we never want to leave behind. But keep in mind that letting go isn’t the end of the world, it’s the beginning of a new life. Anon

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Anon

Happening every 45 years or so, the Saturn/Uranus opposition marks a time when we feel we can't live any longer under certain conditions, limitations, systems, relationships, belief systems, jobs, careers, etc, and a part of us comes tearing out. We seek change, reform, relief and the new instead of ploughing on with things that are not working.

Saturn often speaks of the status quo; those things we know to be stable, long lasting, reliable. If not always rewarding, Saturn can bring us familiarity with things we know to be at least predictable. Solid and often quite demanding, Saturn provides us with boundaries, some restrictive, others dependable and life affirming. Uranus, on the other hand, often brings about revolution; it stirs the pot and stretches us to change, it can take things from us without giving us time to reflect, stir up the furies, making us mad, bringing tempers to the boiling point and demanding equality.

This is a simplified estimation of these planetary energies - Saturn can take away things too, just as much or even more so than Uranus. Both have that hard-edged quality that can leave our hearts and minds in tatters... but all the while growing (jeez, these 'learning experiences' - can't we just learn from other people's mistakes)?! Uranus has a particularly 'metal feeling' about it - like a big knife descends and cuts the cords, the tape, the glue or the bindings. The first pass of this opposition occurred on November 4 2008 - the week Barack Obama got elected (btw, the US chart was having a progressed full Moon then on Virgo 4: Black and White Children Playing Happily Together). 

Laying One's Sword to Rest: September's Pisces Full Moon

All those who take the sword will perish by the sword. The Bible

Do you know what astonished me most in the world? The inability of force to create anything. In the long run, the sword is always beaten by the spirit. Napoleon Bonaparte

You mean, you'll put down your rock and I'll put down my sword and we'll try and kill each other like civilized people? The Princess Bride

Never give a sword to a man who can't dance. Confucius

God grant me a good sword and no use for it. Polish proverb

A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control. Proverb

September's full Moon, happening on September 4 in the US and September 5 in Australia, is on the Sabian Symbol of Pisces 13: A Sword, Used in Many Battles, Is Now In a Museum. This Symbol points to dropping issues, laying down one's sword, giving up the fighting, opting for more peaceful solutions. The following is my interpretation from my book 360 Degrees of Wisdom: Charting Your Destiny With the Sabian Oracle:

Mercury Retrograde: Watching Your Visions Take Concrete Form

The pure impulse of dynamic creation is formless; and being formless, the creation it gives rise to can assume any and every form. Cabala

The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul. The Bible

Speak of the devil and he appears. Arabic proverb

Plant the seed of desire in your mind and it forms a nucleus with power to attract to itself everything needed for its fulfillment. Robert Collier

When an idea exclusively occupies the mind, it is transformed into an actual physical or mental state.Sivananda

Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way. Abraham Lincoln

Mercury is heading for it's retrograde period, set to do it's apparent backwards dance from September 7 until September 30, bringing all kinds of issues and events to the surface - things we need to deal with and some things that we'd perhaps rather not have to deal with. This period can be wonderfully reviving, revising, re visioning, revamping, redoing, redirecting and can be a time of adjustments, making life easier, smoother and more efficient AFTER the retrograde period (not during when all hell can, and sometimes does, break loose!). When things go awry, it's usually because they need repairing or re visioning - and Mercury retrograde has well earned the phrase that I sometimes call it 'Mercury Wretchrograde' - a "wretch" (and sometimes a "wrench") it can certainly be. The thing to be mindful of is that Mercury won't clear it's shadow (the degrees that it's already passed over) until around October 15, so this really is a longer period than we might at first think.

It seems to me that the rewards often outweigh the difficulties that this period poses. The rewards are part of the re visioning, rewriting, rewiring even, of our lives, our realities and potentials.

If you're already feeling the effects of Mercury retrograde, it's no surprise as although the actual retrograde period starts on September 7, we're now in the shadow period which started around August 18. This means we're heading over the zodiacal degrees now that Mercury will be soon traversing backwards through the retrograde. Hence, the Symbols that are being highlighted now will be highlighted again in September and then again in October, so it pays to take notice of what's going on now as these things may require revising again in some way.

Now, Mercury goes retrograde on Libra 7: A Woman Feeding Chickens and Protecting Them From the Hawks, a degree that Mercury hangs around for around 4 days - from September 5 until September 9. This degree speaks about nurture, protection and guardianship. It's about being on the lookout for changes in the atmosphere, to be mindful of possible intrusions or intruders - without being worried or imagining things that aren't there, of course. It's a lovely degree unless it gets a little out of hand which can lead to imagining problems when there aren't any and attributing hurt and blame where it is not warranted. Having said that, it still pays to be watchful and certainly nurturing and protective in a way that gives those people, things or situations that you're guarding plenty of room and scope for freedom, expansion and self autonomy.

So, the major thrust of this retrograde Mercury is based around feeding, protecting and being a caretaker. However, Mercury sits for quite some time on Libra 6: A Man Watches His Ideals Taking a Concrete Form Before His Inner Vision. Not only is Mercury transiting this degree for a number of days in September, it comes back for revisioning in mid October. Further, not only is Mercury transiting this degree, but the Sun and Venus pass over it as well. This is a fabulous degree that is very much about conscious manifestation, having one's ideas and ideals taking shape and the need to have positive, empowering and useful stories, images or plans in the forefront of your mind. Negative, dis empowering or harmful thoughts or messages are likely to bring difficult or bad results.

Below is my interpretation of this degree from my book 360 Degrees of Wisdom: Charting Your Destiny With the Sabian Oracle:

This is a good time to visualize your needs, wants, thoughts and feelings. In the situation facing you, what are the 'Ideals' that need to be made real? Something that we're learning in this new and exciting age of human progress is that conscious concrete manifestation is entirely possible, especially when we feel aligned to our core purpose. When you decide what it is that you truly want, allowing the energy of it to be focused through the power of the mind will allow it to manifest. Here, something new is being formed, even if it is only in its preliminary stage or early days. If these 'Ideals' are really meant to be brought into 'Concrete Form', focusing intently on them will bring them into reality. By doing this, you will make it possible for your creative ideas to be projected out into the real world. However, one must be truly thoughtful about what one wants to create. You may find that your hopes and dreams are not only brought into the light of reality, but are truly being put to the test. Be careful what you wish for. The mind is very powerful, and, if your focus is not used correctly, difficult situations can emerge. Concentrate carefully on what it is that you want and 'Watch' what happens. Think positively as this Symbol can create wonderful magic in your life.

Keywords: Vivid confrontations with one's objectives. Creative visualizations. Imagining things. Meditations and affirmations. Ideas crystallized. Putting things out into the universe. Making things happen. Seeing things take shape and form. Clairvoyance. Film making. Writing and getting published. The power of manifestation. Solidification. Builders. Sculptures. Dreams.

The Caution: Being dissatisfied with what was thought to be the true ideal. Feeling that things are "written in stone" and can’t be changed. Calcified situations or emotions. Neurosis. Focusing on the negative thereby bringing the negative.

Another degree that brings to mind very interesting, useful and dynamic realizations and breakthroughs is the Karmic Condition (the degree before) the Watching Your Visions Take Concrete Form degree. It's Libra 5: A Man Teaching the True Inner Knowledge of the New World to His Students. This speaks about guidance and protection, being a guiding light for others, imparting knowledge, wisdom, looking for truth, seeking answers to complicated questions, listening and learning, turning to others to receive guidance, speaking one's truth, instinctual knowledge, pioneers on the path, teachers and students, secrets of the new age, etc.

There's more to say (there always is) - but suffice to say that this Mercury retrograde period is very much about the thoughts, aspirations, dreams, visions, desires, fears, insecurities, etc, that we allow to enter our mind and heart. We need to project a positive image on out onto the world as for certain it's going to reflect right back at us. We all have lessons we need to both learn and to share with others. Now's a great time for rewiring your possibilities, potentials, dreams and realizations!