Baron Astrology | Double the Doom, Only HALF the Free Will!

March 8th-14th: Lion Dance

BSVCPHD — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:11:38 +0000

March 8^th-14^th

Lion Dance

The Moon wanes over an intense week. After nearly 3 months retrograde, Mars finally stations direct this Wednesday, March 10th. During that time he’s burnt his way through a number of relationships and scorched folks’ self esteem. After long months retrograde, Mars reaches the bottom of the bardo, the point from which things can move forward.

Venus entered Aries last Sunday, a little fire flower ablaze with the light of a stationing Mars in Leo. Venus in Aries‘ energy will make people excited and excitable, impatient and a little narcissistic. Although this position will oversee some real enthusiasm, there will no doubt be raw feelings as Venus opposes Saturn (on Tuesday) and squares Pluto (on Thursday). In combination with the influence of Mars, direct statements will be made and offense may well be taken.

Mars- Retrograde and Direct

When Mars stations direct, after a retrograde, a number of things happen. People become very direct. Lines get drawn and objections get stated. Relationships are severed, often finally. We can contrast this with the types of conflicts present during Mars’ retrograde. During the retrograde, relationships are lousy with small conflicts, but these are often over small stupid things that do not speak to the heart of the issues. Although the conflicts are present, they are disconnected from their reasons.

Mars retrogrades always have an internal component. A person’s sense of power and efficacy is challenged. The collective archetypal cycle shifts to activate a different archetype, invalidating the previous cycle and providing new challenges. People often respond to this change of cycle poorly because Mars’ archetypal sphere is a highly egoic one. Personal power is a hard thing to be neutral about. Having insufficient personal power to deal with life circumstances is a legitimate source of insecurity. Mars’ retrogrades build up and trigger insecurities. This creates an ambient cloud of frustration and insecurity, people seeking to feel powerful because they don’t. People often act badly. Especially men. Not because Mars only affects men, but because the subject matter of the red planet’s little archetypal is personal power. Men are weighed and judged primarily on their personal power, and they internalize these measures and build the towers of identity around them. When these walls are besieged by changing cycles, defensive mechanisms spring into action with little provocation.

When Mars turns direct, this confusion comes to an end, by coming to a point. Often the point of a sword. People sever themselves from limiting, disempowering situations on Mars’ direct stations. And some should, but don’t quite get around to it. However, the point that Mars’ direct station comes to is not always that of a blade. The point is also a positive bloom, an Ace of Wands, a vision of mastery within the arena of power sloppily outlined by the retrograde. It is literally the point where the retreat ceases, from which forward movement can begin.

The Cowardly Lion

Mars’ direct station shows up in the macrocosm. Barack Obama, who’s had Mars retrograde beat up his chart, has been roundly criticized this winter for not being an aggressive, ass kicking leader- key Mars traits. But since Mars moved within spitting distance of his direct station, Obama stopped preaching bipartisan pleasantry- he’s saying the health care bill is going through, one way or another. It’s a good example of how the key points in a cycle, like Mars’ direct station, actually look like in people’s lives.

Horoscopes:

March 8th-14th

Note on Horoscopes: Sun-sign horoscopes are a blunt tool, as they do not take into account many of the factors present in an astrological chart. In order to sharpen the accuracy of the horoscopes, read your Sun Sign if you were born in the day-time, and read your Moon Sign if you were born at night. Reading the Sign in which the Ascendant is placed is also advised.

For information on where the Ascendant and Moon are in your natal chart, check out the accurate, free, chart calculation programs at astro.com.

Aries: The Ram

Mars’ direct station this week will help you find the right form for your creative energy. The problem of what to create is linked to your perception of yourself as the creator. Crafting the right mask for yourself will open the gates. The direct station will also help stabilize your self perceptions and may be accompanied by increased clarity in matters of shared resources. Venus’ entrance into your sign will probably excite you, and reconnect you to the emotional core of a cycle you’ve been dealing with for the last year, since Venus went retrograde in Aries late last winter.

Taurus: The Bull

Mars’ direct station sees your conflict with your living space and origins come to a definitive point. Clear courses of action are likely to emerge. Friction within relationships is also likely to come to a head. Venus’ movement into Aries combined with Mars’ station will unleash some feelings from neglected corners of your psyche. They may need a little processing.

Gemini: The Twins

Mars’ direct station brings a little clarity to your social life. The amount of energy you should be spending on running around your neighborhood stabilizes. Its important that you represent yourself well, not just alot. Mars’ direct station is also likely to see nagging financial problems find solutions. Between Mars’ direct station and Venus’ entrance into Aries, your social life will likely heat up considerably over the next few weeks, although this one may be a little tense.

Cancer: The Crab

Mars’ direct station helps clarify shifting financial matters. The red planet’s movement forward will also likely coincide with a creative surge. Along with Venus’ movement into Aries, this week also shines a firey spotlight on you, professionally. The accolades will will likely roll in, but give it until after the New Moon before you count your honors.

Leo: The Lion

Leo, Mars direct station may well signify an end to the madness. You’ve come through the most difficult part of the process. What process? The one where you’re identity gets torn down and remade. With Mars’ direct station, the tear down phase is basically over. It’s time to take what you’ve learned and start putting yourself back together- better, stronger and faster. The Mars station should also help clarify your living situation, and along with Venus’ movement into Aries, will add forgotten fire to long term visions.

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Virgo: The Virgin

Mars’ direct station marks an important point in you figuring out what to do with your ego needs. The station will stimulate your social situation, and along with Venus’ movement into Aries, will highlight projects you’re working with other people, and access to other people’s resources.

Libra: The Scales

Mars’ direct station in Leo helps stabilize your understanding of what role you are to play in the larger social circles you inhabit. The red planet’s forward movement will also help stabilize your bank account. Venus’ movement into Aries highlights relationships, helping to clarify and resolve conflicts.

Scorpio: The Scorpion

Mars’ direct station in Leo helps make a little sense out of your professional situation. In addition, the red planet’s march forward will help clarify who you really are at this point in your life. Venus’ move into Aries triggers a heightened consciousness of how your bad habits are draining your personal power and bank account.

Sagittarius: The Archer

Mars’ direct station in Leo helps stabilize the direction you’re headed, as well as your philosophical perspective. The red planet’s forward movement will also reconnect you to few forgotten drives. Venus’ recent movement into Aries highlights your love life, although this week may be volatile.

Capricorn: The Goat

Mars’ direct station in Leo stabilizes your relationship to other people’s resources. It will also stimulate your larger social network, and may clarify a few issues with friends. Meanwhile, Venus’ recent movement into Aries highlights the social aspects of your living situation, and may trigger instabilities.

Aquarius: The Water Bearer

Mars’ direct station this week helps stabilize your important relationships, making it clear where the lines are drawn and why. In addition, Mars’ forward march will likely have a positive effect on your professional situation, cutting through a few tangles. Venus’ recent movement into Aries should turn up the volume on your social life for the next several weeks, though you may want until next week to go out and play.

Pisces: The Fish

Mars’ direct station clarifies the work you need to do and helps cut through some general confusion . Venus’ movement into Aries sees financial seeds you’ve planted beginning to bloom, although you won’t see much break ground until next week.

Astrology Classes: The Baron is proud to announce another round of astrology classes, starting on the Equinox, March 21st! More HERE.

Consultation Services: If you’d like a personal consultation with the monkey behind the mask, you can get a hold of the Baron’s mortal vehicle at xroadsconsultations@gmail.com. You can find a list of prices and services HERE.

COPYRIGHT DARK SUN ASTROLOGY 2010

Sol in Pisces, Luna in Capricorn

The Red Queen Effect

BSVCPHD — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:24:45 +0000

The Red Queen Effect

Venus in Aries

Aries is considered to be one of the more difficult Signs for Venus. Astrological tradition states that Venus is in her “detriment” in Aries, meaning that it is difficult for the planet’s essential energy to manifest through the matrix of the Sign. Each sign represents an energy distribution pattern, and in Aries, the pattern concentrates energy on the self in order manifest the self’s potential. It is not a cooperation-based stage of development. Aries is individualistic, brash and more interested in actions than feelings. It emphasizes the exploration of self-reliance at the cost of interdependence.

In Aries, Venus is in Mars’ territory. Although force, conviction and energy abound, there is little harmony to appreciate and mediate in the home of the war god. It is a difficult territory for the lady to govern. Venus is the goddess of heartfelt and often sensual connection. It is interesting that in world myth, Mars is often a solo character, denied lasting conjugal union. Ares, the Greek god of war, had no consort, only a series of affairs. Kartikeya, the deity given to Mars in Vedic astrology, was also denied marriage. Instead he brooded and meditated in the mountains. Venus in Aries does not make relationships impossible, but it makes it a lot easier to be single.

Calliope and The Fire Flower

“Literature has up to now magnified pensive immobility, ecstasy and slumber. We want to exalt movements of aggression, feverish sleeplessness, the double march, the perilous leap, the slap and the blow with the fist.” -The Futurist Manifesto

Venus is the planetary patroness of the arts, and Aries, although often cast in a more warlike light, is an extremely creative sign. In many senses, Aries is saddled with the key task of creating the self. Here, the bloom of Venus is engulfed in the dragon’s breath of Aries’ flame, becoming the power-up immortalized in Super Mario Brothers; the Fire Flower.

Mathe-magic!

A parallel can be drawn between Calliope, the classical muse of epic poetry and song to Venus in Aries. Epic poetry is not a form practiced much today, but the spirit of Jason and the Argonauts, Odysseus and the whole crew lives on in the thousands of adventure stories the culture tells itself every year. It is the story of bigger than life characters involved in bigger than life action. The Lord of the Rings, and every DND style derivative owes a great debt to this tradition. In the epic, the internal world is projected onto the screen or page in its full glory. Each story is mythology and mythology the map of the psyche writ bold. Venus’ retrograde through Aries will, for many, rekindle a sense of themselves as important characters in a story yet to be told. In the crackling radiance of Aries’ fire, a vision of gods, humans and magic is seen. Life’s myth.

Venus in Aries especially highlights the spectacle of the complete individual, the self perfected within its own confines, but without context in the world. One of the ways people work with this vision is through the world of comic books. The majority of super heroes, heroines and villains have their individuality heightened and defined by their powers. A “power” is in most cases that of the self-in-action, the spirit manifest.

Heart of the Glamazon

The central conflict for Venus in Aries stems from the identification with the aggressive, martial drives. A natural tom boy, she is at home with the boys. Venus indicates the aesthetics one enjoys. In Aries, Venus enjoys the aesthetic of badassness. She likes watching the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and playing Mortal Combat. The spectacle of raw energy, creativity and power makes her chain mail panties rust.

However, when she approaches sexuality, she tends to do so from a masculine point of view. Venus in Aries understands what men want, because, in many ways, it’s what she wants. Venus in Aries waffles between being “just one of the guys” and largely asexual, to powerful and direct sexuality.

Simultaneously embracing and yet excluded from male dominated arenas, Venus in Aries is in a difficult position. To play with the boys, she must prove herself and either down play or put to strategic use her sexuality. Her fellow women will often be jealous of close relationships with men, and may also reject her for not being feminine enough or for acting like a “slut.” Her identification with the masculine perspective makes it difficult for her to create a vision of herself as a woman outside the eyes of men, and problematizes her relationship to women. Because it is so permeable, the barrier between the sexes is often exaggerated in order to reinforce it.

In an era between traditional gender roles and total freedom, Venus’ retrograde through Aries crosses and blurs these lines, incorporating much of what is traditionally masculine into the culturally accepted sphere of the feminine. It’s difficult being a tom-boy, porn star and feminist simultaneously, but someone has to do it.

Astrology Classes!

BSVCPHD — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 07:49:22 +0000

The Baron is proud to announce another round of astrology classes, starting on the Equinox, March 21st!

Astrology Foundations Class

Austin Coppock (AKA The Baron) will be teaching a 6 month series of classes on the fundamentals of art of astrology, beginning on March 21st. No prior knowledge is necessary, as the classes are designed to provide a thorough foundation in practical astrology from the ground up. Contemporary Western, Medieval, Renaissance European and Hellenistic Greek approaches to astrology all inform the classes, pulling the best from different phases of the tradition. There is a limit of 10 in-person students for this course.

Email xroadsconsultations@gmail.com to arrange attendance or with any questions you may have.

Introduction to Astrological Meditation, Magick and Energy Work

This 4 week class focuses on creating a more direct connection with each of the planetary energies. The class covers the symbolic resonances that different cultures have used to connect to and conduct planetary energy. We’ll explore meditative and pathworking techniques, planetary energy work, seals, sigils and how to ground the energy out. The point here is to get familiar with planetary energy, gain wisdom and insight, and put it to work for you.

This class is ideal for students of astrology interested in expanding their understanding of planetary energy, as well as learning applications for that understanding beyond chart reading. It’s a also a great fit for students of esoteric traditions which study planetary magick. Explore the rich history of astrology’s intersection with other practical spiritual traditions and put it to work for you. There is a limit of 10 in-person students for this course.

Email xroadsconsultations@gmail.com to arrange attendance or with any questions you may have.

Class Format: In Person, Distance Attendance, Recordings Only

Classes will be held on a weekly basis at the Hoodoo Factory in Downtown Los Angeles. For those not in the area, the same material is available for online classes, which include an exclusive forum, regular feedback, and weekly audio downloads of class lectures and discussion. For the curious but anti-social, recordings of the classes are also available without access to the forum or any feedback.

Time: Every Sunday for 4 weeks, starting March 21st

Foundations Class: 2-4 PM

Intro. To Planetary: 5-7 PM

Place: The Hoodoo Factory in Downtown LA or Your Computer

Pricing: Individual Courses

‣In-person at the Hoodoo Factory $108
‣Distance via the Internet $78
‣Only recordings $54

Each Class Includes:

Audio Materials: Each student will receive a complete digital recording of each week’s in-class lecture and discussion. Each session includes over an hour and a half of material. This is a full CD of material each and every week of the course! Listen to it on your iPod, in your car, or making sweet, sweet love.

Written Materials: Each student will also receive written supplements and book recommendations.

Visual Materials: Written and audio content is complemented by a slew of handy charts and diagrams.

Online Forum: Each student gets access to a private forum where they may post and get feedback on their weekly work, as well as have a chance to discuss relevant issues with Austin and several qualified assistants.