2010 January : Big Sky AstroBlog

Jan

27

The Full Moon in Leo reminds us that all creatures want to feel special and loved, and nothing makes us feel that way more than the personal attention of those we love. Right now, with impatient Mars retrograding through Leo – tightly aspecting the Sun and Moon in the chart for the upcoming Full Moon – and Saturn and Pluto facing off in a chilling clash of the titans, there are plenty of frustrations and fears to distract us from life’s intrinsic joyfulness. The Sun in Aquarius naturally tilts our focus skyward for solutions, gazing into the future and into our computer screens, scanning an invisible horizon for lightning bolts of inspiration. But when we are gazing at the stars, or into the limitless horizon of the Internet, it’s easy to overlook what’s all around us at ground level…. Read the full article here

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January 27, 2010 | 1 Comment

Jan

22

Nothing, but nothing, is flowing easily around here these days, and I blame Mars retrograde (December 20, 2009 – March 10, 2010). Everything – I mean, the most trivial, pedestrian daily tasks; let alone work, which is just killing me – is taking at least twice as long as it should. And headaches! Are you having more headaches than usual? Because I am. Mars rules the head, so I assume the headaches are a result of repeatedly banging my cabeza against the wall in Mars Rx frustration.

For those playing along at home, here’s how to mix your very own Mars Rx Frustration Cocktail:

Fill a jigger with some really irritating Essence of Mercury Retrograde.
Shake vigorously until it’s about ten times more frustrating.
Voila! – pour yourself a generous tumbler of Mars retrograde in a fixed sign (currently Leo).

As Erin Sullivan points out in her excellent book Retrograde Planets, Mars retrogrades so seldom – only every two and a half years – that its retrogrades take us by surprise. We don’t develop the same practical or spiritual reflexes we have for dealing with, say, Mercury’s retrograde periods, which occur approximately every fifteen minutes. (Okay, more like three times a year, but gah, it does feel like every fifteen minutes, doesn’t it?) So we tend to get caught in a psychosis-inducing loop of work – work – frustration – head banging -throw something – work some more, until we finally hit a brick wall and end up on the sofa in a fetal position, whimpering softly.

All retrograde cycles are good for something, though. And Mars’ retrograde periods are perfect moments to ferret out the myriad conflicts and resentments that we’ve been shoving under the rug for the past couple of years.

The tension’s been building for weeks, and next week provides the tipping point. The chart for the January 29 Full Moon features the Moon conjunct, and the Sun opposed retrograde Mars – of which Sullivan writes:

The opposition externalizes interior energy which has been gestating and cooking in the unconscious. The Sun-Mars opposition is particularly dramatic and highlights the two houses in which one has been experiencing a build-up of energy, whether hostile or constructive. The conflagration is particularly spectacular if the Sun-Mars opposition is aspecting a natal planet or within orb of the angles.

Retrograde Mars is currently smack on my natal Sun, so I’m already feeling a bit like Seinfeld’s Frank Costanza, kicking off his self-made Festivus holiday with the traditional “airing of grievances”: “I’ve got a lot of problems with you people!” (at 2:48 in the clip below)

Feeling a little frustrated?
Pour yourself a Mars Rx
Frustration Cocktail
and air your grievances!

January 22, 2010 | 7 Comments

Jan

14

The basic plotline of what’s being called “the latest late-night wars” is, by now, familiar. Nearly six years ago, Jay Leno announced that he would step down as the host of “The Tonight Show” in 2009, and his network, NBC, promised that the most coveted of talk show duties would then be handed off to Conan O’Brien. When the day of reckoning came, Leno stepped down and into a steaming pile of… five hours of primetime per week, beginning at 10:00 p.m., an idea that sounded good to absolutely no one except the dunces at NBC. Predictably, the show bombed, and NBC and Leno soon ran afoul of network affiliates who were losing ratings for their local newscasts, which followed Leno’s show, because few were willing to stick it out through a full hour of Leno just to get their local news. Meanwhile, in a chilling domino effect, O’Brien’s ratings were tanking as well. It soon became clear that the experiment was not working. So at this point the smart money would have said, “Okay, so Jay walks away, he’s probably richer than God by now, he’ll find something else to do. NBC can develop some worthwhile programming for the 10:00 slot, affiliates and Conan will see an improvement in their ratings, and everyone’s happy.”

The smart money would have had it absolutely wrong. Instead, NBC decided to move Leno back to 11:30, after local news, for a half an hour, followed by an hour of Conan. Although the blow must have stung like a slap across the face with a wet fish, O’Brien pulled himself together and released an amusing and heartfelt statement to the press, announcing that he would pass on this “opportunity.”

For Conan O’Brien, walking away cannot have been an easy decision. This is a job he’d waited years for (many of them toiling away in NBC’s late night slot following Leno) – a job that’s been the acme of talk show hosting since Johnny Carson’s tenure – and he had been given a scant seven months to prove he could make it work.

Perhaps fittingly, tonight’s Solar Eclipse at 25 Capricorn makes a close square to O’Brien’s natal Sun at 28 Aries. I’ve often described eclipses in aspect to the natal Sun as signifying a moment when you have to step up and claim the crown to your own kingdom – and that’s exactly what Conan O’Brien has done here. By refusing to accept a tarnished crown, refusing to languish any longer in someone else’s shadow, O’Brien has truly graduated to the big leagues. He’s stepping farther into his role as the regent of his own life. It must feel scary – and exciting as hell.

For an indepth look at the astrology of the late night wars, see Lynn Hayes’ fine analysis – including birth data for Leno and O’Brien – here.

January 14, 2010 | 1 Comment

Jan

12

A new essay/podcast for Friday’s (2:11 am EST) New Moon/Eclipse in Capricorn:

The Buck Stops Here

Eclipses falling in Capricorn mark a critical juncture at which you realize what you want to become is in direct conflict with the support structure you’ve built for your life. Basically, it’s time for a renovation. Imagine your life as a modest bungalow. It has everything you need–but let’s face it, a little extra closet space would be nice. Perhaps you’d like to build a second story with a master suite and walk-in closet–but in order to do this, you’ll first need to reinforce the foundation…. (read the full article)

January 12, 2010 | Comments Off

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