Sep 16, 2008

Virgo's Moon: Virgo Solar Festival at the Full Moon in Pisces 2008


Malvin Artley, our regular esoteric commentator examines the subtle meaning of the Full Moon in Pisces for 2008. This is Virgo's Full Moon, as the Moon is full in the sign opposing the Sun. The full moon of Virgo (the full moon at Pisces 22º54') takes place on the 15th of September at 09:14 UT (04:14 AM EST in the US; 07:14 PM AEST in Australia). This is a brief version of the commentary. The full version will be published as soon as it becomes available.

Hi Folks!

This is not my usual posting. Recent events have conspired against getting a full commentary out on time, one of the main things being that I have a couple of works to finish off for the center with which I am involved. The main part of the Virgo article (the meaning behind Virgo) will have to wait another week or so while I finish the other works. There are other things in the air at the moment, too – one of the biggest being a little event called "Ike", and another being the US campaign, both of which need a closer look. So, I will be writing a bit about in the election when I send the proper Virgo info. I will give a few little titbits about Ike in a moment. The symbolism around that storm is actually quite something. As for the election, I was speaking with one of my brothers this morning, and he made a comment about the VP candidate, Sarah Palin, making a link with Michael Palin of Monty Python fame – not that there is even the barest similarity between the two people. I won't go into what he said (He's not a fan.), but my response to his comment was something to the effect that I hoped we didn't end up with a circus or comedy of errors in the elections and afterwards, although I bet the ex-members of Python & Co. would have a field day with it all. Always look on the bright side of life. You think?

A few words about Ike are in order. If you remember, the US had a great WWII general in Dwight D. Eisenhower, who went on to eventually become president. I was recently forwarded a piece by Michael Moore regarding the coming elections (this was just after Palin's – that's Sarah, not Michael – nomination), in which he made a reference to Hurricane Ike and the symbolism that might connect with Ike Eisenhower's farewell presidential speech – the famous one about the military-industrial complex. If you want to see the piece, here is the link: http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?messageDate=2008-09-02 . It might actually be good to go back and read a transcript of Eisenhower's speech, too. The link for that is: http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu/~hst306/documents/indust.html . Read, especially, sections III-VI. It was a brilliant speech, and one with a message of stern warning. I won't give anything away about it, precisely because it would be very helpful and a good reminder to revisit those words. So, what happened with Hurricane Ike?

General Eisenhower General Eisenhower – "Ike"

Hurricane Ike made landfall at Galveston, Texas at 2:10 AM CDT on September 13th. It is interesting, you know – there were two 'Ikes' that made landfall – one on the beaches of Normandy a while back and the other at Galveston yesterday. To begin with, Eisenhower was born in Denison, Texas on 14 Oct 1890 (I don't have the birth time). From this point on, things begin to get a little too 'coincidental'. Now, I don't believe in coincidence. We live in a reality that is replete with symbolism, and very little happens 'by accident'. Here is a bit of a thought about the two 'Ikes'. At the time Ike was first named as a tropical depression (1 Sep 08), Saturn was very close to the degree of Saturn at the time of Eisenhower's birth (12 Vir 40). Saturn was approaching the return to Eisenhower's natal Saturn. Ike was upgraded to hurricane status on 3 Sep 08. Saturn was at 11 Vir 55 then. When Ike swiped past Haiti on the 6th and 7th of this month, Ike's power was at one of its peaks, and Saturn was almost exact on Eisenhower's Saturn. On the date of the exact conjunction (9 Sept), Ike was pummeling Cuba. In 1959, Castro lead the military coup in Cuba that ousted Battista – during Eisenhower's administration. The reason I am looking at Saturn here? Saturn is about history, karma, mental constructs, and bringing home what is due. History (or karma, at least) repeats itself under Saturn's influence. There is a clear Saturn link/synchronicity between Hurricane Ike and Eisenhower. There is symbolism playing out here, and scores to be settled, if one can imagine it. After only six months of Castro being in power, Eisenhower & Co. were plotting Castro's ouster. The Eisenhower administration was obviously not successful, but Hurricane Ike certainly left a huge mess in Cuba. Payback? It is a stretch, but it is a bit if fun or of interest to play with the thought.

Hurricane Ike Devastates Cuba
Hurricane Ike devastates Holguin, Cuba

In terms of the chart for landfall in the US, there is some interesting symbolism, especially from the Chinese astrology. I about fell out my chair when I saw the Indicator for the Day in that chart: "Discard. This is a day for spring cleaning." Well, Galveston certainly got a wash. The Day Animal is even better: "Badger. This is a good day for fulfilling commitments and paying debts. This is a bad day for marriages and travel by boat." Do you think so? The tetragram reading on that day is a bit cryptic (Well, it's supposed to be.): "Accumulation at the center creates the future offspring." Let's wait and see what this brings about in the American psyche – in other words, what ripens from it. We should note that 'landfall' for a hurricane is when the eye (center) of the storm reaches the shore. Ike knocked out power to the oil refineries in the area. Bush's home state is Texas. Eisenhower was a Republican (Nixon was his VP). Palin was nominated for VP just before Ike consolidated (and just before the time Gustav came ashore at New Orleans – app. 8:30 am, 1 sep 08, disrupting the Republican convention temporarily). Now, I said in the Chinese New Year letter that this year would be one of major change, and we are getting just that with the White House race, at least in some ways. It is also a year of innovation. The Hour Pillar in the Chinese chart for landfall was the same as the Year Pillar – a double emphasis of Earth Rat. There will either be a black man in the oval office, or a woman "a heartbeat away" from it. However, Ike Eisenhower warned us about the military-industrial complex, as well as reminding us about many other things. The question about all this symbolism and synchronicity is whether Ike, the storm, was a warning/omen to the Republicans to clean up their act, or was it a symbol of things to come, in that we might see a further disruption of oil resources (the fuel driving the military-industrial complex and the world economy) or big power putting a wrench in the American way of life. Let's face it. Ike was one big storm (600 miles/840 km across), as was the allied landing at Normandy, over which Eisenhower was supreme commander.

In terms of the Western astrology, when Ike made landfall at Galveston, the Moon and Neptune were conjunct (the two 'ocean planets'), and the Moon was at the 27th degree of Aquarius (the Moon is the ruler of the event Ascendant), the symbol for which is:

"A garage man testing a car's battery with a hydrometer."

A hydrometer. Are you kidding me? (A hydrometer is a type of float used to test the density of a fluid.) Perhaps the emotional density of the nation is being put to a sort of test with Ike. The degree for Saturn is interesting as well:

"An aristocratic family tree."

What is the one family most people equate with Texas at the moment? Well, two of their number took the country to war on two separate occasions. The degree of the Ascendant (18 Cancer) reads:

"A hen scratching the ground to find nourishment for her progeny."

I had a few chooks once. They are great recyclers and live quite well on the land, but the inference here is that we may have to scratch around in order to find what we need for a while because of this storm, which will be especially true if gas prices go up because of it. The US is headed toward winter, too. The last thing we need is even higher heating oil prices. I don't know. Call me crazy if you like, but events like Ike are usually heavily loaded with symbolism, and to hit where it did, to be a big as it was, and to have the same name as the man who warned us about the military-industrial complex is just a bit too much to ignore. The present administration is heavily tied up with that military-complex. Do we want four more years of it? There is a lot more I could say, but I will leave Ike at that.

As far as the solar festival goes, the full moon takes place at 7:13 PM AEDT on 15 Sep 2008 (8:13 AM UT). The symbol for the solar degree reads:

"A lion tamer displays his skill and daring." – 23 Virgo

The symbol for the lunar degree reads:

"A materializing medium giving a séance." – 23 Pisces

I will keep this very brief, but on the whole, a great amount of good work can come from this full moon. The Sun is in a wide conjunction with Saturn, which is in a close trine to Jupiter (which has just turned direct). The Moon is conjunct Uranus (great independence of spirit, but aloofness emotionally). Overall, it is a fairly cool presentation, aside from the fact that there is a triple conjunction of Mercury, Venus, and Mars, all three of which are linked to Uranus via a quincunx. I would expect to see love affairs with that latter configuration, or some sudden changes of heart, especially since the three conjunct planets are in Libra. It is actually quite an electric combination. The overall message here is to display daring and skill in action (Virgo), not to let emotional vicissitudes get in the way of what needs to be done, be open to many possibilities within relationships or to new relationships – or to be prepared to walk away from them if need be. More than anything else, Virgo is about living and displaying one's essence (true inner nature) purely and effectively. We will speak more of that in the Virgo proper letter. For now, the above paragraphs give us a bit to chew on in the interim. Enjoy the full moon. It is a beauty. And, if you look toward the western horizon just after sunset, you can see the triple conjunction of Mercury/Venus/Mars. Jupiter is the bright star nearly overhead just after dark. I will be writing to you more anon.

Cheers,
Malvin.

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