ISON synchronicities

A reader in Germany wrote this week to find out if I had heard about possible connections between Comet ISON and the Great Comet of 1680 (also called Kirch's Comet and Newton's Comet). Well, no, I hadn't, so I did a little research. Here's what one website said:

The orbit of Comet ISON has an interesting similarity with another bright sungrazing comet, the Great Comet of 1680. The two comets don't have the same orbits, but the similarity between these two bright sungrazers is remarkable. One thing, however, is for sure: they are not the same comet. Comet 1680 is currently 250 AU from the Sun, and isn't due back for 9000 years. But the similarity suggests they have a common origin. Perhaps they are two fragments of a much larger comet?

This possible connection between the two comets was interesting to me, of course, so I drew up a chart for November 14, 1680, which is the day the Great Comet was discovered. And guess what I found? That same month, Uranus and Pluto were exactly square, the same as we are experiencing now. Uranus was in Aries in 1680, the same as now, and Pluto was in Cancer, opposite its current location. That would be another jaw-dropper in my book, to have fragments of the same comet visiting our inner space at the time we are experiencing similar configurations of Pluto and Uranus. Both are rare events, and here they overlap twice in history -- in addition to the fact mentioned in my journal last week, about the other "ISON-like" comet that came through our solar system in the mid-1960s, when Pluto and Uranus were conjunct. Seems like there's some sort of plan at work, wouldn't you say?

The online list of historical events for 1680 is fairly sparse, sadly, so it's hard to find much else that we might find common to then and now. But, given that the Pluto-Uranus square has to do with unexpected changes, weather, and uprisings, it is interesting that 1680 was the year of the Pueblo Rebellion, when the Pueblo Indians joined forces with the Apaches to overthrow Spanish rule in New Mexico. It's also interesting that every timeline I researched included the item that "The first confirmed tornado in America kills a servant at Cambridge, Massachusetts." Clearly, early settlers were experiencing dramatic weather events that were surprising in nature -- why else would that fact of one tornado and one servant's death make it on the list of most important events for the year?

Just some interesting synchronicities to think about. And, a beautiful photo of Comet ISON "plunging into the sunrise beside Mt. Fuji on November 22" (photo by Japanese photographer Kagaya, posted on Spaceweather.com):

Past or future?

I got this email today, in response to the question of futures and comets:

I'm a bit perplexed about the notion that comet ISON, or any body visible to us would be carrying energy of a future time or self, because the light we are now able to see was actually emitted quite a while back. Counter-intuitive to my mental setup. Can you elucidate?

Here's what I wrote back:

I agree, it all kind of feels confusing. I hope this explains my reasoning:

A body is out in space projecting light that usually gets to us a year later. If that body gets closer to the Earth, its light will reach us more quickly. So, if before it has been ahead of us (similar to being on Universal Time) but then draws closer to us (say, on Pacific Time), it is drawing what was our future into our awareness sooner than before. Does that make any sense?

It make not make literal sense, but I think symbolically it works. Kind of like all of astrology...

Thanks for asking!

On comets and futures

As mentioned in today's NorthPoint Journal, we have four comets currently gracing our pre-dawn skies. Here's a collage of all four, courtesy of the Sormano Astronomical Observatory in Italy:

I also mentioned that I would write a simple visualization to use for calling in our future selves... It's wonderful that we have the comet images to guide us, since they so clearly bring a light toward us from far away.

I would start with that visual, imagining that the light of one of these comets is the aspect of your future self that you most want to integrate into your Now. It could be a part of you that has healed a wound (on any level); a part of you that understands the reasons for current events; a part of you that has released an issue or a relationship; a part of you that ________ (fill in the blank). All that matters is that you can clearly sense that the comet image is actually the light from that future self coming toward you.

When you are comfortable and ready to do so, invite that light to enter your energy field, and let it fill your aura, then your physical body, to the cellular level, and into the spaces between your cells. Call on this light to dissolve and remove all darkness and blockages that represent or hold the energy of the current challenge, that this future self has resolved or healed. And, acknowledge and invite your future self to fully integrate with you on all levels -- physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

Sit in this light for as long as you want, and repeat this exercise as much as you want. It should feel good, and the more you do it, the more your present self can hold and integrate that energy and knowing of your future self.

I hope this is helpful!

Blessings, Pam

Overwhelm

The past three weeks, we've worked with the energy of two eclipses, our fourth Pluto-Uranus square, amplified Sun activity with multiple X-class flares, Comet Ison moving inside Earth's orbit and growing brighter, and now this new asteroid with six tails being seen for the first time:

Is it any wonder we're feeling some overwhelm? It feels a bit like walking a path on the side of a steep mountain, wary of the hazards of not paying attention, but starting to feel exhausted from continuously paying attention... A part of me wonders -- what if this is like the Fool card in the tarot, where the young lad and his dog step off into the air and trust what happens next? What does that mean, to step off into the air, in real-life terms?

 

Not so many answers yet, but maybe some of these are the right questions to be asking.

Question about Venus in Capricorn

I received this question in my inbox today:

I was wondering what effect Venus' entry into Capricorn would have on a person whose natal Venus IS in Capricorn (as well as my sun). Is it likely to be somewhat more emphatic for a person with that alignment, or what?

Thanks for your question!

Venus usually takes 12 months to orbit the Sun, so everyone has their "Venus Return" (when the planet returns to where it was when they were born) once a year. The Venus Return is somewhat like a Solar Return, in that it indicates that a new cycle is beginning in the areas of relationships, finances, creative outlets, etc.

And yes, when Venus is in Capricorn, people with natal Venus in Capricorn may feel more at ease with the energies, since it is familiar territory for them.

But, there is an added emphasis when Venus goes retrograde in the sign of someone's birth Venus, because they are likely to have three passes of their Venus Return, depending on the exact degrees of natal Venus and transiting Venus.

When the Venus return happens three times like this, there is a greater emphasis on reconnecting with the purposes, opportunities and challenges that accompany Venus themes in the birth chart. A lot depends on the natal aspects between Venus and other planets, as well as where Venus is located by house in your birth chart, as well as other factors, how it all plays out.

I hope that's helpful!

Riding the wave

I've been contemplating the title for my next teleclass, which will cover the first 6 months of 2014. Since we'll be starting the New Year on January 1 with a powerful New Moon conjunct Pluto, I have a sense that we'll be riding the wave of that energy pulse for a while, and then will pick up on another wave, and another.

Based on that, I was thinking of "Riding the Wave" as the title -- but then I opened the new Mountain Astrologer magazine and saw that their main article about 2014 is called "Riding the Rapids." While it's good confirmation for what I was already sensing about 2014, the title is a bit too close to mine -- so I've decided to change my title just a bit.

So, if you're ready to hear about those waves and have your surfboard ready, save this date for my teleclass covering the first 6 months of 2014:

Surf's Up!
Riding the Waves of 2014
Thursday, January 9  |  4pm to 5:30pm PST
5pm to 6:30pm MST  |  6pm to 7:30pm CST  |  7pm to 8:30pm EST

An official announcement with registration information will go out in early December -- but just wanted to give you a heads up for "Surf's Up!"

Wind and rain

In the Pacific Northwest, October was a fairly benign month, weather-wise. I was momentarily startled, stepping out my front door at first light this morning, to see the ground not brown but yellow -- strewn with a carpet of yellow maple leaves that until last night's windstorm had still clung to the tree branches.

It seems appropriate that we're having our first real storm of the season on this day between yesterday's tumultuous Pluto-Uranus square and tomorrow's initiatory Solar Eclipse. And the symbolism of the great leaf fall is also appropriate to both -- the letting go of what has outlived its usefulness, to make way for eventual new growth after a period of external dormancy (aka inner work).

Pluto is the great transformer, hastening the purging of the old ways, often dramatically. Uranus provides the energy of breakthrough and breakdown, so that we are free to redefine ourselves and our journeys.

And, the Solar Eclipse is in Scorpio, conjunct Saturn, emphasizing the ending of an old cycle and the importance of claiming new levels of inner authority, self-reliance, and self-knowledge as we begin a new phase.

Here's to new beginnings, and to our ability to release the fears and limitations of the past so that we may take greater strides forward on our chosen higher paths.

Blessings, Pam