Piscean Pot-Pourri

The Sun is now (lateFebruary 2010) transiting the Sign of Pisces, and, as often, the weather -here in Britain - is characteristic of the time of year. "February Full-Dike"- well, yes ! To the Saxons February is Solmanad - "Mud-Month". Between now and 21 March, when the Sun enters fiery Aries, we are awash, afloat, adrift, on the turbulent, unpredictable, magnificent waters of the two Fishes.
To our ancestors, living closer to the elements, less insulated from the power of Nature than most of us today, February and March could bring grim and testing circumstances.A bright sunny morn could ( and still can..) turn into a day of howling wind, driving rain, or enveloping snow. Animals, livestock at risk; - travellers in peril ;-fuel and food running low. Concern for fellow beings, the need to share whatever food and comfort is at hand, the need for Faith , prayer and humility in the face of the awesome power of Nature - all hallmarks of Pisces and Piscean natives, who often seem to find themselves in circumstances which require, or compel a belief in a power greater than the Self alone.

In Pisces, we prepare for the renewal of life and Power in Aries, where the Sun is exalted. It is Venus that is exalted (as honoured guest) in Pisces itself, showing that Love (Venus) can become translucent, unconditional, universal, all -conquering, when operating through this, the last of the Signs.
Amor Omnia Vincit - "Loves conquers all".
Pisces- and the Piscean Age- which we are now leaving/outgrowing, is replete with imagery of the Christian era. Apart from Jesus Christ - known as "Icthus" - the Fish ! - and the 12 Disciples, several of whom were Fishermen- Andrew and Peter; James and John; - the seminal events and myths which shaped the last 2000 years -the Age of Pisces -do reflect and encapsulate the nature of the Age. The Seas- a great era of Navies and Navigation. Religion - men with "funny hats" (shaped like fishes' heads)- the Popes and Prelates of Christianity. An emphasis on Faith, submission, sacrifice, and the "will of God".Many Schools (shoals) of thought, religious Sects in abundance- splintering into many shards of religious thought and practice. The Abbeys, Priories, Convents and Nunneries. Franciscans, Dominicans, Cistercians, Benedictines (as at Glastonbury; also here in Totnes, the Priory founded in 1088.) At Torre Abbey, Torquay, the interestingly named Pre-Remonstratensians.

All of these caught, netted, speared and boiled for dinner by King Henry the 8th by the year 1539.

Then the long cuspal progression towards Aquarius, the Sign of Fixed Air (The Atmosphere; Space itself..) -and Fish becomes Water-Bearer, learns to fly, to access all knowledge at the click of a mouse ( man or mouse- is that the question??), then to prepare, we imagine, for 4th/5th dimensional life. 2012 and all that.

Meanwhile... the Saturn/Pluto Square is beginning to tell, is it not ? If like me, you have Planets
or sensitive points in the very early degrees of the Cardinal Signs you may be aware - of the pressure and discomfort associated ( though from the perspective of the Higher Self I suspect this may be acknowleged as a helpful, necessary cathartic karmic clear-out session.). This aspect is well named the "shrinking transformation".

Mars - turns Stationary Direct in 0 degrees Leo on 10 March. Plans and initiatives delayed stand better chance of implementation from that time onward.

Interestingly, 3 of the Celtic Nations have their National day in the season of Pisces:- Wales - 1 March - St. David's Day. Cornwall - 5 March- St. Piran's Day. Ireland - 17 March - St. Patrick's day.
Cornwall, in particular, manifests distinct Piscean qualities. At the tail end of England, an ancient Celtic stronghold, at the end of the Earth ( in Brittany, "Finisterre" has the same connotation - surely Pisces also..). Land of Arthur's Birth and Death - Excalibur forged by Cornish metal-working art, and returned to the depths - of Loe Pool ? The Cornish mottos:- "Onen Hag Oll" - "One and All" - boldly democratic and inclusive. But - "Pysk, Sten, Ha Cober" -"Fish, Tin and Copper"- are all Piscean issues;- Fish - self evident. Tin -the metal of JUPITER, the traditional Ruler of Pisces. Copper, the metal of VENUS, the Planet Exalted in Pisces.
One often senses the nearness of the Other World when in Cornwall, the more so furthest West. Like the Sign Pisces, the veil, the membrane is thinnest in such a place:-this brings to mind the phrase (from the Church of England/late Piscean Age manual known as the Book of Common Prayer) - "Lord, lettest now thy servant depart in Peace, according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen; thy salvation..."

Can't think of prose more Piscean than that.

On Sunday 28 Feb. the Sun is Conjunct Jupiter, in Pisces, at the Full of the Moon in the opposite Sign of Virgo. Faith, belief, goodwill, generosity of spirit (Sun/Jupiter/Pisces ) finding expression in dedicated work and service one to another (Full Moon in Virgo). What opportunity !


Hope this finds you well .
We ARE the people we have been waiting for.
Anyone can be a Friend.


With Kind Regards -OG (aka David Matthews).

Here comes the Sun

As the Sun warms the rooftops of Ogland and the Gulls begin to scurry about on their daily mission (finding food...) all sharp-eyed and beaky, the postman calls with a parcel from E-Bay, the cheerful inanities of local Radio are cut with solemn information concerning roads, weather, the tides; I go up into the garden, and then, a Raven, flying low, "Cronk! Cronk! ", with a large twig grasped in its bill, circles, deliberately, over our row of houses, then flies back in the direction from whence it came.
A Chart for that moment shows Jupiter in Pisces exactly rising, and Asteroid Ceres (The Earth Mother/Mother Earth representative) exactly on the mid-heaven. In Druidic mode, I contemplate the significance, the meaning of this. The Bird as Messenger. Then there are faces in the clouds , messages conveyed by Vehicle Registration Plates, bits of conversation overheard in the street, the song currently on the radio, and so on, and so forth... All is One and life speaks to us in many ways.
What is life saying now, then ? The Astrologically inclined will know of the ongoing "crunch"of the Saturn/Pluto Square- the agency of "Shrinking Transformation" - especially for those with Planets and sensitive points in the early degrees of the Cardinal signs;- Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn.No gain without pain?
And soon- the forthcoming New Moon on 14 Feb. in 25 degrees Aquarius is in very close conjunction with both Chiron and Neptune.An influx of Wisdom and Compassion from the Water Carrier's great Urn, which gathers the essence of the Cosmos and channels it toward we Earth dwellers- the Water of Life, freely given, each according to his need. ( Unlike the Earthly concept of Water Rates...).Some Aquarians have become very sensitised by the long passage of Neptune and Chiron, together, through Aquarius, and need rest and withdrawal to assimilate the potential gifts which accompany this transit- heightened intuition,acutely sensitive perception, developing awareness of and interest in the Divinatory and Healing Arts.Especially those born 14-18 February, or who have Ascendant, Moon, or key Planet in the last few Degrees of Aquarius.

And then... Mars, still retrograde in Leo, near Perigee(closest to Earth), and proving, on this occasion, quite a handful.Short fuses and frayed tempers; old warriors back in harness, campaigns of the past revisited. An example:- on Monday 8 Feb. I visited St. Andrew's Church in Plymouth- the only Church, incidentally, I know of,with a TRIDENT rather than a standard Cross on the altar - in recognition of Andrew the Fisherman, and, Plymouth's Maritime associations. The lady "on duty" there showed me "Drake's Graffiti"- a drawing, deeply etched upon a window ledge, showing a Globe, two Ships and some curious, meandering wavy lines, presumably indicating Drake's Round The World Voyage of 1577-80- this drawing, reputedly by Drake himself, revealed when the plaster, at some time, was chipped away from the window sill. A campaign revisited.

THE SUN. -Some signs ,now, of the Sun "waking up", as embryonic Sun spots are forming, as the Solar cycle, seemingly delayed, begins to move forward. Satnav. systems, this time may be affected(they hardly existed last time there was a Solar Maximum.)In another sense, the Sun, as the Heart (the Hearth) of our System, and our intermediary with the Cosmos of Suns/Stars is supremely important - life here could not exist without it. Even the Planets we watch in the skies shine by virtue of reflected Sunlight. The Sun is representative of the 2nd Ray (if you follow this line of thought...)- of Love-Wisdom; as is Jupiter. The Solar Logos -(Greek-Logos-"word") is the motive force and the "brain" which shepherds manifested life in our part of the Universe, the Parent of us all, a representative of the Divine. No wonder people have gone to such lengths to pay honour to this, our local Star.So obvious, yet so taken for granted in our "modern" world.
A small stirring of the Sun shakes the Planets as Gulliver stirs the Lilliputians. I suspect that the Sun, as before, is/will be transmitting the codes and messages which, in perfect timing, synchronous with a New Thought of the Cosmic Being, will precipitate amazing and necessary changes "down here". What say you??


Must mention;- A Seminar "A NEW COSMOLOGY" on Sunday 28 Feb. 2.30- 5.30,. £25.0o
at the Sun/Jupiter Conjunction and at the FullMoon. Come and explore this theme, with Charts
to enjoy; Astro-talk and visionary stuff. Hot drinks and snacks included. in Totnes. tel 01803 867145 or Email me:- dave@starlynx.plus.com




Cheers, for Now ! - your Old Friend OG (aka David Matthews).