Meet Fabulous Astrologer Nadiya Shah in Athens - Greece (at the "Babel Astro-Scholar evenings")!

(Το άρθρο στα Ελληνικά: εδώ )

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The "Babel Astro-Scholar evenings" are a series of free talks and lectures taking place in Athens - Greece every Tuesday, at a cozy and friendly Art-space (located in Marousi, at the number 87 of Vas. Sophias street). We are trying to offer to the Greek public the best of International Astrology and we have had so far great, generous Astrologers from all over the world talking to us, via the internet! 

An original ancient horoscope (from the Oxyrhynchus collection)!

It doesn't seem like much but the image you see above depicts a  miraculously preserved ancient horoscope! It is a horoscope in its textual form that was habitual in that period and it derives from the Hellenistic Egypt, which is the cradle of modern, "horoscopic" Astrology! There, the ancient Greeks (in collaboration with Egyptian, Jewish etc. priests and scholars) created two thousand years ago an incredibly sophisticated Astrology, which is the precursor to the one we are practicing today.

This horoscope was found in the ruins of the Hellenistic city of Oxyrhynchus (160 km south of modern Cairo), which is located on the banks of a Nile's tributary. In this region the holly egyptian fish which in Greek is called "oxyrhynchus" (sturgeon) was abounding, hence the name of the city (which was the third largest in Hellenistic Egypt). It is a horoscope written on papyrus, which remained relatively intact for 18 whole centuries because it was buried in the Egyptian desert sand - in some ideal that is for its maintenance conditions. In fact this papyrus was found - along with thousands of others and dozens of horoscopes - in the ancient rubbish dump of the city of Oxyrhynchus!

The "feminine" type of aggressiveness (what has astrology taught me)!

(photo courtesy: "Psychology Today" magazine -  "Bullying in the female world" by Ditta M. Oliker)

DISCLAIMER: I do not endorse any kind of violence or aggression! I am just wondering why people go to great pains in order to create a rather "meek" and "aggression-less" public image (while some develop a guilt complex about their own aggression). Overall, aggression is considered something "bad" in our societies! The fact is though that everybody is aggressive, to some shape and form! Some people are overtly aggressive and some others are covertly aggressive! Many people are aggressive towards their own selves! Being aggressive is a natural thing to us humans (you see, we all have a planet Mars or Pluto, or the sign of Aries, Taurus, Scorpio etc in our charts). Thus, the more we deny our aggressive side the more we feed it, the more power it has over us! The "feminine aggressiveness" I am examining here even more so...

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Feminine aggressiveness! Well, that's a term you probably never heard before (there is a chance you might know it as "passive aggression"). It might even upset some of you. How can one characterize aggressive the energy that we all know as maternal, receptive and tender? And how can the feminine energy be "mean" and aggressive? Furthermore, how can it be as "mean" and aggressive as the masculine one? You see, loving and caring as it might be the feminine energy, there is also a "dark side" to it - as there is to everything else!

Personally, I was not fully aware of this kind of "feminine aggressiveness", until I stumbled upon it as I was doing some investigation on the field of astrological "energies" and "polarities"! In particular, some ten years ago I was writing an article on the six zodiacal "Pairs" (which was published in 2004 on the historical "American Astrology" magazine. You may read it here). As I was beginning to conceptualize this article I realized that there is in nature a particular "feminine selfishness" that is equivalent - but not identical - to the masculine one. And consequently there is a feminine kind of aggressiveness corresponding to the masculine one! They both are of the same intensity but are somehow developing in "different phases" (I am explaining this further on)!

Astrology might be of help to us here, because the very zodiac is somehow built upon this "masculine - feminine" pattern. You probably know that the zodiac is symmetrically composed of six masculine and six feminine signs. Aries is a masculine sign, Taurus is a feminine one, Gemini is a masculine sign, Cancer a feminine one and so on.

On my aforementioned "American Astrology" article I was depicting the masculine signs as "mountains" and the feminine ones as sort of gorges or "ravines". Thus, we might picture the masculine aggressiveness as a "mountainous" one and the feminine aggressiveness as a "concavely" one!

Imagine a person crossing with his/her jeep a desolate landscape, on a clear day. That person will easily spot the mountains around him/her, because they are prominent, obvious and explicit! Similarly, we can all perceive easily and IMMEDIATELY the masculine type of aggressiveness! Just picture a person shouting loud at you or violently pushing you, in front of other people. That's masculine aggressiveness alright! What about the feminine aggressiveness though? What would they be its key characteristics?

I began my quest on this subject by considering the feminine aggressiveness as a "ravine" kind of aggressiveness. So, in the aforementioned scenario it would be much harder for the person crossing the desolate landscape to spot any eventual ravines lurking below his/her horizon. And if this person is careless enough s/he might even fall in one, before even realizing it that there was a ravine in front of him/her!

This means that the feminine aggressiveness is somehow invisible to our social environments. And although it is equavalent to the masculine one (they are both equally aggressive but they don't seem so, because their "phases" and "polarities" are ever divergent), it's not easily perceived and thus is not evaluated as an acutely aggressive energy! In reality the feminine aggressiveness (called "passive aggression" in psychology) works in rather IMPLICIT ways, moving across "behavioral corridors" that are well hidden and behind the curtains. Thus, the feminine aggressiveness is somehow "silent", apparently "idle" and does not leave its "trails" externally!

We need though to clarify something here: when we talk about the "feminine energy" we do not refer exclusively to women. Many men (even the allegedly "macho" ones) have prominent "feminine" energies in their charts and thus they may resort to feminine aggressiveness!


                           The "Ego" drive (as defined by astrology)

It is imperative for each person to be  unique, self-sufficient and secure, to have stamina and momentum, to impose its own interests and to dominate as much as it can the people and the situations around it. If the average Joe/Jane lacked an elementary strong "Ego" then s/he would be "crashed" by the multiple external pressures we all receive in life. This process of building and strengthening a human being's "Ego", of achieving his/her individualization and "diversification", is supervised by the first two signs of the zodiac: by Aries (a "masculine" sign) and by Taurus (a "feminine" sign).

The secret now is that the aforementioned process is handled by the signs of Aries and Taurus "in tandem" - by splitting that is the process in half and by assigning to Aries its masculine "phase" and to Taurus its feminine "phase"! The signs of Aries and Taurus (and all the adjacent "odd - even" numbered signs, for that matter) are in reality astrological "Pairs", a kind of small "wholenesses", two equal but opposite - complementary "polarities".

Regarding Aries, we can easily understand why it is considered the sign of "Ego", the sign impersonating the overt aggression: it is a masculine sign ruled by the belligerent planet Mars. What about Taurus though? How can a "low key" feminine sign - ruled by the docile planet Venus - be so selfish and eventually belligerent? Is there indeed a feminine ego? Astrology is telling us that there is - and that it is as acute as the masculine one! If the masculine Ego is manifested through overt aggressiveness - by being i.e. an all too clear "bully" - the female selfishness is mostly manifested through INERTIA and self-protection, through hidden and somehow "manipulative" behaviors and actions!

Feminine aggressiveness entails the art of "invisibly acting". Also, the art of "remaining inert" in any situation not yielding some kind of gain (emotional, financial etc.) to the individual! Actually, when a "feminine Ego" is feeling insecure and threaten it might fudge things up, resorting to a skillful "imbroglio", to a smooth "withdrawal" and "absenting" from any "perilous" activity - every time it faces an inconvenient / threatening situation!

The sign of Taurus is representing - in the most archetypal way - this kind of "feminine Ego"! Don't get me wrong though here. Not all Tauruses are by definition "femininely aggressive" (and certainly not to the same extent). We should not forget here that there is in literature the notorious "feathered Bull", representing a very spiritual, elevated human being! In reality, the raw, unrefined kind of Tauruses are the ones that tend to be extremely egotistical and consequently "femininely aggressive".

The feminine "Ego" is somehow urging the person to act "invisibly", "behind the curtains", to promote his/her own "plan" while keeping at a minimum level the expenditure of energies (sentimental, financial ones etc.) - especially when forced to participate in non desirable activities that seem unprofitable to the individual.

An individual partaking to the "raw, unrefined Taurean type" (a prominently individualistic, over self-nurturing, introverto-covert individual, that is) is usually avoiding to employ overt acts of selfishness and aggression. If there isn't around some crucial reason s/he will religiously abstain from any kind of activity that might visibly upset the energies in his/her environment (not necessarily out of  "goodness" but because s/he is aware that s/he will be immediately targeted by the people around him/her - and that would mean a lot of hostility and aversion from the part of his/her omnipotent social environment). The feminine energy is "ever self-protecting, ever preserving its own self and clan" - meaning that the people impersonating it are fully aware of how important it is to act silently and behind the curtains, without overtly provoking the people around them.

Thus the "raw Taurus" type of individual is generally displaying a meek and polite face outwards. But if it encounters a situation that ultimately jeopardizes his/her own personal interests (i.e. if s/he must financially assist someone or house any needy people) then most probably such an individual will attempt to skillfully withdraw him/herself from the "acting stage" without being noticed - so that s/he ultimately protects his/her own interests and does not suffer losses or "damages". And s/he will do this without apparently squabbling nor displaying any explicit aggressiveness or violence towards anyone. Simply, s/he will skillfully withdraw him/herself from any "perilous" to his/her own interests activity...

This kind of withdrawal though, this "silent refusal" to partake i.e. in a charitable activity is a sign of strong selfishness - and therefore of aggressiveness towards the people involved in that activity. Of course the "raw Taurean type of individual" did not swear at someone, nor s/he violently pushed anybody. Indirectly, however, s/he behaved as if s/he had sworn at them or as if s/he had violently pushed them away! Actually s/he did behave aggressively towards the people around him/her but without offering them any tangible "handle", without leaving any visible "trail" so that they promptly recognize how aggressively s/he behaved! That's "feminine aggression" in a nutshell !


                       The art of maneuvering without leaving trails

The fact that the "feminine Ego" works in implicit ways - meaning that it cannot be easily spotted as aggressive by the others - does not automatically render it inoffensive and less "mean"... In reality it is as powerful and "mean" as the masculine one, as the "raw Ariettid" kind of selfishness. Let's make a "thought experiment" and set two individuals - each of them representing a "polarity" - in a controlled (i.e. business) environment, with identical provocative stimuli. An "astrologically masculine" individual will react to the negative stimuli most probably by shouting loud, by over-gesturing or even by overtly behaving violently. But in such an instance the prominently masculine individual would have totally exposed himself, disclosed his/her intentions and attracted hostility from the people around him/her!

Instead, the prominently feminine individual would have more methodically and carefully promoted his personal interests - without overexposing himself/herself and without attracting too much aversion and hostility. Such a person (even if physically present) will be skillfully "absenting" any situation not yielding a meaningful benefit to himself/herself  - no matter how critical this situation might be to some other people. Only in time - and only by those who delve deeper in human interactions - the full extent of the incident will be revealed and only then the participants will realize how selfishly the "raw Taurean type of person" behaved!

Therefore, we should define as selfish and aggressive not only those people who are overtly behaving in an aggressive manner but those people too who are intentionally "withdrawing" and "absenting" in critical to their fellow-humans situations, all those individuals who are not there when the people around them need them the most. Any person not helping his/her fellow humans - in the name of not minimally jeopardizing his/her own personal interests - should be considered a selfish and aggressive person!

Whenever someone remains silent and uninvolved is front of a critical situation, of an emergency, of an injustice committed in his/her own vicinity, then that person is actually displaying a "femininely aggressive" behavior! Whenever i.e. a wealthy person is not assisting the needy people around him/her - for example the unemployed ones who cannot afford even their daily bread - then this wealthy person is employing a "feminine aggressiveness" towards his/her fellow humans (and society in general). The feminine aggression is not easily spotted by third parties as the "perpetrator" might employ highly manipulative behaviors.

How many times i.e. have you been confronted with a person who has (directly or indirectly) wronged you (or wronged somebody else), who has behaved in a acutely selfish manner (although covertly, so that nobody recognizes it as such) and who not only is stubbornly refusing to acknowledge his/her wrong doing but is skillfully trying to reverse the situation, by putting you down and leading you into an disadvantageous, defensive state (adding thus insult to the injury)...

In front of such a person - and his/her humongous hypocrisy - you might lose your temper and start yelling and gesturing. And then YOU will be the one looking aggressive in the eyes of the people around you! In such a way the "prominently feminine" person will have managed to doubly victimize you - while thanks to his/her own "manipulative" skills s/he will be projecting a "goody two shoes" image to the people around! This kind of behavior is immensely aggressive but in a convert, feminine manner! Meaning that it might not look aggressive in the eyes of any third party - who may ultimately target you as the aggressive person!

To put it in the words of the clinical psychologist and "Psychology Today" author Ditta M.Oliker: 

"What struck me as I was watching the film "The Help" is how it also dramatically and effectively captures the emotional and psychological violence of social aggression, including the sting and cruelty of the verbal "weapons" women use. The words now associated with female aggressive behavior include: excluding, ignoring, teasing, gossiping, secrets, backstabbing, rumor spreading and hostile body language (i.e., eye-rolling and smirking).  Most damaging is turning the victim into a social "undesirable". 

The behavior and associated anger is hidden, often wrapped in a package seen as somewhat harmless or just a "girl thing". The covert nature of the aggression leaves the victim with no forum to refute the accusations and, in fact, attempts to defend oneself leads to an escalation of the aggression.  What the film doesn't show though is that the effects of social aggression can be longer lasting and more damaging than physical aggression. Since the "weapons" have a stealth nature to them, there is less possibility of anticipating the specifics of an attack and fewer actions to defend against an attack."

Of course, what I personally call "feminine aggressiveness" is not limited just to women but it extends to the "astrologically feminine men" too. If this is still a "neologism" to you, here is my definition of it: An "astrologically feminine" person is someone having in his/her chart as many as possible of the preconditions described below (the more such preconditions s/he has the more "astrologically feminine" s/he is. Points 1 and 2 should be considered the most critical):

1. A predominance of feminine signs. 
2. An emphasis on feminine houses
3. The "feminine planets" in the angles of  the chart
4. The feminine planets particularly "strengthen" in the chart. In addition, those planets forming as many as possible aspects with "debilitated" masculine planets

(Note: the term "astrologically feminine" does not coincide with the term "effeminate". In reality, there are many "astrologically feminine" macho men out there...)

Undoubtedly, we are all  familiar with the bitter "taste" of feminine aggression, as we are experiencing it - more or less - often  in our everyday lives. It is a particular kind of methodically structured and veiled aggression that is not easily perceived externally. And that's exactly what makes it dangerous, the fact that it is an extremely sharp and corrosive type of aggression that our societies have not still fully acknowledged!

Mysteriously, the "feminine aggressiveness" seems to be generated by the "venusian" sign of Taurus, which is the "leader" of the feminine duality in the zodiac. It doesn't stay though in Taurus but it spreads all over the feminine polarity (diversified in each case by each sign's attributes). Think i.e. of a feminine sign like Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio etc. They are all capable of "tuning" themselves to "femininely aggressive" frequencies alright (either by making their fellow-humans feel guilty, manipulate them etc.)! And as I have repeatedly pointed out, the "feminine aggressiveness" is not limited just to women but it equally extents to all men having predominantly "feminine" energies in their charts!

Thomas Gazis
Copyright: Thomas D. Gazis

P.S. You may read Ditta M. Oliker's article "Bullying in the female world" here

Jupiter in Leo (an "unhyped" interpretation...)

                                                        (Courtesy: Bill Attride)

There has been too much hype over the entrance of planet Jupiter in the sign of Leo - a few days ago. Supposedly all things are going to get better now and the optimism will sky-rocket among the people! But how can this be? According to the astrological tradition Jupiter was in a far better position in the previous sign, in Cancer where it is EXALTED! This means that from the moment Jupiter left Cancer and passed in the sign of Leo it was somehow "demoted" energetically - since Jupiter neither rules Leo nor is exalted in this fiery sign!

Undoubtedly Jupiter is not in its most privileged position when in Leo. On the other hand it is not in its most inopportune position either ... You see, according to the Hellenistic astrology (and to the Medieval / Renaissance one) Jupiter is the nocturnal ruler of the fiery triplicity (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius). Consequently, it acquires in Leo certain titles and offices. Not though the ones most astrologers are thinking of. If you noticed before, I wrote that Jupiter is the nocturnal ruler of the fiery triplicity. Which means that in the sign of Leo it exhibits somehow distinctively its properties but ultimately in a different - "esoteric" I would dare to say - manner. And in any case not so exuberantly and visibly as many would expect. This is pointed out by the law of "Tao" as well: The extreme "Yang" energies (the combined ones of Jupiter and Leo) are converted - from some point on - into "Yin"ones!

The main "obstacle" for Jupiter in Leo to manifest its exuberant side stems out of its most archetypal / fundamental property: the one of "opening up" and "expanding", the ever going on process of "dilatation and expansion". Such a property though is not particularly compatible with the sign of Leo, which generally works in favor of the "centrality" (Leo is ever promoting the "centralization" of all things). Therefore, there can never be a true"expansion" in the essentially "centripetal" sign of Leo, which is pushing the energies from the periphery to the center - and not from the center outwards, as  the expansive planet Jupiter desires. The often narrow minded, stubborn and inflexible nature of Leo offers anything but a breeding ground for the spiritual and idealistic Jupiter, which needs a lot of dialogue, movement, freedom and open-mindness in order to flourish!

Jupiter somehow stands for the "complexity" while Leo opts for the "simplicity" (Jupiter ever interrelates isolated ideas, composing out of them complex and advanced concepts - and this mecchanism lies at the foundations of philosophy). On the other hand Leo is removing the more complex layers in order to get to the very core of a situation. Thus the two work at crosses purposes here. In addition, Leo (together with Virgo) is the sign of "purification". It wants to purify things out of any "spurious" element. But it is imperative to define first here what is a "spurious" element according to the Leonian perspective - because what exacly is "spurious" is often debatable. And what might seem spurious to the sign of Leo might seem quite indispensable to Jupiter so that it makes a "conceptual interconnection" and extrapolate something "higher" out of various randomly lying and apparently unrelated ideas.

On a "mundane" level Jupiter has to do with goals, belief systems and ideals (the ideals of a certain society, of a state, country etc). With the presence of Jupiter in Leo the social / national ideals might fluctuate and become more rigid and authoritarian - permitting thus extreme ideologies to surface. And as Leo is a conservative sign (remember that in the zodiac it is diametrically opposed to the "radical" sign of Aquarius) it is now likely to trigger a more rigid spirit worldwide. Perhaps it is no coincidence that the first "tsunami" of conservatism / monetarism in the Western world appeared in 1979 - when Jupiter was in Leo again - with the election of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister of England.

Despite the fanfare of many astrologers the periods of Jupiter's presence in Leo have not been the brightest in human history! In March 2003 we had the American-British invasion of Iraq (who can really forget the hysterical Bush's and Blair's cries / calls to war?). In January 1991 we had the war in the Persian Gulf, with the Americans leading both the liberation of Kuwait and the invasion of Iraq. While in June 1967 we had the "six days of war" between Israel and Egypt that almost sparked an international armaggedon. All these major wars were conducted in periods when Jupiter was in Leo! And the two wars in Iraq were apparently "justified" by the pretense that the Americans had to impose their own "democracy" upon Iraq (how much "Jupiter in Leo" is this thing - enforcing my own "democracy" upon others? No true democracy is ever enforcing anything to any one!)

On another level, perhaps it is not so surprising that the unusual and deadly heat wave that swept Europe in 2003 (that has allegedly caused more than 70,000 deaths) took place under the dominion of Jupiter in Leo (representing the somehow excessive manifestation of the "fiery element", of the "heat").

Clearly therefore, a lot of energy is released globally when Jupiter is "transiting" in Leo. But the question is how to manage all this exuberant energy, because if it is diverted in warfares - like in the periods mentioned above - no creative results can be obtained. Obviously all this "excess energy" is better channeled  in activities like sports (which are consistent with the spirit of Leo), in recreational purposes and in "games". Also, with Jupiter in the sign of "spectacles" there will be a "booming" in film industry, fashion and in "spectacles" in general.

However, with Jupiter in Leo ​​some historical peace efforts were made too (such as the famous "Camp David" treaty  in 1978 between the Egyptian President Sadat and the Israeli Begin, the nuclear disarmament agreement of 1979 between the U.S. President Carter and the Russian Brezhnev and the historic west/east Germany unification in 1990). Perhaps this unifying trend stems from what I mentioned before as the "esoteric" aspect of Jupiter in Leo.

Ultimately that may be the best gift Jupiter in Leo will bestow upon us: the ability to work "esoterically" with ourselves and find our true inner core, our "center" so that in all purity we follow our hearts!

Thomas Gazis

When Hades reached the top of the firmament (the "dark" 2010 - 2020 decade)!

As you most probably know Hades is the mythical god of the underworld. Therefore Hades (or Pluto) should be normally dwelling under our feet, within the farthest depths of the earth. How would you feel then if I told you that Hades has actually left his gruesome kingdom and is currently residing high above our heads, on the top of the sky and over the very "Zenith of the world"? If I told you that Hades is currently hovering over our heads, invisibly exerting its tight grip on our societies?

Having a crush on society! (Jupiter - Sagittarius - Ninth House)

Most astrologers are describing Jupiter as a "beneficial" planet of "wisdom", a planet that is "magnifying and expanding" things and situations. Furthermore, Sagittarius (the sign ruled by Jupiter) is generally described as the sign of "religion, higher education and distant traveling". I always thought that these interpretations were somehow weak and fragmentary, not shedding much light to essential facets of the archetypes that they are supposedly illustrating! There are some other important dimensions to Jupiter / Sagittarius / Ninth House and we are apparently ignoring them. Thus, we should start thinking “out of the box” in order to get the wider possible spectrum of meanings out of the afore-mentioned archetypes!

As you probably know, the zodiac is a "dynamic" entity! Each sign in it is representing an "evolved" stage of the preceding one. In this respect, the sign of Sagittarius is located immediately after the two so-called "unifying", "pairing" signs (Libra - Scorpio). Consequently, the main trait of Sagittarius should be the one of "uber" UNIFICATION! But not that much on the interpersonal level. You see the "Archer" is located  just a "click" before the "universal" signs (Aquarius - Pisces), which are more concerned with the "collective". Therefore, Sagittarius is actually representing a highly unifying "intermediate step", a stage where the individuals should move past the "romantico-sexual pairing" (which tends to isolate the two individuals, driving them often into a state of "gridlocked stagnation") and thrustingly open themselves up to society!

This is a vital dimension to Sagittarius (and to the Ninth House) that we often neglect: its impetus towards sociability! In other words, the trend to enthusiastically open up to the "unknown others" and to unconditionally mingle and interact with the people and the groups around us! Those individuals having in their charts a strong Sagittarius, Jupiter or Ninth house emphasis are somehow under the spell of this unique "geist", which we might call "a crush on society"!

The Sagittarian energy  is thrusting us forward, beyond the often "petty" and claustrophobic company of our "buddies", of "our own people". It is enticing us to open up to the wider world, to indiscriminately socialize, to become good-spirited, elevated human beings. It advises us to overcome our narrow horizons, our selfishness, the "Samsara" of our micro-routine and gradually ascend to the higher state of becoming a "universal being". It is at that state that we feel ourselves twinned with our unknown fellow-humans, ultimately enjoying their company instead of merely being annoyed by it!

Thus, the sign of Sagittarius is inducing a major "consciousness shift", urging us to go beyond the (often raw and immature) "pairing" or the "we are buddies!" thing,  to move onto the broader and more mature stage of "socializing"! In other words, to start experiencing our intimate "likeness" to our totally unknown fellow-humans. But this is something extremely difficult for an "average Joe/Jane" to achieve,  unless s/he has in his chart elements conferring to him this kind of "social crush" quality! That is why the "geist" of Sagittarius (Jupiter and Ninth house) is ultimately so important to our society! As much as a classical Scorpio is longing to meet his/her much desired lover, a Sagittarius is longing to meet an unknown to him/her group of people (and the more unknown the people around him/her the more s/he longs to get to know them and exchange energies!)

So the "Archer" is a collectively unifying force, a very strong, cohesive, elevated / elevating "societal link"! In order now to be sociable, to be able to comfortably stand beside unknown individuals, one should have an open, elevated mind and display a rather friendly and benevolent attitude to his/her fellow humans! You see, the over-sensitive people, the touchy, immature, suspicious ones tend to be anti-social (as they somehow fear the contact with any kind of people they don't know). Thus they usually enclose themselves within "petty-groups" and environments they are familiar with! This kind of people are automatically set to a rather phobic mode when found in an "open" social environment. So, each time an opportunity arises for them to go out and meet unknown people they mostly overlook it thinking: "why should I go to an alien environment, full of people I don't know, who might put me down, hurt me etc."...

This mentality is characterizing an awful lot of people who are ending up being "couch potatoes", watching TV or "procrastinately" surfing on the net (losing thus valuable opportunities that their participation in a social event might have given them - i.e. to find a good job, a lovely partner etc.). So, we need to overcome this anti-social trend, which is by default prevailing to an average individual. The energy now needed to overcome this "social inertia" is provided to us by the sign of Sagittarius (and on another level, by the sign of Aquarius, whose Sagittarius is somehow a "proto-form", an early "fiery" version)!

Most people do not possess in their charts a surplus of Sagittarian, Jupiterian or Ninth House energies  and thus they lack this kind of openness to their unknown fellow-humans. People, in general, have a tendency to "close in" and mistrust those who do not make part of their own regular company. This means that our societies are largely composed of isolated groups/companies of people, who do not readily exchange energies and do not fully communicate with each other (thus these groups are easily degenerating into fractions, cliques etc.).

Such a situation is not producing a healthy social fabric at all! Where narrow minds prevail people tend to isolate themselves in small groups and then the vital "societal energies" do not flow freely - they get "coagulated" instead - creating within the social fabric all kinds of gaps and "polarizations". Consequently, the society as a whole cannot function properly and is ultimately driven into decline and collapse. 

This is the case of our modern western societies, which over the past decades have somehow collapsed and led us to the current  mega-crisis (a crisis that is not just financial but largely a social/ethical one)! We may detect at the core of this social crisis a deficit of sagittarian "social crush" geist! Actually, this seems to be a major problem in our contemporary western / westernized societies: the peoples' lack of a guileless opening to their unknown fellow humans (without aiming that is at any kind of monetary, professional etc. gains). You see, this unconditional, trustful (but not gullible) "opening up" to our neighbors is imperative, in order to produce an "unclotted", uplifted, full of possibilities collective environment around us!

Thus, the stronger the presence of Sagittarius, Jupiter and Ninth house in our charts the more we have a "crush on society", the more we open up to our fellow humans, the more we feel attracted by the large and unknown to us groups of people! In such a way, we ever more partake in the collective life and in the powerful energies flowing in it - ultimately contributing to the shaping of a more congenial, progressive and elevated society!

Thomas Gazis
Copyright: Thomas D. Gazes

This is a newer version of a Thomas Gazis article that was published οn the December 2013 issue of the Greek magazine "Astrologiki Pyxida" ("Astrological Compass").

The Grand Cardinal Cross of April 2014. Αn historical event!

The crucifixion has been the central theme these days within the christian communities. As we speak though a unique "Cosmic Cross" is ever more precisely formed in our skies - climaxing to the April 22nd perfect (partile) Cross configuration between the planets Pluto, Uranus, Jupiter and Mars (all of them being exactly at the 13th degree of the corresponding sign. And it is interesting to know that both the USA's natal Sun and the Russian President's Vladimir Putin Sun stand at the 13th degree of Cancer and Libra respectively)!

Seventh and Eighth House: the mating "niches" in our charts!

Please join the (free) online Thomas Gazis lecture "SEVENTH AND EIGHTH HOUSE: THE MATING NICHES IN OUR CHART!" on Sunday March the 9th, at 10 pm GMT (Greenwich Time).

You don't need to have some special software or equipment. Simply click on the "GoTomeeting" link below and it will take you straight there. If it doesn't, it means that I am not there yet (very possible), or it is simply too early.

https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/683577213

If it is the first time you have been to a GoTo room, you will be asked to download a bit of software first. It only takes a few minutes and is very small and quite safe.

Don't forget these days you need to be early if you want to get a "seat" in the lecture, as the room does only hold 24 people and these days it fills up fast. If you are too late, keep trying as people do leave early, and you may get in if there is a vacant seat left.

If you don't know what time 10:00 pm GMT is in your area, go to

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html

Enter 9 March 2014, 10:00 pm into the time and date, make sure the Time Zone is GMT (click on Time Zone, then GMT). If your town is not already entered into "place to convert to", click on other locations, click on your country, then find either your city or a town in your state or Time Zone,
click on it, then click on "convert time", and voila!!!

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The first English astrologers were Greek - Byzantines (and oddly enough Saints)!

The story I am going to tell you is true, but it might very well have been just another Canterbury tale. It is a story that connects in strange ways England and Byzantium. It started in medieval England, in the year 667 CE. The city of Canterbury was then one of the most prominent Anglo - Saxon cities in Britain. Its people had been converted from pagans to Christians just 2 generations before (in 597 CE, by Saint Augustine). The Episcopal See of the city though - founded by St. Augustine - was left vacant in that specific year. And that was serious, because the Canterbury See was (and still is) considered England's primary See.

To fill the gap, the king of Kent sent emissaries to the Pope in Rome, asking him to appoint a new Archbishop to Canterbury. Back then not very many people were eligible for such a place - most of the people could not even read, let alone debate on religious matters. Not to mention that to the high ranked priests in Rome the idea of moving to a distant, misty and (still) barbaric land was not promising at all. With limited choices available Pope Vitalian's mind went to certain monasteries in Italy run by Byzantine monks - the Byzantines considered then the most erudite scholars in Europe.

You may read the whole article here

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This is an original article written by Thomas Gazis. Copyright: Thomas D. Gazis. In order to republish it - parts or all of it - please contact first the author at: ifestion@gmail.com
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