Mercury astrologically - Striving to restore Unity

I am a Gemini man living in Athens, Greece. The ruler of my solar sign is Mercury. So, you understand why I love getting out of my house and going on shopping…The task to purchase the daily groceries provides me with the opportunity to justifiably go out of my house, to change environment and experience at first hand what’s going on in the “world”, to walk towards the market and interact with so many and diverse people

The street where I am buying most of my daily groceries - and I am having a cup of coffee too - is called “Hermes”. Actually “Hermes” is the Greek name of Mercury. So, I find it very appropriate that the central street of my neighbourhood, the one with the most intense commercial activity and social interaction is named after the ancient god of commerce and communications. I even conceived the content of this article in between my daily purchases and social interactions in the “Hermes” street…

In this daily itinerary of mine (and yours) to the market place several key functions of the Mercurian archetype are prominently present: getting out of our house, being on the move, experiencing the sights and sounds of our neighbourhood, meeting new things or persons, engaging into a (somehow superficial) conversation with our neighbours or any acquaintances we casually meet in our short itinerary to the market place or in it, exchanging money for goods. There is a lot of Mercury in all these activities, as this is the god of change and mobility, of communications, of reasoning and dialectics, of itineraries, of crossroads, interactions and commerce.

Names say much…Thus, we may deduce a lot of  Mercury’s astrological nature just out of its English and Greek name. Mercury has to do i.e. with the element mercury (quicksilver), with a strange metal that is fluid and is ever changing its form. There is even the word "mercurial" in the English language meaning "changeable, volatile, erratic, quick-witted"! And of course Mercury has to do with the word "market" (they both share the Latin radix "merx")! A "market" is a place where many and diverse people gather, where you can trade something, where you can deal in, sell and buy things and services.

The Greek name Hermes might not ring any particular bell to you. It will though if I tell you that the English word “sermon” is related to it! Thus Mercury has to do with a talk that has been properly methodized and structured, a talk containing irrefutable arguments so that it directs the audience to some specific, desirable conclusion. Under this point of view we all give small “sermons” everyday to the people around us so that we convince them for something, so that we achieve something out of them…

You see the Mercurian archetype is highly individualistic. It mostly takes care of our own personal interests. But its individualism has a gentler aspect too, as Mercury is constantly striving to restore some Unity between us and the others, to maintain a contact between us and the Wholeness.....

The Greek language will help us further to understand the astrological properties of Hermes / Mercury. The Greek verb “hermenevo” is tightly related to “Hermes” and it means “to interpret”…The “interpretation” of something, of a sentence, of a situation, behaviour etc. their “deciphering” and rendering in a clear, lucid and comprehensible manner is quintessential to Mercury - and absolutely essential to every human being.

To explain what I mean let me write you a sentence in Greek:

«H νόηση, η κινητικότητα, η αλλαγή, η διασύνδεση είναι κάποιες από τις βασικές ιδιότητες του Ερμή».

No doubt, that's “all greek” to you…You are suddenly “in the dark” here…You probably look at the above phrase but neither can you read it nor make any sense out of it. You might even feel confused and disorientated about it, urgently needing some "interpretation". Thus, most probably you will open a “Google translate” page and copy - paste the above phrase from Greek to English. You will get then something that goes like this:

"The cognition, mobility, changing the interface are some of the basic properties of Mercury"

This definitely makes some sense to you now. Of course the phrase "changing the interface"  is not very clear. The "Mercury in you" is immediately alerting you that there might be something wrong about it. Actually, the google's translation has not been very accurate in this case - it hasn't done a very good "interpretation" of the Greek phrase (I can see this thanks to my own Mercury). What I actually wrote in Greek is:

"Reasoning, mobility, change, interconnections are some of the basic properties of Mercury"

What you just experienced with the Greek phrase you actually experience constantly, everyday, almost at every single moment of your life: you try all the time to decipher things and situations around you (and in you), to figure them out, to make sense out of the innumerable and diverse instances and situations you encounter in your life: from the very moment you wake up in the morning and try to figure out where you are and what time it is, to you walking to the kiosk to buy a newspaper and to chat a little bit with the newspapers man, to the shortcut you take while driving with your car in order to get faster to your destination e.t.c. In all these instances you strongly activate your Mercury, trying to reason what's going on, trying to figure out how can you better adapt in your environment and take advantage of the circumstances around you in order to establish a good interconnection with the things and the persons around you and thus more easily and fully achieve your personal tasks.

Thus, a major Mercurian function is to bring things and situations into consciousness and to “reason” them out. Actually "to reason" is to try to understand a situation or a person, to make judgements upon it based on practical facts and situations you previously experienced. Meaning that a good "reasoner" must be curious and observant, a discerning person collecting and accumulating data and judgements over a wide spectrum of situations and facts. And that entails that s/he should have developed a multitude of virtual "information shelves" in his/her brains where s/he has inserted and catalogized those judgements and conclusions. Furthermore, s/he should be able to readily retrieve and combine - under any circumstances - the proper information, in order to smoothly interconnect with his/her environment and efficiently carry through any possible situation s/he encounters!

But where from do things spring out to our consciousness? Out of our own unconscious! Out of the “underworld”! And Hermes / Mercury has a lot to do with the underworld (and consequently with our unconscious). You see, according to Greek mythology he is the god who escorts the souls of the deceased to the underworld! Thus, we might say that he stands at the very threshold between consciousness and unconscious. He somehow partakes of both. He stands high on the Olympus but he comes often down to earth - visiting regularly the underworld too! This mobility and flexibility of his - and his acute reasoning - is rendering Mercury the most suitable god to bring things into consciousness (out of our vast unconscious) and into the Light, to "decipher" the things (the situations etc.) and make them clear, comprehensible, understandable.

Hermes is an Olympian God but a somehow particular one. He does not have a permanent abode in Olympus (heavens) as the other eleven gods have, nor in the underworld. He is rather constantly  on the move. And he actually permeates all the three levels of existence: the heavens, the earthy world and the underworld (as we mentioned before he goes often "down under" as a "psychopompos", as the carrier of the souls). Actually he doesn't enjoy a very high status among the gods of Olympus as he carries the rather undignifying job of being their messenger - meaning that he is the one that most often gets in contact with the mortals. But exactly for this reason Mercury was much worshipped by the plain people. They were feeling that Mercury was better supporting and protecting their personal interests! He was even a trickster god (he stole Apollo's cattle) and he was thus favouring any kind of tricksters, like the merchants (they still trick us alright, at least most of them...).

Mercury is the youngest of the Olympian gods and he has thus to do with youth - and more precisely with adolescence. Adolescence is a transition stage between childhood and adulthood. And Mercury has a lot to do with transitions, crossroads and ambivalence in general. Mercury is ever seeking to reconnect us to Wholeness, to somehow return us to the state of absolute Union. You see during the first months of our life we innately carry within us this sense of "Union with everything", as we descend  and incarnate in our earthy bodies. But we loose this sense later on in our infancy and we then experience a very painful and traumatic sensation of “fragmentation” (which actually is the very first step in the process of us becoming fully conscious and independent individuals). The only "remedy" for a child to restore some sense of Unity with its parents and environment is to develop communication skills. By developing communication skills, by even rudimentary speaking and exchanging information with its parents the child develops a sort of cognitive “tenticles” that somehow interconnect it with the huge world around it and thus elementarily restore his/her lost sense of "Unity with Everything"…

Strange as it might sound, the astronomical hierarchy of our Solar system says a lot about the properties of each planet. Mercury is the first planet in that hierarchical order, barely out of the Sun. It is showered by the torrential "consciousness" energies of our Luminary but crucially it resides just a bit out of the Sun so that it doesn't get totally blinded by it! This fact has a major astrological implication: planet Mercury is able of "peeping" through the blinding "solar curtain", taking thus a glimpse of the rest of the solar system and of the dark, immense space lying beyond it! And while the somehow "autistic" Sun is totally absorbed by its own existence Mercury realizes (thanks to the strong "consciousness" energies he receives from its nearby star) that there is something beyond the Sun, something proportionally powerful and meaningful! Thus, Mercury is trying to reason over this world that lies "beyond the Sun", to understand its nature and to establish connections with it!

This stage, of Mercury becoming aware of the existence of non Solar words actually corresponds to the stage of the child loosing its primordial sense of "Unity with everything". They both are fragmenting and traumatic stages. So, what immediately does Mercury in order to "remedy" the fragmenting experience is to attempt restoring some sense of unity with those "alien" to the solar kingdom words. Mercury stands at the very boundary between these two worlds and it somehow has to bring them together, to interconnect them. And to achieve this he has first to understand the nature of these "newly found" non solar worlds and consequently spot any possible "dialoguing" elements between them and the solar kingdom he serves. That is why properties like "reasoning", "dialectics", "interconnection" are ultimately so important to Mercury! There are mere means to the end of restoring some sense of unification between the partial and the whole, between us and the vast "world out there".

Under this point of view, Mercury seems to be an earlier stage of Venus. Venus is aiming to bring  together similar (or complementary) things and to unify them. Mercury on the other hand is striving to achieve some elementary "dialogue" between any kind of disparate elements...

Thomas Gazis
Copyright: Thomas Gazis

RECOLLECT THE ASTROLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE YOU INNATELY POSSESS!

(An "International Academy of Astrology" online course by the IAA's instructor Thomas Gazis)

Since I was a kid I had an intellectual fond for the “bearded guys”. I mean I loved the 1960’s hippies alright but I had a very special kick for the ancient Greek philosophers. Some great philosophers were living almost next to my house in Athens. And they were speaking a language very similar to the one I was speaking. So, from early on in my life I felt a particular connection to them. My little adolescent “getaways” consisted of me visiting the ancient “Agora” (forum) under Acropolis - a vast area full of ruins lying below the majestic Parthenon - day daydreaming there that I was suddenly meeting on a street turn Socrates and that I was engaging on a conversation with him…

Back then little did I know that the Greek philosophers (and mainly Socrates, Plato and Heraclitus) would come very handy to me later on in my life, when I started teaching Astrology. You see the major complaint of my astrology students is that astrology consists of so many diverse and disparate elements that the student is hardly able to memorize the properties of each one of them, let alone proceed to a proper synthesis of all those disparate elements, and thus to an effective natal chart interpretation! As an eternal “parroting” adversary I am totally sympathizing with my students. Personally, I have always been a fervent advocate of the “critical thinking” and even of the “sentimental approach” to knowledge.

From the “bearded guys” I knew that true knowledge means inter-relating the disparate elements and unifying them instead of fragmenting them. But back then - on my late twenties - I did not know any available method that would help me to unify the so many and apparently inconsistent astrological elements.

Then an epiphany occurred to me! I started studying thoroughly the teachings of the foremost humanistic astrologer Dane Rudhyar. Rudhyar helped me enormously realize how unifying the astrological knowledge is and how much is based upon principals that in reality are not just astrological but universal. And I knew from the aforementioned great philosophers that those principles are somehow “implanted” in every human being’s brains! Actually, Socrates and Plato advocated the thesis that we human beings harbor inside us a primordial “super knowledge” of all things - although on a somehow fuzzy state. Thus, the only thing we have to do, in order to get “knowledgeable” on some field is to bring into focus and make conscious in our brains the respective fuzzy knowledge we already possess!

That was it! Suddenly I realized that I didn’t have to “impose” any kind of “knowledge” to my students. I just had to become a sort of “intellectual midwife” and simply assist them in delivering on their own the astrological knowledge they already possessed! And that meant that I had to work with them in a totally opposite way, “from inside out”. I had to avoid at any cost the “academic teaching” (to present them stuff that they should uncritically accept and memorize) and help them “give birth” to those astrological principals they already possess! And consequently expand and “build” upon those principals, which the students carry “incorporated” in them. Because whatever is “unconsciously incorporated” in us carries the potential of becoming crystal clear to us at some point - if properly “triggered”!

My firm conviction is that students don’t have to “be taught” astrology, they don’t need to painstakingly memorize hundreds of properties, qualities and attributes of signs, planets and symbols! They already know astrology and the only thing they have to do is simply “recollect” it!

To read more please visit the IAA website to read the syllabus as well as to register for my new course.

Thomas Gazis

Astrological Concepts in Ancient Greek Folklore - The "Keares"!

The ancient Greeks were energetic, optimistic and fun loving people. They were very pious and spiritual as well! Their attitude towards destiny was an advanced and rather modern one. Not only they deeply believed in destiny but they had developed some elaborate theories, myths and overall a particularly rich literature about it! When we come down to astrology, they did not conceive one, but they amazingly conceived certain so-called "proto-astrological" views.

Actually, the ancient Greeks were using a very descriptive and fascinating term for destiny. They used to call it: «HEMARMENE». Well, that's a term we cannot easily render in English. You see, the word «hemarmene» is the present perfect participle of the verb «Meiromai», which means: «from a dividable whole I am taking a particular portion that has been exclusively allotted to me». «Hemarmene» then is «that particular set of experiences that has been predetermined to occur to each one of us, for some deeper purpose».

This deeper purpose was defined by the Greeks as «NECESSITY» ("Ananke" in Greek). The law of ananke - necessity was above every other law. "Even the gods don’t fight against ananke" they used to say. But if the law of «Necessity» was omnipotent, man was powerful too (and this fact alone differs «Hemarmene» from «Kismet» or from any other kind of "destiny"). To the Greeks, each man was a unique, autonomous, highly valued «unit», a unit that almost rivaled the Gods!

Man however was but a part of a greater whole, a part of a process in evolution. Necessity is an almighty power that imposes specific, individual destinies to each man, so that the totality of these destinies pays tribute to the evolution of the «Whole». We indeed encounter here some original and advanced ideas, which are largely shared by our modern astrological worldview too. Thanks to these ideas the road was somehow open to astrology, in the ancient Greek world. Maybe we begin to understand now the fact of the rapid diffusion of astrology in Greece, soon after the military expedition of Alexander the Great in Mesopotamia.

The way was already paved centuries ago, as the Greeks profoundly believed in a predetermined by a superior force destiny - from the very beginning of their history. They would not take any important step unless they were first assured that the "geist" was propitious to them (and by "geist" I mean the moment, the place, the people, the overall conditions etc.). Thus, they were continuously studying the omens to find whether destiny was in their favor or not. And they were so obsessed with it that they often journeyed hundreds of kilometers, in order to reach the two famous oracles of "Delphi" and "Dodona" and learn about their future. Predicting the future somehow became a holy art to them.

So, even if astrology was not indigenous, the soil in Greece was fertile for its diffusion. Actually, the widespread concept of «Hemarmene» immensely facilitated the introduction and diffusion in Greece of a doctrine that apparently was worshiping the stars - and thus was initially regarded by the rational Greeks as barbaric. But astrology soon became rife in this ancient land, bringing forth radical changes in Greek culture. Already in the 3rd century BC the Stoics were regarding «Hemarmene» as an astrological rather than as a religious - theological concept.

All in all, the Hellenistic Greeks had developed a very propitious to astrology philosophical frame and an "astrology-friendly" general outlook on life. And this they achieved having no actual astrological background at all, led only by their advanced awareness and penetrative logic!

Before proceeding, I have to admit here that this is a new field and much research has to be done in the future. I personally drew my conclusions mainly out of the work of the famous English archeologist and author Jane Harrison. Harrison studied attentively some secondary figures in ancient Greek folklore called «KEARES» («KEAR» in its singular form). Some «Keares» are represented on ancient Greek pots and urns and most of them look like fast-paced feathered women, like ugly fairies or some sort of giant bees bearing a human face. Very similar to the Keares seem to be the so-called "Harpies".

A pair of  Harpies

The ancient Greeks had a very strong tendency to «anthropomorphize» everything! They were actually attributing human characteristics to their gods, to invisible entities, even to abstract concepts!  No surprise then that they had "anthropomorphized" even the viruses and the "bad vibes"!

For instance, when someone was falling seriously ill in ancient Greece people would say: "s/he has been possessed by the "Keares"". And with the word "Keares" they did not mean some kind of demons. They rather meant microorganisms or viruses! Surprisingly enough, the Greeks had invented a virus concept two thousand five hundred years ago!

Furthermore, the Greeks had «anthropomorphized» even the vibrations of each elusive moment! According to the ancient Greeks, when we experience some dark, "heavy" and bad moments it is because the "Keares" have intruded the place we are in, festering the atmosphere! And as long as they are present, every ongoing moment becomes unpropitious and adverse and things get really precarious!

The Keares are not necessarily bad. Good Keares exist as well. We might say that the Keares somehow represent the good or the bad astrological influences of the moment. There is ample testimony of this in certain preserved ancient pots and urns with Keares depicted on them. These depictions elucidate pretty well the nature of the Keares.

Hercules slaying a Kear

The figure you see above is easily recognizable, I think. He is the famous hero and semi-god Hercules! As you can see, he is about to slay a strange creature, which actually turns to be a Kear! This Kear has a grotesque, ugly face and can be taken either as a virus or a "bad vibration", a bad moment. In both cases, Hercules eliminates the virus - or the negative vibration.

There is often an interchange between the "Keares" and the "Harpies". The following representation (taken from a vase)  is depicting a scene from the famous banquet that the blind prophet Fineas held in honor of the Argonauts. According to the story, everything was flowing smoothly at this banquet when suddenly some "Harpies" invaded the hall and festered the atmosphere. You can notice Fineas on the very right, lying stunned on his couch, while two good daemons (or "Boreads") are chasing away the Harpies, brandishing their swords.

The famous Fineas banquet (with the "Harpies" on the left chasen away by the Boreads)

Luckily for us, the ancient Greeks were one of the most civilized and cultured ancient people. They bequeathed to us a plethora of works of art and literature, so we have today a clear picture of their culture and folklore. And sometimes, as we browse their enormous inheritance, we stumble upon true "gems". You may see below, for example, an amazing scene hinting to astrology. It is a scene painted on an ancient Greek vase and it depicts one of the most dramatic scenes of  the famous Homeric epic of Iliad. Achilles and Hector are dueling to death, while god Mercury stands amidst them balancing on a scale the influences of the fleeting moment, in order to decide whose soul he should escort to the underworld!

God Mercury weighing the fate of each warrior

If we observe well this picture then we will notice that on the plates of the scales (held by god Hermes/Mercury) there aren't the usual weights but two Keares instead! These Keares represent the current Hemarmene of each hero, the way he is fatally related to the "spirit" of the ever shifting moment (that now becomes victorious and now becomes deadly to him). Thus these two Keares on the scales might very well represent the natal charts of the two heroes and their current "transits"!

Apart from the Keares, another astrology related figure in ancient Greece might be the wine god Dionysus. Historians and archeologists agree that Dionysus and Orpheus (with the latter probably being another  personification of Dionysus) are the most enigmatic gods in the Greek Pantheon. We know for sure that Dionysus was the god of nature's «Augmentative Force», the god that was assisting beings and plants to grow, prosper and thrive. Thus, Dionysus personifies life's vital forces. The remarkable thing is that the Greeks used to represent Dionysus in four distinctive forms: one as a bull, one as a lion, one as a snake or an eagle and one as a drunken, joyful man!

Tim Shaw's modern sculpture of a Dionysian frenzy (Dionysus depicted as a Bull)

Now, obviously, these four representations have something to do with the four zodiacal signs of the fixed cross (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius. The Eagle stands for Scorpio since it is his alternative occult symbol while the slightly drunken - and thus somehow transcendental - and euphoric man stands for Aquarius).

What is the deeper meaning behind all this? Today we know that the determination of the year’s duration was of paramount importance to ancient people (think only of Stonehenge). In remote antiquity, equinoxes and solstices were taking place in the constellations of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius. Thus, these four constellations were considered by the archaic people as the four «portals» that are opening the respective seasons.

The concept of the «four portals» is central to the teachings of the prominent 20th-century astrologer - philosopher Dane Rudhyar, as well! Rudhyar posits that the four fixed signs represent the release of the four fundamental universal powers:

«the power released toward the formation of an individual being (Taurus), the power released by the individual being (Leo), the power released toward the formation of the universal being (Scorpio) and the power released by the universal being (Aquarius)».

My own hypothesis is that Dionysus personifies these four distinctive universal powers, so depending on the occasion he is represented by one of the aforementioned "zodiacal" images. Oddly enough the same theme of the four fixed signs is repeated in the gospels and in Byzantine icons, with the four apostles taking, in this case, the part of Dionysus.

The four "beasts" of the gospel

With what we have said so far, it becomes obvious that the Greeks had developed a philosophy and a religion that comprised many astrological (in essence) concepts. Although astrology was not rife in Greece until the third century BC we have indications that certain Greeks were thinking astrologically already back in the so-called archaic period!

Take Homer, for example. In many of his verses (written around the 8th century BC) he emphasizes the fact that the destiny of each man is predetermined. But what really surprises is us is a particular verse, where he literary makes a rather astrological statement!

Homer actually writes:  

«Then among them, wise Polydamas was first to speak, the son of Panthous; for he alone looked at once before and after. Comrade was he of Hector, and in the one night were they born: howbeit in speech was one far the best, the other with the spear»!

(the translation courtesy of  the "Perseus Tuft" project)


Although I do not exclude the possibility of this "same night  birth" of Hector and Polydamas having some simpler, "hemerological" connotation (people born on the same calendric day sharing same fates), it seems an astrological statement to me. You see, Homer was born in Ionia, Asia Minor, in an area that had straight ties with both the Middle East and Mesopotamia (where astrology was rife).

This Homer's "astrological" statement is not the only one we encounter in the archaic Greek literature. The Orphic Hymns (written even before Homer’s epics - but comprising certain subsequent additions) include several astrological hints. In the «Hymn to the Stars» for example, there is a verse that goes:

 «Oh stars, you that determine the fate of everything!»

Don't you think that this is an astrological statement? A statement made more than 2500 years ago...

The important fact is that the Greeks - although they never developed a proper «astrological body of knowledge» - they had conceived astrological concepts long before astrology’s official diffusion in Greece.

Thomas Gazis
Copyright: Thomas D. Gazis


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(This article is an excerpt from the lecture that Thomas Gazis gave at the international Astrology conference of Arousa - Spain in June 1998).

December 21st, 2012: the gist behind the fuss

Tomorrow December 21st, 2012 a very long Maya calendric "cycle" - that lasted over 5000 years - is coming to its completion! At the same time tomorrow (by coincidence? If it's not a coincidence then we have to admit that the Maya had an "ultra advanced" knowledge of astronomy) a VERY IMPORTANT cosmic alignment will occur between the Earth, the Sun and the Center of our Galaxy.

On its own, this cosmic alignment (which ultimately is not that accurate) does not portend a major catastrophe for humanity. Almost the same cosmic alignment occurred in the previous 10-12 years (on December 21st) and nothing happened to Earth (not to mention that many scientists argue that the true, as accurate as possible cosmic alignment occurred back in 1998)!

In his (pdf) booklet: "An Essential Guide to the December 21st, 2012 phenomena" author Thomas Gazis is explaining in a clear manner all the phenomena associated with the tomorrow's "end" date . He reveals the deeper psychological meaning of December 21st, 2012 and he analyzes a rather strange astronomical phenomenon: tomorrow the planets Venus, Mercury and the Sun - and largely all the known to the ancient people planets - will rise in our sky almost in the same sequence they had risen in the "base date" of the Mayan calendar (on 11 August 3114 BC, that is). Meaning that in the very first day and in the very last day of the marvelous "Long Count" Mayan calendar a quite similar planetary configuration is taking place in the sky! Since the Maya were excellent astronomers we're not sure at all this is a pure "coincidence"...

Thomas Gazis

A school tragedy: the Newtown mass shooting and the astrology of Adam Lanza

                                         (apparently this is a childhood photo of Adam Lanza)

Although I live many thousands of miles away I am shattered by the Newtown tragedy! 20 little angels dead is more than the mind and the heart can bear...

Let's see the astrology of the young gunman Adam Lanza. He was born on April 22, 1992. He was a Taurus with Moon in Capricorn. There is another famous man having a Taurus Sun and a Capricorn Moon like Lanza: Adolph Hitler! This does not mean of course that if you - or someone you love - have this combination you will become a mass murderer (millions of people around the world have this very combination and they don't go that berserk). But is says something about the nature of Adam Lanza.

It says that he somehow lacked empathy, that he could not easily "feel" the feelings of the people around him (according to the astrological theory, the Moon in Capricorn is in "detriment", in "exile") and that he could not easily express his own feelings! Another important element in his chart is the Taurus Sun. I am always telling my students that there is a lot of anger in a Taurean person. And this because this is a "feminine" sign, a very "introverted" one that tends to keep his feelings, emotions and states of mind hidden in him, avoiding in general to express and exteriorize them. Thus a Taurus might harbor in him/her a lot of negative energy, resentment etc.- for long time periods. Until s/he suddenly "snaps" (with no apparent reason) and s/he then becomes a raging bull in a china shop... The Taurean "anger" is kept deep within the person and by the healthier individuals is mostly "sublimed" (i.e. within the context of their professional activity) and generally controlled - making thus the Taurean person appear calm and placid outside, as its ruler Venus demands.

Venus is a major player in the way we relate to the "others", to the people around us. This celestial seductress is ever seeking to smoothly connect us with the "ones out there". And in Adam Lanza's case Venus is even more important, as it is the ruler of his Sun sign. The fact is though that his Venus was in Aries, in a sign that is not easily promoting the "smooth", "uniting" kind of energies but rather the impulsive, "dividing" and stirring ones. And what is more amazing, his Venus was receiving a partile (perfect) square aspect by the planets Uranus and Neptune - who in their turn are forming a partile (perfect) conjunction in his chart! Both Uranus and Neptune are harboring collective energies and when properly located in our chart they bestow upon us a deep sense of "community" with the people around us. They provide us then a "smooth merging" capacity necessary to befriend the people around us and "merge" with them - in a group environment etc. But in Lanza's case Uranus and Neptune were utterly discordant to his Venus. Thus, he had a major difficulty in smoothly connecting and "uniting" with the people around him. Each time he was about to meet "other people" he was experiencing a turmoil inside him, as extreme psychic energies were torrentially unleashed in his soul! His very "individuality" was somehow threatened by the "other people".

In astrology death is related to Pluto (and in greek mythology the other name of Pluto was "Hades" - the god of underworld). Currently we don't know Adam Lanza's time of birth (thus we don't know the specific sign of his Ascendant, of his MC etc.). Working  with what we have in our disposition, we see no Pluto emphasis in his natal chart (apart from the fact that Pluto is in the sign it rules). (Not very) surprisingly though there is a so called "transiting" Pluto (the one moving in our sky right now) perfectly conjuncting - most probably - his natal Moon in Capricorn (depending on the exact time he was born). At the very same time, Adam Lanza's progressed Sun was - during the last months - in the 22th degree of Taurus PERFECTLY opposing his natal Pluto!

You can see above transiting Pluto conjuncting Lanza's natal Moon (both in green cycles) and his progressed Sun perfectly opposing his natal Pluto (both in red cycles). What this over-emphasis of Pluto actually means is that Adam Lanza was currently going through a very extreme period of his life! Probably he had slept into depression and diven into a profound existential crisis. Everything around him seemed meaningless. The feelings of negativitiy and resentment - for which we talked about before - had disproportionally grown in him. He was probably feeling that nobody loved him, that everybody hated him instead! He should have sought some psychiatric help (when one receives such strong "Plutonian energies" s/he might be radically transformed if therapeutically treated). But apparently he didn't...As a raging bull he chose the other dark and evil Plutonian path: the one of insane tragedy....

Thomas Gazis
Copyright: Thomas D. Gazis

An essential guide to the December 21st, 2012 related phenomena

                               (the blissful Mayan god "L" of the underworld  in the hero twins scene)

If we put aside all the December 21st mumbo jumbo, there is trully something significant to this date. But it gets lost in all this fuss going on.

The plain and essential guide that you may purchase here - written by the international speaker and author Thomas Gazis - is putting things in their right perspective. Actually it might be one of the best guides written on the December 21st phenomena and on the true meaning of the "Apocalypse" date. You will find original stuff here, not published anywhere else: i.e. the psychological reasons that lie behind the December 21st hype, the amazing astronomical similarity of the first and last date of the Mayan calendar and a lucid explanation of the notorious Galactic Alignment (which very few people on Earth actually comprehend.)

 Chapters of the pdf booklet A plain & essential guide to the December 21st, 2012 phenomena:

 - The Mayan cosmology
 - The cyclical nature of the "Long Count" calendar
 - A whole new discovery of Thomas Gazis on the astronomical similarity between the "base" and the "end" date of the Mayan calendar
 - The deeper psychological meaning of the 2012 hype
 - The scenario of the planetary alignment
 - The scenario of the planetary clustering
 - The Galactic Alignment for dummies
 - The Earth crossing the galactic mid-plane scenario
 - The Nibiru - Sedna - planet X scenario
 - Deciphering the notorious Mayan "Deluge" scene (and its planetary glyphs)

(The booklet is comprised of 34 pages and contains many explanatory illustrations. You may download some sample pages of it) 

The notorious "deluge" scene on the Mayan "Dresden Codex"

There is so much mumbo-jumbo these days over the December 21st, 2012 “doomsday”. Almost everyone has a different doomsday scenario, a different story to tell about what exactly will happen on that “fateful” date - as if s/he was projecting his/her own most intimate fears and phobias upon it (this is exactly the case, as we explained in page 12. There is a psychological urge lurking behind such a behavior). With all this fuss though we have somehow neglected to listen to the voice of the very experts, of the ones that lie at the root of this hype: the Maya! What was THEIR idea on the last day of their prodigious “Long Count” Calendar?

It turns out there are two original Mayan sources somehow "portending" the December 21st, 2012 day! An inscription on the so called “Tortuguero monument” and a Maya book! The “Tortuguero” inscription is largely unreadable. It mentions the 2012 “Completion Date” and it ends with a phrase that the scholars interpret as: “This will be not the end of the world”!

The second source is a booklet that is known as the “Dresden Codex”. This codex is actually one of the few authentic Mayan “books” that have survived. It contains an almanac (for practical and agricultural purposes), an astronomical section with the Venus cycles, Eclipse tables etc. and an astrological (or rather “hemerological”) section with many kinds of prophecies. In the very last page (74) of this booklet there is a full page illustration that apparently portends the events that will occur on the End Date of their current “Long Count” calendar (on December 21st, 2012) (you can see this illustration above).

As exotic as it might appear this scene to you, try to go beyond its folkloristic aspect and treat it as an artifact of a human being thinking the way you do. There is a human being behind this image trying to send you an important message through the symbols s/he has depicted. The artist is actually trying to tell you what will happen on the very last date of the current “Long Count” (5125 years) calendar - a date that actually was utterly remote to him/her but it happens to be excruciating close to us!

Our attention is immediately caught up by the two apparently old (and rather gloomy) human figures and by the appalling huge reptile on the upper part of the illustration. Our immediate response most probably would be: “hey, something bad is portrayed here! No good outcome could come out of such a gloomy image”. Well, this would be our modern perception of this image. Remember that if we want to find the deeper meaning of this illustration we should start seeing things the way the Maya did. And to do so we need to properly decipher the symbols comprised in the illustration.

Let’s start by saying something about the two gloomy elder figures. They actually are the Mayan Moon goddess Ix - Chel (which is usually represented as an elder) and below her a black elder man (with a bird on his head). This elder figure has been identified as the “god L” of the Mayan underworld. You would think now: “Wow! An underworld god present in the image that depicts the very “doomsday”? That’s not a good omen at all!” We will see about that…Let’s do first a remark concerning the two elder figures.

Do you remember that the December 21st, 2012 is the last day of the Mayan “Long Count” calendar? And indeed this calendar is a “long count” if you consider the fact that theoretically it has been around for 5115 years - since 3114 BCE! What kind of representations would you expect to see in a scene symbolically representing the ending of a very long time period? Babies perhaps? Kids? Of course not! Like our modern cartoons which on the New Years Eve depict the departing year as an old man, we should expect to see elder figures in this “End Date”, elder figures denoting the maturation and completion of a cycle!

On the upper part of this illustration there is a strange reptile. It looks like a giant snake or like a crocodile. But even if it were a crocodile it doesn’t seem to have the typical crocodile’s short claws. It rather seems to have hooves, like the deer’s hooves. In fact this is the so called “Starry Deer Crocodile” which to the Maya represents the sky, the celestial energies!

As ominous as it looks this “starry deer crocodile” (or rather caiman) it has a “soft” side. Deers were usually sacrificed during major “transition” periods, like at the end of a Mayan “century” (the 52 years “Calendar Round” period), at the end of a Mayan “millennium” (the “Baktun”, almost 400 years), at the ascension on the throne of a new dynasty etc. So the deer hooves of this starry caiman denote that this is actually a sacrificial victim, a gift to the gods so that they propitiate the relative “transition ceremony”! In major ritual instances the Maya were performing the decapitation of a caiman - which was considered the “totemic counterpart” of the cosmic caiman that was sustaining the earth and the starry sky. Through the decapitation of the caiman they were somehow “breaking the skies” and consequently they were prompting the creation of a new cosmological order!

Thomas Gazis
Copyright: Thomas D. Gazis

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PLEASE NOTE: This is an excerpt from the Thomas Gazis booklet "A plain and essential guide to the December 21st phenomena". You may purchase the full pdf booklet here 

A lecture on the Mayan and Babylonian Venus (and on their amazing similarities)

The mega event of this period is the "Breaking Down The Borders" international online astrological conference, that will take place between November 30 - December 2nd. 

This will be a great occasion to listen to foremost astrologers like Robert Hand, Michael Lutin, Nick Campion etc. Remember that you may attend this conference from your own desktop! 

The lecture I am presenting in this conference is entitled:  "The amazing similarities and discrepancies between the Babylonian and the Mayan Venus"  I will be honored by your presence.

Thomas Gazis

The Petraeus scandal explained by Astrology!

Bottom line of the Petraeus scandal is (provided there isn't something nastier there) that even the most strict and disciplined people (like the high ranked - and senior - military people) do it! Blame it on the ancient Greek God Ares (Mars ) who apart from being the God of war was the hottest guy on the block too! Even goddess Venus succumbed to his irresistible sex appeal! You see if you are a fierceful warrior and a very decisive person, in command of so many tough soldiers, that means you have a lot of testosterone in your blood stream! Your lust is triggered piece of cake and you resort often to venusian hugs and caresses to quench your thirst...

Astrologically speaking, general David Petraeus belongs to the tough, enigmatic and somehow fatal sign of Scorpio. Not many people know this but Scorpio is the sign that represents the absolute UNION of two people (especially lovers), the complete MERGING of their bodies, souls, feelings, desires, assets etc! Scorpios are well aware of the tremendous energy that can be unleashed out of an intimate relationship, of the utter joy and stunning transformation that the merging of two "attuned" partners always brings forth! Thus, to a Scorpio his life seems empty if his does not have beside him/her his/her other TRUE half! With their companion Scorpios are experiencing a metaphysical kind of merging and union that goes well beyond the physicallity of sex! And think now that Scorpio men and women are considered the kings and queens respectively of sex (although they are methodically hiding it).

So, Petraeus as a typical Scorpio represents all the above attributes. He constantly needs to MERGE with a companion in order to feel complete, alive! Many people (belonging i.e. to the so called "Earthy" signs) can go on with their lives without ever truly "merging" with anybody. Not Scorpios! This sign prioritizes more than any other its intimate affairs. This element might give you a totally new perspective on the Petraeus affair. And things get "heavier" if we put on the scene the general's paramour too, his biographer Paula Broadwell. Because she is a Scorpio as well! We are not talking here about a superficial affair but about a very profound and passionate one, about the two of them becoming (in so many ways) ONE! In the pinnacle of their affair I bet both of them were thinking of divorcing their respective spouses so that they live together for ever. My guess is that it took a lot of self-discipline and titanic efforts from Petraeus part to end this love affair. And when it ended it it definitely caused both him and her a lot of (Scorpionic) pain...

Let's stay in Petraeus "backyard" and take now an astrological look at the second most talked couple in these days, the alleged couple formed between Petreus successor in Afghanistan general John Allen and the impressive Miami lady Jill Kelley - called by the media a "social climber". Things are quite different here. We don't find in these two people an equally strong "Synastry", a deep longing for union - nor the amazing merging power that we encountered in Petraeus - Broadwell case. In Jill's natal chart there is an over-emphasis of the zodiacal sign of Capricorn - which is very ambitious and indeed acts sometimes as a "social -climber"!

In general Allan' s chart there is a predominance of the sign of Sagittarius (a very open, sociable and sensitive to foreign cultures zodiacal sign that gave him the capacity of skillfully and very effectively negotiating with the various tribesmen in Iraq and Afghanistan). Capricorns and Sagittariuses are rather neutral... Allan - apart from being a Sagittarius - is strongly influenced by the fiery and bellicose sign of Aries as well (his Moon is in Aries). But this part of him seems quite discordant to the Capricornian Kelley (according to the astrological tradition the signs of Aries and Capricorn are very hard to match). The fact is though that - no matter what - there is a HUGE SEXUAL ATTRACTION between Allan and Kelley (her Mars is conjuncting his Venus, while his Pluto is - most probably - conjuncting her Moon)! This kind of planetary interaction is ultra-powerful on a "libidical" stage and attests to the fact that there must be a torrentialy visceral attraction between the two! Thus, they would be a rather awful long-term couple but they would definitely make two great short-term lovers - experiencing fireworks over their bed!

To conclude, not always the people we have good sex with are the ones we mostly cherrish in our hearts...And not always the partners we cherrish the most are our ideal bed partners...

Thomas Gazis

Greece, Eclipses and the Euro crisis

(photo: John Kolesidis - Reuters)

                                                          (by Sharon Knight)

Looking at the forthcoming between November 2012 and May 2013 and comparing two charts for Greek Independence, one as given by Nicholas Campion in World Horoscopes and the other, a rectification by Thomas Gazis. Both charts use the same date of 13th January 1822 but with a time difference of 4 hours and a slight location difference. 

The rectified chart by Thomas Gazis has an Ascendant of 6 Pisces, MC 17 Sag, Moon at 1 degree Libra and the house axis of 1st/7th are weighted. This does indicate a permanent pull between countrymen and others. 

The Campion Chart has 5 Taurus Ascendant, MC of 20 Capricorn and Moon at 3 Libra. This chart has shifted the planetary emphasis from the 1st/7th axis to a more scattered chart. 

As we know Greece has undergone massive financial restructuring and immense deprivation for the majority of its people due to the constraints imposed by the EU. There have been many rumours throughout the past year or so, that Greece may have to leave the Eurozone in spite of the efforts made by the people to cut their deficit. So far, Greece and its various Governments have managed to cleave to the conditions laid down by Brussels, but will they continue to be able to impose more cuts in order to receive more bailouts. Will the bailouts stop after the German elections in either September or October 2013? 

Before 2012 is out, there is a Solar eclipse on the 13th November, followed by a Lunar eclipse on the 28th November. In 2013 the eclipses occur on the 25th April (Lunar), 10th May (solar) and the 25th May (lunar). 

The Solar eclipse on the 13th November, set for Nea Epidavros has an Ascendant of 26 degrees and 27 minutes Leo and an MC of 21 degrees and 05 minutes Taurus. The eclipse itself at 21 degrees 56 minutes Scorpio falls in the 7th house of the Campion chart and the 8th house of the Gazis chart. 

Neither chart has any traditional planets in Taurus or Scorpio, so one would think this eclipse would pass Greece by. There is a bond repayment due on the 16th November and it will be down to the Eurozone finance ministers if they agree the measures have been met and they will release more funds to enable Greece to both stay afloat and remain in the Eurozone. However, the Lunar eclipse on the 28th November does pick up the 2nd - 8th axis of the Campion chart within less than one degree, as the eclipse occurs across the Gemini/Sagittarius axis at 6 degrees 46 minutes. 

 At this same time, Jupiter is currently retrograde in Gemini at 11 degrees 54. Jupiter is significator of  the 8th house of others money. Furthermore, Jupiter stations direct at 6 degrees 19 minutes Gemini on the 30th January 2013. If we go with the Campion chart, this date (30th January 2013) is perhaps when the Eurozone starts to tighten its purse strings and may impose further demands on Greece. 

Following on with the eclipse theme, the next set of eclipses occur in April and May 2013. We have two lunar and one solar eclipse. The lunar eclipse on the 25th April occurs at 5 degrees and 45 minutes of the axis Taurus/Scorpio and has both of the malefics within 3 degrees of both Lights. But as noted earlier, Greece does not have any planets on this sign axis. Behold though… Jupiter will be closely conjuncting by then the MC of the Gazis chart!

Traditionally Jupiter rules both the Pisces Ascendant and Sagittarian MC of the Gazis chart. Could it be the people choosing to take matters into their own hands – to their detriment? Moving on to the Solar eclipse chart of the 10th May 2013, we still have the eclipse happening in Taurus, but with an 11 degrees Pisces ascendant, echoing the Gazis chart with an Ascendant at 6 degrees Pisces.

In this instance, using Placidus house cusps, this eclipse falls in the 2nd house of finance suggesting major issues arising - as not only do we have the Sun and Moon in Taurus but also Mars at 14 degrees and Mercury at 17 degrees of Taurus and, as above Jupiter closely conjunct the Gazis MC. Actually during this eclipse a whole Taurean stellium "falls" over the "Pars Fortuna" (Lot of Fortune) of the Gazis chart! So, Greece might be rescued in this instance...

The following Lunar eclipse (25th of May) is at 4 degrees Gemini/Sag echoing the 28th November 2012 eclipse - and by default affecting the 2nd/8th House axis of the Campion chart. 

I think going by the eclipse cycle, whatever occurs between now and the end of the year will be resurrected or concluded around the end of May, early June 2013 but it is very difficult to see which chart will show the events as it is only the Angles and Pars Fortuna that are different – of course it goes without saying the house placements of the planets will also differ in rulerships and meaning.

Before finishing it may be worth considering the time for when Greece adopted the Euro. I have taken my information from the following site: http://www.eubusiness.com/Greece According to it "Greece joined the European Union 1 January 1981, and adopted the euro in 2001 in time to be among the first wave of EU countries to launch euro banknotes and coins on 1 January 2002. Greek Currency: Euro since 1 January 2001 (formerly Greek drachma, GRD . Fixed conversion rate: €1 = 340.750 GRD)."

"Adoption of the euro: The euro banknotes and coins were introduced in Greece on 1 January 2002, after a transitional period of one year when the euro was the official currency but only existed as 'book money'. The dual circulation period – when both the Greek drachma and the euro had legal tender status – ended on 28 February 2002. Exchange of former national currency: The "Τράπεζα της Ελλάδος" (National Central Bank of Greece) exchanged drachma coins until 1 March 2004 and will continue to exchange drachma banknotes until 1 March 2012."

If we look at the chart set for Athens on the 1st January 2001 we find the Moon at 17 degrees Pisces, Mars, ruler of this 2nd house at 4 degrees Scorpio, Jupiter at 2 degrees Gemini Retrograde and Saturn at 24 Taurus. Naturally, owing to the fact that we are examining charts set for 12/13 years after joining the Euro, we would expect to find a Jupiter return and a Saturn opposition. Venus at 26 degrees Aquarius is closely conjunct the Nodal axis of the 1822 "foundation chart". Perhaps it is the combination of the transit of Saturn (2012/13) over the Mars of the 2001 chart and the transit of Mars on the 25th May 2013 over the Saturn point of the 2001 chart that will be ultimately responsible for bringing matters to a head. It does seem highly unlikely Germany will want to “lose” Greece prior to their election but perhaps the stars are showing us the Greek people will take matters into their hands and force the issue. Time will tell.

Sharon Knight

Copyright: Sharon Knight

Recollect your Astrology Knowledge! Online Astrology Courses 2012 - 2013

Chances are you are a beginner in astrology. You would be surprised then if I told you that you already know astrology (all the more so on an advanced level)!

Please do not consider this a cheap argument aiming at boosting the student’s Ego! It is a rather thorough argument coming straight out of the mouth of two of the greatest philosophers in the history of mankind: Socrates and Plato. These two Greek philosophers professed that we humans carry inside us a primordial “super knowledge” of all things - although on a somehow fuzzy state. Thus, the only thing we have to do is bring to focus and make conscious in our brains this fuzzy knowledge we already possess!

As a Greek I am following the teachings of Socrates and Plato, so in these courses I will not “bombard” you  with complex concepts and complicated astrology jargon. I will rather assist you in the process of recollecting and clarifying the “fuzzy” astrological knowledge you already possess! Because ultimately you don’t need to “be taught” astrology, you don’t need to painstakingly memorize hundreds of properties, qualities and attributes of signs, planets and symbols! You already know astrology and the only thing you have to do is simply “recollect” it! Are you ready then to begin this “recollection” process?

We willl start our beginner's course with some simple concepts you are dealing with in your everyday life (the simplest concepts often being the most profound ones)! Take men and women for example. Most probably you see around you men and women all the time. Isn’t kind of strange that all of us, our eventual family members, our acquaintances, the people we deal with, the people we meet out in the streets they all exist under the form of a particular gender? I will introduce you to such a simple "key-elements" and then by building on them I will assist you while you will be recollecting your Astrology knowledge!

The Thomas Gazis Online Astrology courses begin on Wednesday September 19, 2012 (with the option of choosing among three different time zones: 11 AM UT, 17 PM UT and 23 PM UT). For additional info please send an E-mail at: astrologhia@yahoo.com

Thomas Gazis has been teaching Astrology since 1987! He has extensively lectured all over Europe and was invited as a lecturer at the UAC 2012  in New Orleans (the top Astrology Conference world-wide). He has written articles for some top USA astrology magazines such as "American Astrology" and "Horoscope Guide".

Neil took the ultimate "giant leap"...(his horoscope)

Neil Armstrong, the first man who stepped on another celestial body, departed today for the "long journey" at age 82. He was definitely an extra-ordinary human being (NASA wouldn't have picked up an Average Joe as their first astronaut to land and step on the Moon). Before becoming an astronaut Neil was a fearless test pilot and on many occasions he exhibited his proverbial nerves of steel (he literally saved a couple of missions as he managed to properly maneuver the vehicles under extreme and life-threatening conditions)!

So, where all this power and intrepidness comes from? You will understand it on your own. Just put your palm on the above picture of Neil and cover the right half of his face (right from your own perspective). What do you see in his uncovered eye? I see the eye of a lion! Of a fierce, determined, intrepid lion! Do the same trick with his left eye and you will realize that his left eye is much more human. It actually encapsulates the agony of a human being in front of a titanic mission! Still though, Neil Armstrong's right eye is the eye of a lion and this speaks volumes of the extraordinary power, self-confidence and determination of this man! And what a coincidence, a Leo he was astrologically speaking!

Actually, both the "Luminaries" of Neil Armstrong are located in a fiery sign. Not only he has a brave an heroic Leo Sun but his Moon too is in the expansive and optimistic sign of Sagittarius (another Leo Sun, Sagittarius Moon historic figure is Alexander the Great - according to this research of mine). His Ascendant is in the versatile sign of Gemini. Planet Mars in his First House (and in a sextile aspect to his Sun) makes him even more energetic, dynamic and pioneering! Saturn in his Eighth House contributed to his cold-blooded nature. All in all, Neil was a gifted commander and leader - although a little bit harsh at times.

Armstrong has an Aquarius M.C. that perfectly suits him - being an astronaut - and so does his Uranus (ruler of his Tenth house) in his Eleventh House and in a grand Trine to his Luminaries (Sun and Moon).

Regarding now his proverbial reclusive side (he was living in his farm in Ohio, generally avoiding journalists and interviews), Neil has a strong planetary emphasis in his Fourth House. His Sun conjuncts Ceres - and his I.C. too - in his Fourth House and even the ruler of his  horoscope, Mercury (who forms a conjunction to Neptune) is located in that very same reserved, private, "shelly" House. His family apparently was very important to him and his partner too (having a Seventh House Moon - although his Moon - Venus square speaks of a certain difficulty in him contacting women figures...)

Traditionally the sign of Leo rules the heart. And Neil died out of a heart failure (when his progressed Moon had just entered his Eighth House - for the third time in his life).

Thomas Gazis   

Saturn in Scorpio (and echoes of a plague)...

                                                                          (William Blake - "La Sconfitta")

In certain respects, the celestial vault resembles a "roulette". The planets are moving orderly in it and every now and then they are passing into a different "segment" (call it "sign"), ever creating new configurations and "celestial dynamics". Thus, the moment a planet shifts into a new segment (sign) is very significant. The most significant, though, to humanity planetary shifts are the ones produced by the so-called "outer" planets (the slow-moving ones, from Jupiter on), which necessitate entire months or even years to completely transit a sign. Now, depending on the sign they are in (and the aspects they are forming), the outer planets are the ones dictating the particular "spirit" (or "zeitgeist") that will prevail worldwide, as long as they are forming those particular configurations.

Maybe you understand now why the imminent shifting of the planet Saturn to the sign of Scorpio (that will take place on October 5, 2012) is so important! Saturn will exit then the sign of Libra and it will enter Scorpio (where it will remain until the end of 2014 - regressing back to it in the summer of 2015). What kind of new events will Saturn in Scorpio bring to humanity in the next two years? Very many for sure, but I fear none of them will be truly "new". By no means the effects of Saturn in Scorpio will provoke surges of excitement and enthusiasm to the masses. On the contrary, they might aggravate the climate of austerity that Pluto in Capricorn has already triggered (with the help of the infamous Pluto - Uranus square, which is tinging the best part of the 10's decade).

You see, Saturn and Pluto will be somehow acting now in unison, as they will form a "mutual reception" (Pluto - who traditionally rules Scorpio - is now in Capricorn and Saturn - who traditionally rules Capricorn - will move to Scorpio). Actually, in this “mutual reception” the most austere, fatal and harsh planets and signs  are implicated! Therefore, a period of utter austerity and harshness may lie in front of us, a period where we may face trials and tribulations (similar to the ones we faced from 2008 on - but on a much bigger scale now). On the other hand, many things may be put in order now and our societies and countries, our governments and political systems may be radically changed and transformed. We will start "building" on more solid foundations and we will create more durable structures. I personally believe that we will intensely experience both sides of the “coin”, with its harsh side prevailing initially. We will definitely evolve - both as human beings and as societies - but only after we experience on our skin some harsh and probably extreme conditions (that’s the most direct way people and societies evolve, anyway).

At the beginning of this article, I mentioned how unique - and important - the current planetary "combinations"  are. Two years ago I was doing some research on the major epidemics and pandemics that have struck mankind. Specifically, I was studying the horrendous "Plague of Justinian" that struck Byzantium in 542 CE and caused the death of tens of millions of people! Suddenly I noticed that this terrible pandemic occurred under a unique astrological "combination" which will be repeated (almost exactly the same, for the first time ever after approx. 500 years) in October 2012!

It's not my wish to become a harbinger of bad news. I merely list the astrological facts - and I expand a little bit into history, in an attempt to track down past periods with similar astrological configurations (because according to the fundamental astrological maxim "as above, so below" whenever similar astrological configurations appear in the sky similar events occur down here on Earth). In 542 CE Pluto was again in the sign of Capricorn, Neptune in the sign of Pisces, Saturn in Scorpio and Jupiter in Gemini (from May on). These are the very same zodiacal positions the planets will share after the 5th of the coming October! With such a critical astrological configuration pending over our heads, I would not exclude the possibility of a major flu epidemic (or some other pandemic) occurring in the years to come.

The plague was not the only evil suffered by the Byzantines in 542 CE. Almost equally nightmarish to them were the Justinian’s tax collectors - sent by him to every single corner of his empire in order to collect money (Justinian had squandered every single coin in the imperial treasury). The requirements of Justinian were so irrational and his tax collectors so tough and unyielding (if a family was wiped out by the plague then its neighbors were forced to pay the taxes ought by the perished family!) that people were publicly disinheriting their children - so that in case they die their children would not be stripped by the tax collectors but secretly keep their parents' fortune. During the reign of Justinian, a gigantic economic collapse and savage taxation occurred and I am afraid that these two phenomena will be repeated again from next autumn on…

One last thing: we will somehow estrange ourselves from the wider society! We will become more distant with our fellow humans - both physically and psychologically - and even suspicious of them! You see, Scorpio is the sign (and its ruler Pluto the planet) of the "in-depth intimacy". Thus, the entering now of the "cold", "granitic" and "restrictive" planet Saturn in Scorpio (and the simultaneous presence of Pluto in Capricorn) will entail a certain restriction over this fundamental Scorpionic / Plutonian function (so that it better structures it, in the long run). Thus, we will now become more cautious as to whom we come close and "open up", as to what kind of people we are allowing in our personal space.

Consider the fact that during the plague that struck Byzantium in 542 CE (when Saturn was again in Scorpio. Pluto in Capricorn and Neptune in Pisces) the individuals were utterly reluctant to engage in any sort of intimacy with the people around them! Therefore, we will now become pickier and we will open our souls to fewer people - mostly within the relatively safe environment of the people we know the best. Certain strong bipolar stratifications of the type "s/he is poor" - "s/he has money", "s/he is one of us" - "s/he is not one of us" might prevail now within our societies, ultimately leading to some rupture of the very societal web!

All in all, we are headed now towards some “dark ages” kind of epoch! But this will be an epoch of “grandiosity” too (with some “Greek tragedy” tinge in it, though). At times, things might get pretty nasty. But ultimately a new world will emerge out of the woes, the confusion, and the chaos! Some of the most important years of our life are lying ahead, years of profound maturation, "distillation" and empowerment - both on a personal and on a collective level!

Thomas Gazis
Copyright: Thomas D. Gazis

(P.S. I have slightly edited the article in February 2020. I was expecting a pandemic mainly during the four - year period 2012 - 2015. I could clearly see that those were pandemic-prone years. Actually, I evaluated the entire 2010's decade as being pandemic-prone. I had not particularly focused back then on the 2020 Cap Climax (as this climax was seen in 2012 as a "remote future" event). The dynamics though of the 2020 "Capricorn Climax" phenomenon are eerily analogous to the ones of the 2012-2015 period).

The eternal inexistence of a Greek Astrological Association!

                                                         (photo by Victor Bayon)

If "actions talk louder than words" then inactions should talk loud too! A single "inaction" is describing vividly the current situation of astrology in Greece: it is 2012 and we still don't have a national Astrological Association (Federation, Union e.t.c.) in our country - which is actually considered the cradle of the modern horoscopic astrology! It has never been formed one, although astrology is extensively practiced in Greece at least for the last 40 years. Why this phenomenon of the "eternal inexistence" of a pan-hellenic association within the Greek astrological community?

Greek painter "Tsarouchis" (an Aquarian) once said: "In modern Greece you are (professionally, socially) whatever you claim to be". Laws are rather loosly applied in my country. Combine this with the fact that Greece is the poorest country in Western Europe - going now through a titanic crisis - and with the fact that astrology renders VERY WELL in Greece - twice to thrice the average wages and in several cases 5 - 10 times the average wages!) and then you will realize why so many crafty people claim today TO BE ASTROLOGERS in Greece! Thus, a huge circuit of lucrative, uncultured "astrologers" is dominating the scene, putting aside, marginalizing, calumniating and even intimidating the (actually few) cultured Astrologers (who are seen as a major threat to these people's' interests). Maybe you begin to understand now why there is no national Astrological Federation or Association in Greece. Because such an "inexistence" is utterly convenient to the many powerful and largely self-proclaimed "astrologers" and to the various cliques in Greece!

In 2009 an (apparently not very honest - as you can see here and here) attempt was made to establish a pan-hellenic Greek Astrological Association. A seven members preliminary committee was elected in order to pave the way for the establishment of the Association and I was voted - by the Greek astrologers that were present there - as a member of this committee. When we discussed the certification issue I advocated the view that only those astrologers who would pass the relative exams - proving thus their knowledge and their general formation - should be certified. But the majority of the committee was opposing this proposal of mine, claiming that the basic premise for an astrologer to be certified should be him/her working for more than 5 years in the astrological phone line services or seeing clients for more than 5 years. If somebody covered this premise then s/he should automatically be certified as an astrologer without taking any kind of exams!

The funny thing is that after a few days the (opposing to me) majority of this committee issued - on their own -  a resolution expelling me from the committee on the (utterly false) ground that "Thomas Gazis was not collaborating with the committee but was only promoting his personal interests"! And although they expelled me substituting me with another Greek astrologer, in consequence, this committee did not accomplish any kind of work at all! Instead, after a while, it was "dissolved in silence"  by its members (who in this way they actually sold out the vision of a national Greek Astrological Association)!

I autumn 2011 the very same individuals who were responsible for the "silent dissolution" of the seven members committee established (together with some close "friends" of theirs) a private - and apparently lucrative - astrological club named "Pame Astrologia" (you may read about it here).

The unnerving reality is that there are so many crafty people and "cliques" today controlling the greek astrological scene - and so huge financial and "domination" kind of interests at stake - that I don't think a true/democratic national Greek Astrological Association will be established in the near future - at least not within the the next 20-30 years! True associations (the open and democratic ones) are ruled by the zodiacal sign of Aquarius. Aquarius is a humanistic sign of undifferentiated brotherhood, a sign that represents a rather elevated and enlightened spirit. Thus, when Aquarian associations lack in a country or community this means 1) the strong presence there of various limiting and fragmenting Capricornian kind of "interests" and 2) the absence in that "community" of a "brotherhood" spirit, which in its turn implies the absence of elevated and enlightened people within the "community" itself!

Thomas Gazis