Monday 28 July 2014

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

Tuesday 8 July 2014

What is a patronage made of ? (the Da Vinci's - Duke's of Milan Synastry)

                                                     (Ludovico Sforza - Duke of Milan)

To my knowledge, there has never been a thorough study revealing the extent to which the incidental likings or aversions of the people involved in any situation ultimately determine the course of that situation - and the course of the events in general, both in our every day lives and in historical occurrences. I suspect that such a factor is considerably larger than we generally believe. Often it is due to some particular sympathy flaring among the participants of an x situation that turn i.e. a job interview into a cosy chat, that bring forth unexpectedly profitable deals, collaborations and enterprises! Thus, the quality of the human interactions, the inner "attunement" of the individuals (their "Synastry", as we call it) is of an uttermost importance and it lies at the foundations of many human accomplishments!

Friday 20 June 2014

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 on the top of the sky, 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?

Tuesday 27 May 2014

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").

Monday 21 April 2014

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)!

Saturday 1 March 2014

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!!!

- You will be connected to audio using your computer's microphone and speakers (VoIP). A headset is recommended.

Meeting ID: 683-577-213

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Not at your computer? Click the link to join this meeting from your iPhone®, iPad®, Android® or Windows Phone® device via the GoToMeeting app.

Tuesday 4 February 2014

Deciphering astrologically "the most beautiful suicide" mystery!



The above photo has profoundly impacted millions of people. It shows a young and apparently beautiful woman, a few minutes after she committed suicide falling over the top of the Empire State Building! It is somehow an eerie image. The woman seems placidly and peacefully sleeping, not dead at all! But the violently crashed car under her - that somehow has taken her body shape - attests otherwise!

I saw this picture just recently (my friend Theo Phalieros sent it to me in an e-mail) - although it is out there for more than 50 years...And being an Astrologer the first questions that came to my mind were: what kind of natal chart Evelyn McHale (her name) had? What kind of transits she were receiving to commit such a deperate act? If I only knew her birth data! But how? She was not a celebrity - although she somehow became one after her death! Fortunately, there is nowadays a "Genie in a bottle" that is called "the internet"! Thanks to it I found a lot of info on Evelyn McHale (there are even a couple of facebook pages created in her memory).


Evelyn McHale was born on September 20th, 1923 in Berkeley California (we don't know her time of birth but given the adverse conditions that's probably too much to ask). She was a Virgo (her solar sign) with Moon in Aquarius! My first thought was: Oh! she must have had a lot of Scorpio and Pluto in her chart. But that's not the case, as you may see in her natal chart (conventionally set for midday) below:




She wasn't much of a Scorpio (she had just Jupiter in Scorpio) nor she had any major aspects between her "Lights" and Pluto. She was rather a low profile, discrete Virgo. Of course - since we don't know her time of birth - she might have had i.e. a strong Eighth House emphasis (if her Ascendant were Aquarius - Pisces then a planetary stellium would "fall" in her Eighth House. Although something like that is very plausible, apparently we have no way to ascertain it). In any case, not only she had an "electrical" and anti-comformistic Aquarian Moon but a very rebellious and disruptive Mars - Uranus aspect too!

The "beautiful suicide" took place on May 1st, 1947. So, let's see in a bi-wheel the major transits Evelyn was receiving on that fatal day (the inner wheel is Evelyn's natal chart and the outer wheel the planetary transits of her "long jump"day):



Well, the aforementioned "Pluto factor" is triumphantly entering the scene here, since transiting Pluto is (probably tightly) aspecting her Moon in Aquarius (by an opposition aspect). Transiting Saturn as well is beginning to aspect her Moon - not to mention transiting Uranus her Sun! And that's heavy because the Moon represents our soul, our feelings, our mood! On the other hand Pluto and Saturn are considered the toughest, the "darkest" and most "malignant" planets in Astrology. We begin to understand now that Evelyn was going through a very tough, extreme, depressive and "dark" period of her life in the period she killed herself!

But that's not all! Evelyn was engaged to Barry Rhodes and they were about to get married. By sheer serendipity I found out her fiance's date of birth too! The day before she committed suicide they celebrated together his 24th birthday! So, apparently he was born on April 30, 1923! You may see his chart below (of course no time of birth is provided).



It strikes us right away the fact that both his Sun and Moon are forming ultra-discordant square aspects to Evelyn's Aquarian Moon! Barry might have been a great guy otherwise but definitely Evelyn was not feeling happy with him! She was probably perceiving him as a too single - minded, possessive and oppressive person, as someone who was taking away her liberty. Although a Virgo woman and a Taurus man traditionally go well together, in their case her Moon (in the beginning of Aquarius) was tremendously clashing with his respective "Lights" in Taurus and Scorpio. Meaning that their relation was often getting into a very awkward ground, making her utterly unhappy! And him as a young man was not perceiving this so much as she was! And ultimately (as a Virgo) she took the blame of it!

They were about to get married in June 1947. But with her Aquarian Moon - and with her Virgonian "I cannot split from him now, people will criticize me bitterly!" attitude -  she chose to perform the tragically liberating act of jumping to her death!

Thomas Gazis
Copyright: Thomas D. Gazis