November - standing firm

Welcome to November ... after the months of reviewing and dying to the old there are signs ahead of being able to stand firmly in our new resolves.  We won't necessarily make strides ahead but hopefully the path is now much more visible.

BIG RED FLASHING LIGHT - Mercury stations to retrograde 1st November in 14.4 - direct again 21st in 44.5 and clear of the shadow and into new territory from 7th December.

1st November ... 14 line four "Do not indulge in looking at those around you and trying to match them tit for tat.  You elevate yourself by disengaging and holding firmly to what is quiet and correct and good."  BBW

A brief note on 54 from last month's transits ... it seems we are not yet done working with this upgrading energy; a quick look ahead at next year's ephemeris shows me Jupiter is there in February and March, but Pluto has indeed 'left the building' ... but we do have Saturn there this month before heading off to meet up with Pluto in 61 late December.

Obviously every solar year the Sun passes through this gate for several days, as does the Earth of course, and the moon does so on a monthly basis, but Jupiter's presence there early in the new year marks the end of an extended period of years when the outer planets have spent considerable amounts of time bringing their various energies to this hexagram, the Marrying Maiden.

The nodes shift position on the 12th; the north moving to 52 (Mountain) and the south to 58 (Joy) - these are an interesting pairing of energies, especially when considered in these positions.  The north is where we are heading, the cutting edge, moving ahead, often uncomfortable, the south is the comfort zone of the known from where we move forward.  I can't honestly say I'm moving from Joy I have to say, although I can see how I have perhaps set the scene for working from a base of like-minded friendships in recent months.  A deeper look at 58, which in trigrams is lake over lake, offers a symbol of partnership ... water is also very much associated with emotional flow of course.

It seems as if the north node moving through 52 is indicating a time of needing to remain firm and grounded in our beliefs and causes, progress will perhaps be represented by not losing ground rather than making leaps forward, by deepening our understandings rather than expanding them.  This energy reminds me of the rune Uruz, the moment of pause where you are standing within your boundaries and power, ready, but not yet moving forward.  The nodes will be in these positions until the third week of March so a long stint of holding a position of calmness rooted in correct partnerships I would say.  Interesting because through this period we will have the Saturn/Pluto conjunction and the next season of eclipses.

The image I'm being given is being held in place whilst the dross is burned away ... interesting as we'll have the sun in 55 in late February which brings the life theme of the sleeping phoenix ... I'm getting all kinds of connections today, there must be something lurking in gate 44!

MOONS

Full on 12th (with node shifts) at 13:37 GMT in 23.2 "Tolerating:  Naturally relating to circumstances from a personal resolve ... for the moon ... Being argumentative can become a way of life but ultimately will not serve you."  Chetan

New on 26th 15:08 GMT in 34.5 "One who gives up a stubborn and harsh way of acting will not regret it.  No harm comes if you soften now." BBW - This looks like a big day with several channels active including the 'infamous' 10-20 verbal gunslinger ... be aware!

Interesting aside ... both the new and full moons for November coincide with the Sun and Earth being in oppositions that are also Human Design channels; of the 36 there are only 3 like this.

31st October - 5th November - Sun 44, Earth 24, Mercury Retrograde 14 (see above), Venus 34, Mars 57, Jupiter 11, Saturn 54

Samhain, Bonfire Night and a Mercury retrograde.  The Sun is holding the energy of 44 'coming to meet' its all about pattern recognition, seeing who is before you.  The Earth is grounding us all with a rationalising theme - this week is all about closely observing and keeping ones powder dry!

6th - 11th - Sun in 1, Earth in 2, Merc 14, Venus 9, Mars 32, Jupiter 11, Saturn 54

Now we have the Sun in the most yang position, 1, the creative, capturing the flow of life.  The Earth is receptive in 2 the most yin position.  This feels like a good week for steadily working through any work or relationship issues, there's plenty of energy for new ways of seeing things.

7th Sun in 1.2 "Being in Accord: Aligning with universal truths.  Creativity is a natural expression always subject to, and altered by, your personal agendas."  Chetan

12th - 16th - Sun in 43, Earth in 23, Mercury in 1, Venus in 5, Mars 32/50, Jupiter 11 at GC 16th, Saturn 54 - Full Moon week (see above).

The first of the two Sun-Earth channel combinations.  Here we have the affectionately known 'freak to genius'!  It's an individual energy bringing inspiration and insight, it can be expressed clearly, or not, depends on the receptivity of the audience, hence, 'freak' or 'genius'.  Look out for off the wall solutions, don't dismiss them out of hand.  Jupiter hits the Galactic Centre at 11.5 at the end of this week, a draw for universal harmony and peace.

17th - 22nd - Sun in 14, Earth in 8, Mercury 44 direct 21st, Venus 26/11, Mars 50, Jupiter 11, Saturn 54

A pause week between the two Sun-Earth channel weeks ... here we have the Earth holding us in Union whilst the Sun is capturing the energy of the great harvest.  Mercury will be turning direct again, in the pattern recognition gate, Jupiter is still over and near the GC.  Mars will be holding everyone to account in the truth, justice and values department and relationships may not be what they seem ... Mercury and Venus will give the 44-26 channel, all about selling in many ways, be aware what may, or may not, be really on offer, alliances could be misleading, stay firmly with the Mars influence to see through any deception or slights of hand.

Mars position on 19th - "Qualifying: Presence is needed in upholding right values in sorry circumstances.  In all situations, values need to correspond to the real requirements of the present moment."  Chetan

23rd - 27th - Sun in 34, Earth in 20, Mercury 1, Venus 10, Mars 28 and Jupiter shifts to 10, Saturn in 54.  New Moon week (see above)

The second week of special channels ... this is the archetype of the Manifesting Generator in Human Design ... it's the buckle up and hold on for dear life energy!  All MGs should run the idea through their mind's eye before roaring off ... that's good advice for everyone this week!  We have a Jupiter shift on 25th moving his expansive energy to 10, all about self-love, self preservation, knowing where you are in relation to others.  Venus is there too so we have them conjunct 24th/25th - this conjunction is associated with love, prosperity and peacefulness and it's occurring in a love gate 😍

10.1 "Ambition and restlessness lead to misfortune.  A return to simplicity and humility makes progress possible now."

There is a lot of 10-20 energy this week, be very mindful about allowing your thoughts to be instantly voiced ... use that advice above, run it by yourself first, reread the message before hitting send!

I'll cover the 28th onward in December's transits.

And now for the Runes ... the half months for November are 28th October - 13th November - Hagalaz, this rune is all about the hail storm, the destructive forces required to create space for the new to be formed.  13th - 28th we have Nauthiz, this is about need and necessity and is often about accepting that something has already gone, or perhaps never existed as you thought, surveying the clearance wrought by Hagalaz.

Perthro has stepped forward for November - this rune is about chance, unexpected inspiration, unlikely meetings, the throw of the di.  It can also be about those spiritual breakthroughs, suddenly seeing in a new way.  That's interesting given we have the 43-23 in play this month ... keep all your senses on alert 😃

Be back later in the month and Samhain blessings to you all, and a happy new year to all the witches out there ... we know who we are!

New Moon 28th and Samhain (Halloween, All Hallows) 31st October

From the post for October ...

"The moon will be new on 28th at 03:41 in 28.3.  28 is about struggle, great exceeding, extraordinary action.

28.3 "It is a dangerous time and great care is required.  Pushing ahead willfully leads to misfortune." BBW

Just as with the Full Moon placement this New Moon highlights a channel in play as the south node position will be 38 giving the 28-38 channel of struggle.  All about picking the right cause to fight, a reminder perhaps to look at where we have been fighting and with what, echoing Saturn's presence alongside this south node energy since mid-September."

Given the process in our Parliament the last few weeks this New Moon's message seems even more important than before.

The Rune stepping forward to guide us for New Moon is Teiwaz ... Tyr's rune, he of truth and justice and the sacrifice for the greater good.  This rune is also associated with emotional maturity and wisdom.  Nuff said I would say ...





SAMHAIN - said 'sow-en' 31st - also All Hallows and Halloween!

The final of three harvest festivals and a cross quarter day falling as it does between the autumn equinox Mabon and the winter solstice Yule.  For some, witches in particular, it marks the end of one year and the beginning of the next.  And marks the end of a period of review started 6 weeks before.

Traditionally, and in many cultures, across all ages, this time of year is considered to be a time of the ancestors, of the veil between the worlds being at its thinnest.  The modern Halloween of trick or treat, as largely imported in recent decades from the US, is actually very similar to ancient traditions in northern Europe of collecting food donations for the whole community to come together, feast, and remember those that had passed over.

I've been following the sabbats for some time now and really enjoy the re-connection with seasonal changes.  It started about 15 years back when living in the far north of Scotland, at 57 north to be precise!  There the shortest day is a mere 6 hours and winter solstice became a far more important moment for us to mark than the Christian, and now very commercialised, Christmas, a few days later.  In fact we dropped that celebration completely for about a decade and simply marked Yule.

In the last few years I've marked all the sabbats and loved the fact that the year is divided by 8 moments to pause and celebrate and wonder at the natural world, moving through the seasons; the house is cleaned and smudged and a special meal prepared.

Of course if you tune into the moon cycles too you become inextricably linked to the connectedness of All Things.

And the Rune for Samhain ... Inguz ... an interesting one, not sure I've pulled that one for the blog before.  This one's associated with Freyr, Freya's brother, he's God of plentiful harvest and good fortune.  Inguz is the seed, of all potential outcomes.  It's in part about gestating the new ready to spring forward ... it always reminds me of the 3rd hexagram which I spoke of in the last post, difficulty at the beginning.  It's also the masculine and can sometimes refer to an actual man when used in divination.  Rather appropriate as we sit with our harvest before us and decide which seeds to plant for the new cycle.

November's transits will follow shortly ...

 

Sun in 50 - establishing the new

Hello

It is my half-birthday today which reminded me that the sun and earth are in opposition to my natal chart ... and that reminded me that we have two very interesting energies in play for a few days; ones that can be leveraged for a great deal of positive change.

It won't have escaped anyone's notice how little integrity has been on display in the UK parliament and in UK politics of late ... more than 3 years of trying to overturn the people's decision. 

The 50th hexagram on many levels is about integrity, about recognising the structures required for communal living, about the rules that we agree to abide by.  It is an energy very dear to my heart and my design of course, it's what grounds me.  In the I Ching, it is represented by a bronze cauldron, Ding.  In ancient China a new one was cast and inscribed with a new constitution and represented moving forward with the new and abolishing the old.

I can only hope that these current energies are used to root out the rotten behaviours we have had to endure of late.

Tyr, the Norse God of truth and justice, sacrifice for the greater good; he gave his right hand to restrain the wolf Fenrir to prevent Ragnarok - is in 14.  This is a powerful sacral gate of 'great harvest', he's there with Child ... I hope those that truly wish to deliver the democratic will of the people are infused with these energies and we can indeed abolish the old and move forward with the new. 

Patience will be required, the Earth's position is in 3, difficulty at the beginning, it's that gathered strength that is required to break through the seed shell, to push up through the earth, it is a process.

Jupiter is overseeing from the gate of the Trickster, Saturn in the gate of the Fighter and Uranus is still sitting in 27, so along with the Sun is creating the 50-27 channel of preservation.  This is the yin aspect of tribal defence, it's about caring for the community from within, sorting out the structures that serve the whole.

Eihwaz has stepped forward for this week, this rune is the Yew, it's about life and death, about cycles, about the victory and moving forward into the new ... I can't think of anything more appropriate :-)


I will be back with a Samhain post and then November's transits later in the week ... for now I have Algiz, and Ansuz, Tyr and Sowilo on my altar.

Full Moon 13th 21:10 GMT

Nearly half way through October already ... how are your reviews going?  Are you looking after yourself, nurturing your own needs?  If not, take a close look at the excuses you make for not doing so.  And I do mean excuses!  You may tell yourself they are reasons but they are excuses.

The energies have been heavy on relationships both with ourselves and others these last few weeks and yesterday I noticed that Gate 50 has some interesting occupants.  Especially so as Uranus is sitting on the other side of the channel in 27 - a tribal defence channel that focuses on protecting and nurturing the community from within - the rules and structures. 

50 straddles the astrological positions of Libra and Scorpio, on the Libra side we have Hekate - keeper of the crossroads (choices), a seer too along with Apollo.  On the Scorpio side we have Rhadamanthus (a sibling of Apollo) and Pele (Goddess of fire, destruction and volcanoes, quite a Kaali type energy). 

Both Apollo and Rhadamanthus are associated with values and justice and gate 50 is all about the values of the tribe.  Apollo of course was quite the curse-maker and breaker don't forget, as Cassandra found to her cost. 

This for tomorrow's Full Moon (from my October post)


The moon will be full on the 13th at 21:10 GMT in 51.6.  51 is about shock, shaking and taking action.  The hexagram is thunder over thunder so that gives you a sense of the energy, think Odin and Thor :-) (Odin will be in a sacral energy, 14, Great Harvest).

This is what Chetan has to say for this position "Regenerating: The phoenix rises from the ashes anew.  Shock brings you dramatic shifts from old accords, beliefs and understandings to new ones."

Also note that during this week (from the 9th) the HD channel 25-51, initiation, will be in play for everyone because we have Chiron back for his final pass of 25, innocence. 


The 25-51 channel can create some big breakthroughs with that combination of shocking energy and innocence, it can be leveraged to step out of old patterns and ways of being and into something new that serves you better.

Don't be surprised if you find that full moon illuminating some deeply uncomfortable truths about your relationships ...

And so to a Runic input for this Full Moon - Raidho has stepped forward.  In its most basic meaning this is the 'journey', the 'ride', and can be a practical actual journey.  But in its deeper layers this can be about the personal journey, the process of travelling to new understandings, in this sense it is connected with Odin and his time spent travelling (both metaphorical on a spiritual quest and appearing in Midgard in his many guises). 

Perhaps take some time to sit and allow your mind to journey where it will this Full Moon.

Be back later in the month with a Samhain focus.