Good Vibrations in the Aquarian Age

The other day I had the pleasure of experiencing an infrared sauna.  Infrared saunas are different from other saunas as the heat that they give off is “the same as the heat of the sun” and it warms you up more gently and brings out toxins more effectively.  I was very curious in the fact that it was the same as Sun heat.  You mean SUN heat?  Spark of life heat?  How great is this thing going to make me feel?

Short answer: VERY GREAT!!

Not only did it make me feel great it had this other little strange side effect while I was sitting in it.  I instinctively really wanted to bring my hands together- as if in prayer, but not to pray- just to hold them flat against each other.  That felt really right weirdly.  I didn’t think much of it at the time.  But later that night I had a dream about staring at a giant fossil from high up on a roof and seeing infrared energy in the fossil.  I woke up and googled “ancient infrared” and found that infrared energy is the stuff used in Qi Gong.  That energy that is transferred through the hands, the Qi, is infrared energy.

This is the heat generated from the hand of a Qi Gong master. Infrared heat, just like the sauna!

So let’s bring in the man who discovered infrared light, Sir William Herschel.  This is a very interesting man.  He also discovered the planet Uranus in 1781.  Uranus is considered the planet of the “common man” and Herschel himself was considered to be a relatively common man as he was an amateur astrologer who built his own telescopes and spent even more time composing music.  He discovered infrared light nearly twenty years later when he conducted a simple experiment.

Herschel first took a prism, separating the light into the 7 different colors of the spectrum (established by Newton).

Then he put thermometers in each color and measured their individual heats. He found that red emitted the most amount of heat and it went down steadily with each following color. But as you can see from this picture that wasn’t where he stopped. He decided to put another thermometer in the space next to the red where there was “no” light. That proved to emit the most heat. Thus, the discovery of infrared radiation.

So here is this eccentric (Uranus) man who has made two discoveries that are not entirely dissimilar symbolically.  Uranus is associated with Aquarius and what is the symbol of Aquarius?

That’s right- those wavy lines.

Light waves resemble that same symbol, and so do the wavy lines of sound for that matter. The infrared waves are there too- just beyond the red, longer and invisible to the naked eye (for some of us!)

Certain animals see more of the spectrum.  Bees for example can see ultra-violet colors.  These colors are displayed very noticeably in the flower’s buds to show the bee what pollen is where.

What we see vs. what the bee sees.

Aquarius is the sign that is opposite Leo which rules the Sun.  Oppositions are said to be like two heads of the same coin.  Here we have one portrayal of that with Leo (the Sun) and Aquarius (the Sun’s vibrations, or the waves of light).  As we enter into the Age go Aquarius we are certainly experiencing more and more use of invisible energy waves (wifi, cell phones, etc).  Some say that all of these airwaves are confusing the bees by interfering with their navigations system.  I find bees to be a very Leo/Aquarian symbol.  For one they worship their Queen and make golden honey (LE-O!) and for two they work in colonies and make buzzing sounds (the electric-associated and group oriented Aquarius).

As we enter the Age of Aquarius- the bee: a true symbol of our times today?

So the color beyond red is where infrared energy begins..  Let’s take a quick look at the rainbow.

The color red finds itself at the top of the rainbow.

All of a sudden I have Dorothy Gale in my head, singing “Somewhere OVER the rainbow.”  Could she be referring to this invisible energy in some way?  I would be tempted to leave this thread alone if it where not for some VERY strong Aquarian associations with her character.

Dorothy is clearly the most “human” element of this quaternity. In the zodiac all Air signs are representative of the human. What is Dorothy’s last name?

That’s right, it’s GALE. As in “strong wind”. In the zodiac it is Aquarius (ruled by Uranus) that represents such a strong wind. The “winds of change”- that is Uranian territory.

What about the other guys?  Can we find a place for them of Dorothy is Aquarius?  Let’s see…

A no brainer. Looks like Leo. And now we have the first arm of the fixed cross. Dorothy as Aquarius and Cowardly Lion as Leo.

Scarecrow is very similar to Scorpio, starting with the name themselves. He is set on fire and destroyed only to come back to life- very Scorpionic, as in phoenix from the ashes (another Scorpio symbol). Besides he looks halloweenish which is totally Scorpio. Great- so now all we need is Taurus to complete the Fixed Cross!

Tinman… Ok, so it starts with “T’ like Taurus, but here is another association. As long ago as 2870 B.C., at the dawn of the Bronze Age, tin mining was a well developed industry in the Central TAURUS mountains of Turkey.

And the final clue that Dorothy is related to Aquarius (and thus Uranus)…….

She’s the WATER BEARER!!!! (Aquarius) She throws water on the witch to make her melt!

All of these symbolic connections of the Wizard of Oz to the Fixed Cross is the work of my twin sister.  She went on such a stretch of these associations one day.  Well done Johnnie!  It may seem that I am going on a wild Wizard of Oz tangent, but I am going to try and tie up all of these themes.  As we find ourselves in the Age of Aquarius, I think we could use some tips from this Aquarian heroine, Dorothy Gale.

Our Western society tends to see fulfillment as something to be accomplished “out there”, “beyond the rainbow”.

The fact that there is a Wicked Witch of the WEST supports this skeptical take on Western perspective.

Dorothy needs all the help she can get from her animal instincts, a.k.a Toto to follow her heart (yellow brick road as we talked about in the last post) and get home (to her true sense of self).

The dangerous side of Aquarius is de-personalization.  With so much technology it becomes easier to forget that we are human beings beholden to wondrous moments that can easily be missed.

I love my cell phone, but when I see giant crowds of people ALL looking down into their hands I have to admit I get a little spooked.

Invisible vibrations are around us and inside us.  Let’s not forget the message of the East, to seek fulfillment also on an INNER level, like Dorothy ends up doing in the end when she says “I don’t have to look any further than my own back yard”.  Let’s not forget the powerful energy that comes from within and how that connects to a  staggering potential for connectivity.

When we experience touch our bodies produce the stress-lowering hormone of oxytocin. This hormone basically strengthens all that makes us human, such as feelings of love and belonging.

We are entering the Age of Aquarius and It’s an exciting time to tune in.  Both on the outer and the inner level.  It is an exciting time to reach out as well as reach in.

Fade out with the helicopter spin sound effect of Brian Wilson…..

For anyone in the area looking for an infrared sauna session, I recommend Avellino Organic Esthetics Day Spa in New City, NY.

http://www.avellinoesthetics.com

Advertisement

Leonard Nimoy’s bold and futuristic mind

Today I indulged upon at least 8 straight episodes of Leonard Nimoy’s “In Search Of”.  To anyone who hasn’t seen this yet, I highly recommend it.  Very interesting subject matter with constant fun visuals and best of all, the man, the ultimate anchor to hold on to during these mysterious quests for meaning, Leonard Nimoy.  His narration is profound, his data precise, his style impeccable, and beneath it all is some warm and cuddly thing that is totally elusive.

There are more than 130 episodes of this brilliant show on youtube.

This impression that I gained from these episodes are not unlike the impressions that endear us to the legendary Spock.  In fact, it’s often hard to separate this man from his infamous t.v. character on Star Trek.  When Nimoy wrote a memoir entitled “I Am Not Spock” fans reacted in such a disturbed manner that he responded with the sequel “I Am Spock” to ease their pain.

On to his chart!

Well– there is a problem with the chart.  The astro data bases, and a quote from his own mother in a magazine have him born at 8:30 am making him a GEMINI rising– and that gives him a Gemini Moon.  BUT– In the episode of “In Search Of” that covers Astrology, in the first few minutes he says “I am an Aries with Scorpio rising”….  This would put him born in the evening with most likely a CANCER Moon….

Is this Nimoy’s chart? Gemini rising with a Gemini Moon?

Or is he, like he says, a Scorpio Rising with a Cancer Moon??

Frustrating… well, at least we can look at some of the energies we KNOW are there..

Nimoy is MOST associated with MIND stuff.  Spock is MIND.  What is the energy of Nimoy’s Mercury?  It is INTENSIFIED by it’s conjunction with Uranus.  These planets are in fiery and assertive Aries along with his Sun (his life energy).  Aries is the pioneer of the zodiac, “boldly going where no man has gone before!”  Uranus is a lighting bolt.  His mind is lighting bolted into something more intense.  Uranus also brings in a sense of being DIFFERENT… of being… ALIEN?

Intensely (Uranus) smart (Mercury) and brave (Aries).. Mr. Spock.

This Uranus/Mercury is also conjunct the North Node which brings in a theme of fulfilling his destiny.  Evolutionary Astrology views the nodes as a point of necessary tension: the South Node being the habit that by default you slip into, perhaps causing some life problems, and the North Node being the excellent idea to embrace and move beyond those old played out problems.  In psychological astrology the nodes often point to the mother.  I couldn’t find out too much about Nimoy’s mother in my research but I DID find a pretty interesting quote that tied his parents to these Uranian (alien) themes…

“My folks came to the U.S. as immigrants, aliens, and became citizens.  I was born in Boston, a citizen, went to Hollywood and became an alien.”

His parents became citizens and he became an alien.

On Star Trek, Spock related to his peers in a non-emotional way.  Isn’t it apt for Nimoy to have his Venus in the emotionally detached sign of Aquarius, seamlessly pulling off such Spock quotes as “If I seem insensitive to what you’re going through Captain, understand- it’s the way I am”…

A humorous depiction of the emotionless alien

But no amount of character development can fool the viewers that Spock has a soft spot somewhere, and is ultimately more emotional than his lineage permits.  It’s that elusive warm and cuddly quality of his!!  Where’s the water…?

Nimoy has Jupiter, Pluto and Mars (and maybe his Moon!) all in watery Cancer.  The cuddliest of all the Water signs.  Cancer also brings in a strong tie to the past and a tendency towards nostalgia.  It’s interesting to note that the infamous “live long and prosper” hand salute was initiated by Nimoy in recalling a childhood memory.  He was in church during a ceremony where everyone was told to shut their eyes.  He broke the rules and peeked, seeing the ministers holding their hands up in that WAY, is it stood for a hebrew letter that tied into the word for God.  He brought that memory impression (Cancer) way into the future (Uranian themes!!) and the rest is history!

The future’s past!!! Live Long And Prosper!!

Thank you, Leonard Nimoy, for shining so bright during your stay here on planet Earth.  LLAP!!!!!

Happy Birthday James Dean!

James Dean, the epitome of cool.  Let’s have a look at some key components that carve out this coolness, shall we?
#1.  You never know what he’s going to do. Dean has Uranus tightly conjunct his Ascendant, fusing his identity (Ascendant) with a rebellious and contrarian spirit (Uranus).  He’s just DIFFERENT (Uranus again) than the other actors of his time- or anytime!  Watching him brings about an awareness of a wild unpredictability (Uranus).  I remember seeing a scene from “East of Eden” (my favorite of his 3 movies) where James Dean and the other actor are in a locker room discussing the lucrative prospective of growing beans.  The one actor is very focused on what he is saying, meanwhile Dean is kind of hopping all around the locker room, climbing up on benches and down again and at times zeroing in close on the other actor’s personal space.  At one of these invasively close moments the other actor exclaims (in a very natural reactive way) “don’t get so close I’ll get all hot again!”.  I would put good money down saying that that line is NOT in the script.  I could be wrong but I doubt it. The point being that Dean doesn’t care.  He doesn’t care if he is making the other actor uncomfortable, or jeopardizing the script, or coming across a little looney.  He is being natural to his own whims, like a child, without being irritating (maybe a little bit to that actor).

Dean does things his own way

#2.  He knows his influences. Before Dean was famous he was writing letters upon letters to Marlon Brando.  He was enchanted by Brando in every way.  Brando rode a motorcycle so Dean rode a motorcycle.  Brando dressed in jeans and white T-shirts so Dean dressed in jeans and white T-shirts.  Brando played the bongos so Dean played the bongos.  The emulating got to be so much that Brando wrote HIM a letter saying “You have to be YOU, not ME”. But Dean knew that what Brando was doing was starting a new wave in human culture (Brando is a double Aries, a pioneer).  James Dean has an Aquarius Sun in the eleventh, which is the house naturally associated with Aquarius.  Aquarius seeks to identify itself by challenging the status quo, and seeking other like-minded people.  The eleventh is the field of life where those like-minded relationships take place.  It’s interesting to wonder if there would have been a James Dean had there been no Brando.

Hailing in the new wave of cool, Brando and Dean.

#3.  He shows his vulnerable side. As stated in a previous post “The Crying Game: Water planets and the comfortability in expressing emotion” James Dean has his Moon in deep and mysterious feeling-oriented Scorpio.  When he cries, the audience FEELS it.  It’s REAL. The beginning of “Rebel Without A Cause” features Dean falling down drunk on the street next to a wind-up toy monkey.  As the credits roll, he plays around with the monkey and it quickly becomes a deep emotional connection between the two of them.  The monkey amuses him with it’s wind-up talents and then Dean tucks him in with a ratty newspaper “blanket” and a party ribbon trash thing for a pillow.  He makes sure the monkey is comfortable and then he snuggles up as close to it as he can get.  The sweetness comes across SO genuine!  It’s the first 5 seconds of the movie and he’s already won our hearts!!  And yes, he improvised the whole bit, as the cast and crew stared on with admiration.

Opening moments of “Rebel Without a Cause”

#4.  He shows a strong sense of personal authority. Astrologer Caroline Casey, author of “Making the Gods Work for You” (get it get!!) talks about how the word “cool” is derived from the Yoruba word which originally meant “responsible”.  “Cool-headed” meant that that person took care of what he should.  Like Babe Ruth with his leaf of cabbage under his ball cap.  Keeping cool-headed so he can hit the home runs.  This is Saturn talk. Saturn is authority, which starts with inner authority.  Self composure, steadiness, a sureness in what you say and do.  James Dean has a very powerful Saturn in the 10th house of career (the house naturally associated with Saturn).  It is in Capricorn (the SIGN naturally associated with Saturn) and it is opposed (bringing in a full awareness of) the powers of Pluto.  Anything Pluto touches in empowered, or it is wounded UNTIL it is empowered.

Sureness. Self-composer. In tune with his own rhythm.

Happy Birthday, James Dean.  A true rebel with a deep and mysterious heart, forever cool.

Sophia Loren’s Uranian depth

Planets at the very bottom of the chart symbolize who you are on a deep deep deep down level, and this is inevitably tied to early life experiences.  This is also true for the sign that is at the bottom of the chart (even if there is no planet).

Let’s take a look at the chart of Sophia Loren.

Sophia has Uranus at the bottom of the chart, in Taurus.  Uranus is intense.  It’s like a bolt of lightning.   Just a glance at this chart brings about the question:  what is the intensity absorbed from early childhood that is so at the root of who she is deep down?

Sophia grew up in extreme poverty and violence during World War 2 in the little Italian town of Puzzuoli.  Her father was married to another woman when Sophia was born and even though he fathered a second daughter with her, still refused to marry.  He was an aristocrat and ignored them and the fact that they often had to beg for food.  Her mother, a beauty herself who looked like Greta Garbo, raised them at their grandparents house where Sophia often had to share a bed with 8 people.  They lived on rationed bread and hid from air raids in rat-infested tunnels.

About her difficult childhood she says “You learn the facts of life fast.  You are street-wise, people-wise, self-wise.  The two big advantages I had at birth were to have been born wise and to have been born in poverty.  As a result, I appreciate life more.”

These pretty eyes have seen a lot of horror

This is Saturn wisdom.  It comes from learning through struggle.  It installs a sense of self-reliance.  It is also connected to the father’s influence.  Sophia has her Saturn conjunct her Aquarian Moon.  The need to be unique is tied into this kind of difficult learning.  Uranus rules Aquarius, and her second house (where her Moon is).  The second house is all about values.  There is a direct connection here to her traumatic early life and the values that she lives by.  These values will be of the utmost emotional importance to her (Moon in the second).

Humble perfectionist solar energy (Virgo Sun) fueling a need to be unique and special (Aquarian Moon).  Exquisite and ethereal beauty (Neptune conjunct Venus) that is valued and cherished by others (in the 8th).  Marriage being a powerful link to international success (Pluto in the 7th square Jupiter in the 9th)..  These are just a few other astrological shades of this enigmatic woman.

With her Sun and Venus in modest Virgo, Sophia is not approving Jayne Mansfield’s dishy look here (which was a publicity stunt intended to upstage Sophia).

She married film producer Carlo Ponti whom she saw as a father figure. She desperately craved a “legitimate husband, children, a family, like anyone else”. The root of that which she says is “the experience with my father”.

Loren turned down Cary Grant’s marriage proposal.

What is the sign at the bottom of your chart?  Is there a planet there?  If not where is the planet that rules that sign at the bottom?  All of these answers can help to get you in touch with some deep truths about yourself that are inevitably linked to your upbringing.

Happy astro-pondering!