Gryphon Astrology Blog

Since we entered Eclipse season, and especially with the upcoming Solar Eclipse, I am getting lots of questions about how the Eclipses affect individuals’ horoscopes. So in this article, I will talk about the ways that the upcoming Eclipse may affect your own birth chart, and look at an example from a well-known person’s chart.

As you can tell from my previous posts about the Lunar Eclipse and the Solar Eclipse, any Eclipse will have some kind of effect on the greater affairs of the world. The medieval astrologer Cardan wrote: “Eclipses operate more forcibly on Cities, Provinces, and Kingdoms than on Particular persons of private condition, or even upon Kings and Princes, for their effects rather respect the multitude.” This is certainly true, but we can often find very major events happening in people’s lives after Eclipses that contact their own natal horoscope.

The problem is that Eclipses are like a raw infusion of power into a chart, and not many people are prepared to deal with them appropriately, so usually the person is the unwitting victim of something unpleasant. The solar energy will make itself known one way or another. This is where talking with your friendly astrologer can be extremely helpful, because they can tell you how best to carpe labores solis (“seize the Solar Eclipse”) for the most beneficial results.

An Eclipse will only make itself felt in your life if it closely contacts a sensitive point or planet in your own horoscope. Thus, for this upcoming Solar Eclipse, unless you have something important in your horoscope in the 29^th degree of the common signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, or Pisces), or thereabouts, you do not have to worry. If you find that something in your chart will be activated by the Eclipse, you should look at the function of that planet or point in your life, and you will be able to see what part of your life will be affected by the Eclipse and in what way.

Eclipses and the Famous: George W. Bush

The horoscope above belongs to George W. Bush. We will very often see Eclipses activate the charts of people in power shortly before they assume a position of authority. This brings us back to the essential message of the Eclipse: Act or be acted upon. Those in power are typically people who, for one reason or another, have chosen to act, and therefore can take advantage of Eclipses when the opportunity arises.

The Solar Partial Eclipse of July 31^st, 2000, was visible in the northwest United States only (visibility in an area greatly enhances an Eclipse’s strength to act there), but this was apparently enough to give George Bush’s horoscope the “kick” it needed. The Eclipse occurred at 8 Leo, which falls right on George Bush’s Ascendant and Mercury. Needless to say, these are both highly sensitive points in the horoscope. Mercury rules the 11^th house of hopes and good fortune, and was probably just the infusion of power that George Bush needed to become President.

Since becoming President, the other defining moment for George W. Bush has been September 11th. The Lunar Eclipse of July 5, 2001, was again only visible in the western United States, but that was enough. The Eclipse occurred at 13 Capricorn, and exactly opposed George Bush’s natal Sun in the 12th house. In his chart, the Sun rules the 1st house, signifying his personality and public image. September 11th, however problematic it was for the United States as a country, was a great boon to George Bush politically - his public approval ratings went through the roof and stayed there for quite a long time. Indeed, September 11th was without question THE defining moment of George Bush’s presidency, and was heralded by an Eclipse.

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Question:

Just before the end of the September 7th Lunar Eclipse, I received terrible news from the love of my life. He has met someone else. Up until a few days ago the connection was quite strong. We talked about having a family and a life together. We met last year during the Mars transit thorugh Aries for close to seven months, so our relationship began on a rocky road. I understand that major decisions should not be made the week before an eclipse and it appears that this has been brewing on his part for some time now and decided to let it out on this Lunar Eclipse. I have a feeling him may have met her during July’s mercury retrograde. Will this relationship with the other woman last? Or is this just an interruption in our life? Please help, I am deeply hurt and devasted at this current ecliptic situation.

—G.

Nina Gryphon:

Dear G.,

I know how heartbreaking it can be when the person we love most - indeed, to whom we dedicated our future - crushes not only our hopes but our heart as well. If you happen to be looking for a life partner, this can really change your entire direction in life, and you have to reconsider your plans.

Let us take a look at the chart and see whether this other woman has your guy’s heart for good or not.

In this chart, your thoughts are shown by Mars and your feelings are shown by the Moon. The man’s thoughts are shown by Venus (Lord 7), and his “must find woman” aspect is shown by the Sun. How are your thoughts? You are obviously quite troubled, as Mars is in its detriment in Libra. Libra is Venus’s sign, and since the man is Venus, you are troubled because you are thinking of him and love him. Notice that Mars has just moved into Libra from Virgo. In Virgo, Mars was a bit stronger, so you were doing rather better. However, Mars in Virgo is in the fall of Venus, so it harms Venus in some way. I do not know the exact history of your relationship, but you did mention that you had a long distance relationship for quite a while. So this was likely harming the man - he likely wanted more closeness, more attention, and probably plumped for someone a bit closer geographically to get those things.

What is going on with you emotionally? Moon is in Aries, where it exalts the Sun and is in Venus’s detriment. So you feel right now that your physical attraction to him is stronger than in reality (”he would have made a great husband, I just know it”), but you are understandably quite wounded by his recent actions (Moon in Venus’s detriment).

So what is happening with him? He is Venus, which has just entered its fall in Virgo. In Virgo, Venus is most interested in Mercury, who rules the sign. Hmmm, could Mercury be our “other woman?” Before entering Virgo, Venus was in Leo, the Sun’s sign. So until recently, he was most interested in finding a woman and getting his Sun biological needs fulfilled. Venus was not then and is not now very interested in Mars - you. I have doubts that, despite his protestations to the contrary, he ever took this relationship (and your plans) nearly as seriously as you did.

His biological needs are shown by the Sun in Virgo; like Venus, the Sun is in strong dignities of Mercury. So he is very physically attracted to whatever Mercury represents. We can be pretty certain that Mercury is this femme fatale. At the same time, the Sun is in fall of Venus, showing that the pull of his hormones is probably not very good for him. Is this new fling a wholesome relationship? No. Is he loving every minute of it? Yes.

Note that neither Venus nor the Sun are about to change signs in the near future, showing that his feelings are unlikely to change, at least in the foreseeable future. The new relationship may be on-again, off-again, since both the Sun and Venus are in a common, double sign. But it will probably go on for a while.

Just out of curiosity, let us see what is going on with this other woman. Mercury is very strong right now, in its own sign and exaltation in Virgo. This woman is quite desirable and she knows it. Note that since Mercury is in Virgo, it is in Venus’s fall. This woman harms your man in some way; perhaps she just treats him badly (and he comes back for more), or she is not a good influence. Soon, however, this will change. Mercury will conjoin the malefic South Node (something unpleasant might happen to her), and will then move into Libra, where it will love Venus. So she will have some kind of negative experience in the near future, and will decide that this man is the one for her, after all.

-To schedule a private consultation, contact Nina Gryphon at nina@gryphonastrology.com.

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We can see the very interesting - and troubling - way that the astrological consequences of the September 7th Lunar Eclipse have played out in Turkey. First, there was the deadly explosion earlier this week in the city of Diyarbakir, which killed 10 people. It looks as though the group behind the explosion is the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party), a group that seeks Kurdish independence from Turkey. Most of the victims of the bombing were children. In the chart set for Diyarbakir, the eclipse is in the 5th and 11th house; the 5th house is the house of children. The eclipse was in the constellation Eridanus (the River), which is Saturnian and indicates danger by water. The bomb was placed in a water cooler.

The Lunar eclipse was ruled by Jupiter, and so increases the fame of religion and religious people, both of which are ruled by Jupiter. The Pope’s comments on Islam caused scandal in the Muslim world, and have certainly increased the Pope’s fame, though not in a good way. EuroNews reported that tensions in Turkey are running particularly high, as the Pope is scheduled to visit the country in November, and the leading party representative compared the Pope to Hitler and Mussolini. The visit is now in question. Given that the eclipse’s effects in Turkey will be strongest between September 17th and October 1st, this row will not die down anytime soon, and perhaps could culminate in the cancellation or postponement of the visit. So much for soothing inter-religious tensions.

This is a chart for the Lunar Eclipse of September 7th, 2006, set for Diyarbakir, Turkey:

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Having just finished with a Lunar Eclipse on September 7^th, we are headed toward an even bigger astrological event: a Solar Eclipse. Since the Sun is much bigger and more powerful than the Moon, it makes sense that Solar Eclipses are much more powerful in their effects on the Earth.

The Solar Eclipse at 29 Virgo will be visible from the Caribbean, South America and western/ southern Africa. That in itself encompasses 40 countries*, so unless we examine each chart individually, we cannot know exactly in which country the effects might manifest. (If you have a special request to have me look at the chart for your country, email me at nina@gryphonastrology.com and I’ll take a peek.) Nonetheless, the above general list should help narrow it down quite a bit.

The Eclipse is visible anywhere from 45 minutes to three hours, depending on your location. Since the effects of Solar Eclipses last a lot longer than those of Lunar Eclipses; here, we are looking at nine months to three years of possible effects, depending on the location.

The Eclipses falls on the fixed star Markeb, in the constellation Argo Navis, the ship. According to Robson, Markeb “gives piety, a wide knowledge, educational work and voyages.” So far so good. Lilly writes that when the Eclipse is in Virgo, “damage follows to such fowl as men feed on.” Could we be seeing the Avian Flu occurring in the regions in question? The Eclipse is also in a double-bodied sign, like the preceding Lunar Eclipse, so again, this one also threatens people in power. Two eclipses that threaten those in power, back to back? I wonder what the next few months and years will bring for the established political order in these countries.

The Lord of the Solar Eclipse is Mercury, which is at 15 Libra. Lilly says that Mercury takes on the characteristics of those planets he aspects, but here he aspects no other planet. He is in mutual reception by sign with Venus, however, so we should keep that in mind – Venus has a generally beneficial effect on worldly affairs, producing peace and harmony. However, Venus is in its fall in Virgo, so any peace she produces will be deceptive and temporary. Mercury by himself brings lots of thieves and pirates, dry diseases like TB, changes in religion and ceremony, controversy in customs and laws. Mercury also produces winds and earthquakes, and when oriental of the Sun, increases the streams of rivers and hence, causes floods.

Lilly writes that when an Eclipse happens in an earthly sign, “there follows scarcity of Corn [in British English, this can mean any staple grain cultivated in an area, such as oats or wheat, not just maize], especially of fruit, and of all such things as are annually sown, or put into the earth.” Given that this eclipse is visible in much of Africa, where crops fail very often, this Eclipse might be fair warning for the next year or two.

In the last decanate of Virgo, an Eclipse produces much harm to writers, poets, and painters; all those people who make their living by Mercurial means.

*The list of countries where the Solar Eclipse will be visible includes: Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Angola, Congo, Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

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(I just couldn’t help myself and comment on this painting. Look at the Satyr at the top right. Mars is about to get one heck of a wake-up call!)

Question:

A foreign man came into my life who unwittingly became a catalyst for change and growth. Thanks to him I found a confidence in myself to go for and achieve those elusive goals in my life (appearance and career). What began as a friendship turned into an affair several years later. He drops into my life about every two years, asking if I’m still married (he is too).

My question is, will this ever become more than it is now? Which is very on and off. Yes, I am unhappily married, and am about to move into a new job that will take me to his country periodically. If it is currently all it is going to be, I want to write him off and forget about him as I move on. If it is not yet finished, I want to know. No matter what, I plan to get out this marriage at the first opportunity that is not harmful to my kids’ well-being.

—S.

Nina Gryphon:

Dear S.,

Congratulations for having your feet firmly planted on the ground. It seems to me from your letter that you have a good understanding of the nature of this relationship and your own needs, rather than using your unhappy marriage to declare him The One. It is a sign of real maturity. Let’s take a look at what lies ahead, shall we?

You are Mercury, lord of the 1st house, which is very strong right now, in its sign and exaltation. My sense is that here, it shows that you know your own mind, and are generally in a pretty good place mentally. Of course, as in several of the previous charts, Mercury is about to run into the South Node shortly. In this case, my guess is that it indicates the impending divorce. Mercury is in the detriment of Jupiter, which is your lover. So you know that the relationship is not everything you need.

Your emotions are the Moon in Aries, which exalts the Sun, his “male biological bits.” So for you, the relationship is primarily about the emotional support, though the exaltation suggests you are giving him a bit more credit for your transformation than is due.

Venus symbolizes your biological urge to find a mate. Venus is not very happy right now, as it is in fall in Virgo - this makes sense, as your existing mate is making you unhappy, and the lover is only around rarely. Too, Venus is in the sign of Mercury, so it is listening to what your head is saying, which is that you are not satisfied with this relationship.
What is going on with him? He is Jupiter in Scorpio. There he is in the detriment of Venus and in the fall of the Moon. He is both simultaneously harming your emotions (Moon) and your need for a good relationship (Venus).

His Sun, on the other hand, which is his sex drive, is in Virgo, and thus really likes Mercury (you). So he is interested in you physically. You are interested in him emotionally. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you this is not a recipe for success - I am not sure he has more to give you. That said, the situation as it is can continue indefinitely, or as long as you want. The Moon is about to conjunct the Sun by antiscion. The old synonym for conjunction is copulation; so yes, there may well be a hidden tryst in your near future.

I don’t think he has interest in making you a bigger part of his life than you are now. However, you don’t need him any longer, either.

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Question:

Will I marry soon? There are a couple of men in my life (kind of), but neither seems very keen on marriage. I recently broke up with my fiancee over money, and I am not sure whether my finances will be stable in the future, either. What lies ahead?

—K.

Nina Gryphon:

Dear K.,

Many of my clients want to know if and when they will marry. I always say that the odds are in their favor, since there are 3 billion men in the world, and surely at least a handful are suitable for marriage. The key of course is to meet them, and that is simply a numbers game; getting out there regularly and meeting the type of men you want to attract.

If you have been reading this blog at all in the last week, you will have noticed that a lot of the questions I get have to do with jobs. I have noticed that types of questions come in groups, depending on the planetary configurations. Regardless of how the planets are aligned, there are always a lot of questions about love, though more specific love situations still come in groups. Apart from jobs, the last few days have been all about marriage and reconciliation.

Having set a chart for the time I received your question, you are signified by Mercury, lord of the 1st house. Mercury is very strong right now, it is in Virgo where it is in its own sign and exalted. You are in a good place for marriage and desirable. The only possible downside is that since Mercury is in its own sign and exaltation, it is not very interested in any other planet besides itself. Too, the potential husband is shown by Jupiter (Lord 7) and Mercury in Virgo is in the detriment of Jupiter - the woman is not very interested in the potential husband as a person. Mercury is about to run into the malefic South Node, showing something unpleasant happening - this might be the marriage. That is, the marriage may happen, but it may not be the best decision.

Her emotions are shown by the Moon, which is in the exaltation of the Sun (the man as Man). Emotionally, she really wants to find a mate, and that is the main attraction here. How does the Sun feel? The Sun is very interested in Mercury (the Sun is Virgo), so the potential husband is interested in her. So we have some level of interest here, which is very good. There are some difficulties, as described above, but with some effort, this will not be a deal-breaker. The next step is to see whether the opportunity for marriage will actually arise.

There is an applying conjunction by antiscion between the Moon in Aries (the woman) and the Sun in Virgo (the man) in about 1 degree. This is very good, and shows that the woman will marry soon. The marriage will not be perfect, but the horoscope says she will marry.

What about financial stability? The ruler of the second house of money is Venus. Venus is very weak nowadays, in its fall in Virgo. Here, it is in the malefic 12th house, making the woman’s money weak indeed. Notice Virgo is a moveable sign, showing money coming and going, and general instability. Venus will not be leaving Virgo for a while, nor will it get helped by another good planet. Unfortunately, she will still have to scrimp and save, since the money will be tight for a while.

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As I have confessed in my earlier post about the September 7 lunar eclipse, I am a big believer in the astrological effects of eclipses. We are still in the early stages of the eclipse’s influence, but a quick glance at the news shows that the Jupiterian promise of the lunar eclipse is coming to fruition, according to each country’s circumstances:

Egypt, Republic of Georgia, Turkey and Russia - effects of the lunar eclipse begin between September 7 - 17, 2006, strongest between September 17 and October 1, 2006

William Lilly Gets It Right

William Lilly writes: “New Customs or Priviledges are conferd on the people; New Corporations, new Honours, &c.”

• Egypt: The government has just submitted a comprehensive Middle East peace proposal to aid in creating a Palestinian state.
• Republic of Georgia: Parliament calls for an improvement in the country’s prison conditions.
• Turkey: Receives a long-awaited 280 Million Euro loan from World Bank for electricity generation purposes.

In the earlier post, I said “[Jupiter] increases fame and power of the mighty and of religious leaders and organizations.”

• Russia: THE big news item - Madonna plays Moscow, Russia goes wild. Madonna’s fame and power have certainly been increased by this concert (she is not exactly a religious organization, though her show does feature a crucifxion).

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Astrology Advice Question:

I have been writing a memoir about having had a profoundly life-changing enlightenment experience that is connected with astrology. I do not have much experience in writing nor astrology, but I want to know whether the memoir will succeed? Success, to me, means reaching as many people as possible and influencing their lives for the better with my book.

—S.

Nina Gryphon:

Dear S.,

I love getting questions on writing, as I enjoy writing myself, and definitely sympathize with the anxiety underlying all writing: Will they like it? Will it absolutely change their entire world-view? Of course, we hope the answer is “yes,” but you can never tell until you actually get your work out there.

As always, I set the horoscope for the moment I received your question.

You are shown by the Lord of the Ascendant, Mars in Libra on the 7th cusp. Since the 7th is “other people,” or your readers, we can see that you are really, really interested in what they have to say about your work. This is understandable, but I can see that because Mars is in its detriment, this focus on “what will they think” is bothering you a bit. The best advice here, and I know it’s easy to say, is just let it go. Do your best writing and don’t worry about the public’s reception - your writing will be better that way.

How is your memoir itself? It is shown by the 5th house (your creation), and is shown by the Moon in the 1st house in Aries. In the first house, the Moon is very, very, very strongly placed, so it is very well placed to be noticed by the public. The Moon is peregrine (without good or bad essential dignity in Aries - the word peregrine means “traveling”), indicating that the writing could use some more tightness and focus right now.

And finally, for the most important question. How will the audience like the memoir? We know the audience is ruled by the 7th, so they are Venus in this chart. The memoir is the Moon. So how does Venus like the Moon? Venus is in Virgo, in the triplicity of the Moon. The triplicity reception, according to John Frawley, is like a good friendship, where you see the other for who they are and like them anyway. That is how the audience will view the memoir - like a good friend, whose kind and timely advice they can turn to when needed.

- To schedule a private, in-depth reading, email Nina Gryphon at nina@gryphonastrology.com.

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Question:

Will I reconnect with my sweetheart? We dated all through high school, and reconnected several years ago, when he was going through a tough time. A few years after that, I told him I wanted closure, and never heard from him again. He recently moved out from the woman with whom he was living, because the relationship was not what he expected. It has been five years, and I could contact him, but I won’t.

—D.

Nina Gryphon:

These relationships that go on for a long time, on and off, are the bane of many of my clients. It’s as though it’s never really over, even when both parties say it is definitely over, for the last time. Of course, it is this lack of closure that drives people mad for years, or even decades. Did he really mean it? He obviously didn’t mean it the last time he said good-bye!

In a chart cast for the moment I received the question, D., the client, is represented by Saturn in Leo (in the Sun’s dignities, so it really loves whatever the Sun represents). What is the Sun? It is the man’s biological urge to find a mate. Our client is very interested in the man as Man - she is looking for a mate, first and foremost.

The corresponding planet for her as a woman is Venus. Venus is in Virgo, where it is in the strong dignities of Mercury (sign and exaltation), so she is very interested in whatever Mercury represents. Mercury here rules the 5th and 6th houses; the 5th house is the house of pleasure, sex, and children. Note that on a physical level, the client does not seem very attracted to the man himself.

How is the man? We see that the Sun, him as a biological male, is in Virgo, in the fall of Venus. He is not interested in the client as a mate. The Sun is not very strong in Virgo, so it is unlikely that he could live up to D’s high expectations of him, perhaps because he is not very interested in pairing up with anyone.

The man as a personality is ruled by the 7th house, so he is the Moon in Aries. In Aries, the Moon is in strong Mars dignities. The Moon has recently separated from an opposition to Mars; could this be the man’s recent break-up that D. mentions? If so, the man is still dealing with the break-up - he may be out of the relationship, but his mind is still on it for good or bad. The Moon is also in the exaltation of the Sun; so he will do whatever his biological urges tell him. Unfortunately for the client, they are telling him that she is not of interest. Too, the Moon is in the fall of Saturn, so there is yet more evidence he is not interested in pursuing a relationship with the client.

We do not see close aspects between the client’s significators (Venus and Saturn) and the man’s significators (Moon and Sun), so it is unlikely that D. will have the opportunity to reconnect with the man in the near future. Even if they did, there is not enough mutual attraction to make it into a lasting relationship.

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Who will win? I only follow sports when they are local, but when I do, it’s more fun to try to figure out who will win in advance. I am not 100% right, but do rather better than 50/50, and have the winnings to show for it. This time, I asked the question: “Will the 49ers (my home team) win over the Rams on 9/17?” Here is the horoscope cast for the moment I asked the question:

We have to assess the strength of “my” team, that is, the 49ers and that of the “enemy,” or the Rams. My team is shown by Venus, ruler of the 1st. How is Venus these days? Not good; it is under the Sun’s beams and heading into combustion, which is probably the most serious debilitation for a planet. Further, Venus is in Virgo in its fall - so the 49ers will not be playing their best on the 17th, and they are not that well-prepared, either. As if that wasn’t enough, Venus is in the malefic 12th house of self-undoing. They are their own worst enemy. Their house, the 1st house, is also afflicted by a very malefic but strong Mars in Libra. Yikes!

What about the Rams? They are shown by Mars in Libra - the same Mars afflicting the 1st house of the 49ers. Mars is in Libra, in its detriment, so they are not playing well at all. But their planet, Mars, is just outside the 1st house, dominating the home team by its presence. Mars is also under the Sun’s beams, but in the next sign, so it is somewhat less affected than Venus. All things being equal, the game looks rather better for the Rams, though with both Mars and Venus so afflicted, we hardly will be watching amazing football. Presumably the game will go to the team that is somewhat less bad than the other, and that team appears to be the Rams.

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