Equinox of September 22nd 2020

 Figure 1 shows the chart for the equinox that occurs in Jakarta at 8:30pm on September 22nd 2020.

Figure 1: chart cast for equinox in Jakarta

What stands out is the heavily aspected Moon on the cusp of the eighth house. It is aspected by Mercury, the Sun, Mars, Chiron, Saturn and Uranus. In a mundane chart, the Moon stands for the populace, in this case the citizens of the city of Jakarta. It looks as if they may be under some strain in the coming months. This chart should remain active until the next solstice in late December. The fact that Uranus sits ominously on the Ascendant also suggests some surprises could be in store.

Of course the aspects to the Moon apply worldwide and so it's not just the citizens of Jakarta but humanity in general that may feel oppressed. The passage of the transiting Moon could act as a trigger. For example, the Moon reaches the apex of the T-square on Friday, September 25th and it reaches Uranus on October 4th.

Another noticeable feature of the chart is the YOD formed by Neptune and Jupiter to Venus, the ruler of the chart since Taurus is rising. This site contains some useful information regarding the YOD. Here is an excerpt:

The word "yod" is the name of the tenth letter in the Hebrew alphabet and is said to be the essence of life and the power of the spirit to govern and guide matters of the material world. It's also a Hebrew word that means "hand." An astrological yod is often referred to as "the Finger of God" and has gained fame as a neurotic configuration.

Most descriptions of the YOD focus on natal charts. In general, it would seem that the energy of two planets in sextile (here Jupiter and Neptune) will try to harmonise amidst the tension caused by the two quincunx aspects to the third planet (here Venus). Given the virus concerns, it might play out like this:

• Jupiter in the Ninth House: a proliferation of legislation, rules and restrictions designed to halt the spread of the alleged virus.
  
  
• Neptune in the Eleventh House: confusion arising by the coordinated efforts of organisations to implement the new measures and control the pushback against them
  
  
• Venus in the Fourth House: domestic harmony is seriously disturbed by these influences from Jupiter and Neptune

The coming months are anxiously awaited.

The Start of the 2019 Astrological Year

I haven't posted to this blog in a while but the start of the 2109 astrological year has prompted me to post again. The location is set to Jakarta, partly because I'm living there and partly because the five yearly presidential election is to be held next month and the country is highly polarised in its support of the two duelling candidates. The equinox, autumnal for Jakarta because it is south of the equator, occurred at 4:58am on March 21st. The chart is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: chart for the equinox in Jakarta
at 4:58am on 21st March 2019

In Figure 2 I've marked in the positions of the planets to the nearest degree and emphasised the aspects between the planets.

Figure 2: equinox chart with planetary positions shown to the
nearest degree and aspects between planets emphasised.

A general observation about the equinox is that Pluto is conjunct the South Node of the Moon. This occurs about every 15 years but the conjunction in Capricorn last occurred in 1777. To quote from this site (translated from French), the following events occurred:

In France, Louis XVI had appointed Necker as General Director of Finances (June 29th, 1777). Together they carried on the tax reform of work in order to bring cash for the State, without overwhelming the people nor irritate the wealthy and the landlords. Necker implements two immediately lucrative systems: loans and the lottery (Wikipedia). Isn’t it interesting to observe the similarities between then and today, whereas the yellow vests are comparing Macron with Louis XVI. In the US, this conjunction corresponds with the second semester of 1777, a few months after the Declaration of Independence. Battles against the British are still going on. 1777 is also the year of the Flag Resolution, first flag with 13 stars.

 The same site's author (Patrick Giani) goes on to say that:

At worst, it could be a period of revolts and major clashes, at best a questioning of our institutions and systems. Pluto conjunct South Node reveals injustice, all manoeuvres from politicians, businesses and bankers to keep people dependant. This conjunction requires from those in power to change the laws that rule the country. It requires from every one, including the people, to be genuine and authentic. 

Figure 3: aspects to Pluto
 are highlighted in yellow

Moreover, Pluto is sharply aspected by a trine from Mars in Taurus as well as a semi-sextile from Venus in Aquarius. All three form a right angled triangle with the vertex of the right angle being the position of Venus. Jupiter is also in close semi-sextile aspect and there is also a square to Pluto from the Moon in Virgo, although there is 5° orb in this case. It would seem that the combined tension between Mars and Venus, building up in the fixed signs of Taurus and Aquarius and augmented by Jupiter and the Moon, will find a release through the cardinal (action) sign of Capricorn if the controlling influence of nearby Saturn cannot stifle it. Figure 3 highlights these aspects in yellow.

Figure 4: aspects to the Moon
are highlighted in blue

In many ways, the Moon is the most highly aspected planet in the chart. These aspects are shown in Figure 4 and include the opposition from the Sun and Chiron, a square from Jupiter, a trine from Pluto and Mars and a quincunx from Uranus. The involvement of the Moon emphasises of course the masses and the opposition of the Sun suggests conflict and confrontation with those in power. The closest aspects to the Moon are from the Sun and Uranus, the latter planet of course closely associated with revolutions.

So far I've only looked at the aspects between the planets and not the specifics of the Jakarta chart. In this chart, Pisces rises and one of the rulers, Neptune, is conjunct the Ascendant while the other, Jupiter, is in the tenth house. If there is a revolution, the driving forces behind it are likely to be as shadowy as those of 1965. The elections will be held on April 17th and on that day the Moon returns to the same position it occupied on the Equinox. Let's see how things play out. One things for sure, this is a very powerful chart both in Jakarta and for anywhere else in the world.

The Autumn Equinox in Brisbane

According to Astrolog, the March equinox of 2018 in Brisbane falls at a little before 2:16am on the 21st March. By a little, I mean less than a minute. A time of 2:15am shows the Sun in 29˚59'59" of Pisces ♓while a time of 2:16am shows the Sun ☉ in 0˚01'01'' of Aries ♈. So I'll go with the latter time because input only seems to be accepted in whole minutes. This produces the following chart:

The Brisbane chart shows Moon ☽ closely conjunct the Nadir and the North Node ☊ of the Moon ☽ closely conjunct the Descendant. The Moon ☽ is closely trine Saturn ♄ (0˚03' and separating) and Saturn ♄ in turn is closely semi-square Jupiter  ♃ (0˚35' separation and closing). The Moon ☽ /Saturn ♄ trine is even more harmonious given that Saturn ♄ is in its native sign and the Moon ☽ is exalted in Taurus ♉. I'm not sure what the significance of the square with Ceres might be (the separation is about 4 degrees, necessarily vague become Astrolog seems to consistently misreport the position of the asteroid with an error of around half a degree (see this earlier post about Ceres). This equinox is significant in that the Sun is closely conjunct Chiron in 28˚24' of Pisces ♓. Given that the period of revolution of Chiron is 50.42 years, this will only occur about every 25 years. Mars ♂ is square and Uranus ♅ is semi-sextile this conjunction.

I'm not sure how significant the March equinox chart is for the rest of the year but, in terms of mundane astrology, the Sun ☉ represents leadership, embodied by Putin, Trump, Xi Jinping and others. One or more of our world leaders may be battling (Mars ♂ square Sun ☉/Chiron) for survival after personal weaknesses (Sun ☉ conjunct Chiron) are exposed in sudden and surprising ways (Uranus ♅ semi-sextile Sun ☉/Chiron). The Moon ☽ represents the masses and for them the issues are very much material with both Saturn ♄ and the Moon ☽ being in Earth signs. There will be a collective need for belt tightening as governments struggle to cope with fiscal instability. Let's see how it all plays out.

Autumn Equinox in Brisbane

The above chart shows the configuration of planets at the time of the 2017 Autumn Equinox in Brisbane, corresponding to the Vernal Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. Since the Northern Hemisphere is the dominant one, the chart marks the official start of the astrological year. Below is the same chart with annotations.

The almost exact ☽/♄ conjunction suggests considerable control and constraints ♄ will be imposed on the public ☽ by governments and their leaders ☉ especially since the two luminaries are in a square aspect ☉ □ ☽. The trine from ♅ to ☽/♄ suggests some help in resisting this control will come from sources independent of governments like Wikileaks. The T-square in cardinal signs between ♃ and ♅ and ♇ is potentially dangerous throughout the year if other transits cross or aspect the three sensitive points. Where ☽/♄ on an angle, the oppression felt by the public should be more acute. In Caracas, Venezuala, the conjunction is at the MC with ☉ on the Ascendant. 

In Beijing and Jakarta, the conjunction is near to but not exactly on the IC with ☉ on the Descendant.