If you met an astrologer this summer, whether casually or as a client, surely conversation veered precipitously close to the topic of the “grand cross”.

Around the earth, Jupiter, Saturn and Sun rendezvoused in a precarious triangle over the daytime sky.

Both supporting and opposing this balance were the very sites of human psychological imbalance, Rahu and Ketu, unincarnated points of eclipse.

This year’s version of the Sun’s usual quaternary summer sojourn has seen movement of the soular from the Ketu eclipse point in Gemini by June 15, 2010 to Saturn’s realm in Virgo around October 1st.

Manifestations range from personal crises far above an average, to multiple gross oil spills, to spills of human value in Wikileaks, to political hyperapathy and hyperactivism both. Each of these engage the symbolism of the Sun approaching the kingdom of hidden hard Saturn via opposing the kingdom of massive soft Jupiter.

To understand more, to go beyond chatter, we must remember that astronomy is a part of astrology and not the other way around.

NASA has given us strong clues to the omenology (nimitta) of a Jupiter-Saturn opposition, particularly through the work of noted amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley.

For example, last year, when Saturn in Leo directly opposed Jupiter in Aquarius, Wesley found a sudden mar on the surface of Jupiter. < http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/jup-20090720.html

Was it caused by Saturn? Given the astronomical facts of the date, place, and time of observation; Saturn was directly opposite the face of Jupiter that got the hit. Official speculation is that the cause was a meteorite or a comet, both of which are symbolized by Saturn.

This summer, with the new opposition of Saturn in Virgo and Jupiter in Pisces, yet again benevolent Jupiter took a face-forward hit from the same Saturnian influences. <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/meteor-jupiter.html >

Moreover, the Hubble telescope captured an image of the hit! The image is of a blue streak splitting into three and puncturing the atmosphere of Jupiter, looking every bit like Shiva’s trident. The NASA link to the image has mysteriously disappeared (I swear!), perhaps because the text contained quotes from astronomers who said that they could not explain the phenomenon.

But, here is a screenshot.  

Scientists also speculate in general that it is only because of Jupiter that Earth can sustain active habitat, as Jupiter collects the effects of those iron meteorites and dusty comets that we may be saved from them. <Ibid>

See the post immediately below for a poetic expression of the positive that may come from this hoary opposition, transit, and soular development.

As Boulder’s wildfire wraps to a close, consider the following Robert Penn Warren poem.

Fear and Trembling

The sun now angles downward, and southward.
The summer, that is, approaches its final fulfillment.
The forest is silent, no wind-stir, bird-note, or word.
It is time to meditate on what the season has meant.

But what is the meaningful language for such meditation?
What is a word but wind through the tube of the throat?
Who defines the relation between the word sun and the sun?
What word has glittered on whitecap? Or lured blossom out?

Walk deeper, foot soundless, into the forest.
Stop, breath bated. Look southward, and up, where high leaves
Against sun, in vernal translucence, yet glow with the freshest
Young tint of the lost spring. Here now nothing grieves.

Can one, in fact, meditate in the heart, rapt and wordless?
Or find his own voice in the towering gust now from northward?
When boughs toss–is it in joy or pain and madness?
The gold leaf–is it whirled in anguish or ecstasy skyward?

Can the heart’s meditation wake us from life’s long sleep,
And instruct us how foolish and fond was our labor spent–
Us who now know that only at death of ambition does the deep
Energy crack crust, spurt forth, and leap

From grottoes, dark–and from the caverned enchainment?

The terrible fire/wind event is so raw that I can’t even speak of it now, but perhaps this poem will allow something in, something out; some movement whereby we may paradoxically dream.

For you who are interested in astrology charts, consider this one, of the time and place when and where the fire probably started: 9/6/2010, 10:01:45 am, Boulder, CO, USA, according to news reports.

Some components of it are

• Mars is rising low and troublesome on the Eastern horizon, yet incredibly strong by Shad Bala (187)
• Mars in its own nakshatra
• Venus is in Mars nakshatra too as well as being swa, strengthening the whole situation
• the avayogi is Mars
• Mars is rising in Aries, Leo or Libra in every one of the vargas but one, the D-60 (see below)
• the ground beneath (4th house) in the rashi is lorded by Saturn who is lost in the 12th house; its own Shad Bala stronger than Mars by around midnight, peaking by about 7 pm on 9/7/2010
• the same lord of the 4th is hemmed by fiery malefics as well as the lord of the 12th, a temporary malefic (thanks Mary!)  Here is more from Mary:

In the Rashi chart for that date and time, Saturn rules the 4th house of homes/property and sits in the 12th house of LOSS, hemmed in by malefics, i.e. fiery Mars in the 1st house and the Sun on the other side (a mild malefic) with Mercury, Lord of the 12th. Of course both Mars and the Sun are enemies to Saturn.

I’m glad most people got their horses out. I have not heard reports of any pets deaths, but we cannot help but wonder about the wildlife, too. It is probable that benefic Jupiter’s aspect (strong, in its on sign now) on Saturn, may have saved the animals and many of the homes that were saved, actually.

The Ascendant of this chart is Libra, an Air sign. Libra, and the planets sitting in this first house, Mars with Venus, Lord of the chart, were also getting an aspect from malefic Ketu, positioned in the Air Sign Gemini, in the Ardra nakshatra. The symbol of Ardra is the tear drop and this lunar constellation is often associated with pain.  Ketu from this position was capable of inflicting more damage on the situation, and even something tricky.  Perhaps the cause of the fire is reflected by this astrological influence as well, as the local rumors are that some RV vehicle hit a propane tank up in the Gold Hill area.

The Ascendant was 0 degrees, 24 minutes of Libra; Mars was 0 degrees, 30 minutes into Libra. Both were in the Nakshatra of Chita, whose Lord is MARS, and this lunar constellation is in the Rakshasa (demon) group. Nakshtras are divided into either rakshasa, human or deva groupings. The negative qualities of Ketu were stronger due to sitting in this Rakshasa constellation.

There were 8 of us in a hiking group that day and we saw the huge plume of smoke billowing high in the sky at approximately 10:30 a.m.  I posted the 2 photos I took of that on Facebook that day.  The winds were incredibly ferocious that morning and in fact put an end to our hiking plans.  So the condition of “the air” (i.e. fierce winds) served to burst the calamity into many locations, carrying embers all over.
The air was polluted by this sudden, unexpected event (Ketu influence) and the wind whipped the fire to run in many directions, I understand.  That Mars (representing fire and accidents) was just barely into this air sign Libra, right on the degree of the Ascendant speaks volumes to me as well.  To me, it is like this sign was “overwhelmed” by a disturbed Mars, made even more tricky by Ketu’s aspect!  Ketu represents hindrance and degradation.

• people coming together, helping each other, is incredibly strong, with Jupiter retrograde in its own sign in the 6th house near the Yogi Point; a strong Tajik D-11 and the 11th house is relatively healthy in the D-1 and D-9
• perhaps most surprising of all given the poem’s last lines, is the D-60 wherein Mars and Sun are  in the lagna in Scorpio; combining those with the placements of Venus and Mercury certainly suggests  liberation from “grottoes dark, caverned enchainment”

My heart goes out to those who suffer.  Let me know if I can do/feel/be anything.