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Astrology July 7th-13th: Atmospheric Pressure

ABYSSAL EPISTLES
The Astrology of Baron Samadhi von Coppockalypse

Disclaimer: If you do not take every word of these horoscopes with the utmost faith, you will die. Statistics bear this out. Simply scan the newspapers. You will find that an overwhelming majority of the people that die each week DID NOT read the Baron's horoscopes.

Vol. 138: Atmospheric Pressure

This week sees a slew of planetary action. A Mars-Saturn conjunction, a Mercury-Pluto opposition and a Sun-Jupiter opposition all add themselves to the waxing Moon's witches brew for this week. Not only are we treated to a variety of intense planetary influences, but they all occur back to back, making the middle of the week an interesting time indeed.

Here's a brief breakdown of the conflicting forces afoot this week

Sun opposition Jupiter

The Sun in Cancer casts its eye at Jupiter in Capricorn from across the zodiac. The monthly focus on personal cultivation encounters opportunities just out of reach. A stretch is necessary in order to access these opportunities, but questions exist as to the quality of said opportunities, as well as whether the "stretch" may end up being a "rip."

Mars/Saturn conjunct in Virgo

At the same time, Mars, now in Virgo, marches to meet Saturn in early Virgo. Mars and Saturn are classical astrology's two malefic ("harm-causing") planets, and their biannual conjunctions often mark unpleasant events. Certainly most folks will emerge unscathed, but it does often put an unpleasant power into the air. Physical things, like bodies and computers, like to break or break down under this configuration. On the emotional level, anger born of frustration is a common response.

Mercury opposition Pluto

Also mid-week we see Mercury, about to leave Gemini for the first time in over 2 months, come into opposition with Pluto, which has temporarily retreated back into the arms of the Archer, Sagittarius. Mercury's opposition with Pluto sees secrets come to the surface, along with hidden emotions. It is also likely to bring finality to matters which have been batted back and forth in discussion for months now.

As these missives from the underworld emerge into daylight, they will trigger frustration and blow outs for some folks. For those in a position to moderate the influences of this week, a focused, industrious energy will be the positive result.

The primary conflict of the influences at work this week is between opportunity and frustrating difficulties. For many, the two will be tied together, and the vision of opportunity impossible to grasp without engaging the difficulties.

Frustration is a result of the friction between goals and obstacles. The steam that pours out your ears can also power a locomotive.*

*The Baron promises not to wax "motivational" more than once per month.

Horoscopes: July 7^th-13^th

Note on Horoscopes: 12 Fold horoscopes are a way to assess the general condition of the splayed rays of the zodiac. Although not without value, they are a blunt tool, and can only describe the archetypal activity in each power-zone. In order to sharpen the accuracy of the horoscopes, read your Sun Sign if you were born in the day-time, and read your Moon Sign if you were born at night. Reading the Sign in which the Ascendant is placed is also advised.

Aries: Or Others

Professional opportunities loom high above the foundations you've been doing patch up work on. However, the Mars-Saturn conjunction marks what may be a rather difficult work week. Don't hurt yourself. Or others. Your focus on personal power may be best served during the next few weeks by rerouting your attention from yourself to the tools you're working with.

Taurus: Have Fun Later

The Mars-Saturn conjunction this week cramps attempts at good times until the weekend. Meanwhile, extend financial considerations come to an important point and an opportunity for travel or personal expansion is highlighted.

Gemini: Bad News First

Communications with significant others which have meandered around clarity come to a head this week, leaving few illusions about the state of affairs. The Mars-Saturn conjunction provides little comfort, although the Sun spotlights what may be a financial opportunity.

Cancer: The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Birthday Cancers will receive a certificate for one (1) free weekly horoscope. Non-birthday Cancers receive the same. Read below to claim gift.

Distracting difficulties plague your mind as it emerges from an extended season stuck on personal conundrums. Take what pleasure you can in those who surround you. You may shine a fine light onto partners and close friends of quality.

Leo: Key Points

Mars' conjunction with Saturn in Virgo may mark a difficult week for you financially. Meanwhile, extended communications with peers and within groups to which you belong reach a key point. Benefits come through being willing to reassess your practices.

Virgo: Grindstone

Mars conjoins Saturn in your sign this week, turning the average Virgo workaholic into a high-powered super-slave. Or basket case. Go ahead and put your nose to the grindstone. It will grow back. And if not, there are likely reputable plastic surgeons in your area. As an added note, don't freak out and kill anyone, no matter how much of a "stress-relief" it sounds like.

Libra: Better Them Than You

Light shines from the professional area of your life onto opportunities in your living room. Or someone's living room. Of the 12 signs, you are likely least effected by the potential difficulties of this week, while the beneficial side of whats what is likely to hit your from the right angle.

Scorpio: Keep It To Yourself

Intense communications surround the middle of the week as Mercury moves into opposition with Pluto. The Mars-Saturn conjunction may add social and technical difficulties to the mix, but don't freak out, as there are likely opportunities afoot you'd rather not ruin.

Sagittarius: This Conversation Is Over

A long season of uncertain communications comes to an end this week with you putting the nail in the coffin of certain conversations. Meanwhile, monetary opportunities come more clearly into view, but the landscape of your professional sector is a harsher than usual this week. A lighter mood next week follows as Venus moves into Leo. Yes, a life-changing month of retarded fun is right around the corner.

Capricorn: Goaty

Of the twelve zodiacal tribes, Capricorn, you are the most likely to benefit from this week's opposition between Jupiter and the Sun. The Sun shines on opportunities. Don't let the details keep you from taking advantage of the situation. Figure out how to make it happen.

Aquarius: Finger of Yod

Like the finger of an accusing god, the planets are solidly aligned to point out what's wrong with the way you've been doing things. You can take the hints and follow the clues now, or you can wait until next month's eclipses to have their way with your wayward destiny. Like it or not, your personal evolution is once more of interest to the cosmos and the chaos behind it. Consider the karmic ledger more carefully than usual.

Pisces: Escape from Martyrdom

This week's opposition of Mercury and Pluto attempts to force completion upon uncertainties surrounding your living situation. Personal conflicts have a particularly disastrous energy hovering about them this week, and are likely get blown of out proportion. This is a good week to continue to shut up take it like a Pisces. There are better times to plan your escape from martyrdom.

Consultation Services: If you'd like a personal consultation with the man behind the mask, message the Baron's mortal vehicle at Xroadsconsultations@gmail.com for details. The Baron is also available for birthdays, weddings, funerals and orgies.

Free Monthly Zine: Download it at http://innerorder.org/NSSCancer2008.pdf or send an email to Nightskystrategies@gmail.com in order to subscribe!

COPYRIGHT ABYSSAL EPISTLES 2008

Sol in Cancer, Luna in Libra

Dear Folks,

I am fine. Thanks for asking. As you can see, I have just posted the requisite amount of weekly crack.

This Mercury retrograde has taken Der Baron down a twisted set of tunnels over the last month- the fetid bowels of Myspace customer service. Password and login problems have prevented me from logging into my account for over a month. I hope that when Mercury makes it to my Moon, I will once again be presented the keys to my profile.

In the future, I will be posting weekly horoscopes on my blogger account, and so if myspace does not cooperate, you will always be able to find the scopes here.

-B

Astrology 23-29: Cut and Burn Ointment

Disclaimer: If you do not take every word of these horoscopes with the utmost faith, you will die. Statistics bear this out. Simply scan the newspapers. You will find that an overwhelming majority of the people that die each week DID NOT read the Baron's horoscopes.

Vol. 137: Cut and Burn Ointment

The week opens onto a landscape sculpted by last week's difficult Full Moon and the end of Mercury's retrograde through Gemini. We've passed through the gates of a dramatic solstice and now stride into the fields of the season before us.

As of its Direct Station last week, Mercury has partially emerged from the astral maelstrom that sent both minds and winds swirling in disarray. The unusually strong tempests which accompanied Mercury’s retrograde through its own sign wreaked havoc in personal lives and the Midwestern United States alike. And yet even as physical winds broke loose, a certain storm has abated. Barak Obama will run for president. Reverse movement through the dividing sign of the twins marked the erasure of the divide with the democratic party. Now the problem of a conflicting pair replaced with a harmonious one. While many wonder who his Vice President will be, the media focuses on a partner they know- his wife. An echo of the Tarot Card to which the forces of Gemini are allotted- the Lovers (VI).

Speaking of the Lovers, we now find ourselves in the waning aftermath of what was, for some, a brutal Full Moon conjunct Pluto, opposing the Sun and Venus in Gemini. The Mercury retrograde and its earlier conjunction with Venus and the Sun also brought unions into question. The combinations have created atmospheric conditions ripe for brutal truth.

Mercury, no longer retrograde, looks ahead at the problems present rather than mentally back pedalling. While Mercury attempts to organize his thousand scattered thoughts into the framework of a blueprint for the next several months, Venus crosses through early Cancer, the very territory of the inner sky that Mars devastated during his difficult retrograde earlier in the year.

This week’s weather should be better than what's come before. Venus, now in tender Cancer, receives a respite from Gemini’s analytic intensity, enjoying instead the pleasures of deep union with those who have managed to stay within our inner circle through trying times.

Venus’ journey through the early degrees of Cancer this week takes her through the same degrees that Mars retrograded within from the Fall of 2007 until Mid May of 2008. And so the reconnection that Venus in Cancer tends to create stretches across the background of emotional wounds inflicted over this time. Perhaps a few wounds will be healed, or at least some comfort found in the results of difficult situations.

Horoscopes: June 23^rd- 29^th

Note on Horoscopes: 12 Fold horoscopes are a way to assess the general condition of the splayed rays of the zodiac. Although not without value, they are a blunt tool, and can only describe the archetypal activity in each power-zone. In order to sharpen the accuracy of the horoscopes, read your Sun Sign if you were born in the day-time, and read your Moon Sign if you were born at night. Reading the Sign in which the Ascendant is placed is also advised.

Aries: Go To Your Room

This month’s focus on the home and where you hid your heart within it is sweetened for the next few weeks with Venus’ passage through Cancer. Complete the tasks to which you’re committed, but take it easy on the itinerary. A little down time might do wonders knitting together tender tissue torn asunder earlier this year.

Taurus: Familiar Tangle

Venus’ movement into the tidepools of the Crab bring you back to the tangle of heartstrings that tie your life together into its present shape. After a confusing period of back and forth within your mind, your state is likely to relocate to your chest cavity, where the heart of the matter abides. Old connections are a comfort and old patterns a problem. You’ll find both.

Gemini: Clockwork Mess

For the last month the furious winds which usually power your windmills have likely torn the wheels from their towers. You’ll have to re-engineer the turbines which turn your erratic mental winds into useful electricity. The mess of clockwork the period’s left has plenty to teach you about your own internal mechanics. Consider what you’ve learned as you re-write your blueprints.

Cancer: Amphibious Bosom

Happy birthday to Cancers. If your friends and family butter you up during your birthday celebration this year, don’t worry. They’re not getting ready to break open your crusty shell and scoop out the tender, juicy flesh. No, its merely the presence of Venus accompanying your Solar Return this year. Enjoy it.

For those Cancers still standing in anticipation of a birthday to come, Venus’ visit to your sign will nonetheless lay gifts and good times at your doorstep. Though its not likely to make up for Mars’ depredations in your corner of the cosmos over the last year, its something. So grab hold and snuggle it to your amphibious bosom.

Leo: Lesson Learned?

This is the last full week you will find Mars in your Sign for the next 2 years. Hopefully it has enabled you to address problems in a more courageous and straightforward manner. Being courageous and straightforward does not make you right. But it does permit you to find out if you are wrong earlier rather than later. If not, then count yourself among the majority. That’s thing about mediocrity- you’re never alone.

On an additional note, the heavens may have in store a bit of relief from the difficulties that have arisen from the unknown repeatedly throughout the last year.

Virgo: Personal Imperfections

Mercury’s recent resumption of forward motion has likely set your affairs in a forward looking direction as well. That is, assuming you haven’t completely ruined everything in the confusing weeks before. If so, now is the time to iron out said miscalculations before they become incorporated into your plans. If your personal failures become too overwhelming, consider taking solace in the comforting arms of familiar comrades. They know you’re not perfect, and they’re still willing to be seen in public with you. Just not more than once a month.

Libra: Weighing The Wind

Gusts of air over the last month have likely blown your scales about, scattering the contents you were hoping to weigh to the four winds. The calculation you were hoping to make with your balancing act was essential for the course you’d set for the coming months. This week and the next will likely see you gathering together the scattered bits of data you’ll need to come to the answers you need. Impatience and premature decisions won’t actually hurry the process.

Scorpio: Spelunk Them All

The undercurrents of invisible weather wrapping around you right now are for the most part pleasant. The Sun’s and Venus’ recent entrance into Cancer speak of your revisiting questions of personal direction and meaning brooded upon for many months this winter. This re-visitation occurs under more pleasant circumstances than those of the previous season. In your ruminations you are likely to find a small tunnel connecting your relationships and certain off-limits areas within your psyche. Spelunk them. Spelunk them all.

Sagittarius: Born of Fire

The overabundant supply of social interactions provided for you over the last month wanes considerably, as connections condense into little pearls for your perusal. Pluto’s recent retreat back into your sign is also likely to have triggered a shift in your sense of self. You may find that a certain amount of your mercyless personal drive to evolve and catalyze the same in others has returned. This may complicate some of the affairs you have constructed since the New Year by threatening to simplify them with severance.

Capricorn: A Shadow Withdrawn

The entrance of Venus and the Sun into Cancer over the last few days see you returning to social situations with which you took issue over the Fall and Winter. The emotional fabric of these tapestries has altered since then, and you will find less to dislike in the picture before you. It is also worth noting that Pluto’s dark (and tiny) majesty, has withdrawn from your sign for the time being. You may find that a certain dark intensity that had begun to emerge subsiding for the next couple months. However, mark the spot at which the shadow stood, for it will return.

Aquarius: A Little Relief

Mars and Neptune’s opposition along the Nodal axis with Chiron present last week is too tangled a skein to unwind in this short space, but let me state that last week may have marked strange moments in the evolution of personal conflicts for you. This week, Venus’ movement into Cancer heralds a measure of relief to problematic financial matters for the next few weeks. It is also a time also that one is likely to reap rewards from exercise routines undertaken or dietary regimes held to.

Pisces: Who, Where

The last month has been a season where you’ve reconsidered your home and what exactly makes it that. The confusion is clearing from your living space, but there are still conversations and considerations left before the matter is settled. Meanwhile, there are pleasant connections around for you to settle into. Though your position isn’t exactly fixed, relations with others are increasingly so.

Consultation Services: If you'd like a personal consultation with the man behind the mask, message the Baron's mortal vehicle at Xroadsconsultations@gmail.com for details. The Baron is also available for birthdays, weddings, funerals and orgies.

Educational Services: Beginning and Intermediate level Online classes in Astrology and the Tarot held every quarter. Summer quarter classes begin soon. Email Xroadsconsultations@gmail.com for details.

Free Newsletter: Send an email to Nightskystrategies@gmail.com in order to subscribe to the Baron's new online monthly mini-magazine. Issue 1 launches this week!.

COPYRIGHT ABYSSAL EPISTLES 2008

Sol in Cancer, Luna in Pisces

Astrology 19th-25th: Mental Maelstrom

Disclaimer: If you do not take every word of these horoscopes with the utmost faith, you will die. Statistics bear this out. Simply scan the newspapers. You will find that an overwhelming majority of the people that die each week DID NOT read the Baron's horoscopes.

Vol. 136: Mental Maelstrom

The week opens, on Monday, with a Full Moon in Scorpio. This is the second Full Moon in Taurus/Scorpio this year. This is unusual, the astrological equivalent of a Blue Moon. The Sun in Taurus tries to stabilize shifting terrain with its solar gaze, while the Moon in Scorpio demands that the very territory owned by the gaze stays in flux. This repetition lays extra emphasis on the conflicting desire to stabilize and the evolutionary imperative to move forward.

It is interesting to note that this Full Moon in Taurus-Scorpio occurs at approximately the same degrees in the Sidereal (constellation-based) zodiac as the earlier one did in the tropical. This pair of Full Moons also places us back on a rhythm where the New Moon in each Sign takes places before the Full Moon. We’ve been dealing with the opposite for over a year now, where the Full Moon in a given sign happens before the New Moon. A subtle, but important shift to the tidal rhythms behind our time.

On the tail of Monday’s last-minute Full Moon, the Sun strides into Gemini. Mercury is already deep in the shadow of his retrograde in Gemini, and the Sun’s light is desperately needed in these clanging corridors of mind. The Sun’s movement into Gemini shifts the focus from steadying the boat to clearing the mind. As the Sun moves into Gemini, the solar energy expressed by Mars in Leo mutates. The need for self-assertion becomes increasingly tangled in the half-baked formulations of a near-retrograde Mercury.

The week begins with a Full Moon, but it ends with Venus’ entrance into Gemini, where she joins the Sun and a not-quite retrograde Mercury. Venus’ movement into Gemini adds the passionate, emotional, and deeply personal component to the mental vacillations of the soon-to-be retrograde Mercury. Venus’ movement into Gemini completes the configuration that’ll be shining down on us for the next several weeks: Mercury, the Sun, and Venus in Gemini. The Sun, representing the central focus of affairs, Mercury, carrying with it the mind, and Venus marshalling the passions and finances all move slowly towards June 8^th, when they will align within a single degree, bringing things to a head. Wait for it.

In short, we stride uncertainly from the unstable pasture of Taurus into the wild mental winds of Gemini.

Horoscopes: May 19^th-25^th

Note on Horoscopes: 12 Fold horoscopes are a way to assess the general condition of the splayed rays of the zodiac. Although not without value, they are a blunt tool, and can only describe the archetypal activity in each power-zone. In order to sharpen the accuracy of the horoscopes, read your Sun Sign if you were born in the day-time, and read your Moon Sign if you were born at night. Reading the Sign in which the Ascendant is placed is also advised.

ARIES: Memory Aid

The Full Moon this Monday lays one last exclamation point on your finances before the Sun heads into Gemini. Then, on Tuesday, the Sun’s entrance into Gemini will send a spotlight to shed some light on your thought process. Once Venus heads into Gemini this weekend, it’ll be high time to let people know what they’ve been missing: You. Help them remember.

TAURUS: Unsettled Cattle

It’s been a rather dramatic month for birthday bovines. At the end of this week, Venus leaves Taurus, leaving your troubled pasture for the complicated world of Gemini. Second thoughts about everything are likely to come creeping in for the first few weeks Venus is in Gemini. Hold your ground and keep your head.

GEMINI: Identity Calculation

This week Mercury is joined by the Sun and then Venus in your Sign. As your birthday rolls around, the emphasis shifts to you. Mercury’s almost retrograde will likely find you deep in thought but short on words. You’ve likely in the midst of important and esoteric mathematical equations whose end product will be your identity. In the mean time, assign the less mathematically inclined Twin to keep your feet out of your mouth.

CANCER: Thick and Chunky Style

The planets have decided to have a giant party in the deepest reaches of your psyche, and you’re not invited. Expect what’s been pushed aside to pop into your head and other people’s mouths for the next few weeks. These little demons are stirring the cauldron of experience you’ve accumulated over the last 6 months into a hearty and edible alchemical stew. But it will take a while. And it will be horribly poisonous until its done. So keep your fingers out of the pot.

LEO: Special Note

Early this week, the Sun and Moon shine one last ray of light on important changes in the relationship between your home life and professional ventures. As the Sun and Venus enter Gemini, your focus shifts more and more heavily towards a series of negotiations and conversations with friends and fellows in familiar circles. The Baron senses big moves are afoot. Special Note: Don’t be an asshole.

VIRGO: St. Prudence the Boring

As the Sun and then Venus slip into Gemini to join a near-retrograde Mercury, the emphasis shifts solidly to your professional situation. Unresolved questions swarm it like flies around a neglected picnic. Or words around a bad metaphor. If it hasn’t been made clear by either the Baron or the world around you, you need to play it smart and conservative. Enshrine you dreams in prudence.

Libra: Lo Pan

Your directional sense continues to spin free of magnetic north. The Sun’s entry into Gemini on Tuesday will intensify the strength of your free wheeling considerations and Venus’ entrance over the weekend will toss in her emotional and financial 2 cents. Venus’ addition to the maental maelstrom will, however, pull your primary guidance system into the situation, and lend a sense of direction just before Mercury turns retrograde early next week.

Scorpio: The Wacky Arachnid Show

Another Full Moon for you, Scorpio. The bright blue beams decree that the mutations will continue. In fact, transformations of a variety of sorts will be on your mind, in your heart, and under your fingernails consistently for the next few weeks. This focus on changes contrasts with the bold and outgoing energy that has been filling your stinger since Mars moves into Leo. It is as if part of you was weaving a cocoon while another is on stage, tap-dancing.

Sagittarius: Twice as Awesome

The planets are conspiring to fill your social calendar for the next few weeks. What busy-ness has already begun will only grow as the Sun and then Venus enter Gemini this week. You’ll be having conversations with everyone’s evil twin. They’ll take turns speaking with your human half and horse’s ass. They might be able to tell the difference, but you can’t.

Capricorn: Things That Don’t Matter

Capricorn, there’s likely a pile-up of work you need to do in order to make progress in the direction you’ve chosen. Adjustments, corrections, do overs and technical problems are hovering around the coming period, like mildly frightening ghosts. You’ll be fine, as long as you don’t waste your time and energy fighting battles with things that don’t exist or that don’t matter.

Aquarius: Bright Ideas

Developing questions about lovers, life-style and creative projects find fuel as the Sun and then Venus enter Gemini this week. There are dualities emerging that suggest that decisions need to be made, but information is likely currently insufficient. Your relationships are relatively flammable right now, so be careful with your bright ideas.

Pisces: Not Drunk

The situation hovering around your home intensifies this week, as first the Sun, and then Venus roll into Gemini. Expect your foundations on both physical and emotional levels to undergo continuous renovation over the next several weeks. Just don’t expect the crew to show up on time, or not drunk.

Consultation Services: If you'd like a personal consultation with the man behind the mask, message the Baron's mortal vehicle at Xroadsconsultations@gmail.com for details. The Baron is also available for birthdays, weddings, funerals and orgies.

Educational Services: Beginning and Intermediate level Online classes in Astrology and the Tarot held every quarter. Spring quarter classes begin soon. Email Xroadsconsultations@gmail.com for details.

Free Newsletter: Send an email to Nightskystrategies@gmail.com in order to subscribe to the Baron's new online monthly mini-magazine. Issue 1 launches on May 21st.

COPYRIGHT ABYSSAL EPISTLES 2008

Sol in Gemini, Luna in Sagittarius
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DEATH FROM ABOVE,

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Astrology12th-18th: Juggernaut Repair Service

Disclaimer: If you do not take every word of these horoscopes with the utmost faith, you will die. Statistics prove it. Simply scan the newspapers. You will find that an overwhelming majority of the people that die each week DID NOT read the Baron's horoscopes.

Vol. 136: Juggernaut Repair Service

This week Mercury, now in Gemini, strides unknowingly into shadowed territory. The degrees of the zodiac and topics of conversation covered this week all have layers lying underneath them. These are areas destined for Mercury’s retrograde.

We have come through a turbulent series of large and small scale changes. The difficulties still exist but are now knowns. A new phase has begun, where we must rebuild what has fallen in the last year. But designs must match the times. There is a lot of thinking to do.

The process is two-fold. There is the question of building. This is a question of How. Then there is the question of design. This is a question of What. The reconstruction effort reflects the dual quality of the Twins. But other influences are in play. The familiar Western Zodiac is only one method of characterizing the quality of planetary influences, and a decidedly solar one, at that. To thoroughly understand the quality of this Mercury retrograde, we must look to the Lunar Mansions of Vedic Astrology, the Nakshatras.

There are 27 Nakshatras, one for each day of the Lunar Cycle. They are pinned to the sky by the solid light of the fixed stars. Each one occupies one-twenty-seventh of the Zodiac, 13 degrees and 20 minutes. They are used in Vedic Astrology to provide additional description about the character of planets, especially the Moon itself.

The reason that we must change lenses in order to examine this Mercury Retrograde is because it occurs all within one lunar mansion, stepping out of that mansion a mere degree in the next month and half. Mercury’s movement this month and the next is contained almost entirely within the Lunar Mansion of Rohini.

Rohini is one of the most fertile and productive of all Lunar Mansions. To it is attributed the power of growth. Rohini was the surrogate mother of Krishna, the embodiment of manifest divine consciousness. And so the building power of the Lunar Mansion provides the material support or “body” for consciousness. One of the symbols for this Nakshatra is the chariot, which supports, protects, and transports the conscious being within it.

Strangely, the English word “juggernaut” is derived from the very chariot associated with this Nakshatra. In the 19^th century, the British occupied India. They witnessed the yearly festival of Jagannatha, in which 50 ft chariots are constructed and paraded through the streets. These chariots house the very gods whom Rohini raised: Shiva, his brother Balarama and their sister Subadra.

Rohini, as an aspect of the divine mother, provided the material support for this triumphant trio. Therefore the symbol of her lunar mansion is the Chariot.

My Other Car Is A Chariot

There is a strange resonance between Mercury’s retrograde in Rohini and the Mars retrograde in Cancer. Within the Tarot, Cancer is assigned to Card VII, the Chariot. This is often misunderstood, as Cancer is a nurturing and supportive Sign, while the Chariot card is often associated with conquering force. However, the meaning implied by the assignment of Cancer to the Chariot is precisely the one described by Rohini’s chariot. The Chariot is a symbol of the supportive vehicle which makes the spirit triumphant. It is feminine or yin in nature, and complements or completes the yang character of the active spirit driving it. This is the “vehicle” referred to in the Lesser, Greater and Diamond Vehicle strands of Buddhism, and has a strong resonance with the Hebrew Merkabah tradition.

And so Mercury’s retrograde through these inconspicuous degrees of Gemini ties into the underlying theme that characterizes this time.

Horoscopes: May 12^th-18^th

Note on Horoscopes: 12 Fold horoscopes are a way to assess the general condition of the splayed rays of the zodiac. Although not without value, they are a blunt tool, and can only describe the archetypal activity in each power-zone. Although primarily present within only a few, each person, in reality, lives within all twelve. In order to sharpen the accuracy of statements, the Baron suggests reading the Sign the Sun is present in if you were born during the day, and reading the Moon for those of you born at night. Reading the Sign in which the Ascendant is placed is also advised.

Aries:

This week Mars’ movement through Leo continues the task of returning you to your abrasive self. Meanwhile, as Mercury drives deeper into its retrograde shadow, communications increase in volume but not necessarily in clarity. There are possibilities surrounding your work situation which won’t become clear for a few weeks to come.

Taurus:

Where the Sun’s spotlight shines, Venus’ benevolence is quick to follow. Recent streaks of luck last until the 24^th, when Venus heads on in to Gemini. And on the topic of Gemini, Mercury’s movement deeper into the shadow of its upcoming retrograde will set flies buzzing around your head about your financial situation. Give any major decisions as much time as possible before committing.

Gemini:

Mercury’s drive into the shadowed portion of its upcoming retrograde catches you in the midst of reconsidering your self-image. You might find yourself suddenly remembering some of the times where the notorious Mr. Hyde eclipsed the good Dr. Jekyll. This particular ride has a number of twists and turns before you can get off, so don’t jump to any premature conclusions.

Cancer:

Mars left your Sign last week, draining some of the poison from your cup. But the experiences and events of the last 6 months have yet to yield their full meaning. Mercury’s retrograde through Gemini over the next several weeks will help coagulate the disconnected bits into a solid mass.

Leo:

The recent rash of increased confidence and irritability extend well into the next month. Aggressive extensions into new terrain are linked to emerging networking opportunities. However, there is an obscuring cloud hanging over your relationships with other people right now. Make sure you get the facts.

Virgo:

As Mercury slips deeper into the shadow of its retrograde, the Baron hears powerful mumblings and rumblings in your professional sector. Ideas and deals coming together and pulling apart. Your pride and need for credit are inserting themselves in the equation from an invisible angle. Recognize your need to get your due.

Libra:

Your personal compass is slowly going awry as Mercury treads deeper into Retrograde territory. The looming retrograde stimulates questions about your personal direction, both geographically and philosophically. Meanwhile, Mars in Leo shines a hot light on you in the midst of gatherings.

Scorpio:

Mars’ stride into Leo lights up your professional situation, likely leaving you busy. Meanwhile, Mercury’s movement deeper into the shadow of its looming retrograde drives your mind into strange territory. Idle thoughts wander away from the tasks at hand and instead busy themselves exploring neglected corridors.

Sagittarius:

Mars movement into Leo last week may have activated an itch for travel, which is likely if financial circumstance allows. Meanwhile, Mercury moves deeper into the shadow of the retrograde to come. You’ll likely be having words with your partner(s), and should be on the lookout for miscommunications and technical difficulties at work.

Capricorn:

The not-so-bad times continue as Venus and the Sun make their way through the rest of Taurus. Meanwhile Mercury’s moves deeper into the shadow of its coming retrograde. You’re likely to get caught reconsidering your worldview, as well as getting endlessly absorbed into technical matters at work.

Aquarius:

Mars in Leo may bring you face to face with more annoying company than you’d prefer. Or maybe you’re just irritable. Meanwhile Mercury’s movement into the shadowed degrees of its upcoming retrograde will be providing you with a growing set of insights into the obstacles which have delayed your growth thus far.

Pisces:

Mercury’s movement into the shadowed degrees of its pending retrograde this week has a number of implications for you. It will likely find you re-considering your living situation in light of your relationships with other people. You’re in the midst of re-engineering your foundations on some level(s), and so don’t be surprised if you need some space.

Consultation Services: If you'd like a personal consultation with the man behind the mask, message the Baron's mortal vehicle at Xroadsconsultations@gmail.com for details. The Baron is also available for birthdays, weddings, funerals and orgies.

Educational Services: Beginning and Intermediate level Online classes in Astrology and the Tarot held every quarter. Summer Classes begin in July. Email Xroadsconsultations@gmail.com for details.

Free Newsletter: Send an email to Nightskystrategies@gmail.com in order to subscribe to the Baron's new online monthly mini-magazine. Issue 1 launches on June 19th.

COPYRIGHT ABYSSAL EPISTLES 2008

Sol in Taurus, Luna in Virgo

Astrology 5th-11th: Exit Strategy

Disclaimer: If you do not take every word of these horoscopes with the utmost faith, you will die. Statistics prove it. Simply scan the newspapers. You will find that an overwhelming majority of the people that die each week DID NOT read the Baron's horoscopes.

Vol. 135: Exit Strategy

So here we are. For many finances have tightened and work is creating more stress than money. Saturn’s movement from Leo into Virgo last September shifted the emphasis from living with integrity to living affordably. Then in January Jupiter’s movement from Sagittarius into Capricorn transformed expanding perspectives and soaring hopes into shrunken sets of survival concerns. And in the background, Pluto’s movement from Sagittarius to Capricorn has begun to shift fears from uncatchable terrorists to unstoppable global economic changes. In the midst of these long term changes, Mars went through a disastrous retrograde in Cancer, piling personal troubles on top of difficult large scale circumstances.

And so now the Sun in Taurus shines on all this mess. This Monday the Moon aligns with the Sun once more to start the lunar cycle anew. The New Moon falls like a dark and silent seed onto the fertile soil of Taurus. This Friday sees Mars, at long last, clear the boundary of Cancer and head into Leo. Meanwhile, Jupiter goes retrograde in Capricorn. With the movement of Mars out of Cancer, we come at last to the end of a difficult and unstable period.

Jupiter Retrograde: Buried Dreams

As if Saturn passed the baton last week, Jupiter turns retrograde this Friday. Jupiter’s movement backward through Capricorn will have the character of an archeological dig. Opportunities lie lost beneath piled-up bills and forgotten behind the frantic distraction of personal drama. As Jupiter digs slowly into the earlier degrees of Capricorn the outlines of these lost lessons will become clear once more.

Mars in Cancer: Dependence and Division

At long last Mars breaks the embryonic boundary of Cancer and strides into Leo. Mars has had an extended stay in Cancer, and the patterns and problems associated with that position have become abundantly clear. As noted in Abyssal Epistles, Vol. 108: Red Leaves, Red Planet one of the primary themes for Mars in Cancer is infighting or civil war- a group divided against itself. The challenge of Mars in Cancer is complex, for it calls on a nation or family to assert itself while divided internally.

We can see how this theme of internal division has played itself out in several mundane arenas.

The “no brainer” case of internal division is, of course, the ongoing situation in Iraq, where U.S. forces continue their “Super-Glue” campaign of trying to hold together a splintered country. As fatalities continue to mount, and Mars moves into Leo, the cries for independence will certainly grow louder.

The US Presidential primary races are another excellent case of internal division. The Republican nominee, John McCain, faced tremendous initial resistance from the social conservative factions within his own party. On the Democratic end, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama’s tight bid for the crown has exposed the rifts within the Democratic party down to a microscopic level. 46.2% of under-weight white women diagnosed with leukemia support Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire! Pundits on the major news networks talk daily about whether this division within the party will prevent it from coalescing around a candidate by November. As Mars moves into Leo, we should see the cry to elect a king (or queen) and unify only grow louder.

Another theme that the long stay of Mars in Cancer has highlighted in people’s lives is dependence. A number of people have been put in awkward positions by the events of the last 6+ months, forced into unnatural positions of support or dependence. When you inject the independent sentiments of Mars into the issue of dependence, you get unnecessary levels of resentment on both sides. This dynamic changes as Mars strides into Leo. People’s sense of independence and personal sovereignty will wake up under this position, motivating people to leave the web of unnecessarily dependent relationships that they’ve become tangled in.

Overall, the drama-meter should head steadily south over the coming months. Hallelujah.

Mars in Leo: King Me!

Mars’ movement into Leo shines a spotlight on the groups torn by internal division during Mars’ time in Cancer. After a long focus on inner conflicts, the energy turns outward, and the question will be which groups, after the trials of the last 9 months, have the strength to seize the guarded opportunities presented by Jupiter this year.

The last important planetary action in Leo was the extended retrograde of Venus during July, August and September of 2007. The archetypal character of Venus in Leo is outlined at length in Abyssal Epistles Vol. 105: Lady of Flame, where the Egyptian goddesses Bast and Sekhmet were examined as mythological models for the planetary position. It is interesting to note that an important part of each goddess’ role is King-Maker. A King Maker confirms and supports the Pharaoh, legitimizing and defending them. As Mars moves into Leo, he strides into the hot Egyptian sands that Venus left behind last year. As many silently war to stake a claim in the shifting sands of the current global situation, it may be the king-makers who truly decide. One has only to look at the Democratic candidates for president or the legend of Beowulf.

Jupiter and Pluto in Capricorn: Pyramid Scheme

And deep in the background lies Pluto. In Capricorn, Pluto takes on the empty silhouette of a mighty zigguraut, the stone personification of hierarchy. Pluto’s movement into Capricorn has heralded a period where the world’s power structure is in transition. The landscape of power is changing, and some are falling from the crumbling edifice while others are scrambling up to the next tier. Jupiter’s presence in Capricorn only emphasizes the opportunities lurking in the pyramid’s shadow.

But that’s all history, much of it yet to be written. Let’s get back to this week.

Horoscopes: May 5^th-11^th

Note on Horoscopes: 12 Fold horoscopes are a way to assess the general condition of the splayed rays of the zodiac. Although not without value, they are a blunt tool, and can only describe the archetypal activity in each power-zone. Although primarily present within only a few, each person, in reality, lives within all twelve. In order to sharpen the accuracy of statements, the Baron suggests reading the Sign the Sun is present in if you were born during the day, and reading the Moon for those of you born at night. Reading the Sign in which the Ascendant is placed is also advised.

Aries: Square One

A mighty “Huzzah!” should resound from the throats of Aries everywhere as Mars makes its way into Leo this Friday. The endless focus on deeply personal entanglements begins to abate as Mars moves out of Cancer. Mars’ movement through Leo over the next 2 months will see you slowly returning to a self you know and recognize as you learn from the mis-steps made during the last 6+ months.

Taurus: Farm Implements

After a crash landing in the pasture last week, Venus sets up camp and gets down to business sowing golden seeds in your personal fields. Although the larger kingdom may be in the midst of a difficult transition, there are good things afoot in the rich fields of Taurus this week and the next. Just don’t spend all your flax on booze and farm implements of questionable value. Happy Birthday.

Gemini: Mid-Sentence

As Mars passes into Leo this Friday, you’ve likely found some relief from lingering entrapments in questionable personal investments. But the way you make your through the world has undergone a change in the last 6 months, and you’ve got plenty of rethinking to do before you can set a course you can keep to. Let your birthday come and go before you begin making promises you intend to keep.

Cancer: Struggle Free

At long last Mars leaves your Sign. The net that has ensnared you in complicated entanglements with others begins to lift as the red planet leaves Cancer this Friday. As you struggle free of this web, the opportunities that have stayed steadily out of reach edge closer. Possibilities emerge from shadowed territory in coming months.

Leo: Squash It

There’s likely been a mosquito you can’t squash no matter how wildly you swing. You’ve heard it buzzing from somewhere in the room for months now. With Mars’ movement into Leo this Friday, the problems that have been plaguing you will either dissipate or step out into the open, where they can be crushed. Brutally.

Virgo: Revisions

Jupiter’s retrograde station this week provides a viewpoint on your earlier plotted plans for expansion. You’ll likely be designing and redesigning your professional position over the next few months. Mercury’s extended visit through Gemini will be providing a plethora of good ideas and even better revisions, so don’t jump at the first one that passes through your mind.

Libra: The Thing That Shouldn’t Be

The many-tentacled monster which has been sitting atop of your life for the last 6+ months loses some of its life-force this week. Mars’ movement out of Cancer robs this beast of the vitality necessary to sustain it outside of its native environment. Meanwhile, Venus and the Sun team up in Taurus to consider your dependence on foreign oil. Its time to solve your personal energy crisis.

Scorpio: Bait

Venus reinforcing the Sun in Taurus indicates that it is time for you to attend to your many connections. Meanwhile, Mars’ movement into Leo announces that its time to shine like the precious little star you are. Perhaps its appropriate to shift into a more extroverted and social form of petulant narcissism? They say you catch more flies with honey than vinegar, but it doesn’t have to be that demanding. Just leave out a half eaten candy bar and see what comes sniffing around.

Sagittarius: Being Right Is Better Than Being Smart

This Monday’s New Moon shifts the focus to your work and health habits. Saturn in Virgo has likely kept a strong focus on these topics since September and the coming weeks offer you a chance to refine your manufacturing methods. Mars beleaguered emergence from the stifling shell of Cancer also has positive consequences. Mars movement into Leo will reawaken your sense of independence and energize your perspective. Don’t be afraid to share! Most people don’t have the same capacity for “being right” that you do. The world desperately needs your answers- the right answers.

Capricorn: Tentacle Withdrawal

Capricorn, you look better than most right now. Saturn’s station last week may have wreaked havoc on the world, but it likely signaled you getting your shit together. This week has more good news for the Baron’s favorite chronically depressed super-villains. Mars’ delayed exit from Cancer indicates a withdrawal of disgusting tentacles from your social life. They’ll slither back into the slimy pit of your awful karma. Where they belong.

Aquarius: Back To Average

Mars’ movement out of Cancer this Friday should see issues in your workspace go back to normal levels of neglect, ineptitude and passive aggression. Thank goodness! Meanwhile Mercury in Gemini is stirring the clouds in your mental skyscape into evocative configurations. Let the ideas come and go. There will be plenty of them.

Pisces: Garbage Fire

Dearest, sweetest, wisest Pisces, it is time for a celebration. Mars leaves Cancer this week. That means that the icky passive-aggressive nonsense which has so gently enfolded your love life and poisoned your creative urges is withdrawing back into its primordial abode. Being the little love-sponge you are, you’ve likely stored up a hearty charge of poison. As Mars moves into Leo, its time to turn that poison into gasoline. Burn bright, toxic star.

Consultation Services: If you'd like a personal consultation with the man behind the mask, message the Baron's mortal vehicle at Xroadsconsultations@gmail.com for details. The Baron is also available for birthdays, weddings, funerals and orgies.

Educational Services: Beginning and Intermediate level Online classes in Astrology and the Tarot held every quarter. Summer Classes begin in July. Email Xroadsconsultations@gmail.com for details.

Free Newsletter: Send an email to Nightskystrategies@gmail.com in order to subscribe to the Baron's new online monthly mini-magazine. Issue 1 launches on June 19th.

COPYRIGHT ABYSSAL EPISTLES 2008

Sol in Taurus, Luna in Taurus

Astrology 28th-4th: Concrete Improvements

ABYSSAL EPISTLES
The Astrology of Baron Samadhi von Coppockalypse

Disclaimer: If you do not take every word of these horoscopes with the utmost faith, you will die. Statistics bear this out. Simply scan the newspapers. You will find that an overwhelming majority of the people that die each week DID NOT read the Baron's horoscopes.

Vol. 124: Concrete Improvements

3 big events happen this week. First, on Wednesday, Venus moves into Taurus. On Thursday, Mercury enters Gemini and after long months retrograde, Saturn stations direct. Venus’ movement into Taurus and Mercury’s entry into Gemini are both good things. The planets work well in these Signs, lending a certain dignity to communications, the affections, and the finances. Saturn’s forward movement pushes delayed plans in the right direction, but his station is often accompanied by a rash of unpleasant events in the larger world.

Venus enters Taurus on April 30^th, leaving the troubled confines of late Aries to return to the comfortable pasture of Taurus. Although Venus initially undergoes problematic aspects to Saturn and Pluto, she will journey unmolested through the bulk of Taurus, steadily improving the situation.

The key word here is “improve,” not “fix.” The help that the benefics in Earth Signs (Venus in Taurus and Jupiter in Capricorn) will provide is an analogue of the tax rebate checks that the United States Federal government will be sending out during this time period- short term help for long term problems. The real changes will be a result of deeper shifts. These are promised later in the year by the commencement of the Saturn-Uranus opposition.

Mercury streaks ahead into Gemini on the 2^nd. The Messenger is at home in the swift Sign of the Twins, and improves the general quality of thoughts and communications while he resides there. Mercury will be in Gemini for an unusual 9 weeks this year, and will be going retrograde on May 26^th and staying that way until June 21^st. As situations slowly grind their way to resolution, there is a lot of thinking and re-thinking to do. Mercury’s long stay in one of his home Signs will do precisely that.

On the same day that Mercury moves into Gemini, Saturn stations direct after months retrograde. Saturn’s direct movement will begin to push forward dormant plans and awaken people to new responsibilities. The simultaneous changes to Saturn and Mercury are linked, for while Saturn is in Virgo, it takes orders from Mercury. Virgo organizes affairs in the most rational and efficient manner, but the very thoughts that define rationality and efficiency emerge from the works of Mercury. And so the forward march of Saturn and Mercury’s extended stay in Gemini are inextricably linked.

HOROSCOPES:
April 28^th-May 4^th

Note on Horoscopes: 12 Fold horoscopes are a way to assess the general condition of the splayed rays of the zodiac. Although not without value, they are a blunt tool, and can only describe the archetypal activity in each power-zone. In order to sharpen the accuracy of the horoscopes, read your Sun Sign if you were born in the day-time, and read your Moon Sign if you were born at night. Reading the Sign in which the Ascendant is placed is also advised.

Aries: The Ram

Venus’ movement into Taurus shifts the focus of your pleasure from raw being to your checkbook. Venus’ entrance into Taurus may begin with worry, but you should see your finances steadily improve as the month progresses. Meanwhile, Saturn’s direct station sees you making progress with your work situation and Mercury’s entrance into Gemini promises an extended season of heightened mental activity. Things are improving.

Taurus: The Bull

Venus’ entrance into your Sign speaks favorably about your general state for the next month. However, Venus’ initial entry into Taurus will be a troubled one, as she must face both Pluto in Capricorn and Saturn in Virgo at the same time. This indicates having to face facts about your material situation and make what may be serious changes. Across that particular electric fence lies greener fields. Happy birthday.

Gemini: The Twins

Gemini, you’ve been somewhat left out of the hot planetary action for the last few weeks. That changes this week as Mercury enters your Sign. This put you at the hub of communications, with what is usually your best foot forward. Not only that, but Mercury will be staying in Gemini for an abnormal period of time- over 2 months! Much of that time will be spent retrograde, but you likely have a lot of plans to make and unmake.

Cancer: The Crab

Venus’ movement into Taurus this Wednesday highlights your social situation. There may be difficulties encountered within social circles which hit in the midst of the week, but after that you should see the situation steadily improve over the next 4 weeks. Meanwhile Mercury’s movement into Gemini will likely find you thinking more clearly about what’s really been holding you back.

Leo: The Lion

This week’s movement of Mercury into Gemini starts a season of quick and clear thinking about your financial situation. Meanwhile, Venus’ movement into Taurus highlights your financial situation from another angle. Cutting unnecessary expenses will open the way for the improvements you’ve been considering for quite some time.

Virgo: The Virgin

Saturn’s direct station this week is significant for you, Virgo. Since Saturn’s entrance into Virgo last September, you’ve seen the ringed planet cut through many of your careful arrangements. Finally, this week, you’ll find yourself with a new plan that actually fits the circumstances you now find yourself in.

Libra: The Scales

The direct confrontations that have characterized Venus’ stay in Aries over the last month come to an end this week. Venus’ transition into Taurus steadies the scales considerably, providing you with an accounting of what needs and what you really don’t. Its time for a delayed Spring cleaning. Meanwhile, Saturn’s direct station sees your bold exploration into all the details you’ve filed away in the basement wax in importance once more.

Scorpio: The Scorpion

As Venus’ moves into Taurus this week, the spotlight strolls onto the status of your relationships, or lack thereof. There’s been a certain lack of social opportunity for the last several months, but that’s getting ready to change. After an initial crash landing in Taurus in the middle of the week, Venus should start opening social doorways for you over the next month.

Sagittarius: The Archer

Saturn’s direct station this week will likely resound throughout your professional sphere. The details of your duties will be dictated loud and clear for the first time in a while. Although there may be initial difficulties, your work situation looks to improve steadily over the next month. Meanwhile Mercury’s movement into Gemini will turn up the volume in your relationships. Conversations are coming, whether you like it or not.

Capricorn: The Goat

Saturn’s direct station this week finds you ready to really move forward. The months of adjustments and recalculations culminate into another fine plan for world domination. Although it might be a little rocky this week, Venus’ entrance into Taurus kicks off a month of fine times, and possibly fine dining.

Aquarius: The Water Bearer

Aquarius, your mutating appreciation for the details of your arrangements reaches an important point as Saturn stations direct this week. Mercury’s entrance into Gemini marks the beginning of an extremely creative season for you. If you’ve had blueprints that you’ve been unable to articulate, you’re likely to soon find the words falling out of your mouth.

Pisces: The Fishes

Mercury’s movement into Gemini indicates that you are going to be a much more mobile fishy in the coming months. Discussions around and about home abound. Saturn’s direct station in Virgo this week will give you a clear idea of the social lessons you’ve yet to learn in order to make the most of this period. Meanwhile, Venus’ movement into Taurus kicks off a period where you will see benefits that come from an extended social network.

Consultation Services: If you'd like a personal consultation with the man behind the mask, message the Baron's mortal vehicle at Xroadsconsultations@gmail.com for details. The Baron is also available for birthdays, weddings, funerals and orgies.

Free Newsletter: Send an email to Nightskystrategies@gmail.com in order to subscribe to the Baron's new online monthly mini-magazine. Issue 1 launches on May19th.

COPYRIGHT ABYSSAL EPISTLES 2008

Sol in Taurus, Luna in Aquarius