Monday 23 October 2017

Weinstein and the Anaretic Degree

The film industry was rocked by allegations in the New York Times on 5th October 20171 that producer and studio executive Harvey Weinstein had been sexually harassing young women, mostly actresses, for decades. Following the first wave of accusations, on October 8th, he was fired from his own business, The Weinstein Company. He was also subsequently suspended from the British Academy and the American Academy, the organisations responsible for the BAFTA and Oscars awards.

Born with the Sun at 29 degrees Pisces and the North Node at 29 degrees Aquarius / South Node at 29 Leo, he is sensitive to the 29th, anaretic degree. When a planet, natally or by transit, is at that critical degree it’s said to be emphasised, powerful. According to the CafĂ© Astrology website2, with a natal planet at 29 degrees, “there can be some real issues with decision-making in that part of the personality represented by the energies of the planet”. It goes on to say that, “it’s also associated with a sense of urgency…it can be a point of poor choices, difficulties, crisis or overcompensation.” So, for Weinstein, with the Sun and Nodes in the anaretic degree, it’s about poor decisions, crisis and overcompensation related to his life mission, purpose and direction. It also perhaps represents the playing out of some intense karma (Nodes) - the release of the need to be ‘king’ of his creative domain (Leo), to be brought back down to the level of the common people (Aquarius).   

By transit, planets at the aneretic degree can bring crisis and on October 8th, when the scandal began to gain traction, transiting Jupiter at 29 degrees Libra triggered his Sun via a partile Quincunx and his Nodes via a partile Trine to the North Node and sextile to the South Node. Transiting Jupiter was also applying to a Trine with his natal Venus at 3 degrees Pisces (Venus in Pisces a fitting symbol for the actresses he’s said to have abused). Appearing before reporters a few days later, Weinstein told them, “we all make mistakes,” (reflecting the issue of poor decision-making associated with the anaretic degree) telling the press that he’d been good to them and asking for a second chance (un-evolved Pisces is prone to inappropriately playing the victim).

The Quincunx is interesting. It’s an awkward aspect between two signs which don’t see eye to eye and often plays out in the context of relationships. Adjustment is required. In this case, the justice and fairness urgently demanded by transiting Jupiter in the last degree of Libra, awkwardly meets his Sun in the last degree of Pisces. The Sun at the very end of the zodiac could mean that poor life choices are made out of a fundamental difference in how he perceives reality, himself and his life purpose, compared to reality as perceived by his multitudinous victims. The Quincunx from transiting Jupiter to his Sun highlights the irreconcilability of these different points of view - he continues to assert that the sexual acts between him and his accusers were consensual. That his Sun is un-aspected (although there may be a Square to the Moon), lends it even more emphasises – he dances to the beat of his own drummer, led by his ego need, perhaps even unaware that his actions were causing so much emotional damage. But he knew he had the power to make or break a young woman’s career and he used it. Natal Mars in Scorpio tightly Squared to Pluto in Leo is a powerful symbol for using sexual predation to satisfy the urge to wield power and control.

Weinstein’s wife, fashion designer Georgina Chapman, announced she was leaving him on October 10th, the day Jupiter ingressed into Scorpio3.

On the 11th October, he was more contrite, saying in a statement to celebrity gossip website Page Six, “I apologise to everyone I have hurt by my actions…I realise I need to work on myself and to change. I am in intense therapy and counselling.” Weinstein is now the subject of a number of police investigations in the US and beyond.

We don’t have a birth time for Weinstein, but transiting Pluto in Capricorn is currently Squaring his natal Mercury-Jupiter Conjunction in Aries.  During Pluto’s transit through Capricorn, the historical crimes and transgressions of powerful people and institutions have surfaced and often these have been ‘open secrets’ or rumours that have circulated for years. Egregious behaviours and actions were tolerated or ignored because the victims felt they had no power, or actually had no power. Under Pluto in Capricorn, however, when a shift change occurred in the collective, these transgressions were finally acknowledged, with the sordid details rising to the surface for all to see and judge, precipitating a crisis.

Collective shift changes are of course reflected in Pluto’s long, slow transits through each sign. In Capricorn it’s been about revelations that endemic within the culture of major institutions there exists a rotten boil that needs to be lanced, with not undeserving scapegoats (Capricorn) as the central focus. First it was banking culture (the early scapegoat being Fred ‘The Shred’ Goodwin, CEO of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group). Next, Plutonian crisis rocked the institution of television, in particular the BBC crisis around the exposure of Jimmy Savile’s prolific child abuse. And now, with these allegations against Harvey Weinstein, it seems that the glamour has fallen away from the movie world, with many saying his actions are just the tip of the iceberg and such behaviour is widespread in the film industry.

There is an Interesting astrological correlation between the timing of the full exposes of Harvey Weinstein and Jimmy Savile's abuses of power through sexual assaults on a huge scale (alleged in the case of Weinstein). The 'open secret' about Savile was finally acknowledged publicly when Saturn was just about to go into Scorpio and with Weinstein it was when Jupiter was just about to go into Scorpio. A few differences - there's been no suggestion that Weinstein abused children and also, unlike Savile, Weinstein is still alive to answer for his crimes. Proving that Jupiter isn't always the planet where you 'get away with it.'

British actress Emma Thompson, when interviewed on the BBC’s Newsnight4 show made the connection, asking, “isn’t it the same story as Jimmy Savile?”

Referring to news stories that Weinstein was checking himself into rehab for sex addiction (addiction can be a negative expression of Pisces, a way for this sensitive sign to avoid painful realities), Thompson went on to say,
 “I don’t think you can describe [Weinstein] as a sex addict.  He’s a predator – that’s different. He’s at the top of, as it were, the ladder, of a system of harassment and belittlement and bullying."

Thompson has outspoken Mercury in Aries Sextile Venus and Square Mars and Saturn (speaking up for/fighting for women against male authority figures). She also has Venus in Gemini (again, speaking up for women) Opposite Jupiter, with both Squaring Pluto to form a T-Square, she concluded, "I didn't know about these things, but they don't surprise me at all, and they're endemic to the system anyway…this isn't about one man's crimes against women. This is about our system's imbalances, our system's gender crisis.”

Under Jupiter in Scorpio there is the potential for this scandal to spread far and wide and of course, Scorpio in its worst expression can be about abuses of power of a sexual nature. Indeed, the #metoo campaign on social media has seen women (and men) in extraordinary numbers, from all walks of life, share, for the first time, their own stories of sexual harassment and abuse.

References
3http://people.com/movies/harvey-weinstein-wife-georgina-chapman-separating/

Charts
https://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Weinstein,_Harvey
https://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Thompson,_Emma


Tuesday 10 October 2017

Jupiter in Scorpio: everything looks big under a microscope


Jupiter goes into Scorpio today…here’s a short video introducing some of the major themes: 




Also, check out Rod Chang's excellent new article on Jupiter in Scorpio, discussing the economic, cultural, political and social impact of this ingress against the background of the other current significant transits:

Jupiter will soon move into Scorpio on 10th October. This undoubtedly will unfold a year of Jupiter-in-Scorpio experience, in which our society, culture and politics will focus on Scorpion issues including crisis, fear, darkness, withering, death, transformation, reintegration of resources, reallocation of power, reorganization of affairs, and issues of safety, control and protection, etc. When considering what might come up in this upcoming year, we should never overlook those other planetary placements that happen within the same time-frame. From October 2017 onward, there will be various powerful planetary ingresses and patterns besides this Jupiter ingress – Saturn will enter Capricorn on 20th December 2017, Chiron will move into Aries on 17 April 2018, and more importantly the ingress of Uranus into Taurus on 15th May 2018. All these ingresses symbolise significant changes on economic, cultural, political and social development.

Before the discussion of Jupiter ingress into Scorpio, we must make sure that we understand one thing – the ingress of a single planet or a single aspect often only gives us part of the whole picture. We should take into consideration the placements and aspects of other planetary transits in order to have a clearer vision of the global situation before us. At the moment, we need to pay attention to these following transit aspects: Jupiter-Uranus opposition, Uranus-Neptune semisquare, and Saturn-Chiron square Carry on reading>

With love, Mandi



Sunday 6 August 2017

New Astrology Course

For any of you interested in taking astrology classes, I'm teaching for an online international astrology school called the Academy of Astrology, which is launching a new comprehensive English-language astrology course.
Astrology forms a large part of our cultural, intellectual, religious and medical history, and studying it is endlessly rewarding.

If you want to get an idea, you can subscribe to our free monthly e-newsletter  at the URL below, as well as read more about our course which begins on Wednesday September 6th
Some special features of our school: 

+ we don't subscribe to a particular astrological 'ideology', so we teach the basics of both modern and traditional forms of Western astrology. With a comprehensive grounding in astrology, students can make their own minds up what to direct their energies towards, already having a head start in most areas!
+ we have special live online supervision groups each term, where progress can be discussed with the tutor and any issues  clarified and untangled. These may be paid for on a term-by-term basis, or are included for no additional cost as part of the yearly fee.
+ Students have the option to specialise in any areas they choose in year 3, with 'stackable' modules in all sorts of astrological specialisms ranging from mundane, to medical, to financial, to astrolocality, to traditional horary astrology and many more! Unlike other schools, once they've covered the basics, students can choose which specialisms they wish to study in greater detail.
+ all classes are streamed live and interactive at a specific time every week, and recordings of each class are available for download for several weeks afterward.
+ our tutors are excellent :)

Take a look at our website, Facebook,  & Twitter pages, and our YouTube channel for free weekly astrology videos:

Twitter: @AstroAcademyUK

Course details:

The course is modular, with 3 modules (terms) per year. The full course takes 3 years, which may be completed consecutively or in your own time: a Foundation year, followed by two years of progressively more advanced teaching, covering more detailed techniques and specialisations. 

Cost: Each semester is £220 + £20 per term for voluntary supervision group participation, or £660 for the whole year, including supervision groups.

The Foundation course this year begins on 6th September 2017 ( 19:30 BST) September.  Enrol here: http://www.academyofastrology.co.uk/enrol/

Hope you're all getting on well, whatever you're up to! 
Best wishes and here's a taster from our YouTube channel:
  

Sunday 4 June 2017

Your Wheel of Fortune & Other News



Next up in The Academy of Astrology UK's has launched an exciting new series of mini-lectures:


Wednesday 28th June: Mandi Lockley presents Your wheel of fortune – what your horoscope can tell you and what it can’t!

Wednesday 26th July: Marcos Patchett presents Where’s your head at? – What astrology tells you about your focus in life

Wednesday 30th August: Sue Merlyn Farebrother discusses Your path of destiny – the Moon’s nodes in your chart

Each live mini-lecture lasts approximately 30 mins and cost only £10 each, or you can sign up for all four for only £30 (and if you sign up for all four and/or if you missed Rod's brilliant talk last week, recordings will be available).

Rod's talk: On Wednesday 31st May, Rod revealed his 10 top tips for reading your chart – or anyone else’s 

For more info or to sign up: http://www.academyofastrology.co.uk/news/

I'm proud as punch that my article about Neptune Transits, first published in Smiljana GavranÄŤić's wonderful Infinity Astrological Magazine, has been re-published on astro.com.

And check out the latest issue of Infinity Astrological Magazine - I.A.M. - with articles on the theme of the gatekeeper from a wide ranges of astrologers and disciplines. This issue I write about claustrophobia at the movies (with an analysis of the chart of Hollywood superstar Ryan Reynolds)

And while you're here, sign up to the Academy of Astrology UK newsletter. It's free and every month contains links to our latest articles and YouTube videos as well as course updates. 

With love, Mandi xxx

Stones Image Source: CC0 Public Domain, by Einfach-Eves via pixabay.com 

Tuesday 28 March 2017

Launching our newsletter


As a subscriber, reader or follower of Astroair, I thought you might be interested in our new Newsletter, with videos and articles from my colleagues and I at The Academy of Astrology, as well as news about our online seminars and courses. Sign up below to receive monthly into your inbox.

*|MC:SUBJECT|*
AOA UK - March 2017 Newsletter
View this email in your browser
Welcome!


We are launching on the Equinox, when the Sun moves into zero degrees of Aries, a great time for new beginnings – it’s the astrological New Year - and a very good time to go public!

We plan to send out a newsletter monthly with updates on our courses (our new online Foundation Course begins this September); links to our popular YouTube series of talks; informative and thought-provoking articles and news from our tutors.

We will soon announce a series of four exciting live online lectures – these will be standalone talks but also tasters for our Foundation Course and designed for both complete beginners and for those who already know some astrology.

Topics include:

  • Where's your head at? - What astrology tells you about your focus in life; and
  • Your Wheel of Fortune - What your horoscope can tell you and what it can’t.

Please subscribe here (and thank you if you have already) to receive details and updates.

Love from Rod, Sue, Mandi and Marcos x

LEARN ASTROLOGY WITH US
2017 Courses

Our foundation course, starting in 2017, is suitable for total beginners and for those who know some astrology but want to fill in gaps in their knowledge, or learn the basics in a structured way.

Led by our experienced tutors, astrological theory will be taught alongside practical experience of reading charts. By the end of the foundation year, you will have gained the knowledge and experience required to interpret any birth chart.

The course will be made up of three terms with ten lessons in each term.

Enrol Here
WHAT'S NEW ON YOUTUBE
Do you know what the Descendant is? Find out more here.
LATEST ARTICLES
Humours, seasons & cycles
The Elements in traditional
.
By Marcos Patchett

The four Elements of Greek philosophy, Earth, Air, Fire and Water, are best known to astrologers as the Triplicities, the groups of three zodiac signs assigned to each Element

Learn More
Astrology Decoded
By Sue Merlyn Farebrother



Check out Head Tutor Sue Merlyn Farebrother’s book.

It's a step by step approach and is perfect for beginners & essential reading for our Foundation students


Learn More
What is Astrology?
By Mandi Lockley

Any astrologer will tell you that a horoscope can be drawn up for absolutely anything, births, deaths, weddings, funerals, natural disasters, the founding of a new company, the time the polls opened on the day of a general election, even the opening of a packet of crisps.
Learn More
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  Important Update   I have now moved my content to YouTube & you can view my channel,  On Purpose Astrology, by clicking on this link  ...