Contradictions and Course Corrections: Chodesh Menachem Av 5779

"Leo"from the Michal Mahzor, Germany 1258.

 Chodesh Menachem Av Tov!
Av 5779
(August 2 – August 30)

Our tradition tells us that when Chodesh Av comes, we reduce our joy, yet it also informs us that Tu b’Av is one of the two most joyful holidays in the Jewish calendar! It was on Tu b’Av that the daughters of Jerusalem disregarded social status and economic disparity by each loaning the other white dresses so that all might dance beneath the moonlight in equality. It was the day the 12 Tribes were reconciled after the civil war and tribal intermarriage permitted again.

Indeed, Chodesh Av is full of contradictions and course-corrections. The new moon in Leo on erev Rosh Chodesh Av scorches hypocrisy and deceit with the white-hot heat of judgment. The (delayed) fast of Tisha b’Av August 11 is sufficiently solemn with Moon in Capricorn, yet the day’s energy wildly fluctuates, with Jupiter direct, Mercury’s ingress into Leo, and Uranus’s retrograde station in Taurus. Universal rather than particularistic love reigns at the full moon in democratic, humanitarian, egalitarian Aquarius on Tu b’Av, August 15. Course-corrections are re-calculated August 23 at the last quarter moon in Gemini with the Sun’s entrance into calm, analytic Virgo. By the Virgo new moon August 30 joined to Mercury in his own sign, clarity is restored.

May Chodesh Av’s powerful potential for extreme emotion be channeled into the passionate quest for dignity, wisdom and discernment! 

"Menachem Av" with "Ari" the lion representing the zodiac sign of Leo, detail from a Torah binder, Germany, 1748

Tammuz: Total Eclipse of the Heart

CHODESH TAMMUZ TOV!

"Sartan" / Cancer the Crab, from the Michael Mahzor, illuminated parchment manuscript, Germany, 1258

Chodesh Tammuz 5779: TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART 

Chodesh Tammuz (July 3 – August 1), associated with the mazal of Cancer (Sartan) the crab, is the only month of the Hebrew calendar whose ruling planet is the Moon. This year the Moon plays an even more important role as Chodesh Tammuz 5779 features two Eclipses! 

This month during “Eclipse Season” light, which is consciousness, is hidden and then re-revealed, and it’s never quite the same as it was before. It’s now upgraded awareness, a higher consciousness. These powerful cosmic events underscore themes of security, family, tradition and respect – all of which are associated with Tammuz’s Tribal ruler Reuven, the emotional and sensitive first-born son of Jacob and Leah. 

The Solar Eclipse / New Moon in Cancer on July 2 initiates “security” issues. Ideas like “food, home, mother, money” trigger powerful, primal gut reactions. The Lunar Eclipse / Full Moon in Capricorn on July 16 is a faceoff and smackdown between the Divine Feminine and old, outworn images of a punishing, patriarchal god. Venus and the North Node join the Sun in Cancer, eclipsed by the opposition of the Capricorn Full Moon with Saturn and Pluto. 

Cardinal Water sign Cancer is concerned with the honor and the memory of the mother as illustrated by Reuven’s relationship with Leah. Mother Earth is powerful this month and disrespecting her brings serious consequences. Honoring the natural creation and respecting her power and majesty honors our Creator and strengthens our own roots! 

What can’t you live without? What’s your absolute red line, your most basic, primal desire? We all need to love and be loved. This month we confront our most essential need during what may turn out to be a total eclipse of the heart. When the darkness lifts, a new light shines – may it illuminate our way during this Moon-month of Tammuz!

Click HERE for Tammuz Horoscopes in The Jerusalem Post

Chodesh Iyar: “I am G-d your Healer” (אני י‑י רפאך)

"Taurus" detail from silver Torah shield, Kiev Ukraine late 19th/early 20th century

Read my horoscopes for Iyar in the Jerusalem Post

Chodesh Iyar (May 5 - June 3) is associated with the constellation of Taurus, the planet Venus (Noga), the gallbladder in the human body, the left nostril of the human head, the Hebrew letter vav, and the Tribe of Issachar. 

I Chronicles 12:33 describes “The sons of Issachar who have the wisdom to understand the times [i.e. astronomy and calendars], to know what Israel ought to do”.  Issachar’s flag had a sun and a moon drawn upon it, as he is associated with the “counting month” of Iyar, each day of which is contained within the Sefirot HaOmer period.

Issachar’s spiritual gift of discerning the times and the seasons activates the healing powers of this special month, hinted at by the Hebrew letters spelling Iyar (אייר), an acronym for “I am G-d your Healer” (אני י‑י רפאך).  

The Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Uranus in Taurus opposite the Full “Blue” Moon in Scorpio May 18 occurs on Pesach Sheni, the “Second Passover”, symbolic of second chances. This celestial configuration demonstrates that “a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver” (Proverbs 25:11) empowering us to both speak and hear healing words of patience, understanding, and forgiveness, one to another, at precisely the right time. Second chances are opportunities for healing and restoration. 

Iyar also brings Lag b’Omer, the 33^rd day of Sefirot HaOmer commemorating the cessation of the great plague caused by lack of respect between Rabbi Akiva’s students, killing many of them. The Moon’s occultation of both Saturn and Pluto on Lag b’Omer are mini-eclipses, symbolizing the darkness that disrespect between Jews creates in this world. 

Let us take Iyar up on her promise: “I am G-d your Healer” offers second chances, healing from the wounds of mutual disrespect, restoration and wholeness to all Claal Yisroel!

Rosh Chodesh Adar Aleph: The "Joseph" Month!

Adar/Pisces by Cynthia Beth Rubin / Yona Verwer http://zodiacs-les.nyc/references.html

 

Leap year 5779 is a shana me’uberet (a “pregnant year”) on the Hebrew calendar. During pregnant years we add an extra (13th) month, which is Adar Aleph (also called Adar I or Adar Rishon). Adar Aleph 5779 kicks off February 5 with a two-day Rosh Chodesh, and runs through March 6, making the current year 5779 very pregnant with possibilities. The Talmud says in Ta’anit 29a: “When Adar comes, joy increases.” Count on enjoying an extended double-Adar celebratory season this year.
 

The Sefer Yetzirah teaches that each one of the 12 constellations (mazalot) correspond to a Hebrew month. During non-leap years and during Adar Bet of pregnant years, Adar is associated with the tribe of Naftali, which we will explore in-depth next month. This month, we ponder the mystery of Adar: the month that sometimes is one, and sometimes split in two. Jewish astrology divides Joseph into two tribes (Ephraim and Menashe, corresponding to Tishrei/Libra and Heshvan/Scorpio, respectively). During pregnant years, Joseph gets his own month: Adar Aleph, the “extra” month, hinted at by Joseph’s name in Hebrew, meaning “HaShem shall increase/add.”
 

Even though Chodesh Shvat ends February 4th, the Sun in Aquarius overlaps Hodesh Adar Aleph until solar Pisces begins on February 18th, blending the humanitarian, idealistic energies of Aquarius with the compassionate, empathetic and generous qualities of Pisces. The full moon of Adar Aleph on February 19th in clearheaded, rational Virgo (Betulah) stimulates the protective energy of Virgo’s tribal ruler Gad, “a troop.” Virgo’s weapons are analytic discernment, unfeigned humility, and a heart of service to others. Opposite the Sun in spiritual, sensitive Pisces (Dagim), Adar Aleph’s moon-month peaks with the perfect balance of reason and faith.
 

Adar Aleph 5779 – The “Joseph” month. May joy increase and blessings be added to all of Am Yisrael during this special time!

 

Trump's State of the Union, Astrology, and Nancy Pelosi's Big Mistake

I don't really enjoy writing about political astrology, but Donald Trump's Natal Chart is SUCH a great and public astrological teaching example, I can hardly resist the temptation! So remember people, this is educational - and I'm doing this for you, not for me! :)

Pelosi and Trump, picture courtesy NBC News

It’s almost as if Nancy Pelosi was working for the GOP when she didn’t consult an astrologer to pick a date for Trump’s delayed State of the Union speech, set to begin at 9pm Eastern time on Tuesday, February 5^th. The Moon will have just entered Pisces, crossing into Trump’s 7^th House, the place of partnerships (7^th House is “We,” opposite 1^st House which is “Me”). 

 

Trump's Natal Chart with Transits 5 Feb 2019

Trump's emotional pitch will be to his base (“We”), those he considers to be his “partners” in his Presidency. The transiting asteroid Chiron at 29 degrees Pisces (the critical degree not only of Pisces but the entire 360 degrees of the zodiac!) in his 8^th House (shared values, valuables, resources and intimacies) gives him the ability to articulate the collective pain and suffering (as he internalizes / externalizes it), but to whom does that pain and suffering pertain? The transiting North Node conjuncts his natal Venus/Saturn conjunction in Cancer in his 11^th House gives a clue. “Security” is the keyword, and ancestral ties (Cancer) structured around patriotic institutions (Saturn) are romanticized (Venus) in his 11^th House (his friends, community, collective, affinity groups). He will speak on themes of “Homeland” (Cancer) “Security” (Cancer again, but with Saturn), activating his “friends, community, collective, affinity groups,” which are not universal but particularistic, have a basis in shared heritage (Cancer again) and heirlooms (like the flag). The pain and suffering of "Americans" (his particular definition of what that term means) who share his world view and identity is the pain and suffering channeled by Donald Trump during the transit of Chiron at 29 Pisces.

Transiting Jupiter conjunct his natal Moon in Sagittarius in his 4^th House will enlarge and magnify his inner self-perception (4^th House) of himself as the child of a “good” and “virtuous” immigrant (Sagittarius), i.e. his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, born in Scotland and immigrated to the United States in 1930, working as a domestic servant in Long Island before marrying Fred Trump in 1936. Trump’s natal chart betrays his inherit insecurity about the nature of his own roots, Mary Anne being symbolized by his natal Moon (“mother”) in the 4^th House (nuclear home and family, the “Hidden Parent”). Transiting Jupiter super-sizes this inner image of “mother,” while transiting asteroid Ceres (archetype of the mother who will literally go to hell and back to rescue her child, as embodied in the Ceres (Demeter) / Persephone (Proserpina) / Hades (Pluto) myth) conjuncts Trump’s Black Moon Lilith in 4^th House Sagittarius. Trump will defend his actions at the border with immigrants as a defensive measure against what he sees as an encroaching threat. He will most likely exaggerate and dramatize (Sagittarius) about immigrant women and children in distress or bondage (Black Moon Lilith) who need to be rescued (Ceres). The transiting Sun in Aquarius is conjunct his natal asteroid Ceres in his 6^th House (ruling “employees” or power differential relationships with unequals) literally makes him believe he is “rescuing” women and children with his immigration policies, including separating families at the border and incarcerating children in detention centers. 

Aggressive Mars in Aries transiting his 9^th House (“Foreign” or “exotic” people, places and things”) will reflect in pugnacious, war-like language, possibly via threats against other nations. Unstable, erratic Uranus at 29 Aries (the ultimate degree of the Cardinal Fire Sign) in Trump’s 9^th House shows his unpredictability and seemingly capricious, inconsistent and often surprising behavior around foreign people and powers.

 

Trump's Natal Chart with Transits and Progressions

Finally, Trump’s progressed Moon is at 24 Leo conjuncts his natal Mars in Leo in his 12^th House, very close to his Ascendant (“Rising Sign”) at 29 (again, the “ultimate” degree of any sign) Leo. He is emotionally unconscious (Moon in 12^th House), driven by his subconscious and instinctual mind, perceiving enemies in hidden places (Mars in the 12^th House) against whom he must roar (Leo) and rampage (again Leo) and fight (Mars). 

Trump’s progressed Venus at 18 Libra conjuncts his natal Jupiter in Libra in his 2^nd House, making him feel (despite any evidence to the contrary) invincible and as if he is truly fighting on the side of good and justice (Libra). This transit also says a lot about money: Progressed Venus on Jupiter in the 2^nd House is expecting a major windfall (payoff?). Progressed Mars transiting Libra / 2^nd House makes him the defender of his personal values and valuables; expect to hear the word “fair” a lot (Libra), although expect to hear it used aggressively (Mars).

Transiting Moon in Pisces during State of the Union directly opposes Trump’s progressed 1^st House Sun in Virgo conjunct his Ascendant. Because he was born during a Sun/Moon opposition (during a Lunar eclipse), this natal angle of Sun/Moon opposition will support rather than hinder his efforts.

Chart for State of the Union Address

 

As I said earlier, Nancy Pelosi should have consulted an astrologer prior to scheduling Trump’s State of the Union for 6pm Pacific time on Tuesday, February 5^th. Virgo Rising at 29 degrees (again, the “ultimate” degree of any sign) in Washington, D.C., just as the TV cameras begin to roll makes Mercury the ruling planet of the event, and Mercury is the planet of communication. Transiting Chiron at 29 Pisces directly opposite the Ascendant of the speech itself hints at the embodiment via speech (Virgo at 1^st House cusp) of the collective pain “We” share (if “we” includes anyone Trump believes to be in his affinity group, i.e. “Americans” – at least those he believes to be legitimately American, rather than the universal “American” ideal). Transiting Mercury at 22 Aquarius opposes Trump’s natal Mars in Leo, stimulating words and ideas (Mercury) he may intend to signal inclusiveness (Aquarius) but filtered through a defensive lens (Mars), ultimately read as exclusiveness (Leo).

The Ascendant of the State of the Union conjuncts Trump’s progressed Moon. With all this being said, it should be a triumph for Trump and a lesson for the Democrats to consider the stars before giving their greatest foe an open mic.

Pictured herin: Trump’s natal chart with Transits, Trump’s Natal Chart with Transits & Progressions for February 5^th, and the chart for Washington, DC at the scheduled time for the State of the Union address.

Lunar Eclipse / Super "Blood" Moon of Tu b'Shevat 5779

Lunar Eclipse / Super "Blood" Moon of Tu b'Shevat 5779

The upcoming Lunar Eclipse / Super "Blood" Moon on Tu b'Shevat (January 20) will be visible all over North and South America. The Eclipse occurs at 9:16pm Pacific time (12:16am January 21 Eastern, 7:15am Israel time).

Lunar Eclipses happen predictably every year, only during Full Moons. Any given Jewish Year includes between six and seven Full Moon holidays: Tu b'Shevat, Purim (Purim Katan during leap years as well), Pesach, Pesach Sheni, Tu b'Av, and Sukkot.

The Talmud discusses eclipses and their effect on the nations of this earth. From the Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah 29a:

When the sun is in eclipse, it is a bad omen for the whole world. This may be illustrated by a parable. To what can this be compared? To a human being who made a banquet for his servants and put up for them a lamp. When he became wroth with them he said to his servant, ‘Take away the lamp from them, and let them sit in the dark’. It was taught: R’Meir said, whenever the luminaries are in eclipse, it is a bad omen for Israel since they are inured to blows. This may be compared to a school teacher who comes to school with a strap in his hand. Who becomes apprehensive? He who is accustomed to be daily punished.

The basic idea is that lunar eclipses are trouble for the Jewish nation, while solar eclipses mean trouble for the non-Jewish nations - yet Israel still suffers, as the non-Jewish nations take their troubles out on their convenient scapegoat, the Jews. This is the Talmud's poetic way of saying that the Jewish people experience trouble in this world in predictable, regular patterns - just as predictable and regular as the eclipse cycles themselves. The writers of the Talmud were simply managing expectations rather than making prophetic statements.

For those who are all tied up in anticipatory knots from reading predictions about the impending eclipse, keep this in mind: There was a full Lunar eclipse on Tu b'Shevat in 1999, 2000, 2009, 2018 as well as this year. There was a full Lunar eclipse on Purim in 2007 and on Purim Katan in 2008, as well as on Sukkot 2014, Pesach 2015, and Sukkot 2015.

With anywhere from six to seven Full Moon Jewish holidays per any given year, and anywhere from four to six (depending on the year) eclipses (solar and lunar) per annual eclipse cycle (there's NEVER a year without eclipses!), the statistical likelihood of an eclipse falling on a Jewish holiday is predictable and normal.

Lunar Eclipses ONLY happen on Full Moons. The term "Super Moon" is used when a Full Moon is at perigee (the closest it comes to Earth during the year). But not all "Super Moons" come with an Eclipse. A "Blood" Moon occurs during an eclipse when sunlight is filtered through the Earth's atmosphere. This eclipse is also being called a "Wolf Moon," which is one of the Native American names for the mid-winter Full Moon of January. Some tribes call it the Full Snow Moon. Not all "Wolf Moons" (or Full Snow Moons) or any other name for a Full Moon feature a Lunar Eclipse.

January's lunar eclipse comes two weeks after the Solar Eclipse / New Moon which inaugurated Chodesh Shevat. This year (5779) Chodesh Shevat began smack in the middle of Solar Capricorn, it was kicked off with the Solar Eclipse / New Moon conjunct transiting Saturn on January 5th and 6th. Less than a day later, Uranus stationed Direct at 29 degrees (the “ultimate” or “critical” degree of any sign) of Aries after his latest Retrograde period, which began last August. This makes Chodesh Shevat 5779 extra-powerful.

Shevat is the month associated with Aquarius. Both Uranus )the modern planetary ruler of Aquarius) and Saturn (the classical planetary ruler of Aquarius) are exerting pressure in the effort to bring about change – Saturn in his slow and steady way, Uranus in his abrupt, sudden, and surprising way. These Celestial Titans are tag-teaming in the Cardinal (initiating) signs of Capricorn and Aries (aided by Mars’ recent ingress into his home sign) to overcome the tectonic pressure generated by fear-based resistance to what we all know in our heart is inevitable change.

Comfort zones will be shaken, concepts about security upended, definitions of both “ally” and “enemy” will be reconsidered, ideals will be challenged. The universe is sending a memo: did you receive it yet? The times, they are a-changin’.