CHODESH NISAN: BIRTHING NEWNESS DURING “CHODESH HA-AVIV”

Aries (Taleh), from the Michael Mahzor, Germany 1258

Chodesh Nisan has just begun! 

Read my Astrolojew Horoscope for Chodesh Nisan in the Jerusalem Post

The entire Jewish year is anchored on this single necessity: Passover must always fall in the spring. The entire process of determining the dates of the solar/lunar Hebrew calendar revolves around this imperative, so much so that the Torah calls Nisan “Chodesh ha-Aviv.” 

Chodesh Nisan is associated with the mazal of Aries, the planet Mars (Ma’adin), and the Tribe of Yehuda. The sign of Aries is the ram, the first of the Zodiac signs, the sign of leadership. Just as Yehuda led the rest of the Tribes during their desert wanderings, Yehuda leads the constellations which follow in the formation to their Tribal correspondences around the zodiac.

Because 5779 is a shanah meuberet / “pregnant” year, Rosh Chodesh Nisan began Friday April 5^th, about fifteen and a half days after Tekufah Nisan, the Vernal Equinox, causing the Full Moon of Pesach (Passover) to appear on the afternoon of Friday, April 19. For Israel, the Pesach Seder will happen with the Sun at the final degree of Aries and the Moon at the final degree of Libra, while in the Diaspora the second night of Pesach the Sun will already have just entered Taurus and the Moon in Scorpio, shortly followed by Venus moving into Aries. 

This crucial time period between Wednesday April 17 when Mercury (Kochav) moves into Aries through Sunday April 21^st this year impacts not just Israel but the world. If the year is indeed pregnant, we’ve now completed the transition period of the labor and it’s time to begin pushing! 

The attributes of Nisan/Aries/Yehuda are courage, valor, bravery, resolve, fiercely passionate about doing what is right, protecting those weaker than themselves, and initiating inspiration into this world. May we collectively channel our energetic heritage and birth new hope during this auspicious time! Chodesh Nisan Tov!

#Aretha: Respect for The Queen of Soul

Aretha Franklin, the “Queen of Soul” died today at 76. As tributes to her amazing talent and groundbreaking accomplishments pour in from around the world, it is fitting we take a moment to examine her natal chart and ask ourselves if it can give us any insights into this legendary woman who has inspired so many for so long.

Aretha was an Aries with Scorpio Rising, making Mars and Pluto her ruling planets (Mars rules Scorpio in Classical astrology, while Pluto is the Modern ruler). Aretha’s natal Mars is at 11 degrees Gemini in her 7^th House, conjunct both Black Moon Lilith and Jupiter. This expands, enhances and enlarges (Jupiter) her raw energy (Mars) and her inner image of herself as a sexual woman (Black Moon Lilith). Mars is Chi, the Life-Force, the “Yetzer” (neither tov nor rah, but simply the raw life force/impetus to desire), the drive that propels any human onward. 

Aretha Franklin, Natal Chart with Transits for 8.16.18

Aretha’s chart co-ruler Pluto is at 3 Leo, conjunct her Parts of Fortune (the way shefa or material blessings enter one’s life) and Chiron (the “Wounded Healer”) in her 9^th House. Channeling our collective pain brings healing, and for all her tremendous Mars/Pluto power, nobody could channel vulnerability, longing, and the poignancy of loss and loneliness combined with raw strength like Aretha. An example of this can be heard in her cover of Leon Russel’s “A Song for You,” and “It Hurts Like Hell” from the “Waiting to Exhale” soundtrack, and many more.

The Essential Loneliness of The Powerful Woman

Yet it is Aretha’s tender, sensitive, maternal, nurturing, emotionally hungry Moon in Cancer on the cusp of her 8^th/9^th House tells of a woman enduring a tremendous range of emotional ups and downs in her relations with “others” – the things she shared and longed to share, the values and valuables, resources and intimacies, spiritual and religious feelings and beliefs, and philosophy of life. She wanted it all and deserved it all, but never got it all at once or all from the same person. Saturn and Uranus conjunct in Taurus in her 7^th House made her too strong in the eyes of any partner, Mars in Gemini in her 7^th House made her too mercurial and too powerful in ANY of her multiple selves as a partner – she was powerful as a woman, a lover, a cook, a gourmand, a hostess, a performer, a private giver of charity, a businesswoman. In each and every permutation her strength and power, competency and brilliance were barriers for the average man, who could only glimpse her most tender, passionate, intense, private longings. 

Private, Passionate, and Powerful
 
Her Sun in Mars-ruled Aries in her 5^th House of Creativity and Creations and Children made her fearless, a pioneer and a leader in every creative endeavor (and an unwed teenage mother). Scorpio Rising made her intensely private and protective of her personal life and her possessions. Today on MSNBC I heard a lifelong friend tell of how Aretha insisted until the end in being paid in cash, which she’d put into a purse and place in the safekeeping of a friend in the audience, where she could see her money as she performed, as she’d been ripped off and robbed so many times when first starting out in show business.

Aretha with Transits and Progressions for 8.16.18

Where did she get THAT VOICE? Aretha’s natal Mercury in Pisces in her 4^th House of Home and Family was exactly opposite her North Node, indicator of “tikkun” or destiny, in Virgo in her 10^th (Public Persona of Career & Business) House. It was her soul’s job (North Node) to publicly (10^th House) and perfectly (Virgo) communicate (Mercury) eternal and transcendent truths (Pisces), truths which she learned in her home environment (4^th House) and expressed in her career persona (10^th House). Venus, the planet of creativity, at 20 degrees Aquarius, was conjunct her 3^rd / 4^th House cusp. Her creativity came from the convergence of communication (3^rd House) and the values and lessons of “home” (4^th House). Venus in Aquarius is universal love – she didn’t reserve her love or her talent for only those things that came from “home” – her repertoire extended to genres far outside the gospel choir or the native sounds of the Motor City, Detroit, where she grew up. Her roots were in church and in soul and gospel, but her fruits were universal.

Symbolism of Passing In and Out of This Incarnation

Aretha Franklin dies as the transiting Moon entered Scorpio in her 12^th House (endings), transiting Chiron conjunct her natal Sun in Aries, transiting Jupiter (expansion) conjunct her Ascendant (personality) at 15 Scorpio, giganticising her presence in media in death even as she did in life, and her Progressed Moon at 14 Taurus conjunct her Progressed IC (4^th House Cusp) – in death she truly was “coming home” to the “seat of her soul” (4^th House). 

A woman of deep faith who grew up in her father’s church, Aretha’s chart co-ruler Pluto conjunct Parts of Fortune and Chiron in her 9^th House indicated the roots of her faith. 9^th House is the “higher mind,” long-distance travel, religion and philosophy, higher education, “exotic” or “foreign” people places and things. Pluto is the planet of profound transformation: death and rebirth, the proverbial phoenix rising from the ashes, resurrection of the dead. Chiron, the “Wounded Healer,” is where we take the wound life has delivered us and learn to heal ourselves by healing others bearing the same wound. Parts of Fortune, the cosmic opening or shefa-conduit of blessing from beyond, is deeply connected to both Chiron and Pluto here. Her special gift of connecting to collective deep emotions (Moon in Cancer / 8^th House) and manifesting them in her art brought healing (Chiron), emotional and spiritual abundance (Parts of Fortune) and transformative, life-changing power to people all over the world (9^th House).

August 16th - The Day The King AND The Queen Passed On

Finally, it’s impossible to ignore the time/space continuum calendrical convergence of the day of passing of Elvis (“The King) Presley on this same date – August 16^th – 41 years ago. The Sun was at 23 degrees of Leo on August 16, 1977, the day Elvis left the building, just as it is today. 

The Sabian Symbols interprets 23 Leo as: 

"IN A CIRCUS THE BAREBACK RIDER DISPLAYS HER DANGEROUS SKILL. KEYNOTE: The audacity and perseverance required to control and play with the powerful energies of the vital realm in human existence. The horse has always been the symbol of the vital energies. In a wild state the horse represents the magnificent, raw, impetuous energy of the libido in all its forms. When tamed, this energy is put to man’s service. There are men who have dominated their natural energies so well that they can perform spectacular feats. Here these achievements are seen within the context of a social function and expressing a flair for dramatics. At this third stage, the ego is in control; he is a great showman, but he serves a purpose. The performance stirs the imagination of the young consciousness. It raises the mind above the commonplace. The Keyword is VIRTUOSITY."

For those who aren't familiar with the Sabian Symbols, they're an oracle meditation downloaded in a single day in 1925 to Marc Edmund Jones and Elsie Wheeler. They contain symbolic pictures for all 360 degrees of the Zodiac. I sometimes look at their symbolism to get a subtler take on certain Zodiac degrees, and in the case of such gigantic luminaries (no pun intended!), the KING (Elvis) and the QUEEN (Aretha) both exiting their bodies on the same day, it's an interesting perspective to begin to understand the particular energies of the day.

Significance of the Hebrew Calendar / Cycle of Sacred Time

In the Hebrew calendar, Elvis died on 2 Elul, and Aretha died today which is 5 Elul, they both died the week of Parshat Shoftim. Elvis died on a Tuesday which is the 3rd Aliyah of Shoftim, and Aretha on Thursday which is the 5th Aliyah. 3rd Aliyah: The kohanim as G*d's holy servants, who do not receive a portion of the Land because HaShem is their portion. 5th Aliyah: Cities of Refuge!

16 August / 23 Leo is also the birthday of both Madonna and Shimon Peres, as well as the Solar yartzeit (day of passing) of Babe Ruth, “Gone With The Wind” author and unsurpassed publishing sensation Margaret Mitchell, and one who made himself a (despotic) king: Idi Amin.

There is something about 23 Leo which seems to manifest as legendary/superstardom. Not just because Leo which is the theatrical performer of the Zodiac, but this particular degree of Leo. The Sabian Symbol keyword “Virtuosity” seems more than fitting here.

There is much to say about Aretha – but now let’s let her say for herself. Today she’s met her Maker, and may it be the happiest day for her soul. Her memory, music, and legacy will live with us forever. Aretha: you’ve been a legend in your own time, and now you’re immortal, forever the brightest star in the firmament – RESPECT!

Rebel WITH a Cause

The Mars in Aquarius Retrograde (June 26-Aug 27) for Aries/Aries Rising and Scorpio/Scorpio Rising (Scorpio's modern ruler is Pluto, but classical ruler is Mars) impacts Mars-ruled people in weird ways. 

 

You may have a hard time prioritizing, as everything seems important. You may feel too many demands are being thrown at you from too many directions, each with their own sense of urgency. You may begin to feel resentful as the needs of friends, community and your affinity groups feel like they are about to overwhelm your own need for individuality. You might want to join a rebellion against the communal structures you've built in your own life.

 

I'm not saying "don't give in to these urges." I'm saying that by the end of August, you'll want to re-think the reactionary choices you make right now. If you're going to rebel, make sure your "cause" isn't something that will disintegrate by the end of summer.

Astrolojew in J -The Jewish Weekly of Northern California

I'm very excited to announce the debut of my new Astrolojew column in J - The Jewish Weekly of Northern California! I'll be writing a monthly column featuring Jewish astrological insights for the "J", which traces its history back to 1895, when it began publication in San Francisco as the Emanu-El. Today the J's website reaches more than a million people each year; and their biweekly print edition serves nearly 20,000 homes throughout Northern California. 

Here's a link to the online version of the debut article - look for it online and in print in the next issue (May 18)!

Yallah, Taurus!

Chodesh Iyar began on Sunday, but tonight the Sun moves into Taurus. The lag/overlap between the Hebrew and Gregorian months is why there are actually 36 possible permutations of the Zodiac. For instance, anyone born between Sunday at this evening would be an Iyar Aries. Anyone born between tonight and May 15th will be an Iyar Taurus. Those born between May 15th and May 22nd will be a Sivan Taurus...etc., etc.

("The 36 Signs" - Just another fun fact detailed in my upcoming Astrolojew: The Big Book of Jewish Astrology. Watch for it in 2019! :) )

Pictured: Iyar (Taurus), by American artist Mark Podwal. You can see this at the Met.

Passover 5775 Lunar Eclipse - Blood Moon Tetrad Calling Your Name!

Passover 5775's Lunar Eclipse - Saturday, April 4th, beginning at 4:58am Pacific, 7:58am Eastern and 2:58pm Israel time.

The Sun at 14 Aries and the Moon at 14 Libra oppose each other (as with every Full Moon) but this Full Moon is also a "Blood Moon" and the shortest Lunar Eclipse of the Century.

This is the third in a series of four Lunar Eclipses called a "Tetrad". Passover 5774, Sukkot 5775, Passover 5775 and Sukkot 5776 are all Lunar Eclipses.

This is a relatively rare event astronomically, and as far as the doubling of Lunar Eclipses on the two most prominent "Full Moon" Jewish holidays, that is even more rare.

The Torah teaches a concept which I call "Doubling". It's when something happens twice in order to signify that it is a message from G*d.

When Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dreams, he told Pharaoh that his two dreams were "one" (the dream of the fat and thin cows, and the dream of the fat and thin stalks of wheat). Joseph tells Pharaoh that G*d has doubled his dream to indicate that it is true, prophetic, and divine in origin.

Several times in scripture a name is called twice to prove it is a direct call from G*d. "Avraham, Avraham", "Yacov, Yacov", "Moses, Moses", "Shmuel, Shmuel" - these are all "doubled" to ensure nobody mistakes the caller for anyone else but G*d.

The "doubling" of the Lunar Eclipses (twice on Pesach and twice on Sukkot, 2014-2015) is, in my humble opinion, no less than G*d calling to the Jewish People.

The Talmud (Sukkah 29:a) teaches that Lunar Eclipses are indicative of negative judgement towards Am Yisrael. Specific sins are mentioned which bring about this particular judgement: "On account of those who perpetrate forgeries, on account of those who give false witness; on account of those who rear small cattle in the land of Israel; and on account of those who cut down good trees."

Regarding the eclipse of the Blood Moon, the Talmud states: "If its face is red as blood, [i a sign that] the sword is coming to the world".

Aries, the Zodiac Sign in which the Sun is during this Eclipse, is ruled by Mars (Maadin), "god" of War. The Moon in Libra is ruled by Venus (Noga), "goddess" of love, balance, beauty and peace. In the Jewish Zodiac, Aries is Yehuda and Libra is Ephraim.

Both Yehuda and Ephraim are the "supernatural firstborn" of their fathers. Yehuda, although the fourth son of Jacob (Yacov) and Leah, became the leader and "supernatural" firstborn by appointment of his father, Yacov, after the moral failings of his three older brothers (Reuven, Shimon and Levi). Ephraim, the younger of Yosef's two sons, was appointed the "supernatural" firstborn by Yacov, who consciously switched his hands while blessing Menashe and Ephraim, giving the younger son (Ephraim) the blessing of the first-born.

Is G*d is sending a message to the Jewish People by "doubling" the Lunar Eclipses - Pesach, Sukkot, Pesach, Sukkot - and not just on "any" Full Moon, but on the most significant Full Moons of the Jewish Year. Yehuda/Ephraim (Aries-Libra), Ephraim/Yehuda (Libra-Aries), Yehuda/Ephraim (Aries-Libra), Ephraim/Yehuda (Libra-Aries)?

What is G*d trying to say to us?

The answer is a very serious warning about Jewish unity. Ezekiel 37:16-17 unfolds the answer here:

"And you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write on it, 'For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions'; then take another stick and write on it, 'For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.' "Then join them for yourself one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand."

• Perhaps HaShem is telling us by doubling the Lunar Eclipses that our lack of care for one another and for the Land (and the Earth herself which we have been given) as detailed in Tractate Sukkah is bringing Divine Judgement on us.
• 
  Perhaps HaShem is telling us that unity between Yehuda and Ephraim, the two sticks becoming one, is the key to sweetening judgement and avoiding catastrophe.
• 
  Perhaps we are being called to remember that Tiferet ("Beauty and Balance") associated with Jacob (Yacov) in the Sefirot and demonstrated by his appointment of Yehuda and Ephraim as "supernatural" first-born is symbolic of the balance between Mars (war) and Venus (peace). Perhaps the divisions between members of Claal Yisrael have their roots in too much imbalance. 

We clearly see that some of us lean too heavily on the "Yehuda" side without considering the claims of "Ephraim", while others default to the "Ephraim" side while discounting or ignoring "Yehuda"'s validity. The lack of balance - in other words, the presence of EXTREMISM on both sides - is destructive to not only the Jewish People, but the world at large.

Ezekiel 37:16-17 is part of the Haftarah we read on Shabbos Vayigash, typically right after Chanukkah. In this Parsha, Yehuda and Yosef (father of Ephraim) enact the drama of revealing the concealed truth. Identities long hidden come to light. Truth is outed, tears are wept, hearts which have been broken are mended, regrets long held are dissolved in forgiveness, long-lost loved ones are reunited.

Maybe - as individuals, as communities, as a global and spiritual Claal - maybe we need to internalize the Yehuda/Ephraim paradigm, maybe we need to find beauty and balance in the opposites, maybe we need to hold space for the full spectrum of each other, maybe we can listen to what G*d is saying and find a way to hear the voice of the Divine as if our own name is being called, twice.