Elul 5779: Helping Hands and Humble Hearts

 Read Elul's horoscopes in the Jerusalem Post here

Virgo / Betulah, from a Hebrew medical text, Germany 1480 - 1500.

Virgo’s ruling planet Mercury (Kochav), Venus (Noga) and Mars (Ma’adin) as well as the Sun are arrayed like troops as befitting their tribal leader Gad, displaying good order and discipline during Chodesh Elul (August 31 – September 29). 

The practice of blowing the shofar every morning during Elul activates those troops like a spiritual call to arms! Betulah, the virgin, is prepared. She knows analysis and preparation is the foundation of every successful battle, and she has no intention of losing her war against the forces of disinformation and deceit.

It is during Elul which we say, “The king is in the field,” indicating the closeness and intimacy with our creator during this month traditionally dedicated to self-examination and repentance. 

Virgo’s prodigious analytic powers and insightful introspection are designed specifically to shine during this time of year. Her allies in sober sanity against the forces of chaos include Saturn (Shabbtai), stationing direct in structured, organized Capricorn on September 18. Saturn turns experience into maturity, and with maturity comes wisdom. As seasoned warriors in the war against spiritual darkness, we must pick and choose our battles and select our weapons wisely. The full moon in compassionate, empathetic Pisces on Friday, September 13, is a real-life opportunity to demonstrate humility and empathy. 

Extending a helping hand to those in need is good exercise for both heart and soul.

We journey together from ani l’dodi v’dodi li to preparing to crown “HaMelech” during the days between Tekufah Tishrei, the autumnal equinox September 23 and the new moon in Libra September 28. If we allow the shofar to blast holes in the hardened parts of our hearts, we’ll have done the heavy lifting of teshuva as we prepare to go into Rosh HaShanah 5780. May it be a year of blessings, revealed miracles and redemption!

#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!

Astral Weeks August 12 - 18th, 2018: Welcome Chodesh Elul

Astral Weeks

August 12 – 18^th 2018

Sunday August 12^th is the second day of Rosh Chodesh Elul, featuring a cool, clear Virgo Moon, inviting us to sift through our emotional responses and discern their root. Retrograde Mars enters the Cardinal Earth sign of Capricorn (backwards!) Sunday evening, where it will sit like a bird on a nest until September 10^th. This brings the energy back to where it was mid-May of this year – another chance to recalibrate, re-choose and redo things we started back in May. Monday evening August 13^th the Virgo Moon trines Mars in Capricorn, giving emotional strength and practical support to efforts to manifest new and more grounded understandings of ourselves and each other. The Moon enters romantic, partner-oriented Libra on Tuesday, making a conjunction to Venus and affixing those rose-colored glasses firmly on your face lasting all the way through Wednesday. It’s all hearts and flowers, sunshine and lollypops until Thursday’s Scorpio Moon demands you move past the superficial and into deeper waters. Scorpio Moon opposite Uranus in Taurus makes for abrupt and unexpected, surprising and even shocking emotional revelations. Friday morning’s Moon/Jupiter conjunction expands willingness to take emotional risks and go out on a limb for the sake of love. Saturday night’s First Quarter Moon in Sagittarius follows Shabbat Parshat Shoftim right on cue, as the Zodiac’s crusader for truth and justice is the natural accompaniment to the Torah portion which admonishes us: “Justice, justice, shalt thou pursue.” Mercury, which has been Retrograde in Leo since July 25^th, stations Direct on Saturday evening, beginning the turn-around process which continues the rest of the month.

More About Chodesh Elul

The Hebrew month of Elul marks the beginning of the end of the Jewish Year. During Elul we blow the shofar every day, announcing to all within hearing distance that Rosh Hashanah is only a month away. Elul is associated with the constellation of Virgo and the Tribe of Gad. The Hebrew gad could be translated as “a troop,” which is fitting for this Mercury-ruled month during which we strengthen ourselves spiritually, like soldiers preparing for battle, to prepare for the upcoming Days of Awe.

It is said during Elul that “the King is in the Field,” that the presence of God is very near to us, on the same plane that we exist upon, as opposed high and lifted upon a throne as during the High Holidays. This closeness is meant to inspire teshuva (turning to the proper path, aka “repentance”) out of love, not fear; Elul can be read as an acronym for “ani l’dodi v’dodi li” (I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine,” a phrase from Song of Songs. 

Elul is the month associated with the mazal (constellation) of Virgo, the Mutable Earth (Transformative Manifestation) sign, whose function is that of sifting, analyzing and choosing that which is useful while discarding that which, while perhaps pretty or pleasant, does not serve the highest purpose.

This year, Rosh Chodesh Elul, a solar eclipse and the Torah portion Re’eh all occured on the same day (Saturday, August 11). The light of the Sun is blocked during a solar eclipse, making it harder to see (re’eh). The primitive psychological experience of an eclipse is heightened anxiety as the light is diminished, followed by relief at the light’s return. During the brief but dramatic episode of darkness, we face our own shadowy fears. When we can see again, we see things differently. May we see each other and ourselves in a new light, and may the light of Elul illuminate our path as we make our way towards Rosh Hashanah!

Astral Weeks August 5th - 11th: Retrograde Season and the Dog Days of Summer

Astral Weeks

August 5^th – 11^th

This week begins the dozen days (August 7–18) during which Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto will all be retrograde. These are the celestial “dog days” of summer. The retrograde motion of planets is an illusion caused by the moving Earth passing other planets in their orbits, a phenomenon relative to our location on planet Earth. The planets of our solar system themselves do not actually reverse their orbits and travel backwards: it just looks like it from our vantage point. Nevertheless, the energetic manifestation of any planetary retrograde reflects a sense of energetic impedance, feeling “stuck,” or difficulty going forward. Which is why these dozen days in August calls for vacation time, whether it’s a getaway or stay-cation. If you can’t get away physically, at the very least it’s time for a brain vacation. 

Sunday August 5^th finds the planet Venus at the very last degree of Virgo. The Moon enters Gemini on Sunday evening, energizing a double-Mercury (Gemini and Virgo) tag team between emotions (Moon) and romance (Venus). Venus at 29 Virgo is in the “critical” degree, and in the case of Virgo, this can be taken literally. Beware of being too fickle, too finicky, too fastidious or too frenzied. 

Venus moves into her home sign of Libra on Monday, August 6^th, inspiring art and creativity. Interpersonal harmony in the area of thought sounds like a theoretically great idea, and perhaps might even be possible for some as Venus in the early degrees of Libra makes a trine to retrograde Mars in Aquarius – sweet, but possibly short-lived, as Uranus stations retrograde at 3 degrees of Taurus on Tuesday, August 7^th, making an exact trine to Saturn in Capricorn. The practical Earth signs want to know: who’s paying for this party? The Moon enters her home sign of Cancer on Tuesday night, and opposes Saturn early Wednesday morning, August 8^th, ramping up emotionalism and enhancing super-sensitivity around security issues. The Sun conjuncts retrograde Mercury in Leo on Wednesday evening, during which we can expect to hear the lion roar – especially when feeling misunderstood and/or disrespected. Emotional Moon enters proud Leo the evening of Thursday, August 9^th. Tears of frustration and rage may give way to passionate venting – avoid becoming personal during conflicts with others. But – hey! Remember my advice at the beginning of this column about the vacation you were supposed to take this week? By Friday August 10^th you’ll be wishing you had taken this advice to heart at the beginning of the week. Retrograde Mercury in ego-driven Leo squares retrograde chronic exaggerator Jupiter in compelling, controlling Scorpio, raising the stakes in a very public game of “truth and dare.” Escalating one-upmanship expands gap between raw desire and the polite or impolite things you’re willing to give – or take – to get what you want.   

Those who did not take a vacation from their ego this week may be heading for a real confrontation with the relative smallness of their own existence during Saturday’s Solar Eclipse / New Moon in Leo on August 11^th. Saturday, Shabbat Parshat Re’eh, is also Rosh Chodesh Elul, the beginning of the Hebrew month of Elul, whose initials in Hebrew stand for “Ani l’Dodi v’Dodi Li” – I am my beloveds, and my beloved is mine. Remember who and what you love, and cling to that reality while the winds of life’s dramas and traumas swirl around you. Reduce anxiety by asking yourself: How much of all that chaos actually belongs to you– and how much just doesn’t belong to you at all, but is a product of the mass hysteria of a world in pain, screaming at you from every screen? Don’t overdose on the information wars right now, they’re only serving to stoke the flames of the collective angst. The Moon goes Void of Course shortly after the eclipse as we all simultaneously exhale, and Moon enters calm, rational Virgo late Saturday night. We’re deep into Retrograde Season, but in every seeming impediment there’s the opportunity for re-calibration. Course-corrections are worth slowing down for.