Tarot – Page 8 – True Tarot Tales

Season of Sagittarius, celestial archer of the sinking sun

Why is this time of year associated with Sagittarius the Archer? Two thousand years ago and more, the ancients looked up at this time of year and studied a constellation overhead that they decided represented the image of a man with a bow and arrow.

But the zodiac signs were cast in stone by Ptolemy in the 2 century AD and these dates remain unchanged, based on his arithmetic model of the zodiac. The astrology has parted company with the astronomy which inspired it, due to the wobble of the earth,and the effect known as the precession of the equinoxes.

The constellation of Sagittarius is now visible in the northern hemisphere in summer until September, and is visible in the winter in the southern hemisphere.

To find out where and how to see the constellation VIEW HERE.

But the zodiac dates endure, and the story and the meaning endure.

This was the time of year when the men of the family group went a hunting, to to catch, to kill, to cure and to store meat for the coming winter.

Common associations

Symbol:

Date of Birth: Nov 22 to Dec 21

Ruling planet: Jupiter

Element: Fire

Key phrase: I seek

Body: Thighs

Birth Stone: Topaz, Citrine, Turquoise

Colour: Light Blue

Tarot card: Temperance: Timing, Moderation, Education, Solstice, Healing of Chiron

More about the Astronomy

Sagittarius, the zodiac sign inspired by the constellation of Sagittarius, from the Latin meaning Archer, was recorded in the 2nd century by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy.

The constellation of Sagittarius is near the centre of our galaxy, the spiral Milky Way, mainly visible in the southern hemisphere June-November. In the Northern hemisphere the constellation is low on the horizon from August to October.

Sagittarius has a nickname, ‘The Teapot’ on account of its vaguely teapot-shaped star pattern, or asterism.

To find The Teapot

The best time to look is in August or September, somewhere really dark. Locate the hazy band of The Milky Way stretching right across the sky. Looking in the northern hemisphere, the Milk Way seems to bulge as it descends to the southern horizon. This ‘bulge’ is roughly about the middle of the Milky Way and is contained within the boundaries of the constellation Sagittarius.

Photo by u200bu0468u0477u047bu048f u046au0454u0459u0469u04e1u04c4u047bu0487u0477 on Pexels.com

Sagittarius contains a massive star-forming region, the Omega Nebula, home to the bright blue hyper-giant Pistol Star, one of the brightest stars in the Milky Way. The Pistol Star was discovered with the Hubble Space telescope in 1930, and is largely hidden in the dust of its own nebula.

It is 100 times as massive as our Sun, and 10,000,000 times as bright.

Mythology

Sagittarius is the ninth sign in the Zodiac, not to be confused with the constellation itself, and represents those born between Nov. 22 and the advent of winter solstice, Dec. 21.

Sagittarius is nowadays generally associated with the ancient Greek story of Chiron. But the story is far, far older, and goes back to a Babylonian god, Pabilsag, and even further back than that.

Pabilsag and the Solstice

Pabilsag was the ancient Babylonian name for what we now call Sagittarius, handed down to the Greeks through the Sumerians and Kassites.

The Sumerian word ‘Pabil’ means ‘ancestor or relative’. Combined with the final element sag, meaning ‘chief, head, tip or foremost,’ his name can be translated as the ‘Chief Ancestor’ or ‘Forefather’.

Just as we were hunters at the dawn of human civilization.

Here, 3 millennia BC, we we have a winged centaur type figure, and yes, he is an archer too, and his arrow points at the heart of Scorpio, the red star Antares, but he also has a scorpion’s tail as the wheel of the Zodiac turns, and as Sagittarius gallops in, we leave Scorpio behind.

The distinction of Sagittarius, though, is that he is a solitary hunter. He does not work as one of a team to being down the really big prey. He is an individualist, working alone, just as many a hunter or trapper still hunts alone in winter.

Sagittarius – Psychopomp

The constellation of Sagittarius-Pabilsag is within the Milky Way, rising from the southern regions close to the horizon into the higher reaches of the skies.

This section of the Milky Way represents a symbolic bridge or a rainbow for the souls of the dead on their way to the afterlife, as the arrival of Capricorn draws near, marking the advent of the winter solstice. so that Sagittarius, or Pabilsag, is a psychopomp; a guardian and a guide to the dying year, and also to the souls of the dying as the sun sinks ever lower.

Chiron the wounded Centaur

Most modern versions of the story refer back to much later, classical variants of the old Babylonian myths, and say that Sagittarius represents the gentle, cultured centaur, Chiron, who was accidentally shot by Herakles with a poison arrow.

The centaurs in general were a rough lot, hard drinking, hard fighting, not remotely glamorous. It has been suggested that the legend of the centaurs rose from perfectly mortal, mounted ancient Greek cowboys.

But whatever the centaurs were, Chiron ‘the wisest and justest of the centaurs’ was something very different, representing a hope for the centaurs, and for Humanity itself, as collectively it strives to rise above the ever present tyranny of the Id and its own worst nature.

Here he is, trying to teach Achilles to control his temper, learning to play the lyre. Chiron had many other pupils, as well, including Asclepius, Ajax, Achilles, Theseus, Jason, Peleus, Perseus, and Phoenix. And Herakles, who brought about his death, when he was sent there to be schooled with Chiron.

Herakles had previously lost his temper with Linus, his music tutor back home. Linus, criticised his playing, and Herakles responded by smashing his lyre over the teachers head, killing him. Though in some accounts it was a stool.

Now Chiron, wounded by the poison arrow, was left in terrible pain. He was wise in the ways of medicine, none wiser, but he could not heal himself, and none could help him. Nor could he die, being Immortal.

Still, he carried on until he could bear it no more, and he asked Zeus to release him from Immortality so that he could die and be free of pain.

Zeus placed him in the heavens and the story goes, placed him there as Sagittarius.

However, Chiron already has another constellation, Centaurus, and in addition, there is another classical version of the story of Sagittarius, referring instead to Krotos, a satyr who lived on Mount Helicon with the Muses.

Krotos the Cultivated Satyr

Krotos was the son of Pan and Eupheme, and his mother had nursed the Muses. He was a renowned archer, hunter, horse rider – hence a possible source of confusion with the centaur, and besides all this, a devotee of his childhood companions, The Muses and their arts.

*By Aratus – Leiden University Library Catalogue, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7660666*

Krotos means ‘One who Claps his hands.’ He was credited by the Greeks with not only having invented archery, but introducing the convention of applause at artistic performances.

In this version of the story it was the Muses who, when Krotos died, asked Zeus to place him among the stars, which he did, transforming him into the constellation Sagittarius, says this variant of the zodiac story.

So Sagittarius is either the cultured wounded healer, Chiron, already represented in the constellation Centaurus, or he is the cultured satyr, Krotos; goaty, horse-riding archer, culture vulture and hunter extraordinaire.

There is a secondary link here, Krotos the Satyr linking Sagittarius with Capricorn, the next sign coming up, sun sinking to the winter solstice.

Chiron or Krotos?

Take your pick.

Or you can go Babylonian with Pabilsag.

The Muses

Sagittarius is keenly intuitive, and usually has a marked talent, a gift, in the field of the Arts. Winston Churchill for example, was a Sagittarius subject and probably psychic. He was certainly subject to visions and feelings of premonition, and he also painted.

Delphi said there were three Muses. But c 600 BC Hesiod wrote in his Theogony that there were Nine Muses, the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (Memory personified) and this is the version that has generally stuck.

The Muses were not necessarily benign. They were touchy, sensitive to human hubris, and liable to exact vengeance of anyone they decided was getting too far above themselves.

Kalliope ‘She of the Lovely Voice’ was the muse of epic poetry. Also of Diplomacy.
Klio ‘She Who Proclaims’ was the muse of history.
Erato ‘The Lovely One’ was the muse of love poetry.
Euterpe ‘She Who Pleases’ was the muse of music.
Melpomene ‘She Who Sings’ was the muse of tragedy.
Polyhymnia ‘She of the Many Hymns’ was the muse of sacred poetry.
Terpsichore ‘She Who Delights to Dance’ was the muse of dance.
Thalia ‘The Cheerful One’ was the muse of comedy
Urania ‘The Heavenly One’ was the goddess of astronomy, astrology, and later, Christian poetry.

Sagittarius: The Astrological Personality

Of course there is no such thing as THE Sagittarius personality. Everyone is unique. We are speaking here of an archetype.

Sagittarius is ruled overall by the planet Jupiter, and rules the Ninth House of philosophy, law, travel, higher study, and the second life partner when we have one. The seventh house rules the choice of a first life partner. In any second choice we are looking to learn more, and to expand our inner horizons from meeting with a mind that is very different to our own. A third choice of life partner is said to be ruled by the eleventh house of group identity.

Sagittarius zodiac sign subjects need constant adventures to stay interested. Freedom is of the utmost importance to them. Movement. Travel. Space and room for manoeuver. Likewise they allow space and freedom to their partners.

The archetype of Sagittarius is brave, lively, warm, optimistic, curious, adventurous, rational, but also insightful, even visionary.

These are generally astute, clever and capable people. But they need career flexibility, and they may refuse to fail to apply themselves if bored. Like Gemini, they are prone to restlessness. They may fail to stick at a job or a succession of jobs, and may struggle financially long term in consequence.

Hence their challenge, but also their guiding light is the idea of Temperance,personified in the Tarot and symbolising patience, prudence, and the art of good timing.

They can do ‘domestic’. It’s not that. But you wouldn’t really call it how they roll.

And they do tend to roll, place to place, job to job, and a rolling stone gathers no moss. The problem being, other things it doesn’t gather either, like a steady home life, or steady income, or savings or other means of security in old age, if Sagittarius does not balance the need for freedom , space and independence with prudence and good timing.

Sagittarius tends to have lots of friends. More than almost anyone else, so much so, family and friends can feel neglected at times, forgotten, when Sagittarius goes off yet again, devil may care, to share experiences with new best friends.

Sagittarius must have inspiration, and the freedom to follow it, and to roam. But this humanitarian, kindly, if restless rolling stone sooner or later almost always comes rolling home again, expecting to find their loved ones exactly where they left them. And usually, they are. Though others do not enjoy being taken for granted, and this may need care.

Sagittarius will be the star of this show. But what they really need for domestic happiness, is a quietly confident, self-reliant partner who has plenty of interests themselves; and much life experience.

Who will be their rock but who will not roll.

Who will be above all, their best friend.

Till next time 🙂

November Moon-raking, cartomancy…(and no, I didn’t say muck-raking)

19: 15PM GMT

I understand Mr Biden has now called it, and declared an Election victory for the Democrats 7 November 2020.

Mr Biden 290 Votes: Mr Trump 214 votes

Mr Biden is now the US President Elect.

What is astrology and why do astrologers study the Moon?

‘Astrology’ comes from Greek and means ‘the study of the stars.’

Humans have been studying and recording the phases of the Moon for at least 25, 000 years. The Moon is the closest celestial body to Earth, an average of 238,855 miles (384,400 km) away depending on its orbit.

The Moon provides not only a guide to the seasons, and a measure of predictability as to when certain things will happen, such as the migration of animals for hunting, but exerts visible effects on the tides and a lot more besides, for example, the spawning of corals, animal mating seasons, crop growth, hormonal cycles and quite possibly human behaviour.

November Headlines

You might get to wish upon a star this November…a shooting star, and heaven knows a lot of people will be wishing very hard right now, one way and another.

Look out for Taurid meteor showers on the 11-12 November looking to the right of Orion just after midnight and again on the 17-18 November.

The Taurids, Joshua Tree, California, Channone Arif via Wikimedia Commons

Key Dates

Nov 08 Last Quarter Moon in Leo (waning)

Nov 15 New Moon in Scorpio and this will be a super new moon

Nov 22 First Quarter Moon in Pisces (waxing)

Nov 30 Full Moon in Gemini and this will be a penumbral lunar eclipse.

A penumbral lunar eclipsehappens when the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon and blocks some or all of the Sun’s light from reaching the Moon. In a penumbral lunar eclipse the Sun, Earth, and the Moon are imperfectly aligned. The Earth blocks some of the Sun’s light from directly reaching the Moon’s surface and covers all or part of the Moon with the outer part of its shadow, a penumbra. But the shadow is only faint, and a penumbral eclipse is often difficult to tell apart from a normal Full Moon.

What do the moon phases mean symbolically?

A waxing Moon as we approach Full Moon is the optimum time to grow, build, add to, make or get something. It is about bringing something new in, or bringing something to completion or fruition.

A Full Moon is the optimum time to take stock and evaluate, or to gather, collect, harvest or cash in on something.

A waning Moon after the Full Moon is the optimum time for ending something, clearing out what’s no longer wanted or needed, including unhelpful or unhealthy habits. It may mean releasing something, or even getting rid of something (someone.)

A New Moon is the optimum time to launch something, to make a new plan and to start from scratch.

15 November 2020: New Moon in Scorpio

The major arcana Tarot card associated with the water sign Scorpio is Death.

Traditional meanings: Death, endings, transformations, resurrections.

This coming New Moon does not indicate a slackening of the current post Election Day roller-coaster, even if the winner is announced.

I have looked at this more than once since June 2020, and though it seemed to be clear it would be Mr B…my cards just would not send me that clear signal of confirmation.

But it’s one or the other, right? Simple, yes?

Well, I get a lot of good psychic ‘hits’. That’s how I came to learn Tarot in the first place, but I am not a soothsayer. I do it in a spirit of experiment, sounding myself out.

Plenty of others do public predictions, and are very often right, as well as brave, because who needs the trolls, and they get stick whether they get it right (cheating) or wrong (ya, boo, jeer)

I expect to deliver reliable soundings and directions for strategy, but am not a sayer of sooth as such. Though if I was, and I was on the payroll of the Emperor Tiberius he would probably have me thrown off the cliffs on Capri. That’s what he used to do to his psychic advisors if dissatisfied, and if they survived the fall, his soldiers would finish them.

But then, it wasn’t so much a correct prediction that saved his famous astrologer, Thrasyllus, but a joke.

‘What’s YOUR future, do you think,Thrasyllus?’ said Tiberius quietly, as they took a walk out along the cliff-tops at Capri, and Thrasyllus read the signs and said, knees knocking, ‘Oh Caesar, I fear my life is in the most terrible danger RIGHT NOW!’

So it was, except Tiberius was amused and changed his mind.

Good decision on Tiberius’s part. Thrasyllus got it right far more often than he got it wrong, and that meant, far better than a toss of the coin and 50:50

Sometimes the future exists, sometimes it doesn’t.

That is not a gnostic pronouncement. Nor is it a cop-out. It is common sense. Death is certain but not the day or the mode. When it does ‘exist,’ such that is it available to forecasting, there is a change in the wind, we feel it, we smell it, or the windsock points, and then there is consensus.

When I know what I think, my cards line up consistently. When I do not know what I think, something is niggling at me. Maybe only time will tell me what it is.

The current pandemic and other events and winds of 202/2021 was forecast in 2011 by a French astrologer Andre Barbault, using his knowledge of history and his charts as his tools of navigation in practicing mundane astrology (real world events rather than personal horoscopes/astrology).

“It may well be that we are seriously threatened by a new pandemic in 2020-2021.”-Translated in The Astrological Journa, May-June Issue 2020

Not a peep about this US election though. Except in terms of social unrest. Does that make his contribution any the less relevant, extraordinary or striking?

Anything else is divination for analysis….reflecting events in real time or just a little ahead of the curve.

Astrology is like mapping. Tarot is more like this. One is trying to hover above an ant-heap, getting a drone’s eye view as it were, while also being an ant inside the ant-heap, and also looking at a handful of the heap itself under a microscope.

Everything points to Mr B, but the cards are still not being consistent, and there will be a profound reason for this, which perhaps only time can tell, unless, which is entirely possible, I am simply being stupid.

The resistance in my cards is not due to wishful thinking. I am a little ambivalent about Mr B, but have always felt he may represent the best chance for a vital re-calibration, if he has the nerve, strategy and stamina to also restore peace in those places that have lost control of law and order.

My cards showed surprises weeks ago, in a blog post here, and there have been several subsequent appearances of The Joker, logged on Twitter, drawn against Mr T’s election prospects.

The Joker is the planet Uranus, rebellion and revolt. His element is Air and at this time he is retrograde in Taurus, and stays retrograde until January 2021.

Mr T does not need this job. His election in 2016 represented a protest. This this after two terms of a Democrat president, the most affable, sophisticated, urbane President imaginable…and yet…

There seems a widening existential schism between Rural, Small Town and City America.

The Joker

Mr T came in and played The Joker card….and the Joker as we know, is often perfectly serious and not at all funny.

Uranus which rules the concept of the archetype of The Joker is not all bad news. Its nickname is The Great Awakener, and it betokens invention, innovation, electricity, and technology.

The Joker is a force of change whether for good, ill or both. He is Loki, crafty, and maker of mischief. An instigator, a subversive, the rebel of the planet Uranus. He can be downright scary as an agent of revolution or chaos.

The cat among the pigeons, and the old Chinese curse, ‘may you live in interesting times’.

Many will be mightily relieved to see the Joker depart. But for now, the door is still ajar.

But assuming Mr B is declared the winner…a logical assumption, and this has been the ‘safer’ bet all along….Mr T’s got plenty else to do….over there in the ‘money meadow’ unless he can be bothered with opposition politics.

I did look at Ms Harris too, some weeks ago – also here in the archives – and for many she represents the darling hope, but I was not shown that she has the wherewithal, not for the job that’s needed right now, which is no disparagement, but what I was shown were superb executive skills.

It has been messy, and it might not be over.

Only last night the Supreme Court ordered a halting of counting of late Pennsylvania ballots.

SOURCE: The Epoch Times

November 6, 2020 Updated: November 7, 2020 EST

“U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito late Friday ordered Pennsylvania election officials to segregate ballots that arrived after Election Day.

Alito granted a request by the state’s Republican Party to separate mail-in ballots received between 8 p.m. on Nov. 3 and 5 p.m. on Nov. 6 from those that arrived by 8 p.m. on Nov. 3, in accordance with state guidance.

He ordered (pdf) that those segregated ballots must be kept “in a secure, safe, and sealed container separate from other voted ballots.”

The justice, however, did not order the counties to stop counting but instead ordered that “all such ballots, if counted, be counted separately.”

Alito also directed any responses to the application by 2 p.m. on Nov. 7.

The Republican Party of Pennsylvania (RPP) filed a request (pdf) earlier on Friday asking the court for an order to log, segregate, and not take any actions over mail-in ballots received after Election Day.“

I understand it may have inferred or directed a process of dating and proving provenance for these segregated ballots, and indeed, even as I am typing this, Il Matrimonio has shouted through from the other room that Mr Has won Pennsylvania.

Mr Biden is a deep Scorpio subject, a King of Cups in Tarot symbolism, with friendly fiery mutable Sagittarius as his rising sign or outward persona.

Mr Trump is an airy, volatile Gemini subject, a King of Swords, with drama-king fiery fixed Leo as his rising sign.

How odd, then, what a small curiosity is this, that the New Moon this month is in Scorpio and The Full Moon is in Gemini.

A New Moon will Wax (Biden) and a Full Moon (Trump) will wane.

30 November 2020: Full Moon in Gemini

The major arcana Tarot card associated with the lively air sign Gemini is The Lovers.

Traditional meanings: Lovers, love, romance, making commitments, weighing up choices and decisions.

This November, the full Moon is about messages, sudden developments, new ideas, speed of communications, new contacts, highly likely to do with job hunting, and possibly having to make a few snap decisions.

Some of these decisions could be tough, but important decisions need to be made with the head, not the heart.

A Gemini Full Moon lunar eclipse such as this one on 30 November is traditionally considered an unfavourable choice of date for surgery, including dental surgery, on similar principles as gardening by the moon…translating here as ease of extraction and issues of blood loss, and risk of infection afterwards. Ideally, one would avoid the next three days, and if concerned, one might consider re-scheduling if practical.

In Summary

There may be further secrets and surprises and upsets this month, as already happening vis-a-vis the US Election counting

I see now why in a card reading done some weeks ago, Sounding The Last Trump) I drew The Ace of Swords for Mr T (Law/court) and why other things did not seem to stack up.

On a personal or family level, old history may haunt us, though this could be an opportunity to resolve them. Some things though are best left, no poking the ant’s nest.

The lunar eclipse 30 November is a reminder to take extra care with important communications, not to believe everything you are told (huh) and to be extra careful with paperwork. Double-check everything.

A bit of peace and quiet would do us all a power of good….and all the sniping and screaming on the media and social media… well, that’s the Tower of Babel.

Love them and leave them. Block, Mute, Avoid, Let Be, Switch Off.

Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof (and that is the perennial problem with prediction, unless you can see avoiding action and the other person decided to use the warning)

It’s a wonderful world.

Till next time 🙂

Samhain…Halloween…It started in the stars

Like everything, it started in the stars, and then we started telling stories, mapping the movements of the skies on the walls of the caves, planning our own movements, ensuring provision for our survival, tracking the tilting of the seasons as the Earth went round the sun, and the seas warmed and cooled.

The modern festival of Halloween began as a marker of the darkest of the four so-called cross-quarter days in the Northern Hemisphere. A cross-quarter day marks the half-way point between an equinox and a solstice and in the case of Halloween, obviously this is between the autumn equinox and winter solstice, reversing these if you are in the Southern Hemisphere.

Click Here to read more

Halloween began as a Bronze Age festival, Samhain (pronounced Sow-in) Though it may well be far older. The name meant ‘summer’s end’ and its signal was the sighting of The Pleiades seen overhead at midnight.

This midnight zenith of The Pleiades now occurs 21 November owing to the Earth’s tilt and the wobble on its axis, an effect called precession, and in addition, the Julian calendar was replaced by the Gregorian calendar and further added to the discrepancy in dates.

But this astronomical event did apparently once coincide with the days around 31 October as recorded during the 11th and 12th centuries.

Samhain was a period rather than a single day and marked the start of the winter for Celtic societies, ending one planting cycle and beginning another. Seeds for the next year were often planted at this time.

It began about a week after the modern Halloween or All Hallows Eve, and it was believed that all those who had departed this life the previous year were finally freed from all their earthly ties.

The Pleiades

The Pleiades or The Seven Sisters is a star cluster in the north-west region of the constellation of Taurus the Bull. Classicists debate the origin of the name which may derives from πλεῖν (plein -“to sail”) because of the cluster’s importance for the sailing season in the Mediterranean: “the season of navigation began with their heliacal rising” (Wiki)

Here is how to locate them:

The Pleiades feature as prominent stars of winter in the ancient agricultural calendar of the northern hemisphere, and the Greek poet Hesiod wrote:-

And if longing seizes you for sailing the stormy seas,
when the Pleiades flee mighty Orion
and plunge into the misty deep
and all the gusty winds are raging,
then do not keep your ship on the wine-dark sea
but, as I bid you, remember to work the land.— Works and Days 618–623

Celtic mythology

A bronze disk, 1600 BC, from Nebra, Germany, is one of the oldest known representations of the cosmos. You can see the seven dots of The Pleiades top right.

By Dbachmann, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1500795

For the Bronze Age Celts, and probably going back far earlier the Pleiades were associated with mourning and with funerals. At that time in history, on the cross-quarter day the cluster rose in the eastern sky as the sun’s light faded in the evening and this association has persisted even though The Pleiades no longer mark the festival.

Traces

All is lost, in death, they say.

Not all, nor straightaway.

Records of state and memory last a while.

For some, memorials, for others work in word or form,

Sustain their name.

For many, genes still stalk the pool,

Promises of progeny,

If not the immortality

Of Gargantua’s heartfelt plea.

And for all, there’s particle subsistence,

As material laws require.

But if that wasn’t all?

If walls have ears, have they memory too?

If the pendulum distinguishes one

hurled in anger, in a heap of stones,²

And if creatures all had souls, as Pythagoras claimed,

If all we did, or felt, or thought, lived on,

In cyberspace or noo-sphere

Oblivion would not hold true.

Or is the good all lost

And all the evil too?

PJW

Till next time 🙂 Meanwhile I’ll leave you with this from Enya: numinous and timeless; The Humming.

The Six of Swords, Ships of souls: Maritime Vision of The Post Brexit Voyage

Science, Ships and The Six of Swords

I follow Scientists for Britain on Twitter.

Back in April 2020 they tweeted:

“We are urging NHS Supply Chain to ignore the EU Public Procurement Directive during the current crisis ——— This EU rule applies in the UK until Dec 2020 ——— It is designed to create an EU-supervised supplies market but is an unnecessary bureaucratic obstacle ——— Please retweet.“

This tweet, as with anything else said, whispered or timidly squeaked in or about public life at present, drew some sharply critical comments asserting UK incompetence as the true root of the problem, plus a jot of jingoism.

Later 20 October, Scientists for Britain tweeted

“Retained EU law could cost our shipbuilding industry billions even after transition and MPs have NO plans to fix it.”

They better had.

Back to the Tarot. I drew a card in immediate response to this tweet and funnily enough, drew The Six of Swords though it is a mighty tiny maritime vessel, I grant you. It does two jobs here though. Of all the 78 cards in the Tarot deck, this is THE card capable of painting a future in respect of both the coronavirus problem and British maritime simultaneously.

It’s got a frog though, a lovely little frog…quite a big one actually. One wonders what it might possibly signify in this context (says this channel-going Francophile, though not all that struck with M Macron. )

‘M Macron is a sheeeet,’ said a beautiful young lady to me in 2017, working zero hours in a shoe shop in a tourist hot-spot…Rocamadour. ‘It is very bad here for young people. But the others, they were double sheeets.’

She was referring here to the two other chief contenders for the job.

Though M. Macron is entirely right to object as he is doing, and to take action to prevent more teachers being beheaded on the streets of Paris by murderous religious lunatics who don’t approve of the laws of the land or the state educational curriculum. Rip le pauvre M Samuel Paty.

France did not become a secular Republic overnight or for no reason. France has seen it all.

I remember objecting to certain things the C of E promoted in primary schools when my children attended those schools…not because we attended church ourselves, but because those were the only local state schools.

But a word or a note sufficed to voice my displeasure or concerns, and these were met with civility. A somewhat frosty civility, perhaps, but civility nonetheless, no reason to go home and get the chopper out.

Likewise, the school took no offence at child 1 when she said Jesus was Odd. He was Odd, the Son of God (don’t ask why, I don’t know how she arrived at that conclusion) Likewise they were only amused when Child 2 asserted that Jesus was a tortoise, and why? Because the Head, Mr R had told them so in Assembly.

He told them ‘Jesus taught us how to live in ‘harmileeeee’….which clearly demonstrated that he was a tortoise. ‘But they were mean to him,’ she said mournfully, ‘and put him on a log’.

I recounted this to the Head, Mr R, who laughed till he had a coughing fit and staggered off to the office to share it, then came back and said, ‘oh well, it’s good to know at least someone was listening.’

Nope, not a chopper in sight. Let’s see if the Archbishop of Canterbury comes after me for this…but I trust he won’t, or any of his congregation either. I really do. Though maybe once upon a time in these islands, such levity might have got me in a huge lot of trouble…four hundred years ago…

Good luck, all power to you, there, M. Macron, and all reasonable, civilized people in La Belle France and the whole world over.

LIBERTÉ.

I have made a bit of a detour here, but not entirely. We were talking about Ships and Science.

Looking just now I see the iconic Yard in Appledore in North Devon reopened in August after it closed in 2019. It has been bought by Harland and Wolff owner Infrastrata for £7 million with 350 jobs, and its special angle will be ‘Green’ shipping. Read more Here

Elements and Timing

The Six of Swords correlates with the element of Fixed Air- Intellect -and the Second Decan of Aquarius, dates 30 January- 8 February.

If during a personal reading someone asks me when? this should prove to be the window.

Maritime Britain has a lot of lost ground (water) to make up. It is by no stretch any longer one of the big boys, but slowly, surely we are and WILL be building more again, and hopefully this will mean more new fantastic STEM apprenticeship schemes for young people, while according to this article about Merseyside the lesson and the plan seems to be diversification.

Exploration and Recovery

This card of one the one had, exploration, and on the other hand, convalescence and recovery suggests small but clear small signs here and there, in terms of the SARS Covid nightmare penumbra, and concomitant economic recovery, dips and troughs, small signs intermittent at first, more visible after we pass, first Feb then early April, then the mid-year point.

Science should do well this coming decade. Science, Research and Development.

Maritime will slowly build back with the emphasis on innovation. The innovative specification of the new Sir David Attenborough shows just what amazing things are now being done.

Read here re the discovery of what could just possibly be the oldest boat-building yard in the world…a platform 8,000 years old off the Isle of Wight.

The Six of Swords correlates with the element of Fixed Air- Intellect -and the Second Decan of Aquarius, dates 30 January- 8 February

In general terms it is a solemn but positive card of moving away, moving on, charting a new course, entering uncharted waters.

It has a gravitas, solemnly she takes the helm alone, fixing her gaze ahead. She is the spirit of Britannia, born of many spirits and legends native to not only Britain, but of the Akkadians, Sumerians,Babylonians, Greeks; the Star goddess Astraea, and Dike, the Roman goddess of Justice.

This card may indicate funerals and obsequies in my experience. There may be grief attached. It is a card of loss and readjustment but still, with a gradual recovery of composure and with great Hopes for the Future.

2020 is a year of many losses and the end of the storm is not yet quite in sight. It’s certain to intensify in the next few weeks.

The Six of Swords however, while you can see for yourself this ain’t exactly a fun card, is a card of recovery in every sense of the word. If a loved one is sick, this is a welcome card, but its meaning goes further and wider.

The Major Arcana card for Aquarius is The Star, signifying equilibrium, independence and above all…a new vision. Following that star which shines out biggest and brightest in the firmament, needing no permission to be there and to shine, along with all the other stars, but this is the one we will follow.

The Six of Swords, both Air and Water, is associated with Mercury, governing all communications and trade (Think Hermes)

It is also the minor card par excellence of distance learning

And, visionary Science and R & D. This means UK Space Tech too.

Till next time.

I’ll leave you with this track from incomparable musician, poet and story-teller Mark Knopfler from the Album Get Lucky, video with thanks to Alec Beaton.

‘Bravely she rises to meet with the land’….

An elegy, but the past is never dead and gone for good, and now we are facing forward.

Kickass Candles in the Wind

Yesterday I drew just one card for Mr Trump and one card for Mr Biden, asking re their position come the day of the Inauguration, January 2020.

I have felt consistently drawn to feel the Democrats do not have this in the bag, whatever the polls say, while astrologers vary, but more Vedic astrologers seem to favour Mr T’s chances in November, while it is more variable, it seems to me, there is less consensus among Western astrologers.

It should be a clear line of sight. Why isn’t it, yet? Is my intellect at odds with my intuition? I have felt unsettled of late, and have been having a flare up of RA symptoms. Perhaps I am not on form.

The future both exists and does not exist. This is self-evident when one considers that Death is certain. It exists, guaranteed outcome, but not the how or when. So it can be with psychic prediction. Sometimes the ducks are pretty much lined up, and then it shines out and a forecast may be made, as if from the gut. Other times, it is morphing. Still nascent.

Perhaps it will come down to what is going down in the next two weeks. If there should be unrest on the streets of Portland etc at this critical point, this will be far more likely to increase Trump votes than decrease them, I feel, based on a previous appearance of The Ace of Swords as detailed on this blog in recent weeks, and this was a card which seemed to strengthen the position of Mr T rather than Mr B.

(Victory, Law and Order)

But yesterday I asked what was going to be the picture come Inauguration Day and I drew The Five of Cups for Mr T (disappointment) and for Mr B, I got the same card I drew before, the 10 of Cups.

The Legacy of the Divine Tarot, Ciro Marchetti

See her drowning her sorrows in the 5 Cups. Though in fact, it would probably actually feel like something of a personal liberation for Mr T. to return to business.

Maybe Mr T will not prevail with the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court? Will hit some snag there. Or he will face a Dem opposition so numerically strong, his leeway will be further limited if he wins a second term

The puzzle is, the Ten of Cups is such a cozy card. Leadership? Not there. Not enough energy to heal and unite the nation, if less to divide, but inaction can also divide. It is a card of arrival at a cherished destination -yes- . Contentment. Home Sweet Home. It is a card of family life. It is not a card associated with public life.

In terms of particular dates, this card correlates with Pisces, and since it has turned up more than once in Mr Biden’s cards, it may be sensing some significant personal or family event for him in March 2021, and possibly there may be political effects.

Unless it is the Dems sticking together with the means to block the Amy Coney Barrett appointment? No. Says the 5 of Cups. Mr T won’t like that.

UPDATE Yesterday 22 October 2020: Source: Epoch Times

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted on Oct. 22 to advance Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination to the full Senate floor despite a boycott of the vote by Democrats on the panel.

The Republican-controlled committee voted 12–0 to recommend Barrett; no Democrats were present.

“That was their choice. It will be my choice to vote the nominee out of committee,” the committee chairman Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Oct. 22. “We are not going to allow them to take over the committee. They made a choice not to participate.”

We’ll be watching that space.

Perhaps, if it turns out to be Mr B as the polls still indicate, however wrong they were in 2016, then the message of this 10 Cups shall be asking to be read as ‘Home and Dry’.

Or, another way of reading the cards might be to say, if Mr T gets a second term, there will be tears…(reach for that gin, Mama) and if Mr B gets in, things may gradually calm down. The Mr T effect, whatever its merits, do not include such imagery associations as peace and quiet, (‘sleepy Joe’) as relaxation and home sweet home (Alabama?)

I can only assume I have not decided what I feel is going to happen, except there are more surprises in store, before and after the election. Once I decide, my cards start to line up one way and stay that way.

This is how I know if I know.

In questions of public life, which are nothing to do with my daily work with the Tarot, one is dealing with mass variables where you must treat it as a murmuration of starlings.

Sometimes I feel I do know. I do with clients. I did with Brexit, and with the UK election of December 2019 fairly well ahead of time. But sometimes I don’t until almost the last minute. And then no gold star for moi. Or only this one….

The Tarot take away here is, it isn’t in the bag or all the cards would point one way, and wouldn’t shift over the course of a few readings, bar a wobble here and there.

Mr T is not going to have it all his own way, that much looks definite here. And he’s got used to that. But he is lucky in general. The Wheel of Fortune came up in the last reading about this, and says he is lucky, whether or not he deserves to be, in whomever’s estimation. Luck and justice…do not always coincide.

I’ll look again before we get to 3 November. But the 2016 vote for Mr T happened for a reason, and if it was a protest vote, it’s no use, it doesn’t help, insulting the voters. Or saying their reasons were less valid than those who voted differently.

Elephant in the room. My bias? Is it getting in the way of my line of sight? Readers must be aware of their own blind spots. Well, I won’t be rejoicing or crying either way, I don’t think, come 4 November, though I may be perturbed. I am not massively emotionally invested but I have been alarmed and grieved at events in the US and also their effects in the UK. I’m a Brit, and I find Mr B more easily relatable, but I see where the Rep voters are coming from, and they had their reasons after 2 terms of a Dem President. Mr B is anti-Brexit and as a Brit I am anxious it will go as well as possible, and the Reps seem more helpfully disposed towards the UK at this juncture on the UK’s own journey than are the Dems, though I’m not buying the chicken, sorry, whether it’s the Reps or the Dems.

I’m buying local.

The breakdown of civility in public discourse as we have been seeing in the US has been a shocker, just as it has been here in the UK since 2016. Manners matter. They matter a lot. Manners Maketh Man. Once manners go, terrible things happen.

RIP Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Captain David Dorn.

I have a daughter Breonna’s age.

Photo by Kristina Paukshtite on Pexels.com

The election is happening in Scorpio season; Death, Transformation and Resurrection. This is Mr B’s own major card. I understand Mr B is a shadow dwelling, long game Scorpio subject with fiery Sagittarius rising… and Mr T is a communications, volatile Gemini with even more fiery Leo rising.

The Major cards are Death (Scorpio) versus The Lovers (Gemini)

The minor cards of fixed negative sign Scorpio are the 5, 6 and 7 of Cups…interesting. That card of disappointment is a Scorpio card.

Both candidates have their secrets.

The minor cards of mutable Gemini are 8, 9 and 10 Swords.

I will look again, but this was the snapshot draw today.

You can track the polls here, and they are updated every hour or more.

Back soon 🙂

Libra The Celestial Scales- Weighing the Balance in the Stars

Read on for the story of Libra…

Common Associations

Symbol

Quality: Cardinal

Element: Air

Affirmation: I (seek to) Balance

Ruling planet: Venus

Body: Lower back, buttocks, kidneys

Colour: Indigo Blue

Flower: Rose, Hydrangea

Birthstones: Sapphire- September birthdays. Opal- October birthdays

Lucky Number: 6 (community, childhood)

Tarot card: Justice

Justice from The Legacy of The Divine Tarot, Ciro Marchetti

Astronomy

Libra (technically, it is correctly pronounced Ly-bra as in Library) is a small but distinct constellation, 29th in size of the 88 constellations, next door to the constellation Virgo. It’s been described as looking like a lop-sided diamond and is visible in the northern hemisphere between April and July.

Libra used to be regarded, not as a constellation in its own right, but as part of its neighbouring constellations Scorpio and Virgo. The stars representing the scales of Justice are the same stars representing the claws of the Scorpion.

Libra, like Cancer, is faint in comparison with other constellations, and contains no spectacular first magnitude stars, but contains a very old galaxy cluster, possibly around 10 billion years old, the same age as our own galaxy, The Milky Way.

There also is a red dwarf star Gliese 581 with three orbiting planets, two of which may possibly be suitable for life, about 20 light years from Earth.

The brightest star in Libra is a binary star about 77 light years from Earth. α Librae. or Zubenelgenubi, meaning “the Southern Claw” in Arabic.

The second-brightest star in the constellation of Libra is β Librae, or Zubeneschamali, from the Arabic for “The Northern Claw.”

Equilibrium and Equinox

Since 2002, the Sun has actually appeared in the constellation of Libra from October 31 to November 22.

This is different to the dates used for this sign in your media horoscope, which is based on modern western or tropical astrology, and says Libra begins around 23rd of September, coinciding with the autumn equinox (in the northern hemisphere).

But astronomy is not astrology, which is a symbolic language, and zodiac signs are not to be confused with the constellations after which they were named.

The Sun did indeed used to be in the sign Libra from the northern autumnal equinox (c. September 23) to on or about October 23, when the hours of night and daylight were the same- hence the Libra’s concept of natural balance.

The zodiac sign of Libra ceased to coincide with the actual placement of the constellation in AD 730 because of the wobble of the Earth, and the resulting effect known as precession – the movement of the equinoxes relative to Earth.

This fact of astronomy does not invalidate your horoscope. The astrological concept still stands, based on the arithmetic model of the zodiac as designed by the mathematician Ptolemy in the 2nd Century.

Mythology and History

We have the Romans to thank for the name of this constellation, as well as the sun sign or zodiac sign of Libra as we understand it today.

It is a complicated history. Libra began as part of Scorpio, and was known in Babylonian astronomy as MUL Zibanu (the “scales” or “balance”) but with an alternative name, the Claws of the Scorpion, while in ancient Greece Libra was also seen as the Scorpion’s Claws.

The scales were sacred to the Babylonian sun god Shamash, the patron of truth and justice, and ever since these very early times, Libra has been associated with law, fairness and civility.

Because 3000 years ago, the Sun entering Libra marked the equinox, when days and nights were of equal length, i.e. balanced, Roman astrologers considered that the constellation of Libra represented the principle of natural balance, equality, equilibrium and hence, justice.

In ancient Rome Libra was associated with the scales of justice held by the pre-Greek goddess Astraea, or her Roman counterpart Dike, although in Greek mythology she had always been associated with Virgo.

Claws, scales. Virgo, Scorpio. Confusing? Typically elusive Libra!

According to the Roman writer and poet Marcus Manilius, the best Roman judges were born under the sign of Libra. The Moon, which in astrology governs temperament, was said to be in Libra when Rome was founded, in a historical passage, which states “qua condita Roma.”

The early born Libra may therefore be expected to have much in common with Virgo and Astraea, but the later born Libra may be expected to have quite a lot of Scorpio going on.

This same principle applies to all the zodiac signs, of course, whether you were born early or late in your sign, but is particularly acute in the case of Libra, on account of its shared/borrowed stars and very particular history as a relative newcomer to the zodiac story in its own right.

The Libra Archetype

Libra is one of the three zodiac air signs, the others being Gemini and Aquarius.

Libra is the only zodiac sign that is not represented by a human or animal, but the scales signify the collective and enduring human hunger for justice, as well as Libra’s own especially keen personal need for balance, order, and equality.

Many astrologers view Libra as an especially lucky sign because it occurs during the peak of the year when the rewards of hard work are harvested.

Libra is suave, clever and extremely easy to like. The classic Libra subject has charm and can be a great listener with sharp observation skills and acute perception.

Because Venus, the goddess of love, rules Libra, as it also rules Taurus, the Libra subject is especially, even acutely sensitive to beauty in anything, whether it is a person, nature, art, or music.

Libra intensely dislikes loud or sharp noises, cruelty, nastiness, and vulgarity, as they are naturally kindly and civilized people, and also, may we observe, a teensy bit delicate at times.

Born diplomats, but also anything for a quiet life, Libras try to co-operate and compromise with everyone around them. They can sometimes be a little tiring to be with as they are constantly re-assessing and adjusting their thinking, while remaining emotionally distant, or playing Devil’s advocate and this may be infuriating at times, or even seem to call their personal loyalties into question.

They are not averse to keeping secrets, and can be more changeable even than Gemini. Those Libran scales are after all, seeking balance, which is not the same as attaining it or maintaining it.

Botticelli: The Birth of Venus, ruler of Libra

Libra may not receive or handle criticism as dispassionately as they dispense it. They can show jealousy when they are not the centre of attention, and may at times be moody; a practitioner of passive aggression, or they may be something of an ‘iron fist in a velvet glove’ – smoothly vengeful, or even ruthless.

But lovely Libra, charming, smiling, sophisticated, civilized. Sunny side up, what on earth’s not to like?

Till next time 🙂

Shine on, Harvest Moon in Aries

What is astrology and why do astrologers study the Moon?

‘Astrology’ comes from Greek and means ‘the study of the stars.’

Humans have been studying and recording the phases of the Moon for at least 25, 000 years as the closest celestial body to Earth, an average of 238,855 miles (384,400 km) away depending on its orbit.

Mooning about, moon-struck, looney-tunes, lunatic. Words and sayings mean something and they come from somewhere.

October is going to be a busy month, moon-wise with two full moons starting tomorrow with a full Harvest Moon in the sign of Aries, and another in Taurus on Halloween last day of the month.

The Harvest Moon is the name given to the Full Moon closest to the September equinox which happens on the 22 or 23 September, and which marks the start of autumn/fall. The Harvest Moon occurs in September two years out of every three. However the astronomical seasons don’t match up with the lunar month and once every three years, as this year, the Harvest Moon occurs in October.

The Harvest Moon

For several days around the time of the full Harvest Moon, the Moon rises about 30 minutes later each night, and this extra light early in the evening is what makes this time of year especially atmospheric -weather permitting- and gave farmers extra light for harvesting after sunset.

This was the artistic terrain of one of my favourite painters, Samuel Palmer.

The 2020 Harvest Moon tomorrow will rise at 19.01 (UK) and set at 06.10 (UK) if only the skies will be clear enough to see it.

The major arcana Tarot card associated with Aries, the zodiac sign ruling this full moon is The Emperor.

The Emperor from the Legacy of the Divine tarot, Ciro Marchetti

Traditional meanings: rule, power, government and governance, authority, law and order, fatherhood, masculinity.

This Full moon can bring a short burst of vitality. Yippee. It’s spring again…well it is in the southern hemisphere, anyway. It can signify a restless, edgy, even sporty mood, classic Ram energy, with a burst that may be short-lived but that can get things done, especially short-term projects.

Aries is the sign of the First house of the zodiac, the Self. Me, Myself, I.

What can I do? Where does the buck stop with me and no-one else?

There could be some intense feelings and inner tension round this time, perhaps a spot of impetuosity, but by the same token, it’s a good time to clear the air, and it’s considered a lucky moon for taking chances; for example, launching a new idea, project or product, or if you’re going for a job interview.

Julius Caesar by the way, looking at the imagery of this card, although he certainly walked the walk of the Aries Emperor, and with too many bells on to count, was a Cancer subject, born 12 July 100 BC ,and Alexander the Great was also a Cancer subject, born 20 July 356 BC. Cleopatra was a Leo subject.

Hitler was born right on the cusp Aries/Taurus 20 April 1889, and Aries and Taurus folk have been known to fight over who doesn’t get to keep him.

Charlemagne, the Holy Roman Emperor, unifier of most of western Europe, great king of the Franks, was an Aries subject, 2 April 742 , and so was Thomas Jefferson, “Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.”

Now that is definitely a hallmark statement of sturdy, sovereign Aries self reliance.

Happy Harvest Moon.

Till next time 🙂

President Pelosi? A 5 card reading using playing cards

There was much recent discussion on Twitter to the effect that if no clear winner were to be declared by 20 January 2021 after the upcoming US Elections 3 November, there is a constitutional provision that could make Speaker Nancy Pelosi President of the United States.

This arose in the wake of Mr Trump expressing a wish to delay the Election scheduled for 3 November 2020, an action for which I understand, there is no historical precedent.

I have done a reading on the forthcoming election, posted here a few days ago, and you can find it in the archives. Those cards indicated, perhaps counter-intuitively, that the recent civil unrest might actually work in favour of Mr T’s chances rather than against them, but the Joker turned up….oh, that Joker….

I may well do further readings before the election to see if that picture shifts, and to see how it shifts, but the appearance of the Joker card says surprises are in store.

Could this be the surprise? A President Pelosi?

I shuffle and draw 5 playing cards and read them left to right, paying attention to the rising, flattening or declining curve, the balance of ‘yes’ and ‘no’ cards, and noting in particula the central card ad the last cards for an indicatio of future developments.

The Line of Five

Well, the indications are not strong.

2 Spades in this context suggests the premise of the question: a scenario containing two ‘negative candidates’ drawn in a situation where one is not stronger than the other. The Tarot equivalent o this card would be the Two Of Swords which suggests a truce, a pause- or a stalemate. It is a no card.

This card gives me my benchmark. It is clearly relevant to the question being asked.

Jack Spades: bad news, a delay, a point of Law. It is also a no card.

Queen of Clubs: This central card surely denotes Ms Pelosi herself; a ‘dark’ lady with good social instincts and often business acumen. This could be either a yes or a no card.

10 Clubs: this is a very positive card of culmination, completion and it is the card of government. (It can also mean a bathtub, but that’s by the by) Reading this in context, this could be either a yes or a no card, but if it was an Ace Clubs, that would be more likely to represent a yes than the 10 of Clubs, representative of culminations rather than arrivals.

7 Hearts: this future card is all about uncertainty, romantic longing, daydreams, sweet dreams. It is a card of a possible but unstable yes.

This last card, taken with the others, is the only red suit (yes) card, but given the surrounding cards seems to be saying, ‘in your dreams.’

Here, kitty, kitty….

I understand that Speaker Pelosi is second in line to the succession of the Presidency after the Vice-President, but I’m in the UK and I don’t know too much about all this. Now that I’ve given my cards the first shout, let’s look at the info, to see where this story came from, and what the possibilities might be.

Source: The Hill

“When voters head to the polls in November to choose the path for the next four years in a deeply divided nation, they will choose between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.

But in what has already been a one-of-a-kind 2020, an improbable figure could also become president.

The path for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who is second in line of succession to the presidency, to succeed Trump is quite implausible. But it is not impossible.

The first step is a tie in the Electoral College. And that tie is indeed possible.

If Trump loses Michigan, Pennsylvania and Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District to Biden and holds everything else he won in 2016, the two candidates would be deadlocked at 269 electoral votes a piece.

A few other results could also end in a tie, though perhaps they are even more unlikely.

A tie could result if Biden manages to win Arizona and Iowa, but loses Wisconsin and Michigan. Or if Biden rebuilds the northern Blue Wall, recapturing Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, but somehow manages to lose Colorado’s nine votes.

Click to read the rest of the article

The Two Spades is therefore spelling out in ‘the event of a tie….’

However, even given a deadlock scenario, and given the 20 Amendment, it does not automatically signify that the successor would be Speaker Pelosi-

SOURCE USA Today

“We rate the claim that Nancy Pelosi would become president should the 2020 election be postponed as FALSE because it was not supported by our research. Pelosi’s (own) term (of office) ends Jan. 3, and if no federal election takes place, she would have to leave office, just like the president and vice president. That would mean the president pro tempore of the Senate would assume office. Currently, that is Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, though a downsized Senate may swing in favor of Democrats, presenting them the opportunity to elect a new president pro tempore.”

Click to read the rest of the article.

Ain’t this going to be interesting

2020 is a little too interesting altogether, starting 26 January with a major conjunction of expansive Jupiter boiling up with restrictive Saturn, and another one coming, occurring 21 December 2020.

(Astrology did detect and forecast a possible pandemic specifically dated 2020/2021, notably a French astrologer writing in 2011; Andre Barbault)

2021 is also going to be quite interesting, from the point of view of the collective experience, but at least this second great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn comes to an end 3 April 2021.