August 7/8: Jupiter assists Pallas and star cluster M3 in their process of repair and maintenance, while Mercury stationary supports Ceres and the Butterfly Nebula in their protective intentions

August 7/8: Jupiter is sextile Pallas. Recently, on July 31, 2012, Pallas made its retrograde station in opposition to star cluster M3, indicating a good time to make repairs and give some strength to situations or routines that have become inconsistent or weak over time. For a couple of days, this process is extremely favored by Jupiter, which by itself always makes a good combination with this asteroid, giving an optimistic and positive impulse to Pallas' strategies and plans. Take advantage of this moment to give the necessary maintenance to your everyday environment, as repairs and improvements promise to be successful ... and this includes your own body!

     Mercury is stationary at 45° from Ceres, which is in opposition to the Butterfly Nebula. The Mercury retrograde period ends and is marked by the contact with minor planet Ceres, which is pretty busy protecting and caring for situations that require her help. The Butterfly Nebula is a dying star in the constellation Ophiuchus, which has expelled most of its atmosphere into space in two directions, giving the visual impression of the wings of a butterfly. Despite its beauty, this nebula indicates certainly an area in which there is weakness, and Ceres in opposition is responsible for providing support, time, assistance, energy, understanding, food, optimism, money, effort, love and other resources to compensate for any difficulties found.

     Mercury's station is thus linked to this process of care, which can range from desperate situations to simple maintenance of our everyday environment, depending on the particular conditions. Anyway, we'll discuss more deeply the mercurial station, but for now, we need to be tuned to Ceres' frequency, the asteroid that represents Mother Nature, to let her flow through attitudes of understanding and solidarity in our activities. Your help, as small as it can be, will be welcome, the world will be grateful!


Carlos Duarte
Research Astrologer

June 5th: Venus transits the solar disk in ecliptic opposition to the Butterfly Nebula (M2-9), exposing our level of harmony, the quality of our relationships and the gaps we need to fill

June 5th: Venus transits the solar disk, creating a unique visual event for observers on Earth, as it won't happen again in morre than a century. The astrological interpretation is similar to that of a regular eclipse, because there is a relative alignment between the Sun, Earth and Venus in a straight line. This is interpreted as a combination of the principles associated with the Sun and Venus, so it is expected that this event will be expressed through the areas of our lives related to the combination of both celestial bodies. These areas are expression of affection, romance and sexuality, social relationships, artistic creativity, finances and self-esteem. The combination Sun/Venus is often seen as something very positive because both celestial bodies symbolize vitality, beauty, creativity, love and harmony.

The Venus transit through the solar disk is a very rare event, although their ecliptic conjunctions and parallels of declination happen regularly every year. The Venus/Sun combination suggests the following topics: affection, harmony, self-esteem, love, crativity, beauty, finance, amog others.

         Sun/Venus combinations are relatively common and occur by ecliptic conjunction and parallel of declination about four times a year, so they are not really exceptional. What is exceptional is that Venus passes directly by the solar disk as seen from Earth. From our point of view it is as if Venus would underline, more than ever, through the marker of its silhouette, the "solar will". This is because the Sun is the engine of our physical life and the center of our psychological and spiritual identity . Therefore, it is important to know what this will consists of, and how we can manifest it in our lives in the areas mentioned above. The combined Sun/Venus symbolism suggest the following topics: love, harmony, self-esteem, love, creativity, beauty, art and finance, among other, as the workplace for this eclipse.

        Of course, part of the solar will has to do with the development of love, affection, beauty, art and self esteem in our lives. But actually, this happens every time the Sun and Venus interact! The uniqueness of this event is the ecliptic alignment in opposition to an little known deep space object, called the Butterfly Nebula (M2-9), located in the constellation Ophiuchus. This nebula, which also has a striking and colorful bipolar shape, resembling the wings of a butterfly, is actually a dying star that has exhausted its fuel and is expulsing its matter into space, in an ultimate recycling process. While planetary nebulae represent the death of a star, the process is usually very interesting, and each one has its own particular characteristics.The "eclipse of Venus" is not technically an occultation of Venus, but an alignment, in a more or less straight line, of the Sun, Venus, Earth and the Butterfly Nebula (M2-9). The significance of the eclipse must include all these heavenly bodies.

 The "Venus eclipse" is not technically an occultation of Venus, but a somewhat  straight alignment between the Sun, Venus, the Earth and the Butterfly Nebula (M2-9). The astrological meaning of the eclipse must include all these celestial bodies.

   

     The interesting thing about the Butterfly Nebula is that it is a double system. The biggest star of the pair already reached the end of its life and is being contracted into a white dwarf star, having expelled most of its atmosphere into space. Its companion, smaller and orbiting it closely, draws material from it and throws it out into space, sculpting the beautiful structure that we see from Earth as viewed from its equatorial plane.


Finding balance in relationships  

     The transit of Venus across the Sun focuses on the characteristics and qualities that derive from this binary system in its last stage of life. The first is precisely that it is a double star, therefore, focuses on relationships, especially if they are close, just as both components orbit close to each other. The area of ​​influence of the "eclipse of Venus" is the relationship with our spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend, family, close friends, work team. This is where it will make our affection, self-esteem move, and where it will show us the real value we give to things and people, and ourselves. We all have to make an adjustment in this sense during the nexd days or weeks...  

     The second important feature of the Butterfly Nebula is that an element of the relationship takes away material from the other and throws it into space for recycling. This may represent an intense, challenging and highly motivating interaction. A member of the relationship stimulates the other's creativity and helps to manifest it, usin its talents. On the other hand, this may also mean that some individuals can be very demanding and take energy, time and resources from the other (or several people if they are involved). Perhaps the most egocentric person in the couple may be using the other to carry out his/her creative work or distribution. This is not necessarily bad, especially if it is correctly paid in labor relations. But, in other contexts this may be somewhat unbalanced. For example, a relative, friend or lover (innocently or not) can use the time and effort of another person without compensation on the pretext there there is affection in the relationship.


Beauty and harmony to recycle, motivate and inspire  

     Anyway, balance is possible, even more so with Venus! And the work we need to do is to regulate our self-esteem, to balance and harmonize any excesses. Of course, no fights, arguments or aggressive actions: everything must be done in a loving way, as always with Venus. It will give much better results! This is especially true in the arts, since the Butterfly Nebula is beautiful from a visual standpoint, with its combination of colors and shapes. We can take this event as an enormous artistic motivation, and, although it is very inspiring, it can also make our aspirations soar too high, depleting our energy and resources. Beauty comes up to the point where we can express its essence, everything else is superfluous...don't go beyond. But everything will flow through finding cooperation: one of the partners is the supplier, while the other manages his/her resources. If viewed from an artistic point of view, this cooperation means that one motivates and gives a concrete shape to the creativity of the other, a process similar to the screenwriter who collaborates with the director of the film.  

     In short, the message sent from Venus, the Sun and the Butterfly Nebula is: people must be in the right place in order to cooperate better with others so we can have common achievements by harmonizing our environment and our relationships. 


Fill your voids with love for yourself and the World  

     Of course, not everyone is in a position to do so, and in many cases there may be blockages, negative interactions or distant relationships, perhaps power games where someone wins and someone loses. Hardly an "eclipse of Venus" may be strong enough to change the situation if we do not have the will to do so, because there celestial events do not affect human beings: they only reflect their reality. It is us that need to actually do the change, and this event, so special that we will not witness again in our lifetime, is a reminder of the harmony that we need to plant and cultivate in our planet. At the global level, many areas which need this balancing process will be exposed... so many. This is nothing new, but if the atmosphere indicates harmony, the situations where there is exploitation, contempt, indifference, lack, poverty and hunger will contrast sharply with the venusian expectations.  

     The eclipse of Venus, aligned to the Butterfly Nebula, will expose very clearly in which areas of our individual lives and the world there is a gap to be filled, an imbalance to be corrected. And the will to re-establish the balance is in our hands. Under the impulse of this "Venus eclipse", the motivation to cooperate may be bigger, and the effects of our small actions in this regard may have more weight than we can imagine at first. Do not forget to do something for the world during these days! Do not stop the flow of love, affection, harmony, vitality, beauty and acceptance in your personal lives ...

Carlos Duarte, research astrologer

March 3rd: Different astrological frequencies show a highly dynamic weekend with lots of energy, discipline, renewal, distractions and changes in relationships. Pick your favorite one and get the best out of circumstances!

March 3rd: The Sun is in opposition to Mars, at 135° from Saturn. This combination represents the need to  direct the energy into purposeful activity, otherwise it can get out of control and cause unnecessary accidents, conflicts, arguments and confrontations. But a good strategy and a disciplined approach will make projects advance significantly. It is a great day to do exercise, physical training and to perform difficult tasks with enthusiasm and determination. Mars is still in contra parallel to the Butterfly Nebula, which in some cases may indicate a lack of motivation, and a drain of energy that can be exhausting. In that case, it is best to rest and pause to recover lost stamina. But we must not lose track of our goals in the meantime! Mercury is at 30° from Neptune and in opposition to the galaxy M88. This indicates the possibility of distractions caused by impulsivity, by doing things too quickly. M88 is a very fast galaxy, and, combined with Neptune, may coincide with distractions and approaching things superficially. On the other hand, this also indicates a rapid learning and a smooth resolution of some domestic affairs. Vesta transits conjunct Uranus and in opposition to the galaxy M90, which is an indicator of concentration in worn-out, forgotten or inconsistent situations that need a good dose of renewal. This trend is ideal for renovations, remodeling, maintenance work. Objects or situations from the past may be useful in the present with a bit of renovation. Venus is conjunct the galaxy M74 and at 135° from Mars, reflecting a frequency in which it is necessary to properly analyze the state of our relations and implement necessary changes. Impulsiveness in relationships, whether they are romantic, work-related, friendship or family, can be counterproductive. M74 is a galaxy in which a hypernova has been detected, that is, an extremely big supernova explosion, which symbolizes violent changes. And while these changes may lead to growth, Venus' opposition today balances impulsivity in order to think deeply and have a little more introspection. Before making a bomb explode, think twice about the consequences...

March 2nd: Venus and the Andromeda Galaxy get together to emphasize social life, romance and art; Mars, Saturn and the Butterfly Nebula compensate weakness through an organized effort.

March 2nd: Venus is transiting conjunct the Andromeda Galaxy and contra parallel to Neptune. The planet of relationships makes her annual visit to the cosmopolitan Andromeda Galaxy, showing an ideal time to socialize. Both Venus and the Andromeda Galaxy have a great power of attraction, which is excellent for romance, seduction, and for organizing social, artistic and cultural events. The contra parallel to Neptune can work in several ways: you can use this power of attraction for altruistic reasons, to give beauty and harmony to depressing, chaotic or conflicting environments, but it can also lead to escapism and evasion. Avoid excesses to get the most out of this substantial and cheerful trend. On the other hand, Mars is transiting at 45° from Saturn, in contra parallel to the Butterfly Nebula. This trend represents a large amount of energy directed purposefully towards correcting problematic situations. The Butterfly Nebula is actually a dying star or planetary nebula, representing decay processes that can be corrected by the martian initiative. Try to compensate for the weakness, indecision and neglect with assertive action. Laziness and lack of commitment, on the other hand, will bring frustration, so it is advisable to have a definite goal and reach it, no matter how difficult it is at first. Results will certainly be much better than expected.