Monday, September 16, 2013

The B in the Beat of Life

In the April/May 2007 issue of Mountain Astrologer there was a re-print of a very good article by astrologer Bill Herbst: "On Coincidence". He related a real life event to planetary positions and transits in his natal chart. He warned:
"Don't presume that a certain combination of symbols means what you read in a textbook or hear from some hot-shot astrologer at a conference. Instead, file away the insight as a "possible" meaning and let your own real-life experience gradually confirm or deny that particular interpretive slant".

That was as good advice as I'd ever read !

Whether or not we realise it, our lives unfold to a particular "rhythm", depending on how the planets and points were aligned when we were born. One's "signature" rhythm can be clearly identified only with hindsight. What an astrology textbook states may or may not be true for each individual, only personal experience confirms or denies accepted astrological lore.

Get Rhythm


In my own case, at the times of most pivotal events in my life I had no means of investigating their astrological connection - quite unaware, then, which transits were occurring.

 North/South
I've found now, looking back on my life history with a little more astrological knowledge,  that there has been a distinct rhythm. At the times when important turning points took place, the Lunar nodes were involved. Either my Taurus/Scorpio nodal axis had returned to its position at my birth, or to its inverse position, and/or a planet had conjoined one of the nodes. Perhaps this rhythm is more significant for me due to my Cancer ascendant, ruled by the Moon, and further intensified because Uranus (natal Sun's ruler) is conjunct natal South node. Another intertwined rhythm for me is connected to the vertex, which, if my birth time is correct, is conjunct natal Mars, also in Scorpio.

The Beat Goes On (Sonny & Cher 1967)

Scorpio/Taurus is definitely the 'b' of the beat in the rhythm of my life. Both my marriages, important career changes, and all the significant love-related first meetings have these connections. Another important event - my only stay in hospital so far , also followed this rhythm.(I'm using only real celestial events, no progressions or directions.) In August 1985 I was admitted to hospital for, first, investigative procedures, then, in early September for a major operation (hysterectomy). The nodal axis was in the inverse natal position, exact when I entered hospital in August. On the day of surgery, in September, Jupiter was one degree away from my natal Sun (6.46 Aquarius). A couple of days after the operation the surgeon described me as his "star patient", because my recovery had been so much faster than that of other women who had the same operation on the same day! I was obviously under a benign sky! Transiting Saturn conjoined natal Mars, in Scorpio, a short time later , just as I returned to work, in November, good as new, after several very pleasant weeks off on full pay. Had I been in a position to look at my own chart in those days I'd have expected November to be the problematic time....you never can tell!

Several astro rhythms or cycles are simultaneously occurring for us all, some too subtle to notice. One's individual signature rhythm will be constant though, but the beat can change. Beat = emphasis. When a planet importantly placed at a person's time of birth reaches a significant point, alignment or conjunction, the beat to which that person has grown accustomed might be emphasised or could change temporarily, or permanently.

Sammy Davis Jnr & Rythm of Life from Sweet Charity


Nodal rhythm exists for all of us to some extent, though other rhythms could override it, depending on natal chart configuration. Another commonly noted planetary rhythm, perhaps the most common of all, is Saturn's cycle, culminating as Saturn returns to its natal position every 27/28 years.


Cue Waylon...."Gimme a beat boys and free my soul....."

5 comments:

mike said...

I'm fascinated by the Moon's nodes. I, too, have found correlations with several of my life's events and the nodal positions. The most impacting for me are the transiting nodal conjunctions to a natal planet, and-or a new or full moon eclipse occurring on that conjunction. I have one of those coming-up this November 3rd, with a new Moon eclipse exactly conjunct my natal Venus at 11 degrees Scorpio...the North Node will be at 8 degrees Scorpio.

I have a bucket-pattern chart with most natal planets between Cancer and Sagittarius. Transiting Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were in conjunction with most of my natal planets for most of my life! Most of the big-boy-events in my life concur with one or more of those conjunctions. Now, transiting Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are in square or opposition to most of my natal planets!

I realized several decades ago that I was my own worst enemy and it was my failure to adapt to change that causes so many problems for me! Easy to conceptualize, but hard for me to enact.

LB said...

Twilight ~ The Nodes and Vertex have been significant in my life too, also transits and progressions of Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, Jupiter and Ceres. Lilith plays a big role too, albeit a challenging one.

Some of the most radical life-changing events occurred during my Chiron Return, when major aspects of my old life (and its shell) fell apart and I was forced to start over, though other transits were going on at the same time.

My husband and I decided to marry when the North Node returned to its natal position in my chart (in Libra). And I found my sister during a Saturn-Sun transit when my progressed Vertex was *exactly* conjunct my natal Mars and the South Node was almost conjunct, setting off my natal Mars-Pluto square. When transiting Mars was *exactly* conjunct my 12th house Pluto, things started to happen.

The current conjunction of Venus-NN-Saturn in Scorpio is *exactly* conjunct my natal 3rd house Jupiter (the apex of my Yod), which is conjunct my Neptune/Mercury. There have been signs for a while. I've been gradually changing, moving towards something, only now I'm feeling as is some major external shift is about to happen too, only I don't know what it is. Today I feel especially unsettled.:0

About your quick recovery, I've noticed people with strong placements along the Taurus/Scorpio axis can be very physically and/or emotionally resilient!

LB said...

After that long comment, I still forgot to mention how transits and progressions involving the angles have sometimes been very significant! My MC and IC are conjunct Fixed Stars. My progressed Moon has also brought change.

Twilight said...

mike ~ I've read a few astrology books and articles relating to the Moon's nodes, but most of them didn't quite ring true for me. I came to the conclusion that the nodes are simply two more sensitive points on the chart, and I've kept to that belief. I think our experiences uphold it too (though I'm sure there will be alternative arguments to be had).

Thanks for your personal experience input here.

I can imagine how you must have felt ongoing impacts with that bucket-shaped chart of yours. I have a "splash" pattern chart, so my exciting times due to outer planet conjunctions have been more evenly spread. :-)

I've stopped looking for stuff in my own chart - I'll take whatever comes, in whatever order. I now prefer to do the hindsight thing in astrology - it's more accurate anyway.

Sometimes, if we suspect something is going to happen to upset our applecart, we can worry unnecessarily and maybe even bring on some otherwise unlikely health problem through doing so.

I know astrologers say that if you are "prepared" for changes it's a good thing - well, it is good in certain circumstances, but can also lead to disappointments, undue worry, or worse if the event doesn't happen. Astrology is nowhere near 100% accurate because we don't know how it works, or even if it works in total or just in part.
It's a work in progress (though not much progress seems to have been made over the past century, I have to say - even with all the tech. now available).

So plentiful pinches of salt all over the place for me, apart from on the distinctive astro beat of course.

Twilight said...

LB ~ Thanks for adding your own personal experience - it's valuable to have this kind of back-up, and could dispel some skeptical views of future readers. Though as mentioned in previous comment to mike, skepticism isn't unknown to me too!

The nodal thing is the most rhythmic of all astro beats, I think. Conjunctions of outer planets come along maybe just once in a lifetime for those of us with splash charts, and conjunctions of fastest-moving planets have never been very noticeable to me at all - though maybe some would feel differently on that.

I remember some of Grant Lewi's words of wisdom on this topic. He said something to the effect that the inner, faster planets' cycles become so well known to us over the years that we don't detect them, once into adulthood, whereas the slow-movers, which stay much longer with our natal planets do leave much more of an impact, not easily forgotten....not his exact words, but along those lines.

Resilient. Yes. I was once told by a very dear loved one, who knew me well for many years, that resilience is my greatest strength. Maybe so, it doesn't always feel that way, but maybe it does stem from the nodal axis - I'd never connected it to that before. Thanks!