Friday, December 21, 2018

Month-by-Month Meditations for 2019







  

"Month-by-Month Meditations for 2019" is an article available to Willow's Web Astrology patrons.

Sunday, December 16, 2018

A Blessed Solstice To You!

Stone zodiac art and photos by Willow

Shhhh. Quiet. 

Quieter.

Just be in the profoundly still.

Breathe. Soak in these darkest days, these meditative rays.  

Our energy has turned inward; outer activity is cosmically subdued for these few precious days before we turn back to the light.

Don't resist. 

Don't force yourself to keep up with The Machine.

This is nature's time clock. This is real time. At your ancient core, it is impossible to ignore, no matter what the tick-tocking clock on the wall tells you, no matter how jam-packed your schedule. 

Finish what you have to finish. Gracefully clear your slate, and do it well. But don't add anything else, anything extra. There will be plenty of time for that next month, next year.

For now, be still. Take your reward of this contemplative time, this stillness, this rest, for a job well done. 

As the Sun enters Capricorn December 21, marking the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, the Moon is growing full, peaking on the zero degree Cancer cardinal point on December 22 (9:48 a.m. PST). Under this initiating Full Moon, this is a solstice of particular emotional richness, of exceptional inner illumination. This is a time of quiet soul-urgings, of ancient emotional pulls, and it's these we should be heeding and following now. These lead us into that state of grace which feels like what we call 'home.' Our true home. The source.

Venus in Scorpio, free of retrograde shadow backwash, forms a flowing trine to Neptune in Pisces at 13 degrees of the signs on December 21, an indicator that this solstice is an even stronger point of high spiritual wonder than usual. Mystical meanderings are at work in our lives, in our hearts, in our relationships, and in our contacts with the society around us. Love comes to us through strange and wonderful channels. The universe winks at us, communicates divine insights to us through interactions with others. The etheric realms are lit up, humming, singing with energy that spills out into our physical lives. The veil between dream life and waking life is thinner, more transparent, than usual this solstice, to the point that we can almost reach through one to touch the other. The dream state bleeds into the waking state, and the waking state bleeds into our dreams. The most deeply-felt and deeply-needed connections (psychic, if not physical) are being made this solstice, almost effortlessly, guided by a divine hand. 

Winged messenger Mercury forms a conjunction to Jupiter at 9 degrees Sagittarius this December 21, as well. This marks a solstice-time when our conscious minds are immersed in the wonder and awe of it all. Few words are spoken; much is understood. Some fairly grand realizations and profound understandings are absorbed into our minds as if by osmosis. This is a time when our words and the information or perspectives we have to share may have a stronger impact than usual, especially when related to big picture issues. This Mercury-Jupiter conjunction in Sagittarius indicates a bit of a Cosmic Megaphone Effect as we close out this calendar year with no real requirement on our parts to speak longer or louder than usual. All that is required is the truth, the reverent truth as we stand on this Earth under these solstice skies. Grace is all around us. How remarkable it all is.


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Saturday, November 24, 2018

Venus in Scorpio and Addressing Socially-Accepted Addictions

Love, relationship, and society planet Venus re-enters Scorpio on December 2, following a retrograde period that spanned from October 5 to November 16. 

We were taken to some deep and complex social/relational places during the retrograde, and now Venus is direct, moving full speed ahead through the sign of its detriment as we close out 2018.

Venus is moving over the wake that was kicked up during the retrograde process, and anything we experienced in relationship or with society since September 2 (when Venus first entered the retrograde shadow) may be coming up for full integration.

Venus is advancing the social/relational scene in transformative fashion as we close out this year, but in the sign of deep, dark, sometimes-disturbing emotional and psychological subtext (Scorpio), the realizations we're integrating into our relationship dynamics are not the easiest to swallow.

We're looking at things like: power and control dynamics, the role of fear in our relationships, detrimental karmic attractions, manipulation, underhanded motivations, frenemies, energy drains, abuse, mistreatment, lack of integrity, suppressed emotion, unresolved trauma, and the things the society around us tries to keep buried.

Venus is a planet that likes to keep a smiling, congenial face no matter what the conditions, but as it moves through Scorpio, that smile may turn into a snarl a time or two... 

There's a lot of social/relational yuck associated with Venus in this hardcore sign, and with Venus moving direct over this socially-charged zone, we are required to address it and change it once and for all, rather than looking the other way and pretending it isn't there.

Monday, November 19, 2018

Jupiter Square Neptune and How to Spot Controlled Opposition

 So beautiful. So picture-perfect. But don't be fooled. This photo captures a very ugly underlying phenomenon: a full winter of flat, grey cloud cover (previously unheard of on the sunny prairies) produced via chemtrails and weather modification... 


Cosmic Spotlight Jupiter in Sagittarius (truth) comes into range of an extended square to Neptune in Pisces (illusions, fog, deception) just as Neptune, extra-potent in the zodiac, stations direct on November 24. The Jupiter-Neptune square will first be exact on January 13, 2019, but it will be within orb and in effect from late November 2018 to mid-November 2019.

Both communication/intelligence planet Mercury (now retrograde) in Sagittarius and action/aggression planet Mars in Pisces are activating (aggravating?) this square as Jupiter comes into range. 

The Sun-Mercury Rx interior conjunction at 4 degrees Sagittarius on November 27 (also conjunct Jupiter and square Neptune) brings the themes of this Jupiter-Neptune square to the forefront even more.

A long-term Jupiter-Neptune square, with both planets strong in their own signs, indicates a primary theme of determining what's real and true from what's illusory and deceptive.

Under this square, a year-long veil of fog has been dropped. Illusions will be thick. And there will be an unfortunate tendency to be taken in by, as I put it in the November 5 patron article on Jupiter in Sagittarius, "pretty manipulators, confident deceivers, and charming liars." 

In light of this theme, if there's one thing - literally just one thing - I would like people to come to understand during the transit of Jupiter in Sagittarius, it is the manipulative stranglehold on the collective discourse and public mind held by controlled opposition. To this end, I offer:


How to Spot Controlled Opposition


1. The person or organization is famous, a household name (at least in certain circles), and/or is covered on mainstream media. This is a dead giveaway. People who have the real-deal information, who do the real-deal research and journalism, are suppressed, ostracized, mocked, isolated, and even murdered by the establishment. They do not rise to any sort of prominence within the public, especially with the assistance of mainstream media. They have to fight tooth-and-nail to get the truth out there amidst monstrous opposition. They are certainly not provided with large public platforms or mainstream media play, even if only as supposed "enemies of the state." Real whistleblowers are stepped on, intimidated, shut up, or killed. They don't hit CNN or CBC or BBC or Fox News. They don't hit VICE or Democracy Now or Dr. Oz. (Unless, that is, they are being used by the establishment as unwitting controlled opposition.) 

Within the pseudo-alternative media, controlled opposition agents will often have relative fame - a relatively large public platform in the hundreds of thousands or low millions. These individuals will often seem just a little too slick or a little too rehearsed to be real people. They may have an extreme and unnatural level of charisma, and this charisma can draw people in. (The standard cult leader personality.) This type of charisma can be generated with mind control techniques, occult-based machinations, or both.

2. Limited hangouts: a controlled opposition agent will release very juicy insider information to the followers to make them believe that "someone is doing something; someone is on top of this." This is a common technique by the power establishment of "throwing people a bone." Because the agent is releasing information that the powers-that-be would not generally want released to the public, information that makes the established order look bad, the controlled opposition agent gains legitimacy in the minds of the followers. The followers trust that this person is "one of them, on the good side, playing for the right team." The information being released is often partial, outdated, diversionary, or of limited scope. If the information is legitimate, nothing effective is done with it. The controlled opposition agent or group does not direct people to take viable action based on this information. Often, the limited hangouts merely scratch the surface. They do not go to the real roots of the situation or call out the real people and organizations responsible. Limited hangouts are often used as a "look over there!" tactic to divert attention from other areas. 

Limited hangouts by controlled opposition agents have the effect of controlling dissenting discourse within the public. Followers hang on the controlled opposition agent's every word, waiting to be told what to think or what to do, never doing their own research or coming up with their own thoughts, ideas, or actions. The discourse only goes so far as the controlled opposition agent allows it to go. Limited hangouts are being used to great effect by Donald Trump and supposed Trump insider Q Anon, as well as by other puppet-celebrities. (Don’t worry – the establishment left is just as chock full of controlled opposition as the establishment right.) The public has never before experienced a high-level politician or celebrity producing such a steady stream of juicy limited hangouts, and many people are utterly mesmerized and mind controlled under the spell of it. 

The reason limited hangouts are being used so extensively at this time is that the public has successfully uncovered so much of the true reality on this planet. The people have uncovered things that can't be swept back under the rug, and the power establishment must now try to take control of this information.

3. The controlled opposition agent will often have ties (past or present) to mainstream organizations, government agencies, or establishment groups. A controlled opposition agent is often a supposed dissenter who rejected some mainstream organization or industry in order to "tell people the truth." (I've personally found these types of fake rebels or critics to be common within the New Age establishment - people pretending to be critics of New Age while actually being adherents to New Age beliefs and ideology.) While true dissenters and whistleblowers do exist, they almost never gain large public platforms. The ultimate allegiance of a controlled opposition agent is with the establishment, and they may receive funding directly from related industries or organizations. If being an "establishment rebel" is a strong part of the person's schtick, there is reason to be suspicious.

4. The controlled opposition agent creates and reinforces a strong Figurehead-Follower power dynamic. This is a hierarchical dynamic where the Figurehead sits at the top of a pyramid scheme of power with the followers gazing up in rapt devotion. This often takes the form of the "Wise Fatherly" archetype with the controlled opposition agent being looked to as the pinnacle of wisdom and the ultimate fount of information. The Figurehead is seen as the most intelligent and most important individual in the pyramid scheme and certainly receives the most attention. Narcissistic tendencies can commonly be observed. The Figurehead must be deferred to at all times. Dissenting information is generally censored, and anyone considered a dissenter is cut out of the fold. There is no climate of intellectual equality, even though lip service may be paid to that. People often want to get closer to the Figurehead, moving up the rungs of the pyramid scheme to the inner circle. Once in the inner circle, people will defend and protect the lofty position of the Figurehead to maintain their own position. The energy, ideas, intellect, talents, and efforts of the followers - those on the lower rungs of the pyramid - are funneled to the top and often folded into the Figurehead's own work. In this way, the followers are used to prop up or bolster the position and status of the Figurehead. This is energetic theft, and it's really the only way the bloated public platform used by the Figurehead can be maintained over time. 

5. The Figurehead controlled opposition agent has extreme influence on the thoughts, ideas, and speech of the followers to the point of mind control. This takes the form of hundreds of thousands or millions of followers parroting the Figurehead's exact ideas and catch phrases. (Hatefully referring to the public as “sheeple” is one that springs immediately to mind.) This phenomenon can be easily picked up on by those objectively viewing the dynamics, and it is another dead giveaway. Free thinkers do not parrot the same catch phrases, idioms, or ideas at the same times as hundreds of thousands or millions of others. Independent researchers and thinkers do not obsessively focus on the pet subjects or ideas of the Figurehead to the exclusion of other, more important matters. The common denominator when seeing these types of dynamics will be exposure to one particular Figurehead.

6. The Figurehead controlled opposition agent often stirs fear, anger, rage, frustration, confusion, or despair in followers with no healthy outlets for those feelings. Anger and rage will often be directed toward certain groups of people as the cause of the ills. These groups may be gender-based, race-based, or politics-based but can also be the public at large (“the sheeple”). Massive amounts of time and energy are directed toward particularly divisive topics as well as to matters of secondary importance, skirting around the real, core issues of the times and the real individuals, organizations, and entities responsible for the harm being caused. The Figurehead can also stir confusion and a sense of futility or helplessness in the followers, ensuring that followers do not take independent action (“there’s nothing we can do about it, anyway”) and that they will continue to look to the Figurehead for instruction on what to think or what to do. Dependence on the leadership of the Figurehead is encouraged, even if not expressly.

These are some of the characteristics of people who act as controlled opposition. You can use these points to sniff them out. People can be used as controlled opposition consciously (with their knowledge), or they can be used unconsciously (without their knowledge). Whole movements or "scenes" can also be infiltrated by controlled opposition - maintaining establishment control over dissent and the exposing of truth by scratching the surface, appearing to allow a public platform for alternative views, but never going to the real roots of the situation or truly liberating people's minds or lives.  

Controlled opposition agents are looked to as primary leaders for a cause, and this is exactly the dynamic they create and reinforce until dependence on them as figureheads is fostered. These agents are actually put in place to mislead, to lead in the wrong direction, or to entirely shirk leadership at critical moments. This hijacks, confuses, and diffuses grassroots movements and independent action that would otherwise be effective.

Willow's Web Astrology articles on Controlled Opposition

 

A critique of controlled opposition/gatekeepers in the protest movement: This Mind is Otherwise Occupied.

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Mercury and Venus Station in Tandem - the Subtle Points of Human Relations Come Up for Mental Processing and Discussion

We have two planetary stations about to occur on the very same day: on November 16, love and relationship planet Venus stations direct at 25 degrees Libra, and communication and intelligence planet Mercury stations retrograde at 13 degrees Sagittarius (exactly square Neptune in Pisces). 

Mercury will be retrograde from  November 16 to December 6, moving from 13 degrees Sagittarius to 27 degrees Scorpio.

Foggy and ethereal Neptune is also very powerful at this time, stationing direct November 24 at 13 degrees Pisces. Neptune provides a strong influence over the entire Mercury retrograde, a process that comes to its full conclusion on December 24, 2018 as Mercury leaves the retrograde shadow with an exact square to Neptune in Pisces.

An extended Mercury-Neptune square with Mercury retrograde in Sagittarius/Scorpio indicates a veil being dropped over our perceptions and communication that must be gradually worked with and penetrated. There's some mental pressure and challenge as we cut through the confusion and fog, finding just the right words from just the right perspectives as we verbally clear ourselves a path into 2019. 

Mercury square Neptune can indicate difficulty in getting our points across succinctly and effectively. There may be some difficulty being heard or understood. People may hear what they want to hear, or they may pick up on one small point, missing the full picture. These effects may be exacerbated with Mercury transiting the sign of its detriment, Sagittarius. It's hard to sum up what we know or what we perceive, but we have to do our best with these challenging mental conditions.

Stay focused and keep working to verbally cut through the Neptunian fog because effective communication - though trickier than usual to achieve - has a great deal of "permeation power" under these aspects. Getting your point(s) across under these aspects can have quite grand ripple effects, especially in the collective. Your words can reach much further than you might have imagined and could have more sway or influence.

Mercury square Neptune indicates people may be more impressionable than usual to the words, perspectives, or ideas of others - for good or ill. 

So this is a time when our words - if they are being used for good - can have "divine wings." Our words may be picked up and carried and carried and carried to just the right people who need them.

Monday, November 5, 2018

Jupiter Enters Home-Sweet-Home Sagittarius: Dismantling Illusions, Deceptions, and the Stranglehold of Controlled Opposition With the Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth


 Jupiter in Sagittarius (symbolized by the centaur)
Horsie wisdom!
Photos: Willow
Renegade Heifer Photography
Etsy Shop

Jupiter in Sagittarius November 8, 2018 - December 2, 2019


Jupiter retrograde April 10, 2019 to August 11, 2019 from 24 degrees to 14 degrees Sagittarius


"Jupiter Enters Home-Sweet-Home Sagittarius: Dismantling Illusions, Deceptions, and the Stranglehold of Controlled Opposition With the Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth," is an article covering the year-long transit of Jupiter through its domicile of Sagittarius. This 5,600+-word article is available to Willow's Web Astrology patrons.

If you regularly find Willow's Web Astrology valuable, please consider becoming a patron. Patrons receive juicy, in-depth astrological articles to their email inboxes that are not available on the public blog.

For 2019, new patrons will also receive a bonus article, "North Node in Cancer and South Node in Capricorn: the Responsibility of Living With Soul-Sovereignty in a Highly-Controlled and Micro-Managed World."

Saturday, November 3, 2018

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Happy Hallowe'en: Let Your Pagan Soul Run Freeeeeeee!

Merry Samhain and Happy Hallowe'en from your anarchist astro-reporter, Willow!

The Moon is in expressive and party-loving Leo this Hallowe'en, forming a square to the Scorpio Sun and marking Last Quarter Moon, so go bold with your costumes and revelry!

Venus Rx in Scorpio formed an exact opposition to Uranus Rx in Taurus at zero degrees of the signs in the wee hours this morning. Both Venus and Uranus are forming exact squares to the Nodes of the Moon, as well, and this creates a powerful but somewhat heavy and constricting fixed Grand Cross effect on the potent zero degrees of the fixed signs. 

Progress is difficult under this configuration and energy is at a premium, but any movement we do manage can catalyze powerful and long-lasting change. Just dig in and slowly power your way through...

Venus will retrograde back into its home-sweet-home sign of Libra at 11:42 a.m. PDT today, indicating the possibility for some nice social (or at least energetic) relief as the Hallowe'en festivities get underway.

Venus will now travel through the latest degrees of Libra, turning direct again on November 16 at 25 degrees Libra and re-entering Scorpio on December 2. 

Venus back in Libra indicates a nice (albeit temporary) breather during the month of November to re-balance and re-gain our equilibrium after the intensity of the Venus retrograde through Via Combusta Scorpio. 

So let's celebrate the planet of love and socializing moving back into its own sign of Libra this Samhain. The spirits and pixies and fairie-sprites are ready to mingle!