Tiger Mother Astrology Take

I saw on Elsa's dispatch a link to Oxford Astrologer and an article about Amy Chua self described Tiger Mother and author.

It is thoughtful article and points out the ego drive in Amy's astrology chart.

Go to link for whole article.

As an indulgent, child-worshipping Western mother, the Tiger Mom thing really gets up my nose.

In case you missed it, (which I'm sure you didn't), last year a law professor at Yale published a book explaining how she was a brilliant mother as well as a fabulously successful academic. I expect she can cook and do really athletic stuff in the sack too. Oh well.

The premise of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is that strict Chinese-style parenting is much better than namby-pamby Western parenting.


The book is a memoir by Amy Chua of how she brought up her two daughters with no playdates, no sleep-overs and two hours instrument practice a day. Since so many parents already seem to schedule their children up the wazoo (French lessons, band practice, therapy) – and then put them on prescription drugs if they don't conform – I really hope we don't start taking this shite seriously.


Time is unknown
So I thought it would be fun to see where Amy Chua's Ceres, the planet of motherhood, fits into her natal chart. I have her birthdate but not her time of birth – still it made me laugh.

Ceres is in Leo in an out of sign opposition to Jupiter in Pisces. Maybe that's a very big need to show off about being a mother. Leo is all about the performance, and at its lowest extremely self-centred.

When asked to discuss the book Chua's daughter said: “I’m sure it’s all about you anyway.”

From my friend Eve

My friend Eve put this up on her FB page and I read it twice, I can't say exactly why it struck me astrologically but I did feel Pluto in Cap versus Uranus in Aries in it.

TMA website

I wanted to remind everyone that Mountain Astrologer magazine (which I love) also has a companion website with some really wonderful contributors. Currently, there is a terrific piece written by Eric Francis entitled "Scratch Some Virgo, Find Some Pisces". As we all know (painfully) Mars is retrograde in Virgo where it will stay until July and then we have Neptune's move into Pisces next week for a dozen years. Eric's point about the teeter totter effect between these two signs could not be more timely. Here is a snippet, do yourself a favor and read the whole piece.




TMA:

For retrograde hunters, the last time Mars was retrograde in Virgo was in 1997, but part of that cycle happened in Libra, so we did not get the full effect. Mars did something similar in 1950, splitting a retrograde between Virgo and Libra. Mars spent a little piece of its 1995 retrograde in Virgo as well.

The last all-Virgo Mars retrograde was the famous one that took place in early 1965, famous in my mind, anyway, because Mars passed through the Uranus-Pluto conjunction. Doing so, it stirred up a lot of collective energy, helping spark what we think of as the 1960s. That conjunction, which happens less than once per century, combined the revolutionary power of Uranus with the evolutionary power of Pluto and set many things in motion.

In January, Lyndon Johnson made his “Great Society” speech. Two months later, he sent the first combat troops to Vietnam. The Civil Rights movement was on fire in Alabama, where James J. Reeb, a Unitarian Universalist minister was beaten to death. In April, the first anti-Vietnam War march, organized by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), drew 25,000 people, which was just the first of many impressive antiwar protests that year.

In May 40 men burned their draft cards at the University of California at Berkeley, and marched a coffin to the local Draft Board. Good thing, too. By July, Johnson nearly doubled both the ground troop count in Vietnam and the number of men drafted. (He also signed the Social Security Act of 1965, which provided for Medicaid and Medicare).

Births from this specific era of 1965 include Trent Reznor, Robert Downey, Jr., Eric Cantor and Sarah Jessica Parker. A piece of timeless artwork that manifested in this moment was the recording A Love Supreme by John Coltrane.

We are now having another all-Virgo Mars retrograde. What is interesting is that we are once again in a potent Uranus-Pluto phase — the square. This is the first Uranus-Pluto quadrature (90-degree type) aspect since the ’60s, and it’s pretty easy to feel the resonance between our era and that one. This retrograde will awaken Uranus and Pluto in the natal charts of many people born in the ’60s. It’s fair to say that for a while, the world will feel a little more like home to ’60s babies — though this isn’t just about Virgo.

This particular Mars retrograde also arrives with a Pisces awakening. At the moment, Venus and Chiron are in Pisces. Neptune is about to arrive, which will shift the story of the world, and allow the realm of imagination to be more tangible and accessible. When the question is one of method, we find a counterpart in purpose in its counterpart energy, Pisces. When it’s one of proof (in Virgo) we have a matter of faith (in Pisces).

Neptune

As we have been discussing here for a long time, Neptune is making its final move into Pisces on Feb 3. Last year Neptune finally breached the walls of Aquarius lapped into Pisces for a few months, then retrograded back into Aquarius for the rest of the year until now this week when it finally enters Pisces for the long haul.

I talked about Neptune in Pisces last Spring then again last fall and of course on last week's New Moon. Think I think this is kind of a big deal? It is, but it is also subtle because Pisces likes to slip in and slip out, hide in shadows, act elusive and has his own way of doing stuff.

Earlier I shared a link to Lynn Hayes write up on Neptune Pisces and I wanted to give you another take. Here is another link this time to Robert Wilkinson at Aquarius Papers blog.



Neptune is the spiritual ruler of this sign, and in its home. Neptune rules the great waters. Now the Outer Invisible Transpersonal Collectivizer will dominate the world's feelings for years. Much will be washed clean, while other things will be washed away. All of us will reorient our consciousness to our subconsciousness, as well as collective consciousness.

Pisces is associated with both dreams and nightmares, compassion and betrayal, forgiveness and hypocrisy. Now a force "beyond our control" begins to work these upon humanity, each responding according to what waters they swim in. For some, prophetic dreams and visions, while for others, ancient ghosts of terrifying shapes residing in the subconsciousness of humanity, leftovers from human misconduct and misunderstanding across millennia.

Pisces and Neptune rule the waves and tides. A good wave can give us a good ride; a violent wave can kill us. A good tide can bring riches and blessings; a bad tide can ground our boat. Knowing inner and outer tides, personal and impersonal tides, will be important in the 14 years ahead of us.

We will all need to learn navigation skills, or know a good navigator to help us steer our "ship of personality" through the tides, reefs, perils, and unknowns of an ocean we on Earth at this time have never experienced before now. By becoming unafraid of that which is beyond words, we can find a greater faith in "All-That-Is," and know that we are as leaves floating on the surface of the ocean held securely in the lap of Divine Mother.

This will be an era of feeling more than we've ever felt, of knowing beyond words, of experiencing what others are feeling to a greater degree than ever before. Those who have not seen or heard the call to human-ness will be made to feel. Not to feel will be a self-betrayal; expanding our ability to feel what others are feeling will redeem the greater promise of compassion toward all that is and help us know our interrelatedness with others in the feeling field.

The Week Ahead

First Quarter Moon
January 30, 11:09pm



First quarter: We do more actions based on the information that we just received. Or we feel our instincts guide us on something. We pursue again. We make another call or we see someone. We mail something. We stir the pot again. This can be a time when we realize that the goals we planted on New need more action from us, perhaps actions that involve breaking away. Are there people who say they have our best interest in heart but fear us growing away from them? Maybe we need to get help from others not the usual suspects. Some independence may need to be exerted.


Focus on: What actions can you take right now that are practical and Earthbound that support your UNIQUE nature? And how can those actions build upon the vision of your new world. What actions are you willing to take that break with the past? What heavy lifting can you do now that puts you with people who have the same vision as you? How does doing things alone NOT work for you? What changes can you make that support you being with others while still being unique. Practical, tangible changes.

Special focus:
2/1: Values and actions are not in synch. Tension in love and money.
2/3: Neptune enters Pisces

Lynn Hayes

Lynn Hayes has moved from Belief Net to Patheos. Lynn is a gifted astrologer who puts up smart thoughtful astrology articles.

Here is a snippet of her latest article about Neptune in Pisces which if you remember from my new moon article will take place in the next week.

By its very nature, Neptune is difficult to talk about. It tends to be evasive and dreamy, and full of imagination and artistic creativity. It also can become lost in the illusion of fantasy and encourage sacrifice of the individual self, sometimes for a higher purpose and sometimes in a codependent loss of Self. In its highest form Neptune inspires us to transcend the material world and connect deeply and directly with an experience of the Divine.

Go to link for more.

Navy Seals Again

When it comes to warrior action we look to Mars and to a certain extent Aries. They are both independent and need to be focused since at their core they are itching for a fight.

As I indicated Mars turned retrograde on Monday a few hours after New Moon--and we learned today that on Monday orders were given by The President authorizing Seals Team to rescure workers in Somalia, one of them an American with health issues who had been kidnapped by pirates in October. It apparently was a small team. They went in and although the details are slim right now, it seems that they killed all kidnappers and reports are they were so surprised by the Seals that they did not even return fire. Exact, clear and precise, it is perfect Mars in Virgo.

Of course, as we know Neptune will be moving into its home sign Pisces this cycle. How will this change the pirate issue? Only time will tell.

ETA: You know I think Pirates will have a but kicking with Neptune in Pisces AND Uranus in Aries. I forgot to mention Uranus in Aries will probably provide a lot of these surprise warrior attacks. I should check back on the Osama Bin Laden raid, I bet Uranus was at Zero Aries for that one.