“Sometimes dreams are wiser than waking.”

Black Elk

…Over the next 24 hrs Mercury will go Direct (…the station has already begun).

1. Mercury went Retrograde while conjunct Uranus!

2. Mercury was involved with the Aries New moon!

3. This whole Mercury Retrograde coincided with Mars being Retrograde in Virgo (Mercury’s own sign)

Looking at Death transits is one of the most fascinating aspects of Astrology to me.  Through the transits to a person’s natal chart you can distill all of the aspects which weakened a person’s vital life force. In Whitney’s case, it is no exception to this rule.  She was found dead Saturday afternoon in her hotel room at the Beverly Hilton.  Cause of death still undetermined, yet, speculation speaks to a potential combination of xanax/alcohol and then drowning in a bathtub.  Let’s take a peak through the Astrological lens in the attempt to find out potentially what it was without an autopsy report.

Here are the transits for that day:

(sorry about the blurriness and size; I couldn’t seem to change it.  Hopefully you can zoom. If not, go HERE)

When looking at a Death chart, it is always important to look for 3 main aspects:

1. Transits in the 8th house and the activity of its ruler: The House of “Death”

2. Transits in the 6th house and the activity of its ruler: The House of “Healing”

3. Important planetary returns happening: Cycles ending and beginning

In Whitney’s case, all 3 are highlighted.  First of all, Saturn has been transiting in her 8th house for the last 2 years, having opposed her Moon/Jupiter conjunction and squaring the Nodes of the Moon.  This speaks to karmic–even fated evolutionary lessons–and emotional challenges to an intense degree. The ruler of her 8th house (what facillates Death and Rebirth) is Venus.  Venus had recently moved into Aries to form a conjunction with Uranus (sudden trauma) and opposed her Mars just a day or so before her death. It all speaks to potential accidents (Mars in combination with Uranus via transit being triggered by Venus–the ruler of her 8th house–is an accident signature).

…just one aspect like this isn’t enough to cause death though (I would never predict such a thing).  There has got to be more.

Now we look to the 6th house where we find her Sun and Uranus natally.  Her Sun in Leo rules her 6th house, meaning part of the Self-actualization of her Spirit (Sun) is to learn how to take good care of her body, mind, and spirit.  Via transit, the Sun is found in her 12th house just a few days away from her Saturn and a week after her Sun/Sun opposition (always a challenge for a person in my opinion).  This transit happens every year because the Sun moves around the chart every year, but you can definitely see a foundation being built.  When the Sun illuminates Saturn, it is like a beam of light coming down from the sky showing all of the most challenging karmas we are carrying in our Soul.  The 12th house relates to escapism and drug use.  See where this is going?

….Then we look to important returns

There is nothing exact but there are looming returns in 3 places which relate strongly to the theme we are dealing with.

1. Chiron’s return (you can see Chiron just a few degrees away from her Pisces Asc).  The Ascendant relates to vitality, the body, and our will to live.  Chiron, sometimes deemed “the wounded healer,” brings forth some of the most painful energies in our being.  This becomes readily apparent when he returns to himself around age 50. She was 48!

2. Jupiter’s return which happened last Spring.  Jupiter has a 12 year cycle which relates to expansion and opportunities in life.  Interestingly enough, Jupiter seems to show up in some way in nearly every Death chart I look at. Perhaps an opportunity to try again…in another life?

3. Mars retrograde in Virgo.  Natally, Whitney has Mars in Libra in her 7th house. Mars was just degrees away from returning to himself before he went retrograde a month ago.  Collectively, we are all feeling this one.  When Mars goes retrograde, so too does our energy.  It’s in Virgo, so it relates to the health of our bodies, routines, and services.  Being that it is in her 7th house (the House of Love) it is my guess she was incredibly distraught and angry (Mars) about some dispute with another person–maybe a lover, maybe Bobby?

…the foundation is being built.  Do you see what I see?

Like playing Jenga, there is but one block you pull or add that can tip the whole tower. In Whitney’s case, it was the transiting Moon. Look to her 8th house (again, the House of Death) and you will see how the Moon had entered her 8th house just hours before she was found dead.  I would guess she moved into the afterlife the moment the Moon in Libra entered the house. That’s how these transit’s work.

Take all of this information and add it to the fact that not only was Chiron moving out of the 12th house, but Neptune just moved into Pisces as well, holding hands with Chiron. Feb 3rd was when Neptune moved into Pisces.  It relates to the end of hope and the beginning of truth.  It had been transiting through the house of addiction and escape for most of the 21st century for Whitney.  This coincides with many of the years of her addictions (though I will admit, I don’t know much about her life. This is just what I gathered). Sun and Mercury were also transiting this house in the hour of her passing!

My conclusion? Drugs and water (12th house themes).  I feel the suspicion of an unconscious stupor caused by drugs, leading to drowning is quite a likely outcome.

It always saddens me to here of a person passing.  But then again, it is such a beautiful moment also.  I’ll admit, a part of me even gets jealous.  This is such a cruel world at times…oOo

R.I.P Whitney.  You shined like a true Leo!

Love,
sOma

KOSMOGNOSIS@GMAIL.COM
(if you would like to set up a reading or ask a question)

www.Holestoheavens.com

art by Nathan A Hutchinson …yesterday, when the Moon was in a trine aspect to Neptune and also when the Moon via Transit, entered my 12th house of my Lunar Return chart, something vuuuuury mysterious began to envelop me…… It all started with my Yoga practice in the morning.  Within it, I was having these vivid visions of my energy body, and how I was creating it with my breath.  Also witnessing worlds fall away without my breath.  I have had these sensations many times before, but yesterday there was something uber-potent about it.  As this energy was circulating throughout my entire being, I realized something simple about what we think of as Health: It has everything to do with alignment.  Alignment with what?: with spirit, with body, with mind, with our environment, with the Archetype of Neptune, Pisces, and the 12th house. Its a simple realization which I’m sure you can easily agree with, but it was cosmic too.  No illness can touch you if you are aligned, nor can any negative emotional state bring you enter the hellish realms of Plutonic despair.  You learn to move with it, like the undulating sway of the Ocean.  Remember: the best way to survive undertow is by surrendering, and it is surrender which allows us to align to the Archetype of Pisces. ….seemingly the day got off to a magical start–nothing was going to touch me–until……… I get on the computer to begin the work day and my external hard drive with all my essential music/movie/book files was blank.  Fried.  No data rescue, no geek, no freezer,  no nothing was going to save my precious resource! Panic was the first response, and then immediately after–or during it–I melted away in a strange bliss.  I saw it as a blessing.  A chance to start over.  Strangely, I felt like a massive gorilla had been lifted from my shoulders. Not sure why, it just was.  Bliss. Satori. Om….oOo Surfing the waves of Neptune has never been easier. …then, by mid day, once the Moon was done with her aspect to Neptune, is when the moON (for this month’s Lunar return) entered my 12th….. I go to my “soon to be” home for my roommates lil’ girl’s 2nd birthday party.  Everything seemed normal. I guess everything was apparently normal, but there was a deeper layer, an ephemeral communication unfolding: The animals and the children were psychically speaking to me.  It first started with the other 2 year old who was there.  Just eyes, questioning, investigation, no words, then hysterical laughter.  I remember thinking during it, “This is how I communicate with animals…” Indeed.  Then the animals show up.  3 dogs and a cat appears from downstairs.  All of them, in constant conversation–with each other and with me.  Young ones, and very old ones.  A community of little beings.  Now, I wasn’t on any good drugs, nor was I altered in any way.  I was just in the 12th house.  We are all psychic and we all have the 3 parts of this Archetype within our consciousness, its just a matter of aligning ourselves to it.  Everything comes into place once you allow it to fall away.  So we let go. …Trust……Surrender………….Blisss…….Everything working out perfectly…..oOo ….at the days end, I was able to connect the dots with the help of Astrology.  I was able to see the fine and delicate lines that were drawn from my yoga experience in the morning, into the hard drives test, floating up into the psychic communication with forms of life that weren’t burdened with too much programing or worry.  Without the programs and without the worry, we are Pisces–we are completely aligned with God…..There is no place to worry about what Elenin is going to do, or the Reptiles, or the Government etc etc etc…..Just plain ol’ simple living!

*It is my prayer for all of you who read this, to be inspired to attempt an understanding of a deeper alignment with the Archetype of Pisces within your life.  Nothing could be so easy and so damn challenging at the same time.  All you must do is let go!

art by Nathan A Hutchinson

…If you are interested in knowing more about this Archetype in your own chart, don’t be shy, and contact me at KOSMOGNOSIS@GMAIL.COM, and we can set up a time to do a in depth session with the Creator of all “things”: Neptune!!!!….

” Love is fearless in the midst of the sea of fear.”

Rumi

…as of the 6th of August, Neptune has moved back into Aquarius in its Retrograde motion.  This Transpersonal planet gave us an elusive taster of what is to come, once “she” decides to fully unleash the power of the ocean on our Collective imagination when she finally stays in her own sign of Pisces (this will occur of February 4th, 2012).  This “re-visiting” of Neptune in Aquarius allows for us to plan, network, and envision our unmanifested future for just a tad longer. In this blog, I want to talk about Neptune, as a spiritual Path, and how it’s lessons may look, and why it sometimes feels like we are drowning.

Before any of my musings, here is a lengthy, yet thorough explanation of the nature of Neptune by Richard Tarnas, from his exellent site Archai.org!:

Neptune
“Neptune is associated with the transcendent, spiritual, ideal, symbolic, and imaginative dimensions of life; with the subtle, formless, intangible, and invisible; with the unitive, timeless, immaterial, and infinite; with all that which transcends the limited literal temporal and material world of concretely empirical reality: myth and religion, art and inspiration, ideals and aspirations, images and reflections, symbols and metaphors, dreams and visions, mysticism, religious devotion, universal compassion. It is associated with the impulse to surrender separative existence and egoic control, to dissolve boundaries and structures in favor of underlying unities and undifferentiated wholes, merging that which was separate, healing and wholeness; the dissolution of ego boundaries and reality structures, states of psychological fusion and intimations of intrauterine existence, melted ecstasy, mystical union, and primary narcissism; with tendencies towards illusion and delusion, deception and self-deception, escapism, intoxication, psychosis, perceptual and cognitive distortions, conflation and confusion, projection, fantasy; with the bedazzlement of consciousness whether by gods, archetypes, beliefs, dreams, ideals, or ideologies; with enchantment, in both positive and negative senses. The archetypal principle linked to Neptune governs all nonordinary states of consciousness, as well as the stream of consciousness and the oceanic depths of the unconscious. Characteristic metaphors for its domain include the infinite sea of the imagination, the ocean of divine consciousness, and the archetypal wellspring of life. It is, in a sense, the archetype of the archetypal dimension itself, the anima mundi, the Gnostic pleroma, the Platonic realm of transcendent Ideas, the domain of the gods, the Immortals. In mythic and religious terms, it is associated with the all-encompassing womb of the Goddess, and with all deities of mystical union, universal love, and transcendent beauty; the mystical Christ, the all-compassionate Buddha, the Atman-Brahman union, the union of Shiva and Shakti, the hieros gamos or sacred marriage, the coniunctio oppositorum; the dreaming Vishnu, maya and lila, the self-reflecting Narcissus, the divine absorbed in its own reflection; Orpheus, god of artistic inspiration, the Muses; the cosmic Sophia whose spiritual beauty and wisdom pervade all.
Considered as a whole, these themes, qualities, and figures suggest that the name Neptune is both apt and inadequate in denoting a mythological figure embodying the planet’s corresponding archetypal principle. On the one hand, central to the observed characteristics is an underlying symbolic association with water, the sea, the ocean, streams and rivers, mists and fogs, liquidity and dissolution, the amniotic and prenatal, the permeable and undifferentiated. In this regard, one thinks of the many oceanic and watery metaphors used to describe mystical experience, the all-encompassing ocean of divine consciousness of which our individual selves are but momentarily separate drops, the ceaselessly flowing all-informing Tao whose waterlike fluidity evades all definition, the primordial participation mystique of undifferentiated awareness, the mists of prehistory, the amniotic fetal and infantile states of primary fusion, the oceanic realms of the imagination, the fluid nature of psychic life generally: the flow and stream of consciousness, the influx of inspiration, the fog of confusion, drowning in the treacherous deep waters of the unconscious psyche, slipping into madness or addiction, surrendering to the flow of experience, dissolving into the divine union, the cleansing waters of purity and healing, melted ecstasy, and so forth. One thinks here, too, of Freud’s reference to the “oceanic feeling”: “a sensation of ‘eternity,’ a feeling as of something limitless, unbounded— as it were, ‘oceanic’. . . it is the feeling of an indissoluble bond, of being one with the external world as a whole.” Equally relevant is William James’s image of a transcendental “mother-sea” of consciousness with which the individual consciousness is continuous and of which the brain essentially serves as a sieve or filtering conduit (Cosmos and Psyche, 96-97).
Many of these associations are empirically related to important phenomena surrounding the Discovery of Neptune.”

Surfing Neptune:

…It is essential to understand Neptune in both the Natal chart and through Transits! Now, this may be true with all the planets, but with Neptune, it is truly where we may be sleeping, so its vital to put awareness on this area of the chart, so that we don’t run into walls, or get taken advantage of.  Neptune in the chart–at least in its more shadowy way of expressing itself–is naivety and neglect! Bringing awareness to this part of ourselves is essential for the growth of the Individual.  And in waking up Neptune from it’s dreaming state, we then access all of its oceanic power and mystical potential.  Neptune relates to the “collective unconscious” mind, the masses, and our own connection with Spirit.  On all three of these levels, the material which binds them, is the mystery of Neptune.  It is a truly mystical energy.  This is why I say “Tao.”

Let’s say we are looking at a person’s chart, and by conversing with them, we realize that they have “awakened” to their Neptune in their chart; it doesn’t seem that the aspect of “neglect” is expressing itself too strongly, yet, they have a powerful Neptune transit happening in their chart.  For example, Neptune is transiting into their 7th house, and they are curious about their love life.  What do you tell them? What do you ask? For starters, it’s also important with Neptune to gauge a person’s connection to Spirit and Surrender.  If they seem to be in a “trusting” state, they are already doing the work.  But the types of experiences that can manifest during this time for the native is: disillusionment with others–esp. lovers, fantasies about love, dreams of constant longing, mystical breakthroughs in relationships, in sex, and understanding another; it is also a time of deep surrender in the arms of a lover; if a person isn’t with someone at the beginning of this transit, they are definitely in their imagination, dreaming them up. No matter what seems to be expressing itself, it still depends on the rest of their chart, and also the choices they have made within the experience.  The goal of Neptune through any of the transits is complete humbling of the “ego,” and a realization that everything is working out perfectly. Nothing is broken, nothing is lost, everything is on track, everything is perfect! It’s universal, it’s everywhere, and in everything.  We cannot escape Neptunes Path, nor are we supposed to! We must align ourselves to it, and be patient with the gifts of Ka’s will.  Only then will we experience the true Oneness we are all always craving.  And it must be sought after without the help of drugs and alcohol! These are Neptunian tricksters, and can lead us down back alley’s in scary neighborhoods within the netherworlds.  So beware FOOL! We are all foolish in the arms of Neptune!

(you can apply this logic to your understanding of all the areas of the chart, and see how this oceanic power is humbling the ego, and inspiring the Spirit!)

Like I mentioned earlier, Neptune just moved back into Aquarius, and will remain until February.  What does this mean? Well, its a re-visitation to the Archetype of Aquarius (which relates to plans for the future), so that we can hopefully better prepare for the wrath of Mother nature over the next 14 years (the length of time Neptune will be in Pisces, its own sign).  Both Neptune and Pisces relate to “Truth,” a truth, where nothing is relative.  Its Nature untamed.  When Neptune moves for good into Pisces, I feel it is the window we have all been speculating about, which relates to Peak oil, the melting of the polar caps, pollution in all of the world’s water, massive extinctions to aquatic species, etc, etc, etc…As Maurice Fernandez says in his wonderful book on Neptune, “it is the end of hope, and the beginning of Truth.” We have been blindly destroying this Earth at a neck breaking speed since the Industrial Revolution (the time of the last Neptune and Pisces experience) and now, is the time of “truth.”

What will it really look like? I have no idea, but there is no transit in the sky that I am more excited for! It’s a time of awakening, of coming together, where individualistic society melts into the collective, and reforms itself on the foundations of spiritual insight and experience.  It’s a time of reconnecting to Nature and remembering who we really are.  It could even relate to aliens….an idea, I’m a lil’ partial too! lol……Neptune in Pisces is nothing to be afraid of.  We human’s have forgotten, and the time has come for great remembering.  Embrace it, and rise higher than you have ever been before.

Remember, wherever this is happening in your chart, relates to where in your life you will be experiencing the most effects of this potent transit. If you are more curious about Neptune in your chart, and maybe how this Transit if affecting your life, please contact me at KOSMOGNOSIS@GMAIL.COM, and we can set up a Neptune specific reading, to help bring clarity to this foggy Archetype!

In Lakesh,

sOMa

Boulder, Co, 8.8.11

WWW.HOLESTOHEAVENS.COM

Cover of Amy Winehouse

…and so it is, another beautiful Soul chooses the inevitable end to nihilistic destruction. It wasn’t too long ago when I was teaching a class on the Nodes, and we were looking at Amy’s chart. The question was posed in light of all the info I was presenting, “Is she going to survive her Saturn Return?” My answer, “Unlikely…” It wasn’t just her Saturn return I was worried about; there were other signatures too.  When looking at a Death chart with the Astrological lens, there are my signatures you need to look for, but ultimately, it always comes back to the Nodes of the Moon.  In this blog, I want to look at  the transits of the day of her Death.  But first….here is a little background on Amy:

Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011[1][2]) was an English singer-songwriter, known for her powerful contralto vocals[3] and her eclectic mix of various musical genres including R&B, soul, and jazz.[4] She has received publicity over her substance abuse and mental health issues.[5][6] Winehouse died on 23 July 2011 in, as yet, unexplained circumstances.[7]
Winehouse’s 2003 debut album Frank was critically successful in the UK, and was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Her 2006 follow-up album Back to Black led to six Grammy Award nominations and five wins, tying the record for the most wins by a female artist in a single night, and made Winehouse the first British singer to win five Grammys,[8][9] including three of the “Big Four”: Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. On 14 February 2007, she won a BRIT Award for Best British Female Artist; she had also been nominated for Best British Album. She has won the Ivor Novello Award three times, one in 2004 for Best Contemporary Song (musically and lyrically) for “Stronger Than Me”, one in 2007 for Best Contemporary Song for “Rehab”, and one in 2008 for Best Song Musically and Lyrically for “Love Is a Losing Game”, among other prestigious distinctions. The album was the third biggest seller of the 2000s in the United Kingdom.[10]

Substance abuse and mental health issues
Winehouse’s battles with substance abuse were the subject of much media attention. In various interviews, she admitted to having problems with self-harm, depression and eating disorders.[5][6] In 2005, she went through a period of drinking, heavy drug use, violent mood swings and weight loss.[16] People who saw her during the end of that year and early 2006 reported a rebound that coincided with the writing of Back to Black.[16] Her family believes that the mid-2006 death of her grandmother, who was a stabilising influence, set her off into addiction.[16] In August 2007, Winehouse cancelled a number of shows in the UK and Europe, citing exhaustion and ill health. She was hospitalised during this period for what was reported as an overdose of heroin, ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine and alcohol.[141] Winehouse told a magazine that the drugs were to blame for her hospitalisation and that “I really thought that it was over for me then.”[142] Soon after, Winehouse’s father commented that when he had made public statements regarding her problems, he was using the media because it seemed the only way to get through to her.[143]

Death Transits:

….like I was saying earlier, the Nodes of the Moon always are significant in Death charts, and this is because they represent the Evolution of Consciousness.  In fact, I feel the Nodes represent our Dharma in this life.  When looking at this chart, aside from the Nodes, we see two other huge Transits:

1. Nodal Opposition:

…Amy’s Nodes go from Sag to Gemini, from the 7th to the 1st house.  The Nodal cycle is a 19 year cycle respectively, and at the mid point of the cycle, we experience a Great Crossroads called the Nodal Opposition, which tests our current state of integrating and balancing the Nodes.  (what goes around comes around, the Dragon starts to find its tail….). For Amy, this test has everything to do with figuring out how to take care of herself.  Having the North node in Gemini in the 1st house, with its ruler, Mercury retrograde in Virgo conjunct her Sun on the IC, we see a deep & lifelong reflection on how to take care of herself, maintain her body/mind/spirit, and ultimately release herself from the bondage of her ferocious addictions (which is Neptune/Moon on the South node of the moon.) Unfortunately, this Nodal opposition was the tipping point.  Before the Dragon found its tail, the Winehouse tale had ended…..

2. Transiting Chiron retrograde squaring Natal Jupiter:

…I have noticed over the years, looking at countless Death charts, that Jupiter always seems to find his way into the chart.  Paradoxical to me at first–since Jupiter is the great beneficent–I soon realized what it represented: an Opportunity to move on, to remember what and who we are, and to try again.  After all, it is Jupiter’s nature to expand and not contract.  This gives me glee in the face of Death….And so, transiting Chiron is retrograde conjunct Neptune in Pisces in her 10th house squaring her natal Jupiter to the degree.  This is important for 2 reasons: 1. Jupiter is the ruler of her South node (which is her destructive tendencies); 2. it also rules Chiron via transit.  I feel that this Chiron transit in the 10th is her incredible sensitivity to the world, and basically her need to escape the pressure.  Whats interesting about this too, is that at her last show in Belgrade, she was booed off the stage because of her state of intoxication! Even though she seems like a tough one on the outside, I can guarentee that this show in Belgrade was traumatic for her, and relates perfectly to this Chiron transit! It was probably further down hill from that experience….

3. Transiting Mercury in his Shadow, conjunct Natal Mars/Venus in Leo:

….often overlooked, Mercury’s transits are some of the most profound triggers in our lives; its just that they are fast and easily missed.  What is interesting about this particular Mercury transit is that it is in his Shadow, meaning he is flying over degrees of Leo that he will revisit in August while retrograde.  Mercury is also the ruler of Amy’s chart, her North node, and her Sun.  What does this mean? Basically, Mercury is her greatest challenge and her greatest gift.  Challenge because Mercury relates to the Evolution of her Soul, and its not always easy to “Do the Work!” Gift…well, just listen to her voice. Mercury is our voice.  Having Mercury conjunct the Sun in Virgo is an incredibly talented communicater and possibly singer.  In Amy’s case, it was her unique vocal presence in which Mercury manifested.  She died before Mercury even went Retrograde (which will happen on the 3rd, at 1 degree Virgo, and travel all the back past her Venus/Mars to 18 degrees Leo).  It was a testing ground.

This upcoming Mercury period is involved with the Royal Star Regulus “the Heart of the Lion.” This star relates to great fame and power with the potentiality of losing it with a fiery crash.  For all of us, it’s vital to be aware of where our power lies, and how we are using it.  Hopefully we arent abusing it, for Mercury could throw us face down in the dirt, with no crutch to hold.

….its always interesting to ponder what a person’s chart will look like next incarnation.  Depending on their life, and how well they integrated their chart, the potentials are wide open.  In Amy’s case, I wouldn’t be surprised if she were to incarnate with a similar chart in her next life.  She still needs to beat addiction (Neptune/moON); She still needs to deal with the fame(Chiron in the 10th); And she still needs to find balance in her Love life vs. Her own personal life (this is the Nodal piece)

Wherever you are Amy, you are loved, and we have compassion for you.  May your next spin around the Wheel be blessed….

In Lakesh,

sOma

KOSMOGNOSIS@GMAIL.COM

WWW.HOLESTOHEAVENS.COM