A lot
is being said about the 21st
of December 2012 and astrologers around the world are busy
delineating the chart of that particular date. Others are saying that
nothing extremely out of the ordinary is going on, while others are
paying special attention to the yod aspect formed by Saturn in
Scorpio, Pluto in Capricorn and Jupiter in Gemini. The truth is that
no one can say that indeed something extremely rare is about to happen,
because difficult planetary configurations happen all the time and
the world is still here.
First
of all, is the yod really an aspect? For those of you who are not
familiar with the non – ptolemaic aspects, the yod is formed by two
planets who are in a sextile aspect (Pluto in Capricorn, Saturn in
Scorpio) and both of them are in a quincunx aspect (150o degrees) to
a third planet, in this case Jupiter in Gemini. A lot has been said
about the yod, but as is often the case with modern astrology,
nothing has been said that can’t be
interpreted the way each astrologer sees fit. To my mind, the
important thing about yods, quincunxes and semi-sextiles is precisely
the fact that there is no aspect. The norm is for the planets to be
in aspect by sign to one another. For the Sun of course, it is quite
common to be in inconjunct signs with Mercury and Venus, but we could
say that the common thing is for planets to exert an influence,
however slight, to every other planet in the chart.
The
quincunx aspect is not rare, but yods are less common.
The planet that forms the quincunx aspects has no relation with TWO
other planets in the chart, regardless of the orb and taking antiscia
into account. Is that a good or a bad thing? On the whole, I would
say that it is preferable for planets to be in aspect - at least by
sign – with each other, because confrontation brings awareness,
despite the difficulties. It is debatable however, whether a planet
would benefit from a confrontation with another planet in a very poor state. In the
2012 chart, Jupiter is in the sign of its detriment and
retrograde. That is a nasty Jupiter
and probably not a lot of fun to be around with. So, it won’t
probably be able to soften the Saturn/Pluto sextile and perhaps it’s
for the better.
What
is also interesting in this chart is that there’s a mutual
reception, not between Pluto and Saturn as modern astrologers tell
us, but between Mars and Saturn, since Mars is also in Capricorn. We
have, therefore, the two traditional malefics liking each other
enormously and Pluto is there, joining in the fun. What’s even more
interesting, is that this is a very “martial”chart. Mars
himself is exalted in Capricorn, Saturn is in a Mars-ruled sign,
Pluto and the Sun (winter solstice) are in the sign of Mars’
exaltation and finally the Moon and Uranus are also in a Mars-ruled sign, Aries.
This is too much Mars and we all know the things Mars is associated
with.
Now,
is Mars a benefic or a malefic? There is a slight difference of
opinion in traditional astrologers about this, mainly because there
is ambivalence in the ancient texts. There
are those who say that any planet can be either benefic or malefic,
depending on the sign it is in. If the planet is in the sign it rules
or where it is exalted, it is a benefic. In the sign of its detriment
or fall, a malefic. Others, although they basically agree with the
previous statement, make a distinction between Mars and Saturn, the
natural malefics and the other planets, saying that a well-dignified
Mars or Saturn may indeed behave well, but the things Mars and Saturn
rule, even though necessary, are naturally unpleasant. So, no
matter what their condition is, Mars and Saturn can never be called
Fortunes.
In the 2012
chart, we have an extremely strong Mars energy and we have a well-behaved Mars,
in the sign of its exaltation. We could interpret this as things that
need to be done and are necessary (Mars in exaltation), but they may
not be pleasant (Mars and Saturn, the natural malefics, in mutual
reception). This is not valid only for that particular day, but for
the whole season, since it is the day of the winter solstice.
The
most interesting thing, however, that has been said about the
time period around 2012 is, I think, not what this chart for that
particular date tells us, but the fact that we are living at a time
that Regulus, one of the four royal fixed stars that are associated
with the solstices, has or is about to move into Virgo. This is the
last of the four “solstice stars” to ingress into a mutable sign,
with the other three stars (Fomalhaut, Aldebaran and Antares)
already being in the other three mutable signs. This means that after
a very long time, all four stars are going to be in signs of the same
quality. This, indeed, does imply change. Is it going to be a change
for better or for worse? Frawley, in particular, is quite pessimistic about this change, saying that gradually spirituality is going to hit
an all-time-low, judging from what happened when Fomalhaut, for
example, moved into Pisces, which was at the time of the
Enlightenment. We are now living in the Age of Reason, which, for
Frawley is not enlightenment at all, but exactly the opposite thing.
So, with Regulus moving into Virgo, we are going to move even further
away from spirituality, marking an “End of Days” kind of
situation according to the Christian tradition. Even if somebody is
not quite as pessimistic as Frawley about this, one cannot escape the
fact, that the mutable signs are about closing circles and returning
to the Source, so, when the four solstice stars move again into
cardinal signs, in 2160 years or thereabouts, there is going to be a
“get rid of the old and start afresh” kind of thing. We won’t
be around to witness that, but for the time being we could stay alert
for signs of spiritual degradation.
