Category Archives: metaphysics-spirituality

Dr. Sacks and Mercury

Neurologist and best-selling author Oliver Sacks was born on July 9, 1933 according to Ancestry.com. His article, “The Joy of Old Age (No Kidding.)” appeared in the New York Times on July 6, 2013. In it, Dr. Sacks discussed turning 80 and how he associated it with the element mercury, which has an atomic number of 80. Although Sacks is obviously not an astrologer, his essay is chock full of allusions to Mercury.

Sacks says that, “My mother was the 16th of 18 children; I was the youngest of her four sons. I was always the youngest boy in my class at high school. I have retained this feeling of being the youngest, even though now I am almost the oldest person I know.” Here he refers to siblings, well-known as Mercury-ruled. And Mercurial people are often youthful, no matter what their age.

One reason Dr. Sacks is grateful for a long life is because he’s been able “to write a dozen books and to receive innumerable letters from friends, colleagues and readers,” although he also realizes that at his age, “dementia or stroke looms.” Writing and correspondence are Mercury-ruled pursuits and dementia and stroke both impair Mercury’s ability to express itself. He reports that his father, who lived to age 94, said that in his 80s he felt “an enlargement of mental life and perspective” – once again, referring to the intellectual capacities ruled by Mercury.

Dr. Sacks’ article was reprinted in AARP The Magazine’s February-March 2014 issue, which appeared under Mercury retrograde. A re-print is quite a Mercury retrograde phenomenon. Coincidence?

Obviously Mercury is an important planet for Sacks! When we look at his horoscope we find that his Mercury is involved with oppositions involving the Moon, Venus and Saturn. This is the dominant pattern in the doctor’s chart and part of his essential experience. He’s been challenged to express himself through creative writing (Mercury conjunct Venus in Leo). His expertise as a doctor (Saturn in Aquarius) and ability to objectively analyze human behaviors (Moon in Aquarius) all play their parts in Sacks’ work as he explores the unusual ways our brains and minds can interact.

As an astute observer of the human situation, Dr. Sacks tunes in to astrological truth without having studied it. He has clearly become an expert in understanding others, and, in fact, life itself, also represented by his Moon-Mercury-Venus-Saturn oppositions.

Contradictory Points of View

Swami Vivekenanda had great insight into differing points of view:

“We know there may be almost contradictory points of view of a thing, but they all point to the same thing. Suppose a man is journeying towards the sun and as he advances he takes a photograph of the sun at every stage. We see that no two are alike; and yet who will deny that all these are photographs of the same sun, from different standpoints?

In the same way, we are all looking at truth from different standpoints, which vary according to our birth, education, surroundings, and so on. We are viewing truth, getting as much of it as our circumstances will permit, coloring it with our own feelings, understanding it with our own intellects, and grasping it with our own minds. We can know only as much of truth as is related to us, as much of it as we are able to receive. This makes the difference between man and man and sometimes even occasions contradictory ideas. Yet we all belong to the same great truth.”

– from a lecture at the Universalist Church, Pasadena, California, January 28, 1900

JFK Redux

The media has been having an orgy, feasting on the 50^th anniversary of the death of President John F. Kennedy. Does astrology show our obsession with him? Of course.

Kennedy’s South Node in his 9^th house closely conjoins the U.S. Sun. Judith Hill says in her book, The Lunar Nodes, that the Sun entity (the U.S. in this case) “…may cause you grief or trouble at some point. Or sometimes they drain you.” This seems appropriate, if understated, for Kennedy. Obviously he would not have been killed had he not been president of the U.S.! Hill also suggests that “It can be a karmic bond.” For us, the country as a whole, Kennedy as a South Node person seems to be someone that strikes us to the core; we don’t seem to be able to let go of him. Since the Nodes are diametrically opposed, those who want to know more about his position (North Node) or his at times creepy lifestyle (South Node) are both fascinated.

The natal connection existed for a long time. But why is it gaining momentum now? Not all anniversaries are celebrated. Transiting Pluto is within a degree of conjoining JFK’s natal North Node in Capricorn, dredging up his past. To once again quote Judith Hill on this combination, “Pluto brings very deep, intense energy… Some individuals may experience an enhancement of personal powers… Your dharma may be pointed out…” And Pluto can be obsessive.

Of course, these are just a few of the many connections between Kennedy’s horoscope, the U.S. chart and current transits. One symbol that I like is his Mars in Taurus conjunct his 8^th house, representing the eternal (Taurus) flame (Mars) at his gravesite (after death – 8^th house), being activated now by the transit of Saturn in Scorpio.

But enough already! Let’s put this guy to rest.

There have been a lot of books lately on the Nodes. I haven’t read them all, but I highly recommend Judith Hill’s excellent book, The Lunar Nodes (Stellium Press, 2009). It describes eastern, western and contemporary approaches, natal placements and transits. She really speaks from her own and client’s experiences. It has a great Table of Contents and Bibliography though unfortunately no Index. Buy it at Amazon.com: The Lunar Nodes: Your Key to Excellent Chart Interpretation

The Letter from the Virgin

In his debut novel, Anthony P. Geraci brings us an epic story of great scope, effortlessly placing us in 45 AD, the year 963 and the near future. The virgin of the title is of course the Virgin Mary, with her Letter part of the mystery we follow for two millennia. Geraci maintains both suspense and intriguing plot twists from beginning to end. After midnight, I didn’t especially want to continue reading about the pedophile bishop or evil Pope, but I could not put the book down!

Geraci is a masterful researcher, with each of his time periods vividly recreated, as are Rome, Avignon, New York City and other locales. We learn something of the history of the world’s oldest living institution, the Catholic Church, but its leaders are manipulating their message to obtain the greatest power for themselves. Church officials have forgotten their humanity and are as corrupt as any leaders in business, industry or politics.

Through dramatic situations and compelling characters, the author presents the spiritual world and divine inspiration as more real and legitimate than manmade laws. The dynamic women of the first two eras in the story move the plot forward as they try to be true to what they know is right, while opposing power-hungry men. Our final protagonist, a gay seminary student, is able to bridge both worlds, and is uniquely qualified to set things right and solve the mystery.

Geraci’s work is resonant of Taylor Caldwell, Dan Brown or even Indiana Jones. But this inventive and highly imaginative book is completely original. There’s both a satisfying ending as well as a surprising twist, and plenty of room for a sequel. Bring on the movie!

Nirvana

I just bought a shoe called “Nirvana.” Let’s see if it works. (This is really a Neptune/Pisces post!)

Swami Vivekenanda on Universal Truth

This quote from Swami Vivekenanda seems very fresh today, over 100 years after he stated it. It’s a good example of how the opposition aspect works constructively in astrology:

Any attempt to bring all humanity to one method of thinking in spiritual things has been a failure and always will be a failure. You cannot make all conform to the same ideas. If you and I were to think exactly the same thoughts, there would be no thoughts for us to think. We know that two or more forces must come into collision in order to produce motion. It is the clash of thought, the differentiation of thought, that awakens thought. Whirls and eddies occur only in a rushing, living stream. There are no whirlpools in stagnant, dead water.

Every religion has a soul behind it, and that soul may differ from the soul of another religion; but are they contradictory? Do they contradict or supplement each other?

I took up this question when I was quite a boy, and have been studying it all my life. I believe that they are not contradictory; they are supplementary. Each religion takes up one part of the great universal truth and spreads its whole force in embodying and typifying that part of the great truth. It is therefore addition, not exclusion. System after system arises, each one embodying a great ideal; ideals must be added to ideals. And this is how humanity marches on.