Progress! An observation about progressions
February 1, 2010So wow, I just realized that it has been a really, really long time since I last posted anything. Part of it was due to being extremely busy in the past month- I was on winter break, but I still went in to work in the neuropsych lab for most of it, and when I wasn’t doing that, I was getting ready for this semester, seriously falling behind on a lot of blog-reading, and working on a couple of other projects that have yet to be disclosed. Additionally, I managed to further compromise my CFS by completely reversing my circadian rhythm such that I may as well have added “and drinking blood” to the previous sentence. Classes have begun, so getting it back to normal has become an imperative and not just something I’ll do if I have time. But more than just being busy (which is not exactly a new state of affairs for me), I wasn’t really sensing that I had anything urgent to write about. I go back and forth between watching transits obsessively and forgetting that even I know astrology, but even in the moments when I’m forgetting, I will nonetheless feel it and notice it if something hits me really hard. At the moment, nothing is really “hitting” me, unless you count Neptune, which doesn’t exactly “hit.” It smothers, it drugs, or it drowns, and I haven’t really been feeling that either, not lately, anyway.
Surely you all remember The Clusterfuck of Doom. Neptune and Chiron are still on my MC and my Venus; however, they feel far less Clusterfuck-y than they did last year. This is true for several reasons: 1) they have both gone direct, so their energies can be utilized the way they’re actually supposed to be, i.e. not liquifying my insides and making me really sick, 2) Jupiter, having just ingressed into Pisces, is no longer attached to them, so it translates to just a little bit of fog and not agonizing Clusterfuck-y madness, and 3) I had kind of a “Soylent Green is people!” realization about why it felt particularly difficult this whole time, which sort of ties in with an upcoming undisclosed project.
As I’ve come to understand the higher implications of what it means to have Venus in Aquarius on as prominent of an angle as the MC, I’m finally owning how much I love it. Seriously, I LOVE having Venus in Aquarius on my MC, like LOVE, L-U-V. I could have eliminated so much earlier heartache if I’d only realized just how amazing it is sooner. In all my gung ho newfound appreciation, though, I was so completely confused as to why the Neptune-Chiron transit appeared to be messing it up. But here’s what I realized: your natal placements are not the only thing at work at any given time. They’re the only thing a lot of people use, because there is of course such a thing as too much information. But sometimes when transits or whatever don’t match up the way they’re “supposed” to, some people will get into a simplistic huff and decide that astrology must not work- when actually, if you just look from a slightly different angle, there is a reason for the cognitive dissonance somewhere. Maybe you have to look at your progressed chart. Maybe you have to use another house system. The debate over which is better, tropical or sidereal time, is always popular, but I think it’s totally pointless and ridiculous, because neither is “better”; they’re different. But they’re all relevant, if you’re willing to include them all.
I realized that the Clusterfuck of Doom was that much more confounding because despite having natal Venus and my MC in Aquarius, I’ve also had my progressed Venus and MC in Pisces for a really long time (Venus since I was five, MC I don’t know because it’s late and I’m too lazy to calculate it right now, but probably about the same). It goes without saying that Venus in Aquarius and Venus in Pisces are very, very different. But it explains a lot about the trajectory of my life until recently, and why I’ve often been really confused about how I could have such significant Aquarius placements when I felt like “SUCH a Pisces.” I mean, that’s one whopping fucking dose of Neptune and Jupiter. It’s seriously kind of amazing that I’m not fried on drugs or a Christian Scientist right now. It’s reassuring to realize that progressions are strong influences, but they are not actually who you really are. Nothing against Pisces, but its energy can be seriously overwhelming if unfiltered, and it’s not like I don’t have enough other placements and aspects in my natal chart that make me ridiculously oversensitive as is. Being able to put the former Clusterfuck of Doom in perspective that way, to realize that it only felt as strong as it did because of the complete excess of Pisces/Neptune energy I’ve been swimming in (*rimshot*) all this time, makes me think I should have chosen a more appropriate name for it, like The Biggest Margarita You’ve Ever Drank. When I think about it, in a lot of ways I really embody my Venus and MC in Aquarius much more than I’d previously given myself credit for. Like, for instance, the fact that I have never and would never sacrifice anything I was doing professionally for a relationship. The Venus in Pisces by progression has put me in situations where that’s been an issue, and you’d think I would have- but the idea of doing so always felt really, really wrong to me, even when I was in early high school. Or the fact that even while I was actively making and enjoying art, something about doing it as a career didn’t sit right with me. Or the fact that there are certain things about the culture we live in that I am simply not okay with and am not willing to ignore or let slide, where the Pisces influence would have me “forgiving,” “accepting,” “living and letting live.” Or hell, even the fact that I write my blog the way I do, that despite being extremely interested in astrology and the occult and magic, I’ve always treated it kind of academically and managed to be one of the least New Age-y people I’ve ever met.
Part of my growth in studying astrology has included not being married to what one chart says to the point where I doubt my own intuition and gut sense. So I’d say that being able to tease out what’s actually me and what’s just an outside influence is kind of empowering. And now I’m more excited about what I’m going to do next than EVAR, because it involves significant pieces of everything described above. YES.
Has anyone else had a similar “Soylent Green is people!” moment in astrology?
Hello Lucy,
Very interesting reading. You write as if there is no personal censor keeping the private stuff private. Kudos!
Additionally, your own “public therapy” surely throws out themes/topics of humanity and development that we all can relate to. Doing it with style and grace and indomitable spirit, something we can all learn from and appreciate…
As an astrologer for over 20 years, having the Astrology to go along with the Life, makes it all the more enjoyable.
Don’t know how close I am (I didn’t see your chart posted anywhere on the site)…maybe you can help me zero in on it, but I am using a chart for March 10, 1984 at about 11 am (EST). There is much to read from this chart, re: workaholism, etc. Do you have a history of diabetes in the family?, as it is indicated as likely…assuming chart in the right ballpark.
Keep up the great work!
James
Hi James,
Thanks for your comments. It may not sound like it, because I am writing in the first person, but there actually IS a personal censor. There has to be for this kind of writing, otherwise it’s not good writing. Part of the personal censor includes not putting my natal chart up for public consumption. I’m happy to talk about my aspects, and occasionally I’ll solicit input, but I feel like having my chart up for anyone to just rip apart would be way too much of a boundary breach, and too tempting for trolls. (Yes, astrology trolls exist.)
That said, though, the chart you’re looking at is probably very much like mine with a few subtle differences. But critically, I’m not that person you’re reading for. So while certain themes might be similar, to ask me for significant events that I might guess we had in common is not very helpful, since this person and I have had totally different lives and experiences, and I’ve always been taught “person first, chart second.” For instance, workaholism, sure- if this person is like me and has a full 10th House that includes the Sun and a full 6th House with a Scorpio stellium and the South Node, then work is likely to be pretty draining and all-important for him or her. But a history of diabetes? That is so specific- where would you see something like that? If something tipped me off to health issues, I would ask the client outright if it were true instead of trying to figure out for myself what disease it was- because ultimately, a guess like that reveals more about the astrologer’s projections and biases, and could be a potentially insensitive thing to “accuse” a client of. (For the record, my family has a clean bill of health and longevity, so I’m really curious to know exactly why you narrowed in on “diabetes.”)
Sherlock Holmes, again.
About 11:24 am EDT seems VERY close.
If I just had the place, I could let Watson have the rest of the afternoon off and I could get ’round to some serious sleuthing.
Peace
James
Hi James (AKA Sherlock),
I read your comments and felt I had a comment of my own for you to consider. Lucy’s a great writer and a knowledgeable astrolger – that’s why we all love her, but digging into the particulars of what you think is her chart and posting your “best guess” for all to see is both a boundary breach and a major breach of ethics. I totally get that you’re curious and probably feel you have some helpful information to offer, but please think about the way in which you went about it. Some people are just not comfortable with the idea of posting their charts because it makes them feel vulnerable and exposed, and the lack of consideration for this fact you demonstrated in your comments makes me question your professionalism. At the very least, an astrolger with over 20 years of experience such as yourself should know better than to post this “information” publicly – especially because your expertise wasn’t solicited in any way and your “detective work” is inaccurate to boot. It’s cool that you like her style and admire her work, but your thirst for knowledge about her actually made you come off as kind of creepy. This is exactly why some of us aren’t confortable posting our charts up for all to see. I’m sorry to give you a dressing down, but this was such a major no-no in my eyes that I couldn’t let it slide without making a comment of my own. I hope you respectfully back off and re-think how you went about this if your only intent was to be helpful.
Hi Lucy, welcome back! Your article made me go look at my progressed chart, and my progressed Venus is very close to my descendant now. Interesting because my natal Venus (retrograded) is in the 7th and I’ve pretty much ignored it for most of my life, and it feels like the prog Venus is opening the way for a reconciliation… My progressed Moon is in the 7th too.
Thanks for sharing.
Soylent Green is people! Ha. Yep, yep.
Missed you!
“…even while I was actively making and enjoying art, something about doing it as a career didn’t sit right with me.”
That about sums up why I didn’t choose to become an artist or go to art school. Artistic talent was/is something from within, and I’ve always felt that whatever I needed to learn I could teach myself or find a less expensive way. Overall, I really didn’t want to spend the rest of my life painting and collaging because there is just so much more to do in the world and dedicating myself to one thing felt crime-ish.
Thanks to you, I’ve had a look-see at my progressed chart. I’ve Venus on my Sagi ascendant!
Thank you for your comments.
As I mentioned, having the chart lets me fill out “details” from the things that you post. It makes it much more interesting for me.
The diabetes comment is a discovery of Noel Tyl’s. Hard aspects between Venus and Jupiter (you have a tight semisquare) have been corroborated often for family history of diabetes. It’s not always reliable, but very often IS…and since we’re playing with percentages here. Assuming it were my chart, and adding that Venus is angular, I would regularly make sure that all blood-sugar related issues are as they should be.
Again, good writing…always interesting. A little bit militant at times, but I see that as a good thing, putting one’s mouth forcefully where their heart is.
Keep up the good work.
Re: Internet Astrology Trolls
Have run across at least one major pest myself. You can sleep easy, I’m not running background searches, triangulating from your cell phone pings or anything crazy. Just an astrologer who likes to read/talk about astrology and likes it better with a chart in front of me. People continuously SPEAK their chart.
Peace
James
James, Alethea said it better than I did, but I’m going to reiterate one more time:
I don’t understand why you need to “fill out details from the things [I] post.” I don’t know you from Adam, dude. I didn’t ask you for your advice on anything- not on my chart, not on my blood sugar, NOTHING. Not only is it invasive, but it’s incredibly obnoxious and presumptuous. It’s almost like you don’t believe that I actually might know what I’m talking about, so you feel the need to rectify my chart and explain it back to me. I can understand wanting to dialogue about astrology, but in that case, couldn’t you just ask me straight up if you had a question about something I said? Lots of people who read my blog ask me questions about my chart and I’ll happily answer them if they come out of a desire to actually know something more. THAT is a dialogue- not running your own chart and trying to guess my birth time and my birth place and doing dozens of Google searches for “lucy astrology chart,” “lucy chart,” “lucy natal chart” (which yes, I know you did, because they show up on my stats page), and further still, doing this all aloud on a public forum. The only reason I can think of as to why someone who claims to be professional would do what you did is if they felt threatened by something they read- your use of the word “militant” to describe my style (i.e. having opinions and speaking candidly) is pretty revealing.
That’s all I’m going to say on the subject. You need to take a huge step back and understand that even though we’re on the Internet, and even though I’m volunteering certain information, I still have boundaries and they need to be respected. If you continue to argue with me about this publicly, I will block you from commenting. I’ve done it before.
Hello Lucy, Alethea,
I can see that apparently I have rankled a few folks. Certainly not my intention.
When someone creates a blog, invites the general public, talks about very personal issues with Astrology at the base, it is a normal conclusion that the person must be comfortable talking about these things. (Wooohooo, possible learning/refinement opportunity!!!)
I must admit that I am surprised by the reaction, but don’t worry, I won’t “intrude” further.
In this circumstance I think of an old Get Smart episode. (please follow along) Max is feeling depressed and they send him to a psychologist. The psychologist gives Max a Rorshack test (inkblots for those who don’t know or too lazy to Google
(I am sure that Lucy knows what they are) With each picture, Max sees various “romantic” themes, couples kissing, etc. Max says this for EVERY inkblot. After several of these, the psychologist says it’s apparent that Max has an obsession. Max says, “hey, you’re the one with the dirty pictures.”
So, here we are.
The dark imaginings of my being some internet astrology troll and of (OMG) breached boundaries are not mine.
These are someone else’s paranoia at work.
As for the (usually well-taken) comment about blood-sugar, you are right it wasn’t solicited. Still, try as I might, I can’t see the PURE EVIL in it.
I guess that says something about me. I truly would rather see something that is truly dark and try to see the light in it, than the converse.
Good luck for the future! I am very sorry that I came racing in here and made a pratfall out of your very public therapy.
Peace
Lucy,
Please…I can see this isn’t constructive. My previous post, an obvious reaction to having my actually innocent intentions called into question.
I DON’T WANT to cause problems for ANYONE. I do as much free work, just to help people, as I do pay work and that is by choice. I can’t say no when I hear SUFFERING in someone’s words. Perhaps that IS a problem of mine.
Again, disregard the last pithy letter, forget about me, I *AM* GONE and I do truthfully hope that everything goes continuously better for you in the future.
I was a bad dream. Now you are awake.
[snaps fingers]
Peace
My Cancer Venus is going to offer Lucy some support here. I felt violated reading James’ request on Lucy’s behalf.
James, your intentions are evident when you say: ‘As I mentioned, having the chart lets me fill out “details” from the things that you post. It makes it much more interesting for me.’ Writers don’t have any obligation to make anything interesting for you or any reader. You clearly get some kind of buzz from Lucy’s revelations, and had not once considered her position. As a result all the praise for her writing sounds like a bribe to get her to reveal more, and totally insincere. If my own internal response is ‘ick’. I can imagine Lucy’s is much more so.
Hi Hitchhiker72,
LOL – My Cancer Venus (and Mercury!) are what lead me to speak up as well. I thought about how I would feel if this troll were doing it to me and watching him violate someone else right in front of me was more than I could stomach. The fact that I put it in a semi-palatable format and the imbicile STILL couldn’t acknowledge that his behavior was inappropriate and invasive speaks to HIS ignorance of his own issues. “Physician, heal thyself.” Satisfying one’s own curiosity at the expense of someone else’s sense of security is just plain WRONG. I shudder when I think about people like this practicing astrology….”Ick” is right!
If you do happen back here, James, just know that you’re banned from commenting. The fact that your “apology” included calling me paranoid and trying to take any validity away from what I post by referring to it as “public therapy” totally shows me that more than just being a patronizing dickbag, you still have no idea what I mean about boundaries.
And “I can’t say no when I hear SUFFERING in someone’s words”? Yeah, that IS a problem of yours. Someone’s SUFFERING (emphasis not mine), however public they make it, is not an invitation, not on the Internet, not in the real world.