Dear Friend and Reader:
Ceres, the dwarf planet and former asteroid, made its way into Aquarius on Tuesday. Earlier in the year it made a long retrograde through early Aquarius and late Capricorn; now it’s back in Aquarius to stay for about three months.
Thanksgiving potluck dinner, 2012, held by the Glassdoor company in Mill Valley, California. The Thanksgiving potluck is more of a western US tradition; East Coasters need to get with how much fun this is.
This conjures up some interesting scenarios. I will admit that despite casting Ceres into every chart since beginning astrology, its message has been elusive.
I know all of the standard interpretations — food, grain, agriculture, mother-daughter relationships, healing grief, the relationship between food and emotions and so on — but none of them offered me any sense of understanding.
I cannot think of one case when Ceres opened up the message of a natal chart, as have many other smaller planets. Along the way I’ve worked with more than 100 other points, all of which revealed their message more easily.
Then astrologer Philip Sedgwick told me about a book on the history of Ceres written by Barbette Stanley Spaeth.
The author’s research introduced an idea I had never seen associated with Ceres — what she calls liminality. The way the author uses the term, she is talking about social initiation; that is, transitioning from one phase of life to another.
This resonates with another more contemporary use of the word (not indicated in the author’s research), the threshold of awareness. We’re familiar with the term “subliminal advertising,” which means ideas and images introduced below the conscious level, like the upside down skull and crossbones painted into the ice in a glass in a liquor advertisement.
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Ad for the KFC Snacker has dollar bills hidden as lettuce in the sandwich. That’s an example of subliminal messaging.
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With this concept of liminality, Ceres began to focus for me into a more accessible body to work with. And now Ceres is in Aquarius for the next three months, which proposes themes like group awareness, group self-awareness, and many topics surrounding the theme of community.
This whole subject area has taken a serious beating since the advent of the Internet (another topic described by techno-themed Aquarius).
Ceres was the second orbiting object ever discovered by someone with a telescope. Uranus — the first found by science — was discovered in 1781, initiating the age of industrialization, invention, electricity and what noted astrologer Rob Hand sarcastically calls “the endarkenment.” The joke is that the years surrounding that era are often called the Enlightenment, but that’s really a stretch.
No other bodies were discovered orbiting the Sun until 20 years later, when on New Year’s Day 1801, technically the first day of the 19th century, Giuseppe Piazzi spotted Ceres.
Originally thought to be a comet, then classified as a planet, then as an asteroid, Ceres was designated a dwarf planet in the same vote as Pluto and Eris back in the summer of 2006.
Though smaller than our Moon, it makes up fully one-third of the mass of the main asteroid belt, with the next 10 largest objects making up the other third, and all the rest — up to 1.7 million objects larger than one kilometer — constituting the remainder of the mass.
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Approximate chart for the discovery of Ceres, on New Year’s Day 1801, by Giuseppe Piazzi in Palermo, Sicily. The discovery is recorded for the 1st, and planets are discovered at night. Note the Full Moon — not the best conditions for observing the night sky, but that’s Sicilian determination.
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As I understand the history, astrologers only started taking an interest in the asteroids in the 1960s and 1970s, when listings of their placements became available. This was also part of the counter-cultural revolution and increased awareness of women’s issues.
Many of the asteroids are named for goddesses, so this has come along with a rise in awareness of goddess mythology. It was good to have options besides lover (Venus) and mother (the Moon).
But this is still a realm of astrology that most professionals avoid, believing there are too many asteroids to be meaningful, they are too small, there’s not enough written and so on. Anyone who understands the asteroids modestly well has done plenty of original research.
That’s what it takes. It’s neither practical nor useful to do asteroids cookbook style, i.e., Ceres through the houses, Ceres through the signs. If you ever see such an interpretation, consider it a proposed commentary. As with all of astrology, with the asteroids, context is everything. Usually that means understanding the whole aspect pattern, which is never in a book, it’s always in the unique chart.
Ceres in Aquarius: Group Consciousness
If we take the idea of liminality and apply it to the notion of a group, you get something like, “Are these people aware that they have a common interest?” In recent years, the concept of a group has been reduced to an abstraction.
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The Roman Goddess Ceres by Barbette Stanley Spaeth, published c. 1996. This book is worth reading (if a bit repetitive), and so is the academic criticism.
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Think of the typical astrology group meeting once a week at someone’s home, with snacks and a live conversation. Then the concept of a group became an email list. This evolved with various networking and chat platforms, but we still don’t have someplace to actually meet and make contact.
So understanding the current notion of a group is like wrapping your mind around something that may not exist in any tangible form. It’s not that ideas don’t occasionally come out of those groups (though in all of my experiences with them, the potential seems vastly underutilized).
Now we don’t say group anymore — the word is community. Everything is a community: the law enforcement community, the medical community, the sexworker community, the artist community, the gluten-free community, and so on. However, these are odd communities, where few people know many other people.
Really, it’s PC language; it sounds good. It does not mean much. Community is becoming what’s called a byword — a word with so many meanings piled onto it that it ceases to have any meaning at all.
Where Ceres is in the scenario, we might propose that a community is where people can share food. That’s a great metric for the awareness point, or the point of liminality. Sharing in the preparation and eating of food is something you might think of as a baseline for community. Where food is lacking, what is there to take its place? Is there anything?
Food really is the bottom line for everyone, as Paul Simon said. Remember that for about three million years, humans and later on dogs followed one another around in little clans of about 15 people. Then sometime during the last 5,000 to 10,000 years, we started to settle down into farms, villages and cities. That is very, very recently.
One of the most significant changes came in the post-World War II era, when the extended family in one large household or villa gave way to the nuclear family (in the nuclear age). Now that has given way to an existence where the tangible concept of a family is unrecognizable from what it was only recently.
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This was us! The good (and difficult) old days of hunting-gathering. Living off of the land took considerable skill, planning, coordination and determination. In this article, the author notes that humans became less healthy after the advent of agriculture. Human height crashed.
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Still, humans crave contact with one another. We want the reassurance and presence of other people; conditions on Earth have always been difficult, and we know that we cannot go it alone.
That unfulfilled craving, on the level of sex, is now being used against us, in my view (as are many other natural and healthy instincts). Our need to simply be together has been turned into many different non-nutritive commodities.
Humans seem increasingly divided from one another, to the point where it’s difficult to actually recognize common interests. Some are better at it than others. Different cultures have different approaches to group awareness, though currently the entire planet is under the thrall of the Internet. The Internet is to group gathering what aspartame is to honey.
One of the first things I noticed about the Internet in the early 1990s when I got involved was that it’s easy to be rude to people in ways you would not be in person. I noticed I could be deleted. I was angry about that — it seemed callous, and I don’t think things have improved much. In a robotic environment it’s easy to treat people as non-entities; as blips on the screen; as things that respond like automatons. We use the word “dehumanize” a lot and this is a core theme.
In this regard it’s difficult to even think of individuals as people, much less to have a coherent group consciousness.
I would repeat something I’ve quoted and paraphrased many times, from the work of Alice A. Bailey. A group is a group of individuals. Individuals think for themselves, have ideas, relate to others, and so on. Group consciousness is the synergy of many awake minds.
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Baseball teams are groups of aware individuals who understand their part in the whole. The crowd is a mass, with no special purpose, and where individuation is not rewarded. This makes the group vs. mass question easy to see. Photo by Jeff Curry for USA TODAY.
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When you put a lot of people together whose awareness is below what you might call the liminality threshold, people who are in current parlance ‘unconscious’ and in some way ignorant of themselves as individuals, that’s called mass consciousness.
When individuals separate from mass consciousness and do that miraculous thing called individuate — for example, make their own decisions no matter what others may think — that is when we get to take the next step. Splitting off from the mass is one of the first and most significant initiations — something well described by Ceres in Aquarius.
It’s vital not to confuse the group with the mass. Only people who are grounded enough in their individuality can form a group. The crowd at the Mets game is not a group, nor is the crowd at Burning Man. A group is something with a high level of mutual and self-awareness.
Astrology describes potential, and one potential it’s describing is for some group consciousness to coalesce. This will have a tendency to stretch our ability and willingness to be individuals. That idea tends to rise and fall against the line of true awareness.
We have good reasons to stay awake and to pay attention — and to recognize that these entities among us are human, with feelings, needs and desires not so different from our own.
Lovingly,
Planet Waves (ISSN 1933-9135) is published each Tuesday and Thursday evening in Kingston, New York, by Planet Waves, Inc. Core community membership: $197/year. Editor and Publisher: Eric Francis Coppolino. Web Developer: Anatoly Ryzhenko. Designer: Lizanne Webb. Office Manager: Lauren Gdovin. Astrology Editor: Amanda Painter. Astrology Fact Checker: Len Wallick. Copy Editor and Fact Checker: Jessica Keet. Client Services: Amy Elliott. Media Consultant: Andrew Marshall McLuhan. Eric’s Assistant: Whitney Beecroft. Research, Writing and Editing: In addition to those listed above, Planet Waves is produced by a team consisting of Fe Bongolan, Judith Gayle, Kelly Janes, Amanda Moreno, Carol van Strum, Len Wallick.
Who is the author of your life?
“The biggest realization was that my whole life I have allowed my happiness to be determined by outside factors. For the first time I am happy from the inside out! This is not to say that I don’t experience negative emotions or feelings, it just no longer defines ME. I can look at any aspect of myself without the terrible, harsh judgment I have had for such a long time.” — recent letter from a Scorpio client
Dear Scorpio Sun, Moon or Rising (or their friend):
The self-help world is full of blanket pronouncements about how you need to take charge of your life; how it’s up to you to shift your perspective; how you create your own reality. To a certain extent this is all true — but there are times in life when outside forces feel insurmountable, like people and situations have the authority. But is that ever fully the case?
How do you get to that place of feeling like the author and authority in your life? What does that look like in astrology?
Eric recently asked Scorpio readers what the last couple years have been like with Saturn in their sign, and what they’d like to hear about in their birthday reading. He received a staggering 200+ replies — both stories of triumph and those of struggle.
In reading them over, it is clear how essential Planet Waves’ steady vision is.
If you’d like to review what Eric said about your astrology last year (and how it matched your life), I invite you to listen again to last year’s Scorpio reading — on us, as a prelude to your upcoming 2015 reading.
In this year’s reading, Eric will address directly how you can use the upcoming astrology to heal, rebuild, find your way — or, if you managed to wrangle Saturn and come out on top, keep your momentum.
Clients who never miss a reading listen to them over and over throughout the year — including those who are experienced, professional astrologers, like Ann Cortese:
“I never cease to be amazed at how many times, during my birthday year, I refer back to the annual edition of my birth sign report that you offer. It is amazing to me, that no matter what time of the birthday year I refer back to it, it has something to offer.”
Pre-order your 2015 Scorpio Birthday Reading now for only $24.95 (the price increases after the reading publishes). You’ll receive an audio intensive in three parts, delivered in accessible language without jargon.
More than that, you’ll receive practical, compassionate tools and ideas that you’ll be able to apply directly to your life, immediately, with clear results:
“I want to thank you for such a spot-on reading. Everything mentioned was so accurate to my life and what has been unfolding that when I was listening last night I almost felt you knew me and my inner struggles, goals, etc. Woke up with a new vision. I am ever so grateful. Namaste.” — Felio
Yours & truly,
Amanda Painter
P.S. There’s no other reading like this on the Internet. Anyone in your life with a Scorpio Sun, Moon or rising sign will love this opportunity to go deep with Eric Francis. It makes a highly personal, relevant and empowering gift that your Scorpio loved ones will make their own.
An Epic Treat (and One Trick)
By Amanda Painter
Sometimes you just have to go with the feel-good story, no matter what the astrology is doing (which includes, by the way, Mercury entering Scorpio and the third Venus-Mars conjunction, in Virgo, both happening Monday).
Three of Oregon dad Ryan Weimer’s children have Spinal Muscular Atrophy (a form of Muscular Dystrophy), which means they’ll rely on wheelchairs to get around for life. It also means it can be hard to feel ‘normal’, as others struggle to see past the wheelchair to the actual child and all of his or her abilities, talents and uniqueness.
But for at least one day each October, Weimer makes sure the wheelchair ‘disappears’, so that the kids can shine through. For years, he has built costumes for his children that use the wheelchair to creative, enviable effect. Even better: he started a non-profit with his wife Lana (called Magic Wheelchair) to give other children in wheelchairs the coolest costume on the block at Halloween. Their foundation assembles volunteer teams that pour 100-200 hours into each costume — at no cost to the families.
“Giving families and kids those experiences that we’ve been able to have year after year, it’s awesome. I love it,” Weimer told BuzzFeed News. “My kids are seen as superstars and not looked at with sympathetic eyes or sadness.”
P.S. Speaking of sadness (and confusion or frustration), here’s a little public service announcement: For those readers who live in U.S. time zones that observe Daylight Saving Time, time’s up! Remember to set your clock back one hour Saturday night before bed. And (this goes for everyone), watch this epic faux action-movie trailer for Daylight Saving, created by Nacho Punch.
Taurus Full Moon: The Holistic Principle and How to Care
In this week’s edition of Planet Waves FM [link to player/download], I look at the Taurus Full Moon from an unusual point of view. The Moon was full Tuesday morning in the same degree where Chiron was discovered in 1977. Chiron represents the holistic principle, and I have offered a discussion on what that means and why it matters.
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The one. The only.
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In the second segment, I am joined by my musical collaborator and mentor Daniel Sternstein, where we talk about the whole issue of caring.
This was inspired by a synchronicity last week where Dan showed up for a music session thinking the same thing I was: for most people, it’s hard to give a shit these days.
So said Lewis Allen Reed, better known as Lou Reed. We lost Lou to hepatitis C two years ago; there are some people I wish would live forever, and he was one of them.
In case you’re a fan or new to his music, here’s my article about him from the time of his death, called Hey Sugar: A Story of Virgo-Pisces.
Much of it is in Lou’s own words, since I have a mutual friend for whom Lou provided an extensive reading of his own natal chart. When was the last time you heard something like that? It was a first for me.
I highly recommend Lou’s 1989 CD New York. This album makes its way from your ears to your soul. I bet I’ve played it 100 times. It only gets younger. If you prefer to get your music via Steve Jobs, here it is on iTunes.
What’s your vision?
Your Monthly Horoscopes — and our Publishing Schedule Notes
We published your extended monthly horoscopes for November on Thursday, Oct. 22 Your extended monthly horoscopes for October were published Thursday, Sept. 24. Your Moonshine horoscopes for the Taurus Full Moon were published Tuesday, Oct. 20. Please note, we normally publish the extended monthly horoscope on the first Friday after the Sun has entered a new sign.
Aries (March 20-April 19) — You have problem-solving power beyond anything you’ve experienced before. It’s as if your true intelligence has blossomed and is fully available. Part of that gift involves patience for details, something that’s also frequently eluded you. Put your mind to work on whatever might be vexing you or those you love, and you’re sure to win the game.
Taurus (April 19-May 20) — To do brilliant things, bring yourself to the work every day. The idea that comes to mind is applying yourself, but gently. It’s like applying thin layers of paint or polish to your project, one on top of the next. The gradually accumulating effort will lead to a breakthrough, though when that happens it will surprise you. Just keep going, one day at a time.
Gemini (May 20-June 21) — You’re inclined to be careful, but set a limit on that. As my Aunt Josie was fond of saying, nothing attempted, nothing gained. Any insecurities you may be feeling are really a cover for the desire to dare. Experiment more boldly, especially with ideas, projects and maybe a relationship; the reward will be the satisfaction of having dared, and tried — and succeeded.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Imagine you have guardian angels feeding you information all the time. It’s as if you have a behind-the-scenes view of everything and everyone. The psychological insight that you gain will allow you to work through any challenges and turn them into assets. Trust the flow of your imagination; it’s dependable and accurate.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — The planets are urging you to go deep, and to understand what motivates you — particularly, to feel the way that you do. Don’t take how you respond to people and situations for granted. There are many connections you will make, if you care to look. This will grant you clarity that often seems impossible to come by.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Virgo is one of the deep-thinking signs of the zodiac, and this month you are at your brightest. You’ll be able to solve any problem you put your mind to, as if some extra burst of knowledge has been given to you. Yet the truly magic ingredient is that you’re willing to dare. You’re willing to do something rare and actually use your mind.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — After many twists and turns, your life is starting to make sense again. But if you look back, you’ll see that everything that’s happened over the past several months makes sense in a way that it did not seem to at the time. This is truly a new start for you — take advantage of this; choose a bold, new challenge and rise to the occasion.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — There will be times this month when you are bestowed with the authentic power to heal. Start with yourself. If you have the idea, “I no longer need this struggle” — no matter what it is — take the cue to set your intentions and focus your strength. The door to a better life, and letting go of the past, is wide open.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — These weeks will offer insights into yourself that will benefit you for many years. Yet you will need to be open, aware and listening to yourself. The voice that speaks to you may only be whispering, so keep your ears peeled for the sound of your inner wisdom. Then there will come a moment when you know exactly what to do.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — Recent developments and movements in your world have set you free from some emotional bog, and are pointing the way to the future. Yet you may be wondering whether anyone else is interested in coming with you. For now, don’t even think about this; the planets are guiding you on a journey that only you can take.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — You’re being called to fulfill your mission — not just in your mind, not just on your resume, but in the wide and wild world, where it matters the most. You only need to be a little confident that there is a place for you and your talent; then be just a bit pushy, and that space will open up.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — You’re highly sensitive to your environment, and to the people around you. Yet you are also opening up to a refined sense of how to think of the future. Notice if you get information about what direction your life is taking, and trust that implicitly. Your vision is exceptionally clear right now, and time is on your side.
This piece on Ceres is a historic moment in the history of astrology, Eric. Your interdisciplinary approach (which is so perfect for this moment of astrology) is a true breakthrough. i feel certain this particular interpretation of Ceres is destined to “stick” and be sustained through the observations of astrologers present and future. All of you reading this would benefit by saving this piece to use in your own work. Ceres has been discovered a second time!
What I did not say is that Ceres was an incredibly complex goddess in Roman culture, many steps removed from her Greek counterpart Demeter. Also interesting that this planet was discovered from Sicily. For me that’s interesting given my Sicilian heritage (all of my great grandparents immigrated from Sicily to NY). Yet Ceres was the one planet I could never quite get a grasp on. Insight from, sure; a clue, sure; but once I tune in most of these planets come booming in. So Ceres represents a kind of blind spot for me.
I have Ceres in the last degree of Sagittarius, close to the GC and squared by my latest planet in any sign, Urania (astrology and science) in Pisces. So it fits that in this somewhat tense way, I make my living (i.e, can buy food) because I am an astrologer. (And as a journalist, I covered scientific fraud.)
I have celiac.
My Ceres is in the Sabian degree “the pope blessing the faithful.” About 15 years ago I dreamed of encountering Pope John Paul II in a men’s room, who bestowed his blessing on me! The message seemed to be, we’re meeting up here, on common ground of all men; he’s one of us. I’m one of whatever he is.
Hi Eric, it’s interesting that Ceres’ veil of mystery was so close to you and yet so far given it’s discovery by a Sicilian and your Sicilian heritage. Sometimes that which is so close is often hard to detect, as you full know. Thank you for sharing your personal story and history in trying to determining Ceres’ meaning.
As I was reading through your article earlier I had thought of communion vice community and it what it meant to “break bread” with friends and family. I was raised Sicilian so I know full well how important food is at the family table and all the welcoming that comes with breaking bread at a Sicilian table. I could hear men and women’s Italian voices say, “eat, eat,” or “manga, managa,” or “mangiare, mangiare.” (why repeated, I don’t know but it nearly always was).
Rarely was there a time that it wasn’t a house full. And the community that revolved around that food, the discussions, emotions, laughter, tears, dancing, chores, yelling at kids, kids drinking diluted wine (now I know why), and always a passing of knowledge from the elders to the youngsters, from every generation and within generations, the ritual passings occurred.
In the U.S. this moments still occur, but not like they once did, it depends upon the tightness of one’s family. So Ceres may also signify the extended family and it’s affiliation with food and knowledge that passes during the time of eating (breaking bread).
I also have southern roots on another side of my family. In the deep south, potluck dinners are time-honored traditions/rituals and usually follow church services and of course occur on holidays and even local political events, like large crab or shrimp boils. These events still occur but again, you have to look for them. The southern church potluck dinners are very community based, everyone knows everyone (and they know each other’s business too)! I think this is where both men and women sharpen their gossiping skills, but especially the women for the men are occupied in discussions about sports, boats, hunting and politics, still to this day. This is mostly rural America, in many respects, it hasn’t changed.
Sometimes women interject, because many are educated and think for themselves but very often they are comfortable enough to let things be because the even is comfortable and non-threatening and a break from their daily lives of competing in what is still a man’s world. Maybe this is another reason why Cere’s is hard to peg, who knows but I just thought I’d offer these thoughts and experiences.
I shall have to research the differences between Demeter and Ceres. It’s an interesting study; although I doubt that Demeter had a narrow scope by any means.
This is more a matter of Roman society than Ceres herself. It seems that Ceres came to mean many things to many people, and her role changed as Roman society changed. So this will not necessarily be reflected in information about her as a goddess but must be engaged on the level of how society perceived her, or rather certain levels; for example she became associated with one of the middle classes, the Plebes, gaining certain rights from the aristocracy through a phase of history.
She also seems to be the goddess who we now regard as Mary. Despite the association of Vestal and virgin, it would appear that the Catholics picked up on Ceres and that certain actions of Mary (making a field of wheat grow to one month’s length, to cover her tracks when traveling with Jesus) are pure Ceres.
Let’s put it this way — were you to read the bible or classical christian theology, you would have no clue what people think of Jesus in modern American society. That information has to come from society — it’s cultural rather than theological.
So she became kind of an Isis figure…interesting! Thank you for this information. Not much gets past you, does it? 🙂
Do you mean that Ceres became a kind of adaptable, all-purpose goddess? Or a more direct parallel? I am also noticing the parallel to the Christ story in that she loses her child (half the year). There is a resurrection aspect to this — and Ceres is “she who makes things grow.”
The only other really helpful concept an astrologer handed me about Ceres was the idea of balance, in that she is associated with the seasons changing.
Partly all-purpose, but also because there are parallels between Mary and Isis.
And yes, one could view Ceres-Persephone as the Mother-Child archetype in the same way as Mary-Jesus or Isis-Horus.
Love that dream about the pope, Eric! Do you recall whether he was having smoke when you encountered him? Your lucid dreams are the best! Now, with this piece you have written, it’s all come together in a way. Is the veil thin or what? Congrats!
Very satisfying piece, Eric, as well the post-piece exchange among the masters.
My natal Ceres is conjunct NN in Capricorn, conjunct Venus @ the Ceres discovery degree 10 Cap. I have spent a lifetime searching for ways to bring us all to vote (hey, sun etc in Aquarius) and I’m loving the bringing everyone together with potluck. Makes me swoon inside to visualize crowding crazy-money out with grits and okra.
m2
PS just checked the sabian symbol for my Venus and Ceres discovery degree (and my NN) — an albatross feeding from a sailor’s hand. Thought I’d share with ya’ll masters as I’m enjoying this greatly.
Thanks for the Ceres discovery chart Eric. The square she makes to Saturn (dealing with suppression from establishment/authority) resonates with me as I have her conjunct my Sun. My toughest hurdle with understanding what her symbolism meant had to do with her difference from the Moon’s symbolism. It is still hard to put into words, but it is helped now that I see she was “born” (to us) while in Taurus. There is nurturing of the emotional nature (Moon) and of the physical nature (Ceres) but so often they are rolled up in the same package.
Your concern for the Earth (exposing toxins, etc.) would reflect a natal Ceres in the worldly (mind-expanding) sign of Sagittarius rather than a more personal sign like Taurus for example. I believe (given our culture) that men and women generally tune into Ceres from different perspectives but I wouldn’t think that’s a hard and fast rule. I see her chart’s trine between Mars and Sun (masculine energy) in Earth signs and the trine between Moon and Neptune (feminine energy) in Water signs as giving Ceres a way to show us how to balance these polarities. Perhaps that is one of the thresholds she is awakening us to.
The next Jupiter-Saturn conjunction takes place at 0+ Aquarius in December, 2020 and every time I see a chart with that degree occupied, such as Obama’s natal Jupiter or this past January’s New Moon, I wonder how they/it will affect the future of society. So, maybe something food-related is about to become conscious to the world’s public that will manifest in some “balanced” form 5 or 6 years from now. Perhaps the overwhelming force of the migrant/refugee movement taking place will be focusing on that.
be
Taking the opportunity to advocate for group therapy. I’m convinced it’s one of the best ways to spread awareness of the individual in the context of the group and to feel real live contact between humans. Group process in the style of yalom and here-and-now groups is amazingly like playing sports with consciousness as the focus. Sit in a circle and move the energy around the group until time is called. Often group therapy is cheaper than individual, though both together would be ideal. I’m just entering these waters and the awareness ripples out into all of my social interactions. American academy of psychotherapists or agpa hold conferences and events around this style of process, two places to look for more info.
Thank you for this considered look at Ceres Eric. It is food for thought indeed:-)
I noticed that the Ceres discovery chart is practically identical to the UK birth chart ( Asc and Moon only minutes apart ). I am not too sure what to make of that, and would value your opinion, or that of any PW contributors who knows/works with the UK chart…do we have a UK equivalent to dear Be and her huge knowledge of the Sibly chart I wonder?
Congratulations on an astute and astonishing observation, beleclaire. I remove my wizard’s hat in your presence.
If Ceres and the U.K. are indeed astrological twins, it does pose one rather hypothetical question. What fate will befall Ceres if Britain is rent asunder by devolution following a vote to secede from the European Union in 2017?
Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, has already intimated that the Northern Nation may well decide to sport an independent sporran in the event of such an event. Why, they might even adopt the Euro, that most upstart of currencies, leaving Britain as a distant memory in the cortex of colonial concepts.
Surely there can be nothing that can similarly render asunder Ceres, the biggest, butchest bitch in Asteroidia? Except, perhaps, a TNO wielding his Kuiper belt and demanding immediate subservience. So: nothing can destroy Ceres, therefore nothing can destroy the U.K.?
Does this mean Britain is safe from Brexit (British exit from the EU)? Or is the concept of astro-twinning meaningless? And if so, will it also render astrology meaningless? Our futures hang on a meaningless thread, the veil is thin, and liminality is limitless.
Pass the punpkin, Porter, I need a draught.
Hello Wayne. Good to see you again.
Hic. 🙂
Wow, belleclaire, it’s the same exact chart: both “born” January 1, 1801 (00:00 LMT for UK, and 00:01 LMT for Ceres in Palermo, Italy). I assume that the English knew nothing of the discovery in Italy at the time, and vice versa. We are using different house systems most likely, and Eric said it was an approximate time for Ceres discovery, but the ascendants are only 1 degree apart and the MCs are identical. Astrological twins!!!
Consciousness (symbolized by both Suns at 10+ Capricorn) of the UK (as it is today) and Ceres began at the same time. Notwithstanding Ceres mythology, they would have the same temperaments . . . Uranus near the ascendants are sextile Jupiter in the 10th houses, and transiting Ceres soon to be exactly opposite natal Jupiter and trine natal Uranus. Natal Suns at the IC trine natal Mars in the 8th house. Home (Sun at IC) important to both, freedom and independence (Uranus near Asc.) important to both. (Natal Mars in 8th house of shared resources. . loss of Persephone for Ceres, loss of U.S. for U.K.?)
Right now transiting Saturn is conjunct both UK and Ceres’ natal Chirons at 4+ Sagittarius. That’s something we can watch for. Both charts have a yod between Mercury sextile Venus and both of these sextiles are quincunx the Moons in Cancer (19+ for UK, 18+ for Ceres) in their respective charts. When transiting Pluto reaches 18-19 Capricorn next February – April and opposes both Moons we should see some connection between England and what all Ceres represents (food, nature, nurturing, etc.) Transiting Neptune in Pisces will sextile both charts’ Sun in Capricorn in January and February. Could be those refugees.
Thanks for spotting this beleclaire.
be
Eric,
Thank you for this insight into Ceres in Aquarius. I would like to share some Ceres influenced activities that are happening in my little part of the world.
I have been a volunteer at a small, local organic farm for a couple of years. For much of this year, women have been the main players. In recent months, men are coming into a more solid presence at the farm. Last week, a total of 17 volunteers came to work at the farm. Some are from spiritual communities, all of us are there working together to support our farmer in growing food free of poisons and corporate/government abuse.
There is a shift happening soon in the main farmhouse. Two young couples with babies will be moving in and overseeing the housing of homeless people. The house will be rented by the Catholic Worker program. This house is newish, modern and quite luxurious, with views of the woods and a beautiful pond. The people served by this housing will all be learning and participating in the growing of organic food.
I am not a Catholic and I don’t know that any of the people who are involved in this are either. I did not know that the Catholic Church did amazing things like this for the world.
I have chosen my sessions at this farm to serve as my church. Being outside, touching the earth, nurturing plants and spending time with others who enjoy the same = Holiness. Prayers in action. Ceres blessing.
Many lunches of the freshest, cleanest foods are shared on workdays. The potluck feasts are absolutely amazing! Looking forward to attending a potluck/Halloween party tonight, at another nearby farm community.
I have Virgo Sun, natal Ceres 27+ Libra, natal Chiron 23+ Capricorn, just a tad more than 10 degrees ahead of NN. At age 61, witnessing the coming together of this group/community is among the most beautiful things I have ever seen and participated in.
Deep appreciation to all at Planet Waves who are helping me to comprehend the the songs of the stars.
Carol
That was a lovely post — and story — to read on All Hallows Eve, Carol. Thank you for sharing.
Here in the Pea Patch, pot-luck is a way of life. Some things NEVER get old … and never should.
Please tell me the name and where this farm is located. I m very thrilled to hear of its existence. Wow. Good news indeed …
M2
Mary,
It is Granite Springs Farm in Pittsboro, North Carolina. The transition of the farmhouse into a shelter for the homeless will happen sometime in December.
Carol
Deep love to you, Carol.
I’m certain you have found a like-minded community.
Blessings.
Geoff
Thank you, Geoff.
Indeed, I have found my tribe right where this bridge between heaven and earth touches down. An absolute blessing!
Peace and Beauty
Carol
Geoff – your irony is appreciated! Yes it will be fascinating to see if we stay in the EU and if the Union persists too. I wonder if the Scottish Independence vote was when we were experiencing the Pluto transit to the UK Sun..
Be- many thanks for looking at the chart and pointing out the upcoming Pluto transit to the ‘personal/female ‘yod. There is a lot going on with the feminist movement in the UK currently – a debate in Parliament this week on the tampon tax ( extraordinary to hear older male Tory MPs debating sanitary protection ) and major efforts to get 50/50 representation in all layers of working life, as well as equal pay of course. Something is building here again.
I homed in on the Ceres/Saturn square.
Right now Ceres is transiting my North Node which is trine my 0+Libra Sun and quincunx natal Ceres at 0+ Virgo.( who is sandwiched between Venus and Mars ) and I have been pondering on what is it that really and deeply nourishes me/my soul …
Glad you appreciated the irony, beleclaire. And yes, that’s another interesting point you raise about Pluto’s transit conjunct the U.K. Sun at the time of the Scottish Referendum on Independence (September 18, 2014). On that date, Pluto, at 11 Capricorn 0, was within one degree of exact conjunction with both the U.K. and Ceres Sun at 10 Capricorn 10. Spookily transformative and liminal, mayhap.
Curiously, at the time of her discovery by humankind, Ceres at 23 Taurus was almost exactly square Saturn at 23 Leo, righteously pinned like a beautiful butterfly in a king’s collection of planets.
While perusing the date for the enactment of the U.K. Act of Union and Ceres’ discovery (January 1, 1801) on serennu.com, I couldn’t help but notice that, apart from Saturn and Jupiter (both in Leo), the lights and planets were otherwise all in different signs of the zodiac. Only three signs were not represented – Aries, Gemini and Virgo. Odd that, given that Aries represents beginnings, London is considered a Gemini city (in the books I’ve read on the subject, at least), and Ceres is often considered a justifiable contender for rulership of Virgo. Oh well, c’est les étoiles!
Geoff-beleclaire, this extraordinary piece of synchronicity is itself, at least for the astrology community, liminal don’t you think? A kind of canary-in-the-coal mine kind of study, with Ceres as the canary, or is it the other way around? The air is thick with possibilities. It is not to be taken lightly and I almost feel that 2 charts should be placed side-by-side (even though they are practically identical) with notes that (seem to) pertain to one or the other written on the appropriate one. Then compare.
When I think about it, we Americans sort of think of Britain as nurturer (at least for the last 150 years or so), and did your country not fight mightily for the return of her “child”? I’d not realized (was not yet conscious of) your country’s Uranus at 1+ Libra conjunct my country’s MC at 1+ Libra, and isn’t the MC the cusp of one of the “parent” houses?
beleclaire, that was a fine catch of Ceres-square-Saturn = tampon tax (something I’d not heard of and not even sure I want to know more!) So, what do you think about the sextile between Jupiter at 1+ Leo sextile Uranus at 1+ Libra forming a Yod to Pluto at 2+ Pisces and the transiting Nessus at 0+ Pisces retrograde? Would that be the European Union vote in 2017 you mentioned Geoff?
Because of beleclaire’s keen eye and Geoff’s humor my imagination is unleashed. The Terpsichore (in both charts of course) exactly conjunct the Capricorn Sun sums up a certain flexible and artistic nature not common in all things Capricornian. Dare I say no sprained knee or ankle will keep them down.
A few weeks ago there was a conglomeration of astral bodies at the MC of the U.S. Sibly chart (and at the Uranus in the UK and Ceres charts) that included the ever-present Super Galactic Center (M87), Juno, the North Node, Logos (still there), and Makemake. At the time I believe I associated it with the mass exodus from Syria and other countries being drawn (SGC and NN) to Europe that faced dangerous waters (Makemake) and needed support (Juno) and a destiny clearly in mind (Logos). Do you have any thoughts on that event, essentially a multiplicity of “new starts/cycles”?
be
Cheers, be. There’ll be a Leo Moon trining Saturn later today, so hopefully sprained knees and ankles will come under regal protection. It wouldn’t surprise me if any weaknesses in these joints were the result of problems with the feet – Neptune in Pisces has been under a lot of stress in the recent past.
David Cameron has yet to decide the date of the UK referendum on continued membership of the European Union although he has promised that it will take place in 2017. Before he decides, his plans for renegotiation of the terms of membership will be formally debated by the EU’s 28 leaders at a summit in Brussels in mid-December. The migrant crisis has been anything but helpful for him and Ceres will be conjunct the Moon in Aquarius and square Venus in Scorpio on the 15th. I have a feeling he may be whistling for the moon and the outcome will not be a pretty sight.
I am wondering if Ceres is about the things that ‘feed’ us the most; giving us the greatest satisfaction, not just in the physical domain/world but the emotional, especially, as well as the other domains of the mental and ‘spiritual’.
She’s the Goddess of those things that most sustain us and keep us going, and I for one would like to see a lot more respect given to all these things of her rulership.
Many thanks for the discussion.
I think she does catherns, although trying to parse out from an astrological setup what is “ruled” by the Moon regarding nurture and what is Ceres’ domain is blurred. Because the Moon doesn’t have a personality or a face, perhaps we might think of her as a category (emotions, needs, etc.), while Ceres specifically personifies motherhood, growth, food, etc. When I look to just “food” and “eating” it is clear we are in Ceres’ realm, although that isn’t the extent of her symbolism of nurturing. Anything that provides shelter to develop, such as a home or a farmer’s field or a petri dish could be either Moon or Ceres territory. Ceres has a myth, but the Moon doesn’t, although many mythical characters are described as moon goddesses.
Perhaps it is time to widen our (my) understanding of the Moon in astrological meaning. Perhaps in our minds (masculine) she is primarily associated with “Mother”, Home, Family, Child-bearing and rearing, and Feeding because for so long that was what the Feminine was associated with and that alone. Now I wonder if Moon doesn’t represent Internalization of the Self (subjective) as the Sun might represent Externalization of the Self (objective).
Now I wonder if transiting Ceres in the group sign Aquarius isn’t encouraging this line of thought. I mean, we are a “group” aren’t we? (She is trine Logos right now!)
be