I logged into fb a few days ago despite knowing very well it'll give me allergies. I only did so because I was at a small gathering and one of the gathering-ers insited they show me something, for which I had to log into fb... Sigh...
As soon as I logged in I almost drowned in the biblical-like flood of threads relating to the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Aquarius - the faster moving planet is always mentioned first, as it is the one applying to and separating from the aspect - on my wall. Amongst these threads there was one by a cute girl in an occult group which boasts on academic research into ye olde magical practices people nowadays know by a name alluding to the biblical king of the Israelites - no relation between the former and the latter.
Anyway, the cute girl in question asked if there's particular rituals that can be done based on the much talked about conjunction. Almost everyone there mentioned works of destruction. While I see no particular issue in this answer, the fact that it came from people who are considered to be the creme de la creme of the occult world, people who, on top of that, allegedly possess vast amounts of occult related knowledge, I find it hilarious. I also find it sad and pathetic at the same time. The reasons for which I find it as such are not important. What is important is the fact that a user (a cute girl, in this particular case) asked a very good question, to which she deserved much better answers than what a novice chaote could provide, especially from the likes of high level wizards.
Alas, to my shame I was in no position to offer the user a complete answer at that time. I am in no better position to do it now for that matter, yet the fact I can write on my blog allows me to save what I wrote and resume writing whenever possible. And I'm too late anyway. Or too early by several hundred years. Yet I would like to expand on the brief, half-assed comment I posted because even though the aspect between the two planets is separating, they're still glued to each other for some time.
First of all, works of destruction is a childish way of making use of this rare aspect. While I have no issues with curses, them being like a hobby to me, surely one can come up with better uses for such a breaking news astrological event.
Second of all, it's been clear to me for several years now very few occultists know astrology. There are very few who possess extensive knowledge of it, having studied old sources and having taken classes from people who have studied those sources. Others know astrology quite well, yet most occultists who possess some kind of astrological knowledge know as much about astrology as I know about Chopin - mind you, I'm uncultured and Chopin was the first name I could think of that sounded of culture to me; mind as well have said Rodin, and I'd see little difference between the two except different spelling. Yet many of these occultists insist on being seen as know-it-alls whenever some subject that touches on the occult arises, including astrology.
Therefore, I take it upon myself to go beyond the shallow explanations presented by the aforementioned wizards, hoping that in the future no other user, cute girl or otherwise, would have to ask such a question again, having read this article of mine. I want to state up front I'm not an astrologer, nor a wizard for that matter, and I am not cultured, but if someone like me was able to understand these things and make use of them, surely others of a much higher calibre can do so with ease, and in doing so, spare the vast majority of aspiring occultists of their useless public displays of know-it-allness.
Anyone who studies astrology learns that planets transit through signs. The signs are archetypal forces and the planets are forces of action. The planets act upon us based on the archetypal nature of the sign they transit. Aquarius is an Air sign, of a Fixed nature. That is to say, Aquarius manifests the qualities of the Air element in a channeled, structured way. It is not the initial burst of Libra, nor the all-over-the-placeness of Gemini. It is focused and direct. Air is intellect, information, communication, etc. Put them together, along with the traits of Aquarius itself (broad perspective, innovation, etc.) and one can start seeing the patterns by which both Saturn and Jupiter will act during their transits through this sign.
The planets themselves are then to be observed. Saturn has a nasty reputation, especially to those who follow ye olde bookes. That reputation is well deserved as Saturn can and will cripple, at best. It can create obstacles, but it can also lift them. Yet Saturn is also structures, maturity, experience, resilience, understanding, efficiency, and time management among other things.
I won't dwell too much on Jupiter, being the go-to planet for basically every occultist for basically anything under the sky. Jupiter is the opposite of Saturn, being permanent growth. It expands everything in every direction and without any limit. But limitless expanse has its downside because everything beyond a certain limit will become problematic for everyone. That's why Saturn is on a higher heaven than Jupiter, to control that expanse.
Astrologically speaking, Saturn is now in domicile meaning it is super strong. It is even stronger because it is the day ruler of the Air triplicity, and even more so because it is in its terms (degrees). It also gets accidental dignity being in the first degree of the sign (0-1). In terms of essential dignity, Saturn is +10, with the added accidental dignity of the first degree. It would be only +8 though, since it still hasn't reached its regular transit speed (+6, if you consider it being occidental of the Sun and +11 if you consider the partile conjunction with Jupiter). If you work with it during daytime while it's above the horizon it'll be even stronger because it's in its sect. And if you choose an election time when its on the Ascendant or Midheaven... you get it.
Jupiter is the participating ruler of the Air triplicity according to Dorotheus. It is only +3. But its dispositor is Saturn, it being in the sign of Saturn. This means Jupiter is receiving a great amount of help and assistance from Saturn, especially since Saturn is so strong. Likewise, it also benefits from accidental dignity being in the first degree of the sign, yet it is also occidental of the Sun until such time the Sun bypasses it. Working with it during daytime while it's above the horizon, preferably conjunct the Ascendant or Midheaven would be great.
Now, when it comes to rituals of the pretty kind (non destructive, that is) the most simplistic approach would be to work with Saturn to lift any obstacles that stand between you and your desires, then follow-up with Jupiter for enlarging your desires and bestowing them to you. These operations would function following the vector dictated by the sign, and it would be better to phrase the statements of intent accordingly - because magick is not asperging and fumigating. Other rituals of the pretty kind can make use of Saturn for consolidating solid structures for new and innovative projects and Jupiter for providing their growth.
The conjunction is the most powerful astrological aspect and its power will start to diminish now that the aspect is separating. The aspect is still partile (exact, within 1 degree) for a few more days so you can take advantage of that. The two will still be conjunct for a more than decent amount of time until they are out of orb - 11 degrees apart from each other, based on the orbs from Lilly. Yet one can work with the two planets in a similar way for the next year until Jupiter enters Pisces, for they will still have the same relation this whole time.
There would be more to say, but I have many things to do. I only wrote this article briefly as means of addressing the shallow nature in which things of great importance are treated. I mean, one would think magicians would actually do something useful with this conjunction, given the overall condition of the world at large. But no, some idiot had to do it, along with a meanie person who insisted on also calling on his friend Zazzi, despite that being utterly redundant.
This article was brought to you with the help of a cute girl.
Hate on, dum-dums!
The Great Gazoo
What would you recommend reading and who would you reccommend learing from when it comes to astrology
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good question for several reasons. First off, there's several fields in astrology and it depends which one(s) you'd want to expand your knowledge in. Occultists in general should benefit from electional astrology when planning their rituals. They could also go for horary astrology as an alternative to their usual divinatory method, as well as for additional support with their elections. I for one make use of natal and relationship astrology more extensively, because this is what I need to address most of the time in my usual works, even though relationship astrology is more modern and post-modern, especially contemporary.
ReplyDeleteI have no simple answer to give you when it comes to sources you can look up. There are many good ones, both old and newer, yet it depends on what you want to lean towards. Also, you'd have to make a synthesis out of all the sources you come across in order to correlate the different concepts and interpretations offered in each of them, while considering some of them might very well differ between each source.
If I were to go back in time and take it from the beginning, I would start with the ancients and work my way towards contemporary times, given I'd have more time and peace than I've had up until recently. I would start with Claudius Ptolemy, Vettius Valens, Porphyry, and the rest of the so called Hellenistic astrologers. You can look up the works of contemporary astrologer Chris Brennan who covers this. Then I would study the Arab sources such as Al-Biruni, alongside medieval Jewish sources like Ibn Ezra, and Christian ones such as Guido Bonatti. The late Robert Zoller would be a good place to start for that. From there I would study Renaissance sources like Ficino, Agrippa, and so on, all the way to Lilly. Coming closer to our times, Reinhold Ebertin and Vivian Robson would be a good choice in my opinion, as well as contemporary astrologers that make use of old methods, such as Benjamin Dykes and Christopher Warnock. Then there's the myriad of astrological websites which are full of information based on modern ways of interpreting astrology.
Also, depending on what it is you want to learn, something on the subject is gestating as I'm writing this and should see the light of day very soon (meanie person willing!). It will be announced on this blog, among several other channels. So you could give that a shot as well, as it will offer the reader with a synthesis of important information from the epochs I've mentioned before.