Cancer Full Moon - December 23, 2007

I work from home, so the career/family duality is collapsed, in a way. Although I don't see colleagues on a daily basis, I have the comfort of my wife and daughter being around in the afternoons. Although there's not a whole lot of interaction, I do have someone to touch base with throughout the day. The downside is being interrupted when I'm focused on something, as well as feeling I need to do dishes after I eat lunch instead of letting them sit in the sink until nighttime ... or hoping someone else will do them.

Nonetheless, I put in many hours, and it's difficult not being able to sit back and relax, to just go within and be with my feelings. Instead, I'm interacting with a computer screen all day. But I don't have it so bad ... I could be working at an office, commuting two hours a day, not being be able to spend much time with my daughter before she goes to bed. I don't want to be the dad who comes home from work after the kid is fed and reads her to sleep.

We all struggle with balancing work (Capricorn) and home (Cancer). Some people would rather work more and do less puttering around the house. Others would like to spend less time at the office. This Full Moon in Cancer puts the focus on our emotional need for a home base, a feeling of security in family connections. Yet it's more difficult to achieve this now, as Jupiter has just entered Capricorn and is conjoining the Sun. The world of work is celebrated now, and for the next year we'll be taking advantage of opportunities to climb the ladder in our fields. If anything, that means spending less time with the family.

Meanwhile, retrograde Mars in Cancer conjoins the Moon. Mars, a work planet, is both moving (apparently) backwards in the sky and in the sign of his "fall." The action planet does not thrive in such an indirect sign. The crab moves sideways, while Mars (ruler of Aries) wants to charge forward. Mars is in a defensive posture, and while both conjunct the Moon and residing in Moon-ruled Cancer, he fights to protect those he loves, at the ready to keep the women and children safe.

Yet the opposition between Jupiter and Mars is the backdrop of this Full Moon. Both are in the sign of their fall, yet in each other's sign of exaltation. (If I were a traditional astrologer, I could tell you that means something!) Typically, the Mars-Jupiter aspect relates to an expansion of the Martian principle, leading us to over-act on our desires to copulate or conquer ... or that our assertive energy is fueled by higher principles to justify our actions. The opposition, though, is about relationships: someone takes on the role of Jupiter while you take on the role of Mars, or vice versa. Perhaps a business mentor (Jupiter in Capricorn) inspires you to clean up your act at home, clear up unresolved family issues that hold you back from success (Mars retro in Cancer) ... so that when Mars stations direct in late January, you'll have the drive to move ahead, with the security of knowing that you have your eggs lined up at home.

The Fine Print: The Cancer Full Moon is at 1 degree Cancer. Mars and Jupiter exactly oppose on the day after Christmas. If you have any planets or angles in the first 5 degrees of cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn), this Bud's for you.

Jupiter square Uranus and the Revolutionization of the Music Industry

Record sales are plummeting, as more and more consumers download music for free or buy individual songs for 99 cents instead of purchasing full albums. Chalk it up to the mutual reception between Uranus in Pisces and Neptune in Aquarius -- technological advances like peer-to-peer networks (Napster) enabled us to get our songs from many other internet users, instead of from a single authoritative source. And the RIAA responded by suing college students and grandmothers for stealing music.

Recently, a few mega-successful artists have thrown some kinks into the recording industry's business model. This month, Radiohead is offering their new album for download on a "pay what you like" model. You can get their music free, pay $18.98 ... whatever you wish. Also, Madonna -- after completing her current contract -- will work exclusively with a concert promoter, foregoing a record company completely. Many musicians recognize that the real money to be earned is from concert tickets and merchandise, not the actual recordings of their music, so some of them are choosing just to give their songs away.

It is no surprise, then, that these radical shifts in the music industry coincide with the 90-degree angle ("square") that expansive Jupiter and revolutionary Uranus are making for the third and final time in the mutable signs of Sagittarius and Pisces. Uranus seeks to break the rules and upset the status quo. This outer planet also relates to technological breakthroughs and the belief that all people should have equal access to cultural products. Jupiter expands this principle and revels in its success.

The signs in which these planets are currently residing speaks to the issues going on now. Pisces governs musicians and their creations. Sagittarius, which is ruled by Jupiter, relates to marketing, publishing, promoting ... all the responsibilities which have been traditionally taken on by the recording industry. The artist makes the music, and the companies sell albums -- by selling the public on the image of the artist. So during this Jupiter-Uranus square, Uranus is disrupting Jupiter, shaking up the way songs are shared with an artist's fans.

As Pluto enters Capricorn, we can expect a breakdown in the corporation, accompanied by said companies trying to maintain as much power as they can. They are making money off the artists, and don't want to give up a business model that is crumbling underneath their feet. It's now easier for major artists to connect directly with their fans, and emerging musicians are better able to find audiences through avenues such as MySpace and niche blogs. It is only a matter of time before the moguls find they are obsolete.

Sagittarius Full Moon conjunct Jupiter - May 31, 2007

Philosophy, the Ivory Tower ... the academy can be pretty dry. Professors in their tweed jackets at the lectern, discoursing on their topic of expertise, can either induce sleep or inspire one to take up a new course of study. One is unlikely to finish a Ph.D. without passion, but expressing it -- so that it becomes contagious -- takes a special talent. I'm sure we've all had at least one teacher who has sparked our quest for knowledge, someone whose course stood out amongst our mostly tedious classes. We study, not just to learn, but to find meaning in the theories that we digest. However arcane the Law (legal, religious), it just "clicks" for some people, and summons them on a path most of us would never take. It may not be apparent from the outside while they spout obtuse jargon, but the fire is inside.

But what good is that fire if it does not spread? Sure, personal fulfillment is important, but many spiritual explorers want to share the Word. They have to tap into our emotions to convert us. Logic alone will not do. Facts do not persuade us. We need to be inspired, to feel the call in our bodies. When you listen to a teacher and feel the heat -- that is how you know you have been touched. There is a convergence of mind and spirit, a bell ringing both in our heads and our hearts.

This Full Moon is an especially ripe time to be seduced by the Call. The Moon is in Sagittarius, conjunct Jupiter, the sign's ruler. Jupiter is retrograde, so you may feel drawn to re-evaluate an old philosophy or religious practice that you had previously discarded. Or an old teacher may come back into your life. It is time to be open to that which you had been closed. Let your feelings be your guide, don't reject on the basis of thought. However, don't let yourself get carried away, either. Jupiter expands the Moon, and you can ride on an emotional high, neglecting the fine print because you're so lost in the Big Picture.

The Fine Print: This Full Moon is at 10 Sag. If you have any personal planets or angles around 10 degrees of mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces), this lunation will have a strong impact. In addition, Venus at 25 Cancer is making a stressful 135 degree angle (sesquiquadrate) to the Moon, so planets around this degree in the cardinal signs may also be affected. Your attraction to family traditions may inhibit you from being open to expansive ideas.

Michael Richards' Racist Rant and Jupiter in Scorpio

The man who played 'Kramer' from Seinfeld raged at a comedy club Monday night, saying some pretty hateful things to some African-American members in his audience. Last night he apologized on Letterman, claiming he is not a racist.

I'm inclined to believe he is being as honest as his self-awareness allows. In the U.S., we grow up learning some pretty hateful messages about people different from ourselves ... it's almost unavoidable. If you grow up in a racist culture, prejudice insinuates itself into your psyche. You can do "personal work" -- as Richards says he will do -- but there's always a part of our culture inside of us.

Richards' explosion occurred when Jupiter, the planet of expansion, was in the last degree of Scorpio. Any time a planet is in the last degree of a sign, something significant happens related to the flavor of that sign. In this case, Jupiter made a big splash in Scorpio's domain, which is about rooting out the darkness in the depths of our psyches.

We don't need to study Richards' natal chart (although a tight Uranus-Mars conjunction obviously relates to impulsivity). Instead we can see this incident as an event in the greater cultural landscape -- Richards just happens to have been "chosen" to play out this drama.

In the Broadway show Avenue Q, the puppets and humans sing, "We're All a Little Bit Racist." I think it's time to own that, so that we can all do some personal work.

Addendum (added 10:14 pm):

This incident is actually an appropriate expression of the recent New Moon in Scorpio squared by Saturn in Leo -- a negative experience (Saturn) performing on-stage (Leo) which leads to a large display (Jupiter) of the hidden, dark and ugly aspects of one's psyche (Scorpio).