Listen/Download: 013—Axis Astrology Podcast: “The Moon”

Planetary transits for March 23 – April 5, 2014:

25-Mar-2014: Mercury trine Jupiter—open-minded, tolerant, free-associating, containing multitudes & contradictions

29-Mar-2014: Venus trine Mars—adventurous, demonstrative, affectionate, bold flirtation,  poetry in motion and action

29-Mar-2014: Venus square Saturn—inhibition, social anxiety, limited resources, financial limitations and obligations

31-Mar-2014: Sun square Jupiter—think bigger, expand your horizons, bolstered confidence, exaggeration, ego tripping

1-Apr-2014: Sun conjunct Uranus—freedom of expression, exploring new ideas, shake things up, break with the past

2-Apr-2014: Mercury trine Saturn—concentration, systematic thinking, good for preparing taxes, getting organized

2-Apr-2014: Sun square Pluto—power struggles, internal conflicts, mortal threats, transformation through destruction

5-Apr-2014: Venus in Pisces—sensitive, romantic, passive, rose-colored glasses, open, compassionate, indiscriminate

Moon Phases:

23-Mar-2014: Third quarter

30-Mar-2014: New Moon at 10 Aries

Book Reviews:

Arwynne reviewed Cosmos & Psyche: Intimations of a New World View by RIchard Tarnas. “One of the most intellectually rigorous, obsessively researched studies of the relationship of planetary cycles to human history. Not light reading by any means but without question one of the most relevant books on astrology written in the last century. In the first two chapters, he lays out what I consider to be the single most convincing argument for the relevance and reality of astrology that’s been articulated to date. Not a book for beginners, but certainly recommended for anyone looking for a unparalleled work of sweeping historical and astrological significance.”

Alison reviewed Eclipses by Celeste Teal.

 You can read Arwynne’s article on Your Child’s Moon here.

You can read Alison’s The Moon, your mother and food here.

Tenzin Gyatso is the 14th Dalai Lama. Born the fifth of sixteen children to a farming family in Tibet, he was proclaimed the reincarnation of the thirteenth Dalai Lama at the age of two. On November 17, 1950, he was enthroned as Tibet’s Head of State and most important political ruler while Tibet faced occupation by the forces of the People’s Republic of China. After the collapse of the Tibetan resistance in 1959, he fled to India, where he was active in establishing the Tibetan government in exile while seeking to preserve Tibetan culture and education, and he remained so until his retirement on March 14, 2011. A charismatic figure and noted public speaker, he is the first Dalai Lama to travel to the West, where he has helped to spread Buddhism and to publicize the cause of a Free Tibet. In 1989, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

The moon makes more major aspects than any other planet in the Dalai Lama’s chart and it’s ruler of his rising sign. The Sun is conjunct the ascendant in Cancer and both form grand water trines to Jupiter and Saturn, which are in the fifth and ninth houses respectively. This configuration indicates his unprecedented role as a beloved international spiritual teacher (Jupiter) and as the political leader (Saturn) of the Tibetan people. It also signifies his enduring legacy as a cultural ambassador who brings wisdom, compassion and spiritual guidance as well as education about Tibet’s history, traditions and political struggles to the outside world, in addition to introducing the teachings of Buddhism to a global audience.

Pluto is in Cancer (and therefore ruled by the Moon), signifying the transformative power of compassion and how integral these themes are to his personality and internal motivations. Furthermore, Pluto is conjunct the South Node (not shown), indicating a powerful past incarnation as the source of his profoundly Plutonian mission of peace, mindfulness and empathy. These gifts are directed unceasingly outwards in this life (Capricorn North Node in the 7^th house) and pursued with passionate intensity, all in the name of his ancestral home (Mars in Libra in the 4^th house square the nodes). The moon itself is in Virgo conjunct Neptune in the third house and opposes Saturn in Pisces.