DECEMBER 2015 / JANUARY 2016 — 9

From the Theme Section Editor

Frank CliffordTheme Editor

Dear Readers: Let me begin with these simple words: Astrology offers an empowering platform for women. For those women who study, teach, or write about this remarkable subject, it is often a field in which they can shine brightly and independently, and be given the respect they deserve for their contribution. Growing up and learning astrology in London from the late 1980s, I had access to some of the most remarkable astrological minds of that era (and to qualify, the learn-ing and that era continue!). Liz Greene, Melanie Reinhart, Bernadette Brady, Pamela Crane, Darby Costello, Deborah Houlding, Sue Tompkins, and Lynn Bell were all on my doorstep teaching. Back then, though, I had no idea how fortunate I was to be learning directly from them, and I took for granted that these were remarkable women of astrology. (After all, women also made up 80–90% of astrology students in classes back then. They still do.) I’ve always been surrounded by inspirational women friends and teachers — I can thank Venus in Aries in the 11th sextile the 1st- and 9th-house cusps for that. And even the male astrologers whose ideas resonate most with me (from Brian Clark, Steven Forrest, Richard Swatton, and Howard Sasportas to Jason Holley, Shawn Nygaard, and Adam Elenbaas) have created a body of work that demonstrates that astrology doesn’t have to stop short as a technique-driven, right/wrong, formulaic “system.” It can embrace the tradition and continue to exist as a mindful, right-brain, “feminine” art for clients and their needs. And in an era when so much of the “free content” on the web is content-free, and people become astrologers and “influencers” overnight with little client dialogue, we must help to undo what Melanie Reinhart calls “astrological preconditioning,” and try to see beyond a narrow frame of reference. Melanie described this term in a newslet-ter in March 2010 as “a form of mental indigestion (chronic or acute) brought about by taking in too much astrological junk-food from various sources” — in other words, the sort of notions and prejudices that clients and students have about particular chart placements. Melanie refers to these as “awful, archaic, pre-psychological stuff, con-demnatory in tone and totally without subtlety or compassion, having no sense of ‘life process.’ In short, no wisdom and no heart.” I’ve written numerous times that natal astrology calls for fluid skills and an under-standing of human nature. We both borrow and share the moment of time we base our nativity on, but it is not “us.” On our journey, we discover that we and our clients are always greater than the sum of a horoscope’s parts. The horoscope is just one map, albeit a remarkable one, that can help us to move from awareness to consciousness, and enable us to make spiritually intelligent choices that reflect who we want to be-come at the next moment in time.

continued on p. 20

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The astrology that has always spoken to me is one that is soul-centred, humanis-tic, and focused on our inner landscape. You may want to call this approach “lu-nar” or “feminine” rather than “solar” or “masculine.” In an e-mail to me for this editorial, astrologer Jason Holley wrote that he prefers the terms “day” and “night” because simple, gender-derived terms feel reductive and “don’t seem to encourage complex imaginative think-ing.” He reminded me that “night” and “day” are terms “so basic to our art … They are actual conditions of the sky, while gender is not … They give all the gifts of the binary without the bag-gage. Astrologies apprenticed to ‘night’ are those which embrace multiplicity, non-linearity, and uncertainty. [They bring] a more diffuse gaze to the chart, allow it to potentiate our imaginations and so partake of a complexity of plane-tary conversations much richer than can be imagined in the harsh light of day and its insistence on technique, resolution, and so-called synthesis.” Yet we’re taught that each planet and sign of the zodiac has been assigned a gender. In one instance, though — Saturn — there’s growing belief that it was mis-assigned as masculine when it may well be a feminine god and arche-type. After all, we have the seven classi-cal planets as pairs/polarities: Sun and Moon, Venus and Mars, Jupiter and Sat-urn (with Mercury as the nonspecific crosser of day/night, above/below). And we could consider the Moon and Saturn (and their respective opposite signs of Capricorn and Cancer) as the feminine/night/matriarchal backbone of the horo-scope, with the Sun and Uranus (ruling Leo and its opposite, Aquarius, respec-tively) as the masculine/day/patriarchal spinal column.

Saturn’s current conjunction with Pluto (and the South Node) in feminine Capricorn suggests a reorganisation of authority and hierarchies, and the be-ginning of the changing of the guard. It’s a planetary combination associated with the aftermath of destruction — the subsequent reconstruction of what has been demolished or annihilated. Such a conjunction may sound the death knell of the grip of patriarchy on various societies. And in Capricorn, it’s the wiping-out kind of institutional change that will generate new seeds for an era that will reflect the empow-erment of the feminine. It’s the kind of destruction we’ve witnessed with the literal burning of Notre Dame (“Our Lady”), the demonisation yet emer-gence of (a new generation of) women in power, and the enormity of the re-cent U.S. legislature attempting to take away a woman’s right to her own body. It’s seen in the attempts to re-press and to backtrack on progress made so far. But as a result, this era will likely culminate in a nonnegotiable movement (Pluto) towards embracing a more “night”/feminine leadership in the world (hopefully, in both men and women). In fact, it appears that it has to get so bad, so extreme, that everything must change at the top (Capricorn). Back in 2016, I watched a YouTube video from psychic Danielle Egnew, who predicted that President Trump would never be elected that November because it was time for the feminine to rise and take centre stage. I was skepti-cal, though, because the times appeared so conservative, and she was lambasted by online trolls for her erroneous pre-diction. Perhaps in part as a response to the election, as Jupiter entered Scor-pio a year later, the #MeToo movement dominated social media and captured the zeitgeist. We can see the seeds of this change in the current issue of The Moun-tain Astrologer, with various pieces on

women of consequence. There’s Kathy Rose’s article on political activist Al-exandria Ocasio-Cortez (“AOC”), who had her first Saturn return last year, and Rae Sapp’s interview with vision-ary activist and astrologer Caroline Casey. Both subjects are Librans born at Saturn–Neptune conjunctions. In the profile, Rose writes that AOC “projected her vibrant persona wearing bright red lipstick, radiating raw courage, advocating highly progressive policies, and being unabashedly outspo-ken and even impulsive in her idealism.” Rose understands that AOC is a leader of a “new generation of souls whose life purposes are linked with shaking up the establishment …” Kathy Rose signposts the 2020 election as a turn-ing point, and it’s easy to anticipate a powerful chapter of AOC’s career beginning when Saturn and Neptune unite at 0° Aries (near her Moon) in February 2026. In Rae Sapp’s interview with Caroline Casey, we read that Casey be-lieves the Saturn–Pluto conjunction will “definitely bring a strong incentive for public discourse about what desirable leadership really is, especially as the old structures are falling and failing on ev-ery level, from bridges to cathedrals to leaders.” Casey also reflects on the ear-liest image for Capricorn: “a council of wise women dedicated to the next seven generations.” Those of you who have read my compilations on individual planets in these pages will know that I often quote Caroline Casey and her book, Mak-ing the Gods Work for You (Piatkus, 1998). In her interview, Casey offers simple and profound advice to navigate these tumultuous times: “We avert ‘di-saster’ (‘against the stars’) by gathering to ‘consider’ (‘with the stars’).”

Letter from Editorcontinued from p. 5

T H E M O U N T A I N A S T R O L O G E R } A U G . / S E P T . 2 0 1 9 } I S S U E 2 0 6

Contents

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Star Powerby Kathy Rose“AOC,” the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, is blazing new trails in the early months of her career. What do her angular planets close to the Aries Point portend for her future?

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Our Dangerous, Beautiful Assignment:Trickster Tales with Caroline Caseyan interview by Rae SappIn an age of anxiety, Caroline Casey reminds us to find hope in humor and good company. Liberating Trickster Magic helps us to love against all odds when times are at their most dangerous — and beautiful.

Reflections on Music, Magic,and Astrologyby Ray GrasseWhat does music have in common with astrology? The planetary cycles, like the beat of a tune, play out in time. And our chart, with its harmonies and dissonances, is a symphony that we write and conduct.

And the Band Played On:The Time and Life of Freddie Mercuryby Kathy AllanThe success of the movie Bohemian Rhapsody has brought Freddie Mercury, front man of the band Queen, to the forefront again. This author uses events in his all-too-short life to rectify his unknown birth time.

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Women of Consequenceby Frank C. CliffordOur Theme Section Editor introduces this issue’s theme of outstanding women by profiling ten prominent examples — women from diverse backgrounds, fields, and even eras, who have made their distinctive mark on the world.

45 } All Roads Lead to This Placeby Lindsay RiverThis evocative allegory, extracted from the book The Knot of Time, speaks with the voices of the twelve zodiacal signs to relate how they make their unique and rich contributions to humanity.

Volume 32, No. 5

Publisher Senior Editor

Editor Web & Book Editor

Special Projects Editor Theme Section Editor

Associate EditorEditor Emerita

Layout & IllustrationAdvertising Sales

Circulation ManagerAssistant Publisher

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Student Section

COVER: Rooted in Reverence, Seated in Spirit © Mara Berendt Friedman–newmoonvisions.com Mara Berendt Friedman has been creating paintings honoring the Sacred Feminine for three decades. Her imagery in inspired by the beauty of women, universal patterns and the cycles of nature. She lives with her husband on the Northern California coast. View Mara's online gallery and her many artgift offerings at: newmoonvisions.com.

8 Letters to the Editor

18 TMA Professional Directory

55 Astrology News and Conference Calendar

by Gloria Star

56 SoftStar Muse by Hank Friedman

57 AstroSoftware Marketplace

69 Book Reviews compiled by Mary Plumb

74 Sky Watch for Aug./Sept. by Julene Louis

76 Where’s That Moon?

77 Aug./Sept. Forecast Calendar by Pam Younghans

79 New and Full Moon Reports • Aquarius Full Moon

• Virgo New Moon• Pisces Full Moon• Libra New Moon

by Diana McMahon Collis

89 Libra Equinox Chart

Forecasts Departments

Astro-Assistance: Reader Questions Answeredby Moon Zlotnick

Charts in the News commentary by Elisabeth Grace

The Eastern Window by Penny Farrow

Moments in Time: Murder in Belgravia — The Lord Lucan Scandal by Frank C. Clifford

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