Current Events – Student of Astrology

Cycles and the Shape of Decline

Looking back over the writing I have done here on my astrology blog over the last decade or so, I want to pick up on one particular pair of essays that I think are worth revisiting and pursuing further.

This essay is meant to put a large framework around my astrological thinking. It also ties in with the work I am currently working on with mundane astrology and the world chart.

This is important to me, because I have learned that how a person does astrology, especially predictive mundane astrology, is strongly influenced by their worldview and their political perspective. In this essay I am laying out the large-scale frame that I use to make sense of the world. Continue reading “Cycles and the Shape of Decline”

Astrology, Perception and Interpretation

It has been a long time since I have written anything here on my astrology blog. I want to talk here about why.

I wrote a long post last month, analyzing the general astrology for 2022 using the Capricorn and Aries ingresses, and an eclipse that falls right around the US election in November. I sat on it for over a month, and I’ve decided I don’t want to publish it, for a couple of reasons.

One, what I am seeing in the astrology for the year is quite turbulent and dark.

And two, at this point, I don’t see any way that I, or anyone else, can dis-entangle general political views and opinions from the astrology I do, especially in our highly polarized world. I now think that is inevitable. I want to give a couple of instances here. Continue reading “Astrology, Perception and Interpretation”

Language, Honesty and Power

The name of Krishna is nondifferent from Krishna. Speaking the name Krishna makes Krishna present. Chant the name of Krishna and Krishna dances on your tongue.
– Sri Prabhupada

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
– Hebrews 4:12

And God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light.
– Genesis 1:3

This essay on language ties together a lot of issues I have been thinking about for a long time. The immediate trigger that inspired me to put this together was a sentence I saw in an online comment, claiming that, “The English language was not created to tell the truth”.

I humbly disagree – not just about the English language, but about language in general.

Here are the points I wish to make in this essay.

There is a connection between language, truth, reality and power. Words point beyond themselves.
Astrology is one of many sacred languages. The symbols have power and embody living realities. The symbols point beyond themselves. Therefore we must be careful how we use them.
We have a sacred obligation to tell the truth. If we do not, it robs our words of any power, and is ultimately self-destructive.
You can tell the difference between true and false language, real and empty language.
If you are going to work with a sacred system like astrology you are well-advised to take a vow to speak the truth, and to be careful with how you use language.
Philosophies and movements that view language as an arbitrary construct to gain power are ultimately self-contradictory and self-defeating.
It is a very good idea to spend time considering the meaning of words, to define words carefully, and to look into the etymology of words you use.

Continue reading “Language, Honesty and Power”

The Battle for Reality

Essay by Charlie Obert, October 2020

Back in November 2019 I released a video that I titled “The Grand Conjunction: 2020 and Beyond“, in which I talked about the triplicity shift going on in astrology, and its long term implications. I want to revisit the main theme of that video here, and go a bit deeper.

Since this was a video about prediction for 2020 I want to quickly comment on what I missed – obviously, the covid pandemic. I greatly underestimated the combined effect of Saturn, Jupiter and Mars, the three outermost and slowest moving planets in traditional astrology, all conjunct is a single sign, with the two malefics both strong and dignified, and Jupiter debilitated and as weak as it can get.

More importantly for my purposes here, I want to talk about what I got right, and develop the theme further. Even the pandemic itself fits within my larger theme. Continue reading “The Battle for Reality”

Astrology, Prediction and General Knowledge

by Charlie Obert

It is all too easy to fall into the trap of believing that being an astrologer automatically gives you the knowledge to be able to make pronouncements on any subject area. The result of this attitude is obvious in the large amount of astrology writing I see online that is little better than gossip and bias dressed up with astrology keywords.

There are two assertions I am making here that are the subject of this essay.

First – your ability to make meaningful astrology predictions in any area is only as valid as the depth and quality of your knowledge in that specific area.

Being an astrologer does not instantly make you an expert in politics or judicial law, just as being a famous entertainer does not make you an expert in constitutional law or the electoral college. Our astrology knowledge does not exist in a vacuum by itself; it is always based on our general knowledge. Whatever we stock our minds with in general is what is going to come out when we start talking astrology.

Second – Before you make an astrology statement, it is worth asking yourself, is this any different from what I would say without the astrology? If there is no difference, then omit the astrology. You would just be using the astrology as window dressing to justify your opinions.

I want to explore these assertions in a couple of different subject areas.

Continue reading “Astrology, Prediction and General Knowledge”

Pluto and Overhype

by Charlie Obert.

One of the sand traps of astrology interpretation is the tendency to overhype, to blow things up out of proportion. This tendency to exaggerate seems to come into play with special force whenever Pluto is involved. We’re seeing that happen now with the approach of the Dreaded Saturn Pluto Conjunction this coming January 2020.

Here are just a couple of the phrases I am seeing today in my Facebook feed referring to this amazing once-in-a-lifetime event.

“One of the most extraordinary transits in our history.”

“Epic.”

“Sitting on an atomic bomb.”

“A disaster waiting to happen.”

and so on.

Listening to language like this we should be looking at the most important and earth-shaking astrological event since the great Cardinal Grand Cross of 2014. Continue reading “Pluto and Overhype”

The One and the Gods

When I started writing this post I thought the subject was the One and the Gods and how that applies to astrology. I very quickly figured out that I wanted to write about religious and political tolerance, especially the latter. I’ll get around to how that fits in with astrology and the Gods, but I need to give some context first.

One of the most spiritually dangerous things that a person can do is to be convinced that you are Right, that you have found the Truth, and that everyone who disagrees with you is Wrong. It is a corrosive spiritual poison.

In some ways I think we all do it – I know I do. There are certain sorts of religious or political opinions that are enough to send me into an instant blind rage, a push-button intolerance that kicks in a lot faster than any conscious thought. I recognize it in others, and I sometimes recognize it in myself. I blindly attack, just as I have been blindly attacked.

It’s easy to spot that sort of intolerance in others – not so easy to spot it in yourself. I am trying to train myself to watch for situations where my quick first response is to attack, or respond with anger, or scorn, or some kind of dismissive swearing. That is my signal to pause for a minute and consider what is setting me off – what am I finding offensive, and why.

Interestingly, I seem to be most susceptible to that sort of push-button intolerance on subjects where I am changing my mind – and I am confronted with a position that I used to hold but I am not quite free of, one that now fills me with blind rage and aversion. The negative reaction is a reflection of my own unsureness.

I used to be Christian, and I spent a couple of years in seminary when I was younger, convinced I was called to be a priest. I left both the seminary and the church a very long time ago – but after all these years, some topics related to Jesus or the church are enough to send me into a blind rage – I’ve got a sore spot there, after all these years, and there is a certain kind of Christian judgmental intolerant righteousness that makes me mad enough to want to kill… because I used to do it. I am not yet healed there.

I am currently having similar experiences with political opinions. The past year I have been going through some serious changes of viewpoint on political subjects – and when I mention some of these changes of mine to old friends I am shocked and hurt by the level of blind misunderstanding and hostility I sometimes get. There are certain kinds of opinions that it is just not okay to change – and otherwise friendly and tolerant people can get very intolerant and nasty when you cross the wrong line.

I’ve been badly hurt there, and I’m not healed yet.

Continue reading “The One and the Gods”

Aries Ingress Washington DC

An ingress chart is drawn up at the time that the sun moves into a new sign, at the start of one of the 4 seasons. The Aries Ingress, in late March at the Spring Equinox, is considered in mundane astrology (mundane meaning, astrology having to do with world and political matters) to set the tone for the coming year.

This is the Aries Ingress, Spring Equinox chart, for Washington, DC.

(credits – this chart was drawn up using Astrolabe Solar Fire.)

If this sets the tone for the United States for the coming year… we have a challenging time ahead of us, folks. Continue reading “Aries Ingress Washington DC”