In 2015, Joyce is
taking a blog break and reposting past articles—first by popularity, then
by theme—for your new discovery or re-enjoyment. See Coming in 2015: A Radical Rest—and Theme Repost Links for complete details.
I love Epiphany—not just because the Coming of the Three Wise Men shares the same word that means an aha or a sudden realization. I love it because it’s the 12th Day of Christmas, the culmination of a season of remembering who we are and why we’re here, regardless of our religious orientation. The weeks near the Winter Solstice are holy in nearly every tradition. While some of the world remains doubtful, most references talk about the Magi (singular magus meaning magician) as practitioners of astrology, alchemy and other esoteric arts. Then there’s the obvious fact that they followed stars and were also priest-followers of Zoroaster. Zoroastrian philosophy involved the exercise of constructive thoughts, words and deeds.
The Winners1. Chiron Quiz: How Strong Is Your Chiron? (17-Aug-10) – 35.9% ATPV (all time page views). Please note that Comments are closed, capped at 100 for this post.2. Radical Retrospective: The 200th Post (29-Apr-12) – 15.8% ATPV. Compare the Top 10 two-and-a-half years ago to the current list. Many remain.3. Chiron in Pisces: Integration and Integrity (16-Apr-10) – 11.5% ATPV. What the last Chiron in Pisces from 1960-69 may tell us about the current swim of the Centaur in Fish.
4. Back to School: Jupiter and the 9th House, Part 2 of 3 (8-Sep-11) – 9.4% ATPV. Your planets in the 9th House and how they live there.5. Emotional Maturity: The Secondary Progressed Moon Cycle (18-Apr-11), guest post by Mandi Lockley – 9.3% ATPV. How we typically grow and personalize the 27-28 year progressed Moon cycle.6. Celebrate This Momentous Winter Solstice (5-Dec-12) – 4.3% ATPV. The potential for a flurry of cleansing and renewal as the Mayan calendar ends at Winter Solstice and alignment with the Galactic Center.7. Humor: How the Signs Get Ready for the 2014 Cardinal Grand Cross (1-Feb-14) – 4.1% ATPV. How the Lot of 12 preps for—and reacts to—the prospect of an Astro-energetic tight squeeze. Acerbic Auntie Joyce offers “cures” for the signs that may be feint of heart.8. The 2014 Creative Question: The Cardinal Grand Cross (19-Jan-14) – 3.4% ATPV. Winter retrogrades with their mega-opportunities for self-reflection melt into a personal “Big Bang” to set your creativity afire.9. Oracular Spectacular (4-Aug-13) -3.3% ATPV. Astrology isn’t the only oracle in town. A primer on the use of tarot and other oracles and how to find the ones that work best for you.10. Uranus Square Pluto: Seven Exact Hits, Seven Chakra Realignments (5-Jul-12) – 3.0% ATPV. A primer on when and how to tune up each of your energy centers as the current Uranus-Pluto Square progresses to its finale in March 2015.
I love Epiphany—not just because the Coming of the Three Wise Men shares the same word that means an aha or a sudden realization. I love it because it’s the 12th Day of Christmas, the culmination of a season of remembering who we are and why we’re here, regardless of our religious orientation. The weeks near the Winter Solstice are holy in nearly every tradition. While some of the world remains doubtful, most references talk about the Magi (singular magus meaning magician) as practitioners of astrology, alchemy and other esoteric arts. Then there’s the obvious fact that they followed stars and were also priest-followers of Zoroaster. Zoroastrian philosophy involved the exercise of constructive thoughts, words and deeds.
As we wax into Epiphany this year, I can’t help but realize
the parallels between the “star” posts (the most popular) on The Radical Virgo and
the Star of Bethlehem. Both act as a kind of GPS to self-discovery—and once
more to having that epiphany about who we really are—love.
According to an
article on About.com that summarizes much of what I’ve learned about the
Magi and the Star of Bethlehem, it was Johannes Kepler who proposed that the
ancient star the Wise Men saw was a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. It was
thought to have occurred in 7 B.C. and since our calendar system and the exact
arrival of Jesus in time as we know it is dubious, “close enough.” The symbols
of Jupiter and Saturn were said to be connected with the prophecy of a coming
Messiah. Jupiter was associated with kings; Saturn was the planet that
represented the Jewish people. As author Carol Turner-Schott notes, Put these words together and you have “King
of the Jews.”
Click on chart to enlarge
On Epiphany 2015, we have Jupiter and Saturn in a wide trine.
More importantly, Saturn has just entered the sign Jupiter rules, Sagittarius. Certainly
putting our beliefs into form will be an important, universal issue.
Saturn in Sagittarius
We’re being called to walk our talk, to live and act according to our beliefs. The days of mere lip service are over. Saturn will take us to task to live up to who we are and to change the world around us from our highest visions.
The symbol for Sagittarius is a centaur. Whether or not
Chiron is the same centaur as Sagittarius is a matter of ongoing debate. (There
are two centaur constellations, Centaurus and Sagittarius. They encompass both Virgo
and Sag, just one of the reasons why I associate Chiron with the Virgo-to-Sag
sector of the zodiac. See Wholeness and the Inner Marriage for more details on
that theory.)
Statistics indicate you are more interested in Chiron than any other topic on this blog. Two of the Top 10 include the Chiron Quiz to determine your Chiron
Quotient or Chi-Q and my article on Chiron
in Pisces. This pair of posts accounts for nearly half—47.4 percent—of the most visited offerings
on this site since it was launched on Spring Equinox 2009.
Somehow we all know, intuitively, that putting our own healing first is another first—the first step to achieving Peace on Earth and the principles we dream of out loud during this turning-point time of year.
Looking at the patterns in the ten posts you most read, you
like to look back (Radical Retrospective
and 200th Post in second place). This bodes well for this year
full of that kind of activity. You’re interested in learning from the past—and learning,
period (Back to School: Jupiter and the 9th
House). You’re especially impressed by aspect patterns, just like the Magi
who were mesmerized with the signpost in lights Jupiter and Saturn sent up as a
flare circa 7 B.C. You especially wanted to know about the end of the Mayan
calendar in 2012 and what it meant and continues to mean to us. You were captivated
by the perils and possibilities inherent in the Cardinal Grand Cross of 2013
and the Uranus-Pluto Square of 2012, still going until its last exact alignment
on St. Patrick’s Day 2015. Last but not least, you care about the Moon—feelings
and quality of life—as reflected by the fifth most popular article, a guest
post by British astrologer Mandi Lockley on the secondary progressed Moon cycle
and its relationship to emotional maturity.
Isn’t that, in the end, what we’re trying to do here? To use
our experience on Earth to “grow Up” in spirit as much as we can, somehow tied
to emotion and desire, those things that precede manifestation in the physical?
It’s what the earth plane is all about.
Lastly, you liked to laugh, judging by the fact that at
least one of the many humor posts on The Radical Virgo made the Top 10. It’s a
post where we can poke fun of ourselves, as astrologers and astrology students,
and our tendency to worry about “what it all means” (article on oracles in 9th
place). It shows what hope there is for us—as long as we can laugh at ourselves
while we keep following those stars that catch our eyes …
… modern Magi.
~~~
Photo Credit: ©
trucobelami - Fotolia.com
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