First Sunset of the New Decade

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Self-Sacrifice as the Greatest Love Story

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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

I am mindful that all of my children (and even some of my grandchildren) have seen this movie before me. So, hopefully, they cannot accuse me of giving away the ending of this 9th episode of a franchise that has been running for 42 years.

But, to be fair, the poster above does just that. (And it seems to echo the original Star Wars poster from 1977.)

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Even though Carrie Fisher died three years ago, her presence is still visible on the screen. And Peter Mayhew, the actor who played Chewbacca, the Wookie, died earlier this past year. Fortunately, he had a stand-in who admirably stood in for him. Peter Cushing and Alec Guinness bowed out years ago.

Otherwise, all the original gang show up in this final tale. That’s amazing on its own.

The formula, if I may be so bold, is the same one used by Steven Spielberg in his version of Ready Player One. An independent individual teams up with others to defeat an ‘evil’ Empire. It’s so true to the present situation in the world that one cannot help but think that this story of ‘good versus evil’ is somehow in our DNA.

Giving One’s Life for Another

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The Power of Love. George Lucas envisioned his Star Wars movies to be a space version of Samurai warriors. The Force was always going to win in the end, but which side?

The Dark Side takes on a whole other dimension when we look at our true motivations. Let’s face it, most of us are not lily white on the inside. We are easily tempted to take short cuts, when the better way would involve hard work to correct our mistakes.

And no matter how much spiritual training we have, we will not know how we will react until faced with insurmountable obstacles. It’s the Hero’s Journey…

There are many examples of love in this movie: a parent’s love for their child; a love between friends; even the love for one’s enemy. That’s the whole point of this story.

The bond between Kylo Ren and Rey is so strong they can find each other even when at a great physical distance. They were destined, to work together, to potentially die together.

 

Love is the answer…

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Nazis Over Montsegur?

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Raiders of the Lost Grail

This one is going to seem a little far-fetched. But it is not outside the realms of possibility.

While researching Montsegur stories yesterday, I came across this one about Otto Rahn, who had been assigned the task by Hitler and the Nazis to find the Holy Grail. But before you start to think that this is just a rehash of Raiders of the Lost Ark consider the fact that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

Here is an sampling of the story.

“Now fast forward to WWII, in which France is occupied by the Nazis, and a young German author, researcher and S.S. Lt. named Otto Rahn is sent by the Nazis to Southern France to look for the Holy Grail, which many in the Nazi hierarchy are eager to possess. The Nazis, it will be recalled, also believed whole-heartedly in the theory of the Hollow Earth, and sent expeditions down to Antarctica looking for the entrance. Furthermore, the Nazis had great admiration for the Cathars, especially their disciplined lifestyle, vegetarian diet, and sophisticated Gnostic theology. In fact, there were elements within the Nazi hierarchy who were hoping to resurrect the Cathar religion. So it was only natural that Otto Rahn would go looking for the Holy Grail at the place where the Cathars were said to have left it – Montsegur. He also knew that in the Grail romances of the Middle Ages, the Grail is said to reside in a castle at the top of Mount Salvat, which Rahn believed to be the same as Montsegur. So he stayed for a number of years, off and on between 1928 and 1931, exploring the caves of Montsegur and the tunnels of the surrounding Languedoc, even the village of Rennes-le-Chateau.

“The information comes from a remarkable book by Col. Howard Buechner called Emerald Cup – Ark of Gold: The Quest of S.S. Lt. Otto Rahn of the Third Reich. According to Buechner, Otto Rahn did discover something in the caves around Montsegur, just as Parzival had discovered the Holy Grail in a cave near Montsalvat. Buechner says that Rahn found that the landscape paralleled exactly that of Mount Salvat in Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival, and writes that:

“The grotto and certain other rock formations in the story bear the same names as those in a massive cave near Montsegur.

“It was the clues in this book which, according to Buechner, led him to make his first awesome discovery. Writes Buechner:

“He explored the grottoes of an area known as Sabarthez, notably the grottoes of Ornolac and the massive cavern of Lombrives. Here he found a huge chamber which was known to the local mountain people as the ‘Cathedral’ because it had served as a meeting place for the ancient Cathars. In the main hall was a great stalagmite known as the ‘Tomb of Hercules.’ In a third grotto, that of Fontenet, was a stalagmite which was white as snow. It was called the ‘Altar’… Deep within the grottoes of the Sabarthez he found chambers in which the walls were covered with characteristic symbols of the Knights Templar, side by side with the well-known emblems of the Cathars… One very interesting image which had been carved into the stone wall of a grotto was clearly a drawing of a lance. This depiction immediately suggested the bleeding lance which appears over and over again in Arthurian legends, and which is, of course, the Holy Lance which pierced the side of Christ at the crucifixion.”

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The 700th Anniversary Flyover

Sadly, according to Buechner, Rahn was not destined to discover his first Grail, the Emerald Cup. He died under mysterious circumstances before he was able to, some say with the complicity of the Nazi hierarchy. Instead, they sent the swashbuckling Otto Skorzensky, “Chief of Germany’s Special Troops,” who allegedly found it with little difficulty on March 16, a day sacred to the Cathars. Buechner relates the story in which “the local descendants of the Cathars” happened to be on top of the mountain celebrating some mystical rite when the S.S. helicopter came down to scoop up Otto Skorzensky and his treasure. “At exactly high noon on March 16, 1944, a small German aircraft appeared. It flew over Montsegur several times, dipping its wings in salute. Then it used skywriting equipment and formed a huge Celtic cross in the sky. The Celtic Cross was a sacred emblem of the Cathars.”

From The Real Tomb of God: The Grail, The Ark, the Emerald Tablet, and the Forgotten Father of Mankind by Tracy R. Twyman

The Chart

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Neptune in Libra is within a 10º opposition to both the Sun and Mercury. The Sun and Mercury are square to the Mars/Saturn conjunction in Gemini. I would say that their intentions were thwarted, wouldn’t you?

And don’t get me started about the Moon being in opposition to Uranus…

Conclusion

Modern legends take on a special aura. They’re called urban myths, now. And the endless fascination for all things Nazi ensures that these myths will not die.

But let’s get one thing perfectly clear: Cathars would not have approved of one of its sacred treasures being used as a source of occult power for an organization bent of world domination. IF, and I repeat the word ‘if’, the Nazis had found the original Holy Grail, it didn’t do them any good, in the short term. The Nazi leadership were defeated in just over 13 months. And Hitler killed himself. Need any further proof?

Shekinah strikes again.

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The Fall of Montsegur Castle

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View from the Steep Side

I’ve written about this historical ‘event’ many times. Here is the main post.

But I’d never thought to do the chart, until now.

 

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The Kepler 7.0 program has added 7 days to the original date of 16 March 1244, to bring the Julian date into line with our modern calendar. The time chosen was entirely random (it was the time of day I created this chart, today). And yet, embedded within the centre of the chart, created by the aspects, is a distorted image of a five-pointed star.

There are two inconjuncts, one of which depended on the time of day, the other did not.

Venus Inconjunct Pluto

With this aspect you must learn a great deal about the kinds of friends you want and the kinds of experiences you will have through other people. Even while you are still young, you may meet persons who are quite difficult to get along with, but who seem to be impossible to get away from, even when you want to. You may be fascinated by such persons, or circumstances may force you to stay with them. These people do have a definite role to play in your life, but it may not always be a pleasant one. They will teach you something about life or about yourself.

However, you don’t have to put up with difficult or unpleasant relationships, because if you think about it, you will realize that you are drawn to these people in order to fulfill your own hidden emotional needs. Think about what you really want from others so that you  can find it in a better relationship. And if you encounter people who won’t allow you any freedom, which can happen with this aspect, then avoid them.

This aspect may also mean that you are very possessive and demanding of your loved ones. You may not want to acept the fact that your friends can love other people besides yourself. Let your friends be themselves freely when they are with you, and try not to be too demanding of their time. Love for friends and relatives should be given freely, not used as a way to control them. If you do that, you will lose their love.

Saturn Inconjunct Midheaven

This aspect indicates that you very much need a positive relationship with your parents, especially your father. You should not be disciplined unless you are given lots of love at the same time. Otherwise, giving and receiving love from others will be a real problem for the rest of your life. Unless you are truly supported by your family and friends, you will begin to feel lonely and isolated from others and inferior to them. Also you are likely to have very serious difficulties with authority figures, because you are afraid of how they will treat you, not expecting that anyone will ever give you the loving guidance you need. You will see all authorities only as potential threats to your freedom and as sources of pain and trouble.

And so it proved to be true on that day, March 16, 1244.

Conclusion

If we are one another, then this ‘event’ burned away the dross of materialism. And this morning’s timing put the Ascendant of the chart almost exactly opposite my own Ascendant in this life. So this feels personal.

I like the idea that the ‘event’ Ascendant is halfway between the Moon and Neptune in Gemini. My friend Kate will understand what this means.

View from Above

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Braving the New World

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Outlander – Season Four

Due to the rising costs of practically everything, I took the decision about two years ago to reduce our cable TV subscription. As a result, we lost the “W” Network and access to the Outlander series. So, to make up for it to my wife, I buy her the Outlander DVDs every Christmas as a present. This one is the latest available. (And my savings throughout the year are cancelled out by the purchase price of the DVDs.)

Claire and Jamie are now living in America. They decide to build a homestead on a hundred acre track of pristine North Carolina land. The Blue Hills remind them of Scotland. (And, it turns out, the producers thought so, too…)

But nothing is straightforward (because life never is) and the twists and turns in this story keep the viewers glued to their TV screens. (We watched all five DVD discs over a three day period.)

Now we cannot wait for season five, which starts in February. Guess who has changed the cable TV subscription again?

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Touchstone Cool

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Wayland’s Smithy – 11 October 1987

If you’ve been following my posts from the very beginning in 2014, you would have come across a poem I wrote in 1987 to commemorate a visit to this long barrow.

Now I want to look at that event through astrological eyes.

The Chart

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The first thing I want to say about this chart is the prominence that Jupiter and the Moon positions play. Jupiter in Aries in the 3rd House? I couldn’t have asked for a better placement for my Aries North Node.

Jupiter as a seeker of truth!

But the Moon takes prominence over Jupiter as it has the most aspects, on the day. My friend Kate, one of the two women who accompanied me to this site, on that day, has her Moon in Gemini, within 6º of this ‘event’ Moon. So I would say this is really about her.

Moon Inconjunct Mercury

As you grow older, you will have to learn to make your feelings and your reason work together. The problem is not so much that they come into conflict with each other, but that your reason and feelings represent two very different sides of your personality. When you are calm and collected and able to reflect carefully, you make decisions in one way. But when you are emotionally involved in a situation, you are likely to make up your mind very differently, which could cause you to seem inconsistent to others and make it difficult for them to understand you.

For the same reason, it may be hard for you to put your feelings into words, because your emotions are so different from your intellect. Of course, there is nothing really strange about your feelings, but that part of your mind is quite different from the reasoning part. In fact it would be very unfortunate if you decided to listen only to your reason, because your intuition and imagination, both of which are more related to the Moon, can be of great assistance to you. They can tell you much about the world that your reasoning mind cannot.

On the other hand, you shouldn’t allow your feelings to overrun your reason. The best thing to do whenever there seems to be a conflict between these two areas is to not make a decision immediately. Reflect and wait for further information that might help you make up your mind. As you get older, this problem should lessen considerably and you should be able to make decisions more and more rapidly.

Moon Inconjunct Ascendant

You tend to put your own emotional needs and wants second to whatever you feel has to be done. In other words, you are likely to be more disciplined emotionally than most people your age. But this is not good if you feel that your emotional needs are not important. Your needs must be fulfilled as much as anyone else’s, particularly because your feelings are really very powerful within yourself.

It is very likely that while you are young you will attract people who are emotionally difficult to handle. This will continue until you learn to show your emotional side as well as the surface personality that you allow others to see. It is all right for people to see all the energies that make up your personality. Only by accepting yourself completely can you overcome this conflict.

If I’m honest with myself, this also applied to me at the time.

Moon Opposition Saturn

You can be a very controlled and practical person. You may resist doing something just for fun when others would hate to pass up a chance for a good time. But this may be because you feel unworthy of having any pleasure. Of course, you aren’t unworthy, and you can do something about your negative feelings if you try to.

Conclusion

Whenever I return to significant events in my life, I see much more than I did at the time.

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I’m the King of the Castle, am I Not?

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Was It a Tragic Accident or a Murder?

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Natalie Wood

This November 1981 mystery has yet another turn of the wheel with Dr. Oz interviewing the captain of Robert Wagner’s boat. Dennis Davern overheard the argument between Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood on the night she died. The police say that Robert Wagner has always been a ‘person of interest’ in her death, but, so far, nothing has been proven that could bring him to justice.

The Death Chart

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The timing of the chart was chosen at random by me. But the resulting sailboat image made by the aspects of the chart speaks to its correctness. And there’s one inconjunct.

Pluto Inconjunct Midheaven

You may have trouble with older people who try to teach you how to effectively take control of your life. Even while you are young, you may resent their control over you and resist everything they are trying to teach you. To a great extent, your path in life will be shaped by your early confrontations with authority figures. Your parents would be well advised to give you as much control as possible over your own affairs and as much self-determination as you can handle. They should not try to keep an extremely tight rein on you, for if they do, you will explode and become very difficult to handle. Also your self-esteem would be damaged. Your parents and teachers should be very straightforward with you, because if you feel that people are not being honest with you, you will not be honest with them. You are quite capable of acting behind people’s backs if you consider it necessary or of you feel that you never get your own way.

OK. So this situation is about self-determination and control by other (older) persons. That must have been one hell of a blazing row between them. But the central question remains: accident or murder?

Everyone keeps going on about Natalie’s fear of water, and her limited swimming skills. Add to this the fact of it being a late November night, no person in their right mind would get into a dinghy to row back to shore. But was she in her right mind?

It is only when you compare Ms. Wood’s birth and death charts do you get an insight into her state of mind.

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Conclusion

Natalie Wood’s natal Moon was being triggered by a ‘fatal’ conjunction of Mercury and Uranus, while, at the same time, her natal Uranus was being controlled by the ‘fatal’ Saturn. So this became an emotional ‘fight or flight’ situation.

Given that Wagner was Ms. Wood’s husband (for the second time), his age may have made him a natural ‘father figure’ in her life. But by age 43, Natalie would have thought she was done with all that parental control.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. So, I think this is what really happened: Natalie got into that dinghy in a fit of pique, perhaps to show how desperate she was to get away from the situation. Wagner may have laid one hand too many on her, and she’d had enough. But she was no boat’s person, and that choice to go may have resulted in her leaving forever.

Verdict: Accident.

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Remember Christmas Days

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Remember Christmas Days

 

Remember Christmas Days when we were young,

When Jack Pine’s boughs hung heavy, bright with lights,

While children braved the clear, yet frosty, nights

And meaning gave to each glad carol sung.

 

Inside the home, a warmth filled ev’ry lung,

As dreams of presents, cuddly, soft or bright,

Crept into youngsters’ minds, who’d, with delight,

Discover treasures once that day’s begun.

 

But now the time goes by, too fast for cheer,

While nearer to the season’s close we draw,

And soon the festive shopping will be done,

When, hopefully, the only sounds we’ll hear

Will be our children’s Christmas Day “hurrah’,

As all the World again becomes as one.

 

David Stewart Miller 1973

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Christmas Eve Dinner in the Dying Light

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