Aspect for the week beginning 2 February 2014

Pete Seeger (1919-2014)

“Do you remember ‘if I had a hammer’ ?” asked hubby

“Waddya mean ‘do I remember if I had a hammer?!’ ” I replied,  dropping my usual dulcet tone “We belong to the same generation.”

.oO   thought bubble  Oo.    “where have I been all your life?”

Answer:  Pete Seeger was part of our childhood and early teen age, before we even met…

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What a life worthy of living, having worked with Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan, and stood up for things worth standing up for!

Pete Seeger’s father Charles was a musician and a man of pacifist principles.  His mother was also a musician, a concert violinist and teacher.  Theirs was a musical family way of life.

Archetypes

It is easy to pick out the Archetypes in Pete Seeger’s birth chart.

Musician – Sun in Taurus

Singer – Sun in Taurus

Writer – Venus sextile Mercury

Warrior – Sun conjunct Mars

Activist – Sun conjunct Mars; Uranus trine Pluto

Spiritual Teacher – North Node trine Neptune

Healer – Chiron trine Neptune, forming a Grand Trine with the North Node

Wife

Pete Seeger’s wife Toshi Aline Seeger is credited with much of his success and stability.  Theirs was a strong bond, and she died six months before him.  They were married almost 70 years.  On the date of their marriage, Jupiter was exactly sextile Toshi’s North Node (a favourable karmic trajectory) while Pluto was conjunct Seeger’s  natal Neptune (a very profound union).

Woody Guthrie

There is a sense of musicians passing the baton to each other to create progressive movements in the music lineage, and Pete performed with Woody Guthrie early in his career.  Woody’s Jupiter was exactly trine Pete’s Neptune, denoting a spiritual harmony between them and faith in the same things.  Woody’s Jupiter therefore links in with Pete’s Grand Trine and his karmic mission (North Node).

McCarthyism

The exact square in his chart between Chiron and Pluto makes sense in terms of the dark episode of the McCarthy witch-hunts in the U.S.  Along with many others, he was accused of embracing communism, and it hampered his career for a while.  Chiron is the bridge between the inner and outer planets, but contacts between the outer planets often indicate where a person is caught up  in events of the world.  McCarthyism represents Plutonian power, and Chiron represents Seeger’s desire to heal  (the world) which was a principle he would not go back on.  The strength of his Pluto-Uranus trine was helpful to him in staying true to his principles

Bob Dylan

Another musician he is linked with is Bob Dylan.  Tension may have galvanized this partnership, the tension to get things moving in society: with Pete Seeger’s Mars square Dylan’s Moon, Seeger’s Pluto trine Dylan’s Mars and Dylan’s Mars square Seeger’s Nodal Axis.  This tension may have come to a head at the 1964 Newport Festival where Seeger expressed his anger and frustration at Dylan’s use of electric guitar.  Nevertheless, they both recognized each other as a kindred spirit on the road to music’s evolution.

Death

He died in New York at 9.30 pm on 27 January.  Pluto from his 5^th House was exactly trine his Sun in 9^th House: his creative and philosophical brief accomplished.

We Shall Overcome

There are now just as many things we need to overcome as in Pete Seeger’s heyday, and many ways in which we can be inspired by his words and example.  But on an astrological note, we can be inspired by his natal Pluto trine Uranus resilience and way of being to overcome the problems of this current Uranus square Pluto phase, which takes us through to 2015.  Just to hear the strength in his voice the other day when they played him singing “We Shall Overcome” reminded me of that need.

Aspect

The first half of the week we still have Mercury working normally, i.e. Direct.  Press on with your paperwork, especially if you are behind on your tax return.  Do all your running around now, especially sorting appointments and communications.

For on Thursday (6^th) we have the periodical spanner in our communication works of Mercury going Retrograde.  So the second half of the week we will be adjusting to this.  Mind you, I notice plenty of gum in the works when Mercury is not retrograde, e.g. problems on the trains seem to be increasing despite the higher rail fares.  I was travelling on the tube on Friday in the evening rush hour and a drunken group of lads were making merry on the escalator.  One of them slid down the banister and caused the escalator to stop.  As I boarded the next tube, I realized my legs had turned to jelly (Jupiter was opposing Pluto that day, which in my chart was across the travel Houses).

So midweek we have Mercury stationing (watch out for escalators stopping) and the deadline for your documentation is  21.43 Hrs on Thursday in the U.K., which is when Mercury actually goes retrograde.  Mercury going retrograde is not actually an aspect, but it is the only feature in this vacuum of a week.

Golden Rules

Mercury goes direct again on 28^th February, so in the meantime here are my 3 golden rules for surviving Mercury Retrograde:

1. Communicate clearly
2. Allow an extra hour when travelling
3. Have a trusted I.T. expert on tap

Animal Totems

Useful animal totems connected with Mercury, if you like to work with them:

Monkey  (mischievous)
Butterfly  (the roaming mind)
Coyote (the Trickster, also ruled by Uranus)

Purposes

During the retrograde of Mercury we can use the Virgoan trait or strategy of going over details to get them right.  This is one of the purposes of retrograde Mercury.

The challenges you face with Mercury in retrograde motion make you think on your feet and employ the best of the tenet “Necessity is the mother of invention”.

Blog Visit

I am hoping to post a guest blog from Joyce Mason this week.  She is a U.S. Astrologer, Novelist and Blogger (“The Radical Virgo”) who is promoting her book.  She is a specialist on Chiron (“The Wounded Healer”) and I am hoping that regular readers (and irregular readers) will sharpen their pencils for comments, as she has promised to reply to all questions or comments.  Tune in on Wednesday to read about her story.

The week in bullet points:

• Sunday to Wednesday – get all your paperwork up to date
• Thursday to Saturday – employ strategies if communications go awry