sagittarius Archives - ROXANNA BIKADOROFF

July 31, 2023April 5, 2024

One Last Word on Sinéad, the Nightingale

I was thinking how Sinéad reminded me of another scapegoated, outspoken Dubliner – Oscar Wilde, particularly his sad story, The Nightingale and the Rose. Because she is that Nightingale. I had to compare their charts (see bottom of page), the two geniuses actually have much synchronicity. To start with, they have the same lunar nodes, North in Taurus, South in Scorpio. Her Mercury and Neptune (words/art/music) are conjunct his South node, his Uranus (future/genius) is conjunct her North node. She has Saturn conjunct Chiron, the ‘wounded healer’ (2 deg) in Pisces (sign of martyrdom) and he has Jupiter conjunct Chiron (3 deg) in Capricorn (sign of the scapegoat). She has Venus and Sun conjunct by degree and sign in Sagittarius, he Sun and Venus conjunct by sign in Libra. She has Mars at 2 Libra, he has Mars at 3 Sagittarius (each other’s Sun/Venus signs – remember both their lunar nodes are ruled by Venus and Mars).

Addendum: I also just looked at the death chart of Oscar Wilde, and it’s pretty mind-boggling to note that transiting North node, Sun, Uranus, Jupiter and Chiron were ALL in SAGITTARIUS at the time. As well, Chiron was in a wide conjunction with Saturn (Sinéad has them conjunct), Mercury the psychopomp was in Scorpio (as is Sinéad’s).
I have to look into it more thoroughly, but I wonder whether this might be a case of reincarnation…there’s no way to be certain, of course. I know, there is nothing in physical resemblance whatsoever, and there needn’t be, but…she does kind of resemble his long suffering wife, Constance Lloyd. Constance, a journalist, was a political activist and feminist, who fought for and spoke out on women’s rights, education for girls, dress reform (for women to wear comfortable clothing) and the ‘Irish Question’ (of home rule). She also may have died from botched fibroid surgery (a result of undiagnosed MS, it’s thought). Considering they would have had a soul contract and he was a Libra (partnership sign), might there have been some cross-over here?
Wilde himself, after being sentenced to two years hard labour for his homosexuality, wrote about the abhorrent conditions for inmates, calling for change. Like Sinéad booed on stage, he was jeered and spat on by crowds during his transfer to Reading Gaol Prison.

Constance Lloyd, wife of Oscar Wilde, by Louis Desanges, 1882

At the same time, charts can be so clinical. Poetry and song gets to the heart of things, especially since we are talking about people who were devoted to it. This is where the soul reveals itself best, and evolutionary astrology is about the soul’s travels.

“If you want a red rose,” said the Tree, “you must build it out of music by moonlight, and stain it with your own heart’s-blood. You must sing to me with your breast against a thorn. All night long you must sing to me, and the thorn must pierce your heart, and your life-blood must flow into my veins, and become mine.”

“Death is a great price to pay for a red rose,” cried the Nightingale, “and Life is very dear to all. It is pleasant to sit in the green wood, and to watch the Sun in his chariot of gold, and the Moon in her chariot of pearl. Sweet is the scent of the hawthorn, and sweet are the bluebells that hide in the valley, and the heather that blows on the hill. Yet Love is better than Life, and what is the heart of a bird compared to the heart of a man?”

So she spread her brown wings for flight, and soared into the air. She swept over the garden like a shadow, and like a shadow she sailed through the grove.

The young Student was still lying on the grass, where she had left him, and the tears were not yet dry in his beautiful eyes.

“Be happy,” cried the Nightingale, “be happy; you shall have your red rose. I will build it out of music by moonlight, and stain it with my own heart’s-blood. All that I ask of you in return is that you will be a true lover, for Love is wiser than Philosophy, though she is wise, and mightier than Power, though he is mighty. Flame-coloured are his wings, and coloured like flame is his body. His lips are sweet as honey, and his breath is like frankincense.”

The Student looked up from the grass, and listened, but he could not understand what the Nightingale was saying to him, for he only knew the things that are written down in books.

But the Oak-tree understood, and felt sad, for he was very fond of the little Nightingale who had built her nest in his branches.

“Sing me one last song,” he whispered; “I shall feel very lonely when you are gone.”

So the Nightingale sang to the Oak-tree, and her voice was like water bubbling from a silver jar.

~ from The Nightingale and the Rose, by Oscar Wilde

The Singing Bird, yet another of her Irish ballads that makes my heart burst.

Thank you Sinéad, beautiful soul, for all your healing, celestial voice and utterly fantastic songs. And thank you Oscar Wilde for your brilliant writing that inspired so many other great artists.

Birth Charts of Sinéad O’Connor and Oscar Wilde

Death chart of Oscar Wilde (should be Paris, France, but won’t make a huge diff).

July 27, 2023December 17, 2023

Jupiter’s Daughter – Sinead O’Connor

Like all her fans, I was crushed to learn of Sinéad O’Connor’s (Shuhada’ Sadaqat’s) death. I’m not going to get too into analyzing her personal struggles…suffice it to say we of the Pisces Saturn opposite Pluto-Uranus generation are working through lifetimes of (usually religious) guilt and/or persecution, which can involve putting oneself back in a similar situation. Sinéad often walked through fire of her own making, but likely she’d been burned (or burned others) at the stake in the distant past. Sadly, she didn’t make her second Saturn return.

Ripping up the pope on SNL “Fight the Real Enemy”

Squares are challenging, especially T-squares, and her Sagi Venus was in this configuration with the Pluto-Uranus/Saturn-Chiron opposition, her Xena warrior Venus believing unequivocally that without the freedom to love who and how we want, there can be no healing. As well, Pallas Athena, Jupiter’s favourite warrior daughter in rebel Aries. But her Black Moon Lilith, sometimes a self-saboteur in youth was also in Pisces, sign of the martyr, conjunct Saturn, and the two of them opposite Mars in Libra. Not easy to keep a balance (Libra) with the ironman Mars sitting on one of your scales, while luminaries Venus and Sun have their hands full trying to mediate the forces of Pluto/Uranus and Saturn/Chiron. Saturn in this placement can feel like one’s been abandoned by god and/or one’s own father, which is what happened. All of them under Jupiter’s watch (see explanation below).

Sinead O’Connor natal chart with asteroids Dec 8 1966

Read her book, ‘Rememberings’ if you want to know about her personal life. Here’s a great Guardian interview from 2021, upon its release.

With Chiron tightly conjunct her Saturn, the urge to break and heal the long cycle of pain would be even stronger, but as we know, Chiron’s own wounds never quite heal even as he healed others. Sinéad gave music her all, and all her music. “We’re only given as much as the heart can endure” sang Capricorn Patti Smith, but Sagittarius is known to bite off more than they can chew. Sagittarius is clichéd as being a lucky, optimistic, freedom-loving zealot. And that would be true. However there is also what I’ve always referred to as ‘the unbearable lightness of being Sagittarius.’ It’s kind of like an unbearable heaviness, except light. (Sagis will understand).

Michelangelo’s sculpture of a young slave – spirit trying to release from body.

I had actually just been listening to Sinéad’s Irish Ballads the night before the sad news broke, that crystal-perfect voice, remembering how she’d said that these songs were ‘ghosts.’ Spirit possession, be it via songs, demons or Holy Spirit or can be a very stressful practice, definitely not for the faint of heart. Sometimes they won’t leave.

Jupiter, like Sagittarius, is given this benign definition of ‘greater benefic’ or ‘fortunate’ or signifying ‘excess’. And these would be true. But Jupiter’s influence, being of the spirit, is perhaps not fully fathomed until a person has passed and their own, ‘larger than life’ spirit becomes one with everything. That’s kind of the whole point of Jupiter’s religiosity (although many astrologers now attribute this ‘seeking oneness’ quality and Pisces rulership to Neptune, I see the outer planets as a slow release over a long period of time, affecting whole generations, so am not quite ready to replace the traditional rulerships with them). Similarly, when a loved one dies you recognize and perhaps feel it in a breeze or passing bird…a Jupiterian serendipity. This planetary god makes spirit known.

Jupiter in the end shows where a person died a ‘good death’ (though not necessarily without physical pain), ‘with honours’ or simply how the pull to spirit realm was at that moment overriding the material. Think of how we are drawn into sleep each night, the realm of dreams – Pisces being Jupiter’s other traditional sign. Likely she died in her sleep.

Sinéad’s Sagittarius Sun (ruler of Leo) was in mutual reception with her Leo Jupiter (ruler of Sagittarius). Her Libra Moon and Taurus North Node were also ultimately under the influence of Jupiter, since her Venus (ruler of Taurus and Libra) was in the sign of Sagittarius. It’s called the ‘chain of command’ in a chart. At the same time, her natal Venus was being trined by transiting retrograde Venus. Retrograde Venus is where we get the myth of Ishtar going into to the underworld – ie, the period of invisibility in the Sun’s rays, before re-emerging the other side – where, en route, she had to remove a veil at each of seven gates (heavenly spheres).

I’m dancing the Seven Veils
Want you to pick up my scarf
See how the black moon fades
Soon I can give you my heart

~ first lines of Sinead O’Connor’s first big hit, ‘Mandinka’

Natal chart with transits on day of departure

When the news of her death broke, Jupiter was conjunct her North Node (future/material) and Sun was on her Jupiter. As well, the Moon was transiting her South Node (past/spiritual) node. The Lunar Nodes are an axis and work together, not separately. Whatever was going on, it seems her God-father came to take her home, with honours for her musical contribution and valiant battle with lifetimes old cause of so much abuse and suffering. Yes, she had a martyr complex at times (her Neptune conjunct south node in the 12th house was a significator of that in this life and the past), but that was also deeply imprinted in the psyche via catholicism. Life throws us enough suffering without the added notion that somehow we ‘deserved’ it and are being punished by the almighty for simply being ourselves, but that is the general idea of ‘original sin’ and it’s made a real mess of things.

Lamp with Ishtar’s underworld twin Ereshkigal, Syria

As well, we see transiting Mercury, flanked by Lilith and Venus, squaring her natal 12th house Mercury, representing her son Shane. Like his mum, he had been institutionalized (12th house), and sadly, although on ‘suicide watch’ he had ended his own life (age 17) last year. She expressed in her last tweet how she was basically walking dead without him, that he was the ‘lamp of her soul’ and that they ‘shared a soul’. Transiting Mercury is the psychopomp, conjunct retrograde (underworld) Venus and Black Moon Lilith (the void/anti-Moon). So much there offering her the door. “Alright, my daughter, you’ve had more than enough.”

It is not personal, human foibles (sorry, media) that ultimately defines how a great artist will be remembered, but their legacy. Jupiter also sired the nine Heavenly Muses, when he slept with the Titan Mnemosyne (‘of Memory’).
I think Sinéad, Jupiter’s daughter, whom Christy Moore once referred to as ‘one of our [Ireland’s] sons,’ and a catholic priest asked she sign his copy of her book ‘because she is a prophet’, was blessed by at least several of them. ~rb

February 2, 2023April 5, 2024

Lonely at the Top – Sun or planets in the 10th House

‘Most Young Kings Get Their Heads Cut Off’ Jean-Michel Basquiat

Do you have a tenth house Sun placement? How about other planets?
How does this express itself for you?

If a person has a goal and is determined to achieve it, a 10th house placement can work well for them…but if they don’t, they may feel they haven’t achieved enough or have, consciously or not, set standards for themselves they can’t possibly live up to. They may imagine a harder landing, should they fail or fall from grace. This is, after all, the house allotted to Capricorn and its Saturn rulership, traditionally the house of the ‘father,’ and in olden times, ‘the king’. [Some see it in reverse, that it’s the house of the ‘mother’ and the 4th (Moon/Cancer) is the father, although I haven’t personally found this to work as well. Let’s call it even and say this is the polarity of the parents, either of which can be dominant in our psyche.]

The cusp of the 10th, the midheaven, is where we find ourselves looking down from the top of the mountain peak at what we’ve experienced up to this point (often at mid-life) and either saying, ‘wow, I’ve been through a lot, learned a lot, made a lot of money or become a better/more mature person as a result’, or, ‘I’ve done all this stuff, had all these different careers that haven’t amounted to anything and life ain’t getting any shorter,’ depending on whether the cup is seen as half full or half empty. Even the term ‘a-mounted to’ is very Capricorn mountain goat language!

Visconti-Sforza Tarot Wheel of Fortune/Rota Fortunae

But the tenth house has another secret. In Tarot, 10 is the Wheel of Fortune, which is based on the zodiac wheel. We see one character going up, another sitting pretty at the midheaven, another going down, and another at the bottom, at all the angles. A metaphor for life’s ups and downs, successes and failures, but also of time cycles and of the houses themselves, which are angular, succedent, or cadent. In the Tarot card above, the figures are saying, “I reign, I reigned, my reign is finished, I shall reign.”

The angular houses are strongest, cadent (fallen away from the angular placement) are weakest, and succedent (next in line to the angular position) enjoy the hope of success/succession. [This is perhaps easiest to comprehend when using the equal house system, which evenly divides the wheel into 12 pie slices, one for each sign, beginning with one’s rising sign/degree, but personally I don’t use equal house.]
Technically speaking, the house moves into the position of the house that was formerly in that position, not the sign or planets, i.e., transiting Mars will be in Gemini at a certain degree all day, but in a different house every hour. The houses, though paired with particular signs/planets and spoken of as a conglomerate, are actually separate entities.

The 11th house of ‘hopes, dreams, wishes, groups’ (allotted to Aquarius/Saturn and Uranus) is where we can perhaps look for help with our 10th house issues. You will notice the succedent houses are all ‘fixed’ sign placements. Thus they have a certain steadfastness, while the angular (cardinal), though strongest in terms of influence, have that built in ‘fear of falling’, just like anyone in a position of power might. Caution: some viziers make better allies than others.

And although cadent (mutable) houses tend to be shoved aside, as if nothing much happens herein, there can be a certain freedom from expectation in these houses that may also be utilized (true, Virgo seems the exception, but will often find freedom in under-the-radar, detailed tasks such as organizing files). The 0 in 10 is, after all, associated with the Fool, who creates his path as he goes along, unattached to outcome. He was the only medieval court member who could openly roast the king, thus reminding the monarch we all fall down, and 10th house achievers that the journey is really what it’s all about, ‘on arrive jamais‘. Sagittarius is allotted to 9th house as jester, highest card in the deck, with none of the responsibilities of a king, yet somehow lucky enough to have Jupiter as its ruler. Hmm. Faith?
Caution: Some fools may be a tad nihilistic and reckless.

Further proof of this ‘power of three’ lies in the fact that every grand trine is composed of an angular, succedent and cadent house of the same element. Being ‘all for one and one for all’, grand trine energy can flow so easily and fast as to not even notice it’s happening.

So if your Sun or other lofty 10th house planets are feeling alone at the top or afraid of falling, look to either side of them, at your 11th (succedent/fixed) house vizier and 9th (cadent/mutable) house fool for a different perspective from planets therein or friends/people with their sun in these signs, who can ‘act as’ planets. Keep in mind that the 10th house planet/sign is still the one ultimately in charge and can make things happen, it just needs support, sometimes – is it being supported or sabotaged? This goes for all the angular houses, but especially the 10th.

Gemini is cadent to **Cancer**, Aquarius succedent to **Capricorn**, two angular signs.

All written content herein is ©Roxanna Bikadoroff and may not be used or reprinted anywhere without permission from me. But if you want to share it via link, that’s fine.

December 17, 2022October 26, 2023

Mars Retrogradation of Irritation

In ye olde times, astronomers noted that the sky/stars moved one direction, while the planets moved against this backdrop, in the opposite direction. (They were called ‘wanderers’). Thus, symbolically, planets came to represent individual will/drives.
So when they go into apparent, backward motion – aka retrograde – they are in effect being forced back into the collective flow of the universe. Something to keep in mind during Mars’ retrograde (since Oct 30/22, until Jan 12/23 + shadow period for another 2 months) as this planet epitomizes personal will/drive.

If you are born with any planets retrograde (most people are), you may find those planets are not as co-operative when ‘forced’ to conform, yet they do hold a special wisdom that seems to operate at a more natural pace than direct planets.

Mercury is the “god of retrogradation”, back and forth three times a year, for about three weeks+, and Pluto spends about half the year in reverse. Venus makes a star with her precise retrogrades…i.e, most of the planets are on a schedule. But Mars’ cycle, like the planet-god, can be a bit rough and unpredictable. And because Mars thrives on being adversarial, he’s especially effective when direct, i.e., going solo, against the grain, doing his own, ego independent thing and doing it fast.
In retrograde, not only is he being asked to slow down and march to a beat not emanating from his own drum, but…ever see a scorpion get ready to strike? Or a ram get ready to butt? They back up first – a sign you should get out of the way unless you are up for a battle to the death or at least a bad headache.

I think of Mercurial trickster Bugs Bunny as embodying the flow, the Wu Wei, while his continually confounded adversaries – Yosemite Sam (in particular), Marvin Martian or Elmer Fudd – as embodiments of frustrated Mars. Single-minded, angry child-men just can’t stop seeking his medicine.* (Is that why he says,”Nyeh, what’s up, Doc?”)
Backfiring is such a great, Mars retrograde word.

In Gemini (Mercury’s sign), we may feel Mars’ frustration in all areas of communication. It can feel like Mercury Rx on steroids, when things go awry. Personal will and drive aren’t able to function as we’d like and patience must be exercised. If you have a strong, natal Mars, it can be especially frustrating, like driving with the breaks on or getting red lights at every intersection.

However, Mars requires this training in order to be a good samurai, in any area of life, it is actually good for his focusing ability. (Sagittarius Mars understands this, those with this placement will often be into Martial arts or some kind of channeled discipline for their inner warrior).
Who could forget this scene from Kurosawa’s epic film, The Seven Samurai? (Both Kurosawa and Mifune were Aries, btw). Which swordsman has mastered Mars retrograde?

*Astrologer Caroline Casey said that ‘the oppressor seeks the medicine of those they oppress’, am not sure whether she was quoting another.

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February 26, 2021April 10, 2024

Moon Sign Musings

It’s a Full Moon in Virgo, trining Uranus in Taurus. The Moon holds memories and Uranus can bring up very distant ones, from past lifetimes, but also future or parallel lives, since Uranus is not bound by Saturn timelines. Taurus is romantic, loves ancestry and Virgo loves to record and categorize. So let’s gaze into the crystal, Full Moon ball for clues to each sign’s lunar history…

Moon in Aries

Moon of mythic heroes and epic, battle sagas.
Yours is an ancient soul lineage of indigenous warriors or Amazons, thus combat is in your blood and likely your mother’s.
Patrick Henry’s immortal slogan, “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” was first uttered on March 23, 1775, Aries season.
In Valhalla (Old Norse: Valhöll – “hall of the slain”), the Moon is always in Aries. Valkyries are your guardian angels.
You are nurtured by taking initiative, protecting life and being honored for your deeds.

Moon in Taurus

Crescent Moon, crescent horns of an Egyptian Bull

The Hathor Moon of milk and honey, that which the sacred cow jumped over. When people say ‘as old as the Moon’ they are talking about the Taurus Moon.
When the sensual, hoofed beauties of the first lunar calendars were painted in caves, to when the first Goddess temples were built, to the Golden Age of Egypt, you were there, worshiping and being worshiped. But your one, constant temple is nature itself.
You are nurtured by gentle breezes carrying the scent of Spring green, good food and sound sleeps.

Moon in Gemini

The Bardic Moon, the inconstant Moon of Romeo and Juliet and Courtly Love. By listening intently to the chattering of birds, you developed language, and later, writing, in order to describe the complexities of human emotion.
Like Cyrano, your words were often commissioned by enamored knights, to whom you generously offered delivery service. Your (in)famous dexterity was honed picking chastity belt locks by candlelight.
You are nurtured by your other half and by imagining things into being.

Moon in Cancer

The Moon of the Great Mother Ocean, conductor of tidal movements and the cycles of rebirth.
Also the keeper of memories, hence Mnemosyne, mother of the 9 Muses.
Yours is a matriarchal cult that precedes temples, when Lucy walked the shores of Africa, nursing Monkey Jesus. You’ve never forgotten a single one of your infinite children (or loves) and hug them all to your breast, when full.
You are nurtured when cooking soul food for your tribe and by being in sync with the colour of your moods.

Moon in Leo

The Dramatic Moon, Cybele’s Moon.
In the Mountain Lion Mother’s temple, you took part in orgiastic rituals, as her half-wild attendants beat drums and danced, while ecstatic devotees offered their self-severed testicles.
You have never forgotten such scenes of devotion, and, while you don’t expect blood offerings these days, you’d still appreciate the occasional drum roll, upon entering a room, thank you very much.
You are nurtured by the self-confidence you feel when giving and receiving creative encouragement.

Moon in Virgo

The Isis or Holy Mother Moon, Moon of witches, healers and midwives.
In the distant past, some of you were responsible for keeping records, including the cycles, names and many uses of plants, others, for libations and purification rituals. Later, in the age of ‘enlightenment’, the first group went on to study medicine, while the others chose a life of the cloth, continuing to serve the Holy Mother, under a different guise.
You still like pure food and being on both first and Latin name terms with the plants in your garden, where you are nurtured and grounded by making improvements…so your cats say.

Moon in Libra

The Manna Moon, and Moon of Temperance.
Your lineage introduced the concept of ‘fairness’ as well as the legalities around trade, marriage and other civilities, based on what was later understood as karma, or, in olde Egypt, the Weighing of Hearts.
Ever since your Greek days, you have been dividing the Gods and Goddesses of your psyche, assigning to each a chord or rhythm and trying different combinations, listening carefully for harmony and discord. You are nurtured by finding the harmonic ones, in all areas of life.

Moon in Scorpio

Hekate’s Moon, Moon of sorcery and shamanic healing.
The casting and removal of hexes is in your soul lineage.
In your own illness, you flew to the land of the dead and back, thus were selected to preside over this transition – be it by returning there, entranced, to retrieve lost souls, preparing the dead, or guiding the deceased towards rebirth.
The elite of your tribe wrote the manuals (The Tibetan and Egyptian Books, for example), while those on the ground practiced midwifery or donned the anonymous, black hood. Residual, last words of the condemned still echo, occasionally, so these days you try to focus on the rebirth part.
Nocturnal animals are your familiars and deep, healing love, your nurturing tonic.

Moon in Sagittarius

The Artemis-Diana Moon, former gypsy, nomad, traveler, with lifetimes of stories to draw from.
You are a semi-retired Sindbad who continues armchair time-traveling to communicate with yourself, in long ago and far away places.
Like Chiron, you are nurtured by nature, freedom and independence, as well as learning and seeking. “Don’t fence me in” is your motto, yet you ultimately seek that place to call home.
You forgive but you don’t forget, because why would you leave out any part your life’s novel ?

[My own lineage, Moon of my mother, both maternal grandparents, aunt and some of my cousins on her side, as well as my paternal grandfather and aunt!]

Moon in Capricorn

The Druid Moon or Pan Moon, the old, wise one, behind the scenes power mover, shaker, money maker, who knows the inner workings of the outer world and how to keep persona and personal separate.
Like your Stonehenge ancestors, you rarely, if ever, divulge your secrets, and distrust all sycophants or anyone offering a free lunch, for that matter.
Somewhere in your past, you were the scapegoat, and that fear still haunts your memory.
You are nurtured by the finer things in life and may have a dark or gallows sense of humour.

Moon in Aquarius

The cosmic crystal (frozen fire) Moon, holding all the resonance codes of creation.
In your telepathic lineage, communication is equal between all lifeforms. You may be/have been one of the extra-terrestrials advancing our technology in preparation for the Aquarian Age.
You have emotions, it’s just that you find them too heavy for communicating through time and space and one can’t bend spoons with them. Also, because electricity travels faster and is more deadly in water, you are wary of electrocuting others should your emotions get the better of you.
You are nurtured by freeing minds.

Moon in Pisces

The Mystic Moon, where imposed, grid time and other boundaries seem like drag nets.
Long ago, when the water dried up and left you in the middle of a desert, you began walking (or dancing) the mystical path, in bare feet and have never stopped.
Nurtured by that which glimmers, you understand we are living in an illusion, but most people don’t know how to and you can’t bear to watch them suffer. You are frequently late, since your clock is melting and crawling with ants, but the love you give more than makes up for it.

***

Written content copyright © Roxanna Bikadoroff and may not be reproduced in full or in part without permission.
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January 9, 2012April 5, 2024

Enter the Dragon 2012

If you can’t take the heat, don’t tickle the dragon. 
~ Scott Fahlman

January 23rd begins the Lunar Year of the Dragon (Lung). Chinese/Lunar astrology is doesn’t integrate religious or karmic concepts the way Western or Vedic astrology does. It is more about achieving balance within the present context of one’s life, and is based on the Moon, rather than the Sun.
There are five elements in Lunar astrology: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. This year, Water is the ruling element. Most eastern Dragons live in or near water and are responsible for rain, so hopefully a fortuitous beginning for the Aquarian Age.

The Dragon is the only celestial creature in the Lunar Zodiac and considered most lucky. It is the embodiment of creative energy without form (a composite being), often depicted coveting the Pearl of Wisdom. The realm of the Dragon is not one of physical matter, but of subtle essences, spirit/chi and infinite possibility.
2012 is sure to be a year of unpredictability, churning emotions and unbridled creative forces. If you are a Dragon (see dates below), this is a maximum power year for you, especially 1952 Water Dragons !

Dragon people are often admired, but not easily understood. They are called ‘eccentric’, because they insist on being entirely self-created and self-defined, but also because of the way they see/sense things – in essence. They can have strong, sometimes domineering personalities, but are very sensitive and loving underneath and are not out to harm anyone. (It would be beneath a celestial being to do so).

Dragons often make great artists, due to the enormously vivid vision they have. But the list of Dragons who have achieved super-stardom seems to be predominated by men. This may be because the Dragon is a yang creature (in ancient times, it was considered a fortunate sign for sons), so the male ego is more suited to it, but also perhaps society has traditionally been more enamored of eccentricity and individuality in men than women. Maybe the water element will favor female Dragons, water being yin.

Some wonderfully whacky Dragons:

Lewis Carroll (1832)
Sigmund Freud (1856)
Dr. Seuss (1904)
Salvador Dali (1904)
Joseph Campbell (1904)
Shirley Temple (1928)
Stanley Kubrick (1928)
Ennio Morricone (1928)
Jeanne Moreau (1928, New Year’s day)
Raquel Welch (1940)
Bruce Lee (1940)
Vitorio Storaro (1940)
John Lennon (1940)
Ringo Starr (1940)
Nancy Sinatra (1940)
Terry Gilliam (1940)
Frank Zappa (1940)
Roberto Benigni (1952)
Roseanne Barr (1952)
Isabella Rossellini (1952)
Paul Reubens aka ‘Pee Wee Herman’ (1952)
Juliette Binoche (1964)
Guillermo del Toro (1964)
Stephen Colbert (1964)

A person who has been hypnotised by a dragon should be made
to do a large number of complicated mathematical sums. 
~ Dragonology

A Few Dragon Facts…

Dragon mythology appears in just about every culture. In Europe, the Dragon was a symbol of evil, an embodiment of the Devil, to be slain by righteous heroes like Perseus, St. George or St. Michael. These legends can all be traced back to the Babylonian creation epic, wherein the hero Marduk chops the primordial Goddess, Tiamat, in two, forming Heaven and Earth.

In 1498 Emperor Sigmundson of Hungary founded the ‘Order of the Dragon,’ a monarchical, chivalric order to fight the enemies of Christianity. Vlad the Impaler’s father was a member of this order, which made him a ‘son of a dragon/dracul,’ or ‘Dracula,’ and the inspiration for Bram Stocker’s famous vampyre.

No doubt but there is none other beeste comparable to the mightie dragon in awesome power and majestie, and few so worthie of the diligent studies of wise men. 
~ Gildas Magus, Ars Draconis, 1465

In astrology, the ‘axis’ of one’s birth chart flows between two opposite points where the Moon crosses the path of the Sun’s course, called ‘Lunar Nodes’. This concept comes from Vedic astrology, although Western astrology has changed the meaning.

In simplest terms, the ‘South Node’ is called the Dragon’s Tail and in western astro, it represents past, accumulated experience, while the ‘North’ Node or Dragon’s Head represents new territory, evolution. Vedic does not see them as past and future, but rather, south node (Ketu) as feminine/receptive/spiritual and the north node (Rahu) as masculine/active/material. They must always be kept in balance or they can become malefic.

The Dragon’s head is said to be exalted in Gemini, the tail in Sagittarius.
Currently, the Lunar Nodes, which move backwards through the zodiac, are transiting Gemini and Sagittarius (tail is in Gemini and Head in Sagittarius, opposite to their exaltation).

The Milky Way is, of course, the original, celestial Dragon. Sagittarius and Gemini are the two areas where the Milky Way and the ecliptic cross – the beginning and end of the universe, as seen from Earth. The Ancient Chinese lived by the concept of ‘On Earth as it is in Heaven’ or ‘As above, so below,’ especially when it came to building structures. It’s now known that the Great Wall of China below was actually built as an earthly replication of the celestial Dragon, not for defensive purposes (though it may have served so later), but as a safe passage for travelers/traders.
The wall’s two ends are aligned with Sagittarius and Gemini.

Read about the Milky Way/Great Wall discovery here.

England will be celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee this year, as well as hosting the Olympics and World Shakespeare Festival. St. George, the Dragon-slayer, is their patron saint. Curiously, ‘Dracula’ was published the last time England had a Diamond Jubilee, in 1897.
Just some celestial food for thought.

The Lunar year starts at different times each year. Here are the actual Dragon Year dates. (Sarah Palin and Michelle Obama, for example, though born in 1964, are Rabbits).

DRAGON YEARS:
02/19/1904 to 02/03/1905 (Wood), 02/03/1916 to 01/22/1917 (Fire), 01/23/1928 to 02/09/1929 (Earth), 02/08/1940 to 01/26/1941 (Metal), 01/27/1952 to 02/13/1953 (Water), 02/13/1964 to 02/01/1965 (Wood), 01/31/1976 to 02/17/1977 (Fire), 02/17/1988 to 02/05/1989 (Earth), 02/05/2000 to 01/23/2001 (Metal), 01/23/2012 to 02/09/2013 (Water), 02/10/24 to 01/28/25 (Wood).

All written content except for quotations and Dragon year list is ©Roxanna Bikadoroff and may not be re-used without permission. (Please note I am a Dragon). Feel free to share via link, however. Thank you.