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Astrology of Now: “Weaponised Data”

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Last night Channel 4 news ran a piece in which the head of the data collection company Cambridge Analytica, one Alexander Nix, offered an entrapment and disinformation service to a journalist posing as a Sri Lankan politician. Cambridge Analytica worked on Donald Trump’s election and the Brexit campaign and was funded by billionaire Ayn Rand enthusiast Robert Mercer. This came a few days after the exposé in The Observer and New York Times of the massive data harvesting on Facebook undertaken by Cambridge Analytica and used to create microtargetted propaganda. To paraphrase whistleblower Christopher Wylie, the data was used to create […]

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Aries Season: A New Type Of Courage

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The Sun enters Aries on March 20th (12:15 PM EDT) and another Spring Equinox begins. The hours of daylight and darkness are equal, and after today the balance tips towards longer days. This is the celebration of light and new life. 

Warrior-sign Aries is impulsive, passionate and raw. What’s expressed is not planned , it just comes out instinctively. Ruled by Mars, this is aggressive energy that increases initiative and impatience. Get moving, and work things out as you go. 

Mercury Rx

The Spring Equinox is usually an ideal time to start something new or do some spring cleaning (on a physical or emotional level). And this year, a few hours before the Sun enters Aries, we have an intriguing Mercury/Venus conjunction in Aries. So this Equinox is marked by beautiful/desirable (Venus) information (Mercury). Could be a flirty intro or a hot business/lifestyle idea. There was a previous Mercury/Venus conjunction (along with Wounded Healer Chiron) in Pisces on March 4th, so there could be a connection – the March 4th conjunction may have featured a mix of pain and loving words, or a beautiful/compassionate picture of what might be. The themes were release and undefined magic.

Now, as Mercury and Venus unite again, the fantasy, release or healing has led to a happy (Venus) new potential that sounds (Mercury) tempting or uplifting. And, it’s powered by this major seasonal shift. 

But. Mercury stations Rx on March 22nd, at the degree of its conjunction to Venus. Seems a bit unfair – you’re just out of the gate and already you have to backtrack, second-guess or deal with someone changing their tune. Well, life is rarely a straight shot. This fresh start is still valid, you’ll just have to slow down and examine the raw potential more closely – instinct tempered with thoughtfulness. 

Chiron

A major part of this Aries season is Chiron’s ingress, on April 17th. In a previous post, I described this transit as:

“...fighting for what’s essential, even if it hurts, and even if it puts you on the outside (you’ll actually be ahead of the curve – Aries is the sign of the pioneer). Chiron in Aries can stick out like the proverbial sore thumb, and you may be confronted with situations where you’re lacking courage and initiative. And that’s exactly what you’ll need to access. Note that Chiron does not deny you courage and initiative, he only urges you to deal with your insecurities about these things. You may have to step forward when you really don’t want to.” 

The Sun will conjoin Uranus (exact on April 18th) suggesting this new approach to wounds and healing (or new type of wound) will involve a shock, or sudden break for freedom. So this equinox’s beginnings may demand that you find a new type of courage to confront your own vulnerabilities. 

Here are the aspects the Aries Sun will make: 

  • Mar 24th: square Mars (3 deg Capricorn)
  • Mar 25th: trine Ceres (4 deg Leo)
  • Mar 29th: square Saturn (8 deg Capricorn)
  • Mar 31st: Full Moon (10 deg Libra)
  • Apr 1st: conjunct Mercury Rx (11 deg)
  • Apr 2nd: trine the North Node (13 deg)
  • Apr 6th: square Black Moon Lilith (16 deg Capricorn)
  • Apr 11th: square Pluto (21 deg Capricorn)
  • Apr 11th: inconjunct Jupiter Rx (21 deg Scorpio)
  • Apr 15th: New Moon (26 deg Aries)
  • Apr 18th: conjunct Uranus (28 deg)
  • Apr 19th: Taurus ingress

Notable aspects:

  • March 29th, square Saturn: limits can make you feel stuck as the impulse is blocked. But Saturn’s enforced focus can also help you channel that energy in a productive direction. Initiative (Aries) plus discipline (Saturn) equals eventual success. 
  • April 1st, conjunct Mercury: an inferior conjunction which is also the midpoint of Mercury’s retrograde. At this point, the delays/reviews should reveal an answer. 
  • April 11th, square Pluto: power and ego are driven by subconscious fears of losing that power. Aries can make everything seem like a fight, and when you add a tense square to Pluto, there’s a crisis between established power/the big guns versus the agitator/upstart. Whether you’re exercising power or being challenged by it, know that attempts to dominate will be about much more than what you see on the surface. Ask yourself what this struggle is really about. 

 

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