At the Lodge - 28th February 2005

Lodge Lecture | Class | Charts Discussion

Lodge Lecture

Steve Judd joined us this evening to present his lecture "Transforming the Apocalypse - the Astrology of Eschatology". A spectacular title, which, needs a little explanation. The definitions of Apocalypse and Eschatology are easily confused and Steve began by explaining the subtle differences between the two.
Apocalypse comes from the Greek and means to reveal and usually refers to the manner or style of what ever is being described.

Eschatology refers to the study of the end of history as we know it, possibly to the end of time. It comes from the Greek word meaning last combined with Logos, meaning word or wisdom, refers to the study of the end of things.

It follows that a text can be apocalyptic but not eschatological or eschatological but not apocalyptic; or it could be both as in the Book of Revelation.
Once he had defined his terms Steve asked us to consider if there had been any moments during the 20th Century which we might consider as fitting this description. Thankfully there were few: the later part of the first world war, characterised by the mass slaughter in the trenches, on the beaches of Gallipoli and the civilian crisis of the Spanish Flu epidemic, and the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the world held its breath as the USA and the Soviet Union played chicken across the Caribbean. There were other moments, such as Hiroshima, which while undoubtedly marking historical milestones, didn't have the potential for escalating out of control.

The major planetary cycles across the century were then examined. The first world war began with a Saturn Pluto conjunction and there was also a Saturn Neptune conjunction in 1917, coinciding with the Russian Revolution. Steve showed specific charts from the turning points of these cycles, picking moments when the faster moving planets manoeuvred to heighten the tension. The next chart was in 1941, the year of the siege of Stalingrad, and of Pearl Harbour and the entry of the USA into World War II. We also looked at the unfolding cycles through the 60's, the 80's and then looked forward to the future.

The 60's saw the conjunction of Uranus and Pluto and their energy was reflected in the nature of those times. The outgoing square of these two outer planets will be coming up in about 4 to 5 years and will be in orb through to around 2014. Much has been written about 2012 and the fact that it coincides with the end of the Mayan calendar but Steve directed our attention to 2010 as a much more likely period of tension. Following soon after the entry of Pluto into Capricorn, there will be a T-square with Uranus in the early degrees of Aries and Saturn in the early degrees of Libra indicating very clearly a tense time for the world.

Steve then reassured us that he is optimistic for the future and is looking forward to seeing the world in a rejuvenated state in his later years. While major changes will have to be made in order for us to have a sustainable future, and the fact that the world is currently polluted and over populated cannot be denied. The increased in psychic experiences and environmental concerns in recent years are well documented. The way to the future may not be as straightforward as we think but Steve is firmly convinced that we will have one; it's the way there that isn't clear.

Claire Chandler

Class

This week Richard Swatton took us into the realm of practical advice to be given to clients on their transiting planets. He said they will need that advice on either an inner or an outer level. You often couldn't tell till they walked through the door and you read the body language. For instance in a Saturn transit they are going to appear loaded down. Of course the inner affects the outer and vice versa

Richard then went on to explain the meaning and the transit through the felt experience on inner and outer levels. Then on the physical level. Finally he explained what to do, i.e. what level of advice you should stretch to, There were two ideas of healing, either by going in the opposite direction, or to go with the experience. In other words for instance in the case of a Saturn transit 'Life's tough - you just have to get on with it' .

He also looked at Neptune transits. It is a releasing planet and a transit could mean a letting go. Then there was Pluto, which would create the need to 'get rid of stuff' , whether it was fasting and dittoing the body or clearing out your home etc. Life just has to transform.

Next week is the last in the series.

Carole West

Charts Discussion

Hot off the press and faster than the speed of light. Firstly we did the chart of Clint Eastwood who had just won a fistfull of Oscars at the Academy awards. Pluto transiting his Jupiter would certainly be impacting his chart now and Mars will be stationing on his Mercury this year. Quite a year for this legend.

We then looked at the chart of the evening to see if we could see the winners symbolised in the chart.

We also took a look a the chart of Martin Scorsese to see why he lost. It was predicted he may take a year off, to reflect and decide his next move.

We then looked at the chart of Cate Blanchett, who was the first Oscar winner to win the award playing a previous Oscar winner Katherine Hepburn.

Finally we looked at the astronomical March skies. Mercury will be visible very low in the western skies and Venus will have her superior conjunction at the end of the month and become the evening star. We also looked at the constellations and discussed how we can find them in the night sky.

See you next week

Gill Dorren

Lodge Lecture | Class | Charts Discussion