At the Lodge - 12th June 2006

Lodge Lecture | Class | Charts Discussion

Lodge Lecture

It was a great pleasure to welcome Marcia Starck, from the USA, to the Lodge for the first time. She has written a column on Earth Medicine for years in the Mountain Astrologer, and is the author of ten books.

Her talk took in all the signs to look for in a chart for Dis-ease. There could be many things that create the disease toxins, overdoing things, mind psyche, karmic or sidereal and astral influences. The body is a temple and so one would have to look for planets which prevent and those that can cause trouble. For example Saturn and the and sign it is in. Also the Nodes.

Transists are what will set things off. So for instance a Saturn transit can affect bones, so the person may need to take more calcium. Transists bring out weaknesses so it is all about balancing.

One can also use medical Astrology as a diognotic tool and elect charts for surgery. If there is a lack of earth in the chart this can be hard to keep the body healthy. Saturn in Gemini can create weak lungs (I know that one) . A Uranus transit can cause dizziness and a higher nervous system, so it may suggest a need for extra magnesium.

Things may not materialise until the appropriate transit. Childhood traumas may replay. Chiron conjunct Sun or Moon are generally healers.

Marcia obviously has had years of experience in this field and the talk was very informative.

Class

This week was the second and last of the Classes with Frank Clifford on Palmistry. We looked at what stood out in the palm - the fingers and the finger prints. We then all opened our hands, palm upwards to assess the positioning of the fingers (which can change daily according to mood and how we confident we feel about ourselves). Outward facing thumbs indicated that the person wants to impress. There is a sense of openness. They can't say 'No'. So it is in reverse. A closed thumb can indicate people who do not want to impress, who may be secretive or deceptive. The Jupiter finger is the one we use to get our point across. `

The Saturn finger close to the Venus finger showed a great sense of responsibility, they put others first. This can also be associated with the feeling of guilt. Could have been looking after sick relatives. Overshadowed by responsibility. If they apart it shows the reverse - the person is determined to move away from the needs of family. They need their own space.

The little finger can also show a need for your own space and time away from a relationship. Closed hands - want control.

He then went on to go through what wearing rings on certain fingers show. This was very interesting. For instance a ring on the thumb show someone really willful and stubborn 'I am who I am' . The Index finger ring showed the person wants to be in control. And the middle finger ring showed that the person accepted responsibility. All of these samples showed that the right hand was the outside world and the left hand was family.

He finished up by looking at the major lines. A great deal to squeeze into 50 minutes. It was great. Frank has written a great book on the subject. 'Palmistry4today' .

Carole West

Charts Discussion

We started by looking at the current conditions. We have a great focus of
energy around 7 - 10 of the fixed signs with Mars approaching its
conjunction with Saturn in Leo, Chiron in Aquarius and Jupiter in Scorpio
forming a transiting T-Square. Within this we have Mars conjunct Saturn,
Jupiter square Saturn and Neptune in Aquarius square Venus in Taurus
slightly further on.

This is the outgoing square from the conjunction in 2000 in Taurus. Jupiter
Saturn squares take place in the same element for around 240 years and this
is the last one in earth signs. The earth conjunctions started at around
the time that the Industrial Revolution really took hold - the beginning of
the 19th Century - and can easily be linked with an increase in practical
application of ideas, mastery of physical resources and increase in
dependence on natural resources. We're currently in the hand-over period.
The last but one Jupiter Saturn conjunction was in Libra in 1980 and the
next will be in Aquarius in 2020 which will be the start of 240 years of
conjunctions in air signs.

You can see this as a movement from physical and material emphasis to one
centering around ideas and communication. A post industrial society you
might say. However, that the last earth conjunction being in Taurus and
that it happened at the same time as a pile up of planets in Taurus in May
2000 could reflect the need for our modern society to remember that it
lives in a material world and has to abide by material consequences. The
dot com bubble burst within weeks of the conjunction. That is certainly a
sign that we need to pay attention to the real value of something (earth)
rather than the perceived value that we choose to believe it's worth (air).
The conjunction was at 22 Taurus. Looking at the retrograde motion of Mars
last year you can see that it stationed retrograde at 23 Taurus and
stationed direct at 8 Taurus. The first square between Jupiter and Saturn
last December was at 8 Scorpio/Leo and the second will be at 10
Scorpio/Leo. You can see where these two cycles seem to converge. We know that the Mars Saturn conjunction will perfect right on the ascendant of George W Bush so his impromptu visit to Iraq might be a bit cavalier. The UK Mars is at 11 Taurus which is not so far off.

We tested our new software by checking for Paul McCartney who turned out to
have several points in fixed signs which were being set off by the
transiting T-square and also Neptune exactly conjunct his descendant. His
Moon (Leo) Venus (Taurus) square is being activated by the T-Square and we
wondered how this reflected in the chart of Linda McCartney and Heather
Mills McCartney - we didn't have the chart for Heather.
Linda has a Moon Venus conjunction square to Paul's Moon and opposite his
Venus. Although this might not be a text book configuration we thought it
may echo his own natal placement. Linda has other very supportive contacts
which would explain their long and successful marriage.

To finish we looked at the kick-off time for the England v Trinidad and
Tobago match: 17.00 BST 15th June 2006, Nuremburg, Germany. To do a contest
chart you can either take the home team or the favourite as the ascendant.
In this case they both come out as England. This gives Aries rising so we
are signified by Mars which is closely applying to conjunct Saturn,
opposite Chiron and the Moon and square Jupiter. This is not a comfortable
position. There is considerable tension and little essential dignity.
Trinidad are signified by Venus in Taurus conjunct the descendant which is
a very strong position. There is both essential and accidental dignity.
Our prediction was 0 - 0 with many injuries to the feet and lower part of
the leg for England. We hope we're wrong.

Claire Chandler

Lodge Lecture | Class | Charts Discussion