Pluto's Night

Last night, as I lay in the dark
trying to sleep
I listened to the June winds ripping
around the house, pushing against the bedroom windows
as if they were looking for entrance.
I listened to them
Not thinking of the fierce beauty
of these warm winds;
But instead hearing in them
the voiceless pain of the world
Whipping around the house
Reminding me
Of all the cruel and indifferent ways
we humans have
of inflicting pain.

It was if I could hear the voices
of all those long dead,
and the cries of those in pain, alone.
And through the cracks
they came in at me, rushing—
those winds I so skillfully
shield myself from.

And then, as if to protect myself
I placed my hand upon my head,
and stroked my brow
Envisioning a holy light—
soothing myself from
the harsh winds of despair.
Till I fell asleep
and began to sense
an unwelcome presence
next to me, behind my curved back
something not wishing me well, hovering there…

And then from deep within
some cavernous well of sleep
where I could drown
or be pulled back under—
I felt a choice arising—
A powerful plea for life
Up swelling from some place
of unknown reserve…
And up came a scream—
Blowing away the apparition and
the evil intents, loveless pain,
and careless indifference
of the world.

And then I rested,
Peaceful in the strength of
That holy gust—
so strong and wild;
that breath of life—
that woke me up
while the night winds blew.

E. Spring June, 2008

South Node 6th House (Virgo), North Node 12th House (Pisces)

South Node 6th House (Virgo), North Node 12th House (Pisces)

The karmic pull of the South Node in the 6th house, will be one of the past life pulling towards a focus on the mind rather than the heart. The default tendency here will be about thinking rather than feeling, working rather than playing, honoring logic more than intuition. The evolutionary pull towards the 12th house, which is ruled by Pisces, will be to balance and correct that tendency with a more imaginative and universal type of thinking in which the goal is to create more compassion in our lives by loving ourselves and others more. No easy task!

This placement is not an easy one because the 12th house is the area that rules the unconscious; the deep psyche, and is not easily accessible. We approach 12th house activities with our hearts, with the arts, with feelings, and obliquely through dreams and divination. Issues around trust and faith develop, along with a tendency to over-analyze things in an effort to “get it.” However ‘getting it” for this placement is often just a softening and an acceptance of the process of living and loving.

Sixth house activities have to do with focusing, discipline, and learning skills to be of use in the world. We mentor others, and are mentored in the 6th, and we are taught skillful ways to live in our bodies and in the world. A South Node placement here wants to move beyond the strict attention to the skills and particulars of a situation and move into the feeling and spirit of the overall picture. This is a Nodal movement away from the particular and detailed attention that the 6th house requires, to the spiritual, meaning-making, and only partially “conscious” quality of the 12th house.

We move in our lives towards finding and redefining our life direction and soul purpose by following our North Node inclinations. With a North Node in the 12th house we are wise to look beneath the surfaces of life to the subtle energetic realms and the realms of the heart as expressed in music, art, poetry and painting.

We can also use this placement very well by being of service to others—especially those who are confined or limited in any way. When life is limited, we are then more open to other realms of experience and meaning-making and we look outside the lines and boundaries of our more mundane lives. This is the high road for North Node 12th house folks---a fascinating journey into the worlds where not everything is obvious or as it appears to be. It’s a world where limitations can be a profound gift. In the 12th house, what is unconscious is begging for conscious understanding and acceptance. Jungian psychology and counseling benefits those with this placement. © Elizabeth Spring http://www.elizabethspring.com/

South Node Fifth House (Leo), North Node Eleventh House (Aquarius)

With the South Node in the Fifth House, the default pattern or the past life pattern of the Soul is concentrated on its own self-expression, risk-taking, and whatever brings it joy---including just plain fun. Nothing wrong with that, except that the Soul now desires to move from the excesses and bad judgment of the past, and toward the North Node in the Eleventh House. This is the area of life that calls us to work with and to connect with other people in finding our true path in order to fulfill our hopes and dreams. We are not a solo agent anymore; we are meant to interact with others in those things that are most important to us. Personal risk taking now gives way to considering what is of greatest good to the whole….and consensus decision-making.

Ask yourself: who is in my community, my “tribe,” my network? Who or what do I care about and how can I connect more with them? The computer is an excellent 11th house tool, so finding one’s tribe and networking with kindred spirits is made easier through using the web. We know longer have the excuse of isolation due to physical restrictions, both geographically and personal. We can find our 11th house soul-friends, and choose to join forces with them to play, to work, and to deeply connect.

A fifth house South Node is related to the sign Leo, and when we read a South Node we read the negative aspect of whatever sign it rules. So here, we can see too much self-preoccupation, narcissism, and great creativity--but the energy is flowing backwards and inward to the self rather than outward to benefit humanity. In the fifth house we find all the children or fruit of our self-expression, and ideally an open and generous heart. However, we are reminded here with this South Node that we need to expand all the forms and “children of our creativity” to encompass a greater world.

The North and South Node represent an axis, and when we have this axis we have both the high and low expressions in each, and we are capable of accessing both. So, although we know that the selfish 5th house patterns need to be released, we also know that there is great gold in this shadow placement as well. The fifth house holds great generosity of spirit and the willingness to risk overflowing this great creative generosity onto others. So as we reach for the more objective group expression of this generosity, in the eleventh house/Aquarian North Node, we also hold onto the wonderful playfulness and fertility of the fifth house South Node. As Jung always said---“Remember there’s gold in the shadow.” Tap into both sides of this nodal placement, and give your gifts to the world.

Elizabeth Spring http://www.elizabethspring.com/

South Node Fourth House (Cancer) North Node Tenth House (Capricorn)

South Node Fourth House (Cancer)

North Node Tenth House (Capricorn)

In this placement the Soul is moving from

a process-oriented emotional enmeshment in the family and group to a goal-oriented position of

being out in the world. The South Node here

can succumb to moodiness and a dependence on

on others when in its default pattern. Because

the South Node represents where we've come from earlier in this life and perhaps in our former life

it hints at the unfinished business left over and

the qualities and habits we should leave behind.

Moving towards our North Node in the Tenth House, and/or Capricorn, means we are called to follow a grounded plan of conscious action and discipline to achieve our goals. No longer will we be bound by our emotions or co-dependent relationships, but rather we are headed out of the deep Cancerian waters of our family of origin and into creating a place and name for ourself in the world.

People with this placement are often more loved than they realize. It's important for them to make it a point to find ways to to lightly and creatively express themselves, as well as making time to keep company with good friends. They may find themselves given the opportunity to succeed in the world in surprising ways. ~elizabeth For more information on the Nodes : www.elizabethspring.com

South Node 3rd House, North Node 9th House

South Node Third House, North Node Ninth House

The South Node always represents what we are most comfortable with, as well as our default patterns in life, and our habits that we fall back into when we don’t bring consciousness into what we are doing. The North Node, by contrast, is the direction our Soul longs to go towards in this life, and its qualities are like a guiding North Star when we have our North Node here.

South Node in the Third House can suggest unresolved karmic issues with brothers and sisters and situations from our early childhood. It also suggests that communication in all its forms is especially significant for us, and when used well, it hints that we bring with us an understanding—a savvy-- of how to get along in the “market place” or in the immediate world around us. We’ve got street smarts, and we’re curious, and want to know “what’s happening.” When not used well, a South Node here can be flighty or fearful of going too far or too deep. As the third house relates to the sign of Gemini, we could say that any of the negative characteristics of Gemini would apply here---especially the puer or puella complex, which is also known as the Peter Pan Syndrome; hinting that a part of us is reluctant to take on the role of growing up and expanding our world beyond the familiar.

The call of the Ninth House, which is ruled by Sagittarius, is a North Node call to expand outside the comfort levels of our community, our town, and our old ways of seeing things. It’s a call to expand, and to find a true spiritual rudder for our Soul’s journey through this life. A North Node placement here is always colored by whatever sign the Node is in, but it still carries the message of adventure---asking us to read, travel, and to dare to try to understand in a deeper way than ever before. This house is the house of the higher mind, and it wants to be nourished by contact with anything that inspires and stimulates us to find “meaning.” As it is the house of meaning-making, it is also the realm of spirituality, religion, and philosophy.

The 3rd and 9th houses have a lot of resonance with teaching, speaking, writing, telling our story, and movement through time and space. We are called here to see life as a grand Quest, and then to tell the story of our journey—to communicate what we know and what we’ve learned. Not so bad!

~elizabeth spring (c) 2008 www.elizabethspring.com

*Photo: exotic spices in Southern France--I took this photo, and the trip, with a person whose Nodes fall across the 3rd to 9th house axis. The effort to expand his world turned out to be a pleasurable experience for both of us.

South Node Second House, North Node Eighth House

South Node Second House,

North Node Eighth House

The South Node represents what we’ve come into this life with---the gifts, the wounds, the challenges. On the most basic level, the South Node is where we are comfortable because we are familiar with the territory, and in the Second House we can be very comfortable indeed. Having the South Node ruled by Taurus and Venus, it suggests that our comfort zone is in being independently resourceful, and that our creature comforts are very important to us. Taurus, Venus, and the Second House all love security, good food and drink, loyal friends, and the type of life philosophy that is rooted in a pragmatic and sensual understanding of life. Nothing wrong with that!

That is unless you take it too far. And this is the case if it’s your South Node in the Second House. The South Node always represents the area that we didn’t get quite right in a former life, or earlier in this one, so we are called to release these habits and traits. This Nodal combination speaks to the need to move away from the dependence, security, and comfort needs of this house and move towards the willingness to risk one’s present level of security for a deeper, truer level of security and integrity.

The Eighth House, whose astrological synonyms are Scorpio and Pluto, are about the willingness to die and be reborn like the phoenix if necessary in order to live a life of integrity. No false security or living in the world of denial for North Node Eighth House people!

The North Node in the eighth house, the house of Scorpio, calls us to find the emotional bottom line in all we do. It calls us to move beyond comfort, security, and even the simpler pleasures of life, and to look into the eyes of the bully to find the frightened unloved child there. It calls us to Truth and to new experience. It calls us to reach for the understanding of another’s point of view, other than our own, and the willingness to intimately and dynamically become related with that “Other.” It asks us to understand the highest level of inter-dependence, rather than dependence or independence.

And that is really a powerful place to be in! Here is where we can truly know the meaning of loyalty and trust. A North Node in this Eighth house is quite a gift if we can harmonize the qualities of our Second House into this, providing stability as well as ambition, integrity as well as intimacy. © Elizabeth Spring www.elizabethspring.com

The Gift of Pluto; Finding the Power in Your Pain

Astrological Pluto, ‘God of the Underworld’—
Finding the Power in your Pain

Pluto—ruthless planet of change or master teacher? Could the place of your deepest wounds also be the gateway to your power and sense of meaningfulness? Yes! Pluto, the astrological ‘god of the underworld’ seeks to find the meaning and purpose of our lives, but it does so with such an uncontrollable intensity that we want to bury or hide its experience.
Where you find Pluto in your birth chart is where you’ve had experiences of shame, sacrifice or loss—yet it’s there that Pluto dares us to look deeper into the opportunities disguised as loss, and to find our hard-earned wisdom there. It calls us to learn from our darkest experiences, and by understanding it, we transform that pain into power. No easy task! But this master teacher of the zodiac is also the greatest gift giver.
So how do you find where Pluto is in your birth chart? If you’ve ever had your astrology chart done, and can find a copy of it, this article will tell you how to find what area, or ‘house’ Pluto is in your life. This is the area where you have a distorting wound and also a high calling; a destiny. Like the abused child who grows up to become a loving parent, and maybe a ‘child-advocate’ instead of an abuser, you too can turn the pain in your past into compassion and power.
If you’re looking at your chart now, look to find the glyph that looks like the capital letter P with an extra little bottom line under it, or a tiny circle encased in a half circle on top of a cross. (Astrologers use one or the other to signify Pluto.) It will be in one of the 12 sections of the chart’s circle and will have a number next to it. Don’t worry about the numbers—you can ask your astrologer to explain the sign and aspects of Pluto, but for now we’re just going to locate it.
Your chart is a circle that is divided into 12 sections. Each section represents a different sphere of your life and Pluto is hiding in one of those sections. Now if you will imagine your chart to be a clock, put your pen at the section of the circle that would be the hour between 8:00 and 9:00. This is the section called the “first house.” The second house is in the next section, going counter-clockwise—between the hours of 7:00 and 8:00. Now write in the numbers of each section from 1 to 12 going counter-clock-wise in your circle and note where your Pluto is…it’s like a map, and you’ve just found the buried treasure!
Here’s a short translation of what Pluto in each area, or ‘house’ represents:

1st House: Pluto here shows you have charisma and the ability to be a leader, and a healer as well—that is, if you are willing to come out of hiding and dare to tell the whole Truth. Having once been shamed for your truth telling (‘Uncle Joe, why are you so fat?’) you now need to temper your honesty with compassion and tact, and to face your own cynicism and anger. Helping others find ways to deeply express the truth of their lives would be rewarding for you.

2nd House: You build self-confidence from using your many resources and talents. As you move away from scarcity consciousness and give money less power in your life, you understand what is your true wealth and value. Having once been shamed and blamed for your ways of handling your resources and money, you may wish to prove yourself capable, again and again.

3rd House: Misunderstandings and miscommunications may have you seeing thorns and missing the roses in your life. Your attitude or voice may conceal old angers…yet if you turn it around and let your keen perceptions and ability to communicate well (when you want to) you can tell a powerful story and reclaim your voice. Be a teacher and truth-sayer.

4th House: As you choose to build deep bondedness and connections with others you build a strong emotional foundation for your life. There may have been something unsettling in your early home life which is now buried deep in your subconscious. You heal that by learning ‘interdependence’ with others. Also, spend time nurturing children, animals, a garden…be lovingly in control of your home and let your roots grow deep and rich.

5th House: Your spontaneous fun-loving child-self was told to “keep a lid on it” and now its hard to find a balance between the urges of pleasure and creativity and the need to do your work. Take the time to uncover the creative playful side of yourself again and master the skills necessary to bring it out into the world. Let your work be your pleasure. Dare to be dramatic at times.

6th House: The delicate balance between responsibility for yourself vs responsibility towards others is off. Having been either over or under-protected when young, you weren’t taught some life skills (or given extra advantages) and later felt ashamed. Now you have the chance to build your skills and competency and can give your gift to the world through the work or service you do.

7th House: Too much self-protection prevents trust from developing in relationships. Avoid power struggles and create relationships based on equality. Sometime earlier in your life you may have had to deal with hidden agendas, manipulation and hurt with too much “truth.” Now it’s time for true intimacy, and less interpersonal drama.

8th House: Having had to experience some of the darker sides of life alone, you now have the ability to sit with strong emotions in yourself and with others, making you a gifted counselor, healer, or trusting friend. Don’t allow obsessions around sexuality, trust, and shared resources to limit your ability to be intimate. By not isolating yourself and using your healing gifts, you can be of great help to others in times of crisis.

9th House: Instead of adopting doubt and cynicism as your religion, make a point to travel, read, and educate yourself towards new ways of thinking. As you stretch the boundaries of your world you move beyond the religious hypocrisy you once experienced. Now its time to see your life as a spiritual quest and grand adventure.

10th House: Limitation and impossibility may have been conveyed to you growing up and your ambition may not have been properly supported. Fear of failure must be recognized as now you can dare to ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’! Work on developing a strong career and getting paid/appreciated for your true value. Take a leadership role, and dare to be a force for good in the world.

11th house: Somewhere in your past you may have lost yourself in friendships and in dealing with odd groups of people—now it’s time to find what your really believe in and find others who feel the same. In these new groups and friendships you’ll have the ability to be the truth-sayer and heal the group experience. You can greatly inspire others, so don’t waste time with the wrong crowd.

12th House: When you’ve felt overwhelmed and burnt-out by the pain and suffering you’ve seen, you may have shut down or numbed out so as not to feel it. Yet by compassionately opening your heart to others now you heal yourself as well as them. You have the ability to touch people’s lives in an intimate inspiring way—don’t neglect your gifts for the sake of false comfort.

Elizabeth Spring MA has a degree in counseling psychology with an emphasis in Jungian psychology. She has been a professional astrologer since 1992 and has studied astrology and the work of Carl Jung in England, Switzerland and California. She has written numerous articles for newspapers and magazines which can be read on-line, and does astrology readings in person and by phone. To read other articles or inquire go to her web site at: www.elizabethspring.com or email: elizabethspring@aol.com

South Node First House, North Node Seventh House

First House South Node, Seventh House North Node

The first house is all about YOU—your personality, your way of seeing the world, the way the world sees you, and the nuts and bolts and nuances of how you would describe yourself, and how others would describe you. The first house always correlates with Aries and it ruled by the planet Mars. With the South Node here it describes a pattern you probably followed early in life, and what you didn’t get right in your last life. By the time of the first Saturn Return at approximately 29 years old you are ready to truly move beyond this and come into your own as an adult reaching towards the heights of your North Node in Libra. The Nodes are always opposite each other, so if you know one you house placement you know the other is 180 degrees away.

South Node in the first house is about the independent Aries-like hero/heroine who is on a quest to know itself and to move assertively into the world. Some people liken the Aries archetype to the warrior—the spiritual warrior or the hero in the story that begins: “Once upon a time there was a …….” Now fill in your story! Besides suggesting this hero/warrior myth, it also can be played out as the martyr, the one who sacrifices Self, or the Wanderer, the one who flees from Self, or the Magician, the one who transforms the Self.

When we look at any of the South Nodes we read them negatively, as to the nature of the unfinished business in a previous life, and what were the habits and mind-set that was needed to be finished or improved upon. Otherwise we would not be taking an incarnation at all. So, we look to the lack of Selfhood here with this placement, or an exaggerated sense of independence or excessive fear or worry. Perhaps all. This doesn’t mean that some courage and wonderful assertive action and thought wasn’t accomplished, it just implies that this is the “gold in the shadow” and to get this gold you need to be aware of the underside or shadow first, and work through the leaden unfinished business before grabbing the golden fleece of Aries.

The North Node in the Seventh House, ruled by Libra and the planet Venus, speaks to the desire for harmonious and right relationship with others. It softens the Mars, and it asks that one consider the other person’s opinions and life in a full dialogue of “I and Thou.” North Node placements here encourage one on one relationships in marriage, business, counseling or advising. It also asks that we learn to accept the paradoxical nature of human relationships in which we all have the opposite qualities of light and shadow, good and bad. Accepting the humanness on oneself and others with compassion is an integral part of this placement. (c) elizabeth spring elizabethspring@aol.com http://www.elizabethspring.com/

Since this post is about Me and You; here's a picture of me last year in NYC in front of the fountains by Lincoln Plaza.

Venus Square Neptune

Venus Square Neptune

Tell me, my friend, are we not all beggars

Hungry for love, hungry for more?
Savoring our illusions, do we not
Delight in the delicious longing
of our desires…
Mistaking each other For the Source?

Though I may be a beggar
I ‘m a lover and a listener too—
Though my rhythms may be awkward
My yearning to connect
Brings me to the edge—
Where I wait—
I wait for you.

For hope is the point between us
An aphrodisiac of the Soul
When there’s nowhere to go and nothing to do
We look to where the passion lies—
And call this passion: God.

So increase this fire in my heart!
And go away—you must.
Carve out of my denseness
A hole where through
That Light can shine.

For hope is this space between us
Though some might call her faith
When ego’s pride is burned away
I’ll find your face in every face
The birth will then be mine—

So turn up the flame, my Soul’s turned in—
I’ll take no substitutes.
No false gods stand before me now
I’ve had enough of mere beliefs
To know this fire’s
In my bones.

(c) elizabeth spring Thanks to Pamela at PRRussell for her Fantasies and Earthings photo, so appopriate to this delicious spring....and appropriate too for the longing between Venus and Nepune for beauty and love. This post will end the poetry metaphor for astrological aspects for awhile...I will be moving into the Nodes in the house placements next, for those of you who have been patiently waiting! And how do you find Venus playing out with Neptune in your chart?

Venus Conjunct Pluto

Venus Conjunct Pluto

Tonight—at sunset—I went down
To the bottom of the boat.
Steel doors locking behind me
Descending into his darkness
I boarded this boat, death place of fish—
What did I hope for here?

Enclosed, trapped, dark
Nothing alive survives here—
Why must I play out these feral illusions?
This siren call—
Storm tossed and wild—
Curious—
I’d set the bait myself.
He found my note, frozen in bottom of a barrel.
Come visit, he said, and I did.

He sat me down next to the helm
Overlooking the bay,
Looming large here,
He looked hard, wounded—
A bloodied hand from too much work.
“It’s all I know” he said.

He told me how in a storm he goes slow, drifts—
Rolls with the waves, and likes it.
This I like.
Whereas I go too fast—
Too passionate, I knock myself off course
Making me homesick, seasick—
Losing myself.

Eyeing me now, he wonders why I’ve come
Some flight of fancy he thinks—
Or worse—
Some flight of desperation
I know.

“Our work is similar I say—
We set the bait and hope to catch the fish—“
I pause and smile.
“There’s a difference,” he says
“I go out and net them—
You lure them in.”
“Not true,” I lied.
He smiled through stained teeth.

The light was dimming—
A narrow pink strip of hope
Appeared along the horizon.
“Where’s Venus?” I said
Knowing she was nowhere near here.
Where were the words to hide?
How far off course I’d come….

Silence descended. He shifted in his seat
And looked full-square at me;
He spoke of how a man went down to hell
To save his woman—
“Persephone” I said, “was abducted
Into hell—“

What heroic expectations
Were getting washed out here?
And would I who had come to see—
Too curious—find myself hooked and writhing
On these dank wooden floors?

“Would you like a cookie?” he asked.
Fear.
I must get home before dark, I thought,
I must get home before dark—

(c)Elizabeth Spring