Loops in the Sky:
    when planets tarry
             Bernadette Brady M.A.          

When a planet goes retrograde, we all mutter various things under our breath and consider that what is embraced by the planet’s symbolism will be delayed or revisited.

However, in visual astrology the retrograde movement of a planet is a different matter. The planet, which is considered a vital character in the emerging sky narrative, stops, turns around and then goes back to where it has been. Such a visual phenomena was seen as the planet or deity stressing a certain part of the sky, or waiting for another to catch up with it for an exchange, or backing away from a potential conflict that it seemed to be rushing towards.

An unsigned letter from an Assyrian priest to his king, in around 660 B.C.E. wrote about Mars not turning retrograde and said [1]:

[Ma]rs has entered Cancer, but it will not
be regarded as an omen; it will not stand in
it, it will not become stationary and not tarry;
it will move out quickly.

This suggests that if a planet does “tarry”, then it is an omen and was and maybe should be considered more carefully. So let us look at where in the sky planets will linger and  “tarry” in 2008.

The places where Mercury will tarry in 2008.
Mercury is the messenger, the thief the rumour-carrier and will bring with it issues of information being received, or revealed. But also it can be used as a like a general highlight pen in the sky. Mercury tarrying amongst a set of stars was a way that those stars were emphasized, either for good or for bad, depending on the rest of the sky.  

	Mercury Loops First retrograde loop:  28 January - 19 February in the constellation of Capricorn. This constellation is the place of the law, where the establishment's power is upheld. Mercury is going to stress the entire back of the sea-goat, who was symbolic of Ea the god that comes out of the water to teach and civilize his people. He later urged his people to build an ark to escape the deluge. We could think of this as the king or the leaders being asked to show "back bone" or the ruling forces - in any country - are shown to be strong.
	Now this is an easy statement to make but an astrologer/priest, I would think, would see this as good for the "king". Second retrograde loop 26 May to 19 June – in the horns of Taurus. Here Mercury rides up and down on the southern horn of the Bull, pausing on the 19 June beside the fiery red eye of Aldebaran. This is a far more worrying statement as these horns are a place of aggression. Here Mercury is suggesting that there is talk of aggression or news of war. Once again this can be an easy statement to make as unfortunately there is always a war happening somewhere.
	Yet when this is combined with a Jupiter retrograde loop which I consider below, this combined symbolism indicates that the summer of 2008 is not going to be totally focused on the Olympic games in China - unless of course this aggression can be soaked up symbolically in the collective by all the heated competition of the Games. Third retrograde loop 24 Sept to 15 October in the left arm of Virgo. This placement in the wheat sheaf is a far gentler message suggesting talks of peace. Whatever are the difficulties of summer they are calmed by both Mars sliding into Virgo and being joined by Mercury. Here Mercury is almost foretelling of a gift. One is tempted to think of an Assyrian priest forecasting a good harvest and much grain.
Venus and Mars do not make a retrograde loop this year, although Mars has of course been stressing the horns of the Bull and leaves that place at the end of January, and becomes calmed by the stars of Virgo. Saturn is in midst of a retrograde loop as we enter 2008 and will stay retrograde until 3 May in the stars of Leo with its stationary point close to Regulus the Heart of the Lion. I have discussed this in the September 2007 VAN.   However, the other key retrograde loop for 2008 is Jupiter when its tarries in the stars of Sagittarius.
Jupiter lingers in Sagittarius By the 9 May 2008 Jupiter slows and turns as it is passing through Sagittarius. It then spends four months lingering with the great aggressive and fearful archer, finally to become stationary in his face. The stare of the archer was the most feared part of the constellation. For the Babylonians this was the warrior Pabilsag, who was considered[2]: ".. Like a scorpion rising up from among the thorns, he is a fearsome scorpion; like a wolf rising up from his lair, he is likely to growl; like a lion rising up in the pathway, he is likely to beat ......." Jupiter is the crown prince, the one who is powerful but is at least one step removed from the throne; he is the contender in politics, the outsider in political campaigns. Yet he has power.

Thus from mid-June when Mercury sits on the eye of the Bull, climaxing in late August to early September 2008 when Jupiter sits in the face of the archer we have an aggressive summer, but as Mercury moves into Virgo, and joins Mars in late September the most difficult time should have passed, with Jupiter having turned direct and "deciding" to leave his war-like position in Sagittarius.

I have scanned the last 500 years and had not found a similar time. Jupiter was in the stars of Sagittarius while Mercury was rushing through the Bull and into Gemini in the summer of 1593 which saw an invasion of the Netherlands, and the French king Henry IV converted to Catholicism which I believe does not seem to capture the themes of this 2008 narrative. So for me this is a "wait and see" situation. In visual astrology I am certain that this sky narrative would have caused a few letters to go to the king but as to what those letters would have said, we will have to let time tell us.

Giacomo Puccini, 22 December, 1858. 2:00 am
Lucca, Italy, Clifford data set.

Sally Ride, 26 May 1951, 08:11am, Los Angeles,
CA, USA. Blackwell Data set.

Giacomo Puccini’s Parans to his Venus

Giacomo Puccini has three stars which connect with his Venus and all of them form this relationship while culminating and thus will be most strongly felt in the prime of his life.

Ras Algethi is the star in the head of the Kneeler, a star linked to the accepted order of things, the natural and correct attitude of humans in awe of the gods or goddess. This is the star which suggests that the way in which we honour something larger than ourselves gives us a sense of purpose to life.

It is in this period of his life that Puccini starts to write his best works, beginning with Manon Lescaut which made him known outside Italy, La bohème, widely considered his masterpiece, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly. La bohème, perhaps the most popular and generally beloved opera ever written, is recognized as a tour de force of characterization, sentiment, and craftsmanship. Thus we see Puccini’s Venus growing in maturity and applying his perception of people to his operatic work. 

Capella is the star in the left shoulder of Auriga, The Charioteer, and symbolizes the need for freedom and independence. Linked to Artermis the Greek goddess of the hunt, Capella is also the concept of the fertile goddess, she who is of the horse, and therefore embodies action and movement. Both of these meanings underlining Puccini’s natal Venus in Sagittarius, suggest he requires a degree of freedom in the way he composes his operas.

In 1880, at the age of 21, Puccini composed the Messa, marking the culmination of his family's long association with church music in his native Lucca. The work anticipated Puccini's career as an operatic composer by showing a dramatic power that was far more operatic than was usual for church music. Thus Capella with his Venus allows him the inner strength to compose in the way that best suits his understanding and not be restrained or restricted by social values, even though he was born into a family with five generations of musical history behind them.

Rigel is the bright star in the left foot of Orion the Hunter and is known as the educator, for the Egyptians saw Orion as the Pharaoh and to be under a Pharaoh's foot was to be under his protection. Rigel is the active, educating  concept of forward development not just for personal gain but for the gain of many.

Rigel in paran with his Venus in Sagittarius helps Puccini to bring out the inspirational quality of his Venus and apply it to his music. Some have noted that it seems as if Puccini was incapable of writing an opera with a happy ending. His heroines are usually tragic figures, doomed to unhappiness and, often, an early death. In addition, many are flawed in one way or another. Yet the fact that his characters are imperfect gives them dramatic strength.

Ras Algethi with Venus:
 Insightful into the use
of money, or colour; perceptive concerning the nature of society

Capella with Venus:

To challenge the values
of society

Rigel with Venus:

Not restrained by social opinions on ethics, relationship, or
religious issues

Arcturus with Venus  

A leader in the arts or in humanistic politics

Rukbat  with Venus 

To be consistent, or rigid, in your social views and ideas
 

Alpheratz with Venus

To demand the right to follow one's own social or religious conscience

 Sally Ride’s Parans to her Venus

Sally Ride has one star rising as it formed a paran with her Venus and thus its major expression is in her youth

Arcturus is the star in Bootes, the Hunter who now farms. He symbolises the transition from the nomadic hunter-gather to the herder-cultivator-ploughman-village, and represents one who can lead the way as a pathfinder and make transitions to create a better way of life for others.   

At the age of 27, with B.A., B.S., and masters' degrees, Ride was a Ph.D. candidate looking for postdoctoral work in astrophysics when she read about NASA's call for astronauts in the Stanford University paper. More than eight thousand men and women applied to the space program that year. Thirty five were accepted, six of whom were women. One was Sally Ride. [2]

Many doorways opened up as a result of Ride’s selection by NASA, one of which was to give her a place in history. Although it could as easily have been expressed as doing leading research a University (a post she took on incidentally as Science Fellow at Stanford University once she had retired from NASA), with Arcturus lying underneath her angular Venus and making a wide conjunction to her Ascendant, it activates this ability to forge a new pathway in the first third of her life, rather than later.

Ride then has two stars forming parans with her Venus while culminating which places their expression in the prime of her life:

Rukbat is the star in the knee of the left foot of Sagittarius The Archer and represents steadiness and consistency. Rukbat linked with Ride’s Venus, adds a 'rudder' or 'anchor' to her life, giving her the skill to work towards long-term goals in her life.

Alpheratz is the star common to the Horse's navel and the head of Andromeda and symbolizes freedom and movement. It fuels Ride’s Venus with the desire to take action that comes from her conscience.

As director of the California Space Institute and Professor of Physics at the University of California, San Diego she was able to pursue one of her passions, encouraging young women to study science and math (Venus in Cancer in paran with Alpheratz). She also initiated and headed EarthKAM, an Internet-based NASA project that allows middle-school classes to shoot and download photos of the Earth from space. Her most recent enterprise is Imaginary Lines, an organization founded to provide support for all the girls who are, or might become, interested in science, math and technology.