Dictators, Tyrants, Fools, Power, New Scopes For All Signs And Spring Reading Special

Pissed off and and former Piston

A funny thing happened on the way to writing this post. I got tested on my own theories/thoughts/mind jam. I had an explosive day. Site went down, dealing with human robots, jumping through hoops of napalm to get it re-launched, blood pressure rising, barium and aluminum levels spiking. Leases, deadlines, debt, ex-wife all piling up like an LA Freeway clusterfuck. And guess what? I’m not alone. I’m out there slam dancing against everyone else’s crises and unresolved dark matter. I guess that’s what happens when you live in a world where Debbie Harry can be Ann Romney and you can be a cellographic life form on another world living a simultaneous existence. In other words, God was making me live up to my own Zen commandments.

When you live in a place where your Pluto is on the Asc, crisis goes to red level threat.

But then, something else takes place after the fires are cooled and the heat subsides. A new form takes shape. But being in the vulcanizer is not a joyride in Hill Country with the windows down and Willie Nelson on the radio. We discover who we truly are when psychic compression takes hold.

I de-friended and then re-friended a dear soul and longtime supporter of the site over some buried frustrations and resentment, which by the way was the theme of the day. Did I do it in accordance with my own rules of disengagement? Likely not. But this is where we are right now. Thoughts and emotion are the light and aperture of our experiential lens. The images of our lives are the composite of both. Long tale short–I am humbled–hopefully a little wiser. Here’s how the post goes.

When Gurdjief used to welcome new initiates into “The Work” he would stage a big dinner with many courses of food, but even more importantly, copious amounts of vodka and wine. Gurdjief would then lead his new charges on a series of toasts to fools, every time either taking a drink of wine or a shot of vodka. While his newbie charges would get blindly drunk, the master himself was drinking water disguised as vodka. He would then sit back and watch the egos, demons and shadows come out to play. It was there that he knew where the weakness, pride, vulnerability and arrogance would reside in each individual. From that point forward, he would then test them over and over again based on his observations.

In the enneagram, a system that Gurdjieff himself had invented, he was an 8, a dominant character bordering on petty tyranny when things could get a little charged. This model of leadership has been the norm for most of the 20th Century, an era where sociopaths have imposed their wills upon the rest of the planet, aided and abetted by those with vast fortunes seeking to slice and dice racial groups, borders, sexes and religions.

As we look around us, that old model is collapsing as statist figureheads such as Chavez, Gadhafi and Assad have been either murdered or removed by stealth contagion. In their place the nameless govern. Who runs Libya or Egypt at present? A figurehead of the Muslim Brotherhood, they are ruling by proxy for a global governance.

Here in this country, even Barack Obama, one of the world’s most powerful figures, whether you like him or not, has a leadership model that’s markedly different than his processor, GW Bush. And while it may reek of a certain type of cognitive dissonance where on the one hand, he appears flexible, diplomatic, suave and cool, on the other he consistently undermines the projection of his own principles by signing more and more bills and EO’s that are not in the least congruent with his persona. “Leading from behind” and “reaching a global consensus” before countries are plundered are models that are in alignment with the persona of the new leadership, even if they are being used to manipulate and deceive the masses into transferring their trust.

Apparently Obama, based the birth records that we have for him is a “Projector” in Human Design. According to the late, Ra Uru Hu, founder of HD, the style and strategy of the projector is the new model of leadership for the planet. Up until the 21st Century it was the iron fist of the “Manifester” that carved out countries, corporate empires and dynasties, for better or worse.

The difference between the projector and the manifester is the aspect of will.

Manifesters proclaim and announce what they are going to do, while the seemingly meeker projector must wait for the invitation. The latter model is contradictory to what we’ve been taught about leadership, but what the projector is capable of doing, whereas the manifester is limited, is taking on energy. The projector, which theoretically has zero energy of it’s own, can channel huge amounts of it when aligned. This is why Obama’s public events have the aura of a revival or some spiritual service rather than a public address. He’s channeling huge amounts of human energy that resembles love, devotion, faith, etc. Also, it’s vitally important that projectors do not put themselves in environments that are fractious, angry or negative, because they will also take on and amplify those energies as well. Notice how Obama rarely, if ever is put into a situation where he must argue, debate or defend his policies against informed critics. It just doesn’t happen. Bush II had more Rose Garden press conferences in one year, than Obama has had in six.

Of course, this merely a strategy to limit any kind of real discourse, but on a subtle energy level, it’s also congruent with the conscious manipulation of energy and space that would protect the projector.

Half way across the world, Kim Jong Un was the poster child for April Fools, threatening the US with missiles and nukes. Jong is an old school tyrant and born on the same date as Elvis and Bowie (Jan 8th) he has a bit of showman in him; Tyranny in style, partying with another fool, Dennis Rodman, while watching The Harlem Globetrotters, the court fools of hoops. It’s yet another showdown of the individual (Jong) versus the collective as embodied through the energy of a focal point of consciousness, for better or worse in Obama.

So as we say adieu to the day of fools and move resolutely ahead in the sign of Aries, with Mercury finally joining the party on tax day :-). How does each sign shape up for the month ahead? How can you find your own brand of leadership, self-rule and sovereignty in a world where the notion of power is changing and the true Aquarian impulse of planet populated by people accessing their inner authority are approaching the Alpha Point. Read on as we explore self-rule, leadership and directed energy for each sign in April.

Before we get to all signs, I am having a Spring Cleaning special on readings. All one hour readings are $66 for first time clients. Email me at: robertphoenix@robertphoenix.com to make an appointment.

ARIES

When it comes to leadership and will, you’d like to think that you wrote the manual while shaving, but the fact of the matter is, is that even you need to re-assess your game in the changing flux of the holographic essence of autonomous liberation (aka HEAL). Now don’t despair, because even you can attain/retain a leadership role of a paradigm shift within a paradigm shift. With Jupiter highlighting alternative energies, alternative ideologies, alternative identities, you can easily find yourself trying on new strategies that are closer to the pure practice of the Tao than ever before. Ramming ahead just doesn’t get you as far as it used to. Look to your celestial other, Libra for clues. Weigh all things equally, factor in all the variables, check your ego at the door, cross your heart and allow choice to emanate through every cell of your being. Uranus is demanding a new approach to expressing your vital energy. It’s not more of the same, nor is it Aries fueled by a nitrous and meth hit off of a vaporizer that purifies and cools the rush to your head. No, it’s about re-inventing yourself as the consummate leader without ever having to make demand upon another. We’re talking deep flow here, because if you don’t get it like this, those agents of the matrix in dark hats and suits via Pluto in Capricorn will awaken from their borg-like trance and remind you that only the purest, laser-like expression of your distilled essence is what it will take to pass through an eye of a needle. You may think I’m kidding, but this might be the most important month of your life. Get real. Go clear. Show the rest of us how it’s done.

Taurus

Did you know that one of the most exalted degrees for Taurus is 3 degrees of the Moon? Do you know why? Because it’s a secret code that’s a portal to Alcyone. Through the third degree of the Moon in Taurus, through the eye of the bull in Aldeberan, through to the great central sun of Alcyone in Sirius, the mystery begins to reveal itself. I’m diverging just a bit. We’re to talk about you and power. Later this month the Sun ambles into your sign and the Bull prepares us for the Uranus/Pluto Square that takes place in zero degrees Gemini. There’s some revelation in this process and sequence. For you, true power is revealed in the setting of elements in place, an ordering of the physical realm that allows you to tap into any good, or substance at your disposal. Witches, who have a deep affinity with the sign of Taurus, are quite familiar with this process. They surround themselves with their familiars, fetishes, herbs and tinctures, calling upon them when needed to bind or heal. Take a lesson from them and get your world in order. Clean, clear, organize, file, collate, etc. Master your physical reality to the best of your ability this month. There’s a supreme sense of confidence and well being, knowing that you car thoroughly grounded and connected with everything you need, at any given moment. Out of this earthy order, confidence arises and you meet the world on solid terms, day in, day out, providing strength, support and stability for others and a calm mastery for yourself. Then, from there, it’s all about stepping up, stepping up, stepping up. You go as high as your solid base allows. This is the month that urges you to find the axis-mundi of relationship to things, especially your body. Cellular gnosis and the comprehension of the one-in-all, through all, in your personal connection to your physical form is it. Know it. Own it. Love it. Be it.

GEMINI
It seems like five years since Jupiter danced into your sign and yet we’re almost a 1/4 of the way through 2013. Gemini represents the bifurcation of reality, timeline switches and temporal jumps. With Jupiter in your sign, you should, theoretically been having a crash course about the new models of power for you. Maybe you learned a new skill that you’re sharing with others or at the very least, sharing your experience of it. Your power comes in spreading information and knowledge, not hoarding it. Turn it loose. Let it go. How much more do you need? Many of the keys to each sign’s power lies in their opposites. So for you Gem, you need to take a page out of the Sag playback. Once you’ve accumulated enough data, it’s time to let it go where it needs to go. This doesn’t mean that you don’t get paid or rewarded for all your hard work. Au contraries. In fact, you need to get some compensation. Turning a hobby or avocation into a paying gig is one way of doing it. But also, if you are really in the flow, you’ll use your mental acumen when and where it’s needed, because that’s just what you do. Saturn is urging you to get diagnostic. Roll up your sleeves and come down from your clinical, ivory tower this month. Rally support from your friends and if you have a project of any sort that involves social networking, turn it loose. This is your month to make connections and create waves of support. Better push the envelope while Jupiter is still in your sign. You have a couple of months left. Stay busy in all the right ways.

CANCER

The sign that takes a licking but keeps on ticking. Somewhere, after Pluto has left Capricorn in the dust and moved onto a higher plane, you’ll al get your own planet where you can build houses, weave, cook, make babies, tinctures and salves. Kind of like Earth. Yes, there’s a joke in there somewhere, but the cruel reality is that the first water sign, the one that is associated with amniotic fluids and primary emotional states is getting the brunt of the tough stuff right now and with the coming square, it doesn’t get a whole lot easier. Your patience isn’t tried, it’s tired. You need a rest, A real rest and yet, like the rest of us, you’re on this wheel, a hell bent death ride, spinning at an estimated 913 MPH or for you Metric types, roughly 1,470 KPH. Sapped, depleted, strained, exhausted, overworked and frayed, how does one achieve or realize power and leadership? The essence lies in the design of your sign. You need to retreat. Retreat is an interesting word. It can be interpreted in three, separate ways. There’s the military version of retreat, which allows an army to re-trench and come up with a different game plan, Then there’s the spiritual version of retreat, which is detaching from the world and all of it’s distractions. Then there’s the re-treat or giving oneself another treat, or allowing oneself to be good and kind to itself again and to treat him or herself to anything the self truly needs. Here is where your power is for now. This is where your ability to take the lead in your own life is taking shape. I know it’s been a rough stretch for you. From Pluto in Cap, to Saturn in Libra, to Uranus in Aries, the heavyweight planets have not been easy nor very kind, but you’re so close now. Just a few more weeks till Jupiter moves into your sign and you’ll be sensing the currents of positive change, a new flow entering into your life. Keep in mind that crabs must attach themselves to rocks and cliffs as the ocean pounds them with wave after wave of surging pressure exploding into air. The tides will soon be turning and when they do your confidence and faith in life will begin to be restored. Trust me.

LEO

When discussing power, the old model versus the new, you would seem to come up as a harbinger of the past, loving and yet slightly autocratic, looking for praise and support for your ideas, pollens and projects. In April, the energies offer you a different opening of sorts. Your challenge is to understand the difference between being self-centered and centered in self. You’re on a crash course to R&D what you think is the best for you versus what’s best for the group or even society at large. It can be challenging at times to try to fit yourself in small spaces by accommodating others more often than you’d like. But I’m going to give you the green light to move ahead and do what YOU want over the course of the next three weeks. The reason being, is that you are going to encounter some stiff resistance in May when Saturn and the Sun square off against you. Challenges at home and work will crop up and demands will be, well, demanding. So you want to soak up as much juice as you can as the Sun returns in all its might and glory to the northern hemisphere. The stewardship of power, once you lock it down is reflected in your opposite sign, Aquarius, which invites you to think about and contribute to the greater good. To be in service of the construction of the cathedral of the soul as manifest in a more egalitarian world. You’ll encounter some of that in May too. But for now, follow your instincts and do what’s best and most right for you, regardless of what others think.

VIRGO

Power and leadership aren’t always synonymous with your sign. But in many ways, you most reflect the model of the projector in all of the western zodiacal signs. You’re an energy worker whether you consciously know and accept it or not. Virgo’s can enter a room and immediately sense the vibe, feeling and where the sources of power are emanating from. Again, this can be seen in the conscious application of it’s opposite sign, Pisces, which, when embodied by Virgo on a conscious level, provides a psychic and intuitive field of awareness. Virgo can then use this extra-sensory-perception to have yet more info of the environment at its disposal. So the key here, is to allow yourself to feel into people, places and situations and CHOOSE, which one is the best fit for you. This is slightly contrary to the Virgo’s sense of duty and purpose and yet, when honed and refined, allows the Virgo native to truly thrive in atmosphere where their contributions are deeply appreciated. This type of gratitude and recognition allows Virgo to continue to refine the process of choosing, selecting the best situations and relationships, honing and honoring its ability to discern. In April this mostly applies to your chosen avocation. Ask yourself if you are in the right place with the right people. Are you being recognized for the output of your contribution, not in an egoic sense, but in a way that values your contribution. We all know how challenging it is to find gainful employment during these times and yet, this month urges you to make changes that are aligned with your deeper purpose.

LIBRA

Brace yourself as the Cardinal frequencies of Uranus and Pluto approach (again). You’re being asked to make more changes to style of partnering and how you set goals for yourself and either attain them or don’t. The great gift and tragedy of Libra is that it sees so clearly that it never has to do anything but allow for the perfected image of the relationship or project or city of tomorrow to be more than just that. It must be some sort of holdover from Atlantis where people could literally think things into form. But this month is different. You’ve got to move Libra. You’ve got to take action. Not only is it part of the formula where your astro-other holds the key, but this month in particular demands it. And where might you ask? Relationships for starters. But it’s not just one-on-one relating with lovers, mates, etc. It’s about completion. It’s about the relationship to all the things unfinished in your head. You’ve got to nail them down. Get them done. Because there is an inherent power in bringing these ideas into form. You lead by showing the world that you are not just a dilettante. You have substance and more importantly, you have follow-through. The greatest sin in your life would be to not risk shattering the image of perfection in your mind’s eye and yet, that’s what is called. Liberation from the ideal into the real mirrors the process of incarnation. April gives you ample opportunity to complete that process.

SCORPIO

You wrote the book on power. To bad you stashed it so far away in a place that no one else can get to, that sometimes even you have a hard time figuring out where it went. Well that’s not what’s on the table now. With Saturn in your sign, you’re being prompted to bear down on your physical reality in ways that you haven’t for years. This could be everything from getting into shape to taking up some sore of physical trade or profession. A Scorpio I know on FB has enrolled in massage school and is relishing the opportunity to learn about the body’s various systems, while putting her hands on the body and working it out. Here we see the astrological opposite being invoked through Taurus via the embodiment of consciousness and life force. Of all the signs, you are the one whose challenge to access it is to bring it out of the shadowy realm of the psyche into body itself. Saturn is here to remind you of that process and in retrograde, for all Scorps, it’s a reminder of when you struggled and fought with it all, the overwhelming desire, the frustration, the turning away from a world in all it’s trivial pursuits. With this entire Aries crisscrossing the sky, you’re also being moved to find a way to use your super powers to make a difference in the lives of others. At the end of the month, Saturn draws the closest to the Earth this year than at any other time, which means the spotlight is on you. You’re the very best at handling pressure, step up and let the life force simply flow through as you literally and figuratively touch peoples lives.

SAGITTARIUS

Now that all almost all that Pisces drip has left your home base (any flooding?) you can get back on your pony and ride sally ride (no not the astronaut). The energy returns in a big way and your creativity gets a serious spark. In April, you’re the fire starter. When it comes to power and new models of leadership, for you, in all of your completeness, we go to your opposite sign, where your ruling planet is there in abundance. Sag is the big picture, the grand statement, the overarching cosmology and Gemini is its particulars, broken down, classified and categorized. We can see this in the religious experience, which occurs when revelation (the vision) becomes scripture (the word). Here in Austin, at UT, the Gutenberg Bible rests under glass, vacuum-sealed and as close to eternal as it gets. It’s the marriage of Sag/Gem in allegorical and alchemical union, all wrapped up in one, antiquarian bundle. For you to really own your essence, you need to break it down, have the patience and discipline to get it on paper, canvas, computer screen, tablet, cave wall, whatever medium is closest to your inner flame. Because, like Libra in some regard, you can be just fine with the brilliance of a wondrous epiphany, but for you to really, really, get it, to bring it all home and walk through the world in all of your integrated splendor, you must write it down, get it out, have a record that you were here, no matter what your audience, even if you have one thinks of your work. Fellow Sag, William Blake knew this all-too-well. Blake was hardly known at all during his time on Earth. Wordsworth, a contemporary of his was the equivalent of poet laureate, while Blake toiled in obscurity, known in his heart that what he was doing was for a generation yet to come that would understand and appreciate his massive effort. Blake was engaged in the notion of eternity. Another Sag, Jim Morrison finally got this when he published his poems and then not long after that died. There’s a theme here and it’s bringing the big idea into form. Connecting the two poles allows you to walk in power. April kick starts this process in a big way. Even with Saturn whispering at your soul, informing you of shadows and ghosts, you can turn those apparitions into art. Just do it.

CAPRICORN

The violence of the Aries Sun has been squaring off against Pluto in your sign and the results have been dramatic and intense weather. As the Sun tries to break free and liberate itself from it’s own chains and ancient karma, it’s opening coronal portals like wounds, bleeding neutrinos across space and time, whipping up storms from Mercury to Pluto and beyond. You would be feeling this cosmic drama more than any other sign, since you’ve been engaged in this soul torqueing since 2009 when Pluto moved into your sign. Ego, power, violence, the drive and lust to get better, better, have more, arrive and succeed has been your motivation, even if it has not resulted in blind and naked psychopathology. Once you admit this, you can move two steps forward. As society and culture at large is being flogged and whipped by roving gangs of international bankers, as bank accounts are drained and emptied, as draconian laws have been enacted, this has all been an outgrowth of Pluto’s monasticism in your sign. Ironically, Pluton in Capricorn has unleashed a cancer upon our world. It’s called “toxic debt.” So the really big question is; What are you gonna do about it? Yes, Pluto is there for you to tap into power in really interesting ways, but for you to not morph into old school petty tyranny. Enter Cancer. The key for you to flow in pure zen-like-tao-ashe-chi-orgone perfection is to simply feel. Open your soul to the prospect that while your 401K still has a pulse, other folks out there are having a bit of a rough go of it. With all that Aries action going down in your foundation, you might want to spend a little time helping out in a homeless shelter, feeding some kids or even get this, starting a foundation of your own. Compassion is the key for you to walk in power. Stay close to it, and you’ll never stray too far from source. And, no matter how great your achievement, remain humble, because I have to tell yak, when Pluto and Uranus square off in May, you’ll get any unchecked arrogance knocked right out of you.

AQUARIUS

When I think of you this month, the image I get is seeing a person consumed by the idea that one, really great thought can change the world. This “revolutionary” concept is pretty darn close to your raison d’être. You were born to break rules and flaunt convention and this month, those principles are burning a hole in your third eye. However, Saturn is rightfully tempering you just a bit. It’s making sure that your motivation for change is as clear as it can be. Saturn is checking your intentions, especially as you try to bring your radical concepts to the public at large. I would say that your biggest test is making sure you’ve really worked out all the bugs. Thus type of R&D isn’t just a technical workout, but a spiritual one too. One of the great temptations of the Aquarian mindset is that even if a few people have to suffer or die as a result of massive change for the good of all, that those sacrifices are just part of the deal. This was the ideology espoused by the Weather Underground in the 60’s and the 70’s. If a few “innocent” Americans died in order to overthrow the oppressive regime, then so be it. Social change comes at a cost, but no cost is too great for the ultimate goal. It’s a type of strange and dissociative compassion that borders on madness. So if you want to escape the chains of this psychopathology, long and even short term, we’re talking this month in particular here, you need to have a dialog with your opposite sign; Leo. Leo rules kings and queens (which you dearly love to depose) but it also rules the heart and any revolutionary concept without including and opening the heart runs the risk of looking a lot more like a bloody coup without conscience than an idea which enables sovereign status in all and through all. This type of deep, inclusionary integration allows you to advance that one, great thought, faster and higher than you could ever imagine.

PISCES

Speaking of ideas . . .they’re not really what drives Pisces. Nope. What drives Pisces is essence, aura, the liminal. But because Pisces is so deeply spiritual and permeable, they, more than any other sign are open to forms of possession, subtle and otherwise. In April, you need to get down, down, down, to the bottom of the ground as Jo Baker and Annie Sampson sang it out in Stoneground. Literally, lose your mind. Go outside and plant some flowers and veggies. Take up sandbox therapy. Finger paint. Bake. Do whatever it takes to shift your focus and attention away from phantoms, ghosts and apparitions in the guise of obsession. It can be a wonderfully liberating experience to sink your hands into terra firma. If all else fails, jump in the sack with your lover and re-connect that way. But now, the more I think about it, the more I’m prompted to tell you to combine the two and take a good roll in the mud. It might be the most primordial and liberating thing you’ve ever done. Why am I suggesting this course of action? Besides all that Mars in your basement? Because Virgo is your opposite sign and it hates to get dirty, while you don’t mind mixing it up. Water + Earth = Mud. The math is simple and so is the plan. With Ssturn in Scorpio as your wing gal, you’re encouraged to ponder these sorts of imponderables. That’s just for this month though. Long term, your walk in power, your ability to lead in your own life comes as you add details to the big picture. Painting by numbers is another Pisces/Virgo marriage of sorts adding the liquid light of paint to the pragmatic and very detailed map on a plotted out canvas. Add some numbers, facts, and figures. Flesh it all out Pisces and you’ll not only be moved by the spirit, but you’ll have the metrics to back it up. At that point, no one can assail your position and you are synergistically complete. And now, so are these scopes.