© 6-13-2011 by Donna Cunningham, MSW

I wasn’t going to write about former Senator, John Edwards, simply because everyone else is, but his high profile political rise and fall illustrates an important point about stelliums. They can bring great accomplishments, but the sheer concentration of so much energy in one sign or house also makes that a point of incredible vulnerability.  

As we’ll see with Edwards’ chart, major transits to that sign or house can produce the highest highs and lowest lows in the course of a lifetime. Hard work to develop those talents and abilities can pay off handsomely during transits to one planet after another of the stellium.

However, misusing the abilities and qualities of the planets and signs involved can also backfire badly along the way. Much like a Grand Trine, the outstanding abilities inherent in a stellium can produce opportunities and accomplishments, but can also hold big temptations.

©6-11-2011 by Donna Cunningham

This is a test to measure the strength of stelliums or multiple conjunctions and therefore to find out their comparative strength. It’s similar to the tests I’ve created to measure the strength of a single planet or element in your horoscope. They’ve been a popular feature on Skywriter—you can see links to them here: Planetary Tests. (The test for Pluto tops the list, since nearly 15,000 people have taken that test so far.)

                                                                             ©6-9-2011 by Donna Cunningham, MSW

 This series of articles is meant for you if your chart or the chart of someone you’re close to has a stellium. That’s a cluster of 4 or more planets within 30° of the zodiac. With one sign or house so highly emphasized, there’s a laser-like focus on a single area of life that can bring great accomplishments if rightly directed.

 The more complicated the stellium—and, believe me, they can get complicated—the steeper the learning curve. Figuring out how to juggle the wants, needs, and issues of so many planets at once can be like earning an advanced degree…in night school…a few credits at a time…periodically interrupted by pressing personal concerns.  

©2011 by Guest Blogger, Matthew David Savinar

The sign of the Messenger and the Teacher, Gemini is known for being perceptive, versatile, curious, dexterous, quick moving, and highly communicative.

Symbolized as a pair of Twins, the Gemini portion of your chart is the area in life in which you excel at sending and receiving information, quickly making connections, cross-pollinating, and coming up with novel ideas.

©6-5-2011 by Donna Cunningham, MSW

From time to time, I publish a collection of links to articles about particular topics that have appeared here on Skywriter so that our newer readers have a chance to catch up. As a follow up to Brian Clark’s brilliant Question and Answer Session on the astrology of sibling relations, today’s list contains links to 20 articles about family life as seen through the lens of astrology. 

Posts about Family Life:

• How Outer Planet Transits to the Moon Affect Family Life
• Why Transits to the Birth Moon are so Challenging
• The Midheaven/IC Axis: Who Wore the Pants in your Family?
• How to Survive a Pisces Dad—and How I Survived Mine
• Outtake from a Moon-Pluto Life
• How Strong is your Moon? Here’s the Score?
• Astrology and Conscious Parenting: Saturn in Synastry
• Ryan and Tatum O’Neal – Stelliums and Symbiosis
• Getting a Grip on Saturn-Neptune Aspects
• Readers Ask: Q & A about the 4th House
• The Astrology of Sibling Relationships—and How They Affect Us as Adults
• Readers Ask—Q&A about Sibling Relationships by Brian Clark
• Viewing the 3rd House through Neptune’s Lens
• Readers Ask—Q & A about the 5th House
• Things You May Not Know about the 5th House and Children
• Highlights of Our Discussion on the 5th House and Children
• The Mars-Uranus Conjunction in Pisces and Children Born with it
• A New Look at the Astrology of Twins
• Tips for Working with Teenagers’ Charts
• 4 Great Articles on How to Introduce Astrology to Teenagers

If you’re enjoying this blog, sign up for a subscription, and get a FREE EBOOKLET for Skywriter Subscribers Only: Mothers, Daughters, and the Moon, a 50-page excerpt from The Moon in your Life. Read more about it here: New: Free Booklet For Skywriter Subscribers! 

If you’re already a subscriber and want a copy, forward the most recent email post to me at moonmave@spiritone.com. To sign up for a subscription, go to the top right hand corner of the blog and click on “Subscribe.” Then send me an email with your subscription confirmation or an email post and ask for the booklet in the subject line.

©6-3-2011 by Brian Clark

For an introduction to Brian’s perspective on sibling relationships as shown by the chart, see his article here: The Astrology of Sibling Relationships—and How They Affect Us as Adults.

Donna Cunningham says: I’m very pleased to introduce my long-time colleague, Brian Clark, an internationally known astrologer and one of Australia’s most respected teachers and authors. He’s made a special study of the astrology of brothers and sisters and wrote an exceptional book on the topic, so I’m excited that he’s agreed to answer questions about it today.

©6-2-2011 by Donna Cunningham, MSW

Today, June 2, 2011, was the sentencing of Phillip and Nancy Garrido for the abduction and 18 years of imprisonment and sexual abuse of Jaycee Dugard. Phillip Garrido, 60, received a sentence of 431 years to life in prison, while Nancy Garrido, 55, was sentenced to 36 years to life in prison.

 In addition to reading a victim impact statement by her daughter, Terry Probyn delivered her own statement at the sentencing of Phillip and Nancy Garrido, June 2, 2011. Here is part of it, as reported in the MercuryNews.com online: 

©2011 by Guest Blogger, Brian Clark

 The sibling relationship is a powerful bond that influences our adult relationships and our sense of well-being. It is a bond that has not been adequately delineated or honoured, yet it is the one relationship that has the most chance of spanning a complete lifetime. While it is a relationship that has been ignored by psychology in the past, things are beginning to change.  

With much of the fabric of the traditional family in tatters through divorce and separation, the sibling is often the link to continuity and security. As the global family becomes more of a reality and the quest for equality continues, it is natural that the image of the sibling, as the carrier of peer relationship, will be constellated in the collective.

There’s a solar eclipse on June 1st at 11 Gemini, one of four eclipses this year.  If you want to view a solar or lunar eclipse safely and with the best possible results, see this very complete and helpful article on WikiHow: Eclipse alert, June 1. How to View an Eclipse.

Here’s my astrological take on eclipses:   Eclipses–How do They Affect You?

©a really long time ago by Donna Cunningham, MSW

 A contributor to one of the boards on ElsaElsa.com posted this excerpt from my out-of-print book, Moon Signs, The Key to Your Inner Life (Ballantine Books, 1998).  I’d completely forgotten about it, but enjoyed it enough to want to share it with you.  We could all use a laugh about now. 

(c)5-27-2011 by Donna Cunningham, MSW

UPDATE:  With the help of reader feedback, the test has been revised for clarity, ease of use, and accuracy.  I’d suggest you use the new version, which has downloadable copy of the test.  It’s located here: Skywriter’s Impact Test for Stelliums and Multiple Conjunctions–Version 2.0. However, you may enjoy reading the comment section for this post, which has input and scores from over 150 readers.

 

Stelliums and multiple conjunctions supposedly add Star Quality to a horoscope. Because several planets are concentrated in a small area of the zodiac, they identify something very special about the individual. 

How many planets does it take to make a stellium? The classical rule was four planets, of which two had to be something other than the Sun, Mercury, or Venus since those three are usually very close together in the zodiac.

Modern interpretations lean toward three planets or more—but is that stretching the definition too far?  I’m inclined to think three is not a stellium–especially if it’s the Sun, Mercury, and Venus in the same sign, because they’re so close together in the zodiac all the time.  If  three planets are conjunct, however, they form a multiple conjunction and are strong.

How stellar is your stellium? Are some stronger than others? How rare or how common are various stelliums?

by Deborah Bier, Ph.D. and Donna Cunningham, MSW in Vibration Flower Essence Blog, ©2005

Since all those talk shows and self-help books have educated us about codependency in family and love relationships, you may well be aware of unhealthy patterns of relating where destructive habits like addictions are concerned. No doubt you can spot them in other people right off the bat.

But friends — even our very best friends for life — can also enable one another’s destructive habits and behavior patterns. Pairs of friends can be codependent on one another in ways that keep individuals from growing and being all they can be.

Could this possibly apply to you? For example, maybe your pleasingly plump pal has decided to diet, but you supply her with all manner of excuses for why she shouldn’t start today. AND you bring along a pint of her favorite double chocolate ice cream when you come for supper.

Or, you already have 125 pairs of shoes, and your good buddy knows you’ve maxed out all but one of your credit cards, but she calls to tell you about a fabulous shoe sale at the mall that you two have just GOT to get to before they’re all gone. There are addictions and then there are addictions!

©5-20-2011 by Donna Cunningham, MSW

These past few days, the Sun has wended its way through the Pleiades—those ill-reputed last degrees of Taurus–and made a big, fat ol’ Full Moon in Scorpio. And during these days, I’ve been hearing a lot about the end of the world. (Again!)

 According to a certain branch of Evangelical Christians, tomorrow (May 21^st, 2011) is Judgment Day. The Believers will ascend and experience The Rapture, leaving us Sinners to our own vices and devices. If they’re right and all those True Believers ascend, then they’ll leave the rest of us in peace. If it doesn’t happen, then maybe they’ll be embarrassed enough to let up on us sinners for a while.

© 2009 by guest blogger, CJ Wright of Auntie Moon

Donna says:  CJ is one of my very best blogging buddies, and I was burning up the phone wire this afternoon trying to reach her. Mars in Taurus has been squaring my Ascendant and Pluto for several days, and, true to the astrological picture, I’ve gotten scathing comments from total strangers. CJ can put things in perspective in just a sentence or two and make me laugh. (If those qualities sound good to you, too, visit her blog.)

Well, today of all days, she wasn’t home, but finally I read her current email post. At the very bottom was a link to this article on living with criticism. It turned out to be exactly what I needed, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it‘s just what a few of you need too. It’s kind of a fitting companion to our discussion of teasing.  Here’s CJ. Enjoy!

The celestial buzz is that Virgo is the critic of the zodiac. It’s because of that discerning eye, that Mercurial analysis, that earthy, practical logic. There’s Virgo in each of us, and there’s a critic in each of us. How do you handle that critic?

©5-14-2011 by Donna Cunningham, MSW

 In this session, we’ll be looking at the ways the house position of a stellium colors its expression. If you’ve never taken part in a Skywriter Q&A, you’ll find instructions below. First, however, we need to define what factors go into making a stellium. That question is hotly debated among astrologers.

The classical answer is that a stellium contains 4 planets in one sign or house. This stricter view holds that 2 of the 4 planets must be something other than the Sun, Mercury, and Venus 

 Since the Sun, Mercury, and Venus travel closely together in the sky at all times, it’s more common than not for them to be in the same sign and house.  . 

Modern, looser definitions might let you claim 3 planets as a stellium, especially with outer planets involved, and especially when they are conjunct. That’s called a triple conjunction or multiple conjunction, and I’m going to do a separate Q&A on that soon, so hold off on those questions.  

You may ask about 3-planet stelliums today, however, along with 4-planets or more.  

©5-11-11 by Donna Cunningham, MSW

Do you like it when people tease you? Most likely not, but are there times when it’s okay? Have you ever stopped to analyze what kinds of teasing are funny and what kinds are wounding?  

And what planet rules this iffy brand of humor? Do you think it’s Mercury? Mars? Jupiter? Or, brrr, Pluto? For sure, it’s not Venus!

© by guest blogger, Melanie Harth, PhD of www.sayyestoyourself.com on March 2, 2011

Recently, I accepted a job offer that looked great: good money, not too many hours, pleasant work environment, good people … everything we’re supposed to want in a job, right?

There was only one fly sticking up in that ointment … my heart wasn’t singing. Worse, I started to get a migraine every time I thought about doing it. A little lesson in getting stuck while traveling down the path of personal and professional transformation was presenting itself.

©5-8-2011 by Donna Cunningham, MSW

Setting healthy boundaries isn’t easy—few of us are taught this skill growing up. It’s particularly difficult for those of us who belong to dysfunctional families. And yet when we don’t set and maintain healthy boundaries with family, friends, and coworkers, we wind up with draining relationships, lots of resentments, and more than our share of the work.

Boundaries have been a recurring theme of articles on Skywriter in the past, and it’s even more current given the effects of transiting Saturn in Libra. Below is a collection of links to astrology and self-help articles on this blog. You’ll find these tips especially helpful if you belong to one of these groups:

• People with a strong Neptune natally
• People with strong Neptune transits currently
• People born with Neptune and Saturn conjunct in Libra who are having their second Saturn return (see 2nd Saturn Return Project)
• People with transiting Saturn in the relationship houses

©5-7-2011 by Donna Cunningham, MSW

 Note: Although this article is part of a series designed to help readers born between 1951-53 with Saturn conjunct Neptune work  through their second Saturn return, there are many other readers with Neptune and Saturn strongly featured in their charts who may benefit from following the process as well.

 If residues of a difficult childhood have led to painful adult relationships in which you feel compelled to give too much and try to save others, then a keynote of your second Saturn return is a need to shift this pattern and begin taking care of yourself.

 For many who are over-responsible, this transit is a time when you feel physically, emotionally, or financially exhausted, so you need to set limits on yourself and others or there will be consequences. Simply put, things cannot go on in the old way! 

©Cinco de Mayo, 2011 by Donna Cunningham, MSW

Were you born sometime between September, 1951 and October, 1953, while Saturn in Libra was intermittently within an 8° range of a conjunction to Neptune? If so, your second Saturn return is coming between September of this year and September of 2012.

For your particular age group, that may well be a challenging period, but let’s talk about what you can do, starting NOW, to understand the issues at stake in this especially intense second Saturn return.

(Astrologers, you may also want to pass this information on to clients fitting into that group. Astrology lovers, pass it on to friends. People having their first Saturn return, see the note at the bottom of the post.)

©2011 by guest blogger, Hiroki Niizato of the Holistic Astrologer Blog

 Why the 6^th House is a Relationship House
Even though the 6^th house is known classically as the house of work and service, its experience covers more than just your job or volunteer activity. As the house hugging the Descendant along with the 7^th house, the 6^th house has much to do with our personal relationships.

Specifically, the 6^th House represents your dynamic of working together with others. Regardless of what you do for a living or who you live with, the quality of your natal 6^th  house will show through in the manner in which you tend to work with others.

(c)5-1-2011 by Donna Cunningham, MSW

Are you planning a family get-together next Sunday for Mother’s Day? My advice—in a word—DON’T!  Browsing the ephemeris for a good weekend date for a Q&A session, I happened to notice that on Sunday, May 8^th, the Moon makes a long string of squares: Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, and Mars.

All four of those planets are in war-like Aries, and the Moon is in hypersensitive, family-obsessed easily-offended and slow to forgive Cancer—the sign of Mothers, traditions, and very, very long memories.

©4-30-2011 by Donna Cunningham, MSW

This week, Skywriter passed its 500^th post, so I wanted to celebrate—and bring our newer readers up to date—by featuring some of the miniseries that have been most popular. 

 Below, you’ll see links to in-depth explorations of topics like the 12^th house, the Midheaven, Solar returns, and the little-known aspects like the septile and semisquare…plus a peek at what comes next.  

 

The White House has released the President’s orginal long form birth certificate, which hopefully will put an end to the Birthers’ claims he wasn’t born in the United States.   Here’s the story on CNN: Breaking: Obama releases birth certificate.   See the image below.

©4-26-2011 by Donna Cunningham, MSW

As part of our miniseries on the quincunx, a 150° aspect, several readers have asked me to write about Yods, which are a triangle with two planets sextile one another, while both are quincunx a third planet. (This little-understood configuration is also called an Eye of God or Finger of Fate.)

As we’ve seen earlier in this miniseries, quincunxes create tension as the person tries to make two planets work together that are placed in two signs and generally in two houses that have nothing whatsoever in common with one another, so their needs are at cross-purposes to one another.

Imagine trying to combine Sagittarius and Cancer,  Aries and Scorpio, or Virgo and Aquarius, and you’ll begin to see what I mean.

©2010 by guest blogger, Ellen Longo

I used to hate being in groups but now I’ve learned to blend my energy with others when I want to and actually love being around compatible people. Even events like ball games are fun now, because I can “become” the people around me and have a blast.

And some background:

As a child I was raised with very strict, in fact, military, discipline. In astrological terms you would say with a very strong Saturn influence. The atmosphere in my home produced three results, all related to Neptune: 

Cobalt Blue:

©4-22-2011 by Donna Cunningham, MSW

Skywriter is a mixed-purpose blog of which astrology and healing are only two of the aims, while memoir writing is another. 

I’ve joined a creative writing group online now, and one of the writing prompts this week challenged us to describe cobalt blue or some other color of our choice. It became a short version of my life, told from the perspective of colors that heal me!

Cobalt blue has always been a power color for me. It’s not that I wear it. You can’t capture that level of intensity in a fabric…unless you’re Kate Middleton, maybe. For me, I find it only in translucent glassware of stained glass blue.

The color’s healing power probably began for me when I was a toddler in a house where 3-4 adults smoked roll-your-own cigarettes incessantly. My adored grandmother would get out that cobalt blue jar of pungent Vicks Vaporub and grease my chest to ease my labored breathing.  

 

©4-20-11 by Donna Cunningham, MSW

 We’re coming up on a great milestone here on this blog—the 500^th post.  I’d like to start by saying thank you to my Readers—without your enthusiastic participation, the journey would not have been as rewarding or nearly as much fun.

 I’d also like to say a special thanks to my fellow authors who’ve acted as guest bloggers. I’m always on the hunt for great articles on astrological and metaphysical subjects to feature on Skywriter. Sometimes these articles are by well-known astrologers and sometimes they’re by emerging talents, but they always produce something new and interesting for Skywriter’s readers to absorb. Below–in alphabetical order–are links to some of the most-visited guest posts.

It is one of the ongoing missions of this blog to alert readers to dangerous scams by identity thieves.  This one ALMOST got me, because it came in two stages, one last week and one today.  It purported to be from PayPal, the first one saying they’d be in touch soon to help me set up an email based monthly account information report.  Okay, I thought, but I don’t like doing banking online as it’s too vulnerable to hacking.

Then today, I got the second announcement, looking for all the world like an authentic PayPal communication, because they had copied PayPal’s graphics–easy enough, as anyone can do it with a simple right click.  It contained several links that I was to click on to set up the account statement mailings.  I ALMOST  bit because it looked so real.  Have a look at this screen shot:  

©4-17-11 by Donna Cunningham, MSW

 We’ve already talked about the way people with a planet closely conjunct the Ascendant are bound to be noticed by those in their immediate environment. What observers see isn’t necessarily the real person—they generally notice the qualities of that 1^st house planet, strongly projected at the cost of seeing the whole person. (How Does your First House Give the Wrong Impression?)

 The same is true of a planet conjunct the Midheaven within a 10° range on either the 10^th house or 9^th house side, except that it covers a much wider arena. The Midheaven shows your impact on the public at large, even people who may never meet you or see you in person.