Keeping an Eye on the Real Sky — Part 1

Over the many years of organizing and hosting C*I*A Star Camps in Australia's outback , Northern NSW and more locally Healesville, Victoria over the past 12 years, it has always been our criteria to spend our nights retreating under the stars, around a camp fire, with telescopes and binoculars, orientating and familiarizing our guests and ourselves with the astro signatures also visible in the night sky.

As a keen astro student, it was always important for me to understand the mechanics and movement of our turning sky and how the real sky relates or doesn't to our astro charts. I've always passed this need to understand, onto my students, and believe it gives us astrologers a much better sense of what we are doing and not doing when we converse with the stars.

It's been a treat to watch astrology grow in this light over the years as so many more cosmic seekers are aware of the night sky and its happenings. Some of the C*I*A's first Facebook posts and photos were of night sky happenings and writing about them. It helped so many of our followers relate much better to our world of astrology when they could see it as well. It is a great way to communicate with those on the fringes of astrology, by explaining what is going on and what they can see. Sun Sign astrology is often called the gateway drug to real astrology, I think Real Sky astrology is a much more valid gateway to the same end and have kept it a strong cosmic mission to uphold in my work.

Years ago, travelling to ULURU with a group of Agents after our first Star Camp in the outback, we donned our C*I*A Tshirts to get that fab sunset pic and afterwards were stopped by numerous tourists asking us to explain the night sky to them. It's been a treat to do this for many others too, and I'm still surprised how many don't understand the turning we are in. I've loved being asked to do night sky tours at a conference in Costa Rica and even asked to do an impromptu sing song with an iconic Melbourne entertainer at a big party, singing about Mars and Venus setting in the western evening sky together right in front of us.

So, in this SKY SPY segment, I look forward to bringing you the visual highlights that link our astrology back to the night sky over the next 3 months, to get our astrology further connected to what is showing itself to us out there.

As this Timelords magazine is released, and as mentioned in my editorial, (and before we leave this image on this page), currently we have Venus at her maximum elongation (Oct 29th) with her brightest apparition still to come, by Dec 7th, 202. During Nov Venus crosses the majesty of the galactic centre, so make sure to get away from city lights, wait till it darkens, to see this beauty with the Milkyway bulge and centre directly behind her!

I was hoping to use a photo of mine for this, but recent weather in Melbourne, lots of rain, and lockdown just ending (Oct 29th) I couldn’t get out and get one. So here we see Venus with the Galactic Centre backdrop, set for Melbourne, Australia using Stellarium software.

Note: In Melbourne Australia we see the constellation of Scorpius setting here with his head facing down as it sets yet depending on your latitude and location this will be viewed slightly differently. Firstly, this image flips from left to right for the northern hemisphere and as Venus is also Out of Bounds till early December, gives height and perspective in southern latitudes. For more on declination and OOB planets see Agent 33's segment TIME CYCLES.

There are of course many sky apps these days that help us locate things in the night sky from our phones and computers so do get one if you haven't already. My favourites have been Star Walk 3D and the fab Cosmic Watch, as we wait for our holographic astrology charts to manifest, they are a great way to learn.

As well as the majesty of Venus, November also sees Mars come to light out of the beams of the Sun to helically rise, around Nov 22nd, when at about 15° Scorpio as the Sun enters Sagittarius. In his own sign of Scorpio, Mars becomes the morning scout, the leader of the pack. Visibility will grow in coming months as he begins to rise earlier than the Sun each morning, reflecting a time for us, to take lead, and take charge with that new adventure, fuelled with passion and gusto as the depth of Scorpio requires. Check this area of your astrology chart for more info on where and how this will be activated. Quite honestly for me after nonstop work, and no surprise at all, this new adventure is about a getaway for me, as this happens in my 12th house conjunct Neptune.

A special treat during November and December, is that of the waxing moon coming to join Venus twice more before she disappears into retrograde, now more popularly known as the Venus/Moon gates - when the Moon catches Venus in her monthly cycle, waxing in evening or waning in morning sky.

NOV 8th's Moon gate is at 2° CAP, when Venus is crowned the Queen of the Night after max elongation and before max brightness. Consider this area of your astrology chart and where this crowning is taking place. Achievements, a culmination of sorts, a recognition of your Venusian values amplify the meaning of Venus in Capricorn, with Venus in her highest evening state!

The Next visible Venus /Moon gate is on December 8th at 23° Capricorn with Venus now at her brightest. Wherever this may shine in your chart, will highlight a culmination of the past 18-month journey (1 month to go for full 19mth cycle to complete) a further reflection on what now comes down to earth for us, as Venus falls into retrograde and into the Sun's light. How lovely to note that 23° Capricorn is the C*I*A ascendant yet is also in the aim and degrees of the coming retrograde cycle. Also make sure as you witness these Venus/Moon gates as the sky darkens, tilt your head back to see Saturn and Jupiter in a one sky swoop.

Venus rx - 26° - 11° CAP 19th Dec ,21 - 29th - Jan, 22

As the great goddess comes closer to earth to fall into retrograde, we aim to re-align and re-balance our way forward. We can for-see what maybe arising for us already during this time as we reflect what has occurred over the last 19th months since the last retrograde in June 2020 in Gemini. Venus in Capricorn will now complete the story as she renews herself.

Venus turns retrograde conjunct Pluto, at 26° Capricorn on 19th December as she is still visible - their conjunction here is also parallel in latitude, within 1°, strengthening further their meeting. So even though we can't see Pluto, which suits the dark underworld lord, it seems even more significant as Venus makes her stationary point here. From a mundane perspective what will be dredged up and transfigured regarding our new Aquarian laws and rules implemented by our governments, corporations and establishments of power and control over the last 19 months. Venus and her value system come in right on cue for a significant update.

Venus then sets into the Sun by early Jan 2022, makes her Sun conjunction Star Point @ 19° Capricorn on January 9th, and appears again as the morning star by Jan 16th at 15° Capricorn. Her quick dip into invisibility doesn't last long at this stage of her cycle, but the 40 days and 40 nights of retrograde will surely bring some much-needed updates in the Capricorn area of our lives. It may be a re-ignition of goals which have been on hold for many, a coming back or a letting go to someone or something, a reconnect or a disconnect, that Venus retrogrades often hold in our personal stories. During this time at Venus comes to light again, Mars dips into OOB till Feb 12th, adding to the breakthrough shifts that we wait for these begining weeks of 2022.

Jan 14th as Mercury stations retrograde conjunct Saturn, we may see them close in evening sky together by longitude degrees and also by parallel before disappearing into to Sun's light by months end. It is then Jupiter who becomes the highlight of evening skies and the dynamic duo of Mars and Venus in morning skies, but that story is for next chapter, stay tuned!

For those wanting to learn and connect more to Venus for this special time, join "VENUS THE NEXT CHAPTER" online event as I have invited Adam Gainsburg, Patricia Walsh and Adam Sommer for our next fab and info packed C*I*A online event. For C*I*A members, you will receive 20% off the above Workshop, but also an extras 2.5 hours recording I recently made on the Venus Cycle Capricorn. So many great reasons to join the C*I*A Academy.

Hope to see some of you then, and make sure to keep your eye on that sky! Remember also to follow C*I*A on our Social media channels for photos and post updates, videos and more.