The Voice of the Silence on Compassion (H.P. Blavatsky) Altruism, Selflessness, Bodhisattvic Path

H.P. Blavatsky's The Voice of the Silence, an inspirational text, gives many teachings on the spiritual path, with certain specific Hindu and Buddhist inflections, but applicable to wider perspectives as well. There is reference to the Bodhisattvic Path, and the related passages on altruism, selflessness, and compassion are possibly some of the most eloquent, original, and distinctive.

Thou canst not travel on the Path before thou hast become that Path itself (32). (1,58)

Let thy Soul lend its ear to every cry of pain like as the lotus bares its heart to drink the morning sun. (1,59)

Let not the fierce Sun dry one tear of pain before thyself hast wiped it from the sufferer’s eye. (1,60)

But let each burning human tear drop on thy heart and there remain, nor ever brush it off, until the pain that caused it is removed. (1,61)

These tears, O thou of heart most merciful, these are the streams that irrigate the fields of charity immortal. ‘Tis on such soil that grows the midnight blossom of Buddha (33) more difficult to find, more rare to view than is the flower of the Vogay tree. It is the seed of freedom from rebirth. It isolates the Arhat both from strife and lust, it leads him through the fields of Being unto the peace and bliss known only in the land of Silence and Non-Being. (1,62)

Alas, alas, that all men should possess Alaya, be one with the great Soul, and that possessing it, Alaya should so little avail them!(2,107)

Behold how like the moon, reflected in the tranquil waves, Alaya is reflected by the small and by the great, is mirrored in the tiniest atoms, yet fails to reach the heart of all. Alas, that so few men should profit by the gift, the priceless boon of learning truth, the right perception of existing things, the Knowledge of the non-existent! (2,108)

 

But Path the Second is — renunciation, and therefore called the “Path of Woe.” (2,183)

That Secret Path leads the Arhan to mental woe unspeakable; woe for the living Dead (36), and helpless pity for the men of Karmic sorrow, the fruit of Karma Sages dare not still. (2,184)

 

“Sweet are the fruits of Rest and Liberation for the sake of Self; but sweeter still the fruits of long and bitter duty. Aye, Renunciation for the sake of others, of suffering fellow men.” (2,190)

He, who becomes Pratyeka-Buddha (38), makes his obeisance but to his Self. The Bodhisattva who has won the battle, who holds the prize within his palm, yet says in his divine compassion: (2,191)

“For others’ sake this great reward I yield” — accomplishes the greater Renunciation. (2,192)

 

“Hast thou attuned thy heart and mind to the great mind and heart of all mankind? For as the sacred River’s roaring voice whereby all Nature-sounds are echoed back (10), so must the heart of him ‘who in the stream would enter,’ thrill in response to every sigh and thought of all that lives and breathes.” (3,225)

Disciples may be likened to the strings of the soul-echoing Vînâ; mankind, unto its sounding board; the hand that sweeps it to the tuneful breath of the great world-soul. The string that fails to answer ‘neath the Master’s touch in dulcet harmony with all the others, breaks — and is cast away. So the collective minds of Lanoo-Śrâvakas. They have to be attuned to the Upâdhyâya’s mind — one with the Over-Soul — or, break away. (3,226)

Hast thou attuned thy being to Humanity’s great pain, O candidate for light? (3,228)

 

Ere thou canst settle in Jñâna Mârga (18) and call it thine, thy Soul has to become as the ripe mango fruit: as soft and sweet as its bright golden pulp for others’ woes, as hard as that fruit’s stone for thine own throes and sorrows, O Conqueror of Weal and Woe. (3,261)

 

Shall he not use the gifts which it confers for his own rest and bliss, his well-earn’d weal and glory — he, the subduer of the great Delusion? (3,284)

 Nay, O thou candidate for Nature’s hidden lore! If one would follow in the steps of holy Tathâgata, those gifts and powers are not for Self. (3,285) 

Know, if of Amitâbha, the “Boundless Age,” thou would’st become co-worker, then must thou shed the light acquired, like to the Bodhisattvas twain (26), upon the span of all three worlds (27). (3,288)

Know that the stream of superhuman knowledge and the Deva-Wisdom thou hast won, must, from thyself, the channel of Alaya, be poured forth into another bed. (3,289)

Know, O Naljor, thou of the Secret Path, its pure fresh waters must be used to sweeter make the Ocean’s bitter waves — that mighty sea of sorrow formed of the tears of men. (3,290)

Alas! when once thou hast become like the fix’d star in highest heaven, that bright celestial orb must shine from out the spatial depths for all — save for itself; give light to all, but take from none. (3,291)

Alas! when once thou hast become like the pure snow in mountain vales, cold and unfeeling to the touch, warm and protective to the seed that sleepeth deep beneath its bosom — ’tis now that snow which must receive the biting frost, the northern blasts, thus shielding from their sharp and cruel tooth the earth that holds the promised harvest, the harvest that will feed the hungry. (3,292)

Self-doomed to live through future Kalpas,* unthanked and unperceived by man; wedged as a stone with countless other stones which form the “Guardian Wall” (28), such is thy future if the seventh gate thou passest. Built by the hands of many Masters of Compassion, raised by their tortures, by their blood cemented, it shields mankind, since man is man, protecting it from further and far greater misery and sorrow. (3,293)

 

There Kleśa (29) is destroyed for ever, Tanhâ’s (30) roots torn out. But stay, Disciple . . . Yet, one word. Canst thou destroy divine compassion? Compassion is no attribute. It is the LAW of laws — eternal Harmony, Alaya’s SELF; a shoreless universal essence, the light of everlasting Right, and fitness of all things, the law of love eternal.(3,300)

 The more thou dost become at one with it, thy being melted in its BEING, the more thy Soul unites with that which IS, the more thou wilt become Compassion Absolute (31). (3,301)

Now bend thy head and listen well, O Bodhisattva — Compassion speaks and saith: “Can there be bliss when all that lives must suffer? Shalt thou be saved and hear the whole world cry?” (3,307)

Astrology: Saturn sextile Pluto, March 28, 2026

Saturn in Aries sextile Pluto in Aquarius

In March 2026, Saturn, at 5° Aries 10’, forms a sextile with Pluto at the same degree of Aquarius, 5° Aquarius 10’. This is a standalone transit. 

Saturn in Aries You are resourceful, and capable of applying new methods in a practical manner. Your lessons are in patience and self-reliance.
Pluto in Aquarius Reform, revolution, a rejection of the past and a focus on the future. People in this generation have the ability to make scientific breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity, and may be forced to change the way science is viewed.  

Saturn entered Aries on January 7, 2026, beginning a three-year transit through the sign of initiation and leadership. Pluto entered Aquarius definitively in November 2024 and will remain there until 2043. The sextile between them first became orb in February 2026, tightens to near-exact at 1 degree by March 27, 2026, and loosens through late April — aligning with the Spring Equinox five-planet Aries convergence, a season of rare cosmic density.

 The last Saturn-Pluto sextile occurred in 2012–2013, when Saturn was in Scorpio and Pluto in Capricorn in mutual reception — amplifying each planet's intensity. That period saw the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis coalesce into new regulatory frameworks, the rise of open-source technology movements, and significant structural reorganization in legacy media.

The sextile before that was 1994–1995, during Saturn in Pisces and Pluto in Scorpio — coinciding with the early commercialization of the internet, NAFTA implementation, and foundational shifts in global trade architecture. The pattern is consistent: Saturn-Pluto sextiles favor builders. They reward those who do the unglamorous work of structural redesign — not revolution for its own sake, but deliberate, sustainable reinvention.

https://www.serenastro.com/blog/saturn-sextile-pluto-aries-aquarius-march-2026 

 According to Robert Hand, Saturn sextile Pluto allows one to ‘withstand great tests of strength if you have to.’, ‘have understanding of the forces that make you an individual.’, ‘voluntarily restrict the focus of your energies, which makes them even more effective.’ ‘work harder than you have in many years.’. It  ‘applies to work that you do within yourself as well as the external world.’,  ‘can be a time of great achievements.’,  and ‘may well be a time of professional advancement.’ (Planets in Transit, p. 359)

This is a time when dedication and commitment to goals run high. We are more reliably and consistently productive. We derive satisfaction from a job well done, especially if we can readily attach meaning to it. We are more able to concentrate. We can see ourselves and our purpose very clearly. It’s an excellent time to cultivate patience and eliminate the unnecessary, allowing us to focus on what truly matters.

It can be a good time to dedicate ourselves to self-understanding, research, or counseling. Developing self-discipline can be rewarding and worthwhile. Narrowing our focus to a particular pursuit can be beneficial, as it allows us to apply ourselves and prioritize effectively.

It’s also a strong time for reforming social and political systems. Making the most of things is a strong theme. We can be more resourceful and good at preparing for our future.

Particularly if this transit accents our natal charts well, this can be a good time for cutting out bad habits and reforming our everyday routines. Setting new and improved goals can be in the spotlight.

https://cafeastrology.com/events/saturn-sextile-pluto/

Saturn sextile Pluto transit helps you overcome hardship with endurance and determination. You can harness all your inner power to succeed in the most challenging tasks. This should be a time of achievement and success.

You will be focused, efficient and driven by whatever you apply yourself to. You will filter out the background noise and avoid distractions that are not essential to the job. Your tremendous work ethic makes you highly productive and enables professional recognition and advancement.

https://astrologyking.com/saturn-sextile-pluto

 

Ode - Arthur O'Shaughnessy,1873

Arthur William Edgar O'Shaughnessy (14 March 1844 – 30 January 1881) was a British poet and herpetologist. Of Irish descent, he was born in London. He is most remembered for his poem "Ode", from his 1874 collection Music and Moonlight. The phrase "movers and shakers" (now used to describe powerful and worldly individuals and groups) originates here. The first two lines of the poem were recited by Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka in the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971).

 

According to Sir Edmund Gosse, O'Shaughnessy was one of Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton's many children born out of wedlock. He was part of the Pre-Raphaelite poet movement. The artists Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Ford Madox Brown were among O'Shaughnessy's circle of friends. In his influential 1957 essay, T. S. Eliot says that, despite his uneven output, "We Are the Music Makers" belongs in any 19th century verse anthology.The anthologist Francis Turner Palgrave, declared that of the modern poets, despite his limited output, O'Shaughnessy had a gift that in some ways was second only to Tennyson and "a haunting music all his own".

 Ode - Arthur O'Shaughnessy, 1873

 

We are the music makers,
    And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
    And sitting by desolate streams; —
World-losers and world-forsakers,
    On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
    Of the world for ever, it seems.

With wonderful deathless ditties
We build up the world's great cities,
    And out of a fabulous story
    We fashion an empire's glory:
One man with a dream, at pleasure,
    Shall go forth and conquer a crown;
And three with a new song's measure
    Can trample a kingdom down.

We, in the ages lying,
    In the buried past of the earth,
Built Nineveh with our sighing,
    And Babel itself in our mirth;
And o'erthrew them with prophesying
    To the old of the new world's worth;
For each age is a dream that is dying,
    Or one that is coming to birth.

A breath of our inspiration
Is the life of each generation;
    A wondrous thing of our dreaming
    Unearthly, impossible seeming —
The soldier, the king, and the peasant
    Are working together in one,
Till our dream shall become their present,
    And their work in the world be done.

They had no vision amazing
Of the goodly house they are raising;
    They had no divine foreshowing
    Of the land to which they are going:
But on one man's soul it hath broken,
    A light that doth not depart;
And his look, or a word he hath spoken,
    Wrought flame in another man's heart.

And therefore to-day is thrilling
With a past day's late fulfilling;
    And the multitudes are enlisted
    In the faith that their fathers resisted,
And, scorning the dream of to-morrow,
    Are bringing to pass, as they may,
In the world, for its joy or its sorrow,
    The dream that was scorned yesterday.

But we, with our dreaming and singing,
    Ceaseless and sorrowless we!
The glory about us clinging
    Of the glorious futures we see,
Our souls with high music ringing:
    O men! it must ever be
That we dwell, in our dreaming and singing,
    A little apart from ye.

For we are afar with the dawning
    And the suns that are not yet high,
And out of the infinite morning
    Intrepid you hear us cry —
How, spite of your human scorning,
    Once more God's future draws nigh,
And already goes forth the warning
    That ye of the past must die.

Great hail! we cry to the comers
    From the dazzling unknown shore;
Bring us hither your sun and your summers;
    And renew our world as of yore;
You shall teach us your song's new numbers,
    And things that we dreamed not before:
Yea, in spite of a dreamer who slumbers,
    And a singer who sings no more.

Astrology: Spring Equinox, March 20, 2026- Part 2 - Chart

With the astrological cycle re-boot as the Sun enters dynamic Aries, while Mercury goes  direct, a recent new moon on the 18th, a bold, upbeat Mars trine Jupiter on the 21st, with five planets in Aries, and the Sun conjunct the apex of the Neptune-Pluto-Uranus magic triangle, Spring is arriving with quite a kick.

1- Mercury/Mars in Pisces trine Jupiter in Cancer

This is a good energy for debate or energetic mental work. We may be argumentative and irritable. Our thinking processes are more visual, intuitive, and imaginative. We can be more compassionate, adaptive, and evasive. Looking for meaning in mundane affairs, positive thinking, insights, cooperation are key themes. Our ideas are big and our intentions noble, with a focus on intuition, imagination, and expressing feelings. Decisive action comes naturally now. We possess willpower, verve, and energy that we can direct toward achieving our goals. We want to branch out and take on more challenges, with a focus on family and housing, with empathy and flexibility.

2- Sun/Saturn/Neptune in Aries-Pluto in Aquarius-Uranus in Taurus minor grand trine (Magic Triangle)

One can feel the constraints of time and are motivated by the desire to manifest tangible results, with an openness to new methods. We are sensitive to the moods and undercurrents around us. We may have a hard time defining our actions and our goals, perhaps losing sight of reality and reason. Increased spiritual awareness, imagination, and inspiration, with a sense of exploration and risk-taking.

We are willing to adapt to new circumstances, ideas, and unfamiliar situations. We can find creative solutions to problems now and effect positive changes, with a focus on practical environmental issues and innovative financial solutions. Opportunities to find or renew something we had lost, and to gain some power are available now, with a focus on social reform and technological innovation.

Humanitarian ideals, spiritual seeking, altruistic and compassionate feelings, as well as meeting different people are favoured. Openness to new ideas, innovations, originality, alternative lifestyles focused on environmental and housing technologies, land and housing rights, and creative pursuits can emerge. A sense of practical, constructive accomplishment is also facilitated.

3- Moon/Venus in Aries square Jupiter in Cancer

This is an affectionate and friendly influence, but pleasing. Being pampered and pampering are desires, and anything that brings more beauty and harmony to your life is favored, with an impulsive, passionate bent to take action to acquire them. Feelings of elation in love or with regards to the pleasures of life can lead us to overdo, overindulge, overspend, and overstate our feelings. We might take great strides to get noticed. We may also feel lazy and we are inclined to procrastinate. Tensions in family and home can result. One may not especially realistic due to moodiness. Feeling less hopeful or optimistic or feeling over-confident or enthusiastic to the point of over-excitement can be a tendency. Self-indulgence is more likely now, with a sense of impulsiveness and independence.

Analysis

The Winter chart featured Jupiter strongly aligned with the magic triangle with some powerful hindrances with other planets. This time, with a less intense chart, Jupiter offers more separate helps and hindrances, with the Sun strongly aligned with the magic triangle, giving a heightened indication of the potential of the magic triangle pattern. Uranus entering Gemini on May 25, marks the beginning of the magic triangle's stable position for the next three years, which can be considered a distinctly new sky formation in contrast to the previous configuration marked by Uranus square Pluto (2011-2016). This semester marks the start of the second, the most optimistic and constructive, 5-year phase of the twenty-year Jupiter-Saturn cycle. Exact on May 26, a volatile Mars square Pluto, could be the most challenging period of the semester (in effect for 3 weeks prior and 3 weeks after).

Prognostic 

The tight Mercury/Mars trine Jupiter brings idealistic, articulate, insightful energy with intuition and empathy, which can be dynamic, assertive and productive. Intense ideological debates could be a tendency. The magic triangle, aligned with the Sun and Saturn, brings a strong and realistic impetus for creative innovation, social change, and spiritual progress. A Jupiter in Cancer trine and square imparts a focus on family values and housing issues. The main obstacle this semester comes with Moon/Venus square Jupiter, which can distract with escapist emotional and sensual desires for personal self-indulgence, social dispersion, moodiness, indolence and procrastination.

Current Planets in Signs

Sun in Aries (March 20-April 20) A new sense of self, a more assertive personal style, a more dynamic approach to life.

Moon in Aries Impulsive, passionate, and independent energy 

Mercury in Pisces (February 6-April 14) When Mercury is in Pisces, our thinking processes are more visual, intuitive, and imaginative. We are especially attuned to the world of emotion, which colors both our thoughts and our communication style.

Venus in Aries  (March 6-30) We gravitate to Aries-like activities, pleasures, pastimes, and objects of interest. Our tastes can veer toward action, new enterprise, conquests, courageous or daring acts, and so forth. We can be somewhat impulsive with our money or entertainment choices.

Mars in Pisces (March 2-April 9)Compassion drives us while Mars is in Pisces. We can be chameleons, adapting to the current situation quite expertly, although we can also be escape artists, preferring to avoid rather than confront.

Jupiter in Cancer Self care, security, setting down roots, establishing your ties with the past; often a sign of growth in all things connected with family and property.

Saturn in Aries You are resourceful, and capable of applying new methods in a practical manner. Your lessons are in patience and self-reliance.

Uranus in Taurus We approach money and personal possessions in new ways and learn how to free ourselves from certain material constraints.

Neptune in Aries the potential to be spiritual pioneers. They take risks in exploring the mystical realms. This generation may also boast many pioneers in the arts.

Pluto in Aquarius Reform, revolution, a rejection of the past and a focus on the future. People in this generation have the ability to make scientific breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity, and may be forced to change the way science is viewed.

 

Upcoming Aspects  

Mar 28 Saturn sextile Pluto

Apr 25  Uranus conjunct Gemini 

May 26  Mars  square Pluto 

 

References 

https://cafeastrology.com/

https://astrologyking.com/ 

Robert Hand, Planets in Transit  

The Uranus Neptune Pluto Triangle of 2024–2028

https://jessicadavidson.co.uk/2023/11/13/the-uranus-neptune-pluto-triangle-2024-2027/

Astrology: The Year Ahead 2026

https://theosophyproject.blogspot.com/2025/09/astrology-year-ahead-2026.html 

D. T. Suzuki on Looking Within, Spiritual Potential, Freedom and the Sense of Zen

The opening page of an anthology of essays by D. T. Suzuki is quite striking in its simple eloquence and has become one his more frequently quoted texts, but we feel that is worth re-quoting...

 

A recent publication of note: 

 

Spreading Indra's Net: The Columbia Lectures of D. T. Suzuki

Richard M. Jaffe, Shigematsu Sōiku, Tokiwa Gishin , Elizabeth Mary Thomas, editors

Spreading Indra’s Net presents Suzuki’s 1952–1953 lectures in full, giving a vivid look at how one of the most important global Buddhist figures of the twentieth century interpreted Zen for an American audience.

THE SENSE OF ZEN

Zen in its essence is the art of seeing into the nature of one's own being, and it points the way from bondage to freedom. By making us drink right from the fountain of life, it liberates us from all the yokes under which we finite beings are usually suffering in this world. 

 

We can say that Zen liberates all the energies properly and naturally stored in each of us, which are in ordinary circumstances cramped and distorted so that they find no adequate channel for activity.

This body of ours is something like an electric battery in which a mysterious power latently lies. When this power is not properly brought into operation, it either grows mouldy and withers away or is warped and expresses itself abnormally. It is the object of Zen, therefore, to save us from going crazy or being crippled. 

 

This is what I mean by freedom, giving free play to all the creative and benevolent impulses inherently lying in our hearts. Generally, we are blind to this fact, that we are in possession of all the necessary faculties that will make us happy and loving towards one another. All the struggles that we see around us come from this ignorance. 

 

Zen, therefore, wants us to open a "third eye," as Buddhists call it, to the hitherto undreamed-of region shut away from us through our own ignorance. When the cloud of ignorance disappears, the infinity of the heavens is manifested, where we see for the first time into the nature of our own being. 

 

We now know the signification of life, we know that it is not blind striving, nor is it a mere display of brutal forces, but that while we know not definitely what the ultimate purport of life is, there is something in it that makes us feel infinitely blessed in the living of it and remain quite contented with it in all its evolution, without raising questions or entertaining pessimistic doubts.

 

Zen Buddhism - Selected Writings of D. T. Suzuki, 1956, Anchor Books

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/175544/zen-buddhism-by-selected-writings-of-dt-suzuki-edited-by-william-barrett/9780385483490/excerpt 

Astrology: Spring Equinox, March 20, 2026- Part 1 - Review

For the Winter prognostic, we wrote:

The burgeoning energy of humanitarian, idealistic, innovative, original spiritual and social reform should continue to be felt more and more, but the Winter semester could still be similar to most of 2025, with some turmoil and upheavals due to the major astrological changes. Indeed, there could be added motivation for bold, progressive, concrete reforming and innovating with a broad sense of optimism and openness emerging. At an individual level, we have a dynamic, outgoing, efficient outlook that is valuing friendly social relations and cooperation based on common values and objectives.

However, there could be tensions felt due to an exaggerated optimism and confidence, as well as a general resistance to energies of change. Hence these two conflicting poles (individual social assertiveness and idealistic progress) can cause obstacles, blockages, confusion, and misunderstandings. There can be frustrations, disillusionment and disappointments, which could tend to prompt pause for a reality check, in order to better adjust the enthusiasm more in accord with practical possibilities and long term goals. This situation can result at worst in volatile breakdowns.

With Mars square Neptune (Dec. 14), Sun square Saturn Dec. 16) and Sun square Neptune (Dec. 20) marking the end of the year, the new year began, as

Mercury entered Capricorn (Jan 1) with some dramatic events:

 

Trump and Zelensky appear more upbeat - but show little evidence that peace is near for Ukraine (Dec 29); Swiss Alps ski resort fire 41 people died in the fire, and 116 others were injured  (January 1); Venezuela president NicolasMaduro removed from office by US (January 3); US withdraws from 66 international organizations (January 8); Iran plunged into internet blackout as nationwide anti-government turmoil spreads (Jan 9); US President Donald Trump has said he is seeking to acquire Greenland for national security reasons; Ancient Astronauts writer Erich von Däniken (1935 - January 10, 202); Acoustic jazz guitarist Ralph Towner dies (March 1, 1940 – January 18, 2026)

Jan 20 Saturn sextile Uranus

The ICE Killing of Renée Nicole Good (Jan 21); Trump Launches ‘Board of Peace’ in Davos with nearly 25 countries (Jan 21); Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney makes defiant speech at World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos (Jan 21).

Jan 26 Neptune conjunct Aries

Hundreds of migrants feared dead in Mediterranean shipwrecks since start of 2026  (January 26); Taiwan Tremor and Mt. Merapi Eruption (Jan 27); Thousands demonstrate in Minnesota and across US to protest ICE (January 31); Collision with Greek coastguard boat leaves 15 migrants dead (Feb 4); Gunmen kill nearly 200 in Nigeria’s Kwara and Katsina attacks (Feb. 6); Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia mass shooting: 9 deaths, 25 injured in Canada (Feb. 11); Cyclone Gezani was one of the most intense recorded around Madagascar in the satellite era. 400,000 people overall were left in humanitarian needs (Feb. 8-12, 17)

Feb 13 Saturn conjunct Aries 

Japan's Sanae Takaichi wins snap election in a landslide (Feb. 8). Sailor Moon musical theatre show announced, which features a Queen Valusia, a possible nod to Robert E. Howard's Theosophy-inspired fantasy world (Feb. 8). Japan is eyeing revising the anti-prostitution law to potentially include buyers who solicit sex for money as violators, closing a widely criticized loophole wherein only sellers are deemed to be in violation (Feb. 10). Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara won the gold medal after a stunning free skate, in a dramatic, come-from-behind win. The Japanese figure skating team has been a highlight of the 2026 games, helping Japan set a new record for their highest total number of medals in a single Winter Olympics (Feb. 16).

Feb 17  Solar eclipse near the North Node in Aquarius

Actor Robert Duvall dies (February 15); Social activist Jesse Louis Jackson (1941 – February 17, 2026); Tornadoes hit Indiana, Illinois as destructive storms blast through parts of Midwest (Feb. 19); 

Feb 20 Saturn conjunct Neptune 

Violence erupted following the killing of the powerful cartel leader known as El Mencho, (Feb. 22); Major US East Coast SnowStorm North Carolina to northern Maine. More than 600,000 properties on the US east coast endured power outages (Feb. 23)

Feb 27 Mars square Uranus 

Pakistan declares ‘open war’ against Afghanistan after cross-border attack (Feb 27); US, Israel engage in war on Iran (Feb. 28); Cuba coastguard incident (Feb. 28)

Mar 3  Lunar eclipse

Sudan war escalates with heavy drone strikes (March 11); Former rapper and Gen Z's candidate Balendra Shah wins Nepali election by landslide (March 12). 

 

Thomas Pynchon, whose Vineland adaptation has won many awards, enters the cinematic Zeit-Geist with One Battle After Another, winner of six Oscars, Best Picture, Best Director Paul Thomas Anderson, Best Supporting Actor Sean Penn, Adapted Screenplay, Editing, and Best Casting.  KPop Demon Hunters  HUNTR/X members Rumi, Mira, and Zoey, Canadian-Korean director Maggie Kang win Oscar  for best animated feature (March 16).

 

This semester witnessed 2 of the 3 final major planetary shifts, with the 3rd due on April 25.  A general turmoil due to the unstable nature of shifting planets situated on the cusp of two signs could be felt. Note that although the current 'Magic Triangle' has important indicators of peaceful dispositions, it doesn't necessarily mean stable, smooth sailing. The pattern reminds of something similar in 1966, which was a period of militant social protest and strong resistance to it, along with creative artistic experimental innovations with mass media technology. The indicators of volatile eruptions in the Winter chart weren't that strong, but the Mars square Uranus aspect on Feb.27, between two eclipses and an exact Saturn conjunct Neptune (quite difficult), saw some major conflicts emerge. One could see the Jupiter-influenced 'exaggerated optimism and confidence' with several very bold US interventions. (Greenland, ICE, Peace Board, Venezuela, Iran). Indeed, we also saw some conspiracy theorists get even more extravagant than usual and a Barack Obama comment on aliens prompted Donald Trump to order a release of UFO files. 

PS. For the Winter prognostic, I wrote: 'Should I rectify my previous statement about the Israel-Hamas war and predict an end before April 25? Presumably, it could, but with the difficult end of February period, it's possible that the peace process can get stalled this Winter.' Indeed, the situation has become

much more complicated, therefore, I think that it's safe to posit that it is more feasible to look to a period after April 25 to see an eventual peace achievement.