Astrology: Jupiter in Cancer, June 9, 2025

 

Jupiter is in Cancer from June 9, 2025 to June 30, 2026.

As you might guess, Jupiter isn’t too happy in Gemini, which has a tendency to scatter the opportunities this transit offers. In contrast, Jupiter is exalted in Cancer, which means it operates with ease, joy, and abundance in the sign of the Crab.

• Once Jupiter leaves Gemini for sentimental Cancer, the focus shifts from thinking to feeling. But don’t assume this means emotions will be in overdrive. Although Jupiter in Cancer heightens sensitivity, this opens hearts to empathy, the ability to understand how the other side feels. Deeper connections are possible when we’re able to get past the surface and find common emotional threads.
• Cancer’s desire to nurture thrives during this transit. Caring for others, whether that be loved ones or needy folks, adds meaning to our lives. Opportunities to give comfort are abundant, which help foster tighter-knit communities. If you see a need, this is the ideal time to pitch in.

• 
• Although Cancer is associated with comfort, it’s also a cardinal sign, which means it prefers to take action. Rather than sitting around hoping for security, this transit says: make it happen. That might mean frugality, growing your own food, mending rather than buying new, tending to home improvement projects, or installing alarm systems. It’s an excellent year to get thrifty and add to your savings account.

Because Cancer rules the stomach and Jupiter loves to keep the faith, there is no better time to develop and trust your intuition. Go with your gut—it will help you make the best decisions this year.

https://www.almanac.com/jupiter-cancer-2025-big-planet-goes-home

In Cancer, Jupiter motivates us to honor our intuition, emotions, families, and inner needs, and to build our support systems.

During this Jupiter in Cancer cycle, we place strong emphasis and value on the emotions and instincts to nurture. We attract the most good fortune when we are sympathetic, charitable, use our powers to save and accumulate, and comfort others. Real estate, child care, mother care, and the food industry can be prosperous avenues.

Jupiter not only likes to expand, it likes to learn, so when Jupiter is paired with Cancer, we may be more interested in learning about our roots, exploring genealogy, learning about family traditions, and the like. We might value real estate, owning a home, expanding our home, and building a family. We might have more faith in our family, as its value increases in our eyes. Connecting intimately is valued. With a Water sign Jupiter, we have a strong belief in a higher power. We are most able to attract luck and rich life experiences through our intuition, imagination, and compassion. Helping those in need boosts our own morale.

Jupiter’s zeal can supersede moderation at times. It can expand the more negative qualities of a sign, just as it can expand the positive traits. Its zeal and enthusiasm is well-intentioned, but it can close our eyes to our immoderate behavior. In Cancer, negative manifestations include sticking too close to home or to all that is familiar at the expense of other life departments, eating too much (comfort food), smothering others, pampering ourselves, manipulative and roundabout behaviors, and clinging behaviors. Excessive clannishness is also a potential problem.

However, the “higher” vibration of Jupiter looks for perspective. Jupiter’s “perspective” isn’t a detached, analytical, or detailed look at any given situation, but an overview–a look at the “big picture”. With Jupiter, ideally, we are able to rise above pettiness, mundane concerns, inconveniences, and the like.

Where Jupiter is currently transiting in your own chart is generally where you are inclined to find your “joy” at this stage in your development.

• Do: connect with and repair relationships with family, loved ones, and roommates; honor needs for comfort, familiarity, and safety; recognize the importance of intuition.
• Don’t: overdo familiarity; use family or comfort as an excuse to avoid responsibilities to the outside world; over-pamper or coddle others and ourselves.

The last time Jupiter transited Cancer was from June 25th, 2013, until July 16th, 2014. See also Jupiter transits Cancer.

https://cafeastrology.com/events/jupiter-enters-cancer/

Tibetan Buddhist Shabkar Tsok Druk Rangdrol (1781-1851) on Compassion

Shabkar Tsokdruk Rangdrol (1781–1851) was a Tibetan Buddhist yogi and poet from Amdo. Shabkar's yogic and poetic skill is considered second only to Milarepa.

Shabkar's works express non-sectarian ideals similar to those of the 19th century Rimé movement, even though he predates the movement by about three decades and never met with any of the Rime masters from Kham. Shabkar also held that even non-Buddhist religions are manifestations of the Buddhas:

Thus, one should know all the tenets of the religions of Buddhism and non-Buddhism—for example, other religions, Bönpos, the Chan Buddhists, the Nyingma, the Kagyus, the Sakya, the Geluks, and so forth—to be the emanations of the buddhas and bodhisattvas.^[1]

Avalokiteshvara, mighty great treasure of compassion,

From my heart I invoke your blessing 

By this blessing may compassion be born in my mind

And in the minds of all beings under the sky.

 

If someone has compassion, he is a Buddha;

 

Without compassion, he is a Lord of Death.

With compassion, the root of Dharma is planted,
Without compassion, the root of Dharma is rotten.

One with compassion is kind even when angry,
One without compassion will kill even as he smiles.

For one with compassion, even his enemies will turn into friends,
Without compassion, even his friends turn into enemies.

With compassion, one has all Dharmas,
Without compassion, one has no Dharma at all.

With compassion, one is a Buddhist,
Without compassion, one is worse than a heretic.

Even if meditating on voidness, one needs compassion as its essence.
A Dharma practitioner must have a compassionate nature.

Compassion is the distinctive characteristic of Buddhism.
Compassion is the very essence of all Dharma.

Great compassion is like a wish-fulfilling gem.
Great compassion will fulfill the hopes of self and others.

Therefore, all of you, practitioners and laypeople,
Cultivate compassion and you will achieve Buddhahood.

May all men and women who hear this song,
With great compassion, benefit all beings!” 

Shabkar Tsok Druk Rangdrol (1781-1851) Matthieu Ricard, transl.
The Life of Shabkar: The Autobiography of a Tibetan Yogin, p. 501

Astrology: Saturn in Aries May 25, 2025

Saturn in Aries May 25, 2025

 

'All planets retrograde, not just the famous Mercury retrograde. Saturn retrogrades from July 12 until November 27, 2025.

On July 12, Saturn begins to retrograde while it’s in Aries. It’s time to review your goals, commitments, and structures. If your foundations are weak, you can address them now. It’s also possible you could receive a reality check if you’ve been moving too fast. A necessary speed bump could be a blessing in disguise.

On September 1st, Saturn swims back into Pisces for a final lap. Reflect on your spiritual growth and energetic boundaries. Are you standing up for yourself? Or do you still allow others to walk all over you? If you still struggle with saying no, consider this your make-up lesson.

Saturn stations direct on November 27 and reenters Aries on February 13, 2026, where it remains until April 12, 2028.'

https://www.almanac.com/saturn-aries-2025-turns-heat-saturns-move-aries 

 

'The last time Saturn was in Aries (April of 1996 through February of 1999, minus a three-month window in 1998 when Saturn paid a quick visit to Taurus):

• The United Kingdom passed the Firearms Act (which banned the private possession of all handguns)
• Australia implemented a large-scale gun buyback program
• The United States launched the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System that established boundaries around who could legally own a handgun
• The United States also passed The Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban, which banned people convicted of domestic violence from ever owning firearms.

It is likely that, during Saturn’s next journey through Aries, we will see new, updated, and/or stricter restrictions on guns and other assault weapons.

Saturn in Aries will also bring increased regulation to startups and gig economies. Saturn’s need for structure can often be helpful; it can turn a “Wild West” of chaos into a manageable landscape that everyone can easily navigate. The “flip side” of Saturn is that it can make things more laborious and challenging (in this case, startups and gig economies may find themselves subject to new hurdles, additional documentation, and bureaucratic processes).

Lastly, Aries is the quintessential “fighting spirit.” While not the collective advocacy we see with Aquarius (or the idealism we see with Pisces), Aries is the “enough is enough!” energy that collectively moves us from despondence and the desire to numb our pain away (the less-evolved parts of Pisces) to realizing that if we don’t advocate for ourselves, no one will. Globally, many people will realize that the institutions (Saturn) they have put their faith (Pisces) in over the last two years are not going to magically save them, and that it is up to them — as individuals — to fight.'

https://astrologywithandy.com/2025/02/13/the-astrology-of-2025/#more-632 

'Saturn in Aries could be a time when we harness our inner power and achieve great things! When we use the best of what Saturn (discipline) and Aries (initiative) have to provide, we won't back down from going after we want. We'll work hard for as long as it takes, fueled by a sense of competition that makes us want to do bigger and better things.

Saturn in Aries could be a time when we become self-reliant ... a little too self-reliant. The headstrong Aries energy combined with Saturn's determination could mean that we only want to do things our way. If we learn how to balance being independent with being cooperative, we'll find that we're more successful than when we ever could have been on our own.

We may also struggle with being assertive during this transit. Stern Saturn can put a damper on the confidence that we'd normally feel as a result of Aries' energy, so sticking up for ourselves may not come so easily during this time. But this is Saturn's lesson for us, so we need to make sure we voice our desires!

https://www.tarot.com/astrology/planets/saturn-in-aries

 

The Light of Asia - Sir Edwin Arnold - Lalitavistara

The Light of Asia.  Sir Edwin Arnold. The first edition of the book was published in London in July 1879. In the form of a narrative poem, the book endeavours to describe the life and time of Prince Gautama Buddha, who, after attaining enlightenment, became the Buddha, The Awakened One. The book presents his life, character, and philosophy in a series of verses. It is a free adaptation of the Lalitavistara Sutra. 

After receiving the poem from theosophists, Mahatma Gandhi was awed and his subsequent introduction to Madame Blavatsky and her Key to Theosophy inspired him to study his own religion.^[3]

"A timely work in poetical form, and one whose subject . . . has just made its appearance. . . . the author, Mr Edwin Arnold, C.S.I., former Principal of the Deccan College at Poona, having passed some years in India, has evidently studied his theme con amore. In his Preface he expresses a hope that the present work . . . “will preserve the memory of one who loved India and the Indian peoples”. The hope is well grounded, for if any Western poet has earned the right to grateful remembrance by Asiatic nations and is destined to live in their memory, it is the author of The Light of Asia.'' (H. P. Blavatsky “The Light of Asia”, The Theosophist, 1.1, Oct. 1879, p. 20)

 

In 1885,  Sir Edwin Arnold translated The Song Celestial: A Poetic Version of the Bhagavad Gita. Much admired by Blavatsky, this version became popular among Theosophists.

https://www.bhagavadgitam.com/translations/The-Song-Celestial-by-Sir-Edwin-Arnold.pdf

 

It seeth everywhere and marketh all: / Do right — it recompenseth! do one wrong — / The equal retribution must be made, / Though DHARMA tarry long.

It knows not wrath nor pardon; utter-true / Its measures mete, its faultless balance weighs; / Times are as nought, to-morrow it will judge, / Or after many days.

The Books say well, my Brothers! each man’s life / The outcome of his former living is; / The bygone wrongs bring forth sorrows and woes / The bygone right breeds bliss.

That which ye sow ye reap. See yonder fields! / The sesamum was sesamum, the corn / Was corn. The Silence and the Darkness knew! / So is a man’s fate born. (Chapt. 8)

I, Buddh, who wept with all my brothers’ tears, / Whose heart was broken by a whole world’s woe, / Laugh and am glad, for there is Liberty! / Ho! ye who suffer! Know

Ye suffer from yourselves. None else compels, / None other holds you that ye live and die, / And whirl upon the wheel, and hug and kiss / Its spokes of agony, Its tire of tears, its nave of nothingness.(Chapt. 8)

As one who stands on yonder snowy horn / Having nought o’er him but the boundless blue, / So, these sins being slain, the man is come / NIRVANA’S verge unto.

Him the Gods envy from their lower seats; / Him the Three Worlds in ruin should not shake; / All life is lived for him, all deaths are dead; / Karma will no more make (Chapter 8).

 

If making none to lack, he throughly purge / The lie and lust of self forth from his blood; / Suffering all meekly, rendering for offence / Nothing but grace and good:

If he shall day by day dwell merciful, / Holy and just and kind and true; and rend / Desire from where it clings with bleeding roots, / Till love of life have end:

He — dying — leaveth as the sum of him / A life-count closed, whose ills are dead and quit, / Whose good is quick and mighty, far and near, / So that fruits follow it.

Lo! like fierce foes slain by some warrior, / Ten sins along these Stages lie in dust, / The Love of Self, False Faith, and Doubt are three, / Two more, Hatred and Lust.

Who of these Five is conqueror hath trod / Three stages out of Four: yet there abide / The Love of Life on earth, Desire for Heaven, / Self-Praise, Error, and Pride (Chapter 8)

No need hath such to live as ye name life; / That which began in him when he began / Is finished: he hath wrought the purpose through / Of what did make him Man.

Never shall yearnings torture him, nor sins / Stain him, nor ache of earthly joys and woes / Invade his safe eternal peace; nor deaths / And lives recur. He goes

Unto NIRVANA. He is one with Life / Yet lives not. He is blest, ceasing to be. / OM, MANI PADME, OM! the Dewdrop slips / Into the shining sea! (Chapter 8).

A Shingon Monk on Good Government (Mongaku, Azuma Kagami)

Letter of the Shingon Buddhist Monk Mongaku to Shogun Yoriie A. D. 1200, Part 2

Written in a very turbulent period, at the beginning of Japan's Shogun era, this letter from a Monk, who had just suffered a reverse of fortune and was sent into exile, nonetheless responds to a difficult political situation with a letter of sound knowledge, practical ethics, spiritual insight, and compassionate wisdom, and well versed in Confucian and Taoist traditions. (See Religion in the Formation of the Kamakura Bakufu : As Seen through the Azuma kagami ... en COLLCUTT, Martin.)

 

This letter was written to the Shogun Yoriie by the Shingon monk, Mongaku, who had been a close adviser of Yoriie’s father, Minamoto Yoritomo. In refusing to offer prayers for the shogun, Mongaku does not hesitate to scold him for his failings as a ruler. The forthrightness and independence of mind displayed by even this priest of the formalist Shingon sect show that these were not qualms characteristic of Zen alone but of Kamakura Buddhism in general. Nothing could better illustrate than this letter both the abuse of esoteric practices by those with little understanding of them, and the reaffirmation of true men of religion like Mongaku that the performance of these rituals must go hand in hand with genuine piety and exemplary moral conduct [From Kokusi Taikei, XXXII Azuma Kagami, 579-84, Sources Of Japanese Tradition, 165-171]

Just as water runs together into the ocean because the land lies lower there, so good fortune and happiness will accumulate for him whose heart is undefiled. When Hachiman said that he would extend his hand to the pure in heart, he meant that the Emperor, the ministers and the shogun, if their hearts were pure, would have no thought for their own pleasures, but would have extreme solicitude that the labor of the people be not wasted, that unreasonable taxes be not exacted, that the land be kept in peace and prosperity, with winter and summer following each.

Guardian powers who protect the Three Treasures other, with all in good order, and with post-horses and river-ferries going regularly without war or disturbance — in short, with peace reigning supreme throughout the land. Your Highness should endeavor to live up to each and every one of these requirements. Your Highness should refrain fiom destroying men who are not traitors, or who do not treat Your Highness as an enemy, or who do not wickedly harass others and seek means to ruin them A good shogun, also, is one who does not devote himself to hunting and fishing, who does not destroy life for pleasure but preserves life. If Your Highness does not conduct yourself well, all men throughout the land will come to believe that you are not a good man. Then mountain bandits, sea marauders, highwaymen, and thieves will abound and in the end will bring rum to your regime. You may issue prohibitory edicts one after the other but your orders will more and more be treated lightly. Put one man to death and ten other criminals will come back at you. The situation will go from bad to worse. Then Your Highness, not realizing that all this is your own fault, but believing it to be the work of criminals, will merely go on arresting men, punishing them, imprisoning them and cutting off their heads or their limbs to the detriment of the country. It is necessary to think of the retribution waiting in the life to come.

When Your Highness once realizes that these crimes are not always the offenses of others but are due to your own recklessness, and when you are sincerely convinced of it, if you ask any learned man how best to govern, the answer will be simple — as simple as shooting at a target, as the saying goes. As long as Your Highness knows how to rule yourself, there is no need for regulations about this or that, no need for prohibitions, orders or proclamations, because the people will be submissive and obedient. Then the land will naturally be at peace and well ordered.

Even under such a good administration, however, evil-minded men will not disappear, as history shows. But if Your Highness would first exercise self-control and safeguard the people, proceeding then to get rid of evil men, your acts would be like the special acts of a bodhisattva. The people would remain tranquil, your proclamations would carry weight, and Your Highness would not have to fear retribution. I am here repeating [what I wrote you before].

The late shogun always thought Mongaku to be a man of tough fiber and straightforward speech. I have never been in the personal service of Your Highness; it must have been offensive to Your Highness for me to write to you in the way I did. For this I beg your forgiveness. However, It has seemed to me that Your Highness is too much addicted to pleasures and has no regard for the complaints or the sufferings of the people. I thought this so deplorable that I told the late shogun confidentially that you should be sent away somewhere into exile — that such a course would be a real act of love toward you.

It is whispered in the capital that Your Highness is addicted to hunting and that you pay no attention to grievances. As you only go from bad to worse, people do not speak out but say only that you are a great shogun. Your Highness is unaware of what they are whispering in denunciation of you. Under these circumstances, how can you be a worthy successor to your father — watching over the Sovereign on the one hand, and on the other safeguarding the country? Until Your Highness changes your ways, pray as one may, there will be no answer at all As for myself, I cannot offer prayers for you.

Because I am frank and outspoken, I am certain that Your Highness hates me. That I do not mind I have written you thus only because I desire you to be good, and more than that, to grow in virtue. A learned scholar quotes a text to the effect that a good word spoken for the sake of the ruler and the people is more valuable than hundreds and thousands of gold offerings. To this the ancient Sage Kings bore testimony. To one like Your Highness, gold is of no account. The important thing is to keep the land at peace and to have food produced in abundance and the people prosperous. That is the greatest act of loyalty. Therefore do not fail to listen to those who tell you your shortcomings. If Your Highness tries to keep the nation in order without being mindful of your own faults, you will be like a man who expects to get rid of illness without taking medicine.

There are men of loyalty and faithfulness from whom you can learn your shortcomings, who do not change their colors in the service of Her Highness your mother. Let them speak to you in secret, not in public. Listen to them directly, do not heed the lip-service of monks. If they speak ill of you, you will be apt to become angry, but you must practice patience. Cure by fire is painful but it is only through endurance that illness can be cured.

There are none more despicable than those who change their colors. There are none more loyal than those who tell you your faults. I pray Your Highness to remember this Even if a man is agreeable and likable, beware of him if he is a cheat. But if there be one whom you dislike and do not wish to see, give him his due if he be of sterling character. The art of government, it seems to me, lies in nothing more nor less than in this awareness of true character.

I cannot thank Your Highness enough for the two letters with which you have honored me. This is my answer, written with all reverence and respect.

A Shingon Monk on Prayer (Mongaku, Azuma Kagami)

Letter of the Shingon Buddhist Monk Mongaku to Shogun Yoriie A. D. 1200 

Written in a very turbulent period, at the beginning of Japan's Shogun era, this letter from a Monk, who had just suffered a reverse of fortune and was sent into exile, nonetheless responds to a difficult political situation with a letter of sound knowledge, practical ethics, spiritual insight, and compassionate wisdom, and well versed in Confucian and Taoist traditions. (See Religion in the Formation of the Kamakura Bakufu : As Seen through the Azuma kagami ... en COLLCUTT, Martin.)

This letter was written to the Shogun Yoriie by the Shingon monk, Mongaku, who had been a close adviser of Yoriie’s father, Minamoto Yoritomo. In refusing to offer prayers for the shogun, Mongaku does not hesitate to scold him for his failings as a ruler. The forthrightness and independence of mind displayed by even this priest of the formalist Shingon sect show that these were not qualms characteristic of Zen alone but of Kamakura Buddhism in general. Nothing could better illustrate than this letter both the abuse of esoteric practices by those with little understanding of them, and the reaffirmation of true men of religion like Mongaku that the performance of these rituals must go hand in hand with genuine piety and exemplary moral conduct [From Kokusi Taikei, XXXII Azuma Kagami, 579-84, Sources Of Japanese Tradition, 165-171]

I respectfully acknowledge your second letter I sent you an answer before, but since you have written me again, I am replying again in the same tenor While reading your letter, I repeatedly felt that I was listening to a message from the late Generalissimo and I was deeply moved

[You ask me] to offer prayers-and I remember with gratitude beyond expression that the Generalissimo rebuilt the East Temple " and made possible through his generosity the re-establishment of the Takao mon (T6)1 in the original text, but it must refer to the Todaiji in Nara. which Yoriie’s father, Yoritomo, helped to rebuild in 1190 astery*) Through these merits, he will be saved in the life hereafter. It is also due only to his generosity that I, Mongaku, have been able to do something for Buddhism and accomplish something for the good of man. I therefore have remained ever grateful for his generosity and happy beyond words. Even before you asked me to offer prayers, it was always my fervent desire that you should enjoy peace and security.

[May I say], however, that prayer takes effect only for those who practice virtue and who love the good In the dwellings of those who offend, prayer is of no avail. By offenders, I mean those who destroy life without proper cause, and those who live a life of pleasure and indulge themselves with liquor, women, and wealth, ignoring the grief of others and disregarding the well-being of the nation. When men are virtuous and good, on the other hand, it means that they reverence both the law of Buddha and the law of the state and are ever concerned with the welfare of the people. In short, it means that they must have character such as is expected of a parent by all people, even the lowliest man or woman — peasants and those in all walks of life. When a man who has no concern for these things, or who is ruthless and offensive, or who has only selfish motives, orders a monk or other spiritual intermediary to offer prayers, there may be those who will reply with favorable words because the order comes from a lofty source. But if the petitioner is not a good man, he must not only expect that there will be no answer to his prayers, but he must expect that he may be worse off than before.

Therefore, if you must have prayers offered, Your Highness should command only those monks or astrologers who are not dishonest or subservient, but are straightforward. Your Highness should tell them your misdemeanors and try at all times to make amends. This Your Highness should by all means do If your actions are not good and you tell others to pray for you, you are really putting yourself in a precarious situation. 

 

Your Highness is the Generalissimo of Japan. He who is asked to pray for you should be a man of great mind and great integrity. A person of steadfast virtue and lofty disdain of flattery, but yet of compassionate heart, must be selected to be the master of your prayers. When It IS a question of offering prayer as a sovereign as well as an individual, the first object of prayer should be the whole country and the whole people. How one may pray depends upon one’s position in life. He whose influence does not affect the nation may offer prayers for his own benefit. But in these days the rulers as well as the ruled offer up prayers on their own account. Such prayers have no effect, for they are not in accord with the invisible mind of Buddha and are in discord with the transparent light of Heaven. I beg Your Highness, and must repeat It again and again, that you deem it your duty to merit the confidence of all, so that with you as Generalissimo in Kamakura, complaints of injustice will nowhere be heard and unreason will nowhere prevail.

If Your Highness acts in that way, you have no need for prayers for yourself [The Goddess of] the Great Shrine of Ise, the Bodhisattva Hachiman, [the deities of] Kamo and Kasuga will all be pleased, and all Buddhas, sages, gods, and goddesses, without exception, will extend their hands to safeguard you.

Even before Buddhism came into existence, there were in India and in China, as well as in Japan, wise kings and sage rulers under whom all the land was prosperous and all the people lived a happy life. The sovereigns, long of life, were like father and mother to the people. The Five Emperors and the Three Sovereigns, among whom were Yao and Shun, were rulers who came before the time of Buddha Your Highness is more fortunate [than they] in that you are acquainted with the Three Treasures of Buddhism, which those others could not know. Your Highness, therefore, should put your mind on the life hereafter. You should endeavor to get away from this “house of fire” of the three existences and, rising above the troubles of repeated transmigration, attain to Buddhahood. Such should be the first prayer of the ruler as well as of the ruled.

Needless to say, Buddhism, like other religions, helps to extirpate evil and to bring good fortune. Throughout its history in three countries, there are records of answers to prayer and of benefits received. If Your Highness will first pay strict attention to your own conduct and then proceed to put your administration in order, then when you offer prayer, an answer will come just as surely as sound follows when a word is spoken. There will be no failure.

In these days, however, all religious works and rituals sponsored by the great are merely for the eye and are only an expense to the country and a burden to the people. Buddha and the deities do not accept them at all. The Three Treasures, The Buddha, the Dharma (Law, or Scriptures containing the Law), and Sangha (Monastic Orders). Those who pray should know that Buddha and the deities accept only virtue and faith, material treasures have no appeal for them. It is with this in mind that Your Highness, at the head of your warriors, should guard the Emperor and become the mainstay of the whole nation If you go astray in any way or have evil in your heart, you will prove to be only an enemy of the country. Its downfall will be the logical result.

It would be possible for me, without going into detailed reasons and unmindful of Buddha and the deities, to reply favorably to Your Highness and offer up prayers. But that would mean wasting the land’s substance without benefiting anyone and only harming Your Highness. I myself would have to pay the penalty also How can I permit Your Highness to carry out a project so injurious to yourself I say again that the Goddess of Ise and Hachiman and the other deities will never consent to be indulgent because of material offerings, they extend their hands only to those whose heart is pure and whose conduct is proper. The Bodhisattva Hachiman said, according to the oracle “Even if I should have to drink molten copper, I would not accept offerings from those whose hearts are tainted”. He said again, according to another oracle “Day and night I stand guard over the land. If the ruler is evil, he will be unpleasing to the Three Treasures and to all the Devas. Such a thing would be most lamentable, most deplorable. Also, according to the oracle of the temple of Jingo in Takao, self-reliance only can be depended upon, in that lies the strength of Buddha. One should rely first upon the efficacy of one’s own power, not upon the gods, who themselves depend upon the Three Treasures to protect the Throne and nurture the people. Your Highness should bear in mind that through your prestige you can make all temples and monasteries prosper.

Astrology: Some notes on Neptune in Pisces- Music, Film, Graphic Arts

Some notes on Neptune in Pisces 2011-2025

Music, Film, Graphic Arts

Neptune, ruler of Pisces, makes for a very creatively inspired period, thus ideal for artists of all stripes. The previous Neptune in Pisces period, 1847–1862 saw the  formation of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood of Painters in 1948 and began a period of  Neo-Romanticism which saw Richard Wagner create his sprawling Ring Cycle.  Thoreau published Walden in 1854.

Both Neptune and Pisces are very intuitive and all-encompassing, totalizing, inclusive energies. I tended to notice tendencies and currents, in art, music, and films, that showed a creative blending of styles, eras, and technologies in bold, free, intuitive, eclectic way. Below is a brief listing of some works, artists, and trends that I’ve noticed by and by

Rise of Retro

The sense of inclusiveness entailed a look at old forms of recording technology, for example vinyl records made a strong comeback. With the rise of youtube as a massive archive repository, older musical styles saw a resurgence, such as Classic Rock . 

 

Before the Neptune in Pisces period, Amy Winehouse was an artist who helped spark a revival in R&B and jazz styles from the 1950s & 60s. Sadly, since she died four month after the Neptune ingress into Pisces, she could also be cited as an exemple of the dark side of Neptune in Pisces, a tendency for escapism into the world of addiction and substance abuse. The opiod crisis is another example. More recently, Laufey has emerged with a retro-jazz style with pop and classical influences.

Ethereal Waves

Another quality that I noticed about Neptune in Pisces, besides the eclectic blending of styles, is a dreamy, ethereal sound. For example, in a 1980s dance-pop context  there is London Grammar. London Grammar's music has been described as "a blend of ambient, ethereal and classical sounds" with melancholy guitar, soaring vocals, plaintive lyrics, and often displaying trip-hop and dance influences.

Ambient electro-pop band  Hundred Waters  formed in 2011. The Moon Rang Like a Bell, 2014, a dreamy eclectic album of bold experimentation is a good example. The singer, Nicole Miglis, a Piscean who has a classical piano training, explained her writing approach:

'In my mind, all these different genres, classical and dance music, are really similar to me; they just exist in different time periods. Even the idea of time – I don’t know how to articulate this and it probably sounds really woo, but I don’t think of classical music as the past music and electronic music as the future music. It’s the same thing, just different tools. Classical music – those were the pop songs at the time, those were the dance songs. People were waltzing to this music at parties; it had a different place than what eventually became art museum music. Because my process is so serendipitous and instinctual, I have to trust there’s a reason those tools are there, or that there’s a reason I picked up that guitar or drum machine.'

 

Grimes,  also a Pisces, who’s first album appeared just at the beginning of Neptune in Pisces has been described with a number of labels, including synth-pop, electropop, art pop, indie pop, dream pop, experimental pop, dance-pop, pop, avant-garde pop, lo-fi, dance, witch house, electronic, glo-fi, bedroom pop, and electronica with elements of rock, hip hop, R&B, folk, drum and bass, and classical.

Eclectic ethereal, techno pop musician Bjork produced her most ambitious musical tour in 2018, titled Corrnucopia which featured elaborate multi-media audio-visual effects, mixed with performance art, dance choreography, classical orchestra and choir. 

 

In the classical world, there has been an emerging popular trend of ethereal modern neoclassical minimalist piano music with artists like Jean-Michel Blais, Nils Frahm, Joep Beving, Philip Glass, and Alexandra Stréliski. Classical guitarist Sean Shibe’s work, Lost and Found features an eclectic mix of pieces from Medieval, jazz, avant-garde played on an ambient sounding electric guitar. 

Film

The anime genre, with it’s eclectic genre-bending styles, often with elements of fantasy and science-fiction, saw an increase in popularity during this period

In 2015, an all-record-high of three hundred forty anime series aired on television. The global popularity and demand of anime continued to rise during the decade due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the medium's wide availability on streaming services. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train became the highest-grossing Japanese film and the world's highest-grossing film of 2020.

Computer animation cgi developments helped spur the success of companies such as Pixar and superhero films with Marvel Entertainment and others giving new possibilities to explore fantasy and science-fiction themes.

Graphic Arts

The world of illustration and comic books saw a fruitful period of creativity, with an increasingly cosmopolitan market of cultural exchange and new computer technology with a blending of styles from different genres and different countries, often with a dreamy, decorative, fantasy style, with artists such as Peach Momoko, Bilquis Evely, Kim Jung Ji  and Matías Bergara to name just a few.

This period also saw a popular trend of museum exhibitions dealing with esoteric and occult-themed art. 

References

https://ioannisgoldmouth.substack.com/p/neptune-in-pisces-from-1850s-seances

https://camoinassociates.com/resources/vinyl-records-resurrection/

https://americansongwriter.com/why-is-classic-rock-so-popular-we-asked-four-experts/ 

https://eyesoremerch.com/blog/amy-winehouse-the-soulful-legacy-of-a-modern-jazz-icon/?srsltid=AfmBOoqh2H4IK4f7qQAPrFWcLr2xnzk48v5LHjHEpXNzbdgItS3OBpvi

https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates#Fig2 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laufey_(singer)

https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-52109397 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Grammar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Waters 

https://ourculturemag.com/2024/08/23/artist-spotlight-nicole-miglis/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornucopia_(concert_tour)  

https://www.clashmusic.com/features/in-conversation-alexandra-streliski/ 

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/aug/25/sean-shibe-lost-and-found-review-bonkers-but-brilliantly-curated

https://www.sportskeeda.com/anime/10-best-anime-last-decade-2010-2020 

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/japanese-anime-worlds-most-bankable-genre-1235146810/  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_anime 

https://elements.envato.com/learn/rise-of-3d-animation 

https://miracalize.com/rise-of-cgi-in-films/ 

https://askastrology.com/astrology/neptune-in-pisces-the-rise-of-the-superhero-movies/ 

https://aiptcomics.com/2024/12/05/peach-momokos-demon-saga-demon-wars-review/ 

https://screenrant.com/comics-like-supergirl-woman-tomorrow-helen-wyndhorn-king-op-ed/  

https://www.kimjunggi.net/comic-king-magazine-malaysia-octobre-2012/ 

https://www.polygon.com/comics/514579/matias-bergara-si-spurrier-mischief-magpies 

https://theosophyproject.blogspot.com/2023/09/astrology-fall-equinox-september-21.html