06 Nov The Tolling of the Bells ~ November 7th-13th, 2016

“. . .Hear the loud alarum bells–   

Brazen bells!   

What a tale of terror, now, their turbulency tells!   

In the startled ear of night   

How they scream out their affright!   

Too much horrified to speak,   

They can only shriek, shriek,   

Out of tune,   

In a clamorous appealing to the mercy of the fire . . .” 

We are still in Scorpio season, and thus I am still dedicating our deep and penetrating senses to the glorious genius of Edgar Allan Poe.

This week’s reading begins with a passage from the third stanza of his poem, The Bells: an absolutely perfect encapsulation of the ferocious emotional landscape that we must all navigate this week.

It will feel like an emergency, out of tune, in a clamorous appealing to the mercy of fire.  

Whether or not you would like to escape this fact, the pinnacle event that this week will revolve around will be the U.S. Presidential election on Tuesday, November 8th. Most of your  experiences will be contextualized by their proximity to the storm of high strung emotions, political scandal, and droning rhetoric.

The time will pass, but it will be dark and long and treacherous. No matter how this week turns out for your personal interests, know that these will be unforgettable times.

In a mad expostulation with the deaf and frantic fire,   

Leaping higher, higher, higher,   

With a desperate desire,   

And a resolute endeavor,   

Now- now to sit or never,   

By the side of the pale-faced moon.   

Oh, the bells, bells, bells!   

Because this election is taking place with the Sun and Mercury in Scorpio, this election will be fraught with secrets, deception and manipulation. (as always) Thus, you can see how Scorpio is a perfect season to hold elections in.

What a tale their terror tells   

Of Despair!   

How they clang, and clash, and roar!   

What a horror they outpour   

On the bosom of the palpitating air!   

With Mercury in Scorpio, the collective mind is processing the tumult of information through their most primal emotions. The reason why you have been so shocked/appalled/disgusted by so many people’s opinions and feelings lately is because the Scorpionic depths are home to many writhing monsters from the unconscious.

Yet the ear it fully knows,   

By the twanging,   

And the clanging,   

How the danger ebbs and flows:   

Yet the ear distinctly tells,   

In the jangling,   

And the wrangling,   

How the danger sinks and swells,   

By the sinking or the swelling in the anger of the bells-   

Of the bells-   

Of the bells, bells, bells,bells,   

Bells, bells, bells-   

In the clamor and the clangor of the bells!

Thus, the ideology that people are resonating with in every strata of society is becoming increasingly zealous, reactionary, or anesthetized. With this swirling around in the dark waters of primal emotions, formerly mild-mannered ideologies are growing fangs.

So, do not waste any more breath trying to persuade people to vote like you do or reason like you do. This is a time to look after yourself, training your own thoughts and feelings to remain within the bounds of relative sanity.

Hear the tolling of the bells–   

Iron Bells!   

What a world of solemn thought their monody compels!   

Civil War Cartoon

Many scandals and secrets are being hidden from the public. Many scandals and secrets are also being unleashed upon the public, creating a dynamic of collective shock and hysteria. Oh, the agony and the ecstasy of truth!

In the silence of the night,   

How we shiver with affright   

At the melancholy menace of their tone!   

With all this darkness hovering over this election, there is no doubt that many voters are voting for someone other than what they would have people assume. Welcome to Scorpio days and Scorpio nights.

Even though it will contain an explosive political event that will affect the entire globe, this week has remarkably few planetary aspects of significance. Only on Monday, will the Sun in Scorpio sextile Pluto in Capricorn: a moment where you will feel glorious about the truth that you know.

You will feel moved to stand up for something you believe in, but as I said before, don’t use this feeling of power to try to convert people to your cause. Instead, use this feeling of synchronistic charisma to inspire your friends and family to be of good cheer.

For every sound that floats

From the rust within their throats

Is a groan.

And the people- ah, the people-

They that dwell up in the steeple,

All Alone

The transformative power of this week will be most remarkably felt through the changes in zodiacal signs which will be occurring successively for the planets Mars, Venus, and finally Mercury. When planets shift into new zodiacal placements, their focus changes significantly, altering some of your mannerisms and proclivities quite noticeably.

 

And who, tolling, tolling, tolling,

In that muffled monotone,

Feel a glory in so rolling

On the human heart a stone–

They are neither man nor woman-

They are neither brute nor human-

They are Ghouls

Monday/Tuesday: They Are Ghouls

On Monday, the Sun in Scorpio will sextile Pluto in Capricorn, opening you up to receive vital information that otherwise may have been kept secret. This is a day where power will be felt and flexed in a myriad of ways. Even if you are not a political person, you will discover some issues of power and control in your life that you will feel compelled to stand up against.

With the Sun and Pluto in aspect, there is a strengthening of influence that you will have for your cause and an uncanny ability to remain unnoticed by those who would try to stop you.

These energies don’t have to be used for sinister purpose, but you will probably observe somebody else’s submission to the more malevolent sides of life on this day.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Presidential elections will bring a maelstrom of intoxicating piety and violent defensiveness from every side. If you wish to have peace of mind on this day, remain environmentally and situationally aware.

Take some comfort in the fact that in terms of power, corruption and lies, there really is nothing new under the Sun. (especially the Sun in Scorpio)

And their king it is who tolls;

And he rolls, rolls, rolls,

Rolls

A paean from the bells!

And his merry bosom swells

With the paean of the bells!

And he dances, and he yells;

Keeping time, time, time,

Wednesday/Thursday: And He Dances And He Yells

On Wednesday, many people may need to recover from the revelry of a primal horde or from the bottomless grief that is only known to conquered people. Yes, the middle of the week will be a recovery time for a collective trauma, which will be aided by Mars’ transition into Aquarius.

On Wednesday, Mars will move from his place of exaltation in Capricorn into the abstract and intellectual sign of Aquarius. Because of Aquarius’ interests in humanitarian perspectives, you will feel much more capable of organizing with other people to attain important goals.

The internet itself can be used more dynamically to create a gigantic meeting of the minds which might produce some quality conversation rather than the usual schizophrenic banter. No matter how wounded you feel by world events, you can really benefit from using Mars in Aquarius’ cool objectivity to commiserate with like-minds about something constructive and creative.

In a sort of Runic rhyme,

To the paean of the bells–

Of the bells:

Keeping time, time, time,

In a sort of Runic rhyme,

To the throbbing of the bells–

Of the bells, bells, bells–

To the sobbing of the bells;

Keeping time, time, time…

Friday/Saturday/Sunday: To the Sobbing of the Bells

On Friday, Venus’ transition from the fiery fervor of true-believer Sagittarius into the far more practical and pragmatic Earth sign of Capricorn. Venus’ shift in focus will be quite beneficial to anyone who needs to cool their passions and their dogmatism in order to adapt to the new environment. In Capricorn, Venus uses hooves, gills, and tenacity to make any environment into a comfortable home.

So, at the beginning of the weekend, use Venus’ penchant for social intelligence to bring your most trusted friends and accomplices into better focus. Who can you really rely on? These are the only people that matter to Venus in Capricorn.

There is a new architecture of thought that must be built, and Venus will provide the stable foundations for you to construct the outlines of that new reality with magnificent finesse and regal beauty.

On Saturday, Mercury will finally leave the penetrating vortexes of Scorpionic sorceries and emerge into the much more buoyant sign of Sagittarius. Though Mercury may tend towards a certain type of religious zealotry, there is also more opportunity to expand your perceptions under this influence. Thus, you can use your mind to forge new ideals, living with the sensation of honor and virtue emblazoned upon your face!

 

Let this transit of Mercury through Sagittarius light up your sense of dignity and illuminate your connection to ageless wisdom.

Though Edgar Allan Poe always enunciated the triumph of death, his point of view was not meant to destroy the light within the human soul. He was instead trying to inspire the rebirth of wisdom in those who understood that life is short and that nobody avoids consequences.

Therefore, life is meant to be lived in the discovery and cultivation of love and joy, not despite death but because of death.

To the tolling of the bells,   

Of the bells, bells, bells, bells–  

Bells, bells, bells–   

To the moaning and the groaning of the bells.