This special Supplement about the Grand Cross alignments of August 11 - 17 is based on an earlier article I prepared three weeks ago. Several correspondents have asked for additional information, so the following is designed to summarize what we know and can surmise about the Grand Crosses as of this writing, some six weeks before the first Grand Cross forms.
Those who have already seen the earlier version of this piece may wish to skip to Suggested Reading for a list of recent Internet, e-mail and print articles on the Grand Cross.
1.) Introduction
The astral patterns that are in effect during the week of 8/11 to 8/17 are called Grand Cross alignments because all but one the planets (Pluto, in Sagittarius) will be in cross configurations, or otherwise located in the four "fixed" signs of the zodiac: Taurus, the Bull; Leo, the Lion; Scorpio, the Scorpion, also symbolized by the Eagle; and Aquarius the Water Bearer, also the Water Angel.
The first Grand Cross forms on 8/11 during, but not necessarily in precise alignment with, the solar eclipse that occurs on that day. This first Grand Cross is the more concentrated of the two, as five planets and both Moon's Nodes form the Cross itself, while three other planets are also in fixed signs.
The second Grand Cross occurs on 8/17. It consists of four planets, one at each arm of the Cross, while four other planets and both Moon's Nodes are also in fixed signs. It is even possible to call the 8/17 alignment is a "Double Grand Cross", though this will be a matter of opinion. See Astrology for details
While this second Grand Cross may be slightly less spectacular than the first, it is a notable time marker because it occurs twelve years to the day after the Harmonic Convergence of 1987, and 269 days (an exact human gestation period) before the Star of Jerusalem alignment of 5/5/2000. As Ken Kalb was first to point out (see Suggested Reading), Jan. 1, 2000 falls exactly on the midpoint between Aug. 17, 1999 and May 5, 2000.
This article will not attempt detailed astrological interpretation, if only because the two Grand Crosses, especially the first one, are so complex in their celestial dynamics that a book could easily be written about them, and perhaps will be. The main point for now is that the Grand Crosses are one of the most powerful and auspicious alignments that any of us, even those who live to well over a hundred, will see in this lifetime. This is why countless meditations, ceremonies, performances and other gatherings are being planned for all over the planet from 8/10 to 8/17, in synchronicity with the Grand Crosses and the Day of Destiny on 8/13.
One way to imagine the Year to Come is that what is being hailed and feared as the Millennium, on Jan. 1, 2000, will be more like an intermission cartoon between the two feature films, in August '99 and May 2000, that are the main movies, the show we're supposed to see.
2. Astrology
Casting precise astrology charts for the two Grand Crosses requires a decision about the exact place and time of the chart, so that zodiac signs and the planets moving through them can be aligned with the twelve "houses" that divide the 360° sky wheel into portions averaging 30° each.
The authors of one Grand Cross article in the June-July issue of Mountain Astrologer located the chart in Washington, DC -- reasonably enough, as the American Empire now dominates its world more thoroughly than any empire since Rome. Another intriguing possibility is Belgrade, Yugoslavia, where the solar eclipse occurs at 10:56am (UT) and is nearly total, at 98%. We will likely see over the next month and a half several different Grand Cross charts cast for different places on Earth, but within the relatively narrow time bands of late morning to early afternoon on 8/11 and 8/17.
In this article, thanks to angelic help with computer calculations from astrolger Sue Simmons (sueastro@gte.net) both charts have been cast for Giza, Egypt. The 8/11 chart is cast for 11:11am Egypt Daylight Time. This time decision is based on the significance of 11 as one of the numbers suggesting a new beginning, and ascent or expansion into a higher octave. The 8/17 chart is cast for 11:16am EDT, at the moment when the Moon exactly opposes Jupiter. The decisions about the chart's location are based on the fact that both these alignments are loaded with Egyptian resonances, and even fall on major holy days in the ancient Egyptian festival calendar.
The second Grand Cross, on 8/17, may be termed a "Double Grand Cross" by some observers. The Moon, Mercury, Jupiter and Neptune form one cross within the narrow orb of a little over 3 degrees. Another, less definite cross has Mars, Saturn, Uranus and both Moon's Nodes arranged within a wider--unacceptably wide, to many astrologers--orb of over 7 degrees.
Here are the specifications for two Grand Cross charts. From these house cusps and planetary locations, anyone with an elementary knowledge of astrology can easily set up the charts, and begin to analyze their aspects.
First Grand Cross: 8/11 at 11:11am, Giza, Egypt:
House Cusp Planets
1. 20° Libra 16' Mars at 16° Scorpio 47'
2. 19° Scorpio 37' Chiron at 27° Scorpio 44' Pluto at 7° Sagittarius 45 R
3. 18° Sagittarius 58
4. 21° Capricorn 35 Neptune at 2° Aquarius 33 R Moon's South Node at 12° Aquarius 58 Uranus at 14° Aquarius 40 R
5. 20° Aquarius 43
6. 20° Pisces 19'
7. 20° Aries 16' Jupiter at 4° Taurus 41' Saturn at 16° Taurus 52'
8. 19° Taurus 37'
9. 18° Gemini 58'
10. 21° Cancer 35' Mercury at 0° Leo 5' Moon's North Node at 12° Leo 58' Moon at 16° Leo 38' Sun at 18° Leo 14
11. 20° Leo 43' Venus at 2° Virgo 13 R
12. 20° Virgo 19
Major Aspects: Sun conjunct Moon and Moon's North Node (Dragon's Head) Sun-Moon opposite Uranus and Moon's South Node (Dragon's Tail) Sun-Moon square Mars and Saturn, sextile Ascendant Mercury opposite Neptune, square Jupiter Venus trine Jupiter Mars opposite Saturn, square Uranus Jupiter square Neptune Saturn Square Uranus Ascendant square Midheaven
No major aspects: Pluto, Chiron
Second Grand Cross, 8/17 at 11:16am, Giza Egypt
House Cusp Planets
1. 26° Libra 26' Moon at 4° Scorpio 53' Mars at 20° Scorpio 8'
2. 25° Scorpio 26' Chiron at 27° Scorpio 54' Pluto at 7° Sagittarius 44 R
3. 24° Sagittarius 50'
4. 28° Capricorn 23' Pluto at 2° Aquarius 24 R Moon's South Node at 12° Aquarius R Uranus at 14° Aquarius 26' R
5. 27° Aquarius 17'
6. 26° Pisces 48'
7. 26° Aries 26' Jupiter at 4° Taurus 53' Saturn at 17° Taurus 2'
8. 25° Taurus 26'
9. 24° Gemini 50'
10. 28° Cancer 23' Mercury at 5° Leo 35' Moon's North Node at 12° Leo 53 R Sun at 24° Leo 0'
11. 27° Leo 17' Venus at 28° Leo 58'
12. 26° Virgo 48'
Major Aspects: Sun conjunct Venus, square Mars, sextile Ascendant Moon opposite Jupiter, square Mercury and Neptune, sextile Venus Mercury opposite Neptune, square Jupiter, trine Pluto Venus square Chiron Mars opposite Saturn Jupiter Square Neptune Saturn square Uranus Uranus opposite Moon's North Node (Dragon's Head), conjunct Moon's South Node (Dragon's Tail) Neptune sextile Pluto Chiron trine Midheaven Ascendant square Midheaven.
One major difference between the two Grand Crosses is that the 8/17 Cross engages all of the planets, while in the 8/11 Cross, Pluto at 7° Sagittarius formed no major aspect to any other planet, only a quintile (72° angle) to Uranus in Aquarius. Otherwise the energy of Pluto is disengaged from that of the other planets. The small planet/asteroid Chiron, subject of much attention in recent decades as the "healing planet" and symbol of the wounded healer, is isolated, forming no aspect to anything.
By 8/17, the Sun at 24° Leo has moved out of its first Grand Cross, and begins a wide conjunction with Venus. Pluto, however, is now trine (120°) to Mercury in Leo and sextile (60°) to Neptune in Aquarius, so that the energies of Pluto are now fully and beneficently aligned with two other planets. Chiron is trine to the Midheaven, and thus our entire solar system is now fully engaged in the design of this Second Grand Cross.
This transition, from Pluto and Chiron as the "odd planets out" on 8/11 to the fully active chart of 8/17 suggests that the pattern of the week begins with a great flash of cohesive insight among conscious lightworkers, and ends with a major impact on the mass consciousness of the planet, as the Plutonian forces of collective social and political power, accessed and amplified by computers and electronic communications, are very much in action by the end of the week, as are the healing energies of Chiron.
3.) Mythic Resonance
It is rare enough for one Grand Cross to form -- but for two of almost completely different planets (having only the Moon in common) to form within only six days, and with all but one of the other planets in the same signs as the Cross, is extremely unusual and portentous. The importance of this week in August cannot be overestimated.
The attention of the world is being drawn in August to the icon of the cross, and all that it has represented as a spiritual symbol that is far older and more widespread than the particular religion with which it is most associated. The Cross, in its most basic and universal meaning, is a horizonal line representing matter penetrated by a vertical line representing spirit. The two lines are the most fundamental expression of duality. The nexus point is humanity, third density and other embodiments of the juncture and tension of matter and spirit.
The occurrence of the Grand Cross in the fixed signs suggests a moment of spiritual repositioning and preparing for an upward move. The four fixed signs have long been considered best for navigation and ceremonies of marking time and space because their relationship in the sky is consistently easiest to see. Aldebaran in Taurus is a bright red first magnitude star that is near the Pleiades and Orion, and is almost exactly across the wheel from another bright red star, Antares, the heart of Scorpio. The brilliant blue giant Regulus, the heart of Leo, and the Lion's whole body, are easy to make out. Aquarius has no first-magnitude stars, but is still easy to find.
As these four constellations were among the first ones to emerge from the sky and take form and meaning in human consciousness, and were almost certainly the first set of four sky pictures that were understood to be interrelated at angles of 90°, the Bull, the Lion, the Scorpion or Eagle and the Water Bearer have been associated in our collective memories with new knowledge and the evolution into higher awareness since before we had language, or could make anything taller than a tree to see stars from.
In the West, the best-known associations of the fixed signs are with the four beasts of Ezekiel, the four Christian gospel writers, and the four symbols at the corners of the Wheel of Fortune card in the Tarot. Another is with Osiris, Set, Horus and Isis. Alchemically, the progression Bull - Lion - Eagle (sublimated as Scorpion) and Water Angel symbolizes the soul's evolution from brute force to intelligent force to spiritual force to life force.
Finally, the week of the two Grand Crosses coincides with major holy days and festivals from the ancient Egyptian, Greco-Roman, Christian, Buddhist, Aztec, Celtic and Norse mythic traditions. See Universal Festival Calendar for August, 1999.
The June-July issue of Mountain Astrologer magazine has several articles about the solar eclipse and Grand Cross alignments. Be sure to grab the August issue early, as the current issue has sold so fast that some bookstores have had to reorder.
No doubt some of the excited buzz about the Grand Cross came from an e-mail circulated a month ago citing David Icke as the source of a report that the Illuminati were planning rituals at the Great Pyramid--including a grand rite of replacing its pyramidon, or capstone--for 8/11 - 13. I found no information about this when I visited Mr. Icke's web page yesterday, and I've received no answer yet to my e-mail inquiry. Stay tuned. The excitement will no doubt continue to build, with or without Illuminati, when the Book of God in the sky is showing signs and wonders like the ones that come next month.
The Article in question in the above paragraph is located here:
http://www.davidicke.com/icke/reading/wilder2.html
All Content © HiddenMysteries - TGS (1998-2005)
HiddenMysteries.com Internet Store ~ HiddenMysteries Information Central
Texas National Press ~ TGS Publishers Dealers Site
All Rights Reserved
Please send bug reports to the Information .