Astrology Talk 
Lauren Lesko
Titanomachy 2010 the crisis of change
Mon, Nov 9, 3pm
Sala Quetzal
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
Tickets 60 pesos

Crisis of change
By Lauren Lesko

In Greek mythology, the Titanomachy, also known as the Battle of the Titans, was a 10-year series of battles fought between two races of deities, the Titans and the Olympians, long before the existence of humankind.

The Titans fought from Mount Etna and the Olympians fought from what would come to be known as Mount Olympus.

The war started when Zeus released his brothers and sisters from the belly of their father, Cronos, and began a rebellion against their father and his siblings, the Titans. In the end, the Titans were defeated, imprisoned in Tartarus, sentenced to endure great suffering for all time, and the Golden Age of peace and prosperity came to an end.

Of course similar myths exist throughout Europe and the Near East, where a group of gods, often younger, oppose the dominant group, either by overthrowing the old order, or incorporating it into the existing pantheon of power. In all of these myths we easily recognize the universal principle and human directive of changing the status quo. As an astrologer, what interests me in the mythic tale of Titanomachy is the uncanny similarities it shares with the planetary cycle of Jupiter and Saturn, the Romanized names for Zeus and Cronos.

The cycle of Jupiter and Saturn from one conjunction to another takes almost 20 years. This cycle defines significant periods in history and is particularly associated with cycles in finance. The opposition of Jupiter and Saturn comes ten years after the conjunction, and similar to the 10-year Battle of the Titans, the archetypal principle of Jupiter, expansion, growth and progress challenges the archetypal principle of Saturn, contraction, limitation and tradition.

In 2010, Jupiter and Saturn oppose one another in the respective signs of Aries and Libra. Aries is the archetype of the pioneering spirit fiercely independent and poised for adventure. Libra is the archetype of the judicious spirit seeking peaceful and harmonious relationships through negotiation and compromise.

Another component to the Jupiter-Saturn cycle is that the elements of the signs in which these conjunctions occur bracket a larger cycle of about 240 years. The changing of the element reflects extensive changes in the social fabric and structure of society. In 1981, Jupiter and Saturn entered the element of air, introducing a 240-year cycle of radical changes in how individuals and societies communicate and cohabit with one another. A significant manifestation of this new cycle has been the groundbreaking technological awakening of an innovative communication system instantly revolutionizing global communication and the mass distribution of information.

This same period saw the reduction in currency controls, opening the world into one global economy and allowing, among other things, the financial flow of a paperless economy to become disassociated from an economy grounded in material production. Financial crises are commonly associated with the hard aspects between Jupiter and Saturn but the current economic crisis is the result of more than one planetary cycle each affecting the other. In addition to the Jupiter-Saturn opposition in 2010, we will also experience a Saturn-Uranus opposition, a Saturn-Pluto and Uranus-Pluto square, and a Jupiter-Uranus conjunction. Each of these cycles, individually and collectively, will add a distinct temperament to our experience of 2010.

Change is as inevitable as it is necessary; power shifts and the overthrowing of one worldview for another is a very old story. The importance in understanding how planetary cycles coincide with world events is gaining the historical perspective to view the “bigger picture.”

Lauren Lesko is the counseling astrologer at LifePath Center in San Miguel. In addition to her counseling practice she teaches and writes on astrology at www.LaurenLesko.com.  For a consultation, call (415) 115-3576.

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Slideshow Presentation
Georgeann Johnson
The Maya Ball Game & 2012
Tue, Nov 17, 5pm
Teatro Santa Ana
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
60 pesos

The message of the Maya ballgame
By Georgeann Johnson

The ballgame has been one of the most enduring and fascinating cultural artifacts of the Maya world. Virtually all of the larger archaeological sites of the Maya (parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras) have a ball court. The ball court served as a theater where many dramas took place.

The games were played on mundane levels, but also served as forums for kinship, battles, planetary alignments, ritual and ceremony.

In this presentation, I explain how the roots of the Maya culture and cosmology are inextricably intertwined. The Maya creation story, the Popul Vuh and the incredible three-tiered calendar system are the foundation stones of the Maya cultural heritage. These foundation stones lie in the origin site of Izapa, on the very southwestern tip of Chiapas, not far from the Pacific Coast. A little-known site, the importance of Izapa only recently has been uncovered.

Not many people know that the phenomena of the 2012 date, which has recently exploded on the New Age awareness map, has its roots in a real archaeological site with standing stone “pages” of the Popul Vuh. Many writers and readers of books, viewers and producers of movies dealing with 2012, seemingly do not know that there is an origin site of the Creation Story and the Long Count Calendar.

This short presentation goes a long way towards adding clarity and understanding to the confusion and confabulation around the 2012 date.

I have taken small group tours to Guatemala over the years. I recently gave this presentation of the Maya Ball Game at a 2012 conference in Antigua, Guatemala.