Prognosis: shingles, so far (and the astrology of shingles)

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As you, the reader, may have noticed, five days ago I was dreading having my first root canal done. Thankfully, for better or worse, the root canal may not be necessary. But I have since been diagnosed with the painful temporary condition known as shingles. I plan to post a little “shingles journal” or timeline after this, but in this post I will explain how the astrological aspects I described earlier could be misinterpreted to say root canal, but in actuality, it is a much clearer shingles picture.

What are the aspects again? Using a three degree orb, I will mention major aspects that have occurred in the past three weeks. I am excluding Lunar transits due to their very brief time in orb. Transits: Sun conjunct Mars, Sun opposite Saturn, Mercury conjunct Mars, Mars conjunct Mars, Mars opposite Saturn, Mercury station on square Neptune / trine Uranus, Saturn trine Mars, Pluto square Mercury withdrawing, Uranus conjunct Mercury approaching, Chiron opposite Saturn, Chiron conjunct Mars. Progressions: Moon square Pluto, Sun square Jupiter, Venus conjunct Sun, Mars conjunct Mercury.

Why tooth issue?  Well because some of the early symptoms of these shingles, before the rash and sores started forming was tooth and jaw pain.  Astrologically, why tooth issue?  Saturn rules the hard bones / tissues of the body, including teeth.  And if you peek at the above transits again you will see Sun opposite Saturn, plus Mars and Chiron opposite it.  In addition, with the Progressed Moon squaring Pluto (decay, festering under the surface) I figured there might be a chance of a tooth problem.  Not that I would base my medical health on my chart, but it can be a way of verifying the facts.

In reality though, once the rash started showing up last Tuesday, I knew it might not be a root canal problem, especially once my ear started hurting so badly.  Astrologically, why shingles?  Mercury rules the nervous system in the body (along with Uranus), and Mars has to do with the head (Aries rules the cranium, and I would assume it would play a role with cranial nerves).  Look at how many aspects above have to do with Mars and / or Mercury!  Nearly all of them!

Sun conjunct Mars – a brief yet necessary aspect for “sparking events,” this can be a catalyst aspect.  Usually MINOR aspect.  When this aspect occurs, if the window for karmic ripening is open, you can expect something to happen.  Not to be fatalistic or anything, because remember for more karmas, we can shift how heavily they manifest, but around this time of year (it will always fall in the same week every year), I try to watch my chart to see if I should do extra purification practice or if I should rest down more than usual.  The only other time something MAJOR happened when the Sun crossed Mars for me was in 2002 and it may have played a role in reflecting my situation at the time – having an infected appendix which needed to be removed.  But the major aspect which indicated karmic heaviness at that time was Pluto squaring my Nodes.

Sun opposite Saturn – for me this always occurs simultaneously with a Mars aspect as well.  This is also a minor aspect by itself.  However it might indicate a time where the immune system is lowered, whether because of overworking, or stress, or sickness, etc.

Mercury conjunct Mars – probably should have been more aware of the rare nature of this aspect this time around.  Due to Mercury Retrograde, it will cross Mars three times in five weeks.  A very minor aspect typically.  Usually indicating a day or so of increased nervous energy and mental capacity.  However, due to the Retrograde motion, I suspect this might be indicating a time of stressed out nerves.  And probably cranial nerves in particular (Mars = Aries = cranium).

Mars conjunct Mars – usually a minor aspect also.  However, this can be a time for asserting yourself, airing any conflicts which have been swept under the carpet and for having more self confidence.  Just don’t get into a contest of egos.  Again, too much energy to process perhaps when considering everything else happening in my chart.

Mars opposite Saturn – this can sometimes be a rough couple of days.  This represents hitting the brakes and the gas peddle at the time same time!  So you can feel a true inner conflict when this is in place.  I don’t know I felt it externally, but I think it could have added to my psychic stress level.

Mercury station (Retrograde) on square Neptune / trine Uranus – the “Shadow” is the point where Mercury stations retrograde and some astrologers say that it does not officially come out of retrograde until it crosses back over this point.  If this is true, then Mercury retrograde lasts at least another 2 weeks beyond when it actually starts moving direct.  Personally I don’t know how much water this theory holds.  However, I do put some emphasis on the point of the shadow when it makes Hard aspects to other planets.  In my case here, it certainly does this.  I put emphasis on this point because the Shadow lasts at least five and a half weeks – from the moment Mercury stations retrograde to the day it crosses back over this point.  Therefore we have this influence subtly ongoing for that entire time.  Even now I believe I am feeling Mercury retrograde’s “effect” more strongly because of this Shadowy activity.  Mercury square Neptune – confusion or delusion or deception or falling back on old patterns which may not serve me any longer, a.k.a. computer games are tempting me once again.  Mercury trine Uranus – typically a time of increased creativity, but in this case, it could be too much in the way of nervous system activity.  Who knows?

Saturn trine Mars – this aspect has been in place for weeks now for me because Saturn takes about a month to fully station retrograde, then it starts moving Rx after another three weeks…  So this is still going on for me, two months after it started.  Saturn trine Mars is the workaholic aspect.  We have extra energy, we have extra motivation to achieve our goals, we might even be more ambitious.  However, we still need to remember that we are humans and we need self care and rest and some relaxation time.  With this aspect in place, you will not really feel like going for a night on the town very often (if at all).  If stress causes shingles, then this aspect certainly will add to stress levels.  By itself, we can handle it.  But throw on some other tough aspects and suddenly our body might shut down for mysterious reasons if we don’t relax enough.

Pluto square Mercury – this is fading.  However, it is still a strong fulcrum on my planet ruling the central nervous system.  I have been doing lots of emotional processing around birth work, trauma resolution, etc.  This could be another “reason” for getting the shingles.  A lot of times trauma resolution work will manifest through the skin.  And if the body is overloaded with integration requests…  then there might be a mysterious malady which forces us to the slow down and get the rest time we so desperately need.

Uranus conjunct Mercury – if there was one aspect I would put my finger on and say, “here is the bastard!”  That is, I am not saying this aspect “caused” my affliction.  But this aspect definitely applies pressure on the nervous system, whether through stressful outer environments, or stressful inner work, or another reason, we will probably feel stretched and worn out after this aspect resolves.

I think that is all I want to write today.  The only other aspect I would point to and say, “yet another potential shingles aspect” would be Pr. Mars conjunct Mercury.  With Uranus moving into this exact same position, this seems like a recipe for some sort of nervous system ailment.  Not guaranteed.  I certainly did not expect it.  For me, typically, I am lucky in how my karma manifests.  I have to thank my karma every day.  I am born in a human body where I can do authentic spiritual practice.  I have a functioning brain, which allows me to make positive choices.  And I have incredible support around me in the form of friends and family and spiritual mentors / teachers.  So what can I possibly have to complain about?  🙂    I might have a little complaint about the painful nature of shingles, but otherwise I am doing okay.

Thanks for reading!