AstroBiography: Carl Johan Calleman: Timekeeper of the Mayan Calendar (Part III) (5/13/12)
By Mark Lerner
“A big part of the reason that we do not have peace on earth is of course that we accept different nations as centers and organize our lives around these. If many decide to make the sun the center of the organization of their lives then there would be a completely new basis for life on earth. What I propose is that the shift in consciousness on the Venus Transit and the Winter Solstice of 2012 we should bring is to shift the center of our world from being the nation to being the sun. This can be done by establishing a connection of our third eye, which is our own center, with the sun and would truly be a shift in consciousness. This is not more of the same and it is not something that can be done piecemeal. It has to be done through a shift where we lift ourselves to a new level to become children of the sun. If we are telling ourselves: The sun is the center of my life we will know ourselves if we have reached this level or not. It will all be up to ourselves.”
Carl Johan Calleman (from his article on March 18, 2012, Focus on the Sun, at www.calleman.com )
Magic in the Birthchart
In Part II of this series, several important features of Carl Calleman’s birthchart were presented and defined. Not only did I discuss the midpoints that underlie key celestial-body placements at his birth, but I showed that Rome, the Yucatan region of Mexico and, particularly, his American current residence of Seattle, Washington were places where key planets were exactly above or rising. In addition, I included the fact that Carl Calleman began his major rise to international prominence – with the publication of The Mayan Calendar and The Purposeful Universe – as one of the main components of the Cosmic Pentagram of Venus (the Sun, Earth and Venus solar systemic line-up of March 30, 2005) precisely ignited his natal Venus at 11 degrees of Aries from his birth on May 15, 1950.
With any well-known and globally recognized individual – who leaves a home nation to settle in the United States – you want to understand what draws that person to America’s birthchart from our Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. I find that there are almost always several exact aspects that make it clear the person in question was destined to settle in our country to fulfill their dharma. With Carl Calleman, the following are profound links from his chart to America’s birthmap: His North Node trines America’s North Node within 1 degree; His Sun is sextile America’s Mercury within 1 degree; His Mars is conjunct America’s Neptune within one-half degree; His Jupiter is trine America’s Venus-Jupiter union within about 1 degree; His Uranus is conjunct America’s Venus within one-quarter of 1 degree; His Chiron exactly trines America’s Chiron; and his very close Vesta-Neptune polarity at 16 Aries – 16 Libra is aligned with America’s Saturn at 15 Libra within 1+ degrees. (Sometimes famous people and celebrities find success and their life-calling in America with only 1 or 2 significant astrological connections to the USA birthchart; Carl Calleman has 9 of them as mentioned above.)
“More Powerful than a Locomotive…”
Rather than interpreting a chart one celestial body at a time (i.e. Sun in Taurus, Moon in Taurus, Mercury in Taurus, Venus in Aries, Mars in Virgo, and so on), the great American astrological pioneer Dr. Marc Edmund Jones came up with the concept of envisioning whole chart patterns within the horoscope when he published the outstanding classic The Guide to Horoscope Interpretation in 1941. The fascinating part of this book is that Dr. Jones identified 7 types of gestalts or whole-chart views that offer an overall psychological portrait of any person. He called these The Splash Type, The Bundle Type, The Locomotive, Type, The Bowl Type, The Bucket Type, The Seesaw Type, and The Splay Type.
During his time-span as a professional astrologer, the 4 main asteroids as well as Chiron were not used in a horoscope. Therefore, he was examining the placements of Sun, Moon and 8 planets (from Mercury to Pluto). From his description of The Locomotive Type (where approximately two-thirds of the horoscope is occupied by celestial bodies and one-third is open), it is clear that Carl Calleman was born with a locomotive temperament. Read what Dr. Jones says in just one small section about The Locomotive Type:
“The basis of the dynamic is found in the native’s resulting strong sense of a lack or a need, of a problem to be solved, a task to be achieved in the social and intellectual world around him. The temperament reveals a self-driving individuality, an executive eccentricity that is not queerness or unbalance but rather is power. It exhibits a dynamic and exceptionally practical capacity…”
Locomotive type individuals interpreted by Dr. Jones in his book include Sir Isaac Newton, George Washington, Mary Baker Eddy, Henry Ford, Cecil Rhodes, Upton Sinclair, and George Gershwin. Thus, Carl Calleman’s psychological or gestalt pattern of major celestial bodies resonates with the overall chart pattern for this sampling of famous people in history.
Go Fly your Two Kites…
Another way to understand the wholeness and spiritual purpose within a horoscope is to locate geometrical shapes such as a Grand Triangle or Trine, Grand Square or Cross, Mystic Rectangle, Grand Hexagon, Five-Pointed Star, T-Square, Kite and so on. Not only does Carl Calleman have a nearly exact Grand Triangle in Fire signs (composed of Vesta in Aries, Pluto in Leo, and Ceres in Sagittarius), but it becomes a precise Kite because of the presence of visionary, imaginative and psychic Neptune in Libra. What makes this Grand Triangle and Kite combination into something extraordinary is that Carl Calleman’s Sun/Jupiter midpoint is positioned at the Vesta placement while his Mars/Pallas midpoint is positioned at the Neptune placement. That brings 8 celestial bodies into forming a very magical – possibly talismanic cosmic figure – into the birthmap of our present-day Mayan master storyteller.
One imposing Kite in a chart is amazingly significant, but what if you were born with two of them? That’s just the situation here when you align the Grand Triangle in Water signs (composed of Pallas in Scorpio, Jupiter in Pisces, and Uranus in Cancer), but this geometric figure becomes another Kite because the Moon in Taurus is exactly opposite Pallas – a polarity that is precise within 5 minutes of arc and which shows us the key celestial body that the Moon is engaged with at Carl Calleman’s birth. Pallas or Pallas Athena – Goddess of Wisdom in Greek and Roman mythology – is also associated with problem-solving, strategy sessions, research, and – what is so central to Carl Calleman’s main investigations in Mayan culture – perceiving and understanding patterns in life and nature that are usually invisible to the eye and which most people cannot see. This is why Pallas is always a major celestial force in the charts of engineers, city planners, computer programmers, video game designers, weavers, and – especially – chess masters.
The American and World chess champion Bobby Fischer was born, reached prominence, and died when Pallas was exceptionally significant. Pallas-dominated individuals – like Carl Calleman – are absolutely intrigued about solving problems, and unraveling mysteries, enigmas and long-held secrets. And notice that Pallas is in Scorpio – the key sign of the unknown and the persistent detective work necessary to reach the hidden core of any subject. Furthermore – and this relates profoundly to Carl Calleman’s connection of the biblical Tree of Life to the Mayan use of the same type of living, soulful tree-symbology – Pallas rules over genetics and DNA. The fact that Carl Calleman also holds a Ph.D. in physical biology and has worked as a cancer expert for the World Health Organization is deeply meaningful in this regard. To point out that Pallas is also located at the Mars/Chiron midpoint adds to the realization that Carl Calleman has the potential and skills to be a healer and shaman or that he held these positions in past lives.
What He Didn’t Realize
When I first came across The Mayan Calendar by Carl Calleman, I was immediately intrigued because the cover showed the Pyramid of Kukulcan in Chichen-Itza with the date of October 28, 2011 etched into the top. Anyone who has read his books and is familiar with his website and lectures knows – as I pointed out in Part I, in comparing him to Immanuel Velikovsky – that Carl Calleman is a radical, eccentric and unorthodox Mayan researcher because he has come up with the conclusion that the Mayan Long Count of approximately 5, 125 years had to end on October 28, 2011 and not on December 21, 2012. He gives his reasoning in his two main books and now we are apparently in the aftermath of time, so to speak, as we move through 2012 in a kind of eerie twilight-zone realm of being beyond regular chronological time.
Meanwhile, something astonishing showed up as I continued to relate his horoscope planetary positions to the ever-moving Venusian Cosmic Pentagram within our zodiac. Not only did the March 30, 2005 Sun-Venus union in the sky exactly strike Carl Calleman’s natal Venus – bringing his publications to worldly prominence – but years after their publication, the Sun and Venus formed their most recent merger (when Venus was retrograde and between the Earth and Sun) on October 28, 2010!
Therefore, 1 year exactly – to the day – before Carl Calleman’s discovery that the Mayan Long Count of 5,125 years should end specifically on October 28, 2011, there was a Sun-Venus retrograde union in the sky. This shows that – during the writing of his two remarkable books – he was already tuning into a future happening regarding the transmission of Venus energy to the Earth, and that he is an emissary of the Venusian Cosmic Pentagram – particularly during this epoch of time. Furthermore, when the Transit of Venus occurs on June 5, 2012 at 15 degrees and 45 minutes of Gemini, this will precisely activate his Grand Triangle in Fire signs, as well as the Kite connected to his visionary Neptune, and where his natal Vesta/Pluto midpoint (signifying the Eternal Flame of the Underworld) is triggered because of its natal location at 15 degrees and 51 minutes of Gemini.
As I have discussed in several AstroBiography articles, the New Moon or Full Moon before birth can be a significant chart to examine in interpreting the higher destiny of any individual. However, it also makes sense to find the previous Sun-Venus union before birth to see if there is any correspondence to the person’s birthchart. On January 31, 1950, the Sun and Venus retrograde united at 11 degrees of Aquarius. This was the previous Sun-Venus union before Carl Calleman’s birth on May 15, 1950. Was there any connection between this Sun-Venus retrograde conjunction and his birthchart? Yes – an exact sextile of 60-degrees from 11 degrees Aquarius to his natal Venus at 11 degrees Aries. Once again, we clearly witness how Venus is interwoven in Carl Calleman’s spiritual calling and life-path.
A Mundane T-Square Tree-Design Settles the Issue
As we conclude, you will want to see that one more stark geometrical sky pattern is at work at the birth of this unique individual who may have just given humanity the great key to understanding our lives on Earth in The Purposeful Universe. It is rare, but not impossible to be born with an unusual configuration that is called a Mundane T-Square. This comes about when three celestial bodies occupy four of the main angles (rising-setting, above-below) of the birthchart. From Carl Calleman’s own biographical information, we know that he was born at Noon – placing the Sun at the Midheaven of his horoscope – but he also incarnated with the two largest planets, Jupiter and Saturn, setting and rising. Thus, a Mundane T-Square or Triangle is created where the overhead Sun is attempting to balance a rising Saturn in Virgo (sign of health and medicine) and a setting Jupiter in Pisces (sign of universal understanding, compassion and the Big Picture of life).
There is more to this than meets the eye since Saturn has always signified chronological time in ancient and medieval astrology while Jupiter has always represented the space (aura and electro-magnetic energy-field) you inhabit. Another way of putting this is that the three largest celestial bodies in our solar system (the Sun, Jupiter and Saturn) occupy the three key angles of his horoscope. They are also the three father archetypes in that the Sun is the universal father, Jupiter is the benevolent father, and Saturn is the more authoritarian father. Thus, one more triangle – in this case a trinity of our largest celestial bodies on the horizon axis of consciousness and the meridian axis of power – gives his chart a sacred, almost omniscient quality.
(Important Note: The last Jupiter-Saturn conjunction of May 28, 2000 occurred at 22+ degrees of Taurus. This is not only the main, worldly-achievement, educational and social cycle humanity is experiencing from 2000 to 2020, but it leads to the next Jupiter-Saturn merger at 1 degree of Aquarius on December 21, 2020. This is the “other December 21” that is so highly significant in our future, and it begins a sequence of Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions in air signs that lasts well into the 22nd century. It was the Jupiter-Saturn union of May 28, 2000 that exactly united with and energized Carl Calleman’s natal Mercury (his ruling planet) – altering his life completely, and compelling him to write the bestselling books about the Mayans that have led him to global prominence.)
All of this leads to an even more provocative realization: The only stationary celestial body at his birth is Saturn. Stations of celestial bodies – when they appear to have no motion from the Earth’s vantage point – have greatly enhanced power because the stationary celestial body’s archetypes, themes and qualities are magnified to almost laser-beam status and intensity. Most people are born with no stations and even those individuals who have 1 or more stationary bodies at birth don’t always use the higher potency of that celestial body to help humanity evolve.
However, for Carl Calleman, his Saturn stationed only a few hours before he was born, and – in accordance with his karma and dharma – Saturn is only 4 degrees away from rising, and therefore imprinting extra-powerful Saturnian vibrations on his individuality and personality expression. Saturn is well-known as being prominent in the charts of scientists and eminent researchers – which Carl Calleman is clearly exemplifying in his work with biology and cancer research. Note that the sign of health and medicine – Virgo – is his rising sign and personal window to the world.
Ultimately, we see Saturn – stationary, rising, and part of the significant Mundane T-Square – as Carl Calleman’s special gift to become a meticulous timekeeper when it comes to Mayan culture, civilization and what the future will bring. And with the Sun overhead at his birth is it any wonder that – as per the opening quotation of this feature – he is asking all of us to align with the radiant, light-bearing Sun, as a universal integrating source of life, rather than the nation-state in which we each reside?
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©2012 by Mark Lerner and Great Bear Enterprises, Ltd. All rights reserved.
