Solar Aries Equinox 2014…and Icarus Retrograde

From the Pothos Series, 'Icarus and A Toy Plane'

by Manolo Yanes (2007-2008)

They say that approximately 70% of Earth is covered with water. With people, though the percentage varies with gender and age, 50% is pretty much minimal. 

Considering how energy is energy (you know, that E=mc2’d thing) whatever water is means a lot to us, our world – and our perception of that world...which on the metaphysical level is all about feeling and feelings, however that occurs.

Pisces, the sign the Sun is now leaving, is the realm of ‘deep water.’ So the trials we have seen ourselves feeling our way through over these past weeks…? Whether overwhelmed or purged of resistance by life lapping at some veneer hardened by and against life, now as of 4:58 in the afternoon (UT/+0 time) on March 20th the Sun moves into Aries.

And that marks our journey…for as the Sun moves into Aries, that is one of two yearly moments when Earth’s comes to its own point of equinox - the balance between light and dark, or the ‘length of time’ we should (and evidently need to) acknowledge as part of life. 

Representing metaphysical 'shifts' in general life, both yearly equinoxes reflect the Sun's change of zodiacal hemispheres, giving us a whole list of issues to think about: our private versus public life, the obvious versus hidden, the Self versus Others, ideas of intellect against our many tugs of emotion...whether coming from within or being tossed our way, any and every form of anything where there is preference or something native set against that which is not so native to us, our relationship and experience of all such dichotomies (or polarities) now arrives at a point where we can look at both sides of things.

Whether we will or not...that's up to us.

Since the year’s second equinox involves the Sun moving above the zodiacal horizon as it enters the Libra-through-Pisces realm of the public, worldly and interactive, that means the Aries equinox is our moving from that part of the year which we experience interactively into that six month (six sign: Aries through Virgo) period when our experiences are more personal, singular and internalized.

How we experience the current passage and shift has at least a deal to do with how well we handle our own reactions – the ‘how we feel about how we’re feeling about things’ part of life. That is the Pisces essence we are carrying forward into Aries.

And Aries, though often spoken of as rebirth and renewal is no guarantee. Aries represents our opportunity to be who we are, and to be that person with all the courage we can muster. This is not about aggression, nor even assertiveness except in the sense that as we come to this part of the year we all have things to do because of …or in spite of all which has come just before.

In a sense, Pisces renders us tender so that we can feel ourselves anew – the experiencing of which is all about Aries, sign of consciousness, the strength of innocence and the defense of that conceptual existence we refer to grandly and otherwise as ‘life,’ replete with its joys and defeats.

Associated with planet Mars and war god Ares, Aries asks us what skill we have – or need – in life, serving up those situations which will ask us to think carefully about whether we are just going to stand there hiding inside our armor or whether we’re going to use our power (i.e., our “weaponry”) to get something done. From cutting edges to burning need, Aries confronts us with that which tends towards the raw simply because it’s that very sort of experience we will tend to translate into the motivation which gets us to move…and move on.

The question is ‘from what.’ Aries being the sign of the singular and individual and Pisces the emblem of humanity’s collective emotional experience(s), some of us will stand strong simple for what we believe in – and some will stand strong in spite of what someone else believes in.

We we know that what we say carries as much weight as what we don’t say (Mercury remains in Pisces…) and that’s confusing. There’s a curious clear perspective on others as the ruler of Aries (Mars) continues its retrograde, counting down through degrees of Libra in reflection of a strange and increasing sense that we – not someone else – have to account for our Self.

Not ourselves (as in ‘I’m accountable to others’)…no, this is about accounting for who we are – and who we have been being or not being - to our Self.

Count on a few twinges (maybe even a regret or two) as this transit begins, some of which is reflective of this month (and the season which follows) being pictured as Sun conjunct Europa, she for whom Europe is named.

Europa by Willy Bosschem (1994)

And yes, that does indicate an astrological emphasis in terms of geographical effect (an important matter considering current global situations).

So there’s no doubt astrologers professional and amateur will be casting this ingress chart for specific locations all over Europe to see localized effects and/or specific indications of that will is…or which will yet be or become. What they – or we – will find is how where we are is either a product of having gotten carried away. There is some sort of difference or gap between what we think we know (or what we thought we knew) and that which we’re learning now…part of which are revealed as a truth we now have to contend with, and part of which is simply startling…even shocking…on its face.

Or it might simply be (as they say) ‘news you you.’

That this would seem to not be anything minor is also indicated: asteroid Icarus will be go retrograde within hours after the Sun’s ingress.

'Ikarus' (Icarus) by Heikenwaelder Hugo

(oil on canvas, c. 2006)

Son of Crete’s mythic labyrinth designer Daedalus, Icarus fell when he attempted to ‘take flight’ without having first mastered the skills of flying. Typified as ‘haste leading to a fall’ or some sort of (untrue) conviction about having everything ‘in hand,’ this is the sort of influence which can surface either way and from any vantage point.

In other words, we might act so as to cause our fall. Or  someone may set things in motion which 'melts away that which supports us.'

Or the opposite may happen: someone may step in to prevent some sort of fall, failing or potentially dangerous problem we're simply not conscious of...or doing something about, for whatever sort of reason.

Something strange and certainly unexpected is also indicated here by one other not-so-minor metaphysical fact: Icarus is taking its station and going retrograde in exact conjunction with Uranus. The degree being 11 Aries for both, what is shattered now is some sort of ‘vision’ of how something is, was, could, should, or might be.

Aries here says this error is ours or about some estimation we have of/about our Self. Innocent though tragically painful, the Icarus-Uranus side of things here is offset by Sun-Europa as Europa’s story is about a mortal who is ‘carried away’ from her homeland (i.e., her native orientation) by Greek god Zeus – the drive for knowledge and precept of knowing astrology clocks by watching the cycles of planet Jupiter.

More to the point here is where Jupiter takes Europa so as to ‘ravish’ the mortal with the overwhelming presence of knowing.

That place would be Crete – the same location Icarus was trying to escape from…leading us to understand that this ingress and the three months of the astrological ‘season’ which follows are all about our ability to face life courageously and without haste. There’s something in ‘the distance’ – some salvation or personal goal we want to be ‘out there’ which is both unlikely to be exactly what we think it is…and which will not be achieved by simply ‘launching’ ourselves at it.

The Sun's Aries ingress (glyph chart)

March 20, 2014 - 4:58 p.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (location not specific)

The Sun's Aries ingress (text chart)

March 20, 2014 - 4:58 p.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (location not specific)

For some of us, this consciousness will dawn as soon as the Sun reaches Aries. For others, everything just described will more akin to a tale of discovery which unfolds with each succeeding day. First will come a considering of all with an emphasis on what we can ‘manage’ in the overall sense, or what we can manage ourselves as opposed to needing help from others.

Then will come a test (or tests) of order. Timed by the Sun setting off the ongoing Pluto-Uranus-Jupiter t-square, early April becomes an expanse of days during which overly idealistic images succumb to sudden and possibly highly contested or conflicted assertions of realism, reality and limitations having to do with sheer human mortality. All is caught up now in the inexorable mechanics of time and manifestation, teaching some of us that ‘secret motives’ are hardly secret (we’re all human – we all understand such things) while teaching others how important it is to live in and with the reality of our planet and corporeal life.

We humans are prone to getting lost in the layering on of hopes, ideals and beliefs that we forget the essence of human life as a reflection of life itself.

Life is something we have an opportunity to treasure, marvel at and honor. We are who we are, no matter how we disguise ourselves in our disdain or love of Self or others.

The only real difference there really comes from what we contribute, as surely our causal energies and the choices we make to act or not act, to hate or take mercy is – in time – what comes back to us.

And not just to us, but through us to everyone we love and all we could in turn be loved and honored by, transforming our lives from a duration of endurance into that triumph over challenge we know it can...and should ultimately be.
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Jupiter Square Uranus

A microscope photographs crystals of Vitamin C

(Josef Reischig, CSc, 2008)

As Uranus moves into 10 Aries on February 15th, that will just edge out Jupiter retrograding into 10 Cancer on February 16th.

Astrologically, 10 Aries to 10 Cancer is a cardinal square – and a departing square at that. What do we mean by a ‘departing square’? Well, first there’s the square part – that being an aspect between planets within 5 degrees of a 90-degree angle. All squares challenge us to grow through taking on the new, the untried, the different sort of approach.

We don’t want to.

In fact, when faced with squares we tend not to think we’d even be any good at whatever would be involved in taking on the challenge of internally integrating some ‘untried’ factor (or some approach we aren’t personally familiar or comfortable with) in solving our current situational dilemmas.

And let us not forget…that there is a square going on says we’re having dilemmas.

(Yes, we all tend to forget that part. But to get an answer implies there was a question, just as to have a challenge means there must be a problem or something else to be good and stuck over.)

As for 'cardinal' - that refers to the type of impulse of the 'let's just do it and see what happens' type, which goes rather well with a departing aspect as ‘departing’ refers to the faster moving planet (the one closer to the Sun, in this case Jupiter) and how its moving away from the theoretical conjunction with Planet Two (in this case, Uranus in Aries) isn't something we're waffling about...and isn't something we feel any need to endlessly anylize. Currently in the throes of  learning from or dealing with matters in the wake of some (Uranian) sudden change of status or realization of the rather personal (Aries) type, we're all into who we are, what we've done, what we've not done - or who we are being because of what we are or are not doing.

To go with this, we have the Jupiter being in Cancer – so we know that things surrounding the period indicated by this square are going to ‘reveal’ our nature to us through really basic qualities and considerations…things we tend to take for granted as ‘just part of life.’

Do they have to be? Should they be?

Those are only some of the questions buzzing about now…and moving forward. Given that this square is forming up at 10 degrees of Aries and Cancer we know just from the number that there is a degree of agitation in the mix. Any degree between 10 and 19 of any sign tends to manifest ‘fervently’ so with the ‘I/Me’ sign of Aries and the ‘who I am and where I come from natively on the emotional level’ of Cancer we have a recipe for anything from restlessness to outbursts to really dramatic efforts and explosions – and it would be hard to think going in that we would know which would be good or bad once the dust has settled.

And that won’t come for a while yet. This Jupiter square Uranus period arises now as yet another indicator that we are in the middle of a massive growth period which in breaking us down offers us the chance to build anew – and more realistically.

Or at least accurately.

For Jupiter to be in retrograde now should also be a tip-off that this probably isn’t the start of this process. After all, didn’t Jupiter strike a forward-motion (direct) square at some time in the (semi)recent past?

As a matter of fact, yes. (How good of you to ask…) This Jupiter square started stirring and burning away our dangling misconceptions back in August of 2013…which to jar our collective memory would be just prior to September when the two month ‘breaking down’ period in advance of the November 2013 solar eclipse began. At the time, Jupiter was direct and Uranus was in retrograde, so the ‘shaking up’ of things occurred as we were “pressing ahead” and looking to expand or working to have things happen in our ‘regular world’ life. We were doing the Jupiter-direct-in-Cancer thing of building for the future and feeling good (at least relatively) about who we were and what we were doing.

And then the uncertainty started. Or the restlessness. Or the boredom. Or the sheer necessity of it all. A long time ago the person who taught me basic astrology (and yes, you too can learn from the same text I did, it’s still in print!)…when I asked him what Uranus stood for, he gave me an answer I remember to this day: ‘Uranus is the premise which states that even if you insist on staying in a rut, that life will cause you to redecorate that rut now and again.’

That’s actually a pretty genius definition as it embraces both the idea of outward and inner change. The forces which we think of astrologically as Uranian are those which by ‘disrupting’ the harmonic or harmony in some part of life awakens us to possibilities – and the possibility that what we’re doing right now may not be all there is to do.

Or that we want to do.

Or need to do.

With Uranus we may know the parameters of what we’re doing or need to risk at least our (Aries) concept of Self through learning things and discovering more about who we are and what we’re capable of.

Or not capable of, obviously.

And then there are the specifics of degrees: back in August 2013, Uranus was retrograding back through 12 and 11 Aries, triggering ‘me/my life’ conflicts and questions. We were being tested on what we thought our individuality was worth, and whether we understood that worth, whether those around us understood that worth and where there were disagreements, whether those disagreements had to do with compromises we want to make, compromises we’re ‘expected’ to make and how each of us goes about balancing out who we need to be in our own life and life span against who and what we are ‘expected’ to be – whether that’s by society, our significant other, our family, children, boss, co-workers, friends…whomever.

Between that time and now as Jupiter and Uranus move back into position for Part II of their square we had the 11 Scorpio solar eclipse and the Capricorn Venus retrograde.

Just think through the numbers: the Jupiter/Uranus square originated at 12 Cancer/Aries. Then we had an 11 Scorpio eclipse…and then we got pretty much waffle-ironed by the Venus retrograde ending at 13 Capricorn. Numerically, every inch of that is about how or how well we deal with all things emotional. And no matter where your emotional Self is these days, in the end the question  - at least that one being posed at the moment – is who do we know we can be if we live up to the best of who we are – and does that require making any changes or some kind of owning up to mistakes made which we now need to correct?

This second round of the Jupiter/Uranus square is coming under Mercury retrograde – which automatically tells us to think things over. Mercury retrograde has a pretty fearsome reputation, some of which is merited. Certainly those who speak before they think or who choose this as the moment to bulldoze into something new without thought or reference will tend to go awry. But on the other hand, this can be a time for experimenting – when if you can ‘just try’ something out for the sake of trying you can learn a lot or otherwise benefit from the experience. As with all personal planet retrogrades, Mercurial (conversation, textual or written) matters may go a bit wry or off-track and need ‘reworking’ – just as creative and/or financial affairs under Venus retrograde may have also been a bit ‘off the mark’ or (let’s be real here) sloppy.

**a pause while ten thousand eyes glare at the monitor... **

Yes, sloppy. You know, less than what we’re capable of doing? That kind of sloppy. And it would have been fine except that everyone else was feeling…well, critical.

But that's how it works. Under Venus retrograde we're going to do less than what we know we're capable of because the whole of the cycle is about learning to value our Self on an intrinsic level - that which will become instinctual - the object there being to grow self regard, self value...self worth. That which shakes us seeks to get us to value that 'thing' in terms of the sign Venus is transiting in.

Example: the recent Venus retrograde was in Capricorn, a Saturn-ruled sign which rules (among other things), time. And perhaps you heard that actor Seymour Hoffman died as the Venus station moved through? The astrological flag here is Hoffman's having had a lunar return as the station occurred, but my point here is this: if his passing affected you in such a way to make you think 'I should value the time I have here on Earth,' then Venus retrograding in Capricorn did its job.   

Moving forward now in present tense (and for some of us, very tense) Uranus supports those ‘stop-gap’ measure and ‘temporary fixes’ which are aimed at changes being made. Until Mars goes retrograde next month the ‘doers’ among us are not likely to be fully ‘owning’ what part of today’s goings on are problems, disappointments and bigger challenges we’ve created for ourselves by NOT changing our way of doing or being…and then there are the shirkers, hiders and avoiders who aren’t likely to be getting off our duff to do what really needs doing.

And just to make this interesting, we’re all probably doing a little bit of both. (Don’t they say variety is the spice of life?) So let’s just say that moderation is more of an asset than usual; under this sort of influence we’re likely to want things, like things, not like things, want to do something or not do something merely in the moment. Especially with Mercury in retrograde, those who aren’t engaged in some sort of ‘me’ work (working on me, or on something which will allow me a more effective way of being the person I am)…those people are likely to be looking for something to do at that very level which fosters glib times and fast-track mistakes.

And then there’s Valentine’s Day, which will be under Mercury retrograde with the lunar nodes (the emblems of relating through relationship) at 0 Scorpio and Taurus. As an astrologer, I certainly can say that if what you want to do is commit to working on who you are in a relationship or through a relationship that’s fine as that’s something you can do yourself, and under Mercury retrograde the most productive clarifications we reach are those which allow us to chart a more healthy and reliable path for our Self. If you are (for whatever reason) looking to found or negotiate an open sort of ‘let’s see’ sort of arrangement, Mercury retrograde plus Jupiter-square-Uranus will help with the freedom part, making this also a perfectly fine time to throw those friendly fun greetings at friends who know your style.

But whatever that style is, you had best know what your style is now. You had best be ready to stand with yourself against all which you have done…and not done…over the days and weeks – even months and years recently past. All those things which Mercury retrograde ‘brings up’ – be it people from your past or choices/determinations made badly or even left unmade – all those are likely to rear up and bite you, either in real or simulated form.

In your mind, in your heart, in your face – it’s all grist for life’s mill going forward. We still know this is a departing square – so we’re building. And though Uranus is in Aries now, the actual point at which the current Jupiter/Uranus synodic cycle began is 27 Pisces, a degree known for promoting very odd, very quirky behaviors…theoretically so we can learn better about who we are and what it means to be human.

Jupiter and Antiope by Hendrick Goltzius (1612)

It’s so not cookie-cutter. Considering the degree and the fact that we’re talking about a synodic cycle involving Uranus, impossibilities being proven not just possible but workable and all those things we have thought really well hidden (especially from ourselves) are going to both affect things and ‘come to the surface’ every time we go through one of these Jupiter-Uranus periods.

So we all shows our quirks…and maybe even some unacceptable behavior last August. Now we’re finding out what we’ve learned. Or we’re thinking over what we learned and whether the ‘thing’ was wrong…or maybe just how we went about doing it was wrong.

Jupiter-Uranus asks us to grow. And it asks that we take on some quality of ‘new,’ whether that’s in what we do, coping with what we learn or choosing how to change things going forward. At 10 degrees of Aries and Cancer we are challenged by whatever we have not yet learned to cope with, discard or heal at the same time as we are endowed with an extraordinary insight which could limit us simply because the vision it affords is so different than what we are used to. Many of us will have problems with trying to take on the whole of a problem at once when the only sensible way to achieve one’s aims is to work through things bit by bit, freeing ourselves up one piece at a time.

Apparently there’s something to be learned by doing this piecemeal. That may have to do with a dualistic thread which pits personal aims against strong humanistic impulses. And yet...Aquarius (the sign Mercury will retrograde back into as of February 13) in combination with Uranus as part of this configuration suggests that things are neither 'standard' nor predictable.

Or maybe that's us. Maybe we're not standard or predictable, even in terms of who we claim to be in our own regard.

And whether it's Uranus or Aquarius, we shouldn't want the old, the classic, the standard or status quo. Under either influence, too much pent up energy produces eruptions - which may happen now. Such events and moments can occur in real time...or in our mind. We can have a breakthrough in real world terms – or come to some realization about how to break out of our shell.  

There is no right or wrong here…except for that which works in your life. If you know your natal chart and know that one of these two planets (Jupiter or Uranus) tends to be problematic for you…or if it is for any reason heavily ‘weighted’ (emphasized) by your natal chart, this is an opportunity to learn better – but it might come at some sort of cost.

So this could be the moment when you realize some error. Or how to correct one already made.

Jupiter’s square to Uranus perfects on February 25th…and considering that this date is about a week out from Jupiter’s turn to direct, we can expect that singular sort of ‘push’ which tends to blanket all of life as any planet approaches its station.

Ordinarily we would just see that as an escalating inner desire to achieve something. But this year, before we get to Jupiter’s station we’ll see three other stations: Mercury’s on February 28th, Mars’ on March 1st and Saturn’s on March 2nd.

That's a lot of energy...a lot of pressure...and a lot of potential. Are you doing anything which is important to you? Should you be doing something which is important to you? 
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Pluto Direct

A Hubble Telescope photograph of WR124 (in nebula M1 67) spewing clumps of hot gas outwards from its star core at some 100,000 mph

(photo credit: Hubble Space Telescope, NASA-JPL, March 1997)

Pluto is going direct on September 20th at 3:27 in the afternoon, UT/+0 time. As noted several posts ago, it will be going direct at the exact degree of Facies – a fixed star (nebula, actually) which has a pretty problematic reputation with astrologers.

- link to -

Pluto/Facies: Moving On

Considering how Pluto’s keywords are ‘create, deny, destroy’ we can probably all expect a little of this energy to be circulating through our lives from the simple ‘I don’t want to talk about that’ to the full scale war complete with the horrors of death and destruction.

But there’s a reason why Pluto is associated with the image of the Phoenix. Whether the destruction is brought about by fire, flame or societal…even personal vulnerability or failings, that which is affected by Pluto opens the door to something new which in time will ‘rise from the ashes.’

That Pluto is making its ‘turn’ in conjunction not just with Facies but with Industria tells us the most likely place for challenges to arise…or where we’re likely to have our ‘ship come in’ (get results) is in any area of work or personal effort. This station is thus (more or less) either about what’s we’re working to build, or some structure which is in our life which is preventing us from building what we need to build or building anew.

Not that we’re likely to be all jingles about the thing, no matter what it is. People who are already in the process of ‘transforming’ their lives are going to find it’s a heavy time for details and effort. As all of us do when confronted by such a moment, it’s going to feel like the more we do, the more there is to do!

That would very naturally bring out the Facies ‘many parts, much to do’ and feeling very put-upon (i.e., like a victim). And there’s of course that fact that when we’re feeling all bogged down and overwhelmed how anyone breezing by seems callous, heartless and worthy of a big sign on their back which reads ‘villain.’

A lot of what goes on now is going to be about perspective. With Pluto in opposition to Black Moon Lilith (Lilith/Child conjunct conjunct Sirius) there are going to be a lot of people leaving the physical nest (however old they are!) and a lot of people leaving the emotional nest.

We just know it’s time to be something more real in our own minds. There comes a point when the acquiescing to others becomes less comforting and comfortable and more of a burden on that Self we know we are and which we really want to become.

This would be one of those times.

For those who don’t have anything in particular in the pot or on some back burner, this is likely to be a particularly trying passage as they see change going on all around them. Just to pick one popular harmonic to these placements, the third harmonic (representing the thought and mental attitude) to Pluto-Facies’ position would be Piscean – which is why those who achieve things in the worldly and Capricorn sense (not to mention those with important Capricorn placements) think in universal terms. Where Aquarius is ‘mass movement’ and social interaction, Pisces is the universality of emotion – and let’s face it, we all live in our emotions as human beings. Even those of us who try to avoid our emotions do so because they don’t feel comfortable to us!

The third harmonic to Cancer, on the other hand, is Virgo…telling us why those who are opposing change will now couch everything in terms of whether something is ‘pragmatic’ or ‘workable’ or even ‘healthy’ for us to do.

It’s an interesting oppositional dynamic – the common chord and the level at which humans ‘live’ (their emotional sense of Self) being the key to knowing how to achieve anything versus the localized ‘we need to deal with this right here, right now.’

And that’s pretty much the issue – universality versus localized visions on how life should be structured and what we need to do to make our lives more viable, workable, safe and satisfying at the same time.

Barring the idea that your home is being flooded at the moment (in which case, why are you reading astrological posts on the internet?) or there’s some real-time calamity going on, this gets down to one very simple idea: the safety and functionality of our personal world is predicated on the greater world in which we live.

Now, I know as I say that how there are people who think that if they earn enough money or gain enough power they won’t have to deal with anything.

That might work except for things like famine, earthquakes, world economies, plagues and all that stuff.

Oh yes, that.

Yes, that. We are all subject to the world around us, which is why the statement ‘I don’t care about anyone/anything but my own (insert term)’ tends to not just sound like folly but BE folly.

...Which rather gets back to some of what I was noting here at Ye Olde Bloggery last week when talking about Pluto-Facies (see link above). 

It’s at times like this that such folly reveals itself as follow. For all the resisters and desist-ers, for the anti-change nay-sayers and control freaks of this life, if your chart answers to 8 Capricorn, you’re in for a bit of a steam-roller-ing. Life is trying to unwrinkle your contracted soul – which to you may feel like getting hit with a hot iron.

Which yes, would be two sides of the same experience. But what’s your choice? We cannot retreat from life…not that I don’t know a few people who give that their very best shot. (No, it doesn’t work.)

Thinking back to those harmonics, the universal considerations which go with the implied Capricorn-Pisces connective are certainly heightened by the fact that we are talking not “just” Pluto, but Pluto-Facies. Issues of discomfort, feelings of haplessness and being helpless to do things the way you might want to do them are probably to be expected, at the very least.

Applying this to the idea that we give celestial objects a two-days-before, two-days-after ‘station allowance’ window, with the Moon entering Pisces on September 17th that Moon – representing feelings and values and our susceptibility to them and everything which provokes emotionality – ‘triggers’ the third Pluto-in-Capricorn harmonic on September 18th at about four-twenty-something in the morning (UT/+0) time.

Of course there are twelve ‘natural’ harmonics to any placement (there being twelve zodiac signs). So why care so much about the third?

Part one: because that represents our mentality. The station is the station is the station…and the sign its in is the sign of ‘awareness’ – the first harmonic derivative. But that all-important moment of thinking through things and realizing we need to deal with them and cope with them? That’s the third harmonic.

Besides, Chiron is sitting at 10 Pisces. So this Pluto station atop Facies is going to be ‘setting off’ our Chiron-in-Pisces “no, I don’t want to have to deal with that” feelings…which the Moon is going to trigger early on the 18th (or late on the 17th if you’re in the western Americas). Chiron in Pisces is a whole sea of processes which challenge us to explore our own emotional makeup and to deal with whatever incongruities exist between our vision of reality and our vision of the ideal. Or life in real time versus the life in our head. Or the fact versus the thing we’d like to think is the fact…or how we’d like to feel as opposed to what our real feelings are about anything.

Or yes, anyone.

Moreover, as the Moon set’s off this ‘Piscean thought-wave,’ as it reaches 8 Pisces (the perfected sextile to Pluto at 8 Capricorn) this creates another Grand Sextile…

In case you're wondering, I don't color the signs in red and blue because

I'm an American, but rather to show the alternation between Yin and Yang

signs as we move around the zodiac.

 

…which but an hour later, as the Moon moves forward into 9 Pisces is re-struck by Venus moving into 8 Scorpio.

Scorpio is the 11th harmonic to Capricorn, which brings up the concept of negotiating our way through life and negotiating of/in relationships of all kinds in our life. The Sabian Symbol for 8 Scorpio is an apt one: A DENTIST AT WORK, which astrologer Dane Rudhyar very astutely summarizes as ‘overcoming the negative results of social prejudices and ego-cravings.’ Venus so often manifests as the ‘what we want’ in life and our Venusian challenges are to realize that what we get out of anything depends on what we are going into it and what we do as part of it…which in the wonderful (and as I almost typed that, ‘wound-erful’) world of Scorpio tells us that the basis of relationship with someone – be they our platonic friend, our business partner or employer or our most luscious and beloved squeeze – that relationship doesn’t happen ‘by magic.’ It has to be negotiated. Too often in life we get ourselves in trouble by ‘assuming’ we know what somebody is thinking. Or what they prefer.

Scorpio is all about showing that up as an error on our part.

So often we think we can just ‘go for the standard role’ in a situation or relationship, completely forgetting how unique we are and how unique everybody else is, too.

Scorpio will show up those miscalculations as well.

There’s a longstanding myth which people evidently want desperately to believe that relationships “shouldn’t need work.”

The ‘I don’t have to work at it’ (or me, or my relationship) doesn’t work either.

Sooner or later our not negotiating our relationships backfires. What passion may sustain starting out falls through thin Scorpio ice (which the passion has heatedly melted through, one suspects). Or we find out that beneath the shiny exoskeleton of that Scorpio situation lies something rotten.

You know…which then the dentist has to work on – hence the symbol.

All of this is part of the process of moving forward towards the 11 Scorpio Solar Eclipse which will occur on November 3rd. The watery grand trine from Venus in Scorpio to (Moon) Chiron in Pisces to Black Moon Lilith in Cancer (which is opposing Pluto) is a contradictory energy, one pole of which wants to dig in and forget changing anything and the other pole of which realizes changes are desperately needed even if we don’t know (consciously) how to make them.

The Chirotic answer is to allow ourselves to feel our feelings and whatever reluctance or fear or haplessness goes along with them while walking forward through our veil. Chiron always asks that we do something we don’t know how to do and through doing it, transcend who we have been in realizing we can be so much more. As it’s doing that, Venus is sextiling Pluto’s station from Scorpio, guaranteeing that we can change our place in the world and what we conceive of as our place in the world if we will only release our death grip on our current status quo.

This is one of those ‘give a little, get a lot,’ moments.

However, as I say that, I also fully believe that giving a little now means a huge personal evolution – a life transformation – yet to come.

What we need to do may not be popular. No, not even with us. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t need to be done. Plus there is that old metaphysical lesson about energy and energetics. Energy is never lost. It changes form, it can be shifted from one place to another (to some degree) rather as you can do with water in a water balloon. But in the end, the energy we fail to use or that we refuse to utilize becomes energy which life simply brings to us in the form of something which we then have to respond to and which we have no input on.

And that’s a whole other – and more universal – conceptualization of the Facies ‘victim-perpetrator’ concept. We now have a chance to shape our world and life moving forward. If we fail to take that on or follow through and make best efforts (complete with a measure of letting go and clearing/cleaning out) could it be that we’re perpetrating some sort of ‘victimization’ of our greater potential or ability to grow with life…or in our life?

Perhaps.

As always with any such station, those who have major placements (planets, dwarf planets, nodes or chart angles) within 5 degrees of the conjunction, opposition point or squares will experience the greatest focal…or in the case of squares, challenge from these next few days at least. So that would mean anyone with any important placement between 3 and 13 degrees of Capricorn (the conjunction), Cancer (the opposition), Libra and/or Aries (the squares) are going to be most affected now.

Let’s also not forget that such stations also work in the charts of nations, companies and relationships as well.

One other thing worth noting here…on the date of Pluto’s actual station (September 20th) the Moon will be in Aries.

The Grand Sextile is still there, yes. But with Venus now at 10 Scorpio and the Moon exactly conjunct Uranus, not only are we likely to feel whatever energy is around being ‘brought home’ to us, but despite our tendency to react in very personal terms (which is natural and very Aries), those two green lines forming a “V” shape… which in astrological terms actually form the “Y” of a Yod are telling us that our answers lie not in embodying the Uranus/Moon 11 Aries tendency to over-react, exaggerate (in reality or in our mind) or get all about ‘that other person’ but instead to embrace the ‘other perspective’ which is shown through 11 Libra, a degree which asks that we think things through and work through the issue or situation at a manageable rate.

In other words, can the explosions and go for a step-by-step, more managed and interactive, even negotiated (there’s that word again!) solution to the situation. The Sabian Symbol for 11 Libra is one I’ve always liked: MINERS ARE SUFACING FROM A DEEP COAL MINE which is all about ‘digging deep’ into ourselves in how we go about being who we are in the world…which amounts to the ‘cause’ which garners the ‘effect’ from others and from life.

The implication here is that this moment and this station really are about who we are – but in the externalized sense: what we are in the world determines who we get to be in our own life. And thus this Yod is an opportunity… a trying one maybe, but an opportunity nonetheless.

Can we learn from our experiences of others and from life itself what we have the potential to become? Some changes probably need making, yes. But that would be the theme of this moment…and this season as a whole.

With all that said, I know I have left one question unanswered until now: how do we know a good Pluto thing from a "bad" Pluto thing? Be it a relationship or a hobby or a choice of job/career or anything else, the underlying issue is how compelled you feel to do that.

Pluto compulsions tend to be seriously emotion-driven. We crave this, we want to be with that person, we feel 'less than' or lessened by being involved in or not being involved in something.

In a nutshell, that statement pretty much explains Pluto's role as the lure and allure of the Scorpio outcome - and thus the reason why when we go to make our Mars choice whether to initiate or not to initiate, the underlying issue is how conscious we are of who we are and why we're doing/not doing whatever it at stake...or how much of that urgent sort of "competitive" feeling is driving us to make some given decision....the 'to do, or not to do' which in turn gets us into a 'to do' or not.

That "competition" is not with others: it's with our sense of Self. We're trying to win our own self-esteem and thus grow our own feelings of satisfaction...you know, all those things which are endemically related to Taurus, Scorpio's polarity sign. Taurus is the personal end of the Taurus/Scorpio polarity and Scorpio is the interactive end - the where we go to try and get what we think will fulfill us.

Whatever the good or bad is in this formula, that is shown by the placement of our natal Pluto and the placement of our Mars...and the placement of Scorpio - and whatever objects/planets we have positioned in Scorpio. Learning how those things work, learning why they tend to manifest in our lives as they do - those are our Plutonic lessons.


There's a lot more to be said about Scorpio (and thus Pluto and its lessons) during these next weeks ahead, seeing as we are not even half-way through the lead-in to the Solar Eclipse which will occur at 11 Scorpio come November. Those places where we tend to be annoyed with others are like as not where the eclipse energy is playing out.

Likewise are those places where we have 'created' something we think is going to 'transform' our lives and 'fix' our sense of self-esteem or security. Anything you have gotten involved in (or are getting involved in) which is all about 'fixing' something in your life through some sort of emotional experience (as opposed to an intellectual experience) is likely to be driven by Pluto.

That's one of the truly odd things about Scorpio. This sign of passion and desire is best handled and wrangled through all things where we are able to be dispassionate. Thus anyone with a really problematic Scorpio or Pluto natal issue (and you surely know who you are!) only solves that issue by...

a.) getting involved in something which allows them to understand the underlying vulnerability...

b.) finding something intellectual and growth oriented to be 'invested in' which will "drain off" some of the Pluto energy to the point where Pluto energetics are not going to be able to run your life...

c.) recognizing compulsive choices when they are made and recognizing that "that choice" is a bad one because it's not about how 'delicious' the 'thing' is but more about life wanting us to trigger our underlying issues so we can maybe (this time) get real about our denied (avoided) emotional/self-worth issues.

Slow growth - enduring growth - is Saturnine. Compulsive growth which tends to end up be "cancerous" on the emotional level (or at any level which 'hits' us in our emotionality) is Plutonic.

And then there's....

d.) finding a way that you can approach those obsessive energetics under the guidance of someone who you trust enough to govern your operation in said realm.

This last choice ("d.") is particularly important for anyone with a Moon in Scorpio or Taurus...OR with a Pluto in Scorpio (Gen Y - this is you!)

And yes, I say this knowing full well that any one of these placements will be part and parcel of a chart of a person who will tend to be highly resistant to that very suggestion even if (deep inside) they know they have issues.

You know, Pluto issues. We all have some Pluto "stuff" to deal with...it's just whether we can manage to dig our way out of it without creating a cave-in.

Going to get my shovel now…
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Sun in Gemini / Uranus squares Pluto

A photograph of New York's Madison Avenus looking north through

a jungle of structures humans have created, beyond which is the sky.

(photo credit: Zahnstein, June 2005)

Every year’s Sun-into-Gemini ingress is a chance to discover new things and think new thoughts. It’s also a time when choices get made, some simple, some complex, some off-the-cuff and a few of which are likely to prove life-changing.

The Sun in Gemini is also a time to change our mind. But since capriciousness is not a Gemini positive, we wouldn’t want to be using this time to give up on ourselves or something which looks (or mentally ‘sounds’) really difficult but which merely tests our ability to sort things out and learn things step by step.

There is a tendency to want to opt of the thing light-hearted or ‘just for the fun of it’ under Gemini’s influence. And that’s fine! But there is another side of Gemini which is all about our ability and willingness to think. After all, every zodiacal element is a ‘process’ which extends from the first sign in that element to the last. And when it comes to air signs (which encompasses the thought-oriented processes of life) Gemini is the start of something which in moving through Libra (which is the thinking through ‘how this would work’ part of the process) leads ultimately to Aquarian success… popularity… acceptance… income… inclusion in the world – all that stuff. The great discoveries we associate with science and Aquarius as the hallmark of all things techy and modern, all that has its roots both in our mental ability to recognize either the need or the possibility.

And yes, to then carry through on figuring out how to fix things or create that ‘something’ which fills the personal, group or societal need.

It all starts with the idea – the Gemini of it all. And when better to have ideas, or to think through an idea, or to move forward with an idea than when the Sun is in Gemini?

Although…nobody says getting somewhere is easy, right? The dualistic dichotomy of Gemini expressed by the twin stars Castor and Pollux is that there is the simple and very human ‘I’ll just give it a go’ and the more complex act of thinking something through, of making a plan, of being willing to build something even though that takes time, dedication and yes, maybe a flew flubs along the way.

There’s all that – and that level of ‘duality’ – and then there is the ‘why bother’ versus ‘I want to accomplish something’ sort of duality.

Yes, Gemini is a sign all about the need versus the want versus the urge versus the willingness to commit to something. And it’s about the mind or mentality which does or doesn’t make any given choice, leading us to Gemini as the sign of organizing our lives and priorities, or Gemini as the sign of learning, choosing to learn (or learn better) and our entire spectrum of life choices.

Gemini also rules all those things which help us do any of those tasks. So Gemini is the list of errands and the body limbs which go about getting those errands done. It’s transportation. It’s accounting. It’s the mail service. It’s writing and/or just writing things down – or remembering. At a mundane level Gemini is the equipment we use to do things with – the phone, the computer, the pen or pencil, the paper, with all this being true even if technology is Aquarian (because it’s all electrical) and paper as a commodity would probably fall under either Taurus or Virgo, the general signs of physical commodities.

One other very important aspect of Gemini: Gemini is the mind or mentality which is capable of doing all that. Which is capable of making a given choice, whether that means you have/don’t have the information, or whether your mental capacity is capable of making choices.

As the Sun is entering Gemini on May 20th at 9:11 in the evening (UT/+0 time), it ushers us into a seasonal month of searching and thinking about…or hearing about things. Occurring in the wake of a potent Solar Eclipse which has moved us all back towards bigger and more intrinsic questions about what we need to do in order to have the life we want to have in spite of the fact that we can’t ever promise ourselves or anyone else that everything is always going to “be all right”…there are a lot of pipe dreams which have been exploded over these past couple of months – and as terrible as those moments may have been, in the metaphysical scope of thinking, we have needed to learn such things and what we can glean is as yet not fully known.

Unbeknownst to us, the universe is unfolding as it should.

As a race, human beings have come to think they run this planet. And in one sense, the do. But the planet is still bigger than we are. Life is far, far vaster than we will ever even conceive of. For all we know, our Earth is part of a vast, vast universe which is just a dust mote on a flower in some other even vaster existence.

That’s the ‘Horton Hears a Who’ version of What Is, of course. But even if we just stop and recognize that with all of life’s immediate needs and responsibilities we are still a grain on the sand of time’s beaches…that’s humbling.

So why try? Is there any merit to being the shiniest grain of sand we each can be?

Probably yes. But probably not in the everyday sense we tend to think in. There’s what we do and there’s why we do it. And when that ‘why’ is just about us or our family, that has a value to be sure. But is that a credit to the beach? That’s hard to know and for each person to think through.

And fortunately, the Sun is entering Gemini now, so we have the perfect solar month to do that thinking in!

However (yes, there’s always a ‘however’) because the Sun is entering Gemini accompanied by Chaldaea and Phaethon, maybe you’re thinking things are just moving too fast? Maybe you’re feeling life has passed you by? Maybe you think we all need to slow down? Or not bully our way to our goal regardless of what harm we do ourselves, others or even our world?

Those are all valid. Yet another form of Chaldaea and Phaethon with the Sun is ‘the bold thought’ which ‘takes off’ from the old and soars to new heights. Given the story of Phaethon, the warning is probably to not go beyond the limits of our understanding or ‘strength’ (be that endurance or skill) over these next few weeks.

Will we want to? Heck yes! But should we give ourselves free rein to? Thinking through Sun-Chaldaea and Phaethon….

Phaethon

by Gustave Moreau (1878, Louve Museum)

Let’s just put it this way: this looks like another ‘Gemini dichotomy,’ a choice between impatience (or maybe frustration or need) against our willingness to not run ourselves off a cliff, into a brick wall or smack dab into trouble. In other words, particularly where we’d like to think we know and we’re on top of things, maybe that’s exactly the place to ask ourselves whether we really are on top of things…or whether we know as much as we think we know.

Or maybe just whether the status quo is going to hold…or where the world or our life is really going.

And whether we want to go there.

And whether we have a choice.

The pickle in the ointment here (and yes, I know that’s a singularly unappetizing concept) is that as the Sun enters Gemini, Uranus (in Aires) squares Pluto (in Capricorn). And that part of the current equation is happening at what seems to be this year’s favorite degree in any sign, eleven.

(That would be Uranus at 11 Aries and Pluto at 11 Capricorn.)

And that brings to mind one of the important concepts about eleven in the metaphysical realm of numerics and such. Twice eleven (in other words, twenty-two) is the number of “mastership.” So 22 equals 11 times 2.

Two is the number of direction, a concept drawn from the idea of one as the whole and two is ‘the duality.’ If you’re into numerology or Kabbalah you may have heard of these concepts. If you’re into Systems Theory this is also familiar.

But if you’re not familiar with any of this, that’s no problem either. One is ‘the whole’ or ‘the point’ or simply where you are. So two is somewhere else – and the line between where you are and where that somewhere else is that you might be going…which leads to that wonderful pair of dueling concepts: the shortest course between two points is a straight line versus the ever popular world of ‘the road less traveled’ and what we learn by diverging from that efficient and effective linear direction.

Again, a choice. Again, very Gemini.

Eleven is your life, your soul, your essence, you spirit bridging the differentiation of concept between the everyday-present and the Path of Possibilities which as a whole ‘bridges’ the gap between the life simple and a life of Mastership.

So eleven is a bridge in two senses. It is the ‘stepping out’ of your known into what you are either willing to experience or that which you need to learn or grow into, and it is also the first step in evolving your experience of existing in the whole of your life and as part of that greater life we know as Existence.

The image of 11 is also very Gemini.

Okay…so maybe you aren’t into systems theory or numerical sequences as progressions to mastery. Then try thinking of eleven in purely human terms. Eleven is the beginning of the teen ‘poltergeist’ years when our brains are rewiring and we just seem to know too much and nothing all at the same time.

And this makes sense in the planetary-astrological sense when we consider Jupiter’s 11.86 year orbit around the Sun. If as the largest planet in our solar system Jupiter represents ‘growth and expansion’ and all things which between the ‘overblown’ and the ‘fulfilling of potential’ (or promise), the first ‘round’ of Jupiter is ‘the basics.’ So in human being terms, the first 11.86 years is when we do a lot of physical growing. From our bodies to our brains, it all gets built. The ‘structures’ get put in place. And then all gets ‘filled in’ and ‘fleshed out’ during Jupiter’s successive rounds.

Eleven Capricorn is a degree which grants to us operational ability without revealing everything. Obviously this can be useful or detrimental, depending on what you’re doing and what you’re not showing to everyone. This is a degree which grants the ability to forge alliances as well as dissolve them. So with Pluto (now retrograde) at 11 Capricorn, we are both seeing some of the outcomes of choices already made to us via our awareness or feelings or situations which are prompting us to learn more about ourselves, we are being asked whether we are willing to make some changes which either build or discard situations, people, presumptions, alliances, life directions – something!

But this isn’t likely to be anything close to a simple or simplistic process. (Which makes it a very good thing the Sun entering Gemini makes this such an excellent time to think things through!)

And why isn’t this a simplistic process we’re waltzing, slouching, sauntering, tango-ing or being shoved into, depending on who you are to begin with? That answer involves the dynamics of a cardinal t-square.

  
Most of the time, t-squares connect signs of like modality (manner of action) and unalike element. The only exception to this is when one or another of the t-square elements is at the very end or very beginning of a sign. So in this case we have a t-square in cardinal signs, of which there are four (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn) which means the cardinal modality includes one sign from each of the four elements: fire, earth, air and water.

 
Modality tells us how a sign works. Cardinal signs always ‘go for it.’ People with cardinal Suns are those always willing to give things a try. If you don’t try, cardinal thinking is, how will you know what you can accomplish? And how will you know if you don’t enjoy something if you don’t try it?

Suffice it to say the other two modalities (fixed and mutable) see this differently. The fixed sign reply to ‘how will you know if you don’t try’ is ‘I’d rather not.’ Or maybe ‘Yes, I might gain something. But I also might lose something. Can you give me a good reason why I’d want to try?’

As for mutable signs, they’d want to try ‘a little bit.’ Your standard mutable answer also might be ‘Show me. You first.’ Mutable signs are willing to try things, but not commit to carrying through on the effort until they see what’s involved. Or what’s to be gained or lost – all that.

Need I say Gemini is a mutable sign? Learning to choose wisely enough that you can commit is a prime Gemini lesson (in the life of a Sun, Moon or Ascending sign of Gemini life). And that’s a biggie.

But fortunately, the Sun isn’t involved in this t-square. In fact, the Sun’s ingress into Gemini at the moment of this Uranus-Pluto square (cum t-square) gives us the clue that this is a good time to try to get some dispassionate, analytical perspective on goings on – whether in your own life or at some other level.

That said, back to the t-square. The core of it – and the challenge of it – is Uranus squaring Pluto.

Before I get all into this part of the astro-tale, let's remember that Pluto conjuncting Vega is a long term process. Here's the link to the post all about that:

Transforming Charisma:

Pluto Conjuncts Vega 

We say it in this order for a reason, that reason being that Uranus is the faster moving planet, and therefore it is moving towards and through the square with Pluto. And the reason why this is important is because the ‘t’ in the t-square is always the sticking point. We tend to think it’s just about us when the issue is not the ‘egotistical’ or “only about me” perspective, but a more inclusive concept. After all, the “goal” of a t-square is the polar opposite of its starting point (which in this case is Pluto in Capricorn)...which in this case means that what we do in the world (or “how things work” in the world) and how they may or may not be changing is meant to benefit not just us, but to be ‘worth the cost’ (Vesta) of going through understanding and dealing with what it takes to make good on the process (Ceres) at a very basic and fundamental, humanistic level (Cancer).

The sticking point – the Uranus in Aries part of it – is at some level about our willingness to own our uniqueness. With Uranus positioned here conjunct Kleopatra, there is certainly some sort of ‘cleverness’ involved. But if we’re coming into this time thinking we’re ‘the clever one’ and maybe therefore either entitled to do what we want or capable of outsmarting others, that won’t work.

 An image generated by the JPL Small Bodies Databank which

is annotated to show the current t-square.

In point of fact, with the Taurus Solar Eclipse which just moved through, we may be up against dealing with the repercussions of just that concept. We thought we could ‘get away’ with something and it’s come back to haunt us, biting us in our nether parts.

Some of us have been playing dumb. Some of us have been preventing ‘newer or smarter’ ideas from being put into play because (heaven forbid!) we might have to learn something new. Or maybe we just don’t want to change our ways. Or our point of view. Or how we think (Gemini) others see us.

11 Aries being a degree which by any measure reveals the need to ‘rebalance’ or learn how to balance asks us to see the unbidden and that we haven’t ever considered before. Of course, with Uranus positioned in this degree, it is to be expected that there will at least be some surprise involved. So maybe you’re ‘surprised’ at the amount of effort it takes to do something? Or maybe you’re surprised at the amount of (Capricorn-ish) time it takes to get things moving or changed or straightened out or built or, or, or….?

To those who resist, Uranus is your enemy. When I was learning astrology, I remember asking the guy who taught me the basics (his name was Tony) about Uranus. His answer was something very close to this: Uranus is the astrological precept which says that if you refuse to get out of a rut, life will at LEAST require you to redecorate that rut from time to time.

Colorful and true, that. But Uranus is much more. Uranus is the idea that discoveries engender more discoveries and that denial only bottles up energy which eventually bursts through. It doesn’t matter how much we don’t like something, in other words, in time we have to deal with it. As ‘outcome’ ruler of Aquarius, Aquarius symbolizes the release and all the many forms of reward we may get for accomplishing some goal. But woe be to those who don’t remember that no goal in this life is achieved in isolation. You may be baking a cake in your kitchen, for instance, but where did you get your ingredients? Where does your power come from? And are you planning on baking that cake and eating it too, or does your ultimate reward – the Aquarian knowledge that you’ve ‘succeeded’ which fosters the Taurus-sextile feelings of satisfaction come from the huzzahs which you get when everybody at the picnic or party sees that glorious cake?

Our greatest successes always come from being appreciated. The old expression is ‘no man is an island’ and that’s a tried and truism of great import. So since Uranus is always the outcome ruler of Aquarius (Saturn is the Aquarian qualifier and ‘in’ door) Uranus in Aries is about our changing so that we achieve greater (or maybe just different) forms of success in this life.

In that sense, Uranus in Aries is about turning us all into well-rounded folks.

Not that we’re all so snappy-happy about leaving our comfort zones. Or with what it takes to integrate our ‘special and unique’ qualities into a world which is already in progress. As people, we may or may not have to literally ‘fit in.’ Do you have to dress a certain way or talk a particular language or lingo? Maybe for convention’s sake in some situations. But in the end, time and again it has been shown that genius will out…and Uranus is nothing if not genius.

Aquarius is an air sign. And what did we start out saying about air signs? They’re a process and they’re mental. So it’s the idea which has to fit in even as it expands, changes, improves upon or otherwise enhances the functional status quo.

Given that the ruler of Aries (Mars) is currently in the third and most worldly decanate of Taurus and conjunct Sedna (a dwarf planet all about ‘letting go’), with the ruler of Capricorn (Saturn) retrograde in early Scorpio there are some of us who will let go of our hesitation, our insistence on things being ‘our way’ or some set of blinders we’ve been insisting on wearing. We may get the answers we’ve been working towards. We may reach some milestone.

Then again, we shouldn’t be surprised if this moment marks yet another episode where someone, somewhere isn’t able to maintain their Gemini Sun perspective. Where someone shows us just how important it is to pay attention to the quality of a life and not just ‘quality of life.’

This is not “splitting hairs.” This is a real and vital difference upon which lives may well depend.

We are on our path. Those who choose not to see the various levels life manifests on don’t get to negate the existence of that which is merely more esoteric or clarified than they want to deal with.

Or rather, they can…but they are also likely to fall into a hairy trap of their own design. Life is like that, after all.

As the Sun enters Gemini, the Moon is in early Libra. It will reach the opposition to Uranus (and square to Pluto) at around one in the afternoon on May 21st, UT/+0 time. Having moved into the square with Vesta (‘the cost’) some two hours earlier, this sets up a tension which may manifest in substantial problems.

Deep down inside, our sense of life is changing. That we were 'enchanted' by is being (dare I say) eclipsed and changed at a Plutonic, Vega level.

The next ‘window’ for this t-square to be set off occurs on May 22, as the Moon enters Scorpio. As of around 10pm (UT/+0) on May 22nd, the Moon begins to set off Saturn’s Scorpio vibe. Where trouble is brewing, this would like as not ignite a long fuse which then (rationally) needs defusing. It’s a time to be aware and when the cool and calm is often the solution for the volatile. Softness doesn’t win now, no matter what you think – go for the facts.

May 22nd is also when Mars conjuncts Sedna. It’s a good time to get over sticking points, and we all can hope no one comes ‘unstuck’ about now.

The Moon as a ‘timing trigger’ sets Saturn off at around 7 a.m. on May 23. It will be the afternoon of the 24th before it opposes Mars (which has now moved past Sedna to 25 Taurus) and Moon/Mars in opposition can be an argumentative, explosive, sometimes sulky and often intense sort of period.

Fortunately the Moon moves about a half-a-degree per hour. Things happen, they seem to wear off after a few hours pass…such ‘moments’ and ‘moods’ are triggered by the Moon, our prime and primal emblem of astro-emotionality.

Moonlight Night on the Volga River (1975) by Vladimir Ivanovich Ovchinnikov

Once the Moon reaches Capricorn late on May 26th (UT/+0 time) we are in for a day or so of efforts, accomplishments and disappointments. Both are meant to teach us what approaches in life really work, so if you don’t succeed, do try, try again.

But first regroup. Do the Sun-in-Gemini thing and think through why something didn’t work. Pay particular attention to where you may have ‘skimped’ on thoroughness (that would be the Gemini). And don’t be surprised if something you ‘threw out’ some time ago suddenly turns out to be the very thing you need now.
Pluto lessons are like that. They do tend to teach us that the easy way is not always the ultimately valuable way. (Drat!)

There will be another ‘edition’ of tension and shift while the Moon moves through Aries, an event which begins at around dawn on June 2nd in the UT/+0 zone. That gives us until afternoon on the 2nd (again, in the UT/+0 zone – you’ll need to adjust for local time) before we get to those evocative surprises and shifts of dynamic, focus or priority. By then, Mars will have moved on into Gemini, which means the pace of life is rather nutsy.

But this would be a good moment for finding our right path.

You know – the thing which will help bridge the gap from where we are now to that place which will truly help us become what and who we need to ultimately be.

We can think our way through this. And that’s the point: the Sun is going into Gemini, and what we think about how we think – and what we think about – becomes the name of the game throughout our next solar month.
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