A New Moon in Leo

 

 Moonrise at Sunset (Jessie Eastland January 2012)

Every New Moon represents the beginning of a new cycle. During each lunar cycle we will see – and experience – events which fit into the ‘theme’ of the sign of that New Moon, with the sign of the Full Moon (which is generally the New Moon’s polarity sign) as the ‘thematic’ indicator of the nature of the fulfillment which we will meet up with.

On the mundane level of life in the Big World around us, that’s pretty much it. But when we get down to our lives as individuals…or even the ‘life’ of a nation or a company or a product – or anything else in specific, where those signs of the New and Full Moon fall in that chart further ‘color’ the nature of the monthly experience.

Still, that’s really what lunar cycles are about. Yes, they may contribute or even represent high points or low points in our yearly cycle…or in our life (as may be indicated by transits and eclipses to your personal chart). But on a purely theoretical level, the New Moon is simply life chiming the newest hour of the yearly day in the life of our solar system – which is itself but one small cell in the incredible vastness which is the universe of life, time and Existence.

This month’s New Moon is in Leo, a sign all about the idea of bringing things into being, what it is we want to bring into our world, our hopes for whatever it is we attempt or create and all those new moments of experiencing along the way.

The obvious strength of Leo is its dynamic power to create. The equally evident pitfall with Leo is its tendency to be blind to external elements – be those the people around you whose opinions are going to matter to you at some point, the realistic feasibility of our goals, dreams and ideas, or the effort it’s going to take to bring our dream into reality.

Leo is an intrinsic sign of vision. Pisces may dream and Scorpio may intuit, Sagittarius may comprehend strengths and weaknesses and Aries may sense capacity. But nothing sees what could be like Leo does.

And because of that very thing, the greatest Leo defeats are often not defeats in reality, but in the mind. Leo energies are defeated not by the impractical and not by the impossible, but rather by the difference between the expectation seeded by vision and the reality – be that what it will take to get the idea off the ground or the fact that not everybody is as delighted with our Leo vision. Or a Leo’s vision, in the case of a Sun sign Leo.

Many a Leo (and person with a Leo idea) has felt that cold douse of water being thrown in their face and, after a bit of roaring and snarling, said ‘I’ll show you!’ and gone on to be successful in spite of the wet blankets.

And therein lies the essential Leo lesson: while it’s important to have a dream, learning to require of yourself that you recognize the realistic parameters of that dream is your best Leo armor.

Thus we come to this year’s Leo New Moon, a New Moon which will occur on August 6th at 9:52 p.m., UT/+0 time at 14 Leo, a degree which by definition is ‘emotional’ – which in the case of fiery Leo is more akin to fervency. Or excitability. Or conviction.

But remember…our lion Leo as a zodiac sign has delicate paws. You remember that story about the thorn in the lion’s paw, right? That’s an interesting reference on the zodiacal level, seeing as feet (and therefore paws!) are Piscean in nature – which may be why foot rubs are so soothing (come to think of it). Pisces is the 8th sign from Leo – that we call in astrological terms ‘the 8th harmonic’ – which means that it is in, and through the Pisces challenge to be willing to accept feeling one’s feelings that Leo finds its power personal and worldly.

Perhaps that helps you understand the Leo challenge. We all have them, obviously – and whatever sign is the 8th harmonic from your Sun or Moon sign is where you (personally) are likely to find your sticking points.

You know, those thorns in your paw.

So we’re starting with a New Moon loaded with vibrant, evocative energy which is ‘seeding’ 14 Leo, a degree which is strong on spirit and the spiritual, but less integrated with life’s realities than other Leo degrees.

Which, considering we are talking about Leo, may say a good deal.

Looking at this more abstractly, 14 Leo is about isolation versus integration with pluses and minuses on both sides. There is a need to focus (isolate)… and a definite challenge in the area of integrating – whether that’s you integrating yourself into a group, getting your schedule prioritized (an integrating of theoretical goals, realities of necessity and real world time) or any other combination of disparate, differentiated factors.

And as soon as we say that, there is the fact that this particular New Moon comes to us as part of a grandly designed grand square.

There are several basic ‘conflicts’ described in this figure as a construct. The first is that grand squares (whatever they may be composed of) are sort of like a tablecloth you optimally want to pick up by all four corners so that everything is “contained.” That suggests that this month is going to be full of things which have many sides which need to be considered…and contended with.

The next idea is that this grand square is being presented to us in fixed signs. Fixed signs always present us with a challenge. We tend to see fixed sign challenges in terms of others or the world around us, but the real challenge is to our willingness to take on a new phase of growth or effort which goes beyond our current norm.

The other thing about fixed signs is that they’re each and every one of them about the road to personal satisfaction and that yearned for sense of personal security with one’s Self.

So to have a New Moon poised as a grand square in fixed signs suggests that for some, this ‘lunar month’ is going to be crucial. Or filled with critical moments. It is to be expected that we’re going to hear the word ‘no’ several times this month, and that we’re not going to love hearing it.

Will you be defeated? Or will you admit (at least to yourself) that you’ve stubbed your ego’s toe and move on to try, try, trying again?

That would be one of the very good questions to ask ourselves this month, replete with the obvious corollary of why is it sometimes so hard to get past our own ego?

Oh yeah…that would be that Leo ‘vision versus reality’ thing again.

(Sigh.)

There’s another basic challenge implied by the grand square which comes with this lunation, namely that the Moon (as part of the Sun/Moon conjunction which is the New Moon) is in square to the Moon’s own Lunar Nodes.

What are those node things, you ask?

The Nodes are where the orbit of the Moon around Earth intersects the orbit of the Earth around the Sun. They’re the ‘intersection’ of the whole of life (the Sun) with our daily doings (the Moon) – which in common terms would be our relationship to the world around us or society at large. They’re also the image of our personal ‘encounter (intersecting) with people in our personal world – relationships, in other words.

One of the nodes (the North Node) is the ‘uphill’ climb – it’s all effort with great reward to be had. The other node (the South Node) is like coasting downhill on a bike – all ease and fun, with an implied ‘expenditure’ of resources, which could be emotional, monetary, physical, relational or just simply involving time.

Everybody likes their South Node ‘stuff,’ nobody likes their North Node ‘stuff.’ That’s just the way it goes. And since the South Node is conjunct Menkar and Amor, the diagram of this New Moon strongly indicates that we will be tempted to take the easy way out.

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Menkar: Soul, Searching

Or at least the way through which is easiest (which is to say, best known or most comfortable) for us. With Amor in this mix this isn’t about animosity or drive, this is simply about the known, the non-risky-feeling, the thing or person which seems “friendly” or who is already a friend.

Beneath this, with Menkar in the mix, we would have to think that there is some measure of not wanting to face emotional challenges – which fits with Leo’s emotional outlook, but apparently not with this month’s drive to get things done or achieve some aim.

On the other side of this coin we have the North Node conjunct House, which might be best read as needing to become comfortable with…or the effort required to become facile with, familiar with, willing to reconcile with – any means, method or dynamic which is about opening yourself to ‘other’ possibilities, and/or those who embody that which isn’t ‘native’ to you. With Deucalion involved, there is an implication that something needs to be let go of and something new brought into being – which is the second ‘creationist’ notice we’re getting with this New Moon. (Yes, we keep score in astrology – most repeated theme gets top billing.)

In the most esoteric sense, Scorpio is about the opportunity to grow ourselves at a deep seated, experiential level. With Scorpio however, we always have to be prepared to risk. We may be risking our feelings of stability, we may be risking our money, we may simply be risking being wrong…particularly in that Leo sense of ‘my vision isn’t reality – REALITY is reality. Drat!’.

Wherever Scorpio resides in your chart (look for the house with Scorpio on the cusp) that will be the arena and dynamic through you will experience All Things Scorpio throughout your life – for better and for worse (and with Scorpio, both apply!). Scorpio tends to magnify our sense of things, as in the physical intimacy we associate with Scorpio-as-sex being the magnification of encounters of others. 

The reason to bring this up is because with Psyche in this stellium of Scorpio objects we are particularly mentally apt this month – and apt to be mentally challenged. Psyche always represents some mental challenge. Or a challenge met on a mental level. So whether the issue is getting something through your head or ‘learning to mind’ (ahem!) or even how to teach someone else something (helping them be more comfortable in their mind or even in a relationship) it’s all there to do – and it’s both part of our New Moon cycle this month…and defined as being a bit in our way.

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Eros and Psyche: Falling in Love

With our Minds

In the way of what? That’s probably best defined by the New Moon itself and its opposition. That first part is Moon-Vesta-Sun with a dash of Charybdis (the need to keep trying) and Pappos (the shape of the situation you’re in).

Vesta is alternately a protector symbol and an emblem of ‘what something could cost’ …which could be seen as protecting ourselves against loss….or accepting the cost of getting something done safely, securely and to our greatest benefit - often with a 'group (or societal) benefit'  implied.

Whatever it is and however this ‘Vesta Vibe’ shows up during your lunar month (which will vary), being aware that at some level you’re starting from zero and you’re supposed to be starting from zero (or “starting anew”) is key. Yes, you can build on what you know, what you have, with what you’ve learned and through those relationships you have already established in this world.

But you’re also – at some level – at square one. And that’s where Leo’s powerful ‘vision’ is a gigantic plus. There’s nothing like Leo to serve as motivation, so we’re likely to see all sorts of people launching new whatevers over the next few weeks.

That’s not to say they’ll all be good, mind you. But the effort is likely to be there….and we’ll just hope that the arrogance sometimes associated with Leo gets left at home.

Then we get to the oppostion: Vaticana and Juno retrograde, an indication that at some level we’re either looking to build a power base (or base of power) OR we’re having to contend with someone or something which already has a base of power. Coming from Aquarius, this opposition asks that we integrate ourselves and not ‘explode’ or ‘implode’ in some way. Juno in retrograde is a symbol of management, sometimes of resources but often of information or methods which have already been proven successful.

Put simply, you can go up against it, or ally yourself with it – take your pick.

One other figure which goes with this New Moon is this one…

Yes, it’s a t-square. (I know you’ll be happy to see that.) The idea that Uranus is the ‘t’ in this t-square is likely to make a few folks nervous. And yes, this is all about change – and not necessarily the kind of change, or change at the pace or in the area of life you’d necessarily like to change, but what’s the choice?

Are you in charge of this universe?

In a sense, that’s the underlying question. With this 12 Aries Uranus in trine to the New Moon’s 14 Leo there is an ongoing process of change which is under way. The only real question is whether you’re on board with that change or not. Those who will embrace ‘the new’ which is entering their life stand to gain much – represented here by Jupiter (growth), Pallas (knowing wisdom), Alhena (understanding the/your purpose or purposeful understanding) and Phaethon (headstrong self confidence). This totality images conviction. And maybe more to the point, the desire to manifest that which will be good for your life – and for the rest of the world as well.

With Facies/Pluto in this mix as our ‘starting’ or ‘continuing challenge’ point, nothing is simple. We’re all likely to trip over a stumbling block (or two). That Uranus is still at the degree it went retrograde at in mid-July has us ‘hovering’ on some point – and lest we miss the point, this is an energy which can manifest emotionally as rebellion or a fear-of-self which forces us to act because we don’t know quite how to react constructively. Such actions are likely to be in some ‘old mold’ which may or may not serve you well – and where things don’t go well, they’re likely to be destructive.

But remember…this is a Leo New Moon. So while things may indeed get damaged in real world terms, the most ‘danger’ is the destruction which may now occur to some dream, some ideal, some vision – or your investment in that vision, idea or image.

The issue here is change. So that which you are invested in which comes from your past is more likely to be problematic than what you are attempting to build, learn or master in present time. And both may now be operative, giving us an implication that at the very least, ‘updating’ is needed.

By the time this New Moon reaches its Full phase it will be in Aquarius. And since Aquarius is the polarity sign to Leo the question becomes whether we have ‘found our way’ or ‘our place’ our the way that our efforts, our being, our sensibilities can be appreciated by others.

To the extent that they have, we’ll feel gratified – and like as not have built ourselves a springboard, a platform, at least a temporary ‘safe haven’ from which to plan our next step.

For those who fail to take their surroundings and the needs, priorities or preferences of others into account, the measure becomes whether you’ve been so innovative that you inspire others to follow you, or if you’re so out-of-touch that efforts fall flat and ideas melt away into deflation and dejection from which yes, we can learn better.

But will we want to?

One other smidge-of-a-note to add on here is that this Leo lunation we’re just embarking on will carry us into the eight week ‘break down’ period which precedes the November Solar Eclipse. Because any eclipse is also a matter of Sun, Moon and lunar nodes, the fact that these cycles overlap may well indicate what will be afoot (or on the table) during the incoming eclipse period, which makes taking note of what happens now not merely sensible, but educational.

November’s eclipse will be in Scorpio. In other words, the eclipse is beginning to form up…slowly but ever so surely…right now.

So…! What do you want to bring into being in your life or this world? What do you want – or need to change? Undertaking those challenges now is a good way to harness the natural inclination towards evolution and revolutions personal and societal which in turn and in time will lead to transformations whether we like it or not.

Our only question is whether we are willing to create or re-create without falling into the Uranus t-square ‘trap’ which would have us be irresponsible, unresponsive and ultimately so self indulgent or self protective that we undermine our own ability to flex, adapt and thrive.
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Uranus Station-Retrogrades in Aries

Andrew Jackson's Right Eye from a United States $20 bill

(photo credit: RawheaD Rex, December 2008)

If Swedish astronomers ruled the earth, apparently planet Uranus would be known as Neptune.

Seriously.

When William Herschel discovered the-planet-which-would-be-Uranus back in March of 1781, he did what any loyal Brit would do: he notified the Astronomer Royal, one Nevil Maskelyne.

At the time, Herschel wasn’t even sure this object he had ‘discovered’ was a planet – he evidently referred to it as a ‘comet’ until an astronomer from an entirely different quadrant of the globe (Russia) did the math and – at least on paper – proved that this blueish-green object wandering around out there beyond Saturn did indeed orbit the Sun.

And yes, it fit the definition of the day to qualify for planet-hood.

It took a few years, but Herschel was eventually convinced that he had indeed done a wonderful thing – he had carved a niche in history for himself as the discoverer of a whole new…and as has came to be known…highly unusual world.

In honor of this accomplishment, Nevil Maskelyne asked Herschel if he would ‘do the astronomical world a favor’ and name his find – to which Herschel obliged by naming it after Britain’s current king, King George III.

The name didn’t stick. Evidently it struck folks outside of Britain as a bit too idiosyncratic. Or maybe aristocratic.

So other astronomers threw their planetary naming hats in the ring. One John Lalande suggested this find be named after its finder. But calling the planet ‘Herschel’ also didn’t stick. Apparently everybody outside of Britain kept saying ‘Who???’ 

It was at this point that Swede Erik Prosperin stepped up, suggesting that the new planet be called Neptune. It could even be combined with some variation on King George to celebrate some Royal Navy victories which came about in the course of fighting those feisty, pesky New World would-be Americans during the Revolutionary War.

After all, Neptune is the god of the sea, right?

Yes, but the war was ultimately lost. So out went ideas like Neptune George III and up stepped German astronomer Johann Bode who, after pausing to check and make sure that Anders Lexell (the Russian) had indeed done the orbital math correctly (lest it not bode well for Bode to stand up for an out of position planet), came out with a rather sterling and inventively logical suggestion, one which draws on the long-established hierarchy of Greek myth.

Bode’s premise was that as the mythic Saturn (Kronos) was the father of Jupiter (aka Zeus), so this new planet should embody that which Saturn came from. Thus he put forth the idea of using Ouranos, the Greek sky god, taking us back to more primordial times.

In the Greek beginning there was the sky… Ouranos… and Gaia, the earth. From them have come Saturn (the fact of hard reality) and Jupiter (the idea of all which may yet be or become).

With a little astronomical tinkering, we thus arrive at Uranus.

And about Herschel…not to worry. Though the astronomers (the factual group) went with some theoretical naming methodology, astrologers (the allegedly theoretical group) memorialized the guy who actually discovered the planet by coming up with a glyph to represent Uranus which is a Herschel “H” atop a circle/globe representing a planetary world.

 As the Uranus glyph has evolved, the 'H' for Herschel has

become more stylizes - at least in the world of astrological

fonts. But it's still there!

Funny how these things work, isn’t it? I actually got involved in this fracas when a couple of years ago planet hunter sublime Mike Brown was taking public votes for what to name a newly discovered moon orbiting dwarf planet Orcus.

It was absolutely an exercise in futility, but I wrote a long and impassioned email to Mike Brown asking that the astronomical community consider breaking with its long-held tradition of using symbols of difficulty as moon names for objects named for difficult premises.

No, I didn’t ask him to name the moon Candy Floss or anything so banal, but I threw our a handful of options.

And I was summarily bypassed – which to me only proves that metaphysical theory which says we learn what we need to learn when we need to learn it. Despite best efforts and Mike Brown’s subsequent public statement that he has no problem with astrologers or astrology as good astrologers (note the qualification, please!) know their stuff, do their research and don’t act on whim.

So Orcus’s moon got named Vanth (an unpleasant little Etruscan spirit assigned to shepherding souls off into the underworld) and the world got a public statement by one of its honcho astronomers that astrologers aren’t all full of hooey.

I took the compliment as intended and went my way, ne’er to darken Mike Brown’s email ‘in’ box until there came the day when I needed to ask about the rate at which the center of our Milky Way Galaxy (a black hole which is currently at 27 Sagittarius) moves for my 2012 book on travels through the land of the Maya, Travel Gossip. (Here’s a LINK to where you can pick up an eBook copy of same.) And yes, Mike-the-Gemini was very helpful.

Now that you know more about how planets get named than you had planned to ever know, back to Uranus.

But don’t think all that was not Uranian. Uranus is all about the unusual. The thing you never knew before. The surprise. The shock, the breakthrough, the discovery, the leap of faith, the flight of mental fancy. And when Uranus goes retrograde at 12 Aries on July 17th at 5:21 in the evening UT/+0 time, its likely that life will be showing us all just what we didn’t expect. Big or little, delightful or horrifying, Uranian stations always offer something unexpected.

That’s just the way Uranus rolls. And it does roll, you know. While other planets spin like tops, twirling along their orbits around the sun, Uranus rolls. All the other planets are relatively upright; Uranus is on its side. With an orbital period of just over 84 years Uranus spends just over forty years with one pole aimed at the Sun and the other forty-plus years with the other pole aimed at the Sun.

And yet…according to scientists (those astronomical types and their cousins the astrophysicists) Uranus’ equator – that part of the planet which is never aimed directly at the Sun – is still the warmest place.

Uranus and its rings (photo credit: NASA, JPL)

Of course, warm is relative. Uranus is a big thing – it’s about 63 times the size of Earth. And it’s quick. While Earth (which is tiny in comparison) manages one full revolution in 24 hours, it takes Uranus only 17 hours or so to spin itself around.

Somehow that makes me think of Uranus as the solar system’s Roto-Rooter device. Apparently life around this part of the galaxy periodically gets constipated and Uranus has to shake things loose.

Anyway…back to that temperature thing. According to NASA (who knows if anyone knows) the average temperature on Uranus is around 59 Kelvin – which to us Earth types is minus 350 Fahrenheit. So if you decide to visit Uranus, take warm socks.

Take ALL your warm socks. And some serious mittens.

The next factoid is astrological. Seeing as we give any planetary station a (minimum) 2-days before, 2-days after ‘station allowance,’ that means that while the Uranian ‘turning point’ is on July 17th, the ‘Uranus station’ starts on July 15th (maybe even the 14th) and extends through the 19th…maybe even the 20th.

And dwarf planet Eris is going retrograde on the 19th.

Plus Mercury is going retrograde on July 20th.

And let’s not forget that ongoing Jupiter-Saturn-Neptune grand trine in water. The ‘core’ period of that configuration ends on July 17th, just in time for Uranus’ station.

All this with Mars in Cancer. Mars will not have yet even entered the orb of opposition to Pluto in Capricorn, but as we talked about in the ‘we’re in for a crabby time!’ Mars in Cancer post, there’s a vibe which is going to be pretty pervasive for the entire six weeks or so that Mars is transiting the first of the water signs.

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Mars in Cancer

It’s so going to ‘stir up’ the Jupiter side of things. And the emotional side of things. And the money and family and the general life-or-death side of things.

All things.

Into all this comes change-provoking, dynamite-like Uranus?

Gee. If I could, I would take a quick bus to another solar system for a week or two. (Or three.) But if I did that I’d miss out on all the doings here.

And life here on Earth is nothing if not in constant need of keeping up with. With Uranus going retrograde at 12 Aries, life is bringing us to where we have to make peace with ourselves about who we are…and aren’t. Some of this will be in spite of what others want, or despite our own misgivings. There are times when we have to fail one thing in order to succeed in another, and with Uranus taking station in the zodiacal company of Medusa, Nemesis and Orpheus, embracing our fears and abilities in all their naked primacy seems inevitable.

Being true to our capabilities is often a very far cry from what’s convenient. Or comfortable. The dual t-square presented at this station (with Uranus at the ‘t’ of both configurations) is a pretty sure sign that we need to stand (and stand up) for the necessary, not the popular.

And that’s not likely to be all that popular with us. But evidently talk (Vega) isn’t going to get us to any sort of lasting state of (Sphinx/Bali) happiness. Nor is not (Industria) tackling the (Facies/Pluto) intricacies of dug in situations going to help. We want to be who we know we can be…and yet so much and so many voices and warnings and challenges are standing in our way.

Besides, to really be as potent and powerful as we can be, to own our potential and not just go with sufficiency is strange. As Marianne Williamson said so well, it’s not the idea of being weak which scares most of us – it’s recognizing how powerful we really are.

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Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

- Marianne Williamson

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Power scares a lot of people. The idea of wielding power and being powerful sounds great. But with great power comes the greater responsibility to control what we do with that power, a test which is about our internal sense of entitlement - and whether we're a good judge of that...or even capable of holding ourselves to those limits we know in our hearts we truly believe in. Some of the scariest people to ever walk this earth are those who aren't scared of power at all simply because they lack sufficient conscience to care whether they do hold themselves to those limits.

And because we are scared of what we might do if given that 'absolute power which corrupts absolutely' we are afraid of that power which resides in each of our souls. It isn't about 'them'...it's about our willingness to take on the responsibility to govern ourselves. To many of us, that’s scary. And yet...how many of us think of having children as a total blessing? Isn't the responsibility for a helpless young life unable to stand on its own the greatest responsibility of all?

Medusa in this Uranus mix virtually guarantees we will all be meeting up with some sort of truth about ourselves that we’ve (Nemesis) always known but not wanted to (Medusa) face.

However these days…and those which have gone before…and those which are soon to come play out for you, the real question is whether you will break through your own resistance or not.

Retrogrades symbolize times when the work is done on the ‘inside.’ They’re when – in this case – we will do our changing on the inside, whether that’s voluntary on our part or driven by (in response to) external circumstances. Those of us who can use the next five months to work through or free ourselves from those invalid assumptions and the difference between the hope we aim for and the dream we think will magically ‘become’ reality will ultimately gain ground towards that which we (Alhena) purposefully strive.

Well, as long as that aim reflects our genuine Self, that is. And if it doesn’t, you’ll know as the uproar around you will increase. The debates and general sense of fracas will become overwhelming.

And yet…that could also be your challenge. So many of us give up and run away (another Uranus symptom) when the going gets tough.

So what’s the difference? How are we to know we’re headed in the wrong direction as opposed to simply meeting up with ‘normal’ challenges or interference thrown at us by those who may be less willing to challenge themselves and live up to their potential?

That is a very big problem, you know…the metaphysical rule known as ‘like attracts like’ is a 100% sort of thing. And when we’re not living at our potential level – or even striving to be what we have the capacity or capability of becoming as opposed to what we are willing to settle for because it’ll suit someone else’s fancy (or image or dream) – at that point in our lives we tend to get hooked into other people who are living at that less-than-sterling level in their lives.

And as we’ve all heard, misery loves company…which in the world of ‘like attracts like’ becomes a tendency for people to puddle together based on their weaknesses as opposed to their strengths. And when one person says ‘Gosh this puddle is muddy! I need to find me some fresher waters to swim in!’ everyone who isn’t ready to strive or let go of their own fears will generally try their hardest to keep you from excelling and moving on.

We see this all the time in relationships: one partner wants to grow and change and the other likes things just the way they are. Business, intimate or platonic, relationships need to have room for people to grow. They need to support our growth, not hinder it. Uranus in Aries is in the sign of Self – Aries. And this passage, whether internal or experienced as something happening ‘to’ you is often most destabilizing because you don’t want to change, because you’re afraid of shaking ‘the’ status quo or your personal sense of the status quo.

But let’s remember…you were born to be who you were born to be. That’s the Alhena part of one of the two t-squares presented at this station. Positioned at 9 Cancer, Alhena is all about learning to be grateful for the graces and talents we each have and our ability to make something of our life, no matter what that becomes. Modified by Mercury being at 13 Cancer with a little Sirius ‘brilliance’ added on top, this t-square asks us whether we are willing to have a reason for working as hard as we do to become ‘someone in this world’ beyond the obvious.

Our humanity, not our things, define us. And with Nemesis-Orpheus positioned with Uranus and Medusa at the ‘t’ of this station’s double ‘t’ square, it is to be guessed that a lot of people…a LOT of people…are going to be going through things which will lead them to realize that in the end it isn’t our image but our reality which fills us with happy motivation or stress, regrets and a feeling of instability and loss.

Orpheus in the Inferno by Mihail Ştefănescu (c 1870)

Loss itself is a two-sided thing. There is of course, the loss of a person. Or a 'thing' (or things). But our experience of that loss is the destabilization of our sense of status quo. Our security about who we are in this life and what we're doing in this world.

You know, the Aries part of our life.

Having the ability or the talent is one thing. Learning to use it is another thing. Realizing that our gifts are only gifts when they’re given to those whose lives we can enhance…and that it is for that action, that choice, that ability that we are rewarded in the most worldly and ‘life’ sense…that’s an ultimate sort of recognition, one which takes place inside us, and which at some point either changes the trajectory of what we’re aiming at in life – or doesn’t.

This is not a stable moment. It may be exciting, it may be a headache, it may be tragic, it may be motivational, delightful, confounding or anything else.

In the end it’s meant to open us to that we have not experienced yet. It’s meant to break through our hard shell so that we can feel that part of ourselves we haven’t yet allowed to come forth and become our ticket to new experiences.

Uranus doesn’t represent the subtle. At it’s most gentle end, this is the energy we know as ‘flexibility.’ But as anyone who has been made to tolerate a period of not knowing understands, that’s a trial of its own.

At it’s most volatile, Uranus represents sudden eruptions and breakages. A great earthquake which wasn’t in motion a second ago and which is destroying my status quo in the next is a Uranian event. The Uranus part for Earth is the shifting of Earth’s crust…that thing science refers to as plate tectonics. But in my life, that moment can be devastating. Or it can merely provide me with a wakeup call, a reminder that I’m not in charge of this world, life is.

Ultimately, all events which occur around any Uranus station pertain to this idea. We tend to get complacent. People are fond of thinking they’re in charge of this world and ‘masters of all they survey.’

Then life comes along and shows us that there is far, far more to life than we had suspected. An earthquake can hit. An economy can fracture. A marriage can end. We can get hit by a train. Our home might get burglarized. We might have a child. And that child may grow up to be a genius despite our thinking they were nobody.

Or they might turn out to be a mass murderer.

Everything ‘out there’ which orbits beyond Saturn is by definition ‘beyond human limits.’ We talk a deal about everything beyond Neptune (our solar system’s last full-sized planet) being that which we hadn’t experienced before, or suspected.

But between Neptune and Saturn…there orbits Uranus, which at some level represents exactly that – the ‘break’ between what we fully understand (Saturn and everything within the orbit of Saturn) and that which we can never fully predict or know until ‘the effect of it’ (the ripples caused by objects moving through space) comes past Neptune heading for that Saturn boundary where it enters our reality.

Along the way, such ‘unknowns’ pass through the realm of Uranus. And in doing that, they pass through a ring energized by a planet which operates in a manner entirely different from any other planet in our solar system.

Uranian effects are about a liberation of perspective. And for that to happen, sometimes the crust – be it of our earth or our thinking – has to be broken through.

This 2013 Uranus station-retrograde is part of a greater collection of processes. But it is vital on its own, representing a moment when what the Maya called wheels within wheels click into place to change us – maybe a lot, or maybe just a little. Changes don’t have to be massive in size. Great trees grow from small acorns. Huge discoveries have come from a minute, spur-of-the-moment thought.

With every moment we are given a Uranian opportunity for change.

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Pluto Station-Retrogrades in Capricorn

Image based on a photo of cocktail straws taken by Dave Gough (September 2006)

Amidst threats of violence and a rash of difficulties and damaging deeds, Pluto goes retrograde on April 12, 2013 at 7:33 in the evening UT/+0 time at 11 degrees of Capricorn, a sign astrologically ruled by Saturn.

That means the 'station window' (or 'allowance') begins on April 10th and extends through to April 14th, which does not mean that acts which are undertaken or committed to prior to this time don't apply. What the station and its two day 'allowance' to either time represents is the heart of a period which changes our perception (in this case, in a Plutonic manner) depending on what else is going on.

That said, in this case, Saturn went retrograde back in February at 11 degrees of Scorpio – in a perfect sextile to the station Pluto is taking now.

And since Capricorn is ruled by Saturn and Pluto is the ‘outcome’ ruler of Scorpio, in astrological terms this is something of a self-feeding loop.

 Since ancient times the Ouroboros - the snake (dragon, fish, etc.) swallowing itself

has been a symbol of a process which is either difficult to escape or which

is entirely self-supporting.

(From the Codex Parisinus, a late medieval Byzantine Greek
alchemical manuscript - c. 1478)

Okay…so maybe in our lives this isn’t so literal. (Or as literal.) But for some of us...maybe it is.

Saturn in Scorpio is all about building our lives and what it takes to get where we want to go.

Link to post: Saturn in Scorpio

Scorpio is an emotional sign which tests us through others and through the situations we encounter in life. Sagittarius is a fire sign which tests the viability of our ideas and the implementation thereof. And Capricorn is a sign about real world, real time, real life ‘commerce’ (be that business or otherwise) and how well or how badly we structure our lives…or how well or badly we have already structured our lives.

So the ‘outcomes’ we are experiencing now, or the challenges which are really ‘getting to us’ now are a combination of this back-and-forth sign rulership between Pluto and Saturn. (Which by the by has an astrological name – it’s called “mutual reception.”)

And the thing to remember is that all signs being polarities, this calls in some bigger questions – those posed by nationality, family, culture and upbringing (Cancer as the polarity to Capricorn) and our feelings of risk or security or threat to that security which are emblematic of Taurus as the oppositional sign to Scorpio.

Some of us are likely to come into this time – the Pluto station or the period surrounding it – trying to figure out how we can please everyone.

And yes, sometimes it’s too bad that people aren’t flex-straws.

 A contortionist playing 'Man-in-a-box'

(photo credit: Keith Allison, December 2006)

Evidently we don’t stop trying. And some of us (evidently) succeed at getting pretty good at it, whether it’s at being a human flexi-straw or finding our way through the thicket of human hopes, disagreements, conflicts and realities.

11 Capricorn is symbolized by this image:  

An illustrated lecture on natural science reveals little-known facts of life.

With Pluto taking its station and going retrograde in this degree, the effort we have put into things (Saturn in Scorpio) is now either bearing fruit or bringing to light ‘little-known facts’ which we need to consider. A lot depends on what kind of energy you have been putting out there, obviously. Some people have been resisting making changes, some people have been resisting knowing the truth, some people have been resisting taking responsibility for what they’ve done or their life or relationships or success, failure – what have you.

Saturn is the symbol of all we either put into something to build and grow and create lasting life structures, or Saturn is some sort of wall or limit you set up in your life, or which life confronts you with.

Of course there are many limitations and challenges to which we say ‘I just have to live with it’ or ‘that’s the way it is’ when that’s not really the truth.

And here we get into the big and karmic world of what we can do versus what we want to do – which is exactly the sort of concept Pluto generally brings to light.

And it brings them to light because Pluto represents not merely our psychic shadow (that which we don't want to admit to or see in ourselves) but that which brings out evidence of that shadow.

Hence so much violence and the taking of stances by those in our personal world as well as on the world stage who don't feel entirely good about who they are. Jealousy, grasps at power and control and a wholesale thrust to have what we want no matter how it affects others are very Scorpio-Pluto concepts. Add in Saturn and you have a 'making it real' factor which is particularly apt where something hard and sometimes tangible but always consequential is put forth as the means or the "weapon" of choice.  

But there is a whole other side to this Pluto-Saturn mutual reception. For those who have been working towards some goal ("earning" being the key idea here) this is a time when a rational approach and clarity of method yields results. So this can be an entirely positive time...it mostly just depends on whether you are working productively, honestly and openly with or within your Self. Those who have worked for something which is viable and ‘a positive’ in life will find a path forward being revealed. And though the forward path may not be easy, at least you’ll know it’s there for the doing...the taking on as a task and personal responsibility to yourself.

Conversely, those who have erected too many walls, or who have allowed their lives to get 'walled in,' life will now present challenges which seem exceptionally trying in a very primal, personal sense. Some will find themselves having to do with out - or face having to do without something "easy" in order to get to something less 'glossy' but more valuable on some intangible, intrinsic level.

Those who have based their values on things which don’t work for their true life Purpose? They will also find things more difficult. But why should Purpose enter into this? That would be because Pluto going retrograde at 11 Capricorn puts Pluto very much in opposition to fixed star Alhena at 9 Cancer, and Alhena is a premier emblem of Purpose among the fixed stars.

But we have even more to go with than that: in going retrograde at 11 Capricorn, Pluto is also going retrograde in opposition to dog star Sirius at 14 Cancer. So, considering that Sirius is all about personal brilliance and the ‘bright star’ we each can be in life as an individual, in ‘parsing the astrological opposition,’ Pluto’s station is asking us whether we are using our brilliance purposefully, or whether we are really serving the brilliance of Our Purpose, and that Purpose which can be supported by our brilliance properly.

Or even at all.

Considered to be a ‘true to theme’ degree of its sign 11 Capricorn has a bit of a Scorpionic quality in that it poses the opportunity and – on occasion – tests of confidentiality or secrecy. Another form of this ‘secret’ energy with this degree has to do with things we know which we utilize in our efforts to build our life, such as the experience we get on a job or the training we have invested in (“built into ourselves”) so that we can hold a particular job or be involved with a given career.

Pluto in any earth sign is going to ‘test the results’ in real time. All the hopes and dreams and theories of how things “should” work or how we might “want” them to work mean nothing in the earthy Pluto world where all that matters are results. And this goes to Pluto as a signature of transformative energies which, if we don’t keep them in perspective can become obsessions. Or obsessive drives which obliterate everything else.

And yes, that may even include our actual Purpose, which just may be shown up to you now through some little but brilliant fact.

Pluto committed to its transit of Capricorn in December of 2008. It will be in this most worldly sign of earthly personal and societal outcomes until 2024. Being that Capricorn is the third sign from Pluto’s ‘home’ sign (Scorpio), it is through all things Capricorn that Pluto gives ‘voice’ to all the ups and downs of Scorpio-like qualities.

 One from a famous series of photographs known as 'The Blue Marble' which

the Apollo 17 astronauts took while on their way to the Moon

(photo credit: NASA)

So these are the years of high persuasion and verbal manipulation. These years will show up the strengths of the human spirit and the terrible things which can happen to the human mind – and what those minds get put to. Considering that war is a ‘Scorpio thing’ it’s neither surprising that what war does to minds (PTSD and otherwise) and what kind of a mind launches a war is coming out now, nor should we expect this to be an easy ‘fix.’

Being that government is a Capricorn function and Cancer is the sign of 'the people' or a native population, the problems of government around the world are merely manifestations of this time. Whether citizens are trying to get rid of a government, whether governing bodies are taking away the rights of their citizens, this is Pluto working as a transformative and testing factor in the structural sign of Capricorn. Whether the question is states rights versus federal rights, democratic votes being overridden (or voters voting to override the will of those in power), whether it's a head of state refusing to give up the reins of power or a 'functional head of religious state' such as Pope Benedict choosing to step down when nobody's done that for many centuries...this is all part of Pluto passing through Capricorn and in doing so, testing what works and what doesn't work and the relationship between sheer power and negotiated agreement (the Saturn-Pluto cross-rulership quality) really means.

And how it does work, and where it doesn't work, and how the notoriously Scorpio ‘I want it my way’ quality can muck up the works.

Abuse being Scorpio and based on fear of loss with Capricorn being about having not just the authority and ability to punish but the responsibility to act for the greater and long-term "Cancerian" good is going to be a problem. So we will be hearing about tyrants real and fabricated. We will suspect those who accuse and we will oftentimes not want to believe the worst of someone we are in some way predisposed to like or feel loyal to.

And yet, they may be in the wrong. Or at least guilty of being as wrong as the "other side" is.

These years will test our own ability to recognize that might doesn't make right and how against that, sometimes there simply isn't no 'right or wrong' - there's only circumstances. And that’s just the problem. Pluto in any earth sign will tend to say look for results. But if there aren’t any, you have to ask why. Is it for lack of trying? Or as in this case, is there some other force (which at this moment would be represented by Saturn in Scorpio) which is blocking or “limiting” all possibilities for success because they can’t face being wrong or having their values be proven not so (Taurus as oppositional sign to Scorpio) valuable – or even viable?

The last time Pluto transited Capricorn - some two hundred and forty years ago - we were still squarely in the Age of Pisces. In the Piscean Age, Capricorn ruled the 11th house - the house of society.

A wheel representing the Age of Pisces with the border color-coded

to Capricorn's position on the 11th house

And so we come into this time with a lot of built up social 'inheritance,' if you will. The Piscean Age pictures two distinct groups - like the two fish of Pisces.

But the Age of Aquarius knows no gender, no bias, no class or caste or inequality.

At least that's it's purpose.

Aquarius is the most theoretical of air signs, the concept of the World as One which obviously sounds good but which quickly runs into human bias and the habitual human tendency to lust after weal, power, control, social status and all those trappings which prove to us that we're 'worth it' - which is precisely what the Scorpio-Taurus axis shows up: our vulnerabilities, insecurities and (in particular) those issues of self respect and self worth which people try to solve with "becoming worth" a lot of money or doing whatever they think they need to do to garner "respect" from others. 

This is all about the new paradigm: Scorpio at the top of the wheel of the Aquarian Age...

An Aquarian Age wheel with the border color coded to match Scorpio

on the 10th and highest house of the Age

...and Taurus at the bottom.

An Aquarian Age wheel with the border color coded to match Taurus

on the 4th house of the Age 

  
As Pluto moved through its home sign of Scorpio in the 1980s it set the trend of fervency (which some would call desperation) off. Yes, even if the attention is sometimes simple lip service or air-headed adulation, even if it's placation, manipulative praise or infamy, there's a lot of people who have already headed in this direction.

And there's more to come. The sign at the bottom of the wheel of any Age is the thing we come into that Age having very little of. In the Age of Pisces that was education - Gemini was at the bottom of the wheel.

Now it's Taurus.

Those who know their history know that education was not at the top of anyone's list 2,100 years ago as something everybody should have. That's a key to understanding where we are - and how likely we are to keep on with the whole 'substitute for self worth' epidemic for some time yet to come.

The truly successful among us - in the human sense of successful (i.e., success equaling satisfaction and contentment with one's life) will develop themselves and then build towards achievement, earning respect along the way. Those who do it the other way around may succeed on the outside, but feel hollow on the inside.

And yes, we've already seen and hear plenty of those stories. They're sad. From the outside you can see the person struggling to have that very thing they won't stop to accept: their own self respect. 

As for Capricorn, in the Age of Aquarius, Capricorn moves to the 12th house of the wheel.

The Aquarian Age with the border of the diagram color coded

to match Capricorn being on the 12th house of the wheel of the Age  

And if you know anything about the 12th house, it's a house which is all about our ability to deal with reality and all about everything we will do to avoid dealing with realities - with all of that involving (and prompting) the many ups and downs which embody the universal emotional experience of being human.

All that is now flowing through Capricorn. So with Capricorn being the sign of commerce and every kind of ‘worldly regulated social standing’ it’s no wonder that we’re hearing so much about the gay marriage and the right of women to be CEOs, priests or anything else of worldly standing.

Once Pluto moved into Capricorn, even reality TV moved on. Reality TV started under Pluto in Sagittarius (which is Pluto in the opposition sign to Gemini). Sagittarius being about how well our choices and ideas work we had shows like ‘Survivor’ and ‘Big Brother,’ ‘American Idol’ and ‘The Amazing Race.’

And while those may have lived on, as Pluto moved into Capricorn (the reality of how we deal with the world and build our lives) reality shows began exploring the Capricorn-Cancer realm of life, lifestyle and traditions or culture, giving us people creating a career (creating a Capricorn structure) rather literally out of their family, heritage or efforts to make their way in this world (Cancer).

We are each doing some form of all of this in our lives. We have shifted out of ‘playing at’ certain things (Pluto in Sagittarius) in favor of doing things ‘for real’ – the hallmark of Pluto in Capricorn. Things seem more real and at once more depressing and more possible with Pluto in Capricorn.

And now Pluto is going retrograde. This means the energy of ‘change’ is now moving from in the world (to which we respond) into us. So for the next several months (Pluto goes retrograde in September) will be a time for a lot of internal shifts, changes and transformations. They won’t all be easy. Plutonic energy isn’t known as anything easy and with the mutual reception in Saturn there are some hard choices and difficult challenges to be dealt with by each and every living last one of us.

But we can do what we need to do. It may mean giving up the easy or the comfy or even the popular. But if you are heading towards manifesting your true Purpose with authentic brilliance, you’re likely to come out on top.

As the old expression goes, slow and steady wins the race. With Saturn and Pluto both currently in retrograde taking the time to do things right and thoroughly is what will – in time – give you the rock to stand on.

And isn’t that what we all want – a rock which doesn’t roll out from under us at the critical moment?
That would be Pluto’s aim in Capricorn. Some of us are going to have to break out of a hard chrysalis shell before we can pump blood into our wings and take flight like a butterfly.

A Monarch Butterfly enjoying a flowery moment in a Birmingham (UK) garden

(Tony Hisgett, September 2011)

But what’s our choice? Do we really want to live and die inside a cocoon? Being ‘cocooned,’ whether in silken threads or not have a difficult reputation in the world of lore and metaphysics. It’s like being crippled, and who would choose to cripple themselves on purpose?

One other thing to stick in our Pluto bonnet here before we slip off into the experiencing our personal world of station/retrograde. That one thing is about the Solar Eclipse which will happen this November. It’s going to be at 11 Scorpio – the degree of Saturn’s February station and in sextile to Pluto’s current station position. (And yes, Saturn will be close enough to the eclipse to be involved.)

This is one of those celestial ‘messages on a wall.’ The message reads: change or be changed.

Those who make the needed changes now, or who are working towards them are likely to emerge from this fall’s eclipse with more clarity and better opportunities than those who refuse, reject or claim they ‘can’t’ change. And while I understand (better than most, trust me!) that when I say ‘emerge from an eclipse’ I’m not talking about an ‘over the weekend’ sort of thing, the implied reality – in its totality - is just as important.

Maybe even more important.
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