Dateblog: The Week Ahead (June 5-June11)

 Michael E. Brown, Astronomer

photo credit: NASA

Today (June 5th) is Mike Brown’s birthday. Don’t know who Mike Brown is? Well, more formally known as Michael E. Brown, professor of planetary astronomy at the illustrious CalTech, Mike Brown is one of the great (and friendly) planet hunters around.

And he has nothing against astrology. In fact, if you read through his blog (Mike Brown’s Planets) you’ll find that he likes the detailed thought and work astrologers (of any repute, that is) put into their studies. If you want to know ABOUT a planet, you go to Mike Brown. If you want to know the metaphysics of a planet, you ask an astrologer – like me.

LINK to MIKE BROWN'S PLANETS

That’s his take on things. We've even had a digital chat on the subject - I thought it rather fun.

LINK to Blog on ASTRONOMY versus ASTROLOGY

Anyway…today is Mike’s birthday and I for one, cheer. Without Mike Brown we wouldn’t know about all sorts of great points like Haumea, Huya and Makemake. We wouldn’t know that Orcus has a moon. We wouldn’t kwon all sorts of neat stuff.

So happy birthday to Mike.

Having said that, considering his birthday is only 4 days after a solar eclipse, we can expect to hear that Mike Brown’s life is changing in some fundamental manner. And no….Mike, if you happen to read this, I’m not trying to make you some sort of lab rat wearing one of those fabulous NASA helmets.

Okay…so I would be entirely happy if half the people who read this blog would email you a ‘hey, Mike, happy birthday!’ missive through your blog (my gift to you, guy…) but that’s not really my point.

My point is that sometimes knowing that someone famous is born around the time of an eclipse helps us understand how eclipses (and astrology) work.

Considering that Clint Eastwood and Brooke Shields both have birthdays on May 31st…and that Rudi Giuliani has a birthday on May 28…even that the Dali Lama has a birthday on June 6 and Muammar al-Gaddafi (choose your own spelling there) has a birthday on June 7th… don’t be surprised if you hear of big ‘life shifts’ happening in any and all of these individual lives.

How they change? Ah, that’s the ‘individual chart’ thing. But the dynamic evolution OF life which is so typical of a solar eclipse, that will be a constant.

Interestingly enough, eclipses work whether you’re dead or alive. So whether you’re a ‘life after death’ person or not, apparently the ‘mark’ we make with having lived lives on even after we’re gone. So with Mike Brown, Clint Eastwood and Brooke Shields we can add people like Marilyn Monroe (June 1), actor Peter Lorre (June 6), Armand Hammer (May 28), Pancho Villa (June 5), James Dean (June 5), John F. Kennedy (May 29), Isadora Duncan (May 27), Allen Ginsberg (June 3) and Thomas Hardy (June 2) to our list. Often times when say, a writer has been dead a long time, something they wrote will become suddenly popular again for some reason when their Sun gets eclipsed. A biography may be released on the life of someone like Isadora Duncan or Armand Hammer or JFK. Or maybe someone will build a monument to them or name a philanthropic prize after them…you get the gist.

 Dancer Isadora Duncan as photographed

by Arnold Genthe (photo housed in the US LIbrary of Congress)

We may only life and die…that may be your belief. But time and time again I have seen not just eclipses but major transits (such as those made by Uranus, Neptune or Pluto) hit charts and signal a renewed interest in someone’s life or work.

With last week’s astrological events having been something of a stunning line-up (the solar eclipse followed by Neptune’s station followed by Jupiter changing signs), especially with Sun and and Mercury in Gemini our thoughts are busy even if we aren’t.

With Venus and Mars in the latter part of Taurus as the week starts out there’s a big emphasis on wanting things to ‘count’ and to be worth the effort. Appreciation is likely to be another theme, whether that’s voiced as ‘hey – appreciate what I’ve done for you, okay?’ or the more eloquent ‘we should honor the efforts of those who have made sacrifices on our behalf…’ And either is apt. Venus in Taurus is gracious, Mars in Taurus tends to see the glass as half-full, no matter whose glass that is.

As Jupiter in Taurus sinks in against Neptune having gone retrograde in earliest Pisces (and now headed back into Aquarius) there’s a sense of awareness…maybe concern…about how we will make our way in the world. Or what we need to do to be more effective. Or if we can do what we think we need to do. Combining that with the Venus, Mars and Sun-Mercury, those who are realistic about what can or can’t get done would seem to be the best off.

At least they know what to concentrate on first, right?

About the worst thing we can do is expect others to cover our gaps, debts and faux pas now…though you may get help, those who expect to be helped are likely to feel the most disappointment. Entitlement is a buzz-word in some circles and a quality which gets others short-changed. Mercury-Neptune are just finishing off their square-by-aspect as the week begins and that means that lies…told to us, told by us or that we’ve tried to put over on ourselves...are coming clear, or coming to an end of their allegedly useful life.

With Saturn due to go direct next week, the whole of this week is likely to feel ‘pressured’ for some, ‘problematic’ (aka challenging) for others and for a few, downright depressing. Reality is in our face. Time and necessity and all those very Saturn realities are making themselves known.

So with this as the basis of the week’s ‘astro-operational parameters,’ that takes us to…

TUESDAY, JUNE 7…The big highlight of the day is  Hebe moving into Cancer. Hebe being the immortal ‘cup bearer’ to the Olympian gods, the basic idea associated with this point is two-fold: one being about service and the other provision in the sense of making sure those things which are wanted or needed are on hand, perhaps with something of an emphasis on sustenance.

That Hebe is moving into Cancer suggests the ‘venue’ of this service or needing to provide or take care of things is pretty basic: family, home…in keeping with one’s culture and national traditions.

Asteroids don’t generally confront us with matters of import all by themselves…they’re the ‘hint of flavoring’ to all else which goes on now. So with Mars, Jupiter and Venus all in Taurus, how we live and providing ourselves with security in regards to our livelihoods, our families, our homes and such, there’s a planetary (conscious focus) on such matters which Hebe entering Cancer would seem to compliment. Perhaps it means we need to think of others who need things too? Perhaps Hebe during the weeks that Hebe is in Cancer you life will prompt you with a need (or inspiration) which tells you what you need to do in order to get ahead in the world (which would be very Saturn in Libra) and that involves showing someone how useful you are. Or what your abilities really are.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8…with Cubewano (and dwarf planet candidate) MakeMake about to go direct early on the 10th, its station effects begin now, suggesting it’s a good time to move ahead whatever projects we have slated. As ‘creator’ god of Easter Island, MakeMake can be seen as a symbol of ‘raising something up out of the depths’ or of creating something in isolation or all by yourself, this last part going very much with Saturn’s position at 10 Libra.

MakeMake the astronomical object as photographed by

the Hubble Telescope (photo credit: NASA/JPL)... 

 ...and MakeMake the Easter Island creator god as a glyph

carved in stone on Easter Island

There is a thread of this ‘be your own person’ thing going around…have you noticed?

And just because I want to, I’ll also note that Mike Brown was one of the three discoverers of MakeMake - the others being Craig Trujillo and David Rabinowitz. So isn’t it nice that one of his ‘very own’ KBOs is doing a little turnaround dance for him during the week of his birthday?

Prosaic, yes. And when we put this all together…maybe the devoted dad Mike Brown will be expanding his family this year? Who knows…but just to show you how astrological thinking goes, that wouldn’t seem to be out of the question, considering all things!

THURSDAY, JUNE 9…an interesting day which starts with Jupiter in Taurus perfecting a sextile to Neptune retrograde in Pisces at 2:42am (UT/+0) – which yet again speaks to something of increasing (Jupiter) value (Taurus) which either clarifies or stirs up that nebulous Neptune ‘wish list’ we all have inside. It’s a moment when we can be realistic and we can profit from doing so. But we may not want to.

Like as not, a little fantasy is okay – but we will do well not to get lost in same. Remember, Saturn is bearing down on its station/direct point: reality must be served!

A bit later – at 2:42pm (UT/+0) Venus enters Gemini, meaning that as Jupiter perfected its sextile Venus was at 29 Taurus: a critical moment which can point out the chinks in our armor as well as the blessings in our life. It’s a real ‘glass half full or half empty?’ moment.

 Te aa no areois (The Seed of the Areoi) by Paul Gauguin (1892)

As a planetary ingress, Venus entering Gemini will earn its own blog post, but when tossed in with all the other doings of the week it would seem to be a warning to choose knowingly. There’s a time for play and an extent to which we know we can play. There are also times when the priority needs to be work. Knowing the difference and what our goals and limitations are (and yes, sticking to them!) seems the object d’moment.

However! With Kassandra about to go retrograde in Aquarius, we may not want to see the clouds which go with those silver linings. Or that the proverbial cloud tends to come with one. Which way you go here is probably described by your general mental attitude. Are you someone who refuses to hear anything which darkens your day? Are you someone who doesn’t believe anything good will ever happen?

Remembering that Mars and Jupiter are still in Taurus, with Venus now in Gemini we want…but can we have? We know the truth of this is about what we’re willing to strive for and earn (or whether we have) and that for all we want there are limits to what is sensible in life…but we…or someone close to us…may not want to hear that just now.

Thus we come to…

FRIDAY, JUNE 10…with KBO MakeMake going direct at 4:40am (UT/+0). That MakeMake is going direct at 25 Virgo rather challenges us to understand the difference between what we think works and what other people think, given the same situation. For those building or improving something or some part of their life (or learning/trying to figure out how to), this would be a moment when your abilities and practicalities meet up with those of others around you. The combination of Virgo and that we’re talking about a point which is between 20 and 29 degrees of some sign (a 3rd decanate point) means that we are not – as individuals – in the initiating position, though we need to be self-motivated in getting things done.

Showing your capabilities today? A positive. Insisting on having your own way? Maybe not so good. When you need to at some point or any point deal with others, you really have to take the audience into account. It’s sometimes annoying, but true!

And thus we arrive at…

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, a day when Kassandra goes retrograde at 18 Aquarius early in the UT/+0 morning (at 6:27am, to be exact) and when Saturn’s station effects begin…if they haven’t already, that is!

Saturn’s going on station in Libra (at 10 Libra) is all about our ability to function as individual human beings. There are a lot of parameters to this, but that’s the basic gist of the thing. It’s a real ‘get hold of yourself!’ kind of moment which Kassandra can help or hinder.

 Ajax and Cassandra (aka astronomy and astrology's Kassandra)

by Solomon Joseph Solomon

Going retrograde in an emotional degree of a public, social, worldly sign, Kassandra’s going retrograde signals our being prompted to pay attention – which is exactly what some of us don’t want to do.

Another part of this would be the necessity to sort the real from the inflammatory…the fact from fable, fiction, pipe dream or fear-mongering drama.

Again, we may not want to.

But apparently we need to. It’s wonderful to work on ourselves and hopefully we’re all using our time to better our personal world with an eye to building a better future for everyone and thus, those we love. In this, the trick would seem to be remaining aware of what’s going on and what ‘the trends’ are without being deluded by hyperbole or drawn astray by our own desire to hear only what we want to hear.

Plus there is that need to maintain an awareness that what is today may be different tomorrow. Time marches on…things change.

And so do we.

Jupiter in Aries

We know there’s always more to understand about Aries.

How would ‘WE’ we know that?

We know that because Aries is the sign of the Self -  and there’s always more to know about ourselves, right? I mean, do YOU know what’s going to happen when you wake up tomorrow and walk out of your front door? Do you know what you will encounter? Perhaps be challenged by? Do you know what you will learn – or what was fine yesterday but totally irritating today and why that change has come to be?

Obviously none of us can know that - which is why it's perhaps useful that once every 11.86 years or so, Jupiter rolls into Aries so as to remind us of that truth.

With Jupiter moving into Aries, realizing that fact may well be part of our fare. Jupiter in Aries is a time to learn (or be reminded of) many such lessons which go with getting more into present tense. Hopefully we not only learn such lessons but also carry them with us once Jupiter leaves Aries...that being part of a life which builds on itself.

What we don’t learn or maybe even refuse to learn becomes something we either still need to learn or which becomes one of the ‘chinks’ in our life structure which weakens and sometimes even guides the whole of life down a path we could have avoided, but didn’t.

So that’s one part of Jupiter in Aries. Another way to think of this combination is in terms of what the word ‘growth’ which is so associated with Jupiter can mean when applied to the Aries physicality and essence of/essential Self. We could gain weight. We could get taller. We could learn how to present ourselves better in any of a number of ways. We could grow our knowledge base and learn a few new things. We could adopt a bigger, broader outlook – whether that’s tolerant or not.

We can also become more 'self' conscious. Or selfish. It's a long sliding scale between lack of self worth, proper self worth, egotistical, grandiose and out-and-out narcissistic...and Jupiter in Aries will not only call attention to wherever along this line we fall, but virtually guarantee we'll hear people's 'issues' with self worth more loudly than ever.

Please note – there’s no ‘good or bad’ here, though while Jupiter passes through Aries the ‘inflation’ of self worth or the 'know-it-all’ factor is likely to be annoying. (I say ask people if how irritating they’re being is among the things they know so much about.)

Being more ‘open to the world’ would be another Jupiter in Aries theme. So might you travel? Perhaps you’ll recognize that you need to change up everything about your life. After all, if not now, when?

This last idea goes back to a greater contemplation… namely that Jupiter is in Aries and within a month and a half, Uranus will join the Aries parade. Meanwhile, Saturn is in Libra – the oppositional sign to Aries. And Saturn is about to go retrograde.

This is a picture of ‘is life working for me?’ with the answer coming not from the “them” of life, but from you. From each of us.

Back in late 2008 when Pluto committed to its transit of Capricorn, in changing zodiac hemispheres, it signaled that life would be changing too. Figuring that Pluto has a 248-year orbit, that tells us that about every 124 years the world (the whole world and nothing but the world) changes ‘mode.’

Well…except for the fact that Pluto has one of the great and wonky egg shaped orbits of all celestial time. What this means is that one half of Pluto’s romp through the zodiac (would you prefer ‘share,’ ‘rattle’ or ‘roll’ to romp?)…one half of this is quick, one half is rather sloooooow.

Pluto's orbit is not only egg-shaped, but very

off the plane of our celestial ecliptic - the prime

"horizontal" of our solar system

But the effect is more than stark: during one period we’re delving into the new. During the next, we’re building and capitalizing on what we’ve found and figured out. Obviously life isn’t a light switch operation, but going back half a zodiac cycle back from Pluto entering Capricorn in 2008 takes us back to Pluto entering Cancer in 1912, though it took a few years for it to fully commit to said sign. But this was, without down, the beginning of capitalization on industrialization: the dawn of “modern times.”

Go back another half cycle and you land in the 1760’s, time of exploration and empire building, the discovering of resources which led into the industrial/mechanical age and thus all that happened in the 1900’s. That was the last round of Pluto moving into an traversing the proactive side of the zodiac.

Now I could sprinkle a bunch of glitzy theory in about how the last round was more physical, and this round of Pluto will be less tangible (more theoretical), but we won’t go there. Except for one thing: the great global economic crinkling we all went through as Pluto crunched its way into Capricorn? That was a pretty darn sure sign that What Was isn’t going to Be going forward.

We have to reinvent a whole lot of things. Going on with the old way, the old plan, the old concept is only going to be building atop a foundation which itself is up for renovation.

So…will you rely on what has been and set yourself (and your life and loved ones) up to weather a lot of upheaval, or will you seize the opportunity (not to mention the day) and carpe diem yourself into a new format which will safely weather turbulent weather.

It’s all up to you. But plainly, Jupiter entering Aries is either your cue to think about it, your moment to get ready for it or the time to get out on your brand new path.

Moreover, you don’t all that much time to do whatever you’re going to do….which yes, means that if you are choosing to ignore this whole celestial offering means you don’t have to spend that long with your head (or associated parts) buried in the sand. Jupiter enters Aries on January 22 at 5:12pm (UT/+0) and it will exit Aries On June 4 at 1:57pm (UT/+0). Since we had a little nibble of Jupiter in Aries last summer, once it enters Aries this year, there’s no retrograding back. This is it. Last summer we sort of got the idea of making a change, but then most of us slumped (to some extent) back into what was comfy and not so incredibly, personally taxing.

That’s the point. It’s the ‘us’ here which needs expanding, changing, challenging. And if you’re someone whose ‘new-adverse,’ you’re likely to hate how over the next few months everything and everyone seems to tell you that you must, must, must change. If you’re a run-around person, you may have to learn to stand still (or heaven forbid, sit down!) If you’re a safe at home person, you may well have to get out there and show your pretty face in this world.

And yes, we are all pretty. We’re just pretty in our own way when we’re being pretty – which means being about life and not just about what we can get from life or how we can escape from life.

There are a couple of major ‘transit moments’ which will happen during these next few months. The first happens on February 25. The exact time is 8:29pm UT/+0, but plan on February 24, 25, 26 carrying this vibe – a global transit astrologically known as Jupiter square Pluto. The two sides of this are what can you take on against do you know your own limits? 

The next transit buoy is Jupiter opposition Saturn, a more personal challenge about our ability to deliver most of all on our own desires. “They” may be our audience, but the real issue is whether we are on track with our own efforts to grow here. The big enemy of the moment is simply the ‘expectation’ which you set your heart on. Suggestion: don’t ‘expect,’ experience. If you use the days around March 28th for efforts which amount to personal development, testing and where necessary, reconnoitering, recalibrating and reworking your plan, progress can be/become more effective.

A lot of people are going to be in ‘no’ mode – don’t give up. Consider lacks of receptivity your challenge and the process you’re involved in a game, the skills of which have only to be mastered.

Before all this, with Sun and Mars in Aquarius as Jupiter enters Aries, things are already all 'a-buzz.' A lot is going on, coming down, going through and being impeded! Jupiter's entrance into Aries offers the 'electrical' qualities of the Aquarian Sun/Mars an opportunity to be 'enacted' - how well we deal with same is really all about us.

Think of this as a 'vent' or 'ignition' sort of point...and that there well may be tendencies towards irritations, frustrations, 'erratic energies' of the physical, mental and/or psychic (auric) type - and the occasional explosion, hopefully of the productive time.

Or useful to someone, if not everyone...sigh....

Oh yes - and we shouldn't expect this to be limited to those 'human factors.' Machinery and 'transmissions,' especially those machines which transmit information (from computers to cables to traffic lights, cell phones, cars, etc.) are likely arenas for problems and discoveries...particularly if you're good humored enough to get that you can't make something right without first recognizing it's been wrong.

Or at least problematic...!

This Aries Jupiter/Sun-Mars in Aquarius thing (which begins to dissipate as the Sun moves into Pisces come mid-late February) is particularly likely to affect areas which concern or are powered by electricity...and be prepared: many a schedule is likely to need tweaking!

So with that said about how this all starts in, as Mars joins Sun and Jupiter in Aries come April, energy against runs high. This heightens the chance of 'overdoing' and  overextending ourselves. Yet for those who know what they are doing, this is a truly productive time. Headway can be made, though with Saturn in retrograde, it's not likely that 'new ground' is actually being broken in the karmic or developmental sense.

Yes, real things can get accomplished. New doors well may open. But the determination to open those doors will be made prior to Saturn going retrograde on January 25th or 26th.

And if you thought early April was an energy slalom, set your alarm clock for and of April/early May, a period which is seriously high voltage. This is where real ability shines, and where those who don’t have said ability will like as not bluster, bluff and threaten in order to get their way. (Sad isn’t it…how grown adults resort to the tyrannical antics of toddlers?)

May is some heavy slogging – mostly in the heads and hearts of those who are trying to make changes, which is somewhat different than its effect on those sticking to the old and familiar, who are going to be having Trials More Tangible.

As Jupiter presses to the end of Aries in the first couple of days of June 2011, Saturn will just be beginning to slow down to take its station and go direct again. This is really where the stickers/stuck types and (ad)venturing types part. Those who haven’t used Jupiter in Aries to renew and be new will be gathering and gaining traction and a real understanding of how things can work. That’s the payoff for six long months of personal effort invested in Self. Meanwhile, those who have procrastinated or deferred will be receiving the karmic bill.

Jupiter’s cycle is 11.86 years long. So we’re not going to sing this song again until….what, 2022?

It’s just a mathematical surety. It’s celestial clockwork. So have a think or two: do you really want to wait that long to get where you actually want to go?

Sun in Aquarius

 John Singer Sargeant's Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth (1889)

There are really a couple of ways to look at this year’s month-long Sun in Aquarius transit. What we do as astrologers is looking at ingresses to see what they can tell us...an ingress gives us a marker of influences at a certain point in time, when the cosmic clock strikes whatever it strikes...

...If you know where the rock fell in the pool, if you have some sense of when that rock fell and how big the rock was, that gives you a sense of what sort of ripples you will face if your body and your life are part of that pool

Which it is. We are all part of what exists - that's the big message delivered by E=mc2'd and all the rest of astrophysics.

What happens out there matters. What happens here on earth matters.

It's all part of the self same thing.

So saying...

....As the Sun enters Aquarius, we have asteroids Sappho and Hel just ahead and the Moon at 7 Leo, meaning it’s just passed the ‘Full Moon’ mark.

(Which yes, we know because yesterday’s post was all about the Full Moon!)

We also know that Aquarius is an air sign. So this month is going to be a month where we tend to think in terms of the ideas, concepts, trends, statistics, and likelihoods instead of the facts, evidence, current status and needs of the moment. This Aquarius tendency to postulate instead of consider the reality means we’re going to hear more about income as part of an economy than your landing a job.

What does this mean personally? Though irritating to listen to for many of us, this actually lightens our load because we now get the green light to postulate: what might I do? What could I learn? What kind of benefit should I be able to bring to your company if you give me the chance?

Doors are open now to theoretical discussions. Expect to have them, expect to hear them. And remember - theory gets wacky. Not everything everyone is likely to come out with is going to make sense.


And yet it's always rather revealing - about them, about us, about a world in which such things get said.

Against this, we all will need to put across or demonstrate our willingness to work. Some of us have dedicated track records - and tracks record of dedication. Then there are those who ‘skate by’ or who shuck or jive their way through life. On both sides - the validated and fake, some end up mighty and some end up with a life which is merely flighty.

The dividing line is whether we are found or found out. And whether we are willing to take the time and put in the effort to find ourselves and find out what we are truly capable of doing and being...not merely to or for ourselves, but for others. Maybe even for our world, for people we will never meet.

There are validations for doing big and doing little. There is a necessity to be who we are as individuals and be part of our world - however big or small - around us.

All this is likely to now take another step forward in the realm of getting shaken and sorted out. It may not all come about instantaneously, but it will happen...maybe to a big degree, and maybe as just a chip of one stone on a very large mountain face...but it will begin happening now. You may not recognize anything all that instantly. The changes may not be all that immediate. But they will happen in due time.

How do we know that? Well, that we know because of a

little TNO named Rhadamanthus you might remember reading about a couple of blogs ago (in the Astro-Factors blog for WE0122).

That Rhadamanthus goes retrograde at 20 Libra at 3:41am (UT/+0) means it’s already going into retrograde (reflective) mode as the Sun reaches Aquarius at 10:20am (UT/+0) on January 20th. And given that Rhadamanthus is an emblem of ‘consequence’ (that which now done, cannot be undone) we know that all sorts of things which have been ‘done’ are now becoming clear to us.

But it's not all that simple or something we consciously grapple with until it hits. Any object classed as a TNO refers to events, incidents and realizations we don't normally deal with. So as concerns Rhadamanthus, the question thus becomes not just 'what have you DONE for me/us lately?'...but 'what have you done which shows you know how to do what you do'...

....AND...
 
'whether you should have done what you did. Or still do.

It can even be....'in choosing what to learn, what path to take - or what people to associate with, did you choose correctly?'

Where we haven’t done what in retrospect would seem to be the 'right' thing...or where we haven't dealt with live realistically, perhaps even where we thought only of ourselves and not of those we would/could affect or how our actions might affect them....that's where the Aquarian ‘know the rules, learn the facts – then choose. Then move on!’ comes into ultimate play.

Aquarius is hell on those who don’t deal with realities. While known as a sign of ‘hopes, dreams and wishes,’ what Aquarius really embodies are those ‘if I do xyz, then I can….’ frameworks which require that yes, we DO the ‘xyz’ part first. In other words, you can’t have the party to celebrate the new job until you get the new job. And you can’t get that new job without applying for a job that you have the qualifications/willingness to do.

Yes, this is one of those fixed signs which tests our ability want the result so much that we put ourselves through the hassle of doing. And learning how to do. And honing our skills. And proving our worthiness –first and foremost to ourselves!

And that’s where the ‘fakery’ can come in. Saturn is Aquarius’ first ruler, Uranus the second. So you have to make the Saturn grade before you get to fly to the Uranus stars.

And Rhadamanthus retrograde, that just puts us in a place where we get what that means. Who we have been has gotten us to where we are. Like it or not (which for many of us would be ‘not!’), that’s where we start from now.

Okay. So that’s sort of the ‘usual’ approach to this Sun entering Aquarius thing. But the other part of the astrologer’s-astrological equation would be what happens while the Sun is in Aquarius? 

Yes, I know…you wanted me to do that ‘what it means to my Sun sign thing’ – what astrologers, for better or worse, call “cookbook astrology.” And here’s the deal with why you think that sounds a little funky. It is.

Why? Because what you ask for when you say ‘what does that mean to my Sun sign?’ is ‘what does that mean to – not my life – but to my life force. The Sun is energy. Call it will, call it vitality…it’s not your “life” per se. Yes, it can represent career – but only as a field. Saturn represents the accomplishment. And yes, the Sun can represent intellect – but Mercury is the thinking part: what you do with your intellect.

So though do the cookbook thing once in a while I don’t do it all the time. It bothers me that you would think that's the whole picture - it isn't. So today...? Maybe to honor the quirkiness which is so Aquarian or the Aquarian ‘new conceptualization’ vibe, today we’re going to look at the what else happens thing.

(And yes, you can comment and/or gripe all you want – no problem!)

But really…

...To the point of much of what we have been talking about, not only is the Sun entering Aquarius in the wake of a (duly blogged about) Solar Eclipse about changing times and changing life structures, but the two symbols OF societal, social and personal ‘structural’ growth, enlightenment and learning (Saturn and Jupiter) are both doing a celestial number while the Sun is passing through Aquarius.

On the Jupiter side we have a big red planet – the biggest planet in the whole solar system – moving into Aries. That means a couple of things:

One: Jupiter is currently at 29 Pisces, the last degree of the zodiac. The question thus becomes “what have we learned/what have we yet to learn?” You will hear and see this everywhere you go right now.

Two: In being in the last degree of the zodiac, Jupiter is revealing some pretty big chinks in our armor, holes in our plans and everything else you might go “OH NO!!” about.

Three: Once Jupiter commits to its transit of Aries on the 22nd, a natural whole-sign sextile will be set up between Sun in Aquarius and Jupiter in Aries. There are two basic concepts thus set up – the first being the 3rd sign harmonic set up from the Sun to Jupiter which asks us to choose, learn and to speak up about what isn’t working. This does not favor complaining, though there’s plenty of that likely to be going around! Yet the real point is that of seeing an opportunity in wherever you find or spot a gap, weakness or lack.

Think of life as a marketplace. Those gaps and lacks are exactly where a ‘new product’ success can be achieved.

The other harmonic here is from Jupiter to the Sun – and that’s an eleventh house dynamic…the very essence of Aquarius and Things Aquarian. For those looking to be (more) “successful” in whatever way, this pair of indicators is your ticket to adventure.

However! With that adventure comes some endeavor, courtesy of Saturn – a Saturn which come the 26th will go retrograde. More specifics will be forthcoming on this to be sure, but given that Saturn is going retrograde in Libra, that sets up a Sun-to-Saturn whole-sign 9th harmonic which would be all about (1.) moving ahead with new plans, working through the glitches and challenges which will surely surface along the way, and (2.) expanding one’s knowledge base and point of view.

One of the big tests during this next little while is going to be theory against fact – optimism against proven results. And guess which one is going to look foolish and which one is going to win?

Uh-huh….credibility now goes to the doers and provers, not the pie-in-the-sky believers and postulators. A lot of people are going to get called out on a lot of stuff this month. A lot of plans will fall through, a lot of vows will be shown up to be merely empty promises.

It is our job to learn from mistakes and move on. Wasting one’s time being furious is just that – a waste of time. And who are we really mad at? Once Saturn is in retrograde, the suggestion is that we’re really mad at ourselves for not having been more careful, more realistic, more savvy, more discerning.

Still, those who sit and fume stand to waste a relatively short (five month) window of bonafide opportunity.

The other side of this Saturn/Sun relationship is from Saturn to the Sun, a fifth sign harmonic which with Saturn in retrograde indicates a need to polish our skills and bone up on whatever ‘tools’ we need to move ahead.

As the Sun moves along though Aquarius, the tone of day-to-day life will change as the Moon, Mercury and Venus change signs. But nothing compares to the two celestial signposts we call Jupiter and Saturn.

No matter what Sun, Moon, Mars, Venus, Mercury, Ascendant, Nadir…or anything else you have in your chart, these concepts will hold. So ask yourself – what do YOU want to do with this month ahead?

After all, in the end, yours is the only answer which in your life, really counts...

 ...and so drops the rock into the pond.

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