Mercury in Capricorn

'Young Hermes at Rest'

(bronze, Naples National Archaeological Museum, photo credit: Marie-Lan Nguyen, 2011)

Since the last post ended with contemplations of rainstorms and possible floor flooding, an update: the water didn't come in under the front wall, it came in under the door and somehow staged wetting down two of my windowsills (yes, on the indoors side), but it wasn't horrible. Furthermore I gather my wakefulness had plenty of company - a good number of Los Angelenos stayed up or were woken up by the downpour (replete with whistling winds) when it hit at about 1:30 in the morning.

The reason water came in under the door, I understand. That's because it rained so hard (LA got something close to two inches of rain in a couple of hours) that the roof gutter  overflowed. And wouldn't you know, it overflowed in just the right place to set up a cascade of splatter which hit my front door, dripping down - and from there under the door.

The windowsills I haven't quite fathomed yet, but I'm working on it. And though it is always something (as they say) this is the first invasion by water for me this year, which even as a Pisces person I think is a bit much.
 
Getting to the subject of this post (thanks for listening)... Mercury is reaching Capricorn ahead of the Sun this year, which isn’t an unpleasant thought. After all, while Mercury in Sagittarius can have things moving ahead at leaps and bounds Mercury in Sagittarius can also be a time that so much in motion that nothing gets done. Or a time when things already in progress seem like they’ll never, ever end.

Where Sagittarius runs hot, speedy and far, Capricorn coolly pays attention, considers repercussions and is never, ever in a hurry - which isn’t to say Capricorn symbols should be taken to be reticent. They aren’t - so when this comes to the mental, motion, communication realm which is All Things Mercury, we shouldn’t be surprised that Mercury in Capricorn is known for speaking its peace even if that disrupts the peace.

Capricorn stands for that which will last. It’s all about that which will endure, the effort to endure and the enduring of our own learning curve as that pertains to who we are intrinsically (identity), who we are in this world (career, social/legal standing) and how well we deal with who we are in that world, inclusive of whether we hold our Self to standards (reputation) - and what it takes to do that (responsibility).

Known for a ‘cool and collected’ quality, Mercury in Capricorn imbues most of us with a rational sort of awareness of why comprehension of themes and details is important to our aims. And thus we ‘go’ for what we want - we ask, we do, we try, we throw our hat in the ring, and for those who aren’t wearing a hat, we toss in whatever seems handy and apropos.

Who cares if someone objects? So long as our intention is well and truly understood, while someone else may object, it’s our self-esteeming that we’re mostly embodied and motivated by.

Given Mercury as a sign of communication, that Capricorn seldom hesitates and is a pragmatic and an ‘it is what it is’ sort of earth sign makes this an obvious boon for business and important of any kind - and while the Sun remains in Sagittarius (read: until the December 21st Solstice) while there may be disagreements on some points, so long as everyone remembers to nix the idea and not the person, given a bit of back and forth, agreements can be reached.

Once the Sun does enter Capricorn however, we can expect any of a number of tacks and tactics to liven up our day, our thoughts and considerations - and since some will be lobbed at us (as opposed to being something wholly ours to decide) we are likely to feel... and indeed to be challenged. 

Challenges - particularly those which test our endurance are part and parcel of Capricorn and going to be part of Mercury in Capricorn, testing not merely our endurance but the validity and viability (read: practicality, never mind any hype) of our reason(s) for holding our goal or opinion or belief or whatever else so very dearly.

And it’s likely that during this time a few things will change. Some changes will be initiated because of things we come to (Mercury) think and some will result from things which occur and which we react or respond to, whether or not that means we adapt to changing internal or external conditions or merely cope with them. Because of this - and in spite of this things can, and will get done: Mercury in Capricorn is another quite decent pairing for those with accomplishments needing to be accomplished. And since we know two other things (Uranus going direct on December 21st and Saturn moving from Scorpio into Sagittarius on the 23rd) are on the astrological calendar during Mercury’s trio of weeks in Capricorn, we have the markers which for some will manifest as accomplishment.

Or input. Or a shock - or perhaps a surprise. Capricorn does have a sincere strain of ‘earning’ to its makeup which suggests that those who have earned something are likely to get results there where those who haven’t earned won’t receive (or to the degree that we may not earned we may not receive).

This ‘earning’ or ‘having earned’ theory would even seem supported by the grand trine Mercury’s moving into Capricorn acts to trigger and make ‘real’ in that singular manner planets entering earth signs seem to have.

With Mercury exactly conjunct Eurydike there’s a question of ‘the cost’ in the mix, with that motivated and inexorably tied to some Regulus-Black Moon fact or earthly/earthy factor which is both about (Regulus) how little there is to be gained by doing things (Virgo) improperly... and about how there is nothing which can be (Regulus) properly done which doesn’t have a high (and probably unpredictable) quality of moral, ethical or emotional backlash (which by any other name would be known as ‘cost.).

At the same time that all that’s true, there’s also a nexus of conviction about the innate quality of goodness and the need to (Mirach/Hestia) protect same which has a tenacious, emotional hold on things... or on us... and that’s also a cost.

How to reconcile it all while attending to what time requires and the times demand while dealing with the business of how to make gains on whatever our goals and aims are...that requires some sort of compromise - from us, I mean.

We can like it or not like any of this. We can also be the person initiating whatever this grand trine refers to or a person on the receiving end.

Or we can just be experiencing something which embodies this experience for us, wholesale. Good or bad isn’t necessarily part of the equation... in fact Mercury in Capricorn has just that touch of a proverbial sort of ‘eat your vegetables, they’re good for you!’ maxim that issues are more likely to be about ‘like/no like’ or ‘want/not want’ than anything else.

Whatever will get us to think about what works in the long run or fullest of full terms - that’s where we can operatively go. But whether we’ll go there...? Or get there...?

That’s a whole other question. After Saturn changes signs (on the 23rd) there will be a ‘freeing up’ of some things, but getting any real feeling for same is going to take a bit of time, which given when this change of sign happens rather points to the end of the year and/or holiday season, whichever way you see it.

But prior to that there is Uranus’ station. Occurring on December 21st and at 12 Aries, this station occurs with Uranus' turn to direct in semi-square to Pluto (suggesting situational transformations as issues, facts and energies come to greater clarity) and Mercury in sextile to Neptune - which becomes the general rub.

What kind of rub? It's that Mercury/Neptune thing - an indication that something isn't entirely factual. This doesn’t have to be any big problem as 'non-factual' in metaphysical terms can simply mean "fiction."

As usual, such indicators end up being all in how we take them - or are overtaken by them. Beyond all that however, because this is (by date) associated with Uranus' station, any or all of what happens could also have everything to do with communications, changes in plans and/or high tech subjects seeing as Uranus is always a symbol of things systemic, electric, electrifying, digital and electronic. With Mercury in Capricorn there is some sort of reference or connection to the outside world (or what we are, want to be or need to be in that outside world) even if we spend the whole of this passage  experiencing whatever that means to us solely inside our own life - or even just inside our own head.

Two more items of particular note here. The first is how Mercury will conjunct Pluto (the finding, rediscovering or utilizing something which was lost, transformed or denied... or which will now be lost, transformed or denied) on December 24th. The degree being activated here being 12 Capricorn, there is a good deal of wit, cleverness and deftness of skill that if used wisely can lead to (or can now produce) something totally unanticipated - or at least unpredicted - of a powerful and potentially quite positive nature IF we are willing to admit to ourselves and ‘fill in the gap’ (or gaps) when it comes to that ‘thing’ which is missing in whatever equation we are working with which we would like to equal success and successful results.

The other thing to know about is that as we close in on New Years, Mercury will oppose fixed star Castor (first of the Gemini twins) on December 29th and then oppose Pollux (the second Gemini twin) on New Years Eve, AS Mars in Aquarius opposes Jupiter, now retrograde in Leo.

That brings up the subject of choice - and since Mercury rules Gemini - that which we choose or have chosen.

Plus there is that little fact that people do tend to do some very particular things on New Years Eve.

Whatever you face (or whatever is facing you), let’s just say this is not the time to do something hasty (or in haste) which might create some need to deal with a ‘cost’ regarding same which confronts you from some impersonally (or not personally) controlled perspective.

Other than that, what with this week ahead when the Sun in Sagittarius’ most worldly and newsworthy degrees will be signifying life stirring up that which will shift as we move through Uranus’ station on December 21st, we shouldn’t expect the days ahead to feel normal - or to have normal feelings about life in general.

The feelings we’re talking about are those which can feel personally destabilizing. Feelings of insecurity we didn’t even know we had may appear as if out of rather dim air.

Taken by NASA's Messenger spacecraft, this photo of Mercury is known as 'The Sunlit Side of Mercury'

(photo credit: NASA-JPL)

And on that level, that Mercury is moving into Capricorn on Wednesday, a day or two in advance of Uranus’ ‘official’ station and also probably as things (or we) start seeming or feeling disjointed about this or that... maybe that’s just life being kind to us by giving us an inner sense that we can prevail, that despite all the loose ends, seeming impossibilities and disgruntled times we can keep on being who we need to be.

Which is a gift indeed.
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Venus in Capricorn

Named for the Egyptian goddess of truth and justice (Maat), Maat Mons on Planet Venus is an

8 km (5 mi.) high volcano situated at 0.9 degrees north  Latitude by 194.5 degrees east Longitude.

(photo credit: NASA-JPL)

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There’s something quiet... sometimes even somber about Venus in Capricorn. Some of that is no doubt due to the fact that the sign prior to Capricorn is Sagittarius, and under Venus in Sagittarius things can get wild and woolly, unpredictable and unexpected. That’s what Sagittarius is all about - the new, the growth, the testing of a theoretical limit (if not the limit itself). So while Venus passed through Sagittarius, results of various doings (results being the Venus thematic aim) while there were pluses and things to be happy about, there were also a lot of surprises and things which got out of hand in unexpected ways.

So part of the change we’re likely to feel once Venus is in Capricorn is just about comparison. After all, in comparison to Sagittarius, Capricorn can seem downright staid. Or slow, as the pace or frequency of things does seem to pick up under Sagittarius - which means that if they slow down now they may be simply be going back to what's generally our more 'normal' pace - but in comparison, there's a difference.

That means we shouldn't think things can’t - or won’t get done now. They can - Venus in Capricorn is often a very  productive time, especially where we need to deal with obligations to others... or even our Self. Venus being all about trying to produce the result/results which will make things easier, as it passes through earth sign Capricorn we're all going to be looking for, working with and seeing real results come to be in real-time, in-the-flesh life.

Will they be what we want?

Well, maybe yes... and maybe no (what else is new, right?). But seriously...ruled by Saturnine precepts (those being about hard work, having/taking direction, regard for others/the world around us and in general, The Responsibility Principle) Capricorn is a sign which is about what we earn as a person (or for a nation or company, as an entity). It's about the 'reality' of our 'standing' in life - never mind the money or the bank account(s), though this is a pairing of sign and symbol considered good for the conducting of business, if not specifically or directly as an indication of income.

Think of it this way... getting the job, the 'business of business' - the Capricorn part of the process - has to happen before you get a paycheck, which makes the receiving of income as something intrinsically Aquarian far more understandable: Capricorn precedes Aquarius just as getting the job precedes getting the income from that job. 

Under Capricorn, it's our reputation (being known for who we are and what our abilities and capacities are) or what we are thought of by others (and the world) which garners whatever 'response' we get in said world, whether that amounts to respect, money, accolades - a job offer - or anything else. And that means Venus traveling through Capricorn is all about who we want to be in this world versus who we are being or being seen as in this world (inclusive of who we may have been)...and how well all of that is working, or not working, in good, bad or iffy Venusian style.

And for those who have issues? This is also a good time to think about or work on seeing what you can do to improve things. It may take time (hardly anything we initiate under Venus in Capricorn yields instantaneous results) ... but if we started doing something some time ago, this may well be a time of stabilization.

There is a touch of 'let's keep the status quo status' with Venus in Capricorn (more than a touch, actually...) yet risks - though not seized upon with the glee one might see if Venus was in a fire sign - are still acceptable.

Well, maybe. Venus in Capricorn signals moments and situations which ask us how important something really is. We end up thinking about risks to what we have, and we'll tend to 'protect' or look at providing for things as they are first under this influence where at other times (read: while Venus is in a sign with less allegiance to less hard-core practicality) we might think the situation merits taking a risk in order to protect or provide for our 'status quo' as we go forward. And when we think of Capricorn in its 'what we are seen as' mode it's easy to see Capricorn as a sign of (or about) consequences in life... and life consequences, which in the sense that 'consequence' and 'result' are words which might be thought of as non-kissing cousins means Capricorn's 'style' meshes rather seamlessly with Venus as whatever situation, action or connection brings about some 'response' or 'result.'

Though granted, those results aren't always what we want them to be. Sometimes we get what we want under Venus in Capricorn, even though we always get what we've managed to earn - at least on a karmic level.

And why karma? How did karma get into this conversation? Answer: that very special 'karma' quality brought to this discussion courtesy of Scorpio, as Capricorn is - and ever shall be - the third derivative sign from Scorpio..

Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn show in terms of their position on

a 'natural' (i.e., unmodified) zodiac wheel.

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All third astrological derivatives equal the 'voicing' - the 'putting it out there' at least in theoretical form, which makes Capricorn - and transits of planets through Capricorn - times and indicators of situations which though totally Capricorn in nature embody something of a Scorpio 'voice,' that 'voice' being the heart of the challenge we all face as we achieve (the Capricorn thing) and through that achievement acquire power - or a powerful voice. Or the power to speak - and be heard.

This precept - by the by - has great implications for the next 2,000 years or so as Scorpio will be on the 10th house (the native house of Capricorn) for the whole of the Aquarian Age... and also why we are seeing - and likely to see - this struggle to maintain internal (Scorpio/Taurus) balance/s of worth in worldly institutions and on the worldly level appearing first in or through natively 10th house institutions. We're going to see the other side of this too - the 10th house professions which 'embody' or hold power over our mortality, the most obvious of which would medicine, food and anything connected to weaponry, war and/or the civil sector entities which embody a governmental power (tax, spy, policing agencies, etc.).

The wheel of any given Age has the sign of that Age (in this case, Aquarius) on the Ascendant

of the wheel, rotating the rest of the signs counter-clockwise from there. Because of that, Scorpio

is on the 10th house of the Age we're now in/moving into, which explains to a great degree many of
the problems we're encountering in our life and which we see in our world. During the Age of Pisces
(that which is now over) the great emphasis on learning, religion and the idea that there's an ethical
responsibility which goes with being in power or having power was tempered by what we might
think of as a 'spiritual-moral' clause. That clause - the Sagittarian clause - now moves to the 11th house,
meaning it now resides (and will reside, moving forward) in the hands of 'marketplace systems'
and various mass and social  movements, meaning that governments and those 'in power' (whether
embodied as corporations or as a household) will tend to 'act' from the Scorpio basis (whether
or not they are claiming to be acting from a moral (Sagittarian) position) until a new paradigm
about the relationship between power and security based on the needs of populations as opposed
to Scorpionic desire/will of those 'in power' is developed. This may take time and does not say that
those who haven't made the change are "evil" - merely that things are changing and that such
people or institutions (or some of the means through which they operate) are destined to change
even while we all move forward, together manifesting that beginning of Aquarian Age evolution
which over time equates the (Taurus) security of power, use of power and those with (or in) power
with the opportunity to learn how to (Taurus) value, develop and wield power in one's own mortal
and individual life in and as the whole of any global and universal (Aquarian) system.

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Venus in any sign is about whatever makes something plain, evident or obvious. We even have expressions which cover such times: Venus in an air sign 'brings things to light' and Venus in an earth sign like Capricorn 'makes things concrete,' none of which guarantees we'll like something, not like something or that it's even the end of a given process. Sometimes realities please us and sometimes they just prove how what we thought we would want isn’t what we really want at all.

That's also rather Venus in Capricorn, just as in 'solidifying' certain situations under Venus in Capricorn means we've been 'validated,' approved or given some go-ahead which we will begin working on now and see about capitalizing on once Venus moves into Aquarius (read: after New Years). For now we're looking for opportunities - and among those we will find some which give us a chance to turn disappointment into understanding in such a way that we are then able to change things.

You know...once Uranus goes direct and the 'changes' in life become more external than internalized?

How life works, and who we are in our life gets a bit of quality attention during this time. And because perseverance is another Capricorn trait, while Venus moving through Capricorn that path which needs long(er) term effort and the best our determination and patience can offer may not seem as annoying as it did just a couple of weeks ago.

Or rather, it may seem just as irritating, but also the path we need to take because we really do want to reach that personal goal. So don't be surprised if what you focus on now is something bigger, more substantial or more 'consequential' (read: full of potential) than what you've tackled up until now: Venus in Capricorn often stirs us to demonstrate our abilities and capacity - most of all to our Self.

Yet in spite of this, we shouldn't expect everyone to be in a nose-to-grindstone 'give it your very best effort' sort of mood - which isn't surprising, as it's holiday season. But maybe that's the point. Nothing we've said here says the period between December 10th (when Venus enters Capricorn at 4:43 p.m., UT/+0 time) and January 3rd (when it moves on into Aquarius) can’t be warm, wonderful, rewarding and well worth savoring.

It’s just that with Venus in Capricorn, success is more human - think less razzle-dazzle and more time-tested, classic or dignified.There's also a reflective sort of quality to Venus in Capricorn which tends to lead to quiet admissions - even if they're only to ourselves. We're aware of losses... and where we stand with regards to those things we want to achieve in life, whether that's a professional or personal aim.

As for the reputation for fiscal caution which goes with this combination. Under Venus in Capricorn we would expect less experimentation and risk rather across the board than that we’ve experienced of late...or what we would have more comfortably tolerated under Venus in Sagittarius.Part of this goes back to the essential yin-yang quality of the zodiac - a quality which we see in every part of life: we breathe in, we breathe out... the pendulum swings in one direction, and then swings back. Starting with Aries (an assertive and yang sign) the entire zodiac goes back and forth between this yin and yang, metaphorically hot and cold pattern, which is why we experience Scorpio’s tendency to try to hold onto things (or keep them as they are) which is followed by Sagittarian fervency which is again followed by Capricorn’s classically cool control.

And please note: that reference to control under Capricorn (or in the 10th house sense) starts and ends with control of Self - not others. As much as it is a sign of achievement, Capricorn is also the sign of governance and governments, both of which in this metaphysical sense are said to work well only  when the Capricorn drive to ‘structure’ durable things which provide what is needed so everything else about our human lives can function successfully.

Given this - and the Venus reputation for producing results, this Venus in Capricorn time is likely to show up/bring out how well (or not well) our efforts to reach our current goals is really doing.

Or not doing.

Whichever way things go, there's going to be some emphasis on maintaining a status quo even while needing to look forward with an eye to the lessons of history.

(Welcome to your next little exercise in unlikely balancing acts.)

Imaged by Venus in Capricorn and Mars in Aquarius, these next few weeks are a time when things may (and can) be sparked... or they can just fizzle, or even short circuit. Since the astrological Mars and Venus are also thought of as primary symbols of lunar/feeling 'modification,' even without anything untoward or specific going on, staying in emotional balance within the Self and with others is one of those places which will take a bit of effort. This isn’t necessarily bad and there's nothing Herculean necessarily indicated. Some of us will take some time off, some of us will pull back a little in some way and all of us will be thinking 'what next?' about something, whether we're in our career planning mode or standing in the kitchen thinking about when to put cookies in to bake considering everything else we need to do.

With Mars having changed signs (into Aquarius) a few days before Venus enters Capricorn, Venus (the faster moving planet) will do a bit of numerical degree catching-up for the first few days of its transit. Then as of December 14th, the real heart of the semi-sextile effect resulting from Mars and Venus being in adjacent signs increases. And though this semi-sextile won't last more than a couple of days (suggesting that only a small tube of mental anti-itch ointment might suffice), because those days are the specific dates which lead into the Uranus’ station-direct/Capricorn Solstice moment of December 21st, changes and challenges are likely to interrupt, distract or disrupt our focus.

Moreover, the degrees at which Venus and Mars will proceed in numerical (not sign) tandem start at ten and continue on through fourteen, we know that emotional drives and those motivating forces which lie below the surface are causing some of this, with that 'hidden' or 'unspoken' factor creating a lack of clarity, whether or not there's true insecurity.

Venus conjunct Pluto in Capricorn (glyph chart)

December 20, 2014 - 11:02 a.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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Venus conjunct Pluto in Capricorn (text chart)

December 20, 2014 - 11:02 a.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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Some want to act, some are dying to react. We know something needs to be done...but we also don't want to act in haste. With Venus conjuncting Pluto there's no question but that we're each being driven by what we want to happen (which is natural) and let's not forget: any astrological contact between Pluto and Venus indicates some level of passion... or for those prone to same, obsession.

And that's what's being tested about now through a configuration we know of as Uranus squaring Pluto from 12 Aries with Uranus slowing down to take its station.

That's a lot of pressure. Internal pressure which is seeking a way to 'break through' whatever is holding it back.

This transiting Uranus-Pluto square has been with us now for a while, and its many manifestations have not been altogether pleasant. Uranus first came into orb of square to Pluto (this time around the zodiac) back in June of 2009 - a fact which may ring a bell for you and which certainly will set off chimes in the heads of those who watch domestic and international politics and economics. Since then life and our times have ... with increasingly shorter breaks ... been trying to get us to change, and where we don't change (or where we don't flex and/or change) change - sometimes drastically dramatic change - has been thrust upon us.

To put this in Aquarian Age terms we all have been being challenged to move out of some ‘past’ - most likely personal and global - into a more present-and-future mode, and we’ve probably all done some of it, but then again... probably not.

And that part we would know because Uranus is still transiting Pluto. The active square having begun in June 2012 (June the 24th, to be exact) it remains with us with the next edition of exactitude occurring on December 15th at 6:15 in the morning (UT/+0 time) with March 17, 2015 marking the last such event we will experience for a while, though it will be early 2017 before this influence fully dissipates.

So what is Uranus squaring Pluto - and why do we care amidst a conversation about Venus entering Capricorn?

There are a hundred different ways (at least!) to describe Uranus square Pluto. But since they all seem to fall within one rather indistinctly succinct outline, we’ll just go with that: Uranus squaring Pluto by transit is the need to change coming into balance with the willingness to be transformed.

In this textual word equation, Venus conjuncting Pluto represents the attracting of the result (that being the Venus factor) which will prove transformational. Occurring in Capricorn, we know the nature of this Venus/Pluto coloration is a reality - maybe one we want, maybe one we have and want to keep. We want to have things as we want them, we are fully vested in whatever it is we’re convinced of our focused on.

And yet... we’re changing. Things are changing. We know it - and yet we are unlikely (at the moment) to show it - that being part of the nature of 12 Capricorn, a degree which represents the ways we (at least some of us) get so very clever that we sometimes outsmart ourselves.

Firmness is called for here, lore tells us - but with Pluto in conjunction with Venus, though some will fight to the (literal or proverbial) death for change, just as many are likely to be tenaciously invested against some change they feel is being ‘thrust’ upon them in such a manner as to rankle their (Uranus-in-Aries) imperatives.

Read: survival...and surviving our mistakes.

Not necessarily physical, though. No, thought this could refer to physicality it could just as aptly pertain to anything any one of us is ‘being,’ doing, aiming to do...or even that which we are known for, whether in our career or personal life. And with the Sabian symbol for 12 Capricorn being ... ‘A fire worshiper meditates on the ultimate realities of existence’ ... we also know that this Pluto/Venus contact is generating something we could ‘get’ and learn a great deal from. To have this conjunction occurring in Capricorn speaks to the basic nature of that we will consider and confront - and with fixed star Vega in orb of this conjunction there is a definite aura of something which had held 'charm' which now doesn't seem so all-fire important.

So...will we change? In the long run, yes.  Are we willing to be a participant in our own transformation at this very moment? That depends. Some will see necessity and rebel where others will loathe the necessity but see pragmatic (Venusian) value in changing our mind, our position, our aim, our priorities - or anything else which needs to be changed.

People tend to attach huge importance to the transits of Venus because we think in terms of what we want to be true - or valuable to others because we like it so much. Venus is all about that sort of energy - but it's not the 'thing' which always counts as much as the connecting, however and whatever that effects.

Venus isn't about what we get, have or look like, it's about that part of us which motivates this or that, learning about our own "Venusian attractiveness" through how things work, through how others react - and in the end, by how happy with our own estimation of who we are we end up being.

While in Capricorn, that experience comes through life, through our comfort and satisfaction with our world - personal or global.

Or our lack of same, of course.

And yet...sometimes we're happy enough with that. 
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A 25 Gemini Full Moon

A dancer (name unknown) photographed at the Laban Dance School in November, 1929

(photo courtesy of the German Federal Archives)

Upon realizing that the December 2013 Gemini Full Moon would occur within hours of Uranus going direct, my first mental response was ‘uh-oh…’

Then I realized that this is a GEMINI Full Moon. An air sign Full Moon. So while the Full Moon may bring the ‘how deeply I feel about…’ to high pitch, the avenue…the means of release is going to be airy.

And that means fervency. Or perhaps distraction. Or the blinding glare of one of those ‘light bulb’ moments – which I say even if Aquarius tends to be more light bulb-ish than Gemini.

The point here is that it is the idea OF the moment which is likely to be highlighted by any such air sign Full Moon. So if we think of Uranus as not the intention to create the explosion but the energy which erupts or which is vented or liberated at the moment of explosion, this suggests that the Full Moon at 25 Gemini which will occur at 9:29 a.m. (UT/+0 time) on December 17, 2013 - spare hours before Uranus goes direct at 5:40 p.m. – is either going to be a doozie…or that it is going to indicate an event, a moment, a recognition, a decision which in turn leads to Uranian or Uranus-type energetics.

So…what is this about, this Full Moon/Uranus connection?

Associated with anything which could remotely be associated with ‘dancing’ (a fact I rather love, having during this lunation fallen back in love with dance, something I haven’t done literally for decades) 25 Gemini can manifest literally or, if we think of the whole Full Moon/air sign concept it could manifest as a moment which makes us ‘dance’ or (having fun with the concept here…) which would make our head ‘spin.’

Nimble brains, nimble (Gemini) feet and hands, deft thinking, timely statements, taking advantage of opportunities – anything which is about our mind’s ability to ‘dance’ is apt here. There is a quality of being willing to compete also present in this degree, but here the competition is much more in fun than at other times, much more about simply doing what I can do because living is so often a process of feeling ourselves operating at the mental level – that getting it done, that seeing it all come together, that seeing the advantage in some particular direction or plan.

So this whole incoming Uranus station could be a very productive time.

We can also say that, according to the timing we are being given (the UT/+0 timing of the Full Moon preceding Uranus’ doing direct) that since the Moon’s phases often tend to act like ‘timing’ mechanisms - AND since station theory tells us that anything which happens prior to the actual moment of the station pertains to something yet to come where things which happen after the moment of station tend to refer to that already done coming to fruition and/or winding up…

…all of the above tends to move us towards thinking of things yet to happen. And that there are things yet to happen.

Incoming: important changes or shifts of direction. (Flexibility suggested.)

On top of its ‘dancing’ quality, 25 Gemini is additionally known for intellectual skill, far-sighted visualization, high levels of concentration (or in this case perhaps ‘concentrated focus’).

Quite the list, eh?

One other (curious) note to add here: this degree 25 Gemini that we’re talking about? It’s not all that good in business.

 Fractured, fissured, unique and starkly impressive, moon Miranda lives up to the

iconic and unbounded reputation of its parent planet, Uranus.

(photo credit: Keele Astrohysics Group, NASA)

Which I guess means we had all best watch what stage we’re dancing on. The big challenge metaphysically seems to be utilizing the ‘broad specter’ (and generally impersonal) Uranian energy at the same time as the very personal lunar energy. How to do that?

This is indeed an odd combination. One way to handle it is to do something which affects many, remembering that when we get to the ‘general’ and ‘those I don’t know personally’ we’re in Uranus territory, which combined with Uranus as being associated with electricity gives us the perfect image of the internet.

So…knowing I’ll make YouTube very happy by saying this, if you know of any dancer with a video to release, you might suggest they consider December 17th as their release date. I have a whole other post about such things warming up, but for now, this is a definite Full Moon concept.

And remember – the metaphysical concept of ‘dancing’ is about deftness and ability, not how well you tap your toes. The lunar (feeling) idea here is rhythm. We want things to function in a rhythm, and where our life rhythm is together, all goes well. Where it isn’t, it doesn’t go well. That may be something we’re conscious of…then again, we may not be.

Which is a whole other way to see this time.

What do I mean by that? Just this: if you think things are hinky-dinky and this isn’t a time when you feel like things are opening up for you and all such joy? Then the answer is ‘think bigger.’ Think beyond the bounds of Self or the bounds of what you know now. Make your circles bigger, not smaller. Think more about the quality of what you do – don’t let yourself be distracted by what others are doing, saying or may not like.

Uranus is always about changing the status quo. So some of what happens now comes from what your status quo is as an individual. It’s an odd quirk that…how Uranus represents the very heart of the impersonal, the mainstream ‘idea’ as well as the individual and the need to be unique and differentiated. And one of the things this Full Moon may do is bring us to understand how both those qualities are important. In other words, if your life is out of balance you’ll find that out through things which happen or the ideas which now occur to you. And from that, you’ll begin to…you know…change. And you’ll do it because you know this is the (Moon) time to do it. You’ll do it because you know that it’s (Moon) the time to (Uranus) change and get more with an ‘individual program’ (there’s that Uranian and 25 Gemini ‘dancer’ sort of ‘trained stricture’ for you) which will get you where you want to go.

Of course as we say that, it bears reminding that ‘purely’ individualized Uranian energies can be disruptive. And that’s a fact which speaks well for that which we have planned over time, but is a little more iffy for those spur-of-the-moment things. They may be innocent enough, but will everything they touch off or which you encounter along the way be so benign, pleasant or easy?

Mind you…none of this has to be even vaguely problematic, nor does it have to be productive. With Mercury traipsing through Sagittarius there is a lot going on whether that’s in the world, in your life or merely in your head.

With Venus about to go on station in Capricorn this Full Moon moment may indicate a ‘breaking’ with what you’re doing – a stepping back, a taking your leave, a going on holiday vacation. Seeing this is Venus we’re talking about, everything which goes into the transacting of our social/societal mode is on the table now. And with Uranus in this mix, that would seem to start with suggestions about electronic banking (digital finance) as well as things like power grids, electronics in general and deeds of commerce, tracking and travel.

But it’s more than that. There’s an aura which comes with this image of the Full Moon which suggests the need for careful planning and how plans carefully played may have gone astray – and how now is the time to embark on a little reworking, refining, making sure things are working at they should, particularly at any ‘structural’ level.

And with that notion we get a few particulars which are probably best seen by starting with a chart of the Full Moon itself.

So we have Moon opposition Sun here with the Sun at 25 Sagittarius, a degree which in simplest human terms is most easily defined as our ability…and maybe our tendency to get carried away by ‘the idea of the thing,’ whether that’s personal or societal or maybe having to do with some ideal, some story, some proposal, something you’ve heard, some foreign culture or image, some body of theory or law - anything Sagittarian.

Given this, we’re either ‘dancing’ because we’re “faced” (opposed) by someone who is carried away with something… or perhaps by the results or consequences of our having gotten carried away…who knows. There will be some tendency to (Gemini) mentally isolate our (Moon-ish) selves in what we would like to (Moon in Gemini) THINK is true…and if that means we have to ‘blame’ or project onto someone else in order to square things with our Self…?

Yes, some of us will do that, much to the consternation of others who will – of course – see them as the person who is getting carried away. (See how that works?) Then again, some of us will examine our own (Moon) thinking (Gemini) in order to see what isn’t working and not whether it could work, but whether it’s likely that it will work, given ‘other’ parameters.

In other words, it’s not unlikely that some clarity or perspective which wasn’t apparent before will now crystallize. This would be very in keeping with Uranus (and therefore Uranus’ station), though the more sudden and ‘bubble-bursting’ your ‘clarity’ is, the more that will tend to ‘shatter’ (shatter being a Uranian term) some piece of your status quo.

 
Juno in Aquarius trine (blue line) the (Full) Moon at 25 Gemini asks what we have surrendered in ‘dancing’ for society. What this trine represents is a lever, with the question being whether life is controlling you and where you are or aren’t using and/or embodying your most universal appealing or ‘profitable’ attributes. Not highlighted (but certainly in this image) is the trine from Juno to Saturn at 18 Scorpio, an unfortunate notice where and if you have preserved or protected moral cowardice.

Meanwhile, the Sun is also trine Eris.

With Discordia (Eris) at 21 Aries, this brings the ‘carried away’ energetic into an unimpeachable connective with “a disturbance or shakeup” which has to do with the desire to be open (so as to be appreciated and validated) against a sensitivity which can well be detrimental and a naiveté prone to…well…getting carried away (over influenced would be another way of putting this).

Eris is in Aries. That’s personal. That’s about us. That ‘me-ness’ will surface in whatever ‘department’ of the chart 21 Aries falls in natally for you. (And if your astrology skills are up to adding in where 21 Aries falls in your solar return and current lunar return AFTER you relocate this Full Moon chart to your own town to see where the Moon falls, so much the better.)

But this is no ordinary Eris in Aries moment. (As if there is one?) No, this Full Moon has Eris in a t-square.

 
This t-square originates in Eris (in Aries), squares at Jupiter/Lilith in Cancer (which sounds like a rejection of/by others - or perhaps rejection of some factor regarding one’s family, culture or upbringing) and is ‘rewarded’ by Ceres at 17 Libra – a ‘plan’ with regards to others personal or impersonal (Libra).

And that plan involves some sort of communication – which itself is very Gemini. Said communication can be kind or snarky, loud or soft, giving or demanding. It can encompass anything. With Eris in the ‘I/Me’ sign of Aries, chances are there is a ‘need to do’ or ‘act’ involved here though there is a chance that this t-square could involve waiting until some sort of something which has been ‘denied TO you’ is made available, arrives, is delivered or…(yes!)…connects to you or communicates with you.

Or until you are willing to deal with it. Those who are in a ‘dealing with it’ position at the time of this Full Moon are particularly likely to feel restless or distracted, barring anything else. Through this time, knowing you have attended properly to the ‘basics’ that life requires of you or ‘demands’ is also important.

Note: the term ‘demands’ does NOT refer to finger wagging or deadlines, rather that which you need to do in order to keep life in decent order. You know…like turning off the bathtub faucet so you don’t cause a flood. 

(Yeah…that stuff. Mucho mundane.)

On a greater scale this t-square is, at some level, an expression of the need we all have to ‘get over ourselves’ about something. What that is? That’s up to you. On the whole though…if we deal with this Full Moon-Uranus time not so much as something so (Aries) personal as akin to a rite of human passage, we stand to benefit at least by understanding what we need to do and why we need to do it. After all, Uranus (plus) Moon on the astrological level means nothing less than ‘profitable mortal evolution.’

You know…ours.
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Uranus Station-Direct: Enlightening in a Bottle

 Original (1902) image: Lightning striking the Eiffel Tower

(photo courtesy of NOAA/re-colored for post)

During the week prior to any Uranus station there’s a tendency for life to feel unsettled. Or for us to feel unsettled about something in our life. This planet – where it appears in our chart natally and the house it’s transiting at any given time – represents areas of our life where we need to make breakthroughs.

That’s why Uranus is there. As humans (being only human and all that) we like to think of Uranus as freedom. And it can be that – or more precisely, the energy and energetics which ‘create’ a greater liberty to operate in or a freedom to operate. Where and when Uranus energies challenge us, we feel the urge to break out of some sort of restraint – and that’s sometimes a good thing and sometimes not so good. Where and when Uranus energies scare us, we want to run, retreat or hide. We’ll react irrationally – as far as others can see – and we often will not understand our Self (or why we’re reacting as we’re reacting) because that would require us to face something about ourselves or our life/life history we would find ‘shocking’ and perhaps disruptive in and on its own.

With this in mind we go to the calendar…and the calendar says that Uranus is going direct at 8 Aries on December 17th at 5:40 p.m. in the afternoon (UT/+0 time). That means that every since shortly after Mars entered Libra back on the 7th – or maybe even before that – we’ve been thinking about our approach to people, the ‘who’ of who we’re interacting with and on a more general level, whether or not we’re getting where we want to go and the results that we want.

As the days have moved forward, leading us towards Uranus’ station, we have realized that something needs to change. Maybe what needs changing too. With Uranus in retrograde and about to turn to direct motion, the shimmy of ‘I need to do something about this’ (or they’re going to do something about me) energy like as not is a response or reaction to something rather than life jabbing us with Uranian incidents, so whether we react well or badly to things during this period is really more about our ability to handle Uranian energies than anything else.

And no, we’re not likely to like that, either. The positive and negative here runs from excitement to terror, from fascination to alienation or rejection, from isolation, anarchy and elitism to universality and mass movements (or motion).

It’s all about insight. Some we like, some we don’t like and with Uranus, we’re talking about life forcing us to own all the perspectives – not just the ones that we like. This is a planet which doesn’t ‘spin’ on its axis going around the Sun, it rolls.

(Talk about your unusual influences, right?)

Literally. Seen against the rest of the planets in our solar system, Uranus rolls along its axis. And in doing so, it’s movements subtly evoke those things which are not so subtle in real life. Uranus operates on a wavelength of concept and perspective where preference has nothing to do with anything – and since we humans are all ABOUT our preferences, thus comes the strain, the stress, the breakage, the shattering of status quos we associate with such a moment.

We’re talking about a planet beyond Saturn – beyond our solid ‘grasp’ and ‘range of sight’ even on a good day. All we can do with Uranian issues is understand them. Hopefully we understand the whole of the parameter or situation. Where we do, Uranus represents the insight of ‘discovering’ what is up with us. Where we don’t, Uranus delivers the ‘shattering blow’ which whether large or small in reality, shakes us…BECAUSE we thought we understood.

And no, we didn’t.

And then there’s the fact that 8 Aries is one of those degrees which fosters the desire not to wait. Or not to have to wait. Uranus ‘turning’ on this degree is going to be hard on those who hesitate. Or those always hell bent on hanging on to the status quo. There’s a balance we want to strike…but can we strike it? Can we get things rebalanced? Or should we even try? Should we just cut our loses – and can we?

The influence here is ‘executive’ – which in your case may mean a “superior” idea or some sort of mentor, even a higher up at work. Or maybe you’re in charge of something and this period challenges your confidence. Or your control. Even your sense of being in control of your own life. Uranus stations have a thoroughly bizarre reputation for causing our perspective on things to fluctuate. Often we’ll flex back and forth between the ‘our part’ of it and how the whole of the process functions – the ‘all’ level of things.

What we ‘see’ now can grant us vision. Or it can manifest as indecisiveness, a ‘case of nerves,’ unpredictable anxieties or fears. We may need to be flexible. We may need to be adaptable - or to adapt ourselves to changing circumstances so that we have an opportunity to achieve something greater (or what we truly want).

Conversely, where things are wrong about 'Things Uranus,' though we want to think it’s about ‘them’ or life or that 'they're to blame, that’s truly not the case. Whatever is inciting us and whatever is being incited is the area of our life where WE don’t have perspective… where we aren’t seeing our Self as others see us.

Uranian energies do seek to free us – generally of our own shortsightedness, outmoded ways, inhibitions or fears. But how these energies manifest…? That’s not always so gentle – particularly when Uranus is passing through Aries (as it is now) as Aries energetics are always about our Self.

Metaphysically, that Self is either your consciousness or your physicality… and Aries is a fire sign, a vibration adeptly processed by us as the ‘idea’ of the thing – the vision, the motivation, the goal, aim or that thing we just want, want, want, want, want. Sometimes we want the glory. Or the simple knowing that we’ve done what WE wanted to do. Those are Aries’ “martian” (Mars-like) qualities. Aries can be all about our ego drives.

Then again, our Self can manifest as that thing we were born to be and do and bear witness to by being in this world.

Uranus’ eight year transit of Aries is meant to shake all of that up. During this time our view of the world will change and our view of our Self will change through what the world (and life) throws at us.

How we react…that’s our relationship to life not being what we thought it was going to be. And sometimes that process of reacting, responding, voicing, dealing with…it’s not subtle. Or genteel. Associated with the kind of energy which busts out and break through armored resistance be it physical, mental, irrational or emotional, Uranus is associated with undifferentiated, ‘explosive’ power.

That differs it from Mars – the planet which is about directed action. Mars represents the construct of the bomb and the decision to construct it and to set a bomb off. Against that, Uranus is the unfettered energy OF the bomb. It’s not ‘the thing’…it’s the energy of the thing as it does its thing.

Seeing that both planets are involved in this station we can assume matters of the moment are going to seem unpredictable and not always to our liking. We’re in a definite (Libra) I-them, my goal-their aim sort of dynamic. Libra-Aries indicates an Aries/personal-Libra/external component to the situation and the t-square indicates conflict.

But this isn’t conflict necessarily with others, though it might manifest that way. The root of our conflicts now are about who we want to be in this world, most of all in our own regard – the Capricorn ‘goal’ we have for our Self in this life as a person. Our Plutonic factors are our ‘hidden’ issues with that…with who we are in our own minds even when we think it’s about others. Or ‘the system.’ Or ‘life.’ Or ‘society.’

It’s never ‘them.’ Metaphysically it’s always about what we are supposed to be learning because they are there. Or because something has challenged or hurt us. Why we needed to learn anything – that’s the metaphysical perspective on life…and at least part of the Plutonic ‘transformation’ we would seem to need.

The curious thing here is the “goal” of the t-square as expressed by planetary positions. According to this conflux of energetics, we’re at a moment in time when what we need is to break (Uranus) free of – in our (Aries) Self – anything which we are (Medusa) afraid of knowing about.

With Medusa at 7 Aries, the myriad of meanings behind the word ‘love’ are part of the issue.

And yet, this is Aries. So this Medusa fear we are each facing has to do with love as we experience it in our Self or through our Self, replete with all the pluses and minuses there. Given the Sabian Symbol for 7 Aries (A LARGE WOMAN’S HAT WITH STREAMERS BLOWN BY AN EAST WIND), an emotional, perhaps spiritual ‘east’ energy is playing with us THROUGH whatever we leave/have left ‘free to be blown about’ in our life or out there in the world.

In his writings on this degree, astrologer Dane Rudhyar refers to the hat as a ‘defense from the elements’ which, if you think about the story of Medusa and who Medusa was in life before she got the snaky gorgon curse for her lack of attentiveness to the facts of what her commitment(s) meant… AND the Medusa ‘curse’ (isolation, retreat from the fullness of reality)… AND the how her curse was turned to good the moment the ‘snake head’ was cut off from her body – meaning the difference was at some level her (our) ability to act willfully or be unwilling to act which makes the vital Medusa difference.

(Sounds a little like a Madison Avenue ad that…’new, improved - that vital Medusa difference!’)

Sometimes, our (Medusa) fears are of the very power our essential being has. In ‘other hands’ - those of Perseus, in the case of Medusa – our ‘curse’ becomes a tool for helping others in the same way that Perseus saved Andromeda from an ‘oceanic monster’ (something horribly emotional or horrible and emotional). Or maybe they will witness or learn from our fears and ‘cut’ from that something which will help them take the ‘knowledge’ of something awful and turn it to good.

You know…the old ‘making lemons into lemonade’ thing.

Medusa-Uranus (in Aries) as the goal of a t-square is on a macro-and-micro level all about wanting to be free of fear. We think its from (Capricorn) life or life circumstances.

Is it?

Uranus in the ‘goal’ position here says whatever our status quo is, that gets blown apart. We may be startled, maybe even disturbed about something...in life, in our Self, in what we are working – consciously or unconsciously – towards making our (Capricorn) life SO terrible that we have the excuse to simply say ‘I’m done.’ in some very personal and individual regard.

If this station aspects your chart with any acuity (which – to make this easy – we’ll say concerns ANY planet, dwarf planet, Plutino, node or chart wheel horizontal or vertical axis point) between the degrees of 5 and 11 of any sign.

Put simply, the closer your chart position is to 8 degrees of any sign, the more pronounced Uranus effects are going to be in your life during the time of this station…which metaphysically is greatly the Uranus Effect, but also a bit about our relationship to Eris, Jupiter and Haumea.

Having spent at least 64 ounces of brain fuel over the past few months on Eris, I can give you a few new theorems on the subject. (Who knows…maybe this contributes to your Uranus docket?) Known as Eris Discord by some and as Discordia to the ancient Romans, Eris seems to have a very special sort of symbolism in our life in that for many of us, discord seem to arise not in but around the house that Eris is positioned in natally – and that often (not always, but often) these matters are linked.

For instance, Eris in the 10th might mean you have a sincerely hard time not just finding the ‘right’ career but that because you have that hard time you end up cutting corners in some way which ends up causing some very real, real world (10th house) consequences…problems with the law, for instance. Or maybe a loss of (10th house) public standing. Eris in the 5th might mean you have ‘discord’ around having children – and then end up feeling ‘out in the cold’ because all the people who do have children are sort of treating you as “a different form of life.”

Anyway, this t-square doesn’t involve Uranus. But being that it happens at the same time as the Uranus station, it would be sensible to think of this ‘other matter’ as something which is either going on at the moment, or something which has some influence or bearing on your issues of the moment.

The ‘baseline’ here is a great (Pelion) amount of personal (Aries) something. Pelion generally refers to a large amount of effort which is required, but whether that’s effort already committed to something or effort you’re boggled at needing to put out is individual. Coupled to Eris, this would be a quintessential ‘big deal’ (of real type OR tempest-in-teacup type) which in some way asks that you (Jupiter/Castor) grow in ability or (Jupiter-Hel-Child) grow up some or deal with the ugly things you really don’t want to deal with but NEED to deal with (Jupiter-Hel-Child-Castor) and deal with firmly, squarely and in a straight-forward manner…with all of this being liberally tied in a knot by a true and sincere wish that a.) either you didn’t have to deal with this/could just ignore this…or….b.) that society and/or social forces (including business standards) would get real about the tendency to marginalize, bypass or ignore the fact that real human beings are affected on an everyday basis by things which don’t take realistic things into account.

The ‘goal’ presented here is a curious one: Haumea, Ceres and TNO Typhon in Libra, a combination which would appear to be more about the wish value of our planning and what we learn when ideals go awry than anything else.

And yet…there is that Haumea quality of ‘shape-shifting’ which, by being included in this figure simply adds to and reiterates the entire aura of change or ‘willing evolution to evolve’ which seems to go with this Uranus station. Looked at in terms of Uranus’ stationing in a degree known for lack of patience at a moment when Mercury is in Sagittarius indicating rapid pace or overloads with Uranus own configuration including its opposition to Mars (which, by the by, one could see very literally as an ‘opposition to Mars/doing or having to do’).

And that would seem to mean we have a Uranus station recipe for a lot of ‘this shouldn’t be my problem, it should be your problem (and I really wish you’d stop trying to foist it on me)’ sort of stuff. Or maybe you’re on the ‘I know I should, but I don’t WANT to…and I especially don’t want to have to change anything or learn better about anything - even if it’s the best thing for me - if someone else is pressuring me about it.’

Ah yes…and it’s the holidays. AND Venus is about to go retrograde.

To address this Uranus-Venus thing: if you do move forward now, you will spend the time between your ‘move’ and Venus’ end-of-January turn to direct working things out and solidifying your gains. (Or yes, your losses.) If you blow off something you KNOW you need to change, break out of or some other tra-la like that…or if you avoid something you know you need to deal with, Venus in retrograde will provide you with all sorts of reasons to keep wanting to hide from the truth.

And let’s remember…Uranus energetics are and do have a very distinct relationship to the truth. The Uranus question vis-à-vis the truth (and facts) is only ever whether we are willing to join with that truth, or whether we are determined to part from the truth by substituting some preferred mantra which sounds good…but which isn’t really real.

Of course, we may have done just that at some time in the past, too. If so, Uranus’ station becomes a time when such forces ‘explode’ in our (Aries) face (i.e., consciousness).

Here’s a diagram for these next few days of the month…

As you can see, December 19th is where the Uranus and Venus stations overlap, indicating a day of turmoil or shift/shifting where outward or outbound (Uranian) motion is expended, reacted to or reflected on in a Venusian (‘how does this affect me…?’) manner.

Are we being hasty? Are we merely being practical? Are we escaping or abdicating - enhancing or detracting from our innate wholeness or effectiveness? Going into this station things would seem to be focused on ‘the idea of the thing’ with theories are abounding in the moment.

And yet, where we come out of this station we are under Sun and Venus in earth – specifically in Capricorn.That says realism. That says reality and a need for determinations which, whether pragmatic or not really have to fit who you are and be capable of generating personal growth to have any lasting effectiveness. 

All of which generates this question: if we go into this station in theory and come out of it in a pragmatic or realism mode, what's happened?

What changes?

That would seem to be our question.
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