The Age of Aquarius has arrived in earnest, it would appear, and with quite a “bang” at that as we’ve burst in to an all-too-eventful start to 2021 if you’ve been paying attention to larger-scale geopolitical events at all; particularly here in The States. With an invisible tractor-beam lock pulling us ever-closer to the first of three squares between Saturn in Aquarius and Uranus in Taurus (on February 17, 2021 to be exact), you know you’re definitely arrived in the Aquarian Age when the astrology appears to mirror the title of a Star Trek movie. [She says with a wry smile] I had to use the above GIF to just lighten the mood a bit; I hate it when I have to start the year off discussing heavy-duty astro (see also: last year’s conjunction of Saturn & Pluto in Capricorn) but it’s all part and parcel of the job – if you shirk your responsibility to address potentially problematic astrological energies, IMO it is a dereliction of duty and disservice to your clients as a consulting astrologer. Pick a different profession instead.
Now, back to how a Star Trek film relates to the current astro: Recent days have seen an insurrection [read: act of domestic terrorism] occurring at America’s capitol and with this alignment in play on and off throughout various points in 2021, without being alarmist I think it prudent we be prepared for the possibility of further unrest on both a national and global level. Though no year is ever completely “settled” in an energetic sense, having Saturn and Uranus at loggerheads with each other represents a pressurized situation in which there’s tension between stability and chaos; law and anarchy; sanity and craziness. It is important to note that, from the right substance, this pressure can in fact yield diamonds but if we are working with poor-quality base material it is much more likely to crack under the weight of this particular energetic force. Governments and their People are not inclined to see eye-to-eye under this vibe, and there is a general sense of unrest with the Status Quo even as the challenges to it seem to be facing a strong headwind. Fractures in the integrity of government can cause democracy to shatter and break; as difficult as this may be, the higher result of such a happening would be for the sake of systemic & economic reform, evolution, and progress achieved in plodding yet peaceful Taurean manner. FYI, FDR’s “New Deal” happened the last time Uranus was in Taurus and his cutting-edge fiscal reforms helped to lift the USA out of the Depression by federally funding massive infrastructure updates which created robust job growth, even though this did not happen overnight. The New Deal also gave rise to the highly humanitarian Social Security program; a program which in recent years has been standing upon shaky ground and could badly use an update to v2.0 in the 21st century.
In this particular astrological situation, Saturn in Aquarius represents both radical and/or progressive governments; in the USA we’ve certainly had the former on our hands lately with an Alt-Right conspiracy theory-touting, rabble-rousing, deceitful, and disgraceful head of the lunatic fringe himself – President Orcus – sitting in (and blatantly attempting to commandeer for a second term) the captain’s seat. Lo-Fi Saturn runs on fear, and President Orcus certainly knew what he was doing in taking every opportunity he could to label his political opponents “radical Socialists” and create a convenient boogeyman that only he could protects us from. Even now with multiple arrests of several well–known Right Wing extremists (MAGA supporters are not exactly subtle, are they?) in connection with the recent horrifying assault on our nation’s capitol, his disinformation campaign is out there trying to float outlandish propaganda about how these domestic terrorists “were actually ANTIFA in disguise”. 🙄 Riiiiiiiiight; if this doesn’t exemplify insanity at the highest level, I’m not sure what does. What we have in America right now with Saturn in wacky, unpredictable Aquarius is a radicalized, unhinged, unstable Alt-Right government that seeks to control through fear. It is chaotic, unstable, and hopefully in time will be looked at in the history books as an aberration and Lesson Learned.
We know what we’re leaving behind, but what are we headed toward in 2021 when it comes to our elected officials? Well, one could certainly argue that a hard swing Left toward more Democratic Socialist governance would be both radical AND progressive. Yet this would seem to play right into MAGA Nation’s greatest fears, which one could argue creates two sides of the same coin by virtue of its capacity to alienate. Please understand that is *not* a criticism of such a tack; merely a musing wherein I’m wondering if the truly “radical” approach to government in these extreme times involves simple sanity in the form of gradual reforms; the most “revolutionary” of these consisting of an economic nature. Change is slowed considerably under this alignment; Uranus being under duress from ponderous Saturn while occupying slow-yet-sweet-as-molasses Taurus. Taurus can be coaxed but not prodded and it may indeed be possible to bring part of the lunatic fringe back in line by appealing to their materialism. Distasteful as I find it, there may be some merit to such an approach when Saturn in Aquarius squares Uranus in Taurus; the question is: Will this happen and can it happen in time? When humanity is socially isolated this is more inclined to create splintered factions than unity, and binding it back together during a pandemic is obviously going to take some work. People are, however, more inclined to congregate around their values – the tension comes from a push to de-radicalize these and return to sanity. With Saturn in Aquarius, time seems arbitrary and it is difficult to say with any certainty when the timer might strike; it can be a sudden buzzer that startles us or the shock of realizing the alarm was never even set in the first place.
The upcoming meet-up between Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius on December 21st, 2020 (yes, on the Solstice!) seems to be getting quite a lot of press in both the scientific and spiritual communities alike as of late, and as such I thought it was time for a long-overdue post outlining some of the highlights of this event – you know an alignment is pretty special when astronomers agree with astrologers on something for once, LOL! It’s unfortunate that science seems to prefer casting aspersions our way these days – astronomy and astrology were one and the same back in olden times and most astrologers have at least a basic understanding of celestial mechanics (can’t say the inverse; that astronomers bother to understand rudimentary astrological principles, however 🙃). That aside, both fields are in alignment regarding how this upcoming conjunction is uncommon; occurring only about every 20 years or so. A conjunction between this duo hasn’t happened in this sign since the Middle Ages, so it’s been a long time since they met up in this particular ‘hood; a turf where Saturn holds sway.
One of the many manifestations of the conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius is how it is affording us an opportunity to take a positive break from tradition this holiday season. In a Covid-ravaged year, the holidays certainly do look different but that’s not necessarily a bad thing if we are willing to back up and do an objective cost/benefit assessment; one that includes a perspective on the time we’ll be able to free up by having more minimalist celebrations. This isn’t at all rooted in “terminal positivity”; I am simply saying that for some of us being able to focus on the blessing of having a default non-obligatory appearance at family or work gatherings (or other social commitments) and pared-back responsibilities after such a demanding year may actually feel like a burden has been lifted from us. The energy of this conjunction is really encouraging us to take tradition and put our own unique “twist” on it this year in a way that celebrates our individuality and freedom. Personally, I am doing a mere fraction of the holiday baking I usually do and am cooking holiday meals purely for my own taste this year – as someone who gives (and gives a lot!), that in itself is a joy; I have permission to be a bit selfish for once! I decided to celebrate by dong something I have always wanted to do during December but could never seem to find the time for: Finally get into gingerbread house making. Introverts among us might also find themselves relishing the opportunity to focus on more restorative pursuits vs. feeling like they always have to be “on” for the many social functions that always seem to crop up this time of year.
Regarding some other manifestations of this energy, I shared this in my November 2020 newsletter: I like Jupiter/Saturn conjunctions; I really do. These planets are natural energetic opposites, so when rightly utilized they can help to balance each other’s problem areas out. Jupiter’s faults are those of excess and overdoing while Saturn’s are those of restraint and limitation, so you can see how being foils for each other would be quite helpful. That said, Saturn will be considerably stronger in this equation which will mean that to squeeze the very best out of this alignment we’ll need to embrace its tenets of accountability, personal responsibility, hard work, and doing the right/lawful/ethical thing; both in the lead-up to this aspect perfecting and throughout the entire next season. Though Saturn never gives us “something for nothing”, he does tangibly – and perhaps in this case, abundantly – reward those who commit to walking an upright path as shown by his example. Saturn is the Celestial Teacher who doles out gold stars to those working hard and paying attention to its lessons and assigns extra homework – or worse, detentions – to those who don’t take its teachings and warnings seriously. Let’s all commit now to getting on board with the positive reinforcement model, yes?
What these planets *do* have in common is their capacity for learning – Jupiter represents the ability to develop a belief or overarching philosophy through an expansion of perspective, while Saturn symbolizes trial-and-error learning where we grow wise from our mistakes with time and experience. With every Jupiter/Saturn conjunction, there is the ability to turn our biggest stumbling blocks into our greatest strengths. In community-minded Aquarius, this can be contextualized in a social sense. Where we individually and collectively are experiencing the biggest challenges in our own lives as well as in a larger sociopolitical context, we can grow enormously beyond all previous limitations if we commit to extending more time and effort in that direction.
Along this vein, perhaps the greatest benefit to be had in the upcoming meeting of Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius lies in its capacity for community-building; for helping us to create the essential framework for stronger, more supportive social networks and broader communities in general. This will take time – as all things Saturn-related do – but if we approach the upcoming event with the intention of building a greater sense of community through honesty and trustand set about implementing a solid plan for how to do so, the social and professional payoffs could be enormous. I probably don’t have to tell my readers this, but in an era where “social distancing” has become *a thing* and we have wide sociopolitical divides drawing hard lines between families, friends, and neighbors, the necessity for each of us to do our own individual part to help build solid and more unified communities that focus on uplifting each other and/or working toward greater transpersonal goals/the betterment of humanity at large is so crucially important on both a micro and macro scale now.
On an individual level, when so many of us are feeling isolated by this ongoing pandemic we need to know that we’re truly there for each other; especially during the hard(est) times. No person is an island, and feeling more connected to each other can ripple outward and create greater positive engagement with the world at large. Think back to your school days and what a difference it could have made in yours or a classmate’s life to have had more/better friends – statistically, it lowers our chances of depression, increases happiness, boosts our sense of purpose, and our friends can also keep us “in check” in ways that are good for us. Isolation can breed radicalization; this is a social malady we should all be doing our best to put a stop to now under this conjunction. There are many people out there who might benefit from a longstanding trusted friend pausing to tap them on the shoulder and warn them that some of the philosophies they’re espousing aren’t right or perhaps are even sounding kinda crazy. Leaving someone alone to believe whatever they want instead of putting effort into trying to understand and yet also challenge their point of view so that it becomes less alienating benefits everyone. When you trust someone; when they’ve been your friend for a long period of time and you truly understand they want the best for you, you’re more inclined to listen to them even if you don’t agree. If enough people join together to form a safety net of genuine concern, this is what stops people from “falling through the cracks”; it’s how we can help stop everything from white supremacy to mass shootings. Jupiter/Saturn conjunctions can point to us having a fundamentally wrong philosophy about something, and indicates the broader process/challenge of straightening this out to “get right”. Unfortunately we’ve gotten to the point of normalizing crazy; this has to stop for the good of all, and it will take each and every one of us stepping up and applying beneficial social pressure.
Mind you this is not about moral superiority and looking down on others who simply believe something different than we do; it’s about being able to distinguish genuinely problematic philosophies that – if left unchecked – can harm our communities and doing our very best to contain them before they become more widespread. (Social) Prevention really is the best cure. It may not be popular, but in my view the world has gotten to be the “Wild Wild West” it has in this respect because we’re not doing more to police our own communities and protect each other. I’ve said this more than a few times, but during Saturn in Aquarius we must embrace the concept of truly being “our brothers’ keepers”. Going back to the quaint olden days when there were social consequences for things like racism instead of tolerating it and allowing the First Amendment to be used as both a sword and a free-for-all coward’s shield against accountability would be a step in the right direction – keep standards high and create positive social pressure to shape your networks into better versions of what they currently are.
What does building more supportive community look like? Coming together for a common purpose or ideal; it could be as personal as forming more/more dependable friendships, it could be to improve standards in an industry or community, or it could be as big as concretizing a huge and aspirational ideological goal that thousands of people all work toward together. This energy is fabulous for community organizing, and though the venues might look different – i.e. reliance on virtual instead of in-person meeting spaces – there is also the ability to utilize technology for its bigger and best purposes to broadcast and organize at more effective levels. Have a purpose, a plan, and know your target audience. Start or join virtual meetup groups and get a firm commitment from all participants. Delegate judiciously; everyone needs to have a “job”.
While we’re attempting to grow our social networks, we also need to understand that the first step toward this may actually involve paring back on certain connections; doing an honest cost/benefit assessment for the sake of freeing up time for the most rewarding social commitments is favored over letting everyone into our circle willy-nilly and then either having a time management/allocation problem on our hands or sacrificing quality, solid associates for a greater quantity of less reliable and more peripheral acquaintances. For example, the perceived prestige of having a large social media following is nothing compared to having true-blue friends who will show up for you in real life when you’re down and who will do whatever tangible things they can to help alleviate whatever hardships you might be dealing with. Mind you this is not at all to trivialize the significance of online connections as real community can be built digitally, too – be they virtual or in-person, the best communities put time and real effort into supporting one another for the good of all involved. But my point is: Logging exorbitant hours into cultivating an online “following” or “presence” – even if it is for work – can take up the free time we might have to use on more palpable social pursuits, so pausing to ask ourselves which connections are essential vs. which are more extraneous is advisable.
The other part that cannot be emphasized enough with Saturn being the Alpha Dog of this conjunction lies in takingpersonal responsibility for any social difficulties we might be encountering. Perhaps we find ourselves complaining about not having enough friends, yet aren’t making enough of an effort to broaden our connections. Maybe we have been putting too much time and effort into the wrong crowd and it’s causing us difficulty somehow (the term “juvenile delinquents” comes to mind, though problematic associates of all stripes can certainly be both above and below legal age). Perhaps we might be outgrowing a particular social circle but have been stunting ourselves in order to maintain the connection because of the sense of security this network provides, but what we really need is more age-/situation-appropriate friendships. Or perhaps we might have some troubles because we’ve not been the best of friends ourselves; perhaps being harsh or rather heavy on the judgment toward a member/members of our crew and now under this conjunction/the longer-running passage of Saturn through Aquarius this might come back to bite us in a karmic sense. Maybe we’ve been spreading socially irresponsible propaganda somehow or generally haven’t behaving as a”good citizen” and there might be pushback from our peers in a way that leaves us ostracized. Whatever the case might be, checking ourselves and doing an internal audit to work on the problems before more serious issues have an opportunity to manifest is enormously beneficial both ahead of and in the wake of this conjunction – heed the warnings; it’s for our own good. Make right what you can while also making an effort to stave off future problems from arising by being farsighted and preventative in approach. We can’t run around neglecting something for too long and then wonder why it is falling apart on us! Again, with all things Saturn-related, prevention really is the best cure. When we’ve failed to do that, at least humbling ourselves to learn from where we’ve erred is a good strategy.
Back to this concept of (social) prevention being the best cure and what I was saying earlier about stopping community spread (of potentially problematic philosophies), this same premise is directly applicable in a physical context as we continue to work to contain this ongoing pandemic. I have mentioned this many times, but the best and highest use of Saturn in Aquarius – and the means through which we stand to be most substantially rewarded for our efforts with Jupiter blessing it – lies in embracing the concept of social responsibility like a religion. Remember, the true measure of how good a society is lies in how well it protects its most vulnerable – shielding each other by wearing a mask (and properly, at that!) is a tangible example of how we can do better in this regard. Please understand this is not an individual liberty issue; it is one of public safety, so just take one for the team and shaddap about it because we all are. Along with having multiple layers of protection in place, if we all join together globally to do this right we can stop the spread and finally end this pandemic. At this point in time I’m not sure there could be a bigger reward than being able to walk around freely without fear of being in proximity to our fellow man once again. Personally, I want us all to live in a world where we can be uninhibited by closeness – please join with me in resolving to do everything we can to unite together and make this hope into reality; that is my humble prayer for this conjunction 🙏
Saturn currently is at the tail-end of a roughly 2 ½ year sojourn through its Capricorn stronghold, and as such this astrological climax makes it an important time to be driving home critical points about this energy. We need to talk about the state of the world today as it relates to Saturn in Capricorn; specifically, how we got to be in the mess we’re in from a leadership standpoint. Peak dysfunctional Saturn in Capricorn is rewarding achievement to the exclusion of all other metrics; such as the most crucially important one: character. When status or the content of one’s résumé matters more than the measure of their decency and integrity as a human being, this is how one winds up with a President Orcus on their hands.
Lo-Fi Saturn in Capricorn is a ruthless ladder-climber; it will kneecap anyone in its way in order to get to the top of the heap. This placement has ambition in spades, and as such it becomes easy to make the “ends” of one’s own personal goal/agenda justify the “means”. When success matters more than anything – including how you play the game – from a karmic standpoint you are getting yourself in pretty deep and whether you pay the piper in this lifetime or the next, rest assured that what goes around does indeed eventually come back around. Sooner or later, the piper will come to collect his due. This is all the more relevant with the undercurrent of Pluto’s slower and longer-running journey through this sign playing out in tandem with Saturn’s stint in Capricorn – any Faustian bargains etched in stone during this passage leave indelible stains upon the soul from a karmic standpoint.
Hi-Fi Saturn in Capricorn is completely the opposite; it is stringently upright because it holds high standards for the self without exception. People with a good hit of functional Saturn are often viewed by others as “hard on themselves”, but they are real about their faults/weaknesses/shortcomings so they know where more work is needed from a character development standpoint. Hi-Fi Saturn in Capricorn is utterly humble, aware of its failings, and works to make right wherever it falls short of its own standards. It applies a uniform “Code of Conduct” coupled with self-accountability for when it fails to measure up to its own ethical benchmarks and does what is right and good strictly because “it’s the right thing to do” – we must remember this planet is the salt of the earth; so honorable, respectable, and morally correct that it literally has a halo (rings).
Collectively we have been tasked with learning from history during Saturn’s passage through Capricorn, and we are failing. We have a rampant resurgence of white nationalism, a veritable avalanche backslide toward the Dark Ages of Civil Rights, and the re-emergence of another global pandemic where our leadership refuses to follow the Best Practices we learned way in back 1918 (cleanliness, sanitization, masks [yes, look it up], and leaving each other some distance) and instead focuses on preserving the sanctity of “the economy” rather than the lives of the people. And while we’re on the subject, let’s start calling Covid-19 what it really is: The sickness of capitalism. This passage of Saturn through Capricorn has truly been a cautionary tale of what can happen when its Lo-Fi vibrations are allowed to remain unchecked; we become a money-grubbing, lonely miser with nothing but the coins locked in our safe to keep us warm at night – Lo-Fi Saturn in Capricorn is the densest (in all senses of the word) form of materialism possible.
What’s the old saying; “If you can’t be a shining example, be a horrible warning”? That. Hi-Fi Saturn in Capricorn absolutely does function as exemplar, but it should be clear by now that a collective body we haven’t been exhibiting a healthy, functional relationship to the material and we are erring on the side of the latter. Maybe – just maybe – if we start focusing more on character (our own, first and foremost, as well as others’) than on achievement and status, we might be able to turn this around at the 11th hour. At this point we are clearly flunking the course, though – Saturn leaves Capricorn for good in December and the time for us to get it together is running out….
Figuratively; not necessarily literally deaf. Mars in Aries is incredibly headstrong; so much so that it often fails to heed good advice or adhere to valid warnings, for example. Add in the fact this placement also tends to relish challenge and it’s almost certainly an invitation for trouble – remember that astrologically speaking, dignified or not Mars is considered a malefic for good reason! What Mars in Aries needs to learn is how to hold up a second and figure out how it instigates conflict by not considering anyone/anything else in the room and acting purely on first impulse, which is usually its own desires.
With Mars in Aries about to retrograde in just a few weeks’ time, one of the most important things we should be asking ourselves now and for the foreseeable future is: “Where/How am I not listening?” Where have we been perhaps ignoring sage advice that subsequently fell upon our own deaf ears, failed to take a different course of action than the straight-line one we normally would, forged recklessly onward at speed against good warnings/common sense, or perhaps failed to restrain our own (possibly angry?) impulses and (re?)actions? Something will likely have to be walked back over the next couple of months. Mars in Aries also tends to be offensive/forceful/aggressive in approach, and if we’ve rode roughshod over others recently this retrograde may amount to a cosmic order to “stand down”. Especially if we find or have found ourselves in conflict with someone over the past month, there is a good chance this might have arisen because we A) weren’t listening or B) perhaps were being rather selfish; possibly also a combination of the two where maybe we weren’t hearing/didn’t ask what the other party wanted. When someone doesn’t listen to us – repeatedly – the most common response tends to be to jack up the decibel level and start yelling. Note that I am not advocating that raising our voice should be a first-line approach to anything; rather to encourage self-reflection as to what our own responsibility is if we’ve found ourselves being shouted at because we haven’t been listening – “Can you hear me now???”
Personally, my standby is the old “3 Strikes” rule; if I’ve had to say the same thing more than twice because the person in question is intent upon not hearing me despite varying my approach, by the third time I usually either 1) disengage completely and walk away; why throw more energy into it? 2) if disengagement isn’t a viable option – say, the party in question is being pushy about something – I have no qualms about standing up for myself with a marked increase in volume.
We’ve had an exciting recent discovery in the sky: On March 27, 2020 a new comet was noticed from space via a Near Earth Object exploration mission of NASA’s Wide-field InfraredSurvey Explorer, for which said comet became named. The name alone raised my eyebrow; “newly-wise”….hmmmm, sounds an awful lot like Chiron in Aries to me! The wise Centaur teacher in the astrological sign that “maketh all things new”….on this hunch, I pulled the chart for this comet’s discovery date and was utterly unsurprised to find Chiron in Aries right next to the Sun, which makes Chiron in Aries very prevalent in this comet’s identity and vibe. Via this astrological signature alone, we can already see an identity and energy that is strongly tied to the concept of self-healing; part and parcel of this will mean bringing illumination to the places where we are in immediate need of healing – be it physical, mental, emotional, and/or spiritual – within ourselves. In tandem with my last post, a large part of this may entail shining a spotlight upon the Wounded Masculine archetype; healing toxic masculinity in all its forms. In my view, comet NEOWISE appeared at this point in time to raise humanity’s awareness of these issues so that we might walk the path of The Healer instead; that we might bravely direct attention and energy toward holistically integrating painful, fractured components of the Self so it can be made whole again.
Though discovered at the end of March, NEOWISE was dim and couldn’t be seen with the naked eye – it only became visible more recently in early July as it escaped from the most perilous part of its Vision Quest: perihelion. The closest approach of a comet to the Sun is a dangerous time and many don’t survive this leg of the journey. However comet NEOWISE surprised astronomers by not only pulling through, but by becoming even brighter than they had anticipated! As a fighting Aries Sun, NEOWISE’s will to “live” triumphed; it was able to endure the intense heat because – astrologically speaking – it was born of fire and baptized in it. There is a reason the Sun is said to be exalted in Aries! What we – as human beings – might take from this is the idea that being metaphorically dipped in boiling oil early in life can render one a bit like the mythical Achilles, who was (unsurprisingly) a student of Chiron. We all have a weakness, but that doesn’t mean this can’t exist hand-in-hand with strength. Achilles was a celebrated hero of the Trojan war; brave and highly accomplished in battle. Perhaps his downfall may have one of overconfidence where he defined himself so much by his identity as a warrior, that he lost sight of his most glaring vulnerability. What are our flaws but evidence of our humanity? The spark of Divinity may live in each of us, but this certainly does not make us immortal gods.
Historically, the ancients did not find comets to be a favorable portent – they were most often associated with large-scale global shakeups, like natural disasters and the death of kings *side-eyes President Orcus*. Before anyone panics re: Omens of Doom, relax and look at the context: NEOWISE showing up on-scene is simply a reflection of the circumstances we’ve already been enduring in 2020. I certainly consider a pandemic that changed the world and crashed global economies a “natural disaster”, as germs are about as natural as it can get – they have existed since the beginning and will continue existing long after humans are gone. This microscopic virus is a reminder of our humanity as this minuscule and comparatively “simple” life form cripples even the mightiest of men & nations to bring them down to their knees. Sounds a bit like Achilles’ unprotected heel, doesn’t it?
These facets aside, NEOWISE has interested me greatly for the constellations it passes through; particularly now that we’re able to see it. In July it started out in the vicinity of Auriga (the Charioteer) with a migration to Lynx before making its way toward Ursa Major (the Big Bear). I work with the Fixed Stars in my astrological practice, so the layered symbolism of these constellations is not something lost on me. In my view, the Charioteer is a reminder about the importance of taking the wheel in life – because I associate NEOWISE strongly with the concept of self-healing, in 2020 it becomes more crucial than ever for us to have self-awareness regarding our wounds and actively steer our path in alignment with that of health & wellness on all levels. Remember as I said earlier this comet carries holistic themes, and one of the foundations of healing lies in Right Action. Part of choosing this path entails being pro-active instead of re-active when we are made aware of our human frailties – this allows us to walk in our strength instead of our weakness. I look at this “Taking the Wheel” theme on a personal level, but I also see broader geopolitical contexts in play; particularly when your federal government largely takes its own hand off the wheel and leaves such direction to individual states in a time that your entire nation is sick and hurting. *side-eyes President Orcus again* 😒
Auriga had significance to the ancients as being representational of the club-footed son of Hephaestus; Erichthonius. Erichthonius’s bum feet *coughCadetBoneSpurscough* were not only a source of embarrassment to him, but they also made it tough for him to get around. So being the son of the great God of the Forge, he decided to fashion himself a contraption – aka the chariot – which basically served as the first wheelchair. Pause for a moment here just to note the recurring theme of a (physical) weakness that defines the identity as well as the rejection of this handicapped state. Whether Erichthonius ultimately came to make peace with his condition isn’t known, but with the augmentation of his new set of wheels he did indeed get around quite well; to the point that he competed in the Olympic games and even caught the attention of Zeus. We see again the echoes of Chiron here – Chiron was part man and part horse; Erichthonius became (for all intents and purposes) part man and part “machine”, as far as his identity was concerned.
As to how the ancients augured Auriga, Ptolemy assigned the stars of this constellation a Mars-Mercury flavor, so active and changeable on the whole. Mars was – and still is – considered a malefic in astrology, so the late great Vivian Robson’s nod to the “danger of great vicissitudes” is apropos here; meaning unpleasant or unwelcome changes in fortune. Auriga IMO urges the importance of keeping a tight rein on things in the midst of a fluctuating and potentially dangerous situation; not letting there be any slack in the line as we masterfully guide the way forward. The symbolism of this is not lost on me during a year when this pandemic has made it painfully obvious who is slacking vs. who the true leaders are.
The same can be said of our own personal development in 2020; we may well wind up in a metaphorical “ditch” if we’re unwilling to captain our own ship and instead pawn that leadership role onto others. A huge part of successfully grabbing those reins involves plotting a firm course toward our (physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual; as well as global) recovery. There are no shortcuts, though – the hazard lies in thinking speed is the answer when it’s more akin to heading into a sharp curve in the road and taking your foot off the gas before finding the perfect moment to accelerate into the curve so your wheels maintain a firm grip. Collectively, what we’ve been doing – at least here in The States – is rushing to get things back “up to speed” when sickness is spreading like a runaway freight train faster than we can get a handle on it. Instead of wholesale rejecting the turbulence of the conditions by trying to “full steam ahead” on all fronts, the answer lies in focusing on how to “flatten the curve” and figuring a way to accelerate our way out of it toward a truly holisticand integrative recovery. America, your economy will continue to be crippled as long as you allow illness to run rampant; by focusing solely on economics you choose path of sickness rather than one of actual healing. IMO, COVID-19 should be renamed what it truly is: The Sickness of Capitalism.
One of the most curious examples of how Auriga’s energy seems to mirror the current issues of the day (As Above, So Below) lies in its “interest in social and educational problems” – sage words once again from Robson’s mouth! I’d say COVID-19 has created some damn significant “social and educational problems”, wouldn’t you? This is especially relevant in July as many schools in the Northern Hemisphere are trying to figure out at this very minute if or how classes might resume between August & September; the traditional start of the new school year. Again Auriga’s influence shows the need for a firm steady hand to guide, but NOT one which belongs to the shortsighted! Several prominent figures have postulated that getting kids back to school = getting parents back to work = getting the economy “back on track”, but IMO the mechanics of that all fail to address the root cause of this economic collapse, which is illness. HEAL THE ILLNESS FIRST; that is our Prime Directive with a Sun conjunct Chiron in Aries comet appearing like a neon sign flashing in the sky.
The constellation of Lynx is much more subtle in its effects – with no major Fixed Stars to give away its position, this constellation slinks quietly in the background like a feline with silent, padded feet; perhaps making ready to pounce. Lynx are known for their night vision and so metaphorically this seems to allude to need for acuity of sight in both an inner and outer context. I spoke a moment ago of the hazard of shortsightedness, which is one kind of “vision problem”. But in a time when so many of us seem to have lost the ability to sort fact from fiction, Comet NEOWISE seems to be drawing our attention to a need to heal our (outer/inner) “eyes”, IMO – Lynx were said to have the ability to “see through things” for good reason! But crucially more interesting is the fact that we also had a comet in this constellation in 1893; the year of the stock market panic that sent the USA into a 4 year recession. Not only was it a time of similar economic disruption, but a period of significant political upheaval as well and the man sitting at the helm when all of this happened – President Grover Cleveland – was overthrown in the next election.
NEOWISE’s last stop before it disappears from view is the constellation of Ursa Major; the Big Bear. As one of the two chief Power Animals of Wall Street, economically speaking this is certainly an ominous portent; particularly if we keep driving our “chariot” blind and in the wrong direction! But this is certainly nothing new or revelatory – the largest stock market crash in history took place in March 2020, right when NEOWISE was being discovered. The price of oil fell so low it dipped (how’s that for a constellation whose major component asterism is the Big Dipper!) into negative territory; fueled by a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Hmmmmm….isn’t one of Russia’s symbolic Power Animals the Bear??? IMO, this is not at all coincidental. I predict we will see more significant developments with this country in 2020 – perhaps like the Lynx, it does its best hunting in darkness and has been silently slinking around behind drawn blackout curtains as it prepares to spring.
As to the energetic effects of this constellation, in antiquity Ursa Major was looked upon as having a Mars quality to it and to corroborate this in more modern times, Vivian Robson mentioned its capacity for “great revengefulness when roused” (ergo the hazard of metaphorically “poking the bear”). He mentions (yes, Robson is indeed a gentleman; look him up) this constellation having patience and self-control, but a tendency to be suspicious & uneasy. Comet NEOWISE whizzing through this part of the sky may highlight a need to heal issues that center around mistrust, as well as how we respond when disturbed. The visual image I get is one of someone being woken up from a dead sleep and then throwing a heavy book at the offending party as they turn and rush out of the bedroom door. Perhaps by proactively posting a “Do Not Disturb” sign on our door the night before and simply yet directly enforcing our boundaries in advance, we might mitigate this urge to unleash our more bestial nature upon whatever unlucky or irreverent fool happens to stumble into our den. Manilius mentions this constellation as having a taming quality to it where one makes friends with wild animals, so perhaps the key lies in getting to know where the more feral parts of our nature tend to kick into gear. For most humans, tired, hungry, sick, or stressed tend to be blanket situations that are apt to bring out the beast (not best!) in us, but individually there are usually more context-specific scenarios that can cause a savage part of our psyche to engage. Don’t tell yourself this doesn’t exist, either – if a Chiron-flavored comet can teach humanity one thing, certainly it is to honor both our human and animal sides while actively choosing to civilize.
“Jason and His Teacher” (Chiron) by artist Maxfield Parrish
Listen up, folks: We have a relatively rare astrological opportunity on our hands at this very moment as Mars prepares to meet up with Chiron in Aries in just two days’ time. Mars/Chiron conjunctions herald the start of a new healing cycle and they only occur approximately once every two years, so this is not an everyday happening. Essentially, something has been coming to a head recently (as all things Mars-related tend to do), but see the inflammation as integral to speeding up your individual healing process because through this energy there is the unique ability to take quick, decisive, positive action that results in an accelerated recovery in at least one facet of your life. Stand and be counted; be your own hero, because there is something important you are confronting now that – when sparked – will move like wildfire burning down fractured, fragmented facets of the Self to forge a new beginning and even a new identity; one that is much more integrated and whole.
“The Creation of Adam” – Michelangelo
When working with the one-pointed focus of Mars energy, we must be careful not to cut or burn needlessly. While in some instances we may need the steady precision of a combat medic’s life-saving amputation or the cauterizing singe that staunches the flow of an open wound, we also mustn’t be rash as to how we go about it. Mars energy is primarily one of offense, and when we react from a wounded state there is often the tendency to lash out and harm rather than heal. Know the difference between that which saves a life (even if it’s your own) vs. actions that brutalize, maim, or cripple. And above all, understand your animal nature but do not let it drive; be in touch with it, yet civilize it. Recall Chiron’s centaur form and how it was bestial but enlightened – he became the teacher of many of Greece’s young heroes precisely because his humanity and the executive function it bestowed was allowed to ride higher than his lower animalistic nature.
What types of things might we be confronting within ourselves now and where is this necessity for healing likely to be showing up front-and-center in our lives? These are just a few places, but issues related to how we handle confrontation, conflict, self-assertion, any Wounded Warrior complex we might be harboring, our desire (what we want as well as how we go about getting it), sex (specific as to what turns us/gets us off and how we’re directing our sexual energy), selfishness vs. being healthily self-full in a positive sense, our sense of masculinity (whether it’s toxic or healthy, as well as what it means to us to identify as a man), our feelings of strength/potency or weakness/impotency, or perhaps whether we’re active or passive in our approach to life are all likely themes that can manifest from this astrological alignment. Those who identify as Masculine should pay particular attention to this conjunction, because Mars is the planet that “men are from”, as the old book title goes – although the Universe is asking us all to collectively address these themes in our individual lives, those identifying as Masculine are likely to be feeling it harder due natural attunement to this vibrational frequency.
The good thing is this energy is *not* subtle – it’s the kind of thing that hits us right in the face. The painfully itchy, irritated, inflamed areas of our lives related to the above themes are telling us precisely where to direct healing energy *right now*. It’s not the kind of thing we can or should put off, nor is it about half-assed “trys”; there is only “do” now. We have the ability to directly address and resolve some kind of paradox we’ve been living with right up until this very moment and find a healthier way to deal with it head-on rather than allow infection to set in or spread. This is, collectively, a sort of cosmic contemporary shamanic “initiation” where we are being baptized by some kind of fire to learn how to burn non-functional parts of the Self down to be replaced by a grounded sense of identity re: our own personal strengths and weaknesses, and picking today to choose the path of wisdom & holistic recovery. Any fragmented portions of the Self that have not been identified – where we are (re?)acting out of alignment regarding walking (not just talking!) the Path of Healing – will be revealed to us, if they haven’t already. Drop everything you’re doing to attend to this personal spiritual emergency at once, because collectively we should all be seizing upon this relatively rare opportunity to confront something in need of immediate healing within ourselves in order to initiate a new recovery cycle. Make like a certain sports apparel company’s tagline and “just do it”.
Venus has been retrograde in Gemini for the last 6 weeks and recently it has sounded/felt a lot like this:
FYI, Venus finally turns Direct on 06/25/2020 – that’s less than 2 days away. Instead of pining away for word from a non-existent or non-relevant lover, snap out of it, get it together, and tell Mr. Postman to hustle up and mark any such letter “Return To Sender”.
If you’ve ever wondered whether or not fire can burn under water, the answer to that question is a resounding YES. Paradoxical as it is, it can also burn quite furiously as demonstrated above – anyone who has ever worked in an industrial setting can tell you about the dangers presented by white-hot magnesium fires, which CANNOT and SHOULD NOT under any circumstances be put out by water.
Why is this relevant at the moment? Water is symbolic of emotion and the watery sign of Pisces this represents *collective* emotion. Mars – AKA the anger planet – is currently traversing Pisces and we sure are seeing evidence of this energy manifesting here in the United States as the collective anger over the murder of George Floyd gathers momentum like a tidal wave; engulfing cities in riots nationwide.
I’ve said for a long time now – without a trace of pessimism – that as the USA approaches our Pluto Return, things will get worse before they get better. I said this years before the debacle of the 2016 election even took place, and continued when those horrified by the regime it ushered in disbelievingly insisted “This has *got* to be bottom, right???” Nope; not by a long shot. Apparently it takes more than having the most corrupt & incompetent administration in our nation’s history, a rampant resurgence of emboldened white nationalism, a failed impeachment thrown by blind partisanship, becoming the new epicenter of an international pandemic that as of today’s date has killed over 100k people in this country alone, record unemployment, the continued slaughter of POC at the hands of police, and who knows what else as we spend the next two years waiting for our Pluto Return to truly kick into high gear. These crackling flames now licking at our fingertips are merely the beginnings of Rome burning; some of us – those who can see the putrefaction for what it is, who can understand the necessity for this purging fire and welcome the potential healing/resurrection waiting on the other side of crisis – will come to love the smell of napalm in the morning. 🔥🔥🔥
Blessed are the warriors fighting for all of us; those fighting the nightmare we are living in and fighting for both Dr. King’s Dream & the American Dream to be made real for all of humanity. 🙏✨💪✨
I’ve talked about many of the manifestations of Saturn in Aquarius in recent editions of my newsletter (see: March & April 2020 issues), but I’m really feeling a need to drive home one specific facet regarding the right use of its energy in light of recent events: Embracing the concept of social responsibility. Saturn is the planetary symbol of responsibility; in community-minded Aquarius this is applied in a social context toward our “brothers” and “sisters” in the community-at-large. Saturn rewards those who embrace his tenet of knowing where our personal accountability lies; both toward ourselves and others, and metes out punishment for any failure(s) to do so – he is hard, but he is fair. His cosmic edict dictates that “As ye sow, so shall ye reap” – do the right thing always, even when it is hard, and it will eventually pay off. Do the wrong thing and you will get yours in due time; they don’t call Saturn the Lord of Karma for nothing!
What we’ve seen in recent months as the Covid-19 situation evolved here in The States is a distinct sect of the population protesting restrictions upon their individual liberties as states enacted necessary stay-at-home orders to help stop the burgeoning spread of this virus. Note that states *had* to do this, as the federal government – aside from issuing some basic “guidelines” – has done absolutely nothing on a national level to protect public safety and prevent the spread of this particularly virulent contagion. Our “fearless leader” has even actively advocated on Twitter for states with such stay-at-home orders be “liberate[d]” in the midst of a global pandemic that has surpassed (as of today’s date) 88K deaths in our country alone. As a result of all this Uranian rabble-rousing, the Cult of Kefka his followers have risen up en masse at rallies around the nation to bemoan this impingement upon their individual liberties. The governor of Michigan – Gretchen Whitmer – even received death threats over this; it’s sickening to watch rabid fanaticism erode all logic and reason.
Here’s the thing, guys: This isn’t an individual liberty issue; it’s one of public safety. And right along with personal responsibility, Saturn’s #1 concern is safety – apply this within the context of communal Aquarius, and it becomes our civic duty to protect our people. LOL, if you think sitting at home for 2 months is hard, buddy have I got news for you: What do you think is going to happen when – because of your bellyaching – these restrictions are lifted prematurely and we wind up playing whack-a-mole with this virus for years instead of mere months? If you think the economy is circling the drain now, just wait until our Pluto Return kicks into high gear two years from now; it’s the incredible shortsightedness in this regard that’s going to bankrupt (and literally kill, FYI) us. And if you’re chafing under social restrictions now, wait until Saturn and Uranus square off all of next year; you haven’t seen anything yet! And it will be all your fault these restictions need to be tougher, too – as I said, Saturn holds us all accountable one way or the other and if you refuse to grit your teeth and see the necessity of doing this voluntarily, you’re *really* not going to like the vibe next year! I fully expect to see much stricter lockdowns in 2021 as a direct result of all the jackassery going on now; all because we couldn’t collectively get with the program sooner. Fall in line and do the right thing for each other now, or you’re pay dearly later; it’s your choice. It’s going to be up to the rest of us to apply enough social (peer) pressure to ensure these wingnuts get compliant if we want to prevent this outcome from becoming a reality – time is ticking, though. The community needs to police itself and right now we are failing in this regard.
The shortsightedness of saying “But the economy!” in the short-term without understanding the longer-term crisis we potentially face in evading this greater social responsibility of truly being “Our Brothers’ Keeper” is IMO what will truly be the Fall of Rome here in the USA – we’re dealing with a violently contagious pandemic and people are out here whining like petulant teenagers about their freedom instead of taking this seriously and protecting each other. Even if you don’t give a damn about the health and safety of yourself, it’s yourresponsibilityto protect the health and safety of everybody else in these Saturn in Aquarius times. The entire elderly population of the US – that’s 16% of the population – could die prematurely due to Covid-19. Don’t respect your elders and think that “old people are throwaways” anyway? Then what about the 25 million asthmatics in this country (about 8% of the total population) that Covid-19 presents a disproportionate fatality risk toward? Or the 10.5% of the country that is diabetic? I’m not even getting into the number of Americans with underlying autoimmune issues or who are pregnant! In a worst-case scenario, you would be killing greater than 34% of our people; that’s literally millions and millions of taxpayers – what’s going to prop up your precious economy then?
I strongly feel that one of the most important things we should all collectively keep in mind in the face of mounting economic pressures, pressures by our leaders to re-open for business, & general stir-craziness presented by the present social restrictions ushered in by Saturn in Aquarius is this: The idea that “Freedom without responsibility is license; not liberty” – it’s a concept that was introduced to me in youth via the late great Isabel Hickey’s “Astrology: A Cosmic Science”. Now more than ever we must carefully weigh our needs for individual freedoms – the freedom to work, the freedom to assemble, or the freedom to be in public without a face mask on – against our social obligation to keep each other safe. Freedom is one thing, but we all have a right to life and a right to our health; what good are liberties without such basic and essential guarantees as these?
The Age of Aquarius has arrived in earnest, it would appear, and with quite a “bang” at that as we’ve burst in to an all-too-eventful start to 2021 if you’ve been paying attention to larger-scale geopolitical events at all; particularly here in The States. With an invisible tractor-beam lock pulling us ever-closer to the first of three squares between Saturn in Aquarius and Uranus in Taurus (on February 17, 2021 to be exact), you know you’re definitely arrived in the Aquarian Age when the astrology appears to mirror the title of a Star Trek movie. [She says with a wry smile] I had to use the above GIF to just lighten the mood a bit; I hate it when I have to start the year off discussing heavy-duty astro (see also: last year’s conjunction of Saturn & Pluto in Capricorn) but it’s all part and parcel of the job – if you shirk your responsibility to address potentially problematic astrological energies, IMO it is a dereliction of duty and disservice to your clients as a consulting astrologer. Pick a different profession instead.
This message has been brought to you by the current Mars Retrograde in Aries:
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