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The very bright Evening Star Venus will still be gracing our evening sky in June and July. Venus will enter Leo on June 5, slowing down in speed and every evening appearing a bit closer to the western horizon after sunset, in view of its imminent retrogradation (July 23 to September 4). Because of retrogradation Venus will be in Leo until October, a four month long transit offering all Leo natives opportunities for profound reflection on and revaluation of life, love and creativity.
On July 7 Venus will reach greatest brilliance in its evening apparition. In early August it will be absorbed in the light of the Sun to re-appear in the pre-dawn sky, in late August. From then Venus will be a Morning Star until March 2024. 

After a rather emotionally unsettling transit in the Sign of Cancer (end March to end of May), affecting our ability to make decisions and act upon them, the ingress of Mars in Leo on May 21 has already made a positive difference for many, encouraging a brighter and more creative approach to life. From July 10 to August 27 Mars will transit Virgo, a great placement for the Action Planet to improve our practical and intellectual skills, embrace healthier habits and raise our standard in all everyday activities. 

In Taurus since May 17 Jupiter will transit this Earth Sign until May 26 2024. In the course of the next twelve months this could prove positive for people with Sun, Moon, Planets and Angles in the Earth and Water Signs (Taurus-Virgo-Capricorn-Cancer-Scorpio-Pisces), opening your eyes to new opportunities, building self-confidence and inspiring visions of better things to come. Travel, study, adventure and sensible risk taking are all favored by this transit.
For the Fire and Air Sign the message here is to ground your ideas and aspirations as much as possible, overcoming the tendency to believe that the job is already done and reward imminent. Wishful thinking and hope for hope sake may not pay off for you during this twelve months transit.

Between June 18 and early November Saturn will retrace its steps from the 7^th to the naught degree of Pisces. It will be February 2024 before it will move ahead of those degrees. If the Sun, Moon, Planets or Angles in your Birth Chart were placed on the first seven degrees of the Mutable Signs (Pisces-Virgo-Gemini-Sagittarius), during this protracted period the steady influence of Saturn may be filling your life with practical concerns, piling extra responsibilities upon your shoulders, while working toward a worthy personal goal or building your financial security. Life is not picnic but future rewards will justify the effort.

On June 11 Pluto will return to Capricorn (until January 21 2024), continuing its relentless drive toward radical changes in the way we are governing ourselves, attempting to demolish the old structures to make room for the revolutionary innovations in the pipeline for its forthcoming twenty years transits in Aquarius (2024-2044). You will experience this transit in a more personal way if the Sun, Moon, any Planet or Angle in your Birth Chart were placed on the last two degrees of the Cardinal Signs (Capricorn-Cancer-Aries-Libra). Since at least a couple of years Pluto has been encouraging you or even forcing you out of outworn situations, jobs, relationships, places of residence, lifestyle; a huge reality check, not gentle but necessary. If you work in accord with this transformative energy you may not need to confront these difficult changes from a powerless angle, when things seem to be out of your conscious control. Working with Pluto means to be very honest about all those aspects of your life that have outlived their usefulness. Stay focused, the future is beckoning with a promise of a more independent, less entangled life.
For the whole planet a long lasting square from the Lunar Nodes (signposts of the recent Eclipses) to Pluto is likely to contribute to profound and lasting changes, unavoidable if not welcome, in the lives of a great many individuals.

Since January 2022 the Lunar Nodes have been passing through Taurus and Scorpio, where most Solar and Lunar Eclipses have occurred in recent times. On July 18 the Nodes will move into Aries and Libra, shifting the Eclipses focus from the Fixed to the Cardinal Signs.

June Lunar Phases
June 4, Full Moon in Sagittarius 13° – June 18, New Moon in Gemini 27°.

July Lunar Phases
July 3, Full Moon in Capricorn 11°– July 16, New Moon in Cancer 25°.

This year the Cancer Winter Solstice will fall on June 22, 7.14 pm local time. Just at that time the Crescent Moon in Leo will align with Venus after sunset, as it did spectacularly in late May, but this time Mars will also be there. A sight not to be missed and hopefully an omen of peace for our divided world.

A walk through 2000 years of Pluto in Aquarius

On March 23, two days past the Aries Equinox, beginning of the Solar Year, and one day past the Aries New Moon, beginning of the Lunar Year, Pluto made its first tentative step into Aquarius. It will return to Capricorn on June 11, re-enter Aquarius on January 21, 2024, and then reverse back into Capricorn on September 2, 2024, but only for a matter of weeks. The ingress will be complete on November 20 2024 (AEST), Pluto then remaining in Aquarius until 2044.  This prolonged Pluto’s Sign change is the ninth since the beginning of the Christian era.

The present to and fro on the cusp of Aquarius shows that this cosmic shift is not yet accomplished. The necessary and arduous dismantling of outworn structures in our collective and personal lives, challenges and opportunities represented by Pluto in Capricorn, aren’t quite over. These are crucial times indeed, when a planet like Pluto, always signalling momentous historical resets, hovers between the past and the future, compelling us to integrate the experiences of recent years, to root out what we know is hindering our evolutionary journey, to be able to face future challenges with renewed wisdom (Aquarius) and resourcefulness (Pluto). Failing this integration and conscious transformation we could be destined, as a collective, to suffer traumatic and destructive events over which we may have little or no control, especially around the time of the upcoming conjunction Saturn-Neptune on the nought degree of Aries, beginning of all beginnings, on February 21, 2026.

Aquarius and Pluto’s keywords                                

Here are some key words defining the qualities of Aquarius and the function of Pluto; they may help to explain what many astrologers are reading into this cyclical cosmic event. 

Aquarius is linked with learning, science, rational thinking, invention, technology, humanism, equality, democracy, rebellion, revolution, sudden changes and reversals, while Pluto is the drive toward all ultimate transformations, shadow work, the discovery of inner resources, psychological and physical, planet of Death is also the planet of survival and resurrection; Phoenix type energy destroying in order to allow rebirth.

Pluto in Aquarius’ chronology

60-85: between 60 and 85 St Paul was busy spreading the Christian creed across the Roman Empire, while, while Buddhism was penetrating China.
In 61 Boudicca, appointed leader of the Celtic tribes fiercely defending their homeland from the army of Rome, was defeated, furthering the 400 years colonization of Britain by the  Romans; another relatively small event that had immense unforeseen consequences.
In 64 ancient Rome burnt. In the next four years Emperor Nero, who is suspected to have lit the fire in the first place, rebuilt a new, more imperial Rome on the ashes of the old.
The volcanic eruption of Mt Vesuvius, in 79, shrouded the Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum under ash and lava for centuries, to be re-discovered only in 1748.
Pompeii disappeared, a feat we can easily attribute to the God of Death, the Underworld and all hidden things, secrets and mysteries. But its discovery centuries later I attribute to Aquarius, the Sign of discoveries and seekers after knowledge and truth.

305-329: Emperor Constantine (the one of the famous vision of the ‘Cross’) made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire, a complete turnaround after decades of fierce Christian persecution. He also moved the capital of his empire to the the ancient Greek port of Byzantium, on the crucial route between east and west, calling it Nova Roma (New Rome). In 330, at the end of this Pluto in Aquarius period, the city came to be named Constantinople, eastern capital of the new Christian Roman Empire.
These events marked in a striking way the beginning of a complete new social, political, religious and philosophical phase, still relevant to us today.

550-574: this was the time of Roman Emperor Justinian (537-565), the last who succeeded in uniting the East and West blocks of the empire, an accomplishment that didn’t endure after his death. What we remember Justinian for, and it’s more relevant to Pluto transiting Aquarius during 15 years of his reign, is the establishment of an orderly system of Law, quite modern in concept. For instance, in cooperation with his wife, Empress Theodora, family laws gave mothers same authority as fathers over their children, a very radical idea for the time. Capital punishment was limited to very serious crimes and prison terms were viewed as opportunities for rehabilitation, not just occasions for punishment, at least in principle.

795-818: these were the times of Charlemagne, last of the ‘Barbarian’ conquerors and first to be officially crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. The wheel had turned full circle: the so called ‘barbarians’ becoming God anointed rulers. A New Europe and therefore a new world was born at this time. Despite being himself illiterate Charlemagne promoted education throughout Europe, founding important centers of learning.

1041-1063: in 1049 a permanent split (schism) occurred between the Papist Catholic Church of Western Europe and the Orthodox Church of Eastern Europe.
In England the rule of the Anglo-Saxons, colonizers of post Roman Britain since the fifth century, was at an end. A new era began in 1066 when the Normans, led by William the Conqueror, took over England, grafting a new cultural shoot to the old Roman/Anglo-Saxon/Celtic stock.

1286-1308: this was a period of unprecedented drought in America, contributing to the demise of the Pueblo Culture, a grim record of the disastrous effects of climate change.

1532-1553: At the start of this period the Inca Empire was toppled by the superior weapons and small pox infection brought by the Spanish conquerors. 
At the height of a global renaissance in art, philosophy and science, between 1533 and 1534, Henry VIII didn’t just find a new way of getting rid of his pre-loved wives, but changed the course of history by founding a brand new Church of England, separated from Catholicism. His daughter by Anne Boleyn, the future Elizabeth I, champion of Protestantism, was born in 1536 during the transit of Pluto in Aquarius.
At the same time Calvin began preaching Protestantism in northern Europe, fighting against the established Church’s corruption and power-mongering.

In 1540 the new Society of Jesus, founded by Ignacio de Loyola in 1540, received official sanction from the Pope. From that point the Jesuit Order thrived, to become one of the most influential religious organizations ever, holding sway particularly in the area of education, religious doctrine and missionary work, inquisition, the armed right arm of the popes, for centuries to come.

On May 24 1543 Copernicus published his ground-breaking astronomical treatise demonstrating that the Sun is at the center of our Solar System. More about this below, in the section of Pluto in Aquarius’ discoveries.

1777-1798: in 1787 a new nation was born in North America with the drafting of the US Constitution. While in 1793 Europe French revolutionaries beheaded their king! New ideals of freedom, democracy, justice and equality (concepts we attribute to Aquarius) and a drive to rebel against injustice were sprouting everywhere. The industrial revolution was also accelerating unprecedented changes that eventually affected everyone on the planet.
Particularly relevant for Australia was the arrival of the first convict ship in Botany Bay in 1788, a relative minor event producing lasting and unforeseen outcomes.

All these events didn’t just affect the few years when they happened, but had repercussions through the centuries, with ripple-effects we still feel today.

A common thread

Do astrologers believe that history repeats itself? Is our planet going to witness twenty years of enduring revolutionary changes between now and 2044? Most likely. Of course, circumstances have changed; Pluto’s passage into Aquarius was accompanied then by many other astrological factors that are not around today. Furthermore the changes will take place, in leaps and bounds, during the next twenty years, certainly not overnight.

The main theme emerging from a survey of the Pluto in Aquarius’ periods is one of momentous endings and beginnings. The world was then like now on the threshold of profound ideological, political, religious transformations, accompanied by radical re-distribution of power, the full extent of which became clear only in hind sight, centuries later.   

Inventions and discoveries of the Pluto in Aquarius periods

The above were also times of rapid scientific developments and discoveries, a surge of new ideas/ideals that shaped centuries of cultural evolution. Here are a few illustrations.

In the year 79 Hero, Egyptian scientist from Alexandria, demonstrated the practical use of the steam engine, to generate energy, the same power that ended up driving the industrial revolution 18 centuries later.

In 310 Diophantus, a Greek mathematician, published a treatise on a revolutionary method of calculation the Arabs called Algebra, where letters were used to express unknown quantities, thus making possible to solve complex equations by logic deduction, a very abstract, ground-breaking notion (Aquarian).

Between 1041 and 1048 a Chinese inventor, known as Bi Sheng (990-1051) perfected the ancient craft of movable type. His revolutionary system allowed printing books on a scale never possible before, another democratic ‘invention’ that eventually contributed to amazing developments all over the world.

In 1299 specialized industries in Europe began manufacturing eyeglasses on a grand scale. Where would we be today without our reading glasses?

On May 24, 1543 Copernicus published the ground-breaking astronomical treatise on ‘the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres’, demonstrating that the Sun is at the center of our Solar System, a scientific upgrade of immense proportion. That single scholarly accomplishment sparked what we now call the Copernican Revolution, contributing greatly in placing an intelligent humanity, free from constraining religious dogmas, at the center of our conscious universe, birth of the modern Ego.
Copernicus made his discoveries public only on his death bed, to avoid excommunication and imprisonment for going against the established doctrine of the then all powerful Catholic Church.

In 1781 Hershel’s discovery of Uranus opened a new chapter in astronomical findings, greatly expanding our knowledge of the solar family of which we are a part, while also introducing a new revolutionary character in our astrological pantheon.

1796 the small pox vaccine, an endemic disease that had gripped the world from time immemorial, was discovered by accident.

At the present time the potentials of a new technological revolution are staggering, especially in the area of communication technology, robotics, medicine, physics, space travel, environmental and humanistic science.

One thing is certain, Pluto in Aquarius will not leave a stone unturned in its endeavor to transform our way of thinking, to embrace more original, ingenious, humanitarian, democratic ways to tackle our existential issues and those of the planet.

Twenty Years in a nutshell: Major Transits involving Pluto in Aquarius +

Saturn Pisces semi-square Pluto Aquarius, 3 passes 2024

February 21, 2026: Saturn conjunct Neptune on Aries 0°, one pass

March 29, 2026: Saturn in Aries sextile Pluto Aquarius, one pass

2026/2028: Uranus in Gemini trine Pluto in Aquarius, 5 passes

2026/2032: Neptune in Aries sextile Pluto Aquarius, 13 passes!

2028/2029: Saturn in Taurus square Pluto in Aquarius, 3 passes

2028/2030: Pluto Aquarius square Chiron Taurus, 5 passes.

2031: Saturn Gemini trine Pluto Aquarius, one pass.

2031/2034: Uranus in Gemini sesqui-square Pluto in Aquarius, 7 passes!

2032/2033: Saturn Gemini sesqui-square Pluto Aquarius, 3 passes

2035/2036: Saturn in Leo opposition Pluto Aquarius, 3 passes

2039/2040: Saturn in Libra sesqui-square Pluto Aquarius, 3 passes

2037/2038: Pluto in Aquarius trine Chiron in Gemini, 3 passes

In the horoscope I cast for the Hunga Tonga Ha’apai’s volcano’s eruption I found, as was to be expected, a number of astrological signatures traditionally connected to natural disasters.  I was  particularly struck though by the similarities with another historical catastrophe I had studied long ago, the 1883 Indonesian Krakatoa’s explosion, one of the grandest volcanic eruptions in recorded history.

First though we better look at the two horoscopes separately.

Tonga

1) The waxing, nearly full Gemini Moon has reached the exact opposition to Sagittarius Mars (high energy, strife, violence), while they are both at right angle to Pisces Neptune (God of the sea in the Sign of the ocean).

2) Neptune also happens to be the most elevated planet (highest in the sky) at the time of the event. Neptune traditionally rules seashore places, all water filled landscapes, islands as well as maritime events, including disasters at sea.

3) Also Aquarius Mercury is at perfect right angle to Taurus Uranus (sudden and unexpected earth shaking events) and also coming onto a conjunction with Aquarius Saturn, still within orb of the square to Uranus too.

4) The Capricorn Sun was coming to a conjunction to Capricorn Pluto, alignment that will be exact on January 19, a day after the Cancer Full Moon.

5) The Nodes are also just separating from a right angle (square) to Pisces Jupiter.

Krakatoa

Krakatoa’s Horoscope is more obviously dramatic than Tonga. This of course makes sense considering the wide spread destruction that eruption caused to the whole of Indonesia. The casualties have been estimated to range between a low 36.000 to a high 120.000, mainly caused by the many tsunamis following the main event.

The Moon in Sign Gemini and Decan Aquarius, same as in Tonga,

Similarities between the two events

Here are the charts for the two events, on the same page for easier comparison:

Compared to Krakatoa the recent Tonga explosion fortunately caused only few fatalities. Despite this, however, it broke many previous records too, including being one of the most powerful ever recorded!

In both instances a mountainous volcanic island literally self-destructed under the force of a blast from the depths of the surrounding ocean. In Tonga the volcano itself was a submerged mountain that ended falling into the sea and splitting into two smaller islands. The island that was destroyed in Krakatoa was larger instead and rose above water; in 1927, many years after the 1883 explosion, a new smaller island emerged, the so called ‘Child of Krakatoa’, still an active volcano.

The first, most obvious similarities between the two Horoscopes is the grouping of celestial planets along half of the, ecliptic, with the Lunar Nodes closing the group in both charts. Only the Moon, in Tonga, was transiting the opposite hemisphere to the group, just ahead of the North Node. When such lopsided hemispherical emphasis occurs events of an extreme nature are more likely, in particular when other significant transits become active at the same time.

Not only the Moon was transiting the same Sign, Gemini and same Decan, Aquarius, but in both charts it was closely connected to Mars, in opposition in Tonga and conjunction in Krakatoa.

The Nodes themselves occupy different Signs in the two charts, Gemini-Sagittarius in Tonga and Scorpio-Taurus in Krakatoa. But, due to the fact that the Nodes’ natural direction is backward through the zodiac, in Tonga they have just arrived at the cusps of the same Signs they occupied in Krakatoa, with the difference that the North Node was on the Taurus’ cusp and the South Node on the Scorpio’ cusp in Tonga; while in Krakatoa the South Node was transiting Taurus and the North Node Scorpio, opposite complementary Signs! Both the Fixed Signs Taurus and Scorpio are traditionally connected to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because they offer strong resistance to change, tending to break under pressure rather than accommodate change.

Final Note: it could be of interest to students of astrology to learn that geophysicists have also found similarities between the two events.

Click here to view an interesting article about their scientific take on the matter.

Apparently, in order to more fully understand the Krakatoa explosion and its aftermath around the globe, in the words of this article, ‘scientists needed to see another version of Krakatau play out in real time in the modern era — an awkward wish, to be sure‘. That wish was fulfilled when the Hunga Tonga Ha’apai’s volcano exploded too!

I think this is an excellent example of Astrology in action!

I am  re-posting here an edited version of a two parts tutorial/article on Eclipses that I published on this site in June 2011.

The language of Eclipses

On the eve of a new Eclipse season, April/May 2023, I have been considering again the language astrologers, including myself, adopt at times to describe Eclipses: a mixture of glamour and mystery, often far too esoteric to provide any real guidance. This language is obviously chosen to evoke special feelings in the reader, a sense of danger, even doom, but also of unlimited possibilities.

Traditional astrological texts more often than not describe the effects of Eclipses in lurid terms, often depicting them as evil omens. Some modern readers of horoscopes are instead waxing lyrical about all the profound realizations and life changes we are all going to experience thanks to Eclipses. Maybe we need to find a middle way between these two extremes.

To use few examples of the traditional approach: Alan Leo (1860-1917), in the footsteps of William Lilly (1602-1681), described thus the possible effect of a Solar Eclipse in the third Decan of Virgo (as the Solar Eclipse of September 13 2015): “(a Solar Eclipse in this position) argues the grievous calamity and death of painters, poets and merchant, and such as live by their ingenuity and wit; slaughter, destruction, banishment, and the like”.

Alan Leo again, talking about a Lunar Eclipse in the First Decan of Aries (as the one coming on September 28, 2015): “When the Moon is eclipsed in the First Decan of Aries she denotes fevers, destruction of wood by fire, and a dryness of the air”. William Lilly in his astrological treatise Annus Tenebrosus, describing the possible effects of the same Decan Lunar Eclipse states: “…that Fevers shall bee frequent, many houses fired, woods destroyed or cut down and burned, as nerall driness of ayr, many Cater-pillars and destructive vermine appear..”).

And what about this brief survey on the general effects of Eclipses from Sepharial‘s (1864-1929) Dictionary of Astrology: “….disasters, tribulations, sickness and even death…..Falling on the Moon they denote hurt to mother, on the Sun to the father, on Jupiter to uncles, on Mars to brothers, on Venus to sisters, and on Mercury to aunts.”  No one is safe by the sound of it!

No wonder then that some modern writers sound so esoteric when talking about Eclipses! It is indeed difficult to translate the archaic language of Eclipses into one intelligible to the modern reader. On the other hand, to modernize and rationalize the language of Eclipses, calling them opportunities, as I have often done, is perhaps an attempt at oversimplifying something because we don’t understand it or we don’t know how to describe it.

Apart from all the dire predictions Eclipses in antiquity were also depicted, in writing and art, as Jacob’s ladders to angelic realms, or shadow bridges to cross over to the world of the dead and the unborn, more ‘doors of perceptions’ than just opportunities, I would say!

It is true that Eclipses were considered powerful omens, but not necessarily negative ones; they were in many cases seen as harbingers of success and positive developments, promising a victory in battle or a king’s ascension to the throne.

The unfair distribution of Eclipses

Eclipses are so elusive in personal experience, because their distribution, during a life time, their frequency, intensity and duration of effect vary considerably from person to person and from Eclipse o Eclipse. An Eclipse, Partial, Annular, Lunar, Solar, whatever, can have a revolutionary, traumatic or exciting effect on a particular individual, while having no effect at all on another. Even if he/she is someone sharing the same Sun, Moon and Rising Sign. This marked difference of effect can be explained by the fact that Eclipses come in series and family of series.

During a period of 18 years and 9/11 days there would be 70 to 72 Eclipses (Solar and Lunar), an average of four Eclipses per year (but there could be as many as seven some years). Only a portion of the whole zodiacal circle will be touched by Eclipses, so some Signs will have a greater share of Eclipses than other Signs, during a given period.

So, for instance, if you had the Sun at zero degree Cancer at birth and you were born in 1951, like I was, seven Eclipses (four Solar and three Lunar) would have fallen over your Sun’s position, between 1951 and 2011, and there will be others, in 2020, 2029 and 2039, if you live long enough.

If, instead you were born with the Sun in Cancer, but on the fifth degree of this Signs, born four to five days after I was, you would not experience any Eclipse over your Sun’s position, for the whole of your life. You could, however, experience, at different times, Eclipses on your Moon, Ascendant , Planets or Nodes.

A shorter version of this article was published in issue 125 of the 'Uki Village News'

Mars in Gemini

Mars take usually two months to transit a Sign. This time though, due to Retrogradation, it will remain for a whole six months in Gemini, from August 20 2022 to March 25 2023, operating as a slower moving planet and therefore exerting greater and longer lasting influence.  

This period may activate, energize, instil courage, enthusiasm and initiative in many people’s lives and/or generate antagonism, strife, restlessness, frustration, open conflicts, especially verbal conflicts. Directly affected by this transit will be those whose Birth Charts feature Sun, Moon, any planet or Angle (Ascendant-Descendant-Mid-Heaven-Lower-Heaven) in Gemini or, to a lesser degree, in one of the other Mutable Signs (Sagittarius-Virgo-Pisces), especially if placed between degrees 8 and 26 of these Signs.

Starting in September a difficult angle from Mars to Pluto in Capricorn (135°) could prove volatile, bringing to light in a forceful way many unpalatable truths, with the need to face issues with honesty and courage, but shunning thoughts of revenge. Personal and social conflicts could be exacerbated by this transit, if misused. The exact dates are September 10, December 19, 2022, and February 15, 2023; keeping in mind that the effect may become apparent at least a week before and linger for a week after the actual given dates.  

Mercury’s Retrogradation: 08° Libra to 24° Virgo, September 10 to October 2

During this period we will be asked to move from an idealistic frame of mind (Libra) to a more realistic, down to earth one (Virgo). We will have to work a bit harder at making our communication as rational and our living and working spaces as clear of clutter as possible. Activities may slow down for a time, while we take care of unfinished business to begin on a new footing once the Retrogradation is over, from October 2, and especially from October 11 when Mercury will return to Libra, a more social and enterprising Sign.  

Aquarius Saturn square Taurus Uranus

This difficult recurring Saturn-Uranus’aspect will be the most powerful in the months ahead, remaining active until December this year. It will begin gathering strength in August, then return to full force from mid-September. The square will reach maximum intensity during the last week of November, when Saturn will be stationary for a while. Its influence could last to the end of the year.

The very same transit was the toughest planetary configuration in 2021, the cosmic signature of a year that saw ideological, cultural, generational and political conflicts becoming more intense and relevant for a large number of people.

It is important to remember that this transit represents one of the four major phases of a 45 year dance these planets perform with each other, cyclically.  

Since 1988 (first conjunction in Sagittarius), every 11 years or so, Saturn reached a critical distance from Uranus: a 90°angle (1999 square), a 180°angle (2009 opposition), and, at present, the last square (2021/22) before the next conjunction in Gemini (2032).  The effect of each of these transits lasts from a few months to a year. During these crucial times these two planetary drives are compelled to work together, each tending to pose great obstacle in the path of the other. At these rimes reconciling their differences is the task of society as a whole and also of individuals.   

We could look at these planetary energies as two very distinct ways of approaching life. Saturn, often depicted as an older man bent under the weight of age and worries, but also rich with the wisdom of experience, is the one who embodies a conservative world view, based on practical considerations, tending always toward caution, not inclined to take risks.  

The main negative aspect of the saturnine drive is its rigidity, a conformist frame of mind, afraid to move out of the established confines of conventional thinking. Conformist Saturn looks back to the past, to the ones who came before and left a secure legacy, like a map we can follow. But this tendency of looking back could actually stifle the desire to try new ideas, to think out of the box, to aspire to more evolutionary ideals, as a society and individuals.  Inertia, fear and greed often resulting from the mishandling of Saturn’s power.

In order to preserve the status quo Saturn can and does often slips into authoritarian mode, putting up walls and restrictions that are unfair and unhelpful, especially to individually minded temperaments. Fear of change the dominating reason behind Saturn’s approach.

During the Saturn-Uranus’ crucial phases the saturnine abuse of authority is met, head on, by Uranus’ drive toward radical changes. Uranus manifests as a youthful, arrogant spirit of independence and rebellion, fiercely defending itself against any limitation to its freedom and self-determination. Due to its radical tendencies and despite its democratic leanings, Uranus too can become a dangerous autocrat, especially at the ideological level. We have recently seen these tendencies enacted in the cyber and personal clashes between conflicting belief systems and even alternative versions of reality, the eccentric side of Uranus introducing a rather irrational element to the mix.

Very relevant at present is the all-out war between conservative and progressive world view on the crucial issues of climate change, social justice, gender and cultural/religious equality. The Uranus side is obviously getting more impatient for changes that should have been implemented long ago and are still being denied, as the conservative side, represented by Saturn, slowly responds with insufficient measures while throwing more spokes in the wheel of progress.  We may witness more of the same in the months ahead.

Hopefully, as we edge closer to the end of this transit we should be better equipped to reconcile its opposing forces.

Saturn, in its benign form, plays in fact a positive moderating role, its function to guarantee the success of every enterprise via practical, realistic means. Uranus, in its best form, represents the collective and individual drives toward an ideal, fairer and more inclusive experience. By keeping alive from our cultural past what is still highly valuable (Saturn), while opening our minds to more adventurous and original views (Uranus) we could step into our evolutionary future from the springboard of stored knowledge and the wisdom of the ages that preceded ours. We will be then at less risk of ‘throwing away the baby with the bath water’, often the effect of too radical and hasty revolutions.

Are we ready for the middle path? If not, conflicts will always be the result of such transits.

This year we celebrate the Libra Spring Equinox on September 23, 11.03 am, local time. 

***

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This article was previously published on the Uki Village News, issue 116

February Moon Phases tell a story

Astrologically February appears unstable, even unpredictable. The Lunar Phases and Mercury’s Retrogradation (Jan31/Feb21) confirm this knotty pattern.

Excellent cases in point: January 29 Leo Full Moon and February 12 Aquarius New Moon, extending their influence over the whole month. At the Full Moon, the Sun, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury will all be in Aquarius; while the Moon and Venus will join them too at the New Moon, all forming a difficult right angle to the troubling Uranus-Mars’ Taurus conjunction. These alignments show that conflicts and/or unforeseen circumstances could disrupt our best laid out plans, even locking us into temporarily inescapable situations.

The first pass of the 90 degrees angle between Saturn and Uranus, 2021 signature transit (Feb18-Jun15-Dec24) could prove difficult to navigate because of the conflicting nature of the planets involved. And Mars, this time around, provides the volatile element. Saturn wants to transform potentials into workable realities; Uranus the drive for radical changes often spurred on by ideologies rather than practical considerations. Saturn will curb maverick Uranus’ penchant for revolutions. Embracing the changes our inner compass is urging us to make could clash with previous commitments and limiting circumstances, a frustrating situation. This tension though could be what we need to prepare better for the time when we will be freer to embark on the new life path we long for. It will be worth the wait.   

March: focus on the Mutable Sings

In March the focus shifts to the Mutable Signs, Gemini and Pisces.

Mars, transiting mentally flexible Gemini from March 4 to April 23 will call for open, direct, sometimes antagonistic communication among people, but it should be less war like than Taurus Mars. Most importantly this trouble maker is separating from the major planetary action between Aquarius and Taurus which has been setting the tone for 2021: Aquarius’ free thinking and reforming spirit, represented by Jupiter, but also somewhat hampered by Saturn, against more conservative and utilitarian Taurus, where Uranus is struggling to break the old mould, with the risk of causing great social and economic upheaval.

The right time to celebrate the Aries Autumn Equinox will be March 20 this year, 8.37 pm. 

For more astrological insight please visit my site: livingmoonastrology.wordpress.com