Historical planetary shifts unfolding: December 2022 and January 2023 Astrology: Jupiter in Aries, Saturn in Pisces, Pluto in Aquarius, Mars Retro in Gemini

A shorter version of this article was published by the Uki Village News, issue 127

DECEMBER 2022

This month is not just the close of another year but also the completion of the difficult 90 degree angle between Aquarius Saturn and Taurus Uranus, active since 2021. The November 8 Total Lunar Eclipse in Taurus, aligned by conjunction to Uranus and by square to Saturn, has intensified and prolonged the effect. The whole configuration has in fact generated extreme tension between the urge to progress and embrace evolutionary changes and the need to maintain a sense of permanency and the safe foundations we have relied upon for a long time, in our personal lives as well as our collective experience. 

For many this transit has signified having to move away from their comfort zone, further away perhaps that they may have envisioned possible. For others the change may have come as bewildering but otherwise positive developments, causing rapid psychological advancements, even epiphanies, brought about perhaps by unusual circumstances or encounters. The end results of this long lasting influence will become more obvious early next year, in ways that perhaps we didn’t see coming.

December and January will also be the forerunners not only of a new year but of imminent cosmic shifts destined to affect all our lives in 2023 and beyond. 

MARS RETRO

Until Mars continues its backward appearance (until January 13) the progressive effect of other transits (in particular the expansive effect of Jupiter returning to Aries) may seem to stall, forcing us to go over again old terrains we thought we have covered. Forward action may be held in check for a while, but there are visible openings, especially when the next Mercury’s retro period in Capricorn will also end (December29-January19). The Mutable Signs will be the most obviously affected by this transit (Gemini/Sagittarius-Pisces/Virgo).  Not only this retrogradation will keep Mars in Gemini for nearly five months (from October 30, 2022), but Mars will also be out of bounds’ (exceeding the Sun’s north declination), operating like a maverick, in unpredictable ways. A recurring square angle from Mars to Neptune in Pisces calls for extra caution too, to avoid falling into make believe traps that could bog you down for a while (last pass on March 15, 2023).

JUPITER RETURN TO ARIES

Just in time for Christmas, school and work holidays, on December 21, Jupiter will enter Aries and transit there until May 16 2023. This transit represents a four and half months window of opportunity to embrace a more optimistic, confident, forward looking mind set, encouraging energetic, enterprising, even militant perspectives, particularly in the Fire/Air Signs (Aries-Leo-Sagittarius-Libra-Aquarius-Gemini) and the other Cardinal Signs (Libra-Capricorn/Cancer). 

The time will be right to take decisive initiative and to make bold choices, putting into actions matters we had to keep on the back burner for a long time. Driven by faith and vision in better things to come we can sweep aside difficulties that might have seem insurmountable earlier. For many it could mean also to take a courageous stand to fight for what they believe in.

MERCURY RETRO

Mercury will retrograde in Capricorn (24°-08°) from December 29 to January 19. It could be advisable to postpone serious New Year’s resolutions until after the retro effect has passed. People more directly affected will be the Cardinal Signs (Capricorn-Cancer-Libra-Aries), having to revisit practical matters and commitments that may not be as solid as they thought they were. These are only temporary glitches however and, positively, they will urge you to be more conscientious and methodical when dealing with important practical matters next time.

SATURN INGRESS INTO PISCES

Now direct and gaining speed Saturn will cover five degrees of Aquarius during December and January (20°-26°). The ringed planets is in fact preparing to leave Aquarius (February 7, 2023) to begin its nearly three years transit through the Water Sign of Pisces. The whole transit will last until May 24, 2025; then return between September 2025 and mid-February 2026,  the cycle ending with the historical conjunction to Neptune on the threshold of Aries (February/March 2026), another game changer, like the alignments of 2020 have been (Jupiter-Saturn-Pluto).  

Saturn is the most solid of all the planets, intent at growing roots, establishing rules and limits, helping us to deal successfully with the practical demands of life. Saturn will find itself in a strange environment in the inconstant, emotionally receptive waters of Pisces, the least firmly anchored Sign of the whole Zodiac! How the world is going to deal with it this time around?

Saturn’s transit through the last zodiacal Sign marks, I feel, the end of an era on so many fronts, from down to earth experiences of the world to our collective spiritual path. Would we put our ability to build and make secure on less materialistic foundations? Or would we be swamped by escapism and make believe, becoming victims of our own blundering?

Aquarius and Pisces, last two Signs in the cycle, in a world-based astrology, represent our evolutionary struggles as a collective,  entire cultures, Eco-systems etc, toward progressive thinking (Aquarius) and spiritual realization/redemption (Pisces). All the way to the end of 2025 the opportunity is here to take responsibilities and work for the benefit of a wider world than our own private, egocentric domain. Could we as a collective meet the challenge of chaos and misinformation with disciplined minds and facts-based perspectives? I hope we will.

In my view, to all of us Saturn in Pisces will not be a care free period. Pisces, as the last Sign, encapsulates in fact collective and individual karma accumulated in the last thirty years, now materializing in our lives, mostly past our ability to control. 

PLUTO FIRST ENTRY INTO AQUARIUS, 2023-2024

2023 will be the testing ground for this twenty years long transit, lasting until 2044. After sixteen years in Capricorn Pluto will take its time to leave, at first transiting Aquarius between March 23 and June 12, to enter this sign for good only on January 22 2024.

To get an idea of the type of influence we are looking at, the last time this transit occurred was during the ground-breaking end of the 18th century (1778-1798), period epitomized by the French, American and industrial revolutions, marking the beginning of our modern version of the world, a powerful upgrade that changed everyone’s lives and also the natural world in very radical ways. 

Changes of immense magnitude seem to be on the cards for our planet then; not just because Pluto is changing Signs but because Uranus and Neptune, the other two giant at the edge of the solar system, will also shift Signs by 2025, respectively in Gemini and Aries. We are in for a mighty turn of the screw; hopefully we will not crack under such pressure.

Astrology and the Australian floods, April-May 2021: Jupiter’s first ingress into Pisces

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A shorter version of this article was published, in late March, on the Uki Village News

Astrology and the Australian Floods In ancient times the art of predicting the weather was one of astrology’s most valuable uses. In the absence of scientific instruments astrological weather forecast was naturally of the greatest importance for early agricultural people who relied on it to decide the best times for sowing and harvesting. Meteorological astrology is an art in itself, with very complex sets of laws of its own. I am not an expert in this specialized topic, but I can very much appreciate the cosmic synchronicity that I observed at play during the recent Australian floods.    Astrology is an amazing mirror of both ‘reality’ and ‘psyche’. In its cosmic mirror the two merge: the outer life of events and experiences and the inner life of thoughts and feelings. Becoming aware of this underlying nexus is at the heart of our art, opening up a fascinating view of the world and ourselves. That is why for me it’s not farfetched to hear the sound of rain in the Water Signs; to feel warmth, dry weather in the Fire Signs; temperate, moist weather in the Earth Signs; cooler, windy weather in the Air Signs; as well as identify possible extreme events in some intense planetary configurations. The lunar cycle, during which the peak of the floods has occurred, began at the Pisces Water New Moon, on March 13, with increase in rain activity in many parts of the country. During that phase the Moon and Sun weren’t just transiting a Water Sign but were also in close conjunction to Venus and Neptune in Pisces too. At the time I began writing, March 20, day of the Aries Equinox (yearly ingress of the Sun in Aries, a crucial time in the cosmic calendar), Venus was still in Pisces and again conjunct the Sun! Early on March 22 the First Quarter Moon, another crucial phase of the lunar cycle, fell in Water Cancer, at a significant distance of 120 degrees (trine) from Pisces Mercury. All the above suggests water events and also translates as a highly emotional period, when compassionate and loving feelings prevail (Water), within families (Cancer) and communities (Pisces).  April 2021 During the first two to three weeks in April the focus will be on the Fire and Air Signs: Venus transiting Aries from April 1 to 15; Mercury will be in Aries also, April 4 to 19; Mars, in Gemini since March 4, will be in this Air Sign until April 23; Jupiter will remain in Aquarius until May 14; Saturn will be in Aquarius all the way to early 2023; Chiron in Aries until 2026. Only the trans-Saturn planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are found in Earth and Water Signs. The Fire and Air Elements cause a planet to express its particular power in an outgoing and sometimes even forceful manner, showing more oomph, but also less sensitivity. This will be a great time then to walk the talk, putting into action our ideas with confidence and optimism.  Aries Mercury and Gemini Mars are in fact bouncing off each other by occupying each other Signs for a while, what is known in Astrology as ‘mutual reception’. Venus in Aries encourages us to be more assertive in our relationships, if less emotional and diplomatic. Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius remain a great stimulus for everyone to participate more in the life of the community, getting involved in collective projects, making new friends and trying new and exciting things, including social dissent. Independence and self-motivated actions are the keys to make the best of this period. By far the most important transit, exact on April 7, will be the 45°angle (semi-square) between Aquarius Jupiter and Aries Chiron. This difficult transit between the planet of expansion and the planet of illness and healing, peaking again in mid August and mid November, seems significant, with the world still in the grip of a pandemic and the southern hemisphere entering the year’s colder months that have proven so difficult for many during the North American and European winter. On April 19 Mercury and on April 23 Venus will enter Taurus, the same day Mars will leave Gemini to enter Cancer. Mercury and Venus’s transits in Taurus will last only until May 4 and 9 respectively; while Mars will remain in Cancer until June 12.  These are the three faster planets, affecting the way we deal with life from day to day and week to week. Their shift into the Earth and Water Signs indicate a less independent period for many, when relationships and feeling will come more to the fore, helping us to establish stronger emotional connections with family and loved ones.   May 2021 The month of May opens with the yearly conjunction of Sun-Uranus in Taurus, in itself a sign that some unexpected and sudden events are on the cards. The Sun will become, at this time, a powerful catalyst for the energies of both Uranus and Saturn by also squaring Aquarius Saturn on May 4. These transits could anticipate the challenges of the upcoming second pass of the Saturn-Uranus’ 90° angle, exact again on June 15. Escalation of personal and collective conflicts is likely, as we have seen happening around the world recently. The need for change in our social structures, laws, cultural bias etc. are compelling this year but also enormously challenged by the world’s most conservative mind set. As it was impossible to sugar coat the difficult transits of 2020 so it is for the Saturn-Uranus square, the most powerful and difficult transit of 2021, another clash of Titans. Jupiter in Pisces, May 14 to July 28 The Mutable Signs will become more active this month and in June-July. Mercury and Venus will enter Mutable Gemini in May 4 and 9 respectively. Most importantly, on May 14, Jupiter will leave Aquarius, Sign it entered only on December 19 2020, to enter Mutable Pisces. Jupiter’s stay in Pisces will not last long, covering only the first two degrees of the Sign. Jupiter in fact will re-enter Aquarius in retro motion on July 28 (until December 29). Jupiter will end its transit in Pisces on May 11 but will return to this Sign again for a short period, between October 28 and December 21 2022, date of its final ingress into Aries. Jupiter enters the last of the Water Signs about every twelve years, ushering a period when we are encouraged to listen more to our inner self, be inspired by heightened imagination and sensitivity. We could also become more responsive to the feelings of others, seeking to identify with their souls, their emotional needs and suffering. And, on a grander scale, we could become more open and receptive to the soul of the planet and all its creatures; an especially urgent need during the immediate drama of the Covid pandemic and the ecological tragedy looming on our world.  Feeling of collective empathy and compassion should inspire our life philosophy if we are able to respond to Jupiter’s amazing prompting. Of course there is always another, darker side to all coins, including ‘beneficial’ Jupiter’s. Pisces sensitivity often means a lack of boundaries and proper discrimination, the qualities of its opposite complementary Sign of Virgo that Pisces is in great need of consciously cultivate. We could then run the risk, as a collective, to be contaminated (for lack of a better word) by all sorts of fanciful notions, from wild conspiracies theories to actual physical infections. These could in fact spread even more readily under this influence. Let’s hope that rational thinking and Pisces’ uplifting spiritual insight will prevail, for the good of the planet. Upcoming Mercury’s retro period in Gemini and the first Eclipses of 2021 The Mutable shift will be also significant because of Mercury’s Gemini retro period (from May 30 to June 23), causing our little brother to transit Gemini for a protracted period, until July 12. To add to this, the first Eclipses of 2021 will fall in Mutable Signs too: a Lunar at the Full Moon in Mutable Sagittarius, on May 26, and a Solar at the Gemini New Moon, on June 10. The emphasis on these Signs will make this period feel more transitional and uncertain, on the bright side stimulating us to adapt better to swiftly evolving circumstances.

Breakthroughs in December 2020 and January 2021: Jupiter conjunct Saturn on the threshold of Aquarius; Uranus in Taurus; Gemini-Sagittarius Eclipse Season

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Just as it began, this fateful year ends with two eclipses, major planetary shifts and a historical conjunction. As different planetary patterns take hold things around the world should start to improve.

My Ganymede, Cup Bearer of the Gods

Critical Dates

In December 2019 and January 2020 the focus was on eclipses and conjunctions in Capricorn-Cancer, while all the major alignments involved Pluto. This planet in astrology is symbol of all ultimate experiences, death, loss, as well as profound personal/collective transformations. Pluto, in Capricorn until 2023, still remains active in the short term though, especially from late December 2020 to end of January 2021. Dates to watch are those when fast moving bodies will form challenging transits to the slow moving ones, in particular to all mighty Pluto. Here are some:
December 24: Mars in Aries square Pluto in Capricorn – December 30: Venus in Sagittarius square Neptune in Pisces – January 7: Mars enters Taurus – January 9: Venus enters Capricorn – January 13: Mars in Taurus square Saturn in Aquarius – January 18: Jupiter in Aquarius square Uranus in Taurus – January 21: Mars conjunct Uranus in Taurus – January 23: Mars in Taurus square Jupiter in Aquarius – January 29: Venus conjunct Pluto in Capricorn.

Despite all of that now that Jupiter and Saturn have separated from Pluto its power for destruction is definitely reduced. Regeneration comes after destruction; hope after despair, and resilience too, allowing us to tap onto those inner resources we all need to thrive in a difficult world, the very positive aftermath of all Pluto’s transits.

Jupiter-Saturn momentous conjunction in Aquarius

As they quickly move away from Pluto Jupiter and Saturn are getting closer to a right angle to Uranus. But, first of all, they have a date to keep: December 22 (few hours past the Capricorn Solstice) when they will finally become conjunct on the threshold of Aquarius, marking the beginning of a brand new twenty years cycle. These recurring conjunctions are important because they show the direction the world is going in the areas of government, law, religion, ethical issues etc, for the whole of two decades. The current twenty years event is particularly special because it begins an even greater cycle. This will last roughly two hundred years, during which Jupiter and Saturn will become conjunct mainly in Air Signs. Astrological researchers have found that the transits of Jupiter-Saturn in Air Signs (also known as the ‘humane Signs’) tend to move the world’s political needle toward progressive trends, strengthening a collective spirit of reform and innovation. Aquarius in particular is the Sign of individualism and friendly cooperation.

With Aquarius and Uranus thus strongly highlighted progress seems certain, if slow and fraught with difficulties. In the coming year, for instance, Saturn will undoubtedly attempt to slow down the process of reform and innovation (square Uranus), manifesting the karmic consequences of the Covid19 crisis that has widened rather than reduced the gap between the ‘have’ and ‘have not’ of this world.  2021 critical dates for the difficult Saturn’s square Uranus will be: February 18, June 15 and December 24.

Witness the conjunction with your own eyes

Even visually this conjunction is an event we could do well not to miss, the two planets appearing closer to each other than they have been in 800 years! Look west in the early evening, on December 21 and 22. Jupiter, the brightest, and Saturn will be so close to appear as a double star. We will need not only a clear night though, but also a clear view of the westerly sky. The two planets will be in fact near the horizon and quickly sink out of sight.

Uranus in Taurus, a come back

With all the attention given in 2020 to the fateful Capricorn alignments, no much thought has been given to the transit of Uranus in Taurus, one of the most significant in recent years. It was easy enough to predict that, during the seven long year of Uranus’ passage through Taurus we could see changes of great magnitude happening in the financial and business world; as well as major challenges to our sense of security and wellbeing. Uranus in Taurus is coming to the fore again in 2021.

Jupiter will be the first to reach the right angle to Uranus, one and only time on January 18, a transit that could bring significant breakthrough in the area of collective cooperation, to do with the global availability of Covid19 vaccines and therapies for example, also inspiring greater confidence in the eventual improvement in the economic and security future of the world, and encouraging more risk taking in the areas of alternative technologies and more sustainable ways to do business. We could even experience an excess of enthusiasm for a while, driving us to make changes before we are truly ready for them. The same transit could bring also some unusually extreme weather globally and worsen the autocracy/democracy conflicts proliferating around the world; change will not come without formidable global grassroots movements. Negative outcomes possible, especially while other challenges are active from Mars and Venus to the end of January and afterward when the Saturn square Uranus will become active (first pass exact on February 18).  

Saturn in fact will significantly make three passes of the square to Uranus, the most significant planetary theme of 2021. Uranus always suggests the need to do things differently, to find new untried ways, to re-invent ourselves if necessary.  Saturn in 2021 will severely limit our collective drive toward real deep reforms, a new economic model, or enacting sufficient countermeasures to climate change and social injustice.  In a period when the drive for change is so compelling this slowing down will be a frustrating trend, but it could prove necessary to obtain more ground braking results in the long run. Personal responsibility and greater grassroots involvement in social issues will be a must.

Gemini-Sagittarius Eclipse Season: Lunar at the Gemini Full Moon, on November 30, 7.29 pm; and Solar at the Sagittarius New Moon on December 15, 2.16 am.

The Eclipses in Mutable Signs end the year showing the need for greater adaptability and a more optimistic and open minded approach to problems. If, in your Birth Chart, the Sun, Moon, any Planet or Chart Angle happen to fall around the 8^th degree (Lunar Eclipse) or 23^rd degree (Solar Eclipse) of the Mutable Signs (Gemini, Sagittarius, Virgo, Pisces) these cosmic events may affect you in more personal and tangible ways.

The Lunar Eclipse could manifest as a significant emotional climax in the area of experience indicated by the sector of your Birth Chart where it will take place (the Houses of the Horoscope). For some will be relationships, for others work, career, health, study, family etc.  And not just for now but possibly for many months to come, depending how close the alignment is.

The Sagittarius Solar Eclipse will be a very special New Moon if closely aligned to sensitive points in your Birth Chart. It could mark the beginning of a brand new phase of your life, extending far into the future. The area of your Chart where the eclipse falls will determine the experiences and opportunities driving you toward the goals you seek.

Capricorn Solstice 2020, December 21, 8.02 pm

The seasonal Capricorn Solstice is this year simultaneous to the double ingress of Jupiter-Saturn into Aquarius and their rare conjunction. This synchronicity indicates that the Aquarian effect will strongly persist over the whole three months of the new season, summer in the southern hemisphere, winter in the northern. This is indeed a real opportunity to choose the collective good above more ego-centered tendencies, striving toward humane reforms against stale conservatism.

Changing Times: October and November 2020 Astrology: Saturn and Pluto’s Stations in Capricorn. Jupiter-Pluto’s conjunction

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• This is a longer version of an article published in issue 114 of the Uki Village News (link).

The Babel Tower

October and November 2020 will be abuzz with cosmic events. We are nearing the last stage of the planetary saga that began at the end of last year and has dominated the world since. In December Jupiter and Saturn will finally align in Aquarius, ending this tough Capricorn year with a promise of redemption. Here are the highlights for this interim period, as I see them.

Saturn and Pluto packing a punch during their stationary periods

Between mid September and early October all three history making planets transiting Capricorn, Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto, turn Direct, beginning thus the last lap of their 2020 momentous alignments. When planets begin and end their retrogradation they enter a stationary period during which they sit on one degree of the eclipse for a sustained period of time. This makes their influence more intense and longer lasting. Saturn will pause on the 25^th degree of Capricorn until the end of October and Pluto on the 22^nd until the third week in November. If these same degrees of Capricorn, Cancer, Aries, Libra (the Cardinal Signs) were occupied by Sun, Moon, Planets or Angles in your Birth Chart this is for you a time of serious adjustments and even profound changes. It could become a necessity to establish more realistic foundations for your future, moving away from past choices, even if the process of doing so can disheartening at times. The whole of this year we have been urged by circumstances and inner feelings to take a stand, to reinvent ourself using untapped before inner resources.  This is one of the last calls this year to embrace courageous if difficult choices because they feel deeply right.  

An example in point: transiting Saturn and Pluto will be, for a long while, stationary opposite US President Donald Trump’s birth Cancer Venus-Saturn, the challenge of a lifetime, just during his struggle for a second term. At the same time the USA itself is preparing for its first Pluto’ Return since independence from Britain, one of the most intense period of transformation any country can go through; a lengthy and difficult process of shedding its old skin, very close now and in 2021, exact in 2022/23 and ending only in early 2024.

Jupiter last historical passes in Capricorn

In October and November it is Jupiter though that will take front stage again, forming the last ‘passes’ of two major transits: the harmonious angle with Neptune in Pisces, exact for the last time on October 12; and the difficult but transformative conjunction to Pluto in Capricorn, exact for the last time on November 14.  Both these transits influence will last until December, when a new shift is on the cards. We can thus expect Jupiter to amplify again the current health/economic crisis, as well as manifesting as extreme weather events, social-military conflicts and social unrest on a grander scale than usual. As it has already done this year Jupiter could be also prying open boxes full of secrets and scandals, exposing corruption, propaganda and misinformation,  

The conjunctions of Jupiter and Pluto are not rare events, occurring roughly every thirteen years. At times they acquire greater significance however, happening simultaneously with other major planetary shifts, as it has been the case this year, when Saturn also aligned to Pluto.  Here are just a couple of examples astrologers have ascribed, at least in part, to the effect of the Jupiter-Pluto’s conjunction.

• 1930-31 in Cancer: the Great Depression that spread from Wall Street to the world and its aftermath.
• 1955 in Leo: the day of conjunction, November 1, became the earliest date for the official recording of American combat deaths in Vietnam, as well as the start of the social unrest against it that continued to divide America and the world to the war’s bitter end in 1975. 
• 2020 in Capricorn: the first pass of this conjunction occurred in early April when the pandemic became more widespread and serious. The second pass happened on June 30, four days shy of the horrible explosion that rocked Beirut, exposing the criminal neglect and corruption of the Lebanese government.  July was also the month the pandemic took a turn for the worse in many regions of the world. On November 14 we will witness the last of these fateful alignments. It is not all bad news though! Being the last of these alignments this should also bring the beginning of closure to the issues that have plagued the world thus far. Whenever Jupiter is involved in a major transit, even a difficult one, the aftermath is often a collective expansion of consciousness, greatly helping to make sense of otherwise inexplicable misfortunes.

Mars still extremely active and influential

Mars, Retrograde since September 10, ignites the current period with the second pass of its frustrating angle to Saturn in Capricorn (90 degrees) on September 30, an alignment whose influence will spill over the first two weeks of October and yet return in mid January 2021. This is the transit so far principally responsible for the social unrest we have seen enacted in a number of countries all over the world: related to the intense frustration caused by the unprecedented government measures to minimize the spread of the pandemic, as well as exasperation with rigged elections (see Belarus), governments’ failures and corruption, endemic racism and police brutality.
Retracing its steps through Aries, Mars will also reach again its challenging angles to the other two planets in Capricorn, forming a 90 degrees angle to Pluto on October 9 and to Jupiter on October 19 (both angles to be repeated for the last time on December 24 and January 23 respectively).  These transits could again escalate social unrest all over the world, exasperation with governments’ failures, political and ideological divisions. We have seen the power of Mars (the God of War) to instigate conflicts and rebellion, to jump into the fry without thought of consequences, following an often blind instinct to head on address real or perceived wrongs. Another period likely to produce open conflicts and widespread intolerance is approaching. More of the same is on the world cards, not just for the rest of this year but also the beginning of 2021, when things should hopefully begin to ease up.  

Retrogradation of Mercury from Scorpio back into Libra (October 14 to November 4)

Last but not least Mercury will go through its last retro period of 2020, from on October 14 to November 4, moving direct only after the US presidential elections. This seems to highlight the potential for communication breakdowns, general chaos, mistrust and flourishing of misinformation during the last league of this historic campaign.

On October 14 Mercury will become Stationary Retrograde between the 11^th and 12^th degree of Scorpio. On October 28 Mercury will re-enter Libra and continue to transit this Sign all the way to the 25^th/26^th degrees, becoming then Stationary Direct on November 4, to re-enter Scorpio for good on November 11. Of great significance during this Retro period will be three passes of difficult angles to Uranus in Taurus, Neptune in Pisces and Chiron in Aries, in early and late October, and again in mid November.
During the whole of Mercury’s Retro period avoid, if you can, to make serious commitments or big purchases, as circumstances are likely to change in the near future, so that early choices may give cause for regret.

Lunations in October-November: Aries Full Moon, October 2, 7.05 am – Libra New Moon, October 23, 5.30 am – Taurus Full Moon, November 1, 0.49 am – Scorpio New Moon, November 15, 3.07 pm – Gemini Full Moon, November 30, 7.29 pm, also a Lunar Eclipse.

Critical days in October: September 30: Retro Mars in Aries square Saturn in Capricorn – October 2, 7.05 am : Aries Full Moon – October 8: Mercury in Scorpio opposition Uranus in Taurus – October 9: Retro Mars in Aries square Pluto in Capricorn – October 11: the Sun in Libra square Jupiter in Capricorn – October 12: Jupiter in Capricorn sextile Neptune in Pisces – October 14: Mercury turns Retrograde + the Sun in Libra opposition Mars in Aries – October 15: the Sun in Libra square Pluto in Capricorn – October 18: the Sun in Libra square Saturn in Capricorn – October 19: Retro Mars in Aries square Jupiter in Capricorn – October 20: Retro Mercury in Scorpio opposition Uranus in Taurus – October 23, 5.30 am : Libra New Moon –

Critical days in November: November 1: the Sun in Scorpio opposition Uranus in Taurus, as well as Taurus Full Moon, 0.49 am – November 4: Mercury turns Direct – November 14: Jupiter conjunct Pluto in Capricorn – November 15, 3.07 pm: Scorpio New Moon – November 17: Mercury in Scorpio opposition Uranus in Taurus – November 30: start of the last Eclipse season for 2020: Lunar Eclipse at the Gemini Full Moon, at 7.29 pm. The next Solar Total Eclipse, at the Sagittarius New Moon, will occur on December 14.

The Astrology for August-September 2020: the crisis continues… Focus on Mars and Jupiter trine Pluto

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‘Monks’ Garden’ by Catherine Nelson

A shorter version of this article has been published in issue 113 of the Uki Village News.

The Big Picture

All serious practitioners could tell you that predicting anything via astrology is an enterprise fraught with difficulties and pitfalls. In fact, at any given time, many factors play upon the cosmic stage, creating a medley of often discordant voices. There are special times however, like the present, when it is relatively easy to match the planetary chorus with the exceptional events we are experiencing. The astrology has tellingly shown us the peaks and valleys we have gone through as the transits of the major actors, in the Sign of Capricorn, reached their climatic alignment, slowly separated, only to gain strength again. The peak times, so far, have been March/April and June/July.

August and September may seem less eventful as the slow moving planets Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto separate from their fateful alignment and the eclipse season is behind us, even if not quite spent. The next major peak, with the third and last Jupiter-Pluto’s conjunction should not happen before mid November. That is, if it were not for Mars’ prolonged transit in Aries; more of Mars later.

Capricorn Jupiter’s harmonious angle to Neptune in Pisces

A beautiful Jupiter-Neptune’s transit (second pass of a 60° angle, exact on July 28) shines a bright light on an otherwise difficult period ahead. This particular influence, whose first pass was one of very few positive aspects last February, will remain active this time well into August and then return, for the third and last time, on October 12. The energies of those two Planets, when in harmony like now, promise a reawakening of spirituality and goodwill, and an evolving philosophy of compassion and acceptance that could help us greatly to deal with the challenging trend still in the cards for the next few months.  Considering the power Mars is gaining from now to the end of the year, through a long period of retrogradation and difficult transits, this harmonious alignment could help to develop the qualities that are now more than ever needed to avoid all out conflicts, in our personal and social lives.

Focus on Mars

Mars entered Aries on June 28 and, due to Retrogradation (Sep10-Nov14), it will transit Aries all the way to January 7 2021. This is very important because some of the Red Planet’s difficult transits, becoming exact at first in August and September, will re-occur from October to December, even spilling over into 2021. These transits will be triggering again the planets at the centre of the present crisis.  A transit of Mars lasts, on average, from a few days to a week. In this instance however Mars’ motion will slow down considerably, fact that will cause its transits not only to last longer but also to be more intense and problematic.

The astrological Mars controls our physical drive, spontaneous reactions and the desire to act upon our impulses, to be direct and assertive or, negatively, manifests as our uncompromising, confrontational, aggressive, me-first tendencies.

Mars square Jupiter: August 4 – October 19 2020 + January 23 2021
The Mars in Aries’ transits will begin on August 4, with a right angle to Jupiter in Capricorn. The same will be repeated on the 19^thdegree of same Signs on October 19 (and, from Taurus to Aquarius, on January 23 2021!). This is a transit for risk taking and the irrepressible urge for freedom of action and expression. A sense of self-righteousness may prevail in the collective, as well as an exaggerated sense of entitlement, lack of caution and forethought. While it could be a positive thing to fight with courage for our rights, personally and collectively, it could also lead to more severe confrontations and divisions.  An exhalation of emotions and passions is likely around these times.

Mars square Pluto: August 13 – October 9 – December 24 2020
Next will be the right angle Mars-Pluto, on August 13. This transit will repeat on October 9 and December 24, on the 23^rd degree of these Signs, the same sensitive degree where the Saturn-Pluto conjunction occurred in early January, the aspect at the center of the whole Covid saga and its aftermath. During this transit our drive for self determination will encounter obstacles that may seem at time insurmountable. We could find ourselves in a situation we cannot control, particularly resenting its negative impact on our lives. A similar transit became active in March at the heights of the restrictions most governments had to put in place to deal with the worsening pandemic.

Mars Square Saturn: August 25 – September 30 2020 + January 13 2021.
This must be the exemplary transit of frustration and angry discontent. The desire to act out our desire is strong with Mars in Aries. It is now finding though powerful obstacles stopping us in our tracks. It could be anything, from bad luck to lack of opportunities, even other people standing in our way, making duties, obligations and commitments harder to bear than usual.

The Libra Spring Equinox, Waxing Crescent Sagittarius Moon,
September 22, 11.30 pm local time

 

click to view larger image

This is the yearly time to celebrate or sanctify the emerging of a new season, Spring in the Southern Lands and Autumn in the Northern, the Libra Equinox.

The Horoscope of this special event shows a near perfect opposition of Mercury in Libra and Mars in Aries, a difficult balance between the drive for direct action (Aries Mars) and the need for careful deliberation before taking action (Libra Mercury). Both Mercury and Mars are at right angle to Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn (t-square), stressing the potential for conflict and power struggles, and also again highlighting that the end of this global crisis is still in the future. Because the planetary configuration at this crucial time could mean a bumpy start to the new season, its celebrations could include some symbolical reminder of the need to create harmony and accord out of disharmony and discord, a balanced mind (Mercury) over unruly impulses (Mars).

The Astrology of June July 2020, with an eye on the Covid crisis. Jupiter-Saturn-Pluto alignment and Another Eclipse Season. The role of Mars

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Site for Astrology seekers and apprentices

Ask the Wild Bee what the Druids knew…

‘Temple Garden’ by Catherine Nelson

This a longer version of an article published in the Uki Village News issue 112, for June-July 2020

The big picture

A highly unusual astrological narrative began unfolding in early December with the ingress of Jupiter in Capricorn, joining Saturn-Pluto as they approached their historical conjunction.
During the coming months of June-July we will see a continuation of the same, with a new Eclipse season, and Jupiter’ second pass alignment to Pluto.

In astrology Jupiter has the function of expanding our understanding but also of magnifying events, for better or worse. Capricorn is known as the Sign of Jupiter’s ‘fall’, a term indicating a uniquely challenging environment for this planet.

The long anticipated Saturn-Pluto’s conjunction in Capricorn was of concern to many astrological seekers because both planets portend difficult and even traumatic transitions in our personal and collective lives. Joining together they foretold hard times ahead.  We know now that they brought even greater disruption and upheaval than anyone anticipated, marking a truly ‘karmic’ time for the whole planet.

Fortunately Saturn moved ahead of Pluto rapidly, leaving Capricorn by March 22. It will return to Capricorn between July 2 and December 17, but without reaching the degree of Pluto again, something we can all be grateful for. It could have been even worse!

The alignment of Jupiter to the Boxing Day 2019 Solar Eclipse, very close to the Capricorn Solstice, the start of a new season, was further confirmation of the powerful role Jupiter will play in shaping the major events of the coming year. Furthermore the January Cancer Lunar Eclipse was also aligned (opposition) to the Saturn-Pluto conjunction, another sign of the far reaching consequences of their encounter.

The narrative has not ended though because it has been and continues to be the role of Jupiter, and also of Mars, to trigger the darker energy of Pluto, until at least the end of this fateful year.  A highly activated Pluto can manifest as grievous losses and serious control issues, as shown by the draconian measures governments had to put in place and the resentment some of these have fueled in many people.

Pluto also has increased the need for honest appraisal of any situation, no by embellishment or false hopes, but by dealing with the starkly sad realities life is presenting to us at this moment. We can choose to be empowered or be crushed by it. If radical changes are not implemented now, in the way we govern ourselves, the hard lessons will have to be repeated and things may actually get worse rather than better in the future.

While Pluto forces us to confront our deepest fears, Jupiter transiting Capricorn and aligning with Pluto three times (April 4, June 30, November13) is making the impact of the Saturn-Pluto conjunction more profound and far reaching, it is also offering a new vision for the future though, a new philosophical outlook on life that will stretch well beyond the present crisis. This is obvious observing how many of us are heeding the call for change to the way we live, accepting personal sacrifices to stop the abuse of the natural environment, the exploitation of resources and of people less fortunate than ourselves. The unprecedented emergency is showing that things could be different, that our future doesn’t have to be a repetition of the past. There is certainly hope, but the outcome is, to a great extent, up to us. The old maxim that ‘the stars incline, they do not compel‘ is forever true. We can make the best or the worst of any difficult transit; as we can enjoy or spoil the positive ones.

The Eclipses

The June Eclipses, Lunar (June 6 Sagittarius Full Moon) and Solar (June 21 Cancer New Moon) are showcasing a difficult Sun-Moon angle to Mars-Neptune, the latter becoming conjunct in Pisces on June 14, also aligning then to the Last Quarter Moon, a critical time in every Moon cycle. This whole configuration could aggravate the collective tendency toward flights of fancy and unrealistic thinking, challenging our ability to see through the fog of misinformation.  It could also make us more impressionable and thus prone to errors of judgement, as well as aggravating our collective susceptibility to negative energies, psychological as well as physical. A healthy grip on common sense will be a must, in this confusing and anxiety riddled period. I fear that many could relax their guard too soon against the still clear and present danger of the pandemic (see the end of June second alignment of Jupiter-Pluto), or become easy prey to the numerous extravagant narratives that have been widely circulating since the start of the emergency.

The last Eclipse, a Lunar at the July 5 Capricorn Full Moon, concurs with the Jupiter-Pluto conjunction (already exact on June 30), the Moon aligning with them early on July 6. This particular event speaks loudly of the still present impact of all that went on previously, demanding a cautious and realistic approach to the crisis in order to master the unruly emotions and passions that could lead us astray.

The role of Mars

Let’s not forget that fiery Mars, who played such an important role in the escalation of the crisis in March, when transiting Capricorn and aligning to Pluto-Jupiter-Saturn, will enter Aries on June 28. Due to Retrogradation (September 10 to November 14) Mars will transit Aries until January 7 2021, again interacting by difficult 90 degrees angles with Jupiter-Saturn-Pluto, between August and October, December and January.  So, in my view, it is not over until is over.

The good news is that Capricorn, the central character of this entire saga, is a highly productive and realistic Sign, so that, if we manage to navigate these troubled waters with patience and a down to earth attitude, we will find plenty of strength and amazing resilience to cope with anything life may throw at us.  And, last but not least, the amazing conjunction of Jupiter to Saturn on the threshold of Aquarius, on December 22, is a beacon of hope for a better future if we embrace a spirit of reform and cooperation.

 

Paola Emma’s Astrology for December 2019 ~ January 2020. Jupiter in Capricorn, conjunction to Saturn and Pluto; Capricorn/Cancer Eclipse Season

A shorter version of this article has been recently published in the Uki Village News, issue 109.

We are now at the end of an eventful year and the beginning of a decade that will be remembered in the annals of the world as a watershed of immense consequence. Where we are going from here will very much depend on the action or lack of action the world nations will take in the area of natural resources exploitation, climate crisis, the planet endangered ecology, social justice, ongoing conflicts, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction etc.  To anyone who is keeping abreast of the national and international events it might seem that I am just stating the obvious here. The fact is that the global astrology for the upcoming period shows also very clearly an escalation, not an easing of the present crisis, social, political and ecological. At the personal level some individuals could be impacted more deeply, but we are all in it, one way or another.  We have to remind ourselves though that the extreme and volatile events we are witnessing here and around the world, as well as the intense transits I’m discussing all have a bright silver lining, providing the momentum, power and resources for addressing the unprecedented problems the planet is facing.

To start from the beginning, on December 3, Jupiter has moved Sign (a yearly event) to enter Capricorn (a twelve years cycle), indicating that the collective mindset should become more realistic in the coming year, ditching grandiose schemes for a more practical hands on approach.  Capricorn is very much a matter of fact Sign (Earth Element), as well as an active and motivated one (Cardinal Mode), so that the philosophy that Jupiter’s symbol embodies will be embracing viable alternatives rather than impossible to achieve ideals and difficult to maintain standards. Of interest to astrological students is the fact that the ingress of Jupiter into Capricorn corresponded, to a day, to the beginning of the UN Madrid Conference on Climate Change (December 2 to 13, 2019) !

What is especially significant here is that Pluto and Saturn, since 2008 and December 2017 respectively, have been also transiting Capricorn, the most important planetary indicators of the make or break nature of this historical period. Pluto will remain in Capricorn until 2023/24, while Saturn will hover on the first two degrees of Aquarius between March 22 (around the Aries Equinox) and July 2 2020, when it will re-enter Capricorn, transiting this Sign again until December 17 2020, day of its proper ingress into Aquarius. After that Saturn will remain in Aquarius until March 8 2023.
Jupiter then is the last of the history making planets to enter Capricorn. Being faster than the other two it will act as a catalyst for their energies, hopefully having a positive impact.

All these transits in Capricorn are becoming more critically significant due to the already active Saturn-Pluto’s conjunction, becoming exact on January 13 2020; undoubtedly the most important transit for the whole of 2020 and beyond. Among other factors this conjunction will also be the first, since 2009, to mark a waxing cycle of Saturn, a sign of active changes in the political and ideological leadership around the world.

The Sun, Mercury and largest asteroid Ceres (Earth Mother symbol) will also be in Capricorn, becoming aligned to Saturn-Pluto the day before and after their conjunction, strengthening the impact of the alignment. Furthermore, on January 11, Uranus will turn Direct, potentially accelerating the pace and increasing the scope of the alignment.

The frequency of such planetary configurations varies because Pluto has a very elliptical orbit, spending different lengths of time in each Sign, so that Saturn would take more or less time to catch up with it. There were three such alignments last century: the first in 1915, at the onset of the Great War, in the Sign of Cancer; the second in 1947, in Leo, when post war upheavals changed the face of Europe, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent, historical events of enormous consequence for the whole world. The cycle that will end in January 2020 began in November 1982, with a conjunction in Libra, reaching its mid-point, a sort of climax, in August- November 2001, around the events now known as 9/11. That cycle is closing now and this could be good news! A new cycle always representing an opportunity to make a fresh start.

A factor that could make this conjunction more intense and relevant for future developments is that two Eclipses are in the cards for December 2019 and January 2020. A Solar Eclipse on the fourth degree of Capricorn will occur at New Moon on Boxing Day and a Lunar Eclipse on the 20^thdegree of Cancer will follow on January 11, when the Sun, Mercury, Saturn, Pluto and Ceres will all oppose the Cancer Full Moon and align with the Sun in Capricorn! Big stuff. Eclipses often mark eventful times, individually and collectively, crises encouraging significant changes of perspective.

Before we can find in history the same conjunction of Saturn and Pluto, in the same Sign of Capricorn, we need to go much further back in time, to January 1518. This was the beginning time of the Protestant Revolution of Martin Luther. These events and their aftermath changed European culture in a big way, in particular helping to separate the religious authority from the secular. That revolution introduced new philosophical concepts centered on human rather than divine law and justice. It is odd that the 1518 historical alignment occurred around the same time of the year, on January 3 of the Julian calendar which is eleven days behind the Gregorian calendar we use now, introduced only in 1582. This means that the Sun was around the same degree of Capricorn as it will be on January 13 in 2020. Furthermore Uranus had also just entered the Sign of Taurus, as it is the case now!

Comparing the historical changes that occurred then could provide us with some inklings of upheavals this conjunction may bring, with due consideration for the obvious differences between then and now. The Protestant revolution, with all it failings and horrors, was basically a rebellion against the Catholic Church’s autocratic rule and its authoritarian high jacking of both worldly and spiritual laws. Capricorn represents in fact the power that is established by tradition and the passing of time. Pluto‘s function is to shake Capricorn’s established order from its roots, eliminating those aspects that do not align anymore with the growing global consciousness and the current needs of the planet. It is also in the nature of Pluto to create power struggles that can destroy our collective sense of belonging. Pluto is not a gentle energy but a rather forceful one, when issues are faced squarely and often ruthlessly. It is the planet of necessity rather than choice, when things have to happen, no matter what. A plutonian transformation is like birth or rebirth, never an easy process. Saturn, on the other hand, aligning with Pluto, can provide practical ways to address the challenges those radical adjustments present, realistic guidelines that could bring the collective to some very positive outcome, if we don’t put up too much resistance, leaning hopelessly toward the status quo, the devil we know. Saturn could add the resilience and efficiency needed to address the challenges the Pluto’s radical adjustments demand. Ultimately their conjunction indicates a strong drive toward major re-distributions of power around the world.

One person who may do well to watch out for these complex cosmic event is USA President Trump because the zodiacal degrees involved are in near perfect opposition to a conjunction of Venus to Saturn in Cancer in his Birth Chart. Also Neptune transiting Pisces will soon reach a difficult ninety degrees angle to his Birth Gemini Sun and Sagittarius Moon, his very own personal Full Moon! No wonder he is already feeling he cannot trust anyone and cannot see his future from the fog. We could prepare for even more irrational and misleading performances from this controversial man.

If you like to celebrate the Capricorn Solstice, the ancient pre-Christian winter festival, the date and time this year will be: December 22, 3.19 pm local time.

Cosmic February and March 2019: keeping it ‘real’: Square from Jupiter in Sagittarius to Neptune in Pisces; Mercury Retro in Pisces

A shorter version of this article has been already published in the Uki Village News in early February 2019.

The Earth Signs

A shift toward the Earth Signs will characterize the astrological months of February/March 2019. Venus will be transiting Capricorn from February 4 to March 2 (marrying creativity with business sense), and Mars Taurus from February 14 to March 31 (a dogged, often hard working position for Mars). The historical ingress of Uranus in Earthy Taurus will take place on March 6, this transit continuing to 2025/26. Of course Saturn, the Lunar South Node and Pluto are also still in Earthy Capricorn, to 2020 and 2023/24 respectively.
To add to the above the Chinese Lunar New Year has welcomed the smart PIG, this time associated with the EARTH ELEMENT, the last Earth Element Animal before the switch to the next Element, Metal, from 2020. Each Element lasts in fact for twelve years and is in turn associated with each of the Twelve Animals.
So, for the long term as well as the short term, planning, discipline, dedication and hard work are top prerequisites for success.

Jupiter and Neptune

On the other hand, the 90 degrees angle between Jupiter in Sagittarius and Neptune in Pisces represents, this year, the biggest challenge to the Earth Signs’ need for realism and practicality (January14-June 17-September22). Jupiter is in fact the planet of expansion as well as exaggeration, and Neptune the planet of spirituality but also of confusion and passivity, together encouraging divorce from reality and from what is truly possible in the circumstances. And this is, after all, the most powerful transit of 2019!

We will all have to struggle somehow between these opposing Earthy and Psychic forces, their high contrast making our collective approach to problem solving fraught with contradictions and some paralysing moments. We will need to find ways to reconcile them and make their union fruitful.

In the short term the prevailing energy is encouraging us to work through difficulties rather than sweep them aside or avoid them. The Earth Signs will make sure that things eventually catch up with us and we will have to face the music. Prevention is definitely better than cure for the Earth Signs.  Getting too emotional will not serve our purpose either. Clear, practical, viable solutions will be available but we will need to put some real effort in, downsizing our expectations and waiting patiently for results. Immediate gratification of desires or easy windfalls will not be in the cards for most of us at this time.

Venus in Aquarius

From March 2 to 27 Venus will move to Aquarius, a lighter, more socially minded position for Venus, marking an ideal time for group works, friendships and love matches founded on mutual respect, learning, traveling, mixing with different people, networking of ideas, emotional independence etc.

Mercury Retrograde in Pisces

In Pisces since February 10 Mercury will turn retrograde on Pisces’ very last degree on March 6 (same day Uranus enters Taurus). This period will last until March 29. People who were born with Sun, Moon, any Planet or one of the Four Angles (Ascendant – Descendant – MidHeaven – LowerHeaven) in Pisces or in any of the Mutable Signs (Virgo-Gemini-Sagittarius) will experience more personally the effects of this retrogradation: delays, communication breakdowns, misunderstanding, mechanical problems, tech issues, as well as striking insights, flights of intuition and creative  imagination.

Uranus in Taurus

On March 6 Uranus will enter Taurus, for good this time, until 2025/26. This extremely significant shift will gain even greater momentum in 2020, when the Saturn-Pluto’s conjunction in Capricorn will contribute to a quickening of planetary, political, social, economic and cultural transformations, with make/break situations for individuals and the planet to face squarely.

For in depth analysis of the transits of Uranus in Taurus and Chiron in Aries please navigate HERE to my April 2018 article.

Chiron in Aries

Worth of mention is also the unobtrusive final ingress of Chiron in Aries, on February 18 (until 2027), marking a whole new cycle for the planet of Healing! Looking back at the most recent times Chiron transited Aries (1918/1926-27;1968/1977), we see much struggle to realize historical social reforms: women suffrage, gender equality, sexual revolution, peace versus war. Aries, symbol of unbridled and often toxic masculinity, is going through a face of healing and higher learning from which it will emerge transformed.

 

 

November 7/8 2018: Jupiter enters Sagittarius (one year long transit) – Uranus is back in Aries – The Lunar Nodes shift in Cancer and Capricorn

Lord Jupiter

JUPITER enters SAGITTARIUS today, November 8, 11.39 pm (Australia Eastern Summer Time).

In a recent post on the major transits active in November-December 2018 I have called the ingress of Jupiter in Sagittarius ‘splendid’. This because Sagittarius is a much more suitable environment for Jupiter than Scorpio has been.
The Fire, Air and Mutable Signs in particular (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius, Libra, Aquarius, Gemini, Virgo, Pisces), and, in some way, all of us could profit from the inspiration and optimism of this year long transit, offering  opportunities to right some of the wrongs we have uncovered during the Jupiter’s transit through Scorpio and to look with greater confidence into the future. Jupiter will be in Sagittarius until early December 2019.
On November 7 Uranus re-entered Aries in retro motion too and thus squared again the Nodes (link to past and future eclipses)! The same day the North Node shifted into the back of Cancer, from Leo, and the South Node into the back of Capricorn, from Aquarius. This is a very significant combination of major transits around the time of the USA mid-term elections (November 6); also close to the New Moon in Scorpio (November 8).
Uranus square the Lunar Nodes is an ongoing transit that has manifested recently in intractable political chaos in many countries, as well as unprecedented weather events. More of the same, I suspect, is in the cards for the remaining of this year.

Lunar and Solar Eclipses, Mars in Leo, Trump’s Astrology, Jupiter aligned to Pluto-Uranus and Mercury Retrograde, a lot to process in August and September

a picture is worth a thousand words

This article was published, in a shorter form, in the Uki Village News, at the beginning of August 2017

Mars in Leo aligned to the August Eclipses. Whoopee!

An intense Eclipse Season is again upon us, this time aligned to the axis Leo-Aquarius (and indirectly to Taurus-Scorpio) and made livelier by being associated with Mars. The Eclipses are: a Lunar at the Full Moon in Aquarius (opposite Sun-Mars conjunct in Leo) on August 8, and a Solar at the Leo New Moon, on August 22, aligned this time to Uranus in Aries, the traditional Sign of Mars, while Mars itself will be by then conjunct the Moon’s North Node, an interception point on the Earth orbit which is connected to Eclipses.

The Mars theme is obviously strong at this time, enhancing the possibility of confrontations, conflicts and escalation of issues that may have been dormant for a while. In a positive sense this means a clearing of the air and a healthy moving away from stale situations, especially after the second Eclipse. The August 8 Lunar Eclipse represents in fact a climax of some kind, when things are revealed or realized, while the Solar Eclipse, on August 22, signifies a cutting off from the past and a radical new start.

Mars in Leo

Mars, the main catalyst of all these cosmic energies, will be transiting Leo between July 20 and September 5.

When Mars moves Sign, every two months or so, a shift occurs in the way we act out our desires, assert ourselves and defend ourselves from real or imagined dangers. Naturally people with different planetary placements in their Birth Charts will respond to Mars’ changing energy in their own individual way.

Mars in Leo provides the type of energy that can be spontaneously channeled into creative activities. The energy should be high and focused. Brightness and warmth accompany this placement when found in a Birth Chart. Collectively also this Mars’ position can provide added warmth, brilliance and passion to everyone’s life.

Mars will remain in Leo until September 6. Leo is considered a positive placement for Mars, providing the fiery passion the Red Planet feeds on, but also containing that passion and controlling it, enabling us to utilize the positive energy for creative and enterprising feats.

Donald Trump’s Astrology

A case in point:  the transits to the Birth Horoscope of USA President Trump. Around the time of the Lunar Eclipse, on August 8, transiting Mars will be aligned to Trump’s Birth Pluto (one explosive conjunction, like putting a live match in a keg of dynamite); while, during the second event, Mars will be close to his Birth Mars and the Solar Eclipse degree will be in near perfect alignment to his Birth Ascendant (born in NY on June 14 1946, official time 10.54 am). Both Mars and Jupiter are soon due to return to his Birth Horoscope’s positions, marking endings and new beginnings. At the same time Saturn is forming the last alignment to his Moon (conjunction) and Sun (opposition) in August and September, the same transit active since his presidential inauguration, making the job itself feel very hardous to Trump, the routines tiresome, the responsibilities heavy. All these combined factors further stress the significance of this period in his life.

Two New Moons in Leo, one on July 23, the other on August 22

The first New Moon in Leo occurred on July 23 2017, at 7.45 pm. The New Moon fell on the same day the Sun entered Leo (1.15 am), and just about an hour after the ingress of the Moon in Leo (6.33 pm). Because that New Moon was at the very beginning of the Sign there will be another Leo New Moon on August 22, on the 28^th degree of Leo, just before the Sun‘s ingress into Virgo. This latter New Moon will be the Solar Eclipse spoken of before.

Jupiter alignment to Pluto and Uranus

Collectively, to add to the intensity of all the above, Libran Jupiter will be forming its last major alignments to Uranus and Pluto (before entering Scorpio on October 10): a right angle to Pluto in Capricorn on August 5 (close to the Lunar Eclipse) and an opposition to Uranus in Aries on September 28. In this case the Cardinal Signs are highlighted, also showing that accelerated changes, even upheavals, are now possible and the start of brand new phases in the life of the collective as well as many individuals. The role of Jupiter is to help us strive toward greater understanding of our place in the world, lifting us up and out of a too personal outlook on life. Its alignments to two of the most powerful ‘astrological transformers’, Pluto and Uranus, is now matching Jupiter’s widening of perspective with greater willingness to embrace radical changes, even if it means cutting the roots of deep attachments and lifelong habits.

Mercury Retrograde, a reminder…

Finally to make the period even more ‘interesting’ Mercury will turn Retrograde between August 12 and September 6, from Virgo back into Leo. To read more about Mercury’s Retro period  please navigate to my July post HERE.

Happy transits everyone.

June-July 2017 Astrology: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and the Cancer Solstice

The Cancer Solstice – June 21 2017 – Winter Solstice

Cancer Solstice 2017 – click to view larger image

Cancer Solstice 2017 Data – click to view larger image

This article was published in early June in The Uki Village News; the following is a slightly extended version.

Hi everyone, welcome to my take on the astrological period June-July 2017, gearing up to be full of surprises and new developments.

June: in early June Mercury, Venus and Mars shifted Signs around the same time. These are known as ‘Personal Planets’ because they tend to dominate our personal, day to day life for shorter spurts of time than the more distant planets, who take care instead of the big picture behind any given period.
Mars will transit Cancer from June 5 to July 20: a time that could prove emotionally challenging to the Cardinal Signs (Cancer-Capricorn-Aries-Libra). There is a real risk of falling into emotional extremes and give into irrational or aggressive behaviour: moderation and control of impulsiveness key words here. To put this transit to good use we could all employ the extra energy to tackle practical tasks and activities that need drive, initiative and courage.

On June 6 Venus entered Taurus and will transit this Sign until July 5. This is a positive shift for the Fixed Signs (Taurus-Scorpio-Leo-Aquarius), stimulating creativity, enjoyment of social activities, loving opportunities and financial ease.

Between June 7 and 21 Mercury will transit its own Sign of Gemini, a helpful development for the Mutable Signs (Gemini-Sagittarius-Virgo-Pisces), bringing greater ease in communication, learning, encouraging  travel and all activities that require mental flexibility and rapid responses.

Entering the Water Sign of Cancer on June 21 Mercury will align with Mars on June 29, greatly stimulating communication and travel, but also increasing restlessness and exacerbating the risks of confrontations and disagreements, especially for the Cardinal Signs (Cancer-Capricorn, Aries-Libra).

On June 15 the Sun will reach the yearly opposition to Saturn, the best time to observe the ringed planet in the night sky, rising as the Sun sets and climbing up throughout the night. Astrologically this is the time when we confront the results of the previous six months activities, checks and balances, successes and failures.

If you plan to celebrate the Winter Solstice (= ingress of the Sun in Cancer, its northernmost declination), this year it will fall on June 21, 2.24 pm, NSW standard time.

July: From July 5 to August 1 Venus will grace the Air Sign of Gemini, helping all of us to bond our creative talents to our ability to communicate the same to other people, an exciting influence especially for the Mutable Signs (Gemini-Sagittarius-Virgo-Pisces). This is a great stimulus for travel, friendship, parties, get-togethers, creative writing and the arts.  Mercury in Leo, between July 6 and 26, will also encourage creativity, playfulness and spontaneity, especially for the Fixed Signs (Leo-Aquarius-Taurus-Scorpio).

Mars will transit Leo from July 20 to September 5. Leo is a more compatible Sign for this fiery planet, not much oriented toward the past as Cancer, but rather projected toward the future and its brighter possibilities. This could be a positive, outgoing, creative energy especially for the Fixed Signs (Leo-Aquarius-Taurus-Scorpio).

Looking at the bigger picture now: on June 10 Jupiter will turn Stationary Direct in the middle of Libra, powering on toward its next destinations, its last difficult encounters with Pluto, on August 5 (close to a Lunar Eclipse on August 8) and Uranus, on September 28, to finally enter the Sign of Scorpio on October 10. All the developments that began earlier on in the year, but were considerably slowed down by Jupiter’s four months Retrogradation, will once more gain rapid momentum, inciting unexpected breakthroughs and radical changes, but also greater volatility and unpredictability in our personal and collective life.

Happy transits everyone

Jupiter in Libra, friend or foe?

‘The assembly of the Gods around the throne of Jupiter’ by Giulio Romano. From the vault of the ‘Sala dei Giganti’, in Palazzo Te, Mantova, Italy

Here is a longer version of an article published in the Uki Village News, October/November 2016 issue.

From September 9 this year until October 10 next year Jupiter will be transiting the Cardinal Air Sign of Libra.  This transition resonated with a bang: possibly the largest ever nuclear warhead was tested in North Korea on the very day of the transition; no surprising given that Jupiter never does anything half measure. It is not all gloom and doom though, most students of Astrology, including myself, consider Jupiter in Libra a mainly positive development for the collective.

The recent transit through Virgo (with Jupiter involved, on/off, in a rather difficult and paradoxical configuration involving stingy Saturn and open-handed Neptune) did manifest as a stifling of the generous impulses and optimism traditionally associated with this planet. This coming 12 months Jupiter will instead align to Uranus and Pluto, all now in Cardinal dynamic Signs, more likely to inspire collective changes of a great magnitude.

The fear of changes, reflected by Jupiter in timid Virgo, may be replaced by enthusiasm for trying new ideas and policies, and perhaps the ruthlessness necessary to cut the roots of a noxious past, with those in power hopefully more willing to take up the need of radical reforms.

The periods more likely to see the outer manifestation of these new cosmic alignments will be November to late December 2016, March, and then August to late September 2017. These transits will encourage many to embrace changes, collectively aligning ourselves to principles of justice and equality. In particular people with Air, Fire and Cardinal Signs highlighted in their Birth Horoscopes will be more likely to respond to this cosmic vibes, embracing a more adventurous and risk taking philosophy of life.

At the personal level the big planet could help us find new friends and make new contacts with the greater world.  Finally, Jupiter in Libra is a stalwart patron of the arts. This could be a time of feeling inspired again, in love, art and social ideals. Most importantly, it’s a time of finding our inspirations together.

Jupiter in Libra in recent history

Looking back in history at the time, last century and this, when Jupiter transited Libra (at interval of 12 years) it is easy to see how, even without the accompanying alignment to revolutionary Uranus and trans-formative Pluto active in 2017, this transit tends to manifest as positive changes to the ideological and philosophical mindset of the planet. Civil Rights and Grass Roots Movements, for example, receive a new impetus with open minded Jupiter transiting peace loving, cooperative Libra. Jupiter supports works of reconciliation between warring parties, the signature of important contracts, be they constitutions, trade deals, or something a bit more personal.

If that sounds philosophical, it’s because we’re going to be in a philosophical state of mind during Jupiter in Libra, which will form a positive aspect (sextile) to Saturn in Sagittarius, a Sign traditionally ruled by Jupiter himself.

Many financial astrologers reckon that the cardinal T-square, involving Jupiter to Uranus and Pluto, will manifest as a major economic re-balancing, or “market correction”, with equal winners and losers. Libra is balance, not meaning that balance is always achieved, but rather that balance is the ultimate goal.

Peace accords and trade agreements of great international consequence have been signed during past Jupiter’s transits through Libra, strengthening hopes that the cease fire in Syria, decided on the day Jupiter entered Libra, may hold and eventually bring permanent peace to the region.  Jupiter in Libra, at its best, could de-escalate many conflicts, at the personal and collective level, at least for a time.   Venus, traditionally associated with Libra, will go through a retrograde period starting in the opposite Sign of Aries from early March to mid April 2017, possibly an obstacle or an extended crisis in any peace process.

I list here few historical examples of events associated with the transits of Jupiter in Libra:

• In 1946 many trials for genocide and crimes against humanity were held in Nurenberg, to bring some sense of justice to the millions who had suffered before and during WWII. Strangely enough the previous transit of Jupiter in Libra (1933/34) had witnessed the promulgations of the racial laws in Germany! I cannot help seeing the similarity in the world’s situation at present, divided as we are along racial, ideological and religious borders.
• The Civil Rights Act was signed into law in 1957, a great step toward social justice in the USA.
• 1968/69 were the iconic years of grass roots movements becoming very active in all western countries, ushering the beginning of the end of the Vietnam war, the rise of political and social reforms, the so called sexual revolution etc. In 1968 there were mass protests and violent clashes in Ireland, producing some concessions to Catholic in a bitterly divided country.
• In 1992/93 the Oslo accord was signed, the first in the long running Israel/Palestinian saga.
• In 1992/93 also a Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty was also signed by the USA and Russia.
• A single European market was created in 1992, eliminating trade barriers in Europe.
• In the same years South Africa abandoned its nuclear weapons program, and the International Chemical Weapons Convention was established.
• In 1992 the Church of England admitted women to the priesthood for the first time. Also in 1992 the Project AIDS Memorial Quilt was unveiled in New York, raising awareness to the plight of million ostracised sufferers. In 1992, again the USA, women were allowed to fly military aircrafts and the first female attorney General was elected.
• In 2004/05 Kuwati women regained the right to vote (!).
• The rise of social Networking, the most powerful grass roots movement of our modern era: the World Wide Web was released as a royalty free application in April 1993, sparking a global wave of multicultural cooperation; Facebook was born in 2004 and Youtube in 2005; freedom loving net users welcomed the release of the Ubuntu free and open source operating system in 2004. Furthermore Ubuntu’s precursor was released in 1993, another Jupiter in Libra epoch.
• Advances in astronomy and space exploration:
• 1957: first Sputnik launched by the Soviet Union.
• 1958: birth of
• 1969: first manned Moon landing (with Jupiter conjunct Uranus on the very first degree of the Sign); first trial flight of Concorde; Vietnam’s peace talks begin in Paris; first Boeing 747 commercial flight.
• 1981: first orbital flight of the Space Shuttle.
• 1993: space station agreement between the USA and Russia was signed, first act of space cooperation between these super powers.      

Earthquakes

Jupiter has been orbiting in alignment with the earth’s Equator for some time now, exerting a greater pull than usual on our planet, fact that could account for the numerous Earth’s tremors and major quake events of the last few weeks.

The ingress itself corresponded to the man-made Earth’s tremor caused by the latest and biggest nuclear test in North Korea (an eerie synchronicity).

For students of Astrology I am listing here the major transits active during the whole Jupiter in Libra period:

• Mars in Capricorn squares Jupiter in Libra at 5 degrees, Wednesday, October 5th
• Mercury conjuncts Jupiter 6 degrees Libra Tuesday, October 11th
• Jupiter in Libra squares Pluto in Capricorn 15 degrees Thursday, November 24th
• Venus in Capricorn squares Jupiter in Libra 15 degrees Friday, November 25th
• Jupiter in Libra opposes Uranus retrograde in Aries 20 degrees Monday, December 26th
• Sun in Capricorn squares Jupiter in Libra 22 degrees Wednesday, January 11th
• Mercury in Capricorn squares Jupiter in Libra 23 degrees Thursday, February 2nd
• Jupiter stations retrograde 23 degrees Libra Monday, February 6th
• Mars in Aries opposes Jupiter Rx in Libra 22 degrees Monday, February 27th
• Jupiter Rx in Libra opposes Uranus in Aries 22 degrees Thursday, March 2nd, 7:16 PM
• Mercury in Aries opposes Jupiter Rx in Libra 20 degrees Friday, March 24th
• Jupiter Rx in Libra squares Pluto in Capricorn 19 degrees Thursday, March 30th
• Sun in Aries opposes Jupiter Rx in Libra 18 degrees Friday, April 7th
• Jupiter stations direct at 13 degrees Libra Friday, June 9th
• Mars in Cancer squares Jupiter in Libra 13 degrees Friday, June 23rd
• Mercury in Cancer squares Jupiter in Libra 13 degrees Tuesday, June 27th
• Sun in Cancer squares Jupiter in Libra 14 degrees Wednesday, July 5th
• Jupiter in Libra squares Pluto retrograde in Capricorn 17 degrees Friday, August 4th
• Jupiter in Libra opposes Uranus retrograde in Aries 27 degrees Wednesday

Jupiter enters Libra on September 9, beginning a twelve months transit in its twelve years cycle

Lord Jupiter

The long awaited ingress of Jupiter in the Cardinal Air Sign of LIBRA happened on September 9, 9.18 pm. This transit will end on October 10 2017 when Jupiter will enter the Fixed Water Sign of Scorpio.

Jupiter has been orbiting in alignment with the earth’s Equator for some time now, exerting a greater pull than usual on our planet, fact that could account for the numerous Earth’s tremors and major quake events of the last few weeks.

The ingress itself corresponded to the man-made Earth’s tremor caused by the latest and biggest nuclear test in North Korea (an eerie synchronicity).

It is not all gloom and doom though: most students of Astrology, including myself, consider the Jupiter’s transit through Libra an improvement for the collective, when compared with the past year transit through Virgo, Sign of Jupiter’s detriment.

In the pipeline is a post discussing this important event in more details and depth.

Highlight on dreams, intuition, creativity, with ‘a get real’ twist: Mercury, Venus and the Solar Eclipse in Pisces, Mars in Sagittarius, and Jupiter in Virgo to the fore at Sun opposition

Big changes are happening on the cosmic canvas this week. In the space of a few days three of our closer neighbors are changing Signs, while a Total Solar Eclipse is looming, heralding the first Eclipse Season of 2016.

Mercury entered Pisces on March 5; Mars Sagittarius on March 6; then, on March 8/9 (depending where you are in the world) the Pisces New Moon will be a Total Solar Eclipse. On the same day mighty Retro Jupiter in Virgo will reach his yearly opposition to the Sun (while Sun, Moon and Jupiter  will be at right angle to Saturn in Sagittarius); and finally, on March 12, Venus will enter Pisces also.

The week before a New Moon is always an important time, when we feel a change is in the air, but it is still just floating within us, not yet affecting our external circumstances, until the seed of that change will be released at the New Moon and begin manifesting outwardly. This is even more so if the New Moon is also a Solar Eclipse. This special phase, combined with the highlight on idealistic/dreamy Pisces and philosophical/inspirational Sagittarius, could indeed make us feel slightly unhinged for the time being, perhaps unable to perform our daily tasks as efficiently as we wish.

When Pisces is highlighted by many transits, as it is at present, we are all given a chance to explore the psychic openness and mental fluidity of this watery Sign. Pisces can encourage us to go with the flow of things, to surrender to what cannot be changed and to find spiritual and uplifting meaning in all our experiences.

If you are the type of person who values dreams and the symbolical life, if you are an artist or would-be artist, or are already conscious of psychic or mystical tendencies, these transits will suit you well, helping you to pursue these interests in a deeper way. They could also make you even more dreamy and unpractical though (no good if you are trying to get a job or to put your house in order!).

On the other hand, if you are mainly a practical person, busy with your family and career, goal oriented and used to get your own way,  you could find this great number of Pisces’ transits a somewhat bewildering experience, bringing you out of your comfort zone, in strange and foggy back alleys, where you feel you could become irreparably lost. Your efficiency level may drop and things which are usually simple for you will seem rather complicated and muddled. If this is the case, the best thing to do will be to slow down, learning to relax and to purposely lose control of your situation, now and then, so to realize that things can run their own curse even without your constant intervention. A more spiritual, less straight and controlled life is beckoning, it would be sad if you miss that call. The dissatisfaction about your present circumstances,  the lack of direction and low energy are all telling you that there is more to life than chores, business or paying the bills.

Said that, the present Pisces transits, enlivened by the transit of Mars in the questing Sign of Sagittarius, are only half the picture because, at the same time, Jupiter, in practical Virgo, is reaching great prominence via his opposition to the Sun/Moon at the Solar Eclipse, while Sun, Moon and Jupiter are all at right angle to pragmatic Saturn, and all in positive aspect to Pluto (Jupiter trine Pluto – Eclipse sextile Pluto). These are all signs that pursuing our dreams and ideals is not going to be enough to make us feel good. We will have to try to squeeze our ideals into the straight jacket of reality in order to take better advantage of these transits. And not just for now. While a regular New Moon exerts its influence for one lunar month (until the next New Moon) a New Moon which is also a Solar Eclipse can exert its influence for many months, some would say until the next Eclipse Season (this year August/September).

The picture that seems to come out of all of this is that dreams and ideals need to be acknowledged now more than ever, without however losing sight of what is possible and what may be impossible to realize, at least for now. Jupiter is retrograding in Virgo (until May 9), meaning that we will need to revisit our ways of working, our daily habits and routines in order to achieve the results we envision, if not immediately in the near future. Next May/June the same transits of Jupiter will repeat with the planet in direct motion, a promise of fulfillment and reward for the efforts we may put in now. At least that’s my plan! On this positive note, see you next time…