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.

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

Lost Treasures and Monsters of the Deep, the Scorpio season 2012: Uranus square Pluto; Saturn in Scorpio

A full-on Scorpio season

In a nutshell: while Uranus and Pluto continue their risque dance (Aries-Capricorn square), a series of cosmic events will be constellated in Scorpio, between September and December 2012.

• On September 2 the Lunar Nodes entered respectively Scorpio (North Node) and Taurus (South Node), where they will move, in a backward motion, for about 18 months, until March 2014. This will shift the focus of many future Eclipses on these Fixed Signs.
• From August 24 to October 7 Mars is in Scorpio, bringing unconscious stuff and unresolved issues to the surface in an impetuous way, for starters. Mars will leave Scorpio one day and two days, respectively, after Saturn and Mercury enter the same Sign.
• Mercury will enter Scorpio few hours ahead of Saturn, transiting there until October 29.  Mercury will then retrograde from November 6 to 26, moving through Scorpio again from November 14 to December 11. On November 18 the Inferior conjunction of Mercury to the Sun will take place in Scorpio.
• On October 6 the ingress of Saturn in Scorpio will be a momentous event, ending its long transit through Libra that began at the end of 2009. Saturn will remain in this Fixed-Water Sign until September 2015.
• The Sun will transit Scorpio from October 23 to November 22.
• Venus will be in Scorpio from November 22 to December 16.
• Last but not least, a Total Eclipse of the Sun will occur at the Scorpio New Moon, on the 21st/22nd degrees of Scorpio, on November 14.

All the above will represent undoubtedly significant developments for all of us, and in particular for Sun in Scorpio individuals or anyone with Moon, Chart’s Angles or planets in Scorpio or the other Fixed Signs (Taurus, Leo, Aquarius).

With so much constellated in Scorpio we can expect the season to be emotionally intense for a number of people. A time to explore, transform, turn things from the inside out, to achieve a deeper sense of connection and meaning in our lives. It could be confronting and difficult, but also empowering, adding a deeper layer to our experiences.

Saturn in Scorpio

A very important feature of  the ingress of Saturn in Scorpio is the Mutual Reception then forming between Saturn in the Plutonian Sign of Scorpio and Pluto in the Saturnine Sign of Capricorn.  By transiting each other’s Sign  for the next two and half years these two planets will mingle their energies, reinforcing each other and reflecting back onto each other.
All degrees of Scorpio, Taurus, Leo and Aquarius (the Fixed Signs); Cancer and Pisces (the other Water Signs); Capricorn and Virgo (the other Earth Signs) will be, in turn, aligned to this transit, in more or less significant ways.

This will be an opportunity for all of us to learn to navigate in a mature way the emotional undercurrents of our lives, confronting some deep fears and discovering the inner resources that will help us not just to survive, but to actually thrive in a not so perfect world.

Power plays amongst people will become more apparent and we will need to stand our ground, building some healthy boundaries, staying focused and determined, without cutting ourselves off from others and becoming emotionally isolated/biased by our negative past experiences. It will be time to confront practically and squarely our suppressed emotions. We could distill ages of wisdom from this placement in the next two and half years.

There is a deep chamber in the soul of all sentient beings. This transit and the Mutual Reception Saturn/Pluto are providing a key to this secret place, but they may entail also a sense of danger and fear of infringing a taboo in exploring and disclosing the hidden side of things.

Let’s discuss the negative potential of this placement first, to get it out of the way.

A financial contraction is predicted; heavily imposed and deeply resented economical austerity; big issues sharing the world dwindling natural resources; karmic retribution for past financial errors; tough government control; punitive taxation; unemployment; a protectionist business atmosphere. We may create the lack we fear by not embracing the more radical opportunity to change our behavior (financial and otherwise) in profound ways (Uranus square Pluto).

A global increase in criminality is expected, with corruption unearthed in many places of power. Important public revelations and possibly major scandals may surface (especially during the Mercury Retro period, November 6 to 26).

There will be also greater likelihood of war and social unrest, due to these transits coinciding with the ongoing Uranus-Pluto’s square; while Saturn and Uranus are now residing in Martial, confrontational Signs, Scorpio and Aries. Judgmental and uncompromising view points, fanaticism, on all sides of politics, culture and creed, could make us collectively more insensitive and callous, regressing to a ‘eye for a eye’ attitude.

Not a pretty picture, I know, but not the end of the world as we know it either. Many truths that have been hidden will have a chance to be unearthed, with some rather wonderful discoveries to be made too, especially in the world of medicine, astronomy, physics, archeology, psychology, the occult and alternative energy sources. And there will be great impetus toward democratic changes all over the globe, and the redressing of past economic and social injustice.

At the personal level the transit of Saturn in Scorpio could also have significant positive effects, helping to develop resourcefulness and focused practicality; and providing the strength to master instinctual responses with a mature sense of reality. Rather than looking for retribution and revenge Saturn in Scorpio can also be expressed as a profound sense of justice, the sort that goes down to the core of things and finds one’s own fault too, fostering real honesty and sense of personal responsibility. Saturn in Scorpio will offer to many those difficulties that eventually forge character and strengthen will power.

Personally aligned to the Saturn transit to the end of 2012 will be: Scorpio (Oct23/Nov3), Taurus (Apr20/May1), Leo (Jul23/Aug3), Aquarius (Jan20-31). Or anyone with the first ten degrees of the above Signs highlighted in their Birth Charts. It will be a constructive but, at times, difficult period, when you’ll succeed to build solid foundations, material and psychological. It will feel OK to plan ahead, save for a rainy day, work with method and discipline. Also to make long term commitments, like marrying, having children, sticking to demanding career goals. Saturn tends to give solid forms to our ideals and dreams, shaping them within the limits of our circumstances and real abilities. Saturnine periods are always growing up periods, no matter our age.

Saturn Returns
The passage of Saturn through the Signs separates also one saturnine generation from the next, Saturn’s placement showing each Sign’s unique way of handling material and moral responsibilities. Saturn takes 29 and half years to complete its orbit around the Sun. Doing so he returns to the same place he occupied those many years ago. All of us experience a Saturn Return every 30 years or so, around the age of 29/30, 59/60 and 88/89. These Returns are the formative times in our lives, when, having completed a cycle of psycho-physical maturity we begin building the next cycle on the foundation of the previous one.

Each Return initiates us into the wisdom that each particular age can manifest. This is a Return of Saturn for anyone who was born while Saturn transited Scorpio (for a free astrological Chart, based on your birth date and time, please visit Astrodienst from HERE. Or order your $1 Rainbow Birth Chart from me, navigating to my Consultation Page HERE).
The younger Scorpio Saturn group is ready to shoulder more responsibilities and to take life more seriously; the middle group should be busy trimming from their life those commitments that are no more essential to their life journey. Having finished to ‘build their outer houses’, in the form of material and emotional security, they should be now ready to begin building their ‘inner houses’. The third group, now in their 90s, may be living in their ‘inner houses’ already, having become more introspective, in preparation for life’s greatest journey.

The shift of the Lunar Nodes in Scorpio and Taurus
The Lunar Nodes are now respectively in Scorpio and Taurus, having entered these Signs in September. This will be a 18 months long transit, to March 2014. The nodal shift is an indicator that Eclipses seasons, in the next couple of years, will often fall on these Fixed Signs and so affect more closely individuals with these Signs highlighted in their Birth Charts. Because Eclipses are doors of perceptions, opening up new horizons, life opportunities and cycles, to partake of an Eclipse season means becoming a conscious participant into the cosmic mysteries enacted by Sun, Moon and Earth, to become in a way more aligned to spiritual forces of evolution.
The first examples of this season’s Eclipses: the Total Solar Eclipse at the New Moon in Scorpio on November 14, powerful event for people who celebrate their birthday within a day or two of the Eclipse, but also for anyone with the 20th – 22nd degree of Scorpio highlighted in their Natal Chart, the beginning of an important inner/outer journey.

The Gemini Lunar Eclipse, on the Full Moon of November 28, will prove a peak experience for Sagittarians who celebrate their birthday within a day or two of the Eclipse; also for Gemini born around May 27 to 29, or anyone with Moon, Angles, Nodes, or Planets around the 6th – 7th degree of Gemini-Sagittarius.

Mercury in Scorpio

Mercury will transit Scorpio from October 6 to October 29. Mercury will then become Retrograde from November 6 to 26, transiting Scorpio again from November 18 to December 11. These transits could bring communication breakdowns and also breakthroughs to all the Fixed Signs (Scorpio-Taurus-Leo-Aquarius). Important public revelations and possibly major scandals may surface during this period, due to Scorpio ability to dig deep to the murky bottom and to bring up hidden stuff, all sorts of nasty secrets perhaps, symbolically and literally.

End of 2012 Astrology, September to December: Uranus square Pluto. Uranus mid-life crisis

‘The expulsion’ by Arthur Boyd

An introduction

I would like this time to introduce my astrological musings with a warning about self-fulfilling predictions. And to stress here the importance, in these difficult times for the world, to maintain a constructive outlook on things, in order not to bring even greater difficulties upon ourselves.

Many astrological articles, looking into the present planetary cycles and alignments, seem to be pervaded by a sense of impending doom, their speculations too often close to fear-mongering. Mix that with the interpretation some give of the end of the Mayan Calendar, and we have a successful recipe for Armageddon.

This gloomy outlook, I think, is only partly due to the objective state of the planets, but more perhaps to the dark fascination we all feel (I included) for powerful archetypes like Saturn, Pluto, Uranus, now strongly activated. These are the ancient and feared Lord of Time and Karma (Chronus-Saturn), Lord of the Underworld (Hades-Pluto) and mysterious Uranus (Ouranus), the aloof and faceless first Sky God, the ancestor of the lot.

Collective guilt, unavoidable as we fully realize the mess we have made of the world, seems to call for collective retribution. Saturn then is going to chill us to the bone and smother us, taking the last hint of hope from us; Pluto will be a pitiless Judge, intent at destroying us. And Uranus could zap us all in a second! Such Gothic fancies cannot be helpful in meeting the demands of the Age.

More than ever we need now faith in better things to come, and knowledge that these troubled times will also pass, hopefully leaving us stronger and wiser as a collective.

Like individual human beings the Earth too reaches crisis point. Things erupt, the collective goes crazy for a while, the weather is more extreme; there are more significant seismic activities, more widespread conflicts and other man-made disasters. I would add though that, at such times, also great discoveries are made, unparalleled scientific breakthroughs, while dramatic progress is made in the realm of ideas, social justice, psychology, medicine and healing, with also a revival of all things ‘spiritual’, as we seek guidance, reaching one of history’s turning points.

In many ways the carpet is pulled beneath our feet though. If things didn’t need to change radically from where they are now, the crisis could not occur. Crisis are cathartic, purifying events. They bring us to a point from where we can only ascend again.

Consciousness is in fact growing in this darkening world. This may seem a paradox, but it is indeed a reality. Looking in the past, during the slow decay of old civilizations, ideals were born to inspire the seekers of the next Age. The same is happening in the first decade of this millennium, when the old world order is inevitably crumbling, while fresh seeds are sown of a more humane, inclusive and abundant world.

I like to see this period as an early stage in the long process of birthing a new global awareness, 20, 50 or 100 years into the future. The beginnings of a New Age must be like a child’s birth, difficult and painful, but also exciting and ultimately transformative.

 Ongoing struggle: the Uranus-Pluto’s square

During the last season f 2012, from the September Libra Equinox past the December Capricorn Solstice, the 90 degree angle between Uranus and Pluto is, at first, steeling the celestial show again, becoming exact on September 19, and remaining active throughout the season. This will be the second of seven passes, the recurring transit lasting until 2015. The square is colouring in intense hues the opening of the Equinox season as it did the previous Cancer Solstitial season, last June, a sign that collective experiences of upheaval and struggle are still very much on the cards for the world, a tension that is not likely to find easy or conflict-free solutions.

Individuals in more direct alignment with this transformative transit will be: Aries (Mar25/Apr2), Cancer (Jun27/Jul4), Libra (Sep28/Oct5), Capricorn (Dec27/Jan2); or anyone with Moon, Planets, Chart’s Angles, Lunar Nodes between the 5^th and 12^th degree of these Cardinal Signs. They will be more likely to experience this planetary conflict personally enacted in some areas of their lives, depending on the particular orientation of their Birth Charts (their Ascendant, Descendant, Mid-Heaven and Lower-Heaven).

The Sun will bring the Uranus square Pluto to our conscious attention around these dates in particular: on September 29, when the Sun will oppose Uranus and square Pluto (forming as it were a Grand or Cosmic Cross with the configuration), and on December 30, when the Sun will conjunct Pluto and square Uranus.

At the personal level both planets could manifest as irresistible agents of change. While their ultimate aim is the same, though, the way they go about achieving it is very different. Uranus urges one toward greater individualism, while Pluto shows where we need to let go of the attachments that bind us to the un-evolved or un-lived past, perhaps a toxic past. Those ties are hard to undo because they may have become main stay in our life so far, in the form of a social role, a job, a relationship, a life style, all seemingly vital to the survival of our sense of personal identity. There our core-wound lies, badly in need of the light of consciousness to heal. Looking into this dark stuff (Pluto) while maintaining a clear level of detachment and emotional objectivity (Uranus) is the psychological edge upon which we are asked to thread at these times.

If your Birth Chart happens to be directly aligned with their aspect, between roughly 2010 and 2015, the Uranus-Pluto’s square should manage to move you from a stuck situation, if you find yourself in one. Being forced out of an existential impasse could prove difficult, perhaps traumatic for some, but it will force a resolution to the issue, a painful but necessary initiation into a more authentic life.

Uranus, the astrological mid-life crisis and the 84 years cycle of Individuation

The square Uranus-Pluto will also have particular significance for some 40/42 years old individuals, born roughly between December 1968 and September 1970. This is because, in late 2012 and early 2013, the transiting Uranus in Aries will be reaching the opposition to their Natal Uranus in Libra.

The Uranus’ mid life transit always offers an opportunity to discover or re-discover one’s true vocation and creative drive, the genuine calling often hidden beneath familial and social conditioning.

A certain peculiar restlessness is telling you that positive changes, even a complete u-turns are indeed possible in your life, if you find the courage to embrace what most inspires you and excites you. Very significant psychological and spiritual breakthroughs are possible at this time. Frustration and unhappiness will be the results of missing this train though, out of fear and other misgivings.

An older generation, turning 82/84 around this time, people born when Uranus was transiting the same degrees of Aries last time (roughly between June 1928 and December 1929) will be experiencing instead their Uranian existential end of cycle, a last chance to become more truly the individuals they were meant to be.

An external manifestation of this could be the tendency to become more eccentric, at time even uncooperative and intractable, especially if they feel that they never had a chance to have their own way. It is indeed the end of a great cycle of life, not just for them as individuals, but for the whole world. Think of the enormous changes that have taken place since their childhood and youth.

Look out for my next post on the end of 2012 Transits, concentrating on the full-on Scorpio season.

Uranus square Pluto, the Astrology of upheaval and change: now and in the 1960s …

Uranus in Aries square Pluto in Capricorn

The 90 degrees angle between Uranus and Pluto will dominate but not monopolize the coming Solstice season. Numerous transits involving Chiron, the ingress of Jupiter in Gemini, the transits of Neptune newly in Pisces, and the last passage of Saturn through Libra are all important developments too.

There is no doubt though that this is one of the most influential transits in many years, repeating seven times, between June 2012 and March 2015, its effects likely to linger for the whole decade. If interested these are the dates: Jun24–Sep19,2012 – May21-Nov1,2013 – Apr22,2014 – Dec15,2014 – Mar17,2015.

In direct alignment with this transit, from May 2012 to the end of 2012 and beyond, will be:  Aries (Mar25/Apr2), Cancer (Jun27/Jul4), Libra (Sep28/Oct5), Capricorn (Dec27/Jan2); or anyone with Moon, Planets, Chart’s Angles, Lunar Nodes etc. between the fifth and twelfth degree of the above Cardinal Signs. Generally speaking everyone, with an emphasis on these Signs or not, is in for a life-shake up of great magnitude, when it would be not only a question of seeing the positive side of changes coming our way but of being able to ride the storm and stay safe in the midst of great social and personal upheavals.

Not only we should not view this transit in isolation though but, to understand it better, we need to look at it as part of a longer synodic cycle, describing the unfolding of these planets’ mutual relationship, from one conjunction to the next.  The Uranus-Pluto cycle takes an average of 127.30 years, but this can vary considerably due to Pluto’s extremely elliptical orbit.

The conjunction that started the present Uranus-Pluto’s cycle occurred in Virgo between 1962 and 1968 (becoming exact in 1965/66). The whole 1960’s decade was thus under the spell of this cosmic encounter, and no wonder!

The present phase can be equated to a First Quarter Phase. Now we are striving to achieve what we have envisioned those long years ago, what collectively we put in motion during the Uranus-Pluto’s conjunction in the 60s. Now we should feel prompted to fulfill some of the promises of that revolutionary era. Time for putting up a fight, defeating the obstacles on the way, actively challenging inertia and pressing forward with renewed faith and courage. On the down side we may be not so conscious of the forces at work, within and without; hence the danger of misusing the high voltage energy this planetary combination can produce. To expect a perfect happy ending to such an encounter would be naive indeed. The drive toward individuation and personal autonomy and the drive for power clash under this square.

The need to redress wrongs will be strong, even compelling for some. Many will not be able to suffer wrongs in silence or passively anymore. Some grassroots movements could become more organized, even militarized or more confrontational in their approach. Civil wars, even eco-wars will become more frequent, often unavoidable because of the urgency many feel in these times of quickening.

The friction generated by the square is not new to the world. Even if the aspect has not been quite exact until now it has in fact come close enough to produce already powerful effects on the collective, as it is easy to perceive in the escalation of conflicts, revolutions and natural disasters since 2008. We should not forget actually that in 2010 and 2011 this transit was strongly augmented by Saturn in Libra and Jupiter in Aries that also linked it to the Eclipses of June-December 2010 and July 2011. Viewed this way the coming exact square, in June and September 2012, seems perhaps less threatening now that Jupiter, Saturn and the Eclipses have moved away from it.

Because the present phase Uranus-Pluto has its source in the turbulent Sixties we need to look at those times to put the present situation in historical focus.

The astrological Sixties

Are you old enough to remember the 1960s? Something truly new and strange surged from the depth of the world’s collective unconscious during the whole decade, pervading all levels of human experience: a veritable ‘cultural revolution’, both for East and West. It did infect principally the minds of young people who were going through their teenage blues.

If there, you would have felt the sheer radicalism of the Uranus-Pluto’s conjunction, the extreme, even fanatical streak running through it, stuff that could have either enthralled or scared you. In hind sight the extremism was a necessary element in that first collective attempt at transforming toxic but deeply ingrained cultural attitudes.

These were the times of Bob Dylan’s subversive songs, of journeys to the East that brought new beliefs into the west mainstream culture; Indian Gurus beginning to attract thousands to their timeless teachings, with the words Karma and Dharma becoming part of our international dictionary of life.

It was the time of psychedelic experimentation, mind opening LSD trips, sexual revolution, free love (the San Francisco’s Summer of Love happened in 1966); women emancipation, civil rights campaigns and riots, the first demonstrations for gay rights, the shamanic insight of Carlos Castaneda writings (‘The teachings of Don Juan’ was published in 1968), that popularized the forgotten cultures of pre-Columbian America.

The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Pink Floyd, the Doors, the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and many others changed the way we experienced music, their songs anthems of the dawning of the New Age. It was also a time of reactionary assassinations (J.F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King), the escalation of the Vietnam War and the Russia/West Cold War, the proliferation of nuclear armaments, the erection of the hated Berlin’s Wall, China’s own Cultural Revolution (1966). The list could go on and on.

Many died in the sixties or suffered harsh retaliation fighting in the name of freedom and justice, for their commitment to change. And it is still happening. People will need inventiveness and an unwavering courage in their beliefs, in order to seriously challenge the powers to be.

The radical choices that many made in the 1960s have changed lives in a way that would have been unthinkable just a few years before. The same is happening now to countless youths all over the planet.

Of course we cannot attribute all the special qualities of that decade solely to the Uranus-Pluto’s conjunction because other factors certainly contributed to it. Like, for instance, the transit of Neptune in Scorpio that made delving into social, racial and sexual taboos and upholding peace a sort of spiritual quest, a journey of collective redemption.

The decade ended with the first manned trip to the Moon and the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969, as Uranus was moving from Virgo to Libra.

Two iconic movies, that to me epitomize the era, are ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ and ‘Easy Rider’ released respectively in 1962 and 1969, both pictures successfully exploring Uranian and Plutonian themes of taboos and rebirth.

From the above it should be easy to understand what sort of energy we are dealing with now, when these Destiny Makers come together again. Now as then the call for revolutionary changes of attitudes is ringing very loud and clear but so are the dangers of conservative reactionary movements to unleash the might of their power, bent as they are at maintaining the status quo in world politics and ecology. As old Bob sang in 1964: ‘… There’s a battle outside and it is ragin’. It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls, for the times they are a-changin‘.

More than ever, while struggling to transform the world, we will be forced to look at our own demons, because real change can only come from within.

Horoscope of the ingress of the Sun in Aquarius, January 21, 2012 – Another incarnation of the Jupiter-Saturn’s opposition

In these difficult economic and social times every ingress of the Sun in a new Sign is important to watch the developments of collective issues.

The most obvious transit of the Sun at the time of this ingress, colouring the whole Sun in Aquarius period, is the T-square the Sun if forming with Jupiter in early Taurus and Saturn in late Libra, themselves in out of Signs opposition to each other. This Jupiter-Saturn’s aspect  brings back memories of the past two years, when Jupiter was still transiting Aries and opposing Saturn in May and August 2010, and again in March 2011. The difference is that the present opposition will never become exact. It reached its closest contact (01° 57′) around January 10,  and now Jupiter, Direct since the end of December 2011, is separating from Saturn while Saturn will soon move back through Libra in retro motion. The fact that the configuration is a T-square introduces an element of tension in the contacts the Sun is making and also of urgency, the tug of war between expansion and restriction of the Jupiter-Saturn’s opposition in need of becoming more conscious (Sun) at the collective level, in order to introduce reforms (Aquarius) that could help to bring about a better outcome for this difficult transit.

I re-post here something I wrote in June 2010 about the Jupiter-Saturn’s opposition, because it seems relevant with what the news are telling about the present state of the world economy: “

Many different astrological traditions ascribed great importance to the mutual aspects of Jupiter and Saturn since very early times, with particular emphasis on the conjunction and opposition. We shouldn’t forget that, before the ‘discovery’ of Uranus in the late 18th century, and later on of Neptune, Pluto, Chiron and the various Plutons or Dwarf Planets, Jupiter and Saturn were the most distant planets we consciously knew about, therefore their cyclical interaction was naturally deemed significant for the destiny of people and nations.

The conjunction is considered the start of the whole cycle and also of an upward trend in world affairs, while the opposition is the culmination or climax of the whole period and also the beginning of a downward trend. The impact of this particular opposition could be indeed very great considering that Jupiter is, at the same time, also conjunct Uranus, a planet that always lives up to his reputation of harbinger of major changes.

Why Jupiter, archetype of plenty and good luck, should be involved in an economic recession or depression, some may ask? Well, the eternal dance of Jupiter-Saturn, now closing up on each other, now separating, make them exchange energies and, at times, take one the colour of the other, so expansion follows contraction and so on.  At conjunction time, for instance, Jupiter coming onto Saturn impart on Saturn his own sense of optimism and the vision of future possibilities for improvement and gain. People then tend to spend more, feel more confident about the market economy, saving less, consuming more, thus creating, for a time, greater demand for goods and services. Great recent examples are the economic boom and financial optimism that pervaded the world in the early 1980s (Jupiter conjunct Saturn in Libra in 1981) followed by the more pragmatic and critical early 1990s (Jupiter opposing Saturn between 1989 and 1991), when, in the words of the then Finance Minister and future Prime Minister of Australia, Paul Keating, we experienced the ‘recession we had to have”. Or the optimism at the start of the New Millennium (the 2000′s Jupiter conjunct Saturn in Taurus, both square Uranus in Aquarius, warning of the risks of unchecked expansion) that pre-dated the present period of uncertainty and lack of confidence, with fear we all share of not being able to pay back the debts we incurred in more optimistic times………

……. Some countries, like China and India, are still enjoying their boom, but the financial pundits are already warning of the risks involved in this unchecked growth. These fast growing economies will have also to begin slowing down soon, in order to avoid the same pitfalls western countries have fallen into due to the same recklessness and greed.

So, if we hoped the world’s financial vows to be over or, at least, mending, we need indeed to think again. The general predictions for this opposition are gloomy, especially because it is just one aspect of a number that also seem to indicate negative trends. One of the most significant is the slow transit of Pluto in Capricorn (for the next fifteen years), indicating the ongoing need to radically change the way we do business with each other and also the use and abuse we make of Planet Earth’s natural resources. There will be tax and banking reforms, and those will not   happen without the sacrifice and loss of some of the security, comfort and even luxuries we have become accustomed to…..

…..The Jupiter-Saturn opposition is the culmination or climax of a cycle that began in the year 2000, before 9/11 changed everything, and will end only in 2020. Now this Twenty-Twenty has been a mantra-year on many lips, since the Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen in December 2009, because it is in that far off year that many countries agreed to meet their reduction targets. Judging from the present transits it seems to me that we may have to wait that long perhaps to see real and lasting improvements of the present situation. The next conjunction will be at the gate of Aquarius (zero degree) and will herald the beginning of a more democratic and humanitarian trend in world affairs. Symbolically that 2020 Jupiter-Saturn conjunction could sanction our official ingress into the Aquarian Age. To read more about the historical effect of the Jupiter-Saturn’s opposition, in the same article, click HERE.

Contemporary with the present instance of this opposition are the harmonious aspects that Jupiter and Saturn are forming with Neptune on the last degree of Aquarius, on the verge of entering Pisces and a whole new Neptunian period. Jupiter is separating from an out of Signs sextile to Neptune and Saturn is applying to a trine to Neptune, never quite reaching it remaining very close to it until February. These Neptune’s contacts show the positive impact a more inclusive and compassionate outlook could have on the affairs of our planet. Neptune can in fact make the opposition Jupiter-Saturn easier to bear but only if its spiritual principles of compassion and tolerance are upheld. An opposition is defined Easy in traditional Astrology when another planet happens to form a trine and a sextile to the planets in opposition, thus helping to release some of the tension and conflict of the aspect.   To learn more about astrological aspects and configurations of aspects please click HERE to go to my relevant Tutorial Page.

Another important solar transit at the time of the Aquarius ingress is the sextile of the Sun to Uranus in Aries. This harmonious aspect shows how positive would be to face our collective problems with a mind free of old conditioning, and the willingness to accept major changes in the way we live and conduct our businesses in this world ‘on the brink’.  Resisting this trend could have instead very negative consequences, that I’m afraid, at this point, could not be completely avoided anyway. The coming Uranus-Pluto’s square, exact for the first time in June 2012, will be a titanic battle between old and new ways, that will rage for a few years, during which time we will have to decide to which side we give our alliance. Sitting on the fence will not be a practical alternative.

Some other developments occurring during the Sun in Aquarius period: the ingress of Neptune in Pisces on February 4, and the  Retrogradation of Mars in Virgo, beginning on January 24 and ending on April 14. You can find articles on both the Neptune’s ingress into Pisces and the Retrogradation of Mars HERE.

Pluto in Capricorn, 2008/2024

Aged Angel by Odilon Redon

I re-post here an edited version of an article I wrote for the Art of Healing in 2008, around the time Pluto was making his first ingress into Capricorn.

I came across it while putting some order in my Articles Page. I feel that the transits of Pluto in Capricorn remain as significant today as they were then, especially in the light of the third pass of the Jupiter trine Pluto at the end of October and of the square Uranus-Pluto to begin in 2012.

You may find the following relevant to your experience if you, like me, have had or are having your life turned inside-out by Pluto.

One thing is certain: we all experience Pluto at times in our lives, for short or long periods. We all need Pluto’s crisis to sound our depths and evolve.

Pluto in Capricorn marks a time of heightened emotional experiences for Capricorn, Cancer, Aries, Libra. One does not need to be born under one of these Sun Signs; having the Moon, a Chart’s Angle or a planet in these Signs will be sufficient to experience Pluto in a personal way. Because of Pluto’s extreme slow motion different degrees of the same Signs will be touched by its transits during the course of years (2008 -2024).

Apart from people directly aligned to this transit, the unrivaled power of Pluto will be felt by many more in potentially destructive and/or liberating ways.

But what in Astrology we mean by the power of Pluto? How this mysterious body, relatively small and nowadays even demoted from the rank of major planet, could possibly have such a profound impact on our experience of ourselves and the world?

Lost in the coldness of space, at a bizarrely long distance from the Sun around which it revolves in a long elliptical orbit of 248 years, Pluto‘s cycle oversees the destiny of many generations. In the length and pace of this historical cycle we can begin to glimpse the meaning of Pluto’s power over our lives. This power come to us from the ancestral past and project us into an unknown future, full of potential but also of changes that will make the present disintegrate and our sense of security and continuity shatter. That’s why we associate Pluto with ultimate experiences, death and passions alike, and with the renewed sense of life and meaning that is sometimes attained after serious traumas or periods of deep personal crisis. Pluto is known to operate the way volcanoes do, stirring for a long time in the bowels of the earth, to erupts or even explode, in time, with sudden devastating force.

The transits of Pluto can give us a frightening sense of how much subterranean currents drive our external lives, often totally unrecognized by our conscious selves. We tend to experience the power of Pluto via the agency of other people or the hand of destiny. But people and even circumstances, which seem beyond our control, are mirrors, often dark and mysterious, of our own longings, our unlived lives and those traits of character we are unable to accept in ourselves. Pluto in particular suggests our drive to control and manipulate, a very difficult trait to acknowledge in oneself, but easily spotted in others (the New Testament’s ‘mote in thy brother eye‘).

All the disowned bits come back to haunt us and claim admittance in our conscious lives. This is the reason why Pluto’s Transits can be so confronting, because we have to recognize as belonging to us sentiments and behavior we thought were alien, even repellent to our idea of ourselves. The potential of a Plutonian crisis is truly amazing and life changing.

Experiences of loss and separation are possible, though Plutonian crisis eventually bring their rewards, in the realization of how much more true to yourself you have become, and how much more profound and meaningful relationships you can now experience. The positive, life giving side of this transit could manifest as a surge of passion, a grand passion of sort: an event or relationship becoming the catalyst to a whole new sense of identity and life direction.

Apart from those who are directly challenged by Pluto, the entrance of this epoch making planet into a new Sign is significant for all of us, showing the collective karma of the time continuum it presides over.

Capricorn represents the skeletal structure in the human body as well as the social and moral structure of society, the work ethics, the government, authority and dynastic goals of each generation. Pluto embodies those indispensable crisis and losses that are a vital part of human history and evolution. Pluto transforms past decay into the fertile humus of the future. This combination suggests the need for changes in the structures and mores we have been used to and upon which we have based our sense of collective security. Pluto is coming along to overcome and terminate these aspects of the old social structure that have outlived their usefulness.

Looking back at the historical occurrences of Pluto’s passage through Capricorn we discover that the more recent transit happened between 1762and 1778. This was a time of great political and economical ferment, culminating, in one example, in the American Declaration of Independence, in 1776, and the war with imperial Great Britain. This fostered the birth of the American nation, event that dramatically altered the old world order.

Pluto was also in Capricorn between 1515 and 1532, an epoch of religious and philosophical turmoil in Europe, with Martin Luther publicly challenging the Papal Church for the first time in 1517. This was the beginning of the Age of Reformation, another great leap in history, ushering a profound change of outlook, for all faiths. Secular and religious powers become then separated, the beginning of a truly modern way of thinking. In 1522 Magellan also circumnavigated the globe for the first time; this event too changing spectacularly the established order. And in 1521 the Aztecs were defeated by the Spanish Conquistadors, not just another victory but a real milestone for the destiny of South American and the whole world.

We will experience, in the next 16 years, the slow but sure transformation of our ideas of authority and government. We could also see, at least at first, a more rootless approach to government and power. These are attempts at controlling what is really uncontrollable, the vital urge for change which is broiling unheeded in the depths of our collective psyche. More draconian laws and restrictions on privacy and individual rights could be the last, tough resistance of a system destined to soon crumble, having reached the term of its natural life (Pluto in Capricorn).

But what about the children who will be born with Pluto in Capricorn (2008-2024). Some already call them “The Reformers’, for obvious reasons. They will certainly yield individually more power and clout than previous Pluto’s generations. They will be compelled to challenge the status quo and transform the social fabric in dramatic and profound ways, from the inside out, breathing new life and meaning into the old structures, ruthlessly getting rid of all the outlived functions.

Abuse of power, which is indeed a grave risk with this position of Pluto, can only be counteracted by more and more individuals becoming themselves empowered, taking fuller responsibility for their lives, participating more wholeheartedly into the working of society and the task of governing. Gaining power over one’s own inner life a person can defuse and weaken the external control of any power to be.

Pluto was officially discovered in 1930 while in Cancer. Around that time scientists were attempting the first atomic fission (accomplished by Fermi in 1934) and Pluto has come to represent, amongst other things, the destructive potential of nuclear power. As Pluto in the next sixteen years completes its half cycle since its discovery, the management of this dangerous energy will become an even greater preoccupation for many world governments and people (Capricorn).

The Carbon Tax and Jupiter trine Pluto on July 8, 2011

After the last Cancer New Moon Eclipse life has been very busy for me. I haven’t been able to post as much as I wish.

Today, briefly, I would like my readers (Australian in particular) to observe the synchronicity between the first pass of the Jupiter-Pluto’s trine (harmonious aspect of 120 degrees) on July 8, 2011, and the news, out on the same day, that the Australian Labor government did finally get the number to pass the controversial Carbon Tax (tax on big polluters, with the aim to cut emissions and make a small contribution to the fight against global warming). The second pass of the same transit will happen at the end of October this year, and the third, and last, in March 2012.

As I have observed in an article I just sent to The Art of Healing quarterly: ‘Positively this Transit could inspire passion for higher causes, broadening the collective’s views (Jupiter) on the management of natural resources and sustainability issues (Pluto). The power to effect social changes could be amplified.’

The harmonious angle between expansive Taurus Jupiter and Capricorn Pluto, planet of natural resources, mining, and big corporate capital, seemed to be auspicious for promoting more enlightened views on the use of those resources. Also, borrowing words repeated ad nauseam by the leader of the opposition, Liberal Tony Abbott,  this aspect is incarnating, after all, into a Big (Jupiter) Tax (Pluto)!

I know that such marvelous synchronicity will not impress the skeptics, but it is of great value to sincere students of Astrology.

Here is the Chart of the first pass of this transit, calculated for Canberra, Australia’s National Capital.

No time for more today. ‘Til next time, enjoy your transits.

Click to enlarge

Weekly Astrological Highlights, April 25 to May 1

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THIS WEEK HIGHLIGHTS

The transits of Venus in Aries come to the fore this week, with the square to Pluto in Capricorn, on Wednesday, April 27, and the opposition to Saturn in Libra on Sunday, May 1.

On May 1 Mars in Aries will also form a conjunction to Jupiter.

The most significant solar aspect will be the 120 degrees angle (trine) to Pluto in Capricorn, exact on Thursday, April 28.

THIS WEEK MOON

The Moon’s Last Quarter falls in Aquarius on Monday, April 25, beginning the last week of the lunar cycle that was born with the Aries New Moon on April 4. This particular cycle, important because it marked the beginning of the astrological year after the Aries Equinox, started with very intense transits, delivering a month of serious international events, with the deepening nuclear crisis in Japan, the escalating democratic uprising in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere, followed by bloody repression.

We have entered collectively a period during which we may find difficult to cooperate, and when the line of least resistance will be to seek conflict rather than peace. After the Sun entered Taurus few days ago there are still five celestial bodies transiting Aries at the moment, namely Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Uranus.

The Aquarius Last Quarter phase provides a time for reflection, focusing on global humanitarian issues.  This trend will continue with the Balsamic Moon Phase in the Sign of Pisces on Friday, April 29.

The next New Moon will be in the Fixed Earth Sign of Taurus on May 3.

APRIL 27 and 28, WEDNESDAY and THURSDAY: Pluto is brought to life by the combined transits from Venus in Aries, today, and the Sun in Taurus, tomorrow, April 28.

On April 27 Venus in Aries is exactly at right angle to Pluto in Capricorn. This transit, as well as the Sun-Pluto’s angle exact tomorrow, will remain active for three/four days, from April 26 to 28.  Individuals directly aligned to this transit are Aries, born March 27 to 30,  Capricorn, born December 28 to 31, Libra, born September 30 to October 3, and Cancer, born June 28 to July 1. Or anyone with Moon, planets or Chart’s Angles around the 7th and 8th degrees of the same Signs.

The Venus-Pluto’s transit cannot be separated from the conjunction Venus-Uranus that was exact on April 23, or the upcoming opposition Venus-Saturn, due on May 1. They are all part of the present Venus’ story, affecting the way we relate to each other on the planet.

Like Mars did in recent weeks Venus is now playing the role of trigger to bring to manifestation the energies of the slower moving planets. Venus brought Uranus to life inciting rebellion against the status quo in our relationships at the end of last week, while today, contacting Pluto, she helps to reveal the shadowy side of relationships, and later, expressing the power of Saturn, she will make us more aware of relationships’ limitations and responsibilities.

Venus-Pluto is not a fuzzy, lovey-dovy kind of transit, it is far too intense and truthful for that. Great passion combines here with great difficulties, forcing us to look into those irksome issues we often prefer to ignore or gloss over. We may get the chance to explore power struggles, control issues, sexual difficulties, loss in love, changes we find difficult to accept but that are unavoidable. It should help to better understand what makes our relationships thick, and what needs to change in us so that we can begin to relate in a more authentic way. If we are unable or unwilling to look within for answers this configuration could instead contribute to destructive feelings, such as jealousy, resentment, excessive pride, and, in some cases, even to violent behavior.

Art being also the realm of Venus this aspect could help us to express our feelings into more passionate and truthful forms of art, not just beauty for beauty sake.

On April 28 the Sun is also in aspect to Pluto, and a positive aspect at that (trine), hopefully helping us to experience the square Venus-Pluto in a more constructive way.

Whenever the Sun contacts a planet an opportunity arises to integrate the planet’s function in our conscious life. Despite the obvious difficulties of the Venus-Pluto’s square, the Sun in trine to Pluto could direct the spot-light of awareness onto the hidden layers and dark recesses of our relationships and life patterns. This should stimulate the desire to make meaningful changes in these areas, taking full emotional responsibility for what happen to us or finding the inner strength to end relationships that have become toxic.

MAY 1, SUNDAY: a mixed bag of transits today, all originating in Aries, but of a rather different character. Aries Venus is opposing Saturn in Libra, a limiting, sobering influence, while Aries Mars becomes conjunct Jupiter, an exhilarating, expansive aspect.

Despite the fact that these transits are exact on the same day, different lots of individuals will be aligned to them.

The Venus-Saturn’s opposition will be active for about three days, from April 30 to May 2, touching in particular Aries born April 1 to 4, Libra born October 5 to 8, Cancer born July 3 to 6, Capricorn born January 2 to 5, Leo born August 4 to 7, and Sagittarius born December 4 to 7. Or anyone with Moon, planets or Chart’s Angles around the 12th degree of the same Signs (11th to 13th).

If you feel lonely and unloved today, or just a bit cold and gloomy, blame it on Saturn.

The reality is that today we have been offered an opportunity to test our ability to be alone, without feeling lost or emotionally bereaved. The function of Saturn in fact (a saturnine adverb) is to help us build enough ego-confidence, self-authority and self-respect to stand in our own light, even in matter of love.

When connecting to Venus Saturn  demands that we find emotional fulfillment in ourselves first, before we start looking for it in other people.

Negatively this could be a reality check transit spoiling any romantic notions we may have about love, showing our relationships in a stark light, not embellished by wishful thinking and desire, but rather the way they really are. Or, and that’s the trap, through a darkling glass of pessimism and cynicism. In this way secure and dependable relationships may seem devoid of spark and boring, while new ones may fail to excite, because we are in the mood to expect the worst from them, feeling basically not just unloved but unlovable.

This planetary combination is better expressed through love in action, landing a hand to others in need, especially the elderly, or getting into down to earth activities, like gardening, pottery, wood working, crafts of all sort, where Saturn’s practical knack becomes attuned to Venus’ eye for beauty.

Few hours after the Venus-Saturn’s opposition Mars reaches his once every two years conjunction to giant Jupiter.
This transit will be active for about six days, from April 29 to May 4, touching in particular Aries born April 10 to 15, Libra born October 13 to 18, Cancer born July 12 to 17, Capricorn born January 11 to 16, Leo born August 12 to 17, and Sagittarius born December 12 to 17. Or anyone with Moon, planets or Chart’s Angles around the 22nd degree of the same Signs (20th to 24th).

The Mars-Jupiter’s conjunction has a quite opposite nature to the Venus-Saturn’s contact.

Venus and Mars attract each other because of their dissimilarities, like male is attracted to female and viceversa. They form one of the best known couples in the planetary pantheon.

Saturn and Jupiter also form a couple of sorts, with Jupiter embodying the function of expansion and Saturn that of contraction. So, as much as Saturn will limit and define our experience of love and relationships (Venus) today, Jupiter will stimulate our desires, prompting us to reach out for what we want in a confident way (Mars).

The Mars-Jupiter’s conjunction is a risk taking transit, through which we may even become too bold and cocky for our own good, impressed by such high expectations that the reality of things may prove rather disappointing, once the enthusiasm begins to wane, later on.

Positively this transit could provide a great injection of confidence, faith in oneself and life, desire to start something new, and aspiration toward bigger and better things. Especially because it happens in this very idealistic and passionate Sign it could provide a vision of the future we may want to live by and believe in during darker moments. Save this ray of sunshine for the rainy days that will unavoidably come.

Click here for my most recent post on the June to September 2011 Major Transits

Click HERE for my recent post about  the Aries Equinox conjunct Uranus

If interested, please click HERE to navigate to my recent Venus in Aries’ post .

Click here to navigate to my most recent post on the transit of Uranus in Aries, and other major transits.

For more information about the ingress of Neptune in Pisces, please check two of my posts on the subject HERE and HERE.

A post on  Jupiter transiting Aries can be found HERE.

For a list of all Transits this week and for the rest of the month please CLICK HERE to the Monthly Transits Page

or HERE to navigate to the Astro-Calendar Page.