The last two months of 2011 are not quiet on the cosmic front, that’s for sure. November features a Solar Eclipse, Mercury Retrograde and the 11:11 dynamics. The really big news is that Fixed Star Regulus moves into Virgo from November, after more than two thousand years in Leo. This coincides with Mars going into Virgo where it will hang out for 8 months – for Mars, that’s a long stay in a zodiac sign.
December also promises to be interesting with a Total Lunar Eclipse mid-month and of course the December Solstice. It may not be the long-talked-about 2012 December Solstice that the Mayan calendar ends on, but it’s still a December Solstice in phase with the Galactic Centre, as all December solstices will be until approximately 2016.
On top of all that, throughout November and December there’s the added intensity of the North Node making a long, slow alignment with the Great Attractor. I’ll explain that, and the above later, but first, a glance back at October and Comet Elenin and Carl Calleman.
It turns out that Comet Elenin broke up into tiny pieces before the time of its closest predicted pass to Earth on 16 Oct. It’s now completing its path through the inner solar system as fragmented bits of dust and ice. NASA says its ‘gone and should be forgotten’ and calls it a trail of ‘piffling particles’: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/asteroids/news/elenin20111025.html
Just because a cosmic body broke up into small particles and has zilch gravitational influence, does this mean it’s to be ignored? To astrologers, anything cosmic that captures the collective ‘field’ or mindset is noteworthy. Many in the public have been captivated by this comet, so much so that NASA felt compelled to comment. Symbolically, Comet Elenin seems to be making a big deal out of being small.
As this comet completes its course through the inner solar system, it brings the chance to engage with the seemingly insignificant. Synchronistically, the zodiac sign of the small and often overlooked, Virgo, begins to feature prominently from November, as I’ll describe later.
What about Carl Calleman’s chosen Mayan calendar end date, 28 October 2011, representing the end of old consciousness? Certainly, the accelerated change energies that we’ve been experiencing all year continued in October, but the old ways didn’t grind to a halt. Yet perhaps Calleman’s chosen date for the arrival of unity consciousness speaks of something that’s happening on inner levels.
On outer levels, there are still many examples of polarity consciousness. And with the Pluto-Uranus square getting closer, we’re likely to experience clashes between old and new paradigms for some years to come. As I explained in my last forecast, the Uranus-Pluto cycle started in the late sixties when there was a ‘unity consciousness’ revolution. These two planets are now in the window period of their first major alignment since the 60s.
They officially clash seven times between 2012 and 2015. Throughout 2011, their warm-up year before really getting started next year, we’ve already seen the kinds of conflicts they represent; for example, rioting around the world, revolution against dictators and ‘Occupy Wall Street’, just to mention a few.
Yet Calleman’s work gives hope that unity consciousness is taking hold on inner levels even if on the outer material level we still need to go through the tumultuous process of birthing it. Calleman’s research syncs with what many mystics, intuitives, psychics and other spiritual types have been sensing since the 60s – that on energetic levels separatist consciousness is coming to an end to make way for a New Age of unity consciousness. His end-date for separatist consciousness is close to 11:11:11, another date with a similar theme.
The 11:11 experience speaks of how the inner and outer levels sit side by side with the powerful potential for unity between the two. So what is 11:11? Every 11th (11th day) of November (11th month) is seen as a ‘portal’ date in the same way that solstices, equinoxes, cross-quarter dates (e.g. Halloween), eclipses, new moons and full moons are regarded as times when the ‘veils between the worlds’ are thinner.
In numerology, 11 is considered a master number. This year is extra special because it’s the 11th day of the 11th month of the 11th year (2011). Many who feel drawn to 11:11 meditate on the 11th of November each year. A quick web search shows that more global meditations than ever have been organised this year. Of course, 11am would be a nice time to meditate, but really the whole day is resonant with the 11:11:11 numerology.
Usually those drawn to 11:11 have the uncanny experience of repeatedly and spontaneously looking at a clock whenever the time is 11:11. I remember this happening to me with such frequency a number of years back that I felt quite weirded out by it until I learnt it was being experienced by others too. It still happens to me by the way, but I’m used to it now!
The subconscious magnetic pull to look suddenly at the clock when it’s 11:11 brings attention to the theme of time. Perhaps the 11:11 phenomenon carries the message ‘Wake up. It’s time!’ and this is felt even more strongly this year because it’s 2011. The figures 11:11 look like the ‘hidden world behind worlds’ (the first 11) sitting beside and reflecting back the tangible material world (the second 11). The colon (:) represents either a barrier or a doorway between the two, depending on perspective.
Let’s move on from the non-astrological (Calleman and 11:11) information, and take a look at what the planets are up to in November and December.
Over these two months, some key planets shift direction. On 10 November, Neptune moves Direct after being Retrograde since the start of June. Chiron also moves Direct on 12 November after being Retro since July. While Chiron and Neptune have been Retro it’s as if we’ve had to cover old ground to mull over and understand what has gone wrong with love, kindness, empathy and heartfulness in our pasts. As they move forward again, we can make great progress with healing heart and soul wounds.
With Chiron in Pisces, and Neptune soon also to be back in Pisces, we are challenged to avoid reaching for diversions, escapes or distractions to ease the pain in our hearts. We start to notice addictions we didn’t even realise we had. We’re encouraged to surrender to the genuine support of nature and to find the conduits within our own souls that connect us to our spirituality.
Uranus goes Direct on 10 December after being Retrograde since July. This calls for action! While Retro, Uranus helped us question why we are afraid to act or why we so often repress what we want to say or do. Now that Uranus is moving forward in action sign Aries, it’ll be harder to suppress or repress. Instead, we’ll be inspired to actually make the changes we need to make, not just wonder about them.
Jupiter goes Direct on 26 December after being Retrograde since late August. This joyous planet of luck and growth is in money-sign Taurus. While Retro in Taurus, Jupiter has had us pondering what life will be like if the world economy continues to crack. How can we earn a decent crust? Do we really need all those possessions every ad on TV lures us into wanting? What are our true values? How can we be thrifty without compromising quality or ethics?
Given that Jupiter will remain Retrograde until just after Christmas, we have a chance to act differently when Christmas shopping this year. Jupiter wants us to work out how we can make our own luck and bring ourselves the most genuine and lasting experiences of joy and fulfilment through wise choices with money. While in earthy Taurus, Jupiter is cautious, even after coming out of Retrograde from Boxing Day onwards.
While other planets shift forward again, Mercury instead goes Retrograde in Sagittarius on 24 November and stays that way until 14 December when it goes Direct again. Sagittarius is a zodiac sign associated with parties, living the good life, holidays, travel, gambling, entertainment, hospitality. Similar to Jupiter Retro, this Mercury Retro happens just before Christmas.
Mercury asks us to double-check all plans because chances for misunderstandings are intensified. We may say or do impulsive things while in a party mood that have a deeper impact than we would ever wish. It’ll be important to check for parts of ourselves that hold an attitude that someone should ‘just get over’ something and move on. This could lead to insensitivities and indiscretions that trigger pain and upset.
Mercury in Sagittarius wants to have fun, but not everyone experiences fun in the same way. If we discuss differences rather than impose our way on others, assume the worst or point the finger, this particular Mercury Retro can open doorways and help relationships blossom. Yet it could just as easily slam doors shut if we don’t take responsibility for interactions that go awry.
Sagittarius is also the zodiac sign associated with deeper truths, philosophy, morals and ethics. In November and December, the North Node (indicating a destined turning point) slows down in Sagittarius and spends the whole two months aligning with the Great Attractor. This is powerful. It’s as if on a profound layer beneath the already busy energies of November and December, each of us is subliminally tuned into the voice within that communicates strongly about the next destined steps in our unfolding life plans.
The Great Attractor is an invisible mass that, through its intense gravitational allure, pulls our Milky Way Galaxy and tens of thousands of other galaxies toward it at the rate of 600 kilometres a second! It was only discovered a few decades ago because it’s not visible on the light spectrum, yet radiates on all other spectrums. It’s not a black hole, but instead is thought to be a supercluster of galaxies. Science is still learning about this massive intergalactic energy force that draws us all inexorably towards it.
So what happens when the North Node, a point that takes our destiny forward, aligns with the Great Attractor? We might reach turning points that seem as inevitable as the movement of our galaxy toward the Great Attractor. We might experience deep urges onto a pathway different from the one we’re on, which momentarily throws us into chaos as we try to process and understand why we are being drawn in a certain direction.
Perhaps we realise we’ve been moving toward someone else’s ‘great attractor’ energy and need to recalibrate to our own. Or we might feel deep confirmation that we are already on track with our chosen pathways. The destiny point (North Node) aligned with the Great Attractor speaks of a reckoning with what we are being pulled toward and an opportunity to align with what we know in our bones to be our true journey.
From 13 to 17 November, Venus and Mercury, both travelling side by side, join with the North Node/Great Attractor, highlighting relationship and financial issues. From 6 to 8 December, the Sun meets up with the North Node/Great Attractor. This inspires us to embrace and enjoy the adventure we’re being drawn toward. Mercury heads backwards over this North-Node/Great Attractor combo from 1 to 4 December, then makes its last pass from 27 to 29 December, helping us to make sense of it all and clear up communication glitches.
As if that wasn’t enough to bring opportunities for destined turning points, there’s a New Moon Solar Eclipse in Sagittarius on 25 November, and then a Full Moon Total Lunar Eclipse in Gemini on 11 December. Eclipses can bring awareness breakthroughs and sudden action. So if there’s a decision you’ve been sitting on, or something you’ve been waiting on, things could activate around the time of the eclipses.
These two eclipses are likely to bring turning points in communication dynamics, so take care where there are different beliefs, values or hot emotions at play. They also take to the next level something that was initiated mid-year.
On 11 November there’s a Full Moon in Taurus, making 11:11:11 even more potent. Taurus brings Planet Earth into full focus and issues of careful respect for resources and sustainability. It’s a zodiac sign to do with what is abundant or what is scarce. This is a powerful day for releasing fears and bringing full attention to finding ways to realistically (i.e. not only through visualisations) create the money, resources and lifestyles we desire. To add even more impact to 11 November, this is also the date when Mars enters Virgo for an extended stay. More on this soon.
The December New Moon in Capricorn happens on Christmas Day and, just a few days prior, on 22 December is the Summer Solstice (or Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere). Christmases for a few decades have had extra intensity due to the December Solstice alignment with the Galactic Centre. This Solstice is no different. It calls for ending restrictive traditions, embracing and preserving the traditions that are still full of life, or cultivating new ones.
Both the December Solstice and the New Moon are in Capricorn, heightening feelings over rewards or disappointments for hard work throughout the year, and the pleasures or difficulties of connecting with our family or social traditions. Whether we feel satisfaction or dissatisfaction with our long-term connections with others and how our year has gone, these are days to be fully present to what went right and what went wrong; to celebrate successes and use them to inspire our 2012 plans, plus commiserate losses and toss them in the year’s garbage can.
Finally, let me explain why the zodiac sign Virgo is coming into prominence, and all about the Fixed Star Regulus. Fixed stars are the bulk of the stars we see in the sky. They’re different from planets in that they don’t move discernably in forward motion from zodiac sign to zodiac sign. They stay in a zodiac sign for millennia. But due to the Precession of the Equinoxes (the same large-scale cycle that now has the December Solstice Sun aligning with the Galactic Centre for the first time in 26,000 years), the Fixed Stars do move a fraction each year.
Regulus, one of the four Royal Stars, is moving into Virgo. Some place this shift into Virgo in 2012, yet I’m using the data from the astrology program, Solar Fire, which has calculated the movement date as 28 November.
So why, of all the stars in the sky, should we care about this one? Essentially Regulus is one of the core stars in one of the four cornerstone constellations that have captured religious and esoteric interest since ancient times. The constellations are the Lion (Leo), Eagle (Scorpio), Bull (Taurus) and Man (Aquarius) and their brightest stars are respectively Regulus, Antares, Aldebaran and Fomalhaut. These four creatures feature in the World and Wheel of Fortune cards in tarot decks.
Each of these stars is said to be a ‘watcher’ or guardian of its quarter of the sky and one of the four directions (North, South, East and West). These stars always stay in their core constellations but are overlaid by the ‘energy zones’ of the zodiac signs through precession. If you’re confused about the difference between zodiac signs and constellations, you might like to read this article.
For a number of centuries, the other three Royal Stars have been overlaid by the mutable zodiac signs Gemini (Aldebaran), Sagittarius (Antares) and Pisces (Fomalhaut) making Regulus the odd one out because it’s been overlaid by Leo, which is a fixed zodiac sign. When Regulus becomes overlaid by Virgo, these four Royal Stars will be in sync with each other again because they will all be in mutable zodiac signs.
It’s shorthand to say ‘Regulus moves into Virgo’ (rather than is ‘overlaid by Virgo’), so I’ll revert to saying that. With all four Royal Stars in mutable sign energies, the theme of change increases because the mutable signs Gemini, Sagittarius, Pisces and Virgo are the most flexible, versatile and changeable zodiac signs. Now that all four of them are out of fixed signs, it’s harder for old stuck ways to stay in force.
This brings the zodiac sign Virgo into full focus as Regulus, one of the four cornerstone stars, shines brightly there for the first time in approximately 26,000 years. As if to add emphasis to this occasion, Mars moves into Virgo on 11 November and spends much longer than it ordinarily would there because in January it shifts Retro in Virgo. Mars is like a red hot chilli pepper in whichever zodiac sign it visits, bringing the energies of that sign to the boil.
So what is Virgo all about? Virgo makes things whole by bringing them back to a ‘virginal’ state. In the big clean up, Virgo discards what is toxic and keeps what is sustaining. It’s seen as a purifying zodiac sign with a skill for assessing every small detail to discern what to keep and what to discard.
Regulus is the star associated with the Lion and royalty. With Regulus shifting into Virgo there’s a sense of ‘royalty’, leaders and other authorities having to take into account the ‘small people’, the public, in ways they’ve never had to before. The ‘Occupy’ movements make a stand against the 1%. Regulus going into Virgo helps, over time, redress the imbalance of a small percentage of the world population having such privileged access to power and resources.
What part of our personal lives needs to be like royalty coming down from its throne and paying attention to the small things that could later grow into problems? What small seeds can be planted now that will later grow into something magnificent? As the saying goes, ‘from little things big things grow’. While other zodiac signs get carried away with the big stuff, Virgo knows the power of the small to make or break things.
With Mars, the archetype of the warrior, in Virgo for the next 8 months, we’ll be fired up to get things done. On the upside, we could achieve a lot. We’ll be inspired to get cracking on projects that have stalled, been overlooked or put in the too-hard-basket. We’ll cast an analytical Virgo eye over them and work out whether they are still in line with our true goals.
On the downside, Mars can provoke aggression and angry outbursts. It’s not particularly comfortable in Virgo because it can’t easily express its fiery nature while in a zodiac sign that demands respect for details. We’ll be challenged to notice in what ways we have become efficiency machines at the expense of something meaningful or necessary in our lives that we may have overlooked.
Virgo is associated with health, pets, nutrition, food production and domestic or service-related work. Do we ignore our health to charge ahead? Do we forget to show appreciation for those who work behind-the-scenes to keep the cogs turning? We might flare up when performing vital but not particularly glamorous tasks if treated as insignificant or less important than others.
We also might become critical of ourselves or others by getting bogged in minor points that really don’t matter. Small things that we can usually tolerate could really start to irk us. We’ll need to use calm-headed Virgo discernment to work out whether the small detail that’s driving us nuts is worth arking up about or best left alone.
Virgo is an earth sign. We become aligned with its positive and wonderful qualities when we immerse ourselves in nature and relish the exquisite details in plants, flowers, animals and insects etc. If we become frazzled with worry, it helps to take time to enjoy exercise, eat delicious nutritious meals, relax into some body pampering, clear our space, and find something soothing to focus our attention, like bead a necklace or build a shed. Before we know it, the Virgo knack for brilliant problem-solving flashes back in.
So the year ends with all power to the small. Perhaps unity consciousness will show itself through the small choices we make as individuals in our communities as we go about our daily tasks. This makes me think of the Butterfly Effect. Every choice in every moment affects the whole in some way, as everything is interconnected. Small acts of kindness, gentle courtesies and respectful exchanges are possibly way more necessary now than we could ever imagine.
May many acts of kindness wing their way towards you over the next couple of months. Wishing you a special festive season.