You might like to kick back with a cuppa to read this e-news as it’s longer than usual. I’ve taken the time to review the general planetary events in 2008, especially in light of the latest global economic dramas. It seems a fitting thing to do under Mercury Retrograde – the perfect cosmic time for reviewing, reassessing and reformulating.
In September’s AstroWeather I discussed how Jupiter and Pluto both came out of their Retro motion and moved Direct on 8th & 9th September. In our personal lives this might’ve helped us gain clarity, vision and optimism, but as far as the global economy goes, when these two came out of Retro we gained so much clarity about the world financial situation that it was a little overwhelming. It’s as if Jupiter and Pluto laid all their cards on the table soon after coming out of their Retro phases and showed us exactly what we’re dealing with. Retro phases can be associated with the dark and discovering what’s been overlooked or hidden in the past. During their Retro phases, these two seem to have dug up substantial dirt and plonked it in full public view upon their return to Direct motion.
You might recall that financial markets started looking shaky in January. This coincided with Pluto shifting into Capricorn. Previously Pluto had been in Sagittarius since 1995 (13 years). Given how long Pluto spends in a zodiac sign (anywhere between 13 and 30 years depending on the sign), when this planet changes signs we generally notice it on a world scale. This is why many astrologers have labelled the start of 2008 as the “beginning of 2012″. The year 2012 has captured our imaginations as the time when ‘the party is over’ and the end of a large cycle in humanity’s evolution is reached. The ancient Mayans ended their calendar at the December solstice 2012 to signal this completion. Messages from modern Mayan elders indicate that the next cycle is to be one where the masculine and feminine energies come into balance. Our current world age has been overly masculine. Previous world ages (e.g. matriachal, goddess-worshipping times) have been overly feminine. It is said that the coming age provides humanity with the opportunity to create a workable balance between masculine and feminine.
It seems ‘2012′ has become a catch-phrase to sum up all that we associate with the ending of this age and the beginning of another. Indications that this phase is upon us showed up in 1999 when the astrological event that the ancient Mayans anticipated started its alignment. The year 2012 is estimated to be the most exact phase of this alignment, yet it doesn’t completely move out of phase until 2018. What alignment am I talking about? The technical term is: ‘The Precessed Solstice Sun conjuncts the Galactic Centre’! A simpler way of putting it is that in December 2012 it will look like the Sun is falling into the supermassive blackhole at the centre of the Milky Way, known as the Galactic Centre. Still confusing? If so, imagine the symbolism of the Sun in our sky falling into a blackhole at the centre of our galaxy – doesn’t sound good does it? Of course, the Sun won’t actually fall into this black hole – it will just look as if it is doing that (that’s if we could see it, but we can’t because it happens before dawn – yet some places in the world might be able to get a brief visual of this at the December solstice sunrise). We’ve had this eerie feeling of the Sun falling into a black hole since 1999 when this alignment came into phase, and I imagine we’ll still be dealing with this eerie feeling beyond 2012 until at least 2018 when the alignment moves out of phase.
In 2008, we’ve had some strong astrological indications that it’s a year of reality checks. There’s been a focus on earth signs and earth signs are very much associated with the practicalities and limitations of the real world. If you’re an earth sign you probably understand this better than other signs. You know the importance of saving your pennies and budgeting etc, and you also have a knack for being able to do this, whereas other zodiac signs, especially fire and air signs, tend to be more carefree and idealistic.
Jupiter – the planet of fun, excess and adventure – has been in Capricorn all year (Jupiter spends 1 year in a zodiac sign and moves out of Capricorn in January 2009). Capricorn starts with the letter C and is all about consequence. A basic definition of Jupiter in Capricorn could be ‘the consequences of excess’. With Jupiter in Capricorn it’s important to discover which of our past goals (whether conscious or subconscious goals) have led to ‘Wrong Way Go Back’ signs. It’s a time to face consequences and create new goals from what we have learnt. It’s important not to get caught in stuck feelings of guilt or shame for past mistakes, yet the only way to move beyond those feelings is to honestly acknowledge them, make amends where amends are needed (or ask for compensation if you feel you’ve been on the receiving end of others’ mistakes, always remembering that you too could make mistakes in your life – we’re all human after all). Jupiter is on our side to help us move on positively from the past but only if we acknowledge our part in the past first.
Here in Australia we have a cultural story to attend to of moving on from the past before first acknowledging and making amends for mistakes. The issue of the Stolen Generation, and other actions that have adversely affected Aboriginal Australians, has taken a long time for our government to acknowledge. In January 2008, when Pluto moved into Capricorn, the Australian government finally apologised to the Aboriginal people. Australia’s birth chart has the Sun in Capricorn, yet the Australian chart also has five planets in Sagittarius (Jupiter’s sign). In fact, in Australia’s chart Jupiter is in its own zodiac sign of Sagittarius, showing the Australian tendency to move on with optimism and hope (Sagittarius & Jupiter energies) before fully acknowledging past mistakes. Now that both Jupiter and Pluto are in Capricorn, Australia (being a Sun in Capricorn country) seems to be coming into its maturity (a Capricorn word) by acknowledging past errors.
Back to the topic I began with – the world economy and Jupiter and Pluto’s ‘revelations’ since coming out of their Retro phases. In January when Pluto first moved into Capricorn, it was as if Pluto said ‘look you lot, I’m about to shake things up to prod you to face a thing or two’ and then gave us a taste of what was to come on the world economic stage. In June, Pluto moved back into the zodiac sign Sagittarius where it had spent the past 13 years as if to say, ‘okay everyone, in case you don’t quite get it, I’m now going back in time to help you see what has brought on the need for consequences’. Pluto’s sojourn back into Sagittarius over the past couple of months has indeed raked up information on Sagittarian excess. Pluto even took Jupiter, the ruler of Sagittarius, back in time with him, perhaps to help him face some Sagittarian errors! We’re seeing this in the media now with CEOs being brought to account for past decisions. Remember that every zodiac sign has its light and dark, so both Sagittarius and Capricorn have their positives and negatives, but this month the negatives seem to be in the spotlight.
Pluto will finally move into Capricorn once and for all (until the year 2024) in November. It will be interesting to see what happens on the world economic stage next month when Pluto in late November settles into Capricorn. Incidentally, the zodiac sign Capricorn is associated with governments. In January the Australian government made its apology, and during the recent financial fracas, governments all around the world have become involved in their country’s banking systems to help stabilise things. By the way, banks and stability are Capricorn words too!
So finally, let’s look at October. The biggest theme this month is the continuing Mercury Retrograde cycle. Mercury went Retro on 24 September and will remain so until 16 October. Mercury is Retrograde in Libra, and some Libra keywords are: relationships, balance, justice, co-operation and choice. While Wall Street has been rollercoastering, our Mercurys (i.e. our minds) have been trying to take in the information and find balance and justice. Libra prefers us to handle troubles with dignity and grace, but whenever things go wrong and mistakes are made clear, a common human foible is to point the finger. This tips the Libran scales out of balance so that those we blame eventually point the finger back at us. Again the scales tip but to the other extreme. Perhaps, we wonder, were we too passive and just went along with things? Did we turn a blind eye? Eventually if we keep working with the Libran energy we come to realise that blaming either ourselves or others is fruitless. Libra helps us come back into fair relating so that we can find win-win scenarios to help everyone out of the present mess. Often this does require restoring peace through the justice system.
In many ways we’ve been lucky to have Mercury Retro while riding the Wall Street waves because it’s helped us slow down, reflect, review and reframe things. None of the planetary energies are bad, not even when Retro. They don’t purposefully set out to stress us. Each of the planetary energies guides us in its own way. Mercury’s ultimate aim, while Retro in Libra, is to remind us of the power of choice. Under Libra we swing from light to dark until we find balance. And in that stillness, that centre, that eye-in-the-calm-of-the-storm, we find the best and highest choice for our current circumstances. May Mercury in Libra help us all find the best ways to cooperate and collaborate during these testing times.
How interesting! I’ve just received breaking NASA news as I type this: NASA’s Messenger spacecraft flew past Mercury yesterday and sent back photographs of Mercury’s previously unseen darkside. How appropriate for Mercury Retro (remember what I mentioned earlier about Retro periods symbolising opportunities to see the dark). To add more to the Mercury theme, in January this year the Messenger spacecraft also sent back new images of Mercury (i.e. in that all important month when Pluto first went into Capricorn). Capricorn helps us manifest and make real – these photos of Mercury will certainly make Mercury more real to us than ever before. Perhaps the extra Mercury focus this month is urging us to sort out difficulties through communication – not to just think about communicating, but to actually do it, i.e. make it real! The Retro energy will help us slow down and enjoy communicating about the big stuff. Conversations take time and Mercury is giving us the time.
Mercury heads Direct again on the 16th but won’t return to the degree that it first retrograded at until the 31st. Essentially we have the whole month of October to review and reframe in order to find ways to communicate and cooperate. It’s intriguing how Mercury does all this dancing just before the US election on 4 November. In fact, on the day of the US election Mercury moves into Scorpio. There’s a sense that much is going on behind the scenes in this election campaign that we’re not aware of, and that at the eleventh-hour hidden information might be revealed. A huge planetary alignment between Saturn and Uranus comes into exact effect on the day of the US election. This alignment is strongly associated with ‘2012′ change themes, but more on that in the November e-news. Suffice it to say that the US November election is one that could bring shocks or surprises.
Finally, let’s look at October’s New and Full Moons:
October’s Full Moon falls on the 15th at 7.03 am (AEDT) at 22 degrees Aries. This Full Moon happens the day before Mercury moves into Direct motion and also happens at the opposite degree at which Mercury went Retro (22 degrees Libra). The Aries Full Moon seems to highlight that this is a significant time to get in touch with what we need for ourselves as individuals and to make a stand for those needs. The collaboration required while Mercury is in Libra does not mean submitting to others’ needs. Collaborating can only truly work if each of us puts forward the truth of what we need for ourselves and then works with a cooperative intention to find a way to meet the different needs of all concerned. This is a challenging task, but it can also be lots of fun to be creatively immersed in just how different we all are. The Aries Full Moon is about looking after our own needs and saying ‘no’ if our instincts indicate that later we might resent having said ‘yes’.
October’s New Moon falls on the 29th at 11.15 am (AEDT) at 6 degrees Scorpio. This New Moon happens just two days before Mercury returns to the degree at which it initially went Retro in September. A few days later, on 4 November, Mercury also heads into Scorpio, the New Moon’s zodiac sign. Again Mercury is highlighted. The New Moon in Scorpio brings a powerful opportunity for purifying and releasing the past. With Mercury being active at this New Moon, it once again seems we need to use the power of our minds and communciation to help us do this. Scorpio rules the magic and mystery of death and rebirth. The New Moon in Scorpio particularly helps release toxic thoughts, emotions, shames or secrets. If we’ve been thinking negatively about someone else or even ourselves, now’s the time to complete that cycle. Often we need input from others when dealing with Scorpio energy. Think of a woman in labour – imagine how daunting it would be if she had to go through that death-rebirth energy alone. At the very least, a midwife acts as an important support and guide. The New Moon in Scorpio asks us to seek counsellors, teachers, healers or trusted friends or family who can help us focus (both the conscious and subconscious minds) on new futures, and release us from past stresses or regrets. This is the transformative wonder of Scorpio – its ability to bring fresh starts free of guilt or shame.
Keep in mind my Moon sign workshop in November if you’d like tips on strengthening your own inner resources during these interesting times. Until next month, wishing you many enlightening Mercury moments. If you’d like to see the recent NASA images of Mercury’s dark side, go to: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/07oct_firstresults.htm?list819906 .