I’d like to take a look at several things in this article beginning with the very concentrated period that began at the New Moon occurring on Friday January 11, 2013 at 21° of Capricorn (see chart at bottom of article). During the last several months, the planets in the New and Full Moon charts have been quite dispersed. These periods contain many shifting/conflicting forces which lead to difficulties in making clear decisions, since it’s hard to determine in what direction we need to go. This New Moon is different as there are 3 planets and the Sun and Moon in one sign, i.e., Capricorn.
New Moons represents periods of new beginnings or cycles. Capricorn itself is the archetype of down-to-earth, practical approaches to problem-solving or to strategic planning. This sign, more than any other, is disciplined and usually full of drive. When Capricorn sets its mind to something, they will go for it “whole hog”, as one Capricorn (G.I. Gurdjieff) once said.
There is one astrological aspect that could slow down some of this drive, at least for the moment. I am referring to the fact that Jupiter, the planet of opportunity, is still retrograde and is also slowing down. However, it will turn direct on January 30, 2013, so it won’t be long before we will be able to combine the drive and ambition of Capricorn with the appearance of the needed opportunities that will enable us to move forward. Jupiter is in the sign of Gemini which is concerned with communication, selling and promoting one’s products and personal skills such as verbal ability or writing. And, when retrograde it is important to pay attention on reflecting and re-evaluating one’s entire approach to your goals and to your plans to achieve them. This is where we are right now, but we are very close to being able to ascertain how we want to proceed.
Uranus Square Pluto
There is always much to say about the on-going Uranus/Pluto square, but I’d like to focus right now on how individuals can maximize this extremely transformative period. Maybe the term ‘maximize’ is not the best word. Frankly, when these two planets get together it’s not clear how much power and control we actually have over the process. To give you one word to describe this transit, I would pick the word ‘awareness.’ The nature of the transformational process is one that asks us to look at the world and ourselves from a completely different perspective.
In the 70’s one of writers that influenced me most was Gurdjieff, who I mentioned earlier. His view of humanity was that they were for the most part asleep. He spoke often about what a person might do were they to desire to engage in an awakening process. One subject he spoke about that’s relevant here is his understanding of war and its causes. He observed that war was caused by humanity’s inability to handle the planetary energies that were best used for transformation to an awakened state. Instead, of using these difficult and even disturbing energies for one’s own benefit, people who had no idea that these energies even existed much less on how to deal with them, would simply act out in violent ways. His analysis was really no different than observing a person with an itch that they didn’t know how to scratch then become angrier and angrier until their irritation lashed out in violent behavior towards others. By the way, this transit really started in 2008 and has now reached its highest peak.
This delineates the important difference between what nations/cultures can do and the greater freedom individuals might have and how they can operate differently or more consciously. But, it takes effort to become more conscious. In fact, Gurdjieff spoke of the importance of ‘conscious effort.’ What then is the nature of this ‘conscious effort’? It is to be able to observe or witness what is happening to us and to then recognize that we don’t have to become reactive. If we do not simply react and look at all that we are thinking, feeling, believing, emoting, etc., we can remain in a more neutral state. That state is an act of freedom. This is when we are able to see opportunities or new possibilities we could never see when we are reactive.
The transits we are under are the perfect ‘irritants’ we need because we can use them for our transformation. The person who seeks to engage in an awakening process needs this kind of transit, because the pressures of it cannot be ignored. This becomes even more intense for the person who has planets between 6°-12° of cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn). Also, when we live in a world going through these types of transits, we are inevitably tested to see how we react or if we react and then become engaged in the aggressive environment we see all around us. It’s not that we can’t become ‘agents for change’, but what I would suggest is that the most important thing about that is that we remain as non-reactive as possible in the midst of seemingly chaotic forces stirring all around us.
The nature of the Uranus/Pluto square is that it is attempting to create entirely new conditions for the future that will overturn old values and beliefs. The word ‘overturn’ means destroy, and I mean fundamentally destroy. This sort of thing does not occur all at once. The square represents a period of great conflict that will, in the future, set a new tone that lasts for the next 50 years or so. Before then, however, it’s likely to be a very rough ride.
We need to understand that resistance to change is what causes such high degrees of reactivity and fear. It is inevitable that the majority of people feel this. But can we, as individuals, approach it in a different way? That’s our issue to examine. It may also be necessary for us to find new tools to help us make the kind of leap that this transit requires of us. There are many ways to do this and each person so inclined may get the opportunity to find an outlet that’s proper for them.
I am in the process of developing new courses and approaches as a response to this potentially transformative period. Some of them are now being offered through the Sher Astrology website. The Courses such as the Meditation/Contemplation courses being offered now are part of what is being developed.
Also, I am creating a new website that will focus more specifically on these issues that I have been describing in this article. It is this website that will announce new approaches to the transformational process that are adapted to the life of 2013 in the ever-changing world we live in. I will be announcing this new website soon.
Thank you.
Leave a Reply