AstroCast: January 19 - 25, 2017

Two significant events are happening this week – the inauguration of the new U.S. President and the Women’s March. Both are fundamentally connected to the long term astral patterns in effect much discussed in this column and elsewhere, including in Jim Sher’s article earlier this week in which he wrote about the decline of Liberal Democracy. In my astrology class with Jim, we also discussed the bigger picture of the election results as part of the first quarter “crisis of action” square between Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn. We learned that now is the time to be empowered, not to feel disempowered. The election was the catalyst needed to re-energize the original impulses of the 1960’s that erupted concurrently with the Uranus/Pluto conjunction in Virgo. Donald Trump’s election represents the climax of a conservative backlash born out of the social movements initiated back then, and it has sparked the realization that there is much work to be done to see those impulses remain alive.  Now that we have been shaken awake to the our denial of what has been fomenting before our eyes and have clarity on the reality of our collective situation, we can now heed the call to move towards higher consciousness values of compassion and connectedness with other that manifests through the women’s movement, the civil rights movement and the environmental movement to name a few. For example, this election spurred the organizers of the Women’s March, which according to a recent press release has officially surpassed one million registered participants in 616 marches across the world. “It’s like the women of the world were sitting on a powder keg and Donald Trump lit the match,” said one of the organizers. I personally am joining the march and it is a first for me.  Furthermore, I know many people who also will be gathering en masse for a cause for the first time in their lives. That’s pretty significant.

The aspects this week archetypally correlate to this collective need to test our strength and courage to be seen and heard effectively. Mars in Pisces square Saturn in Sagittarius on January 19th asks us to find the best way to allow impulse and discipline to work together. When assertive movements are focused with a strong purpose, and fear and courage are integrated, rather than being haphazard and misguided, the intent behind them can manifest and endure. If one or the other of these planetary energies is allowed to dominate, then at worst anger and violence (Mars) and brutal crack downs (Saturn) may prevail. This also is a “crisis of action” first quarter square between the planet of action and the planet of structure. It may help to reflect back on their conjunction in philosophical Sagittarius on August 24, 2016 to understand the personal growth themes at play related to getting real about what it is we want and how we go about getting it.  With Mars now in Pisces, what we want is in tune with compassion and connectedness.

Also on January 19th, the Sun enters Aquarius, the sign that perhaps best represents the meaning of a ‘Liberal Democracy.’  With its endpoint being freedom and the right to individuality, Aquarius represents where we need to break free from societal conditioning and stand for our own truth. The Sun here brings that need to the core of our being and also extends an awareness of and support for that need to all individuals. The Sun in Aquarius is the archetypal Humanitarian using power in a mature way. According to Dane Rudhyar, the gift of Aquarius is “service.” If humanity is to survive, he says, we must assume the responsibility of the management of power safely and constructively for the welfare of the whole. “The downpour of the creative spirit,” writes Rudhyar, “is the essential characteristic of the new era which carries the astrological signature of Aquarius.” What is necessary is for each individual’s creative spirit to be released in the service of all.

The sextile between Venus in Pisces and Pluto in Capricorn on January 20th correlates to both events this week. The inauguration epitomizes the glamorization of wealth as well as connections with the wealthy to achieve power in society.  The Women’s March represents women utilizing and expressing their power to influence the governing elite in a constructive way for the greater good. A sextile between Mercury in Capricorn and Neptune in Pisces on January 23rd extends the archetypal themes of organizing structures (Capricorn) and the spirit that infuses them with cosmic consciousness (Pisces). As the events of the week are digested, the influence of this supportive Mercury/Neptune alliance can bring an intuitive ability (Neptune) to perceive (Mercury) the state of mind of the collective.  Tuning into this vibration may help us see beyond the blur of disinformation and idealistic pronouncements to the truth of what happened.

Here’s the data (using Pacific Time and planetary positions rounded to the nearest whole degree, unless otherwise noted):

January 19 – Mars square Saturn at 23° Pisces/Sagittarius at 1:15 a.m.

January 19 – Sun at 0° Aquarius at 1:24 p.m.

January 20 – Venus sextile Pluto at 18° Pisces/Capricorn at 5:53 a.m.

January 23 – Mercury sextile Neptune at 10° Capricorn/Pisces at 1:29 p.m.