The ramp up of paradigm shifting change we’ve experienced peaks on September 27 with the final pass of the opposition between Jupiter in Libra and Uranus in Aries. This is the “full moon” phase of the Jupiter/Uranus cycle that commenced with their three conjunctions in 2010-11 in late Pisces/early Aires, which brought the Tea Party to national prominence with its dramatic influence on the conservative agenda. At this culmination phase of the Jupiter/Uranus cycle, which began last November when the first exact opposition occurred, the conservative movement achieved the crown of the presidency and in Trump found their great disruptor who seems keen on dismantling by any means necessary the agencies, laws and policies that were established by liberal forces. According to Jim Sher, “Uranus seeks fundamental change, not just small shifts or reforms in one’s thinking. That’s what a paradigm shift means. It is an explosion of new concepts and ideas that often stand alone. Uranus doesn’t care about that. It knows that when every assumption is questioned, it must lead to a total re-orientation of one’s view of the world or even this reality.” Jupiter, expanding everything it touches, archetypally makes this Uranian force even more exaggerated and overly optimistic. But, according to Sher, Jupiter also brings with it “the desire to learn and experience so that our understanding and vision is expanded. This is how this energy is best used.”
Writing on the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction back in 2010, Sher described how the extremes brought on by these planetary influences immediately evoke their opposite. It is this dance of extremes constantly going back and forth seeking balance, he says, that excites and moves through each of us, and makes life on planet Earth what it is. “For now,” he wrote in 2010, “what we are apt to see is more and more inflamed passions and the move toward greater extremes.” And indeed, the constructive dialogue missing from discourse at that time has gotten worse, not better. “The more extreme the right becomes and the more power it can garner, the more likely it will be that the other side will have to exist. The more the hatred, the more the self-balancing side of things must emerge. Liberal forces will become the necessary opposing force. It’s just philosophical physics.”
So, the real question for each of us is, what are we bringing to the game table of shifting paradigms? Roller coaster or big opportunities? Order or chaos? “Many astrologers believe that when Jupiter and Uranus dance together,” wrote Sher, “that it brings about an increase of tolerance and respect for others. Often it does, but not if these two archetypes move to the negative side of their potential. Preachiness and wanting others to abide by our own sense of morality, even if their actions do not harm another person such as criminals do, begins to dominate the social landscape. Together, Jupiter and Uranus really push us towards total freedom from constraint and can produce revolutionary conditions. ‘Expect the unexpected’ is the watchword of the day when theses two archetypal energies are in play as they are now.”
As the week unfolds, the other outer planets can also be tapped for additional support as we move into a new evolutionary phase of being. Between September 19 and October 10 there are no planets in fixed signs (other than the quick-changing Moon). That means a prevalence of uncertainty with endings and beginnings prevailing over sustained focus on any existing projects. Venus and Mars travelling in tandem in Virgo each contact their higher octave outer planet: Venus opposes Neptune in Pisces on September 29 and Mars trines Pluto in Capricorn on October 1. While the conjunction between Venus and Mars won’t perfect until next week, their combined energies unite the concerns of self and regard for other. In Virgo those concerns are purified and directed towards being of service. Venus archetypally taking counsel from Neptune opens us to the concept of being “netted” with others and all creation so we will act less for self and more for the greater whole. For this to happen, however, we must answer Neptune’s call to dissolve the ego, to soften the hard edges of the mind that wants control, and really look at our true motives to ensure they go beyond superficial or selfish intentions.
Other planetary movements this week support Venus’ concern for others. On September 29, Mercury joins Jupiter and the Sun in Libra, the sign Venus rules, making efforts to restore balance and harmony in relationships a primary focus. As the planet of communication, Mercury here perceives most everything in the context of how it relates to others. This may correlate to increased efforts to resolve relationship issues or giving voice to those seeking justice. Mercury in Libra is the peacekeeper that expresses with a graceful intelligence capable of seeing that win/win situations serve the greater good.
Mars in a harmonious alignment with its higher octave, Pluto, can bring greater authenticity to our deepest motivations and ultimately get us in touch with our authentic self. Pluto contacts can often bring pain due to our own resistance to its intensification but this process is how Pluto gets our attention. Since this aspect is a flowing trine and not a more challenging square or opposition, we may willingly go to the depths of our being and find a source of power we have been afraid to claim as our own, perhaps because our motivations had been too selfish. With Venus in close proximity to Mars, we may seek to transform our motives into pure, loving ones. As the trine between Mars and Pluto builds in intensity, Pluto stations direct on September 28, amplifying its imperative to be authentically in touch with the truth of our being that is beyond the cycle of life and death. With stationary Pluto at its most potent, Mars’ ambition to establish an independent self will align with Pluto’s force that simply demands growth in the quality of our consciousness.
Here’s the data (Pacific Time and rounded to the nearest whole degree unless otherwise noted):
September 27: Jupiter opposite Uranus at 27° Libra/Aries at 9:24 p.m.
September 28: Pluto station direct at 17° Capricorn at 12:36 p.m.
September 29: Venus opposite Neptune at 12° Virgo/Pisces at 5:12 p.m.
September 29: Mercury at 0° Libra at 5:42 p.m.
October 1: Mars trine Pluto at 17° Virgo/Capricorn at 4:32 p.m.
Steve: As my momma used to say, “Pursue perspicacity. Eschew obfuscation.” Thank you for evoking that long forgotten phrase which seems to be still guiding me.
Kimberly, I continue to admire your depth and perspicacity. Thank for all that you perceive and say.