It is Capricorn on mega steroids with the buildup of the Sun, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto in this ambitious cardinal earth sign. Whether its higher or lower expressions will manifest over time remains to be seen but this next two-week period includes an unusual concentration of highly potent alignments involving these planets that could rock the world. As this was being written, the U.S. executed a highly provocative strike that killed the leading military commander of Iran, which promises “severe revenge.” It wouldn’t be the first time Saturn conjunct Pluto coincided with war. In the U.S., the president was just impeached in the House of Representatives and serious political jockeying is escalating over the scheduling of the accompanying Senate trial. On a global scale, our attention on the climate crisis is intently focused on the devastatingly widespread wildfires currently consuming Australia and the failure of its leader to address the unprecedented crisis as he denies any connection to climate change. Where in our personal lives are there escalations of tension or festering unresolved conflicts that could erupt at the slightest provocation? Where are we being asked to step up and fight, or stand down and stabilize the situation? The geopolitical theatre to varying degrees is a metaphorical mirror of our own internal struggles, in the “as above, so below” esoteric philosophy of correlations within the holarchy of existence.
The Sun and Mercury are traveling tightly together and as they reach the midpoint between Jupiter and the Saturn/Pluto conjunction in Capricorn, they sextile Neptune in Pisces January 6 to 8. This aspect asks us to stretch our capacity for compassion as we seek appropriate responses to the experiences we’re having. However, we may struggle with seeing things as they are. Sun/Mercury in Capricorn seeks to have a clear definition of reality and prefers to follow well-established rules to actualize intentions. Neptune in Pisces is a dissolving force that knows no boundaries. It sees the pure potential of a harmonious united world but needs a clear path to manifest its ideals in a reality crowded with beings disconnected from the cosmic love force. Both archetypes must be embraced with Neptune as the signpost leading us on an all-inclusive path and the planets in Capricorn showing us each step to take to get there.
January 10 is a dynamite day for celestial events: the Sun/Mercury Superior Conjunction occurs just as the Moon in Cancer opposes them to create the Full Moon Lunar Eclipse. Uranus in Taurus stations direct and Mercury is out of bounds. That is a lot to digest and the best way to look at it is to take it apart, brick by Capricornian brick.
The planetary pair of the Sun and Mercury represents acute perception and rapid response thinking. Sun/Mercury in Capricorn initiates action intended to keep all systems efficiently running. It coolly makes decisions from an impersonal perspective without regard for one’s feelings. It is not sentimental. It is just business. This represents the culminating “full moon” phase of the Sun/Mercury cycle that began on November 11, 2019. Whatever ideas for new directions to take were seeded back then are now manifesting. We are more sure-footed on the course and able to test the ideas to make adjustments as needed and ultimately decide if we want to continue in the new direction.
The Moon and Sun aligned with the Moon’s North Node in Cancer and South Node in Capricorn respectively is triggering the eclipse. The Cancer/Capricorn axis represents concerns about family, from our biological one (Cancer) to the larger structures of society that serve and protect the family of man (Capricorn). I know many individuals, including myself, who are dealing with serious family issues of varying kinds. We are having to look at who we are as individual beings in relation to our families and observe, as impartially as possible, how pre-existing behavior patterns and ‘rules’ about how to live life have programmed us to blindly follow a path that is not of our own making. It is about knowing where we belong and building our own true foundation. This process is also happening in our society where we-the-people are questioning the behavior of our leaders and whether it is aligned with our standards of conduct. In the U.S., the impeachment process and the controversial attack on Iran further magnify the state of a society in the throes of having to look realistically at what it has become. This culminating moment of the lunar cycle that commenced with the New Moon Solar Eclipse on December 25 marks a period where stagnant issues are likely to experience some kind of breakdown or breakthrough. The end result may be beneficial (even if we don’t see it in the moment), as archetypally represented by Jupiter’s prominence being closely conjunct the Solar eclipse and also exactly conjuncting the Lunar South Node on January 8 to reveal the big picture of it all.
Uranus stationing direct at this symbolically turbo-charged time increases the likelihood of surprising, dramatic changes with the potential to catapult us out of our comfort zones and awaken us to a new way of being. Uranus in this highly focalized state asks us to be willingly disturbed so it can thrust us through a portal that connects us with cosmic forces. If we allow this, we may discover how to recast our approach to life from fearful survival mode to a creative being state. Mercury out of bounds of the latitudinal limits of the Sun means Mercury is more likely to align with the maverick Uranus than tow the conservative party line. All planets are now direct until mid February so solid progress can be made as long as we maintain focus and effort.
While the astral events of January 10 are significant they are compounded by even stronger alignments: a 37-year Saturn/Pluto cycle comes to an end and a new one begins with their conjunction at 22∞46’ Capricorn. Mercury conjuncts the duo just as their two-year orb of influence peaks on January 12 and the Sun conjuncts them on January 13. That amounts to five ‘new moon’ cycle phases commencing at once meaning a lot of seed ideas may be pouring in. Much has been written in this blog and elsewhere about the era-defining Saturn/Pluto conjunction. It marks a time of consolidation of resources and power. Saturn rules this sign so all planets in Capricorn answer to it, which further amplifies its influence to steadily build up the ruling structures of our personal life and society. Saturn also relates to the hard work it takes to master something and favors mature and reliable participants in any endeavor. At its highest expression Saturn in Capricorn exudes impeccable personal integrity. When these qualities are lacking it generally means we are not living up to our responsibilities. That is when the consequences start rolling in. Pluto in Capricorn has been testing the very foundations of our structures for rot at the core and reveals it for all to see. A lot has been exposed during its transit through Capricorn that began in 2008, including financial corruption at the highest echelons of our halls of power. As Pluto progressed through this sign the era of the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ emerged, largely due to a system incrementally designed to benefit the rich through a steady progression of deregulation, failure to prosecute blatant corruption and billions in tax cuts/subsidies/loopholes for corporations.
Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn represent change at a fundamental level of how we organize life on this planet. Whether the changes are heroic or villainous is up to each one of us. The last time Saturn and Pluto were conjunct in Capricorn in 1518 the African slave trade began. That was a seed idea of runaway capitalism wherein humanity itself was reduced to a product to be bought and sold as a part of the machinery of commerce. The current cycle began with the last conjunction in 1982 at 27∞35’ Libra. Since it entered its home stretch with the waning sextile in 2012-2013 much has been revealed about the relentless unjust, racist and inhumane treatment of people of color in western societies. We have also seen women emerge with strong voices exposing the rampant exploitation experienced on many levels at the hands of men in control. Corporations wield tremendous power over our governments and uninhibitedly devalue their workers in order to expand gains in the top 1% of wealth holders. This is what happens when self-serving people in charge of our societal structures are allowed to reign unchecked.
Our fragile democracy depends upon our leaders to be “of the people, by the people and for the people.” But that requires the people themselves to be strong at their core and make their voices heard. On an individual level, this transit tells us we can achieve what we want as long as we are willing to show up and play a bigger game of conscious action rather than letting petty tyrants play us as pawns in their games of greed, lust and power. That means staying in a creative state and engaged in the process with disciplined, focused effort. Most of all it means committing to an ongoing process of patiently and compassionately confronting the hidden fears in our shadow nature. This will reveal how we constructed our current reality largely through unconsciously programmed choices. Only then can we consciously make different choices that will build, brick by brick, choice by choice, the reality we want to see.
For residents of the Los Angeles area interested in joining others in this process of self-awakening at this dynamic time in history, you can enroll in the new Astrology class commencing in February. For any of our readers around the world who would like more information on Astrology as a Spiritual Path, watch The School’s Unique Approach to Astrology or any of the other illuminating videos on our Watch page, or contact us at admin@sherastrology.com.
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