dfiverson

Happy New Year! We all hope it will be truly joyful. Once the dust settles, the good news is that we will achieve significant results both individually and collectively. The inconvenient truth is that the road ahead remains challenging.

Over the next twelve months, the three most powerful planets—Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune—will move into new signs. Pluto will settle into a long-term residency in Aquarius. The lunar nodes will shift from Aries to Pisces. This represents one of the most radical archetypal changes possible. Pisces is communally inclusive and relatively peaceful, although it can often be somewhat somnolent. Aries embodies the sign of war and intense self-focus. Saturn will also move into Aries this year. Uranus will enter Gemini, the same sign it occupied during the American Revolution, the Civil War, and World War II, as well as during the drafting of the US Constitution. I will provide a more detailed forecast of these transitions as the year unfolds.

The year begins with a loud whimper and whine that can evolve into a bang. On January 11th, the Lunar North Node enters Pisces, while the Lunar South Node transitions into Virgo. This shift marks the beginning of a significant transformation. Planet Neptune will serve as the year’s focal point, alongside Pluto in Aquarius, as Neptune takes on the role of the ruler of the Lunar North Node in Pisces for the next 18 months. 

Neptune embodies the unseen realm that exists solely in dreams, fantasies, and delusions. It is associated with transcendent reality, unconditional love, and ultimate truth. At the same time, it represents betrayal, deception, and martyrdom. As the ruler of the lunar north node, we should anticipate expressions of all these conditions within ourselves and in the world at large. 

We should expect the unexpected. The saying “man plans and God laughs” will take on a more profound significance. This does not mean 2025 will be a “walk in the park.” Instead, it suggests that historical events are unfolding, sometimes in a state of crisis, that are transformational and stem from unseen forces. Distillation occurs as coarser elements rise to the surface or precipitate out, removing toxic contaminants. 

The Lunar South Node in Virgo will support this process. Mercury, the fastest-moving planet in the sky, will usher in the new year in Capricorn. It will then move through the zodiac, spending a month in each sign and concluding in Sagittarius by December. Rapid developments prompt change and growth, urging us to reconsider what we know. This dynamic has served as the mental backdrop since 2016, beginning with the first Trump presidency, followed by COVID-19 in 2020, and now Trump.2. 

Several wildcards are in play. The first is the cautiously optimistic emerging resistance from Trump’s party against his threatening agenda. The second, perhaps equally serious threat, is the covert machinations of other international players. 

The remedy for weathering any incoming storm is threefold. First, we must nurture ourselves and our four bodies: emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual. Health and illness originate in the emotional body, while the universe is mental, not physical. Please pay close attention to the thought forms you release into your environment. 

Secondly, take care of your body by engaging in physical exercise. There are many options: join a gym, walk daily, reduce sugar intake, consume alcohol in moderation, and especially avoid processed and GMO foods. Grounding daily is essential.

Identify a spiritual practice that speaks to you. If you find prayer or meditation challenging, spend time in nature, where divinity is most evident. 

Diversity is incredible, but unity is even more significant. Consider that there is only one “one” of us on this planet, a single organism called humanity, whose roots are all interconnected beneath the surface like a grove of redwood trees, a school of fish swimming together, or a flock of birds flying in formation. We can achieve this. We must contemplate how many more “Trumps” and “COVIDs” we must experience to manifest that.

Pluto into Aquarius/Saturn Stations Direct/The US Election

On November 1^st, a Scorpio New Moon sets the stage for the month. Ruled by Pluto at the final degree of Capricorn, no compromise should be expected. Karmic necessity is the agenda. Emotions are running high. The future rushes headlong to meet us. These winds of change have their agenda. Though we might initially appear to be moving backward, the world is about to take a giant step forward.  Beware of physical aggression and emotional distress. Find your center of gravity, and buckle your mental and emotional seatbelts to ride out the storms on the horizon.

Five days later, on November 6^th, the US Presidential Election will hold us captive. Do not fall prey to uncertainty or blatant malfeasance. The world is watching the transfer of power in the United States with bated breath. The ship of state will pass through the narrows resembling Scylla and Charybdis. Regardless of the outcome, the boat will rock. Six thousand years of misogyny, patriarchy, elitism, persecution, egocentrism, and antipathy are the skeletons that have come out of the closet. Find refuge in the dream that creates a future different from the past.  

On November 15^th, Saturn ends its apparent backward motion and slowly begins to move forward. Seven hours later, a Taurus Full Moon occurs. The emotional turmoil will reach new heights. Both of these events can activate new realities that help stabilize the chaos. Sixty years ago, John Kennedy and Martin Luther King awakened the dream. Complacency has generated an epidemic of narcolepsy that has overtaken us. We are about to be roused from our somnambulance. 

In the spirit of Marvin Gaye, “What’s goin’ on…”

Kites In The Wind

Kites rise highest against the wind – not with it.

—Winston Churchill

On September 2^nd, a New Moon will grace the sky at 11° Virgo 04’ at 9:55 pm EDT. Those born under the sign of Virgo are often tasked to navigate their lives with critical discernment and demand for perfection. Even those spared a prominence of Virgo’s razor-sharp cutting edge must work on themselves even if the 6^th House seems devoid of resident planets. There is still a sign on the cusp and a planet that rules that sign. We can grow forward along our evolutionary path by responding positively to the crises on our doorstep, or we can go kicking and screaming. Better to bow to master Mercury and let him have his way. 

A double kite formation consisting of two (not so) minor and two grand trines is at the core of this lunation. Pluto and Neptune at the 29^th anaretic degree of Capricorn and Uranus retrograde in Taurus forms a kite that engages Venus in her native Libra conjunct the lunar south node. Capricorn and its ruler, Saturn, are strict taskmasters. Their dynamics can be suppressive, repressive, and oppressive. They represent authority and demand that we recognize it. Like Pluto, in their way, “they take no prisoners.” However, they teach mastery and skills that we need to learn and better navigate 3D reality as we age and mature. Pluto, Venus, and Goddess of War and Strategy Pallas Athene in Scorpio (ruled by non-negotiable Pluto) form a kite with Uranus. The two “kited” crosses comprise two-thirds of a “Star of David” configuration. The archetypal dynamics of this chart are closely engaged, each supporting the other. Asteroid Astraea, the Greek Goddess of Justice, anchors one arm of the grand trine.

The oppositions to Neptune and Pallas are the resolution points, the “deus ex machina” to the “tri-bunal.” When events seem to be going sideways, engage with that which is greater than yourself, what is spiritual, metaphysical, transcendent (Neptune), to find solutions to difficult emotional situations and people that want to overwhelm you. Allow the impulses from your right brain (Jupiter), higher mind (Pallas Athene), and the seemingly impossible ideas and solutions that arise intuitively (Neptune) to pollinate and grow. Injustice is a viral variant out of control. (Astrea).

The Virgo Moon, 

• Applies to an Earth/Fire Grand Trine:
  • (Last Quarter)  waxing square to  dwarf planet Ceres 
  • (First Quarter) waning square asteroid Hygeia retrograde. 
• Applies to a (Gibbous) waxing Opposition to Saturn in Pisces retrograde. 
• Separates from a (Gibbous) Sesquisquare to Eris in Aries retrograde. 
• Applies to a (1st Quarter) waxing squares to dwarf planet. Sedna Retrograde in Gemini and Jupiter in Gemini.

There are some tricky twists and turns on the road ahead. Unified, high-octane energy is woven through this celestial pictogram, remarkably intensified by the retrograde conditions of many of the planets, especially the outer “heavies,” Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Watch out for blindspots (Neptune), sudden, unexpected (Uranus) events initiate (new moon) karmic/evolutionary (lunar nodes) changes.

Pluto, now retrograde in Aquarius, is poised to re-enter Capricorn for the last time on September 1^st, the day before the new moon. It will station direct again on October 11^th and re-enter Aquarius on November 19^th, where it will be resident until 2043-4. 

Mars rules the lunar north node, our karmic potentials going forward: control anger and impulsive action, something we need to do even in calmer times. Make conscious choices. Act on what best supports your personal growth. Venus rules the lunar south node, our karmic history from the past. Identify what your critical priorities are if complex events unfold. What values are most important and must be held as sacred? Every crisis is an opportunity for change. Actively and consciously support that process. We do not have to repeat the same mistakes as the past (lunar south node). We can choose to make different, conscious choices to avoid repeated trauma. (Lunar north node/Uranus)

An underlying remedy to navigate emotional turbulence will be nurturing ourselves in healthy ways, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Take long walks. Spend some time in nature, especially in places where there is no city light. Read poetry. Soak in hot tubs and mineral springs. Help others. Volunteer. Nurture yourself. 

Every crisis is an opportunity for change. We are passing through an evolutionary vortex energetically exposing our karmic necessities. 

There is a signpost up ahead….

War Drums

A full moon will occur at 27° Aquarius 15’ on August 19^th at 2:25 EDT. It is called the Sturgeon Moon. The Maine Farmer’s Almanac began publishing Native American names for full Moons in the 1930s, and these names have become widely known and used. According to this almanac, the Algonquin tribes in what is now the northeastern USA called this the Sturgeon Moon after the large fish that were more easily caught this time of year in the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water. 

This full moon is also a supermoon. As it’s used today, the word supermoon was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979. According to Nolle’s definition, a full moon or new moon is a supermoon when it’s also within 90% of its closest point to Earth.¹

At the full moon, Uranus in Taurus will perfect to a fixed element T-Square in that celestial moment. Uranus is the game-changer, manifesting what is unexpected, often traumatic, but usually progressive with long-term positive effects.  Pluto retrograde in Aquarius squares the Sun and Moon, forming a partile (exact) fixed element T-square. Pluto, along with Neptune retrograde in Pisces, forms a “finger of god” Yod formation focused on the Leo Sun. These powerful outer planet dynamics create deep emotional rhythms, swirling pooled eddies of fears and memories of holocausts past. Human behavior echoes these tremors with “stranger than fiction” reenactment. 

Saturn retrograde in Pisces opposes Venus in Virgo. They both square Mars-Jupiter in Gemini, forming a mutable T-square. Clashing views and opinions challenge ideas, beliefs, values, priorities, and authority itself. 

Pallas Athene in Scorpio completes a fourth angle to the Pluto-Sun-Moon T-square, forming a fixed grand cross. Fixed crosses correlate to the long-term build-up of unreleased tensions. 

Pallas is also the focal point of a “finger of God” Yod formation from Mars and Chiron retrograde in Aries. Mars is just beginning to separate from a new phase conjunction with Jupiter in Gemini. Mars is the god, and Pallas Athene is the goddess of War. Jupiter pulls their strings from “on high,” expanding and directing their roles. These two powerful Yods will act as a trigger mechanism to release the pent-up energetic stresses that have been building over time.

Mars and Jupiter are conjunct fixed star Aldebaran, which is linked with integrity and honesty. Aldebaran is one of the Royal Stars of Persia, called the “Watcher in the East.” Aldebaran was a great military god who gave victories to his followers, but only if they followed the strict procedures of his worship.² 

This angular pressure from the Grand Cross and the Yods, as well as the potential for conflagration from the fire energy embedded in the explosive nature of Aries and Mars, the amplified erratic nature of Pluto at 0° Aquarius, the expansive dynamics of Jupiter are a recipe for a firestorm of disaster.

Guns are drawn and ready to be fired around the world. In the Middle East, the situation is ripe for explosive release between Israel and Iran, with the US engaged militarily as well. The incursion of Ukraine troops into Russia is still unfolding, and given the unpredictability, egotism, and intractability of Vladimir Putin, the situation is a powder keg. Threat-filled Chinese posturing vis-a-vis Taiwan and the South China Seas is also a ticking timebomb. 

In the United States, with the US election only months away, the potential is rapidly developing that the outcome for Kamala Harris to deliver a historical turnout and potential win. It no longer seems to be so much a question of who will be elected. The burgeoning outcome presages the “firestorm” threatened by Donald Trump as the aftermath. 

It is important to remember and hold onto the truth that these metamorphoses are the karmic necessities, the harbingers of a major planetary evolutionary shift. As human beings, we do not grow through mental exercise. We learn through direct emotional experience. It will be okay in the end. If it is not okay, it is because it is not the end.

¹ https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/skywatching/the-next-full-moon-is-a-supermoon-blue-moon

² Brady’s Book of Fixed Stars, Bernadette Brady, (York Beach ME, Samuel Weiser, 1998), p.233

Shelter From the Storm

The Cancer New Moon occurs on July 5^th, 2024, at 6:57 PM EDT. The lunation occurs midway through the Moon’s native sign and generates powerful emotional currents that initiate a new cycle of self-understanding. This cycle asks us to question our values and priorities, challenging our ideas and opinions set in stone. This lunation empowers our individuality and authenticity, potentially realigning our relationships with ourselves and others. 

As the recent and distant past converge, they bring to light realities we can no longer ignore. This convergence will prompt us to recognize the need for enlightened self-care in dramatic ways that offer no opportunity for compromise. Be vigilant for erratic actions by others and be prepared to find mental, emotional, and perhaps physical refuge to avoid the turmoil. This is a time when self-care is not just a luxury but a necessity, a comforting anchor in the storm. 

The antidote to the upheaval is to seek shelter from the storm in the people, places, activities, and visions that comfort you. The earth beneath our feet, physically and spiritually, is changing. So are we. Visualize a vessel of clear white light that radiates, surrounds, and protects you.  Dream where you want the future to take us. Visualize your part in the journey.

“Each of us has a spark of life inside us, and our highest endeavor ought to be to set off that spark in one another.”

—Kenny Ausubel “Dreaming the Future: Reimagining Civilization in the Age of Nature”

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.

“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” 

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

On June 20^th, the Summer Solstice occurs at 4:51 pm EDT. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is the longest day and shortest night of the year as the Sun reaches its zenith, its highest point in the sky. It is the celestial moment when the Sun is most powerful. In the Southern Hemisphere, the Sun reaches its nadir, the shortest day of the year and the longest night. We can feel a tangible shift as we reach the astrological midpoint of the year. This cardinal point opens our inner space through our emotional bodies. It is time to go inward, opening your heart space to ourselves, our family, and everything that nurtures body and soul. Midsummer is the Pagan holiday that dates back centuries, celebrating the changing seasons. Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” tells how love can make us behave strangely, captivated by our heart’s desire. We can all feel this emotional stirring as we pass through this celestial moment.

At the Solstice, the Sun enters the sign of Cancer under a restless Sagittarius Moon. Venus and Mercury seek sanctuary within the Moon’s protective and nurturing embrace. Luna’s energies undulate, deeply embedded in the swirling experiential Sagittarian events that awaken our minds and hearts. Discussions revolve around values and priorities, spanning a spectrum of personal and sometimes discordant expressions. Our hearts and heads are charged with active agendas, often in conflict. 

Mercury and Venus are stressed by the lunar nodes, creating a “skipped step” condition. It seems that every day brings news of catastrophe, carnage, or courtroom drama, which lays bare the truth that our collective values and priorities ignore the potential of looming future cataclysms due to inaction, lack of oversight, and regressive public policies and attitudes. 

Pluto retrograde casts an angular shadow across the Sun as he inches back, seeking some Capricorn sense of security and control. For a few weeks from early September to mid-November, Pluto will re-anchor our intentions and self-empowerment as it idles over the final degree of Capricorn one last time before returning to Aquarius, parceling out Uranian energy for the next twenty years.

Neptune, in the final moments of his native signs of Pisces, exhibits angst and disillusionment. Its difficult relationship with the Lunar stellium in Cancer adds to the emotional stress. “When are we going to get our priorities straight?” Our higher minds and intuition are awakened as the god of water and the sea connects with strategists Pallas Athene, Uranus, and Sedna. Pluto empowers Neptune with highly individualized self-expression, while Vesta overlays the need for sacred authenticity. Astraea reminds Neptune of the injustices that abound in our awareness. 

Neptune’s square to the Sun in the final zodiacal moments of Pisces and its opposition to the Lunar South Node illuminates our decline towards a historical, social, and political precipice. Fate already hangs heavy over the moment. The Lunar South node ruled by Mars chants a choral message again, asking, “Isn’t it time that we stopped repeating the past as the future?” Eris rattles our cage with contentious questions that evade answers.

Take time to escape the summer “heat” or the brutal Arctic cold, depending on your earthly latitude. Seek refuge in the natural world. Immerse yourself in your favorite healthy pleasures: bike, hike, camp, rockhound, wildcraft, paint en plein-air, and find refuge among family and friends. The storms will continue to rage around and eventually subside, but we can now weather the storm by finding shelter in our favorite people, places, and things.

“There are no sidelines. There’s no one sitting this one out. This is no hoping that someone else is going to come in and save the day. There is no cavalry. We are the cavalry.”

—Beto O’Rourke

The Future Is Now

On May 25, 2024, a significant celestial event unfolded as Jupiter embarked on a transformative journey, entering the sign of Gemini. This marked the beginning of a twelve-month internship, a period that holds profound implications for its impact on our time. 

As the ruler of Sagittarius, Jupiter shares a unique and powerful bond with the sign of Gemini, forming an archetypal singularity. This bond, a polarity that encapsulates our mental nature, spans from the data and facts we collect to our expansive beliefs. Gemini, the student and the learning process, and Sagittarius, the teacher and the knowledge dissemination process, mirror this polarity. Gemini represents our neighborhood and local community, while Sagittarius encompasses the larger world and the diverse belief systems within any large group of individuals.

As Jupiter approaches the Sun and Venus in Gemini, opportunities for new growth and self-actualization will arise, as well as focus on real priorities and more thought-out agendas. Some help comes from Neptune in Pisces to dream new realities that replace outworn actualities. 

At the ingress, Pluto, retrograde in Aquarius, embeds Jupiter with a powerful energetic boost of individuality and creativity. The frequency also carries a sense of aloofness and distance. Jupiter peers into Pluto’s rearview mirror to assess the past. How has power been exercised? How has individuality been expressed? Has creativity generated anything new, or does it just seem like overworked same-old, same-old?

The Moon in Capricorn casts an emotional crisis-laden light that pressures Jupiter to work to restructure the shape of things. The proximity of Jupiter’s recent meetup with Uranus tells us that we should continue to expect an increase in erratic, individualized behavior politically and with the weather. Jupiter is aligned with nature in all its aspects, including climate. The Moon in Jupiter’s native sign will redouble the intensity of our collective experiences.  

Challenging aspects to the lunar nodes say that the fate of the future is being ignored due to involuntary adherence to the past. What we call destiny hangs in the balance. We are repeating the mistakes of the past, not working on what needs to change, and preventing progress from occurring. Too many realize that the “dream” has gone dark from their perspective.

Pallas Athene confronts her father (Zeus/Jupiter), offering strategies for new breakthroughs. But commitment is required to become effective. This Jupiter transit has the potential to create the building blocks for the future that address the increasing potential of horizon extinction events that we face as neighborhood, nation, and planet. 

Catalyst For Change

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