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On October 14, 2023, an Annular Solar Eclipse will occur at 21° Libra 07’. A solar eclipse is an energetically magnified new moon. An annular solar eclipse happens when the Moon is at or near its apogee or farthest point from Earth and the Sun. As it passes between the Sun and the Earth, the Moon appears slightly smaller than the Sun in the sky, creating a ring of fire around the moon. Monthly lunations set a karmic agenda for the current lunar cycle every 29.5 days. Eclipses set the agenda for the next six months. 

It is an interesting enigma that from the Earth’s vantage point, the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth’s shadow appear to be the same size. We experience this mystery at each total eclipse as the Moon covers the Sun at a solar eclipse, and the shadow of the Earth covers the Moon at a lunar eclipse. I rank this enigma equal to how the ancients knew that the planets embodied the archetypal characteristics that they do and how these vibrations mirror terrestrial life experiences.  

Eclipses occur across the axis of the lunar nodes, where the ecliptic, the circle created by the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, intersects the path of the Moon’s orbit around the Earth. An eclipse occurs when the new or full moon occurs within 18° of the lunar nodes.  These two powerful pathways mark liminal time and space as the Moon and the Earth weave their planetary frequencies in diurnal motion. 

The intensity of eclipses is because the lunar nodal axis correlates directly to the karmic/evolutionary path itself, from past to future, synthesized in the present through the direct emotional experiences of the Moon in the current lifetime. Eclipses are breakdown or breakthrough events. Significant people enter and leave the planet when the celestial portals are open during the four-week eclipse period. 

The lunar south node applies to the Sun and Moon in Libra at this exceptional new moon. The past looms large in our awareness. Mercury conjunct Pallas Athene in Libra applies to a balsamic conjunction to the Sun and Moon, forming a Libra stellium. We cannot change the past, but we can alter our understanding of the karmic necessities that created it. Higher knowledge can be discovered by listening to the still, small voice within. Mars in Scorpio separates from the Libran planetary merger, generating the necessity to make better, more conscious choices regarding our relationships with ourselves, others, and the planet going forward. 

The outer planets weigh in heavily on this event. The eclipse applies to a last quarter “crisis in consciousness” square to Pluto in Capricorn. The God of the Underworld is moving direct again after his recent annual retrograde cycle and approaches his entry into Aquarius, where he will reside for the next twenty years. Capricorn materializes, initiates, substantiates, and manifests. All the ongoing structuring will now be completed in these final degrees of the sign. What has been planted and cultivated over the last twenty years has reached fruition and is ready for harvest. Make conscious choices. Gather up only what is essential. Weed out what is harmful and recycle it back into the Earth.  

The eclipse applies to a last quarter (waning) trine to Saturn retrograde in Pisces, encouraging a more compassionate understanding of how things are. The impetus is to review and restructure what has come before, where necessary. To mentally and emotionally rebalance and find new footing. The eclipse applies to a gibbous (waxing) inconjunct to Neptune retrograde in Pisces and a full phase (waning) inconjunct to Uranus retrograde in Taurus. These internal pressures stipulate commitment to sustaining what is essential for survival and finding the necessary self-forgiveness and self-reliance to strive to do the right thing going forward. 

The Lunar North Node applies to rogue planet Eris retrograde in Aries. Though the future seems hazy and insecure, a karmic drama is unfolding that compels change, even if it appears to be an uninvited guest. 

We are see-sawing back and forth, retreating from the past and apprehensive of the future. We must find the balance point and come to terms with the past while dreaming the future with stronger intentions. If the image is still fuzzy around the edges, we have not yet visualized it into focus. The universe is a mental metaverse. We can awaken the lucid dream.

This eclipse will be visible for millions of people in the Western Hemisphere. On Oct. 14, 2023, an annular solar eclipse will cross North, Central, and South America. 

“I feel the Earth move under my feet

I feel the sky tumbling down

I feel my heart start to tremble

Whenever Uranus comes around.”

—Paraphrased from Carole King

On August 28^th, 2023, Uranus stands still at 23° Taurus 04′ and joins Mercury, Venus, Chiron, Saturn, Neptune, Pluto, Eris, and asteroid Hygeia retrograde in the sky from an earthbound geocentric perspective.

The outer planets, Saturn through Eris, only retrograde once a year, and it is common for several of them to be retrograde simultaneously. But having eight in retrograde condition is a rare occurrence. 

At the station retrograde, Pluto in Capricorn retrograde and Pallas Athene in Virgo form an Earth Grand Trine with Uranus. The higher mind is activated. Ceres conjoins the Lunar South Node in Libra and casts a challenging partile gibbous inconjunct at Uranus. What has been lost is counted and measured. 

Contrary to some astrological forecasting, retrograde does not mean a lessening or diminution of the planetary energies. It is an intensification, as the planet stands still, focused over a single zodiacal point, drilling down like the Sun through a magnifying glass until what is at the focal point bursts into flames. This planetary behavior is what creates erratic, sometimes difficult circumstances. 

Uranus is often a rogue personality to begin with. It is the ruler of Aquarius, the sign that follows Capricorn in the zodiacal wheel. Capricorn is the generative cardinal Earth sign. It creates form and structure. It correlates to consensus authority and maturity, or growing old. There is crystallization and resistance to change. Things get stuck. A law of physics states that two things cannot occupy the same space at the same time. Aquarius comes along and shakes up the crystallized forms, shatters them so that something else, usually more progressive, can take their place. 

This is why Aquarius and Uranus correlate to rebellion and revolution. Uranus was discovered at the time of the American Revolution, the founding of the United States, and the drafting and ratification of the US Constitution. The Founding Fathers stated their intention to be the first republic of government by the governed since Ancient Greece. It has not necessarily unfolded that way, but that is another story. It is also true that the US did not become united until after the American Civil War. Up until that time, it was a loose confederation of individual states. It has become apparent in recent history that the union is still incomplete. Six nations of Iroquois Indians formed a functioning democracy, the Iroquois Confederacy, “People Building a Long House,” sometime between 1000 and 1450 AD. Benjamin Franklin hoped to use that model to structure the emerging American nation.

Astrologers are now becoming aware of the astrological coincidences of both the American Revolution and the Civil War through the current transits of Neptune and Pluto to the charts cast for the founding of the United States. The upcoming twenty-year transit of Pluto through the sign of Aquarius will echo these frequencies throughout history for decades to come.^,

The base note of all of these retrogrades is Pluto. Pluto correlates directly to the Soul. It is the lexicon of our karmic responsibilities in this lifetime, as individuals and as a collective. Any retrograde archetype is a revisitation of what is unresolved. As the balance of 2023 unfolds, we will have ample opportunities to revisit the unfinished work on ourselves and the world in general. The crises and stresses that have been visited upon us are the pressure points meant to leverage action, new priorities, and new choices. There is a non-negotiable extinction horizon that we are approaching from climate change, nuclear war, pandemics, and food and water shortages, to name a few. Any one of these can potentially eliminate much of our planet’s life. The Earth itself will survive. We will experience a mass awakening of consciousness that predicates the New Earth we have been promised. My vision is that the Capricorn and Aquarius generations now coming onto the planet will provide the impetus, methodologies, and solutions for what we have wrought over too many centuries, albeit millennia. 

Uranus will station direct again on January 27, 2024 at 19° Taurus 05′.

It’s going to be okay in the end. If it isn’t OK, it is because it is not the end. 

And anyway, the Masters tell us that we don’t die.

Namaste.

Mercury Retrograde 2023 Part 2

On August 23, 2023, Mercury will appear to stand still in the sky at 21° Virgo 51’ S and begin its second retrograde cycle for this year. Contrary to popular belief, a retrograde condition is not a lessening of the intensity of the archetype. It is an intensification as the planet drills down over an extended period like holding a magnifying glass up to the Sun to focus its rays on a single spot until it bursts into flame. 

Virgo might be Mercury’s residence, sequestered, comfortably ensconced in his nuances and perceived imperfections. Virgo is the mutable version of the Earth element, adaptable and able to ground change. Like its outward-directed counterpart, Mercury in Gemini, receptivity permeates thinking, gathering data with mental fluidity, but unlike Gemini, the perspective is a pensive and critical inward gaze. 

It is a little-recognized fact that Virgo is a very creative archetype. Virgo rules the hands. Its natives are expert craftsmen and designers, giving attention to the smallest detail and able to create exquisite handiwork. 

Virgo is a very spiritual sign. In Pisces, its polarity, we go to the mountaintop seeking divinity. In Virgo, we come back down from the mountain inspired by that spiritual experience to work on ourselves and perform the rituals and ceremonies that celebrate and express our spirituality.  

Mercury is in close company at the station retrograde with asteroid Pallas Athene and Mars. I recently wrote a forecast about Mercury conjunct Pallas Athene. Asteroid Pallas Athene acts as an “octave transformer,” integrating left-brain conceptions with right-brain prototypes. Irrational ideas become workable rational solutions. 

The intensity deepens as Mercury applies to a 1^st Quarter (waxing) Trine to Pluto retrograde in Capricorn. Mentation takes on the responsibility of descending below the surface to discern where the work needs to be done. 

Mercury applies to a challenging Gibbous (waxing) Opposition to Neptune in Pisces, also retrograde. Rationality and its confining boundaries dissolve, suggesting new pathways to self-understanding. 

Additional retrograde energy is instilled as Mercury separates from a Gibbous Inconjunct to Chiron and applies to Gibbous Inconjuncts to Eris, conjunct the Lunar North Node stationed direct in Aries. It has been suggested by a number of astrologers that Chiron, which is Greek for hand, and connected with homeopathic hands-on healing, is the ruler of Virgo. Rogue personality Eris challenges us to color outside the box as we explore new possibilities for the future selves we are becoming.

Mercury applies to New Phase Semisextile Ceres conjunct the Lunar South Node stationed direct in Libra. Our self-evaluation is painfully reminded of what we have lost or discarded. 

The Moon in Scorpio forms a partile (exact) Full Phase Opposition to Uranus in Taurus. The emotional intensities generated by Mercury’s retrograde station shake the foundation of what we have taken for granted about ourselves and forces us to rethink our direction and who we are becoming.

This Mercury retrograde cycle will last for 23 days.  

• August 26 ~ Mercury conjoins Pallas Athene for a second time.
• August 30 ~ Mercury perfects to the Gibbous (waxing) Inconjunct to Chiron.
• September 4 ~ Mercury perfects to a 1st Quarter (waxing) Trine to Jupiter conjunct the Moon and Aquarius.
• September 6 ~ Mercury perfects to a Gibbous (waxing) Sesquisquare to Pluto.
• September 6 ~ Mercury makes its Inferior Conjunction with the Sun.
• September 7 ~ Mercury perfects to Full Phase (waning) Inconjunct to asteroid Hygeia potentially coincides with a new COVID variant.
• September 8 ~ Mercury perfects to a Balsamic (waning) Semisquare to Ceres.
• September 9 ~ Mercury perfects to a Last Quarter (waxing) Square to the Lunar South Node Rx in Libra and a 1st Quarter (waxing) Sesquisquare to the Lunar North Node in Aries.September 10 Mercury perfects to a Gibbous (waxing) Sesquisquare to Eris Ex in Aries.
• September 15 ~ Mercury Stations Direct at 8° Virgo 0’.
• Mercury exits its shadow on September 30.  

We can navigate this transit best by:

Remembering that Hermes is the only God who can enter and leave the Underworld unharmed.

Letting go of the fear that our equipment and appliances will fail.

Letting go of the resistance to look inward at what work needs to be done.

Opening up to the higher frequencies of the outer planets and letting them work their magic.

Being kind to ourselves and others if any of those things do occur.

Today, August 15^th, 2023, Donald Trump and 18 allies were indicted on RICO charges by Georgia grand jury. RICO stands for Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, created to combine multiple criminal acts for organized crime into a single case. This is the fourth and most serious of the pending judicial cases against the former president.

The implications of this event will reverberate forward and backward through history and will transform the unfolding future of the United States. This monumental judicial event occurred at the onset of a new lunar cycle. The new moon and full moon charts reflect intense karmic/evolutionary influences on the country’s present and future, reflecting a timeline that stretches back to the country’s earliest days, born in revolution and tempered into union by civil war. 

• The Leo New Moon of August 16^th, 2023, closely conjoins the US Lunar North Node in Leo, opposing the US South Node in Aquarius. 
• The transiting Aries Lunar North Node conjunct rogue personality Eris in Aries forms partile Last Quarter Trine to the US Lunar North Node. It separates from a partile Last Quarter Sextile to the Lunar South Node. The transiting Libra Lunar South Node applies to a Balsamic Conjunction to the US Moon in Libra. The US Moon applies to a Crescent Sextile to the US Lunar North Node completing a Mystic Rectangle configuration.

The lunar nodes are the karmic evolutionary trajectory from the past to the future. The lunar south node holds the emotional reverberation from the past. The past has already happened, but its effects are still in the zeitgeist, mostly below the surface of awareness. The lunar north node is a probable future to be determined by choices made in the present influenced by the current Libra Moon. The lessons are listening to the essential needs of others and finding balance, unity, and commonality. 

• Transiting Pluto applies to US Pluto in Capricorn conjunct asteroid Vesta, intensifying the current US Pluto Return.
• Transiting Neptune retrograde in Pisces applies to a Full Phase Opposition to US Neptune, the condition it was in at the attack on Fort Sumpter in 1861 and the onset of the American Civil War.

These are strong indications that history is repeating itself. The issues of human rights, freedom of expression, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” are on the agenda.

• Transiting Uranus in Taurus applies (within 2°) to a Fixed T-Square with the stationed retrograde US Lunar Nodal axis.
• Transiting Uranus separates from a partile fated Septile to the US Sun in Cancer. 
• Transiting Uranus is only one year from being in orb of the US Uranus Return.

A new cycle of tearing down what has become crystallized is underway. Uranus is the planetary archetype of rebellion and revolution. We have always thought that revolution would come from the progressive Left. The inconvenient truth is that not only is it the right that feels disenfranchised, but for the most part, they are the ones with the guns.

• Transiting Mars in Virgo separates from a New Phase Conjunction to US Neptune, days away from a Mars Return.

Mars is the God of War. Aries, ruled by Mars, correlates to self-interest and non-cognitive impulsive reaction. Virgo is the archetype of “growth through crisis” brought about by direct emotional experience.

• The New Moon applies to a Balsamic Conjunction to Transiting Venus in Leo, the ruler of the US Chart (Libra rising).

This has an overarching effect on the general population and their common welfare.

• Transiting Jupiter in Taurus separates from Last Quarter “crisis in consciousness” Square to US Mercury, ruler of the US 9^th House (the judicial system) and the US 12^th House (hidden enemies).
• Transiting Saturn in Pisces retrograde applies to a Balsamic Conjunction to US Lunar South Node.

The time has come to take responsibility, re-image what has happened, and learn from past mistakes.

• Transiting and US Pluto are applying to a Balsamic Conjunction to transiting Eris retrograde in Aries.

Eris is an evolutionary catalyst. Nine perfections of Eris to US Pluto will occur from 2026 to 2030. They will continue to move in and out of square to each other for another 32 years until 2052.

Most of these conditions will persist at the Pisces Full Moon on August 30^th, 2023. 

• The full moon forms a Mutable T-Square with US Uranus. 

An indication of more than usual public unrest.

• The Pisces Moon will separate from a New Phase Conjunction to Saturn. 

• A crisis-laden Yod, “Finger of God,” points US Venus and the Lunar North Node from Neptune retrograde in Pisces and Pluto retrograde in Capricorn.

This indicates intense pressures on the population’s mood as a result of the emergence of subconscious insecurities about the future. 

• Jupiter applies to a fated partile Crescent Septile to the US Sun. 

Destiny meets the US justice system. 

• Mars applies to a partile New Phase Conjunction to US Saturn.

Opportunities arise for new choices that fulfill the promise of 

“Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

I will leave it to the reader to intuitively discern the future of our country and the world at large. Like the times of the American Revolution, and the Civil War, foreign agencies are watching events in this country with an eye to what is to their best advantage. We must find a source of trust and understanding of the unfolding events. I can only add that “Man plans, and God laughs.” Take that for what it is worth.

On August 16, 2023, a new moon occurs at  23° Leo 17’ at 5:38 am EDT. Leo is the fixed condition of self-actualization, which initiates in cardinal Aries and culminates in mutable Sagittarius. Ruled by the Sun, Leo channels solar energy that permeates us with Life Force. This intense male frequency is balanced with feminine energy from Venus transiting through her retrograde cycle and Black Moon Lilith, the secondary focal point of the Moon’s elliptical orbit, sublimating a retroactive rogue quality to this lunation.

All of the personal planets, Mercury, Venus, Mars, and the Sun and Moon, occupy the first six houses of the natural zodiac, which implies that the lunation is the beginning of a new cycle of personal development. Anchored by the fifth and sixth houses, the baseline is work on the self and growth through crisis. 

The heavy outer planets, Saturn, Neptune, and Pluto, are in their annual retrograde cycles deepening and intensifying personal work. Their transits through the last quadrant of the natural zodiac correlate to collective experiences that express individual authenticity, both for better and for worse. Self-organizing groups are increasingly coalescing around shared beliefs. 

Pluto continues to square the lunar nodes generating necessities for fulfilling incomplete karmic responsibilities. Juno at 0° Leo instills more distaff energy as it completes a grand cross, opposing Pluto and squaring the lunar nodes. Juno was the wife of Zeus, who was of equal rank to her husband among the Olympians but denied its expression. Zeus was a prolific philanderer, causing great distress in his relationship with Hera. Hera was the Olympian queen of the gods, and the goddess of marriage, women, the sky, and the stars of heaven.¹ Despite it all, she remained faithful to him, committed to their marriage. 

The new moon separates from a waxing partile (exact) 1^st Quarter “crisis in action” Square to Uranus retrograde in Taurus. Sun and Moon apply to a waxing facilitating 1^st Quarter Trine to the Aries Lunar North Node and waxing Crescent Sextile to the Libra Lunar South Node.

There are karmic implications that this lunation directs us to renew and be unwavering in our commitment to our self-development, who we are, and who we are becoming. 

“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

1. https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Hera.html ↩︎

Mercury 

Mercury, the planet closest to the sun, rules two signs. Mercury’s outward-directed Yang expression is Gemini, the world of words and ideas. In its Yin expression, energy moving inward toward the center, Mercury rules Virgo, the sacred space of ritual and ceremony, and work on the self.  

Who Was Athena?

On August 8, 2023, Mercury will conjoin asteroid Pallas Athene at 14° Virgo, Mercury’s Yin, introspective expression. Athena was second only to Zeus in the Greek pantheon, above Apollo. Athena was born parthenogenetically from her father’s crown chakra. A soothsayer had prophesied that the second child he bore would be more powerful than him, so he swallowed Metis, whose name means wisdom, Athena’s mother. One day, he was in a field with his son  Hephaestus, the Greek god of armor and metalwork, and was seized by a violent headache. He asked Hephaestus to use his battle axe to cleave his skull to release the pain, and Athena leaped out, fully clad in golden armor, waving her spear and shouting a battle cry. She was a virgin goddess. She resisted all amorous advances, had neither consort nor offspring and was given the attribution parthenos, meaning a chaste maiden. This name became the Parthenon in Athens. 

There was a contest to determine the patron of Athens between Athena and Poseidon. Poseidon struck the ground and created a spring of fresh water for the city. Athena instead planted an olive tree to represent peace and won the contest.

Athena was the patron goddess of household crafts, sewing and weaving, and pottery which allowed cooking. She gave men the bridle to harness horses for their work. 

Athene was a peace activist and would always try to negotiate peace, but she never shunned from taking up arms and going to battle. In Homer’s Iliad, she fought alongside the Greek war god Ares and the heroes of the Greek classical age.  She represents the intellectual and civilized side of war and the virtues of justice and skill, whereas Ares represents mere blood lust. She wore the aegis, her father’s breastplate when she goes to war which represented fear, strife, defense, and assault. She was associated with birds, particularly the owl, which became famous as the city’s own symbol, and with the snake. 

Mercury and Pallas Athene

Planet Mercury and asteroid Pallas Athene have an important relationship with each other. Astrologically, there is a principle known as planetary octaves. Uranus, as the illogical, irrational higher mind, correlates to the higher octave of Mercury, which is the lower rational mind. Pallas Athene holds a special place in this archetypal structure as the octave transformer between lower mind Mercury and higher mind Uranus. As the Goddess of Wisdom and Strategy, Pallas Athene can transform the sometimes seemingly impossible mental downloads from Uranus into rational, workable strategies. As these two mental forces conjoin, the potential for mental inspiration is magnified.

The Conjunction of Mercury and Pallas Athene in Virgo

Due to Mercury’s retrograde cycles, the conjunction will occur three times: 

• August 8, 2023, at 22° Virgo
• August 26, 2023, at 21° Virgo Rx
• October 12, 2023, at 13° Libra

This current Mercury-Pallas cycle will persist until January 21, 2025.

Virgo

Virgo sets the tone for this series of conjunctions. Virgo pertains to work on the self. It is growth through crisis. We can study foreign languages and learn mathematics or rocket science, but what we truly master are the lessons that we learn by direct emotional experience. If we are smokers, we do not stop because everyone tells us to. We only stop when we have a serious health crisis, sometimes, it takes more than one. 

A rich repository of opportunities for work on the self will persist throughout this 18-month cycle with intuitive support. The three conjunctions will utilize personal introspection to establish both mental clarity and self-compassion, which is free of emotional imbalances. Mercury’s retrograde cycle will drive us deeper into our psyches to expose what we need to work on and how to do it. 

Intuitive messages from Pallas are sometimes startling in their synchronicity. We are more likely to react rather than respond or ignore them. Our first reaction might be dismissal. Our rational mind says, “That’s impossible.” Awareness of mental impulses increases, and we become more receptive to mental downloads. It is never necessary to jump on any bandwagons with banners unfurled, but become the observer and watch to see who and what shows up in your outer world. 

The first Hermetic Principle is that the Universe is mental. Ideas are seed thoughts that, over time, sprout roots and leaves. Our eyes are not receivers, they are projectors. Our thoughts script the events of our lives. Our reality is projected on our outer world. The world around us does not control us. Like the stars that circle overhead, our outer world is our reflection.

1^st Conjunction

At the 1^st conjunction, Mercury and Pallas: 

• Separate from a waning Full Phase Opposition to Saturn retrograde in Pisces.
• Apply to a waxing 1^st Quarter trine to Jupiter conjunct Uranus in Taurus. 
• Apply to a waxing 1^st Quarter square to asteroid Vesta in Gemini.
• Though the Moon does not form any aspect to Mercury-Pallas, it separates from a conjunction only 2° degrees away from Uranus.

A push-me/pull-me condition exists. We can feel stuck between divergent ideas and pathways forward. The struggle is between what our heart tells us to do and what we think necessity demands. A mental startle reflex activates. The cognitive terrain is rocky and uneven, and we might feel “lost at sea.” The higher mind struggles to do “the right thing,” stick to what is “essential,” “The right thing” is elusive, and what is “essential” may not be. This crisis catalyzes our instinctual nature requiring that we examine where we are and where we are going. 

Pluto retrograde in Capricorn squares the lunar nodes requiring the resolution of unresolved karmic issues. An internal discussion ignites the spark that initiates personal growth. Venus, retrograde in the sign of Leo, suggests that these unresolved issues concern our relationships with ourselves and others.

2^nd Conjunction

During Mercury’s retrograde cycle, a second conjunction occurs on August 26^th at 22° Virgo. 

• A mutable grand cross is briefly drawn across the sky as Mercury-Pallas in Virgo applies to a gibbous opposition to Neptune retrograde in Pisces. 
• A Sagittarius Moon separates from full phase opposition to asteroid Vesta in Gemini. 

Mercurial energies continue to saturate the atmosphere. Conversations, gossip, innuendo, and lies swirl through the zeitgeist like ribbons on a maypole. The Moon emotionally accelerates the mental maelstrom inside our heads. We can silence our ideas, but it is much harder to sublimate our emotions.

A facilitating grand trine in the earth signs helps Mercury become more receptive to Pallas, as the conjunction by aspect separates from Pluto and applies to Uranus. Discussions are grounded in issues regarding self-empowerment and implementing structured innovation. 

The Libra Lunar North Node triangulates compatible frequencies from Saturn in Pisces and Vesta in Gemini to Mercury and Pallas. Any intention for the future needs to include taking ownership of authenticity and a sacred commitment to self. 

Thor’s Hammer strikes Venus retrograde in Leo from a Sagittarius Moon and Neptune retrograde in his native water world of Pisces. Our emotional experiences with the emerging world around us are reshaping our values and priorities. We are going to learn to sink or swim, one way or another.

Thor’s Hammer strikes Mars in Gemini from Jupiter in Taurus and asteroid Hygeia retrograde in Aquarius. Pointed discussions about our choices continue to populate the airwaves, discussions with others, and inside our heads. 

3^rd Conjunction

As Mercury returns to her forward progression across the ecliptic, the third conjunction occurs on October 12, 2023, at 14 ° Libra. Goddess Athene and her Hermetic partner are supercharged, especially after their recent meetup with the Libran Sun. What do I see in you that I see in myself? I am listening. What can you tell me? What do I need to know? How can we stop the madness?

Destiny Balances In The Air

A Full Moon at 9° Aquarius 15’ occurs on August 1, 2023, at 2:31 pm EDT. The Moon forms a fated bi-septile to the Lunar South Node in Libra and Uranus in Taurus. Destiny balances in the air like the precipitousness of a coming thunderstorm. There is a concentration of retrograde energies between Chiron, Eris, and the Lunar North Node in Aries. Something rogue and unexpected threatens to either wound or enlighten us. The Moon squares Jupiter. The ground is shaking beneath our feet. 

Mercury, Mars, and Pallas Athene in Virgo propose uncomfortable non-negotiable choices. There are reports that COVID is re-emerging. This current record-breaking summer heatwave is the elephant in the room. It has thrust climate change into our critical awareness. 

Why is the sign of Aquarius associated with rebellion and revolution? How do we individuate and become our authentic selves? Capricorn is the sign that precedes Aquarius. Capricorn is Cardinal Earth. Ruled by Saturn, it creates form and structure. It correlates to maturity and the aging process. What happens is that the structures Saturn creates become crystallized, hardened, and stuck. The hurricane-force winds of Aquarius shatter the crystallization creating the space for something new to awaken. Innovation reveals new ways of dealing with old issues. This process occurs cyclicly within societies and ourselves. 

Change is disruptive. The security of what is believed and known is threatened as the ground shifts. Change is the only constant. Everything is in a constant state of imperceptible growth. Sometimes change is unexpected and startling. 

Polarity is the basic format of the Universe. Everything that exists is in contrast to what it is not. Astrological archetypes exist as polarities. The polarity of Aquarius is Leo, the fixed archetype of the self-actualization process. Our ego, or self-image, realized in the sign of Cancer, is projected outward in Leo as our personality. Leo is who we are. Aquarius is who we are becoming. Most often, gradual growth is hard to observe day to day. We do not necessarily detect change when we look at ourselves daily in the mirror. We would see our startling changes more clearly if we viewed a stream of Timelapse photography over many days, months, or years.

Many of us anticipate the Age of Aquarius. There is much disagreement about that timeline. What might it look like? Would it be a gentle, gradual change process or sudden, cataclysmic, and disruptive?

Astrologically we are standing at the threshold of Pluto’s transit through Aquarius. We have already had a taste of what to expect as Jupiter and Saturn transited the sign of individuation over the last decade. Climate change, Donald Trump, and COVID are the benchmarks of our current time. Each of these events has also changed the world around us and our lives. 

The Sabian Symbol for Aquarius 10 reads: 

“A MAN WHO HAD FOR A TIME BECOME THE EMBODIMENT OF A POPULAR IDEAL IS MADE TO REALIZE THAT AS A PERSON HE IS NOT THIS IDEAL.”

Native American prophesy tells us that the Earth has been destroyed three times. Each time the “faithful” were delivered by going underground. This time, we will not need to retreat underground. The Fourth World is emerging even as the Third World goes away. But we will only each survive by becoming as strong as we can physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. The clock is ticking. The wake-up alarm is already ringing.

Venus, Goddess of Relationships, stations retrograde on July 22^nd at 29° Leo. This is the anaretic degree, “ring not pass” point of an archetype. In order to evolve further, unresolved issues must be addressed. Leo is the archetype of self-actualization, becoming. As Venus has transited Leo, we have had opportunities for personal growth that we may have chosen to work with. As Venus retraces her steps backward through Leo, these opportunities for personal growth will re-emerge with greater intensity that can be harder to ignore. 

Venus is now the ruler of the lunar south node, making this retrograde cycle more significant. Venus applies to a partile (exact) 1^st Quarter (waxing) trine to the lunar north node, which is the Soul-intended future, and applies to a Last Quarter (waning) sextile to the lunar south node, the repository of past karma.  This is an open portal for six weeks to work on our relationships with others and ourselves. 

Venus applies to a partile Full Phase (waning) quincunx to Pluto retrograde in Capricorn. Venus applies to a Full Phase opposition to Saturn retrograde in Pisces, the current ruler of Pluto in Capricorn. Circumstances will illuminate and empower where and how a course change with others must occur.

Venus separates from a tight Gibbous (waning) quincunx to Neptune retrograde in Pisces and “casts bread on the waters“ potentially washing away any anger or resentments with compassion and understanding.

Venus retrograde applies to a 1^st Quarter Square to Uranus in Taurus, activating critical awareness of what is out of balance and presenting new perspectives that help with needed reconciliations.

The south node of Venus conjoins Mars in Virgo, bringing the opportunity to make new choices for work on the self.  The north node of Venus conjoins asteroid Juno in Cancer empowering commitment. 

These are hard transits requiring work on the self, supported by karmic energies that empower evolutionary growth. Watch for openings to find common grounds for relationship issues that have been “hanging fire.” This is an excellent time for couples counseling if necessary.

Venus will station direct on September 3^rd at 12° Leo continuing the curriculum of work on the self at the Virgo ingress on October 8^th. We should expect this theme to continue to unfold through the end of 2023 as Venus transits Libra, her native sign, and Scorpio, the realm we share with others.

The Next Evolutionary Chapter Begins

Evolutionary Astrology maps the journey of the Soul from lifetime to lifetime. The trajectory of that incarnation pathway lies across the path of the lunar nodes. The lunar nodes are two energetic points in space where the ecliptic, the orbit of the Earth around the Sun, and the Moon’s orbit around the Earth intersect.

No planet, asteroid, or other celestial object exists at those points, however, lunar nodes generate a powerful, energetic imprint. As it descends below the ecliptic every day, the Lunar South Node reawakens the past. This subconscious emotional memory is the foundation of our instinctive behavior.  The Moon’s diurnal motion generates the nodes each day. Astrologically, the Moon correlates to the emotional body. The Moon is the repository of all the emotional experiences that are the underlying determinant of our sense of safety and security. Ancestral patterning learned in early childhood from our parents and grandparents is the “programming” we receive in childhood. Our early childhood emotions are the reliving from the past. They are the “memory” of what came before, what is carried forward into this current lifetime. In our natal chart, the Moon is the container that structures the format of our emotions by house, sign, and aspects. The Moon and its native sign of Cancer are the Water element. Water takes the shape of whatever container it is in. Water must fill each space it passes through before it can move on. 

As it ascends above the ecliptic each day, the Lunar North Node imprints a potential future that the Soul intends. But it is only a probable future. The resolution point between the past and future lies in the present, in the Moon, natal or transit which by sign, house, and aspects formats the potential ways for issues and circumstances in the present to be or not be resolved. There is more than one potential future. Our choices in the present are driven by the nature of our inner planets and their corresponding outer planet pressures. 

On July 17^th at 4 pm EDT, the Moon’s nodes will begin an 18-year transit of the signs of Aries and Libra. This important event occurs only 90 minutes after the Cancer New Moon.

 Since 2003 the lunar nodes have been formatted by Taurus and Scorpio. Both archetypes are Yin by nature, with energy moving inward towards the center. They are Fixed signs; grounded, stubborn, singularly focused. Events stop, start, hesitate, and generally progress slowly and hesitantly, regulated by powerfully controlled stresses that push and pull against each other. Their respective rulers, Venus and Pluto, have necessitated lessons about self-reliance and what is essential for survival. Power expressed politically, economically, and socially has been an underlying theme. There have been chthonic disturbances. A major marker was stamped in time by COVID: “BC” Before COVID, “AC” After COVID.

Aries and Libra are Cardinal signs, spontaneous, dynamic, initiatory, experimental, and experiential. Both are Yang energy moving outward from the center. Aries is the birth point. Spirit into Matter. Aries is primal. It is the desire to separate from Source as a spiritual being having a human experience. Aries instinctively seeks experience. Its archetype is a non-cognitive expression, often without forethought, learning by trial and error. Aries, in its higher expression, is the pioneer and the warrior. In its distortion, it is narcissism,  self-interest, and violence.

“ Aries natural home is the 1st house, ruled by Mars. Yang (day, male, light) energy represents the desire to separate. It is energy moving out from the center. Yin (female) energy represents the desire to return to the center. Aries represents the original anxiety of separation from the womb. Mars is the agent on the subjective, egoic level that the Soul uses to carry out its desires. It’s tied to the primal brain. The sign on the 1st house, the house sign that Aries is in, the house, and the sign that Mars is in all represent the types of desires we are aware of to connect with our evolutionary requirements. Ascendant, Mars, Aries, and 1st house correlate to the phenomenon of becoming. We are in a perpetual state of becoming. This is why Aries requires freedom to act upon the core desire and cannot tolerate restrictions. The 1st house naturally opposed the 7th house (Libra, relationships). The emotional paradox is too much isolation vs. too much social interaction threatening the loss of sense of self. We understand who we are by comparing and contrasting ourselves to others. The Ascendant is NOT the personality. Aries is instinctive; nothing instinctive is constructed. The 7th house Descendant is the actual constructed personality, how others see us. “ 

—(Paraphrased from JWG’s Pluto Vol. 1 and JWG School course

In cardinal signs, things happen, sometimes suddenly and quickly, with little forethought. As this nodal cycle unfolds, the “magnetic” attraction to personal desires, values, and priorities increases. 

The chart for any celestial event formats its duration. The ingress chart for any event is the template for the event’s duration. Our birth chart is the dynamic template for our lifetime described over time by planetary transits and progressions. The chart for the day the Sun returns to the point it was at birth, called a solar return, is the format for the full year.  The chart below holds the embryonic template for the next 18 months.

A cardinal grand cross dominates the sky at the Aries Libra nodal ingress. Pluto anchors a cardinal T-square with the Lunar Nodes and opposes the nascent Moon creating a Cardinal Grand Cross. Cardinal crosses are extremely dynamic and overcharged with potential. They are like a thunderstorm about to deliver a downpour of rain and hail. The partile, (exact) 90-degree crisis-laden squares between Pluto and the lunar nodes intensify this already precipitous configuration. As I stated, this event occurs only 90 minutes after the New Moon and will underscore this next lunar cycle.

The other key planetary players are a Chiron Eris conjunction in Aries conjunct the Lunar South Node, Venus in Leo, and Mars and Pallas Athene marshaled together in Virgo. 

In its Yin expression, Venus was the ruler of the recent Taurus North Node. Now Venus in its Yang expression, rules Libra. The Goddess of Relationship maintains her nodal rulership as the ruler of the Lunar South Node in Libra. Taurus is about our relationship with ourselves. In Libra, Venus correlates to our relationship with others, primarily one-on-one. Venus correlates to our values and their resulting priorities. 

There is also another “carryover” from the last nodal transit as Mars, the “lower octave” of Pluto, is now the ruler of the Lunar North Node. Mars correlates to the choices we make based on the values and priorities handed off from Venus. A favorable trine to the lunar north node from Pallas Athene, the Goddess of Wisdom and Strategy billeted with Mars, suggests the potential for more considered and conscious choices regarding remedies and workable options for healing the pending crises that are issuing from the past. Though Venus and Mars are in an out-of-sign conjunction, their relative closeness suggests conflicting perspectives coming closer to singularity. 

Chiron and Eris conjunct the lunar north could be a wild card. Chiron correlates to homeopathic healing based on “like heals like.”  New strategies from Pallas Athene can activate Chiron homeopathy. Eris is a rogue personality. Eris activates circumstances that dislodge what she deems unjust. January 6, the presidency of DJ Trump, and COVID are examples of collective homeopathic societal healing. We are becoming more conscious but must take higher steps to climb.

This nodal transit’s core theme will be about who and what we are in a relationship with and how we see ourselves in that relationship. Self and others will come into greater focus and awareness. We will continue to create and participate in self-organizing groups that reflect our values and priorities. Clearly, that implies a wide range of personal expression. Martin Buber’s concept of I and Thou expresses what has become the dichotomy that surrounds us. Do we see others as “It” or as “Thou”? We will be exposed to lessons that teach us that everything is connected to everything else, and we are all connected. In essence, there is only one of us on the planet. How long will that realization take? G_d only knows. It is not about the destination. It is about the journey.

On July 17, 2023, a new moon occurs at 25° Cancer at 2:32 pm EDT. The sign of Cancer, the Moon, and the 4th House astrologically correlates to the emotional body. This archetype is the repository of all the emotional experiences that are the underlying determinant of our sense of safety and security. What is familiar feels safe. The root of the word familiar is family. For most of us, family is sanctuary, though unfortunately, this is not always true. There is a sense of safety in these instinctive emotional responses, which unknowingly pattern our behavior. Often it is ancestral patterning learned in early childhood from our parents and grandparents. Our early childhood emotions are the reliving from the past. They are the “memory” of what came before, what is carried forward into this current lifetime.

At this lunation, the lunar nodes, the trajectory of our evolutionary development, rest at the final degree of an 18-month journey through Taurus and Scorpio. Venus has been the ruler of the lunar north node through this nodal transit. Venus, in its inner Yin expression, formatted the lunar north node through this transit.

Taurus teaches us about self-reliance and what is essential for our survival. Taurus correlates to our relationship with ourselves. Astrologically, Venus is magnetism. The quotient of our self-love is the magnetic center for what has been called the law of attraction. The lunar north node is the potential promise of the future. We are developing new potentials for our relationship with ourselves.

Pluto rules the sign of Scorpio. Planet Pluto is the engine that drives evolution forward. For the last 18 months, it has been the ruler of the lunar south node. The lunar south node is the composite emotional patterning of the most recent lifetimes.  Pluto empowers us or disempowers us. We stand in our power or surrender it. Pluto takes no prisoners. At this lunation, Pluto is retrograde, temporarily back in Capricorn, and faces off against the Sun and Moon at 29° Capricorn. The last twenty-ninth degree of a sign is the “ring not pass” that requires resolution of whatever still “hangs fire” regarding that archetype. The shape of the new moon chart is a locomotive with Pluto as the lead planet driving the energy forward with tremendous force. 

Perhaps we can mark our current time as “BC, before COVID,” and AC, After COVID. This current nodal transit that is ending correlates to the genesis of what has transpired since COVID. A transit of Uranus in Taurus has underscored the last five years. These Aquarian/Uranian energies have shaken to the ground what has become outmoded and crystallized. We have been saddled with the crises generated by the irreconcilable truths of the past. 

According to the Theosophical Society, “ring not pass” is,

“A profoundly mystical and suggestive term signifying the circle or bounds of frontiers within which is contained the consciousness of those who are still under the sway of the delusion of separateness….It is a general term applicable to any state in which an entity, having reached a certain stage of evolutionary growth of the unfolding of consciousness, finds itself unable to pass into a still higher state because of some delusion under which the consciousness is laboring, be that delusion mental or spiritual.”

—Occult Glossary, G. de Purucker

Pluto and the Sun-Moon conjunction square the lunar nodes at the Cancer New Moon. In Evolutionary Astrology, this is known as a “skipped step.” It is a mostly fixed grand cross. A grand cross is a highly dynamic configuration. It correlates to a “locked and loaded situation,” primed to unleash pent-up energies. This is especially true in fixed modalities.

The Sun is the self-actualization process. When the Sun squares the lunar nodes, it is not a “skipped step’ per se; however, it generates potential “skipped steps” during this next lunation cycle. The archetypes in play include the need for justice and fairness (asteroid Astraea in Taurus), the activity of rogue personalities (Eris in Aries), self-wounding (Chiron in Aries), and mass delusion (Neptune retrograde in Pisces).

We can navigate this energetic implosion by harnessing the nourishing and nurturing qualities of the sign of Cancer. Connect to your balanced power source, whatever that might be. Express your authenticity with your innate talents. Take refuge and safety in family and what is familiar. Honor your sense of justice and right and wrong. Express your authenticity and allow others the same. The Wheel of Fortune is spinning. Find your center of balance and breathe.