Venus and Chiron Have Joined the Retrograde Parade

As of last weekend, Venus stationed retrograde in Leo and Chiron (ostensibly Pluto's moon, but might be a planetoid in and of itself) stationed retrograde in Aries. We examine the takeaways from both as we prepare to enter the Harvest Season...

Whereas Venus in Leo is normally Loud and Proud, going retrograde in this sign sees her dialing back the intensity a notch or three. She is "descending into the Underworld" as she does every 18 months. Astronomically, Venus shifts from being regarded as the "Evening Star" to being the "Morning Star" through this period, as she is one of the brightest objects in the night sky. 

As she goes on her "invisible" journey, we can take the opportunity to consider our own loud and proud parts. Are we really trying to signal boost or are we covering up deep discomfort? Are we trying to out-shout quieter, softer voices because we don't want to hear their messages? Are we sharing the spotlight with friends and collaborators or are we trying to hog all the attention for ourselves? If there are some Shadows lurking behind the scenes, the trick is to make the appropriate adjustments, which is where Chiron comes in.

Chiron is found originally in Greek mythology as a centaur who was a great teacher and healer, but who could not heal himself when he was wounded - hence, the archetype of the Wounded Healer. The symbol of Chiron in a given astrological chart looks like a Key, for the specific healing we need stems from the type of wound we are carrying in our Shadow Realms. The Wounded Healer is actually an archetype of strength: having navigated through what wounded her, and learned the lessons from the experience, she is best able to heal others.

Chiron in Aries further customizes the healing experience we need, as Aries is very much about the Individual. Chiron retrograde will hear the softer voices and heed the messages they carry. Chiron will show us where we might be out of alignment and suggest ways to realign. Chiron reveals the Wisdom in the Wound and is willing to share that Wisdom with us to help us heal.

Retrogrades in general help us to Slow Down and Listen Within. With four planets (and a moon) in the Parade now, and some significant retrograde periods to come, we may find forward progress to be challenging at times, particularly as the planets exchange energetic influences with one another and as the seasons on Earth unfold. Adapt, Adjust, and Persevere are our keywords for this time. Let us be inspired to exercise our shapeshifting muscles.

Next week we will be getting Sirius with the full moon in Aquarius coinciding with Lammas, the first of the Harvest festivals. As always, Watch This Space for further transmissions...

The Changing of the (Nodal) Guard and the Cancer New Moon

 A touch later than I would have preferred to post, but I had to get my brain to cooperate first. My apologies.

On the 17th (this past Monday), we had the Cancer new moon along with the Lunar Nodal axis shifting to connect Aries and Libra. More on the nodal shift in a moment.

The Cancer new moon invited us to immerse ourselves in a tub of Love. For those of us on the Passion Project journey, this is a time to see where we can bring more love and compassion into what we are doing in the world, whether we are cultivating our passion projects on the side or working with them directly. We are also encourage to look within and see where WE need that same love and compassion. Does our Inner Child need a little Reparenting? Do we need some TLC from our loved ones? 

Mars entered Virgo earlier this month - on the 10th, if you're keeping score at home - and shows up as The Amazon, complete and whole unto herself. Lean into that gentle yet fierce warrior energy if you feel you need some help in speaking up for yourself and asking for help in fulfilling your needs. Mars will be moving through Virgo until the end of next month, so there is plenty of time and opportunity to access that Amazon vibe.

Now to the Lunar Nodal axis: as the moon orbits the earth, and as both move around the sun, there is a bit of a "wobble" because of the tilt of the earth's axis. The "North" node is the farthest point the moon seems to travel in an "upward" direction, and the "South" node is the farthest point it seems to travel in a "downward" drection. When the moon is present at one of these points, depending on where it is in relation to the sun and the earth, we see an eclipse, either solar  (when the moon is between the sun and the earth) or lunar (when the earth is between the sun and the moon). Take a moment to pause and let that sink in.

The Lunar Nodal axis often appears in astrology as a Dragon spanning the distance between two paired signs, with the North node as the Dragon's head and the South node as the Dragon's tail. The movement of the axis is retrograde (backwards) through the signs of the Zodiac; the axis was connecting Taurus and Scorpio, and is now connecting Aries and Libra. The Dragon's head seeks to feed in Aries as its tail swishes through Libra. The next handful of eclipses will take place in these signs, and their impacts will be discussed at the appropriate times.

You can find where your nodal axis is in your birth chart. If your North node is in Aries and your South node is in Libra, you will be feeling a Nodal Amplification. This often presents itself in your life as a significant and intense boost of energy, especially around the eclipses. On the other hand, if your North node is in Libra and your South node is in Aries, you will be feeling a Nodal Inversion. This energy can dredge up a lot of Shadow material to be addressed and worked with, especially around the eclipses. Either way, you will be best served to check in, see what is coming up for you in this moment, and determine the best course of action, either by yourself or with a trusted facilitator. Heed your instincts!

I will return sooner than later this time (provided my brain cooperates - ha!) with the next planetary bodies to join the Retrograde Parade: Venus and Chiron. Watch this space for the next transmission...

Interdependence and the Separation of Realities

In the United States, today is Independence Day, when we took the first steps to remove ourselves from British rule. Yesterday there was a full moon in Capricorn, and it will look rather full again tonight. This particular lunation, along with Pluto moving back through Capricorn in its retrograde phase, gives me the nudge to share some Information on this particular blog which is relevant now. Take it as Information, or as a Thought Experiment: the choice is yours.

For a few years now, I have made a slight word change for this holiday. Independence is a fine thing to achieve, but I see the path forward as one to where we grow into a state of Interdependence. On this path, we see that we are all interconnected to one another as humans, and we also come to see ourselves as one strand in the great Web of Life on this world. If we knew that we did not act in a vacuum, that our words and actions rippled out and affected other people and our world as a whole, how would we act differently? This is the message behind the concept of the Age of Aquarius: that we are ALL interconnected and interdependent. As John Dunne once observed, No man is an island.

The Age of Aquarius is based upon an astrophysical concept called precession. Because our planet is spinning on its axis at an angle, it traces a large circle around the stars that takes approximately 24,000 years to complete each time. We would observe this as 1) a change in the North Star (which is currently regarded as Polaris) and 2) a shift in the Cardinal, Fixed, and Mutable signs of the Zodiac. While the physical shift is still a way off, the energetic shift began in November 2011. The first phase of this shift culminated with the Winter Solstice in 2012, with the second phase culminating at the Jupiter-Saturn Conjunction on the Winter Solstice in 2020. I have been advised that the third phase will unfold with the coming Dragon and Snake years (2024-2025). Remember this timeline and the concept of precession, as we will be returning to them later.

The reason this third phase is significant is because it will be a pivotal time in the ascension/evolution of humanity. The choice that is being laid out before us, in the US and elsewhere, is apparent in the Separation of Realities that is currently taking place. 

The idea of the Separation of Realities first blipped on the internet radar in the late 2000s, just before our energetic entry into the Age of Aquarius. My scientific mind could not quite comprehend how reality would split in the way that was being described in the various articles that I saw. Then the seven squares between Pluto and Uranus took place between 2012 and 2015, and all sorts of Shadow material was brought to the surface. Rather than work through the Shadow material to transmute it, many people leaned into the Shadow material instead. Starting in 2016, reality began to separate, bringing us to the situation where we stand today. We have a Fear-of-Others reality coexisting alongside a Love-for-Others reality, and we are being asked to choose which reality we wish to inhabit. (For a more contemporary look at this concept, here is a site to visit.)

Returning to consider Pluto's role in all of this: Pluto's journey through Capricorn showed us where the social fabric is unraveling, and what parts of our social infrastructure needs repairing. Pluto's return (in February 2022) to its original point in the stars, where it was when the United States began to take form all the way back in 1776, brought home the depth and breadth of the current Separation: there are those who are looking forward to co-create a more interdependent future, and there are those who, shall we say, want to party like it's 1799.

When Pluto returns to Aquarius next year, I get the sense that the "Great Housecleaning" will begin in earnest. How easy or how difficult it will be depends on the choice that each of us will be required to make, if we haven't made it already. Between now and then, the call is going out for All Hands to be on deck. This is part of my response to the call; what does yours look like?