This week’s Full Moon, exact on Friday, December 12 at 8:38 am PT, is especially dynamic and we have a week upon us where paying attention to our emotional reactions and keeping steady amidst strong stimuli may be a very good idea. The planets suggest a volatility and passion in the air. The Full Moon has a grand cross in mutable signs: The Sun in Sagittarius has just past its conjunction to Mars – this was exact on December 5 – and Mars squares Uranus in Pisces on December 10, and Saturn in Virgo on the 15th. The Full Moon at 21° 02′ Gemini, therefore opposes Mars, which squares both the Saturn and Uranus. These two planets, Saturn and Uranus began their long (i.e., through July 2010!), challenging, creative, maddening opposition on November 4. The long term stories playing out for us all – around defenses, fears, self-limiting beliefs, finding a move to make in spite of imagined or real opposition – get easily triggered this week. We may be overstimulated and too quick to take offense. Giving and taking is essential this week – two mutable oppositions squaring one another certainly implies a stimulating engagement with many others, both individuals and their points of view and ideas. It is extremely creative and engaging – a wide view or vision of where we are heading may show itself brightly and clearly, and enthusiasm may lighten the heart. A Full Moon always offers the ahah! moment, and this one especially so. Look for what is both useful at this time, (Saturn) and on point towards the future (Uranus).

The grand cross suggests that we may feel the urgency for a big change and yet, we may not see where or how. Patience may be a nearly impossible but urgently needed quality this week! Have confidence that the ideas and visions of the Gemini/Sagittarius Full Moon will be exploding with creative ideas for the future, rather than feeling that someone else is cramping our style.

At the Full Moon, Mercury is on the World Axis at 0°25′ Capricorn, conjunct Pluto at 0°33′ Capricorn. With the swift-footed messenger of the gods traveling closely with the harbinger of the massive re-structuring of power centers that is beginning to sweep the globe, we can expect that critical events from various world hot spots will be dominating the news. The conjunction, occurring at the same time as this volatile lunation, suggests that we may see – at best – significant compromises being found, or, at least beginning to be imagined, as well as – most likely – increased tensions and explosive dialogue around many world situations.

I like to return to the ongoing transit of the South Node in Leo and the North Node in Aquarius, now with Venus, Chiron and Neptune all in Aquarius and pulling us all towards the future waiting to be born. We each have a personal role to play or gift to offer (Leo) that is ready to be employed for the good of the whole (Aquarius). There are many altruistic motivations, projects and ideas we can join with. With this Full Moon, some of us may be happy to get through a stormy few days with equanimity and grace, or at least not too many hard feelings.

Here’s to the ongoing work of understanding our own natures and our place in the greater story of the day – it is surely a magnificant Full Moon for illuminations in all departments of life. Here’s to having the courage to see ourselves and our own situations with brilliance and heart.  Enjoy!

Much has been written on the upcoming Saturn Uranus opposition, exact on November 4. This is the first in a series of five exact oppositions that will last until July 2010. The previous opposition between these planets – representing the old and the new, the status quo and the visionary – was between April 1965 and January 1967 when there was also a series of five exact aspects. One very striking thing about tomorrow’s aspect is that it is angular in Washington, D.C. Saturn is conjunct the Midheaven and Uranus at the IC. This is a very graphic picture of the importance of this aspect for the US – as if we needed another clue to the fractious, groundbreaking, nature of this US election.

The symbolism of this planetary pair is being echoed in lots of ways: I heard a woman in an interview about the economy saying, “It’s as if you’re afraid to breath, and you know you have to breath.”

So, here’s to many deep, easy breaths as we find our collective and creative way to the other side of the opposition..

I’d like to share a few points made last week at our local NCGR panel on the elections. Obviously this election year has been a great year for astrologers shall we say, as the planets are speaking so starkly. (I especially mean in terms of the overall zietgist of the times, predicting the winner is another matter.) Each speaker focused on one of the key players charts (i.e., Obama, McCain, Biden and Palin) and we all had far more to say than time to say it. We also looked at the election day and inaugural 2009 charts.

Talking about Ms Palin, I was struck by the prominence of Neptune. Now that we have correct (?) birth times for Palin and McCain I see that her progressed Ascendant is conjunct his natal Venus, which is also on the natal US (Sibly) Neptune in the 9th house. The US chart has Mars square Neptune – along with other symbolism (e.g., a tendency to be aggressive (Mars in the 7th), towards an ill-defined (Neptune) enemy,  the 9th house signifies the media and the square from Mars suggests a powerful/effective tendency for the media to be used as an instrument to distort. Also, the solar eclipse previous to the election was on August 1 at 9 Leo. This was conjunct the Ascendant in Washington, D.C. and had Venus (24 Leo)  opposite Neptune (23 Aquarius). As a simple translation: a media savvy, telegenic woman is part of the theme. (Money matters also loom large, but that’s another story.)

Sarah Palin is, in part, a media/Neptune phenomena – consider, for instance, that she has given no press conferences, yet has appeared on Saturday Night Live, along with Tina Fey, who has been a media sensation herself with her spot-on imitation of Palin. Think of some of Neptune’s qualities in this regards- chameleons, shape-shifters, glamour, actresses, artifice, seduction.

I also noticed that the first exact Saturn/Uranus opposition on November 4 is exactly angular in Washington, D.C. Saturn is conjunct the MC and Uranus at the nadir – very powerful picture of the great importance of this opposition in the US.

I’ll post the relevant charts as soon as I can. At the moment, I’ve  got a minor household emergency to attend to: my hot water heater blew last night, due apparently to pressure build-up. (A householder’s responsibility I was heretofore unaware of.) In any event, pretty good picture of transiting Uranus in my natal 4th house opposite transiting Saturn in the 10th – i.e., I’ve got to get the blog written, I’m late…

Cheers! Be back soon…

 

Almost everyone I talk to these past days – friends, family, colleagues, clients – is getting familiar with some version of anxiety.

Even here, in relatively quiet southern Oregon, the tension symbolized by the ever-closer (exact on November 4) opposition of Saturn and Uranus is keeping many awake at night.

Saturn, the lord of time and constraint is being confronted directly by his mythological enemy, Uranus, lord of chaos and excitement. They represent starkly contrasting archetypes – the old and the new; stability and upheaval; status quo and an urgent or shocking call for change.

It’s enough to make me long for the good old days (i.e., 2005 and 2006) when Saturn was opposite Neptune in the sky. Then, the keeper of time and tester of limits was facing a nebulous opponent; things were harder to define and impossible to see clearly. At best, Neptune invites working with art, music, meditation and essentially relaxing into a boundary-less state of surrender. That may have been easier to do then; now Uranus’s impulse to dare and awaken is engaging with Saturn and the feeling in the air is quite different.

The god of the heavens and night sky, Uranus is seen as the function that opens the mind to a vaster, bigger picture of what is possible. Saturn’s inclination is to resist change and, at worst, to cling to what has always worked in the past.

It’s not too hard to see Saturn and Uranus in a big conflict out there in our world now. Considering the acute drama and increasing bitterness in the US election; the incomprehensible “shock and awe” moves on the financial stage; the anxiousness around loss of freedom (and money!); the tendency to experience society as divided between rapid reformers and amoral libertines; the “endless” wars and so on, it’s no wonder we’re having some sleepless nights.

If we consider things psychologically, however, the planets provide guidance to our personal lives. An opposition offers – or, more rightly in this case, demands – the chance to become aware within ourselves of inherent tensions. Tension between our own past and future; between what we most deeply fear and where our greatest and boldest ideas lie; between what know about ourselves and what we can only imagine. The opposition invites acceptance of factors and forces that seem diametrically opposed – the chance to come to terms with internal paradoxes that are easier to see outside of ourselves – all those other guys out there are the ones acting badly, aren’t they?

We can consider this in our own habits. Saturn’s favorite stance is one of defense. It may be easier to hold a tight rein on ourselves, or on a behavior or attitude that we are accustomed to, rather than inviting that invigorating moment when a highly uncertain future seems more creative and exciting than terrifying.

Depending on the natal horoscope, of course, some of us are more impacted than others by this particular planetary theme. As a first thought, those in their Saturn returns now, those of us close to our 29 or 58 birthdays, have the acute awareness that we are on the verge of a future quite different than where we thought we might be at this point in life.

I plan to add further ideas on this point within the next few days. I’m especially keen on looking at the natal chart to see Saturn’s sign and house position as a big clue to where we can individually access the stability, the inner ground and security that is authentic for us and is an inner template to keep returning to when the ride feels rocky.