Celestial Notebook Overview January 2009

‘We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now. ’ Martin Luther King, Jr.

The most important feature of this month is a solar eclipse at 6° 30’ Aquarius (), setting the tone for the next six months. During 1990 we were subjected to the same set of eclipses as this year: where were you then, what were you experiencing at that time and what were the lessons you need to apply now?

A solar eclipse is an extra-powerful New Moon: gravitational forces are increased, electromagnetic streams are disrupted and your entire relationship with reality is reconfigured – especially when the eclipse is close to any natal planet in your chart or on a house cusp.

Eclipses remind us of our spiritual intentions: the Moon (representing soul) and the Earth (physical reality) conspire to darken and to introduce a fresh definition of the Sun (representing spirit). To add to the karmic impact an eclipse happens within a few degrees of the Lunar Nodes: the North Node symbolising our spiritual frontier and the South Node our past - our most valuable strengths and our....... deepest ruts.

Each New Moon heralds a new beginning, every solar eclipse marks a more significant time of closure and initiation. An eclipse in Aquarius illuminates the dawning of a new way of being, of a New Age. Although there are various markers for when the New Age begins, there is no doubt that environmentally, politically, socially and financially we’ve reached a critical time and critical mass.

You have a unique role to play; you are participating in birthing a new order and a new template for the evolution of consciousness. Aquarius asks of you to be not just mindlessly rebellious but to define what you want. What are your visions your hopes and your dreams for the world and what kind of role would you like to play?

The Sabian Symbol for 7° Aquarius underlines our emergence into a time when humans will be free from their bondage to culture, race or creed: ‘A child is seen being born out of an egg.’ We don’t have to try to put Humpty Dumpty together again: the trauma of falling off walls and putting ourselves together again is passé. We are part of the Whole and our evolutionary leap is to experience our self as such.

Jupiter, Chiron, Neptune, The North Node – and even Mercury (retrograde for most of the month) – are all in Aquarius stressing the importance of embodying your ideals.

Chiron () orbits between Saturn (), the traditional ruler of Aquarius, and Uranus (), Aquarius’ modern ruler. In mythology Chiron is a centaur, half man half horse, born of an illicit union between Saturn, Lord of Time, and Philyra, a sea nymph. Saturn represents time and Philyra space (the sea, lakes, ponds and oceans, are mythic devices for the portrayal of space). Our entire experience of time and space – our reality – is undergoing change. The Chiron paradigm agrees that underlying what we experience is an encompassing Intelligence: the Cosmos is a hologram and cause and effect viewed from our limited perspective is an illusion.

Chiron also symbolises our dual nature: lower animal nature and higher human and spiritual nature. The lower animal nature is focussed on survival in the physical world and sees the world from a much more material/dual perspective: yes/no, right/wrong yin/yang, past/future and so forth. Your higher nature has the potential to see the world from a unified perspective.

Chiron’s higher message is that everything is about perception: seeing one side of things (duality) is wounding, seeing all sides of things (unity) is healing. As you heal or become more (part of the) Whole, so the world around you changes – not because you have set out to change it, fix it, or get rid of the things you do not like, but because you see things differently. As you heal, you increasingly see things from the eyes of love (space). This is the ultimate gift in the human wound.

Magnanimous Jupiter () enters Aquarius on 5 January and remains in this sign until January next year. Jupiter is especially notable because he is both the ruler of Sagittarius () and the esoteric ruler of Aquarius. Sagittarius and Aquarius are both identified with visionary, reform-minded groups and teams; Jupiter brings faith, hope and optimism to this work. Jupiter calls in the angels.

Saturn turned retrograde on 31 December at 21° Virgo () and turns direct again on 17 May at 14° Virgo. While Saturn, representing limitation, boundaries and self-discipline, is retrograde in Virgo, your awareness of the interface between your body and your psyche will increase: how are you responsible for your own ailments? How does your diet and your lifestyle affect your long-term health issues?

Saturn also points to where we experience our greatest fears and with Saturn in Virgo what we have to face is that beneath the veneer of order and understanding lies chaos which threatens to erupt at a moment’s notice. The global financial crisis is a very good example of having to face sudden and overwhelming fears about our survival.

The answer lies in recognising the reality that chaos is the genesis of all things. Through using your mind to develop a sense of inner order and a knowing that you are part of a larger Order, your external world aligns in harmony with your inner world.

Saturn (), The Preserver, opposes Uranus (), The Awakener; their energies are naturally at odds and now they are in opposition too. This happens every 40 years. The dates that the opposition become exact are not necessarily D-days but the week before and after are often times when matters come to a head. The opposition was exact on 4 November, the day of the US election and they will again be exact on 5 February.

An opposition is the half-way mark in the cycle of two planets; the current Saturn/Uranus cycle began in 1988 when they were conjunct at 27° 49’ Sagittarius. Themes from this time will be recurring, asking for review and even closure: light is shed on our process since then. The period between July 1999 and May 2000 may also be highlighted as these two planets were then in a tense square.

Saturn opposite Uranus very often forces a confrontation between what we idealise as perfect and what we can actualise in reality – which is often a more crude rendition of the original image. We are often shocked into letting go of the old archetypes we identified with and thus allow ourselves to become more of who we truly are.

Uranus bestows sudden brilliant flashes of intuitive insights that are the seeds of invention and genius. Without Saturn’s effort and dull, hard work the most brilliant flashes remain in the pan, so to speak. Saturn and Uranus cooperating can bring the labour and effort necessary to induce the birth of an idea into full creative force.

Uranus is the unrefined gem; unrefined gems are beautiful, but once cut into facets, they reflect an inner beauty previously imprisoned. Saturn is the gem cutter.