Current Transits for September 2006 Current Transits for September 2006Here's some of the important astrological news this month ...
Pluto Direct Station at 24Sa04, 9-4
Full Moon / Partial Lunar Eclipse at 15Pi00, 9-7
Mars enters Libra, 9-7
New Moon / Annular Solar Eclipse at 29Vi20, 9-22
Jupiter Square Neptune, 9-24
Hindsight...
An online ephemeris for the month is available.
As I mentioned last month, we are in an extended transition time between older planetary energies that we've grown used to and the new crop of influences that will take us off in different directions. September is a rather pivotal month in this "in between time" we're experiencing. For starters, Pluto is standing still on the 4th, preparing to go direct again. Pluto's direct station is always a very critical time when old situations that you've been hanging onto reach the breaking point and finally snap. It may seem a time of catastrophes, when everything seems to fall apart, but if you approach this period with the proper attitude, it's a good time to clean house and get rid of the "junk" in your life. This is followed by a lunar and solar eclipse, another sign that parts of your life require some attention or overhaul. Further, much of the month consists of rather potent planetary storm patterns -- get ready for some busy Koz Alert waveforms! Continue to wrap up old business that may be weighing you down while keeping an eye out for those Pluto trouble areas. By October, we should be firmly in the new energies.
There doesn't seem to be much news this month in a traditional sense. The most noteworthy events include Pluto's direct station on the 4th, Mars moving into Libra on the 7th and the Jupiter-Neptune square on the 24th. The two eclipses, of course, are indicators of longterm changes that will be affecting the next 6-12 months. You might want to take note of which houses in your birthchart contain the eclipse degrees if you want to get a headstart on those areas of change in your life.
Pluto is standing still at its direct station (24Sa04) on the 4th, about to resume normal motion. He's been retrograding since Mar 29, when he stood still at 26Sa45 during the solar eclipse that same day. In my opinion, Pluto's retrograde cycles are some of the most spectacular astrological phenomena that we can experience. In part, this is because of Pluto's connection with what New Age circles commonly call "the higher self", that part of ourselves that stands behind and above our ego consciousness and calls the shots in our lives from the deep unconscious. He's the part of the psyche that insists we be totally true to a deeper purpose in life, even if we aren't fully aware what that purpose might be. It can be rather frustrating to our normal ego way of going about life, since Pluto has no regard for unimportant things like our plans and goals. If it doesn't match up with that higher spiritual script for our lives, Pluto will sooner or later decide that it has to go. In particular, Pluto's retrograde cycles are the not-so-gentle nudges we receive to let us know we've outgrown some area of life and need to let go of it. From the ego's point of view, we're quite comfortable with these areas, perhaps strongly identifying with them. To have these areas challenged and ripped from our grasp is often perceived as a great hardship or loss, as though the universe is conspiring to make us miserable and foil our plans. And it often feels like this affront is coming from the outer world since the unconscious frequently works through the mundane circumstances of our lives. These cycles generally start out quietly and uneventfully, probably without our even noticing the growing storm. It's often no more than a feeling of malaise or dissatisfaction with some issue in your life, hardly anything worth mentioning. Slowly, mysteriously, Pluto starts setting up the circumstances to challenge us, with the wheels of fate engaged already by the time of the retrograde station. If you're perceptive, you might be able to dimly perceive where the coming problem areas might be, but few of us have that much awareness. Barring such insight, you might get some clues by noting where the retrograde cycle falls in you birthchart: what house is it in and which of your natal planets Pluto is aspecting during this time. As the cycle proceeds, Pluto keeps upping the ante on the game. Early on, the situation can be resolved quite easily and without much pain, but the longer you hang on to this outgrown area and try to make it work, the bigger the obstacles in your path. It may take quite a few turns of the thumbscrews before you finally get Pluto's message and even then you may be reluctant to let go. But Pluto is persistant -- I've never seen him take "no" for an answer. By the time of the direct station, the situation is usually intolerable or else has already been decided (not in your favor). The thing you are most holding onto is the thing you must let go of. All you can do is let things pass, hopefully without too much complaining. Just let the pieces fall and walk away. It lightens your load and opens you up to new possibilities that you would otherwise be too busy to entertain. Despite the hurt, you're much better off by allowing yourself to grow. It's time to move on...
The lunar eclipse chart is probably the high energy mark of the entire month -- it practically coincides with the strongest Koz Alert of September. Further, it is, in a sense, the other bookend for the solar eclipse of Mar 29, when Pluto was at its retrograde station during that eclipse. They are the beginning and ending of the retrograde cycle. There's something critical going on with this eclipse, if you ask me.
The first thing to catch your eye about this chart are the 6 planets in Virgo (Venus, Juno, Sun, Vesta, Mercury, Mars), opposite the eclipsed Moon and Uranus in Pisces. That much emphasis on a single sign is quite unusual, as though we need to pay some very practical attention to parts of our lives. Instead of simply blundering ahead with your plans these days, see if you can perfrom the same tasks more skillfully or with more finesse. The connection between the Moon and Uranus stirs things up on the emotional front, overturning our typical preconceptions and promoting a deeper, more insightful outlook on matters of the heart. The other factor in this chart, closely connected with the first, is the T-square of Saturn, Jupiter (the strongest planet in the chart) and Neptune that dominates the first half of the month. Jupiter and Saturn are planets that rule over affairs on a global level, among other things. Their square this year is a major trigger for much of the fighting in the Middle East this summer. With Neptune involved, it's as though there's a conflict going on between the practicalities of dealing with the world as it is today and the idealistic options of how things could be. There are no easy answers available yet to resolve these disputes, but the urge to "do something!" is strong. Given that eclipses work for 6-12 months, this tension may have to simmer awhile before new directions become obvious. With Pluto standing still yet, people have to let go of something cherished, but outmoded, in order to make room for change. This is a tough, but powerful eclipse. Work with it...
Mars moves from Virgo into Libra on the 7th for a 6 week stay (until Oct 23). Of all the zodiac signs, Mars seems to be least comfortable in Libra. Our ol' Warrior God is more than a bit of an egotist. In fact, he's the incarnation of will-power and pursuing your own aims in life. Whatever he wants, he does, and he's not very tolerant of anyone that gets in his way. All this is totally at odds with the spirit of Libra, the most sociable and other-oriented of all the signs. Libra is about fitting in with others, with merging your efforts for a common goal, with making sure that relationships go smoothly and peacefully. The very thought of conflict or discord makes a Libra nervous and upset. So you can imagine how Mars feels being stuck in this sign for the next 6 weeks! Mars in Libra feels frustrated and hemmed in, constricted by the demands of others, forced to "go along" to keep a peace he has no interest in. This is a time when your efforts towards your own goals and aspirations are held in check unless you constantly take the desires of others into account at the same time. While this kind of empathy can be a useful discipline for Mars, who is normally the master of stepping on other people's toes, it doesn't mean he's going to like it at all. Pull back during this time, be less demanding and more conciliatory, dictate less and listen more. It makes for a lot less interpersonal hassles in the long run. And just keep in the back of your mind that this situation is temporary. Mars will be much happier when he moves into Scorpio, his home turf, in late October. The ego may not like this time, but it's not as bad as it seems.
The solar eclipse is much tamer than the lunar eclipse was, as a glance at their respective waveforms reveals. The only planets to emerge from the background are the T-square planets -- the Jupiter-Neptune square is only 2 days away.
This is the last hurrah of the big Virgo crowd of planets (5 of them this time around), plus two more in Libra. The eclipse is also about 16 hours before the fall equinox, so the prevailing forces in our lives are in transition. Whatever areas of your life that you find challenged by this eclipse in coming weeks, approach them with skill and insight. Simply barging ahead, doing the same ol' thing all over again, is going to get you nowhere. The T-square is also urging you to reassess your connections to the world at large. It's not all "what's in it for me?" either. When you recognize your intimate connections with and dependencies on other people, cultures, in fact all of life on the planet, your responsibilities to the greater whole take on a more personal meaning. The myth of the isolated ego, the solitary individual, is dead. Many of us still believe fiercely in this old myth, but it no longer serves our greater good. Let it sink in, slowly changing the way you relate to the world, to others. The shifts may be little and subtle at first, but eventually it remakes you. Stay open to the process, even if you don't understand where it is taking you...
Jupiter is square Neptune on the 24th for the third of 3 such contacts. The previous contacts of this square were on Jan 27 and Mar 15. It's taken me all week to come to terms with this aspect, to catch a glimpse of its possibilities that go beyond the usual astrological clichés. This contact has a marked "summing up" quality to it for at least several reasons. For starters, this is the last contact of the square, indicating the entire 8 month process is coming to a finish, a time for asking ourselves what we've done both right and badly this year. On a bigger scale, this is the final square of the larger Jupiter-Neptune cycle that began with their conjunction of 1997-1-9 at 27Cp09. I perked up when I remembered this conjunction, since it marks the opening volley of one of the most remarkable periods I've ever studied in all my 36 some years in astrology. Coming at the end of the 1995-97 sextile of Uranus and Pluto (quite a powerhouse in its own right!), I called Jan and Feb 1997 the "Grand Finale" for its spectacular astrological fireworks. Basically, all the outer planets got together and with the help of the faster planets, formed a two month planetary storm that reached deep into Koz Quake territory (600 units or above -- wow!). During this time, the concensus of people I talked to was that life was totallly surreal, off-the-wall intense, like a door to another kind of reality had opened up and then closed again. I mention this just to place the current square in context -- this 12-13 year Jupiter-Neptune cycle is more earth shaking than most people would casually expect.
Both Jupiter and Neptune are "spiritual" planets, though in markedly different ways. They both have an element of the individual ego reaching out and embracing the world, Jupiter reaching to the outer world beyond our skins, Neptune going inward to the psychic world beyond our normal consciousness. Ultimately, both of these directions wind up in the same realm of being, though these issues are such a hall of mirrors that we rarely understand this unity. OK, so Jupiter rules over the way we connect up with other people, share our lives and resources, burden or enrich each other's lives. Neptune is the "Vision", the inner image of a perfect world that colors the way each of us interact with the outer on a practical basis, the emotional script we bring to our lives. The conjunction heralded the message that we should take our relationships, with other people, with the world at large, with spirit, to a more expansive and refined level. That's one of the big energies we've been working on within ourselves for the last 9 years. How have we been doing? Paradoxically (a common trait when Neptune is active), the good news at this point in the cycle is that life and the world in general are not going well at all, and some of us are waking up to that fact. On the global scale, a survey of the evening news this year would lead you to believe the world has gone mad with wars and intractible conflicts. Far from urging us to peaceful coexistence, our beliefs and spiritual outlooks seem to be dividing us, even fanning the flames of anger and hostility. The idea that planet Earth and her cargo of living beings is precious and worthy of our protection and care is only dimly part of our thinking, let alone a powerful motivating factor of our day-to-day behavior. Through continued "small thinking" -- of self, family, tribe, country, religion vs. "the other" -- our divisions are undermining the welfare of the whole of which we are all like cells. The internal organs fight among themselves until the entire body dies. Nobody wins. The report card on humanity is not quite failing, but there is much room for improvement. The same applies, on a smaller scale, in our daily lives. We can see the old vision doesn't work at all in our hyper-connected world, that survival requires change. We may not have any answers that actually work, but the good questions are becoming clearer. On the positive end of the scale (and Neptune usually spans the full gamut of experience), this dawning awareness is food for thought, though the meal probably won't be served until the next conjunction in 2009, when the next cycle starts. Witness how the global warming debate has finally gotten some traction in recent months, for instance. There's a growing discontent with the status quo, that we can do better. Nurture this shift in our vision of reality. Examine how, as just one example of this shift, the belief that the smaller picture can succeed at the expense of the bigger picture is just plain wrong and suicidal. Just because an idea is labelled "religious" or "spiritual" doesn't make it right or even desirable. Curiously, this next conjunction will be at the zodiacal position where Neptune was first discovered in 1846 -- we are coming up to humanity's first "Neptune return" and I'm looking forward to it. We get to start learning about Neptune's subtle, but powerful influence at a whole new level of awareness and skill. But we need to get past this false allure of what "spiritual" means for us, as it is a hypnotic word that causes the inner eye to glaze over, preventing us from attaining the new consciousness we seek. There is no sacred life and practical life, as though they were separate; there is only life. Our future depends on seeing this...
I speak of these Pluto retrograde cycles from experience. My birthchart is constructed in such a way that when a planet transits 22-26 degrees of any sign, it aspects half the planets in my chart. I've had 4 major transits of Pluto through this sensitive area of my chart in this life, which have taught me great respect for the Dark Lord. This 4th passage that I'm experiencing this year is over my Mars. I've let go of many old possessions and replaced them in recent months, as well as said goodbye to a number of important relationships. The latest "gift from Pluto" was on Aug 19, a perfect "Pluto over Mars" effect. Mars, as in things made of steel, machinery, big powerful tools. My old and faithful car suffered a small break in a wheel mounting that nearly ran me off the road. Fortunately, it held together long enough for me to get off the freeway before dying completely. I'm grateful to be alive, actually. Knowing that the Pluto station was coming up made it easier to be philosophical about the whole matter. Just another thing to let go of...
My inbox has been flooded with emails wanting to know what it means for astrology that the International Astronomical Union (IAU) voted on Aug 24 to "demote" Pluto to the status of "dwarf planet" (which is most emphatically not the same as "planet", so they insist). The short answer is their action doesn't mean squat to astrology. The issue is really quite silly. It's a lovely case of the Mercury cosmic joke: a confusion of words and definitions with the real objects that actually mean something. Any word worth its salt is going to have many definitions, corresponding to distinct contexts. Astrologers are free to use the word as they always have, namely that it's a body that has an astrological influence on us -- a planet is something we put in our charts. Pluto definitely qualifies as a "planet" in that sense. Frankly, I think it's rather unwise of the IAU to insult Pluto with such arrogance and prejudice, laced with obvious political emotion, as they did. (It's almost like some powerful emotions erupting from the dark unconscious, so to speak. Hmmm...) Pluto doesn't suffer fools -- I'm certain he'll have the last word on this. It doesn't pay to taunt the Dark Lord...