Current Transits for November 2010 Current Transits for November 2010Here's some of the important astrological news this month ...
Election Day, 11-2
Chiron Direct Station at 26Aq04, 11-5
New Moon at 13Sc40, 11-5
Neptune Direct Station at 25Aq55, 11-7
Jupiter Direct Station at 23Pi29, 11-18
Venus Direct Station at 27Li39, 11-18
Full Moon at 29Ta17, 11-21
An online ephemeris for the month is available.
The most interesting thing about November (other than the ongoing outer planet scene) is the large number of planets at direct stations. In fact, that's about the only thing notable about the month. In traditional terms, there's not much happening. However, all those slow-motion planets in the sky generally come across as a "stuck" feeling down here on earth, a sense that nothing is moving or changing. This leads to a great deal of frustration and impatience in many people, a desire to change and fix everything (even if it isn't broken) that is stymied by a lack of means to pull it off. Of course, the influence of the outer planets this year has put everyone on edge, stirring up emotions and unreasonable expectations that defy all rationality. What a great time to hold an election! The coming election results can appear as the cavalry coming over the hill or some kind of horror movie, depending on your political leanings, but it is certainly a fascinating Rorschach test for plumbing the national psyche. The country is entering some treacherous territory in coming years. If you thought the outer planet storm of 2010 was "exciting", the major transits kicking in for the remainder of the decade will definitely challenge the nation. Look to the results of Nov 2 as a preview of how we are approaching our national karma. In terms of the energy waveforms, November is a fairly normal mixture of storms and weak transition periods, considerably less powerful than what we experienced over the summer. If anything, the lack of energy during the transitions can only exaggerate that sluggish feeling from all the stations. It's probably a time to stop and reassess our path in light of all the drastic changes this year. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail -- I doubt it somehow...
There's not much news this month. We have 4 planets at direct stations, producing that sluggish feeling I've been talking about. Keep in mind that Uranus will be at its direct station Dec 5 and can be considered part of this picture. Otherwise, no "big aspects", no sign changes, no news.
Wading through the results of a national election can make for a long night in front of the TV, not always pleasant. (At least there are no campaign ads anymore!) The results are a kind of capsule description of the national mood and this year the mood is rather foul tempered. Since 2006, we've been in a trend of taking our dissatisfaction out on whoever is in office. Granted, there's been plenty to be unhappy about in recent years, especially since 2008 when Pluto entered Capricorn and the economy tanked, but I get the impression we're holding a national temper tantrum, not an exercise in rational democracy. When you constantly "throw the bums out", you never give them enough time to see what works and what doesn't. Whipsawing back and forth between extreme positions isn't good for the country.
The energies on election day are decidedly weak and chaotic, not a good sign. The Moon is aspecting the outer planets throughout the afternoon that have been making us crazy all summer. As the polls are about to close in the Midwest, the Moon opposes unpredictable and rebellious Uranus and then goes void of course. Now I'm not a big fan of the VOC Moon phenomenon in my own life, but on the larger social level, I give it some notice. It is said to make the results of a matter go haywire or take a course that's not useful at all. Well, if your desires and beliefs are contradictory and unable to coexist in reality, you aren't thinking clearly and your emotions are out of control, you can't expect anything good to come of your actions -- that's basic Magic 101, folks! Pluto is still opposing the USA Venus and will soon start hitting our Jupiter, so our economic situation will keep limping along for several more years. There's no quick fix to our systemic problems. It'll take more time than the voters have patience. Neptune is near the USA Moon (in most versions of the chart), a sign that the public is confused and in the mood for nothing short of a miracle. Uranus is sextile the USA Pluto, another indication of the erratic nature of the group mind as expressed through the desire for radical change of any kind. I often say about Uranus that he never saw a status quo he didn't want to blow up, and that's about how people are voting.
I'm really concerned with the long-term results of this election. Governing is always much harder than campaigning, as is fixing problems (without making them worse) vs. complaining about them. Hubris among the winners is an issue, even more so when Pluto is so active, as the sense of a false mandate makes extreme solutions seem more reasonable than they should be. Face it, none of the major political parties is held in much esteem these days, even within the parties themselves. Why should they feel they have a mandate for anything? But they will. It takes two sides to have a gridlock, even if only one side gets blamed for it. Given the uncompromising, scorched earth politics of recent years (the GOP has vowed to make the Obama administration a failed presidency -- apparently even if it hurts the country), this bodes ill for the country. Remember that the USA Jupiter stands for many of the major institutions in our nation (government, business, banking, religion, law, education, etc.), so Pluto's corrosive effects on our Jupiter are going to make many things worse (and uglier) before they get better. The stage for the 2012 election is being set in the ballot box today already. How many of these destructive cycles can we go through before we start acting like adults? (Pluto's in Capricorn a long time...)
See Pluto in Capricorn and the US Chart for more background on how Pluto is affecting the USA this decade.
Chiron reaches its direct station of 26Aq04 on the 5th. It's been backing up since its retrograde station of 0Pi59 back on Jun 4. Chiron represents the parts of your life that you least want the world to see. People always want to "look good" in the eyes of others and make a good impression. Of course, the human condition is that we are all flawed creations, falling short of some misguided ideal that no one can live up to. It takes decades of maturity before people start feeling comfortable with these individual quirks that make us who we are, even if they force us to fall short of that ideal. Until you learn to feel comfortable in your own skin, warts and all, the tendency is to try and hide these quirks from judging eyes. I describe this via the metaphor of the psychic closet, the place in the psyche where we stuff all the parts of ourselves that we don't want the world to see. The process starts very early in life when we start learning to be a "good child" in the family and school, but goes into overdrive during the teenage years and in early adulthood. The need to make a good impression on others is vital to our survival in this world. Consequently, any parts of yourself that don't meet external approval tend to be tossed in the closet to be ignored and downplayed. In small measure, this wouldn't be that big of an issue. After all, a little bit of compromise doesn't really hurt anybody. Unfortunately, this urge to fill up the closet is out of control for most of us. By the time you reach middle age, the closet is full and the mask we show the world is thin and unfulfilling. It's this sense of emptiness and lifelessness that drives most of us to timidly open the closet door and start sorting through the piles in there. The surprise is that most of what makes us a unique human is hiding in there. Oh sure, some of that deserves to be in the closet, but most of the contents are actually very useful and valuable traits worth dusting off and revitalizing. Your individuality is more important than being perfect any day. Now this Chiron station is conjunct Neptune (also at its station), so much of what you may find in the closet now involves your dreams and hopes for life, the feeling of connectedness with others, the ability to relate to others from the heart, not the head. We are much more human on account of our connectedness than our judgments. As we reach this station, it's time to face our humanity openly and embrace it. It takes courage, but it sure beats living a life of emptiness.
The new moon is our big "morning after" -- time to get moving. The waveform is starting to show a little life again. As I've said so often, the core of this pattern is the outer planets Neptune and Chiron in Aquarius, Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces, with a Scorpio Mercury. These are trioctiled by Saturn on the one hand and Sun-Moon on the other. Venus, Mars and Pluto are remarkably quiet.
Five planets and asteroids, a third of the total, are in the sign of Scorpio. There's an intense emotional atmosphere that affects our thinking and our ability to make sense of the recent changes. We probably need some time to sit back and let it sink in, but the tendency is to barge ahead anyway. The challenges and difficulties in this chart are many, with most of the important aspects falling in the harsh category. Mercury is perhaps in the strongest condition, but our thinking can be deluded or unfocused (a square to Chiron-Neptune) or simply swayed by strong passions. Proceed slowly and carefully -- things aren't as they appear.
As a footnote, Pluto is conjunct the North Lunar Node in coming weeks. Perhaps some cathartic karmic release is in the cards. We'll have to see about this one...
Neptune is at its direct station of 25Aq55 on the 7th. This ends a 5 month cycle that began with the retrograde station of 28Aq42 on May 31. If you recall from 2009, Neptune recently returned for the first time to the zodiac position where it was discovered in 1846, namely 25Aq52. The station now is only a few minutes of a degree off from this discovery position, so the themes in play last year are still active. Neptune is perhaps the hardest planet to understand, if only because it rules over parts of our lives that are so fuzzy and ill-defined to begin with. He helps us connect with a level of reality that is very tenuous and hard to fathom, but in a way that appeals to the intuition instead of the intellect. First of all, a theme that came up last year was the role of Neptune as a Magician. People have many beliefs that structure the way they experience the world, most of which operate unconsciously and below the radar. And contrary to our assumption that we are sane, rational people, this grab bag of beliefs and myths mostly contradicts itself right and left, meaning we are often working at cross purposes with ourselves. We profess to thinking one thing, only to have contrary ideas lying below the surface. (It's one of the remarkable qualities of the unconscious that contradictions can exist side by side, even if not always peacefully.) There have been some important revelations about the relationship of psyche and the physical world in the last century, from both the psychology and physics side of the relation, that show these two aspects of reality are deeply intertwined. Scientists no longer talk about being an "observer" of nature, but rather a "participator" that cocreates the world through our being aware of things. With Neptune, we come to understand that our beliefs actively structure the world around us (and not just our experience of it), even attracting people into our lives so we can together act out the psychological dramas of our inner narratives. Neptune's retrograde cycles are thus a good time to find out what you really believe about your world, as opposed to what the ego thinks. Especially as we approach the direct station, the turning point at the end of this cycle, our contradictions are in plain view right in our daily lives. Take a long, dispassionate overview of your current situation, especially the troublesome areas and ask yourself, "Why did I create this?" We are creating our world all the time, motivated by those pesky beliefs. Our assumptions of how things should be become the blueprints for building the next what is. With awareness of our underlying myths, we can clean up the messes we make before we even make them. Just remember that with Neptune, there are no boundaries and distinctions, no inner and outer world. Everything is all one to him. This also applies to matters of the heart, where we feel like we merge and blend into others (which at some level, we do), with no boundaries between us. All this is pretty heady spiritual stuff to handle. It's easy to misunderstand what's happening at this deep level; the ego tends to get a puffed up vision of what a powerful magician it is. Being honest with yourself is always an issue with Neptune -- self-delusion is the name of his game. It's all a confusing hall of mirrors down here. So take a look at your life and the circumstances you've created as a mirror of how your psyche (not just the ego) is doing and what work remains. Take your answers lightly, subject to change if a deeper understanding shows up. Explore the mystery of life in all its fascinating twists and turns, avoiding coming to firm conclusions if you can. This station is a time when the questions are more important than the answers. Discover your personal myth for living, then take it to the next level. Just make sure to keep your feet on the ground -- yet another Neptune trap. I never said it was easy to understand this planet!
Jupiter goes direct at 23Pi29 on the 18th, ending a retrograde cycle that began back on Jul 23, when it stationed at 3Ar24. While Jupiter is usually considered the Santa Claus of the solar system, showering us with good luck and material possessions, that's a very superficial view of this planet. From a broader perspective, Jupiter is about expanding your boundaries, making connections with the world around you and improving your life through these connections. He's the principle that we're all in this together and if we pool our talents and resources, we can make this earth-side trip more pleasant for all of us. It's one of the most basic lessons we learn in childhood: sharing is good for you. During Jupiter's retrograde cycles, we learn this lesson the hard way. People tend to clam up during these cycles. For whatever reasons, they lose their generosity, their optimism, their ability to get along with each other. In particular, people feel a sense of scarcity, so they tend to fight desperately for what they have instead of passing it around. It's a lousy cycle to be in business, since customers sit on their wallets instead of opening them up, no matter how wonderful your wares may be. We're slowly coming out of this slump as we round this station. People will gradually come out of their shells again and become more sociable. Given the fractured state of the country, especially after a bruising election campaign, it's terribly important that we learn to get along and work together again. In short, Jupiter is about pursuing the greater good, those goals that make life better for all of us, not just the lucky few. Putting restrictions on him, limiting your ability to expand and grow, preventing the synergy of having us all work together, is not good for you, not good for everyone around you. Jupiter works best when we're all on the same side. It's time to move beyond this mood of scarcity, especially given that the station is in Pisces (old karma). We want to be free to move when Jupiter returns to Aries on 2011-1-22.
Venus ends her 6 week retrograde cycle when she goes direct at 27Li39 on the 18th. This cycle started on Oct 8, when she stood still at 13Sc13. Like Jupiter, Venus is considered a benefic or helpful planet -- how strange they are both standing still today. Perhaps it's a two scoop lesson on the value of positive energies in our lives. Anyway, the influence of Venus can basically be summed up in one question. When faced with some choice or circumstance, she asks, "Do I like it or dislike it?" We all learn to move towards the things we like and run away from unpleasant things before we can even talk. It's a very basic instinct. So it's curious to see what happens when this planet goes retrograde and our instincts go wacky. It's not uncommon that we are attracted to people or things we normally wouldn't be, as if we are somehow testing the notion of what feels good to see what we are missing. Any basic, preverbal ability needs to be challenged or reexamined like this from time to time, just to see if our tastes really match who we are now. It's good not to make any choices you can't back out of later, as the tendency is for your normal tastes to resume after you've had your wild fling. This is the reason for the common warning about Venus retrogrades: don't buy anything you can't return to the store and don't fall in love with anyone you can't ditch when the direct station hits. Well, the station is here -- it's later. Hopefully you've discovered something or someone new that truly appeals to your fancy and has expanded your horizons. If not, look for the sales receipt. We all have our little lapses of good taste now and then -- it keeps life amusing, as long as we don't have to live with the consequences. And if you've managed to actually grow during this time, that's a gift that truly enriches your life. Anyway, wake up and smell the coffee -- it's reality again.
As we get to the full moon, it appears this lunar month is still causing us trouble. The Sun and Moon form a big T-square with Neptune and Chiron, plus the usual cast of supporting characters. There's a tight conjunction of Mars, Pallas and Mercury around 18 degrees Sagittarius that makes a splash, despite being unconnected to the T-square planets. Pluto is so isolated, it's scary.
There's a streak of stubbornness in this chart -- the T-square is in fixed signs. Fixed is the word astrologers use to describe energy that doesn't want to move or be changed once it settles in. Such stability can be useful in turbulent times like these, but only to a point. If it turns into obstinance or the inability to adjust to changing circumstances, then it becomes a problem. An alternative to this inflexibility, as we keep seeing this year, lies with the outer planets who are still working us over. In other words, traits like clear intuition that provides penetrating insight into our situation, a keen sense for innovative solutions that veer away from "how it's always been done", clear and sensible goals and values that actually match reality, etc. It would be nice if you could simply say "Be enlightened and sane!" and make it happen, but true evolutionary change is never so easy. People are crazy for a reason this year (besides the economy): it's the dying of an old way of thinking and the gradual emergence of a new perspective and mythology. Of course, the new paradigm always looks crazy to the old one, an insanity that causes fear and creates resistance. Be patient with this powerful process and don't expect instant gratification -- the outer planets move slowly in the sky and through our lives. It takes time for a culture to change. I just hope we "get it" before doing serious damage to ourselves or the planet. Do your part, whatever that might be...