Current Transits for January 2011 Current Transits for January 2011Here's some of the important astrological news this month ...
Happy New Year, 1-1
Jupiter Semisextile Neptune, 1-2
Ceres enters Aquarius, 1-3
New Moon / Partial Solar Eclipse at 13Cp38, 1-4
Jupiter Conjunct Uranus at 27Pi02, 1-4
Jupiter Semisextile Chiron, 1-12
Mars enters Aquarius, 1-15
Juno Retrograde Station at 29Vi41, 1-19
Full Moon at 29Cn27, 1-19
Jupiter enters Aries, 1-22
Saturn Retrograde Station at 17Li13, 1-26
Vesta enters Capricorn, 1-28
An online ephemeris for the month is available.
Happy new year -- at least I hope so! Judging from conversations lately, it sounds like 2010 has been a miserable year for all too many people, a year we're happy to see wind up. As if you don't recall, the last 7 months or so has been dominated by a powerful configuration of outer planets operating at a barely conscious level that has tied our lives in knots and driven us all a bit crazy. We aren't through this pattern completely yet, but as the new year proceeds, some of this energy should dissipate -- just not during January. All three of the "big aspects" this month are the final contacts of these multiple aspects, indicating some of the energies are winding down and preparing to loosen their grip on us. There are quite a number of planets changing signs, so we're shifting gears on many levels. Much of January is free of retrograde planets, as there is nothing in reverse gear between Dec 30 (when Mercury went direct) and Jan 19 (Juno's retrograde station); Saturn goes retrograde on Jan 26. This is a time that is remarkably free of roadblocks and detours, at least compared to the last few months, so try to make good use of this period. The new moon on the 4th is a partial solar eclipse that has a major influence on the US chart. Given the change of power in the Congress, this eclipse is going to have repercussions for a long time to come. Although readers sneer when the astrologer says this, the coming year should be "interesting"...
January has a fairly large number of events to discuss. There are 3 "big aspects", all of them in their final passes and therefore finishing off. There are also 4 sign changes and 2 retrograde stations. The new moon is a partial solar eclipse.
Curiously, there's a battle in the media going on over the validity of the tropical zodiac, as stupid and misguided a skirmish as you usually see in a "precession argument" (I know!). Here's my preliminary notes from the front on this story.
Welcome to 2011! The new year comes in on a decidedly quiet note, with the energies more scattered than usual. Even though each time zone around the globe has its own chart for new years, all these charts look basically the same, except for maybe the Moon position. The Moon is at the end of Scorpio for the eastern hemisphere and in Sagittarius for most of the western world. Perhaps the mood of the public in the two hemispheres will be subtly different this year, more passionate and heated in the east, optimistic and free-spirited in the west. Venus and the Sun are triggering the outer planets in coming days, so visionary ideals and passionate emotions can make a volatile mixture. Given that practically all the planets are below the horizon, a pattern astrologers call a Bowl, these smoldering tensions may not be visible on the surface until they break out, since it seems all the activity is going on below the surface, hidden away. There's also a Mars-Saturn square that I find troubling. Granted, there are always wars and troubles going on in the world, but a major conflict aspect like this square is sure to overheat tensions. Pluto and the Sun are either side of the 4th cusp, which also points to stresses bubbling up from below the surface, perhaps after Pluto's station in April .
Jupiter is semisextile Neptune on the 2nd for the last of 3 such contacts. The previous contacts in this series were on May 28 and Oct 8 of 2010. Jupiter and Neptune both have spiritual overtones. Jupiter is the more conventional of the two, representing the basic beliefs and values that we share together in society. Neptune is more of the lone mystic that treads his path alone, slowly transcending those basic beliefs that tie us down. These planets cooperate in a cycle that typically lasts 13 years; we started the current cycle back in 2009 when they were conjunct. The semisextile is essentially the first unfolding of the potential present in that conjunction. I talked about Neptune a lot in 2009 when it was the kingpin of an outer planet pattern similar in some ways to the 2010 pattern. One of the big themes these days is the realization that conventional thinking often fails to deal with our rapidly changing world adequately, that we need to move beyond the old stories we all hold so dear. The religious realm is only one manifestation of this paradox, where the great religions seem to be dividing us more than uniting humanity. In a broader context, we need to look at all our mythologies, the "great stories" we use to make sense of the world and our place in it. The stories we live by are invisible for the most part, part of the background of our lives, not something we think about much. It's only when a mythology is in crisis or becomes obsolete that it becomes visible, talking on the appearance of a "quaint belief" of a bygone era. Our myths are under stress, our sense of reality severely challenged. As we become aware of the beliefs that underlie modern life, we see their limitations and false assumptions and start to question them. Discovering your new myth is often a solitary spiritual path. More precisely, we all seek out a piece of the larger puzzle and eventually learn to bring the pieces together. Slowly, we are building a new world. It's going to take some time...
Ceres enters Aquarius on the 3rd for an 11 week stay. She'll be in this sign until Mar 21, when she moves into Pisces. This is a odd placement for Ceres the Great Mother Goddess. Ceres deals with themes of caring, nurturance and realizing your connection with Life in general. She wants to mother everything. But Aquarius is unemotional and dispassionate, coming more from the head than the heart. He's often described as a caring person who loves humanity but isn't too keen on actual people, whose connection with the world is more theoretical than compassionate. As I said, an odd place for Ceres to hang out. However, sometimes we need to become comfortable with an idea before we commit to it fully. We're more likely to express our concern for others through larger institutional means, such as contributing to a relief agency overseas, than through one on one contact. Every little bit helps, even if it seems rather impersonal.
The new moon is fascinating on any number of counts. The key structure in this chart has tight squares from Venus to Chiron and Neptune along with trines to Jupiter-Uranus (just hours away from their conjunction). The eclipse point joins in to the squares by harsh octile aspects. Juno is also opposite Jupiter-Uranus. Otherwise, the remaining planets are pretty quiet.
The moderate intensity of this chart is amplified by the fact that this is an eclipse. Since it is only partial, the Sun's disk is never fully covered up by the Moon. However, the Sun will appear partially obscured across Europe, Northern Africa and the western half of Asia as far as India and Mongolia.
Venus and Juno are both love relationship planets, so the heavy outer planet forces should be inflating latent problem areas in susceptible relationships until they break into the open. Emotional turmoil may be common, but use these feelings to become aware of the deeper issues instead of as an excuse to retaliate against your partners. The Jupiter-Uranus conjunction (27Pi02) in about 3 hours is closely square the Galactic Center (27Sa00), tapping into deeper spiritual currents that can really stir things up. There are some really significant lessons in all this about how you express your heart energies, the gateway to all higher spiritual states. The Sun and Moon fit into this overall pattern via some awkward aspects. Since they signify the individual person at several levels, your sense of self and your emotional security are under stress. You can't open the heart center without upsetting the ego and its narcissistic stories, so prepare for a little psychic overhaul. Once more, the outer planets promise us a little enlightenment, whether you want it or not. Frankly, most people at an ego level would rather be left alone these days.
In terms of the US chart, this eclipse makes some intriguing connections. The US Sun is about 13Cn19 (depending on which version of the US chart you use), a hard opposition to the eclipse. The country is being clobbered by this eclipse, although the effect may be concentrated on President Obama personally. Curiously, the new Congress takes office the next day, with the House now controlled by the GOP. A new accord for ruling the country needs to be forged between factions that have shown no inclination to cooperate with each other in recent years. The alternative is more gridlock and irresponsible posturing. We have no option but to bear down and solve our collective problems, but the will to do so is missing. Pluto and Pallas are also opposite the US Jupiter (5Cn56). The Pluto opposition is exact for the first time on the 17th, a remarkable chart in its own right. With the US Jupiter under stress like this, don't expect the economy to rebound anytime soon. Jupiter also rules over many major institutions (the government, courts, banks, universities, etc.), so the usual Pluto overhaul may be more widespread than just jobs and housing loans. And don't forget that the US is undergoing a Saturn return this year. It's time to wake up and take a more mature approach to life, now that fantasy-based governance has proven unworkable. We need to get through our political hissy fit first. It's going to be an amazing year for the US.
Jupiter is conjunct (same zodiac position) Uranus on the 4th at 27Pi02, the third of 3 such contacts. Their previous conjunctions were on Jun 8 and Sep 18 of 2010. Uranus is a mental, intuitive planet that induces that sense of "aha! now I get it!" in us. He sees beyond our normal ways of understanding our situation and lets us see the core issues with greater clarity. This brings out the mental characteristics of Jupiter, although his style of thinking is more conventional and down to earth. The previous 14 year cycle of these two planets started with their 1997 conjunction in Aquarius, a placement that fueled an overhaul of our mental world via electronic means (such as computers, cell phones and the Internet). The changes during this past cycle are phenomenal. The upcoming cycle has a different focus, with the conjunctions falling in Aries and Pisces. The Jun 8 contact in Aries was a call to action. You either put your mind to constructive work in your world or else you generate a lot of chaos and discord. It's been very hard to "hold" this kind of extreme energy and integrate it into our lives, hence the craziness of recent months. The subsequent contacts are both in Pisces, a calmer and more laid back sign. That has given us some time to go back and finish the preparatory work for the new cycle at a slower pace. As Jupiter and Uranus get ready to reenter Aries (on Jan 22 and Mar 11, resp.), life speeds up again. Get ready for these new demands, as there's no turning back now. Old ideas no longer work for us -- let your intuition guide you! (P.S. -- this conjunction is closely square the Galactic Center at 27Sa00, making this aspect more cosmic than you might expect.)
Jupiter is semisextile Chiron on the 12th. Again, this is the last of 3 contacts, with previous contacts on Jun 13 and Oct 5 of 2010. Chiron represents the places where we withdraw from life for reasons of fear, caution or uncertainty. It's where we've been burnt one too many times and we pull back. Once again, the other planet in this aspect is Jupiter. We've seen some of the spiritual and mental qualities of Jupiter already, but he also has social meanings as well. He's about reaching out to the people around us, learning to trust and share, to combine resources for the greater good of all. This is a very idealistic version of how to connect with others and like all idealistic tendencies, prone to be battered by mundane reality. When you open up too much, you take the chance of being hurt. After too many rounds of this, you start to shut down. Even your thoughts and beliefs can backfire on you if they deviate from the conventional too much. There's a fine line here between opening up and protecting yourself, a line you'll have to discover for yourself. Nobody can delineate your comfort zone for you. Explore this boundary, push your envelop, move beyond your limitations. There's about 12 years left in this cycle.
Mars enters Aquarius on the 15th. He'll be here until Feb 22 when he shifts into Pisces. This placement gives Mars some useful counterbalance to some of his more obnoxious tendencies, but only if you can move beyond some typical Aquarian blind spots. Mars is a soldier. He carries out orders and gets things done, come hell or high water. So much depends on the quality of those orders and where they come from. Aquarius is a thinking sign, where ideology and theory take precedent over feelings and compassion for others. It shows where our vision hardens into Truth with a capital T, where philosophical battle lines harden. When Mars operates within this rigid point of view, an attitude of either you're with me or against me sets in. It creates Enemies where there is only a disagreement of ideas, each valuable in a partial sense. It helps to give Mars an intellectual task dealing with abstract ideas while de-emphasizing the personal aspect of the work. It may involve more listening to other points of view than he's normally used to, as well as a focus on the feeling side of life and how his actions affect others. Not the easiest calling for our Warrior God, but it's good for him in the end. Stay flexible...
Juno reaches her retrograde station of 29Vi41 on the 19th. She'll back up to her direct station of 13Vi59 by May 1 and then resume normal motion in the sky. Juno is the Queen of Relationships, the lady who is in love with being in love. When she goes into a retrograde period like this, especially in a sign like Virgo, you can be sure that relationships are up for serious review. As for the Virgo part, it's important to be sensible and realistic about these matters, even though Juno is known more for her intense emotions than her rationality. Undoubtedly, extreme feelings may arise for Juno if she senses that her partner is not being totally upfront with her, but she needs to distance herself from these feelings instead of immediately acting on them. Juno can exaggerate imagined slights or misunderstandings into major crises if she's not careful. Rage and jealousy are the other side of the coin from love and passion for her. Her partner may indeed not be treating her with respect or somehow taking advantage of her, but even the suspicion of being taken too lightly can trigger her outrage. Juno can expect too much, which means she gets too little and feels cheated, even if her lover has done nothing wrong at all. Virgo says to look long and hard at these expectations, sorting out truth from fantasy. You've got a lot of time for this, due to the retrograde cycle. Make certain that the caring and love are flowing both ways, as the Queen expects royal privilege and doesn't always give back. The course of love is complicated in coming months -- do you best to smooth out the rough spots.
The main storm of January is cooling off already by the full moon, but its effects are still noticeable. Most of the action in this chart is focused around 25 to 29 degrees. There are a large group of planets in this region, including the Moon, Juno (retrograde earlier today), Vesta, Sun, possibly Mars, Neptune, Chiron, Jupiter and Uranus. Within this larger fan-shaped grouping are a number of smaller patterns that astrologers frequently discuss under such fanciful names as a Yod, T-square and a Mystic Rectangle. Almost all the planets are concentrated on one half of the chart. Only the Moon stands by itself on the other half, a pattern called a Bucket. This is a complex and multifaceted chart that is difficult to tease apart.
The Moon has an exaggerated importance in this chart, since it's the handle of the Bucket. She falls in the last degree of Cancer, her own sign, an indication that we are called to bring our lunar emotional nature to some measure of perfection or completion. Moon in Cancer represents the more feminine side of the psyche, the side dominated by feelings and emotional connections to the ones you love. She is opposite a lot of Capricorn planets, the cold, practical, just-the-facts-ma'am sign that wants us to buckle down and clean up the messes we've made in life. In fact, the Sun is near the US Pluto these days, so this housecleaning is going on at the national level as well. Oppositions often point to apparent conflicts within us. This practical vs. caring for others theme is one of these paradoxes, especially when we get around to the question of how to pay for our concern. Juno opposite Jupiter-Uranus (Vesta makes it a wide T-square) shows another such conflict, this one involving our relationships and the need to realize the power and wisdom within that is best contacted in solitude. Juno's station today is the exclamation point behind this conflict. Of course, these oppositions may not be as difficult as they seem at first, since they are combined within a Mystic Rectangle, a kind of big rectangular box in the sky. These Rectangles are good at drawing together all these opposing tendencies and finding a more inclusive way of drawing them all together. Done right, there's a workable solution to integrating all these qualities within our lives. The Yod part of this chart points to Neptune and Chiron, a hint that these contradictions are resolved at a higher spiritual level than the mundane, but only if we can see past the hurts and fears that normally constrict our behavior. Look to the softer side of life, no matter how difficult circumstances appear now. Things aren't as simplistic and one sided as they appear on the surface. There's a lot of potential for growth and healing in this chart.
Jupiter slips from Pisces back into Aries on the 22nd. He races through Aries at a pretty fast clip, reaching Taurus by Jun 4. Jupiter's natural optimism and enthusiasm is unleashed in fiery Aries. This placement is an excellent time to imagine and begin new projects, especially tasks that may take many years to accomplish. His sense of expansiveness and growth takes off. If your energy reserves have felt depleted in recent months (fatigue is rampant now), this may be the kick in the butt you need to get moving again. We experience fire, drive and energy again! The prospects ahead seem more alive and vital than they have for a long time. Take advantage of this time of new beginnings. Such gifts don't come too often...
Saturn is at his retrograde station of 17Li13 on the 26th, starting 4-1/2 months of reverse motion. He'll back up until Jun 12, when he reaches his direct station of 10Li26. Saturn retrograde usually spells a time when some old karmic debts need to be addressed. He's patient, but exacting, never allowing us to escape our responsibilities in life for too long. This cycle is in the sign of Libra, so our relationships with others may be affected. Issues of fairness and justice come up with this placement, both in our personal lives and on the greater social stage. Clear up the misunderstandings and "unbalanced accounts" with the people around you in coming months. Granted, these themes aren't very glamorous or exciting, but Saturn is about work, not fun. At least if you take care of your own messes, it will lighten your load and make life go more smoothly. That's reward enough.
Vesta moves into Capricorn on the 28th for a 2 month stay. She heads into Aquarius on Apr 2. Vesta and Capricorn have a lot in common, making this a fairly straight forward, easy going placement. There's a very practical, earthy quality to the both of them. This is an influence for just getting down to business and taking care of nuts and bolts issue. Focus on your goals, put the extraneous frills and unimportant detours behind you and just get it done. You can wield your power and authority quietly and purposefully, knowing that true power comes from within. It will be easier to work on your own, as Vesta is an introverted hermit not given to mingling with others. Anyway, put your affairs in order and release old commitments that are holding you back. It beats the chaos we're feeling now...