Current Transits for June 1997 Current Transits for June 1997Here's some of the important astrological news this month ...
New Moon at 14Gm40, 6-5
Jupiter Retrograde Station, 6-9
Saturn Trioctile Pluto, 6-16
Mars enters Libra, 6-19
Full Moon at 29Sa29, 6-20
Chiron Direct Station, 6-23
Numerous people have commented to me lately that the Grand Finale opened new doors to us, but didn't really change our lives much. In fact, one of the annoying realizations since last March is how stuck certain areas of our lives continue to be. It's felt since then that nothing much has moved or changed. Well, June is a chance to make some of these needed transitions, to bust through these stuck places that are holding us back. This is especially the case during the second half of the the month, when the centerpiece of the entire Grand Finale pattern (the sextile of Uranus and Pluto) is repeatedly triggered into renewed activity. Granted, the energy this month is neither overwhelmingly powerful nor highly organized (as it was last February), but this is still the strongest planetary pattern we've seen since early March. The upturn in energy should be welcome, after 3 months of stagnation. If you're willing to make a few shifts here and there, keeping your eyes open to opportunities along the way, June could be a very valuable time.
One of the major configurations this month involves the way the inner, personal planets interact with the heavies Uranus and Pluto. The sextile between Uranus and Pluto may have "ended" on 2-5, but they're still close enough to be interacting for nearly 2 years yet. Periodically, other planets will make aspects to these two, retriggering the earth-shaking energy of this transformative duo. I call these retriggerings "aftershocks", similar to the way small earthquakes continue to release seismic energy after "the Big One" hits. They allow the original impact of the sextile to be dissipated into our lives in smaller, more manageable doses until we finally get it. During June, the "Yod point" for Uranus and Pluto, at 5-6 degrees of Cancer, is extraordinarily active. When any planet crosses this degree, it forms a pattern astrologers call a "Yod" or "Finger of God." These fateful times are a crossroads in life, when important decisions must be made and a new life-path chosen. Needless to say, with Juno (relationships), Venus (intuitions), Moon (emotion), Sun (vitality and self-identity), and Mercury (intellect) all crossing this Yod point this month, there's ample opportunity to make changes in your path. Much of this activity revolves around unfinished business from the last 2 years, changes that you realized were necessary, but never got around to pursuing. Keep your eyes open -- there's plenty of chances to improve your life and get rid of the deadweight.
The new moon chart is a bit of an enigma, apparently lacking a central theme to hold it together. It seems scattered and unfocused, without energy or direction. There are a few small, loose groups of planets to consider. The 5 degree group includes Venus, Juno, Pluto, Pallas and Uranus -- this is the first of many Yods this month. The 14 degree planets contain Vesta, Saturn, the new moon itself, and Ceres. A group around 23 degrees consists of Mercury, Mars, Chiron and Jupiter. Neptune is making an exact trioctile to the new moon point and is loosely connected to other groups as well. It's a bit of a mess.
There's an element of confusion in this chart, with Neptune so closely affecting the new moon. Our dreams and goals seem adrift or at adds with reality somehow. It's a good month to reevaluate the balance of idealism and practicality (either extreme is deadly!) in your plans. You want to dream big, but also dream in a way that can actually be realized. Similarly, it's important to be grounded in the "reality" that surrounds you, but it's equally crucial to be true to yourself as well. There's a delicate balancing act to be done here. The Yod pattern is pointing to relationships and the emotions as a area to be revitalized. We normally slide by in our dealings with other people, doing what feels good to us (often in a very unreflective manner) rather than what is truly best for everyone involved. Our sense of fairness and harmony is challenged to operate at a much higher level than before, with insight and full awareness guiding our every move. This may involve quite a shift at the emotional level, since Venus is prone to taking the lazy, pleasant way out, the line of least resistance, instead of choosing a higher perspective. This is also a good period to be looking at how to broaden your connections with the world, finding all the personal quirks that sabotage our connections with others. Maybe it's mistaken ideas at some level, maybe it's just ego and belligerence, but it seems people are quite talented at tuning out love and support from others, even when we need it the most. Reaching out to others (and accepting their response) can feel threatening at times, but others are more accepting of us than we generally realize. In short, the coming lunar month can be a very social time, a time of opening up to others, but in a very quirky, unexpected way. Give yourself the freedom to be pleasantly surprised by such love.
There are a couple of notable planetary stations this month. Jupiter is standing still on the 9th at 21Aq56, about to slip into reverse gear until October 7th. Jupiter is the planet of abundance, growth, opportunity -- the goodies in life. He helps us step beyond the limitations in our lives by allowing us to make new contacts with the world beyond our current borders, enabling other people to enrich our experience. When Jupiter goes into reverse, however, it seems this fountain of outside support dries up. It becomes harder to enlist this support from others and you are driven back onto your own resources for a time. This can be especially troublesome if you're in business for yourself, since people are less likely to part with their money, even if they need your services. The next few months are a time to consolidate your recent gains and rid yourself of things that aren't working for you. It's worthwhile reevaluating your present strengths and weaknesses, deciding what things are furthering your purposes and which are dragging you down. If you make these changes now, you'll not only weather the next 4 months more easily, but you'll be in a much stronger position when the outside support picks up again.
The "big aspect" of the month is a trioctile of Saturn and Pluto on the 16th. This is the first of 3 such contacts, with others on 9-22 and 98-4-9, so we're looking at a 10 month process here. Saturn and Pluto have just finished a long trine contact, part of the Grand Finale, that indicated a need to incorporate (literally, "bring into the body") the incoming spiritual influences on a more concrete, physical level. This trioctile, a time of testing, is our report card on how well we accomplished this feat. The amount of energy coursing through our bodies and nervous systems the last year has been phenomenal, and without the proper preparation, burn out is a distinct possibility. If you're feeling fatigued or exhausted now, it's simply that all this energy has fried your circuits. Take time to build up your system. Look to see if other people can be a support system for you, amplifying the effects of your actions in the world. The spiritual life is ideally light and effortless, although we're always free to make it as difficult as we desire. Your problems now are symptoms of how we make life harder than necessary. During the next 10 months, you can make it easier, but only if you surrender to spirit and work cooperatively with others. Incidentally, the Saturn-Pluto cycle seems to have a major effect on Russia, so I expect some big crisis situations to develop there (perhaps related to the succession of Yeltsin) the coming year.
By the 18th, Venus, the love goddess, is joining this stressful pattern, if anything making it more difficult. In addition to physical fatigue, Venus is adding an element of emotional stress as well, undermining your sense of belonging and well-being. The trick now is to stay within your comfort zone, not overextending yourself to levels where you can't sustain the effort. It's tempting, when you've glimpsed greater vistas of what's possible, to reach too high. Yes, we are free spirits in physical bodies, but that also means we have certain limitations that must be respected until we grow into greater abilities. Strive to grow further, but do it in a way that stays within your current boundaries. Be easy with yourself! Saturn and Pluto can be very demanding (and frequently pull you in opposing directions) -- don't let them rush you!
Mars, the Warrior God, moves from Virgo back into Libra on the 19th, after a long retrograde cycle. Neither of these signs is a very natural home for Mars, who prefers his freedom and independence straight up, with no strings attached. Virgo deals with service and helping, commiting your efforts to the greater good, while Libra puts a spotlight on cooperation and harmony. It goes without saying that Mars has been quite unhappy with this kind of being penned in. However, one of the spiritual lessons so far this year has been an appreciation of how our individual efforts and expression must harmonize with the greater story going on around us. Part of the spiritual shift that's happening to us is the need to pool our efforts and work together (each in our own personal arena) to bring about a worldwide transformation that's much bigger than any of us alone. It's been necessary to stifle the normally rambunctious Mars energy in order to bring this about. So Mars is on his best behavior until 8-14, when he enters the more hospitable territory of Scorpio. For now, remember to be diplomatic and accomodating to others.
The full moon falls in the first half of the big planetary storm at the end of the month. The main peaks in the energy waveform emphasize 0 and 20 degrees of various zodiac signs. The 0 degree planets include a powerful T-square. This group encompasses the Sun, Mars, Pluto, the Moon, Neptune and Pallas. The 20 degree group contains Vesta, Saturn, Venus, Chiron, and Jupiter. Mercury and Uranus are on the fringes of these patterns.
That Sun-Moon-Mars T-square is a very gung-ho configuration! There's a drive to be active and outgoing, even though the goals are not always clear, as well as a tendency to overextend yourself if you're not careful. On the surface, there's not much hope for a balanced outcome here. However, these two groups of planets are connected by numerous quintile aspects, the planetary connection of overcoming problems by reaching up to a more inclusive point of view. Perhaps the solution to current problems is not to simply go blasting through them like you're used to doing. See if you can work smarter, not harder! Rather than expect immediate results (Mars hates to wait for anything), settle in for long-term results. Let the world provide its two cents to the effort instead of trying to do everything by yourself. Above all, work with other people, not at odds with them. You'd be surprised what a little altruism and cooperation can do for everyone involved. Partners are your greatest asset these days, so learn to get along with them and rely on their help (just as they will require your assistance in return). It may be difficult to get past existing blockages that keep such a smooth flow of energy from happening, but all energy that you withdraw from conflict is made available for other purposes. There's nothing wrong with being a helpful person. In the long run, this is really the smartest path.
On the 23rd, Chiron is standing still at 25Li41, about to resume normal forward motion. This retrograde cycle of Chiron (which started at 2Sc05 on 2-13) has been an interesting dance back and forth across the boundary between Libra and Scorpio. Following a year and a half in Libra, when Chiron the Wounded Healer basically rearranged all our important relationships, he took 3 months to give us a preview of the next lesson for us. Chiron in Scorpio is about getting comfortable with change and personal transformation. For many of us, there's a deep aversion to change, as though we were being "forced" to do something against our will. Change is often seen as something unsettling (just when we've gotten comfortable) or even emotionally traumatic. In coming years (Chiron will kick around in Scorpio until 1999), we will learn to be more open to shifts in our lives. After all, change is growth, while stasis is a kind of spiritual death. Only by constantly growing and expanding do we stay alive inside. After that preview, we've needed to go back and clean up a few loose ends in our relationships, perhaps finally putting them on a basis where they support, rather than hinder, our further growth. From now on, inner and outer transformation must go hand in hand. The inner and the outer worlds must be in harmony if either is to continue moving forward. From the 23rd until Chiron enters Scorpio for good (9-3), finish up the remaining relationship problems that are keeping harmony out of your life. After that, it's time to turn inward for some intense work.