Current Transits for January 1999 Current Transits for January 1999Here's some of the important astrological news this month ...
A Complex Ceres Story in January
Full Moon at 11Cn15, 1-1
Chiron enters Sagittarius, 1-7
Juno enters Sagittarius, 1-15
New Moon at 27Cp05, 1-17
Mars enters Scorpio, 1-26
Full Moon/ Appulse Lunar Eclipse at 11Le20, 1-31
Chiron sextile Neptune, 1-31
An online ephemeris for the month is available.
Happy New Year! After all the sluggish energy of the last 2 or 3 months, January should feel like a stampede coming through. We haven't seen planetary storms like these since last August, so get ready for a very demanding round of activity this month. There's a feeling of "shifting gears" going on, with a number of planets changing signs this month. We'll also get to learn more about Neptune in Aquarius as the faster moving planets pass over Neptune and trigger his energy into action in our lives. (Watch for major changes on the impeachment front after the 22nd, when the Sun goes over Neptune.) Enjoy the roller coaster ride -- it's a real change of pace!
There are 5 sign changes of note, 1 station and 1 big aspect in January, with the asteroid Ceres accounting for 3 of those phenomena. In addition, the second full moon (a blue moon) of the month is also a lunar eclipse.
Ceres is the Great Mother archetype of astrology, the symbol of nurturance and caring. Since entering Gemini on 98-7-26, there's been a strong emphasis on our "brain children", the intellectual interests that we're passionate about. There's also a strong tendency to intellectualize the emotions under this placement, robbing the emotions of the depth and feeling we need to feel fully nurtured. One common side-effect of this is a sense of lack of support from the world. These influences became more critical after the Ceres retrograde station on 98-10-10 at 13Gm30. January is a curious phase in this larger 9 month cycle. On the 2nd, Ceres slips back from Gemini into Taurus. On the 16th, she stands still and resumes forward motion. And on the 30th, she reenters Gemini. Obviously, some pretty big changes are happening in our attitudes about support and connection with the great web of life. Taurus is a more solid, earthy, physical sign than the airy, mental Gemini. It's a time to "get out of your head" and respond to life in a more full-blooded, embodied manner. As a culture, we are obsessed with the myth of rationality and it often blinds us to a wider, more comprehensive approach to the world. While pursuing the dreams in our heads, we ignore our bodies, trash our environment, poison our loving relationships and make a mockery of our connections to Mother Earth (a literal translation of "Ceres in Taurus" if ever I've seen one) and that great ongoing cosmic experiment we call Life. We need to make support and nurture (especially at a very physical level) a normal part of living, not something we tack on when we have some free moments. Our dreams and ideals must be in service to life and nature, not their masters, if we are to continue. Examine your actions this month. See how much of this feeling of no support is brought on by your own mental prejudices and emotional blindspots, by your own unwillingness to live life fully. Breaking through these blocks will open up more support than you can imagine.
Yes, the Uranus-Pluto sextile that triggered the infamous "Grand Finale" pattern 2 years ago is still active. The full moon makes it a Yod (aka, Finger of God) that brings that familiar transformative energy into our lives once again. You may find your life turned upside down in some areas the next 2 weeks, as though you haven't had enough change yet. Many of these influences appear to come from external circumstances that turn your private plans into mush, though if you examine yourself carefully, you can see how "unseen hands" are guiding your path in this direction anyhow. Make space in your life for the disruptions and detours, as they represent new energies entering and renewing your life. One of the symptoms of this change is a feeling of depression or lowered vitality. The emotions are restricted or deadened for a time, perhaps as a defense against the pressure building up inside. There's a need to withdraw from the world, to attend to the dull ache within. If you break through this blockage, a tremendous amount of psychic energy is there to be released, but approach it slowly and carefully. Many of these lessons are long-term affairs that will take many months to assimilate. Take your time...
Chiron shifts from Scorpio into Sagittarius on the 7th, directly opposite Ceres. Due to Chiron's upcoming retrograde cycle, this sign change is actually a 9-10 month process, leading up to the important conjunction of Chiron and Pluto next December 30. We are shifting from a process of internal growth and change (including facing our worst fears and traumas) into one where internal transformation becomes a springboard for creating change in the world all about us. It's a time to recognize how ideas and beliefs, no matter how passionately we believe in them, can be a source of hurt, isolation and division. This is a period when "true believers" of all kinds will create more and more anger and discord between themselves and those people of other "true beliefs", simply because their point of view is not open and inclusive enough to accept a multi-faceted reality. Chiron is initiating us into a higher wisdom based on tolerance and acceptance of the world as it really is (not the way we wished it would be). One of the first steps is to realize that beliefs are the best defense against a true spiritual understanding.
Juno also shifts from Scorpio into Sag on the 15th. Like Chiron , Juno is also entering a retrograde cycle that takes it back and forth across the Scorpio-Sag border for the next 9 months. In fact, these 2 bodies are intimately bound together this whole year and need to be considered as one theme. Juno is about partnership and the way we relate to others. We are moving from a style of relating dominated by passions and our emotional soap operas into a style based on more enlightened ideals and understandings. Our "emotional calculations" in relationships are frequently based on fears and worst-case expectations, not on a desire to make the partnership as good and fulfilling as possible. As you become more aware of this bad habit, it becomes more painful to live with the fears than to give them up. Practice honesty and mutual respect with others, even if it hurts, and see the results for yourself.
To be blunt, this is not a fun chart. There's a big grouping of 8 planets clustered around 26 degrees. Embedded in the middle of it is a powerful T-square involving Mars, Saturn, Neptune and the new moon itself. T-squares are renowned for causing conflict and discord, while Mars and Saturn are well-known planetary "heavies" when it comes to unpleasant influences. There's stress and tension all over this pattern, focused on the new moon and Neptune. For starters, one of the conflicts is of the self vs. others variety, indicating a tendency towards a lot of arguments. There's a feeling of being restricted or imposed on because of others, leading to resentments or outright anger. There's a need to cooperate, but little inclination. The usual rules and solutions will probably not be of much use when it comes to making things run more smoothly. When you can't solve a problem at its own level, it's often useful to jump out of the system and approach it from a new perspective -- in this case, the new moon and Neptune. By personally identifying more fully with a Neptunian perspective (looking at the subtle underpinnings, judging with the heart and head together, recognizing the connections more than the separateness), the conflicts somehow seem to lose their harshness and new solutions become possible. In effect, the world is making things as difficult as it needs to be until we "get it" and open our heart chakras to others. In fact, it doesn't have to be hard at all, though most people will require quite a bop on the head before they wake up. See how quickly you can catch the wave...
Mars moves from Libra into Scorpio on the 26th (the same day Mercury enters Aquarius). Once again, Mars is approaching a retrograde cycle and a 6 month dance across the border. You can just feel the Warrior God chomping at the bit to get into Scorpio. The emphasis in Libra is on cooperating with others, which is a major restriction on Mars' egotistical and willful tendencies. Scorpio is more passionate and self-directed, reacting to inner drives and compulsions, not the demands of others. Mars can finally do things simply because he wants to! However, that border dance and retrograde action is hinting that unbridled desires are not going to go unchallenged. Mars in Scorpio can be become manipulative or "power drunk" at times and eventually this will antagonize others to resist you. Balancing self and others will be a continuing issue in 1999.
The blue moon this month is a lunar eclipse. It's also right on the heels of the Chiron-Neptune sextile. The universe is yelling, "Listen Up!"
This chart is a "wild card" -- big changes with highly unpredictable outcomes. There's a lot of mental, intuitive energy present, with 4 planets in Aquarius, making us very flexible and lively on the mental plane. There are great unconscious currents at work in the psyche, stirring things up and challenging conscious attitudes that are stuck in a rut. The Chiron-Neptune contact is being thrust into our everyday lives, opening us up to experiences that are anything but ordinary. This sounds like enough information to keep us busy for the next 6 months! Close relationships (especially romantic partners) can definitely introduce a lot of creative chaos into things. Some of that is good in the long run, but it may be necessary to pull back from others or from demanding situations awhile in order to find your own center in the storm. If you need to drop out for a time to regain your bearings, go take care of yourself. The changes we are going through are subtle and can't be rushed. You must nurture yourself through the process slowly and patiently. Don't get swept away by all the busyness...
The big aspect of the month is a sextile of Chiron and Neptune on the 31st, the first of 3 such contacts. The remaining contacts are on 3-23 and 10-9. Unlike the difficult square contact 2 years ago, sextiles are enormously productive if you just put in a little elbow grease. It's interesting that this is the first "big aspect" Neptune has made since entering Aquarius on 98-11-27. Neptune is the Higher Heart, the path of the Dreamtime Worker (one who understands and works with the subtle forces underlying physical reality), while Chiron is the Initiator. Obviously, we are getting a wake-up call to pay attention, especially since this is just hours after a lunar eclipse! Whether you call it working with subtle energies, good ol' magic, or simply paying attention to the stuff most people overlook, there is much more to reality than the windows of the 5 senses and the explanations of the thinking mind can reveal. As people develop spiritually these days, new windows are opening up, bringing us novel experiences that defy the old logic's ability to interpret. As we begin to feel in new ways, we need to learn to create our lives more effectively. In effect, we are clearing away the blockages that prevent us from living as conscious souls in this world. Keep an eye out for situations that seen odd or "not quite right" these days and mull them over. Some of these are clues on how to open up doors in your awareness that probably sound like science fiction to the rational mind. The end result of this is to make us comfortable working in the Dreamtime -- we've got a lot of duties to perform there down the road.