Current Transits for August 2014 Current Transits for August 2014Here's some of the important astrological news this month ...
Saturn Trine Chiron, 8-5
Ceres enters Scorpio, 8-6
Juno enters Cancer, 8-8
Full Moon at 18Aq02, 8-10
Pallas enters Libra, 8-10
Jupiter Quincunx Neptune, 8-14
Chiron Semisextile Uranus, 8-23
New Moon at 2Vi18, 8-25
Hindsight...
An online ephemeris for the month is available.
At long last, there's some sorely needed energy looming on the horizon! Ever since the big Grand Cross storm that dominated the first part of the year fell apart in mid May, we've been in a severe slump that refused to lift. I jokingly called it the Grand Hangover after the storm, but it's been a drag slugging along the last 3 months without any planetary support. We officially get our first Koz Alert since May on the 20th! Very slowly, the outer planets are rearranging themselves into some new patterns, especially as Jupiter is zipping along in early Leo and picking up new partners. There are actually two important backbones for building storm patterns. The persistent one consists of Saturn, Chiron and Uranus, a grouping that has been busy for a month or so already. The more transient grouping is Jupiter and Neptune. Pluto falls about halfway between these two groups, on the fringes and not really a major player. It's refreshing to call Pluto a bit player, giving us a break from his darker vibrations briefly,but then again, he likes to work underground or in the shadows. (We'll see plenty of Pluto in September, as he nears his direct station...) What all this means is we've made a transition finally from early 2014 and important new themes are entering our lives. These situations are rather tentative so far, on the horizon as I said, but they will be dominant stories for us as we head into the fall. In other words, put your antennas out and start paying attention to people, ideas and issues crossing your path. It's like starting a new adventure. On the other hand, there's not much in the way of traditional astrological news to talk about this month, so we don't have to deal with a lot of big influences that trigger crucial events in the world. So start checking out the incoming energies and how you can work with them. We've been stuck in a rut too long...
There's not much news this month. We have 3 "big aspects", though I expect none of them to make a major, lasting influence on us. We have 3 of the asteroids changing signs, normally an event that passes unnoticed. No planets are at their stations and all the planets backing up (Chiron, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) are slow moving ones that spend a good part of the year in reverse gear anyway.
Saturn is trine Chiron on the 5th. This is the 5th of 5 such contacts, so we are closing out this cycle this month. These contacts started back on 2012-11-16, during the lead up to the 2012 Winter Solstice time; the most recent one was on Jun 12-13. For the most part, this is an aspect of emotional healing and reintegration of lost or disowned parts of ourselves, but it's also a signal that things are shifting on the material plane to make room for new trends on this level. Saturn is about how we get along in the physical world, how we take responsibility for our own actions and make a place in the world. Hanging out in Scorpio these days, he imposes a rather restricted or held back quality to your emotional life, especially in those areas where your ego might feel threatened or unsure of itself. Chiron is putting a gentle spotlight on these hidden or suppressed areas, bringing them to the surface and allowing us to reclaim them and bring them into the mainstream of everyday living again. However, the more obvious changes may be occurring in the outer world, not the emotional. Ever since 2012, the "rules" have changed greatly. I've noticed that the inner planes, especially the mental and spiritual levels of our lives, have been undergoing rapid evolutionary shifts. For people engaged on these inner levels, it's been an exciting and challenging time. The main drawback is that while the inner world is growing and unfolding at breakneck speed, the outer world of our everyday contacts has been stubbornly holding onto patterns that no longer apply to the current energies. In recent months, I've been noticing how the "cracks in the system" are opening up, events and situations in the everyday world are shifting and massive changes are happening. It's similar to an earthquake process, where stresses build up in the earth for centuries and then release quickly and none too subtly all at once. The status quo is intolerable and the inevitable changes are finally breaking out. It makes for some very sad stories in the evening news, since this chaos is disruptive, often inhumane and sadly lethal. But until these quakes in our world happen, further progress is held back, so we should probably welcome this destruction, while tempering it with compassion for the victims. A friend called this an "entropy wave" recently, a kind of massive breakdown sweeping over the planet. At least this is a trine aspect, which minimizes the destructive side. Hang in there -- it's all for the best in the end.
Ceres moves from Libra into Scorpio on the 6th. She'll be in this sign until Oct 27, when she enters Sagittarius. This is actually her second entrance into this sign in 2014, since her recent retrograde cycle took her back and forth across the Libra-Scorpio border. Ceres is a loving, caring energy, the Great Mother that looks after the little ones under her charge. Her placement in Scorpio brings a highly charged quality to the emotions, which can get in the way of normal relationships. The trouble with Scorpio is its tendency to let egos get in the way, trying to twist situations to its own advantage. Ceres' loving nature is undermined by this mindset, causing her to lose perspective on issues great and small. She puts tension and uncertainty as to her intentions into the relationship, which may feel like an exciting soap opera to her, but the fear and anxiety undermines any sense of trust. It's all a perversion of the word love. Ideally, as she works through some of these ego blind spots, these emotional games seem less appealing and drop away. She replaces intensity of feeling, the big adrenaline rush, for depth of commitment and acceptance, a quiet love that is rock solid. People relax around you in a way they can't when they're always trying to second guess who you are this minute. We've been going through these emotional lessons all year now, so it's time to get it right and move forward. Love is bigger than drama...
Juno heads into Cancer from Gemini on the 8th. She's here until Oct 7, when she sets up shop in Leo for a long retrograde period that lasts until 2015-6-30. Juno is the Queen of Relationships, the woman who loves to be in love. She's looking for a partner who can love, care for, respect and treat her like an equal. When she finds someone she can trust like this, she's more than happy to return the favor. Unfortunately, few relationships are this idyllic, so she's frequently disappointed. Her response to this "betrayal", real or imagined, is usually rage and fury, though sometimes a passive-aggressive cold shoulder will do. Since she's settling into Cancer, much of her attention is devoted to home and family. If home is a refuge from the outside world, free from stress, she feels supported and loved. She will respond badly to "conflict on the home front" with family members, so if you have a Juno person in your home, a bit of pampering may be in order. Like I said, she'll be happy to return the favor. It all works for the better when we look out for each other...
There's a significant build up in energy at the full moon, but it may be stressful and hard to direct. The Saturn-Chiron-Uranus backbone is rather active right now. The Sun and Mercury opposite the Moon form a difficult T-Square with Saturn in fixed signs , creating the most notable features in the waveform. There's a secondary, but weaker grouping of Mars, Jupiter and Neptune that is past its prime. The remaining planets are hardly worth mentioning.
A fixed sign T-Square is typical of a build up of energy that is static and not moving. The old cliché "all stressed up and nowhere to go" expresses this situation nicely. You may be looking at your situation one way rationally and a totally different way emotionally, leading to inner conflict or indecision. Saturn is never a pleasant fellow to invite into your life anyway, so his role in this stuck pattern only makes that "cast in concrete" feeling more vivid. It's tough to get moving or initiate changes right now, though if you do manage to motivate yourself and get going, you're a bit of an unstoppable force. That's useful is you've got some practical work to perform, but it makes it hard to change directions if you discover you need a midcourse correction in your path. There's a tendency to intellectualize your feelings under this T-Square, making it hard to understand what you're really feeling inside. Try to keep an upbeat and positive attitude the next few days -- don't let your inner curmudgeon get the best of you. This stuck feeling is likely to last until the new moon comes around on the 25th.
Pallas enters Libra on the 10th. She's in this placement until Oct 19, when she shifts into Scorpio. Pallas is a complex, multifaceted lady. Primarily, I imagine her as a practical thinker, a kind of tactician that can look at a situation and immediately sense the best way to pursue her goals. As she enters Libra, many of these goals relate to people and relationships. Unfortunately, Pallas is often cut off from her own feelings, in her head instead of her heart. Since Libra is an air or mental sign, thinking is emphasized yet again. The tendency with this placement is to treat relationships as a problem to solve or a milestone to reach, a situation to be managed properly instead of being emotionally involved. It's important to give the heart its fair share, even if life gets a little messy in the process. Pallas is also known for her interest in social justice or looking out for the underdog, a concern she shares with Libra, so you might get interested in helping out others. She's also known as a bit of an artist, so express your Muse if the inspiration hits. However she gets your attention, just be sure to meld head and heart together. Avoid a one sided approach.
Jupiter is quincunx Neptune on the 14th. This is a quick, single pass aspect, so its effects are rather short-lived. Jupiter is normally an optimistic and upbeat fellow, while Neptune can be quite pleasant if you know how to handle such refined energies, so you'd expect this aspect to be quite positive. I'm concerned about the quincunx part, an aspect that indicates two planets coming together in a way where they just don't mesh well. There's something subtly out of sorts between these energies. Since Jupiter in brash Leo is very outgoing and wanting to explore the outer world, while Neptune in reserved Pisces is going within, the issue may be one of which direction you're headed, especially in spiritual matters. You need a bit of divided attention, working with others, but focused on inner concerns. If you can't resolve the contradiction, just pick one side or the other, depending upon your personal tendencies. This may create some confusion between people if they misinterpret each other's motivations (introverts and extraverts are on very different wavelengths!), but it shouldn't be that critical. And since this is a rather quick influence (several weeks max), it's not worth making a big deal of the problems. It certainly makes it easier to enjoy the generally pleasant vibes...
Chiron is semisextile Uranus on the 23rd. This is the 12th of 31 contacts for this long term influence that lasts from 2009 to 2038. We're in year 5 of this aspect already and I must say my understanding of this energy is still rather tentative. Uranus is the ruler of inventive and inspired change-makers, the weird people who see the world differently and gradually change it to match their vision. (It's also the anarchist who destroys everything around him.) For these free thinkers, the imagination is a tool for bringing novel ideas from the unconscious or the inner planes to our conscious understanding. Over time, these ideas often infiltrate the mass mind and become the new reality. But until the new story takes over, these pioneers are outside the mainstream and often an object of ridicule or misunderstanding. Chiron is this process of social pressure that makes us toe the line, fit in, behave like a "normal" person. I believe this three decade aspect is part of the process of a major change in thinking for the world; it's also the stress the pioneers endure, often in silence, for bucking the system. The "good old ways" don't work anymore, but for lack of imagination, we can't move on to the next reality yet. Part of the reason this contact isn't more visible is that it is still taking place deep in the psyche, away from the physical plane. A new way of seeing the world takes time to discover, bring up from the depths and turned into a viable understanding. At first, it seems crazy and out of touch, requiring much courage from the pioneer to pursue this path. They are part explorer of the unknown, part creative artist, part a mirror of the foibles of the culture as a whole. They may not get much credit for their work, but it's vital that they succeed. Usually, Uranus operates quickly, like a lightning bolt, but this is a long, evolutionary process. Deep changes require time to assimilate properly. (For some reason, this process reminds me of the myth of Prometheus, who was punished for bringing fire from the gods to humanity. In our case, this is the fire of an illumined mind. I could do without the hungry birds, however.)
The new moon falls towards the end of the planetary storm, but it's still strong enough to hit Alert levels, so the coming month should be quite eventful. Once more, it's the Saturn-Chiron-Uranus grouping that is calling the shots. The trigger planets are still Mercury, Venus and Mars, hitting us on many levels simultaneously. The new moon itself is rather isolated, though it has connections with Uranus (a trioctile or 135 degrees) and Neptune (opposition, 180 degrees away). The remaining planets are pretty weak.
This chart is strong and active, maybe a tad overwhelming. The most critical aspect is the conjunction of Mars and Saturn in Scorpio , a kind of danger signal, especially for people who are less aware of their inner motivations. These two bodies are known as "malefics", a fancy word for planetary troublemakers. Since ancient times, they've been the usual suspects whenever things go wrong in the world. They are hanging out in tempestuous Scorpio, where emotions and ego issues hole up and fester. If you can be aware of your internal issues and keep a lid on letting your ego run riot, this aspect may be uncomfortable, but not a big problem. It's the people who lack such awareness who will experience the more negative qualities. You'll know soon enough where the problems are if you run into head-butting issues with the people around you. Pride and an exaggerated self-worth are the culprits. With the new moon opposite Neptune, a certain amount of confusion and lack of focus can be a problem if you need to focus on some detailed work, though it does give you some handy perspective on the human side of the issues involved. Practice your critical thinking skills to get past the confusions and see the real underlying issues. There are plenty of hints that relationships are going to be demanding in coming weeks. But if you can handle all these problem areas, this can also be a very constructive and useful time. Don't let the stupid stuff get in the way and derail you. Get busy!
The world scene in July was busy and often destructive. Around the time of the Saturn and Uranus stations (the 20th and 21st) was particularly messy. Uranus rules aviation and there have been a large number of airplane crashes last month, starting with the shooting down of the Malaysian airliner over the Ukraine, another casualty of Putin's war on that country. Other large planes went down in Taiwan and western Africa and numerous smaller crashes also hit the news. All told, the death toll in all these incidents rose to the hundreds. A bad month for flying.
Following a pair of kidnappings and murders of teenagers in Israel and Palestine, war broke out once again between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Again, the death toll is massive, mostly innocent civilians, and the infrastructure damage will take years to repair. Despite repeated attempts by outside forces to get the combatants to back away from the conflict, a large number of cease fires have fallen apart. The endless tit-for-tat of Mideast warfare seems impossible to stop.
Also in western Africa, an epidemic of the deadly Ebola virus is raging out of control, resulting in many hundreds of deaths in this troubled area.
Otherwise, many of the usual news stories drone on. Putin's war on the Ukraine continues, with emerging evidence that Russia is entering the fray directly and not just fighting through proxy pro-Russian forces on the ground. Congress ranted and raved about the flood of child refugees crossing the border with Mexico, but after all the political bickering, they were unable to do anything about the problem before going on August recess. Forest fires rage in the west as the drought in that part of the country lingers. And so on...