Illuminate

Today's opposition between Saturn and Uranus is the fourth transit of this nature. The fifth and final opposition will occur on July 26. Over the next two months, change unfolds on a large-scale. There are closer aspects in play this week.

The first of those aspects is Mars squaring the Sun and soon Mercury. This transit adds a tendency to irritation for all of us. For those of us with the Sun in Taurus or Leo, this irritation feels personal.


Another transit coming into play is the Full Moon, on Wednesday, April 28, 5:18 am PDT, 8:18 am EDT. The Full Moon is the culmination of the monthly cycle, a time to celebrate how we have been blessed. This Full Moon is in Scorpio, a sign associated with a stubborn tendency to privacy. Holding back can add fuel to the fire of the anger that Mars Square the Sun can generate. Anger will eventually will find its way to the surface, and can be released unproductively to the nearest target.

The final transit I want to mention is the inferior Mercury Conjunction. Don't have to remember the name - the effect is an illumination of ideas that have been floating around 10 days ago. If you keep a journal, look back to see if you have any notes from that time. An entry from that time in my journal contains a wish list of projects I am planning for the rest of the year.

The idea of this time is to think again of what were puzzling over, because easy insights are available in the next few days. I'm going to go over my list again, to see if I can shorten it or cross anything off. The next part of this cycle, taking another step, occurs on May 11, 2010. No need to avoid acting before that time, it just becomes a more fluid process then - when Mercury goes Direct.

Simplify, Simplify

The Sun moved into Taurus on April 19. To convey some of the archetype of Taurus, here are some thoughts:

-the pleasure of eating when you are really hungry
-singing or playing music at the close of an evening
-a deep, restful sleep
-waking up and getting to work, happily, day after day

There is a simplicity to Taurus, an even-ness. There are fewer words, more music and food.

Along with that, there is a practicality - embracing the necessities of survival. There is a focus on value - and if what you value is not going to keep you alive, heart and soul, then there will be discomfort.

Folks with the sun in Taurus can be stubborn, deliberate and private. They can seek security through their belongings, from a treasured object to a flush bank account.

The opportunity for all of us, while the Sun is in Taurus, is to simplify. Whether we simplify by focusing on the joys of the day-to-day, or by consciously releasing our attachment to mental chatter, a packed schedule, or complicated conversations.

In a few days, Saturn will oppose Uranus. There is an increasing tension as we approach this transit. I've written before about a feeling of stalemate, letting that tension exist without trying to deflate it by resorting to checking out or other old habits and waiting for a new path through. Now is the time to observe, to let the crazy train pass you without jumping on for a ride.

More coming, soon.

Chiron, the Wounded Healer

Adding to the influences that are changing us in this month, the asteroid Chiron changes from Aquarius to Pisces.

The Myth of Chiron describes the characteristics of nobility among beasts. The half-man, half-horse Centaurs were known as lusty and wild. Although Chiron was a centaur, he was civilized and a treasured teacher to the warrior Achilles and the bringer of medicine Asclepius, among others.



Chiron's story begins with rejection from his mother, Philyra, who asks to be transformed into a tree rather than live with the monster she gave birth to. Chiron's father, Zeus, also rejects Chiron, denying that Chiron is his son. The pain of this early betrayal and abandonment frames how Chiron is used in astrology. Chiron is associated with wounds that don't heal. Chiron's noble life frames another element of this astrological archetype - how accepting that vulnerability can result in having compassion and strength to offer others.

It's difficult to toss Chiron concepts into to readings. I'm always happy to share the positive indicators that I see in a chart. I'm also aware that life is big - and hard to get through without loss or pain. Sometimes, Chiron's placement in the chart can offer context for a source of pain that has been resistant to improved habits, positive thinking, or even denial. When that is the case, discovering the context of ongoing, personal pain can be an immense source of relief and lead to acceptance of oneself on a deeper level.

Humans are not perfect. Seeing your own flaws with compassion, embracing them - can prevent projecting these same flaws on others. With acceptance, you can ultimately provide healing for those around you. That's the opportunity when working with Chiron in your chart.



The shift to Pisces indicates an opportunity to bring more compassion to how you engage in life. Other manifestations could include identifying with a victim mentality, blaming yourself or others for weakness and seeing the worst in others.

Where the sign of Pisces is in your chart will describe the effect of this transit. Someone with a Pisces Sun, for example, may feel a return of old wounds (which may appear to be new wounds) or may pick up other's pain more easily during this time. Likewise, a Virgo Sun placement may indicate a difficulty in identifying with one's own pain or sympathizing with other's, due to the opposition to Chiron. Still others may not feel an effect, if the Pisces placement doesn't touch their personal planets. Chiron will be in Pisces through April 2018, during this transit there may be a dramatic change in how we approach healing altogether.

Read more on the recently passed influence of Chiron in Aquarius visit Stariq.com.

Touching Down

Today (here in the Pacific Northwest) or early tomorrow morning, Mercury will begin it's apparent backward path through the sky. For 3 weeks, until May 11th, it's generally considered to be a time when travel complications arise (hello Eyjafjallajökull!), when communication can go awry and when signing legal documents, purchasing new technological equipment or buying a house can be trickier than usual. This cycle occurs three times each year - the next will occur in late August, and the final for this year will begin after the first week of December.

This particular go-round comes at a time when we're all being asked to adjust. In some instances, we're being asked to change behaviors that are near and dear to us, changes that come with a cost. With this in mind, it may be worthwhile to focus on some of the more personal uses of this aspect.

One of the great uses for a Mercury Retrograde cycle is to review what's working for you and what isn't, in your life. Are you juggling more projects or events than usual, is that working for you? Have you made progress you aren't giving yourself credit for? Is there dust lingering on your bookshelves that you can take a moment to clear off - or files you can put away or shred?

Another good way to approach this time is to consider what private conversations do we need to have, either with ourselves or with others, to move things along? Mercury is the planet associated with communication and during it's retrograde cycle it's common for more closed door conversations to occur. This can be more obvious at work, where projects may appear stalled, but really have gone underground. The same is true at home, where it may be time to bring up topics that shouldn't be swept under the rug, and that may benefit from being out of everyone's view.

This Monday, a day or two into this cycle, the comet Chiron will move into the sensitive sign of Pisces. Chiron isn't used by all astrologers - when it is, it's typically associated with a wounding that doesn't heal in each of us, that either allows us to see the worst in others, or have compassion for each other, knowing our own unhealable pain. That this comet is moving into the most sensitive sign in the zodiac, there is an opportunity for us to be more gentle with ourselves and our own human frailty and a likelihood that we will see more of other's weaknesses in this month than usual.

Be patient, take a walk outside, take a breath.

More soon.

Aries New Moon - Here's to a fresh start and slowing down

Tomorrow (Wednesday, April 14, 5:29 am PDT, 8:29 am EDT) is the first New Moon of the first sign of the yearly astrological cycle, Aries. During this time, up here in the Northern Hemisphere - Spring emerges, energy rises, we feel ourselves pulled into action.

Both the Moon and Sun are in Aries, and patience is not the hallmark of that sign. I was taught a short phrase that characterizes Aries energy, "Ready, Shoot, Aim!". This sign placements suggests that we feel comfortable making snap judgements or rushing to decisions.

The opportunity with a new moon is to reflect on what you envision for yourself in the coming month, specifically, that which will come to fruition at the full moon this month on April 28th. Ideally, tomorrow, you can give yourself the gift of strategizing your way through a potentially tough month.

To recap the aspects coming this month: the Saturn-Uranus opposition contributing to a feeling of stalemate that, if approached with patience and detachment, can lead to an "aha!" moment and the Mercury retrograde potentially confusing communication.

In addition to those aspects, there is a general slowing down of transformative energy and our ability to manifest, after Pluto and Saturn both went retrograde last week. With so much energy slowing us down collectively, even though the Aries energy urges us forward, it becomes more important to be calm and patient this month.

If you come across this reading after April 14th, you can still benefit from thinking before you act. Just know that this will be a potentially frustrating month, that change is coming in all forms and to expect the unexpected.

Fight, Flight or Freeze (or Managing Change)

I've been spending a lot of time with Robert Scaer & Philip Levine's work on trauma - The Body Bears the Burden and Healing Trauma, respectively. Both authors add the "freeze response" to the Fight or Flight stress response concept - the idea that we react to trauma with fight, flight or a freeze/shock response. You can still act, but there is confusion and a need to recover. This process sets up a repeated response to trauma, and because there is no trigger to "unfreeze" after a traumatic event, can result in increased vulnerability to lesser and lesser traumas over time. I bring it up because freezing is more common in groups of people living in crowded cities, like most of the folks reading this blog, so "unfreezing" ourselves may be a profitable venture overall. Also, and more relevant to this update, upcoming transits may tax our fluidity and the above serves as a reminder to look for flexible responses in the coming month.

Unfreeze

Later this month, when Mercury goes retrograde (see the entry below for a description of what this implies) and a little later, when Saturn concludes its fourth opposition to Uranus, there will be an increased potential for discomfort as we all experience the rules and structures of life conflicting with concepts of freedom and new-ness.

The characteristics of an opposition are - stalemate, polarization. Our individual charts provide more detail about where and how these transits will affect us personally - whether we will pick a side or watch others engage in debate or conflict, for example.

Oppositions are transits that generate awareness, but it feels like action is the right response. It's like a storm building but not really moving anywhere, raining instead on one little plot of land. The difficulties arise when you engage the energy, instead of passing a storm, you drive right into it.

During opposition transits, it's easy to resort to whatever crutches we use as situations in our lives become difficult, with building tensions that we cannot resolve. A more useful approach could be to allow the tension of the stalemate to exist, without resorting to habitual behavior, until there is an aha moment - until truly new information comes to light*.

Stalemate

It's not difficult to see an example of a kind of stalemate in the U.S. - coincidentally, the first of the five Saturn/Uranus oppositions occurred on November 4, 2008 - a time of shifting power in the United States. I see it in the adamant opposition from each side of the political parties in the U.S. - sort of a fervor that prevents actual discussion.

A Change in US Politics

One approach that can be beneficial this month is to count to 5 when faced with difficulty. Sort of simplistic, I know, but with the amount of change that is going on globally, it's worth giving yourself extra seconds to allow yourself to consider options thoughtfully, especially when the blood pressure rises and it becomes more difficult to employ logic.

First, Count to Five

This transit will conclude in late July. As we get through April and into the aspects of the summer, I'll post more about them. For now, it's useful to know we're moving into a time where opportunities are coming in but not yet blooming and, toward the mid-month, shift from easy communication to somewhat confusing communication that accompanies a Mercury Retrograde. An image that comes to mind is crossing over a creek using stones dotted across the water. That's a good path, fun even, if you are balanced.

Making Our Way With Balance

*Thanks to Melanie Reinhart for describing this approach to 0ppositions