PLANETARY ENERGIES

DANCING WITH THE TENSION OF THE OPPOSITES

“The greater the tension between the pairs of opposites, the greater will be the energy that comes from them.
C.G. Jung, “On Psychic Energy,” CW 8, par. 49.

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In this issue:
The Autumn Equinox
An Equinoctial Paradox
Astrology & Current Events
Saturn in Virgo
The Planets September 21—October 31

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THE AUTUMN EQUINOX

The Autumn Equinox this year is exact in the Northern Hemisphere on September 23 at 10:52 am in London, 11:52 am in Europe, 5:52 am in the Eastern US, and 2:52 am Pacific time. Equinoxes are a time of perfect balance when day and night are of equal length. In the Northern Hemisphere, from now until the Winter Solstice, the nights will be increasingly longer than the days.

The symbolism of the Autumn Equinox is particularly about balance, as it marks the moment the Sun moves into Libra, signified by the balance or scale. Ruled by the social and loving planet Venus, Libra represents the urge for balance, for fairness, for union, and for cooperation. At the highest level Libra teaches and informs us about cosmic justice. In Libra we meet the current of desire for meeting the Other that influences all our encounters from the most personal to the political. When the Sun is in Libra the desire to create harmony aesthetically, politically, legally, and in our personal relationships, is heightened.

Balance and harmony are good subjects to meditate upon during the equinox period. How can we better balance our lives? How can we create more harmony with the people we are close to, at home and at work? Do we need to make amends? Is anything unfinished in our relationships that could do with a clean up? Have we shown gratitude where it is due?

As the seventh sign in the zodiac and the first in the natural wheel above the horizon, Libra marks the juncture between the personal realm and the collective. This is the connection to harvest time, when we take what we have made to the market place: we take our personal gifts and offer them to the collective. And as befits the period of harvest, Libra also rules convivial gatherings and parties, and is the time to enjoy the bounty of the season and reunite with friends after the journeys of the summer.

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AN EQUINOCTIAL PARADOX

This year’s Autumnal Equinox is paradoxical: it is, as always, the moment of equal balance between light and dark, yet this year it arrives with a good deal of tension and discord between the planets.

Venus opposes Neptune, amplified by the Moon moving in to conjoin Neptune and oppose Venus. This gives a romantic feeling that can also be illusory, full of projection, and ultimately disappointed and disappointing. Best use of this energy is to enjoy poetry, music, and sunsets, and avoid discussions about romantic relationships.

Mars opposes Pluto, while both are being squared by the Sun, creating tension and the potential for violence. Helpfully, Mercury trines Mars and sextiles Pluto, allowing for diplomacy and wise words to smooth aggression. If you are at all skilled in conflict resolution this could be a good time to come into better harmony with an apparent adversary and put an old issue behind you.

Jupiter is moving towards a square with Uranus which can make everything seem out of proportion, and be reflected in people over-reaching their capacity.

In general, this is a time in which mastery of one’s own emotions and responses will enable you to use the tension of the opposites to better understand yourself and those around you, rather than to be subsumed into conflict and struggle. But don’t be so tightly controlled that you somatise frustrations into body symptoms. Any tension arising in the body needs to be investigated whether through tuning in, bodywork, or medical check-ups.

Especially during the window of the equinox (three days on either side of September 23) we can harness the balancing inherent in the moment, to surf the wave of apparent planetary discord. By which I mean that active application to one’s relationship with oneself as well as with others can help point the way to what is really going on within and without, and what really needs to be done next.

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ASTROLOGY & CURRENT EVENTS

Astrology is at its most vivid collectively when a mundane (worldly) crisis coincides with a symbolic celestial event like an eclipse. This most recent eclipse did indeed manifest with several shocks and surprises. In the UK there was a run on a high street bank for the first time in over a century, with long queues of anxious customers wanting to withdraw their savings, sometimes waiting overnight in the street. The easy lending strategy that fuelled the massive UK property boom looks to be, rather abruptly, a thing of the past.

In international affairs, the Belgians talked seriously about dividing into two nations, and sabres rattled against Iran, from France as well as the US (note, France has a new government, keen to show its strength and to share in the spoils of war). The parallel with the 9/11/2001 chart manifested in US government talk of pulling out more troops than anticipated from Iraq, (to send them to Iran?). And predictably, the value of the dollar fell to a new low against the pound and the euro.

Steve Fossett disappeared into thin air, and the parents of four year old Madeleine McCann came under the accusatory spotlight for the first time in the months since her disappearance. The newspapers didn’t know which way to turn, and for the first time since May, some of them stopped featuring McCann related stories on the front page until the storm blew over. Cynics think the hype about this story is a government sponsored prelude to compulsory micro-chipping or iris-registering of children. Let’s hope not.

As the eclipse influence wanes, some of these issues will balance out and be resolved, but the changes in our worldly affairs, long predicted by financial and mundane astrologers (and soothsayers of various kinds including the ancient Maya), won’t go away so easily. The world looks set for a major financial, bureaucratic and governmental reorganization and we are currently walking through the foothills leading to the political and socioeconomic volcano that will slowly erupt during 2010-2012 and take the following decade to settle back down again.

Intimations abound. Many apparently dominant countries no longer control their own assets, weakening government control and influence. The Chinese are trying to figure out what to do with their huge foreign reserve of over a trillion US dollars. As of last week, Qatar and Dubai now own 48% of the London Stock Exchange and are looking to buy heavily into the NASDAQ next. According to the study of financial cycles, the drop in share values at the moment will probably continue for a while, but without resulting in a devastating crash. It’s most likely a correction. But the struggle between government and financial institutions will exacerbate. Who does rule the world?

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SATURN IN VIRGO

(This section incorporates some material included in the extra newsletter from Sept 7)

On September 2 Saturn moved into Virgo for two and a half years, signaling a shift in collective finger-pointing and in our collective and individual relationship to the taskmaster. Virgo is an earth sign by element, and mutable by quality. It rules areas of life in which the material realm meets transformational moments and processes: thus health, agriculture, and daily routines are all ruled by Virgo.

While Saturn is in Virgo we should see more attention on health care systems and on the environment, and hopefully some real improvements in these arenas. Saturn is much more comfortable in Virgo than it was in either Leo or Cancer, where it’s been for the past five years. We’ll all find it easier to work diligently, to diet and live healthily, and to discipline ourselves in general. Choosing relative simplicity/poverty, vegetarianism, going off the grid, being fastidious and careful with our use of resources are all highlighted with Saturn in Virgo, and likely to become much more mainstream.

The stories of celebrity excess, so vividly and relentlessly portrayed in the media while Saturn was in Leo, won’t go away completely, but our collective fascination may lessen. So far we’ve already got Lindsay Lohan in rehab for more than two minutes, and Kate Moss with a new guy who appears more functional than Pete Doherty.

Saturn in Virgo wants to keep a tighter hand on the purse strings than Saturn in Leo, and has a better relationship with reality. It won’t be so easy to borrow money (higher interest rates, tighter controls) but at the same time, we’ll all tend to feel more inclined to save, to hold onto what we’ve got, and not over-extend financially.

The last generation born with Saturn in Virgo are now in their late twenties and beginning to exert an influence. Saturn in Virgo has a big impact on those born in the sixties, who had Uranus and Pluto conjunct in Virgo, This whole generation are collectively engaged in a practical wake-up call to the material conditions of living on planet Earth at this point in history, and Saturn is going to give them added impetus and an increased sense of discipline to clean house for all of us. Our collective energy for finding environmental solutions should get a big boost while Saturn is in Virgo.

Saturn in Virgo will help play down the excesses indicated by the Jupiter Pluto conjunction in Sagittarius that happens in mid December ’07 and builds throughout this quarter of the year. While this aspect is exciting, it may also mirror excesses on several planes, and we will be grateful for the realistic influence of Saturn in an earth sign.

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THE PLANETS SEPTEMBER 21—OCTOBER 31

Overview

Overall there’s a mutable flavor to the current celestial pattern, with Venus and Saturn in Virgo, Jupiter and Pluto in Sagittarius, and Uranus in Pisces. This brings lots of change and instability, and as mentioned above, also creates several aspects of tension between these planets. The ingress chart for the quarter following the equinox kicks off with some tense aspects, and immediately follows a difficult eclipse.

Specifics

Mercury retrogrades October 12 to Nov 2 in early Scorpio and late Libra. Don’t sign important contracts if you can help it. Leave extra time for travel. Take extra care with reading small print, and dealing with cars, machines, technology. Mercury in Scorpio can deepen thinking and encourage research. Hidden matters may surface.

Venus moves into Virgo on October 8 where it will conjunct Saturn (see below). Venus can be a bit pure and solitary in Virgo and rather picky, especially with Saturn there too. A good time to clean house and reorganize closets.

Mars moves into Cancer on September 28 where it will stay for an unusually long period of five months in total, due to the retrograde beginning in mid November. (It goes back into Gemini for Jan and Feb ’08.) Overall, this should be good for Cancerians individually, giving them more energy and gusto. However, collectively and in politics it might not be so good: Mars is weak in Cancer and can make poor decisions like stupid acts of aggression.

Jupiter moves through the mid degrees of Sagittarius energizing publishing (think freedom of expression, self-publishing and blogs), and religion (including religious extremism).

Planetary Inter-relationships

October 3: Venus and Pluto make a trine (120 degree) aspect, bringing perhaps some good financial news and certainly making it a good day for passion.

October 9: The Jupiter Uranus square is exact for the last time in this sequence (this aspect has occurred twice already this year, in January and May). This is a stressful aspect that indicates over-reaching and nervous tension and can most usefully result in creative breakthroughs and inventiveness. Squares to Uranus coincide with accidents: Fossett disappeared exactly when Mars squared Uranus on September 3, and he may be equally suddenly found (but unlikely to be alive) when Jupiter squares Uranus on October 9. Religious extremism may also be especially active and apparent during the week before and after this aspect is exact.

October 13: Venus conjuncts Saturn for the third time since July. Time to get serious in relationships: make commitments, draw boundaries, and/or walk away from what doesn’t work.

October 23: Saturn conjunct South Node of the Moon. Karma time, could be a sticky few days on either side of this one. At the personal level, particularly affects those with 5-6 degrees of mutable signs active in their charts (meaning Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces).

October 29: Venus squares Jupiter: watch for over-spending that you’ll regret later.

October 30: Jupiter sextiles Neptune: a cosmic opportunity for enlightenment, inspiration and understanding.

The Outer Planets

Uranus is moving back through 16-15 degrees of Pisces, affecting most strongly those born March 5-7 and September 8-9. You and life itself will be unpredictable and subject to sudden change, illuminations, and shocks. Wear your metaphorical seatbelt while being open to flashes of enlightenment.

Neptune is moving very slowly backwards at 19 Aquarius, and turns direct on October 31, making the end of October a bit fuzzy for all of us, but especially for people born Feb 8-9 and August 11-12. Open up to romance and to the spirit realm, but don’t forget humans need good boundaries to stay healthy.

Pluto is moving forward now through the tail end of Sagittarius, this month from 26-27 degrees. This most affects those born December 17-19 and June 17-19. Deep, radical, revolutionary change, rebirth and transformation, are yours. Pluto enters Capricorn in January 2008, and will usher in a new collective flavor manifesting through fashion and values and many other facets of life. In fashion, a smart, business-like, demure look will supersede the hippie bohemian chic and tacky over-exposed anything goes attitude of the Pluto in Sagittarius era.

You may also be strongly affected if the degrees these planets influence coincide with your ascendant, Moon or other important parts of the chart.

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So, to sum up, a mixed bag. For sure, lots of change, which means lots of opportunity. Saturn will help us keep our feet on the ground. Big ideas will abound and some of them will be actionable, while others are better left alone. Remember what you are really here for, and don’t lose sight of core values in the mad scramble to keep up with the swirling energies of this phase in history. It helps to see it as just a phase: a bit like adolescence, it’s exciting, maddening, unpredictable, and hard to keep up with. Your allies are quiet moments, a return to much loved books and art, a good meditation practice, a calming country walk, and the practice of regularly coming back to centre, with an open heart towards yourself and others.

With love,

Lara

September 22 2007