Many of my family, friends, students and readers have been emailing me this week asking pretty much the same question- “What’s going on in the heavens?” Well, a lot is going on and I suspect many of you are feeling it in some way. For the past two years we have been going through a lot of tension-producing transits, but it is now that they are all finally coming together as we move into this summer’s cardinal squares between Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Pluto. The activation of this has been what has been emerging this week with special force.

In the Mundane World

Jupiter is moving closer to its conjunction with Uranus, which occurs on June 6, 2010. But on Sunday, May 23, the day this newsletter is being written, Jupiter is in exact opposition to Saturn. Let me begin by looking at the long-term effect of Jupiter opposing Saturn, because, by itself, it is a very important transit. The Jupiter/Saturn cycle is a 20-year cycle that rules the economic and social life of a person, family, business, or nation and the principles that guide these areas of life. The mid-point of this cycle (the 10-year mark) is occurring now, which is what is signaled by the opposition. Any opposition is similar to a Full Moon in that it brings things to a head, a fulfillment, so that the seed of what was planted at the conjunction can now be fully seen. The conjunction in 2000 was at 22° of Taurus, which is an earth sign. Yes, an earth sign. Maybe we ought to look at what the earth is telling us.

The Great Oil Spill(?)

There are a variety of astrological factors that can explain this increasingly horrible event. But I believe that the chief thing that has triggered this is the very transit I’m writing about now. As of now, we do not have a clue as to how big this spill is going to be nor what the effects on our environment and economy will be. This is not a spill. The images we are finally beginning to see show that huge amounts of oil are pouring into the Gulf of Mexico. We are discovering that we are not being told anywhere near the full story about the amounts flowing out of this gash in the Gulf or when it will be stopped. We do not know what things will look like when the crisis has ended. Will there be oil on the beaches from Mexico to the north Atlantic? How many animals will perish and how severely will the economy be affected? A friend described the gushing forth of oil in a particularly accurate way when he said, “Mother Earth is bleeding out as if a surgical knife had accidentally hit a major artery.” It seems that sometimes images and poetry are the only real way to comprehend the truth.

Let’s return to the Jupiter/Saturn part of this event. To this author, there is a connection between this event and what happened in 2000 when George Bush and Dick Cheney were elected. In the following years Cheney held private meetings with the energy companies only the purpose of which was to ‘create’ an energy policy (?). This resulted in relaxed oversight of the oil companies in many areas. We are only now finding out about what this meant specifically. We were not allowed to know what was decided and what role the government would play in the new policies. But as we look at what is happening in the Gulf, the first question is “Why was there no contingency plans in place for an event like the one we are seeing?” It seems that no one thought this could happen. But can we be that naïve? There doesn’t seem to be a solution in place for this eventuality. How can this be?

This is but one example of what an opposition between Jupiter and Saturn can reveal. The nature of oppositions is that they reveal the truth or effects of something decided upon much earlier at the conjunction. The world is now seeing this in all of its disgusting and alarming images. I suspect that what will be revealed from this has only just begun.

Why Humans Often Learn the Hard Way and How Change Takes Place

One of the basic principles I offer is that individuals and collective entities are not the same. Individuals can choose to become aware of something before a huge crisis forces them to pay attention. We can extrapolate and prevent the worst effects of something before they strike. Large or collective organizations rarely do this. So, now, as a people, we are reaping (Saturn) what we have sown. I’m not really blaming the Bush administration. It is the entire nation that will bear the results of this. I say this because this nation loves its cars and the cheap gas that enables us to do what we want when we want. We have absolutely refused to change our lifestyle and have continued to regard views that we should pay attention to the potential damage to our environment with great disdain. Politicians always end up doing what the voters want. For the most part, they are followers. It’s the way of things.

I would like to add that before writing this blog article, I have spoken with many conservative friends about this event. Most of them agree with what I’ve said here. They do not see this article as a political one, but as a simple description of where we are as a people. It is my belief that both political parties represent ‘old ways’ of operating. Real rebellion will be seen when the entire system itself begins to be questioned. This is likely to come from more than one direction. The Tea Party movement is one arm of this process. It is not the only one. The change of which I am speaking goes much deeper and is more inclusive than what any one organization can bring forth.

What We Can Learn – Building for the Future

The implications of this massive spill are likely to be felt for many years. They will likely result in a new look at our energy policies and could become a springboard for the funding of research for alternative energy sources and many other things. As a people, we will learn from this and begin to regard the warnings of those who have been concerned about this as real and we will begin to do something about it. This is what oppositions are really for. They make us aware of something that has not yet been seen and felt, so they we can then act in a better way. It may even lead to the emergence of a new paradigm. This takes us to the deeper aspects of the present transits.

Rising Anxiety Accompanied by Rising Potentialities

I am giving an example of a real life crisis that is illuminating an area of life that is important. But underlying all of this is something much deeper. Because the outer planets of Uranus and Pluto are involved, something much bigger lies just below the surface of the world’s consciousness and for each of us as well. To understand the significance of the transits that are just beginning we must take a new look at Uranus and Pluto.

Uranus Challenging Saturn’s Power

The nature of Uranus is to bring about a revolution, a new way of thinking about the nature of reality. As such it must challenge Saturn’s power, its exclusivity, dominance and rigidity. When active like it is now, Uranus projects a fundamentally new image or paradigm into the world view of the people. It creates a new ‘ego’ in the sense that we don’t recognize ourselves after the change takes place. It asks for a transformation that brings to us a new way of perceiving reality. Uranus is called the “Illuminator” in that it brings forth the light of the Universal Principles so they may be seen in new forms and capable of fulfilling new needs at a particular time and place. It is a higher vibration which means some of us will be able to have new understandings that are more inclusive, holistic and integrated. When Uranus transits with Saturn as it is doing right now, it can bring about a confusing mixture of the old resisting the new, which simultaneously frustrates while also giving us hope of a new approach at the same time.

Pluto as the Sower of the Celestial Seed

The marvelous astrologer, Dane Rudhyar refers to Pluto in a poetic way as the ‘sower of the celestial seed.’ A seed is created as part of the plant’s way of surviving, but that seed isn’t the plant itself. It is in the plant, but not of it. Thus, the seed is an archetypal image of transformation or the death-rebirth process. Before rebirth can occur, however, there must be a descent into the depths, for one’s very identity must die before anything truly new can be born. This is what makes the Plutonic process evolutionary in nature. It calls forth a leap into totally new territory. In this sense it follows the new insights of Uranus with the call for the creation of a truly new plant or way of being. One might ask the question – “Where does this new creation come from?” Certainly an aspect comes from the old plant in part, but that alone couldn’t create anything truly new. Something more essential is at play here.

Pluto is attempting to concretize or bring substance to the Divine itself. It is universal in nature, but becomes specific for an individual. This occurs through the realization that by confronting both sides of the life experience we can be transformed in a fundamental way. Can we know abundance if we never experience poverty? Can we know health if we have never experienced disease? I do not refer to a mere intellectual understanding. That is not enough to bring about the kind of rebirth that may literally change one’s DNA. This process is visceral, in one’s body, and changes us forever. In its highest sense, it can take us so far from one’s old understandings that an entirely new paradigm or way of looking at reality is created. This can be resisted and often is, at least at first. When that happens, things turn ugly as we attempt to force things in a ruthless and manipulative way. But for some of us, Pluto calls us to go through a life-changing process that opens us up to a totally new way of Being

Summary

We are going through a very unusual period now and there will be many different ways in which it will manifest. It can be helpful to acknowledge the fact that a fundamental, cultural shift is emerging for us, both as individuals as well as the collective society. For some of us, it can lead to a deep transformation that enables to see ourselves as Divine beings, with a purpose that transcends mere personal matters. Every realization we make can be thought of as a doorway to a profoundly new understanding of ourselves and the World in which we live.  But the fundamental changes to which I refer are not here yet. There are the feelings of tension, frustration and anxiety that always precedes major changes, but they are a part of the coming future. The bigger changes are not quite here yet. We have more to see and discover. For some people that I know, relationships are ending. These endings are best seen as indicators of a bigger shift in terms of the way one regards relationship in general. Every change one goes through now may end up being bigger and more significant that what we are able to see in the moment. It is a very exciting time to be alive, especially because of all the challenges we may be facing. Why? Because there is a very good chance that some real change will become possible as a result of what is coming to the surface. Pun intended.

Please feel free to make comments and express personal experiences to the readers of this Blog.

Thanks so much.