AstroCast: July 10 - 21, 2016

Posted on July 10, 2016
Posted by Kimberly Maxwell

astrocast-headerWidely revered in the modern astrological community for his humanistic approach, Dane Rudhyar always took the high road in his often poetic interpretations of astrology as a symbolic language with the potential to bring individuals in tune with cosmic cycles.  Stretching us way above the negative, fear inducing key words still so prevalent with many astrologers, Rudhyar takes us into vastly uncharted territory with his profound insights into the meaning and purpose of Being.  In An Astrological Triptych: The Illumined Road, his groundbreaking work on astrological signs, houses and planets, he is referred to as “A Seed Man” who “calls forth the need for individuals with holistic vision and a ‘transpersonal’ approach to life to serve as the foundation of a global society.”  In this particular cycle of era-defining, sometimes shocking events we currently find ourselves, may we step back and look holistically at the bigger picture relative to the cosmic archetypes at play, particularly those of Mars and Uranus, two planets that always seem to get a bad wrap by traditional astrologers who chronically avoid peering behind the curtain of superficial explanations for the “painful” periods in our lives.  As Venus was coming off her translation a few days ago of the extended aspect between Mars and Uranus (covered in the last AstroCast), a string of tragic events happened in the U.S. that has escalated the discourse on violence and race relations, most specifically between the black community and police.  The correlation to the Venus archetype at play on one level was the Greek style chorus of women’s voices crying out for a change in our very being nature to stop the senseless killing.  As the third step on the Illumined Road, Rudhyar writes about the “Venus station” as the part of the zodiacal cycle where a “revaluation” must occur.  “The stress is upon a change in values; and this is what is meant figuratively by the expression, ‘a change of heart’.”  What is necessary, according to Rudhyar, is to “see through the fog of earthly illusion and sense-confusion, the realities that count and are significant in terms of the goal of the Illumined Road.”  In order for us as a society to change, we need to take a deep look at what we value and come to the realization that the existence of every Being matters.

Following in Venus’ star steps, Mercury will also trine Mars and square Uranus July 10th and 11th.  Then the Sun will do the same on July 16th.  The third exact inconjunct between Mars and Uranus occurs on July 14th, at the midpoint of the Mercury and Sun’s alignments, and begins the waning period of this agitating aspect that has been in effect for more than a month.  The quick succession of the three astral bodies representing what it is we value, how we perceive and what we radiate at our core triggering the planets of “re-energization” and “transfiguration,” to use Rudhyar’s terms, brings about the potential for a great amount of movement.  Collectively it is up to each of us to set an intention for that movement to further us on the Illumined Road, the transformational path that “reaches symbolically from the Heart of the Sun to the very core of the Milky Way.”  As the fourth step on that road, the Mars station represents lessons in the use of energy.  “Energy is everywhere,” writes Rudhyar.  “It is diffused through the whole of space.  We live and have our being in an ocean of energy.  Yet unless we an focus this diffuse energy and give it direction, it exists for us only in latency, as an un-activated and un-actualized potential of energy.”  It isn’t usable, he states, and thus the latent Mars is often given qualities of being impulsive, reckless, acting without thinking, all key words associated with the unconscious use of energy.  This is what we’ve been seeing a lot of on the world stage.  Tremendous amounts of dissipated energy creating chaos rather than focused energy creating order.  The opportunity in witnessing latent Mars in action is that the consequences become so utterly evident we can no longer ignore them and true focused action must be taken.  “The individual has yet to learn how to use effectively this energy,” says Rudhyar, but a new relationship with energy is now established that is used in service of universal harmony with the understanding that “one is not alone in this use” and each individual has a mission “to perform that which is one’s spiritual destiny to perform.”  As for Uranus’ part in current events, experiencing the seventh step on the Illumined Road writes Rudhyar, “needs no longer be regarded as a power of negative disruption, even though its Visitations may still shake the reoriented personality to the very core of its being.”  It is the shock of Uranus we need to help us break free from a fixed mind-set that holds us to a past that no longer serves.  “Uranus is lightening,” writes Rudhyar, “but it is also the creative power of the mystic Sound that, according to the old tradition of India, pervades all spaces – the Akasha or (higher) Astral Light.”  Once the corrupt structures of the mind die by the Uranus’ bolt of lightening, the “spiritual being is now energized and sustained by another power – the power of Uranus, of creative Space.  The Crucifixion frees the Christ-being from the society that rejects him; it frees him from the past.  Henceforth he can be solely a precipitate of the future into the evolving present.”  As we contemplate the philosophy of the Illumined Road, may it become a calming overlay of love that brings new perspective to still unfolding events.  May we realize that we can do only what we are able to see clearly needs to be done, while maintaining deep compassion for our fellow travelers who must do the same, and may we keep site of our higher purpose as we learn how to de-identify with events that seem cosmically designed to shock the masses awake.

In keeping with the theme of movement, Venus completes her journey though watery Cancer learning the value of knowing where she belonged, and jumps into the fire of Leo on July 11th to learn the value of creativity.  In this regal sign through August 4th, Venus becomes a queen “illumined from within by solar ecstasy,” as Rudhyar describes the quality of the Leo spirit.  In order not to cast her shadow on others, however, she must become translucent, allowing the creative spirit to work through her rather than thinking she is the source of all creation.  “To meet the world with simplicity and with stillness of heart is to meet every soul with shadowless gifts.”

Travelling in tandem with Venus, Mercury follows her into Leo’s realm of creative inspiration on July 13th.  For the next 18 days, he too has the opportunity to learn the gift of simplicity here, becoming the vessel for fun and imaginative thinking that lights up everyone in his presence.  At his best in Leo, Mercury is one player among many on the stage of life, celebrating the glow of each one’s artistic contributions and knowing as Rudhyar puts it “the stillness of the stars even at the high-noon of creative living.  In utmost translucency of mind and of soul, letting-through the light in shadowless giving, he is indeed a lens for the rays of the sun.  His path is light; and his words are true.”

On July 16th, in the middle of the Cancer Sun’s translation of the Mars/Uranus aspect, Venus and Mercury have their exact conjunction in Leo, giving the day a complexity that is charged with emotional electricity that has the potential to be gracefully expressed.  The Messenger of the Gods and the Goddess of Love embracing while the solar principle infuses the raw need for movement with an imperative for a great awakening may serve to soften any shocks that come with their loving words.  Already in orb of a trine to Saturn in Sagittarius (exact on July 18th and 20th respectively), Mercury and Venus magnetically attract Saturn’s structural stability to give form to what is being expressed.  The kind of boundaries Saturn supplies may be just what is needed to contain the unbridled expression of the Mars/Uranus aspect while the sweet Mercury/Venus alignment gives it compassionate voice.

The Capricorn Full Moon on July 19th gathers up in its culminating energy all the archetypes at play in the preceding days.  As the midpoint of the lunar cycle that began at the July 4th New Moon, we will be shown just how well we have fared in its mission to receive the cosmic heart.  With the Moon now in outward focused Capricorn opposing the Sun in inward looking Cancer, she presents us with an opportunity to find a balance between being and doing.  While it is necessary to attend to the business matters of life, it is also essential to nurture our heart connections.  The gift of Cancer, according to Rudhyar, is “knowing where one belongs.”  The Sun here naturally acclimates to the home and family, but on a deeper level he is seeking to be at home as a being who has found his sense of purpose.  The gift of Capricorn is “personal integrity.”  Known for being industrious, the Moon here is a master at systems, and the larger the organizational structure the better for this quintessential levelheaded CEO type.  With all that responsibility comes a deep need for the structures she has created to fulfill a need of society and that they operate with the spirit of the beings who inhabit them.  The Sun in Cancer and the Moon in Capricorn’s mission at this Full Moon is to integrate the internal work of being with the external effort to serve all beings, with all their heart and soul.

 

 

Here’s the data (using Pacific Time and planetary positions rounded to the nearest whole degree, unless otherwise noted):

July 10 – Mercury trine Mars at 24° Cancer/Scorpio at 7:00 p.m.

July 11 – Mercury square Uranus at 24° Cancer/Aries at 12:29 a.m.

July 11 – Venus at 0° Leo at 10:34 p.m.

July 13 – Mercury at 0° Leo at 5:47 p.m.

July 14 – Mars inconjunct Uranus at 24° Scorpio/Aries at 10:15 p.m.

July 16 – Sun square Uranus at 24° Cancer/Aries at 6:31 a.m.

July 16 – Mercury conjunct Venus 6° Leo at 3:00 p.m.

July 16 – Sun trine Mars at 25° Cancer/Scorpio at 8:45 p.m.

July 18 – Mercury trine Saturn at 10° Leo/Sagittarius at 11:28 p.m.

July 19 – Moon opposite Sun (Full Moon) at 27° Capricorn/Cancer at 3:56 p.m.

July 20 – Venus trine Saturn at 10° Leo/Sagittarius at 6:20 a.m.


AstroCast
Kimberly Maxwell

A student of the Sher Institute since 2008, Kimberly has been writing AstroCast since 2012. A long-time Los Angeles resident, Kimberly gives astrological consultations, has various artistic pursuits including the development of a burgeoning creative hub in her community, and works in international television distribution at a major studio.

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