AstroCast: July 23 – August 5, 2020

Tensions continue to mount in the world due to the COVID-19 global pandemic and the increasing alarm over social justice and civil rights issues. As has been discussed in previous editions of this blog, the outer planet movements correlate to a time of radical restructuring of our systems for living. The pandemic is largely responsible for exposing the illnesses within our global economic matrix and particularly their corrupted foundation that leaves out large sectors of society from its bounty. The protest marches and demonstrations gaining traction in cities around the U.S. mark a dramatic resurgence of the 1960s era civil rights movement. As was the case back then, the uptick in people standing up for a more inclusive and equal way of life – what is generally referred to as “liberal” – is also facing pushback from the opposing “conservative” forces. What is shaping up is a showdown related to the kind of country we collectively want to live in based on our founding principles which we have yet to live up to. It may be worthwhile to ponder what heroic cosmic need each of us is destined to fulfill in order to help pull society into the future of our dreams,

On July 27, retrograde Jupiter in Capricorn forms the second of three exact sextiles to Neptune in Pisces. This slow-moving outer planet alignment in effect most of 2020 has been providing a significant yet subtle sub-text for much of what has been transpiring. While the other dominant outer planet alignment in effect this year  Saturn conjunct Pluto in Capricorn, is a compressing force that correlates to the systemic breakdowns we’re experiencing, the stimulating Jupiter/Neptune alignment calls us to remember who we are in our hearts. While Jupiter in Capricorn relates to the development and expansion of power through the consolidation of organizational structures, Neptune in Pisces bears its cosmic weight upon them through the infusion of compassionate consciousness. More people joining the social justice movements this year seem to correlate to a greater sense of connectedness and heightened sensitivity to the suffering of others. Hopefully this will open us to more opportunities to rebuild our sinking systems in ways that will lift all boats.

Accentuating this message, Venus in Gemini forms exact alignments to Jupiter (inconjunct) and Neptune (square) also on July 27. This further directs our focus to the values we live by and what is important to us, including our relationships. Sustained impartial observation of the areas of our life where we feel tension will lift the veil of confusion about them, including what part we played in their creation. At the deepest level, this boundary dissolving alignment calls us to reconnect with the all-embracing sacred feminine archetype of caring about and supporting others with love. This is what is missing in our harsh imbalanced patriarchal society. It may help to know that under the influence of the Jupiter/Neptune alignment we may be more attuned to symbols, synchronicities, dreams and other non-linear feminine ways the cosmic intelligences use to speak to us. Ask for help and we will receive it through the conduit of our intuition and imagination. Mercury in Cancer moving into a sensitive trine with Neptune, exact on July 30, suggests we’ll be particularly open to this form of communication.

Hopefully our meditations on the Venus/Jupiter/Neptune alignment will mitigate the fractious nature of Mercury in Cancer squaring Mars in Aries on July 27. Due to Mercury’s recent retrograde, this is the last of three exact squares this pair have made since May, which have been correlating to, for example, the passionate, often heated, discussions we’ve been having about the pandemic, race relations and particularly in the U.S., the way our government is handling them. Frustrations with social distancing rules are growing as a second dramatic surge of the virus is forcing leaders to ratchet back their over-eager re-opening plans. But also, Mercury in Cancer’s archetypal need for security correlates to the repurposing of federal border guard agents to turn them on the protestors who have been characterized by Trump as “criminals.” They have been using tear gas on peaceful nightly protestors and also abducting many without just cause in Portland, Oregon, and now Trump says he will send them to other cities on the pretense of establishing “law and order.”

Amplifying the heightened tension, Mercury opposes Jupiter on July 30, creating a three-planet T-square with Mars, potent in the sign it rules. Mercury/Jupiter could correlate to overwhelming thoughts or experiences that compel us to question what all this unrest means for us personally. The Mars/Jupiter square, which intensifies and peaks on August 4, adds a carpe diem sense of urgency to the moment that could instigate big movements – on either side – that are motivated by a deep sense of righteousness. The Mercury/Mars/Jupiter alignment has the archetypal power to catapult the liberal among us into the fight for Truth and freedom, but we’ll need to be prepared for the inevitable backlash by the conservative forces. The real battle, however, begins within each of us where we must confront our own devolutionary belief systems that hold us back from evolving into a loving, inclusive and creative state that serves something much greater than ourselves. Mars is now in the territory it will traverse three times due to its upcoming retrograde September 9 to November 13, and there will be two additional Mars/Jupiter squares over the coming months. What is set up now therefore will be just the opening salvo in the righteous fight for the very philosophy we want our society to live by. Big movements with Cosmic Truth propelling them have much more profound meaning and therefore the ultimate power to become manifest destiny.

August 1 to 3, Mercury goes on to oppose the retrograde Pluto/Saturn conjunction in Capricorn. This suggests our mental acuity will be hyper focused on eliminating anything that wastes time, space and energy. This is a potentially ruthless combination, so it is important to act with great personal integrity and be mindful of others who do not. Capricorn, which is ruled by Saturn, is exceptionally amplified now with Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto all retrograding in this archetypally traditional sign. On a personal level we could harness the Mercury/Pluto energy to discover dysfunctional belief systems deeply rooted in our unconscious. Mercury/Saturn could help us develop the discipline to work hard on cleaning our mental house so we can function with greater simplicity, practicality and uninterrupted focus on that which needs to be done. In the process, we may come to see the mind for what it is, a great tool the eternal consciousness uses to operate in this reality.

On August 2, the Sun in Leo squares Uranus in Taurus, another tense alignment that archetypally calls to break away from oppressive cultural bonds and be our own authority. Strong in the sign it rules, the Sun represents our will and purpose to express creatively. Uranus is the planet that archetypally pulls us into future where the outposts of innovative thinking serving all humanity will be manifest. This alignment could spark the agitator in us to break free from anything that stifles our creativity and joy, but also anything that threatens our freedom and the freedom of our future selves to live a life in harmony with all creation. On August 3, the Full Moon in Aquarius pulls into the alignment with Uranus and the Sun in another pressurized T-square configuration. The culminating moment of the lunar cycle that commenced with the New Moon on July 20, this Full Moon in the sign of Service to Humanity puts a megaphone on the theme of the cycle as a critical wake-up call to stand up and take responsibility for our part in creating the society we have today. It beckons us to dedicate all our personal power to recalibrating humanity’s course for the future. Our mission is to apply our unique talents to the specific evolutionary effort we are called to make that follows “the law of our being,” as Dane Rudhyar calls it when we are truly living our birth chart. The future is calling us to make our history now.