Libra — Balancing the Scales
The Week of September 27th, the Sun conjuncts Saturn in Libra, with both
planets squaring the Nodes of the Moon. Because the Moon's nodes relate
to our path of soul-fulfillment, as well as our karmic attachments, we can feel
the Sun-Saturn energy compelling us to get serious about our soul's mission
here. We may be asking grand and weighty questions at this time about our
destiny and vocation — a word which means "to be called." Saturn's
tendency to depress or challenge us with added pressures is the taskmaster's
way of forcing maturity, discipline, and willingness to do the necessary work
to climb to the next level of our mountain of manifestation.
Solitude and hermit time for reflection benefits us this first week.
However, the surplus of personal planets in Libra and Scorpio magnetize us
powerfully towards others. With the New Moon at 14 Libra, on October 7th,
we may be looking to our partners or friends for answers to what to do with our
lives. We may also fall into the traps of the blame game. We need
to beware the Libran tendency to project on the other, and to lose the ability
to decide our path instead from our individual third chakra. The October
passages of the Sun, Mercury, the New Moon in Libra, along with Saturn's
two-year journey through Libra, demand us to examine the foundations of our
relationships for solid ground. With Saturn-Mercury, our words will carry
greater weight. So we must compassionately speak our truth, instead of
playing into any facades. October's transits will profoundly effect the
members of the Pluto in Libra (1970-1984) generation, who as a cluster of
souls, are learning to language and live truly equal, balanced, and harmonious
relationships.
Seduction Combustion — Venus and Mars in Scorpio
The week of October 4th, the steam begins to rise as Venus and Mars conjoin in
Scorpio, and Venus begins her six week retrograde in the same sign.
Mars began his odyssey through the Scorpio lair September 14th and will
continue treading the underworld though October 27th. Mars loves the
challenges of his sign of feminine rulership in Scorpio, where he turns his
sword inward, confronting the inner demons of his own psyche. We feel Mars'
volcanic frustrations as we recognize where we do not have the power we
seek. Monstrous forces from our own unconscious surface and must be
confronted like the Cyclops, Leviathan, or alchemical Dragon in the
cave.
With Mars and Venus both in Scorpio, our unconscious desires are boiling up
onto the surface, and we begin to ask ourselves who we want next to us, as we
are stripped naked in the cave of shadows, inhaling the depths of the
psychedelic mystery. We feel the paradox: the urge to commit
unconditionally and transcend our limited egos, but simultaneously, we fear an
entrapment. Whether a relationship or a project which engages our deepest
passions, we may find, by the time that Mars joins Pluto in December, that we
have to shed the old desires, and experience a cathartic release from that
which cannot serve our evolution.
Thus, surrender is the key mantra for the autumn season. Even as a
cataclysm arises to help us let go, we must ALLOW.
Now with the God and Goddess in the sexiest sign of the zodiac, the tantric juices
can entwine couples in the dance of the kundalini spiral. Radical
transparency can pry open vast dimensions of self-awareness, the hearts,
formerly separate, now bursting from the cocoon into a butterfly of resplendent
glory.
But with Venus retrograde, we will chase after that butterfly, and begin to
question the design of our desires.
Venus Retrograde Part 1
Every eighteen months, Venus enters her retrograde phase for roughly six
weeks. Astronomically, we will lose her seductive twilight sparkle as she
enters the underworld, disappearing to fuse with the Sun for 9 days before she
begins to rise before the Sun, as the Morning Star. This is known as
heliacal rising: to rise before the Sun.
The sign of Venus' first appearance shows us how the collective version of the
feminine is being reborn. The last time Venus emerged from the underworld
as the Morning Star, she appeared in the sign of the warrior, Aries.
Thus, during the last 18 months, the collective psyche has been rediscovering
the aspect of fearless courage, the warrior exerting herself towards a goal.
The Scorpio themes which will dominate the evolving feminine for the next 18
months, and peak through the end of the year, take on a much deeper
dimension. The emerging feminine becomes a shamanic alchemist,
transmuting her base desires into gold. Relationship-as-catharsis and
partnership as a spiritual practice of regeneration become the major goals of
the feminine aspect within humanity.
Under Scorpio, Venus is pushed into every aspect of discomfort as she
interrogates us. Do I really want to be this vulnerable and naked to
another? Can I be this clear with my self, and hold my own ground, so the
two of us can meet each other as two wholes, merging into something greater?
We will also examine our resources during Venus retrograde. How much am I
dependent on my beloved, or my inheritance, or my loans for sustenance
(Scorpio)? How does this contrast with what I earn through my own efforts
(Taurus polarity)?
Venus in Scorpio's ‘urge to merge' can be motivated from very different
places. Do we see a relationship, a lifestyle, or a financial situation
we envy, and then we allow that value system from outside of us to dominate our
drive? The goal of Venus retrograde is an honest re-evaluation of what
truly matters and motivates us.
Often, it will take a catalytic situation to compel this kind of
self-examination. For instance, due to the retrograde nature of Venus,
previous lovers and old friends will return to our lives. Often there are
issues seeking resolution, and in Scorpio, these issues will likely have
sexuality and power as major themes. Perhaps a brief sexual fling wants
to rekindle the flame. Is this connection appropriate now for you, and at
what depth?
In another example, let's say you are in a polyamorous relationship.
Before, you were open to your partner playing with others. Maybe
this decision to remain open was challenging for you. Now that original
feeling of wanting monogamous depth seems to consume you. A volcano
erupts inside of you as you consider your partner with another. You must
ask yourself, what motivates the magma seething within? Is the single,
exclusive partner your personal truth, or is it an engrained condition, from
parents or religion, or some other source? And is this current partner
the one to fulfill that role? On the other hand, if you are
committed to a single partner, but one aspect isn't so appealing, you may find
yourself more easily seduced by an ex-lover or a more passionate affair.
Excessive drama, jealousy, and love triangles typify the Scorpio realms.
Are you willing to own up to these desires? To transparently communicate them
to your lover? Or does some fear of loss prevent you from radical
honesty?
On a practical level, one should take many precautions when beginning a
relationship under Venus retrograde, as there is often some unconsciousness
underlying the desire to engage with another, which could turn messy if not
perceived clearly.
If one is in a relationship, whatever toxic energy is circulating
there — lurking fears, power struggles, not so obvious obsessions, hidden
compulsions, and yearnings to contro l– all of these issues must surface now
from the unconscious in order for the relationship to evolve, and for each individual
to grow.
As these shadows weave their serpentine dance, an all-or-nothing attitude may
develop between partners. We can imagine that some relationships will
have to shapeshift their form and release from the old skin. It may be
helpful to consider outside assistance to ritualize any sort of separation, to
make the act sacred. The pagan practice of "handparting," the other side
of handfasting, may be an appropriate ritual.
In one version of this ritual, the couple meet on a bridge near a river–an
important symbol allowing for release. At least one of the hands should
be bound between the partners with some sort of tie or ribbon. This should be
during a waning moon, and not during mercury retrograde. With three
pieces of paper, entitled "I Forgive," "I Apologize," and "I Thank," the couple
takes turns expressing their sentiments for each before tossing the papers into
the river.
The couple toast each other with wine, each sipping from the bottle, and then
release the liquid into the sea, stating "Love released is not love lost.
It returns to the Sea. It returns to the Sea." After the wine
completely spills away, the couple can cut the cords or ties and walk in
separate directions, honoring their journey together and decision to move on
different paths.
The reason why Venus is in her "fall" in Scorpio is that she loses sight of her
natural ability to be self-reliant and appreciative of the sensual abundance so
natural to the polarity sign of Taurus. Venus' normally comfortable sense
of relaxation, ease, and grace becomes more paranoid and psychologically
probing. In Scorpio, she suspects the other of betrayal, she resents the
powers other wield, and she may even plot vengeance. The seeking of
revenge can regress or retard one's evolution, threatening to actually create
new karma and repeat the cycle of suffering. This Venus retrograde in
Scorpio challenges our ability to remain objective and impartial, as Venus is
in her rulership in Libra. Karma is healed when the charge with another
is neutralized. When we love and appreciate ourselves enough (Taurus
polarity), then we can ascend to the higher relating with our karma-mates.
With the preponderance of planets in Libra and Scorpio, it is an especially
appropriate time for couples' counseling, for pujas, for tantric practice and
sex magic, and group circles about relating. Anyone with planets in
Scorpio or a Scorpio rising will be triggered with extra force during this
retrograde, as will the entire Pluto in Scorpio generation (1984-1996).
If you would like a single couples' reading or to begin my coaching sessions,
please contact me.
Jupiter-Uranus and the Tech Overload
Jupiter-Uranus conjoined once again September 18th and will be dancing with
each other through January, when Jupiter begins spreading his fortune and
vision through the zodiac in Aries. We all felt the inspiring thrust
forward at the beginning of summer, as Jupiter conjoined Uranus in Pisces and
both moved into the first sign of the zodiac in Aries. With this summer's
transit, Jupiter magnified our vision of our Uranian potential as individuals
co-creating a new Eden.
We resonated with that moment in 1927-28 when the first transatlantic flight,
first television broadcasts, and first color and sound films appeared, shifting
our perspectives forever. Even Burning Man took a cue from those years, in
perfect harmony with the planets, as the 2010 theme for the festival was
Metropolis, the name of the revolutionary film about technology and machines,
released exactly during the last Jupiter-Uranus conjunction.
The integration of individually tailored technologies, smartphones, profile
sites, the Google brain, are all helping to connect individuals, communities,
and ideas more rapidly. It seems now that the whole world is literally at
our fingertips. We are guided by our ability to harness the imagination
and open it to spirit helpers, angels, the ancestors, and the muses (Pisces).
We are on the brink of something so profound in terms of our merger, and yes,
dependence upon technology. There is always a shadow to technological
enhancement, and even to spiritual breakthrough. Jupiter knows no
limits, and in Pisces, no boundaries. Uranus uses science, technology,
and sudden, shocking, epiphanous experiences and information to wake us into
the next level of consciousness.
So for many of us, Jupiter says, YEAH! Bring on another crazy, wild, third-eye
opener–psychedelic journeys, cathartic breathwork, workshop intensives, festivals,
and ongoing travels. But we need to be careful with the trauma of too
much expansion, and too little integration, and then that feeling of drowning
in the ocean, lost without a buoy, anchor, or center.
We may also want to cling to the fantasy that all these technologies are being
implemented to help us. Although many of us don't want to admit it, our
fascination (Pisces) with the latest gadgets, media, and online tools has been
hypnotizing us, sucking away more of our privacy one step at a time. RFID
chips, a tracking technology, are becoming more the norm than the exception,
being used in everything from ski lift passes to amusement park
wristbands. The multibillion dollar company we all suckle, Google, has
become increasingly despised for their invasive tracking technologies as they
record your every move through your ISP. We should wonder why Google
funds luncheons for certain politicians, or what the real motivating factor is
behind the "cool" but also frightening technology of the Street View, which
allows users to take a virtual 360 degree panoramic walk through tours of a
city, including your own backyard. (Google's camera is located high on
their van and has caught many individuals in compromising situations in their
own bedrooms.) It is becoming less and less possible to keep our internet usage
private in any way or to have any amount of public, and now even private space
not recorded.
Jupiter expands the Uranian urge to break free, to find our authentic and
unique voice. Both Zeus-Jupiter and Prometheus-Uranus were gods of the
sky, hurling thunderbolts of awakening. The way to not get electrified
and fried in this chaotic sea of exciting, but overwhelming possibilities at
this time is to establish Virgo daily practices and healthy regimes which allow
the sparks of insight into the future to have fertile, stable, and sacred
ground to build upon.
We seem to feel EVERYTHING with this transit: every city siren, every bark of
every neighborhood dog, every news story, every sentiment from family or friend
or facebook post. So we must be cautious with our psychic inbox, and
realize that the more we surround ourselves with spiritually uplifting
environments and individuals, the epiphanies and synchronicities will continue
to align our paths.
For instance, in our Denver
dance community, we recently integrated a Fruit of Life sacred geometry pattern
into our weekly spiritual dance event, Rhythm Sanctuary. The participants
held space as nodes of energy, each of them fasting for the day, to maintain a
high vibration. The electric pulse was palpable, the juice stirring
through the room as the cauldron of evolution seemed to stir one beat at a
time, exciting and awakening the 100+ dancers. This is our potential:
synaesthetic, integral healing and arts events, where languages of spirit merge
to inform, educate, and inspire everyone, recognizing the Unity at the Source
of Creation.
I wish you a bountiful harvest season and hope you'll join me next month for
deeper investigations of Scorpio, Venus Retrograde, the Saturn-Pluto complex,
and the mythical deities of the Underworld.
For information on private consultations, upcoming seminars, and publications, please visit the author's website here.
Image by Royalty Free Images, courtesy of Creative Commons License.
