Tuesday, June 24, 2014

NORTHPOINT ASTROLOGY JOURNAL for June 23 to 29, 2014 By Pam Younghans


WE ARE IN completion mode as we begin this week. The Moon is waning, completing the lunar cycle that began on May 28. And, on a grander scale, the Uranus-Mars opposition on Wednesday wraps up many of the loose ends left by the Cardinal Grand Cross we experienced in April.

On top of that, Mercury is in its last week of being retrograde, Jupiter is wrapping up its year-long transit through Cancer, and Saturn is in the last weeks of its 20-week retrograde phase.

THIS COMBINATION of planetary influences -- especially the Uranus-Mars opposition midweek -- may have us feeling exceptionally restless, eager to be free of restriction and limitation. But a part of us is also aware of the need for proper timing, and acknowledges that this completion phase has a purpose.

In part, we are still adjusting energetically to the impact of April's grand cross configuration. Even if we didn't have direct transits to planets in our birth charts at that time, we were still dealing with the energy of change in four different areas of our lives (represented by the four houses involved).

IT WILL BE IMPORTANT to observe what occurs midweek, as we work with the impatient energies of the Uranus-Mars opposition. It will be very clear (if it isn't already) where we're done with the old and ready to embrace the new.

And, some effects of the grand cross may have been waiting until now to manifest. In April, when the grand cross was exact, Mars was retrograde. This means the planet was more focused on building inner courage and not as concerned with external progress.

Now that Mars is moving forward, it supports us in applying our new inner courage to more tangible action steps. But, the self-awareness we gain with this week's Uranus-Mars opposition may best be applied more proactively once we get into July -- especially after Mercury goes direct on July 1.

EVERY NEW MOON offers a starting point for a new phase in our development. With Friday's New Moon being in Cancer, this lunar cycle is focused on ways to increase emotional support and satisfaction in our lives. We will also be working with the issues of trust, security, and vulnerability.

The Sabian symbol for the New Moon captures some of these themes:

"Game birds feathering their nests: An instinctual dedication of self to new forms of life."

Taking inspiration from this imagery, we can look at this upcoming lunar cycle (the next four weeks) as being instrumental in laying the emotional groundwork for the changes we wish to make. And yet, the process is primarily "instinctual," coming from a different level of our awareness.

As food for further thought, here is a bit of astrologer Dane Rudhyar's interpretation of this Sabian symbol:

"We see here the beginning of a process; action is definitely oriented toward the future. A new wave of life is starting and a concrete -- and no longer symbolical --preparation is made for it. It reveals a preparation for rebirth, and a significant note is sounded by the mention of game birds. What is being built is instinctively --but not yet consciously -- offered to a higher level of consciousness. An appropriate keynote would be 'symbiosis' -- a deep, unconscious cooperation between different levels of existence."

OTHER PLANETARY ACTIVITY also stands out as important this week. I'm especially noticing Jupiter's square to the Nodes on Friday, and Neptune's interactions with both the Sun and Venus on Sunday.

As Jupiter squares the North and South Nodes, it provides an opportunity for us to look at the polarity between self and other in new ways. Jupiter expands whatever it touches, so this square could exaggerate our feeling that life is an "either-or" experience -- either we pay attention to our own needs (South Node in Aries), or we choose to work in harmony with others (North Node in Libra).

The challenge of this square is to find ways to integrate the best of both options, paying attention to our own needs while also acknowledging that one of our needs is to cooperate and create harmonious relationship with others.

ON SUNDAY, Neptune will trine the Sun and square Venus. Even though the square indicates some oversensitivity --and perhaps some disillusionment -- with regards to our relationships, the Neptune-Sun trine soothes our sensitive souls and helps us create new connections based in a higher expression of love.

The adjustment we'll need to make to achieve this shift (represented by Chiron quiincunx Mars) will be moving beyond the personality's tendency to go to extremes, to either trust completely or completely mistrust. We will need to love ourselves enough to maintain appropriate boundaries, and move beyond defining "love" in terms of rescuing and self-sacrifice. At the same time, we will need to accept the paradox that we're all one, and there are no boundaries.

Good thing Mercury is retrograde --maybe it will help our brains wrap around that one!

Blessings,

Pam

NorthPoint Astrology Blog: New blog post this week: "Chiron's station," posted Friday, June 20. To read posts, please visit http://northpointastrology.blogspot.com/. I look forward to your comments!

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