Aspects of Note This Week
All times listed are Pacific Daylight Time. For Greenwich Mean Time, add 7 hours.
MON: Saturn square Pallas Athene
TUE: Venus semisquare Uranus, Sun opposite Pallas Athene, Venus conjunct Neptune
WED: Sun square Saturn, Jupiter stations retrograde, Mercury sextile Pluto
THU: Mercury square Jupiter, Sun square nodal axis
FRI: Mars sesquiquadrate Pluto, Venus sextile Saturn
SAT: Sun square Pluto, Sun conjunct Eris
SUN: Sun trine Jupiter, Sun semisquare Mars, Venus sextile Pluto
SEVERAL of
the seeds contained in last Friday's New Moon chart grow in size this
week, as the Aries Sun exactly squares Saturn (Wednesday), the nodal
axis (Thursday), and Pluto (Saturday). Issues that have been stewing
over the past three or four days may very well
start boiling over, especially on the days of these exact Sun aspects.
And,
two more participants join the already-powerful planetary line-up --
the asteroid Pallas Athene and dwarf planet Eris. With all four cardinal
signs represented, we actually have a full cardinal grand cross in
effect for most of this week: Sun/Eris in Aries, Pallas in Libra,
Pluto/South Node/Saturn in Capricorn, and North Node in Cancer.
TO UNDERSTAND a cardinal grand cross, we can start by considering the four signs that are involved, to see why they just don't get along.
Aries is
a fire sign. The Ram is independent, courageous, confident, impatient,
and willful. It bravely goes where no one has gone before, and can react
angrily if restrained.
Cancer is
a water sign. The Crab is sensitive, protective, emotional, and deeply
affecting by the suffering in the world. In its capacity as a universal
mother, it responds as defensively as a mother bear when it or a loved
one is threatened.
Libra is
an air sign. The Scales are peace-loving, equality-minded, and focused
on creating harmonious conditions. When stressed, Libra may tend to act
passive-aggressively father than facing issues directly.
Capricorn is
an earth sign. The Seagoat is self-sufficient, goal-oriented,
disciplined, and practical. Under stress, Capricorn tends to put on
blinders to all emotional and personal distractions, and to focus solely
on the end-point.
It's
pretty clear why these signs usually don't see eye to eye. Not only do
they have very different goals, they often have little understanding for
the other three signs -- instead, looking at their motivations with
either distrust or disdain.
NEXT IN OUR PROCESS of interpretation, we want to look at the planets involved:
The Sun and Eris are
in Aries. The Sun highlights the energies of whatever sign it is in, so
our natural urge to be autonomous and to fight for our rights is
activated. Eris, named for the goddess of discord, uses the energy of
Aries to force issues to come to a crisis point.
The North Node stands by itself in Cancer. This
point represents humanity's path of highest evolution. In Cancer, we
are meant to learn caring, compassion, and sensitivity to the needs of
others -- and to likewise nurture our
own inner process.
Pallas Athene
anchors the Libra corner of the grand cross. Pallas, as goddess of
wisdom and strategy, seeks to bring about reconciliation and consensus.
Pallas in Libra is a strong advocate for peace and justice. Her
preferred tools are diplomacy and conflict management.
In Capricorn, we find Saturn, the South Node, and Pluto.
This threesome represents a great evolutionary struggle that is
underway throughout 2019-2020, but especially highlighted this month.
The South Node is our marker for the pull of past patterns -- karmic
patterns -- that inhibit our progress. Saturn's job is to maintain the
status quo, to keep all in
order based on what has worked in the past. Pluto is the rototiller,
working to uproot systems and structures that are based in an imbalance
of power.
ALL OF THESE PLANETS/POINTS,
and each of these signs, are clamoring for our attention and our
energetic "vote" this week. As such, we're likely to feel pulled in many
different directions at once. We'll need to be very clear
vibrationally, so that we can tap into the higher guidance that
is available to us in every moment.
We'll
also benefit from paying attention to what the North Node in Cancer is
asking from us -- specifically, to focus on being caring and
compassionate to others, as well as to ourselves.
This
is ultimately the test of a cardinal grand cross, to learn how to focus
our intentions rather than being overly distracted by what is going on
around us. As astrologer Bil Tierney writes, this configuration:
"...
presents us with the challenge of learning to be more self-controlled,
reliable, and consistent. By learning to harness our tremendous energy
reserves and by applying more commonsense in our actions, we can avoid
the usual pitfalls of this grand cross, which are impetuosity, reckless
moves, bad timing, over-assertion, and head-on confrontations ...
Important lessons denoted are developing patience, inner
composure, endurance, steadfastness, and learning to better organize
time and energy."
THE OTHER main
planetary event this week is Jupiter's retrograde station. Jupiter
begins its backward-motion phase at precisely 10:00 a.m. PDT on
Wednesday, April 10, at 24°21′
Sagittarius. At the time of its station, Jupiter is within "orb" of
being aligned with the Galactic Center, which is currently calculated to
be at 27°03′ Sagittarius.
As
the largest known planet of our solar system, Jupiter's effect is
always to magnify whatever it touches. And, when a planet comes to a
standstill to change direction, we usually notice its influence more
fully. So, we have Jupiter's magnifying glass amplifying the energy of
the Galactic Center this week. If that sounds profound, it is.
TO HELP US
wrap our brains around this event, here's an excerpt from an excellent
article by astrologer Melanie Reinhart, entitled "The Galactic Centre
and the Centaurs" (posted on the AstroDienst website):
"When the last five degrees of Sagittarius are stimulated by transiting planets, a process of awakening is initiated.
A time of accelerated spiritual development occurs, with its attendant
life challenges which may include rapid change, separations, crisis,
illness and stress as outmoded ideas are released. Phil Sedgwick likens
this to a ‘defragging’ process of our mental ‘hard
drives’!
"Expect
a major ‘life-review’ of a very particular kind. Density, opaqueness
and blockages within the mind the soul are being spun off, as in a
centrifuge. This is a perhaps useful image for the Galactic Centre - a
centrifuge - where everything is spun away from the dark centre,
revealing an empty space.
"This
‘empty space’ is where we are receptive to Grace, and like the black
holes said to reside at the core of the galaxy, it generates the
substance which will birth the new, individually and collectively.
Rudolf Steiner, in his book The Soul’s Awakening, reminds us that 'We who would create the new must endure the passing of the old in full
tranquility.'"
IT IS MORE
than significant that we have this Saturn-South Node-Pluto alignment,
the cardinal grand cross, and Jupiter's station at the Galactic Center
all occurring within a single week. It appears that the cosmos are bound
and determined for us to "spin off" the
density that has blocked our hearts and our minds from comprehending our
true nature, and inhibited our receptivity to Grace.
I
feel a bit breathless as I write all of this! Perhaps our reminder of
just how important the breath is. I've advised it before, but this week
it is even more important that we stop from time to time -- hopefully
once each hour -- to focus on our breath.
To
do this, slowly breathe in, filling your lungs a little more deeply
than usual (but still comfortably), and then slowly breathe out,
expelling more air than you might usually exhale. Then pause for a few
seconds, and repeat two more times. Doing this exercise at least every
hour can make a huge difference in how your day -- and this week --
unfolds in your
consciousness.
You
may also find it helpful to watch Matt Kahn's YouTube video entitled
"Breath of Life," or to avail yourself of the work of any other
supportive teacher whose words and presence help you feel centered,
calm, and more connected to your spiritual source.
IF YOUR BIRTHDAY IS THIS WEEK: This
is a year of powerful transformation in some area of your life, as well
as in your self-concept. New passions are awakened, and old patterns
that have held you prisoner are revealed. You are on a hero's
journey, the purpose of which is to help you claim your personal
empowerment in new ways. Changes that occur this year will set you in
new directions, ultimately enabling you to fulfill more of your personal
mission in this lifetime. Remember the value of pausing to breathe, and
taking the time to be sensitive to your internal needs, needs that you
may have been ignoring. (Solar Return Sun square Saturn, square nodal axis, square Pluto, conjunct Eris)
In Gratitude and Light,
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