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Astrological Forecast for Sun in Cancer
June 20 through July 22
by our psychic astrologer
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Wasn't that Mercury retrograde lots of fun? Perhaps not so much? Too full of "half-vast" conclusions?
This has been the second of three retrograde Mercury's this year - all of them completely within the brain function Air signs - a clear indication that our imaginations need to be working overtime. 2008 isn't about "thinking outside the box," it's all about imagining that there never has been a box.
It ain't over simply because Mercury has started to move direct again. Mercury's retrograde shadow is roughly a two week period (June 19 to July 4) when Mercury retraces it's steps - returning to where it was before seeming to have moved backward in late May. This is the essence of the Hanged Man of the tarot - suspended animation with frozen moments in time. It's important to know that the Hanged Man syndrome is either subconscious, or voluntary and intentional, that only we have the ability to break out of our own chains. What's your hang-up? What's my hang-up? Don't hang up - it's your life calling - all it wants is it's free-will and imagination back.
Last month's New and Full Moons were focused on the power of being in the here and now, a place and time within any given moment where everything has potential. The New Moon of June 3 (14° Gemini) held the Sabian* imagery of two men communicating telepathically. As the Sun moves into Cancer at the Solstice, Mercury spends almost ten days in this same degree as it stations (stops) direct, from June 15 to June 24. Mercury "officially" stops to move direct just over the edge into 13° Gemini, with the Sabian picture of a virtuoso pianist giving a great concert performance. Taking these two images together, it becomes clear that Mercury is teaching us to empathetically utilize the birthright of our imagination, by being fully within the here and now, in order to perform our mastery of harmony, technique and control, bringing joy and inspiration to everyone within earshot.
Too much of a stretch for ya? Sorry, just using my imagination...
Synchronistically, Prometheus (Uranus) begins his retrograde cycle the last week of June, setting up the final ingredient for the astrological event of the year - and perhaps for our entire lifetimes - his first of five exact oppositions to Saturn starting in November. Saturn and Prometheus are currently 18° away from exact opposition, but that number will be shrinking imperceptibly every day over the next four-plus months.
(As for why the Saturn/Prometheus oppositions may well be the astrological event of our lifetimes, see the PS at the end of this forecast.)
Real-time Mars can jolt us out of our Hanged Man stupor on July 10 as he overtakes the much slower moving Saturn. Our distant ancestors considered Mars and Saturn to be "malefics" (bad guys), and some old-school astrologers still do. This is unfortunate because it implies that we haven't been able to evolve beyond the either/or paradigm, perhaps best represented by the dichotomous nature of the Twins, Gemini. The concluding Mercury retrograde cycle has been fully within Gemini, so there have been ample opportunities to know that there is no such thing as purely black and white, only myriad shades of gray.
This old-school approach is just that - it's old and unevolved. Mars and Saturn are still "bad guys" for the unaware, but they're just planets doing their orbital thing. In order for us to turn Mars' and Saturn's "malefic" aspects into beneficial ones, all we need to do is to imagine Mars as a repentant soldier returning from the battle, eager to put the past behind him. Wanting to make amends with his former enemies, Mars decides to better himself, so he enrolls at the University to study diplomacy in the hopes of averting future conflicts. The Good Professor Saturn takes Mars under his wing (under his rings?), and the first words out of Saturn's mouth are "Blessed are the peacemakers..."
Backing up a bit, Mars (our repentant inner warrior) moves out of fiery Leo into Earthy Virgo on July 1, and Mercury slips out of it's retrograde shadow on July 4, a not so insignificant timing for we Americans on our Independence Day. In between these two important developments is the powerful Cancer New Moon of July 2.
A bit of caution is required here; Mars in Virgo tends to get bogged down in the details, while losing sight of the larger picture. This can be a huge disadvantage if we want to move on forward and correctly with the Mars/Saturn conjunction of July 10. Because the Moon rules Cancer, the New and Full Moons of this month become much more significant than usual in helping us with seeing the bigger picture.
The Sabian imagery for 12° Cancer (the New Moon of July 2) has keyword "revelation," specifically concerning the revelatory epiphanies that can arise when we honor and acknowledge the "great teacher" within others, and then turn around to rediscover the great teacher within our selves. This is perhaps our greatest birthright, to rediscover our inner guru or master - the aspect of our Souls that "chose" for us to be who we are, and where we are - right here and right now.
The reclamation of one's birthright has been the turning point in the lives of every great master/teacher of the past and present. Name your master/teacher, be it Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Gandhi, ML King, Baba Whomever - they all did it. If we want to become our own best guru, the New Moon of July 2 will be an ideal opportunity to do so. Tie this New Moon into the Full Moon of July 18 with the purest of intentions, and we'll be way ahead of the game.
Astrologically, the "great teacher" is clearly the Good Professor (not "malefic") Saturn, and two great teachers with the purest of Saturnian energetics spring to mind in a very timely manner for us this month. It might be helpful to recognize aspects of both of these great teachers within ourselves.
The Hanged Man archetypes of Odin and the Christ, each of them "hung out to dry" in their various incarnations, have taught us that invaluable wisdom can be rediscovered when fully investigating the death/rebirth process - a process Saturn and Pluto (the other "malefic") have been mimicking since this past December. During the past three months of this cycle, Saturn has been locked into a tight and seemingly relentless three degree orb of an exact trine with death/rebirth Pluto. However, this energetic is lifting in a relative hurry as retrograde Pluto has moved back into the very different element and modality of Sagittarius, close to the galactic center once again, while Saturn has been picking up direct steam from his retrograde cycle in Virgo. This waning Saturn/Pluto trine will have separated by more than eight degrees by the end of July.
I'll never "blame" the planets for natural disasters here on Earth, but examples of the Saturn/Pluto trine (and Saturn station-direct) might be seen in Burma's typhoon, earthquakes in China and Japan, and the flooding and tornadoes of the US' Midwest. Not so much with these natural disasters in and of themselves, but within the various reactions that the respective authorities and volunteers (Saturn = responsibility) have taken in the life and death (Pluto) aftermath's of each event.
To move the outer to the inner (to make it all personal), each of us have been asked to ponder on the process of life and death on some level during the past few months, in ways we wouldn't ordinarily. It's therefore much more important to know that the flip-side of death is always rebirth, and is only a free-will conscious intention away. This is true for the individual, as well as for our entire island planet.
Tying the death/rebirth energetic of the waning Saturn/Pluto trine into the revelatory nature of the July 2 New Moon shouldn't be too difficult, especially if we've been having deja vu moments of karmic proportions lately. Any such increase of psychic activity can be traced back to the events of the past two years, 9/11, the Sixties, the Great European Renaissance of the 15 th and 16 th centuries, or all of the above (see the PS for details). Rest assured that this is a collective set of memories, and it is all part of the up-tick for later this year, and well toward the goal of figuring things out by 2012, and what the end of the Mayan calendar might mean for all of us.
So, the New Moon of July 2 figures mightily into the karmic past, and reclaiming the great teacher within us all. If we've missed anything, the Full Moon of July 18 puts the "pow" back into our personal power. The Sun at 27° Cancer (as always opposed the Moon at a Full Moon) has the Sabian image; "A violent storm in a canyon filled with expensive homes." Are rich people, capable of owning such expensive homes, being forced out of their mansions by a natural disaster, possibly caused by global warming? Sheesh, I didn't just type that, did I? Oh yeah, during a retrograde Mercury...
The answer to such ditzy questions comes in the Sabian imagery of the Full Moon (always 180° from the Sun), in this case at 27° Capricorn on July 18: "Pilgrims climbing the steep steps leading to a mountain shrine." If this image has too much of an "ick" factor for the non-religious, consider it as a basic soul desire among all of us - regardless of religious or spiritual affiliation - to ascend to the greatest heights. Such a climb can also be seen as a desire to evolve, and this is what this Full Moon is driving us toward. It's only our karmic destiny
Keep in mind that the shrine in this image has already been built by someone else, or more correctly, by many others. These would be the souls who had reclaimed their birthright as evoked in the New Moon of July 2. This Full Moon in the cardinal Earth of Capricorn represents the solid foundation on which the shrine has been built, so if we've sensed we've been on shaky ground lately, there's no need for fear.
To tie this Full Moon into the previous New Moon of July 2, it becomes evident that there isn't a cartoonish white-bearded guru at the top of the mountain, dishing out wisdom that may or may not have relevance to our questions - the eternal wisdom-dude at the top of every mountain is really our own true selves. Once we get to the top, this guru looks a lot like Saturn saying "Blessed are the peacemakers - the evolved souls who have made peace within their true selves first, in order to make real peace in the world."
The lovely lady-lights of guidance Ceres and Venus lead the way into Cancer at the Solstice of June 20, except Venus overtakes Ceres on June 21 - 22 at 5° Cancer, with a cautionary Sabian imagery of a car getting trashed by a train. The keynote speaks volumes about the global shift away from the "me" mentality that has been the hallmark of the recent past, moving to the "we" paradigm we'll be needing to adopt as 2012 nears. The keynote is "The tragic results which are likely to occur when the individual's will pits itself carelessly against the power of the collective will of society."
The keyword of the Venus/Ceres conjunction speaks of making a "karmic readjustment," which dovetails so well with this month's New and Full Moons. Speaking of dove-tailing, the archetype of Venus has the dove as her animal totem, and the dove symbolizes purity, peace, and peacemakers. It won't be easy during this potentially crabby (Cancer the Crab) month, but are there really any options?
Peace out...
(*The Sabian symbols are courtesy of Dane Rudhyar's "An Astrological Mandala," 1972.)
PS: Why the upcoming Saturn/Prometheus (Uranus) oppositions may easily be the astrological event of our lifetimes.
As mentioned in the forecast, Saturn and Prometheus are not exactly opposed each other at this time (18° away), but they will be exactly on November 4. Because of their respective retrograde cycles, these two outer planets will be opposed each other off and on energetically well into 2011. These globally significant oppositions will reverberate well into 2012, and I strongly intuit that this "reverberation" energetic is the precursor to whatever the end of the Mayan calendar means for us.
First, a quick reference guide for what each planet means and represents, from inner to outer:
- Saturn, The Great Malefic - or the Good Professor - depending on how well we're dealing with our personal responsibilities, authority figures, rules, structure, "maturity" (whatever that means), and learning the big lessons. Orbit 29.5 years.
- Uranus, AKA Prometheus the Magician, the Bringer of Fire: Invention, revolution, sudden change, creativity on an industrial scale (not to be necessarily confused with "Big Industry"). Destructive if we're being nihilistic or unconscious, productive like the beneficial harnessing of fire, electricity: Orbit 84 years.
- Neptune, Ruler of the Oceans and the Cosmos: Spirituality, illusions/delusions, glamour, our inner connection with the Divine, "the larger picture." Orbit 164 years.
- Pluto: Ruler of the Underworld (not to be confused with the Christian concept of "hell"): Death and rebirth, wealth, karma - the big shadow. Orbit 248 years.
- Eris, Goddess of Discord: The end of karma, paying off karmic debts as individuals so that we can own our karmic responsibilities to clean up the big mess. Ruler of chaos with her discovery in 2003, and elevation to planet status in 2006. The planet is discovered when humanity is "ready" to acknowledge and understand its' meaning on a collective level. Orbit 520-plus years.
We all got a bit of a taste of the Saturn/Prometheus opposition energetic late last year as their opposition was briefly within seven degrees of exact. This felt like there was a positive change in the air, a string of primary wins by Barack Obama would be evidence of that. Saturn then began the essence of his "Good Professor" retrograde cycle, a four to five month process of reminding us all where the problems are, as well as the death/rebirth stuff mentioned in the forecast in Saturn's merciless yet ultimately beneficial trine to Pluto. There were also many clues about what has worked for us in the past, and what clearly needed tossing out, towards an acceptance of what is in store for all of us - the next big thing - the upcoming Saturn/Prometheus oppositions starting officially in November.
The last time Saturn was in Virgo (opposing Prometheus in Pisces) was in the early 15 th century, right at the beginning of the great Italian Renaissance which eventually spread to the rest of Europe. In turn, the Great European Renaissance laid the foundation for the Ages of Reason and Enlightenment. It all happened at a snail's pace back then for reasons that no longer apply to the 21 st century. These factoids alone don't explain a whole lot, but when combined with Saturn's oppositions with the other outer planets Neptune, Pluto, and even newcomer Eris, it just might!
Saturn, Prometheus, and Neptune have predictable and circular orbits around the Sun. Pluto and Eris' elliptical orbits, much like that of a comet but less extreme, not so much. Because of their differing orbital speeds, Saturn opposes each of the outer planets at different intervals, with very few discernible patterns linking them all together. Each time Saturn opposes an outer planet, historical shifts have been recorded, even before the outer planets were discovered, significantly by the human invention of the telescope. Again, the planet is discovered when humanity is "ready" to incorporate it's energetic into the collective psyche, oftentimes with great challenges, but also with huge evolutionary leaps forward.
Saturn is the outermost visible planet, and has been known as the "Great Malefic" since our distant ancestors first began plotting it's course. With their much shorter life expectancies, one complete orbit (a Saturn return) around the Sun meant that death was right around the corner. Saturn's representation as the harbinger of endings is even memorialized in the last day the week, Saturday as "Saturn's Day."
Oppositions between Saturn and the outer planets take years to develop and unwind, so they are necessarily global in scope, effecting everyone and every institution alive. In particular is Saturn's knack for pulling the energetics of each planet apart, exposing both the exalted and challenging aspects of each planet, quite often simultaneously. A clueless humanity falls apart BECAUSE of each of these oppositions, or we cluefully and collectively reach new heights by activating our free-wills to BE THE CAUSE of positive social action and collective change.
Saturn's oppositions with Prometheus happen every 45 years, but due to their respective retrograde cycles, there may be as many as five exact oppositions stretching over the course of three years at each opposition. Exact Saturn oppositions to Neptune, Pluto and Eris are relatively shorter in duration, but no less powerful.
Anyone of us alive in the Sixties and early Seventies will remember the last time Saturn opposed Prometheus, Pluto, and Neptune in that order - all within seven years. First it was Saturn opposed both Prometheus and Pluto (exactly) from 1965 to 1967, then Saturn opposed Neptune in 1971 and 1972. Saturn conjoined the as yet undiscovered Goddess of Discord Eris in 1967 and 1968, adding a bit of chaos and discord to that decade. Duh.
In our current decade, Saturn exactly opposed Pluto in 2001 and 2002. Saturn moved on to oppose Neptune in 2006 and 2007, and Saturn will oppose Prometheus from later this year and well into 2010. Saturn then opposes Eris in 2011 and 2012.
I was trying to figure out what this all meant in the lead-up to 2012, and the end of the Mayan calendar, so I looked for similar patterns in the past 2000 years. Only one other era was even remotely comparable to our current era, and this encompassed the events of the Great European Renaissance, the "discovery" of the New World, the Protestant Reformation, etc. The exact order of these Saturn oppositions, all within 47 years of each other, is key to understanding our current challenges and opportunities.
This next bit is complex, but well worth the ride. The Saturn oppositions to Pluto, Neptune, Prometheus and Eris (in that exact order from 2001 through to 2012), and the Saturn oppositions to Prometheus, Pluto and Neptune (in that exact order from 1965 to 1972), happened in almost the exact same order they occurred in from 1465 to 1471 (Saturn conjoined Eris in 1466 and 1467), and from 1501 to 1512. This might not sound too impressive on its own, but no other forty-seven year cycle of Saturn oppositions was nearly as identical or comparable in intensity, or in such a relatively short duration, as they are now. Not even close. Just for good measure, Eris has made one complete orbit around the Sun, from 1487 to 2008.
I think it's significant to note that each forty-seven year era concluded with Saturn opposing Prometheus, and then with Eris, within two years of each other. It also strikes me as freaky and invigorating that a relatively few people experienced the complete forty-seven year cycle of 500 years ago, while hundreds of millions of us over the age of 50 will be fully experiencing the one we're in.
We're currently being reminded of the Great European Renaissance on subconscious ways at this time, but we're much more aware of the energetics of the mid Sixties and early Seventies, a Renaissance in its own right. Those eras are merging on subconscious and karmic levels, and there's a growing sense that with our newest and constantly improving communication technologies, this next Renaissance can and will happen virtually overnight. Imagine a psychic Woodstock happening right here and right now, wherever you're sitting.
On a totally (yikes!!!) side note, all of the above was written during a Mercury retrograde while letting my imagination run wild. As I was finishing my (at least) seventeenth edit, this Mercury retrograde Boston-born Mayflower progeny coincidentally (?) witnessed the Boston Celtics winning their seventeenth World Championship - on my birthday - the seventeenth no less.
So sweet, so complete...
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