January 2010 Newsletter
by Jodie Forrest
The Current (Astrological) Space Chessboard:
Hello, and welcome to our newsletter. Winter skies are wonderful in the desert!
We’ll have some repetition in this section about the longer term current astrological events, and the addition of new material month by month, too.
As I’ve mentioned here before, we are 3/5ths of the way through a pattern of five oppositions of Saturn and Uranus:
* on 11/04/08 at 19 Virgo (Saturn) -Pisces (Uranus)
* on 2/5/09 at 20 Virgo-Pisces
* on 09/15/09 at 25 Virgo-Pisces
* on 4/24/2010 at 29 Virgo-Pisces
* on 7/26/2010 at 1 Libra-Capricorn
Transiting Uranus galvanizes whatever planet or point it is aspecting, and whatever house it is passing through in your birthchart. It asks you to overhaul and transform these areas, particularly where you may have been clinging to traditions, habits, fears and restrictive conservatism about them. The more “trapped” you have felt here, the more acutely you may feel this Uranian call to progress and freedom. To work well with these transits, you must use the Uranian virtue of being fully yourself–not someone else’s idea of you, and not a living symbol of “the Revolution” at the expense of your own identity. Transiting Saturn asks you for a realistic and objective assessment of what is and is not working about whatever planet or point it is aspecting, and about whatever house it is passing through in your birthchart. It asks you to use the Saturnian virtues of good reality-testing and shrewd, consistent effort to make a concrete, practical change of whatever isn’t working for you.
Uranus in the 12 Signs
Since 1927, Uranus has swept through the ecliptic seeding the human population with geniuses, rebels, paradigm-shifters, and merry trouble-makers, who have kept the cultural pot stirred. Let’s celebrate them all, from the elders down to the newborns, as we explore Uranus through all 12 signs of the zodiac.
Reflect on these oppositions, and remember you don’t have to figure it out yesterday. Two more partile oppositions are still ahead. Don’t stall in a way that could end up hurting you (too much Saturn). And don’t rush blindly ahead (too much Uranus) without thinking things through about what structures you might want to keep or change (Saturn) rather than just tear down (Uranus).
The transiting Saturn-Uranus opposition is further affected by the action of transiting Pluto, which is in early Capricorn and in the process of squaring transiting Saturn three times. The first square occurred at 1 Libra on Nov. 15th. The second was on Jan. 31, 2010, at 4 Libra. The third is on Aug. 21, 2010 at 3 Libra.
Transiting Pluto tends to ask us, as a group, to become aware of the shadow side of the sign through which it’s transiting. (It recently left Sagittarius, whose shadow sides include the potentials for religious fanaticism and self-righteousness, for unchecked, overreaching growth, expansion and greed, and for difficulty in limiting one’s options, whether they’re real or perceived. Can you see some parallels to recent world events?) Capricorn’s shadow sides include the potential for abuses by the patriarchal mindset and by authority in general, for overly- controlling behavior, and for narrow-minded focus on the goal and the bottom line regardless of what means are taken toward that end. As a group, we are being asked to see how those shadow expressions of Capricorn can challenge the reality (Saturn) of how we build (Saturn) and negotiate (Libra) healthy relationships, fairness, equality, moderation and aesthetics (all Libra), and what the actual value of those things is in our lives. As individuals, that dynamic is operating in your life wherever the early degrees of Capricorn and Libra fall in your chart, and also where those degrees make aspects to the rest of your chart.
Meanwhile, transiting Mars is still retrograde, and turns direct on Mar. 10 at 0 Leo. When a planet is retrograde, what it rules tends to go “backwards” or be felt more internally than usual. Mars rules our inner warrior, who goes after what we want and protects us. It also rules all situations to which we react with an extra flow of adrenalin. Counting to 20 rather than 10 can be a good idea with Mars retrograde; so can looking harder than usual before you leap. On the other hand, don’t let the retrograde period squelch your inner warrior: if you really do need to assert yourself or set boundaries, do so. If you’re a dancer or an athlete, it’s probably better to review your current routines or skills than to launch into new ones. The station for the direct motion runs from Mar. 5-15.
Transiting Jupiter entered Pisces on Jan. 17, where it stays until Jun. 6, when it revisits Pisces for the rest of year and part of 2011. Jupiter has long energetic “arms,” and those of you with planets in Pisces may well feel the big guy all during his sojourn there. Wherever Jupiter is moving through your chart: Dream. Believe. Have faith. Risk. But try to remember that while the planet can make you feel temporarily bulletproof — an effect that can be heightened by youth and/or a lot of natal Sagittarian or Jupiterian energy — you actually aren’t. If you tend more toward pessimism and underestimating yourself than toward optimism and arrogance, use the transit to improve your attitude toward whatever Jupiter is affecting in your chart. If your tendency is more to feel rather full of yourself and to leap before you look, think twice and three times about any great idea you may have here. Whatever your predilections, they’ll be heightened at the full Moon (10 Virgo) and the Sun Jupiter conjunction (10 Pisces) on Feb. 28.
Jupiter: How Have You Been Underestimating Yourself?
Are you underestimating your potential? Explore the role of healthy grandiosity and heroic vision in the spiritual journey. Learn how to make the most of Jupiter in your birth chart.