Sagittarius New Moon: Truth vs. Lies

The Sagittarius New Moon occurs on Tuesday, November 29th at 5:18 am at 7 degrees Sagittarius 42 minutes.  Here’s the chart:  sagittariusnewmoon2016. 

The Centaur Archer is the symbol for Sagittarius.  Half man and half horse, the Centaur shoots his arrows into the heavens where he knows truth resides. 

This is the sign of truth seekers.  Sagittarius travels the globe in search of higher understanding.  Ultimately Sagittarius learns that truth exists in and of itself and requires no interpretation. 

Truth is always reflected in natural laws.  Natural laws are the physical laws that underpin the manifest creation or what we call the natural world or nature.  Natural laws facilitate the Soul’s spiritual path of evolution.

Sagittarius also rules religions which are the result of man’s interpretation of the creation or man-made laws.  Religions are based upon man-made moralistic judgments about what’s ‘right’ and what’s ‘wrong.’

If you wish to know if something is really true, look to see if it exists in the natural world.  For example, the principle of reincarnation is reflected in nature through the death and rebirth of plants and animals correlating with the repeating cycle of the seasons.  On the other hand, judgments, right and wrong, sin and guilt do not exist in nature.  

Man-made religions have distorted the natural meaning of the symbol of Sagittarius, the Centaur, who is half-man and half-beast.  They teach that the Centaur represents man’s desire to overcome his carnal ‘animal nature’ or what they call the ‘temptations of the flesh.’ 

Man-made religions would have us believe that there’s an inherent conflict between Spirit (masculine) and flesh (feminine) and that sex is a sin.  This false teaching is a primary causal factor for guilt, consciously and unconsciously, related to sexual experiences.  This distortion of truth has also underpinned the doctrine of male dominance that has denied and suppressed all things feminine, and justified the destruction of the natural world for millennia.

From the point of view of natural law, the Centaur represents the fusion of man and nature.  Half man and half horse, the Centaur reflects the natural law truth that humans and the natural world are one – not separate from each other or intrinsically in conflict with one another.  In nature, sex is natural – not sinful.

Anything that’s natural that is denied, suppressed, repressed or oppressed, ultimately manifests in a twisted, destructive and distorted way.  We should not be surprised then that sexual addiction is the predominant addiction in Western cultures, whose values and expectations relative to standards of right/wrong conduct come from man-made religions that believe sex is a taboo.  Given their expectation of celibacy, it’s also not surprising that the crisis of pedophilia afflicts so many man-made religious institutions.

It’s crucially important to understand these distortions of truth in order to recognize and integrate the evolutionary intentions being ‘seeded’ in this Sagittarius New Moon.

From an evolutionary perspective, the greatest lesson Sag teaches is that TRUTH IS RELATIVE.  In other words, there are many, many truths – not just one truth.  As the saying goes, “There are MANY paths to the top of the mountain.” 

Sag also teaches that there are different levels of truth.  Personal truth is unique to each individual.  What’s true for you may not be true for me. Universal truths however reflect that which is true for all of us, regardless of personal differences. 

Each zodiac sign has deep security needs.  Sagittarius’ security comes from believing there’s only ONE TRUE TRUTH and all the other truths are wrong.  Sag also finds security through believing that it has FOUND THE ONE TRUE TRUTH! 

This need for security is the psychological motivation for religious proselytizing, missionary work and evangelism.

Sadly, throughout human history, beliefs rooted in the need for security have been the cause of countless wars as people have tried to convert others who believe differently to their own version of the truth  through dominance and the use of force.  Perhaps the epitome of a distortion of truth is to use it to justify killing, especially killing ‘in the name of God.’ 

This Sagittarius New Moon is reflecting the need to SEEK TRUTH.  It is encouraging us to reach for a higher understanding of truth, on all levels, including personal, collective and universal.

The Sagittarius New Moon is making several aspects.  These include a conjunction (0 degrees) with the asteroid Juno.  It also squares (90 degrees) both Neptune in Pisces, and the Moon’s Nodes – North Node in Virgo and South Node in Pisces.

Juno was the Roman Goddess of partnership commitments and presided over all arrangements and rites of marriage.  The month of June was sacred to her and even today, many brides choose a June date for their wedding day based upon this ancient tradition. 

Juno was also revered for her beauty, loyalty and fidelity.  In Greek mythology, Juno was known as Hera, Zeus’ wife.  Of course Zeus was notorious for his philandering ways and serial infidelities.  As a result, Juno has also come to symbolize jealousy and rage resulting from betrayals of trust through broken commitments.  Astrologically, Juno describes the ways in which we face issues of trust, compatibility, jealousy, possessiveness, sharing and power struggles in relationships. 

Through its exact connection to Juno in Sagittarius, this New Moon focuses attention on the search for truth in, of, by and through all kinds of relationship dynamics, including but not limited to, marriage partners.  Of course some relationships reflect shared or similar beliefs and philosophies or understanding of ‘truth’ between partners and others do not.  In the coming weeks, all kinds of partnerships will provide the necessary experiences to facilitate our evolution.  They will further our ongoing search for truth through how we relate to one another and through shared and dissimilar beliefs.

The search for truth through relationships is FURTHER emphasized by the fact that Jupiter (truths and beliefs), the ruler of Sagittarius and therefore the ruler of the Sagittarius New Moon, is currently traveling through the sign of Libra.  Libra is associated with a diversity of relationships with others.  Libra teaches the need for balance and equality in relationships achieved through fairness, peace, harmony and justice.  Dominance or the exertion of ‘power over’ others reflects inequality and imbalance in relationships. 

Jupiter in Libra just squared both Venus (rules relationships) and Pluto in Capricorn.  This square energy is central in the New Moon chart pattern and symbolizes extreme inequality and abuses of power in relationships.  Jupiter will square Pluto two more times in the coming year (March 30th and August 4th).  Jupiter is also moving into an opposition with retrograde Uranus in Aries (December 26th) which will no doubt bring even more shocking and surprising events through issues associated with justice, fairness and equality, war and peace, and the balance of power within relationships.  Uranus rules and fuels revolutions!  So expect LOTS of changes in relationships!

Jupiter’s squares to Pluto and oppositions to Uranus will create a cardinal T-Square for the remainder of 2016 and most of 2017.  This T-Square will re-activate the decade-long square aspect between Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn (2008 through 2020) that symbolizes the ongoing r-evolutionary changes, worldwide, of old outworn economic, political, environmental and cultural social structures.  CHANGE will accelerate over the coming weeks and months, manifesting through the famous ‘two steps forward, one step back dance’ of cardinal sign energy.

Looking more deeply into Jupiter’s square to Pluto, we find it is a waning or 3rd quarter square aspect. 

Waning square aspects are always associated with a crisis in consciousness.  In other words, a crisis relative to the question, “WHAT TO BELIEVE?!”  Given the prevalence of relationship energy in play now, perhaps the better question is, “WHO TO BELIEVE!?”  

Waning squares always reflect the evolutionary need to throw off outer, consensus or ‘mainstream’ values, beliefs, opinions, expectations and ‘social norms.’  For evolution to proceed beyond the point of this waning square, UNIVERSAL values, principles and truths must be pursued and embraced. 

These connections between Jupiter, Venus and Pluto are encouraging us to reach for higher, universal levels of truth.  This means moving beyond material and temporal possessions and experiences.

So who should you believe?  Should you believe your intuition or your logical mind’s rationalizations?  Should you believe and follow your own truth or the advice of family, friends or others who expect you to listen to them?  Should you trust your own gut or conform  to socially accepted rules and norms?  Should you listen to and trust ‘news’ sources or ‘online sources’ or do your own research?  The answer to this last question should be easy given the fact that we just learned last week that FaceBook was a platform throughout the election for ‘fake news’ that was shared millions of times! 

How might your relationships with significant others change, or remain the same, based upon what you believe to be true?  How will those beliefs influence choices you make now and in the coming weeks and months?  What choices would reflect your own personal truth?  What choices might you make based upon your understanding of universal truths?

Just recently, an extremely important choice was made that precisely reflects the energy of Jupiter in Libra square Pluto in Capricorn:  the election of Donald Trump to the US Presidency! 

Pluto in Capricorn is the defacto astrological symbol of the Plutocracy.  It represents the political ‘powers that be’ in national capitals, as well as the corporate ‘elites’ in boardrooms, all over the world.

Clearly, Jupiter in Libra just chose to throw off old social and political power structures (Pluto in Capricorn) that have not served or respected the interests of working class people.  Jupiter in Libra just thumbed its nose at those in power it feels betrayed by and frankly is furious with.  Jupiter in Libra square Venus and Pluto in Capricorn is already manifesting changes in the status quo of many personal, political and economic relationships. 

Of course it is yet to be seen what choices a President Trump may make regarding his voter’s expectations.  Time will tell if he chooses to follow through on his many campaign promises to reform what he calls a ‘rigged system.’

The New Moon is also square Neptune in Pisces and the Nodes of the Moon – North Node in Virgo and South Node in Pisces.  These squares ALL reflect the need to make healthier choices.  These necessary choices are intended to promote healing – of ourselves, our planet and our relationships with others, especially our committed partnerships. 

The right choices are symbolized by the North Node in Virgo, the sign that represents reality, health and well-being, humility, service and the environment.  Right’ choices will support individual and collective well-being.  ‘Right’ choices will be squarely rooted in REALITY, not delusions, illusions, deceptions or wishful thinking. 

Virgo also rules everyday work routines so for many, choices made may also play out through self-improvement plans or personal health concerns, or their everyday job or work routine.

The wrong choices are symbolized by the South Node and Neptune in Pisces.  They caution us against succumbing to false, delusional and unrealistic thoughts, beliefs, needs and desires that will almost certainly lead to the re-imprinting of old wounds rooted in betrayals that occurred as a result of misapplications of trust.  So be very mindful that doubts and confusion will likely try to dilute and obfuscate the truth.

Obviously, to make the right choices that are healthier choices, we must be able to determine what’s true and what’s not true!  Thankfully, Sagittarius also rules our right brain which is the seat of INTUITION!  We ALL have intuitive faculties; it’s a ‘hard-wired’ survival mechanism intrinsic to human beings as a species.  In addition to ensuring our survival, personal intuition has two more equally important purposes. 

First, intuition ALWAYS leads us to the precise and specific information, knowledge and understanding we each need in order to achieve our Soul’s evolutionary growth intentions in each life. Said another way, personal intuition leads each of us to our ‘personal truth’ which is it’s second purpose. 

We can always trust our intuition to help us accurately discern what’s true and what’s false. 

But how do you know it’s your intuition?  Intuition always occurs INSTANTANEOUSLY.  By the time your rational mind has begun debating or analyzing thoughts, your intuition has already spoken. 

Learn to pay attention, listen and TRUST YOUR INTUITION!  Indeed, the greatest tool we’ll have to sort through lies and detect distortions in the coming weeks is our INTUITION!

Mercury and Saturn are also in Sagittarius now.  And they’re square retrograde Chiron in Pisces and trine (120 degrees) retrograde Uranus in Aries.  Mercury and Saturn represent the need to take complete responsibility for ALL our choices and decisions.  This includes how we think and what we believe, as well as how we feel and what we say and do.  Moving through Sagittarius, these two planets are saying, “stand in your truth” and “walk your talk.”

Chiron is quite powerful now since it is literally ‘stationary’ or appearing to stand still in the heavens from our point of view here on planet Earth.  Planets become stationary when they’re ready to change directions; to either go retrograde or to resume forward or direct motion.  Chiron will station direct December 1st at 20 degrees Pisces. 

Stationary Chiron in Pisces cautions us to be very, VERY mindful to not retreat into a state of consciousness that identifies with being a victim.  Chiron’s square to Mercury and Saturn in Sagittarius can reflect false or distorted thoughts and beliefs that contribute to the co-creation of realities that are dissatisfying that can lead to even more wounding experiences.  

NOTHING CAN HEAL FROM A CONSCIOUSNESS ROOTED IN VICTIMIZATION! 

This is because victims always blame external sources instead of taking responsibility for co-creating their experiences.  Without taking responsibility, there’s no ownership regarding the co-creation of those experiences.  Without ownership, the likelihood of making the necessary changes required to co-create different experiences or realities in the future is slim to none. 

Unfortunately, those operating with a victim consciousness are rarely doing so consciously!  All this Pisces energy also gives us the opportunity to bring to conscious awareness thoughts and beliefs that are operating unconsciously or just below the surface of our conscious awareness.  Often, unconscious beliefs are revealed through common or repetitive themes that play out in our dreams. 

Although many people report they never remember their dreams, we all dream each and every night.  Pisces rules dreams.  With Neptune, the South Node of the Moon and retrograde Chiron ALL activating Piscean energy now, dreams are likely to be more frequent, urgent and memorable.  Set an intention for yourself that you will indeed remember your dreams, particularly the ones associated with unconscious beliefs that need to be released in order to achieve greater health and well-being. 

On the more positive side, Pisces rules philanthropy and spirituality.  For those who practice meditation or prayer, the coming weeks will be powerfully supportive of any and all endeavors that seek closer connection with the divine or sacred elements of life.  Spend time in nature communing with nature spirits and your own Higher Self to promote personal well-being.  Pisces also rules art, music and film so this holiday season will also be the perfect time to visit an art gallery, attend a concert, or just go to the movies.  

The trine aspect (120 degrees) between Mercury and Saturn in Sagittarius and retrograde Uranus in Aries is the most favorable and positive planetary connection in the entire New Moon chart. 

This planetary pattern portends surprising and unexpected events like discoveries and breakthroughs. 

Pay attention to all the information coming your way over the next month, particularly those bits and pieces of insight and guidance coming from your intuition!

For some this may play out through a change in travel plans or a sudden decision to further their education.  Others may have revelatory AHA moments that bring new ways of seeing old things, completely changing personal awareness.  And still others who are engaged in legal affairs may experience unusual or unexpected twists and turns in those proceedings. 

AHA moments are also likely when Mercury stations retrograde in mid-Capricorn on December 19th and direct in late Sagittarius on January 8th. 

Perhaps one of those unexpected and shocking surprises will have to do with the certification of the election process by the states and Congress.  They’ll meet to do so on December 19th and January 6th!  Wonder when the vote recounts in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan will be complete?!

The bottom line to ALL of this Sagittarius New Moon energy is the need to discern truth vs. lies.  Sagittarius always compels us to expand our understanding of higher and higher levels of truth.  We must realize that truth is relative and while we all have our own personal truths, there’s a higher, universal level of truths.  These truths are based upon the natural laws that underpin all creation and reflect what’s true for all of us.

Quantum science has recently discovered what mystics, sages and philosophers have known and taught us for centuries.  

They’ve found that at the deepest levels of reality, at the subnuclear level, there is a fundamental truth of UNITY. 

Truly, at both the deepest and the highest levels of universal truth,       YOU AND I ARE LITERALLY ONE.

 

 

The Capricorn New Moon is on December 28th at 11:53 pm MST!

Copyright 2016.    Donna Lee Steele and Threshold Consulting.    All rights reserved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leo New Moon: Find the Joy

The Leo New Moon occurs on August 2nd, at 1:44 pm MST/PDT at 10 degrees Leo 57 minutes.  Here’s the chart:  LeoNewMoon2016.

Leo is the only zodiac sign in our Solar system ruled by a star, our Sun, not one of the planets.  As such, Leo has long been associated with nobility, royalty and dynasties.

The Lion, symbol of Leo, is called the ‘King’ of beasts.  Accordingly, Leos are characterized by dignity, leadership and pride.  Indeed a group or family of lions is called a ‘pride!’

Ruled by the Sun, Leos naturally see themselves as the ‘center of the universe.’  This quality of consciousness, referred to as a ‘pyramid reality mindset’ sees itself at the top of the pyramid and superior to others, expecting others to serve it’s needs.  However, this seeming narcissism hides a deeper inner truth.  Un-evolved Leos carry a deep inner emotional insecurity that needs constant outer recognition and attention to affirm their special qualities.  Seeking validation of their value and worth from outer sources can lead to an insatiable need for praise and acknowledgment.  When Leos don’t receive the acclaim and appreciation they feel they deserve, they’ll often pursue love affairs or ‘act out’ becoming the infamous ‘Drama Queen or King’ that just keeps climbing up on ‘stage’ in order to receive attention and be noticed.

This need to be noticed and validated as special is commonly reflected in the behavior of most children, who are also ruled by Leo.  Children often seek the attention of their parents saying, “Look at me!”  While this behavior is natural for children, it becomes pathological when carried into adulthood where unfulfilled needs for love and approval are projected onto others, especially loved ones at home and colleagues in the workplace.

The evolutionary intention of Leo is to learn SELF-LOVE.  Instead of seeking approval, acknowledgement, validation and appreciation from outer sources, Leo must learn to love itself, to honor and respect itself and express its true nature – no matter what.

When Leo’s emotional insecurity reaches an extreme level of imbalance, they will typically co-create an Aquarian (opposite sign reflecting the path of evolution) shock or trauma.  The ‘rug gets ripped out’ from under them in order to reinforce humility and teach them to recognize that others are special too and deserve recognition as well.  Leo must ultimately learn that it is simply an actor on the stage of life, not the director of the play.

The Hermetic Law of Correspondences commonly known through the phrases, “As Above, So Below” and “As Within, So Without” is very instructive for Leo.  If you don’t love your self, love will not be reflected back to you through your outer environment.  If you cannot love your self, how can you expect others to love you?

When Leo evolves into self-love and appreciation, they’re no longer jealous of others who receive attention.  They become generous, kind-hearted and magnanimous.  Mature Leos are self-assured and confident within themselves.  They can then support others fully, encouraging them to develop and creatively express their authentic selves as well.  This reflects the true character of Leo, the beloved and benevolent King or Queen who truly serves their ‘subjects’ instead of the other way around.

The Sun and Moon in Leo are making several aspects to other planets in their New Moon chart.  They are joined by Venus in Leo, which adds value and meaning to individuality that needs to be creatively self-actualized and expressed in the world.  Venus in Leo can open the heart to greater love, unconditional love, for the self and others.  Venus in Leo seeks beauty and harmony, fairness and justice for all.

The New Moon is also part of a YOD formation, a unique planetary configuration comprised of two planets that are sextile (60 degrees apart) one another while both are simultaneously inconjunct (150 degrees apart) a third planet.  Altogether, the planets form a pattern that looks like a “Y” and are therefore called a YOD.

YODs are special astrological patterns that reflect a significant crises that can only be healed or resolved by making necessary changes and adjustments in order to re-align with reality and affect healing, self-improvement and personal humility.  YODS carry a unique spiritual quality or energy that links directly with your Soul’s evolutionary purpose and intentions.  This YOD is comprised of the Sun and Moon in Leo which are inconjunct both retrograde Pluto in Capricorn and retrograde Neptune and the Moon’s South Node in Pisces.  Pluto, Neptune and the South Node are all sextile each other and hold the keys to resolving the crisis.

Pluto in Capricorn symbolizes the need to emotionally and spiritually mature by taking complete responsibility for ALL of your own actions, choices and behaviors.  Stop blaming others for circumstances or situations you’re not happy about.  Blame is evidence of a consciousness rooted in victimization that assumes others are responsible and reveals an identification with powerlessness.  Nothing can heal from a consciousness of victimization.

Consciousness creates reality, so if you experienced something, you played a role in co-creating it.  Better to seek understanding of WHY you co-created a particular event rather than dwelling on WHAT happened and how awful it was which only serves to perpetuate a victim consciousness.  Keep asking your Higher Self, “Why would I co-create such an event in my life?  What am I to learn from this experience that will serve my Soul’s evolutionary growth intentions for me in this lifetime?”

Neptune and the South Node in Pisces symbolize the need to let go of negative thoughts and beliefs, particularly those associated with a sense of unworthiness.  They reflect the need to let go of an identity rooted in victimization and the need to cling to false beliefs, fantasies, delusions or idealizations that aren’t rooted in reality like the notion that unless you’re perfect, you’re worthless and therefore deserving of pain and punishment.

Unfortunately, we’ve ALL been conditioned for lifetimes by man-made religions to believe that we must suffer in order to atone for our imperfections, mistakes and ‘sins.’  The resulting feelings of unworthiness pervade the collective unconsciousness of humanity.  Nearly all of us carry these false beliefs deep within our subconscious regardless of whether or not we’ve been exposed to religion in the current lifetime.

This collective conditioning is easily evidenced in the all too common human experience of wondering what in the world we might have done to ‘deserve’ whatever ‘bad’ thing has happened to us.  This is due to religious influences that taught us to believe in the need for divine punishment or retribution for our ‘sins’ or imperfections.

Another classic example of this unconscious belief conditioning is the instinctive feeling of guilt experienced whenever we do or say something that’s disapproved of by others – even when those very choices or decisions reflect our own truth, what’s for our highest good, or in the best interests of our self or others.  Who among us has not had these experiences?!

Let go of false beliefs associated with the distorted religious teachings relative to ‘perfection’ and realize we are all evolving human beings.  Healing can come from simply doing your best and learning to judge yourself based on your intentions, not outcomes.

Remember, these same religions also teach that we’re made in the image of God or the Creator.  This means that if we are evolving, then the Divine Source that created us must also be evolving.

Consider this:  if perfection actually existed, then evolution would be utterly and completely unnecessary.  In fact, evolution and perfection are antithetical to one another.

This YOD can teach you that to truly LOVE YOUR SELF, you must accept your self AS YOU ARE, including all of your imperfections.  Use the healing energy of this YOD to forgive yourself and unconditionally love yourself.   These choices reflect the true nature of the Divine Source that created us – a God that is unconditionally loving, compassionate and forgiving.

The New Moon is also in a waning trine (120 degrees apart) aspect with Saturn in Sagittarius.  Currently, Saturn is slowing down to a standstill in the heavens ahead of its upcoming station direct (resumption of forward movement) on August 13th at 9 degrees Sagittarius 47 minutes.  This powerful connection favors and supports self-discipline, emotional maturity, and the aforementioned need to take complete responsibility for ourselves.  The Sun and Moon trine Saturn may well bring rewards as a result of prior efforts made especially in regards to being true to yourself or ‘walking your  talk.’  This trine also reflects the potential for developing an expanded understanding of greater and greater levels of universal truths or what is true for all of us regardless of personal differences.

Sagittarius also rules foreign lands and cultures, cosmologies, philosophies and theologies.  This is the sign of man-made religions so we may also experience positive events and circumstances associated with the evolution of beliefs associated with faith traditions.

This evolution and growth in understanding just occurred in response to a recent tragedy.  Following the murder of Jacques Hamel, a French Priest, Muslims on Sunday attended Catholic Mass in churches and cathedrals across France, Italy and beyond.  “We’re very touched” said Archbishop Dominique Lebrun of Gouen Cathedral adding, “It’s an important gesture of solidarity.”  Outside the church, a group of Muslims were applauded when they unfurled a banner which read, “Love for all.  Hate for none.”

Saturn’s station also energizes the Spiritual T-Square that’s been in place for nearly a year now.  A T-Square is another astrological configuration.  This one looks like a capital “T”.  It includes Jupiter and the North Node in Virgo, which are opposite (180 degrees) Chiron and the South Node in Pisces.  ALL of these Virgo/Pisces planets are square (90 degrees) Saturn in Sagittarius.  Jupiter and Neptune rule our beliefs, consciously and unconsciously, respectively.

The evolutionary purpose reflected in this T-Square is a necessary review and reflection upon our beliefs to discern if they are really true.  Saturn will precisely square Neptune for the third and final time on September 10th.  The two previous squares occurred November 26, 2015 and June 17, 2016.  Saturn/Neptune are directly associated with the dissolution of – literally dissolving – old outworn or false beliefs.  This planetary connection is also dissolving limited consciousness structures and the resulting realities they have been creating, both on a personal and on a collective level.

What beliefs have lost their meaning for you?  What no longer feels ‘true’ to you?  What realities are no longer working in your life?  Are you ready to let go of an old mindset that contributed to that reality?  Are you willing to own and take responsibility for having co-created those realities or are you succumbing to disappointment and disillusionment and feeling depressed or powerless???

Interestingly, both Saturn and Neptune are associated with psychological depression.  Depression has a natural purpose!   That purpose causes us to isolate ourselves so we can reflect upon what quality or aspect of our consciousness is responsible for creating a reality that no longer works or is causing us to be unhappy.

This is a necessary evolutionary task for those who wish to take responsibility for their lives realizing that they have created their experiences.  Unfortunately, we are culturally conditioned, especially in the United States, to see depression as a weakness or character flaw, or a disturbing distraction that interferes with our life.  In fact, its the natural result and reflection of a life that’s no longer working, functional, healthy or satisfactory.

Masking depression with prescription drugs is not the answer.  In fact, pharmaceutical drugs simply numb our senses, anesthetizing our consciousness, ultimately interfering with the very process required for healing.  They actually interfere with the necessary and natural process of inner self-reflection and review.  It’s a sad fact that 70 million Americans take Prozac, the number one prescribed anti-depressant drug.  Of course prolonged depression may indeed require some kind of therapeutic intervention.  But know that depression is a naturally occurring human phenomenon associated with the spiritual evolutionary process designed specifically to turn our attention inward.  In doing so we can become consciously aware of thoughts and beliefs that are not in alignment with our personal truth and are in fact the source of our depression, melancholy and lack of well-being.

Saturn and Neptune also represent meditation, a far better antidote to depression.  In my practice over the years, I’ve noticed that those who say they’re too busy to meditate are typically the ones who need to meditate the most!  Deepak  Chopra offers a wealth of information and guidance that can help you develop your own personal meditation practice.  If you’re interested, visit the Chopra Center at http://www.chopra.com for more info.

Deepak has also produced lots of YouTube videos that offer timeless spiritual insights from the world’s wisdom traditions.  Keep in mind that there are many forms of meditation.   Many don’t require much time at all.  What’s important is that you develop a daily practice.  It may be sitting cross-legged and motionless focusing simply on your breath or quietly repeating mantras.  Or it may be some form of moving meditation like walking silently in nature or a daily jogging routine.  There are countless ways to meditate so find what works for you and simply begin.

The T-Square will also be activated by Jupiter’s third and final opposition (180 degrees) to Chiron in Pisces which will occur August 12th just a day before Saturn’s station direct in Sagittarius.  The two previous oppositions between Jupiter and Chiron happened on November 3, 2015 and February 23, 2016.  What was happening in your life during these previous timeframes?  What do you need to heal?  What wounds were you experiencing or remembering?

Jupiter has a twelve year cycle which means it spends approximately one year in each of the twelve signs.  Jupiter will move out of Virgo and into Libra September 9th ending the T-Square pattern.  The energy of the T-Square over the past year has prompted each of us to be truer to ourselves and to make the effort to heal and self-improve.  Make the most of the final Jupiter/Chiron opposition to throw off the last vestiges of victim consciousness and to reach for the highest levels of compassion and forgiveness you can realize for yourself and others.

The New Moon chart includes two other important celestial events worth mentioning that complete the overall pattern ‘seeded’ in this lunation:  Mars will re-enter Sagittarius to complete it’s biannual retrograde period that began in February of this year, and Mercury, now in Virgo, one of the signs it rules, will go retrograde for the third time this year.

Mars acts instinctively on our desires which eminate from our Souls and reflect the evolutionary growth intentions our Soul has for us in each and every lifetime.  In fact, Mars is considered the ‘lower octave’ of Pluto, the planet that represents the Soul as well as the human evolutionary process itself.  Planets that are higher and lower octaves of one another reflect similar energy while vibrating at different frequencies.  Musicians know all about this phenomenon.

Mars goes retrograde every two years for about two and a half months.  Normally spending about two months in each sign, when Mars is retrograde it takes about seven or eight months to move through a sign.  This Mars retrograde began in Sagittarius at 9 degrees and backed up to 23 degrees Scorpio.

Its actual retrograde period was between April 17th and June 29th.  But every retrograde period actually begins when the planet first moves over the degree it will  back up to.  In this case, Mars first traversed 23 Scorpio on February 18th.  This began the ‘pre-shadow’ period of Mars retrograde which was from February 18th until April 17th.  And every planetary retrograde also has a ‘post-shadow’ period during which the planet returns to the same degree at which the actual retrograde began.  In this case that was 9 Sagittarius.  Mars JUST re-entered Sagittarius a few hours before the Leo New Moon occurred.  Mars will reach 9 degrees Sagittarius on August 22nd when it will completely finish up the entire retrograde cycle, including its post-shadow period.

Mars retrograde periods always reflect the need to review our desires.  How have you been acting upon your desires to achieve or pursue personal goals or ambitions or to just simply do the things you want to do?  Moving from Sagittarius back into Scorpio, this Mars  retrograde was about reflecting on our personal truth and beliefs which are ruled by Sagittarius, and how we wield our personal power which is ruled by Scorpio.

Scorpio also symbolizes our deepest wounds which often leave us feeling powerless and typically result from losses, abandonments and betrayals which are also associated with Scorpio.  Scorpio teaches right use of power.  Through Scorpio, we learn that we are intrinsically powerful through our ability to make free will choices which co-create our realities and facilitate our own personal evolution.  Unfortunately, the things we are culturally conditioned to believe represent power are money, sex and death.  And unfortunately, these are the things most often used to wield or have power OVER others.

So in effect, this Mars retrograde was about reviewing issues associated with beliefs and power particularly how we experience wealth and sexuality as a  result of our beliefs.  For example, what do your beliefs tell you are right and proper uses or expressions of sexuality?  What do your beliefs teach about money or wealth or possessions?

As Mars completes its current retrograde, we should all be mindful of insights and understandings we have come to as a result of experiences we’ve had since February this year.  Empower yourself by committing to be TRUE TO YOURSELF!  Empower yourself by knowing that you have the power to change your life by changing your choices and act accordingly.  On a collective level, we can expect more truths and more lies to be exposed so that healing and evolution can take place for us all.

Mars is also moving into a final phase in its two year cycle with Pluto which began in November 2014.  Between now and October 22nd, when Mars and Pluto once again align at the exact same degree in the zodiac, thus beginning a new two year cycle together, know that whatever you began in late 2014 is currently culminating or coming to a completion.  This final phase between Mars and Pluto always reflects the need to throw off old desires and achievements in order to make space for new goals and pursuits.  What Soul desires have you been pursuing over the past couple of years and what did you achieve or learn or experience as a result?  Take some time to reflect upon these issues to maximize the evolutionary intentions and potential associated with your own Soul’s desires now.

Mercury entered Virgo July 30th.  This speedy planet usually takes only two and a half weeks to traverse each zodiac sign.  But when Mercury is retrograde that timeframe gets extended to nearly two months.  Through Virgo, Mercury analyzes and sorts through all the information and knowledge it has to make sense of it all.  Indeed every Mercury retrograde period provides an opportunity to throw off excess or superfluous data that is no longer relevant or necessary.  Given the fact that information overload has become the norm for humanity in this digital age, we should all be thankful for each Mercury retrograde instead of dreading it!  Mercury retrogrades are also always encouraging us to achieve a greater balance between left-brain logical linear deductive thought processes and right-brain intuitive, holistic and metaphysical thought processes.

This Mercury retrograde occurs between 29 and 14 degrees of Virgo.  Mercury will therefore connect with both Jupiter and the North Node in Virgo, while simultaneously bringing Mercury into opposition with Neptune, Chiron and the South Node in Pisces.  Thus, this Mercury retro ALSO energizes the T-Square!  This T-Square will have its final ‘hoorah’ so to speak over the coming month!

Mercury retrograde in Virgo will give us all ample opportunities to think deeply about how our beliefs are underpinning the quality of our consciousness, resulting in the creation of our realities.  And if we’re experiencing realities that are no longer working for us or are contributing to dis-ease or dissatisfaction, then this Mercury retrograde period will be the PERFECT time to discern what thoughts and beliefs are not serving us and to make the effort to create new thoughts.  Affirmations and visualizations can help us to develop new habits in thought or behavior that create new realities that are in alignment with our highest truth.

Remember, the Leo New Moon is trying to teach us all that in order to be truly happy, we must be TRUE TO OURSELVES!  WE MUST LEARN TO LOVE OURSELVES!  We must learn to honor, respect and take very good care of ourselves.  Remember too that Leo is ruled by the Sun which is associated with the heart.

So go have some FUN!  Take time to do what you love with those you love — including yourself!  Relax!  Play!  Do MORE of what makes you happy!

In honor and remembrance of my beloved lifelong friend, Nancy Whitley, who passed away a year ago, I want to offer you a gift of Leo wisdom she found and shared often in her final years.  “FIND THE JOY!” she would say.  Find the joy in everyday little things and big things as well.  It’s always there.  If you look for it, you’ll find it.  And you’ll be happier and healthier as a result.

And if you believe you don’t have the time to do so, well, my sense is that may be the very best clue your Soul can offer you about a personal belief you have that you need to change…

 

The Virgo New Moon is a Solar Eclipse that occurs on September 1^st at 2:03 am MST!

                            Copyright 2016.   Donna Lee Steele and Threshold Consulting.    All rights reserved.      

 

Gemini New Moon: Changing Minds

The Gemini New Moon happens June 4th at 7:59 pm MST/PDT at 14 degrees Gemini 53 minutes.  Here’s the chart:  GeminiNewMoon2016.

Gemini is the sign of the Twins, which represent the dual nature of reality on our planet.  This air sign also reflects the mind and its two hemispheres.  Specifically, Gemini is associated with the left-brain and its capacity for processing information in a logical, linear and deductive fashion.  It’s opposite sign, Sagittarius, rules the right brain and intuitive, conceptual and abstract thought processes.  While the left brain deals with words and logic, our right brain deals with images, imagery and imagination.  Together, the two hemispheres comprise the whole brain, which is symbolized by Pisces.  Gemini, Sagittarius and Pisces are three of the four mutable signs.  The fourth mutable sign is Virgo which represents reality.  More on mutable signs later…

Gemini gathers and disseminates information so this sign is also associated with learning, thinking, knowledge and communicating.  It rules thoughts, writing and speech.  It rules the mind.  It rules words.

Renowned symbologist Joseph Panecek explains further…

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  – John 1.1

“In the beginning all was still.  Nothing existed but unmoving and eternal Divinity.  Everything that ever would be, and could be, was asleep within Divinity.  Then something happened:  The Mind of Divinity (the Hermetic Nous) “spoke The Word“.  And, in that instant, time, matter, the cosmos, and duality sprang forth.  Duality can only exist in the realm of matter; and duality is expressed, numerologically, by the number two.  The Twins of Gemini symbolically reflect this truth.”

“Nothing happens until something moves.”  – Albert Einstein

“Nothing happens until something moves.  Creation myths from all parts of the world tell of a Breath, a Spirit, or a Bird (which is often the symbol for Spirit) that passed over the dark, still, and deep primal waters of Chaos which represents the Great Subconscious or Void.  This caused the primal waters to “stir”; to move; to vibrate.  This initial ‘stirring’ was the first cause in the act of Creation.”

But what do these creation myths mean? And, what hidden lesson do they impart to us?  The lesson we can learn from creation myths is this:  Thought creates matter; the unseen creates the seen; what can be imagined can be manifested.  All great inventions, innovations, and ideas were first a thought imagined within someone’s mind.  This thought was then acted upon.  This action resulted in the creation or manifestation of that initial thought.

We are all children of Divinity made in the image of the Divine Creator.  Therefore, we all have the “spark” of Divinity within us.  This “spark” enables us to also create whatever we choose to create by simply using our imaginative minds.  Our imagination is what enables us to delve into the deep, dark waters of the great subconscious where everything that is, and ever will be, already exists in un-manifested form.  In quantum scientific terms, this is reflected by wave theory where ‘waves’ reflect ALL potential possibilities or realities in the unmanifested state.  All it takes to manifest a specific reality is a focus on that specific reality.  When we determine whatever it is that we wish to manifest, and focus our attention on it, it is pulled from the un-manifested, out of the great subconscious of all that is,  and brought into the world of matter.

Quantum science now knows that the process of focusing attention on a specific possibility out of the field of infinite possibilities changes ‘waves’ into ‘particles.’  A simple TV analogy can help to explain this manifestation process.   Think of waves as reflecting the entire array of television programming available at any given time.  Now think about choosing to tune into a specific channel.   Once you do so, that choice collapses a certain wave potentiality into a particle which correlates to a singular specific program, or one reality out of an infinite variety of realities.

It’s important to understand Gemini’s association with thoughts and words because both generate energetic frequency brain waves.  Thoughts and words ‘vibrate.’  The sayings, “Energy manifests” or “Energy flows where attention goes” or “Thoughts are things” reflect the natural law mechanism of creation or manifestation.  What we imagine and what we think about ultimately manifests in our reality.  The emerging science of consciousness has definitively proven this to be true.  Quantum scientists now know that human consciousness influences, alters and ultimately creates realities.  More on this later…

This Gemini New Moon is part of an extraordinary Grand Mutable Cross.  A Grand Cross is a celestial configuration comprised of four or more planets that occupy ALL four signs of an astrological ‘modality.’  There are three modalities:  Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable.  A Mutable Grand Cross is made up of planets in all of the mutable signs:  Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces.

Currently, the Sun, Moon and Venus are in Gemini and Mercury enters Gemini on June 12th.  Jupiter and the Moon’s North Node are in Virgo, retrograde Saturn in in Sagittarius and Neptune and the Moon’s South Node are in Pisces.  The Mutable signs reflect the energy and intention of adaptability, flexibility and CHANGE.  A Grand Mutable Cross carries the maximum intention and potential for change.  The intention ‘seeded’ in the Gemini New Moon is to CHANGE OUR MINDS – LITERALLY!

In order to better understand what changes may be coming, we must look at each mutable sign individually, and the planet(s) currently occupying that sign, and then put them all together in the totality of the Grand Mutable Cross.

Let’s begin with Gemini. As mentioned earlier, Gemini rules the mind and all the ways its gathers and disseminates information.  So this sign also rules communication, both spoken and written, and accordingly, communication devices of all kinds.  With the Sun, Moon and Venus all in Gemini now, joined by Mercury later in the month, it’s time to seriously think about and discuss necessary or desired changes.

Venus rules what we need to survive – primarily resources and relationships.  We all need food, clothing and shelter.  And, we all also have unique personal needs that align with our own evolutionary growth intentions in the current life.  Additionally, we each have unique gifts, skills, talents and natural abilities or what I like to call our own special ‘toolkit.’  Focus on what you have of value – your own natural resources and think about what you can do to further develop these personal resources.  Think also about new ways you can share or offer your talents to others who will find them valuable because they can help them to meet their own personal needs.  Doing so will enable you to better garner the resources that you need.  Venus also rules the psychology of LISTENING.  So listen up!  What others have to say and share may be just what you need to hear or have.

On a global or collective level,with all this Gemini energy activated, we can expect numerous announcements, disclosures and exposures of important information from sources of all kinds.  Since Gemini also rules the media, perhaps significant news events will not only be reported by them, but perhaps also be about them!  Clearly, the corporate owned US media needs to change!  The bottom line is that an abundance of information, knowledge, facts and data will be forthcoming.  The specific info YOU need to make necessary changes in your life will be among the plethora of messages coming your way so pay attention!

Mercury, the planet that rules Gemini, is finishing up in Taurus and continues to be positively connected to both retrograde Pluto in Capricorn and retrograde Jupiter in Virgo (Grand Earth Trine) so research and digging deeply into the details of any given subject or situation are favored and well supported.  Make the effort to acquire whatever new knowledge you need now.  Seek out experienced people to discuss your ideas with and ask questions!  Gemini embodies the quintessential behavior of three year olds who continuously ask questions and  always wants to know ‘why?!’  Again, be extra mindful of ALL information coming your way over the coming weeks and months because knowledge will be THE FUEL that drives most upcoming changes.

It’s also worth mentioning that although Mercury just completed its second retrograde period of 2016 (April 28th to May 22nd) it will probably continue to feel like Mercury is retrograde over the entire Summer since the Mutable Grand Cross energy will also be part of the chart pattern for the Summer Solstice which reflects the entire Summer season.  So expect information and ideas to be revisited, reformed, reviewed, rehashed, revised, refined, reworked, refuted, revamped, returned and even reversed.  And be sure to double and even triple check important facts and figures especially those contained within contracts, read the fine print, and back up all your important data!

The next mutable sign is Virgo.  Retrograde Jupiter continues it’s year-long transit through this sign (August 12, 2015 to September 9, 2016).   Virgo rules workers, workplaces and jobs.  Virgo is the archetype of crises.  The purpose of crises is to alert us that something is not in alignment with reality and necessary changes and adjustments must be made in order to heal or resolve whatever is awry.  Jupiter rules the principle of expansion.  It always wants to understand greater and greater levels of truth.  It rules beliefs, religions, higher education, philosophies and laws.  What do you need to learn in order to improve your job or expand your success at work?

Globally, we can expect expanding and increasingly successful legal actions and worker protests against corporate interests like the strike against Verizon that saw 36,000 workers protesting in dozens of cities all across the US, and the ongoing employee strikes in France that have disrupted oil refineries, nuclear plants and transportation.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/13/technology/verizon-strike/

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36385778

While job losses have occurred steadily over the past few decades, primarily due to technology advances and international trade agreements, these losses increased dramatically after the global economic crash of 2008.  Recovery is still very much underway and sluggish in many countries including here in the US.  Some believe even greater job and workplace changes are imminent.  People Get Ready:  The Fight Against a Jobless Economy and a Citizenless Democracy, written by Robert McChesney and John Nichols, discusses the enormous changes coming as a result of the shift from a manufacturing to an information based, digital global economy.

They write, “Humanity is on the verge of its darkest hour – or its greatest moment.”  The consequences of the technological revolution are about to hit hard:  unemployment will spike as new technologies replace labor in the manufacturing, service, and professional sectors of an economy that is already struggling. 

The end of work as we know it will hit at the worst moment imaginable:  as capitalism fosters permanent stagnation, when the labor market is in decrepit shape, with declining wages, expanding poverty, and scorching inequality. 

Only the dramatic democratization of our economy can address the existential challenges we now face. Yet, the US political process is so dominated by billionaires and corporate special interests, by corruption and monopoly, that it stymies not just democracy but progress.

The great challenge of these times is to ensure that the tremendous benefits of technological progress are employed to serve the whole of humanity, rather than to enrich the wealthy few.  Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols argue that the United States needs a new economy in which revolutionary technologies are applied to effectively address environmental and social problems and used to rejuvenate and extend democratic institutions. 

Based on intense reporting, rich historical analysis, and deep understanding of the technological and social changes that are unfolding, they propose a bold strategy for democratizing our digital destiny—before it’s too late—and unleashing the real power of the Internet, and of humanity.”

This workplace revolution is by no means the only significant change on the horizon.  Virgo also rules the environment and health matters.  As environmental degradation and climate change continue to alter global weather patterns and disrupt the health and well-being of populations all across our planet, wars, floods, famine, massive refugee migrations and dangerous disease outbreaks are increasing.  Here in the US, funding to address the threat of the Zika virus is bogged down in Congress.  Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders continues to campaign for a ‘Medicare for All’ expansion of health care to provide universal coverage to every American.

All life forms change and evolve in order to survive including micro-organisms.  Infectious organisms, infectious diseases and the pharmaceutical drugs that treat infections are all ruled by the same sign.  This brings us to Neptune and Pisces.

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa was first reported in March 2014, and rapidly became the deadliest occurrence of the disease since its discovery in 1976.  In fact, the epidemic killed five times more people than all other known Ebola outbreaks combined.  More than 21 months on from the first confirmed case recorded on 23 March 2014, 11,315 people have been reported as having died from the disease in six countries; Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, the US and Mali.

The Zika virus which started in Brazil in 2015 prompted the World Health Organization to declare it a public health emergency of international concern in February 2016.  Drug-resistant tuberculosis has also been on the rise over the past decade and last week, a ‘superbug’ resistant to ‘antibiotics of last resort’ was verified here in the United States.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/05/26/the-superbug-that-doctors-have-been-dreading-just-reached-the-u-s/

Clearly, we need to CHANGE our relationship to the environment and CHANGE the way we provide health care the world over.  We may be approaching a time when our very survival depends upon these necessary CHANGES.   The sooner, the better!

So WHY haven’t we made these crucially necessary changes and adjustments yet?  Well, that brings us to Saturn in Sagittarius.  Saturn reflects the status quo, the ‘establishment,’ leaders, those in control and in positions of authority, governments, social structures and social institutions.  Saturn rules Capricorn, the sign of Patriarchy, ambition, conformity, convention and established social norms.  Anyone who has ever dealt with or worked for a government entity knows they are among the most bureaucratic of institutions and as such, inherently resistant to CHANGE!  The status quo of Capricorn is reflected in this sign’s association with ‘crystallization’ which can actually undermine and prevent further evolution.  In the natural progression of the zodiac, Aquarius, the sign of revolution, follows Capricorn and necessarily so!

While Pluto (evolution) in Capricorn precisely squared Uranus (revolution, transformation and CHANGE) in Aries seven times between 2012 and 2015, the r-evolutionary changes we’ve already witnessed over the last several years will indeed continue for several more years since the influence of these planets will take nearly a decade to unfold (2010 to 2020).  Obviously the changes that have occurred are still too few and far too slow.  The fact that Saturn (rules Capricorn) is currently in Sagittarius, the sign of religions and laws, may help us understand some of the reasons why these changes have and still are continuing to be mightily resisted by those in positions of power and authority.

Religious Papal Bulls collectively known as ‘doctrines of discovery’ dating back to the eleventh century and the beginning of the Christian Crusades, have provided justification for the persecution, destruction and enslavement of indigenous, non-white cultures throughout the world for centuries.   Historically, these peoples have experienced powerlessness in the face of state efforts to deny their rights – to land, wealth, political franchise and in many cases to their very existence.  Recent calls to rescind these Papal Bulls have been utterly ignored by Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.  http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/call-rescind-doctrine-discovery

Other religious teachings like mankind’s ‘dominion over’ (a distorted interpretation of ‘stewardship’) the natural world of plants and animals continues to justify raping the Earth for profit.  So it’s not surprising that the world over, laws almost universally favor the interests of corporations over people, particularly indigenous peoples, even when there is overwhelming evidence of environmental destruction and widespread life-threatening pollution.  The petroleum industry’s reckless business practices have destroyed countless communities and the agribusiness giants Bayer and Monsanto’s unabated manufacture of deadly pesticides have all but decimated bee, bat and butterfly colonies worldwide.  The disappearance of these pollinator species increasingly threatens our global food supply.

And religious teachings like those found in the Bible’s book of Leviticus teach that homosexuality is evil.  So it’s not surprising that the LGBTQ community continues to struggle for equal rights under the law in many countries.  Remember that patriarchal man-made religions provide the moralistic values that underpin social norms and laws in nearly every country on the planet.  So again, it’s not surprising that the sign that rules truth, belief systems, man-made religions and man-made laws, which underpin governmental legislative bodies and social justice systems, is in fact the source of ongoing resistance to many changes and adjustments that are necessary to bring about healing, improvement and resolution of so many of the crises we are currently facing all around the world.

Fortunately, Saturn in Sagittarius holds the apex position in the Spiritual T-Square that has for months reflected a growing urgency to review of and reflect upon belief systems.  Collectively, humanity is co-creating and experiencing circumstances that are forcing us to THINK (Gemini) more deeply about what we believe (Sagittarius) and why we believe it, in order to discern (Virgo) if those beliefs are really true (Sagittarius) and aligned with actual reality (Virgo).  Old beliefs are in fact dissolving (Pisces).  And many unconsciously held beliefs are increasingly bubbling up to the surface of our individual and collective consciousness (Saturn and Capricorn).  https://www.theguardian.com/science/head-quarters/2015/jul/08/how-can-we-fix-unconscious-racism

Now that the Spiritual T-Square has been expanded to the fullness of a Mutable Grand Cross, maximizing the potential and intention for evolutionary change relative to beliefs and truth, we have a historic opportunity to make important CHANGES.  After all, beliefs underpin the quality of the consciousness that’s responsible for creating our realities.  To CHANGE our realities, we must CHANGE the false and distorted beliefs that underpin our consciousness.  This has perhaps never been more possible in our modern era than right now as both Pluto and Uranus support r-evolutionary changes in human consciousness at the same time Saturn in Sagittarius is compelling us to change our beliefs.

Going a bit further into this amazing astrological configuration, let’s look at some of the potential influences associated with the opposition (180 degrees apart) and square (90 degrees apart) aspects, or planetary connections within the Mutable Grand Cross.

The Sun, Moon and Venus in the Gemini New Moon chart are all opposite retrograde Saturn in Sagittarius.  Mercury will follow suit later in June.  Because Gemini and Sagittarius both rule honesty and dishonesty, expect important truths and lies to be revealed in the coming months.  Saturn always teaches maturity, responsibility and accountability.  Since this planet rules those in positions of power and authority, current leaders will increasingly be held accountable for their policy positions and votes.  Citizens need to own up to their responsibility as well by choosing new leaders who tell the truth and rejecting those who obfuscate and twist the facts.

Simultaneously, the Sun, Moon and Venus are also square both Neptune in Pisces and Jupiter in Virgo.  Virgo and Pisces deal with reality versus illusion, delusion and downright deception.  Better to remove those rose-colored glasses now and see circumstances and people as they really are, rather than continuing to be in denial or fantasy-land about what’s really going on.

Since Virgo also rules crises, which happen for the purpose of alerting us to what’s awry, many will receive ‘reality-checks.’  These may come in the form of shake-ups and break-ups, especially regarding work or health matters, that occur to enforce necessary adjustments to situations or circumstances that are unhealthy, corrupt or otherwise dysfunctional to a degree that’s preventing progress or evolutionary growth and movement forward.  For others, legal matters may force necessary change.  And for still others, issues of beliefs or religious affiliation or experiences may be the source of revelation, insight or expanded awareness that bring meaningful changes.  The Sun, Moon and Venus are also squaring the Moon’s Nodes in Virgo and Pisces.  As each connects precisely with the Nodes, they’ll reflect the need to make choices that will either heal false, distorted or delusional thoughts and beliefs, or simply re-imprint the same old wounds they created in the first place.

Another major component of the Mutable Grand Cross is reflected in Saturn’s waning square to Neptune in Pisces.  Saturn and Neptune have a 36 year cycle together.  Their current cycle began in 1989.  They are now three quarters of the way through that cycle and will experience this waning square aspect a total of three times:  November 26, 2015, March 23, 2016 and June 17, 2016.  Their current cycle began at 16 degrees Sagittarius – a point Saturn returns to in March and November of this year.  It’s likely that whatever was happening in your life in 1989 will reach a significant turning point this year.  Look back at what you were experiencing last November and this March for additional clues about how this Saturn/Neptune energy is manifesting in your own life.

Together, Saturn and Neptune represent the necessary dissolution of old beliefs so that new dreams of a higher spiritual nature can be realized.  Fortunately, this connection creates an opportunity to replace false beliefs with a greater understanding of transcendental, universal beliefs and truths, like the fact that ALL human beings need and desire similar things like love, safety, health, respect and a purposeful, meaningful life.  Of course we also need a healthy planet if we are to survive and ultimately thrive.

On a more mundane level, since Neptune and Pisces rule the seas, perhaps we will choose to effectively address climate change and the acidification of our oceans which is destroying marine life and habitats such as the Great Coral Reef.  Since Neptune and Pisces also rule chemicals and drugs, we may also choose to change our energy policy away from oil embracing renewable, sustainable energy sources instead.  And perhaps we will wake up and realize we need to pursue development of next generation antibiotics to treat disease worldwide.

Saturn/Neptune also correlate to the philosophical underpinnings of national political ideologies like capitalism, socialism and communism – topics that have been the subject of political headlines over the past year both here in the US as well as abroad.  It’s time to get real about what’s true and what’s not true relative to these social and political organizing philosophies.

The Gemini New Moon reflects an extraordinary celestial pattern through the Mutable Grand Cross.  The enormous potential for important and necessary change is available to us now.  The $64,000 question is, “What will we choose to do with this energy personally and collectively?”

Evolution proceeds through the power of free will choices.  Choices reflect the quality of our consciousness.  Consciousness is underpinned by belief systems.  ALL the elements of the Mutable Grand Cross symbolize both an urgency and an once in a lifetime opportunity to expand our understanding of the truth.  And while some experiences of truth are quite personal – what’s true for you may or may not be true for me – truth also exists at a universal level – what’s true for everyone.

Reach as high as you can in the coming weeks and months for the greatest level of truth and understanding you can know.  Pay attention to ALL the info coming your way and use your intuition to sort out what’s true and what’s not true.  Listen effectively and keep an open mind.  Be willing to entertain new ideas and new information even though they may challenge, upset or threaten your existing reality.  It’s time to CHANGE our realities.  In order to do so however, we must be willing to CHANGE OUR MINDS!

The Cancer New Moon occurs on July 4^th at 7:01 am MST!

                            Copyright 2016.    Donna Lee Steele and Threshold Consulting.    All rights reserved.                           

 

Taurus New Moon: Manifestation Madness!

The Taurus New Moon happens on Friday, May 6th, at 12:29 pm MST/PDT at 16 degrees Taurus 41 minutes.  Here’s the chart:  TaurusNewMoon2016.

Taurus rules our essential needs for survival and teaches the lesson of self-reliance.  We all have unique gifts, skills, natural talents or abilities.  If we value ourselves, we’ll develop these gifts or personal resources and share them with the world.  As others value what we have to offer and compensate us accordingly, we’re able to garner the resources we need to take care of ourselves.  Self-reliance is personally empowering.  It builds confidence, assures a healthy relationship with ourselves and in turn enables us to manifest and attract all that we need and desire in healthy ways, not through co-dependency.

On a surface level, Taurus symbolizes resources.  This sign rules our money, assets and personal possessions.  On a deeper spiritual level however, Taurus represents our core values.  What we value will represent what gives meaning to our lives.  Valuing ourselves is of the utmost importance to our ability to manifest the resources we need to not only survive, but thrive.  What’s most important in life to you?  What gives your life meaning?

Venus rules Taurus and is therefore the ruler of this New Moon.  She’s strong now as she currently moves through her own sign of Taurus.  She joins the Sun and Moon in Taurus, as well as retrograde Mercury and the asteroid Vesta which symbolizes devotion.  Altogether, this New Moon chart has five celestial bodies in Taurus comprising a ‘stellium’ or a group of planets all in the same sign.  So Taurus energy is super abundant now!  Empowering this Taurus stellium even further is its connection to both retrograde Jupiter in Virgo and retrograde Pluto in Capricorn .  Together, they form a Grand Earth Trine.

Grand Trines are a closed pattern of three or more planets all trine (120 degrees apart) one another.  Geometrically, Grand Trines look like a triangle.  Trines are the most favorable angular relationship between two planets.  When trine one another, planetary energies are harmonious and flow easily.  The natural benevolence of trines can be easily utilized to achieve what we want.  However, trines can also make life so easy that their energetic influence is often squandered through laziness.  When things are going really well we can fail to continue in our efforts.

This Grand Trine is in the Earth signs:  Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn.  The Earth element is associated with physicality and real material things so this Grand Earth Trine provides LOTS of manifestation energy!  What do you need or want right now?  Chances are, if you make a sincere effort, you’ll be able to easily attract and manifest what your heart desires.

Since Taurus rules our values and valuables, this Grand Trine also supports investments in what we value most, including ourselves!  Virgo assists self-care and self-improvement efforts.  Those who take good care of themselves and who diligently seek to improve themselves are likely to experience good health, vitality and success through meaningful work in the world.  Capricorn supports those who take complete responsibility for ALL their choices, actions and experiences.  It brings recognition and rewards to those who are mature, accountable, self-determined and wield their personal authority wisely.  This Grand Earth Trine is truly a magical manifestation machine so make the effort to take advantage of this magnificent celestial influence and reap the rewards!

Unfortunately, there are also some BIG obstacles contained in this New Moon pattern.  The Sun and Moon are both inconjunct (150 degree angle) retrograde Saturn in Sagittarius, and Venus, the New Moon’s planetary ruler, is inconjunct retrograde Mars, which is also in Sagittarius until the 27^th when it re-enters Scorpio.

Inconjunct angles typically reflect crises.  Crises have a natural purpose relative to our evolutionary growth.  Crises alert us to the fact that something’s awry.  Something’s not aligned with reality and requires personal changes and adjustments for resolution.  MAJOR changes will be necessary in the coming weeks relative to both resource and relationship issues.  If the necessary adjustments are made, things are likely to go well.  If required changes are stubbornly resisted, a common trait associated with Taurus, expect ‘manifestation madness!’

Also expect these issues to be reflected in headlines like the current dire financial circumstances of Detroit Public Schools.  Now at a crisis point, fed up Detroit teachers protested with a ‘sick-out.’  They marched outside the district headquarters earlier this week.  Nearly all of Detroit’s public schools were closed and more than 45,000 students missed classes after about half the district’s teachers called in sick to protest the possibility that some of them will not get paid over the summer if the struggling district runs out of cash.  Since then, city officials have assured them that funds will be found to cover the cost of their salaries.

Perhaps another financial scandal currently brewing is related to political fundraising.  Ah, money and politics!  Hillary’s ‘Victory Fund’ is a joint fundraising committee comprised of Clinton’s presidential campaign, the Democratic National Committee and 32 state party committees. The setup allows Clinton to solicit checks of $350,000 or more from her super-rich supporters at extravagant fundraisers including a dinner at George Clooney’s house and a concert at Radio City Music Hall featuring Katy Perry and Elton John.   A recent investigation found that only a fraction of funds raised have actually been given to state parties for down-ballot democrats.  Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/clinton-fundraising-leaves-little-for-state-parties-222670#ixzz47iK8yoXe.

On the Republican side, Donald Trump has achieved presumptive nominee status after another big win in Indiana’s primary election.  Of course as presidential candidates get closer to winning their party’s nomination, they’re subjected to greater and greater scrutiny.  Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Tom Robbins just published an article in The Marshall Project, chronicling Trump’s decades-long history with individuals associated with organized crime.  https://www.themarshallproject.org/2016/04/27/trump-and-the-mob#.j6P1F2tYl.

While the Grand Earth Trine may well be a magical manifestation machine, the potential for crises for those whose choices (Pluto) are less than honest (Jupiter) or lack integrity are also YUGE!

Taurus is the quintessential sign associated with Mother Earth, our most precious and valuable resource.  Many of our current planetary crises including wars, disease outbreaks and climate change, are the result of decades of over-use, mis-use and outright abuse of natural resources and natural habitats.  We NEED a healthy planet to SURVIVE!  The Earth doesn’t need humanity; humanity needs, and belongs, to the Earth!

Further analysis of the Grand Earth Trine brings us to Jupiter.  Currently traveling through the sign of Virgo, which itself rules crises, health and the environment, Jupiter is reflecting some high-profile legal battles like the class action lawsuit filed by young people claiming that the U.S. government is denying them their constitutional right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness due to inadequate federal policies and actions to combat climate change.  U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Coffin in Eugene, Oregon, just rejected motions by the U.S. government and trade groups representing the energy companies to dismiss the lawsuit by 21 plaintiffs ages 8 to 19.  http://www.seattletimes.com/business/climate-change-lawsuit-by-21-youths-takes-big-step-forward/.

Fortunately, many other grassroots political and legal efforts in support of the environment are gaining in strength.  A recent example of great success in protecting the environment was achieved by indigenous women of the Amazon:  http://www.pachamama.org/news/over-500-indigenous-women-of-the-amazon-and-allies-march-for-climate-justice-indigenous-rights?utm_source=April%202016%20Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Ecuador

Jupiter also continues to be part of another significant and longer-term planetary configuration called a mutable T-Square.  This T-Square began last September and will continue until this August.  The T-Square is comprised of planets occupying three of the four mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces).  Jupiter in Virgo is opposite (180 degrees apart) Neptune in Pisces.  Both are also simultaneously square (90 degree angle) Saturn and Mars in Sagittarius.  Lines drawn to reflect the opposition and square angles between them form what looks like the capital letter “T” upside down in the chart.  Astrologers are calling this a ‘Spiritual T-Square’ since it is made up of planets and signs that are associated with the search for higher truth and the natural spiritual evolutionary path.

Altogether, this heavenly pattern reflects the need and opportunity for humanity to review all of our belief systems to discern what’s really true.  We’ll need to discover the lies and deceptions we’ve been taught to believe for thousands of years by man-made religions.  Ultimately, we’ll need to throw off these conditioning influences that are co-creating distorted realities.

On Monday, May 9th, Jupiter stations direct at 13 Virgo completing it’s annual four month retrograde period that began January 7th.  Jupiter is always searching for the truth which is why it also rules the natural laws of the universe, the laws that are self-evident in the natural world or what we call ‘Nature.’  Accordingly, this planet is associated with higher-minded paths of study like philosophy, theology and cosmology.  On a mundane level Jupiter and the sign of Sagittarius reflect man-made religions, laws and social justice systems.  On a personal level however, Jupiter rules our right-brain, the source of intuition.  Personal intuition leads each one of us to our personal truth.

As this planetary giant resumes forward motion in the heavens after a four month retrograde period of review relative to beliefs, greater insights and intuitive understandings are readily available.  Perhaps in addition to religious or spiritual beliefs, you’ve also been reflecting upon personal beliefs you have based upon lifelong conditioning from family, society or your own personal experiences?  What current events happening in your life have caused you to more deeply question your personal beliefs?

Also happening on May 9th, Mercury reaches the halfway point of its current retrograde period with a rare transit to the Sun at 19 degrees Taurus 25 minutes!

A ‘Mercury transit of the Sun’ takes place when the planet Mercury comes between the Sun and the Earth.  Astronomically, this phenomenon is similar to an eclipse.  But because Mercury’s size is so much smaller than our massive Sun, when it moves across the face of the Sun it will appear as a tiny speck or small black dot.  Transits of Mercury to the Sun always occur in either May or November and happen 13 to 14 times each century.  The last Mercury transit of the Sun occurred in Scorpio on November 8th, 2006.  The last time Mercury transited the Sun from Taurus happened on May 7th, 2003.  What were you experiencing then?  Perhaps similar events will repeat in your life now.

You should NEVER look directly at the Sun.  But this amazing celestial event is well worth watching!  View it safely in real time at http://www.space.com/.

Mercury’s transit of the Sun will tremendously energize mental capacity.  Expect inventions, discoveries, AHA moments, revelations and all manner of breakthroughs in thought and understanding.  Perhaps some truly significant information or knowledge will be revealed.  Retracing its steps through Taurus, Mercury has our attention focused on essential needs and core values, especially pertaining to resources and relationships.  Again, what do you really value?  What do you truly NEED, not only to survive, but to THRIVE?  Be mindful of all incoming messages especially on the 9th!  Remember to pay particular attention to intuitive information and divine guidance coming from spiritual sources.  Mercury will complete this current retrograde period on May 22nd at 14 degrees Taurus.  Then it will be full speed ahead again with the manifesting process!

May 22nd will also mark Mars reaching the halfway point in its current retrograde that began at 8 degrees Sagittarius 56 minutes on April 17th, and will continue until June 29th when it stations direct at 23 degrees Scorpio 3 minutes.  Mars rules our desires.  Moving through the signs of Sagittarius and Scorpio, Mars is also energizing the Spiritual T-Square further emphasizing the need to review and reflect upon beliefs.  As it returns to Scorpio, the focus will turn to deep emotional matters often associated with losses, abandonments and betrayals.  It’s time to ponder personal choices and personal power.  WHY have you made the choices you’ve made?  What desires motivated those choices?  Were they empowering or disempowering, constructive or destructive?

Scorpio is the sign opposite Taurus in the zodiac so these two signs for a natural ‘evolutionary pair.’  The lessons associated with Taurus and Scorpio, namely self-reliance and self-empowerment, are learned through discovering and developing personal values, learning to meet our own needs, and learning right use of power.  All human beings possess power.  That power is our ability to make free will choices.  Unfortunately, the primary model for relationships in most cultures today is one of co-dependence – expecting others to take care of us and to be the source of our fulfillment.  Most of us are conditioned to believe that we’ll be happy when we meet the right person. 

This distorted belief often produces power imbalances in relationships.  And when power imbalances reach an extreme, they actually begin to interfere with our evolutionary growth.  Then our Souls will naturally co-create circumstances that remove whatever we’re giving our power away to.  The result is loss, abandonment or betrayal that throws us back upon ourselves to learn an essential self-reliance and re-empowerment.  From a spiritual developmental point of view, Taurus and Scorpio teach us to correctly and wisely use our intrinsic power of free will choices to manifest that which we desire.

So I’m declaring May ‘Manifestation Madness’ month!  What do you need or desire?  Make the effort!  And be sure to make whatever necessary changes and adjustments crop up along the way.  Imagine, in full detail, using ALL your physical senses, with deep and profound gratitude, that you already have what you desire.  Empower yourself to manifest and manage your resources and relationships – including your relationship with the planet. 

 

The Gemini New Moon occurs on June 4^th at 7:59 pm MST!

                               Copyright 2016.   Donna Lee Steele and Threshold Consulting.   All rights reserved.         

 

 

 

 

 

 

Virgo New Moon Solar Eclipse: Healing Crises

The Virgo New Moon occurs on Saturday, September 12th at 11:41 pm PDT.  It happens at 20 Virgo 10 minutes and is a Partial Solar Eclipse visible in Southern Africa and Madagascar, the Northern half of Antarctica and the Southeastern Indian Ocean.  Here’s the chart:  VirgoNewMoonSolarEclipse2015.

Eclipses ‘reboot’ and progressively upgrade human consciousness. This Virgo eclipse will initiate a greater awareness of what needs to be healed, both personally and collectively.

Virgo is a complex archetype that facilitates a transition from the personal (reflected in the signs Aries through Leo) to the social or collective (reflected in the signs Libra through Pisces).

The ego-centric identity that’s reached full development and desires self-expression in Leo can become distorted through self-aggrandizement.  When this is the case, Leo is humbled and adjusted through Virgo, in preparation for entering into relationships with others as an equal, which is the evolutionary intention of Libra.

Virgo distortions include over-commitment, excessive self-criticism and judgment, workaholism, constant crises, the need to be perfect, the inability to say “NO” and the automatic and habitual reply of “I’m sorry”-  even when not at fault in any way.  These are all dead give-aways of an unhealthy Virgo.

In the end, both Leo’s distorted sense of superiority and Virgo’s distorted psychology of inferiority are compassionately released and healed. This New Moon Solar Eclipse pattern provides the energy to heal these unhealthy perceptions and habits.

Virgo creates crises in order to reveal what needs to be changed, adjusted and healed.  This sign’s capacity for intense self-analysis relentlessly focuses on all its flaws and imperfections.  Ultimately, Virgo becomes exhausted from putting out one fire after another and begins to realize that the common denominator in all the crises is ITSELF!  Once this occurs, Virgo turns its considerable analytical ability to the task of becoming aware of all the judgmental thoughts and beliefs that have been contributing to its very critical quality of consciousness – the very consciousness that’s been co-creating its troublesome reality.  Virgo comes to realize that all the outer crises were simply reflecting its own inner negativity.

Thus begins the process of healing, purification and self-improvement.  Ultimately, Virgo realizes that perfection itself is an illusion.  Ultimately Virgo accepts the fact that imperfections are inherent to being an evolving human.  Ultimately, the punishing self criticism and judgments simply dissolve…

Crises also always orchestrate a necessary realignment with reality when we’ve mistakenly bought into illusions, delusions, deceptions and fantasies that lead us astray.  While denial or avoidance of reality can be a very effective ‘personal distraction strategy’ they also guarantee that at some point, a crisis will be co-created to facilitate the necessary return to reality.

The Sun and Moon in Virgo are joined by Jupiter (personal beliefs and belief systems) in this New Moon Eclipse chart pattern.  All are opposite retrograde Neptune (delusions) and Chiron (wounds) in Pisces (victimization) and inconjunct Uranus (rebellion, revolution and revelation) in Aries (self).  Venus and Mars ‘pile on’ and do the same as they too enter Virgo before the next New Moon.  Wounding is the predictable result of delusional thoughts and false beliefs.  However, its crucial to realize that NOTHING can heal from a consciousness of victimization.  The first step in the process of healing is taking full responsibility for all your experiences.  After all, its your own consciousness that co-created them.  Embracing this truth is fundamental to any effective healing process.

The Virgo energy of this New Moon will continue to be emphasized for a whole year since Jupiter will occupy this sign until September 2016.  During much of Jupiter’s year-long transit in Virgo it will be in a ‘T-Square’ with Neptune in Pisces and Saturn in Sagittarius.  The T-Square is a planetary configuration comprised of three planets.  Two of the planets are opposite (180 degrees) one another and both are square (90 degrees) a third planet.  Connect the three and you get what looks like a capital “T”.

This T-Square is occupying mutable signs (Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces) reflecting the need for flexibility and adaptability to change.  Adaptability is necessary for ongoing and continuing evolution.  All three planets involved are associated with conscious and unconscious beliefs and belief systems (religions, philosophies, cosmologies, theologies).  With Neptune in Pisces symbolizing illusions, delusions and deceptions, Saturn in Sagittarius associated with the search for truth, and Jupiter in Virgo representing crises, this heavenly T-Square is reflecting the earthly reality that faulty beliefs are the root cause of many of our current crises.  Accordingly, resolution of these crises will require an evolution in our beliefs.  What’s really true?  What is actual, factual REALITY?

The sign Saturn is passing through always reflects where the whole of collective human consciousness is focused.  Saturn typically spends two and a half years in each sign.  Saturn initially entered Sagittarius last December then briefly returned to finish up in Scorpio over the summer. Since Sagittarius rules beliefs and belief systems, many events and experiences over the next two years will facilitate a review and reflection upon what we believe and more importantly, WHY we believe that way.  Think back to what was happening in your life late last year for clues about how you’re likely to experience Saturn’s passage through Sagittarius between now and December 2017.  Look beyond the specifics of what was happening to discern how the events were associated with, connected to or revealing some long-held personal belief(s).  Then ponder how those beliefs were perhaps conflicted or were being challenged or confronted.  Then you’ll know what work you have to do to expand and transform your personal beliefs in order to further evolve.

As personal and global crises increase over the coming year, it will become more and more crucial for us to pull our heads out of the sand and take off our rose-colored glasses!  It’s time to GET REAL!  Fortunately, the New Moon’s connection with Uranus in Aries provides the energy to break through and break free of faulty perceptions, opinions and beliefs – about our selves, each other and our planet.  Unfortunately, Uranus can also deliver further shocks to shake us up in order to wake us up if we continue to resist necessary changes.  The same revolutionary energy of Uranus can be utilized to shatter or radically change our reality!  The choice is yours.  How will you choose to manifest this powerful celestial change energy?

Mercury, Virgo’s ruling planet, provides further clues as to how this Virgo New Moon/Solar Eclipse pattern is likely to manifest and unfold in the coming months.  Currently traversing Libra (relationships), Mercury goes retrograde for the third and final time this year on September 17th.  Mercury squares (90 degree angle) Pluto in Capricorn three times before, during and after its retrograde period (September 9th and 24th, October 22nd) all at 13 degrees Libra/Capricorn.  Pluto is super powerful now as it is slowing down ahead of its station direct (resumption of apparent forward movement) on the 24th.   Pluto’s five month retrograde was about realizing what old realities are no longer working.  As it begins to move forward again, we’ll be ready to throw off many of those old realities, including perhaps, old beliefs and opinions.

Mercury square Pluto will also focus considerable attention on inequality in relationships due to extreme power imbalances.  Obviously, inequality creates wounds!  A timely example of an this imbalance is reflected in the extreme wealth disparity that exists today in the United States economy.  The balance of power in our country has dramatically shifted over the past four decades changing our democracy into an oligarchy as this political science study by Princeton and Northwestern University concludes:  http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2014/04/16/The-US-is-not-a-democracy-but-an-oligarchy-study-concludes/2761397680051/

While Mercury squares Pluto, intense and powerful messages and conversations will occur as individual and collective needs and values are shared and discussed.  A heartbreaking example of this is the image of the dead three year old Syrian refugee boy, Aylan Kurdi, washed up on a Turkish shore this past week.  Unless and until we change the thinking and beliefs that underpin our current laws and policies, this refugee CRISIS will continue to devastate already desperate families fleeing war-torn countries.

Mercury/Pluto will help throw off old ways of communicating (Mercury) especially with those in positions of power (Pluto in Capricorn).  More direct, truthful and factual exchanges of information will support necessary evolutionary changes.  Can we find the courage to speak the truth and the humility to really fully listen to others as they do the same?  What do you need to say to important others in your life?  What are the world’s citizens increasingly telling their political leaders?!

Libra, the sign that teaches equality, also teaches effective LISTENING.  Proper giving and receiving, a hallmark of healthy, balanced relationships, requires that we truly hear what others are saying they actually need.  Don’t we really all want the same things – to be loved, heard, seen, safe, respected and valued?

Our current crises (a word we’ll see and hear over and over and over again) will only be resolved through changes in our beliefs.  As a result, the way we treat one another will change.   Imagine how different our world would be if we all truly saw and treated each other as equals.

It’s worth noting that Jupiter and Sagittarius also represent interpretation.  This is really not surprising given that how we interpret reality comes directly out of what we believe.  What we believe conditions and influences how we see the world.  As Saturn returns to Sagittarius, Mercury goes retrograde square Pluto, and Jupiter opposes Neptune – ALL ON THE 17th – events and experiences that occur on or around this time will reveal exactly how and where our beliefs need to change.

Spiritual teacher Wayne Dyer, who just recently passed away, often said; “If we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change.”

Human consciousness is in for an upgrade.  Beliefs are changing.  The question is, “Can we change quickly enough to save ourselves, each other and our planet?”

To help Middle Eastern refugees visit:  http://www.unicef.org.uk/landing-pages/donate-syria/ and/or http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/save-syria-children.

 

 

Leo New Moon: Love is All We Need

The Leo New Moon happens Friday, August 14th at 7:53 am at 21 degrees Leo 30 minutes.  Here’s the New Moon chart:  LeoNewMoon2015.  The Lion perfectly symbolizes this regal sign as Leo has long been associated with royalty and those who rule, lead others, or are otherwise in charge.  As top predators, Lions are often called, “King of the Jungle.”  Throughout human history, Kings and Queens have ruled over human kingdoms.  Not surprising then is the natural tendency of Leo to have a ‘pyramid consciousness.’  Naturally seeing themselves as leaders, their perspective puts them at the top socially, and at the center of their universe with everyone and everything else revolving around them.

Leo is the only zodiac sign ruled by a star, our Sun, not a planet.  Accordingly, Leos feel special and shine when they are the center of attention receiving love, appreciation and recognition for their unique gifts, talents and abilities.

However, the evolutionary lesson of Leo is SELF-LOVE.  Instead of looking for love and attention from outer sources, Leo must learn to be the source of its own recognition and validating feedback.  Leo must learn to love itself first.  Leo must also learn the lesson of objectivity through realizing that it is a PART of the WHOLE of humanity, not a universe unto itself.  This occurs when Leo links its special gifts and purpose to a socially relevant need.  Unless and until Leo learns this, it will suffer mightily due to frustrations associated with an utter lack of recognition and appreciation by others.

The Sun and Moon are joined by Mars and retrograde Venus also in Leo now.  Mars energizes our desire to play, Play, PLAY!  Accordingly, August is traditionally the time of year for vacations!  So take some time off.  Get away from work, obligations and responsibilities and ‘recharge your batteries.’  Venus recently reached the half-way point of its bi-annual retrograde (July 25 to September 6, 2015).  This Venus retrograde period encourages a review of personal needs and core values.  Its also about reflecting upon past relationships and resources issues, especially those experienced as crises, upsets and/or traumas.

Also important during this Venus retrograde period is remembering the hermetic law of correspondences, or “As Above, So Below” and “As Without, So Within.”  Remember that the OUTER ALWAYS REFLECTS THE INNER as you contemplate past relationship and resource crises.  How you relate to and value your self is ultimately reflected back to you by and through your relationships with others, money and resources.  If you’re not satisfied with these areas of your life you need look no further than the quality of your relationship to yourself to make necessary self-improvements.

Ultimately, Venus teaches SELF-RELIANCE and SELF-EMPOWERMENT.  Through self-reliance we boost self-worth and self-confidence.  Through owning and wielding personal power wisely, we develop a stronger, healthier relationship with our self.  Ultimately, we’re better able to recognize, value and share our unique personal skills and natural abilities with others.  Leo’s lessons of self-love and objectivity are both supportive and timely to this Venus retro review process.  Now is the time to do necessary inner healing work.  Now is the time to learn to love our selves better.

Thankfully, this New Moon is also very favorably connected to retrograde Uranus in Aries.  The ‘juice’ to bust out and break free of old patterns is surprisingly abundant now.  Use it to try new things, to think outside the box and to liberate from outworn habits and beliefs that have kept you ‘stuck in neutral’ unable to make new and different choices in your life.  Take advantage of this r-evolutionary energy and do something different.  It may actually result in you discovering something new about yourself.  There’s plenty of courage available now too so JUST DO IT!

Of course, there’s nearly always some difficult aspect in each month’s New Moon pattern.  This month the ‘fly in the ointment’ comes from a square (90 degrees) between the Sun in Leo and Saturn in Scorpio on the 21^st.  The energy of this planetary connection is likely to manifest as ‘hitting the proverbial brick wall!’  Resistance or push back from some outer authority, rule, regulation or some other set of limiting circumstances may threaten your success or the completion of an important goal.  Don’t worry.  And don’t abandon your goals or dreams!  Just make whatever necessary adjustments or changes are required and then simply continue to move forward.

Another astrological influence with major long-term consequences just got underway and takes center stage in this New Moon chart.  Jupiter entered Virgo on August 11th where it will stay until September 9, 2016.  Jupiter rules many things including personal intuition, truth and lies, nature and natural laws, beliefs, cosmologies, philosophies, religions, man-made laws and their associated justice and legal systems, journalism, higher education and long distance travel.  Virgo also rules many things including reality and denial, crises, critical thinking and analysis, humility, self-improvement, pets, health, health care services and providers, the environment, the workforce and employment, sadism, masochism and the psychology of inferiority.  Over the coming year, we will ALL be challenged, and perhaps even forced, to honestly analyze our shortcomings relative to many of the issues just mentioned above and to come to terms with REALITY in order to resolve crises and improve the health and well-being of ourselves and our planet.

Further adding to the importance of Jupiter’s entry into Virgo and it’s critical analysis of past mistakes and errors in judgment will be its inclusion in a powerful celestial pattern known as a “T-Square.”  T-Squares are comprised of two planets that are 180 degrees apart or opposite one another, and are both also 90 degrees from or square a third planet.  If you draw lines connecting the three planets involved they form what looks like a capital “T” thus the name “T-Square.”  The three planets coming together in this astrological configuration are Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune.

Having recently entered Virgo, Jupiter is now opposite (180 degrees) Neptune in Pisces.  Beginning on September 17th, when Saturn, now finishing up in Scorpio, returns to Sagittarius, it will square (90 degrees) both Jupiter and Neptune.  Together these three planets will form a MUTABLE T-SQUARE for almost a year.  Mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces) require the development of GREATER ADAPTABILITY IN THE FACE OF NECESSARY EVOLUTIONARY CHANGES.

This mutable T-Square will challenge us all to review and reflect upon our beliefs, our personal truth, how well we trust our intuition, how we interpret reality and how we must adapt and change to improve or resolve ongoing crises.  It will also bring into sharp focus how we are relating to the environment and the natural world.  What’s true for you?  What’s true for everyone?  How are you interpreting reality based upon your personal beliefs?  Are you seeing people and circumstances as they truly are?  It’s time to get real as we increasingly face the consequences of an ever more corrupt, dysfunctional and polluted world.

Two very timely examples of these patterns of influence occurred just this past week as the T-Square is beginning to form and the New Moon in Leo connected with retrograde Chiron (wounds) in Pisces (water and chemicals) through an inconjunct angle (150 degrees) which typically manifests through crises for the purpose of bringing about necessary adjustments and changes.

The first crisis occurred here in the United States.  An interesting tidbit of astrological trivia reflected in this event is that the Sun and Leo are both associated with gold, the most precious of all metals.  I already mentioned that Leo also rules Kings and Queens.  Tragically, on August 6th, a toxic spill triggered by EPA inspectors released an estimated three million gallons of deadly mining waste water from the GOLD KING mine into the nearby Cement Creek.  Cement Creek flows into the Animus River, which flows into the San Juan River, which flows into Lake Powell, a major recreational site on the Arizona/Utah border.

Indeed this is an EPIC wound to crucial Southwest water supplies as the dam at Lake Powell releases water into the Colorado River, which flows through the Grand Canyon, supplying drinking water, irrigation for crops and recreational opportunities to every state in the Southwest including California, a state that supplies a majority of our nation’s fresh produce and is already reeling from one of the worst droughts in its history.  Additionally, the entire Navajo Nation is now asking for water donations as a result of having to shut off its entire water supply from the San Juan River.

The second crisis happened yesterday in the tenth largest port in the world located in Tianjin Province in China.  A petro-chemical storage warehouse suddenly exploded with a force that registered 2.9 on the Richter scale, took the lives of over fifty people and injured another 700.  Eighteen people are missing.  The chemical-laden air is so toxic that fire-fighters have left the scene allowing the fires to burn on their own.

Industrial chemical explosions are becoming commonplace including events occurring in mines, in storage warehouses and in oil and gas refineries.  And respected conservation groups now warn that nearly four out of every five waterways throughout the world are severely polluted threatening water supplies for billions of people.  The World Health Organization just this week asked the International Olympics Committee to test the waters surrounding Rio, site of this Summer’s Olympics, after an Associated Press investigation declared them potentially dangerous to athletes because of their high pollution levels from untreated sewage.  Some athletes who have been training in Rio have already experienced bouts of fever, vomiting and diarrhea.  Add in more frequent extreme weather events like historic droughts and wildfires due to climate change as well as increasing outbreaks of disease and the mounting evidence is overwhelmingly clear that our planet is in peril.

Just this week, I heard a well-known spiritual teacher say that humans are increasingly suffering from “NATURE DEFICIT DISORDER!”  Shamans the world over say that our sense of feeling separate from each other, from the divine Source that created us, and from the whole of Creation known as the Natural World or nature, is the source of all suffering.  Quantum science has proven that everything is connected.  Universally, spiritual leaders have always taught this same truth.  WE ARE NOT SEPARATE.  Believing otherwise may well be the greatest source of humanity’s current faulty interpretation of reality.

As the T-Square unfolds, we will be forced to face the truth about the damage being wreaked on the environment from our current business climate, political frameworks, economic realities and religious ideologies worldwide.  I just learned yesterday that twenty-one American students have filed a lawsuit against President Obama and several governmental agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency citing irreparable harm resulting from inadequate responses to climate change.  They allege that their unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness guaranteed by our constitution are threatened!

Prophecies regarding this time in human history are unanimous in their warnings that our very survival will depend upon us changing our destructive habits and lifestyles.  Its time to face facts, get real and deeply reflect upon our beliefs particularly relative to our relationship to each other and to the planet.

Wisdom traditions the world over teach that there are really only two choices:  FEAR and LOVE.  Clearly, our planet is in need of greater love, appreciation and recognition of the value of its natural resources that sustain life!

Leo rules the heart so its energy is all about LOVE!  And like most everything, learning to love begins with the Self.  We cannot truly love another if we cannot love ourselves.  Change always begins within and then is ultimately reflected back from outside.  Perhaps love is the change we need now most of all.  Indeed, all we need is love…

The Virgo New Moon is a Solar Eclipse on September 13th!

 Copyright 2015.   Donna Lee Steele and Threshold Consulting.   All rights reserved.

Sagittarius New Moon: Expanding Understanding

The Sagittarius New Moon occurs on Saturday, November 22nd at 5:32 am MST at 0 degrees Sagittarius 7 minutes.  Here’s the chart:  SagittariusNewMoon2014.  Sagittarius’ glyph is the centaur which symbolizes the fusion of man with nature.  Sagittarius is the truth seeker who travels far and wide continuously expanding his understanding of the Universe and his place within it.  His arrows are aimed at the heavens where he knows truth resides.

An optimistic sign by nature, Sag nevertheless feels alienated much of the time.  Moving from place to place, studying various philosophies and cosmologies, it is a ‘citizen of the world’ never really feeling completely at home in any one culture or country.  In its search for the truth it also inevitably uncovers the distortions and limitations of man-made belief systems that teach their version of the truth is the one and only true way to enlightenment.  Ultimately Sagittarius learns that truth is relative and each of us must find our own way to it.  Along the way, Sagittarius discovers that truth is vast indeed and that all paths can lead us back to the divine Source that created us.  All paths lead to the top of the mountain…

The principle of expansion is governed by this restless adventurous sign and its ruling planet Jupiter.  Sagittarius natives naturally pursue higher studies and distant lands and people.  Although Sag is naturally drawn to foreign countries and cultures, its most important journeys lead it inward to the core of its very own Soul.

Sag is also associated with natural laws and natural spiritual principles that underpin all of manifest creation.  The truth its looking for is ever present in the natural world or nature.  This is why so many Sagittarian natives prefer life in the country rather than urban settings.  They feel most at home in nature and nearly always have a greater affinity for plants and animals than others.  In fact, many a Sag has chosen a career that involves work outdoors in support of wilderness or ecological preservation, conservation or restoration.

Sagittarius is associated with the right brain which is the source of intuitive thoughts.  Indeed the primary evolutionary purpose of individual intuition is to lead us to our own personal understanding of truth.  Sagittarius is conceptual and abstract.  This enables it to see the whole picture not just the parts.  Perhaps intuition is best described as simply knowing what we know without knowing how we know it!  Those with a strong Jupiter in their charts or great emphasis in the sign of Sagittarius are centered in their right brain.  In a culture such as ours which is so biased towards left brain logical, linear, deductive thought processes, right brain people often feel like they just don’t fit in.  Centered in their right brains, these folks just see the world differently – holistically – not logically.  Again, the result is that Sag typically feels alienated from mainstream society and consensus reality.

Jupiter rules this Sagittarius New Moon and is currently slowing down to a standstill before it stations retrograde in Leo for four months beginning December 8th.  Stationary planets are powerful.  Intuitive faculties will increase in strength over the coming weeks so listen, Listen, LISTEN to your intuition for clues about what’s next for you on your own personal evolutionary journey.  Take time to be quiet, go inside, and receive guidance about what’s coming, what’s next and what’s important for you to know or do or focus upon in order to move forward in alignment with your Soul’s deepest desires.

The left brain and its logical thought processes are ruled by Mercury.  Mercury and Jupiter are square one another now leading us to question everything and doubt our intuitive insights!  What’s true?  What’s not?  You may wonder if certain thoughts are your intuition or your imagination.  The way to recognize the difference between the two comes from knowing that intuitive thoughts always occur INSTANTANEOUSLY in any given situation. Rational, logical, deductive thought processes always follow intuitive thoughts.  So pay attention to your very first ‘hit’ when something occurs to recognize intuitive guidance.

Old thoughts, ideas, perspectives, opinions and beliefs may be dissolving creating mental crises.  It may feel like a struggle to discern truth from lies, fact from fiction, and fantasy from reality.   Again, trust your intuition to help you navigate all the confusing, contradictory and competing information that will no doubt come your way this month.  Trusting, honoring, respecting and acting upon intuitive thoughts EXPAND intuition.  That would be a very good use of this month’s Sag energy!

The Sun in Sagittarius will square Neptune in Pisces on the 26th adding to the potential for confusion.  Old realities are dissolving now and new understandings may not yet be completely clear.  While the Sun and Neptune can inspire us to reach for higher altruistic goals, humanitarian efforts and spiritual pursuits, it can also utterly disappoint or delude us if we avoid or deny reality. See people and circumstances realistically, not as you wish them to be.  And be very mindful of the temptation to hold onto an identity or consciousness of victimization which frankly has become the norm in our culture.  That quality of consciousness will only serve to maintain delusions and distortions of the truth, undermining spiritual growth and maturity.

Saturn is finishing up its transit of Scorpio (October 5, 2012 to September 17, 2015) and is coming into a culminating aspect with Pluto in Capricorn.  Together, these two planets are helping us to throw off old realities that no longer work.  Saturn and Pluto require greater self-responsibility and personal accountability from all of us. They also demand that we learn to use our power appropriately.  Misuses of power and authority are being increasingly exposed now.  Even so, many in power continue to hold onto old conventional social/political structures (such as governments) digging in with all their might to maintain the status quo, a game they’ve been ‘winning’ for a very long time.

Are you taking greater responsibility for the reality you’re co-creating both individually and as a member of the human collective?  Are you owning your personal power or do you feel powerless?  Remember the ultimate human power is the power of free will choice.  Free will choices are the driver of the evolutionary process itself.  How are you using your personal power?  What choices are you making?

Our collective evolution now requires that we throw off these old patriarchal realities of hierarchy, dominance, fear, exclusion, self-interest and a belief in scarcity of resources.  To evolve, we must return to a matriarchal way of life.  Matriarchy is a collective consciousness reality paradigm rooted in natural laws and principles.  Its a way of living in harmony with nature that’s based upon giving, sharing, love and inclusion that considers the needs of everyone, from a point of view of abundance, interconnectedness and the belief in the sacredness of all forms of life.

Mars in Capricorn is also in a culminating aspect with Neptune in Pisces.  This planetary combination restates the need to reach higher, envisioning and co-creating that which will benefit everyone. Those operating solely out of self-interest will find themselves increasingly alienated and socially isolated in the coming months and years.

Perhaps the most important planetary event in the coming month will be the sixth of seven total square aspects between Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn on December 14th.  These two planets have been within orb of a square aspect (90 degree angle) for nearly five years now.  And while the planets do not make things happen, they do indeed reflect reality here on planet Earth.

Together, Uranus and Pluto have reflected the enormous changes that have occurred all across our planet over the past several years including the Arab Spring, the economic collapse in the United States that triggered global recessions, the Occupy Movements worldwide, revelations of widespread illegal governmental spying and scientific discoveries like the ‘God’ particle and the realization that consciousness creates reality.  Lots of change has already happened AND A LOT MORE STILL NEEDS TO HAPPEN!

Its crucially important to understand that evolutionary growth is a natural, spiritual imperative.  As stated earlier, evolution is facilitated by free will choices.  And one of the free will choices we can make is the choice to resist our evolution!  But we cannot resist forever.  In fact, too much resistance for too long ultimately results in the intended evolutionary change(s) occurring in cataclysmic ways in order to enforce the necessary change required.

Often these cataclysmic changes are completely unexpected and sometimes traumatic.  Cooperating with our evolutionary growth intentions, personally and collectively, ensures a smoother, more uniform experience of growth.  Clearly, cooperation is easier than resistance.  Unfortunately, when I look at our world, I see far more resistance than cooperation which leads me to believe there will likely be more shocking, unexpected and cataclysmic changes on the horizon for humanity.  Its comforting however to realize that the collective is made up of individuals.  Each of us can indeed contribute to the evolution of humanity as a whole as we commit to our personal evolution and make the necessary changes our Souls intend for us in our individual lives.

Previously, the first five exact squares between Uranus and Pluto happened on June 24th and September 18th, 2012, May 20th and November 1st, 2013, and April 21st, 2014.  The next exact square (6th of 7 total) occurs on December 14th and the final square between them will happen next Spring on March 16th, 2015.   Think back to what has happened in your life over the past two and a half years especially on or around these particular dates.  There you will find clues about what changes your Soul intends for you to make in your own life for your personal evolution to continue to unfold.

Humanity is indeed waking up to greater truths, greater realities and to a greater awareness of our sacred responsibilities to ourselves, to each other and to this beautiful planet that is our home.  We are re-awakening to the fact that we all do better when WE ALL DO BETTER – TOGETHER!

We are re-learning how to meet our own needs as individuals and in our communities.  As we become more personally empowered and self-reliant we’ll be able to solve more and more of the problems that undermine our personal and collective health and well-being.  How are you contributing your unique skills, gifts and talents to benefit the whole?

We are indeed living in extraordinary times!  Each and every one of us alive on this planet today embodies a Soul that chose to be here now.  Prophecies of many ancient cultures the world over have foretold these times as being associated with the potential for a quantum leap forward in the evolution of mankind.  Indigenous Elders have spoken of this evolutionary leap resulting from a huge shift in human consciousness.  Expansion indeed!

So as 2014 comes to a close, be grateful for all you’ve experienced and learned this year.  Take time to receive inner spiritual intuitive guidance.  Resolve to spend more time in nature!  Gather together with friends and loved ones and celebrate your accomplishments.  Enjoy the holidays and get ready for an even more exciting 2015!

This article is written a summary of my live hour-long audio presentation/analysis that explains the energies and influences of the New Moon chart in-depth.  The audio recording is available in CD or mp3 file formats for $15.  Contact me if you wish to purchase the audio recording.

The Capricorn New Moon is on December 21st at 5:36 pm MST!

Copyright 2014 Donna Lee Steele All rights reserved.

Sagittarius New Moon

The Sagittarius New Moon occurs on Monday, December 2nd at 5:22 pm MST at 10 degrees Sagittarius 59 minutes.  Here’s the chart:  SagittariusNewMoon2013.  Sagittarius is the sign of the Seeker who wants to understand him or her self and the entire cosmos in philosophical, religious, spiritual or metaphysical terms.  Typically, this sign studies and travels extensively (both inwardly and outwardly) in an effort to expand its conscious awareness and understanding of universal truths.

Sagittarius is the Centaur, half man and half horse.  This glyph symbolizes mankind’s ancient history of conscious alignment with the natural world.  In pre-patriarchal times, humans lived in harmony with natural laws.  Sagittarius is also an Archer who’s arrows shoot towards the heavens where cosmic truth and wisdom reside.

Jupiter rules Sagittarius and is currently retrograde in the emotionally vulnerable sign of Cancer.  This symbolism reflects a desire to seek expanded understanding of security needs.  But Jupiter is also currently connecting with the square between Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn – the revolutionary aspect associated with the profound social, political and economic changes occurring all across the planet.  Expect emotional insecurities to bubble up to the surface.

Venus in Capricorn focuses attention on love and money for the next three months.  Retrograde from December 21 until January 31, Venus will initiate a necessary review of resources and relationships.  Of course this timing will coincide with current congressional budget negotiations and the next debt ceiling limit deadline!

Sagittarius also rules the right brain and intuition.  Its counterpart (opposite sign) Gemini rules the left brain and logic and feels secure when it can name, label and classify, and thus know, the physical world.  Sagittarius intuitively senses that there’s more to reality than the physical world that we come to know through our five physical senses.  Sag seeks to go beyond the physical world to the metaphysical world and the natural laws responsible for the physical manifest creation.  Sagittarius rules our sixth sense, intuition.  With Jupiter now retrograde in Cancer, its time to follow your own intuitive guidance. Journey inward to seek answers.  This will bring a sense of peace, greater balance and emotional security.  It will expand your understanding of your personal security needs.  What do you need to feel safe, secure, protected and at peace?

The Sun and Moon trine retrograde Uranus in Aries offer encouragement to make necessary changes.  This favorable aspect also confers an instinctive creativity that supports innovative solutions and ideas.  Uranus stations direct on December 17 bringing breakthroughs in awareness and revelatory insights.  Get ready for classic ‘AHA’ moments!

Jupiter’s trine to Saturn in Scorpio and Chiron in Pisces (Grand Water Trine) provides the maturity and inspiration for a deep understanding of wounds that still need to be healed.  Doing this inner emotional work will be transformative and empowering.  Jupiter trine Saturn can bring rewards for all the work you’ve put into something that began in your life in the Spring and early Summer of 2000.   Inwardly and outwardly, this month promises great leaps forward for those who’ve made the effort to evolve beyond old outworn habits and beliefs.

So dive in deep.  Be still.  Question everything.  Seek your own personal truth.  Open up to new ideas.  Willingly embrace change.  Trust your gut.  Listen to your intuition for it will surely point you in the right direction.  And remember — we are living in extraordinary times!  Make the most of this month’s natural urge to seek greater awareness and understanding and higher levels of truth.   As the Sage often counsels, “Look within to find the way out.”

This article is a brief summary of my live presentation/analysis of the New Moon chart in an approximate hour-long audio recording that includes dates/descriptions of significant upcoming astrological aspects for the month. The audio recording is available on CD or mp3 file formats for $15.  Contact me if you wish to purchase the audio recording.

 The Capricorn New Moon is on Wednesday, January 1^st at 4:14 am MST.

 Copyright 2013.   Donna Lee Steele and Threshold Consulting.   All rights reserved.

Occupy Wall Street and the Astrology of 2012

On September 17^th just as Venus (money) in Libra (fairness) was about to square Pluto (power) in Capricorn (governments and social structures) a few dozen people came to Zucchotti Park (Liberty Plaza) adjacent to Wall Street in the financial district of downtown Manhattan and set up camp.  They came to non-violently protest corporate greed, political corruption and extreme income disparity in America.  For the first few days no one seemed to notice the encampment but by day five the media had begun to pay attention to this disparate group calling themselves ‘Occupy Wall Street.’

Since then this small protest gathering has gained considerable momentum and is now being called a political ‘movement.’  This movement has continued to grow and has spread to cities and towns all across the United States including the Alaskan tundra!  It has also spread around the world from Tahrir square where Egyptian protestors declared they ‘stand in solidarity with OWS’ to Italy, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, Japan, Australia, South Africa, Canada and elsewhere in hundreds of international cities on five continents across the globe.

So what’s going on?  At its core, I believe this movement is a harbinger of revolutionary global social, financial and political change and is a direct manifestation of the Astrology of 2012. 

Have you noticed the growing number of references recently to the 1960’s?  People have been saying that what’s going on now with OWS reminds them of the anti-war protests and sit-ins that happened during the ‘60’s.  These people are rightly comparing these two-time periods because they do indeed have a powerful common connection and it’s astrological.  That common connection is Uranus and Pluto.

During 1965-66 Uranus and Pluto came together three times in the sign of Virgo at 16 and 17 degrees.  Astrologers call this ‘coming together’ between two planets a conjunction.   Conjunctions always begin a new planetary cycle between two planets.  Most people are familiar with a very common planetary cycle — the cycle between the Sun and Moon.  Every 28 days the Sun and Moon begin a new cycle we call the New Moon. 

Though each Sun/Moon cycle lasts for 28 days, we primarily recognize and pay attention to only four days during their cycle:  the New Moon (conjunction), the 1^st quarter Moon (waxing 90 degree square), the Full Moon (180 degree opposition) and the 3^rd quarter square (waning 90 degree square). 

Astrologically, the most important times associated with ANY planetary cycle occur during these same four distinct events:  conjunction, 1^st quarter square, opposition, and 3^rd quarter square.  Since the total length of any planetary cycle depends upon the relative speeds at which the two planets involved orbit around the Sun, different planetary cycles take different amounts of time to completely unfold.  For example, while the Sun/Moon cycle takes only 28 days, Jupiter/Mars cycles take a little over 2 years, and Saturn/Uranus cycles take 45-46 years.  The cycle between Uranus and Pluto takes 127 years!  What began as a new cycle between Uranus and Pluto in 1965 is now approaching its next important point of cyclic unfolding – its 1^st quarter square.

So what does this all mean?!

The place to begin our understanding of this important astrological event is with a brief explanation of the archetypes associated with the planets and signs involved at the start of this cycle.  This is because the starting point of every planetary cycle foretells what will ultimately unfold in that cycle.  Thus we’ll begin with an archetypal description of the planets Uranus and Pluto, and of the sign Virgo. 

Uranus represents the principle of revolution and liberation.  It frees us from the limitations of old ways that are preventing further evolutionary growth and change.  Pluto represents the life, death, rebirth process.  It facilitates evolution at the deepest and most profound levels.  Virgo represents work, health (including environmental health) and service.  Its energy typically manifests through crises that require thorough analysis of problems so that necessary adjustments can be made that will bring about healing or resolution of those crises. 

Anyone who lived through the ‘60’s in America can certainly attest to it being a time of crisis and great revolutionary social change.  The fight for minority rights resulted in landmark Civil Rights legislation President Johnson signed into law in July 1964.  The Women’s Liberation movement gained attention and prominence as it further evolved.  Tragically, it was also a time marked by many deaths as assassinations took the lives of President Kennedy (November 1963), his brother Bobby and Martin Luther King (April and June 1968).  The Vietnam War claimed more than 50,000 lives and still more loss of life occurred when four unarmed student protestors were shot by the Ohio National Guard at Kent State University in May 1970.  Revolution was the zeitgeist of the time as protests broke out all over the country demanding social justice and political change. 

Fast forward to the present and consider the tenets of Occupy Wall Street.  The movement is calling attention to extreme income disparity and wealth inequality, high unemployment, lack of affordable health care for all, erosion of individual rights such as privacy rights, voting rights and worker’s collective bargaining rights, degradation of the environment, unending wars and a system of government so corrupt that it is unable to solve the crises at hand and has lost credibility with its citizens.  In short, OWS protests decry corporate and government policies that pursue profits at the cost of people and the environment.

Indeed revolution is once again in the air and in the streets!  So what will Occupy Wall Street accomplish?  Let’s take a look at the chart (12:00 pm, September 17, 2011, Manhattan, New York) to see.

With Scorpio on the Ascendant, Pluto is the ruler of this chart.  As stated earlier, Pluto is associated directly with evolutionary growth.  Evolution is facilitated by choice-making.  Specifically, it is facilitated by free will choices.  The $64,000 question is, “What choices will the Occupy movement make?”  Equally important of course is what choices are made in response to the protestors by those in positions of power.

Pluto is in Capricorn in the second house.  The second house is about resources, particularly those resources necessary for survival.  OWS argues that the inequitable distribution of resources is at the very heart of our financial crisis.  Pluto in this second house reflects the need for evolutionary change relative to wealth distribution and the economy. 

In turn, Saturn rules Capricorn and is in Libra in the 11^th house.  Libra represents extremes.  This is why Libra is associated with the need to learn balance, fairness and equality.  So it appears that OWS is on to something as it points out the extreme inequality of wealth distribution and income disparity between the rich and poor. 

Some background info about Capricorn is in order before we go any further into this chart analysis.  Capricorn represents the principle of contraction.  Transiting Pluto entered Capricorn in January 2008.  While the global economy grew during Pluto’s prior 1994-2008 passage through Sagittarius, the sign representing the principle of expansion, it began to contract just as Pluto entered Capricorn.  Pluto’s change of sign from Sagittarius to Capricorn is reflected in the economic downturn that has diminished the personal resources of so many over the past three years through job losses, decreases in 401(k)s and retirement accounts and housing foreclosures. 

This same contracting influence has also led to growing government debt as tax revenues have significantly decreased and benefit costs have simultaneously increased due to high unemployment.   It should be no surprise then that the subject of increasing political debate worldwide over the past three years has been debt and deficits.  Clearly, we’ve reached a point in time where we must make decisions (choices) about how to resolve the financial crises that threaten the global economy.

Okay, back to the chart analysis… 

Pluto is trine (120 degrees apart) retrograde Jupiter (rules Sagittarius and therefore expansion) in Taurus in the 6^th house (the workforce).  This symbolizes how massive the financial crisis is among the working class.  The 6^th house is naturally associated with Virgo so Jupiter’s position here confirms that the problem of how resources are shared has indeed reached a point of crisis.   

Pluto in Capricorn is just about to be exactly squared by Venus in Libra in the OWS chart.  Venus rules money and resources.  Libra symbolizes the need to learn how to be in relationships as an equal – not dominating or being dominated by others.  This core astrological signature represents Occupy Wall Street’s focus on the gross inequality and unfairness associated with extreme income disparity; the rich dominating the poor.   

Venus sits near the top of the chart and is therefore in a stronger position than Pluto.  Venus has also just opposed (180 degrees apart) Uranus, the planet of revolution which is also forming a square aspect (90 degrees apart) to Pluto.  Working class people are fed up and are beginning to take their power back. 

OWS is demanding change to the status quo (Pluto in Capricorn).   Venus seems to be saying that the changes (choices) needed to heal the economic crises will be championed by the power of the people (Venus in Libra), not the people in power (Pluto in Capricorn).  Ordinary people will lead the way towards change.

The most dynamic feature of this chart is the 10^th house Mercury squaring the Nodes of the Moon.  At 14 degrees Virgo (crises) Mercury is only two degrees away from the degree at which this current Uranus/Pluto planetary cycle began in 1965 (16 degrees Virgo).  Mercury rules information and communication and the 10^th house rules leadership.  A simple interpretation of this astrological signature is ‘speaking truth to power.’  And that truth is that the majority of people are in crisis! 

Mercury in Virgo also indicates a need for clear analysis of the facts of the crisis.  It signifies the need for changes that can ultimately resolve the crises.   Pressed for ‘demands’ OWS has consistently said it is dedicated instead to initiating a necessary and truthful conversation (Mercury) about the needs of the people and how to best meet everyone’s needs, not just the needs of the rich.    

In Evolutionary Astrology, a planet square the Nodes is called a ‘skipped step’ and carries a karmic quality.  Skipped step planets are always a primary focal point in any chart and reflect a lesson that’s been underway for some time but not yet completely learned because of the desire to ‘skip ahead’ before that lesson is fully mastered. 

The Nodes are in the signs of Sagittarius and Gemini.  These are the signs associated with truth and honesty as well as lies and distortions of truth.  The Nodes fall in the 1^st and 7^th houses of the chart which are the houses naturally associated with the signs Aries and Libra.   Aries (1^st house) and Libra (7^th house) make up the ‘relationship axis’ and represent the goal of equality that enables everyone to get their needs met.

The message of this skipped step is that the resolution of our current crises requires that people speak up and speak the truth.  It also reflects the need to listen (7^th house/Libra) to the voices and opinions (Gemini) of everyone involved – not just the powerful and the privileged.    

The ‘voices of the people’ are reflected through a tremendous diversity (Gemini) among the OWS movement participants.  Occupy protestors represent all ages, races, ethnicities, political parties and work backgrounds.  It is sadly symbolic that Scott Olsen, a two-term Iraq veteran, suffered a fractured skull and brain damage when hit in the head by a police fired tear gas canister as they routed Occupy Oakland on October 25^th.  As a result he sustained a loss of speech capacity – he lost his voice.  Since then, he’s experienced a dramatic recovery and is once again participating in OWS rallies and marches.  So far, the more those in power – the police and politicians – try to silence the voices (Mercury) of the common people (Gemini), the more they unwittingly energize the OWS movement.

The resolution of this skipped step (Mercury square the Nodes) is symbolized by the North Node in Sagittarius in the 1^st house.  But the way forward toward that resolution is through the South Node in Gemini in the 7^th house — listening to and treating as equal — the voices of ALL the people.  This will bring out the truth which then must be faced head on.  Interestingly, the Occupy movement has organized itself into ‘General Assemblies’ and is using an arduous but ultimately democratic consensus decision-making process to discuss and determine what actions to pursue on behalf of their members and mission. 

Perhaps the most intriguing thing to understand about the OWS chart however is its birth time.  To explain the importance of this timing we must go back to the current Uranus/Pluto cycle that began in 1965. 

Historically, Uranus/Pluto cycles have always corresponded with progressive and irreversible global social revolutions.   As mentioned earlier, this planetary cycle is nearing its 1^st quarter square.  The Uranus/Pluto 1^st quarter square is at the very heart of the Astrology of 2012 and is the core astrological reason why the year 2012 is expected to bring about unprecedented global change!  Tremendous forces of evolutionary and revolutionary change are already manifesting and there’s no doubt that more will come – LOTS more! 

Specifically, the energy inherent in any cycle’s 1^st quarter square is characterized by the need to choose what forms to build or what type of structures must be developed in order to ultimately enable the fulfillment of the seed intention of that cycle.  1^st quarter squares represent foundational structures and forms.  Therefore, the revolutionary changes associated with Uranus/Pluto’s 1^st quarter square will challenge us to create new forms of social, governmental, political and financial structures and institutions.  OWS members say they are committed to creating a new, different and more equitable social paradigm.  Indeed they are!

The influence of this 1^st quarter square has been unfolding for a few years now beginning with Pluto’s entrance into Capricorn in 2008.  But it really began to intensify last summer when Uranus moved into Aries.  And it accelerated even more when Solar and Lunar eclipses also began to occur in the signs of Cancer and Capricorn in June, July and December of 2010 and in January 2011.  Consider the following examples of major global events that have taken place since January 2011: 

On January 8^th U. S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords was shot by Jared Lee Loughner in an assassination attempt that took the lives of six and injured nineteen other people in Tucson, Arizona.  On January 14^th Tunisia’s President Ben Ali stepped down as uprisings all across northern Africa called the ‘Arab Spring’ had begun.  Protests spread to Egypt by January 25^th and soon thereafter to Libya.  On March 11^th a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Japan and was followed by a devastating tsunami.  On August 5^th the first-ever U.S. credit rating downgrade happened after Congress nearly failed to reach a deal to raise our debt ceiling.  The Gadhafi government was finally brought to an end with the dictator’s death on October 20^th and on November 12^th Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi stepped down marking the greatest political change in that country in over 20 years. That’s a LOT of global social, financial and political change in a relatively short period of time and it’s only a partial list of events!

It’s worth noting that while the overall influence of this 1^st quarter Uranus/Pluto square is already underway, this square aspect will not technically be exact for the first time until June 24, 2012!  Thereafter, Uranus and Pluto will exactly square one another a total of SEVEN TIMES between June 2012 and March 2015! 

Remember, the beginning of this cycle, when the exact conjunction of Uranus and Pluto occurred three times, was between October 1965 and June 1966.  But looking back, we know that its overall influence was felt for years before 1965 and years after 1966.  In total, the influence of the beginning of this current Uranus/Pluto cycle lasted for nearly the entire decade of the ‘60’s.  Similarly, the current Uranus/Pluto 1^st quarter square’s influence will be felt for more than the three years of its exactitude (2012-2015). Astrologers expect the total time of influence and manifestation of this Uranus/Pluto 1^st quarter square to last from about 2008 to about 2017.  Of course, this timeframe includes the year 2012!

In astrology, timing is everything.  And the timing of the birth of Occupy Wall Street has taken place within just a few months of the first exact 1^st quarter square between Uranus and Pluto which is the cornerstone of the Astrology of 2012.  So the birth of the OWS movement correlates with the timing of the Uranus/Pluto 1^st quarter square which itself correlates directly with the Astrology of 2012.  As stated earlier, we know that global revolutionary social change always occurs with a Uranus/Pluto cycle.  Protest movements come and go, but in my opinion, the timing of OWS clearly sets it apart from other uprisings in quite a remarkable way.  The birth time of OWS both reveals and portends that it is on to something and that something is BIG!

So what can we expect from OWS in the future?  Occupy Wall Street’s goal of speaking up and speaking the truth has the potential to keep growing for at least another couple of years or more.  In addition to the upcoming seven Uranus/Pluto squares that will occur between June 2012 and March 2015, this timing is also reflected in the aforementioned square forming between Venus and Pluto in the OWS chart.  A common astrological method used to ‘progress’ charts forward in time reveals that the Venus/Pluto square won’t actually be exact (90 degrees apart) until February 3, 2013.  Until then, its influence will surely continue to grow and accordingly, so will the influence of OWS.  By similar progression, the square of Mercury to the Nodes will not exactly culminate until June of 2013. 

So it looks like OWS may indeed have significant staying power.  Their intention to carry on even as many of their encampments have been destroyed is evident in their latest slogan, “You cannot evict an idea whose time has come!”

Some say OWS has already been successful.  The movement has not only gone global, but has also changed the prevailing political discourse (Mercury) from ‘out of control deficit spending and big government’ to the ‘extreme income disparity’ at the root of the financial crisis.  Some also credit pressure from the OWS movement with Bank of America’s decision to rescind its ill-conceived debit card user fee enacted last summer.  The change OWS seeks to bring about is already happening.  However, upcoming transits throughout 2012-2015 will surely test and challenge OWS’ resolve.   

If OWS is to continue to succeed it must maintain its core values of truth and honesty.  It must also continue to be as inclusive as possible welcoming the voices and opinions of ALL who wish to participate.  A peaceful (Libra) approach to restoring equality and justice will be required in order to prevail so OWS must also remain true to its principles of non-violent protest.  Finally, it must focus steadfastly on creating a radically new and different social, cultural, financial and political paradigm.  This new paradigm must be consciously designed to meet the needs of EVERYONE.  

Fortunately, the time is right for this kind of revolutionary paradigm shift as we enter 2012 and the approaching 1^st quarter square between Uranus and Pluto!    

Viva la revolution!

Mars Retrograde in Virgo

Every couple of years Mars turns retrograde for approximately two and a half months.  The last time Mars went retrograde was from December 20, 2009 to March 10, 2010 in the sign of Leo.  This time the retrograde will occur in Virgo from January 23^rd to April 13^th.

There are many interpretations of this astrological signature.  Keeping it simple however, requires only that we look to the archetypes of Mars and Virgo to further understand the energy and influence of this celestial event.

Virgo is the sign associated with work, health and service.  This sign typically operates through crises that lead to intense self-analysis in order to understand what needs to be changed or adjusted to resolve the perpetual or cyclic nature of the crises.  Once the necessary adjustments have been made, self-improvement occurs.

Unfortunately, Virgo tends to focus disproportionately on what’s wrong instead of what’s right.  This negativity often devolves into judgment and criticism and the need to ‘atone’ for past mistakes.  A feeling of ‘not being good enough’ can lead to self-sabotaging behaviors and can even become the causative factor for illness.   Unconsciously, Virgos often use crises to distract themselves from themselves!  They’re so busy putting out fires that they never get around to addressing their own personal ‘stuff.’   Another classic Virgo tactic used to avoid doing necessary self-improvement work is becoming a workaholic.  There’s never enough time to do what needs to be done to take care of the self.

From a total zodiacal perspective, Virgo is a transitional archetype.  It is the last sign associated with development of the individual self (Aries through Virgo) before we experience the need to progressively socialize and integrate into the whole of society with others as an equal (Libra through Pisces).

Following Leo, the sign associated with the full development of the individual  ego-centric identity and the need to creatively express that unique identity, Virgo provides a necessary deflation of the ego that prepares us for the task of entering into relationships with others on an equal basis.  Virgo teaches humility which is often learned through a process of humiliation that serves to not only deflate the ego, but also to realign the ego-centric identity with its own Higher Self or Divine Will.

Mars is considered by Astrologers to be the ‘lower octave’ of Pluto and therefore directly associated with the Soul (Pluto).  Pluto operates at an unconscious level and is the source of the Soul’s evolutionary growth intentions in each lifetime.  For most of us, we can only come to consciously know our Soul’s intentions through Mars.  This is because Mars is the principle of instinctive action and what it instinctively acts out or acts upon are the desires for growth that emanate from the Soul.  So through Mars, we act on our desires and through this process, become the person our Soul intends us to become.

Because Mars always acts instinctively to pursue desires, it typically will not brook any interference in those pursuits.  When it meets with such interference or obstruction, anger usually results.  This is why Aries/Mars individuals require so much personal freedom.   Adequate freedom allows them to instinctively pursue their desires in an unfettered way.

Now imagine the planet of instinctive action, which naturally becomes angry whenever its actions are interrupted or interfered with in any way, having to STOP, turn around, and begin to move BACKWARD through the zodiac!  Suffice it to say, retrograde movement does not make Mars happy.  What retrograde movement of Mars does accomplish however is a slowing-down of the instinctive impulse to act so that thorough and thoughtful review of desired actions can take place.   Mars retrograde facilitates the necessary planning, analysis and preparation that results in greater success once actions are taken.

So in a nutshell, this upcoming Mars retrograde through Virgo will likely bring crises, delays, obstacles and a general thwarting of actions and initiatives for the purpose of necessary review.  Taking the time to thoroughly analyze problems and goals will allow for crucial changes and adjustments to be made that will have a positive effect on the outcome of actions that are ultimately taken.

So get ready for review time!  The best use of this Mars retrograde is to become more aware of the nature of both desires and crises in your life.  Perhaps you’ll notice a pattern in the kinds of problems you typically experience.  Or perhaps you’ll discover the extraordinary effectiveness that crises have had in your life relative to keeping you from doing what you know you should and could do for your own health and well-being.

Be prepared to positively manage your frustration when setbacks occur.  Consider whatever obstacles do show up to actually be your allies.  Accept the nature and timing of those obstacles as totally right and proper.  In fact, those obstacles will no doubt be the perfect facilitators of the need to rethink or review your plans.  Solicit and surrender to the guidance and direction of your Higher Self through prayer and meditation.

Virgo’s opposite sign is Pisces.  Opposite signs always point the way forward for evolutionary growth.  Pisces is the sign associated with spirituality and the desire to reunite with the source of our creation.  The spiritualization process is often facilitated by disillusionment or disappointments that reveal that what we thought had meaning and would provide happiness or ultimate fulfillment isn’t actually capable of doing so.  Through dissolving the meaning we falsely assign to desired people, places and things, Pisces serves to realign us with reality.

Used unwisely, Pisces can also provide an escape hatch for those not yet ready or willing to deal with reality or to see their life circumstances clearly.  We all need to ‘let our hair down’ occasionally.  But substance abuse and addiction can occur when escape becomes the preferred way of coping with disappointing realities.  On the upside, Pisces can provide the inspiration to ‘reimagine’ problems and opportunities.

Neptune rules Pisces and will enter Pisces for the next fourteen years on February 3^rd in the midst of the Mars retrograde period.  When the Mars retrograde period ends on April 13^th, Mars will be within just a degree of an exact opposition to Neptune.  This connection is typically associated with severe disillusionment and even deception so be especially mindful of the timely need to face realities squarely and to see things and people clearly as this Mars retrograde comes to an end.   Finding the courage to do so will be the factor/choice that allows you to move forward, slowly but successfully, once this retrograde period comes to an end.

Virgo and Pisces natives (and to a lesser degree Gemini and Sagittarius) will feel the influence of this Mars retrograde the most.  Aries and Scorpio natives will also be significantly affected since these two signs are ruled by Mars.  However, this retrograde will have some effect on nearly everyone since we all have Virgo somewhere in our chart.  Look to the houses where Virgo and Aries and Scorpio are on the cusps (Mars rules Aries and co-rules Scorpio) for clues about what areas of your life are due for an in-depth review during this retrograde.

Take ‘time outs’ to deeply ponder what’s not working in your life especially if it involves your everyday work routine or health.  If a health issue does need attention, consider the usefulness of natural remedies (Virgo).  Take steps now to improve nutrition and to ensure that you get plenty of rest.  And if diagnoses are confusing or uncertain (Pisces) don’t hesitate to get a second opinion especially if surgery is recommended.  Pets may also need extra attention during this retrograde period since Virgo rules them too.  Be extra kind and forgiving with everyone especially yourself.  And most importantly, resolve to make necessary changes and adjustments one step at a time as this strategy is most effective in overcoming Virgo’s ‘perfection paralysis.’

Every outer planetary retrograde reaches its halfway point when it opposes the Sun.  This Mars retrograde will be at its halfway point on March 4^th.  The ‘review’ process encouraged by this Mars retrograde period will be the most intense during its first half from January 23^rd to March 4^th.   From March 4^th to April 13^th increasing energy and urgency to move forward and implement plans will begin to unfold.  If possible, it will be best to delay the beginning of any big new project or initiative until mid-April when the retrograde is complete.  But if you must begin something sooner, at least be aware of the likelihood of setbacks occurring that will probably prove frustrating, albeit necessary for ultimate success.

Above all else, use this retrograde period to generally SLOW DOWN!  Turn the focus of your attention inward.  The answers and insights you need now to make positive and necessary changes that can result in real evolutionary Soul growth in your life will be found by looking deeply inside.  And don’t forget to ask for help from whatever source of higher guidance you believe in.  The highest potential and best use of this Mars retrograde can result in tremendous personal healing, for individuals, and for our planet.

Many Blessings, Donna