The Cosmic Story: Aquarius New Moon, January 22-23, 2012 Chinese New Year, January 23, 2012 Mars Retrograde, January 23, 2012
Since there’s so much going on this weekend, I ask your patience with the length of this newsletter. Also, Aquarian energy tends to acknowledge the support and wisdom we get from our tribe and community. So I’ll be quoting some of the people I’ve been inspired by so you can enjoy their wisdom as much as I do. As you can see, there’s a big shift in energy coming on Friday, January 20th, when the Sun enters Aquarius and Monday, January 23rd with the Aquarius New Moon and Chinese New Year. This is the energy that will begin to move us into our new vision, with Mars turning retrograde at the same time helping us focus on our Truth. So let’s see what the Cosmic Story tells us about this weekend’s energies. Sun in Aquarius  With the Sun moving into Aquarius, our collective focus shifts from the Capricorn social structures that we align ourselves with, to our hopes for the future good of our communities – hopes for a world that is free and peaceful, prosperous and caring. Sun in Aquarius shines its light on our unique individuality, our right to freedom and equality, our sense of group responsibility and our hopes for our world. Aquarius says, “Experiment! Think outside the box! But make sure it’s for the common good.” Since Aquarius symbolizes the group mind, it’s time to tune into the possibilities that our new global awareness has brought us through the blessings of our technology. We now realize what a big network of like-minded people are out there – all of us working toward the same goals. Like Indra’s Net, this connection is a spiritual and psychic awareness of our unity – and that knowledge is what will make all the difference in the coming years. We know we are all connected. We know we are all one. I love that I can stay connected to my son by phone and computer as he travels in South America– very different from when he was traveling all over Europe in the late 90s. And I love the fact that our technology does indeed make us one world. The ‘revolution’ of the 99% couldn’t have happened without twitter, cell phones and Facebook. Thank you Aquarian vision and innovation! (Although the business practices leave something to be desired.) Aquarius is a fixed air sign, concerned with our ideals and our connection to the archetypal patterns of life. We are in the process of moving between the Age of Pisces and the Age of Aquarius, when humanity is called to consciously and conscientiously create a collective vision of peace and prosperity. The fixed air puts us in touch with the world of archetypal powers, those patterns of behavior that make us human and structure cosmic reality. From 1996 to 2003, Uranus, the planet that awakens our consciousness, travelled through Aquarius, sparking this technological revolution that unites us, while from 1998 to February 2012, Neptune the planet of spirituality and our collective heart also flowed through Aquarius, softening its rational edges with imagination, artistry and heartfelt love. These two planets have brought us to our new collective vision – one world of peace, prosperity, freedom, equality, compassion and spiritual awareness.  Neptune is about to move into its own sign of Pisces, and this is its last new Moon in Aquarius for the next 165 years. What spiritual wisdom have we developed in the last 165 years that needs to be incorporated into our personal and collective vision? Perhaps that we no longer need organized religions but instead we must develop our own personal relationship to Spirit. The Sabian symbol for Neptune at 30* Aquarius is: Deeply rooted in the past of a very ancient culture, a spiritual brotherhood in which many individual minds are merged into the glowing light of a unanimous consciousness is revealed to one who has emerged successfully from her/his metamorphosis. This last symbol for Aquarius shows us that we each have the potential to encompass a higher form of consciousness, a spiritual form that is the template for humanity’s emergence into true adulthood. This form is comprised of unique individuals who bond to form a spiritual whole. Any planets you have at 28 - 30* of fixed signs are coming under the influence of Neptune’s dissolving influence one last time. This is a time of radial belief and trust. You also have to focus Neptune’s imagination on the new story you want to create this year. Neptune’s Aquarian story encompasses the ‘common good’ - it is not a personal story but a collective story. We need to be united as our culture and the Earth go through a major transition. A new culture must be birthed so our descendants will have a whole and healthy Earth. We owe it to them. The Aquarius New Moon  This New Moon occurs at 3* Aquarius on Sunday, January 22 at 11:40pm PST and on Monday January 23rd at 2:40am EST/7:40am GMT. The Sabian Symbol for the Sun and Moon at 3* Aquarius is: A deserter from the army following an unmarked wilderness path. This symbol refers to retaining your independence from group expectations, while uniting your goals with long-range group goals. It urges us to go on our personal search for truth and walk our unique path through life. It’s time to leave the conventional behind and head off into the wilderness of the soul and find your myth. This new Moon in Aquarius, coupled with Chinese New Year and Mars stationing, symbolizes our need for freedom and progress, and can initiate new waves of breakdowns and breakthroughs which help us leave the past behind. Any personal planets that aspect this New Moon (1-5* of fixed signs) are especially open to this new energy. Make the breakthroughs and leave the past behind. We’re starting a brand new day. This Aquarian New Moon aspects one of its rulers, Uranus in Aries, and energizes us to take any opportunity that comes our way to reform both ourselves and our environment. With Uranus in Aries, we take up our archetypal roles and live in the 2012 big picture of change. A forward-looking attitude, powered by our unique aspirations, intuition and insight, will help us express our creative ideas about our future and how we can contribute to the new world that is emerging. Uranus wakes us up! His gift is the vision. The New Moon also squares its other ruler, Saturn in Libra, possibly triggering insecurity about how we’ll get to that new world. But that’s the old story. If we create the new story, Saturn in Libra can energize us to look for those balanced partnerships that value fairness, equality, and responsibility to others, naturally opening us to be more discriminating and to assimilate our experiences on a new, higher level. Saturn disciplines and focuses us. His gift is commitment. At this New Moon, Saturn is stationing (slowing down to turn
retrograde) at the last degree of Libra aspecting Neptune at the last degree of
Aquarius. Saturn’s discipline aids us
with a steady focus so we can use the magic of Neptune’s creative imagination
for the good of the whole community of life here on Earth. Use these combined energies to create a new,
forward-looking story about this next year of 2012. Is it going to be a story of fear and
insecurity or a story of pioneering courage and group solidarity? Saturn also symbolizes limits, which are good
and necessary – for our personal uniqueness and individuality as well as for
the reality of Nature. What limits do we
need to establish regarding Neptune, the symbol of the waters of the collective
unconscious as well as of our oceans? In
our physical reality, there is only a limited amount of water, so the question
becomes how do we conserve water? In our psychic reality, Saturn asks, “How do
we distill the real story from the illusion?”  Our new vision asks that we leave an old paradigm behind, a paradigm that gave power to the ‘fathers’ and to a masculine point of view. Unfortunately, this paradigm turned deadly when it totally lost touch with its feminine values of cooperation, peace and love. Saturn energizes us to value relationships with equal ‘others’ who will help us leave the old patriarchal patterns of extreme individuality and self-interest behind. We can be both individual and tribal, we can know our uniqueness without it taking away from anyone else’s uniqueness. Like the Round Table, we are called – both knights and ladies – to participate in a new vision for our society. Arthur’s creed – Might for Right – can be re-written into: Stand up for what is right. Aquarius works with the group. With the last trine in air signs between Saturn at 30* Libra, which is slowing down to turn retrograde on the Leo Full Moon on February 7th, and Neptune at 30* Aquarius at this new Moon, we are seeing the next phase of a new social justice movement here in the US and around the world – which will be aided and abetted by the seven upcoming Uranus/Pluto squares. In reality, we are not capitalists or socialists, Muslims or Christians, right wing or left wing, conservatives or progressives – we are ‘the people’. Instead of being defined by our corporate media, it’s time we listen to our hearts and wake up from our collective slumber. “Yes, Americans are waking up. To how they’re being made to pay for Wall Street’s malfeasance and Washington’s complicity. Paying with stagnant wages and lost jobs, with slashing cuts to their benefits and to their social services. And waking up to the grotesque Supreme Court decision defining a corporation as a person, although it doesn’t eat, breath, make love or sing, or take care of children and aging parents. Waking up to how campaign contributions corrupt our elections; to the fact that if speech is money, no money means no speech. So the collective cry has gone up loud and clear: enough’s enough. We won’t, as I said, know for a while if this is just a momentary cry of pain; or whether it’s a movement that, like the Abolitionists and Suffragettes, the populists and workers of another era, or the Civil Rights movement of our time, gathers force until the powers-that-be can no longer sustain the inequality, the injustice and yes, the immorality of winner-take-all politics. “ Bill Moyers, Moyers & Company (Jan. 14, 2012).
One last part of the cosmic story: Venus at 12* Pisces exactly squares the Moon’s nodes at 12*Sagittarius/12*Gemini. This is another call to dive deeply into our hearts, our imaginations and our spiritual vision to find the faith, compassion and wisdom we need to complete our tasks this year.
Chinese New Year: The Year of the Black Water Dragon It’s time to ride the Dragon – the Black Water Dragon of 2012. Although Dragon contains Earth, Water and Wood, it is sourced in Water. Therefore it can work with many elements. Dragon is a legendary animal – in the East it is a symbol of the heavenly power of the emperor of China. In the West, Dragon symbolizes both unconscious reptilian instincts or great wisdom. The Chinese believe that the Dragon is unpredictable, untouchable and mysterious, making 2012 a strong Water year when we would do well to expect the unexpected. In the West, the Celtic Water Dragon brings what is hidden into the light of day. Destructive feelings can erupt into consciousness, playing on our fears. Or we can understand our feelings and listen to what they’re telling us. This year our deep feelings of compassion and unity can flow into the world as we ride the Dragon along with Kuan Yin, great Chinese Goddess of Compassion.  Roxanne Duke This goes along with the numerology of 2012, which makes it a 5 year – a year of change and freedom. 5 opens us to a highly progressive and compassionate mindset that wants to make the world a better place. So this year, be open to whatever sparks your interest. Be open to taking a leap. Steve Nelson has a great take on the meaning of the Chinese New Year. https://www.facebook.com/StevenLonnieNelson "As we
approach the Lunar New Year the old cycle is breaking down and elements of our
psyche (and social sphere) are separating and being purified in preparation for
their reunion in a new mode at a higher turn of creation's spiral. Practically
this means we may feel a little disjointed and want to be quiet as the inner
work is done. As psychic elements separate so individuals who hold magic for
each other may temporarily draw apart in order to renew connection with their
individual essence and purpose. This will be brought forward in a new creation
when the time for reunion occurs. The alchemy of this time is reflected in the
words of the Egyptian sky goddess Nuit: "I divide for love's sake, for the
joy of union." Mars Retrograde  Mars goes retrograde on January 23rd until April 13 (Friday). Caroline Casey, my dear visionary activist friend, mentioned on her show that ancient astrological wisdom deemed that when Mars is retrograde, aggression always loses. Let us hope that this holds true in the coming months as citizens take to the streets to peacefully protest. When any planet goes retrograde, we say that the energy is turned within and it gives us a chance to re-think, re-do, re-evaluate, re-vise. But what happens when Mars, the planet of action and desire, turns within? We get in touch with our deepest, soulful desires! Our cultural norms look down on desire and passion unless it feeds the economy. Our wild selves have been caged to accommodate our cultural rules. Now that doesn’t mean people don’t ‘get wild’, but that’s not the kind of wild I mean. Our wild selves naturally want passion and sensuality, comfort and caring, vision and freedom. When we understand that this retrograde Mars energy can help us reclaim our original intentions, our destiny, we will move forward at the right pace. With Mars retrograde, projects might not move forward without a lot of re-doing on our part. For others who are ready (and you can see this in your birth chart) “if your goals are set, your aspirations high, your declarations precise and your intent to follow through completely intact - Intent matched with passionate action yields manifestation.” (Philip Sedgwick) Virgo will help Mars achieve all of those goals. With Virgo’s focus on analysis and discernment, on knowing yourself, on integrating body, mind and spirit, we have such an opportunity to change and grow. Please use this cosmic gift wisely! Mars turns retrograde at 24* Virgo. A children’s book picturing Mary and her little lamb. Mars asks us to reclaim our child-like innocence and goodness as well as faith in ourselves to create a better story. We need to ignore the old stories and build new stories based on our own dreams, following our feelings of excitement rather than fear. Now’s the time to give attention and energy to the right story. This leads us back to Uranus in Aries and acknowledging our archetypal role in our current cultural story. Mars is not only aggression and passion, anger and erotism, but also the willingness to grapple with issues for the ‘common good’. How do we become the hero or hera of our new story and what part of the cultural story do we have to address? The new story being birthed comes from our archetypal Mind – it is a story of power, it is a story of transformation. Each new Moon builds on the issues that arose from the previous full Moon. So this new year story emerges out of the realization that our culture (Capricorn) is not serving our needs (Cancer). This year, all of us will be faced with the choice to own our inner power and act on what our hearts tell us is true. Stay healthy and rested, inspired and courageous. And hold on to yourself. To an interesting weekend! Blessed Be, Cathy
|