Current Transits for January 2000 Current Transits for January 2000Here's some of the important astrological news this month ...
Happy New Year, 1-1
Mars enters Pisces, 1-3
New Moon at 15Cp44, 1-6
Saturn Direct Station at 10Ta17
Full Moon / Total Lunar Eclipse at 0Le26, 1-20
Jupiter trioctile Pluto, 1-25
After all the fireworks of December, the new year checks in on a much calmer note. There is actually very little astrological news of note this month, which lessens the stress and tension factor considerably. If anything, we are simply settling into existing cycles that began earlier, making the decisions and calls to action needed to bring these new energies more fully into our lives. This is especially the case after the Saturn station on the 11th and the lunar eclipse on the 20th, since these are "turning points" that cast a long shadow on the future. Remember that the new year came in under the influence of the Chiron-Pluto conjunction of December 30th. My gut level feeling here is the conjunction will take a long time to unfold and make its influence known, since it runs so deep in us. After the new year's hoopla dies down, take stock of where your life is heading and whether you need to make a change of course anywhere. Some concrete shifts in coming months can radically affect the rest of your life.
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OK, the big party is dying down and the world didn't blow up in a mixture of computer meltdowns and terrorist bombings -- and life simply goes on the next morning. There's nothing intrinsicly important , from an astrologer's point of view, about new years, but the emphasis year after year on "new beginnings" creates a psychic charge around this calendar milestone. This year, in particular, has quite an aura about it, between "Y2K", millennial madness, end of the world myths, new age expectations -- not to mention all those zeros! So it's probably worthwhile to look at an interesting planetary pattern that accompanies this calendar shift. The most important aspect on the 1st is an easy trine of the Sun and Saturn (which is about to stand still), with the Moon opposite Saturn. Nestled halfway between the Sun and Moon is our old friend, the Chiron-Pluto conjunction. These are all at 10 to 12 degrees of various zodiac signs, which produces the big peaks you see in the waveform graph. Uranus (still square to Saturn), Mars and Jupiter are also contributing members of this pattern. Saturn is about form and structure, limitation and discipline, responsibility and our relation to authority -- issues pertaining to living in the real world, especially one based on "patriarchal" themes. He can be awfully hardnosed at times, particularly when individuals give up their power to "authorities" that aren't looking out for the greater good. He is opposite the Moon in the sky, the Great Mother, the ruler of emotions, nurturing, connecting with "family" in the widest sense. The way out of this tension of opposites between paternal and maternal values is through Uranus, the symbol of the Individualist and the Iconoclast. Chiron-Pluto, with all its long-term influences, is also an important power calling us to break free from old shackles and become new people. Perhaps this is the turning point for humanity where we finally reassess our role in the world and live by new values that affirm life more than money. The flip of the calendar didn't make the world's problems go away, global warming and the population explosion being two prime examples. Our old patriarchal ways are on a collision course with physical and biological reality in the coming century that makes computer bugs look puny. We need to redefine authority and power (if only to avoid a creeping tyranny that sucks us all in), returning true responsibility to the individual. People need to break free of the blinders that prevent us from seeing our connections with the web of life and how we are caretakers of Planet Earth, not its owners. We need to see Spirit in all we do, not just profit margins and other false gods. An enlightened humanity this century would be the greatest gift we could give to the Earth -- and ourselves.
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Mars enters Pisces, 1-3Mars enters Pisces on the 3rd, after a 6 week trip through Aquarius. This has to be one of the most difficult placements for Mars. The old Warrior God feels completely out of place is this selfless, unaggressive zodiac sign and it really saps his energy. Instead of displaying his usual will-power and drive, softer traits like empathy and moodiness are brought to the fore. While a good influence for working for a cause that's bigger than your personal concerns, it certainly makes it hard to get out there and get anything done. A Pisces Mars is too pliant and easily swayed to have the courage and discipline needed for major tasks. There's also a tendency to focus on old slights and hurts from a long gone time, letting smoldering anger substitute for constructive action. If you find yourself thinking about how others have victimized you, it's time to crawl out of that rut. Prisons of inactivity can be just as confining as the kind with bars on the windows -- fortunately, this lazy attitude can be easily changed. Generally speaking, just realize your energy levels and ambition are low for now and don't overextend yourself. Mars moves into Aries on February 11th.
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New Moon at 15Cp44, 1-6Capricorn is about perfecting physical structures, so a Capricorn new moon is a time to kick off changes to produce some very practical benefits. The downside of Capricorn is its conservative streak, the tendency to stick with the "tried and true", even when it's neither. If you want to end up with something different, you have to start with new ideas. There are strong mental overtones to the new moon chart, indicating a need for examining ideas and beliefs, making some radical shifts in your point of view where necessary. In particular, it's important to examine the effects your decisions have on others instead of looking out for number one exclusively. It may require some hard work and you'll need to use your resources wisely, but it is possible to achieve some vital goals in coming weeks. Just be sure your goals are worthwhile -- that's where the change in point of view comes in. As the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for -- you might get it. Aim for your best...
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Saturn Direct Station at 10Ta17Saturn is standing still on the 11th at 10Ta17, about to resume normal forward motion. It's been in reverse gear since August 29th, when it reached its retrograde station at 17Ta11. This retrograde zone in mid Taurus has been highlighting your relationship with resources in the material world and your inherent abilities to bring these resources into your life (or not). Since Saturn typically deals more with limitation and privation than abundance (Jupiter's forte), this has probably been a time when material support has dried up or become unavailable. Granted, some of this is out of your control, but an amazing amount of this limitation is self-created. We all have little ways of sabotaging ourselves and preventing our own prosperity. As Saturn approaches its station on the 11th, these self-defeating tactics should be quite evident. It may be an issue of self-worth ("I don't deserve this...") or a view that "life is tough" and you haven't worked hard enough. A lack of discipline or organization can sometimes make results more difficult. And quite frequently, all it takes to succeed is to simply knuckle down and do the work -- not always a pleasant prospect, but surprisingly effective. It's time to put your life on a sounder foundation, clearing up the restrictions that you place on yourself. After all, you can't achieve your goals and dreams if you lack the resources to do it.
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Full Moon / Total Lunar Eclipse at 0Le26, 1-20The full moon is also a total lunar eclipse that should be easily visible across the USA (weather permitting). This chart is a bit of an enigma. The eclipse itself (i.e., the Sun-Moon axis at 0 degrees of Leo and Aquarius) is most closely connected with Mercury, Neptune and Jupiter, which brings up the 3 part Jupiter-Neptune square that is still ongoing. Any time Neptune gets involved heavily in a chart, it becomes difficult to make sense of the energy, since he tends to cloud our minds and confuse matters. As we challenge our old views of the world and try to build a new understanding, a period of confusion and doubt, mixed with a false sense of certainty and bravado, comes over us first. Face it, a lot of our beliefs are rather silly and most of them are flat out wrong at some level. Admitting to ourselves how clueless we are (even when we feel brilliant and enlightened) is the first step to waking up. Neptune has been trying to get us to operate on a whole new level the last 2 years and this eclipse, along with all the other transformative big aspects now in play, is part of the ongoing process. A kind of mental humility goes a long way now.
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Jupiter trioctile Pluto, 1-25Jupiter is trioctile Pluto on the 25th, the last contact of this 3 part connection. The show started last 99-5-27, while the second act was just last month, on 99-12-4, one of the warm-up acts for the Chiron-Pluto conjunction. This rapid return of the trioctile makes me think it's still related to the conjunction, perhaps giving us some clues as to how things should go from here. Jupiter is the "rich uncle" of the solar system that shows us how to tap into the goodies of the world around us by joining into the big game we call "society." He helps us expand our boundaries, meet new people, try out new experiences. However, he can be rather conventional at times, accepting the cultural myths and conventional explanations at face value instead of questioning them and probing below the surface. So this expansion of our experiences, while helpful and satisfying, only goes so far. Pluto, on the other hand, is never content with halfway measures. He is more concerned with the inner dictates of the soul, the irresistible call to become who you must, regardless of the cost. This inner calling often has an uncivilized element to it, since it is independent of the pressures of society to become a consumer or good citizen or moral example that the outer world values. In fact, the difficult trioctile connenction hints that social demands have become increasingly artificial and disconnected from the inner world. I've found it interesting that both Jupiter and Saturn (the planets that govern our social connections) have accompanied the conjunction, pointing to the tensions between the inner and outer worlds in our lives. Chiron also has this tension between wildness and culture in its makeup, so the theme is pretty complete. Culture demands we be "nice" people, divorced from our bodies, instincts, deeper psychological drives and even spiritual values; the attempt to reintegrate these missing elements and reclaim our completeness puts us at odds with cultural values. For now, we can only acknowledge this conflict and try to find some middle ground where we can live comfortably. In the long term, I believe we must transform those social expectations that prevent us from being whole beings. This process may involve some painful (or so we believe) compromises, but the path of the soul is rarely smooth. Open your eyes and widen your vision of what is desirable -- social change occurs in tiny increments more often than huge quantum leaps.
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