Blurry madness
When you have once seen the chaos, you must make some thing to set between yourself and that terrible sight; and so you make a mirror, thinking that in it shall be reflected the reality of the world; but then you understand that the mirror reflects only appearances, and that reality is somewhere else, off behind the mirror; and then you remember that behind the mirror there is only the chaos.
JOHN BANVILLE, Doctor Copernicus
An elongated narrative spell follows, briefly summarized as a month ahead of cage-rattling, power plays and a tug of war between order and disorder. The planetary playbook rolled out for us gives a sneak peek into the roadmap ahead and we might just find that in grabbing on to it’s tail, despite being whipped around – we relish in a time of frenzy and chaos as it elicits our creative impulses, our will to stand strong and a secret yearning to see the old structures crumble and fall to the wayside. A new Earth begins to eek its way into existence.
Moon – Today, 4/15 is the monthly New Moon, where the Moon and Sun come together in the same degree – this month, the meeting is at 27 degrees of Aries. The Moon embodies our Spirit, our emotions, our unconscious – who we are in moments of fight or flight. As the Moon follows the Sun, she moves in a cycle of varying degrees of hunger and need. Each chapter of her aspect to the Sun dynamically presents to us a reflection of our own relationship with our Will, life force energy, and key people in our lives who serve in “life giving” roles. The distance between the two and the amount of light the Moon is seeded with narrates the story of how hungry the Moon is, what she needs, what she seeks and what she does with that light, or the absence thereof.
This month’s New Moon culminates with an additional key player in the astrology of the month ahead. The Moon, Sun and the planet of chaos, freedom-seeking and shocking change; Uranus all come together as the Sun seeds the Moon with new light. The new light of the Moon is seeded with a Uranus twinge. Further emphasizing the dramatic next month ahead, this occurs at the tail end of Aries; the Zodiac sign of “me”, the youthful warrior, taking the lead, blazing a new way kind of vibe. Aries energy is expressed in a Cardinal way – it initiates, it starts. Just as Aries starts Spring, Aries energy in our charts is where we start out, we drive new pathways for ourselves, we take risks and make bold statements. Aries is of the Fire element; fire both creates and destroys. The next Lunar cycle and month ahead is full of this repeating theme.
Where is the end of Aries in your chart? This is a spot to keep an eye on, particularly if you have any planetary placements there, or across in it’s polarity of Libra. Late Cancer and Capricorn also are most strongly involved as well.
But, before we arrived at today – we experienced the Balsamic (letting go, shedding) Moon phase since late this past week. In so doing, the Moon was in Pisces, the last sign of the Zodiac, the end. Not only was our drive to let go, to end, to resolve, to finally get over something highlighted – this lunation on Friday 4/13 culminated as it came together with a planetary body that I don’t normally pay attention to; Chiron. Chiron is an asteroid, discovered in 1977. Being that it is an asteroid and not one of the main planets we can visibly see, I don’t use it much (actually at all) in my tradition. However, I found it interesting the correlation between it’s connotations and my personal journey last week and how I ended up, late Friday night. Chiron is associated with wounds, how we are wounded but yet can never figure out how to heal ourselves. Chiron tells us the story of how, depending on how it is established in our chart, how we can help to heal others despite continuing to proverbially “bleed out” ourselves without ending and resolve. It’s placement in our charts further refines this story.
I have focused mostly on the traditional planets and orbs, which I plan to continue to still do – but, the uncanny correlations to what I experienced last week and this lunation has caught my attention. I plan to keep an eye on it’s movements and see if there are any ties to what I see or experience in the journey. I journal every day and generally rely on my “prove outs” of what is taught by tradition. A side note, there are many components to astrology I don’t include in my practice because I just don’t see them as useful (yet at least)… trines for example. I rarely will focus on that aspect as it’s footprint has yet only been vague at most… ahh… but I digress…
Chiron, if it has any planetary pull in the story of our journey – should be making itself more widely known as it is just on the verge of leaving Pisces and entering Aries on 4/17. It takes approximately 50 years for Chiron to cycle through all the signs. Individuals born in the late 1960’s will now be experiencing their Chiron return, my husband included. He’s my ever-favorite and helpful case study… so, as Chiron enters Aries and his “Chiron return” is upon him… I plan to keep this curious eye on the so-called “wounded healer” asteroid and see how it may play out. Perhaps there is something to it and perhaps not. Study and observation will tell.
The next New Moon will occur on 5/15 at 25 degrees of Taurus as Uranus, the planet of chaos and change, hovers at the last second of 29 degrees of Aries and just moments after, crashes into the Zodiac sign that is largely unwelcome to change and disruption.
Sun – The Sun, currently posited in Aries is in the sign of his exaltation. The Sun is King in Aries. He may be so much into himself here, he hastens to realize he may be overestimating himself, as may others looking upon him. Regardless, the Sun, our life force energy, our will, our unfurling, is given every opportunity to do its thing in Aries.
Continuing on the theme introduced by the Moon, the Sun, now quite close to Uranus, will exactly conjunct the planet of chaos on 4/18 at the last firey degree of Aries. The Sun doesn’t want to leave here, he loves being adored. The shock-jock Uranus is the gatekeeper and indicates for us that just ahead, we should expect the proverbial unexpected.
Repeating themes are a hallmark in Astrology. Duplication of storylines, repetition of similar energies tells us these chapters are connected. Nature reflects these back to us in its awesome picture show, giving us guide and an ability to plan ahead and work with, and around where possible.
We would be wise to be careful playing with fire; the madness of its spark may yield both creation and destruction.
The new Earth is further ushered into creation as the Sun enters Taurus, the fixed modal Earth-elemented Zodiac sign on 4/19.
Patterns repeat.
Mercury – Our messenger, communicator and doer of multiple tasks ends his retrograde fall today at 5 Aries (repeating patterns) and clears the shadow on 5/3 at 17 degrees of Aries. Soon after, just shy of the next New Moon on 5/15, Mercury comes together with Uranus while he is teetering at that last moment at 29 Aries.
The patterns repeat again.
Messages, communications and all things mercurial are infused with all things Uranus in the very last degree of firey Aries.
Venus – For the present, Venus is nearly the only planetary body largely unconsumed by the transiting caravan of fire and brimstone. She presently lolls through Taurus, her homeland. Here, she is queen and easily can be herself. She is also easily accepted as herself without pretense. This calming chapter in the storyline Nature is showing to us tells us of how all things Venus-related, women, archetypal female energy, relationships, money, finances, our personal values and our sense of style and beauty… as well as what we desire for pleasure… can be realized, approached and addressed presently. It’s good to feel good now, perhaps to the point of hiding away in pleasure; getting lost in it.
Venus opposes generously offering Jupiter on 4/17 at 22 degrees of Taurus/Scorpio. We may find an intensely palpable attraction to something “out there” that we just must have. This is beautiful energy to intimately connect, and yet also productive for anything that needs to be kept on the down low.
Enjoy the down deep and sensual vibe as soon, lady love enters Gemini on 4/24. There she unfurls into the social mania and flitting about from here to there and back again.
Mars – Presently, up in his state of exaltation, Mars is in Capricorn and he is feeling FINE fine. In Capricorn, like the Sun in Aries, Mars is exalted. His chest is extra puffed out and he is certain he is extremely capable of effecting his Martian warrior tendencies and for that matter, so does everyone who looks upon him. He currently sits nearly exactly between two Malefics; Saturn and Pluto. Death and destruction. Authority and the Plutocracy. Soon, on 4/26 Mars will come together with Pluto at 22 degrees of Capricorn and the darker side of the two will present itself. Mars will continue to warrior on and on 5/12 he will reach his favorite degree in all the Zodiac, 28 Capricorn. Interestingly as he does, he will enter the retrograde shadow.
All of Astrology is symbolic. The planets do not cause the realities we experience. Their movements are replicated in our experiences.
Think on this and reflect on this culmination of Mars energy. A warrior feeling quite full of himself reaches his highest high and then continues to go on, but is realized to not be as strong and powerful as he once was. And with further injury on 6/26, beginning at 10 degrees of Aquarius, he falls backwards. Backwards all the way 28 Capricorn again by 8/27. It isn’t until 10/8 that he clears 10 Aquarius and is free from the epic saga of his rise and fall.
Saturn – The planet of loss, restriction, diminishing and rules and hard worn begins its retrograde this week at 10 Capricorn and falls back to 3 Capricorn by 9/6 and clears the shadow back at 10 Capricorn on 12/12.
From now through the end of the year, Saturn now has to fall in his homeland. He was loved here in Capricorn, being the sign that he rules and now he must turn backwards and retrace his steps.
Patterns repeat in the Astrology we are moving through. Read through all these planetary players again and notice the themes, repeating one after the other and simultaneously…
Uranus – Finally, while I previously introduced our wild card planet earlier – I do want to share a small additional note on it’s tendencies. Astrology is the symbolic story Nature reflects back to us as a helpful tool and resource.
Nothing is new. Cycles repeat at some point in time or another and the when they do, a bell rings. The echo elicits the experiences of before and offer us insight to what lays in our laps presently.
The last time Uranus entered and traveled through Taurus was from 1935-1942.
Check your history books and plant your gardens.
Patterns repeat.
“For a moment everything was clear, and when that happens you see that the world is barely there at all. Don’t we all secretly know this? It’s a perfectly balanced mechanism of shouts and echoes pretending to be wheels and cogs, a dreamclock chiming beneath a mystery-glass we call life. . . . A universe of horror and loss surrounding a single lighted stage where mortals dance in defiance of the dark.”
Stephen King, 11/22/63