Astrology is the language of universal energy or intelligence as perceived from the perspective of Earth. It gives us a picture of the planetary rhythms (much like our Earth seasons) and connections on both a small and large scale (Moon’s rhythm – 27.32 days, Pluto’s rhythm – 248 years). In these rhythms we see our day-to-day flow, the challenges of sudden change and long-term evolution, each planet, zodiac sign and planetary connections having a different archetypal symbolism and meaning.
We live in extraordinary times. Not only are we facing unprecedented environmental challenge, humanity itself is at crisis point with the pandemic coronavirus. We have experienced pandemics before but we cannot look to the past for solutions. For our level of consciousness and the technological connectedness we have now is unprecedented. It’s both a blessing and a burden to receive so much information instantly. And then there’s the question of information sources. Discernment is needed, not only about the practicalities of staying healthy, but with what we feed ourselves on every level. This is where astrology can support, revealing the picture of ongoing rhythms, in pointing us towards the bigger picture of the current process and how to meet it with growing consciousness.
Breakthrough Point
Let’s start with the end in sight. For the breakthrough or benchmark point of a cycle can show us to where we are travelling. To do that we need to look at two planets initially: Jupiter and Saturn, along with a further player Pluto. For it’s their cycles and connections that reveal the deeper meaning behind our current experience. Jupiter and Saturn are known respectively as the planet of expansion, good fortune or ‘luck’, and its antithesis, the challenge of facing our responsibilities, one could say, being ‘a grown up’. Right now they encompass the process of facing the major challenges that will lead to a harvest. Their conjunction, our ‘end in sight’, is 21 December 2020, when they align exactly at 0 degrees of Aquarius. This conjunction represents the potential for breakthrough to a new level of maturity, ingenuity and innovation both personally and collectively. It’s the start of both a new twenty-year and two-hundred-year cycle. Aquarius is the sign of the collective, and the freedom of a consciously aligned individual working and contributing within their community. It’s where technology, inventiveness, innovation and future coalesce to provide freedom for us all. This Solstice point conjunction is a key breakthrough point that is requiring our conscious engagement of the current challenges. In other words, how we respond now opens the possibilities for how that conjunction manifests then.
Where we are now
Currently both Jupiter & Saturn are traversing Capricorn with Lord of the Underworld Pluto there since 2008. I have written much about this energetic combination previously. It represents the destruction of our old systems (both personal and collective) that no longer serve our evolution into higher consciousness. Capricorn represents authority and the ‘system’, the laws within which culture operates. On a personal level it’s about how we face perceived limitations and boundaries, where we claim maturity and authority by taking full responsibility for our lives, what we create and how that contributes (or not) in the public sphere. We could call this a time of facing and embracing what’s good for us. When we do that we grow in self-respect, in trust of our self and the process; we develop deeper resourcefulness and capacity to take responsibility for our part in the game of life.
The highest expression of earth sign Capricorn is the shaman energy. A shaman works on all levels of being, physical and energetic to care-take the tribe. It’s this energetic element of contribution that actually makes the most difference. The further major player in the game, Pluto in Capricorn, also known as Lord of the Underworld, calls us to deeper truth within that process. Taken together, these energies call for an honest look at what we’re actually doing in our lives and how that contributes to the collective. It’s a time for enlightening responsibility and living integrity, on every level. In the current crisis when we respond or react only to the challenge of the virus we’re somewhat missing the point. The mature Capricorn response, ie the shaman or caretaker response, is to take conscious action also with what the virus brings up in us.
The Two Viruses
It’s all very well to talk about enlightening responsibility and living integrity. What does that actually mean? It means how each one of us thinks, expresses, or acts is an influencing force or power within our own lives and the collective. What you think, say or do matters! A prime example of this is the response to fear. Fear is a natural instinctual response/reaction to an immediate threat. It’s our human system’s way of protecting the body-mind instrument. Fear as a projection of negative potential (worst case scenarios) is a different matter. It’s a psychological coping mechanism that attempts to mitigate uncertainty by projecting an outcome. That outcome can be either negative or positive depending on our tendency; both are different sides of the same coin however. Fear as a projection is a virus. At the very least it’s ineffective, merely creating anxiety, worry, or false hope. It’s an attempt to create security but it’s a false sense of security. It doesn’t protect us. If you’re in doubt about that just take a look in your own experience. Has worry ever made a difference?
Being Conscious is Natural Protection
It may sound strange but living with uncertainty is a natural state of being. We always live in uncertainty; we just don’t realise that we do. When we live with uncertainty – which is what’s happening right now as the rug of normality has been pulled from under our feet – we are naturally protected. We are better equipped to take moment-to-moment conscious action with what appears before us, because we’re not attached to any projection of outcome. Being right here right now, as a practice, gathers all our energy as presence. With presence we make wise choices about the very practical elements of what to do when facing this virus, or indeed anything else. With presence we’re tuned into our inner world and its messages. With presence miracles happen. Ask me about how intuition took me to the right place at the right time in a major earthquake!
The truth is we are not only facing coronavirus we are facing viral fear. And the truth is we create fear, we feed it or we can transform it. Facing the truth of our capacity to do that gives us power. Psychological fear is a far more insidious virus than the physical one we’re facing. As is its denial in spiritual bypassing; denying or lacking compassion for the human element of our current challenge. It’s a fine balance we walk as we evolve. Understanding there is a bigger picture at play here is vital. Already there are clear pointers to renewal. Already nature is recovering from environmental devastation. The air is clearing. Life’s frantic pace – created by humans – has slowed or even stopped. In Venice dolphins are playing in the pure clear water of the canals. They are life’s messengers, bringing us hope. The smallest natural signs of renewal are with us always. We simply have to look, shift focus, pay attention, transform. Of course, it’s not that simple. Yet paradox is, by learning to stay simply present with the most challenging circumstances, we discover what we’re truly made of, our hidden resources and huge potential for collective change.
