September-October Transits

On September 7th, Mercury, the trickster storyteller, turns retrograde at 6 degrees of Libra, and backsteps into 22 Virgo, where it will turn direct again Sept. 29.  This retrograde cycle asks us to pay special attention to the subtle details (Virgo) in our relationship realm (Libra).  Are we being fully understood, are we listening with our hearts, are we making the effort to communicate as directly as possible?  Mercury asks us to think twice, to reflect, to go inward, and especially on those planets he brushes with his wing'd feet, and with the themes of the house he travels through.

As a whole, Mercury, the planet of communication, technology, and travel, when turned retrograde can cause misunderstandings, computer/phone breakdowns, and travel delays, usually more often and in more annoying ways.  It is usually wise to not sign contracts, begin relationships, or make important decisions during this cycle, as there is usually some piece of key information hidden by the cosmic thief himself, Mercury.  Be adaptable, be compassionate, be strategic, and back up your important phone numbers and documents, and let the inner voices guide you during this retrograde cycle. 

Full Moon in Pisces

A full Moon in Pisces can feel both overwhelming and seductive.  In Pisces, we find our paradise, hopefully, not out of a need for escape, but rather, our intrinsic need for sanctuary.  Virgo, the craftsman and daily practitioner, implements the peak experience, epiphany, or inspiration of the Piscean mystic artists. With the force of cosmic insight, Uranus in Pisces, we are being increasingly drawn towards discovering our spiritual origins. As the womb of the zodiac, Pisces relates to the 12th house, a realm of solitude and dreams, of contemplation and reflective retreat.  It is the point of origin before the ascendent's first breath of life. 

But what about those moments surrounding and before that first breath?  Rebirthing, breathwork, hypnosis, and past-life therapy are all related to the Piscean realm, the ocean connecting us multidimensionally and mythically across space and time.  Whether or not past lives are accurate descriptions of a lived experience, the cathartic intensity and breakthrough healing of this work confirm the importance of this modality as we embrace our collective shift.

Much of our healing during the end of the age of Pisces revolves around releasing stories that no longer serve us individually and collectively, to allow in the space to create the emerging mythos of unification and ascension.  Sourcing out a character and story that hold a strong charge in our etheric field, a charge that may prevent us from living to our fullest capacity, can be a huge revelation on this path of awakening.

For instance, very few of us are aware of the powerful template of the birth moment.  Rebirthing breathwork shows us that the entire situation around our birth, from conception through gestation and birthing, all create a pattern for future-life behavior.  Even knowing one's type of birth, such as caeserean or the cord around the neck, can reveal tremendous volumes about the habitual life patterns we form and play out on a daily basis, such as the caesearean pattern of skipping steps and complications with struggle and linear pathways.  As birth is the first moment of breath, then through conscious breathwork and affirmation, we can "re-template,'"or "re-pattern" the life.

The question to ask this full moon is, are we allowing this healing sanctuary into our lives or are we too enraptured by the fantasy (Pisces) of technology (Uranus), spending far too much time painting our profiles online and multitasking phone calls, driving, etc.  Pisces asks us to take a respite from the accelerating world. If we allow ourselves to be quiet and go within, our psychic and creative channels open, our dreams become oracles, and other resonant lifetimes teach and heal us.

If you know what house Pisces falls into in your birth chart, ask yourself if you feel fulfilled in that area of life, especially regarding intentions and energy which brewed on that stage of life six months ago, when the New Moon was in Pisces in that same house.

This Full Moon will also highlight the Pisces/Virgo axis, where a key formation is building yet again, the third of five Saturn-Uranus oppositions.

A Conservative Circus? -- Saturn opposite Uranus, the 60's kids, and Pluto in Virgo generation

Every 40 years, the lord of time and structure, Saturn, does battle with the god of rebellion and paradigm-shift, Uranus.  This fall, and next summer, we may feel ourselves tethered to old structures that support an essential part of us (Saturn) and simultaneously suppress an inventive or radical energy seeking exploration (Uranus).  Friendships, relationships, jobs will be tested for their power of endurance through often volatile moments of awakening and general shock to the system.  Saturn opposite Uranus can destroy our worn-out concepts of reality in often traumatic ways -- daily rhythms of Saturn are interrupted by Uranus' erratic thirst for something exciting and revolutionary, so plans change quickly.  Our collective urges toward ultimate freedom, as well as our technologies may falter under Saturnian pressures to remain constant and conservative.

On the other hand, whatever we have blocked out of our consciousness in order to maintain, sustain, or "get the job done" (Saturn) will erupt into our waking reality to epiphanize us  (Uranus) into a more individualized and aware state of being.  The forces of society, including the monetary system, which most of us have now seen as a completely insubstantial institution, is a prime example of an existing reality that needs immediate reinvention.  Where do we personally sit with our involvement in this worldwide reality matrix? See Thomas Greco's great article on alternate currencies.

Saturn-Uranus opposition is a time when we must begin to actually implement (Saturn) the innovative (Uranus) new strategies for survival (Saturn).  With repeated passes of two planets transiting, the lessons intensify, so that ideas that may have been seeded or realized back in the first two transits around Election Day and early February will this fall and especially next summer be sculpted into some concrete from, hopefully more marble than concrete.

Those most personally effected in Fall of 2009 will be those with planets between 23-30 of the mutable signs Virgo, Pisces, Gemini, and Sagitarrius.  Two other groups of individuals will be highlighted.

Many of those born in the mid 60's, at the height of the radical shifts, were born with a Saturn-Uranus oppostion in their charts, with the same signs involved, only reversed, Saturn in Pisces, Uranus in Virgo.  This creates a "resonant aspect," in the individual, where the personal birthchart mirrors the current movements in the skies.  These souls will feel the transits more instensely than others, as if being a natural conduit.  Times in our life when Resonant aspects appear are special because they allow us to fully witness the energy of the aspect out in the world and within our own vibration.  Simultaneously, we are invited to channel the most positive alchemical expression of these two planets to serve the earth.

Lastly, Saturn, through this fall and winter, will finish its tenure in Virgo.  During this time, Saturn has transited the Pluto in Virgo generation.

While Saturn continues to transit the sign of the mentor and ecologist, it is important for this generation to remember its call to transform the planet in the realms of health and service to the less fortunate and the earth as a whole.  They need to honor the wisdom of their inner critic to change what isn't working, and to commit themselves to the duty of perfecting our sacred home.

Image by ghewgill, courtesy of Creative Commons license.