I almost hate to bring this up. We’ve just weathered a long summer storm, with three back-to-back eclipses, and now this.

If you’re like me, though, you’d rather know that more rough celestial weather is in store. We’re not going to worry about it, because that won’t make matters any better. But we can come up with a plan and a couple of backups, just to be safe.

Saturn and Uranus are in a rare, especially long opposition cycle. Normally, aspects between outer planets last several months to a year, and there normally are three passes as the planets move forward, turn retrograde, and return direct.

But this time, we’re going to experience five passes over the course of nearly two years. The first was on Nov. 4, 2008 — Election Day in the United States — at 19 degrees Virgo/Pisces. There weren’t any surprises; Barack Obama was the clear frontrunner and won in a landslide. However, his election marked the end of the Bush years and brought more youthful energy to the White House. We now have a first lady who steps off of Air Force One in denim shorts!

The second pass occurred on Feb. 5, 2009, at 20 degrees, and then we got several months’ relief as Saturn went retrograde. Once he turned direct on May 16, he began inching closer and closer to the third pass, which will occur on Sept. 15 at 25 degrees. Although the exact opposition is still a few weeks away, we’re within four degrees, and that’s enough to start feeling the pressure.

I have a feeling that this pass is going to be different from the others, as it is going to have stronger ripples into the Jupiter-Chiron-Neptune conjunction. Because Uranus and Neptune are in a special relationship (called mutual reception), whatever happens to one affects the other. Perhaps we will get even stronger reminders that we are all connected. With a global economy and instantaneous communications, actions in one country or group of countries can reverberate around the world.

Likewise, what we do as individuals has ripples into our families, social circles, work environments, and the collective. Especially the collective, and that’s going to be a big part of the message, I think. When we heal as individuals — and many of us have been working very hard on this task — it impacts the collective. Our connection to the collective and to universal energies is not one-way. We are constantly downloading and uploading at the same time. It’s more important than ever to remind ourselves that our thoughts and actions have far-reaching consequences.

The last opposition in Virgo/Pisces is on April 26, 2010, with the fifth and final pass at 0 degrees Libra on July 26. Of the five exact alignments, that one is going to be the most explosive, but we’ll have a lot to keep us busy between now and then, so for now let’s just concentrate on what’s immediately in front of us.

I’ll have more on this important long-term aspect in my weekly forecast late tomorrow or early Monday, and I’ll try to give you some idea of how it might play out in your life.

Until then, love and blessings to all,
Pat