As the iconic talk show host Ed Sullivan used to say, we’ve got a “really big show” this week.

Not only is there a powerful New Moon in Scorpio, but we reach the alternative end-date for the Mayan Calendar. No need to toss and turn waiting for December 21, 2012 – at least, not if you believe Carl Johan Calleman. Most other Mayan Calendar experts use the 2012 date, which is no doubt more dramatic and plays better with the public, most of whom aren’t even aware of the alternative date.

Calleman and his nemesis, John Major Jenkins, have been going at it for years about who’s right. It’s silly, really, to be arguing about such a thing and to me is a perfect example of the most basic weakness of humans: the ego. Sure, we can’t do without it (Ruth wrote a great post on this topic), but we need to keep it in its proper role. Failure to do so creates a distortion in our perception of reality – which is precisely the point when we talk about expanding human consciousness.

In fact, the expansion has been happening gradually for many people over the past several years and began accelerating during last summer’s cardinal T-square. If you’ve felt like you’re hurtling forward through space at a head-spinning pace, it’s not just your imagination.

Regardless of whether Calleman or Jenkins has the bigger ego, we’re about to find out which of them is right … well, maybe. “Expanding consciousness” isn’t exactly going to be the biblical Rapture, where everyone gets taken up to heaven. It’s hard to define, let alone measure. But I think you’ll know it when you feel it.

As many long-time readers of RealAstrologers and its predecessor, The Pisces Chronicles, may recall, I’ve written about this moment, also referred to as the Apocalypse. Again, it’s been happening over time, so you may detect the big change only by thinking back to a year or two ago and comparing your life and perception of reality now to what it was back then.

One of the ways you can recognize the shift is by observing how fast your thoughts manifest into reality. This happens most efficiently if you’ve found your life’s purpose and are working on how best to share your unique gift with the world. The mere fact that more people are asking about their true purpose is a big sign that a shift in consciousness is taking place. Astrology happens to be one of the best tools for discovering this critical bit of self-knowledge, so it’s also no coincidence that more and more people are turning toward this ancient discipline.

This week’s New Moon in Scorpio is brilliant for manifestation work, as it falls within two days of a trine between Jupiter and Pluto in earth signs. The earth signs, remember, represent the tangible and material – what we can see and touch on the material plane. This includes relationships. Where this New Moon falls in your chart tells you where you can best use this energy to draw a new situation or relationship into your life that serves your higher purpose.

Rather than taking the week chronologically, I’m going to devote the remainder of this post to the New Moon chart, which contains all of this week’s astrological themes.

Scorpio is the sign of death, rebirth, and transformation, with heavy emphasis on transformation. Isn’t that what we’re talking about when we discuss expanding consciousness, the end date of the Mayan Calendar, and even the Rapture?

The first thing you note in this chart is that the New Moon is opposite Jupiter in Taurus. Jupiter is retrograde until Christmas – is that symbolic, or what? So some of what we set into action at this New Moon may not be completely visible for another two months. This is especially true for those with Jupiter currently transiting the six or twelfth house. The next thing you see is the strong blue line from Jupiter to Pluto. That’s the trine, which represents an easy path for energy to flow. Pluto is the modern ruler of Scorpio and shares many traits with that sign, including all the underworld and transformation symbolism. The trine is exact on Friday, as is the Sun’s opposition to Jupiter and sextile with Pluto.

Pluto currently is in Capricorn, which is about structure, among other things. Transforming the basic structure of our lives, of society, of government, and of our basic material reality is all contained in this symbolic planet-sign combination.

The New Moon also makes a wide, out-of-sign trine with Neptune in late Aquarius, which represents collective spirituality and the intuitive sense that we’re all connected. This phrase is thrown around like some New Age buzzword, but do stop to think about what this really means. Chiron at 0 degrees Pisces is just a few degrees from Neptune and adds an element of healing to the mix. “Heal” and “whole” come from the same root. Connected with others, we are greater than the sum of our parts.

You’ll also note the inconjunct (dotted green line) from the New Moon to Uranus in Aries. Radical change doesn’t happen without upset and discord. How can you fly through time and space without feeling disoriented? On a mundane level, humanity can’t experience wholesale change without massive upheaval, and that’s exactly what’s occurring.

The second set of aspects in the New Moon chart is the square from Venus to Mars and sextile from Mars to Saturn. There’s almost no better expression of “ego” than Mars in Leo, while Venus in Scorpio hints at the need for power and control through sex. Obviously, this is not an easygoing pair, and resulting conflict is represented by the square (90-degree angle) between them. As I’ve often pointed out, conflict is not inherently “bad.” It’s how we grow and how we eventually come together in union. Conflict simply means that one person wants one thing and the other wants something else. You don’t need to take it personally. It helps to be clear about what you want and why. If it’s because you need to have control or to be the center of attention, you could get a rude wallop on the side of the head this week. But that wallop could be quite transformational, if you pay attention to the lesson – “lesson,” of course, being the function of Saturn. Because Saturn is in Libra, relationship lessons are especially fruitful.

Lastly, I’d like to mention Comet Elenin, which recently passed its closest point to Earth. The dire predictions associated with this comet were among the silliest I’ve ever seen. But I don’t discount the widespread feeling that “something” is about to happen, and maybe that’s why so many people got sucked into the Internet rumor mill.

Something is about to happen. In the words of Dave in the sequel to 2001, it could be “something wonderful.”

See you on the other side next week. In the meantime, wishing you all a universe of love and courage,
Pat