Tag Archives: cardinal T-square

Uranus in Aries: Acting To Change the World

Uranus, ruler of electricity. Power lines extend from Grand Coulee Dam into the far distance. ©Pat Paquette.

Uranus, the planet we associate with rebellion, innovation, and change, is in Aries as of Thursday, May 27. We won’t get far into pioneering territory before he turns retrograde and returns to Pisces for several months, but we’ll have a chance to explore and experiment.

Simply put, Pisces is about dreaming, imagining, and reflecting. Aries is about doing. We’ve had seven years to reflect on our dreams and visions for the future, how we want our world to be. Uranus in Aries now asks, “So what are you going to do about it?”

Pisces is, among other things, about our beliefs. Ruled by Neptune, Pisces can be wonderfully imaginative and spiritual or totally delusional. Blind faith falls within this category. There are many forms of blind faith. Usually we think of it in terms of organized religion, but it can apply equally to blind faith in our government, blind faith in our societal values, and blind faith in our political and economic system.

How many people do you know who say they have faith in the system, just not the current elected officials who are running it? At some point, we’re going to need to realize that it just isn’t working, and then what?

The 29th degree of every sign is sensitive, but this is particularly true for the 29th degree of Pisces, the last degree of the zodiac and known as the “weeping degree.” Venus stationed there last year after a retrograde period in Aries, sensitizing this degree even further. It was a special moment in time, when Susan Boyle created an overnight sensation with a song about a broken dream.

As Uranus crossed 29 degrees Pisces, protests were rampant in the euro zone, and oil gushed unchecked into the Gulf of Mexico from BP’s well a mile under the surface. What beliefs are we being asked to sacrifice? If you don’t have an answer yet, you’ll know by March 11, 2011, when Uranus re-enters Aries for a seven-year stint, much of which will be in a politically volatile square with Pluto in Capricorn.

In the ingress chart set for Washington D.C., Ceres is rising, conjunct Pluto and square Uranus, Jupiter and Saturn. This suggests that the biggest issue for the United States will involve the environment. Set for Brussels, the ingress chart has 13 Aries on the Ascendant, with Ceres and Pluto on the Midheaven. This also suggests issues of food supply and an impending environmental crisis.

As much as we’d like to blame BP for this disaster and force them to pay, that will not solve the underlying problem. The way the scenario is playing out, BP may be sacrificed (but more likely not) so that oil drilling and the obscene profits being reaped by oil companies at the expense of the environment can go forward unimpeded. If you watched President Obama’s press conference on May 27, you know this to be true. He said BP would pay, but offshore oil drilling would continue.

We are dependent on fossil fuels, period. And exploiting fossil fuels has dire environmental consequences. That is a fact. We are addicted and disempowered. How will we reclaim that power and remake the world according to our vision of love, joy, and abundance? Is it even possible? Should we even try? Or should we adjust our beliefs to be more “realistic?” Should we accept that we can’t meet our material needs without lasting, long-term damage to our food chain and life-support system? Will we keep searching for some technological fix (also the realm of Uranus) to make it possible to have all of this and a clean environment, too? When, exactly, can we expect that to happen?

Uranus in Aries requires us to act, and I would add that we’re at a point in the evolution of human consciousness when it’s imperative that we act in accordance with our values. Some people will take this as their cue to participate in mass demonstrations. That’s not inappropriate, and it’s probably inevitable. For the next five years, Uranus will remain in a close square with Pluto, suggesting massive political unrest. As I mentioned above, this unrest is likely to be related to the breakdown of the environment and food supply chain.

However, limiting your actions to political protests is a bit like going to church on Sunday and then acting wantonly the rest of the week, without regard to whether you’re being kind and maintaining your integrity. Acting must include changing our fundamental beliefs to shift into a different way of living and being.

This can’t happen overnight. But it’s something to start working on while we’re working to change the world.

Ask Real Astrologers: What Changes Will Uranus in Aries Bring?

This week’s question comes from Ellen in British Columbia, Canada:

The subtle surprises and wonderful changes that I’m experiencing now, will they intensify with Uranus in Aries, and what advice can you give me that will help me through this bumpy period? (Yes I will be wearing a seat belt and a helmet.)

Ellen, as you correctly noted in your message to me, your Ascendant is 24 degrees Aries. So although Uranus is in Aries as of yesterday (May 27), he will not enter your first house until 2016, at which point the seat belt and helmet will be required gear.

This is definitely a case in which knowing your chart can help you plan. Most people only know their Sun sign, although these days, more and more people know their Rising signs and even Moon signs, which of course is very gratifying for us astrologers!

Unfortunately, that means that when you read an online horoscope, you can end up confused. Even the good ones sometimes make general statements about what a planet entering your sign means, when it really depends on the degree. As I explained in a recent column on cardinal signs, degree does matter in this cardinal T-square.

That said, your Midheaven and IC (the cusps of the tenth and fourth houses) are 11 degrees Capricorn and Cancer. So as the planets in cardinal signs move toward these degrees, you may notice some developments in your career and home life.

Also, we’re currently in a series of eclipses in Capricorn and Cancer, and this may be the driving influence in those bumps you’re feeling. The solar eclipse on July 11 will be in your fourth house, which rules home and family, and it will be in a square with your Ascendant and Descendant, which could put some pressure on your close relationships.

On the bright side, Jupiter is about to enter Aries as well, and he moves much faster than Uranus. It takes him only about a year to move through an entire sign, so you’ll have some of Jupiter’s protection beginning next year.

That’s not to say you aren’t feeling any effects of Uranus in Aries at all. Those subtle surprises may be an expression of Jupiter and Uranus conjunct in your twelfth house. Transits through this house do tend to be less noticeable, but, as you point out, they can be quite wonderful, too.

I hope that helps make sense for you, Ellen, and thanks for writing.

In general, I’d like to repeat that we’re all going through changes as the cardinal T-square builds toward a peak in early August. The questions coming into my box for this column are increasing in number and desperation. Some of the messages I’ve received are truly heartbreaking. This configuration of planets is far too complex, and there are way too many variables, for me to be able to tell you in a few short paragraphs how it will affect your entire life. If you are facing serious challenges and need guidance, please consider contacting me for a personal consultation.

Much love and courage to all.
Pat

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Top Kill: Ceres Doesn’t Make Idle Threats

A dead Northern Gannet on Grand Isle Beach, Louisiana. Photo by Sean Gardner for REUTERS.

As thousands of gallons of oil a day gush from BP’s well in the Gulf of Mexico, astrologers predictably are linking the disaster with the approach of this summer’s cardinal T-square.

I agree — it’s a no-brainer — but there is another planet involved here, and no one seems to be paying much attention to her.

I will admit that I have not routinely mentioned Ceres in all of my reports of the cardinal T-square, although I’ve at least acknowledged the conjunction of Ceres and Pluto and have made some initial guesses about how her inclusion in this extraordinary planetary configuration might play out.

In a post on April 24, I suggested that something would happen “to force governments to take responsibility for bad public policy, especially regarding the environment.” I wrote that post on April 14, a week before BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, killing 11 workers and blowing out a deep undersea well, which has been gushing anywhere from 5,000 to 100,000 barrels of oil a day into the gulf, depending on whom you believe.

A week earlier, in a post on the cardinal T-square of 2010, I noted that the Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred during a cardinal build-up in 1989, and I predicted that similar environmental disasters would be likely this year.

According to classical mythology, Ceres dared to confront Jupiter and Pluto over the disappearance of her daughter, Proserpina (better known as the Greek Persephone), whom Pluto kidnapped and stole off to the underworld. Ceres appealed to Jupiter, who disclaimed knowledge of the incident. She later discovered that Jupiter not only knew about the kidnapping but gave Pluto his express permission to take Proserpina for his wife against her will.

In her anger and grief, Ceres cut off the food supply and threatened to kill the entire human race. She didn’t make idle threats or set a deadline. Jupiter was forced to send a message to Pluto to return Proserpina to her mother. However, before Pluto sent her home, he fed her pomegranate seeds. No one who eats in the underworld may return to the world of the living. We also may assume that he had his way with her, taking what he wanted much in the same way that energy companies pillage the earth.

Jupiter sent Mercury to negotiate a compromise in which Proserpina was to spend half the year with her mother and half the year as Pluto’s queen in the underworld. During the half year when she was away, plant life on earth died. This myth ostensibly is an “explanation” for winter, but we might also read into it a dire warning of what happens when the environment is so callously disregarded.

As astrologers and students of astrology, we might also want to consider what happens when we ignore Ceres.

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union created a class of “dwarf planets,” in which they included Pluto and Ceres. Pluto was in effect demoted, while Ceres was given equal status to Pluto. Yet, Pluto got all of the attention, including indignant rants from astrologers everywhere about Pluto’s power. Even though Ceres was discovered 130 years before Pluto and is closer to the Earth, she is relegated to a minor role in astrology. Many astrologers consider her primary influence to be felt in mother-daughter relationships — in other words, “women’s issues” and not power politics. That’s still for the big boys.

In mundane astrology, Jupiter and Pluto represent government and corporate powers, which clearly must share the blame for what is fast becoming the worst environmental disaster in North American history. A report just came out about the cozy relationship between the oil industry and government regulators, who illegally accepted gifts from the people they were supposed to be monitoring and, by some accounts, were viewing Internet porn instead of doing their jobs.

And, just as Jupiter thought he could blow off Ceres with a lie, the powers that be don’t appear to be taking the implications very seriously. While the goo floating in the water and oozing up on the shore threatens an extensive ecosystem, government and industry officials are moving ahead with plans to continue offshore oil drilling, some of it in areas even more sensitive that the Gulf of Mexico.

To add insult to injury, the U.S. Department of the Interior has continued granting controversial environmental waivers, despite President Barack Obama’s announcement of a moratorium on drilling new wells in the gulf.

Ironically, BP is launching a procedure called “top kill” (how Plutonian is that?), possibly as early as Wednesday, in an attempt to shut down the gusher. BP officials caution that they have no idea whether it will work, because no one ever has attempted this procedure in a well this deep. The operation will take place just as Uranus is entering Aries, with Jupiter hot on his heels. The ingress chart set for Venice, La. (the nearest town to the BP oil rig), has Ceres exactly on the Ascendant at 2 degrees Capricorn.

Now that Ceres is part of the cardinal T-square, she’s solidly within the good ol’ boys club. Moreover, it’s likely to be the wisdom and maturity of Ceres that gets us out of this mess. In caring for the environment, we will have to make some compromises, and unfortunately they aren’t going to be a bed of roses. Although we can demand more oversight from our government, the energy industry thrives because we rely on their products in just about every aspect of our lives, from gasoline for our cars and food production, to the plastics used in our computers.

We still do not know the extent of the fallout from this disaster, and we may not know for several years. The consequences likely will be far greater than oiled birds and dead fisheries.

In the meantime, we can expect massive public protests and outrage against BP and the Obama administration. The demonstrations will be all the more vehement because starry eyed voters feel betrayed and need a target to vent their anger. Uranus in Aries will happily supply the fuel … a veritable uncontrolled gusher.

Then, these protests could pale compared to the political unrest that will occur when we’re forced to pay higher prices for gasoline, food, and other petroleum-based products. You can bet that our political leaders know this.

As I suggested in my previous post, the inclusion of Ceres in the T-square may have implications in our private lives, too.

“At the very least, we may need to reflect on how past decisions or behavior are affecting us in the present. It’s never too late to change!”

Our first responsibility in this crisis is to be informed citizens and search for real information, not what we’re being fed by BP, the U.S. government, and the corporate media.

Second, we have to confront the reality that our daily consumption habits contributed to this disaster. We pay lip service to environmentalism and point the finger at Big Bad Oil, and without missing a beat jump into our cars to run to the supermarket for a garden burger produced in a factory thousands of miles away. Healing ourselves and thus the planet requires that our words and our actions are in synch. Put another way, we must never quit striving to live with absolute integrity.

That, too, is a no-brainer.

I’ll have more on Uranus in Aries in this week’s Saturday Extra! post.

Pat

Weekly Forecast May 24: Uranus Enters Aries, Full Moon in Sagittarius

Lewis and Clark on the Lower Columbia, by Charles Marion Russell, 1905.

The preparation phase is over. As of this week, the wagons are loaded, and we begin our journey to somewhere else. We’ve heard about it and read about it, but until we actually make our way to this new and mysterious place, we won’t know what’s in store for us.

Uranus enters pioneering Aries just after the Full Moon on Wednesday. This is a major milestone in the building cardinal T-square. Jupiter enters Aries next week, and the two will form a conjunction on June 8.

We can imagine our pioneering ancestors leaving the comfort of the familiar and venturing into the unknown, lured by a better life, wide-open spaces, land of their own, and the bounty of nature. Some of them just wanted adventure or were called by a primal human need to go beyond the limits of the known world. Those who survived the hardship of the journey paved the way for others behind them, as explorers and immigrants have been doing since time immemorial.

For this week’s image, I chose a painting of the Lewis and Clark Expedition by Charles Marion Russell. Not only does this historical event represent the spirit of Uranus in Aries, but it also took place during a Jupiter-Uranus conjunction. Jupiter, Uranus, and Mars all were conjunct in Libra when the party left Pittsburg on August 31, 1803 — which, incidentally, was a rare six-eclipse year. Lewis and Clark were dispatched by President Thomas Jefferson to cross the Louisiana Purchase, which had been acquired from France earlier that year, effectively doubling the size of U.S. territory.

Expansion, of course, is the realm of Jupiter. Although the Big Guy currently is conjunct wild, unpredictable Uranus, which might lead to explosive growth in all things, he’s also opposed to Saturn, which limits and constrains. Jupiter opposed Saturn yesterday (May 23), in the first of three oppositions between now and the end of the March 2011.

All activities this week are very much still under the power of this influence, which I wrote about in last week’s forecast. From Monday to Wednesday, we can expect a lot of financial developments, including news of regulatory bills before the U.S. Congress. The legislation ostensibly is aimed at preventing another banking crisis like the one that occurred in 2008. However, it’s hard to believe much is going to be fixed. The astrological signature of that meltdown, the Saturn-Uranus opposition, isn’t over yet and is about to be complicated by a tight square to Pluto in late July. Moreover, the square between Pluto in Capricorn and Uranus in Aries will continue into mid-2015.

On Thursday, we have the Full Moon in Jupiter-ruled Sagittarius, briefly emphasizing mutable rather than cardinal energies. Although a lot of change can happen during mutable periods, mutable signs also are adaptable, so this could present us with a short window to adjust to recent shifts before more change comes piling on.

And so it will, with Uranus entering action-oriented Aries less than three hours after the Full Moon. I’ll have more on Uranus in Aries in a post later this week.

Neither Uranus nor Jupiter will remain in Aries for very long. Both turn retrograde this summer and return to Pisces until next year. But they will be in Aries in late July and early August, when the cardinal T-square will be at peak power.

While these noisy transits are occurring, Saturn quietly returns direct in Virgo on Sunday. His first order of business is to put severe obstacles in the path of Jupiter and Uranus, who would leap into anything without so much as a cursory look. This will apply to everything from natural disasters to political unrest and financial activities. We actually may thank our lucky stars that Saturn is such a stick in the mud, as it may be he, in the end, who prevents all hell from breaking loose.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

Full Moon in Sagittarius, May 27

Full Moon over Medicine Bow, Wyoming. © R.L. Wolverton/Dreamstime.com

The changes begun at the New Moon on May 13 come full circle at the Full Moon in Sagittarius on May 27.

All four mutable signs — Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces — are activated at this Full Moon, suggesting rapid, unpredictable, and irreversible change. There is no going back. Some of us may be in radically different circumstances than we were in a month ago.

Fortunately, the mutable signs are flexible and adapt readily to change. As unnerved as you may be initially, you should find it fairly easy to settle into your new surroundings.

We often forget, as we plod along in our daily grind, that it takes only one extraordinary moment to change our lives forever. This is true for individuals and for society as a whole. In these tumultuous times, we can’t take anything for granted.

The Sun at 6°33′ Gemini opposite the Moon at 6°33′ Sagittarius make a wide, out-of-sign trine and sextile with Saturn, Jupiter and Uranus, all in the final degrees of mutable signs. As of this lunation, the cosmic shakeup begins in earnest, with Uranus leaving Pisces less than three hours later and streaming headlong into cardinal Aries. Watch the news headlines for signs of sudden events, possibly shocking. Jupiter, ruler of this Full Moon, isn’t far behind. He’ll enter Aries on June 5, and I doubt he’ll do so quietly.

Venus, meanwhile, is at 9°27′ Cancer, in a separating opposition with Pluto at 4°48′ Capricorn. That makes a wide, out-of-sign grand cross, but I wouldn’t rate it as very powerful. At best, Venus in Cancer can help us nurture the relationships with those we love. At worst, some of us will feel emotionally overwhelmed for a few days. Cry if you must, but don’t expect a lot of sympathy.

The Sun and Moon also make a wide square with Neptune and Chiron. The danger here is that many people will choose to remain in denial, oblivious to the shift that is happening and therefore unprepared for events to come. None of us can predict exactly what will happen or when, but these powerful transits will manifest in the material world. The question remains how and when.

The mayhem following the eruption of the Eyafjallajökull volcano should serve as a warning. I don’t mean to be pessimistic or to spread gloom and doom, but we only need to look at how people clamored over one another for airline seats to imagine what would happen if, for example, our food supply were disrupted or we couldn’t access our ATM. People in the developing world have long experience with such conditions, but we in the privileged West do not. And, as we’ve seen, we aren’t likely to get much help from our governments.

The key to our survival in the coming months will be cooperating, sharing, and helping each other, which will be a real test of our sense of security. I urge you now, while we have some breathing space, to think about what you absolutely need and to plan for the immediate future. Also take note of who you’re aligned with.

The Sabian Symbol** for the Sun at 6°33′ Gemini is an old-fashioned well, with the keyword RECOMPENSE. The essence of who we are comes from a deep source that remains pure, despite actions and associations that run contrary to our true spirit. It is never too late to get in touch with our true selves or to starting living with absolute integrity. When we do so, we align ourselves with our higher consciousness and our purpose in this life.

For the Moon at 6°33′ Sagittarius, the Sabian Symbol is cupid knocking at the door, with the keyword ALLUREMENT. Close partnerships test our boundaries and sense of self. Ironically, changing for the benefit of a relationship is sometimes how we find out who we really are. Perhaps that’s why some of us are so driven to remain in difficult romantic relationships. It’s often the most effective way to learn the karmic lessons necessary for healing and wholeness.

As I noted in a previous post, this is Wesak, commemorating the enlightenment of the Buddha. The festival is held annually at the Full Moon in sidereal Scorpio. According to sidereal astrology, the Full Moon on May 27 falls at 11°39′ Scorpio.

In honor of Wesak, I leave you with a link to a wonderful essay on the Buddhist Channel, called “Buddha Wasn’t a Buddhist.” I found it very enlightening, and it dovetails beautifully with the message of our tropical Full Moon in Sagittarius.

Pat

** From The Sabian Symbols in Astrology, by Dr. Marc Edmond Jones. The author, an astrologer, channeled this work in the early 1920s. There’s one symbol one for each degree of the zodiac, and we can use them to gain insight into charts.

Ask Real Astrologers: What’s Ahead for Us Cardinal People?

I’m addressing two questions together this week, since they essentially are asking the same thing.

Libra is in my ninth and tenth house, and my first house is Capricorn. Over the past 15 months I have fallen on hard times and in the past few weeks things have picked up. What I don’t understand is this T “zone” and what it means. I was hoping that you could explain a little. — Kaye, Las Vegas, Nev.

I read about all the T-squares and cardinal stuff occurring. I am concerned and confused about my whole life — relationship, business, etc., because I am primarily cardinal. How does this affect individuals like me with all this square stuff during this timing? — “Henry,” Cotopaxi, Colo.

Kaye and Henry, before I answer your questions, let me clear up some of the confusion by explaining what a cardinal T-square is.

The 12 signs of the zodiac are divided into three qualities: cardinal, fixed, and mutable. The cardinal signs are Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn. A T-square occurs when planets occupy three signs within one quality. If all four signs are occupied, then it’s called a grand cross.

Since Pluto entered Capricorn in 2008, there has been a build-up of planets in the cardinal signs. We are approaching a powerful T-square in 2010 and 2011, with Pluto at the apex. Uranus and Jupiter are about to enter Aries, and they will oppose Saturn in Libra this summer (Saturn is currently retrograde back in Virgo). There will be some periods this year and next when the early degrees of Cancer also are activated, and so the T-square then becomes a grand cross.

As I wrote in a recent article on the cardinal build-up of 2010 and 2011, such alignments are rare, and when they occur, dramatic events unfold here on Earth. The nature of cardinal energy is dynamic and very active, which is why astrologers are warning of sweeping change ahead.

Anyone with personal planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars) or chart angles (Ascendant, Descendant, Midheaven, and IC) in the early degrees of the cardinal signs will be particularly touched by this planetary pattern in the sky. And that may be just as well, because cardinal people need action, and you haven’t been getting nearly enough in the past several years. To the contrary, many of you have been feeling very stuck.

Kaye and Henry, you are among the many “cardinal people” who will be heavily affected by this configuration. Some of what develops for you will be surprisingly positive, even though the breadth of the changes may cause you a lot of stress.

Kaye, as you correctly stated, your Ascendant is not Capricorn, but as a late Rising Sagittarius, you have a first house that is almost entirely Capricorn. That means your seventh house is Cancer. As you noted, you have Libra on the Midheaven. The apex of the T-square, Pluto, currently is moving through your first house. I’m guessing that things started to break down in your life when Pluto crossed your Ascendant in late 2006. You are going through a sweeping transformation.

A big factor in this year’s cardinal buildup is the eclipse series in Capricorn and Cancer. When they fall in our first and seventh houses, as they do for you, Kaye, it may suddenly feel as though something or someone else has taken control of our lives and is pushing us in a particular direction. While this may seem like too much disruption all at once, it gets you to a new place a lot faster. You just have to grit your teeth and withstand the G-force.

Believe it or not, you are approaching a career peak, which will happen toward the end of this year or the middle of 2011.

Henry, as a late-degree Rising Cancer, you won’t feel the deep personal impact that Kaye is experiencing. Rather, you will notice this buildup most in your career and home life. With Uranus and Jupiter about to cross your Midheaven, there is the potential for a sudden professional opportunity.

However, at the same time, you may face restrictions in your home life, or a situation with your home and family may come into direct conflict with your career. These constraints will continue for a couple of years, so you may have to put up with less-than-desirable living arrangements in order to advance your professional standing. Try to keep in mind during these challenges that you are working toward building a more-solid foundation under your life.

Thanks you both for writing. Have courage, and let us know how it goes.

I’d like to add that just about everyone is going to feel the effects of this T-square, even if it’s not as disruptive as the changes that people like Kaye and Henry are going through. While I am able to answer some of your questions in this column, it can’t be a substitute for a complete reading. If you are facing serious challenges that affect all areas of your life and need guidance, please contact me for a private consultation. Others have taken the leap and were very happy they did.

Pat

Weekly Forecast May 17: Sun in Gemini, Jupiter Opposite Saturn

As above, so below. Detail of Fall of the Titans, by Dutch painter Cornelis van Haarlem, 1588.

There will be plenty of action this week, although it may seem somewhat chaotic and directionless much of the time.

The week begins on solid ground, with the Sun in the last degrees of Taurus making positive contacts with Jupiter in Pisces on Monday and Saturn in Virgo on Tuesday. These aspects favor material results. While the building opposition between Jupiter and Saturn will be felt as conflict between expanding our options and playing it safe, the tension between these two finds a creative outlet in the Sun. Wherever the last degrees of Taurus are in your chart is where you will find your biggest inspiration.

Also on Monday, Venus squares Jupiter, and then over the next two days trines Neptune and squares Saturn and Uranus. This could be a recipe for going overboard with marathon texting, too much junk food (or worse), and unrestrained impulse shopping, which you will regret sorely the next day.

Or, it could bring a totally unexpected opportunity to make an investment in your future. If you’re in the market for something in particular and stick to buying only what’s on your list, you could do very well early in the week.

After all that activity, Venus glides into watery Cancer on Wednesday, and her first order of business will be to oppose Ceres and Pluto this weekend. The Moon will be in Libra, which means we’ll have a cardinal T-square for a few hours.

Normally I wouldn’t rank a T-square with the Moon as much of an influence, but with the bigger configuration looming in the next two months, this one bears watching. The Moon will be at the apex of the T-square, in mutual reception with Venus. Hard aspects between Venus and Pluto typically translate to sexual tension and passion. In Cancer and Capricorn, the desire to possess and control could be overwhelming, and this makes Moon in Libra extremely uncomfortable. Be prepared to get called out on hidden motives. We all have them, but most of us would rather not admit it.

Mercury makes the last of a three-part trine with Pluto on Wednesday, which will help us access the secret recesses of our minds and the deep truths buried there. We may not like what we hear, but self-knowledge is self-empowerment. We all have a shadow side.

On Thursday, the Sun enters Gemini, and then we’ll be in mutable territory for the next two weeks. I started to write “solidly in mutable territory,” but nothing is solid or firm about the mutable signs. Think of trying to pour a bowl of warm Jell-O onto a plate, and you get the idea. Or like a symphony tuning their instruments. There’s no theme or focus. We’re all over the map and mixing our metaphors.

Chiron, which recently entered Pisces, is part of the mutable trend and represents deep spiritual wounds in the collective caused by millennia of man’s inhumanity to man. As we wind up the Age of Pisces and head into the Age of Aquarius, we need to reclaim our interconnectedness, not just with each other but with the invisible forces of the cosmos, which some call “higher realms.”

The Moon enters Virgo on Friday and makes contact on Saturday with Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus, all in mutable signs. On Sunday, Jupiter opposes Saturn, the first of three passes of this opposition. Only the first will be in mutable signs. The next two, on Aug. 16, 2010, and March 28, 2011, will be in Libra and Aries and will play a key role in the cardinal T-square we’ve been hearing so much about.

It’s hard to overemphasize the influence of this opposition and its role in intensifying the power of the cardinal T-square. Political and economic unrest is almost certain and, in fact, has started already, well in advance of the peak period of the T-square in July and August. We’re seeing it most prominently in financial markets. The opposition is magnified by the conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus, which is taking place concurrently with the Jupiter-Saturn opposition, and by the square of all three to powerful Pluto in Capricorn.

These are extraordinary times, and no matter where this planetary configuration falls in your chart, you will feel the pressure. For some, it will manifest as unbearable tension that forces you to grow and change. For others, it could bring unimaginable opportunities, totally out of the blue, but these will hold their own set of challenges. Sweeping change is, by definition, disruptive, and humans are wired to stick to the safe and familiar. That simply will not be possible in the months to come.

That is the main reason why I sign off my weekly forecasts with a wish for much love and courage. We’re all going to need it.

Pat

Ask Real Astrologers: Double Pluto Transit Brings Intense Urges

This week’s question comes from Karen in Alberta, Canada:

I just turned 45 and am feeling the strongest urges from within (my soul) to get a move on, to change, to evolve, to make use of my time and gifts. Yet, I’m feeling guilty about leaving my husband, who is not interested in anything spiritual or educational. I am happy in the moment but feel the push to go. What is going on?

Karen, you’ve got way too much going on in your chart for me to respond to it all here. Indeed, you could be a poster child for the cardinal T-square, which I will address in more detail in next week’s column. All four of your chart angles are in cardinal signs, with the Midheaven at 4 degrees Capricorn. Your Moon is at 5 degrees Cap.

Currently, Pluto is transiting these degrees. Pluto on your Moon is extremely disruptive emotionally, and it’s why you are feeling such strong stirrings in your soul. Moreover, with Pluto on the Midheaven, you are questioning the entire direction of your life. This is natural.

Both of these Pluto transits are marked by sweeping changes in a person’s life, including the breakdown of situations that no longer serve you and the end of unfulfilling relationships. Do not try to force any changes, but remain as open as possible to this powerful experience and let it take you to a new place. Also, try to understand the metamorphosis taking place within yourself first, and then address external circumstances.

I normally don’t reveal the questioner’s age, but since you mentioned it, I will comment that you were born during the last Saturn-Uranus opposition, which took place in the mid-1960s amid extreme political and social upheaval. You and others born in this time period are intimately familiar with that feeling of having one foot on the gas pedal and the other on the brakes. Or, put another way, whenever you attempt to spread your wings and fly, there always seems to be something holding you back.

I strongly urge you to get a thorough astrological reading. I do consultations over the phone, but if you’d rather work with someone in person, check your locale for a competent professional who can guide you through this period of intense change.

I realize that this is a stressful time for you. However, you’re standing at an open door to many new opportunities, and that is very exciting. Best of luck to you, and keep us posted.

Pat

Saturday Extra: The Cardinal T-Square and Immigration Law

Riot police at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix. Photo by Ross D. Franklin for The Associated Press.

Arizona’s new illegal-immigration law and the protests it unleashed stand out as an early indicator of how events will unfold during the cardinal T-square of 2010 and 2011.

Gov. Jan Brewer signed the law on April 23, just as Saturn and Uranus were approaching exact opposition in Virgo and Pisces, the fourth contact since November 2008. It is scheduled to go into effect in late July or early August, right around the fifth and last opposition of Saturn and Uranus on July 26.

By that time, both planets will be in early cardinal signs, in a tight square with Pluto. We can expect more protests, possibly more violent, and the federal government likely will intervene as well.

Of course, Mercury also was retrograde at the signing, and that makes it more likely that there will be changes, if the law isn’t repealed altogether. But even if it is, powerful forces have been set in motion that will continue to play out until 2012 and beyond.

The new law makes it a punishable crime to be in the United States illegally and gives police in Arizona the power to stop and question people they suspect of being illegal immigrants. The backlash was swift and severe. According to news reports, protestors stormed the state capitol and drew comparisons with Nazi Germany.

Gov. Brewer, a Republican in a historically conservative state, said the law was needed because the federal government wasn’t doing enough to fight illegal immigration and lawlessness along the border with Mexico. Other states are considering similar measures.

The Obama administration reportedly is considering a legal challenge. Many civil rights groups also are threatening to sue, saying that the law will lead to racial profiling and harassment of Hispanics and anyone who looks like one. From there, it’s only one step to legal authority to stop anyone, for any reason or no reason at all. If it seems like we’re on a slippery slope toward a police state (many people argue that we’re already there), it’s not just paranoia.

Once Saturn and Uranus move into action-oriented cardinal signs this summer and form a close square with Pluto, the playing field will expand. It’s likely that the federal government will intervene at that time. In a T-square, the planet at the apex takes the “heat.” Pluto will be squared not just by Saturn and Uranus, but simultaneously by Jupiter, Mars, and Venus. Immigration and legal issues fall under the provenance of Jupiter, which was approaching conjunction with Uranus when the law was signed.

But what does Pluto in Capricorn represent? The “conventional” interpretation is that it’s about Big Government and Big Business. If so, the situation in Arizona — as well as other protests breaking out around the world — may be an early test of this power.

That said, we must take care in connecting the various astrological players in this unfolding celestial drama to earthly counterparts. For example, it’s tempting to assign Uranus to the Democrats and Saturn to the Republicans, but that would be an error in our thinking. The planets in signs represent forces of nature, which express themselves through humans and through the Earth herself.

Here’s something else to think about: As long as Pluto is checked by Saturn in Libra and Uranus in Aries, we may be under surveillance but not under totalitarian control. That could well change in 2012, when Saturn enters Scorpio and begins to “cooperate” with Pluto, through both a friendly sextile and mutual reception.

At that point, the people may be on their own to battle the combined forces of business and government, and our definitions of “conservative” and “liberal” may become totally meaningless.

Pat

Weekly Forecast April 26: Saturn Opposite Uranus, Full Moon in Scorpio

A volcano erupts under Eyjafjallajökull glacier in Iceland on April 14, 2010. Photo by Ingolfur Juliusson for REUTERS.

Question: What’s the difference between a Saturn-Uranus opposition in Virgo and Pisces and the same opposition in Libra and Aries?

Answer: I don’t know. But we’re about to find out.

It’s not often that we get this great opportunity to get out of the lab and into the field. I’ve been studying charts, and theoretically, there doesn’t seem to be much difference between a Saturn-Uranus opposition in mutable signs, cardinal signs, earth and water, or air and fire. It’s all explosive, and it’s disruptive on a global scale, as we’ve seen in the past two weeks.

Saturn and Uranus have been in opposition since late 2008. Actually, they’ve been in opposition since forever — their astrolological attributes are as different as two planets can get. Saturn is about structure, stability, established hierarchy, limitations, and constraints. Wild and unpredictable, Uranus rules rebellion, freedom, human rights, space travel, technological breakthroughs, electricity, and sparks of creative genius.

Simply put, Saturn is order and Uranus is chaos.

So what happens when they oppose one another in the sky? Well, their first exact contact of this cycle was on November 4, 2008 — Election Day in the United States, and we all know how that turned out. After the initial euphoria, many hoped-for changes failed to materialized, and the Obama administration is under heavy fire from both sides of the aisle as his popularity rating continues to plummet. He’s taking heat in particular for his healthcare plan, which even has led to violence against lawmakers who approved it. A new grassroots rebellion is rising among political conservatives.

Wait — rebellious conservatives? Isn’t that an oxymoron? Not when Saturn is opposed to Uranus!

This conflict will intensify as Saturn and Uranus continue their opposition into late July and early August, by which time they both will have changed signs and will be part of the explosive cardinal T-square with Pluto at the apex. In the meantime, they form an exact alignment today (Monday) at 28 degrees Virgo and Pisces. There will be one more exact contact on July 26, at 0 degrees Libra and Aries.

In other news this week, we have the Full Moon in Scorpio on Wednesday. I’ve already written about this event, so there’s not much more to say. Later in the day, Ceres turns retrograde. She never quite made it to an exact conjunction with Pluto. That will take place later this year and will bear watching. I’m still not ready to make pronouncements about what Ceres transits mean, but I know that a conjunction with Pluto is significant.

On Sunday, the Moon in Sagittarius squares Saturn and Uranus, briefly forming a mutable T-square, and then carries that energy forward to Pluto in Capricorn later in the day. If you’re having your own personal crisis with Saturn and Uranus, you could go into meltdown phase. The Moon in Sagittarius generally is optimistic, but it’s hard to think positive when you’re dodging falling debris.

Wishing us all an abundance of love and courage,
Pat

RealAstrologers

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