Moon Madness and More

This New Moon cycle started off with a bang.  Literally.  Less than 24 hours after the New Moon perfected another horrendous slaughter took place in Chattanooga, Tenn. And that is just the beginning.

 While the Lunation cycle covers a month in time and the Solar cycle a year, the slow moving outer planet cycles cover a much broader period of time.  Because they are slow moving their period of influence have a much longer duration.  Such is the cycle of Uranus and Pluto.  Since 2012 they have been moving back and forth into a square aspect of 90 degrees.  The current Uranus / Pluto cycle began in the mid 1960’s coinciding with the great social upheaval and change of that period.  Now they are in the opening square period and echoes of the 60’s reverberate. Because they are slow movers when they connect exactly the influence is felt for a number of years plus/minus exactness.  This current square period was ushered in by the financial meltdown.  With the last square occurring in March 2015 the influence will be felt until 2019 or so. Into this mix the 20 year Jupiter/Saturn jumps in bringing Venus and monetary concerns into the picture.

During this Lunation cycle Mercury and Mars bounce off Uranus and Pluto.  Mars is the warrior, at the New Moon he and Mercury the communicator mixed it up with Pluto. As the month unfolds they will connect with anything goes Uranus. In the run up to the Full Moon on August 31^st planets change signs and change direction which by itself triggers action. Throw in all the other stuff that’s going on and we’ve got a volatile stew.

This week the Sun, trines Saturn on the 21^st then slides into home base the next day.  Mercury trines Saturn that day and the next day joins the Sun in Leo.  This is an energy change which might feel very subtle for some, the Leo’s and other fire signs, Aries and Sagittarius will feel an infusion of energy.  The First Quarter Moon on Friday sets the tone for the weekend. Venus is poised to go retrograde early Saturday morning with stir it up Mars squaring off with the unpredictable Uranus.  Uranus is scheduled to go retrograde the following day, Sunday, July 26^th.

When planets change direction they are moving slow and at the point of change they seem to be not moving at all.  We know that they don’t really move backwards they just appear so from the Earth.  But when they are at this point the energy and symbolism of those planets are strong.  Venus rules your love, your money and your desires. Mars rules your will and ability to act.  Uranus rules the innovative, inventive and eccentric.  These aspects can take the positive side and the negative side.  Mars in emotional Cancer does not function well.  Mars is a planet of action and when emotions get in his way he does not behave in the best manner.  Couple this energy with eccentric, excitable Uranus and it is anyone’s guess what the outcome will be. 

At the Full Moon the energy reaches its peak with lots of internet chatter, tweets, twits and shocking headlines. Sunday, August 2^nd Saturn turns retrograde setting a sober tone and signaling it is payback time.  Jupiter squares off with Saturn on the Monday triggering some financial swings and leadership problems.  Venus joins Jupiter on Tuesday which brings an expansive attitude of liberal spending on luxury items.  Don’t be so quick whipping out that credit card because on the following day, Wednesday the 5^th she connects with old sober sides Saturn in Scorpio who is all about debt, interest rates and the balance due.

The Last Quarter Moon on the 6^th is a day of action as well. Mars makes a sweet aspect with Saturn which is anything but sweet when these two get together.  Things could get ugly.  Mercury whispers sweet nothings into Venus’ ear then moves along quickly and gets serious with Saturn and the conversation goes from billing and cooing to a lovers quarrel with finance being a big issue.  On Friday, Mercury moving along connects with Jupiter and the conversation is quite different.  Saturn is all about responsibility and contraction, Jupiter is the opposite, he wants to expand and see the world. Diplomatic conversations get down to the smallest details when Mercury enters Virgo shortly after.  Mercury in Virgo sees the trees and will have no truck with Jupiter’s forest.

Over this weekend Mars moves into fiery Leo on Saturday the 8^th.  Mars is a fiery planet and takes the lead in Leo.  Leo likes to be the center of attention and Mars likes to be first. With this entry into Leo Mars sets the stage for a big splash. 

In the days leading up to the next New Moon on August 14^th Jupiter moves into Virgo a sea change from his sojourn through Leo.  Jupiter is the big picture guy while Virgo finds comfort in examining the tiniest pixel. Practical Mercury in Virgo opposes nebulous Neptune in Pisces.  These are truly opposites, Mercury wants just the facts while Neptune envisions the ideal, what could be.  Neptune’s fog and mirrors.  Some scandalous truths are revealed.  The cycle closes like it started, with a bang.  The Sun in Leo makes an aspect of ease to Uranus in Aries.  My mantra for Uranus aspects and transits is “if you can think of it, that ain’t it.”  Uranus is the bolt from the blue, the hit from left field, the unthinkable. 

This period is a stir it up, mix it up time that activates the long term cycles that have been active.  We’ve seen some big changes over the past years, from Supreme Court decisions like Citizens United dealing with campaign finances to the more recent one concerning gay marriage.  Greece, debt and the European Union and the diplomatic deal with Iran spark outrage and/or support as society reflects the planetary patterns of conflict between ideologies and ways of life.  The media stirs up the conflict and folks are prone to knee-jerk reactions. 

On the personal level we can’t fall into these traps.  Squares and other harsh aspects between the planets offer an opportunity to resolve differences.  That does not mean that it is going to be easy.  Resolution will require work.  These aspect also force us to face harsh truths about ourselves, our situation and the people in our lives.  Difficulties lead to growth and growth leads to a newer and better life. Harsh times force us to really look to find a way out of difficulty.  In that looking we see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Sometimes all you can do is soldier on.