Astral Notes
Winter, 2006 - 2007

 

This page is a quarterly UFC supplement for Winter, 2006 - 7. It has astrology information beyond the monthly entries for such basic astral events as lunations (New and Full Moons) and sign changes of fast-moving "inner" planets; and the occasional rare and auspicious alignment such as the Star of David/Merkaba at the Harmonic Concordance of November, 2003, and the Grand Quintile of October, 2004. Thus the Astral Notes cover the "middle ground" between the biggest events and the more routine ones, and chart important astral currents that are already in effect, or are coming several months ahead.
We begin with the momentous Neptune-Pluto septile that has been in effect since 2000, and in Section 3, New Aspects for Winter, 2006 - 2007, we'll look at the dramatic Sagittarius stellia of December, 2006 that complete the planetary Awakening phase of 2003 - 2006 -- not that everybody is awake by late 2006, only that many more people are -- and begins the Glamour phase of 2007 - 2009.

Here are the main players for winter, 2006 - 2007:
1. Master Aspects from 2005 to 2012:
2000 - 2019: Neptune-Pluto Septile: A septile is one-seventh of a 360° circle, and is thus an angle of about 51°. While astrologers normally do not devote much space to septiles in reading for their individual clients or the planet as a whole, they're making an exception for the one that began in September, 2000 and will continue until well after the End of Time forecast for 2012. As Neptune, now in Aquarius, and Pluto in Sagittarius are the two slowest-moving planets in our solar system, angles of relationship between them tend to be very long-lasting, as this one is. It continues through Pluto's crossing into Capricorn (2008) and the entry of Neptune into Pisces (2011), and does not begin to fade until 2019.
Both these planets pertain to specific areas of mass consciousness. Pluto is more political, social and technological in his sphere of influence, governing mass movements, the collapse and regeneration of governments and other institutions, and such technologies as computers and encyryption and espionage systems. Neptune is more mystical and aesthetic, holding a greater sway in the realm of mass spiritual and religious beliefs. Thus Tem Tarriktar of Mountain Astrologer expects this aspect to entail “global war and blatant propaganda, with extreme polarization on many levels,” as occurred when these planets were last in septile in 1937 – 40. Tarriktar quotes a valuable take on this septile by astrologer Edward Gilliam, writing about the actions of seventh-harmonic (7H) personalities, and the premise that a seventh-harmonic person or event, like the discordant interval of a seventh on a musical scale, represents a temporary harshness and discomfort that the music may go through until it resolves into the harmony of the octave.
“This journey into the dark, the shocking and the chaotic," Gilliam believes, "appears to emerge when we examine mundane and natal seventh-harmonic charts. . . . [The] seventh harmonic . . . can be a dark and overwhelming place - full of fears, surprises, taboos, and confrontations with ‘otherness.’ The 7H individual is someone who appears to be "living on the edge" as a ‘disorderer,’ renegade, or iconoclast, or someone who prods social conscience. The 7H event (typically a shocking human act) appears unannounced and unwelcome but may be a desperate final cry, from the darkest places in the collective psyche, perhaps to ‘re-balance' power relationships and to acknowledge the rights of disowned and dispossessed peoples.” (Mountain Astrologer, Feb. – March, 2003)
We are now about one-fourth of the way through the Neptune-Pluto septile period, and we can readily imagine what some of the 7H events have been and will be. And the 7H people, including such candidates as Osama bin Laden, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela -- no wonder assassins are after both -- and, for that matter, the indigo children, who are here to bust old systems and limits, and clear them away.
Feb. 2005 - Feb. 2011: Chiron in Aquarius: For these six years, except for brief moves back into Capricorn and ahead into Pisces, the planet of the holistic healer will be in the sign of friendship and community, with all that this implies for individual health and planetary healing achieved by growing teams of like-minded light physicians. See Carolyn Brent's Shamanic Astrology website for her article "Chiron in Aquarius: The Kindness Revolution Elixir."
2. Still Running from 2005, 2006 and early 2007:
July 17, 2005 - Sept. 2, 2007: Saturn in Leo: As Saturn is the principle of weakness and restriction, but also the symbol of the wisdom that may come in solitude, his presence in the masculine, intellectual Sun-ruled sign of Leo represents a time when men in particular, but women too, will examine the limits of intellectual approaches to many areas of their lives, and will also retune as needed their sex roles and power roles in their relationships. Saturn is said to be “in detriment” in Leo – as he was also in Cancer, his power muted and weakened, so that his guidance may seem to come at lower volume, and be harder to hear. For some this period of two years and a little more may seem less “productive” than they would like – until they recognize that a greater abundance of ideas and work, and stronger support for them, will ensue upon new realizations about what one truly wishes to do, and for what aim.

Sept. 30, 2006 – Jan. 6, 2007: Saturn trine Pluto: Saturn in Leo trines Pluto in Sagittarius through the last quarter of this year, and again in the middle of 2007.

Many people will look on this long Saturn-Pluto trine, which encloses the very intense Scorpio month of 2006 (see next) as the true godsend of the year, the indicator that some things do indeed remain sacred, and that not all traditional wisdom and practice has been swept away in the swirl of passion and desire from the end of 2005 through the summer of 2006. This time strongly favors the formation of spiritual community and the teaching of ritual and myth that will resonate deeply in the memory, and the immediate concerns, of the tribes who learn them.

Nov. 23, 2006 - Dec. 18, 2007: Jupiter in Sagittarius: Jupiter enters Sagittarius, the sign of his rulership. He'll be here until December, 2007. In the coming year Jupiter will square Uranus in Pisces (January) and the Dragon’s Head (February), move trine Saturn in Leo and sextile Neptune in Aquarius (March-April), then be sextile Neptune again in October-November.

The last notable synchronicity of 2007 is that on the day before a new tun (next) begins, Jupiter enters the sign where his power is greatest, and his most “positive” and “beneficent” energies are likely to prevail. The upshot of the aspects noted above is that friction in the Jupiter-ruled areas of law and government is most likely at the beginning and end of the year, when shocking revelations about official misdeeds will occur, and will alter political loyalties, both among individual citizens and in bloc alliances among factions and parties. From March to September, there will be mild relief from recent oppressive control. There will have to be, if only to forestall cataclysmic changes. The main Jupiter challenges come, however, from late next year, when Jupiter enters Capricorn and conjoins Pluto from December, 2007.

Nov. 24, 2006 - Nov. 18, 2007: Ninth Tun and Fifth Day in the Galactic Creation Cycle: This tun -- a period of 360 days in the Mayan Calendar -- is the "Fifth Day" in the Galactic Creation Cycle described by Swedish Mayanist Carl Johan Calleman -- begins the transition from the phase of Awakening in 2003 – 2006 into the phase of Glamour in 2007 – 2009. During this tun, new technologies of light will begin to emerge with such astounding brilliance that we may look for a moment as though we’ve all got it, and universal peace and understanding are at hand. If only it were so. We will see now such a parade of “spiritual” images, many of them illusions, that one true test of the time will be whether our hearts and our eyes have been introduced and are in accord, or whether our eyes fly off like birds on a wire to places where the heart prefers not to go. 

“Among other things,” Calleman writes about this Fifth Day, “the mechanisms by means of which banks ‘create’ credit will become transparent. The old abstract calculations of the left brain half will then no longer be consistent with the emerging values of the right brain half, which sees reality concretely. This conflict between perceptions will be the deeper and more fundamental reason that the world economy will reach a point where no further economic growth will be possible and if anything a negative downward spiral will start.”
3. New Aspects for Winter, 2006 - 2007:

Dec. 5: Full Moon Alignment: This last Full Moon of 2006 may be the most highly charged of all, as so many planets join in complex relationships. Uranus in Pisces is the middle leg of a T-cross between the Sun in Sagittarius and the Moon in Gemini, Jupiter in Sagittarius is sextile to Chiron in Aquarius, and is linked by a quintile to Uranus. Pluto and Venus in Sagittarius are square to the Dragon’s Head in Pisces, and trine to Saturn in Leo, who is square to Mercury and Mars, conjunct in Scorpio and square Neptune in Aquarius.

Thus, as the Awakening Phase of 2004 – 2006 ends, all of the planets are in a single intricate and powerful design of “positive” and “difficult” aspects. The time will be uncommonly packed with agendas and demands, so much so that those who intend to remain sane will have to simplify or jangle out. Those who have been unloading the nonessential from their lives over the last year or more may find this Full Moon easy, even empowering and fruitful, as it is after all the traditional harvest moon. The simpler and more modest the crop, the greater the result.

Dec. 6 - 11 and 17 - 20: Six-planet Stellia in Sagittarius: The Sun forms two stellia with five other planets:

The Dec. 6 - 11 stellium is the more powerful and dynamic because it has a triple conjunction among Mercury, Mars and Jupiter; and another conjunction of Venus with Pluto. The presence of so many planets in the sign of the Archer, the conjunctions that connect five of them, and the Sun position at the midpoint of the two conjunctions, combine to produce a powerful emphasis on Sagittarius matters of law and governance, institutions of authority and financial power, and, as Jupiter is in the sign of his rulership, a greater likelihood of wise leadership and transparent communication of policy. This stellium reduces to five planets when Venus exits into Capricorn on Dec. 11.

A second six-planet stellium forms Dec. 17 - 20 when the Moon passes through Sagittarius. For more on the Mother Night Stellium at the New Moon on Dec. 20, see December 2006 Mythic Prelude.

Feb. 3 - April 5: Saturn opposite Neptune: This is a recurring aspect. For the second time since August-September 2006, Saturn in Leo is opposite Neptune in Aquarius. For more on the first opposition in this series, see the UFC Mythic Prelude for August 2006.

The practical import of the Saturn-Neptune opposition is that we can expect, again as we did six months ago, a concerted effort by established religious institutions and their allies in control-obsessed governments, against the new, communal spirituality of Aquarius. Most of this action will be propaganda and polemic, but some official harassment can be expected as well. The February – April period will in some ways set the tone for the three-year Glamour Phase that is to follow. Those who have been tardy in building courage and forming alliances will do it now. Others who have started 2007 in greater readiness will prepare their countertricks. Here is a chart cast for Washington, DC at the exact moment when the Saturn-Neptune opposition forms on Feb. 28:
Here the Saturn-Neptune opposition is part of a larger dynamic of tension between the 7th house sphere of marriage and partnership and the 1st house thrust of one's personality, and the ways he seeks to project it in the world. The pulling forces are intense, with the Saturn-Neptune opposition exacerbated by a second opposition between the Moon in Cancer in the 7th and both the Capricorn Ascendant and Mars in Aquarius. A third opposition is in effect too, with the Sun and Uranus conjunct the Moon's North Node in Pisces in the 2nd house, and thereby opposite the South Node in the 8th. All of these stressful conditions can likely manifest as impulsive actions, unexpected emotional upsets, disputes and quarrels leading even to the breaking of relationships. Those who are determined to bring something to a confrontation now nad best buy a helmet, and practice those ducking and dodging moves.
This is this not to say that we'll see and do nothing but squabbling and pouting as February 2007 turns into March. Jupiter in Sagittarius, in the 11th house, is at a 120° trine to Saturn and a 60° sextile to Neptune, indicating that powerful authorities may be ahifting now into positions as conflict arbitrators rather than combatants. The Sun-Uranus-Dragon's head conjunction is trine the chart's Scorpio Midheaven, so that exciting creative insights and unexpected solutions are favored now. There is a 72° quintile between Mercury and Jupiter. While the weeks of this opposition will sound uncommonly strident and divisive, even by the standards of America's best efforts to alienate all its friends since the spring of 2003, those who listen for the finer tones will hear some exciting new ideas for managing -- even creating -- the changes that come now.

Feb. 11 – May 2: Moon’s North Node (Dragon’s Head) conjunct Uranus: The Dragon’s Head, moving backward through Pisces, is within 3° of Uranus for most of the Saturn-Neptune oppositions we’ve covered above. The Uranus-Dragon's Head conjunction is exact on April 1, just before the April Full Moon.

One wondrous thing about the endlessly variegated and intricate celestial design is that when a “difficult” or “negative” situation like the Saturn-Neptune opposition is in effect, there’s always a hidden resource somewhere to help us not only endure it, but even use it to our advantage. This Dragon’s Head-Uranus conjunction is our ace on the hole this time, strengthening all possibilities for spiritual linkages that will be greater in their effect for being silent and deep rather than overt and attention-seeking. This time of building quiet alliances of intention is of very great importance as preparation for the speaking opportunities that are soon to come.

This trine is uncommonly long-lasting because the Moon's Nodes are virtually stationary now, in the 17th degree of Virgo/Pisces from late January through early April, because of a lunar standstill. For more on what this means, see Mythic Prelude for March, 2006.
4. Coming Attractions for Spring, 2007:

March 3: Full Moon and Total Lunar Eclipse: This March alignment is the first of a sequence of very intricate Full Moons that come in late Winter and Spring 2007. At this Full Moon Uranus and the Dragon’s Head are conjunct the Sun in Pisces, while the Dragon’s Tail conjoins the Moon in Virgo, and Jupiter in Sagittarius forms a T-Square with all these bodies. At the same time, the Saturn-Neptune opposition that began in February is exact.

A total lunar eclipse places the Moon at an extreme disadvantage. She is literally in Earth’s shadow, and takes on the blood-red color that is more suited to Mars. This is why ancient peoples feared, and some still fear, turbulent events at a lunar eclipse. While it is not necessary to fear anything now, it’s useful to remember that many people will be in fear, even suffering fear storms that come from illusions of their own unworthiness. When all else fails, the wonderful feature of the Full Moon in Pisces month is that it’s the year’s funniest festival, home of the Hindu feast of Holi, of Purim in the Jewish calendar, and other celebrations that chase the blues of late winter and clear the soul for spring.

March 30 - April 2:  April Fool Weekend and Full Moon: At this April Full Moon the Dragon’s Head-Uranus conjunction in Pisces noted just above is exact, and Mercury joins it to form a three-point conjunction square Jupiter in Sagittarius. Venus in Taurus is the middle leg of a T-Square with Saturn in Leo and Neptune in Aquarius, and Mars in Aquarius is sextile to Pluto in Sagittarius. Chiron in Aquarius is trine the Moon in Libra, sextile the Sun in Aries.

 In other words, this is one of those rare and very auspicious Full Moons in which every planet in the system is engaged in relationship with one or more other planets to form a dynamic so complex and powerful that it is nearly impossible to summarize briefly. Expect that all of the celestial forces noted above will be in effect, and the time may feel very much like a room full of hungry, cranky children all clamoring for attention at once. This is one of those moments that encourage the building of compassion, if only by reminding us vividly how few seem to be focused on anything beyond their own needs. Deep breathing is essential over the April Fool weekend of March 30 – April 1.

May 2: Full Moon: The combination of Moon in Scorpio opposite Sun and Mercury in Taurus is not the strongest influence at this Full Moon. More momentous is a five-planet alignment of Mars, Uranus and the Dragon’s Head in Pisces, all in the middle of a T-Square between Venus in Gemini and Jupiter in Sagittarius.

The Moon is “in fall” in the sign of Scorpio, meaning that not only are her energies weakened, but also prone to misdirection and misuse. It will seem this spring, first at the March Full Moon above and again now, that women have a rougher time of it than men at the top of this year, having to be the first to go through spiritual ordeals and challenges that test their resolve about what they are here to do and whether they are able to find within themselves the validation they need to keep going. Many of the disputes that come now will involve relationships with angry men (Mars-Uranus), some of whom will have to be left where they are if they refuse to move in unison.

May 22 - July 18: Saturn opposite Neptune: Saturn in Leo moves opposite Neptune in Aquarius for the third and last time in this series. The main energy flow: Mars in Aries is trine Saturn, and sextile Neptune, June 8 – 18. The Saturn-Neptune opposition is exact on June 26, and from the following day until July 5, Venus in Leo is conjunct Saturn and also opposite Neptune. The Saturn-Neptune opposition then fades out over the next two weeks.

See August, 2006 UFC Mythic Prelude for general features of the Saturn-Neptune opposition. The two "easier" aspects that synchronize with the opposition mollify its effect this time. The Mars trine favors clear planning and teamwork, and the realization of one’s aims through disciplined, even austere, effort. Venus crossing Saturn has a similar effect, though her being opposite Neptune may make late June and early July a time for getting distracted and lost in dreams and deceptions.

This third opposition in the series has the status of an examination, after the initial opposition in August-September 2006 and the second from early February through early April 2007. We shall see now how much we have learned from recent months about the best ways to manage and resolve this season's many tensions between religiosity and spirituality, practical "reality" and mystical perception, habit and challenge, and comfort and asceticism, whether the last of these comes by our choice, and is easier to play, or drags us against our will toward accepting new conditions that are, or soon will be, in effect.

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