Astrology - Language of Symbols

How does this work with YOUR sun?

The Sun's light is what gives us the energy and drive to pursue our goals.

When the Sun moves into the mutable, air sign of Gemini, which is ruled by the planet Mercury, its energy is flexible, quick, and filled with curiosity. When the life-giving forces of the Sun shine through Gemini, we get the incessant questions of the young child who wants to know everything there is to know, and whose mind soaks up the answers like a sponge.

Gemini is about ideas: talking about them, thinking about them, swirling around in them. While the Sun, whose energy defines life itself, is traveling through this world, we really need those facts and figures and trivia. We thrive on variety and thirst for change.

The silver light of the Moon stirs our emotions and feelings.  It does not reach out...it waits to receive what it yearns for.

In Taurus the Moon is in all her earthy finery, having a wonderful dinner on the veranda, watching a beautiful sunset. This sign is the most solid and sensual place for her. She's secure and calm in all the beautiful things she has. Taurus is a fixed sign, though, so don't bother trying to change anything.

Mercury is our brain power.  It stimulates us to think and talk and reason.

While Mercury is in Taurus, we'll be flexing our mental muscles through a sign whose energy focuses on the physical things of the earth. Strength, land, possessions -- all solid, stable, material things. You can touch them. They endure. They feel heavy.  So when the planet of reason moves into this realm, the thinking process is slowed. We need to "think things through" more. Answers do not come through quickly.

We get more satisfaction out of digging in the garden or going to the gym or walking around the block. As I was digging in my garden during one Mercury in Taurus, I gradually became aware that it was time to give my yard a hair cut. The earth needs to be turned up after the winter freeze so it's nutrients can begin to flow again. The same is true for our thoughts. It's time to trim away the old dead growth so the new can flourish.

Venus is all about beauty and romance and being in love.  Lovely possessions are required too!

Words? Did I say Words? Of Love or What? Just tell me you love me so I can get some idea of what I'm talking about! Oh, and don't expect anything that isn't clean and pretty to work right during this period. You might have to get your hands dirty to fixing it up, but you'll feel better afterwards.

Mars triggers our anger and aggression responses. Do we climb a mountain or punch someone out?

This is a period of having tremendous energy and focus to really clean up those loose ends. The Virgo energy thirves on putting the pieces of the puzzle in the right order. Mars provides us with the physical strength to do it. When the planet of war moves into the mutable earth sign of Virgo, we can move mountains as long as we pay attention to the game plan.

Jupiter just wants to keep getting bigger and bigger. At some point we have to stop and say enough is enough.

Jupiter, lord of opportunity and expansion, moves into Taurus today for a year's stay. Taurus, an earth sign, is slow and steady, like the earth itself. It's primary focus is the search for security, through the accumulation of possessions. Taurus is ruled by Venus, meaning that those possessions will be artistic and beautiful. Much energy goes toward obtaining the money necessary to get those possessions. Do you see the connection? 

With Jupiter's urge to expand expressing through the Taurean need for financial security, the next year should see opportunities for a slow and steady increase in wealth and the spending of that wealth on fine, elegant objects. Jupiter's energy, however, is very soft. If you don't have your eyes open, you may not even see the opportunities.

Saturn urges us to conserve and take care of what we have.  It requires responsibility and self-discipline.

 

Uranus teaches us to look for the unexpected, unusual, brilliant ideas that are out there for the taking.

As I write this description of Uranus in Aries during the Fourth of July celebration of 2010, there are numerous historical programs being televised that recount America's fight for independence from Britain.

Although the images of exploding cannons and fiery rebellion aptly describe the need for freedom and willingness to fight associated with Uranus in Aries, Uranus was not in Aries at that time. It had been there from 1759 to 1767, years when great animosity was building between those in power and those being controlled. It was during that time that Benjamin Franklin wrote the very first attempt at forming a union of the colonies. It's merits would be debated at what later became known as the Albany Congress of 1754. Although it was not adopted, the seeds of the Revolution were already sprouting. The war that would come did not erupt until Uranus moved into Gemini a decade later. The first shot rang out on April 18, 1775, as Uranus crossed over 00 Gemini 30'.

The next time Uranus visited Aries was from 1843 to 1850, another period of unrest preceding a war based on the quest for freedom. America was expanding into the vast, open lands of the west, decimating the native Indians and anyone else who stood in the way. This was the pursuit of freedom by some that stirred intense hatred in the hearts of those who were pushed out. Yet, the biggest source of hostility during this transit, was the issue of slavery. Sojourner Truth made her epic tour describing the horrors of having to watch her 13 children be taken from her and sold. John Quincy Adams declared that "If slavery must go by blood and war, let war come." The war that would break these chains came a decade later in 1861, when Uranus again moved into Gemini. The American Civil War began on April 12, 1861 as Uranus transited 09 Gemini 21'.

The most recent visit by Uranus to Aries, 84 years ago, was during 1927 to 1935. In true Uranian style, the Stock Market crash of 1929 struck like a lightening bolt, ushering in the Great Depression. Worldwide, unemployment ran as high as 25 percent. Mass starvation, unsanitary living conditions, and disease were rampant. The faces of desperation still stare out at us through Dorothea Lange's famous depression-era photographs. In Europe, fascism was taking hold because it was feeding people. In the U.S. millions of public works jobs led the recovery and produced bridges and dams across the country.

As the Great Depression began to subside and Uranus moved into the last degrees of Aries, struggles for social as well as economic freedom began to appear. Prohibition, enacted to force people not to drink alcohol, was acknowledged as a failure and was repealed. This was also a time when the first women's rights movement emerged, spurred on by the daring and independence of aviator Amelia Earhart. Charles Lindbergh's historic flight from New York to Paris had taken place at the beginning of this Uranus in Aries transit, opening two sides of the world to each other. By the end of the transit, the treat of war was looming on that same horizon. On September 3, 1939, France and Britain declared war on the advancing German forces as Uranus traversed the 21st degree of Taurus. World War II had begun.

So, where are we now? Once again we are facing world-wide poverty and social turmoil…from women oppressed in Afghanistan to the homeless in our streets. Once again, the desire for an elixir is being suppressed. The 'War on Drugs' is costing trillions, bankrupting the country in a war that is impossible to 'win'. At the bottom of the drug ladder is the poor coca farmer, struggling to feed his ever growing family. Well intentioned abortion foes are determined to force women to bear children they do not want. Islamic fanatics are determined to force their religious ideals upon the rest of the world.

These are not new issues…they've been here for years and still there are no solutions…only rocks against hard places. What we can learn from history about where this is taking us, is that trying to force others to comply with our wishes will lead us to war. Force is not the answer. People have to be free…free from poverty, free from oppression, free to make their own choices. At some point, the tensions between the control freaks and those they seek to subjugate will reach the boiling point. The eruption will come after Uranus moves on to late Taurus or early Gemini…sometime between 2023 and 2025.

In the mean time, tensions and outbreaks will escalate. On the positive side, we should at least see some fantastic, world changing electrical inventions. The telegraph, television, electroencephalograms, jet engines, and the electron microscope were all invented during Uranus in Aries transits. So were condoms. Maybe we'll figure out how to stop creating poverty and how to 'let freedom ring'…but I have some serious doubts.

Neptune is the master of disguise and illusion. Through our dreams we begin to see reality.

 

Pluto, Lord of the Underworld, pushes us to obey the laws of the universe, whether we want to or not.

When Pluto turns retrograde, the pressure eases off. What pressure? With Pluto in Capricorn, the issue is who's in control. Major power struggles run rampant. So some relief from that would be very welcome indeed.

During the retrograde periods we can expect life to be a little more like normal. There aren't so many people in your face all the time and the male posturing that's happening on the world scale recedes into talk of how to make peace work so we can get on with the job of living.

We can use these times to work on furthering our plans for where we want to end up in the new world order that will exist when Pluto leaves Capricorn.

Through Chiron we learn that becoming the wise master often involves a great deal of pain and suffering.