November 2008 – Part II
“Ground control to Major Tom…Take your protein pills and put your helmet on.” On Nov 16th, planetary aspects collude to electrify our thinking and motivate us to commence countdown and reach for the unknown. Mercury trine Uranus keeps the creative ideas hopping like the movie-plex popcorn machine from Nov 13th to Nov 21st. Warrior Mars moves into fiery Sagittarius until Dec 27th, permeating our actions with the spirit of freedom and a desire to really work to actualize our ideals. Then Mercury sextiles both Jupiter and Saturn until Nov 20th, enhancing our ability to communicate, promote and realize one’s place in the larger picture.
In the midst of all this forward thinking excitement, please be sure to monitor your fuel supply, proofread your contracts and check that the measures we’re applying are uniformly marked in inches or centimeters, as Mercury also squares Neptune to Nov 20th, intensifying our spiritual and artistic side. Fortunately, the tools to track the details are easily accessible, as long as we remember to use them. With all the shifts and uncertainty, it’s natural for our insecurities to put in their two cents. But, the Moon in regal Leo on Nov 18th and 19th announces her presence, reminding us of our real security, centered in our knowing hearts.
Present to the end of Dec and exact on Nov 21st, Jupiter trines Saturn for the fifth and final time since March 2007. This balance of earthy perspectives and possibility of practical solutions helps us to gather in community and craft exit strategies and new foundations for stability in the midst of ongoing changes. Then the Sun moves into adventurous Sagittarius until Dec 21st and the urge to explore sets off our rockets.
Diplomacy and consideration take center stage with the Moon in Libra on Nov 22nd and 23rd until noon on the 24th. Mercury enters optimistic Sagittarius on Nov 23rd until Dec 12th, ensuring us that the impulse to be clear and direct will counter any Libran tendency to placate.
The positive Sagittarian delegation begins to build as the Sun conjuncts Mercury on Nov 25th and ideas and big plans are sparked. Just be sure that while the mouth is speaking, the ears and the heart are listening.
Okay. November 26, 2008. Mark this date on your calendars as the official residential entry of Pluto in Capricorn until the year 2024. The last time Pluto was in Capricorn was the period of 1762 to Dec, 1778, most noted for the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution. Is today’s corruption and corporate excess what those Founding Fathers had in mind?
Pluto represents the death of all that is outworn and no longer relevant, in order to effect transformation and rebirth for the liberation of our consciousness and our world. Capricorn stands for structures, business, organizations and absolute accountability. It asks for our conscious participation in responsible use of power, to create structures that serve all.
It is time to redefine reality, as we move from a world of consumption, domination and survival fears to one of preservation, collaboration and sustainability
We have forgotten the difference between self-sufficiency and self seeking. The old toxic system is already desperately resisting its inevitable demise. Yes, the process can feel uncomfortable and scary, like the metamorphosis of a caterpillar in chrysalis. The options are simple. We can resist, kicking and screaming, until we’re exhausted. We can try to ignore it with our head in the sand. But eventually that sand up our nose will get really uncomfortable. Or, we can summon our courage, commit to the process and be part of the solution.
As Maxine Nightingale sang:
”Ooh, and it’s alright and it’s coming on
We gotta get right back to where we started from.
Love is good, love can be strong
We gotta get right back to where we started from.”
Yippee! It’s a real Thanksgiving on Nov 27th, the New Moon, when Uranus moves direct until July 2009. Make plenty of room for all the innovations and unusual solutions we’ll have the freedom to explore. From now through Dec 31st, all the planets are direct, like those vacuum tubes at the bank drive-through, whooshing your transactions back and forth. Take advantage of this clear portal and break on through to the other side.
This New Moon, electrified by Uranus direct, reminds us that there surely is a bigger perspective unfolding right before our eyes. With the Sun, Moon, Mercury and Mars lined up in philosophical Sagittarius, our beliefs and guiding tenets are up for contemplation and renewal. Where are we willing to allow our faith to sustain us? Where have we been excessive and where will new expansion support us? With the North Node, Chiron, the Part of Fortune and Neptune still aligned, surely a broader humanitarian blueprint is seeking to express itself through each one of us in our individual and global interactions. Perhaps we can trust yet another time that our deeper calling will manifest if we continue to listen and remain open.
Open up to a break from routine. New friends, interesting relationships and unexpected pleasure can brighten the day as Venus sextiles Uranus on Nov 28th. That evening, Mercury conjuncts Mars and stirs up lots of mental and intellectual energy. This can be quite stimulating, as long as the need to compete doesn’t get out of hand.
The stabilizing effect of Venus trine Saturn is welcome on Nov 29th and 30th, ideal for financial or business arrangements and mutually supportive relationships. Then Mercury sextiles the North Node and knowledge and communication can lead to deeper understanding and connections that are profoundly gratifying, in preparation for the weeks to come.
It is time to step forward and realize that life actually is bigger than life.
©2008 Barbara Hamilton
Note: All times are EST
November 2008 – Part I
“Lions and tigers and bears! Oh, my!” But, alas, no bulls in sight, other than the droppings of Wall Street moguls and political rhetoric. Huge shifts in our economy, politics and consciousness keep us hopping, guessing and rearranging.
The Moon in Sagittarius on Nov 1st may bring some much needed optimism to the “seriousity” of our circumstances, if only temporarily. Then Neptune goes direct on Nov 2nd, as we turn back our clocks and stir up a cloud of cosmic dust that’s been stagnant for the past five months. Hopefully, this will reawaken our more visionary ideals and the desire to act on them.
The weightiness and erratic movements from Oct 28th to Nov 7th, exact on
Nov 3rd, could deflate even the finest soufflee′, as Venus squares Saturn and Uranus, challenging our finances and resources.
If you asked me to choose a day for smooth national elections this year, I’d probably say any day other than Nov 4th! With Mars squaring Neptune exact, what we can certainly expect is deception, confusion, fraud and attempted manipulation. Add the Moon void of course all day and it’s just your regular Election Day in Florida. So, double check your ballots and make sure you actually marked how you intended to vote. As Donovan sang “You’ve got to pick up every stitch…Oh no, must be the season of the witch.”
Mercury sextile Pluto should help us get to the bottom of things and iron out any mechanical foul-ups eventually. Still, with Mercury’s entrance into Scorpio until Nov 23rd, opinions can run deep and conversations can be forceful and probing. The Moon in Aquarius later that evening and the next two days can help to shine some objectivity on the tangled threads.
How serendipitous that the first Saturn opposition to Uranus, in range since
mid-Sept, will occur on Nov 4th and peak again five times through July 2010. This aspect is the perfect metaphor of the established order holding on for dear life while the next wave of consciousness seeks to quench a longtime thirst for fairness and authenticity. As a colleague wrote, “the inmates have taken over the asylum” and it’s obvious on many fronts. The time to pay attention and stand for truth is here.
The last time this aspect took place was 1965-67 in the opposite signs as today. It was a time of upheaval and social awakening. Eastern traditions met Western lifestyles. Civil rights marchers faced small-minded bigots. Anti-war activists and conscientious objectors were countered with militant resistance. And many did tune in, turn on and drop out – for a time. Life would never be the same.
Although the process may be rugged for a while, our awareness of a bigger picture can help us to not take the disruptions personally and hold a space of centeredness for ourselves and others. For what else could get us to so earnestly reach for our true selves than the end of illusion? Sometimes discomfort (or the munchies) is the only way to get us off the couch and headed to the doorway for a whole new paradigm.
The Moon wobble, exact on Nov 5th, when the Sun squares the Nodes, keeps us bouncing back and forth from personal agendas to the good of the collective from late Oct to Nov 10th. At the same time, the gentle hand of Venus sextile Neptune soothes our emotions so that our heightened compassion and desire to be of service can prevail.
The first quarter Moon on Nov 6th can provoke inner conflict that’s reminiscent of the new tv show “My Own Worst Enemy”, in which two personalities with different goals inhabit one body. Then, early on Nov 7th, the Moon relaxes into Pisces, softening any lines drawn in the sand.
Continuing the theme of control versus trust, the Sun squares Chiron on Nov 8th, causing old wounds to surface. Aspects to the Moon, Jupiter, Uranus and Saturn take over, evoking a cycle of helpful and then impulsive responses that may require some tempering before the day concludes.
In the second third of Nov, “ready for a brand new beat”…we’ll be prime for “dancin’ in the street “ as the Sun makes positive aspects to Jupiter and Uranus, exact on Nov 10th and finally spreading stimulating motivation and rewards from Nov 7th to Nov 14th. Collaborative brainstorming may reveal expanded directions and inventive solutions. Follow this up with the Sun sextile Saturn, exact on Nov 11th, (the 11:11 gateway to an enhanced reality) and sound advice and planning enable successful execution for lasting results.
Relationships and finances may be up for overhaul when Venus conjuncts Pluto on Nov 12th. Don’t let insecurity trigger the tendency to control or manipulate. Allow what doesn’t work to surface for disposal and make way for needed transformation. Then Venus dons her purple suit, as she move into Capricorn late morning until Dec 7th, ready to conduct business, dressed for success.
Jupiter sextiles Uranus for the third time this year on Nov 13th and radiates its power of attraction to the end of the month, drawing in unexpected opportunities, interesting communications and helpful reforms, personally and globally. What a way to spread the red carpet for the Full Moon in Taurus. This Taurus/Scorpio opposition between the need for financial security and the desire for all out change would normally sound the call to arms. But Jupiter and Saturn, pulling together in bipartisan cooperation (now that’s a novel idea) to the end of the year, form a Grand Trine that supports all concerned for a win-win. Any residue of contention is further dissolved by the Sun and Moon squaring Neptune, blurring the lines of demarcation and shifting our consciousness from separation to a sense of infinite unity that goes beyond intellect.
As Mercury inches towards the Scorpio alliance, he joins their ranks and squares Chiron in the age old tension between invasive examination and empathy for others. Then the Moon moves into sensitive Cancer on Nov 15th and the tender side of our nature rebalances the scales and sets a more calming tone to soothe and ready us for the unforeseen ahead.
©2008 Barbara Hamilton
Note: Times are EST from November 2, 2008