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Take your ordination in the rains from heaven and the winds of change that have gathered around us. Let it come, this new world. As I have written before–these are the times we are made for.
~ Byron Ballard
 
The Virgo New Moon happens tomorrow, August 25th — you can find the chart here. Before I get into the analysis, I want to emphasize again that lunation (New and Full Moon) charts can be worked with on an individual level to bring out the most positive characteristics of the planetary alignments, even if the chart has numerous difficult aspects. On a wider, country-wide level, however, on the larger social/political/economic stage, we are likely to see the difficult aspects manifesting in difficult ways more often than not. When a chart is cast for an entire country — as I do with these lunation charts, which are cast for the USA — you’ll see the issues highlighted in the chart reflected in the news, in the national conversations, in your life and the lives of those around you, but in differing degrees and in different ways.

Obviously, not everyone is going to be equally affected. For instance, in my post on the recent Full Moon, I said there would be widespread flooding in the country, as indeed, there has been — widespread and record-setting. But not everyone has been flooded out, and some people are more strongly affected by these events than others. I also spoke of the need to deal with anger in that same post, and you may have experienced feelings and/or incidents  of anger in your life, or seen it manifest in the lives of those around you. Certainly anger has been at the center of the national conversation around Ferguson, MO, entrenched racism, and the militarization of the police. Much depends on the birth chart of a person, or even a town. (The incorporation chart of Ferguson, MO, for instance, is being strongly aspected by current transits and lunations.)

Do you remember the story of Odysseus, who had to navigate his ship between the six-headed sea monster, Scylla, and the whirlpool Charybdis? I suspect quite a few of us will be feeling that energy in our lives soon, if we aren’t already, and, as with Odysseus, the only option is to make a choice. Figuring out what action to take means we need to take time to reflect — but not too much time, because events will call us to take action. You’ll need to steer a careful, attentive course through the choices that are presented to you in the upcoming weeks.

The planetary alignment that is energizing these navigational hazards is the station of Saturn and Uranus within less than half a degree of an inconjunct (150 degree) aspect with each other, July 20-21. Saturn in Scorpio is stationing direct, Uranus in Aries, retrograde. The inconjunct is not one of the most powerful aspects, but it packs a punch, and this close, with these two powerful planets almost motionless in the sky and in tight aspect for over a month, I expect it to shake things up a bit. Jupiter will also have moved into Leo a few days before the planetary stations, and Mercury will be out of its shadow from the last retrograde, joined by Venus in Cancer.  So the overall energy is going to change fairly dramatically in mid-July.

The New Moon eclipse coming up on November 3rd is profound and transformative. The effects of a solar eclipse are more far-reaching and longer lasting than a regular New Moon, beginning a month or so before the actual event, and lasting for up to 18 months. This one will have us digging deeply into our psyches or projecting our shadows for some time to come. As I mentioned in my last post, there is an ongoing gathering of planets in Scorpio, the sign of transformation and secrets, sex and death, power and wealth, and they are all tied into the dramatic and revolutionary Uranus-Pluto square. The eclipse chart takes a picture right at the height of this wild party.  There are some observations and cautions to be drawn from the chart from a national point of view — when cast for Washington, DC, the chart has the Scorpio stellium in the twelfth house, with Mars and Neptune in a wide opposition across the MC/IC axis — and I’ll discuss those, but the chart also offers considerable insight on a more personal level.

One of the first things that jumps out of this chart is a complete lack of planets in Air, and a considerable emphasis on Water. Mercury is also retrograde, and in a Water sign. This subdues communication, information exchange, and the open and rational discussion of ideas, while giving free rein to the expression of emotion and the imposition of material authority through the close cooperation of the three authoritarian planets, Mars, Saturn and Pluto. Saturn and Pluto relate to karmic issues in a chart, as does the sign of Scorpio, which is ruled by Mars and Pluto. A lot of us are going to be looking at karmic issues coming home to roost, and struggles on an emotional level that can be exhausting because they are rooted in childhood or past life experiences. We may feel like we’ve been thrown overboard into the waters of deep feeling, and can’t find an island of logic and perspective on which to rest.

Just a few quick notes on the Aries New Moon that happened earlier today, and what it might tell us about the month ahead. It gives us a line-up of 5 planets in Aries, Pisces rising in Washington, DC, with Neptune in the 12th, and Mercury on the Ascendant, ruling the 3rd, 4th and 7th houses. Jupiter is in the third house. In the USA’s (Sibley) chart, all the Pisces/Aries action is in the 3rd and 4th houses, squaring natal Mercury, with the Sun and Moon conjunct the USA's natal Chiron. For the country, I very much hope this will manifest as a vigorous public discussion on environmental issues. In my post on the Spring Equinox chart, I noted the strong possibility of industrial accidents, particularly involving mining, fracking, or any extraction of resources. There have been three major oil spill accidents in the country in the past week, and it becomes clearer every day that such a discussion is long overdue.

The stellium in Aries in the New Moon chart suggests a time of pioneering attitudes, of accepting challenges and fighting for freedom. Tempers tend to flare, and no one seems to want to back down. The Obama administration will, I think, be having a hell of a time with foreign affairs, and we all will get an opportunity to think about where courage,  strength, and initiative bleed into foolhardiness, willfulness, and unwarranted aggression. When Mercury moves into Aries in a little over a week, we can expect to see an increase in bombastic rhetoric on the world stage. In our personal lives, we can use this time as an opportunity to communicate with honesty and courage.

I’m going to change the format of this blog, as of today. Instead of the “Magickal Monday” updates, I’ll be looking at the upcoming transits once a month, just before the New Moon. The other three weeks, I’ll be writing on other astrological and astro/magickal topics. I particularly want to investigate how Pagans, Witches and other magickal people can understand our own birth charts well enough to time personal spiritual and magickal workings, and determine how the current astrological “weather” affects us on both a spiritual and a mundane level.  While astrology is a complex and many-layered topic, the basics are no more difficult to learn than Tarot — maybe less! — and learning to use your own chart as a tool for spiritual and magickal growth is an investment of time that pays off generously.

This week, I want to look at an ongoing flowing relationship between Saturn, Neptune, and Pluto in the upcoming year that is worth considering carefully, so we can weave its energy into our lives in a creative and beneficial way. Here’s what’s happening:

• Saturn in Scorpio and Pluto in Capricorn are in mutual reception (each in the sign the other rules)
• Neptune is strong in its own sign, Pisces
• Saturn is trining Neptune and sextiling Pluto three times over the next 10 months

Now, what does that all mean? As always, a planetary configuration like this heralds a process, both culturally and individually. We can look on the progress of Saturn through Scorpio over the next 2 ½ years as an initiatory undertaking  — a deep, transformative time when, if we will discipline ourselves to fulfill the requirements of the body and the Earth, we can create with power, insight and spiritual awareness.

But there needs to be knowledge and intention to leverage the energy of these aspects. They are flowing, easy aspects that offer us a harmonious way of managing the profound, shocking energies released by the Uranus-Pluto square, but, because they are easy, they don’t force anything. We need to make a choice to tap into their energy and use it to help us navigate through the times ahead. So, here’s how to grab the brass ring…

Four planets change signs this week, pointing to a dramatic shift in the collective consciousness, in the zeitgeist. What will trigger this shift? With Uranus in Aries under pressure  from Pluto and Saturday’s Full Moon, who knows? Uranus deals in the unexpected, the sudden, the big surprise, and Pluto’s realm is hidden, and underground.

We do know that the astrology of the moment calls for leadership, individual initiative, and courage blended with a willingness to change and transform in order to create new collective structures. Each individual, of course, will feel these collective demands in different areas of their personal lives. Do you know which houses of your chart are being affected by the current planetary line-up? If not, you might consider looking into it. Having a good grasp of the underlying issues involved for your personally can help you make wiser decisions when you are under pressure from unexpected events.

Monday features some challenging aspects of the Moon to Mercury, Mars, and Saturn, suggesting difficulties in communications, misunderstood actions, and stressful emotional scenarios that pit personal needs against social obligations. The Moon moves into Taurus around 7:30 p.m. (all times EDT), then sextiles Neptune. A nice night for a movie at home, or some magick to help with financial flow.