Saturn in Scorpio, 2012-2015

October 6, 2012 By

Art by Felix Pinchi Guirre

Saturn has moved into Scorpio for the first time in nearly 30 years.

Saturn is the planet that structures our lives and instills the values of achievement and responsibility.  For this reason it is known as the Celestial Taskmaster and often gets a bad rap from astrologers.  When prominently placed in the birthchart Saturn often brings hardship and challenge, especially in the younger years.  Saturn transits typically bring delays and disappointments and tests of our endurance.

Yet astronomers consider Saturn to be the “jewel of the solar system,” and Saturn’s astrological gifts are many.  Saturn takes about two and a half years to transit a sign and it’s entire orbital cycle is 28-30 years.  During the time Saturn travels through each sign of the zodiac, it creates new structures and challenges for the areas of life governed by that sign.  For example, Saturn has recently ended a trip through Libra, the sign of marriage and beauty, and both of these ideas have been in the forefront of human experience.

So what can we expect with Saturn in Scorpio?  Scorpio deals with the underworld of life – the areas of the psyche and human experience which require courage and tenacity to traverse.  There is no superficiality with Scorpio – no casual pleasure or enjoyment.  Scorpio also deals with intimacy, particularly sexuality – areas of life where we must surrender our own ego in order to merge into an experience that is greater than our individual selves.

Because of Scorpio’s association with sexuality, Saturn traveling through Scorpio is likely to bring up issues of a sexual nature.  Saturn was last in Scorpio between 1982 and 1985 as the AIDS epidemic was just beginning (Pluto had also just entered Scorpio which accelerated the intensity of the epidemic and its effect on human experience).

Saturn in Scorpio will force us into the underworld to face our demons, but it’s important to remember that the greatest treasures can be found there.  Diamonds, rubies, emeralds – all require mining beneath the surface of the earth.  The same is true of our psyche and our soul, and Saturn will hold our feet to the fire to ensure that we do the work required in order to enjoy the fruits of our labor.  More than any other sign, Saturn does reward our hard work with material  gifts.

Saturn and Pluto are in what’s called “mutual reception” now.  Saturn is in Scorpio, ruled by Pluto, and Pluto is in Capricorn, ruled by Saturn.  This binds the effect of the two planets together for the next few years which may seem somewhat terrifying when we think about these two planets as being the Lords of Death (Saturn was considered the Lord of Death before Pluto’s discovery when Pluto took on that role).  And it’s true that if you look upon life as a superficial journey of fun and parties, this will not be an easy time.  Then again, the “easy time” really ended back in 2008 when Pluto left Sagittarius for Capricorn, stripping our lives of superficialities that lacked a solid foundation.

But if you are on a journey of self-discovery and fulfillment, this is an incredible time as the barriers towards self-awareness are stripped away and we find the real jewels of our personal resources: our inner strength and the root of our soul’s power.  This is a period of shamanic transformation: of awakening the inner spirit and releasing it to fly freely and unencumbered by illusion.  Pluto and Saturn are not only in mutual reception, but they are in a harmonious sextile to each other offering support and encouragement in the process.

We will be further aided in this process by a series of harmonious planetary cycles linking Saturn to other planetary gods.  Saturn is currently in a harmonious trine to Neptune and Chiron which helps us to link our ideals and spiritual experience (Neptune) with the more practical aspects of our lives (Saturn) and facilitates the healing of old wounds (Chiron).  This system of support will remain in effect throughout the middle of 2014 and help us to move through whatever blocks and useless patterns may be holding us back.

If we are already well on our way on the spiritual journey, this will be an incredibly exciting and rewarding time.  Saturn and Pluto both offer the gifts of strength: Saturn’s gift is endurance, and Pluto’s is empowerment.  True personal power is only given to us as the hold of the ego is diminished, and the losses that will be experienced while Saturn is in Scorpio will help to dissolve the hold of the personality that blocks us from our true selves. This is also an opportunity to reclaim aspects of the Self and the soul which have become lost to us.  As the false aspects begin to fall away, the Truth emerges and becomes our reality.

This is not a journey for sissies, but the journey itself teaches the strength and courage required.  We are all allies in this shamanic journey, and we are never alone.

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Neptune in Pisces and the question of reality

February 9, 2012 By

augmented realityNeptune just slipped back into Pisces where it will remain until 2025.  Neptune’s role in the astrological pantheon is to cause us to question where the physical world ends and a more transcendent reality begins.  It therefore rules our spiritual experience, but it can also be confusing and induce delusion if our grasp of reality begins to slip.

Over the past few years Neptune was in Aquarius, which is ruled by Uranus (modern rulership), and Aquarius, the sign ruled by Uranus, was in Pisces which is Neptune’s sign.  Astrologer’s call this “mutual reception” and it was signaled by the blurring of boundaries (Neptune) between the “real” world and the world of technology and the internet: the wired world.

Neptune is also associated with any kind of mass consciousness in which the mind of the individual is subsumed by the mind of the collective such as we see in pop culture generally,  episodes of mass hysteria, etc.

So with Neptune in its own sign of Pisces, different forms of reality are already entering the consciousness of the masses.  Such as “augmented reality,” which will bring us experiences such as this one:

It’s reality, only better.  Maybe.  With augmented reality you can see the world through the lens of your electronic device, instead of through your own eyes and your own soul.  I’m not so sure that’s an improvement, but it’s certainly the wave of the future during Neptune in Pisces.

In googling around I found an article I myself wrote five years ago on this very subject.  In this article I quoted my friend Tim Boucher who predicted this very thing:

How many years this will take to happen, I can’t say. Maybe five years? But the world is going to look like this. You are going to walk around with an augmented reality device, as well as a variety of devices whose purpose is to record, sort and “index” audio, visual and other information about your experience of life. You will become the spiderbot for Google walking around and “crawling” the physical earth. You will be paid a modest amount for your data-collection efforts. We think of these technologies now as “tracking” and “surveillance” but those terms will fall away and be replaced by terms which more accurately reflect the breadth of cultural change these devices will entail. By way of analogy, you could think of your experience of life as going something like this. You walk around and perceive augmented or mixed reality through your headset.

This is an unexpectedly and eerily accurate prediction, down to the timing.  As I said then, and as I still believe today, “With information coming only through the media, we lose the ability to process information independently and live as autonomous beings; instead we will become cogs in a huge wheel that is controlled by the media machine. The better alternative, I believe, is the choice to live a real and authentic life.”

 

 

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Uranus in Pisces and “Ubiquitous Computing”

February 20, 2011 By

Ubiquitous computingI read an article the other day that mentioned  ”ubiquitous computing” which resonates so clearly of the mutual reception between Uranus in Pisces and Neptune in Aquarius that I had to do a little more research.  We call this “mutual reception” because both Uranus and Neptune are in the signs that is ruled by the other – Uranus in Pisces, ruled by Neptune, and Neptune in Aquarius, ruled by Uranus.  Mutual reception intensifies the strength of the astrological influence, which in this case combines the blurring of the boundaries that Neptune/Pisces inspires with the technological detachment of Uranus/Aquarius. (See these links for other articles on the subject.)

Neptune entered Aquarius in 1998, and Uranus entered Pisces in 2002.  Both planets change signs this year, but there’s no disputing the fact that the mutual reception between these two planets have created the sense that computing and living with electronic screens is absolutely ubiquitous.

Although the actual expression “ubiquitous computing” was first coined in 1988, we could argue that the idea became a reality with the release of the Iphone.  In an interesting astrological timing, Steve Jobs announced in 2003, with Uranus having just entered Pisces, that cellphones would become important instruments for computer access, and subsequently announced the Iphone launch in 2007.

The notion of “ubiquitous computing” has become a field of study in itself,  Financial giant Citi’s representative said, ”Ubiquitous computing is about embedding computing into our daily lives, it is social, cross platform, cross device, cross OS by default. Today, email is ubiquitous and social graph-based apps are also ubiquitous. “ According to Wikipedia 27 countries currently host research centers in the field.

Now that Uranus is moving into Aries and Neptune into Pisces, it will be interesting to see what the field of computing will bring us.  Warfare (Aries) through technology (Uranus), certainly, but I suspect we are on a New Frontier (Aries) as well.  Neptune moving into Pisces will offer its own challenges, which we will be discussing this week here at Astrological Musings.

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One in ten kids has ADHD

November 13, 2010 By

Government health officials report that the number of children diagnosed with ADHD rose by 22% in the four years between 2003 and 2007.  Researchers suggest that the increase in diagnosis may be due to the fact that children in less affluent homes are now being treated in higher numbers than previously seen.

Among 15-17 year-olds the survey showed a 42% increase.  This is particularly interesting to me because of the correlation between this age group and the Uranus-Neptune conjunction of 1992-1995.  I have long suggested that children born under this influence have brains that do not operate the way other brains do.  The combination of Uranus (electricity and transdimensional communication) with Neptune (the transcendence of the material world) in the natal chart has proven to correlate with exceptional creativity and emotional sensitivity, AND the rebellion and inability to focus that we find with anyone whose natal chart shows a strong Uranian influence.

Over the past seven years or so since Uranus entered the sign of Pisces, the sign that is ruled by Neptune, a phenomenon called “mutual reception” has linked Uranus and Neptune once again since Neptune is in Aquarius which is ruled by Uranus.

Some scientists have suggested that technology is changing the way our brains operate, as I suggested in this earlier article.  In any case, understanding the astrological makeup of our children can be of great assistance when dealing with personalities that are very different than those of previous generations.

I’m not so sure that calling these anomalies “disorders” and treating them with pharmaceuticals is the wisest way to help these children to adjust to the changing world around them.  I personally believe, as do a growing number of transhumanists, that humans are in fact mutating, and that these children are in the forefront of that evolution.

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Six teen suicides in September

October 3, 2010 By

The much publicized suicide of Tyler Clementi last week after a roommate posted a streaming web video of him in intimate contact with a male friend was only one of what appears to be an epidemic of suicides by gay teenaged boys.   Asher Brown was 13 when he killed himself after coming out to his stepfather as gay.  Seth Walsh was another 13-year old who hanged himself after being relentlessly taunted and bullied.   Billy Lucas was 15 when he killed himself after what friends call a lifetime of bullying.

It’s not just closeted teens that suffer.  Fifteen-year old Justin Aaberg, who had been out since he was 13, hanged himself after a short lifetime of hidden suffering and the recent end of a relationship. And the most recent victim, Raymond Chase,  19-year old college student who hung himself last Wednesday in his dorm room, was openly gay.  The reason for his self-destruction is not yet known.

And September was just another month.  This summer three young gay men in Utah killed themselves, a fact which drew fire to the Mormon Church which was accused of bigotry.

It’s appalling that in today’s world, when we claim to be so much smarter and more accepting than our forbears, that this kind of bullying is allowed to happen.  It’s certainly nothing new – at a music workshop last week we learned a tune called Hector the Hero.  This tune was penned in tribute to Major General Hector MacDonald, a well-respected Scottish general who killed himself in 1903 after he was outed by rumors of his homosexuality.

It’s difficult to draw astrological conclusions without the birthdates of the individual boys, but it’s noteworthy that this suicidal climax follows the summer of the Cardinal Climax, with its interplanetary conflict and stress.  The suicide of Tyler Clementi is particularly appalling because of the manner in which his intimate life was broadcast in the most public format possible.  We can relate this to the passage of Chiron, with its wounding and hoped-for subsequent healing, passing through the sign of Aquarius ruling technology and the internet.

We have also had the double whammy of Uranus (technology) in Pisces (loss of boundaries) in mutual reception with Neptune (breaking down boundaries) in Aquarius (technology).  Under this influence social interaction has largely become internet-based, with this being particularly and vividly true among the young. Uranus and Aquarius are famously dispassionate and lacking of empathy, and the coldness in which these teenaged roomates streamed the most private of moments in the most public of places is beyond belief.     The Uranus and Aquarius influence is thought to instill acceptance and a desire for social equality, but perhaps this needs to be taught rather than taken for granted.

These are things to keep in mind as we move into the Age of Aquarius, in which technology is worshipped and human weaknesses are denigrated and dismissed.

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Uranus retrogrades back into Pisces, August 2010

August 16, 2010 By

Uranus in PiscesThis was the topic of yesterday’s radio show, which you can listen to here if you like.

Uranus is the planet of autonomy and individuality – the planet that urges us to live as authentic a life as possible.  Pisces is the sign that represents the completion of a spiritual cycle.  Pisces is symbolized by two fish swimming in opposite directions, connected by a cord that represents the higher and lower selves – the struggle to live in a material world as a spiritual being.

Uranus first entered Pisces in March of 2003 and moved into Aries for just one degree from May until August, entering the fray of the Cardinal Drama.  Now with Uranus having left the cardinal signs for the more mutable Pisces, the intensity of the Cardinal Drama will begin to subside and we will be left to pick up the pieces as we seek to find more balance and integration between the individual Self and our spiritual world.

Uranus and Neptune are in what we call “mutual reception” now – Uranus is in Pisces, ruled by Neptune, and Neptune is in Aquarius, ruled by Uranus.  This links the Uranus/Aquarius principle to the Neptune/Pisces principle in a more powerful way.  Here are some of the phenomena we have seen since Uranus entered Pisces in 2003 beginning this “mutual reception” realignment:

  • There has been an awakening (Uranus/Aquarius) of group consciousness (Neptune/Pisces) and an expansion of group meditation and prayer events around the globe, especially since the “harmonic concordance” in November of 2003, building online communities (Uranus/Aquarius) of spirituality (Neptune/Pisces).
  • The rise of the social networking craze, beginning with the launch of Friendster in 2002 which took off in 2003 after Uranus entered Pisces, followed that year by LinkedIn and Myspace and with Facebook in 2004. These social networking sites helped to blur (Neptune) the definition of friendship (Uranus) and facilitate the expansion of the online community idea.
  • The exposure of musicians (Neptune) through internet sites such as YouTube (Uranus) and the rise of the .mp3 downloads (Uranian technology) as the predominant way that music (Neptunian creativity) is purchased.
  • Bizarre weather resulting from the clash of the dry Uranus/Aquarius influence with the watery Neptune/Pisces influence: droughts, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes.
  • Increasing acceptance of psychic phenomena in the mainstream (television shows such as Psychic Kids, Medium, the Ghost Whisperer) and of astrology as well.
  • A growing sense of compassion and fairness (Neptune/Pisces) thanks to the spread of information across the internet (Uranus/Aquarius) that makes it nearly impossible to keep secrets.
  • An increase in “internet addiction” to the point where it was proposed to the American Psychiatric Association in 2007 as a new disorder to be listed in the DSM manual.

How we are affected personally by the retrograde passage of Uranus back into Pisces depends primarily on how our personal chart is affected.  If we are on a spiritual path, we will likely be faced with a dilemma or confrontation between the needs of the individual Self versus the needs of the spiritual realm.  For some of us that will necessitate engaging more completely with a spiritual practice.  For some of us it will be important to find a greater sense of Self in the midst of a blossoming spiritual experience.

Under Uranus in Pisces, we are called to find our own individual experience and authentic expression (Uranus) while exploring the realms of a deeper spiritual connection to the Divine.  This necessitates finding a balance within our own sense of Self that can deepen our connection to the Source that we find within.

Uranus is the revolutionary, and under its influence the status quo is not enough.  We may find that we need to make deep changes in the way we see the world, or in the ways that we express ourselves creatively and spiritually.

Uranus will move completely into Aries in March of 2011 and the world of Spirit will take a back seat until Neptune enters its own sign of Pisces in 2012.  Uranus is the Awakener, and under its influence the doorways of perception are opened wide.  So let’s utilize this time to find new ways of opening up our understanding and awareness to the Source within us that guides all things and grants us the gifts of love and beauty.

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The eclipse gave Pink a fall

July 19, 2010 By

And turned her a bit red (with embarrassment) after an aerial harness failed to operate properly.  As it happened, the solar eclipse at 19 degrees Cancer was nearly exactly conjunct her natal Mars and in square to her Aries Moon.

Pink is one of those “radical Virgos” you hear about (Amy Winehouse is one), with four planets in Virgo but a wild streak that belies the modesty of the Virgo nature.  Pink has an Aries Moon, so she tends to be an adventurer at heart, and that Moon is squared by Mars, the ruler of Aries, which is in Cancer, ruled by the Moon.  We call this “mutual reception” and it provides a powerful link between Mars and the Moon, instilling an insatiable desire for adventure.

Fortunately Pink was not hurt and is back on tour, demonstrating the instant power of an eclipse to create quick and powerful change.

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Addicted to technology

March 18, 2010 By

iphone addictionI’ve written about this before, but we have seen a huge surge of technology addiction since Uranus entered Pisces back in 2002, creating what we call a “mutual reception” with Neptune in Aquarius.  We call this “mutual reception” because Uranus is traveling through Pisces, the sign that is ruled by Neptune, and Neptune is in Aquarius, the sign that is ruled by Uranus.  This is a “double whammy” that connects the principles of Uranus and Neptune.

Uranus rules technology and anything new and unusual, along with radical change and the rational mind.  Neptune rules our experience of spirituality, the imagination and creativity, and the desire to lose the Self in something greater than ourselves.  With Neptune we can become addicted to that experience of losing ourselves, especially if it is pleasurable and helps us to forget (Neptune) our day-to-day life.  Uranus demands a constantly changing experience and becomes easily bored.

And then here comes the Iphone, a fabulous combination of beautiful design (Neptune) with the latest technology (Uranus).  I resisted the lure of the Iphone for over two years because of my dislike for the “evil empire” that Apple has become, but a couple of months ago I fell prey to its siren song of apps for everything and an enhanced experience of Life 2.0.  I carry my Iphone everywhere: I listen to podcasts in the bathroom, I read books on the Kindle app, I piddle around on the piano and the hammered dulcimer.  It really has become an extension of my life!

So I wasn’t surprised to read that Stanford scientists have found that the Iphone really is addictive.  But it’s not just the Iphone that’s addictive – it’s technology of all kinds.  When the line between technology (Uranus/Aquarius) and real life becomes blurry (Neptune/Pisces), we see the mutual reception between those two principles at work.  Technology addiction is a growing medical disorder and some rehab centers are offering technology addiction services along with treatment for gambling and sex addictions.

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The human brain and robotics: One step closer to Transhumanism

April 14, 2009 By

Researchers from Honda Motor Company have developed a new way to analyze human brain patterns and translate them into commands for their new generation of robots.  Several years ago I predicted that in the Age of Aquarius, at which we are on the brink, the distinction between the human brain and technology will be blurred, and computers will plug into our brains directly and pick up our thoughts.

Other research is beginning to show that the use of technology is changing the human brain as we adapt to the new demands of our changing world. As I wrote in this earlier article:

Since Neptune entered Aquarius in the late 1990s following the Uranus/Neptune conjunction of 1992-1995, the boundaries between humans and technology (Uranus/Aquarius) have blurred (Neptune).  When Uranus entered Pisces in 2003, instigating the mutual reception that has been in place since then with Uranus in the sign ruled by Neptune and Neptune in the sign ruled by Uranus, this blurring has increased exponentially.  So really, for the last 15 years we have been wandering into uncharted technological territory.  This period saw the explosion of the internet and the wiring of nearly every human being on the planet into the World Wide Web.

This hard-wiring of technology into our brains comes easier for those of us who are already rather electric in nature, with Uranus strong in our charts.  For others it’s a more difficult

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The Template

November 6, 2008 By

This incredible video is about 8-1/2 minutes, but well worth watching.  The makers of the video have created a beautifully accessible learning tool for education about the energy grid and the bioelectrical changes that are occurring within human beings.  Astrologically, this process is connected to the planet Uranus which rules electromagnetic energy and the transmission of information across dimensional fields, and the planet Neptune which rules the ability of the human being to connect directly to the divinity in an experience of transcendence.

The mutual reception of Uranus in Pisces (ruled by Neptune) and Neptune in Aquarius (ruled by Uranus) that followed the Uranus/Neptune conjunction in 1993 has enhanced and accelerated this process, and it has not been an easy one for some people.  When Chiron entered Aquarius in 2003 this process became more painful and the use of psychoactive drugs has increased exponentially since that time.  I feel that as our understanding of our experience expands and deepens, the pathways to transformation will become more evident.

The makers of this video has developed a technique to assist with this process.  There are many different modalities that assist with the expansion and transformation occurring now, and much can be done with our own intention and our inner guides and teachers.   Your inner guidance will let you know whether a particular modality will be beneficial - Use your intuition to discover the routes that are best for you.

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