(Please refrain from making scatalogical jokes!)  Well folks, we’re getting down to it – the planetary drama that has  been much discussed over the past few years is finally upon us.  Our challenge is to be alert and aware of the impending explosion into consciousness of  a new awareness and experience, without devolving into fear as change begins to spin our world around.

The countdown to the Cardinal Drama, as I like to call it, really began back in early 2008 when Pluto entered Capricorn.  The Cardinal signs are the signs of initiation and change: Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn.  They are the most active of the signs, and planets in these signs tend to dominate other planetary influences.  The movement of Pluto (death and rebirth) into Capricorn (structure, discipline, reality) created a wave of consolidation that forever altered the financial landscape.

The second event leading up to the Cardinal Drama was the opposition between Uranus (that which changes) and Saturn (that which remains the same), an opposition which is still underway through the summer.

Over the next few weeks we’ll see the intensity begin to increase as the pure energy of life continues to accelerate.  This might feel like a carnival ride – thrilling for many, but frightening for some.  The intensity of the consciousness change that is at work here can completely transform us as individuals and as communities.  Here’s what’s coming up for the summer of 2010.

May 28 – Uranus enters Aries, instigating a change in the electromagnetic frequency that surrounds the planet (Uranus rules electromagnetic energy which is a building block of consciousness).

Because the cardinal signs initiate new activity, when planets move from a mutable sign (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) to a cardinal sign there is a sense of having completed one phase and moving into another.

June 6 – Jupiter enters Aries, followed June 8 by the exact conjunction of Jupiter to Uranus, merging the principle of expansion and confidence, optimism and righteousness (Jupiter) with the iconoclastic rebel and seeker of justice and equality (Uranus).

The combination of Jupiter and Uranus opens the mind and the sense of possibilities so that we can more easily embrace change, and this is extremely beneficial in light of the upcoming stressors between Saturn and Pluto and then next year’s square between Uranus and Pluto.

At the Summer Solstice, the Sun enters Cancer at zero degrees and forms an exact square (challenging aspect) to Jupiter and Uranus.  Pluto is tied into this aspect as well as it opposes the Solstice Sun, signifying a period of great transformation.

Just a few days later, on June 26, there is a Full Moon partial eclipse in Capricorn which is exactly conjunct Pluto and in range of a square to Jupiter and Uranus.  This is a powerful lunar event that also ties Saturn and Mercury into the Cardinal Grand Cross.

I believe that this is the event that will set the wheels into motion.  The Grand Cross is a powerful alignment that creates resistance that erupts into conflict and, ultimately, resolution.  Our resistance to change will be revealed under these influences and we will have to let go in order to ride the wave into a new future.

Complicating matters is that Uranus is stationary at the zero degree point where it is at its most emphatic.  Uranus asks us to become more authentic – to seek perfection at its most ideal, and to let go of any ideas that hold us back from achieving greater harmony with our highest purpose – living a life of pure joy with compassion and cooperation.

Meanwhile, Jupiter moves just a few degrees and then slows down in an exact square to Pluto between July 25 and August 3, fomenting rebellion and resistance to authority.  Righteousness and self-righteousness peak under this influence, enhancing the possibility of social chaos which ties right into the final Saturn/Pluto event on August 21st.

The square of Saturn and Pluto can be somewhat dark, but this is the final phase so its lessons have likely already been assimilated.  Saturn and Pluto ask: Where are the limits to our endurance – where can we no longer make adjustments and THAT’s where adjustments are necessary.  Saturn and Pluto bring the hard work that follows the expansion of Jupiter and Uranus.

These planetary cycles will be felt most deeply by those of us whose natal planets are aspected by the planetary movements in the sky.  It’s important to remember that nature strives for balance, and the only change and transformation that will occur is in areas that are out of balance.  This is true in our personal lives, and also in the world at large.  Nations and individuals who respect others and have built their world on a solid foundation will simply experience an expansion of awareness and an embrace of a variety of ideas.  Those who are living in deception and futility could be faced with challenges that will force a transformation that will ultimately lead to greater balance.

So in a nutshell, that’s my take on the Summer of Transformation.  Over the next few weeks I’ll be posting the ideas of other experts as well.