|
By ERIC FRANCIS |
|
FAR AS I CAN TELL, the defining feature of August is the Jupiter-Saturn-Chiron meeting involving Cancer, Virgo and Capricorn, which takes place August 15. Saturn and Chiron make an exact opposition (one of several in our current few years; there will be another in late December); Jupiter meets Saturn in an exact sextile and Chiron in an exact trine. There is a feeling of release of tension here, of direct communication, and of stability. I keep hearing a key turning in a lock. And I keep hearing myself pray that nobody messes with the Olympics, one of the remaining gestures of international world peace and international cooperation. The Jupiter trine seems to be a rather protective gesture on behalf of the universe. Looking just at Jupiter and Saturn, this is the first aspect between these two planets since the one-time-only conjunction of May 28, 2000, in Taurus. It represents a development in those events: the economic crisis resulting from Enron and the technology market crash. Think of it like a Full Moon, with Jupiter being the Moon and Saturn being the Sun; when they meet in a conjunction, they begin a 20-year cycle. Now, it's nearly (but not quite) first quarter. Still, a sextile is a major aspect, with a lot of leverage. The earthy-element Jupiter-Chiron trine has an atmosphere of sensibility and protection about it, which is reassuring given that Saturn-Chiron meeting face-to-face feels confrontational, even though that confrontation has the scent of necessity to it. If there's a shift in matters involving family, parents or employment, Jupiter is offering a parachute that can be opened with a bit of careful thought and ingenuity. Jupiter in Virgo has been a long project informally titled "use your brain, it works." On August 7, Venus enters Cancer after more than four months in Gemini. Moving at top speed, Venus can pass through a sign in three weeks. Four months in one sign, including the exact transit of the Sun on June 8, has been for many people emotionally trying, stressing communication and bringing much old history to awareness. This has also been a time of sorting out and resolution, as all inner planet transits are. But as I've mentioned a number of times, the Venus-Sun contact has defined the beginning of a new era, one that ascends to 2012, when the aspect occurs next. During these past four months, we have seen the situation involving the Iraq war go from very bad to worse, as the prison sex abuse scandal has come to light, the Sept. 11 commission's report and still more revelations that Saddam had no weapons, along with astonishing indifference to those events. All pretense that this is a war with some kind of collective purpose or even a plausible reason has disappeared, but the policy presses onward, seemingly beyond question. People like Shakespeare write plays about this kind of thing, and for good reasons. When Venus changes signs on Aug. 7, it enters Cancer and thus crosses the first degree of Cancer. On the personal level, we'll get our first look at exactly what the Venus transit has meant for us as individuals, as Venus comes into the home-territory of Cancer, back to Mama, as it were. But this first degree of Cancer has proven to be a degree sensitive to developments in the Sept. 11-Iraq nexus. Because the Venus retrograde has been so unexpectedly eventful, the global events surrounding this sign-change could be profound. Venus is in the no nonsense, yang (as in Mayan god of war) side of her orbit, rising as the morning star. On Aug. 10, Mercury in early Virgo stations retrograde. Thankfully, in light of the recent Venus retrograde, it's going to seem rather short. This retrograde involves two signs, as Mercury retrogrades into late Leo, and then stations direct Sept. 2, on the last day of the Republican National Convention. This will be fun. Bush will be re-nominated not just with Mercury retrograde, but with Mercury about to station. In Leo, mind you, for a bit of high-drama and booming rhetoric. This will not just be tricky; it will be highly entertaining as well. Or so we can hope. New York is going to be so revved up I have half a mind to go there and feel it for myself. Incidentally, Mars enters Virgo Aug. 10, just as Mercury stations retrograde. The two meet in a conjunction on Aug. 18, which is astrological shorthand for piss and vinegar. Dig out your hookah and get the jug of mead from the cellar. The New Moon in Leo is August 16, the Sun moves into Virgo on the 22nd, and the Full Moon in Pisces is Aug. 30. Also on the 30th, Pluto stations direct at 19 Sagittarius 33, beginning the final third of its transit across that sign. My how quickly those first 20 degrees have gone, but then Pluto is moving through the signs close to its fastest speed right now. Sometimes it takes 20 years to traverse a sign; these days it takes more like 12 years. ++ |
|
|