Chiron in Aquarius

 

February 4, 2005

 

http://cainer.com/ericfrancis/feb4.html

 

Dear Readers:

 

The sky is gradually shifting into the sign Aquarius with greater intensity. Today, the planet Venus left Capricorn and joined the Sun and Mercury in Aquarius. In a few weeks, Chiron (a newly accepted planet in astrology, first discovered in 1977) will enter Aquarius, beginning a seven-year journey across the sign of the water-bearer. This represents a distinct historical phase. As I mentioned previously, the third centaur planet, Nessus, has recently moved into Aquarius after a long spell in Capricorn; soon, Chiron and Nessus will form a conjunction that changes the world.

 

Chiron in Aquarius places an emphasis on groups and group awareness -- an energy that has been horribly lacking from some segments of our society. Mass hypnosis is not what you would properly call group consciousness, but that's the thing we have plenty of right now. An unusual planetary condition -- specifically, Neptune in Aquarius -- that has existed since 1998 has put a kind of drug in the water, inoculating many people against the difference between truth and lies. With the arrival of Chiron in Aquarius, we're going to see some of what we've been missing. Chiron has a way of bringing Neptune into clear, vivid focus. We shall see what we shall see.

 

Chiron is a planet of awakening, healing and transformation. Awakenings can be pleasant, or they can be a little rude. I think this one will be a relief, even if we're confronted with things that we find disturbing.

 

But for the current days, the emphasis is on Venus, which just arrived in Aquarius. This is a different kind of feminine energy than we're used to. Her emphasis is on the intellect rather than on the emotions; she is a master of science, but able to maintain a state of equality with her peers; her idea of love is a lot more free and liberated than what we're generally accustomed to in our society, and she can be an important teacher. I think this will bring some refreshing changes to relationships, offering a sense of perspective and necessary detachment where before much that was visible before were commitment and obligation.

 

As mentioned last week, during the past few days we passed the ancient holiday Imbolc, or (in the Northern Hemisphere) Midwinter. The astrological timing is the transition of the Sun across the midpoint of Aquarius. We are at the halfway mark of the season. Each time the Sun crosses the midpoint of a fixed sign (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) we have one of the cross-quarter holidays, or high sabbats, of the Celtic year. Imbolc, also called Oimelc, has been retained in our calendar as Ground Hog Day, with the remaining spiritual vestige being the use of this time for weather divination. Traditionally, all the cross-quarter days, and the quarter days (equinoxes and solstices) are used for some form of divination. And each of the once-revered cross-quarter days gets its little place: for example, Beltane retained as May Day or Labor Day and Samhain carried over as Halloween.

 

This year as the Sun crosses the midpoint of Aquarius, we have much involvement of Neptune, which has been in Aquarius since 1998. As of publication time, Neptune is within 24 hours of its exact midpoint (in time) in the long, long journey across Aquarius (lasting 5,118 days).

 

And in one of those cosmic synchronicities, while it's at this halfway point, the Sun makes an exact conjunction just at the time of Imbolc. This adds a touch of mystery and mysticism to what is already a palpable physical shift: the Sun itself reaching a 45-degree angle to the degree of Aries equinox degree. Remember that Neptune is often an invisible or unconscious influence, at least at first, till the movie comes into focus, or the fog clears. Part of what makes this planet so challenging is that the effects are often seen later, sometimes much later. Intuitively, I feel that Neptune reaching its midpoint in the long Aquarius journey means a lot more than anyone is observing.

 

We have reached a turning point in a phase of history that goes back to just before the second-ever impeachment of a United States president, which was a dog and pony show distracting attention from the revolution that was very much at hand.

 

While I cannot say for sure whether people are waking up -- Neptune is involved, you see, so the whole situation feels like a really weird dream -- I am seeing evidence of raising awareness. Here in Paris, I have limited access to English language television. But I watch a lot of BBC World. To give one example, it now seems that climate change is a fully accepted fact. There are constantly stories about the polar caps melting and the problems this may cause. Until just recently, politicians were able to deny the issue or say we needed more study. The fog of denial seems to be lifting. Whether we can do enough to turn the problem around is another question; it seems that many of the most important players refuse to cooperate. Yet awareness is creeping in, which is a good start.

 

In psychological terms, the arrival of Neptune at the Aquarius midpoint reminds me of a turning point in our own growth that we cannot quite see or understand. Sun-Neptune is something of a contradiction: ego vs. egoless; self-aware vs. cosmically aware. In an odd way, the two fuse into one. We get to let go of a lot of theories and, basically, coexist with existence.

 

Set against the recent history of the local cosmos, this is a moment of relative calm. A good time to read things three times, look under rocks and read the scraps of paper you find in telephone booths. It's a good time to make sure you and the people in your life understand one another, and that you allow one another time and space for you views to change.