Electricity :: The Sun in Aquarius

Dear Friend and Reader:

“Electricity decentralizes,” said the philosopher Marshall McLuhan.

And so it does. Today, most of the planet is walking around with its very own combined recording studio, movie studio, darkroom, post office and transmitting station in its pocket — privileges previously reserved for NASA, Good Morning America and The Wall St. Journal.

That we are all so “connected” puts humanity into its most scattered state ever. One effect of this state of being is feeling irrelevant or nonexistent. This is another expression of being tribalized by all of our new media (from radio forward), which is to say, we are turned into tribal beings, who are being convinced that we are not individuals. Yet nearly everyone wants to be — though it’s a challenge.

A week ago, the Sun entered Aquarius, the sign of electricity and tribes. One of the ways Aquarius works is to establish a false consensus and then pressure people into complying. This can be through social pressure, extreme inconvenience, persuasion and the ultimate shadow side of Aquarius, the threat of being thrown out of the tribe.

Fortunately, it’s also the sign where, on a good day the individual stands up to the group. Aquarius is the sign of weirdos because those are the ones who resist the pressure and maintain their individuality. Maybe they were born that way; maybe they had to work at it. Yet there are people who, one at a time, challenge group thinking and even at times shift the direction of events.

It is easier if you are committed to having fun doing what you do. However, that this is a feature of the chart suggests that it’s also an expression of the times we are living in.

Aquarius New Moon Conjunct Magdalena

The Aquarius New Moon that on Saturday began the Year of the Cat, or the Rabbit (depending on which part of Asia you ask) is one of those charts we take with us. It contains the codes for our journey forward. In this chart, the Moon-Sun conjunction aligned exactly with asteroid Magdalena.

This looks like the focusing of feminine or yin energy, rather than the usual scattering that we see and experience. I take this as conjunction as encouragement to women to stand out and be yourself, and to everyone else to make room for such a thing.

This is not about “rights” or “equality” or any kind of political notion. It’s about being real, which is not everyone’s cup of tea. Being real means stepping up to the challenge of who you are, what you want, what you need, and what you’re here to do — which might be inconvenient until you make it a way of life.

And it is more easily said and less easily done. It is easier if you are committed to having fun doing what you do. However, that this is a feature of the chart suggests that it’s also an expression of the times we are living in, and what the moment has to offer. Moon + Sun + Magdalena happens in the group environment of Aquarius, and it emphasizes individuality rather than the group dominance theme.

The Aquarian dynamic of the individual’s relationship to the group becomes much more important when Pluto enters Aquarius in March. It will be a theme of the next two decades, as humanity itself is put to the test of whether it’s committed to being human.

Chiron’s slow journey through Aries is encouraging self-actualization — the process of emerging from a kind of dream state into a fully awakened state of self-presence.

Many Conjunctions, Many Cycles Turning Over

This chart has too many conjunctions to describe them all, though I will name them to give you an idea just how much energy is moving right now. The other ones include Venus conjunct Saturn; Mars conjunct Achilles; Mercury conjunct Pholus; Vesta conjunct Neptune; and Jupiter conjunct Juno. The overall theme here is self-confidence, and shedding your reasons for pretending to lack confidence.

As we move into the season, an even more exciting conjunction is Jupiter aligning with Chiron in Aries. This happens about once ever 13 years, and skips over many signs. Chiron’s slow journey through Aries is encouraging self-actualization — the process of emerging from a kind of dream state into a fully awakened state of self-presence.

Jupiter enlarges what it touches, so this may involve the crisis created when Chiron provokes action. It may involve an acceleration of the process by which the injury factor of Chiron becomes the healing gift, which sums up the Chiron journey in a few words.

Astrology’s role is to put words and ideas to what is otherwise invisible in the background

Aries Contains the Key to Individuality

Aries is about individuality, which in turn is about having the courage to be true to yourself. This is one antidote to the tribal quality of the electrical environment in which we are being stripped of our personalities and bodies.

Jupiter’s conjunction to Chiron is followed by its conjunction to Eris, which contains a similar theme: collecting ourselves and focusing our presence as integrated people rather than figments of the digital environment. While these two events happen in March, they are in effect now, as their energy builds momentum.

While not everyone feels this directly, or experiences a direct calling, many people do. Astrology’s role is to put words and ideas to what is otherwise invisible in the background. This gives us something to orient on, to play off of, and customize to your own special kind of expression.

When you get a result, you are likely to feel some sense that aspects of who you are, that you know you contained are suddenly available to you. Development in this sense is not about becoming a different person, but about having access to who you have always been.

It only seems more frightening than it is, in a time when there are energetic forces from the digital sphere that strive to eliminate personal existence, and human factors of those who feel threatened by others being real.

Aquarius Contains the Key to Collaboration

As individuals alone, we don’t have much. This is why humans form communities. It’s not just to ensure that we have enough to eat and to defend the camp. It’s about creating opportunities to experience ourselves around others, to work together, and to share our mental resources in ways that far exceed what one person could do alone.

Yet there is another side to this. Being an individual would be meaningless unless it was in the context of others. As the emphasis on both Aries and Aquarius builds over the next two months, this is what we get to do, or rather, what anyone who dares gets to do.

It only seems more frightening than it is, in a time when there are energetic forces from the digital sphere that strive to eliminate personal existence, and human factors of those who feel threatened by others being real. And these are the very places where I see the strength being available to rise to the occasion.

In truth, you are an individual. And nobody has the right or the privilege to prevent you from expressing who you are. Therefore, it’s up to each of us to feel our own inner calling, and do something about it.

With love,