Who We Are Together

By Len Wallick and Eric Francis

Just before the autumn equinox Venus (then in Leo) was opposing Chiron. At the time, the issues were identity, individuality and what we phrased as the ‘tribal wound’ to characterize the tenure of Chiron in Aquarius: the struggle of fitting in. Chiron is about awareness, so the idea is, we are learning to see where we fit in and don’t fit in; and how and why that works; and what we can do to raise awareness sufficiently to make the expeirence easier.

If you put Venus in opposition to Chiron (particularly across Leo-Aquarius), there can be extreme fear of not fitting in, and that triggers some deep emotional stuff about being abandoned by our tribe. Imagine how much more settled we would feel, if we had the idea that we didn’t have to be worried about being outcast.

Here in the days before the [Northern Hemisphere] winter solstice, many of the same actors are speaking to us. Some are in different positions and some new ones are jointly aspecting to revisit those issues in a more complex, sophisticated and layered manner.

The big news is the grand fire trine exacted today between Venus (in Sagittarius), Mars (in Leo) and rounded out by Eris (in Aries), all in tight aspect. This is an interesting collection: Mars is joined by his sister and his lover in this setup. Men who grow up past the necessity to treat every woman like mommy basically have the choice between those two more egalitarian options. Sister and lover imply a bond of union, and they can be passionate. We might ask the social politics involved in who takes on what role in our lives; and who gets a shared role.

Grand trines are about momentum, and that momentum can be difficult to break free from. Where do we turn? If there’s a grand fire trine, look for something in an air sign: and here, we come back to the Chiron configuration, which is calling on us to be more thoughtful aware of why we make the choices that we make, particular in situations where we are seen; where social status is a potential issue; and where we must express ourselves.

Mars is in a close opposition to Chiron; so these two warriors are in full expression. Now the question comes down to how we focus male energy, and the interplay between male and female energy. Can we express warrior energy without going to war? Are we aware of our conquering tendencies, or do we just live them out? When an inner planet is in contact with a spiritual influence like Chiron, it’s possible to ground that conscious energy into what would normally be automatic or instinctual.

I think this is the whole quest of our time in history. We have more and more automatic machines; devices that converse with one another and remind of us our schedules; and as we adopt these machines, we tend to become more like them. Yet awareness can be a pretty big struggle. And here, plenty more than individual awareness is involved. We are in this together, no matter how alone we may feel.

To come out of that aloneness, we need to dial in some vulnerability. This will be challenge for the parts of us that hold or identify with male energy. This is the time of year when men are often expected to provide and frustration in that attempt can lead to isolation and self-loathing. Both men and women might be going through this, since these days everyone is under such incredible pressure to provide.

One last point in this grand fire trine is worth mentioning. There is an asteroid in a close conjunction to Eris. The asteroid is Achilles. While this is based on one of the proud heroes of the Greek Hellenic era, the delineation we work with here is about false lack of confidence in women. This may seem like a stretch, but it works. Eris is already struggling for confidence, as the feminine tries to find her role in a world that extols little other than conflict and glamor. But when we add Achilles to the influence, we have a question: do we deserve to be this shaky in our resolve? Is our lack of confidence authentic, or is it based on a programmed set of instructions, and the feeling that we are somehow cast off?

That’s the question of the day. And we’re not going to answer it alone.

Thanks for tuning in.

Offered in service.