By Len Wallick
As if on cue, Luna switched gears late yesterday. From an emotional weekend of Pisces conjunctions the Moon made its transit into Aries, setting us up for today, Monday. Mercury is in its last full day of retrograde. Its apparent motion slower than an arc minute per day. Venus continues its nightly climb into the twilight, still faster than anything but the Moon. By now, most of us have had a chance to see it in the western sky after sunset. It’s unmistakable, a bright and steady diamond. Mars has one more week before it emerges from the echo phase of a retrograde that seems long ago and far away.
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The Sun also has some interesting aspects today as well but first the big picture. Over the weekend we were humbled by eruptions from the Earth. Ash from the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokul once again shut down air traffic in much of Europe, including flights across the Atlantic. There is no end in sight and the disruption comes at a time when the economies of Europe are already under a great deal of stress. In the case of both the volcanic ash and the threat of monetary collapse, there seems to be no quick solution. We are in this for a long, precarious haul.
Also over the last few days our best hope for quickly stemming the hemorrhage of oil into the Gulf of Mexico was dashed. The much-ballyhooed containment structure was lowered over the main wellhead and quickly rendered useless. The high pressure and low temperature prevalent at the bottom of the sea quickly combined to form a volatile ice that filled the dome and clogged the opening through which the petroleum was to be siphoned off. Now we are left with alternatives that will take longer, much longer, with no promise of success. In the meantime, the flow continues. Mitigation by burning is severely limited in its effectiveness and only serves to transfer pollutants from the water into the atmosphere. Dispersants are cosmetic at best, being toxic in and of themselves and accelerating the damage to any life on the sea floor. Just as with the volcano, we are in for a long and painful experience.
In temporal and formal synchronicity, Uranus and Jupiter make their way towards the first degree of Aries. Pluto retrogrades back towards the first degrees of Capricorn. Saturn grinds slowly, slowly backwards in Virgo where it will station forward at twenty-seven and a half degrees when this month comes to a close. Together they are in a long, continuous t-square aspect, 90 degrees of separation. Together, over a long haul they exact and intensify that alignment. An alignment that, ever more clearly, will be concurrent with the need to re-align ourselves on both the individual and cultural level.
The Moon in Aries has little patience for such things. Energetic at best, childishly impulsive at worst, it represents our challenge today. Early on it finds itself in a square aspect to the asteroid Atlantis and other minor planets in the fifth through tenth degrees of the cardinal signs Cancer, Capricorn and Aries. These same objects were prominent in the chart for the explosion of the BP oil rig back on April 20th. In other words, Luna will find herself at odds. Between the desperate need for a quick solution and the reality that none is at hand. The temptation will be to do something, anything, no matter how reckless.
As if that were not enough, Luna ends the day with two fiery trines. First to the overwhelming and polarizing influence of the Great Attractor in Sagittarius. Then to militant Mars in Leo. This is a lot of energy with limited constructive outlet and limitless potential for exacerbating an already bad situation.
How do we adjust to the fact that there are no quick solutions? With what do we brace ourselves for the the slow and unrelenting assault on our ability to hope? On what ground do we re-structure our expectations yet again? We begin with restraint. We continue with foresight. First we reign in the urge to simply react with panic. Then we re-direct that energy towards making headway against despair. One foot in front of another, one step at a time, for a long haul. That will put us in the same mode as the outer planets and make us a part of the solution. It may seem too little too late, but it is exactly that perception that we must overcome.
As if in answer, the Taurus Sun’s aspects today act as a beacon of faith, however faint. Beginning the day with conjunction to the asteroid Requiem and a simultaneous sextile to the asteroid Child in Leo, we are reminded that we find ourselves at our childhood’s end. Like the book by Sir Arthur C. Clarke, the theme is the transformation of our kind. Unlike the book, there are no space aliens involved, at least overtly. We are on our own to clean up our messes and change our ways. We are on our own to grow up. The Earth can no longer afford to be our parent. We must transition to make it our respected and honored spouse.
Later in the day the Taurus Sun’s guidance continues with a conjunction to the asteroid Photographica and a simultaneous trine to the large classical Kuiper Belt object, Varuna. Mythologically, Varuna is about as far back as it goes. Presiding over both the heavens and the oceans, it is possibly the big daddy of Indo-European divinity. It may even be one and the same with the ancient Ouranos, from which the name Uranus is derived. As such, it is associated with the oldest memories, possibly going back to the origins of social humans.
This brings to mind a frighteningly frivolous interpretation as well as more sober and mature one. On the level where the intimidating and humorous come together, well, if there ever was a day to get a photograph of an alien, especially a progenitor, this would be it. Don’t get your hopes up, however. Remember this is childhood’s end. No, the grown-up way to approach this aspect is this. Now is the time for us to take a picture of ourselves. Our crowning technology rendered inert. Our troubles large and entirely our own doing. The survival of our kind threatened by our reckless, impatient, childish ways.
Take a picture and remember it. Make that picture a myth so that the human race will remember it for as long as it will know the sea and sky. Fix this image of this time in our collective memories so it will not be forgotten for as long as our kind may be blessed to survive.
Offered In Service
Speaking of hope… I tossed the coins of the I Ching, asking the question “How will the Earth handle what has been done to it, and how do we understand this event?” The hexagram I received was number 60, with one changing line in the third place, “He who knows no limitation will have cause to lament.” (Willhem/Baynes translation) The transformed hexagram is number 1, The Creative. As usual, the I Ching answers true; greed created this problem – a corporation’s greed, and our human greed for more consumption, more distraction, more whatever. And now, as you say, we have to grow up and take responsibility. But there is hope. The Creative, the Source of all new beginnings, is there also. The Earth will begin anew, and will renew itself. The only question is, will we still be here to witness it?
Thanks, as usual, for your loving insight Len!
Jan Seward
Only jesting Len, but do marvel at the coincidence; quite breathtaking! Actually, i meant it as a compliment to you. Not only are your words beautifully thought out, they are fun to read. But I’m back to normal now. . .the Aries spark has been spent. zzzzzzzzz…
Amanda. . . I am forever grateful. It is still a mouthful, but I like the sound of Ne MOZ n ee. I found a couple of quotes on this ancient lady that will now preface all my future scrapbooks!
hypnotic, I’m envious that you knew your grandparents, but happy to hear that you are a scrapbooker too. Hopefully, we are contributing to the creation of the myths for future generations of our race and that they will not forget the times we, their ancestors, faced.
Len, I have a very soft heart for beautifully interpreted and written astrology. Hence, the tears.
I think genetic hand-me down from my russian grandfather who arrived in the US as an orphan at age of 15, who would take a shot of vodka, listen to Tchaikovsky and let the tears roll down his cheeks. He couldnt talk about, a stroke stole his speech. He could talk, but not formulate words, just his own made up language. Eventually my grandmother, his wife, learned how to translate for him. Some psychic bond, I suppose.
No, I find hope shining behind pain, comfort in the deep understanding permeating this piece. So yes, you do “support my strength”. Thank you.
Mystes – i would be very interested in learning from what more you have to say. Thank you for your kind assessment.
mjbirch – hopefully not too painful – my first objective is to do no harm.
bkoehler – Prophesy is not my objective. Neither do i want to scare anyone. i just read the chart and try to honor its synchronicity. Also, as i recall, the last time i said bring it on i got what i asked for. That why i now say “i’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a cheesburger today” instead. i figure if i’m gonna get what i ask for it should be palatable.
marymack – very eloquent, thank you for that inspiring statement.
aword – thank you for finding beauty when it’s a challenge.
Amanda! – your linguistic proficiency is much appreciated!
hypnotic – i don’t intend to make you cry, i would hope to support your srength.
Len, i’m crying a fountain. This is so beautiful. Another one for the scrapbook…
hey be —
i loved reading your associations today!
fyi, it’s the “M” that is silent, not the “n”.
pronunciation is “nemoz’ini” — the accent is on the “moz” syllable. (think “persephone”: per-SEF-fone-nee.)
it shares its root w/ “mnemonic devices” — remember those little sayings/lists taught in school to remember a different list of things?
and len, i echo the other sentiments here — great piece, and the idea of relating to gaia as spouse instead of parent has wider resonance for me today.
thanks!
— amanda
Oh Len! Thank you for all and mostly for your closing paragraph. For indeed we must look in the mirror to take that digital pix – for the Aliens R Us. Fer sure. Alien to our life-source/s alien to each other. Alien to our Selves.
There may be “life” on other planets – but until we respect that there is/needs to be life on our own little piece of rock, the idea of Alien as Frightening will persist.
Indeed – May we be the Myth. And may this day be remembered as The TIme when human beings opened their hearts greater than their minds such that a collective ShapeShifting could occur and new architypes created.
xo
Linda
there FOR the grace of goddess go I
thank you, Len.
mm.
My God Len, sometimes you scare the bejeezus out of me with your prophecy (for lack of a better word at the moment). Can we talk?
This weekend, yesterday morning I’m pretty sure, I was wondering if there was a mythic figure I could tie into my hobby (for lack of a better word at the moment) of scrapbooking my and my small family’s history in words and pictures. My thinking about scrapbooking is more like it; I’ve put little energy into the actual doing . . until recently.
With the power of Google and genius of the computer and the internet, I came up with the Goddess Mnemosyne who was the mother of the Muses. She was the goddess of Memory. (if you know for sure how to pronounce her name, please pass it on to me, but for now I’m thinking the n is silent) Anyway I looked her up at Serennu.com and she is in transiting trine to my Sun! Just to be on the safe side, I looked up asteroid Memoria too. Would you believe they are conjunct?
Then, I looked up where Goddess Mnemosyne was on my birthdate and she is at 19+ Cancer, less than 2 degrees from transiting Varuna right now, and therefore, in a trine to Photographica today!!!!
So bring it on! All this talk, talk, talk for years about the scary (for lack of a better word at the moment) cardinal t-square and what will happen when Uranus gets to Aries. .. . .
I’m tired of being scared and sad and hopeless. Not all the time of course, but enough of it to lower my defenses, which REALLY scares me. I say bring it on dammit, let’s face it and do what we have to do. If you will stay ahead of the siege (for lack of a better word. . . ) and let us know what to expect from your reading of the sky messengers, we will handle this crisis with all the courage we can muster. The Gods and Goddesses are with us and we will come out of this and we will be a better world for it.
Oh, and thanks Len. Perhaps the Aries Moon has made me a little impulsive, but I know a good story when I hear it.
be
lovely, painful, intelligent,
lovely. thank you
M
Len, honey…
I have been reading along for the last week or so, but unable to make commentary for various reasons. But you have been writing beautifully – as another writer, I can feel and taste those moments when the wordstream flies loose and wiggles around just out of your control. But you always coax the idea back in and round it up. Legibly, lovingly. (Deep bow)
Today every sentence is jewel-like, precisely fitted to what comes before and after.
And this:
We are on our own to clean up our messes and change our ways. We are on our own to grow up. The Earth can no longer afford to be our parent. We must transition to make it our respected and honored spouse.
…triggered an epiphany of sorts. I have been pondering that big T coming up this summer, the Cardinal point activity (Saturn/Libra; Pluto/Cap; Uranus-Jupiter/Aries), thinking — okay, but what about Cancer.
Your insight that we must transition our attitude from regarding Gaia as the parent to seeing and holding the planet as the Spouse was a stunner. *That* is the point of all that mid-summer solar system flow toward Cancer. To re-ground humanity in an awareness of the connection between Origin and Destiny, and do so without the nauseating fear of pointless repetition or tautology.
There’s more to say about this, but I have to run.
Many, many thanks.
M