A Long Row to Hoe

By Len Wallick

In his weekly subscriber edition this last Friday, Eric described how the upcoming conjunction in Aries (self) of Jupiter (potential) and Uranus (actualizing) described the story and represented the condition of self-actualization in human beings individually and collectively. A concept championed by psychologist Abraham Maslow, it is at once an imperative, an objective and a process in the development and function of healthy people and healthy collectives. As such, there is a holistic feel to it, the groundwork for which is being laid by this year’s brief transit of Chiron into Pisces.

Yesterday’s transit of Mars out of the seventeen degrees of Leo to which it had been confined for seven months is another positive step. For the first time since last year, the worldly expression of will has been freed from from the inhibitory effects of a retrograde cycle. But we are not there yet. Reaching the Aries Point conjunction with all that it represents will be a process in itself. One day at a time. One step at a time. Confronting and overcoming inhibitory influences. Today is one of those steps. The focus is on the Sun’s position in the twenty-eighth degree of Taurus.

In astrology, the Sun is usually interpreted as representing the conscious self and its expression. It is the life force becoming self-aware. It is identity and identification with. In the concept of self-actualization it is the source of motivation to move beyond the basics of simply existing and instead, experiencing the potential of being fully human. That is, expressing our awareness and our relationship to ourselves through relationship with others doing the same thing.

Today, the Sun is experiencing the challenges of inhibition in a conjunction, as the focus of a yod and in a confining trine. The conjunction is to a main belt asteroid situated between Mars and Jupiter, called Askalaphus. Among minor planets it is classified as a Trojan. This group of asteroids is under the gravitational influence of Jupiter but they are not moons. They do not orbit Jupiter. They orbit the Sun and avoid being drawn into Jupiter by also orbiting a type of gravity node called a Lagrangian point. This results in a stationary relationship to Jupiter and an elliptical relationship to the center of the solar system. Named after a minor character in the Trojan War mythology, it represents being forever bound to the experience of that conflict even while getting on with its own cycle of existence.

The Sun in conjunction to Askalaphus reminds us that there are stories which we would prefer to forget that have nonetheless defined us and thus must be expressed as part of our self actualization. The experiences that have made us what we are must be integrated and not denied as part of knowing ourselves and making ourselves known to others. As the focus of a yod, the Sun is today in quincunx –150 degrees of separation — from both the Galactic Center in Sagittarius and the Centaur planet Okyrhoe in Libra, which are in turn in sextile (sixty degrees of separation) to each other. This places Sol in aversion, in alienation, to both.

The Galactic Center is that which defines our neighborhood in the universe. When we look at the night sky with the unaided eye, nearly every light we see is rotating around the center of our galaxy. For our Sun to be in aversion to its community is equivalent to an individual human being in alienation to society. When such a relationship is inhibited, the process of self actualization is stalled and formation of community is frustrated.

In myth, Okyrhoe was the daughter of Chiron and Chariklo. Her gift of prophesy was so profound that she was entreated to reveal the will of the gods, especially the things they willed to keep hidden. The Sabian Symbol for Okyrhoe’s discovery degree in the 25th degree of Pisces “the purging of the priesthood” fits neatly with the myth and informs the shadow material implied by being a centaur planet.

Astronomically, Okyrhoe crosses the orbit of Saturn and comes closer to Jupiter than any other centaur. Thus it has something in common with both and also the asteroid that is conjunct with the Sun today. In sextile with the Galactic Center, it anticipates the role the center of our galaxy will play in the astrological events that are part of the cultural phenomenon known as 2012. In aversion to the center of our solar system, it anticipates that the road to that phenomenon will be long and not without difficulty.

Finally, Okyhoe’s orbital cycle of 24.3 years is not only the shortest of any Centaur, but also about twice that of Jupiter and a few years short of Saturn’s, thus linking to the Sun’s other major aspect today, a trine with the ringed one. Astrologically, Saturn represents, among other things, the concept of limits. Especially those imposed by the collective upon the individual. In a trine to the Sun we are given cause to reflect on how the inhibitions imposed by the collective must be met and balanced by the ego’s drive to assert itself. Too many limits and the process of self actualization is squelched and stunted, too few limits and the formation of community is frustrated by disparate objectives.

Thus as we look forward to the potential of the Aries Point conjunction, we are made to realize that it will not be realized all by itself. As with any other astrological event, it is not predestined. Opportunity must be met. In this case , it’s going to take some work. Chiron is in a fortunate place at a good time. Mars is renewed in its transit of a supportive sign. The pieces are in place, but it is up to us to make it happen. By integration, and by unification within, through engagement and balance without, we can and must be the ones who actually do it. First for ourselves, then for each other.

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