Potential and Pitfall

By Len Wallick

Do your little bit of good where you are. It is those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
–Desmond Tutu

Two events form the basis of our Daily Astrology this week. Last weekend, Jupiter moved direct into Aries for the second time in less than a year. This coming Wednesday Saturn will station retrograde in Libra.

First, however, a quick review of the big picture will help us keep things in perspective. If it’s Monday, the Moon must be in a cardinal sign. That’s been the pattern for the year 2011 thus far. This week, it’s Libra playing lunar host on the day named after the Earth’s satellite. This completes the circuit of four cardinal signs and we are not done yet. It is a reminder that this year is not some sort of lull between the T-square of 2010 and the longer lasting series of Uranus-Pluto squares starting next year.

Rather we are experiencing a continuum of the astrological theme of our time — the transitional nature of this period and, the contribution all of us make in our daily actions and choices. The idea that the personal is political is now more than a mental concept. It is taking form. That’s what the future will come from. It is an occasion for joy to know that all of us are empowered to contribute. It is also an occasion for sobriety to be aware of the responsibility this entails. As we will find in our discussions this week, the connection between the Moon and the cardinal events in transition is rather more direct and not just implied.

While the outer planets are re-deploying from last year’s to next year’s rendition, the transitional period is playing out on several levels. The Sun and Moon give us the daily pulse, helping us to get oriented because of their visibility and familiarity to everyone. The luminaries also provide the structural basis for tropical astrology just as they underlie the very existence of earthly life as we know it.

The personal planets (Mercury, Venus, and Mars) are in turn, extending out from the solar and lunar cycles to synchronize with patterns that extend from several months to several years. The main belt asteroids between Mars and Jupiter are also currently operative with accessible and straightforward interpretations. This is especially true of four larger objects named after prominent goddesses in the western mythological tradition. By auspices of their position and orbital periods these asteroids in turn, connect with the trans-personal planets — Jupiter and Saturn — which are our core subjects this week.

The trans-personal planets take us from the familiar ground of our daily lives and personal contacts into mysterious territory — that of an underground aquifer that connects us to people we do not know and may never meet.  These people are nonetheless present and accounted for by their real and tangible, albeit indirect influence on our minds and bodies. Or it is we who are the influence.

It likely is a little of both, a network of trade and exchange beyond the obvious and sensible. This would include contemporaries who are far away or in a different social strata. It would also take into account recent generations whose experience is a part of our mind set as well as those yet unborn who would bear our influence as part of their own operating systems. We are not speaking of history here, at least not the epochal history of empires and cultures. Rather these planets serve to address the greater reach than we give ourselves credit or take responsibility for.

Jupiter entered Aries for the first time in this century last June, following Uranus by about two weeks. By that time we were in the midst of a trans-personal crisis that we have not heard the last of in spite of government, media and industrial efforts to put it on the back burner of our minds. That crisis, of course had to do with the unprecedented and, to date, unaccounted for hemorrhage of huge amounts of petroleum into the Gulf of Mexico. In retrospect, the fact that Uranus got to Aries first last year would synchronize with the sudden and unexpected nature of the Deepwater Horizon event. By the same token, the ingress of Chiron to Pisces in April of 2010, closely concurrent with the Sun moving into Taurus, may have led us to anticipate an event that would reveal a vulnerable link in our holistic relationship with the Earth.

This year, circumstances of synchronicity are different. Jupiter now leads the way into Aries with Uranus some five weeks behind. Chiron has over two weeks left in Aquarius. The sign change also takes place in the final days of an extraordinarily lengthy period when all of the major planets have been direct. It also closely follows a two-week period when the three personal planets changed sign earlier this month.

That being so, what may we expect from the context this time around? First, we can expect to see the beginnings of a shift in the balance of overall rulership in the sky. For some time now both Jupiter and Saturn have been very strong in their mutual contention for dominant influence. Both have held substantial tenure while direct in signs where they rule or are exalted. In addition, signs of their traditional rulership, Sagittarius and Pisces for Jupiter, Capricorn and Aquarius for Saturn, have been where a lot of the other planetary action has been and continues to be. Now, things have turned a bit and Jupiter is under the deposition of Mars, the ruling planet of Aries. This makes Mars a more powerful influence than it has been since Venus left Scorpio behind. It also lends some Jovian qualities towards support and realization of Martian objectives.

That’s the second thing we should look for, at least in the next couple weeks. Mars, among other things, has to do with the passionate and even impulsive assertion of self, especially in the physical realm. It also has to to with the indomitable expression of the life force, especially at the early stages of any life cycle. Given that Aries is the sign the Sun enters at the Vernal equinox, the rulership of Mars makes a lot of sense. Jupiter in turn is associated most often with growth and expansion. It connects with extending horizons beyond the immediate and personal realm. It also seems related to a sort of selfless enthusiasm that lends itself to a type of joy that transcends beyond personal gratification to worthy purpose.

Therefore, although we cannot fully account for the entirety of the second rendition of Jupiter in Aries by today’s aspects, we can get an idea of what to expect at the start. The theme of self-actualization would seem to be prominent. In other words, the imperative of Mars to assert will over the immediate may be expanded to become the aspiration to realize potential. There may be the opportunity and almost certainly will be the motivation to extend horizons beyond personal gain into personal achievement. The only question is whether this exciting growth potential might leave self-awareness behind and become a matter of self involvement.

That’s because the combination of Aries and Jupiter adds up to a lot of zeal. There is no immediate indication of a moderating astrological influence equal in magnitude. Because of the Jovian presence at the Aries point, the personal-to-political connection could easily get out of hand and the auspices of enthusiasm could result in some damage. This in spite of any good intentions or positive motivation. The first indication of where this damage could fall is in the first aspect the Moon makes upon entering Libra, an opposition to Jupiter.

Astrologically, the Moon’s theme is predominantly personal. It has to do with emotions, especially those which are deeply ingrained and associated with our past. Jupiter on the Aries point opposing the Moon just as it enters another cardinal sign closely associated with relationship and reciprocation indicates that there may some some tender points to negotiate and that they may be overlooked in the headlong rush to capitalize on the exciting potentials that come up. Luna is not so easily dismissed however. During the scant two days it is in Libra it will serve to connect the two trans-personal planets in a very personal way. That’s where we will take up tomorrow.

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