Applying the ‘Miracle Question’: Moon-Uranus and Juno-Saturn

Today is Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011. The Moon enters Aries early this morning at 2:49 am EDT and remains there for the next couple days. This is the primal fire which bursts forth in springtime, so you may be feeling a little skip in your step this morning. Try following it and see where it leads you. You may find that a sense of this fire in the belly makes all the difference between another humdrum day and experiencing something new being born into your life, even in the midst of your usual routines.

The Moon makes a conjunction to Uranus in Aries at 8:59 am EDT this morning. Even though this happens once a month for the next six years, this could still be a pretty big deal. Each time it is a potential breakthrough moment. Aries is about claiming new territory and Uranus offers us the truth, from a larger perspective. This can be experienced as some kind of a glimpse of the future. This would seem welcome enough, at least to the mind, except it may also feel disruptive on an emotional level. We have to be willing to divorce ourselves from certain comfortable limitations or preconceived notions in order to embrace the new truth which Uranus brings.

Look around you. How much new territory have you claimed over the last year, especially the last six months? Look inside. How much truth do you feel you are living? If the answer is ‘not much’ that’s okay, this is still a fairly new transit. You may be exploring new territory slowly and cautiously or just looking around and soaking it in. You may be experiencing new truths on a purely intellectual level, trying them out as thought experiments, until you get a better sense of when, where and how to apply them. Or you may be experiencing new emotions through the realm of fantasy, trying things out and being surprised by new desires surfacing you didn’t know were there.

In any case, today would be a great day to take a bold step and try living your new truth at the next level, even if just for a little while, and in a safe space. The journey of 1,000 miles begins with one step, but you have to willing to take the next one, and the next.

If you are feeling like there is absolutely no new territory open to you or no truth at all in your life, I’d be willing to bet it’s there, waiting for you to notice and claim it. For any problem in your life, or anything you want to change, think back to the last time it wasn’t there or was at its least severe. What was different about those circumstances? What did you do differently? See if you can repeat the exception now.

Remember the ‘miracle question we asked at the last eclipse? Imagine you can change your life in a way that would eliminate any problem. How will you notice this has happened? Is it possible it’s already happening, just in a way you didn’t think to notice? Any time Uranus is involved (as he is with both the Moon and Venus this week) be on the lookout for disruptions, and try to cultivate an open and welcoming attitude toward them. You never know what the future might look like.

That said, we tend to think we do know what the past and present look like, but emotion can cloud memory and perspective, especially in relationships. Minor planet Juno will be conjunct Saturn in mid-Libra later this week, but it’s within a degree now — so it’s definitely in effect. Saturn in Libra has been keeping the structure of our relationships front and center in our lives for almost two years. This was especially true when it was still in the early degrees square Pluto, that unavoidable force of change.

One of Juno’s key themes is scorekeeping in relationships. If you’ve ever had an intimate relationship with someone that lasted past the honeymoon stage, chances are you’ve experienced the urge to tally up who has or hasn’t done what for whom — or maybe you tend to be on the receiving end. Sometimes this can be useful if things are truly out of balance and you’ve been in denial about whether the relationship is healthy — dialoging with an insightful friend or therapist, the list of pros and cons may help you see that it’s time to move on.

Chances are, too, you’ve come to the realization that usually scorekeeping turns very toxic very fast. It’s a surefire way to intractability, to an inability to see the wider context of how a relationship can balance out. Not all healthy, worthwhile things come with one-to-one matchups on all counts. The more focused we are on one scorecard where our partner comes up terribly short, the less likely we are to see the others where they go above and beyond. It’s a very narrow view of the past that prevents us from seeing all that’s on offer in the present — and it can prevent us from building the kind of future we envision.

If you’re finding yourself in the Juno-Saturn score box, try applying some of that Moon-Uranus energy to the situation. Can you surprise yourself by shifting perspective to see all the ways your partner supports and works with you to build a truly solid relationship? In imagining changing your life to eliminate the problem, experiment with how it feels to eliminate your attitude about the problem, and replacing it with gratitude for all the other things your partner does to support your partnership. This keeps the focus on what you can actually change — yourself — and it just might work.

Gary Caton and Amanda Painter

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