By Len Wallick
Once again, let’s start with the big picture for the week which ends up with a Full Moon in Leo conjunct Mars followed by the second cardinal point square between Saturn and Pluto.
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Remember, the Full Moon is an opposition (180 degrees of separation) between the Moon and Sun with us here on Earth in between. Oppositions in astrology carry the connotations of relationships. The attractions that bring us together. The perspective on ourselves that we get from interacting with another. The decisions we make balancing our own welfare with that of another. The ebb and flow, back and forth as we strive to find a balance through participation and negotiation.
Squares (90 degrees of separation) tend to force an issue. Ideally this will overcome complacency and stimulate action. If action is inhibited, however, the force can translate into stress.
Today’s astrology continues the build up to the seminal events at the end of the week. In doing so we are provided with a clue as to the character and resolution of a complex opposition and a powerful square.
One aspect applying today is the opposition of Venus (in Aquarius) and retrograde Mars in Leo. It will exact either very late tonight or very early tomorrow depending on where you are. This opposition will be separating but still functional at the end of the week, adding to the rich, deep complexity that this Full Moon will represent. Venus in the sign of the collective is a light but assertive presence. Opposed to Mars retreating in Leo, it holds the promise of compromise in relationships between the individual and groups. It encourages each one of us to (in the words of former Speaker of the House, Sam Rayburn) “go along to get along.”
The trick for each of us will be to see the distinction between legitimate issues of autonomy and arbitrary stubbornness. In turn, any group in question will be challenged to balance its standards of conduct to allow individual expression. The outcome will depend on how open the flow of communication will be. This aspect will flow into and become part of the more powerful aspects at the end of the week.
Now moving forward with dispatch and closing out the echo phase of its recent , Mercury is feeling its oats and adding its own texture to the week’s astrology. Still in Capricorn, it is still in review of our “living tradition” as Eric referred to in his blog of December 14th. Today, however, there is more as the messenger expresses his own duality in accord with the aspects that will end this week (and month).
The ancient Greeks referred to him as Hermes. His son (through Aphrodite, or Venus), Hermaphrodite was fused with a nymph, resulting in an individual possessing the characteristics of both genders. Mercury himself displayed bifurcation in his own personality in his alternate role as trickster. In addition to being a prodigal thief (he made off with Apollo’s cattle when he was one day old) he was adept at transiting boundaries between the immortals and humans, between the living and the dead. As such, in astrology, one must exercise some discretion in dealing with the energy. One must be aware of exactly which Mercury one is dealing with.
Today, Mercury forms quincunx (150 degrees of separation), or inconjunct with retrograde Mars. This aspect in turn forms the backbone of two yods. One with Mercury as the focus, the other with Mars. The interpretation of these two will give us valuable insight into the larger events that will conclude January.
Yods are rare, hence auspicious. They are three-way aspects shaped like the letter “Y”. The upper part of the “Y” is a sextile (sixty degrees of separation) between two astrological bodies. The lower part of the “Y” points toward the third astrological body which is in a quincunx aspect with the other two. The sextiled planets are in a supportive relationship. The quincunxed planet is incompatible with the other two in mode, element and gender. It is also the focus of the energy flow. In this focus there is a challenging choice: Will the averse, estranged, mal-adjusted relationship of the quincunx prevail, resulting in a blockage? Or will the supportive flow of the sextile win out, allowing a powerful circuit to be completed? It is in this way, through the dynamics of relationship and the awareness of choices, that a yod finds common ground with oppositions and squares.
Today’s most powerful yod has Mars (in a fixed, fire, male sign) in the focus of the sextile between Mercury (in a cardinal, earth, female sign) and the conjunction of the asteroids Hermes and Psyche (in Pisces, mutable, air and female). Given that Hermes is the Greek alter ego of Mercury, Mars is dealing with a bit of the trickster. Given that myth of Psyche represented the triumph of love through patient negotiation with the collective of the pantheon, we see promise that Mars is supported to do its part to resolve its opposition with Venus. The key seems to be being aware of and present to the unique moment, nether stuck in the past or flummoxed by the future.
The other yod makes Mercury the focus with Mars in sextile to the conjunction of the Moon and the asteroid Chaos in Gemini (mutable, air and male). Here, the trickster is being called upon to be in integrity and serve the flow of creative energy rather than sabotage it. Here we see the potential that the square between Saturn and Pluto will be as forces act stubbornly at cross purposes. However, there is a promise that obstacles can be overcome and compromise reached. The key seems to be whether self awareness can triumph over self-involvement.
So if you are getting the feeling that this is a big week, you are right. If you are getting the premonition that it is complex, you are also right. However, if we, individually can move away from a narrow, obsessed anxiety, we can each be as big as the events. Conversely, if we as a collective can surrender our fixation on power over the individual, we can gain the cooperation of all. And that’s today picture inside the big picture. From here, you go.
Offered In Service
Thanks Len, although very new to this blog I am not remotely new to this planet, have been interested in Astrology for a very long time, having used it to try to make some sense of a very difficult life filled with many tragedies and at times seemingly impossible situations I am beginning to get some sense of purpose through perhaps having to deal with a heavy karmic past, very much a solitary life and having challenged god to the extreme (my Christian upbringing) now at last having found this area of astrological expression Things are slowly fitting into place and finally a sense of stability is happening once thought impossible.
I will work with what you offer from now on so thanks again
Don, down under (Australia)
oy!
boy do i wish i’d seen this blog post this morning, len!
holy challenging day, batman. mercury was certainly playing trickster, and i am certainly wrestling with some sort of autonomy/stubbornness theme tonight. honestly, the astrology of the last few weeks & this one feels a bit like a pressure cooker. every time i think a little steam escapes and equilibrium is back, off we go again!
*sigh*
thanks, len!
— amanda
be, interesting! and it is probably due to years of that head butting that I have even come to the ability to offer this perspective….. and let me say right off the bat, just cause I can express it don’t necessarily mean I live up to it on a daily basis! but having the concept surely does help!
rlfrdm, I echo all you say there.
Len, thank you again.
Obama, wow, so glad I am not him right now!
enough work being me. lol
Kyla
shebear – you are most welcome.
kyla – thank you for the added perspective on yods.
rlfrdm – thank you as well.
bkoehler – You are also the master of event charts. Your point about the house occupied by Uranus (compared to a preveious chart) is well taken. Uranus and Neptune have been (and will continue to be) very interesting to watch for quite some time. Thank you.
Kyla,
If we made a poster for the Effects of Yods, you could be the “after” while the majority of us would be the “before”. In other words, most of us would butt our heads against the focal planet energy until something would give. Then the energy within the yod configuration could manifest in a (hopefully) productive way. If and when we all learn to rise above the inherent conflict as you have, yods will no longer be such a challenge!
Thanks for the kind words, and Len is so considerate, but I’m no yod master, I’m merely obsessed with them.
Regarding Len’s words “..any group in question will be challenged to balance its standards of conduct to allow individual expression”, do you remember what Rep. Joe Wilson did to the President on 9/9/09?
In the joint session of Congress on 9/9, Pres. Obama spoke about the healthcare reform initiative and was rudely interrupted. At that time, Uranus was in the 12th house at 24 Pisces 56 retrograde. Tomorrow night when Pres. Obama speaks to the joint session of Congress again, it will be his State of the Union address, and Uranus will be at 24 Pisces 02. This time it will be in the 7th house of OPEN enemies.
If it starts at 9 PM, Sisyphus will be on the asc. at 22 Virgo 12 rx, pushing that big old rock up the hill again. However, it encourages me that his (Obama’s) natal Mars will be there too, along with the U.S. Neptune, while the U.S. Mars at 21 Gemini 23 will be on the midheaven. With transiting Mars opposite Venus, I hope we see some of that compromise Len speaks of, between individual and group.
be
As always, Len I am blown away by your work here (along with your supportive collaborators), and your humility. What a gift you are. May I just observe that the current momentous events in the heavens are being well met by the embarrassment of riches being provided here at PW. They are also being reflected in my simultaneously shattering and renewing personal experiences, over the past couple of weeks especially. We’re not in Kansas anymore. Never in my life have I felt the confluence of the blast of so much energy flowing in our direction, the awesomeness of the responsibility to meet it, and the flutters of the courage to do so. The past has all been rehearsal. The “game” begins now. And I’m off the bench. I’ve said variations of this here before, but this is something new! I had no idea… Thank you all for being here.
Len, I am really enjoying your “lens” on daily events, thank you! I came in to make a yod comment, and it’s interesting to come in to make a yod comment and immediately be introduced to a yod master, hi there bkoehler! I love the way you write.
I have two yods in my natal chart and one astrologer said three but he was using a very wide orb so it is an iffy yod, hahaha.
anyway, my comment has to do with characterizing yods as offering a polarized choice between a harmonious flow of unfolding and a glitch in the matrix kind of energy characterized by that root of the Y in the quincunx relationship….. (interesting too, I am seeing the significance of the “root” image as I write this)
For me the piece that has been the major key to living with yod energy is actually the alchemical potential in that conflict, which, by my definition, lifts the entire dynamic out of polarized stand-off and finds the only way to fully honor the integrity of both energies. In other words, my advice to myself with this is always, look for the Unity path forward, look for the way that honors the integrity of all contributors in the situation. That is where the transformation happens.
Borrowing your lovely sig, Len,
offered in service,
Kyla
bkoehler,
The whole Planet Waves community should know (if it does not already) that you are Master of the Yod and if not for your generous consultation today’s blog could not have been written.
Gypsi – you are most welcome.
One other thing for common knowledge is that Fe and Eric and Kirsti Melto have each generously contributed guidance and correction to this week’s’ blogs. This, in spite of the bone-crushing schedules each of them have been maintaining. My heartfelt thanks goes out to them.
I am in awe of how you write what you write Len. Once again, your words elevate my soul.
Yes for sure this is a whopper of a week for me, (I’m feel, feel, FEELING it) on the heels of several whopping, rollicking weeks and my tolerance for “arbitrary stubbornness” as you so aptly call it, is precisely a big fat zero. I have found it galling that I keep running into that wall of willful resistance time and time again, when I so avidly seek the other — the “legitimate issues of autonomy” for each and every one of us.
Thankfully and joyfully, I celebrate that in the midst of the turmoil, I have never felt freer to plonk both feet firmly down on terra firma and say calmly, from a vast well of confidence, “Take it or leave it, for I must be who I am, nothing more, nothing less.”
Issues are being forced, negative conditioning being shed, and all around me, glorious little moments pop up and assure me that things are finally going my way, tell me that I am loved and supported and the only way forward now is to walk in the light and love myself.
To paraphrase R.E.M. — It’s the end of MY world and I feel fine.
😉
Ursula
Len, thank you. Definitely worth the read…
Well Len, I’ve been put on notice thanks to your advice today. Beautifully woven, I might add. Arachne is pleased with the patterns you have outlined, and I suspect Pallas Athene will reward you well. Mercury thinks you might be as clever as he, and so do I.
Now I shall walk the path to my kitty-charge, over the newly formed snow, with ice underneath, unflummoxed and unafraid!