EDITOR'S NOTE: This piece appears in lieu of the regular monthly which Ralfee has written monthly for the past 13 years. It bears reading with a marker, or a scissors, and deserves bookmarking for frequent reference.
From now on, Ralfee will write more indepth pieces such as this, less frequently. But you need not mourn the loss of your monthly mini-fortune. The cookie jar is now stocked weekly—visit www.CatalystMagazine.net each Wednesday and click on the familiar old "Aquarium Age" logo for even more timely insights from our favorite Manhattan-based wise woman, Ralfee Finn.
The Aquarium Age turned 13 in the fall of 2009, which in astrological terms means it is midway through its Saturn cycle and in the midst of a Saturn opposition. Translation: It's time to take stock and see what needs to be restructured or recalibrated.
Even as I write them each week and month, I know the pithy predictions can't possibly be true for everyone. Yet facing that challenge, as well as the greater challenge of trying to apprehend the deeper meaning of the combined planetary influences of a week, a month, or a year, has been a profound catalyst for my personal growth. Writing "The Aquarium Age" has written me. It has humbled me before the vast mystery of the sky and has allowed me to feel connected to a living universe: every column is a conversation with the cosmos.
Speaking to the soul
Western astrology began in Mesopotamia as omen messages from the gods. In the syncretism of Hellenistic Greece, it was "perfected" by mathematics and philosophy. In Rome it found its political spine. It was preserved as well as refined by Islam and the great Arabic astronomers. Revived and resuscitated during the Renaissance, discarded during the Scientific Age, reborn in the early 20th century with the advent of the spiritualist movements, and then reborn again in the latter part of the last century through the power of technology. As others have written before me, the history of Western astrology is the history of Western civilization.
Part of astrology's power and perhaps the reason it seems to survive the tides of cultural change is its ability to contextualize life events. Astrology delineates cycles and that can be a comfort, especially if we are in a bad patch and desperately in need of reassurance that it will not last forever. But more important, astrology speaks to the soul—it tells the personal story as part of a much larger universal story. Telling an individual story through a larger archetypal or mythological framework offers the possibility of connection, direction and purpose.
Meeting the challenge of consciousness
Inspiration for "The Aquarium Age" came from a January 1995 New Year's letter to friends and clients about the coming year. Pluto was moving into Sagittarius, Uranus into Aquarius. As these two agents of change started new cycles, so did we. These contacts always portend opportunities for profound transformation, personal and collective. They formed a conjunction from 1965-1969. They were sextile from 1995-1997. And from 2012-2015 Uranus and Pluto will form seven exact squares.
Before and after those exact contacts, well within range of each other, their interaction will stir the caldron of change. We are about to enter an even more intense time of personal and planetary transformation. This atmosphere is not necessarily negative. It is potent with opportunities for creativity and growth. But taking advantage of those opportunities rather than squandering them means meeting the challenge of consciousness.
The New Year opened with both Mercury and Mars in retrograde. Mercury wasn't retrograde for long. Mars is retrograde until March 10, which means for most of the beginning of the year, we are dealing with a persistent level of frustration. Mars isn't interested in retracing its path, unless that review reveals information about how to move ahead with greater dexterity and success. Because Mars is retrograde in Leo, we can expect dramatic reactions to any obstacles; take meltdowns in stride.
Saturn/Pluto square
In the midst of Mars Retrograde, on January 31, the second in a series of three exact squares between Saturn and Pluto occurs; the third is August 21. Known for its harsh edges and almost obsessive need to find the flaw and to dwell on it, a Saturn/Pluto square is not the sort of major contact you want in the midst of retrograde meltdowns. Handling this energy without pointing punishing fingers, practicing ruthless self-recrimination, or collapsing into a victim position is going to take extra effort.
At a deeper level, this square is about transforming structures that no longer serve. Pluto symbolizes death and rebirth, and when it interacts with Saturn, the principle of stability, stagnant systems, physical or metaphysical, must reorganize. This square exacerbates the other ongoing Saturn cycle—the Saturn/Uranus opposition—and that aggravation is preparation for the challenges we will face during 2012-2015. Saturn rules Capricorn, and Pluto's presence in Capricorn since January 2008 has exerted a constant pressure on what holds the structures of daily life in place. Now as Saturn squares Pluto over the coming months, even more of what was previously taken for granted will be challenged. As you move through this cycle, be clear about what is essential in your life. Make sure what matters most to you is congruent with what you know to be true. And then, be willing to let go of what isn't.
Saturn, maturation, and individual responsibility
Those born in 1980-1981 are having this square as part of their first Saturn Return, which intensifies an already intense rite of passage, or what might be called an initiation into maturity. The presence of Pluto deepens the sense of urgency—it's time to grow up and accept the mantle of adulthood.
Those born in 1950-1951 are having their second Saturn Return as part of this square. The second Saturn Return is a passage into the Elder years, when we attune to Saturn's capacity to distill wisdom from experience. Saturn is, after all, how we grow. It sorts through the data, discerning what's valuable and necessary and what isn't. Your choices will also reflect the Zeitgeist. This is not the time to give up or to despair over the state of the world. This is a time for a renewed commitment to making a difference in the world. Yes, things change very slowly, but they do eventually change.
Saturn/Uranus opposition
The Saturn/Uranus opposition has been in effect since September of 2008. There are five exact oppositions in this series. The first exact contact was Election Day, when the first black President of the United States was voted into office. Saturn/ Uranus interactions are always about the dissolution of the status quo. Saturn represents structures. Uranus symbolizes the principle of change. Oppositions signify tension. The entire bundle brings to the surface systems that no longer serve, as well as resistance to revolutionizing those stagnant systems. Certainly President Obama is an icon of change. Yet while he won, a very large number of people did not vote for him, and certainly Sarah Palin has become an icon of the vitriolic resistance to change, a symbol of right wing conservatives.
The last time Saturn and Uranus opposed each other was during the Sixties, another time of great cultural and political upheaval. I can't stress enough that the venomous reaction to President Obama in part stems from a long-festering reaction to changes that occurred 45 years ago, changes that tilted the cultural and political axis of planet Earth. As this opposition once again underscores cultural polarization—young and old, rich and poor, black and white—it also keenly brings to light how many of us are still reeling from the changes of the last opposition, still falling through space, still wishing that those changes had never occurred.
Myth, meaning and manifestation
The Greek myth of Saturn and Uranus tells the story of such a tilt because in the myth, the son supplants the father: Uranus is the sky god, a creation of Gaia, who fathers all of Gaia's children, including Kronos, also known as Saturn. As the myth goes, when Uranus is unhappy with some of his offspring, he tries to return them to Gaia's womb. Gaia reacts by asking Saturn to help her to kill Uranus; together, Saturn and Gaia castrate Uranus, and Saturn takes his father's place. Interestingly, in modern astrological interpretation, the roles are reversed. Saturn is the old order. Uranus, the new one.
When I apply this myth to our current situation, it becomes a story of our collective American father complex, a widely held belief that the President should behave as our father, protecting us from harm, leading us into prosperity, paving a way for a bright and secure future—all of which we project upon whomever happens to be leading us. Roosevelt was the father who brought us out of the Depression. Kennedy was the young father who offered the promise of inspiration. Reagan the glamorous father, akin to Robert Young in "Father Knows Best" who kept us in the thrall of a superficial view of the world. Clinton, the rock star, charismatic to a fault, whose flaws would ultimately deliver us into the hands of Bush, Jr., the belligerent, bullying, abusive father, who would protect us if we kept up the pretense of his righteousness, all the while denying the inevitable consequence of his narcissism. A great many of us want Obama to be the father of change and hope his magic wand will eradicate the injustices of our system, and restore us to sanity.
But our collective mental health, and by that I mean ability to leave childhood behind so that we can mature, lies in our own hands, not in the hands of our leaders. Saturn is the voice of authority; it is how we distill wisdom from experience; it is how we respond, rather than how we react. One difficult but powerful consequence of this ongoing Saturn/Uranus opposition is the realization that individuals can no longer renounce personal responsibility. President Obama can only make health care happen if those of us who want health care make it clear what kind of health care we want. We can no longer pin our expectations on others, leave the field, and expect to be satisfied with the results. Each of us must make an effort if we want to make tangible gains. We can only counter the egregious greed of the financial world with a refusal to play their game. If you want lower interest rates, stop using credit cards. If all of us refused to pay, the banks would eventually come around. But it has to be all of us, united in a common cause, a cause that is for the good of each of us. That would be a revolution.
The mantra of the Sixties was "I'm doin' my thing." This same idea is at the core of the current series of oppositions. Perhaps the only difference is that we now have abundant information about how just how deeply our individual "things" are interconnected. And because of that awareness, whether it is through global warming, financial ties, or simply through the maturation of consciousness, it is no longer possible to live as an island, disconnected from our fellow travelers. We are actually more dependent on each other than ever before.
For the ancient Greeks, Saturn symbolized the passage of time, and the first Saturn Return, or the first complete Saturn cycle is believed to represent the first phase of maturity. This return occurs approximately every 29 years, and signifies an initiation into adulthood. To have Pluto as part of this significant passage is to experience this maturation process at an even deeper level. Pluto represents death and rebirth; it wants authenticity, and is uncompromising in its need to weed out what isn't true.
You may face choices regarding attitudes or patterns that no longer serve. Many of these choices will reflect the mood of the moment, especially as those decisions relate to finances and relationships. But when Uranus is also a part of this passage, unexpected shifts in circumstance provide opportunities to move from a personal perspective into a transpersonal one. As the local financial crisis is connected to the global one, solutions must address the cause of the problem, even as solutions are sought for the very real immediate consequences.
Peacemakers of the zodiac
On April 26, 2010 we will experience the fourth Saturn/Uranus opposition, and the last to occur in mutable signs, also known as the peacemakers of the zodiac. This opposition will signal an avalanche of change, because after it occurs, several significant planetary signatures start to change.
Those born at the end of Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces will feel this opposition keenly, and need to prepare for a huge influx of energy by figuring out how to stay grounded in the midst of these inexorable waves.
First, Jupiter is rapidly moving into a conjunction with Uranus—an event that happens only every 14 years. This occurence signals potent periods of creative expansion. Uranus envisions, and Jupiter opens as wide as possible the scope of that vision. The potential for creative innovation in 2010 is enormous. Take note: Jupiter's power will amplify the effect of your focus. Keep your intentions clear.
Spring and summer's waves of change
For five months—April, May, June, July, and August—Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus generate wild waves of change. As we try to ride the tides, there are very real possibilities of getting swept away. Just be aware, the enormous expectations of this time can turn into the temptation to take equally big risks, with not every gamble delivering the jackpot. Uranus symbolizes startling plot twists and what cannot be foreseen.
Since September of 2008, when we moved into the first Saturn/
Uranus opposition and the financial world collapsed, uncertainty about the future has contracted personal worlds. Many of us have been struggling to make the necessary adjustments by paying closer attention to the day-to-day details of our lives. For some it's been one very real loss after another. For even more, the collapse of the status quo has caused profound anxiety or a sense of futility and despair. For others, it's manifested as a deepening spiritual practice. No matter what your reaction thus far, the spring and summer of 2010 will catalyze an even deeper need for a transformational perspective.
We may be familiar with the concept that change is the only constant. But how to integrate that knowledge into a way of life? Over the next few years, those who do understand the simple principles of living with the transitory nature of existence will be called upon to help those who have no idea what that means or requires.
Each of the Jupiter/Uranus conjunctions will create a decidedly optimistic atmosphere—so optimistic that some may be convinced life is returning to normal. Jupiter/ Uranus contacts are said to embody grace in the form of divine intervention. The shadow of this conjunction is a tendency towards zealotry—the urge to stubbornly insist on the "rightness" of one's visions, without taking into account all the consequences.
But the most important event of the year is the final Saturn/
Uranus opposition on July 26, 2010. [The set-up in this astro-adventure series: Saturn, in Libra, in an almost exact conjunction with Mars, opposes the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction, and both conjunctions are in a square to Pluto, in Capricorn. This opposition happens in cardinal signs— signs of action.]
The days prior to that alignment, as well as after it, are sure to be quite dramatic, again from a personal and a collective perspective. At this point the tone of the opposition shifts. Many of us will no longer be able to tolerate discussion, dialogue or negotiation.
As this time nearly two years of tension, personal and collective, will come to a head. Those born 1968-69 will have this last Saturn/Uranus opposition as part of their midlife crisis transit. Normally this configuration is a call to action manifesting in significant changes in career, health and marriage. But normal is no more. These individuals are likely to experience a call to action that reaches beyond the personal and local to the collective and the global.
God is in the act
If you are inclined toward political action, this is the year when you will decide to put aside any apathy and start taking a stand for what you believe in—for your vision of what you want the future to be. Do not succumb to the idea that the world is too big to change. Or that the system is too complicated. Or that it's no use making an effort to make the world a better place for all of its inhabitants. No effort toward love is futile. And it is always worth putting your heart and soul on the line for consciousness, for change, and for the good of all sentient beings.
But remember, the world only changes one heart at a time, which means change also has to occur in our personal and private lives. No more façades of spiritual righteousness that are only masks of hypocritical behavior. No justifications for infractions that ultimately lead to the loss of any semblance of a moral center. Each of us has to live what we know to be true. No slapping the children with one hand and preaching peace with the other.
Always remember that the means never justify the ends. The means create the ends. As the next several years unfold, we will be deciding just what means to us.
This summer, as the weeks before and after the opposition of July 26 unfold, we will have a glimpse into the future, a preview of future intensity, as we move into the seven exact Uranus/Pluto squares that occur 2012-2015. Those squares will change the world. Completely. Each one of us will be a participant in those changes, making it all the more important to move into alignment, now. "Be the change you want to see in the world" may be overused. But it is not yet a cliché. Remember, it was Gandhi who spoke this truth, and also remember, Gandhi did change the world.u
Visit Ralfee at www.aquariumage.com or read her weekly updates at CatalystMagazine.net.
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