“You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world”
John Lennon
In a seeming call to arms, the first volley of blaring, rapid fire electric guitar chords of the Beatles’ “Revolution” jolt us to attention. True to his brilliant Libra nature, John Lennon instantly dismisses the impulse for radical overthrow characteristic of his counter-culture era by thoughtfully weighing the pros and cons of the various arguments of his day. The 60’s icon’s lyric in fact seems to ultimately denounce extremist politics. The Sun moves into progressive, rebellious Aquarius on January 19th at 8:28pm PST where it is joined by Neptune, Chiron and Venus, also moving through the fixed air sign. That irrepressible Aquarius urge to change the status quo is in the air again. With Mars stirring things up close to the January 29th Leo full moon followed on January 31st by the next massive Saturn Pluto square, the energy to drastically alter things is certainly at our disposal. The song “Revolution” prompts us to both shake things up and to think them through. With the vast majority of planets spread across the winter axis of the zodiac, it might be a good time to take a page from the sagacious Beatle’s songbook.
“You say you got a real solution
Well, you know
We'd all love to see the plan”
On the one hand, Mercury, ruler of our thoughts, and Pluto, our core feelings, are hanging back in conservative, institutional Capricorn. Any “bright ideas” will have to pass the rigors of critical analysis and inner truth. On the other hand, expansive Jupiter has joined rule-breaking Uranus in dreamy, intuitive Pisces. We’ll want to green light projects that feel right. Capricorn is the cardinal or first sign of winter and mutable Pisces is the final sign of the season. Between the two Venus, Neptune, Chiron and the Sun move through innovative and visionary Aquarius. There are four fixed signs in astrology, each anchoring the energy of its respective seasons. Being one of the three air signs, Aquarius is a lightening rod for futuristic ideas. Nonetheless, it is firmly rooted in winter’s midst. It’s this fixed quality that gives Aquarius the stability to realize its visions. Susan B. Anthony, Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln were Aquarians. Visionaries of their times, their contributions to humankind are excellent examples of that Aquarius combination of brilliance and resolve. This winter has one other major player insisting on cautious progress and humming along to the Lennon classic, Mars.
“You say you'll change the constitution
Well, you know
We all want to change your head
You tell me it's the institution
Well, you know
You better free you mind instead”
The planet of War and desire went retrograde in fixed fire sign Leo on December 20th and will not be going direct until March 10th. He’ll just be getting into forward motion as the Spring Equinox arrives and we collectively spring forward. On January 26th Mars opposes Venus and on January 29th he opposes the Sun. What makes these oppositions a little more tense than usual is that they occur so close to the full moon in Leo on the 29th and against the backdrop of this cycle’s most formidable activity, the next Saturn square to Pluto. The two planetary heavyweights meet again on January 31st.
In its lower vibration Aquarius rebels for rebellion’s sake. It upsets the apple cart for the shock value. In this context, the quest to be different is self-defeating. As these planetary energies intensify, we may want to ask ourselves some of the following questions. To what end is our inner call for revolution? What machine are we raging against exactly? And why? Most importantly, how would we like to see things change? With the Sun, our Will, loving Venus, relationships, dreamy Neptune, our capacity for compassion, and healing Chiron, our chance to improve things, in electrifying Aquarius, this sign’s most lofty ambition and ultimate purpose, freedom, is within grasp.
The winter of 2009-10 has been delivered with one Cosmic foot on the gas and the other on the brakes. Aquarius asks us to look down the road and to ask ourselves where we want to go and what will give us the greatest sense of freedom in that not-so-distant place. With that destination mapped out internally, the directions and decisions on the path ahead become much clearer. Note the issues that arise around this full moon and Saturn Pluto square because similar energies will reappear on July 26th. In addition to Saturn in Libra and Pluto in Capricorn, Uranus and Jupiter will have moved into Aries, thus forming some extremely provocative angles between large, outer planets. Major transformation is indeed possible in 2010. With Venus, Neptune, the Sun, Chiron and Mercury after February 10th in the sign of the future, now is the time to envision it. As Lennon sweetly assures us,
“Don't you know it's gonna be all right
all right, all right”
If you’d like some assistance aligning with the Cosmic cycle of 2010, please join me and 12Listen’s Chris Donovan for “A Mystical Journey Through the Celtic Wheel,” beginning on Monday, February 1st at 5pm PST 12Academy. We will be celebrating Imbolc, the first fire festival of the Celtic wheel and the midway point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. Chris will be leading a guided meditation which I will be accompanying live on the harp. We hope you will join us for this enchanting and enriching evening.
