COSMIC WEATHER
The beginning of something has significance, and what happens in the sky relates to what happens on Earth. The process of individuation comes down to working with the personal planets, moving through the trends of the social planets, bridging over through Chiron, and coming to integration at the transpersonal level. Understanding these dynamic energies, as demonstrated through the ever-changing cosmic weather, allows a greater ability to live connected to purpose and meaning.
The Sun is the Invincible Spirit. So great is this universal wonder that it must come in small doses, distributed as it travels around the Zodiac over the course of a year. The Sun's position symbolizes the active presence of the Divine. The Sun entered the sign of Taurus on April 20, 2019, just a day after a strong full moon at the last degree of Libra. This season is colored by Venus, ruler of both. Venus shows up as Pandemonia ruling over Taurus, and as Urania ruling over Libra. There is a sense of expectation, of giving, of receiving throughout this timeframe. On May 21st, the Sun enters the sign of Gemini.
The Moon is the Receiver. As the Sun energizes her, she receives and moves through her angular relationship with him over the course of the month. She delights in shape-shifting. She delights in the repetitive ebb and flow from night to day, from New to Full in predictable sequence. She delights in being able to portray the Sun's invincible spirit through her silver light. We see this dance every month, beginning at the New Moon, timed for the Moon's alignment with the Sun. May's New Moon occurs on Saturday May 4, 2019 at 14 + Taurus. This is the day before Beltane, the day of blooming. What new discoveries can be found in your garden at this time?
HIGHLIGHTS 2019-2023
Three planets hold dignity in 2019: Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune. Uranus has reclaimed its stronghold, moving into Taurus. The planetary nodes of Jupiter, Pluto, and Saturn (10, 20, 23 + Cancer-Capricorn) are being activated by the year's eclipses and by the transits of Saturn and Pluto. These two bodies will join up on Jan. 7, 2020 at 22 degrees Capricorn, with Jupiter not far behind. On a mundane level, the pressure is being applied to the US Pluto position of 27 + Capricorn. Opportunities for change abound as the business of leadership and the socio-political-economic structures whirl into the vortex of evolution. April, 2019 was a key month: Pluto turned retrograde on Saturn's nodes (23 + Cancer-Capricorn) on April 24; Saturn turned retrograde on Pluto's nodes (20 + Cancer-Capricorn) on April 29, and the Lunar Nodes will continue in retrograde motion in Cancer-Capricorn, currently at 19 degrees. These bodies carry strong energy; natal positions will be activated by their transits, and there will be collective emphasis. There is a sense of common suffering and severity shared by many. Efforts to build endurance--body, soul, and spirit--pay off.
THE ECLIPSE SEASON 2019
The Moon's nodes have moved into Cancer-Capricorn, too; hence this is the energy for 4 of the 5 eclipses of 2019 listed below. Eclipse events urge a holistic awareness as the zodiacal energies seep into consciousness. Eclipse energies remain active and sensitive months before or months after, and can be touched off at various times before or after the actual event. There is a seemingly zig-zag pattern to eclipses, suggesting resonances at different levels of consciousness. If you have planetary placements at the degrees, you can expect some reverberations.
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Jan 5, 2019 Partial Solar 15 CP 25 (After: Sep 13-14, 2019)
- Jan 21, 2019 Total Lunar 0 LE 52 (Before: Oct 27-28, 2018) [Supermoon at Perigee]
- Jul 2, 2019 Total Solar 10 CA 38 (After: Oct 28, 2019)
- Jul 16, 2019 Partial Lunar 24 CP 04 (Before: Mar 23-24, 2018)
- Dec 26, 2019 Annular Solar 4 CP 07 (After: Mar 22, 2020)
PLANETARY LOCATIONS
Mercury has 3-4 Retrograde (Rx) cycles every year, each lasting approximately 3 weeks, and each offering a period of reflection, recalibration, revision, and resolution, as Mercury and the Sun exchange the message of a particular degree of the Zodiac. Mercury is now Direct, and will move through through late Aries to late Gemini by the end of May.
The Venus cycle is complex and mysterious, beginning while Retrograde as an Evening Star, moving through conjunctions with the Sun, and shifting from Evening Star to Morning Star, and back. It allows Venus to recalibrate her relationship to the Sun. When an Evening Star--calm, mature, settled, and knowing her brilliance, as Venus is best seen outside the clutch of the Sun--she begins her new cycle. We are currently in the Venus cycle that began at the retrograde October 5, 2018 at 10 Scorpio 50. Here Venus is at her detriment, not particularly social, but diving deep to weigh out the work of Jupiter's journey over the last year. Having had her Interior Conjunction with the Sun on October 26, and her aggressive Heliacal Rising shift from Evening to Morning Star on October 31, she changed direction on November 16, is now calm and confidently rushing forward into love and life for 9 months. This period of her cycle epitomizes the feminine as the container of gestation. She is currently in the sign of Aries, and will move into Taurus the 15th. May in New England calls attention to the beauty of the earth; this is the territory of Venus.
Mars travels through the sign of Gemini and Cancer in May. Curiosities may give way to emotional turmoil.
Jupiter will remain in its own sign of Sagittarius until December. All sights are on the quest for truth and freedom. Jupiter turned retrograde on April 11, just before reaching the Galactic Center position, and for the next four months will backtrack to 14+ Sagittarius, and turn Direct on August 11. Difficult work done during the 2014-2017 Saturn transit through Sagittarius can be expanded through 2019.
Saturn is at home now, in the earthy, grounded sign of Capricorn. Saturn reveals that practicalities are necessary, and structures must be built methodically through time and karma. Saturn is the reality check, and rewards authentic effort. Saturn turned retrograde at the position of Pluto's Nodes (20 + Cancer-Capricorn) on April 29, 2019, and for the next five months will backtrack to 13 + Capricorn, and turn Direct on September 19. With Jupiter and Saturn at home, look for some new trends or memes in the travel or construction industries. Saturn will be joining Pluto at 22 + degrees, near Saturn's own nodes (23 + Cancer-Capricorn) on January 7, 2020.
URANUS, NEPTUNE, PLUTO, and the NORTH NODE: Twists and Turns
The outer planets push us towards the transpersonal realm of consciousness. The twists and turns of these bodies facilitate our evolution by disturbing peace of mind. Uranus, the Awakener, at 3-4 + Taurus in May, turns retrograde August 11 and completes 2019 in these early degrees of Taurus. It will remain in this sign for the next 7 years. Nebulous Neptune, bringing the vicissitudes of the tides forward, is Direct at 18 + Pisces, and will retrograde on June 22, remaining so until lateNovember. The ever-constant flow takes on a regular rhythm to dissolve and reshape, and it can feel like fog. Unequivocal Pluto turned retrograde on April 24, at 23 + Capricorn, the position of Saturn's nodes. It will remain retrograde until early October. The transiting North Node of the Moon, continues its retrograde motion, and spends the month of May at 20-18 Cancer-Capricorn. These highlighted degrees--20-23 Cancer-Capricorn--are actively purifying all that is not truly authentic. The various plays of the outer planets have been driving home the concepts of evolution, integration, and release of entrenched, enmeshed patterns, as we seem to be entering every so slowly a new world order. Rudhyar describes the Nodal line as a fateful space.
