Friday, October 2, 2009

October Astrological Report from Michelle Proctor

Cosmic Update Forecast
October 2009

On 29 September just before midnight, Mercury shifted forward out of it retro phase. On the same day NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft did a third and final flyby of Mercury in preparation for its eventual entry into Mercury's orbit in 2011. This synchronicity highlights how this Mercury Retro phase was indeed preparing us (a Virgo theme) for the future. Some calendar experts argue that the Mayan end date is actually in 2011, not 2012. Yet perhaps linear time is best used as a yardstick, in which case, the worldly events that bring change from an old age to a new age (the idea behind the 'end date') are not likely to unfold like clockwork on a certain date. Most Western astrologers agree that from mid-2010 the windows of opportunity for radical change increase dramatically right up to 2012 and beyond. And really it was from January 2008 when Pluto first entered Capricorn that the winds of change began to accelerate.

Mercury has just been brushing across an intensity point of the zodiac that is associated with strong change vibes. This point in the zodiac continues to be triggered over and over again in the coming years. The 'zodiac point' that I'm referring to is Zero Degrees of any of the four cardinal zodiac signs: Aries, Libra, Cancer or Capricorn. When Pluto went into Capricorn in 2008, it moved into Zero Degrees of Capricorn. Saturn at the end of this month is about to go into Zero Degrees of Libra, and this is the zodiac point that Mercury has recently been traversing as if using a big highlighter pen to focus our awareness on it. In May 2010, Uranus moves into Zero Degrees of Aries. Whenever anything significant triggers these Zero Degree points in the cardinal signs (also known as the solstice and equinox points), change can be stirred up big-time.

Under the spotlight this month, then, is the zodiac sign Libra, with Saturn about to shift into it and Mercury passing over Zero Degrees Libra again on 10 October. Saturn will be in Libra until October 2012, and whatever sign Saturn goes through is in for a learning curve. Libra is associated with relationships, agreements, justice, balance, art and civilisation. Living in harmonious relationships in a peaceful, aesthetically pleasing civil society is an urge that accompanies Libra. Yet before being able to 'do Libra' properly, we need to get our experience of Virgo right. Virgo is the zodiac sign before Libra, and during its recent Retro phase Mercury has been going over the last degrees of Virgo as if to show us what needs completing in this sign before we can fully enter Saturn's next phase in Libra. So until 10 October both Mercury and Saturn are sitting at the last degrees of Virgo. From 10 October Mercury moves into Libra, and from 30 October Saturn moves into Libra, after two years in Virgo.

Mercury spent most of its Retro period in Virgo which is the zodiac sign of assessment, analysis and discernment. Mercury gave us another chance to diagnose what's wrong as far as Virgo themes go, e.g. our daily habits and routines, especially our relationship with Mother Earth, the environment, food production, disease response (e.g. swine flu vaccination), documents, forms, paperwork and work pressures. Imagine a physio (a suitable Virgo job!) doing x-rays and saying 'hey, there's a lot of intensity building in your lower back showing as the start of a disc bulge'. This is similar to Mercury saying 'hey, the themes associated with the crossover zone between Virgo and Libra are pretty stressed, just like a disc bulge'. The physio says, 'if you leave things as they are, the bulge will get worse and eventually you might find yourself flat on your back', which is like Mercury saying, 'if you continue in your usual way, the human race might find itself flat on its back'. But of course the physio would recommend exercises, treatments, improved lifestyle etc (all Virgoan themes) in order not only to avoid the disc bulge getting bigger but perhaps even to heal it. So this recent Mercury Retro period was like the cosmos handing us an x-ray and making recommendations on how to 'clean up' Virgo problems before moving into Libra.

With Mercury in Virgo we saw the recent UN summit on climate change in New York, the current Bangkok climate change talks and the tragic breaking news of a devastating tsunami in the South Pacific brought on by a magnitude 8 earthquake in the Samoa Region. These have all been cases of assessing the 'x-ray'. On a personal level, we each had an opportunity one way or another to experience how we react to the world's bad news or to bad news in our own lives or the lives of our loved ones. While backtracking in Virgo, the zodiac sign of small yet significant flashpoint moments (e.g. the recent tsunami struck only minutes after the Samoan earthquake), Mercury showed us how we cope when the 'straw breaks the camel's back'. Do we go off the wall with stress or stay in our centres? The way we react to stress, especially those small things that could tip us over the edge (Virgo), affects our connections with others (Libra). If you'd like to understand the stress-reactor part of yourself more deeply, and learn ways to transform it into calmness, consider enrolling in the Moon Sign workshop on 11 October. Go here for more details.

As Saturn prepares to leave Virgo after two years of strongly highlighting Virgo problems, we get the chance to reflect on what we have learnt over those two years. Are we becoming more resilient and bouncing back quickly from stress or are we ignoring our 'disc bulges'? It's important to reflect on all the ways we have succeeded in practising and integrating new skills over the past two years. Let's congratulate ourselves for all the problems we did something about. Big or small achievements, these are incredibly significant. They'll have helped evolve the Virgo energy so that there are more techniques and tools in the Virgo toolbox (stored in the 'collective unconscious' ) for us all to draw on. The great thing about Saturn going into Libra is the two-year opportunity to fix stress points through the Libra energy of co-operation, contracts and agreements so that we'll have better skills to make fair, harmonious changes. For example, what new agreements can we form with employers/employees to balance stresses in the workplace? Every small win-win counts and strengthens the Libra archetype in the collective unconscious for all of us to draw from.

On a purely positive note, when Saturn enters Libra on 30 October, it enters its sign of exaltation. The god Saturn is often depicted with a scythe, the grim reaper's tool, but this depiction actually originates from Saturn being the god of the harvest in Ancient Roman times. The Libran months in the Northern Hemisphere are the months of harvesting. Saturn, exalted in Libra, helps us reap what we have sown, and a scythe is needed to reap a plentiful harvest. Saturn exalted in Libra reminds us of the golden age of Saturn's mythical reign in Ancient Roman times - times of good harvests. So if we have put the work in with Saturn in Virgo, we are likely now to reap our rewards.

Yet realistically, both the positives and negatives of Saturn in Libra are likely to play out over the next couple of years. Saturn's method is usually to give a wake-up call over anything that's not working - like the scythe doing some pruning - and then to help us make new commitments to what is working, as well as create the best structures for them. Relationships are likely to get a Saturn workout, given that Libra is closely affiliated with relationships, be they lover/partner, business, parent-child or other types of relationships. So be prepared to look the realities of any relationship difficulties in the face, let go of whatever's not working and build innovative life-affirming ways to be in relationship. Under Saturn's eye, relationships might end, yet fresh commitments are also highly likely. Some relationships will relish the growth opportunity and go to deeper levels of loving and commitment. Certainly all the old rules (a Saturn word) about what constitutes a 'right' or 'wrong' relationship will be evaluated. Where do those rules come from? Are they of our own making for these moderrn times or relics from the past?

Libra also relates to decision-making. Some tough choices might need to be made, especially the choice to say 'no' when things don't seem right. Yet some big yes's will also be said - in wedding vows, commitment ceremonies, legal contracts, housing agreements, legislation, human rights accords and so on. Throughout this Saturn-in-Libra two-year growth period, we might change our minds a number of times. We might also realise we've made incorrect judgments in the past that now need revising. Rigidly sticking to decisions just because they've been made might be a downside of Saturn in Libra.

When making choices, it's important to keep the scales (Libra's symbol) in mind. Here we are encourged to balance polarities - mind/body; black/white; past/future and so on. The best way to find the midpoint is to follow the path with heart. In terms of the body's chakra system, the heart chakra is the central balancing point; it helps stabilise and harmonise the needs of the mind and the body, or the needs of the spiritual self and the human self. Fortunately we'll have a huge helping hand over the next nine months with coming into the heart through, of all planets, Mars! Not generally known for its heartfulness (being the sign of the warrior), Mars will on 17 October, move into Leo, a zodiac sign associated with the heart. Generally Mars spends a month or two in a zodiac sign, but when it goes into Leo on 17 October, it will stay for an extended nine months!

Mars in Leo holds the key to handling the first nine months of Saturn in Libra. Being the warrior zodiac sign, it will forge its way through Leo, cutting away pride to find the tender truth of the heart. Mars is also the zodiac sign of the surgeon, a refined form of Mars. Surgeons don't just hack & chop (negative Mars). Instead they carefully and skilfully cut out what needs to be removed or repaired so that the body can function with greater health. The downside of Mars in Leo could be an increase in arrogance, egotistical attention-seeking and puffing up of chests. Yet when Mars calms down and behaves more like the surgeon, then it's possible to cut away the defences of the ego and do battle instead for the causes of the heart. Leo teaches us how to get out of our egos and into our hearts, and Mars in Leo will hopefully become an advocate for that.

I began with a NASA synchronicity, and now as I draw to a close, here's another one: In late August, Mars went into Cancer, a zodiac sign associated with water, and will remain in Cancer until 17 October. While Mars is in its last weeks of Cancer, NASA has released a bulletin describing more about frozen water beneath the surface of Mars. This ice gets revealed when meteors crash-land on Mars. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's camera has revealed more than 100 fresh impact sites that are being studied for ice patches. On a symbolic level we might perhaps interpret this as Mars (our masculine sides) getting more deeply in touch with water (our feminine, emotional selves). Certainly being able to sit with emotions, listen to them and express them is a pre-requisite to heart work. The zodiac sign Cancer (emotions) comes before Leo (the heart). If we can't be with our emotional selves, then how can we tell if our feelings are coming from our hearts or from dependency needs? Since August, Mars has been helping us all get in touch with our emotions more deeply as preparation for its nine month journey through Leo, the sign of the heart.

Being an Aquarian, I can't believe how little airplay I'm about to give this next significant October event, but this e-news is already too long! Essentially on 13 October, Jupiter goes Direct in Aquarius. This is great news for Aquarians, but also for all air and fire signs (Gemini, Libra, Aries, Leo and Sagittarius). Up until January 2010, things are likely to move ahead for those zodiac signs with the planet of growth and abundance going forwards rather than backwards. On a collective level, Jupiter Direct in Aquarius helps bring to fruition many of the innovations that have been getting tested in the background (while Jupiter was Retro). So we might get a spike in new techologies (for better or worse - not all growth is good), and hopefully, in humanitarian progress, including issues to do with the environment, poverty and human rights.

Finally this month's Full Moon is in Aries on 4 October. This is likely to get us in touch with anything we're feeling either narky or passionate about. If we feel we've been giving too much to others, it's a time to come back to centre and give to ourselves. It's a time to relish our individuality. Watch out for an increase in aggro and rash behaviour under this Full Moon, especially regarding cars (e.g. hoons, road rage, unsafe driving etc). On an exciting note, the Full Moon gets us in touch with our desires, so it's a good time to get hot and spicy with someone! On that note, this month's New Moon is in Libra on 18 October - the relationship zodiac sign - this can be a very romantic moon. But most of all, the New Moon in Libra has us setting fresh goals for balance in our lives by being in relationship with all the parts within ourselves. If we discover we've tried to get rid of any aspect of ourselves that might actually be worth listening to, it's time to start paying attention again. This will prepare us well for Saturn's momentous entry into Libra less than two weeks later.

Wishing you a harmonious month of heartful balance :-)

MichelleRadiant LivingInsight & healing for the path aheadhttp://www.radiantliving.com.au0411 264 753

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