Square Five: Awakening on the Cross
4-21-2014 (Uranus Square Pluto
in the 14th degree of Aries and Capricorn) @ 5:02am
Uranus and Pluto are two of the three
Generational Outer Planets that allude to the collective experience of our
global community. These planets take much longer to move through our
solar system, and so their energies have an enduring effect when triggered by
alignment. Though I am writing this series as they approach each of the
seven exact square alignments, the powerful effects can be felt months before
and after (as they gradually approach and recede from the alignment).
This April, the two are met by Mars
Retrograde and Jupiter to heighten the experience. The opposition of
Jupiter and Pluto (now retrograde since the 14th) are aligned near
the galactic center, while the opposition of Mars and Uranus are aligned near
the galactic edge...making this particular cross distinctly important in our
collective evolution...so near the solstice and equinox points and in the
Eclipse Cauldron (the window of time between April’s lunar and solar
eclipses). While a whole lot is
brewing on a global scale, every individual is essentially ‘on the cross’ as
well in some way. Keeping that in
mind may help you navigate through the irritations of this time and into the
mindset of creative restructuring that the cross represents.
The Cardinal Grand Cross of
April 2014
The atmosphere is heavy…and
the world around you feels like it’s teetering on the brink of something
amazing, or something disastrous.
At the same time, you feel stretched in multiple directions and that
many things (including yourself) are sabotaging your own needs and desires. How do you balance your energy,
attention, and time between all of these things? Where is your center between what you need for yourself,
your family, your relationships, and your community/work? Why, when you try to focus your effort
on one of those things exclusively, does another come at you full-force with
something that needs to be taken care of immediately…throwing you off balance
again, ad nauseam? Maybe work
obligations or community related projects seem the most pressing…some shifts,
changes, or new opportunities are demanding your time and attention at the
expense of taking care of yourself, your family, or your relationship…and then
suddenly, you or your whole family comes down with whatever nasty bug has been
floating around, and you’re forced to take a few sick days. Or relationship issues are throwing you
off your game in all other areas of your life. These are a couple of scenarios I’ve been seeing a lot
lately, but there are many others.
On a daily basis now, especially since the Sun has been highlighting
these squares since the beginning of this month, we’re faced with obstacles to
overcome. Most of it has to do with needing to find a balance amidst a rapidly
active and transformative cycle in our earthly lives. It also has to do with finding our identity within the 4
areas of life I mentioned. So many
opportunities to make necessary changes, pulling us at once from all
directions…the thing about it is that it’s not just you, this is happening in
the lives of everyone around you in their own ways. So what are we all to do? Meet me in the middle.
Allow me to describe what the path to center looks like during this time
so that you all may find your own ways.
We can make good use of the highly active, transformative, and
initiating Cardinal Grand Cross (CGC) this time, together.
The Archetypes on the Cross
Essentially, the CGC is a great
initiator of action. The uncomfortable tension of the right angles may cloud
the fact that its design is like a nucleus of structure and strength that can
be a tremendous resource. Finding the point of balance and integration in order
to use this energy properly is a difficult challenge, but it can be done. The
key comes from developing balance between the two oppositions. When balanced,
they are wielding the same amount of force
on the planets that are connected by the 90 degree squares, creating a solid
foundation.
Many times, these four cardinal
points activated will call forth issues of identity. The Aries planet
(in this case, Uranus “the innovator”) inspires action that impulsively
expresses the self. The Cancer planet (in this case, Jupiter “the patriarch”)
inspires action that sees to the nurturance of the emotional identity. The
Libra planet (in this case, Mars “the warrior”) inspires action that connects
the social and intellectual identity. And finally, the Capricorn planet (in
this case, Pluto “the transformer”) inspires action toward recognizing the
tangible manifestation of the identity.
In the energy building now,
Uranus is illuminating enthusiastic energy toward self-improvement through change.
Jupiter is illuminating opportunities for growth and the emotions surrounding
them. Mars is illuminating the active participation of our social and intellectual
skills with others. Pluto is illuminating the mundane transformations we are
being forced to make with the hidden resources of personal power we don’t
always recognize. All of these illuminated aspects of our identities
(individual and collective) are pushing and pulling in four different
directions.
In many cases, this Cross can
represent an identity crisis if not balanced…and during this month, that crisis
is on a global scale. The four points involved are each pushing to express a
facet of the identity, yet each operates from a different level and perspective
of the self. This can cause people to feel overstretched or pulled apart. The
influence can also cause frustration based on the desire to take action without
a sense of focus or direction.
The 14th Degree
of Cardinal Signs
Aries: A Serpent Coils Near Lovers
For some this image will suggest
the Adam and Eve (or Ish and Isha) archetypes, while others may immediately be
drawn to the idea of Kundalini arousal.
Both have some merit here, but the focus is on self-realization as a
shared transformation of Universal Consciousness. The coiled serpent is all about potential lying dormant
within us, waiting to be activated, and often being activated by encounters
with ‘the other’ rather than the self.
The coiling itself represents the spiral-like process of evolution.
Cancer: A Very Old Man Faces
a Dark Space to the Northeast
The Northeast (true north) is the direction of Changeless
Reality, solitude, stillness, and silence. It is the space that occupies
the void between individuality and transcendence. It is the chrysalis of
transformation, the cave of hibernation, and the shedding of the skin that no
longer serves us. Jupiter faces us with our emotional baggage an effort
to release what we have been clinging to that is no longer needed. He
urges us to let go of the blockages that keep us in the darkness, and awaken
the sleeping energy within to bring us to illumination.
Libra: A Man Takes a Noon Siesta
And speaking of sleeping
energy…Mars Retrograde in Libra is an interesting combination of energies (I
was born with this combination myself).
Mars is a passionate and active planet while social-butterfly Libra
(ruled by Venus) inclines balance and diplomacy which tends to soften the hard
edges of the planet of war and aggression, focusing the energy on relationships
of all kinds. In addition to this,
the retrograde brings this energy inward…inclining the most necessary actions
to be on the internal level, the relationship with the Self. You may just want to sleep it off in
the heat of what’s all coming at you (and from you) lately…but be careful of
avoidant tendencies. So we don’t
like conflict and confrontation, but at the same time it’s these very things
that are getting us somewhere now.
Do take time out to recharge…meditation, yoga, or power naps can go a
long way in getting us through this Spring…but only as a means to relax and
rejuvenate, not as an escape.
Escapism, in this time, will only bring about more conflict.
Capricorn: An Ancient Bas-Relief Carved in Granite
Remains a Witness to a Long-Forgotten Culture
This is a symbol which again
brings up something that lies dormant until unearthed…wisdom from the ancients.
It reminds us to unearth what has permanent value and to let go of
non-essentials. What is needed in
this time is effort founded upon a valid historical perspective, which applies
both to an individual’s past as well as to the history of a nation or group.
“At
a time when in nearly every land men are questioning and challenging the
validity of traditional beliefs and customary attitudes, it becomes necessary
to separate permanent values and great principles or symbols from the many
individual habits and the socio-political developments which more often than
not have perverted or even negated the original ideals of the culture. We must
strive to free these ideals from the wild growth of personal and class
selfishness, from the greed and ambition so prevalent in human nature, and
learn to appreciate the excellence of what is the immortal seed-foundation, as
well as the spiritual harvest, of any culture — and by extension of every
sustained and complete work produced by a man's indomitable effort to achieve
creative perfection.” –Dane Rudhyar
Total Eclipse of the Seed Moon
The Full Moon Eclipse
at 2:43am CDT on Tuesday, April 15th initiated a time (between April eclipses) that is an opportunity to
consciously connect to the shadows within. The way in which we work with these eclipse energies will have reverberations for the next 6 months, until the next eclipse window opens. During a Lunar Eclipse, the Earth
passes between the two luminaries and the Earth’s shadow falls on the face of
the Moon…so while it evokes experiences that confront your own shadow nature,
it also evokes the collective shadow of the Earth itself.
This energy is an
emotionally intense transformation of death and rebirth…where the shadow
conceals the light of the self (Sun) from being reflected in the emotional body
(Moon) for a brief time before the light returns. Eclipse energy is a
quickening of time, healing opportunities, and confrontation with who we really
are and what no longer resonates at the vibration of our highest frequency. We
often come across times that are astrologically sound for ‘out with the old, in
with the new’ cleansings of our lives…but this particular eclipse window (the
15th through 29th) would be a key chance to have the
universe act as a cosmic converter for everything that no longer serves us on
our planet. Most of this process will not happen easily…crumbling foundations
will leave a mess and people facing drastic confrontations of self may react
with kicking and screaming victimization. However, there is a wide open door
for those who wish to do the work required and get right with themselves for
their own sake, and the sake of those they love.
Eclipse energy often
highlights accelerated changes, clearing, eliminating, releasing, and
transforming so new energies have room to manifest and grow. This can be like opening
up a dark storage closet that hasn’t been opened for years, and thinning out
the excess by determining what can be kept and what can be thrown out. Most of
the things you find here will bring up shadows of your past, and you’ll have to
let go of those attachments so that your new, more true to you, life has room
to breathe.
This eclipse illuminates
symbols that carry great potential.
The Sun in the 26th degree of Aries highlights “a man
possessed of more gifts than he can hold” while the Moon in the 26th
degree of Libra (where my natal Pluto is…which means this eclipse is highly
transformative for me, personally) highlights “an eagle and a large white dove
turning into one another”.
Essentially, the eclipse is showing the shadow side of being good at too
many things and not being able to choose between them…often, instead, we will
try to mix them together and ‘turn one into the other’ somehow in order to keep
it all together. All of us will be
confronted with this now in some way specific to each of us. It may be that too many people are
vying for your attention and you finally have to choose who is most important
to you, or it could be that you finally have to decide which career path to
take, or that you have too many things going on at once (this is likely for all
of us, because of the CGC) and you have to scale it all down to make the best
use of your time now.
The four main feminine
asteroids (Juno, Ceres, Vesta, and Pallas) are lining up with this eclipse, as
well as the lunar nodes (mentioned in my post from last month). Juno is in Aries conjunct the Sun and
South Node…making primary relationships a focus now. Ceres and Vesta in Libra are conjunct the Moon and North
Node…making nurturance and spiritual dedication an almost necessary (though in
many cases, underdeveloped) means to get through the rest of the month. And then Pallas in Leo gives a
beneficial outlet for these oppositions, giving us a sound and opportunistic
strategy for making the best of these initial energies. Pallas illuminates the
symbol “After a heavy storm, a rainbow appears.” It suggests we keep in mind what happens after we make it
through the toughest of life’s challenges. With this, fear can dissipate…and action can be taken with
commitment and confidence.
Love and Gratitude,
Felina Lune Kavi
P.S. If you haven’t read the
information I posted in June 2012 about the first of these squares as well as
the general information about what these alignments mean, please check out
this article from June 2012. Here
you will find the overview of the squares and their relation to the Fool’s
Tower of the tarot. If you also want a refresher on the themes of the 2nd,
3rd, and 4th squares, you can find them at these links: September 2012
May 2013
and November 2013.
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