Saturn in Capricorn: Establishing Sustainable Earth

Saturn in Capricorn:  Establishing Sustainable Earth 

(December 2017 through March 2020)

"When sleeping women wake, mountains move." -Chinese Proverb

Tonight, Saturn moved into the earth sign of Capricorn. Saturn's last ingress into Capricorn was in 1988, so a look back through 1988-1991 can give some clues about important societal structures rising and falling from now until 2020. Essentially, Saturn in Capricorn inclines stability and endurance...so what is unstable often crumbles and gets replaced with something more sustainable in these years. For example: Apartheid started to be dismantled, the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the Soviet Union gave way to many countries establishing independence. Examples of societies thriving with enduring creations would be that the US birth rate increased dramatically in the late 80s, the Channel Tunnel was established between the UK and the European mainland, and South Korea established their 6th Republic which remains today. Interestingly, South Korea held the Olympics in 1988...and will host them again next year (though ticket sales are slow this go around and negotiations are still being made to keep things safe with North Korea). I mention this, specifically, because things that begin in this cycle often come back around in important historical events. We'll see how revisiting such world events from the last cycle plays out this time around.  

Societal response to all of these structural changes, I believe, is what makes a difference in Saturn cycles. Saturn in Capricorn is ultimately a wise and earthy influence. It seems the US (where I live) could use a bit more of that energy. Saturn's lesson here is that when we, the people, stand up together and embrace our authority (demanding what is sustainable and challenging what is not) we can hold the ancestral earth energy of The Circle of Grandmothers...a necessary, stabilizing, Saturnian influence that was completely disregarded and left out of all that our Founding Fathers borrowed from the Iroquois Confederation.

Everything that happens here, from now until the next couple of years, is best informed by such ancestral wisdom coming alive in the people. We will be challenged to reach down to the roots of our land and nurture the resurgence of such elder wisdom. What we are building to now (as Saturn is the Master Builder energy) is the Capricorn power alignments of 2020 when Pluto and Saturn are joined by Jupiter in this sign and begin new societal and generational cycles.  What is earth-centered and sustainable can really have a chance to thrive in these next couple of years, as this ancestral wisdom means to seed the beginnings of generations to come and protect them from corrupting influences. Of course, Saturn demands that we work for it.  Saturn initiations are not known for taking us down the easy path.  And with Pluto, large-scale transformations are involved within corrupted structures (as we have been witnessing since 2008 when Pluto moved into Capricorn).  With Jupiter, growth and expansion comes into play…and if used wisely, as Capricorn urges us to do, can bring abundance and prosperity to where it is needed most. 

In 1988, it was Uranus and Neptune in Capricorn that were powerful players along with Saturn.  Shadows certainly come along with such a heavy concentration of planets in a stellium.  So we, as a society, fell victim to some enduring structures that were destructive. For one example...crack and Prozac were both introduced in that time to a society that was overly depressed and cracking under the pressure. Things can get heavy under so much Saturnian weight being thrown around by people wielding power over others...and the new quick-fix (Uranus) can lead to addiction (Neptune).  The patriarchy itself has often been attached to Capricorn's shadow…and dominance is often implemented to force success (especially at the expense of all those who are stepped on in attempt to claim ‘King of the Mountain’). 

But this Saturn in Capricorn time is meant to be a reclaiming, redefining, and re-membering of the higher vibrations of this energy. Keywords and phrases to keep in mind for the coming years are:  sturdy foundations, rock solid, dedicated effort, sustainable earth, enduring structures, integrity, ancestral and elder wisdom, wise women, earth connection, the Builder archetype, and ‘slow and steady wins the race’. 

Remember that the time is here, and we are the ones…no more waiting.  May this ancestral remembrance be infused into all of us in this cycle. And may the Earth feel our growing reconnection to Her.

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

New Moon in Sagittarius: Carve Your Own Path

New Moon in Sagittarius:  Carve Your Own Path

Moon conjunct Sun- 12-18-17 @ 12:30am CST

As the Cold Moon phase begins, we have had a few opportunities to clear some cobwebs from our past. We may have uncovered things we had forgotten about, or even discovered hidden gems that never caught our mind’s eye until we dusted the shelves of memory.  As we approach the closing of the ‘time which is no time’ between Samhain and Yule, there has been a “house cleansing” within our body, heart, and mind.  Were we conscious of it?  Did we direct the energies and clear our path with each push, pull, or flow?  Or was it unconscious?  There certainly was enough Neptune energy to have it go either way. 

Personally, I experienced a lot of inward observation…the kind that makes you still yourself and pay attention.  Going deeply inward was a necessity for me.  Planetary transits calling me up to make plans left and right…yet I discovered the work was within.  As much as I keep looking up at the stars, I am no stranger to the inward journey…and I know the call.  My own Soul Story has a lot of retrograde (inner) expression.  It’s fairly common to be born with 2 or 3 planets in retrograde.  It’s very few of us that are born when 6 planets are in retrograde, though.  That’s the path my soul chose…Mars through Pluto…6 retrograde expressions to sift through within me.  One of my retrograde planets, Neptune, is in this very New Moon degree of Sagittarius.  Another transit activating me in a season that is known to freeze.  My own Neptune expression has always been a bit nebulous in my own attempts to put my finger on it, and admittedly confusing, at times, to others.  So in writing about the New Moon in this degree, I am simultaneously working with my own Neptune energy.  The creative process often has good results even with energy that tends to be boundless as the ocean.  You are welcome to board this boat with me, as we are all experiencing this Sagittarian Vision Quest together.

'Party Boat to Atlantis' by Michael Pukac

New Moon in Sagittarius 27:  A Sculptor at Work

"I saw an angel in the marble and carved until

I set him free." -Michaelangelo

Our luminaries are illuminating the work of the Sculptor…one who flows with higher mind inspiration and creates it in form.  It becomes tangible ‘inform’ation through the sculptor’s hands…something humanity can better grasp in each finished work.  Sculpture often begins with a vision (as Michaelangelo alluded to in his quote on the left)...and is then carefully revealed by the sculptor through a tangible medium.  This new moon is the start of a creative process.  It will take on many different forms for all of us.  If you know what house this New Moon is transiting in your chart, you can find clues to where and how it might be expressed.  Some of the key phrases that are coming up for me in this process are “sculpt your vision”, “build a bridge”, “connect with and serve humanity through creative inspiration”, “find purpose through the journey”, and “your future is in your hands”.  With the materials available to us now, we have the opportunity to give shape to something meaningful to us.  The storyline of this Sagittarian tale is quite like a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ story.  The Luminaries urge us to choose wisely.

Sagittarius Stellium trine Aries Stellium:  Flow of Creative and Spiritual Fire

There is more to this story.  The focus, at this new moon, is on two powerful stelliums (conjunctions of multiple celestial bodies) in fire signs.  The Sun and Moon in Sagittarius are joined by Venus, Eros, and Saturn.  When I look at synastry charts (comparing two or more charts to see the dynamics of a relationship), Saturn, Venus, and Eros all have some relevance in the relationship realm.  So this powerful grouping in Sagittarius may have much to do with the journey we are on in our intimate partnerships.

Venus Felix (with her son, Cupid)

Venus and Eros (Mother and Son, Goddess and God of Love and Intimacy in the Greco-Roman pantheon) are bringing these values into play within this alignment.  The arrow of Sagittarius, the Archer, aligns in Cupid's bow, directing our desires toward what we undeniably love.  And Saturn (who teaches the importance of structure and stability in our society) brings in the element of commitment and endurance in dedicated effort.  In Sagittarius, this stellium focuses power within the realm of higher mind pursuits, broadening our horizons, and expanding our knowledge through new experiences.  One expression of such expansive experience is in exploring intimate relationships.  For those in committed intimate relationships, this energy can help you envision your future together and direct your sacred flames toward shared creative and explorative pursuits.  There is a rekindling of passion here that should not be taken for granted, and is best expressed through creative and spiritual pursuit of truth.  For those not in an intimate relationship, this is very good initiatory energy if you are seeking a partner on your quest through life.

In a trine (harmonious aspect of creative flow) to the Sagittarius Stellium, is an Aries Stellium between Eris, Uranus, and Pallas.  We know Uranus as the Revolutionary Rebel and Inspirational Innovator of the Cosmos, whose been blazing trails and initiating shocking changes in Aries for about 7 years already (moving into Taurus in March of 2018). 

Pallas, an asteroid named for Pallas Athene (Goddess of Wisdom), stations direct on Sunday (12-17)…pausing to choose from her many options in moving forward.  Her energy is that of the Strategist and Problem-Solver.  Her sacred animal, the Owl, views things from all angles with clear insight.  Warrior Princess that she is, Pallas wins a battle by clearing the obstacles from her path…not by heading into hasty confrontation with them, but by seeing a few steps ahead and deciding the best way to maneuver around any traps.  Her pauses, much like Mercury’s (who is stationing direct on the 22^nd), incline us to really wrap our heads around what we’re experiencing…and to learn valuable information during the retrograde period that we may have otherwise overlooked. 

Eris and her moon, Dysnomia

Eris is the lesser explored of the three in this stellium.  This is because she was only discovered in 2005, named in 2006 (a period of time that spans the conception and eventual birth of my firstborn child, Alyrica Rayven…and she certainly aligns with the archetype expressed here in many ways).  The discovery of Eris (as well as the surprise conception of my own daughter at that time), came with a bit of a shock.  A new celestial body that is 27% more massive than Pluto…is she our tenth planet?  In the deliberation period, names were considered.  The discoverer, Mike Brown, nicknamed her Xena (as in, the Warrior Princess) and was kind enough to write down the exact time of discovery with a respectful nod to astrologers worldwide (a ‘sign of the times’ which is truly appreciated in the astrological community).  Another name proposed was Persephone, for her relationship to Pluto.  Finally, she was officially declared Eris.  At the same time, she was given ‘dwarf planet’ status and so was Pluto.  If you follow the mythology of these deities, you know that not inviting the Goddess of Chaos, Discord, and Strife to a party is a recipe for retaliatory disaster (disaster literally means ‘malefic star’).  A modern example of this myth is in characters such as Maleficent (the uninvited fairy who cursed Sleeping Beauty and the kingdom that shunned her).  But Eris’s vengeance was said to be responsible for the Trojan War as well…when she wasn’t invited to Paris’s party, she threw in the ‘Apple of Discord’ that said “to the fairest” amongst the Goddesses who were invited.  Paris chose Aphrodite as the fairest of them all, as she promised him the woman his heart desires…which was Helen of Troy (who also has been blamed as the reason for the Trojan War).  If there’s one thing that is clear about the energy behind the naming of the planet Eris, it’s that she better be invited and welcomed to the planetary party!  But no…demoted to dwarf status before she could even get a foot in the door.

Needless to say perhaps, Eris is the tenth planet in my book…and Pluto is still as powerful a planet as ever.  Eris was conjunct my Sun-Mercury in Aries when I was born…so I have a stellium connection to this planet as well.  She’s invited to my party...sometimes she's even the hostess.

'La Discordia'

Her energy carries the triplicity of Xena-Persephone-Eris…so there are archetypal themes such as the Warrioress as well as the powerful female who endures disempowering mistreatment and keeps rising up to prove her worth.  There are other astrologers following her energetic inclinations since her discovery, but if you are interested in learning more…I suggest looking up Henry Seltzer and reading his book ‘The Tenth Planet’.  His ideas on Eris’s importance to humanity are well-researched and enlightening.  I agree with his description of Eris as the Warrioress energy of revealing one’s soul purpose…and creating discord and strife when we do not pursue such aims and succumb to disempowerment instead.  Champion of the downtrodden, she will force you back up and make you fight for what you believe in.

This powerful planet is more slow-moving than Pluto, and her many stations (pauses to shift retrograde or direct) are a concentration of her energy...and she happens to be stationary in 23 Aries in the first month of 2018.  ‘Embrace my soul’s purpose’ may be a good priority to choose while considering New Year’s Resolutions.  Don’t be afraid of a little chaos in your year ahead.  Eris was sister to Ares (Mars), and followed him into battle.  Chaos is known to follow war.  In a similar but higher expression of these energies, victory in ‘battle’ comes from aligning Will and Force (Mars) with Empowered Purpose (Eris).

So in this Aries Stellium, Uranus is encouraging rebellion and revolution flanked by the Warrioress energies of Pallas and Eris.  They remind us that when it seems nothing is going right...go left.  On a global scale, we’ll see people fighting back in purposeful ways against oppressive and obsolete forces.  We may also see remarkable innovations introduced into our collective consciousness that will be a necessary ‘win’ for humanity.  And still some will be experiencing the turbulent chaos that comes with unexpected change.  On a personal scale, if we tap into this creative fire energy and activate it within our own lives…we may very well discover an ingenious new direction in our path that will better manifest our purpose in life, and within humanity’s larger storyline.

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

Full Moon in Gemini during Mercury’s Retrograde Station: Time Out! Take a Breather. Rediscover Your Inner Strength.

Isa:  The Rune of Ice, Standstill, and Shifting Inward

Full Moon in Gemini during Mercury’s Retrograde Station:  Time Out!  Take a Breather.  Rediscover Your Inner Strength.

Mercury retrograde pre-shadow began:  11-14-17

Mercury stations retrograde:  12-3-17 @ 1:34am CST

Moon opposite Sun: 12-3-17 @ 9:46am CST

Mercury stations direct: 12-22-17 @ 7:51pm CST

Mercury retrograde post-shadow release: 1-10-18

If the Mercury Retrograde of August this year taught us anything (and I hope it taught us much more), it’s that sometimes slowing down to a full halt, consciously assessing the magnitude of what’s transpiring, and then going backward and inward to revise our thoughts and feelings is periodically necessary.  Those key periods for ‘dropping in’ to new realms of thought, retrieving what you were missing while racing to your goals, happen three to four times a year during Mercury Retrograde.  Of course, such things can happen at other times, and our personal transits reflect that, but these retrogrades are like guided journeys for the collective mind.  Here, we all contribute to the reshaping of global thought. 

We notice the energy shift mainly at each Mercury station (when Mercury pauses, from our view anyway, and changes direction).  But Mercury tries to mentally prepare us for the journey ahead of the initial shift of perception…during the ‘shadow period’ which began on November 14^th this time.  Not all of us consciously tune in to the prep period of course, so we often find ourselves discombobulated for a time until we allow ourselves to adjust to the energy.  This is why Mercury Retrogrades get blamed for Murphy’s Law (“whatever can go wrong, will go wrong”)…when often it’s still human error or out-of-sync timing with others.

Mercury Stations Retrograde in Sagittarius 30

Mercury shifts into retrograde in the last degree of Sagittarius, a few hours before the Full Moon is exact.  The Sabian Symbol for this degree is ‘The Pope, blessing the faithful’.  Though this whole retrograde journey really focuses on our religious and spiritual beliefs, as Sagittarian energy is about such bigger picture quests, this particular degree’s symbol also goes beyond the leader of the Catholic Church and represents any human who leads others and becomes a symbol for the cause.  Some do it well, and some do it terribly…as we’ve been noticing.  In fact, symbols themselves are of particular focus in this retrograde because Mercury’s direct station degree is in Sagittarius 14.  The Sabian symbol there is ‘The Great Pyramid and the Sphinx’…representing enduring symbols of spiritual wisdom that date back to ages before the church.  So, Mercury essentially hovers there on the degree of religious authority that pervades the Piscean Age that we are moving beyond into the Age of Aquarius…travels back to the degree of ancient spiritual symbols from Egypt that represented the spiritual evolution from the Age of Leo through the Age of Taurus…and then goes forward again (usually with many of us picking up some necessary information for the collective).  So we’re examining traditions, beliefs, values…yet Mercury is aware that the spiritual practices of our age aren’t really connecting us to the root of what we need at this time.  He takes us back farther through our spiritual ancestry and gets us closer to a place of foundational wisdom with which we can rebuild upon.  This has been a theme, restructuring upon enduring foundations and receiving wisdom from our ancestors, as Mercury aligned with Saturn at Galactic Center…though Saturn has been building those foundational connections all year.  So Mercury means to take us on a deeper dive into the Mysteries of our spiritual ancestry this month…to retrieve some important knowledge before he moves the collective mind into Capricorn territory. 

Moon in Gemini 12

Shortly after Mercury stations retrograde, the Long Nights Moon reaches fullness.  The Sabian symbol for this degree is “a slave girl demanding her rights”.  This particular symbol has a few different renditions…like ‘a black girl fighting for independence in the city’, as well as the original 1925 wording in reference to ‘Topsy’, from Uncle Tom’s Cabin, ‘asserting herself’.  The key here is asserting yourself in new situations that are more open to necessary change than what your past allowed.  This character’s past was terribly rough…and though her new situation was less violent and subjugating, the prejudices of the past followed this character to her new environment…as she accepted them as truths as well.  Her saving grace, as it is with all of us, was love.  That was all she needed to finally understand her own worth.  And her life changed because of the acceptance she received from another.  This degree has to do with clearing out the ghosts of past beliefs and judgments and standing strong in your authentic truth…the freedom that follows is a story of transformation.  So this moon may have us struggling between the self-limiting thoughts about ourselves that were part of our past conditioning and the diamond in the rough of who we really are and how we should be treated.  It may also bring race relations strongly to the fore...where love, friendship, and acceptance will continue to assert itself over antiquated beliefs of any skin color being better than another.

Sun in Sagittarius 12

The Sabian symbol for this degree is “a flag turns into an eagle that turns into a Chanticleer saluting the dawn”.  This symbol has very American undertones, which is no surprise as they were channeled by an American clairvoyant (Elsie Wheeler).  The keynote in this symbol is the transformation that occurs from a symbol or idea into a realization and manifestation.  The flag is a symbol of a nation and its ideals.  The eagle is also a symbol for the USA…indicating ideals of freedom as well as soaring to the highest heights.  The eagle soars so high that it can see the sun first as it rises.  Likewise, the Chanticleer (rooster) heralds the dawn of each new day by crowing at daybreak.  All of these images together represent the idea that each day carries the potential for another rebirth of consciousness.  The connection between these symbols is that ‘assertion’ theme as well as the transformation we undergo as we reach higher states of freedom.  There is also the shadow correlation to the Moon’s degree that relates to seeing others as being less than ourselves…where national pride resonates as just another prejudice of the privileged.  The opposition between these symbols is that here we are focused on the need for ‘peak experiences’ to bring transformation…while the Moon’s degree identifies with the struggle of reality when trying to rise up and speak out.  It is easier for the flag/eagle/rooster type to be accepted with notoriety and a resonant voice than it is for the girl whose been oppressed her whole life to find her voice and be heard…but she will be finding her own flag to raise, her own wings to soar, and her own wake-up call to sound.

The Music of the Spheres

There are so many other energies at play during this time that I will have to just list them so I don’t write a book about this lunation.  There are two other influences that are very important right now…which also featured strongly since the last full moon.  First, Neptune is in a harsh T-square pattern with our luminaries now…which continues to heighten both the confusion that’s been apparent for over a month now as well as an otherworldly and spiritual emphasis.  Any of the stress this opposition of the luminaries inclines in our human experience is pooled and pressured into Neptunian energies…so some may feel like they're drowning in energies they can’t even put their finger on, while others may cling to escapism and their addictions to deal, and still others might be able to catch the wave of spirituality and creativity that keeps them afloat in uncertain times.  The other main energy is that Mercury isn’t the only one who’s at a standstill during this full moon…so is Chiron, who stations direct on the 5^th.  This is a time when old wounds can be deeply addressed and purified. 

Both Neptune and Chiron were featured in the same degrees as now toward the end of my Full Moon in Taurus post…so if you need a refresher on these degrees of ‘examination’ and ‘purification’, feel free to re-read those paragraphs.  A Mercury Retrograde is always a good time to re-read things, after all.  Also, in the same post, you can find that the Sun was in Scorpio 12 where Jupiter is now…so the ‘official embassy ball’ symbol applies again because Jupiter is making a harmonious trine aspect to Neptune now as well as uncomfortable ‘growth aspects’ to the luminaries…facilitating an amplification of what Neptune is dishing out while widening the feeling of disconnection with the energies of the luminaries.  Ultimately, Jupiter is pushing for integration of the balance between these forces, though it may feel more like a tug-o-war at first.  

Another energy still looming, as it reached exaction just yesterday (12-1), is the opposition between Mars and Uranus Retrograde.  This combination is often an accident-prone kind of energy…especially when rage or forcefulness is involved.  However, Mercury and Saturn are making harmonious aspects to it…which give a healthy outlet for the energy to become more balanced through mature communication.  Still, stationary Chiron is also tangled up in it all with not so harmonious aspects…so these energies may exacerbate the wounds we are trying to heal. 

There’s not really any energy sitting out during this lunation.  Pluto has been tangled up with the Moon’s nodes all week (making uncomfortable transformation a karmic necessity), and even Venus (who recently entered Sagittarius and is least influential right now) is still gearing up for her harsh square with Neptune a week from now…where confusion or deception in relationships may come to a head.  The trick is to surrender to where this Mercury Retrograde is leading you…as that is the underlying energy of guidance right now.  Each delay, setback, scheduling snafu, mechanical failure, communication breakdown…instead of allowing your impatience and irritation to set the tone of misunderstanding, allow for the understanding that there is a reason behind things not going according to plan.  Instead of seeing all of the obstacles that are put in your path, understand that they may be the very things that clear the obstacles within you so that you will actually take some time to go inward and find what you need first before going ahead.  Take a time out.  And just breathe through it. 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi