Strong Sun New Moon and Solar Eclipse: The Initiation

On June 1^st at 4:01pm, the moon starts a new phase as the Strong Sun Moon. At 4:15pm, there is a partial solar eclipse in the 12^th degree of Gemini. The Sabian Symbol for the New Moon is “Newly opened lands offer the pioneer new opportunities”, while the Sabian Symbol for the eclipse is “A slave girl demands her rights.”

Let’s begin with the New Moon. With the Sun-Moon illuminating as conjoined twins in Gemini, our luminaries form a harmonious trine with Saturn in Libra. Saturn in this position reminds us of others…cooperation, peacekeeping, and balance are the important lessons of this taskmaster in the sign of relationships. The trine promotes understanding, teamwork, and creative flow between the three. A new phase is opening up for us, and opportunities to succeed are conveniently there for the taking (as long as you make the effort…the natural tendency with a trine is to simply coast in the ease of it, but you’ll find more benefit from accomplishing something worthwhile now that you have this opportunity).

Each New Moon phase brings a new start with new opportunities, but this one even more so. We’re being initiated into a very intense few months (as a very powerful lunar eclipse and another powerful solar eclipse will all happen this summer in alignments that, in one way or another, will demand or command your attention). Here’s where we prepare for what’s to come by shedding old skin and identifying more with the completeness of who we are, as these are the changes we’ll be faced with this summer.

After those new opportunities from the New Moon present themselves, a first glimpse at our collective shadow appears. This first eclipse, though less intense than the two that follow, is a wake up call. After identifying what it is we need to do, and what it is we need to leave behind, in order to be the change we wish to see in the world…we may be backed into a corner by that which has held power over us for so long now. It’s important not to give in and go the easy route that takes little effort but has far-reaching drawbacks and debilitating limitations. Here, we will be called upon to demand our rights in the face of what we have allowed to limit our truly limitless selves. This may show up in the world view as more power-struggles, more signs of revolution, or more calls for change in our failing societal structures. But even more important is what is going on within each of us.

There is light and shadow within each of us. Many of us hide from our shadows by playing the victim and pointing fingers outside of us…whether it be at parents, relationships, or the evils of the world around us. We have these experiences, though, to teach us the whole truth about ourselves and our interconnectedness to what we experience. Those people, those situations, those struggles…they are mirrors reflecting what we refuse to acknowledge about ourselves.

The shadow side of our personalities are the parts of us we don’t want to identify with…the aspects of ourselves that we hide, repress, or dissociate after society teaches us various things that aim to correct what is ‘wrong’ or wild about us. We’re conditioned to watch our tempers, hold back our tears, look presentable, concern ourselves with money, keep our heads out of the clouds, not say something stupid or crazy, or any other variation on what blocks our self-expression. This is not to say that letting children run wild is the way to raise them. My parents laid down ‘the law’ for us, just as I find myself doing with my daughter now. But discipline is about teaching right from wrong and guiding along a morally sound path. Those are not the limitations to which I am referring. I’m talking about what makes us feel worthless, unloved, misunderstood, maladjusted, less than, wounded, afraid, disconnected or wrong. Harsh judgments stay with us, whether they come from outside or within. It’s those ideas that keep us from our highest potential. That is the shadow side at work…phantom pains from old wounds that demand that we heal them in order to discover our gifts.

No one can heal your own wounds but you. The Age of Pisces has been swimming in a martyr’s wounds for so long that we’ve grown disconnected to the collective undercurrent we share as living beings facing a new age. In terms of salvation, you have all you need to save, redeem, and reclaim yourself. In terms of damnation, you’ve handmade the shackles you wear…and only you have the key to free yourself from this story you’ve created with beliefs you’ve accepted until now. Looking outside of yourself for answers, for cues, for acceptance or reassurance…you’ll only be drowning yourself in the Piscean dream of the past. In the Age of Aquarius, you either identify with the Water Bearer who determines the flow…or you can be the victim who washes away with the past. Taking responsibility for who we are and what kind of world we co-create is key to the changes we are learning to make now.

This eclipse hastens us to begin or resume our healing process. Step out of self-defeating cycles and forge a new path filled with new discoveries. Identify your wounds, integrate your shadows in your healing and loving light, and identify yourself as whole in the process. Shed the limiting skin of the past and welcome the new you, unwounded.

Love and gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

Aries Ascending

There's no beginning like an end. Today begins a new cycle of Aries influence in the cosmos, but only after one more Piscean lesson.

In about an hour from now, Mercury (the planet of communication) exacts its conjunction with Uranus (the planet of innovation) in the last degree of Pisces. In this degree, discernment is key. Today is the day to strengthen your sense of self and project the image of the person you want to be. This is the first (mental) step toward the transformations taking place once these planets reach Aries. The insight you receive today, whether it is in the form of unexpected, strange, or liberating news, is part of your preparation for what is to come. With Mercury and Uranus (Mercury's higher octave planet) working in tandem, you'll want to keep an open mind this week.

About an hour after that (11:47am), Mercury enters Aries. The key phrase for this transit (which lasts until 5-15, as Mercury retrogrades through this sign between 3-30 and 4-23) is 'new ideas'. The key word for this transition into Aries is 'realization'. During this transit, we have knowledge being channeled from the unconscious to reality. This blossoming awareness provides comfort, and opens opportunities for creativity and independence. Fun, enthusiastic people who stimulate your creative thinking will boost your own unique talents during this time. Attend events or join causes where you can contribute your ideas and energy toward something co-creative. Use the retrograde time (3-30 through 4-23) to break free of habits that are holding you back or weakening your will. When summer rolls around, you'll want to be liberated from those things that aren't working for you...so set yourself up for some inside-and-out 'spring cleaning'.

On Friday (March 11), Uranus enters Aries at 6:49pm. We had a pre-cursor to this transit last year when Uranus waded into Aries briefly (May 27-August 13) before retrograding back into Pisces. But now we're approaching the 7-year long transit of Uranus in Aries...the beginning of an important cycle (individually as well as globally). Significant changes are ahead, and so are a lot of surprises.

Uranus rules inventiveness, social innovation, oddities, surprises, the unexpected, technology, independence, and rebellion. This transit signals a time to break free from limiting situations, ideas, and thought patterns. During this transformative transit, if you ignore the necessary changes in your view and keep doing the same old things in the same old ways, you'll miss a great opportunity to make your life more interesting and meaningful.

Dan Furst on the history of Uranus in Aries:

"The essence of the combination is Change. Uranus is the artist and trickster of Revolution, the one who brings change that is heady and exciting to those who welcome it and are brave enough to play it, and upsetting, even terrifying, to those who resist it, or think they will control it to their ends. When Uranus is in the zodiac sign of the impetuous, desire-driven Warrior and initiator of the new, he tends to witness, and perhaps to provoke, revolutionary changes that can go either way, toward freeing people, or enslaving them in new and more ingenious ways. Some recent exhibits in the Uranus-in-Aries wing of the History Museum:

1927 - 1935: The 1929 crash leads to worldwide depression, war and revolution. The new planet Pluto is discovered in 1930. Japan invades Manchuria in 1931, Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected president of the US the next year, and Germany goes Nazi in January 1933. A year later the Red Army in China survives the Long March, and the Stalin dictatorship begins.

1843 - 1851: Socialist and other anti-monarchic uprisings shake the regimes of Europe. The new planet Neptune is discovered in 1846, as the Baha'i movement begins. Civil unrest and the Irish potato blight propel a wave of German and Irish immigration to the USA, which wins a war of expansion against Mexico. The Communist Manifesto is published, and the labor movement begins.

1756 - 1764: Uranus is in Aries during the entire time of the Seven Years' War, as England, reaping the benefits of its recent Industrial Revolution, defeats France and emerges as the world's dominant empire. England imposes in its American colonies the mercantilist laws that will soon lead to revolt when Uranus is in the communicative sign of Gemini.

This is enough to establish the main shape of the picture: transformative events, often involving mass movements of millions of people, sometimes achieving the end of oppressive regimes, but sometimes bringing worse ones. One way or the other, when Uranus is in Aries, especially when he is in a 90° "square" to Pluto in Capricorn in 2012 - 2013, we may feel that we're being swept along by currents that we cannot direct or control. We are in the white water now, and it will get louder. We can choose to navigate it in a strong canoe with fit, resonant, well-equipped friends. We can get inside a barrel and shoot the rapids alone. One way or the other, we're in a fluid, turbulent water environment that requires us to get flexible and inventive if we're going to travel on the water's terms. This is the theme of my book Surfing Aquarius, which Red Wheel Weiser will publish in September."

-Dan Furst's Universal Festival Calendar for March 2011 on Hermes3.net

Dan Furst will be here in Omaha this October for his 'Surfing Aquarius' book tour and we will be planning an event together for the second weekend of October. If you're interested in learning more about the waters ahead, keep your schedule open that weekend and join us in Omaha for a mind-expanding, heart-opening, soul-stirring gathering of Spiritual Activism.

Love and Gratitude,
Felina Lune Kavi

The Cardinal Climax

There are too many cosmic events going on at one time, and not enough time to document them. Our lives are similarly affected. This summer is anything but boring. In fact, if you haven’t experienced this time as one of the following adjectives, you’re hiding from important lessons…probably for fear of change.

We are in the midst of two weeks that have potential to be transformative, stressful, aggravating, highly active, intense, and self-educational. There is no doubt the wheels are turning with great force, and things stuck in the mud will either dislodge or get left behind.

Since last week, on the 27th, Mercury has been feeling right at home in Virgo. Mercury (the planet of communication) rules Virgo (the sign of order, improvement, and healing). This Mercury in Virgo transit lasts until October 3rd and promotes problem-solving and establishing healthy routines. We first had to cut through the confusion and opposition…but our minds are getting back on track and better able to focus. Hold that focus this summer, because we’ll all be needing it.

Mars entered Libra Thursday night and will be in this sign of Venusian harmony until September 14th. This positioning of Mars is called ‘in detriment’. When planets are in the sign of their detriment, they often have difficulty operating positively. Those who have Mars in Libra in their natal chart (like myself) have usually grown accustom to this energy, and thus can offer some insight in how to balance it.

Mars is the warrior planet and rules action, desire, and confrontation. Libra is ruled by Venus, and is the sign associated with relationships, fairness, and friendliness. So, our actions and desires during this transit become focused on our relationships and we will feel the urge to fight for equality. The discomfort comes from not being able to push full force into action because of the consideration of others’ feelings and rights. Actions will need to be focused on harmony during this transit, no matter how irritated we might get.

Over the weekend, we had Mars and Uranus exacting an opposition on Friday…challenging us to balance realization with articulation. This aspect can cause surprises and accidents. It’s also pitting the warrior against the innovator. On Saturday, we had Mars conjunct Saturn…placing even more emphasis on expressing yourself (and your desire to improve) to others. These two together are formidable opponents to the new ideas and pioneering coming from the Uranus-Jupiter conjunction. On a global scale, these oppositions are strengthening on both sides. On a personal level, try not to be too hard on yourself and others. We are all being held to high standards, and we’re being challenged to take on more responsibility than we thought we could manage. How we handle this is an indicator of our evolution. Not only is this all very stressful and active, it can also be very productive. Use your time wisely, tempering randomness with routine, and you might just come out of this completely unscathed…with wisdom attained.

Lughnasadh (August 1st) was bound to be busy. The challenging aspects of the weekend were still in effect and the Moon being void-of-course all day gave plenty of fluctuating circumstances to our efforts toward solidifying the things we’ve been pushing toward all summer. Fortunately, the morning and late night provided some emotional nurturance and spiritual solace.

The Moon is now exalted in Taurus, meaning our emotions are comforted in this energy of practical integrity. Yesterday the Taurus Moon made an Earth Grand Trine between Pluto, Mercury, and finally the North Lunar Node. This kind of aspect configuration may have been just what we needed to plant the seeds we’ve been accumulating in all this business and finally produce what we’ve been working toward. Monday was the day to get down to brass tacks and straighten everything out while we had the focus.

Juno, the asteroid of partnership and commitment, entered Leo at noon yesterday (August 2nd). Leo is a dramatic sign and is very demonstrative and romantic. Those of you in relationships, especially married couples, may benefit from a little more fun and creativity in your love life. After midnight, Juno and Uranus formed a trine…giving a sense of spontaneity (or possibly some mental stimulation) to relationships.

But even though there were good things yesterday, there was still another cavalcade of challenges. The Quarter Moon, energizing 11 degrees of Taurus and Leo, is inclining us all to use great care in nurturing the good spirits of others in order to manifest our best intentions. This may be difficult, because Jupiter and Pluto are clashing in a square again (the first one happened on July 24th, the next one happens Feb. 25th, 2011). The square was exact at 12:34am (August 3rd), but stays in effect before and after that. This is the retrograde version of what began less than two weeks ago. Whatever lessons we missed last time are up for review again. This is a contact with global implications, and is a major part of the Cardinal Squares of this summer.

Other irritations (similar to the ones we thought we relieved during the weekend of the Full Blessing Moon) may crop up, forcing more changes. It comes down to everyone needing to be in the same boat in order to accomplish goals that benefit the group. The happy-go-lucky Jupiter energy may find it hard to enjoy the order and force of necessary changes that Pluto is providing this summer. Learning to trust others, as well as ourselves, is still our key to security.

All day today, Mars is building up more tension in the Cardinal T-square. Tonight, Mars exacts an opposition to Jupiter (11:21pm) and a square to Pluto (11:59pm). Mars tends to get arguments heated, so be careful that you’re not feeding into that energy. The positive vibrations of Mars have to do with taking action and being energetic. Despite the planetary alignments currently set against each other, impeding progress and causing friction, there is a way to tweak it to a more productive (and friendly) experience.

Mars right now is transiting the 3rd degree of Libra and enters the 4th degree at 4:22pm. So, Mars is going from the Sabian Symbol of ‘The dawn of a new day with everything changed’ into ‘A group around a campfire’. So, hopefully, we woke up this morning able to let the past go and embrace the new day. Because tonight, we’ll be needing to surround ourselves with warm sociability and support from friends in order to ignite illumination and awareness in our current situations.

It’s bad enough that these alignments are inclined to add heat to current social and political climates. Not everybody exercises the positive side of squares and oppositions. Many people are more reactive than that, and Mars carries an aggressive energy. Compromise is key, yet…in group dynamics…it can be hard to have everyone on the same page. When you are aware of this energy, and you see people becoming explosive or irritable…either stay out of their way or (if you can’t avoid them) try to calm them by being a good friend.

And speaking of friends, Friday night (August 6th) Venus will also enter Libra (the sign she rules). She’s very at home in this peacekeeping sign and hopefully she will help to temper the harshness of Saturn and Mars in the squares. Venus will be in Libra until September 8th, and relationships get another boost during this transit. It’s still not going to be easy during this week, but soon the squares will soften and we can all have some semblance of a normal life again.

The first contact Venus makes to this T-square is on Saturday, August 7th in the early morning when Venus exacts an opposition with Uranus. Unusual attractions can occur under this aspect, as well as issues between freedom and closeness in relationships. Surprises may occur, challenging our ability to stay connected. Sudden realizations are par for the course, and articulation is once again the key. This opposition has the ability to boost a current situation (or relationships) into new, and perhaps even better, territory.

Just after noon on Sunday, August 8th, Venus conjuncts Saturn in the 2nd degree of Libra. The Sabian Symbol here is ‘The light of the sixth race transmuted to the seventh”. This is one of the more esoteric symbols, as it indicates the threshold between spiritual dimensions. This conjunction has to do with the evolution and expansion of consciousness through building upon a foundation of love and dedication. We may feel ourselves entering an advanced state on Sunday, after the harshness of the squares begin to subside. Our new experiences will restore equilibrium. Our challenge is to set free our limiting thought processes, which will support the planetary ascension process.

Fortunately, this conjunction inclines us to not waste our time with frivolity. We will all be more attracted to maturity, wisdom, and solid values…and commitments in relationships and business are favored at this time. By the same token, other relationships may need to be cut loose, or at least worked on seriously…particularly any that were suffering in the squares of this summer. This energy might also cause some to feel withdrawn in a crowd, and many of us might just want to be alone or with a close companion by the end of the day. This is a good time to reflect, set priorities, enjoy simple pleasures, and appreciate quality time with those you love.

Love and Gratitude,
Felina Lune Kavi

The Oppositions and Squares of Summer

By now, you've heard tell of the stressful planetary alignments that have been building up this summer. Now that we're getting into the thick of it, and how it can manifest to the mundane world, our attention has been called to action and balance in order to lessen the stress.

This weekend (Saturday) the astral dynamics amongst the squares began with Jupiter and Pluto exacting a square. Because of the retrograde cycle, these two will exact another square on August 2nd of this year and a final one on February 25th of next year. Not only were we challenged to let go of impractical plans this weekend, but large-scale things were clashing into unseen, transformative things everywhere. From news leaks about Afghanistan, to dams breaking, to those things in your personal life that began to irritate at the start of the summer and now have come to the point of requiring action to alleviate the pressure...it's certainly getting more difficult for all of us to find the time just to breathe calmly. More difficult than that is to clear our minds in the midst of demands for attention from every direction of our lives. But clarity is what we need to discover the right action for each situation we encounter now.

The Full Blessing Moon on Sunday night gave us plenty of opportunity to balance the oppositions between 7 planets, as well as our 2 luminaries. The opposition of the Full Moon pulled between ideas of defiance and decision. In the 3rd degree of Aquarius and Leo, the Moon's Sabian Symbol was 'a deserter from the navy' while the Sun's was 'a woman having her hair bobbed'. The blessing of balance proved that it would only be attained with drastic measures and definite decisions.

Other oppositions were just adding to the push-and-pull of everything. Mercury (working up to its opposition with Neptune yesterday and with Chiron today) may have muddled dishonest communication as a product of fear with communicating our woundedness as an excuse for such behavior. On the lighter side of this is a balance between our mental and communicative capacities with our capacity for spiritual healing. At any rate, the immediacy of needs in our lives required actions with unavoidable (and, in some cases, heartbreaking) ramifications. And today, with Mercury and Chiron at odds...confidence can only come from continuity. Our honesty and endurance sustains the unity and grace we need in our lives this summer.

The main players right now in this cosmic drama are the 5 in a T-square: Pluto makes the 90 degree angle between Uranus-Jupiter's opposition with Saturn-Mars. The tug-of-war between the New Age Uranus and the Old Age Saturn has been in effect since Election Day 2008, prompting polarization more than cooperation...at least on the global scale. With lucky Jupiter now on the side of the innovative Uranus and plucky Mars on the side of authoritative Saturn, we are only building up more opposition. The message from Pluto in the 4th degree of Capricorn is that wisdom incorporates the old and the new. The Sabian Symbol for this degree is 'A party entering a large canoe' and has much to do with motivating groups to accomplish great achievements. Order and planning is the focus of the T-square during these next two weeks. And when the Moon comes along in Cancer (the sign she rules) on August 6th, the pressure is off of Pluto and all of his necessary transformation...and can be balanced again with emotional comfort from family and close friends.

My husband and I are in a play right now that actually deals with these universal themes on a more personal level. The play centers around a family whose patriarch is dying. His four children are determined to be so different from each other that they are often at odds with each other. When they gather together, hijinx ensue. The only thing that brings them back to center is the love and support of familial bonds aiding the continuation of life after drastic changes.

I hope we are all able to anchor our personal experiences this summer with the nurturance of our emotional selves. This is the very balance that most of us have been needing in the midst of our changing lives.

Love and Gratitude,
Felina Lune Kavi

Saturn's Transition into Libra: Bullet with Butterfly Wings

Wednesday was always writing day for me. I might as well get back at that now.

The Sabian Symbol for the 1st degree of Libra is 'A butterfly made perfect by a dart through it.' Think of Saturn wearing the cloak of this symbol. Saturn, the karmic authority of the cosmos, has been clothed in Virgo's tasks and lessons, while seeing through her eye of improvement for almost three years now. But as of this morning, Saturn has ventured into the sign of Venusian Harmony. The delicate balance of all things becomes the basis of our karmic lessons this time around through Libra. For the next couple of years, there is a serious focus on relationships...and not just between people, but also the balance between everything.

It was 10:10am CST when Saturn returned to Libra for another long journey. He will be there until October 5th, 2012. This transit is the time to pinpoint, articulate, and illuminate our identities as a whole and their practical application within society. The first degree of Libra is an equinox point, and a powerful force of balance and moderation. Make the metamorphosis into your own idea of beauty and love.

At the same time, Saturn's sextile with the Cancer Sun formed a Yod ('Finger of God' aspect configuration) pointing right to Neptune and Chiron in the last two degrees of Aquarius. What was being pin-pointed can be drawn from these two degrees and their symbols.

The Sabian Symbol that Neptune has been retrograding through for a while now is 'A butterfly emerging from a chrysalis'. It emanates with metamorphosis, growth and movement and particularly within the spiritual realm when Neptune, the mystic of the cosmos, embodies it. Those boundaries between other states of being dissolve here, allowing for greater personal freedom and transformation.

The Sabian Symbol that Chiron is retrograding through is 'Moonlit fields, once Babylon, are white and blooming'. Chiron is a wounded healer, the shaman of the cosmos. When he graces each degree of the zodiac, we have our key to the gift within our wounds. Even through complex transformation, these fields are eternal and on sacred ground. We should continue to cultivate the grace we see before us today.

Love and Gratitude,
Felina Lune Kavi