Shattering All Pretences and Preconceptions: THE WEEK AHEAD – Oct 19-25

A little stress now and again isn’t inherently harmful, although it can take time for the body to calm down and restore itself back to calmness. However, the prolonged, accumulated stress that we are experiencing this year, for instance, can and does result in considerably harmful physical, psychological and social consequences. This is leading us all not just to an inevitable crescendo of anxiety and depression, but to the sometimes necessary suffering of destructive aftereffects of hypervigilance, irritation and trauma. Necessary only to our soul’s evolution, but then, that’s not for everyone, right?

It is, by now, no secret to you cosmic travellers here that the Saturn/Pluto combination (cruelty, hard labour), which rears its dreadful head among us during its most dynamic aspects every decade or so, is trying to squeeze the living crap out of us. I say good. I say good to all the hard dynamics, but especially this one since, for all its harshness and outright ruthlessness, it always delivers the most precious goods. Placed against Eris though, we get the sense that this isn’t just another one of nature’s little shoulder-tapping, arse-kicking transits. Here, we get the sense that this is bigger and more epic than anything before, and with big-shot Jupiter also in the mix, we come to see why 2020 isn’t just another one of those run-of-the-mill “stressful years”.

Not everyone is feeling it, of course. Some (very few) people have already done an enormous amount of ‘lightening’ work, ridding themselves of any attachments which are seen to be more of a liability rather than an asset through this remarkable transition into the new epoch of ‘light-speed’.

However, there are many still stuck in the trenches, refusing to let go of their positions, knowing full well that these are fast becoming untenable and unsustainable. Even under the Libra Sun, whose blessing upon us to ‘call-out’ the gross violations and abuses imposed under a Pluto transit, we did not stand a chance when it squared up against Pluto and his dark, foreboding stranglehold on Jupiter/Saturn just last week. The pressure mounts quite heavily on those who remain fixated to their ‘stuff’.

There is a process here which seems interminably unstoppable, and like all Saturn/Pluto transits, the worldly product is one of pure alchemy because it penetrates matter into its empirical core -its molecular structure; DNA; tribal mannerisms; cultural normatives; scientific principles, are all affected. Something enormous is occurring that in the next 12 months will recalibrate all matter into a higher form of being and interconnectedness (or eliminate it completely).

Hence, the journey of all species and matter here on this earthly plane is currently (yes, we can safely time it to ‘now’) undergoing an immensely seminal pressure-packed cocooning stage from whose inordinate stresses must emerge a higher form of quintessence, one which is clearly distinct from its lower forebears. Though the transition might be viewed in sympathetic terms as wholly disturbing, inscrutable and often rather cruel, this is the way that nature goes about its business of producing ‘miracles’.

Even the brightest stars must ultimately face their inevitable extinguishment and from this, we must know that all entities – individual or collective, by definition – must eventually confront their natural or “supernatural” nemeses and either rise to their conditional challenges to transform or meet their ultimate nullification by the forces that govern over these divine processes.

This is the story of our lives right now and when we see the transmutation taking place, both within and without, we must come to realise and accept that ‘things’ will never be the same. Nor should we want them to be. Either we will come to align with the empirical and fundamental changes or be prepared to encounter the most unspeakable grief and torment if we fix our minds to resist or deny the change.

It then becomes an expounding mystery how, in 2020, we are still driven to define ourselves by our gender, colour, creed, sexual persuasion, cultural privilege, political affiliation, affluence etc. To be drawn into heated discussions along these terms in such an age reveals just how regressed or limited our understanding is of life’s indelible principles, and this is no less mitigated by our obsessions, distractions and follies into the more insipid and banal elements of our shared reality.

This week’s transits only accentuate the massive global crises underway, and as the Sun moves into Scorpio (Thu), ruler of both Mars (lower) and Pluto (higher), we start to see the change – the death and rebirth processes that entities must undergo to ensure their survival into the next phase of the experience. The Sun joins a retro Mercury here, who, at the end of the first decanate of Scorpio, has been locked into an obstinate war of stubborn, yet coercive ideas vs Uranus. This, whilst stressful beyond logical comprehension, produces the kind of impetus that will catalyse our minds to process the kinds of extreme metamorphosing stimuli that we are about to witness in November, on all fronts.

In this, an earthy Venus in Virgo attempts to ease the extremes of pressure we are experiencing in our love-lives and relationships with those to which we feel an immense connection. You might, for instance, see that there is a tremendous separation between you and the world you value (and which values you). You may feel disconnected with the people who love you and mean well for you. Whether this is due to nature’s violations of otherwise peaceful, everyday processes, or personally wild aberrations in how we choose to express our desires, passions, sympathies or apathies – our relationships are still in danger of being defined in ways which are limited, conditional and mean.

Only true empathy for the things we love or even despise (or love and despise us) can bless us with the spirit of unconditional love. Venus’ current opposition to Neptune reminds us that we can not hope to manifest the higher-dimensional heart space we so yearn for by drowning our spirits in whimsical reverie, unrequited pleasures and shallow pursuits (with or without the aid of booze and drugs and other “magical” accoutrements). Substance comes from the heart.

As Venus trines the Jupiter/Saturn/Pluto, squaring the Nodes, she serves us with the reminder that to get through this excruciating metamorphosis of becoming ‘lighter beings’ we must focus on having more meaningful relationships – relationships of depth. This requires sacrifice, in that we must relinquish our romance with the superficial and banal. Experiencing true relationship depth takes work, time, effort. If we spend all our time on Instagram or quibbling over the tritest and most insipid topics, we miss out on asking the big, meaningful questions.

I am both astonished and similarly unsurprised at the inefficacy of Mars to rouse the impetus and fighting spirit of most humans, especially the more masculine, who seem to cower and wilt under the current pressure, particularly in social terms. In one sense it indicates just how incapable, weakened or emasculated we feel when we fight purely for ourselves, and then only when our egos are threatened to the point of exasperation or ineffectiveness.

Mars is almost entirely out of the picture this week after a square to Jupiter sees him quivering in the corner, lambasted by a series of moral and litigious threats to his attempts to stick himself out there, ahead of others. Following a two-month period of retrograde motion, he now begins to slow, summoning up the strength and courage to act more in sync with his time. By the time Mars turns direct (Nov 13), we will start to see (only too late) what happens when we don’t act in synchrony with our inner spirit; when we fail to be brave in the face of indignation, lies and outright manipulation in honouring our integrity.

Will it be too late? Never, but as we’ve said before, retrograde Mars shows us where we develop anger and resentment for not having acted more swiftly or in ways we probably will come to regret. For this, we must pay the ultimate price, especially if we have forfeited the opportunity to demonstrate that we are indeed competent and capable of accomplishing the most extraordinary feats, just to survive, even when facing an almost certain extinguishing of our inner flame.

I am particularly interested in Friday’s First quarter Moon which occurs precisely at 00°♒36′, the very degree of December’s epic Jupiter/Saturn conjunction. I will see you live on the Cosmic Bus this Thu/Fri to speak about this, as well as the explosive Taurus Full Moon at 08°♉38′ (Sat Oct 31, 2020) whose near-perfect conjunction to Uranus zaps us all into the higher dimension of present-tense with astounding alarm.

Needless to say, we can only imagine what shocks and revelations are in store for us all – knowing that anything that we can conceive in our minds is likely not to happen (Uranus has a way of ruining even our most searing prophesies and brilliantly calculated expectations).

Also, I am happy to announce that I will be commencing my long-awaited “Working With Your Chart” series – a journey which I’m sure will both inform and enlighten everyone keen to know more about their own astrology (from novice to aficionado) and how to use the symbols to understand their own lives in much more contemporary terms. I will be kicking off these sessions next week in an open (public) introduction to the series, which will be available to all beloved supporters of the cosmic tribe over the next couple of months. So please stay tuned, and if you are not subscribed to the tribe, then this is a perfect opportunity to join.

For the time being, let’s remember not to play divisive games and put each other into categories based on attributes over which they have no control. We must also learn to move on from placing historical guilt and resentment for stupid or atrocious things we or our forebears and ancestors may have done. We need to look beyond these if we are to come to see each other in present-tense ways.

I look forward to seeing you all aboard this week’s bus stop for our special lunation report, this Thu/Fri, and please stay tuned (via email) for your invitation to join me in the introductory session for the “Working With Your Chart” series. Blessings, and have an amazing week xx

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