You Are Welcome

1.5.09


You come here to read about astrology, and you shall not be disappointed.

Welcome to 2009, and I will be your astro-host at this present location. You need do nothing else to your terminal. Connect in, read, contemplate, and continue.

If you've been here before, you realize this is not your stodgy older sister's 'normal' astrology commentary. If you know me, you know I have aspirations. For the energy of this site to keep its flow in happy circulation, I, the author of all you see here, must also be kept happy. And dry dull summaries of every last piddling aspect between this and that planet on any given day actually doesn't stoke my hearth-fire 24/7. Sometimes, a bad day is just a bad day, and we ought not implicate the planets in any of it.

This is merely what I, one human being who's on the same journey you're on, see. There is no authoritative truth here. Perhaps we might begin all our statements with such a disclaimer. By immediately claiming our subjectivity (rather than projecting it onto Universality), we prepare our listener to just listen. No defenses necessary, thank you very much.

For all of 2009, Saturn and Uranus will remain opposed to one another. That's the big news of the year, though hardly the only front-page story. We've already been exposed to this influence a few months already, and I've already written some about it here and here. Please refresh your memory.

Not only is the world around you in extreme dynamic change, more profound than anything witnessed since the 1960s… but you, one modest individual soul among billions, are changing along with it. Dramatically. Like it or not. Simply unavoidable. When life as you know it ceases to exist, you either consciously choose the terms of your latest greatest version—or you refuse to acknowledge that anything's different. Only, it is different. And the change you've passively chosen is the slow painful decay of willful ignorance. (And they say ignorance is bliss? Ha!)

Without a doubt, over the coming year, you will confront the need to integrate two seemingly incompatible calls to action, thanks to this Saturn-Uranus opposition. You must hold responsibly tight at one end of the spectrum, to secure an enduring grasp on that which legitimately requires it (Saturn), while simultaneously rattling and rocking at the other end, to breathe revolutionary new life into the stale sector that desperately needs it (Uranus). Maddening to distinguish which is which, and how much of each? Hell, yes.

To 'get it right' would be to maneuver a massive cruise liner through a narrow little canal—not a lot of room for error. Thankfully, everyone is expected to hit up against the sides, here and there along the way. Those so-called 'errors' are our most stellar clues to where we've held too tightly to the wrong things, hastily thrown away too many babies with the bathwater, or otherwise gone too far in one direction or the other.

Some of you will contend with sheer chaos in your workplace or community, at the same time you must strive to solidify a stable domestic life for yourself. Some of you will continue learning to be ever more authentic and precise in your self-expressions, even as you're met with wildly unpredictable interpersonal encounters everywhere you go. Some of you will lose your financial footing, and, as a result, you must thaw the ice with those flummoxing individuals who possess the ability to help you. And some of you will set off on eye-opening quests for 'something more', only to discover that engaging with such meaningful purpose still doesn't exempt you from the mundane interactions required to get by.

These are just a few examples of how this large-scale push-and-pull might manifest for you, emphasizing the interconnectedness of supposedly 'distinct' parts of our lives. Be patient and kind to yourself during this trial-by-fire. These are big concepts you're working with now. This is just one of those ultra-memorable phases of life. The progress you make will be relevant all your remaining years.

The vexing question—how to balance it all?!?—remains in effect a while longer. The Saturn-Uranus opposition continues into 2010… shifting signs (Virgo/Pisces to Libra/Aries), moving into double squares with Pluto in Capricorn, and only further intensifying these macro-dilemmas by bringing in this third Pluto issue to consider and integrate: whichever zone of life is due for deep psychological purging and transfiguring. (Recheck your last horoscope of last year, a sort of 'year-ahead' glimpse: it discussed each sign's main Pluto challenge.)

Your year is not all comprised of dicey balancing acts and trial-by-fire tests, however. As of today (Mon Jan 5), big-man-on-campus Jupiter will be in the heady, humanistic sign of Aquarius… eventually leading into a heart-opening, idealism-inspiring conjunction between Jupiter, Neptune and Chiron, within 5-degree orb by April and lasting through December. In the midst of both personal and collective transformation, coming at an increasingly vigorous pace and with increasingly extensive reach, you'll also welcome unparalleled opportunities to connect with your companions and comrades. Somehow, we all ended up sharing life at this especially climactic moment in history together. We're all in this same boat.

Jupiter in Aquarius (which you'll hear more about quite soon) widens our view of how each node in the network, cog in the machine, or individual within the group necessarily impacts each other… helping us to think more holistically (if not a bit less selfishly) about ways we can unite our efforts for a greater collective benefit. Joined with Neptune, Jupiter will heighten our idealism, bestowing bounteous amounts of blissful togetherness upon those who act for the good of all.

Chiron's presence, meanwhile, just reminds us that, within this idealistic worldview, it is perfectly okay—encouraged, even—to reclaim and proudly showcase those parts of ourselves we consider most damaged, flawed or fucked-up. That's the big joke: We're all fucked up. The less we resist that fact, the more willingly we flaunt our fuck-ups … and you'd be surprised how beautiful these so-called 'flaws' often appear through other people's eyes.

Jupiter and Neptune in union are a faith-fostering, dream-inspiring duo whose visions of a compassionate utopia provide a potent counteragent to the ongoing difficulties portended by Saturn, Uranus and Pluto. Thank goodness for them, right? At times throughout '09, you might even temporarily forget just how monumental (and, yes, monumentally trying) this period of history really is.

You could become happily swept up in a wave of optimism, making it easy to neglect the many delicate details you're charged with attending to, even as the backdrop of rational reality rapidly morphs before your very eyes. You could be distracted by short-sighted headlines that scream, 'It's not really as bad as we thought it was!' as if to lull you back into zombiefied consumption.

And the worst of potential Jupiter-Neptune delusions? At the peak of your open-hearted compassionateness, you could mistakenly assume others are on the same page you are… that they are as open-hearted and compassionate as you, and actually care about their impact on your life… that altruism is ultimately a universal human drive, instinctively spurring the haves to lend support to the have-nots, out of heartfelt concern.

Newsflash: We are not all on the same page. We do not all embrace altruism as a value. Do not let the Jupiter-Neptune upsurge through '09 blind you to this fact. We wouldn't have to work ourselves out of the mess we're in ('which of these messes?' you ask) if everybody worked for—hell, even cared about—the common good. Think about that next time you put your own satisfaction on hold to suit someone else's insatiable desires. Would they do the same for you?

You will not be purposely left on a sour note, at least not by me, in kicking off your '09. No, sirree, Bob. But you did come here for the astrology, and I've got to call it like I see it. That's my duty to you. Bigger than that, in fact: That's our duty to each other, and it's starting to become rather serious. We need each other.

You are hereby welcome to tell me what you see, think, feel, imagine, fear or crave, and I will do the same for you. We must both speak and listen, or risk falling into presumption. The dialogue, the connectivity, the communal responsibility—this is a gorgeously welcoming gift.