6:14  pm  AHST 05/15/2022
   9:14  pm   PDT  05/15/2022

  12:14 am    EDT  05/16/2022
   4:14 am    UTC  05/16/2022

In the nearly 40 years of studying astrology charts and seeing their archetypal correspondences with the psyches and trends of individuals and current events in society, I never cease to be amazed at how time after time the symbology is there, clearly stated. It is one of the great mysteries of the Universe, that the patterns in Nature and the solar system are all part of the patterns that human beings experience. It corresponds to what quantum physics is seeing as we look at the incredible depth, down to the quantum level, of how everything is interrelated, mirroring, reflecting, in one chaotic but somehow coherent Whole.

For instance, in this chart Chiron, the wounded healer, conjoins Venus, the archetypal feminine, at a Lunar Eclipse, with the Moon also being the powerful force that every woman knows in her cycle. With the current abyss that the Supreme Court seems to be falling into, there couldn’t be more appropriate significators in the heavens. That Venus and Chiron are in warrior-like Aries together is indicative that women (and men who support them) will not go gently into this dark night of having their rights taken away. This eclipse season is bringing out of the shadows what has been hidden for too long.

Looking more deeply into the chart of this Lunar Eclipse, which is also an intensifying SuperMoon, (at perigee) we find that Pluto is powerfully trine (harmonious angle of 120˚) to the Sun in Taurus and sextile (harmonious 60˚ angle) the Moon in Scorpio. Taurus is an earth sign (the body), and Scorpio rules the reproductive organs. With Pluto giving a push of intensity to the energy of transformation, this mirrors our presence at yet another tipping point in the ongoing shifting world paradigm. Pluto, even in a trine, is not a source of relief from the ongoing struggle, but it does promise that if we apply ourselves toward truth and what is right, we will prevail. The patriarchy is crumbling, and their desperate attempts at stopping the flow of evolution cannot succeed.

But in the meantime, we are still right dead center at a tipping point in the world. And probably we will be for a while still. What the war in Ukraine is showing us is how humanity’s descent into madness and depravity has really hit its lowest point, with the actions of the Russian soldiers showing us unequivocally how far we have descended in terms of moral integrity. And if we are to make use of this horror, learning from it, internalizing our shadow, we can then truly become 21^st century humans, rather than primitive animal-humans, always involved in struggle, combat, competition, fear, and power-mongering.

Mars, the planet that has often in our history symbolized aggressive war tactics, is in Pisces and conjoined Neptune, the ruler of Pisces. These two planets together, usually as compatible as oil and water, can often portend acts of fanaticism, deluded action. But they can also offer us a taste of the spiritual power of how to take action (Mars) from within our deepest self. In other words, our intent, our presence sometimes by itself has the power to change situations without our needing to think about what to do. Solutions arrive from the present moment when we are tuned in to our intuition. This is the power of being, as well as the power of belief.  

Expansive Jupiter has just entered fiery Aries, on the day that Mercury went retrograde. What could be thought of as a confusing time, expanding and contracting, might also be met with a thrust of aggression and loud protests from those who have been betrayed. We’re already seeing this on the streets of cities across the US. As Jupiter is trine to the Moon in Scorpio (and Mercury opposite it) passions are definitely going to be inflamed. This is a volatile time.

Perhaps most importantly, Saturn forms a T-square to this Lunar Eclipse, forming right angles to both the Sun and the Moon while the Moon is being eclipsed. Saturn represents the reservoir of karma. What goes around, comes around. In an individual’s chart, this would portend a lifetime of dealing with sadness, depression, and roadblocks to progress, with success through hard work. This is true for the collective for the next 6 months, until the next eclipse cycle. Blockages to supplies, to sustenance, and a return of needing to take responsibility for what has befallen us (Covid, war, food shortages, climate collapse, etc.) are in the offing for a while. Remember, the planets are only a reflection of our relationship to the world around us. If we were to take responsibility for ourselves and our world, Saturn’s influence now would just reflect a period of hard work. And it does mean that. But when we violate the sacred, (such as attacking pall bearers at a funeral) the world must reflect back to us our lack of respect, and we will suffer the consequences in having to deal with more struggle and violence.

Mars and Neptune in the Piscean sign of dreaming is a strong influence which thins the barriers between realities, allowing us to tap into other dimensions, and receive sustenance from our journeys there. If we lose faith in our physical reality, we can gain inspiration from connecting with synchronicities, dreaming, reading spiritual books, and connecting with our friends in the spirit realm, as well as hanging out with the ones in this world who support our vision of a planet that can heal. We have the tools to do so, says Saturn, we just have to pick them up and use them. We are a world traumatized by millennia of wars and persecutions, we collectively have lost our values and respect for the Earth, yet by doing our own personal healing work we become ambassadors of healing in whatever form it may take, even if it is simply having a loving presence with those we meet.