By Pam Younghans ~ http://www.northpointastrology.com/
NorthPoint Astrology Journal
February 24 to March 2, 2014
Highlighted Aspects this Week
MON: Saturn sextile Venus; TUE: Pluto sextile Chiron, Uranus square Jupiter; FRI: Mercury direct 6:00am PST, Jupiter trine Sun, New Moon 11:59pm PST; SAT: Mars retrograde 8:23am PST; SUN: Saturn retrograde 8:19am PST, Mars square Venus, Sun sesquisquare Mars
CHANGE is more than "in the air" -- it is very tangible now, and demonstrated both literally and symbolically by planetary activities this week. Three planets change direction in the next seven days: Mercury completes its retrograde (backward motion) phase on Friday, Mars goes retrograde on Saturday, and Saturn goes retrograde on Sunday.
Since planets must slow their progress to a standstill when they prepare to change directions, each of these planets is basically standing still in the heavens this week. This means that their influence is also strengthened now.
To conceptualize this effect, we can think of how it feels to stand on the platform in a train station when the train has pulled to a stop and is waiting for the next leg of its journey to begin. We can feel the vibration of the train through our feet on the platform, and our ears are filled with the sound of the idling train engine. Our awareness of the energy emitted by the train is greatly heightened.
WITH MERCURY at a standstill in Aquarius this week, we have the opportunity to observe life from a more objective standpoint than usual. If there are delays or complications that occur, we can stand back from our attachment to what we had expected would occur, and understand that there are reasons and purposes for whatever has transpired.
The week that Mercury finishes its retrograde phase is actually the preparation stage for moving forward. If we have used the past three weeks wisely, we have been reviewing our projected path and rethinking our plans.
Now that Mercury is ready to go forward, we want to be sure that we are not attached to previous ways of thinking or perceiving our reality. We want to have allowed Mercury retrograde to do its job of altering our perceptions, even if only slightly. It sometimes takes just a small change in current trajectory to manifest the unfolding of a major shift in course.
WITH MARS stationing in Libra this week, we will want to be aware of where we feel irritation, especially within the context of our desire to please others and maintain harmonious relationships. Mars is trying to help us be aware of any ways that we interrupt our forward motion through an over-dependence on confirmation from outside of us.
This over-dependence can manifest in several ways. The most common are through excessive reliance on another person's agreement or input, and through dissipating our energy with too much mental comparison of possible outcomes.
While Mars is retrograde (until May 19), we will be learning more about where the energy we project is out-of-sync with what we really want to create. This time of review and realignment will help us release or alter old energy patterns that have undercut our progress toward the fulfillment of our desires.
SATURN'S retrograde phase begins on Saturday and will last until July 20. During this week and next, while the planet is barely moving, we may be especially aware of Saturn's lessons of patience, discipline, and response-ability.
With Saturn in Scorpio, our progress toward our goals may appear to be slowed during this five-month period. This slow-down is more likely to occur if there is a need for further research, for greater knowing of our own motivations, or for an increased understanding of what is going on behind the scenes. This is especially true for those who are experiencing strong Saturn transits -- those who have personal planets in their natal charts in the middle degrees (from 16 to 24 degrees) of a fixed sign (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, or Aquarius).
Here's a helpful quote about Saturn's retrograde phase from astrologer Bil Tierney, taken from his book Dynamics of Aspect Analysis:
"Our immediate ambitions often seem thwarted unnecessarily (according to our limited perspective), and usually because unforeseen commitments and responsibilities enter our lives and demand our time and energy. Such obligations are likely to be an example of 'unfinished business' neglected at some previous point that now must be resolved and completed before we can forge ahead into new activity. We will actually succeed with our interests best in the long run when we accept our present duties with more patience, endurance, and inner steadiness of attention.
"This is often a poor time for impulsively attempting to disrupt or alter one's present status. It is a better period for first attempting to make adjustments or alterations that could ideally relieve any sense of frustration. However, this can be an excellent time for taking stock of oneself and working upon building the inner structure needed to foster a greater level of psychological strength."
ANOTHER, very important, planetary highlight this week is the Uranus-Jupiter square, which is exact (strongest) on Tuesday. These two planets are two of the four players in April's Cardinal Grand Cross, and so their interaction is likely to provide good information about the changes that lie ahead.
This Uranus-Jupiter square provides very different energy than the Saturn themes just described. Where Saturn moves slowly, Uranus moves with lightning speed. Where Saturn is cautious and practical, Jupiter is exuberant, enthusiastic, and willing to take risks.
It may be that those most affected by Saturn will have the "slo-mo" experience this week and next, while those most affected by Uranus/Jupiter will have a bit of a rollercoaster ride -- exciting, but unpredictable. Those most affected by Uranus/Jupiter are those with personal planets in their natal charts between 8 to 13 degrees of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn).
WE ALSO HAVE a New Moon on Friday -- a somewhat paradoxical lunation because it is in Pisces. New Moons represent opportunities for new beginnings, but Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac and represents a time of completion, turning inward, and surrender.
We are called, every year when the New Moon occurs in Pisces, to re-energize our inner journey, in whatever form that may take for us personally. It may be that we call that journey spiritual, or view it as a creative unfolding, or perceive it as a deepening understanding of the workings of our subconscious.
THE SABIAN SYMBOL for the New Moon echoes the theme of the inner journey:
"Traveling a narrow path, seeking illumination: The capacity inherent in every individual to seek, at whatever cost, entrance to a transcendent realm of reality."
Dane Rudhyar's interpretation of this symbol emphasizes the profound nature of these times and this New Moon:
"This symbol opens a new level of consciousness. We can always go further, reach beyond. But we have to take the first step. Someone can show us the Path, but we alone can do the walking. Thus the Zen injunction: 'Walk On.'"
May blessings and joy be your close companions as you "walk on" this week!
Pam
Today's photo: Auroras over Fairbanks, Alaska on February 19, 2013 (photo by Marketa S. Murray, posted on Spaceweather.com)
