We all begin anew once more

We all begin anew

'The Other Side of Life'  

by The Moody Blues

The Great T-Square of July 2010  

becomes a Grand Cross on April 23, 2014  

and brings the opportunity to 'begin anew once more'.

For more on this transit read our Summer Newsletter 2010 in our Archives.

For those whose charts are strongly impacted by this transit, you understand that beginning anew is not easy and it does not happen overnight (as you have been continually reminded since this powerful transit began in 2010).  Personally, for Sappho and I, as we have looked back we find that the time since 2010 has been the time of our greatest transformation in our life. Sometimes it feels like we have been pushed through a portal into the future at warp speed. Some of this transformation has occurred like a natural progression of evolution, but other aspects of this transformation have been more challenging.

When it is time to begin anew,  

as indicated by this transit,  

it might just be  

the most important thing you can do for yourself.  

This process has been going on since 2010 and continues with greater force in April 2014 and the time is now.  Beginning anew can mean finally truly embracing yourself for who you truly are in a loving and compassionate way.  Beginning anew can mean taking the bold step of leaving past wounding and habitual ways of thinking behind and by shedding this making room for a new wave of love to enter your world.   Since this transit contains powerful planets, the noise and static can be hard to filter out.  So, take time to be with your thoughts and feelings, and tune into a frequency where you can hear the core beauty of your being sing.  This is the best catalyst to beginning anew. 

Evolutionary Structural Reform - Uranus square Pluto

In 2010, I branded the Great T-Square of July 2010 as the demand for Evolutionary Structural Reform. In 2010, the core of this transit was transiting Uranus in Aries square Pluto in Capricorn and these two planets have been challenging many of us in powerful ways ever since.  

Many of you have shared your experiences with us in e-mails and in consultations, which has lead us to give transiting Uranus and Pluto another nick-name: the Wookie (aka Chewbacca from Star Wars). Why 'the Wookie'? Like the utterings of Chewbacca from the Star Wars films, it is difficult to fully understand what this transit wants from us. So, what does 'The Wookie', or Uranus and Pluto, want from us?

Well, this transit is looking to energize transformation in our world.  So, we have the term Evolutionary Structural Reform, which can be summarized in three words:  

• Evolve - Progressive movement toward honoring your capacity to shine and be radiant each day.
• Structures - How we live our life day to day: our finances, our spiritual path, our career, our thought patterns, our home, our relationships, etc.
• Reform - Make conscious change (in our lives).

Hades (Pluto) - Old Habits and New Possibilities

This transit brings the message that meaningful change is possible and is the key to living a more meaningful and rewarding life.  Now, that sounds very nice and is easily written on paper, but making meaningful change is often not so easy in real life. Why? Uranus and Pluto share common themes and both planets want us to transform, awaken, and experience re-birth. Sounds great, doesn't it! However, these powerhouse planets also pose a unique challenge.   

Uranus and Pluto are also two  

of the most stubborn of planets.

Pluto represents the deepest wounds in the memory of the soul and the desire to not be wounded again. As the Lord of Hades, the memories associated with Pluto are pushed down deep and out of our conscious awareness. Once our wounds are sent into Hades, they become lost there, just sitting in the deepest recesses. In Hades, the realm of Pluto, these memories are 'out of sight and out of mind'. So, the easiest path seems to simply allow things to remain hidden and to ignore them. To let them rest silently beneath the dark, deep still waters.   

Here I am reminded of the scene in the Lord of The Rings where the fellowship is trying to find the door to enter the mines of Moria. While outside, Pippin begins throwing rocks into a dark, silent, deep pool of water. Aragorn grabs his hand to prevent him from throwing any additional rocks saying 'do not disturb the water'. Just then, a huge nine-headed creature jolts from the water and a battle ensues. The memories and wounds that are brought up from the silent waters during this time can feel a bit like this nine-headed creature. Sometimes it seems safest simply to not disturb the water.

Pluto & Cerberus

So, along comes this transit, and the waters are disturbed and slowly we become aware that something important has been hidden. So, while the potential for awakening, transformation and re-birth is real, we have to examine the experiences in our daily lives and find the feelings and emotions that have been hidden so long. These unconscious memories and wounds are a source of Pluto's famed resistance to change. As we consider bringing a memory into the light, who do we see but Cerberus, the frightening three-headed guard dog of Pluto, who frightens the memory back into the darkness.

 Has the pool of your unconscious been stirred up?

Memories and wounds in the realm of Pluto naturally resist evolution in this way (by hiding from us). Hence, we form habit patterns and ways of thinking that keep us locked into unconscious patterns of fear and resistance. But, these memories and wounds and habits are the very things that need to be healed, released and transformed. This healing, releasing and transforming itself is not easy, but the difficulty of letting these things go is far more enjoyable than the pain, confusion, avoidance, guilt and suffering we endure if we allow them to remain suppressed.  When we speak of wounds in this regard, we are not speaking of physical wounding so much as the emotional responses to pain (at all levels) in our life (past and present) that live on in our subtle body and unconscious mind. 

Betrayal by society and family also contain wounding associated with Pluto and because of these we often feel a strong desire for greater acceptance during Pluto transits. We desire this acceptance so strongly because we want to avoid further wounding and betrayal from society and family.  But, this transit may make this aspect of life unpleasant. 

Enter Uranus... 

Like Pluto, Uranus is stubborn and powerful. Uranus wants us to awaken to our own uniqueness and individuality and to share that with our unique tribe, kindred spirits, like-minded others. Therefore, Uranus will apply pressure to your desire for greater acceptance during this time. So, if you want extra strongly during this time to have acceptance from family, you may feel pressure when you attempt to express or even simply explore your individuality with family. Why? Your family may or may not be part of your tribe of like-minded others and they might not accept and appreciate who you are at your core. As the result, they might simply not understand you and accept you fully.  Are you OK with that? Or, what you offer, your unique gifts and talents and ideas, will not resonate with everyone in society.  Are you OK with that?   You might ask this question a lot during this transit. 

If you have been avoiding your passion and true gifts  

or condemning yourself for your uniqueness,  

you might feel additional pressure during this time.

The intention of this pressure is to remind you that your individual passions and gifts are the meant to be included in your life and shared with like-minded others. So, we can be confronted with messages, habit patterns, wounds, memories, out-dated visions of ourselves and not know what to do to shake it off and move forward. But, that is just what this transit is all about.   

Uranus and Pluto also bring the demand for  

awakening to your individual passions.

We are meant to embrace and integrate our uniqueness into our individuated self and share our uniqueness with the world.  Related to Uranus are progressive thoughts and ideas, a unique vision for the world, using creativity and intellect for the betterment of humanity.   

For those following a spiritual path, relatively few in society and in our family may understand and appreciate who you are simply because their life path is going in a different direction and not because your path is wrong.  During this transit, you might become frustrated when you are not understood by everyone. Uranus wants us to bring the unique aspects of our being into contact with our tribe of like-minded others. In this way, our soul progresses and we become further individuated in the sharing and others are also brought along.

Day to day, acceptance from family, co-workers and society in general is something we all want, but should not achieve this by defusing or denying our uniqueness in order to fit in.  This can often be a balancing act, but more often that not, we need to lovingly embrace who we are share that.

If we look to the past, our past, and we see and feel how our uniqueness, our progressive ideas, our vision for humanity was denied or suppressed in the past. We see the shards of glass that remain and we look back and walk back over those shards, which causes us to become angry and frustrated. When we are angry and frustrated, we are unable to incorporate this into our world.  This transit can also bring this type of feeling to the fore.

So, start with self-love and compassion.  Celebrate your progressive ideas, your vision for humanity, your creative intellect.  That is a nice first step. 

The Future, Vision and Action - Uranus, Jupiter and Mars

While Jupiter has been opposing Pluto since early January, transiting Mars will oppose Uranus and complete the Grand Cross from roughly April 10, 2014 until the middle of May 2014.

Then, on April 23, 2014, all four planets will reach 13 degrees on the same day and the Grand Cross will be exact!

This combination of Uranus, Jupiter and Mars brings a great opportunity. These three planets share a common theme in that they all embody the urge to move forward, to look ahead to the future. In this regard, they together become an antidote to the tendency toward resistance that we described above in relation to Pluto. First, Uranus wants to energize or even shock us toward the future. In transit forecasts, I often refer to Uranus transits as being like putting your finger in a light socket and receiving a shock that gets your attention. Second, Jupiter provides the inspiration or vision of what that future can be. Together, the shock and the vision give us something to move toward - our future. Third, Mars gives us the courage to take action that endows this Grand Cross with potential. Working with the Grand Cross means allowing that vision and energy to be your friend.

Uranus provides  

the shocks to get our attention.

Jupiter provides  

the vision that we can understand.

Mars provides  

the courage to take action and break through the resistance.

Re-aligning Energy and Mars Retrograde

If you find that 'the Wookie' can't be understood, meaning you can't grasp the vision and the inspiration of Jupiter and Uranus because they are too much 'in the clouds' to grasp, then Mars can change the flow of energy, which will energize your understanding of the message from Jupiter and Uranus. Having said that, since Mars will be moving retrograde until the May 20, 2014, you may find that simply adjusting and re-aligning (retrograde) the way you use your energy (Mars) can become the catalyst you need.   Since Mars is in the sign of Libra, the intention for any changes to how you express yourself is to create a new path to greater peace, joy and harmony in your life.

So, use your energy to break up the 'ice jam' and try something new. For example, if you have a committed daily routine of using your energy, consider breaking that up. If you meet friends for Happy Hour always at the same place, invite them to your place instead. Accentuate who you are during this event and see what happens. Consider any way of using your energy differently that can become a catalyst for change as you take action and break free from existing patterns.  But, break up the energetic routine of your life in some way! 

For more information on this Mars retrograde see our March 1, 2014 newsletter about Four Planets Changing Gears.

What can you do?

So, how do we honor the Grand Cross and the Moody Blues, so that we can all begin anew? If you are inspired to take the first step to a new beginning, and you know pretty much what to do, then using the energy of the Grand Cross will give you a burst of energy and speed you toward your goals. If you do not have a "grand vision" or even an inspiration to explore, don't worry, there are things you can do to take the first steps forward.

• Don't allow the past to block your future. Try to let go of any and all messages from outside of you that discourage you. So, anything that says "You can't" or "You are not good enough" or "You are too different" needs to be jettisoned.
• Be inspired by what you can become and can accomplish in the years ahead.
• Clarify your deeper interests, passions, inspiration - even if they seem distant or outside of your current life.
• Celebrate and embrace your Uranian uniqueness - your progressive ideas, your vision for humanity. 
• Re-structure your life, one step at a time, to make room for these passions, give them space to be nurtured and allow them to grow.
• "Space Clearing"is a tool to remove the stuff that has outlived its usefulness that can be painless. If the golf clubs have not been on the course for a year or two, consider putting them in a garage sale and creating new open space in your life. Life does not like a vacuum. If you empty a space, particularly by removing something that is no longer of any real importance, then life will help to fill that space with something the IS important! 

Let this be a beginning of a new chapter.

Let this simply be a time of beginnings and  

not of achieving final results.

What you begin during this time  

can come to fruition in the years ahead.

We will end where we began, with another quote from 'The Other Side of Life' by the Moody Blues.   

 to the other side of life tonight.

We extend our deepest wish that you might embrace  

the Grand Cross and "take that step"...

 Sending love and light! 

Chickadee Collecting Nesting Material

Quite by chance, our bird friends reminded us that it is the time of year to build nests. We put our balcony containers out and we used a filter type material to protect the metal railing from the metal holders for the plant containers. One morning, we heard lovely chirping on the balcony, which is not something we normally hear.  

Much to our surprise and joy, we discovered that the birds were pulling at the filter material we used to protect the railing to use it for fluffing the nest.

So, we quickly did some research on the types of things that can help the birds build nests: twigs, sticks, dried leaves, shredded paper, hair, animal fur, moss, string, yarn, etc. So, we gathered up some of these things and laid them in the containers. We wanted to make their job easier so they did not have to work so hard at plucking the filter material.

But, they wanted nothing to do with the new materials we put out and continued to work away at the protective filter material. It took a day or two for us to figure out exactly what they were doing and the entire process was a lot of fun to discover and observe.

So, as the snows finally melt away, don't forget the birds and put out some nest making material of your own. If you have a place to put it where you can watch the birds gather it up, then that is all the more fun.

Birding stores will sell materials to use for this purpose as well.

Enjoy!