ALL TIMES PACIFIC — Planetary Transits 12/26/2021 to 1/2/2022
Hello friends, this weekly report has a new name for the new year. The week before us is quite energetic and not too harmonious. The sense of urgency, and the drives ruled by Mars, may create some chaotic situations, but if we remain patient, and we avoid being talked into hasty moves, or talking ourselves into them, we can end this year and begin the next with tranquility, joy, and peace. Does that sound impossible during a pandemic? Crisis is the ideal time to cultivate these qualities which are our birthright. Are you viewing your world with the eyes of your body or your soul? Ideally, both.
Friday’s exact Saturn square Uranus is still exact, the third of three, it has coincided with the biggest spikes in the pandemic, so we’re right on schedule. It will not be exact in 2022 but in the fourth quarter it comes to within one degree of exact. This leads me, and many other astrologers to suspect that while this year will be an improvement from 2021, we will not be “rid of” the pandemic until perhaps early 2023 as Saturn leaves Aquarius. Disruptions in the supply chain are likely to continue throughout 2022 but could be less severe most of the year.
Saturn in Aquarius in the past occurred during the Spanish flu tragedy and the onset of AIDS in public awareness. Like AIDS, Covid may become a danger we all live with that can be managed more or less by those who can get access to the variety of pharmaceuticals made available, while poorer countries suffer terribly. We can already see progress in this direction with the new pills from Pfizer and Merck, and the more contagious but less deadly variant. With the U.S. Pluto return exact three times next year the possibility of a more deadly variant still exists. It’s important that we all continue to take precautions to minimize harm to self and others, and help must be provided by the wealthier countries to places where vaccines are hard to come by. Like Omicron the next variant would originate where the virus is allowed to run wild. We can make a difference where we are by being truly mindful and patient.
Saturday’s Mars trine Chiron and Venus conjunct Pluto remain strong through the beginning of this week. The first seems to have indicated progress against the pandemic, as Chiron rules health crisis while Mars provides a new weapon in the pills that mitigate severity of the illness. They are scarce but more will become available.
Today Mercury sextile Neptune is exact, a wonderful aspect for writing, film, and all forms of communication involving the imagination and inspiration. A great time to read, listen to, or have a conversation about the mystical, the psychic, and the mysterious. Nostalgia and the desire for intoxication are not necessarily the best uses of this sextile but in moderation they do little harm for most. If you look for inspiration you may very well find it.
Also today the dark of the moon begins at 6:24 PM, a time for resting, finishing, and introversion, although other aspects will motivate the opposite. Generally not a good time to start new projects. But a good time to ponder and put into practice this quote from Alan Watt: “This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now.”
Tue Dec 28 Mars inconjunct Uranus is exact. Since inconjunctions are often associated with health crisis, and Uranus with disruptions, this could indicate the big surge after holiday travel and celebrations. Still, with Uranus, the numbers could be shocking. So far hospitalizations are lagging, but why get sick if you don’t have to? Do you really have to go out during a surge in the pandemic? These are good questions to ask ourselves. This is an irritable aspect, impatient for freedom, and willing to take risks and cause trouble.
Also Tue Jupiter enters Pisces at 8:09 PM commencing the last twelfth of its journey around the sun which lasts until May 2022 when Jupiter enters Aries, beginning a new 12 year cycle. For Pisces this could be a fortunate time. Look for opportunities for success. But don’t overindulge and don’t wear rose colored glasses. With a down to earth approach you can accomplish much in 2022. All of us can look back to around 2009 to get a sense of how we’ve been doing. Have we learned valuable lessons about how Jupiter operates in our lives? What opportunities did you miss? Where did you succeed? Has your definition of success changed? We can all try not to make the same mistakes again. Jupiter moves swiftly. Yesterday’s golden opportunity is today’s forgotten fad.
Wed Dec 29 sun square Chiron is exact, another aspect that can indicate crisis in health. This could indicate both a continuing surge but also the impact of holiday travel and New Year celebrations. In our own lives it’s important for us to pay attention to the messages about discomfort our bodies send us. We may want to indulge to satisfy our exhausted emotions, but if the result is loss of well-being we can use this knowledge to adjust. Vibrant health is more delicious than any culinary indulgence.
Also Wed Mars sextile Saturn is exact. With so much Mars and Pluto this week let’s talk again about ambition, anger and libido. Many of us are feeling very restless. We want to further our ambitions. Get out there in the world and do some work. Or we’re angry or feel competitive and not doing anything leaves us feeling left behind. We may lash out at others, or ourselves. The desire for a relationship, or for a holiday or romantic date, may be more important to us than avoiding risk. These activities can be approached with appropriate precautions. But when denial causes us to lose mindfulness unnecessary risks can lead to avoidable suffering.
Thu Dec 30 Mercury conjunct Pluto is exact emphasizing the unusually long lasting Venus retrograde conjunct Pluto. This aspect is worrisome. In regards to the pandemic it could indicate news about a potentially deadlier mutation or some other threatening setback, perhaps simply a surge that causes widespread fear and frustration because of the sheer number of cases. This aspect can indicate breakdowns in communications and in electronics, including various kinds of leaks. It can coincide with obsessive viciousness, compulsive hate, even criminal actions taken surreptitiously (as if such a thing were possible in 2021). For some sexual preoccupations, especially those that are expressions of catharsis, may make it difficult to concentrate. However, this can also be a time of tranquility, and of great healing. A time when conversations can trigger life changing realizations. An excellent time to do research on how to reform, repair and heal difficulties faced by self and others.
Sat Jan 1 just after midnight moon square Neptune is exact warning against over-intoxication or bad moods caused by nostalgia or regret. A little will go a long way when it comes to having a good time this NYE. Communications and commutes may become confused. Contemplate this quote from Jung, “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”
Also Sat almost two hours after midnight sun trine Uranus is exact giving that extra urge for immediate freedom to those over-intoxicated by moon square Neptune. This aspect can help us achieve more freedom, but that may not mean taking risks at big exciting events. It could mean giving new electronics, or new skills with them, a chance to bring some beneficial change into your life and the lives of others.
Also Sat Mercury enters Aquarius at 11:10 PM. Mercury is very comfortable in Aquarius and we may get some good news from the world of science during this placement. Aquarians in particular can take advantage of this to communicate and otherwise get the best from Mercurial occupations. A great time to study astrology. However, as Mercury in Capricorn with Saturn’s extra carefulness ends, and with sun trine Uranus demanding liberty and the new, this may be one of those Saturday nights when the pent up urges throw caution to the wind. Not advised with Saturn so closely square Uranus and so ready to bring down the hammer. Most of those who take the risks will avoid serious harm, but carefully balance your options before giving into the moment.
Next Sun Jan 2 the new moon in Capricorn arrives at 10:33 AM. In a sense the new year begins Sunday morning. Here we are in 2022, we will all realize. Moon in Capricorn asks us to be practical, patient, studious and calm. Contemplate the importance of being realistic about what you want to do and where you want to go in 2022. The mindfulness we have hopefully learned during the two years of this pandemic will serve us well. As conditions improve it will be tempting to join the majority in pretending the danger has truly passed. It was not uncommon at the end of wars that some ventured out too early and met their doom at the hands of the less well-informed. Worlds of creativity, communication and education are ours with a few key-strokes. Must we resume our occupations of 2019 to feel we are happy again? As Krishnamurti said, “There is a great beauty in observation, in seeing things as they are.”
For the start of 2022 I leave you with this quote from Krishnamurti’s friend Manly Hall: “Much has been said of the loneliness of wisdom, and how much the Truth seeker becomes a pilgrim wandering from star to star. To the ignorant, the wise man is lonely because he abides in distant heights of the mind. But the wise man himself does not feel lonely. Wisdom brings him nearer to life; closer to the heart of the world than the foolish man can ever be. Bookishness may lead to loneliness, and scholarship may end in a battle of beliefs, but the wise man gazing off into space sees not an emptiness, but a space full of life, truth, and law.”
