Waking Sleeping Giants.
An overview of the upcoming astrology & its activation of the Fixed Grand Cross
Oof.
My nervous system is still trying to recalibrate and settle after this past week, hbu?
The first part of this newsletter will focus mostly on recent USA news, in light of current and ongoing astrological transits.
The second part of this newsletter will outline the long-term fixed square maintained by planets in Aquarius and planets in Taurus, which will be repeatedly activated in the coming weeks. I will explain why aspects between slow-moving planets are a bit like sleeping giants - and how they can be awakened by activations from faster-moving planets.
But first, before reading further, do you feel that intellectual analysis and forecasting would be truly helpful right now? Do you need a break from the news? Does your body need some grounding or self-care?
In the aftermath of Wednesday’s siege, assault (and attempted coup) on the US Capitol building by white supremacist insurrectionists, I really appreciated this grounding and centering practice by Prentis Hemphill, and this one by Adrienne Maree Brown. Maybe you will find these practices helpful as well.
A Review of January 6th + Mars at the 29th Anaretic Degree of Aries
Last Wednesday morning (January 6th) I woke up on the East Coast of Canada. I took note of the new strange rash on my arms and stomach that seemed to be getting worse (an allergic reaction? Stress?). My phone beeped obnoxiously with an emergency notice that there was a shooter loose in an adjacent province. A few hours later, it beeped again to tell me the shooter had been located. I launched into my day’s tasks, propelled by adrenalin, frustration, and some measure of self-loathing around my perceived productivity deficits.
This was Mars at the 29th degree, the last degree, of Aries. And knowing this, bestowed perspective, context, and some increased navigational capacity. At best, this is some of what an astrological interpretation can provide.
My journey with astrology has taught me to never underestimate the volatility of a sign’s 29th degree. It may not be a planet, an asteroid, a star, or a calculated point between two cosmic bodies like the lunar nodes, but nevertheless, it is potent when transited.
As I wrote about in my last newsletter, Mars at the 29th degree (valid for Monday - Wednesday) is edgy, restless, irritable, impatient, and inflammatory (which includes a vulnerability to skin rashes). Mars is full-strength in Aries - Fire on Fire.
A planet at the last degree of a sign knows a chapter is ending. It knows a transition is up ahead in the immediate future. Consequently, it is frequently possessed by an anxious, urgent desire to propel itself past finish lines or start lines.
There is often a sense of something being high stakes - and especially so in Aries, the sign of the risk-taking warrior and daredevil. This feeling was epitomized by an Aries person telling me: “I just feel like it’s now or never,” as Mars teetered on the edge. And yet, as I wrote previously, the instability of the 29th degree can also make the planet (Mars in this case) agonizingly indecisive, in an anticipatory nail-biting-on-the-edge-of-your-seat kind of way.
Mars has been in Aries for a ridiculous SIX MONTHS. Mars in Aries became one of 2020’s defining astrological themes. Normally Mars spends about two months travelling through a sign, but this was extended three-fold because of its retrograde period. That’s six months of Mars feeding on Aries’ fire. So when Mars reaches the 29th degree of Aries, there is six months of pressurized adrenalin driving it toward its last chance at the Aries-themed conclusion or outcome, which it so desperately desires.
As a Canadian north of the border, I drift in and out of the US news cycle. I didn’t realize there was still an important vote underway but learning about it in retrospect, it does align closely with Mars at the anaretic degree of Aries from Monday through to Wednesday.
Following a crucial runoff election in Georgia on Tuesday, which would determine the dominant party in the Senate, the votes were tallied and announced on Wednesday, January 6th. Democrat Raphael Warnock became the first Black senator in Georgia's history, and Democrat Jon Ossoff became the first Jewish senator in Georgia’s history (as well as the youngest senator since 1973).
“Firsts” are a big theme with Aries, a sign which is focused on ushering in the birth of what is new and courageously braving unfamiliar territory.
Also occurring on Wednesday, Congress was scheduled to formally count the votes of the Electoral College (Inauguration Day is January 20th).
This clearly did not go as planned.
Members of the House and Senate convened in the US Capitol building at 1 p.m. ET, January 6th, in Washington, DC, in the final hours of Mars completing its six-month journey in Aries; anxious, adrenalin-fueled and trying to cross the finish line in time.
All 7.5 billion humans in the world live beneath the same skies, engaging with the same archetypal, symbolic transits. This is important to remember as we inevitably interpret astrology through our own biases, values and beliefs.
In the case of Mars at the anaretic degree of Aries, for example, what finish line was Mars striving for? What was the conclusion or outcome that Mars, the warrior, wanted to achieve before transitioning into Taurus?
It clearly depends on who you ask.
At 1:30 pm on Wednesday, Trump’s white supremacist nazi supporters stormed the Capitol. By 2:00 pm they were the dominant force within the building delivering violence and terror, spurred on by their president. Most readers, I am sure, will have already seen the horrific and bizarre images.
Finally, by about 5:30 pm ET, the rampage had ended and security reported that the Capitol building had been secured. A 6:00 pm city-wide curfew was issued for Washington.
Mars left the anaretic degree of Aries and entered stable, earthy Taurus at 5:26 pm ET.
Thankfully the boxes of Electoral College votes were rescued before the House of Chambers proceedings were violently disrupted. After a 6 hour interruption, the counting of the votes continued at 8:00 pm and concluded at 3:40 a.m ET on Thursday. Vice President Mike Pence formally announced Joe Biden as the winner of the Electoral College votes.
The symbolism of Mars’ transition from the crisis-oriented final degree of fiery Aries, to the stable persistence of Taurus, is starkly reflected here.
However, Mars’ anaretic finish line and desired Aries outcomes meant different things to different people.
On Wednesday, January 6th, we saw a Black Democrat and a Jewish Democrat make history by securing groundbreaking wins and seats in the Senate.
We also witnessed disgusting displays of policing hypocrisy, white supremacy and antisemitism, as an electoral process was dangerously interrupted.
The discourse around fate and freewill in astrology is a complex one, without easy answers. This philosophical polarity will continue to circle each other, forever attracted and repelled by the tension of opposites.
Pragmatically though, within the realm of Saturn’s incarnate reality of outcomes and consequences, I think it is wise to assume that humans have agency, autonomy, and that our actions matter and carry significant weight.
The astrology of 2021 is asking us to get really clear about our values, and then take courageous steps forward in alignment with these values; acting in integrity for the sake of a future where all the Earth’s creatures can heal and flourish.
May white supremacy, and all systems of supremacy and oppression, continue to crumble to the ground this year.
Waking Sleeping Giants: Saturn & Pluto / Saturn & Jupiter
If you track astrology at all (and even if you don’t), you would have heard about the Saturn-Jupiter “Great Conjunction” occurring in Aquarius on December 21st, 2020.
It felt kinda… overhyped by the time it hit more mainstream channels. I know people who were genuinely freaked out by all the social media posts and discussions about it.
Because there has been so much said about this conjunction I don’t feel particularly compelled to go into depth about it and explore what it means for societal shifts (at least not yet). However, if you are looking for more on this conjunction specifically, you could check out Gray Crawford’s excellent overview here, or you can watch Acyuta-bhava Dasa’s 4-part series about it on Youtube.
Despite the weird hype (which in a way, is all part of the Jupiterian/Aquarian experience), this conjunction is still a pretty big deal in astrology.
And yet because of the hype, December 21st may have felt… rather boring or understated?
Slow-moving conjunctions like this take time to express themselves. It may feel important to mark the exact day of the transit - and there is often something symbolically important that occurs as it perfects - but it takes time for these conjunctions, these sleeping giants, to fully wake up.
Before I jump forward, I want to jump back… all the way back to January 12th, 2020 when Saturn and Pluto conjoined in Capricorn. I want to reflect on this other very significant outer planet conjunction to illustrate how it can take a while for a slow-moving transit like this to wake up.
The astrological anticipation around this fearsome conjunction was huge, in the astrological world at least! Historically, Saturn and Pluto have not proven to be a gentle combo, to say the least.
And yet the exact day of the conjunction, January 12th, 2020, came… and went.
There were major challenges and tragic events at the beginning of the year, to be sure (like the devasting fires in Australia and the tensions between the US and Iran). But (unfortunately) there are always major challenges and tragic events occurring in the world.
Saturn and Pluto spoke to something even more serious, more widespread, more geopolitical - something that would impact the entire world and begin a process of completely dismantling our longstanding structures, systems and institutions.
Sadly, the first covid-related death was announced by Chinese state media on January 11th, 2020 in Wuhan, China (within 24 hours of the exact Pluto-Saturn conjunction). The spread of the virus had begun. But for many countries, covid was barely on the radar at this time.
The headlines at the beginning of 2020, however, definitely caught my attention…
No WW3 materialized in January, but this dumb viral trend was still an eerie way to begin 2020, considering that historically, Saturn and Pluto have strong associations with war.
And then just a few months later, this is what the headlines looked like in March/April 2020…
In retrospect, many astrologers including myself, draw parallels between the Saturn-Pluto conjunction symbology and the pandemic. But why did covid become a global phenomenon (or “war”) around March 2020, several months after the Saturn-Pluto conjunction, when the entire world seemed to suddenly shut down?
The answer is (in my opinion), because of Mars.
In March, Mars, the fiery warrior planet, was transiting Capricorn and activating all the deadly and destructive potential of the Saturn-Pluto conjunction (+ the co-presence of Jupiter).
How do you know when Mars is directly involved in a transit? One of the most obvious signs is there is a pressing sense of urgency (even when Mars is not at the anaretic degree - although, Saturn was actually transiting the anaretic degree of Capricorn in March as well).
When Mars is close by, life may feel like an emergency. Everything may feel fast and reactionary. There may be heat, anger, adrenalin, inflammation, flight or fight, fear and stress, conflict, competition, courage, heroes, and bold spontaneous actions.
In other words, Mars is really good at waking us up - even sleeping giants like Jupiter, Uranus, Saturn and Pluto. Without Mars in our birth charts, we wouldn’t “do” much of anything. Mars is our gas pedal - and one to be used wisely.
Again, the reason I provided some reflection and review of the Saturn-Pluto conjunction of early 2020, is because Mars is about to activate the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Aquarius, as well as the square that the conjunction is holding with Uranus in Taurus.
In fact, with Mars’ recent ingress into Taurus last Wednesday (January 6th), the waking of sleeping sky giants has already begun.
Therefore, in the coming months, I expect Mars will make it really obvious what this Great Aquarian Conjunction is all about. Of course, it will be distinctly different than March 2020, because we are dealing with different planets and signs, but nevertheless, I anticipate that the next two months will bring a fast-paced “wake-up” of Jupiter-Saturn (square Uranus) potentials, with ripple impacts for all of 2021.
Furthermore, other fast-moving cosmic bodies including Mercury (and its forthcoming retrograde), the Sun, the Moon, and Venus, will soon be all in Aquarius by February, bringing even more attention to the Great Conjunction and its potentials.
In the chart above, the glyph for Jupiter looks like the number 4, Saturn looks like a sickle, Uranus is the symbol with the circle at the root, Aquarius is indicated by blue squiggly lines, and Taurus, the bull, appears as a circle with horns. This chart captures the moment of the Saturn and Jupiter conjunction. You can see that they are both at 0 degrees Aquarius.
I’ve removed all the other planets to focus only on activity in Taurus and Aquarius (here, and below), because these two signs (that square each other) are absolutely central to the events of 2021 and in particular, the next couple of months.
This is something you want to pay particular attention to if you have important planets or points in Taurus or Aquarius, or the other two fixed signs (Scorpio and Leo) - especially if these placements are in the early degrees of the signs.
Plotting, Planning & Preparing for Activations of the Fixed Grand Cross
For those less familiar with the zodiac wheel and its stunningly beautiful organization, I want to zoom out and quickly review the three grand crosses of the wheel to demonstrate why the Fixed Grand Cross is so important this year.
In addition to the 12 zodiac signs being divided by four elements (fire, air, water, and earth), they are also divided by three modes or qualities - four fixed signs, four mutable signs, and four cardinal signs.
Signs of the same modality relate to each other by either a 180-degree opposition or via a 90-degree square. Therefore, together, all four signs of the same modality (one of each element) create a “Grand Cross” aspect pattern (also called a Grand Square), as you can see in the image below.
The oppositions and squares (and conjunctions) in astrology are considered to be more tense and challenging than the softer aspects of the trine and sextile. In other words, they make shit happen. The tension these aspects contain, demand action. That’s why they are generally given more attention.
Even if you ignore all degrees and planets, the relationship between these four fixed signs is one that is tense, dynamic, and generative.
Fixed signs may indeed be resistant to change, but when they are challenged by another fixed sign via an opposition or a square, well... something has to budge.
The pressure contained in the grand cross requires a release valve.
One of the reasons I’m taking up space to review and explain this underlying foundational principle in astrology is because, in a world where digestible bite-sized horoscope offerings are the most available form of astrology out there, it is easy to compartmentalize and chop up transits, glueing them on to a single day.
It is really easy to lose sight of the big picture when we do this.
The visual of the Fixed Grand Cross is a big picture perspective that I would suggest anchoring in for the year, if you want to deepen your understanding of 2021’s astrological weather.
Do you have important chart placements in Scorpio or Leo?
The 2021 Aquarius-Taurus square will still be significant for you. If you have chart placements in the later degrees of any of the four fixed signs, you may experience critical turning points a bit later than others (perhaps in 2022), but this year’s transits will still be important for you because the Fixed Grand Cross is activated, regardless of specific degrees.
In the next couple of months, in particular, there will be significant activity in both Aquarius and Taurus as the fast-moving planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars) move through and wake up the sleeping giants of Uranus (revolution, change), Jupiter (expansion, growth), and Saturn (structure, restraint).
We can chop up these months into precise degree-based transits occurring on specific days (which I will be doing), but I think it is so important to keep in mind that it is all part of the same larger cosmic story which involves a challenging and catalyzing relationship between planets in Aquarius and Taurus (eventually including the rest of the fixed signs).
Planetary transits are like overlapping, unfolding waves, cycling through time. For convenience and clarity we zoom in to focus on just a few, but the reality is that they all mix together at different strengths in one big archetypal soup.
Below I’ve included a bunch of chart images to try and illustrate visually, how the next couple of months is alllll about that square between Aquarius and Taurus. As other planets move through and complete successive contacts with each other (via conjunction or square) I imagine them as activating “pings” for the broader story - each distinct, yet part of something larger.
The transits are calculated for the AST time zone (some of the exact transit dates could be different in other locations). I add a few brief interpretive notes in purple text for specific dates, but my goal was to use the visuals of the charts to focus on the consistent bigger picture and how all the “exact” transits weave together.
We talk about transits when they are “exact” by degree, but as soon as a planet is in a new sign, its copresence with all the other planets in the same sign is symbolically relevant - as is its relationship to planets in other signs, based on the relationship that those signs have with each other (e.g., a 90 degree square relationship, in the case of Aquarius and Taurus).
And when planets are within 3 degrees of perfecting an exact aspect (like a conjunction or square)? They are already strongly engaging with each other in a symbolic relationship even before the aspect “perfects.”
Keeping that in mind, here’s an overview of the next couple of months…
I started working on these images a few days ago, so January 8th and 9th are already in the past. What did you notice in your own life at this time?
In US news, for example (which is always so symbolically vivid), Mercury’s (communication, tech & social media) conjunction with Saturn (rules, boundaries, authority/ies, big decisions) in Aquarius (groupthink, for the good of the people, freedom, the internet), while square to Mars (conflict, challenge, bold action) in Taurus (stability)… was symbolically expressed in the permanent suspension of Trump’s Twitter account, and other online/tech removals (such as Google suspending the Parlour social networking app because it is being used to incite violence)… as well as in the reactions and debates about these bold moves.
There have been discussions and requests regarding immediate removal of the president via impeachment, more arrests have been made, and serious concerns are being raised about the possibility that the Capitol siege had “inside help.” There is also continued illumination of the traitorous, racist actions of many members of the police force.
Not included here, but also very relevant to the activation of the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Aquarius and their square to Uranus in Taurus, is Mercury’s upcoming retrograde from January 30th - February 20th, 2021 (where it will retraverse and re-emphasize 26 deg - 11 deg Aquarius), as well as the ingress of Venus into Aquarius on February 1st until the 25th.
Mercury’s prolonged stay in Aquarius and Venus’ Aquarian transit, will again activate all of the same key planetary players highlighted in the charts above, throughout February.
Conclusion
2020 was similar to both a balsamic and early new moon period.
As a year where we experienced the end of major astrological cycles as well as not-yet-visible new beginnings, 2020 reflects the part of the lunation cycle when the night sky is dark - the Moon is invisible in the heart of the Sun as it dies and is born again.
The rebirth of the Moon, at the moment of the new moon conjunction, is so similar to its waning, dying phase that it’s impossible to distinguish these distinct parts of the lunation cycle with only the naked eye. We continue to see… only a darkened sky.
The moon’s rebirth, 2020’s rebirth, may have been quiet, hidden, and vulnerable for many of us - in the same way, that a newly birthed infant is vulnerable.
In contrast, perhaps 2021 is like… the year of the toddler.
Comparable to the lunation cycle’s tiny glimmer of a waxing crescent moon, we are now invited to take our first steps into a new world. Stumbling and falling will be part of the process of learning how to walk… but may we keep getting up and trying again.
The expression “to cut your teeth on something” (i.e., to learn and gain skill and experience by immediately jumping in and directly attempting to do something completely new through a trial and error process), originated from descriptions of a baby’s first set of teeth cutting through soft tissue and emerging through their gums.
Therefore, one might say that teething pains are inevitable as we cut our teeth in 2021, but in the same way that the tiny sliver of a waxing crescent moon shimmers in hope of the growth that is to come, 2021 contains tremendous potential for exciting and innovative possibilities that we haven’t even yet dared to imagine.
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Recent free posts:
Jan. 4/21: In “What are you unearthing? What is unearthing you?” I explore the Mercury-Pluto conjunction, Mars at the 29th degree, and further thoughts related to time, rituals and meaning in life. I included a Janus & Juno Tarot Spread for 2021.
Jan. 1/21: In “The New Year', Linear Time & Cancerian Culminations” I offer thoughts on the threshold of the Gregorian new year, my search for resonant rituals, linear vs cyclical time, and some interpretations of the recent Cancer Full Moon.
Dec. 28/20: I explored the meaning of the phrase “To Be in Right Relationship” (with your business, with plants, with planets, etc).
The amount of work and attention to detail you put in your posts is unmatched. I really appreciate the time and effort you put in to them. They are always so packed with information and knowledge! You are not only a skilled writer, but also a great teacher. Thank you!