End of Rehearsal

On Monday, a day after the current lunation’s First Quarter phase, Saturn reentered Pisces; the first of three slow planets to return to their previous sign. Everything structured in the last three months will be dissolved once more, only to be reformulated after Saturn reenters Aries next February. In addition to discussing Saturn’s return to Pisces, we will also talk about the total lunar eclipse of September 7 that promises to be eventful.

Current Energies

As anticipated, all kinds of revelations have continued to surface while Uranus moves forward in Gemini, the phase of information, albeit slowing down significantly and preparing to move retrograde. Uranus has been in Aquarius 2 (1°01’–2°00′) since August 4, which has the Sabian symbol: “An unexpected thunderstorm”, by far the most Uranian symbol I have ever encountered! Diane Roche interprets it as the probability of the improbable and Dane Rudhyar keynotes it as: Nature’s Challenge. Indeed, we have literally witnessed in August some of the most intense and destructive displays of nature (floods, wildfires, etc.), including human nature (Gaza, Ukraine, etc.). Recall that when a planet moves substantially slower, which is the case with Uranus, the degree’s symbol is intensified. In the new-moon article, we anticipated a strong reaction towards the information, or the messenger, based on doubt and criticism.

Every full moon displays the results of the waxing phases but this eclipse will make sure we observe consciously such a reaction to what Uranus has been disclosing since early July. Some of the “unexpected thunderstorms” include what is happening in Venezuela, where the US positioned navy ships near its coasts while simultaneously reiterating that Maduro lost the elections and is considered the head of a drug cartel and not the President of Venezuela; a similar situation to the 1990 capture of Noriega in Panama. Closer to home, the notorious Mexican drug lord “El Mayo” Zambada, co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel with “El Chapo” Guzmán, pleaded guilty in the US two days after the new moon, saying publicly that he bribed multiple government officials in Mexico. It is presumed that he has cooperated fully since the US government will not seek the death penalty.

Seeking the Truth

I could go on giving examples of information related to the wrongdoings of people in positions of power all over the world, for its source are the Pluto processes in the Aquarius phase, where they are compelled to seek the truth and expose whatever is covering it. The creative flow of energy (trine) between Pluto and Uranus, seeking and revealing the truth, will be powering the Minor Grand Trine for several years after Uranus reenters Gemini next April. Of course, that powerful energy will be focused by Neptune (initially with Saturn) in Aries, the phase with the most linear release of energy. In general, this will not bode well for people and causes that feed on deception, such as those based on populist ideas that rely on the ignorance and manipulation of the masses. An example would be the so-called “Bolivarian” ideologies behind authoritarian regimes in Colombia, Bolivia and even Mexico. Regardless of whether they are right wing or left wing, in Latin America or in another region, there will be no energy to support anything based on subterfuge and deception.

Saturn Returns to Pisces

That said, we will have to wait until next year to see significant progress in the fight against deception, for both Saturn and Neptune are on their way back to Pisces, the phase where all processes lose definition and crispness in their desire to engage with intuitive energies. In a very real sense, after sampling the Aries energies, Saturn and Neptune will force us to reconsider anything that has been proposed since March 30 and tried to be structured since May 25. This is why José Millán recently said that any treaties and accords agreed upon lately are pretty much worthless, even when signed. On the same day that Saturn reentered, there were two court decisions against Trump and the big legal case against many of the tariffs is making its way up the judicial system.

In any case, the return of Saturn occurred on Monday, September 1 at 1:04 a.m. in California, 2:04 a.m. in Mexico City, or 10:04 a.m. in Central Europe, as shown in the chart below:

Marc Edmund Jones once famously said that astrology is the science of all beginnings. In that spirit, the chart for Saturn entering Pisces gives us an indication of a “mini cycle” in Pisces that will peak when Saturn changes direction again on November 28 and will end on February 14, when Saturn reenters Aries. At any rate, a few things are worth mentioning about the entrance chart. Moon, less than a day after the First Quarter phase, makes a T-square with the nodal axis and a sextile with Mars, both of which were exact a few hours earlier. This may be read as opportunities with a strong emotional content to help us solve the lunation’s crisis of action. The square between Mars and Jupiter, which was a bit wide at the new moon, has tightened up considerably, as well as the Mystic Triangle of Jupiter with the nodal axis. The configuration will be even tighter at the eclipse, so we will discuss its implications later in more detail.

Also, even though Mercury is shown at Leo 27°41′, it is moving at over 150% of its average speed and will transit through Virgo in a hurry, from the 2nd to the 18th, in the meantime being conjunct to the nodal axis on the 11th, having its superior conjunction with Sun on the 13th, forming an opposition with Saturn on the 17th and leaving the sign before the next new moon (also in Virgo). Mercury rules Virgo and it apparently wants to touch every one of its degrees during this lunation that began in the first one. Mercury represents the processes of our rational mind and its interactions with the environment through the senses. In Virgo they become highly practical and analytical, further strengthening the impulse for critical reflections we mentioned when writing about the new moon.

The Pisces–Virgo Age

In that article, we also talked about signs, stars and constellations, and briefly introduced the concept of astrological ages. They are produced by the precession of the equinoctial axis as it moves backwards (retrograde) one degree every 72 years, or an entire sign (30°) every 2,160 years. Although people talk about the Age of Aquarius, we are in the final degree of the Age of Pisces since 1990, according to the carefully-researched theory that Rudhyar puts forward in his book “Astrological Timing”. In it, among many other things, he makes the point that the ages should be divided in two halves, the first one keyed off the March equinox while the second should refer more to the energies of the September one, although both are always present.

Therefore, we can see how the Christ Impulse and its fish symbolism refers to the Pisces polarity, while the Romanesque-Gothic culture of the Middle Ages (from 900 C.E. on) is linked to the Virgo pole. Medieval culture placed an emphasis on the worship of the Madonna, the Holy Virgin. Yet, the spirit of chivalry and of the great cathedrals should be seen as an expression of the Virgin’s adolescent aspiration towards God, the Beloved—a transcendent God not to be known concretely, according to Rudhyar.

The Age’s “Anaretic” Degree

I have said in the past that astrology is based on numerology concepts that show in planetary orbits, in aspects and, crucially, in signs. Each zodiacal sign may be interpreted as a phase of a celestial process or a psychological type, the latter resulting from the specific process of Earth’s orbit around the sun which we see as the apparent motion of Sun across the zodiac.¹ For a process that moves in the clockwise direction (retrograde), Pisces begins after the March equinox and behaves as the first phase of the process, with a release of energy that is linear. I am not reversing the zodiac but some of the Aries archetypes stem from being the #1 sign of the zodiac; others are the result of being the sign when daylight increases after the equinox. Also, even though there is a forceful and linear release of energy in both, Pisces refers to water energy and Aries to fire energy.

In the aforementioned book, written in 1969, Rudhyar writes about an important event that would likely ensue a multi-planet conjunction in Capricorn in December, 1990.² Moreover, he says that our response to the event would condition the rest of the final (anaretic) degree, which will end in 2062. In a twist of irony, despite talking at length about the Cold War and the polarity represented by the US and USSR, Rudhyar didn’t imagine that the 1990 “event” would be the collapse of the Soviet Union. Nonetheless, he was right in foretelling that our collective response to such an unimaginable collapse would condition at least the last 35 years.

Lunar Eclipse in Pisces

The full moon and total lunar eclipse will occur on September 7 at 11:09 a.m. in California, 12:09 p.m. in Mexico City, or 8:09 p.m. in Central Europe, where it may be seen in some latitudes. A lunar eclipse, you may recall, happens on a full moon with Sun no more than 11°38′ from a lunar node. In this case, Sun will be at Virgo 15°23′, fewer than 3° from the South Node (Virgo 18°20′), while Moon will be at Pisces 15°23′:

At the new moon, Uranus had slowed down to just 35% of its average speed and it was stationary (at under 10%) on September 2, before it figuratively will screech to a halt and reverse direction on September 6. Therefore, it will be barely moving retrograde (at less than 4%) at the full moon, which is why you see ‘SR’ (stationary retrograde) in the chart next to Uranus—we talked about the Sabian symbol of Gemini 2 earlier: the probability of the improbable.

An Emotional Eclipse

Whereas the new moon represents a seed of potentialities, and some will be realized during the waxing phases, the full moon symbolizes what was indeed realized, sometimes aided by actual events, so as to be understood and assimilated during the waning phases. Eclipses intensify the new or full moon phase, and thus a lunar eclipse will often bring powerful events. In this case, the North Node, which symbolizes what “life” throws at us, is conjunct Moon, adding a strong emotional touch to those events. In Pisces, the North Node may bring events related to floods or massive migrations.

On the other hand, the three personal planets are also directly involved with the eclipse. Mercury (Virgo 10°03′) forms a wide conjunction with Sun (opposition with Moon) that is quickly closing since it is traveling at 159% of its average speed. Meanwhile, Moon is at the “fateful vertex” of a Yod that has the sextile of Venus (Leo 15°42′) and Mars (Libra 20°19′) as base. In a Yod, or Finger of Fate, the sextile of the base planets (Venus and Mars) focus their energy creatively onto the vertex planet (Moon). There is energy to become aware of how our needs and desires affect our emotions. The Venus–Mars sextile will be exact on September 16 and it will still operate, although off-sign, at the solar eclipse of the 21st. There will be energy to work on our inner balance between the sacred feminine and the sacred masculine, too.

Tension in the US Chart

At Cancer 19°03′, Jupiter forms a tight Mystic Triangle with the nodal axis, and thus with the Sun–Moon opposition, likely amplifying issues related to the homeland. In addition, the tight square between Mars and Jupiter will bring energy and “war diplomacy” to the issues. It is worth noting that the Ascendant of the US chart, at 12°21′ of Sagittarius forms squares with Sun and Moon (and the nodes). And the same goes for its Descendant; in other words, the horizon of the US chart makes a highly-energetic Grand Cross with the lunar-eclipse’s opposition. The Ascendant represents how a nation views itself and prefers to be viewed by others, whereas the Descendant symbolizes its relationships with allies or known enemies. Ideally, the two viewpoints are coherent and well-integrated but the eclipse will shake the already precarious balance between them. As always, one must apply the concept of “orb” since the universe doesn’t have a stopwatch. Events may happen two or three days before or after the actual eclipse and their consequences will be felt up to six months afterwards.

Sabian Symbols

The 16th degree of Virgo and Pisces start the final scene of each zodiacal half, the last fifteen degrees prior to an equinox. Virgo 16 (Sun) has the image: “An orangutan”, which Rudhyar expanded to: “In the zoo, children are brought face to face with an orangutan”, further explained as a direct confrontation with the “wild” power of primordial nature within oneself. On the other side of the zodiac, at Pisces 16 (Moon), we have the image: “The flow of inspiration” which, once again, Rudhyar reworded as: “In the quiet of his study, a creative individual experiences the flow of inspiration”, expanded as the reliance on one’s inner source of inspiration or guidance.

Both symbols speak of inner realizations, which are quite appropriate now that all the slow planets are retrograde. More than ever, we must ignore the outer chaos and rely on our inner guide. For that, we should create enough time and space to get in touch with our higher self. When doing so, we may have to confront our wilder side and use our head, carefully considering the consequences of our actions by bringing true discrimination, as hinted by the new-moon’s Sabian symbol.

Power to the People

Viewed from Earth, Sun travels through the zodiac on a plane (the ecliptic) that is tilted 23.5° from the celestial equator. Therefore, the sun is confined to rise and set within 23.5° of latitude (the tropics), reaching those limits at the solstices. When another planet exceeds 23.5° of declination, it is said to be out of bounds, no longer “limited” by Sun and thus acting “on its own”. This year, Pluto will be out of bounds from September 7 to November 20, approximately. Not only that, for the next ten years, roughly half of its stay in Aquarius, Pluto will be orbiting out of bounds in the September to November time-frame each year.

The astrologer Rosie Finn has studied the Pluto cycles since 1809 b.C.E. and wrote an article about them last year in The Astrological Journal. Briefly, she discovered that societies concentrate power onto a few individuals when Pluto goes out of bounds northbound. However, when it does the same southbound, as it will happen through 2035, the power shifts to the people, often in the form of revolutions. Not surprisingly, Pluto exhibitted a similar pattern of being out of bounds in the southbound direction when it moved through Aquarius in 1778–1798, witnessing the successes of the American Revolutionary War and of the French Revolution. In the article, she goes on to say that, according to her calculations, Pluto will no longer be out of bounds in either direction for several hundred years after this period.

Coda

With Uranus moving retrograde, the rehearsal for what promises to be a wonderful improvisational play came to an end. One by one, the actors took the stage and interacted with each other under the roles they will play over the next few years. It is time to make the final preparations for their only performance, and even though Pluto won’t leave the stage anymore, the others will. In fact, Saturn is already back in Pisces, its “dressing room”, with Neptune and Uranus following in October and November. We have seen the effects on society of the roles they will be playing and we should prepare for what will begin early next year, after they tie a few loose ends when they exit their retrograde motion in their “dressing rooms”. We will see the same structural pressures although the events will differ. For example, we will likely see the real start of an economic war that may or may not rely on tariffs.

Wrapping Up…

With Saturn back in Pisces, much of what was agreed upon in the past few months will be thrown away. Disinformation and fake news will return in mid-October and the fascist tendencies a month later.

After a couple of months of careful observation, I now urge you to sit back and disconnect from the news as much as possible.

Enjoy the full moon; it should look gorgeous over the weekend nights.

Always Love. 🌹🙏💖

Notes

1. Sun is seen as the integrator, composed of two forces: the Day Force to integrate a personality or individual-whole, and the Night Force to integrate a society, or culture-whole. ↩︎
2. There were several conjunctions in Capricorn in 1990, notably on Christmas Eve, when Sun, Mercury, Uranus, Neptune and Venus formed a tight stellium (3°–15°), plus Saturn and the North Node in a separate conjunction (25°–28°). ↩︎