Radical Astrology: Inner Guidance and Outer Transformation
by Emily Trinkaus
As predicted, the revolution is not being televised. So you may have missed the story this Fall: people are rising up and the corporate power elite is on the defensive.
Indigenous people reclaiming power is a calling card of Saturn in Cancer (6/03-7/05), and the revolution in Bolivia is just one dramatic manifestation. Throughout Latin America, the threat of globalization is bringing communities together in defense of culture, family, and Mother Earth (all Cancerian themes).
The people also won a major victory this fall in Cancun. Unprecedented cooperation among farmers, indigenous people, locals, and activists from around the world shut down the WTO, stopping (or at least pausing), the military-agricultural complex.
All action may significantly slow down while Saturn goes Retrograde (10/25-3/7) and opposes Mercury in Capricorn, which also goes Retrograde this winter (12/17-1/6). This is an introspective period of serious re-thinking and re-structuring around issues of home, family, self-care, and putting down roots. We may be ready to move forward with concrete changes after March 7, when Saturn goes Direct.
Saturn’s season (the Saturnalia) starts at the Winter Solstice (12/21), when the Sun moves into Capricorn. A Ouija Board is the Sabian Symbol for the Solstice’s Ascendant: “The ability to contact deeper recesses of the unconscious psyche. This can be the first manifestation of INNER GUIDANCE.”
Affirming this winter’s mystical nature, mind-expanding Jupiter is Rising in the Solstice chart, and forms a Grand Trine with Chiron in Capricorn and the North Node in Taurus. Kicking off at the Solar Eclipse on November 23 and, in effect, through January, the Grand Trine in Earth signs potentially creates tangible healing structures that serve our evolution.
Let’s take a closer look at this super-harmonious aspect.
Chiron, a recently discovered small planet that travels between Saturn and Uranus, links conscious experience to cosmic realms. The symbol for Chiron resembles a key, suggesting its power to unlock previously closed doors of perception. At Chiron’s sighting in 1977, alternative healing modalities entered into the mainstream, offering the means to bridge dualities of mind and body, spirit and matter. In myth, Chiron the Centaur is a master astrologer who initiates healers, warriors, and magicians, and represents the archetype of the Wounded Healer.
While Chiron transits Capricorn, his wounding/healing energy targets the corporate world. The exposure of Enron in 12/01, when Chiron moved into the sign of the Goat, was only the beginning, and no doubt more heads will roll before Chiron reaches Aquarius in 2005. Ideally, a humanitarian and Earth-sustaining economic structure will emerge during this period, as Chiron in Capricorn pushes the system toward its higher purpose.
In our personal lives, we can cooperate with Chiron in Capricorn by honestly confronting issues around authority, material success, and worldly achievement. Old wounds may re-emerge if our inner and outer lives are out of alignment. When our careers don’t reflect or support our spiritual lives, depression can result (the shadow of Capricorn).
Chiron’s Trine to Jupiter offers excellent support for healing our selves and our Earth—for perfecting intuitive and magical skills.
The catch? The Sabian Symbol’s warning about inner guidance spells it out succinctly: “The difficulty is to correctly evaluate what or who does the guiding.”
Jupiter’s Square (90-degree angle) to Pluto from 10/03 to 2/04 suggests that tapping into our intuition requires a deep housecleaning of our emotions and subconscious. Jupiter in Virgo chimes in that literal housecleaning is also recommended, so get busy and make it happen.
Collectively, this aspect reveals more details about the shadow side of government and religion (like we needed more examples!) and calls for rooting out corruption at a deep level. This is an ongoing theme while Pluto transits Sagittarius (1995-2008); aspects to Jupiter amplify the message.
With Jupiter Squaring Pluto as we gear up for the 2004 elections, we are advised to interrogate the “anyone but Bush” approach. Replacing the government’s figurehead is not likely to stop the US war machine. If we’re serious about transformation, we have to address underlying economic structures (another Saturn in Cancer theme). The courageous examples from below the border can inspire us to make significant and lasting changes.
Emily Trinkaus, Virgo, lives in Portland. For information about individual readings, or to receive free New and Full Moon reports via email, call (503) 288-7097 or email [email protected].