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The Turning Wheel Astrology for Evolutionaries Autumn, 2007 by Rhea Wolf
Life Advice from Catherine Ingram
The Turning Wheel - Astrology for Evolutionaries, Autumn 2007 by Rhea Wolf
Welcome to the semi-annual eclipse sale, where emotions come two-for-one and each new sticky situation is accessorized with free spiritual baggage. Kidding aside, eclipse cycles are like catching a perfect wave. Using your creativity and connectedness, you can glide to shore. But if you’re unsteady already, an eclipse can knock you down into the teeming ocean.
The Full Moon Eclipse was in Pisces on August 28th. On September 11th we get the New Moon-Solar Eclipse in Virgo. Anything we haven’t been dealing with in the last six months will come rearing up in plain view. Pay attention to your health, especially the emotional-spiritual connections to your physical wellbeing.
The Autumn Equinox (September 23) amplifies the need for us to get down to business. Saturn in Virgo wants us to implement daily practices that allow us to reclaim our authority while offering something worthwhile to the community. As the taskmaster planet moves through Virgo for the next two years, we can help ourselves and others attain healthier lifestyles. It’s a jumpstart that can put us on the right track toward “enlightened service”—giving without opening wide our veins nor with expectation of payback.
The Equinox also ushers in a period for people (as in, We the…) to re-energize creative responses to social causes and to bring spiritual attention to more political and mundane affairs. Intention is a powerful tool in the dance/struggle toward justice and peace. Let a few wild ideas (Uranus) and intuitive notions (the Moon) guide you to set some intentions on the New Moon. This is a healthy counterpoint to the inflexibility and rigidity of political leaders. As long as you can let your ego get out of the way, you’ll be amazed at how plans come together. Let go of your attachment to outcomes you can see. You never know what changes your actions may unleash.
In our day-to-day lives, we can use this eclipse cycle to shed light on who we think we are. Don’t be surprised if someone radically different from yourself helps you assess issues of identity. It could take the form of a harsh lesson in projection. That person you hate? It just might be you.
At the end of October, as the season spills toward Samhain and we watch the leaves fall to meet their composty-maker, imagine what you need to shed before winter in order to make the best use out of the darkness. Our ancestors and planetary allies tell us to trust more in the hidden threads that are subverting the destructive civilization of our time. I’m not suggesting that some unseen force is going to clean up our mess. Magic is an invaluable tool in uprising, but so are families, partnerships, and small organizations of people that are rooted in mutual liberation. This small-scale revolution is exactly what’s needed to topple the giant, creating the new world right underneath the old.
Knowing what to let go of and what to hold close will come in handy in December when Jupiter and Pluto are conjunct in Sagittarius. This aspect could spell a complete loss of our spiritual values. Sounds intense and depressing, but Pluto’s influence can help clear the way for an awakening to new beliefs. Faith forged in Pluto’s fire acknowledges the certainty of death and still chooses to act with optimism and confidence.
We are on the verge of a spicy opposition between Saturn in Virgo and Uranus in Pisces from November until early 2008. This opposition will be much more powerful next autumn, but we can get ready now. Here we are pressured to “walk our talk” in small and large ways. After the Neptune-Saturn opposition of the past two years, we know that without discipline, our ideals remain inhabitants of imagination only; without dreams, our work can become automatic. Now the Uranus-Saturn experience asks, How do we respond to the over-active critic who cynically dismisses any possibility of transformation? Or to the revolutionary martyr who believes any sacrifice is acceptable for the sake of an ideal? In both cases, we need to hunt for balance. Virgo begs attention to details. How we do something is as important as what we are doing. Pure reaction against (insert oppressive force of choice here) is not necessarily the most skillful course. Look at all the options carefully—don’t forget the bizarre ones. Then decide. This is truly a time to awaken the authentic, capable visionary, open to change yet committed to her own core values. What are you waiting for?
Rhea Wolf is an astrologer, witch and writer in Portland, Ore. For reading information or to sign up for her monthly moon reports, email [email protected].