Once again have a good look at the Nova article to get a basic overview of this year’s astrology, which I described as an ongoing mix of intense challenges mixed with some exceptional expressions of grace, making for yet another rock ‘n’ roll year on both inner and outer levels.

Pluto square Uranus and the Black Moon

I have written enough in the past about the historical significance of the Uranus Pluto square, the main pressure cooker behind our experience of these last four years. Some of you might have read that we have already had the last of the seven peaks of this transit. However the two planets are within a degree of an exact square right now and, if you can imagine it, have been joined by the Black Moon in Libra to form an even more intense T-square!

Whether we see the Black Moon as Durga, Kali or the Black Madonna, the transformative energies of Pluto are intensified by her presence while the radical, liberating and unpredictable expressions of Uranus take on an even more powerful and at times threatening edge.

On an outer level unfortunately this is likely to translate into even more atrocities across the planet now more driven by the harder core dissatisfactions of the primal and sacred feminine. And these will express in a whole variety of ways, some to do with the distortions of the goddess’s energies and some to do with a broader process of destruction that precedes either death or rebirth.

If we look at terrorism, apparently driven by destructive forms of the masculine and perpetrated mostly by men, part of the reason why its expressions are so brutal and vicious is that they are also driven by rejected and toxic forms of distorted goddess energy. In the same way that these distortions in individual men become misogyny, where the rage inherent in the distortions gets turned against the feminine, on a collective level the destructivity of the masculine is negatively energised, towards women, minorities and people from other faiths.

On a whole other level this is a part of a prolonged birthing process, one that requires the flushing out of various forms of toxicity, rage and ancient trauma whether personally or collectively. And this is the gift of the Black Moon squaring Pluto opposite Uranus; that this is as much about the purification and transformation of these distortions within each of us.

Since none of us are sitting in bombed out buildings in Syria, it is all too easy to speak with such detachment, but what we can do towards the collective good is to use the very same energies for deep healing, flushing out toxins, working with our shadow areas and our rage, so that we are in a better position to harness what Andrew Harvey calls sacred outrage at the injustice of it all. 

As I pointed out in the Nova article the intensity of this year will activate more and more voices that will challenge the status quo, the patriarchal conditioning and our collective anaesthetisation.

On an inner level the same applies. Bringing the Black Moon into the equation invites Kali to riot, to release, to liberate and it is not inconsequential that the Kali asteroid joins this T-square from Cancer to form a grand cross at the time of the March eclipses!

It encourages us to find within that fierce and loving Great Mother in the form of Durga, who will protect all her children, our hearts and the earth against the demons of the mind and the ego.
I have come to the conclusion that Kali, as an equally unpredictable explosive and liberating energy, is a feminine cohort with the planet Uranus as they clearly share energies and goals. So the two going head-to-head describes awesome possibilities for liberating us from some of our deepest fears, control mechanisms and self repressions, and in doing so releasing the sacred magical power of both masculine and feminine. 

When Marianne Williamson recently pointed out at the World Parliament of Religion, that passionate free thinking adults are very difficult to manipulate and almost impossible to control, she was talking about about Kali/Black Moon and Uranus teaming up against the old powers.

Moon in Virgo conjunct Jupiter, North node and Hygeia

As I pointed out in Nova this multi-conjunction is quite extraordinary and describes a potent and heartful vision, of a potential future to emerge from the destructive chaos of this time. With all of it in Virgo it heightens and deepens our connection to the priestess archetype and the earth mother goddesses at the core of the sign. Inherent in this our ancient memories within men of serving goddess and the earth, with the urge to reconnect with what we can call the indigenous self within each of us. 

This feels like a reinstatement of our stewardship of the planet, the natural world and that which is natural, connected and heartfelt within each individual. There is a holistic vision here that describes greater unity between masculine and feminine, spirituality and sexuality, between effort and grace in our spiritual and healing journeys.

It is a good vision and worth holding onto as things get tough as they must when these astrological heavyweights are active. However, even with this intense T-square each point of it has a network of supportive aspects.

For instance, Pluto sextiles a Shiva/Chiron conjunction, while the Black Moon sextiles Saturn in Sagittarius and trines Ceres in Aquarius. Uranus in Aries in turn trines Saturn, sextiles Ceres and a conjunction of Parvati and Psyche in Gemini. We don’t have the space or time to go into these specifically but each of these positive aspects support the necessary changes that have to happen while taking some of the edges off their more ruthless drives.

Sun Pluto Pallas and Mercury in Capricorn

The sun in Capricorn is conjunct Pluto who is in turn conjunct Pallas Athena who is equally connected to Mercury, a concentration of energies that with one pointedness and clear sight can allow our minds to become more piercing and creative. In the midst of a confused collective environment with many crosscurrents, having Mercury with Pallas in turn further empowered by Pluto allows for the wielding of very effective sword energy using the mind and the very grounded realism of Capricorn.

Each one of these points in Capricorn sends multiple trines to the Moon, Jupiter, North Node, Hygeia conjunction, a tremendous combination of focused power, healing and grace especially aimed at the visions inherent in the North Node and its fellow travellers. That Pluto et al sextiles the South Node while trining the North node describes potent support to move beyond the limitations of the past and towards a greater vision for both our collective future, and towards claiming more of our own authentic, individual soul visions.

Healing Eclipse March 9th

This emphasis on healing is also particularly heightened around the March eclipses, as the Kundalini goddess Hygeia, lined up with the North Node again, comes into opposition to fellow healer Chiron on the South Node of the Moon. With the further support of Jupiter this healing focus is multilayered; past life wounds and gifts, the awakening of the sacred masculine, the flushing out of old psychic emotional toxins from this lifetime and others, and the possibility of extraordinary spiritual and healing awakenings. It would be very good to line up some form of retreat, workshop or intensive personal process around this time to be available to the energies.

Saturn in Sagittarius

While starting the year off squaring Neptune, with all its nebulous workings in the last two months, Saturn moves onwards till 16° of Sagittarius where he turns around in retrograde motion and backtracks to another Saturn Neptune square in June. I have described this elsewhere is the strange alchemy seeking to undermine the scaffolding of our patriarchal conditioning while attempting a greater integrity between our visions for our lives and what we are able to physically manifest.

The June event will be significantly different as transiting Jupiter forms a T-square with the two, balancing some of the harder edges of Saturn while supporting and enhancing the efforts of Neptune to open us up spiritually and psychically. In this climate then Saturn will be the voice of discipline and groundedness so necessary during great upper chakra movements.

Jupiter in Virgo

The gracious Jupiter is retrograde in the first week of January, will backtrack to 13° in may before heading forward is towards his date with Libra in the middle of September. During this first half of the year Jupiter will trine Pluto in March and June, a joining with his darker brother in a benevolent combination of transformative power grace and forward movement.

Venus in Sagittarius and Juno in Scorpio

The relationship chart dynamics represented in the chart are quite a mix of both good and tricky aspects.

Venus has a lovely sextile to Mercury, a traditionally good aspect for communication in relationships. She also has a potent sextile to Hygeia, a very tantric arrangement great for sexual healing and openings, which in turn is even more powerfully reinforced by a trine to the Kali asteroid in late Cancer, brilliant for blasting through inhibitions and shame while liberating more of that core sexuality so close to our very essence.

Venus is also squaring Neptune in Pisces, which on its own can represent anything from the most exalted love experiences all the way through to the most delusional projections depending on how clear we are and how secure our boundaries. At the very least Neptune can dissolve blockages to intimacy but can also mess with what boundaries we do have in order to open us up psychically and spiritually.

In this case it is additionally tricky because she is close enough to Saturn, currently in his own square to Neptune, to get entangled in their nebulous battles between spiritual reality and down-to-earth realism. This is what I meant when I described our relationship evolution being on constantly shifting ground. It will take a yogi’s/yogini’s stance to stay open to the opportunities, while holding one’s own inner centre. And I guess that is the challenge of this, to find that deeper centre and to lead into our relationships from that place.

As for Juno, the traditional goddess of marriage and secretly a Western goddess of tantra, she is in a good relationship to Neptune, one which will bring her closer to the energies of Parvati the India goddess of the sacred marriage. Both Juno and Neptune received sextiles from the Sun in Capricorn, which speaks well for 2016 as a year of healthy and spiritually inspired shifts in our attitudes towards committed relationships.

I am reminded of that saying that marriage is an aphrodisiac for the mature!

Go well, with both heart fullness and commitment into the year and may we all get better in our big wave riding!