Feb/Mar 2010
Living in a Time of Mythic Chage
Caroline Myss
The Value of Whole-Systems Design
Shaktari Belew
Playing for Keeps
Derrick Jensen
Motion to Amend
The Campaign to Legalize Democracy
Abolish Corporate Personhood
David Cobb
Ten Ways to Stop Corporate Dominance of Politics
Fran Korten
What's a Patriot to Do?
Riki Ott
The Transition Document
Reviewed by Dan Armstrong
Community Gardening in an Urban Garden Cooperative
Chuck Burr
On Planting Trees
Daniel Bish
A Cooperative Model for Community Supported Agriculture
Jude Wait
Move Your Money
Amy Goodman interviews Robert Johnson
The Mouth of Satisfaction
Peter Moore
Southern Oregon Birth Connections
Cosmic Calendar
Salina Rain
Movie Mystic
Stephen Simon
Cosmic Calendar
By Salina Rain
February is powerfully influenced by the exact Saturn-Pluto square that wrapped up the month of January in the energy field of a solar eclipse, marking the second phase of an earth-shaking process initiated in November ‘09. Saturn-Pluto’s impact on our lives over the coming years is huge. In present time whatever we’re changing in our lives, the extent to which we’re letting go, however we’re committing precious time, energy and resources, will have enormous repercussions and/or rewards into the future. Our sense of immediacy comes from the weightiness and severity of these two reality-changing planets in the most challenging of aspects. As major power plays and manipulations by the wealthy elite, some religious leaders, and others interested in controlling the masses are further exposed, the collective mood is bound to be more fearful and despairing with serious doubts that we’ll ever evolve into the co-creating magicians we are in essence. All the more reason for each of us to use this major transformational time clearing away all self-destructive ideas and behaviors still lingering in ourselves, while also taking responsibility for our part in partnerships and group endeavors. Self-reflective work on ourselves promises to be especially fruitful if we commit to facing the worst with expectations of healing. Of course the planet Earth is engaged in her own re-balancing process with Saturn-Pluto, as she shifts, storms and shakes in order to release pockets of toxic build-up; physical, mental/emotional and spiritual, the by-product of a young species on the verge of a huge evolutionary leap. As we hit the barriers put in place by old paradigm, patriarchal institutions it’s crucial to remember they’re in the process of crumbling, soon to disappear, from the very weight of their own dysfunctionality. That particularly uncomfortable experiment is nearing its end as the Jupiter-Chiron-Neptune triad of 2009 has been showing us a new and more cooperative, joyous way. And yet, all this does not come without crisis, chaos and disorienting events!
Jupiter is now traveling through Pisces, one of the signs it traditionally rules, broadening our collective and personal vision, inspiring humanitarian ideals, helping us connect directly with the Source of our miraculous existence rather than relying solely on human intermediaries (so often with their own agendas) for our spiritual lives. This passage emphasizes the mystical and sacred qualities of all aspects of life, and of all beings. Jupiter in Pisces can also expand on our addictive tendencies and outlandish, ungrounded fantasies that are distracting at best. The challenge is to stay grounded, present, and willing to face the unpleasant realities in order to change course, re-design, and re-structure.
Mars and Saturn are both retrograde all through February, necessitating deeper and more thorough review of our voluntary and non-voluntary obligations, group and partnering dynamics and motivations, especially in regard to what we want and how we go about getting those desires met. Ego is under closer scrutiny in this period through March 10, with the possibility of shedding old, false ego patterns and attachments, and aligning with the truer, creative functions of personal ego in our lives. Ego’s only positive function is to serve the higher purposes of each being, making this an especially effective time to be dedicating and re-dedicating ourselves, day by day, to serve the higher good, whatever that is to each of us.
At the New Moon on the 13th, 26 degrees Aquarius, Chiron and Neptune join the Sun and Moon at the degree of their end of May ‘09 line up with Jupiter. This lunation refers back to that time and to what has evolved since then with regard to new possibilities in our lives for healthier community, sharing ideals and visions for the future. Vision is clearer, multi-dimensional, inspired and oriented toward healing strategies at this high energy beginning point, one that is bound to bring another expansion in human consciousness over the next 6-12 months. Venus and Jupiter are close cohorts in sweet, all-encompassing Pisces. Mars-Saturn are sextile, exact on the 15th, combining caution and organizational skills with creative boldness, the joy of following our heart’s impulses. These four planets are involved in a yod aspect, requiring a significant shift in perspective. Inventiveness is one of Aquarius’ major strengths, and with the additional input of Chiron-Neptune the possibilities increase exponentially. Wherever 23-28 degrees Aquarius falls in your chart has been up for extraordinary, wide open change, begun last May and unfolding at a new level over the coming months.
Full Moon on the 28th at 10 degrees Virgo exactly opposes Jupiter and the Sun in Pisces, the sign that dissolves all boundaries and artificial separations among us. Virgo Moon is a Super Moon this year, one with much stronger gravitational pull on the Earth’s tides with impact on our own systems, reminding us in this super illumination moment of our need to offer ourselves in service in the ways we can most effectively serve. Venus and Uranus also join in ecstatic union in later degrees of the mutable water sign, opening our hearts and spirits further to unconditional love and surrender to divine guidance. Allow plenty of time to just be, in quiet contemplation, in this lunation’s waterfall of blessings. The Houses in your chart containing 10 degrees of Virgo and Pisces are being illuminated with extraordinary spiritual insights and the sweetest dreams. Prayer, mantra and focused intention have especially powerful impact now, along with simple, small acts of kindness.
Mars turns direct on March 10 at 00 degrees Leo re-igniting all the power and passion of the planet of desire in the sign of creative playfulness and, ideally, the generous heart. Of course Mars in Leo can also be about unhealthy ego attachments that need to put in perspective, and that’s exactly what part of our review process has been about since Mars turned retrograde last December. How we use aggressive energy has been an important aspect of this time also, both as a collective and individually. We’ve been re-thinking war and seeing ourselves more clearly as a society in love with violence, including sexualizing violence as a means of entertainment. As Mars pivots and starts picking up more speed over the next few weeks we can reconnect as a society with the more fulfilling and joyous qualities of the sacred warrior, with more healthy, positive male role models replacing the decadence and irresponsibility of the most prominent male role models of late. Personally this passage has impacted us all differently, and by mid-May we’ll be clearer and more confident about the direction we’re moving in, as Mars re-crosses the retrograde degree, 20 Leo. Pluto will be squared by Venus, Mercury and the Sun on the 11th, 20th and 25th, giving us smaller versions of the larger crises ahead in the next two years. The better we can deal with whatever comes up on those dates, the more prepared we’ll be be to face the severity of the crises to come. One thing to remember through it all is that our perception of the world we live in has been horribly limited, and that seemingly miraculous solutions arise as we join together with common intention.
Pisces New Moon arriving on the 15th at 26 degrees is joined by both Mercury and Uranus in yet another particularly high frequency beginning point for the new cycle, with Jupiter also in Pisces at an earlier degree. This is a tremendous amount of psychic, idealistic, visionary, muse conjuring energies all combined to move us forward into the next stage of evolution. Emotions are a prominent theme as forgiveness, including self-forgiveness, emerges as a major healing remedy, in the global sense all the way down to the personal. Many more people are questioning the value of religious doctrine that propagates separatism, hatred, misunderstanding and fuels wars. Mercury-Uranus at this New Moon help us release what doesn’t feel loving and forgiving, and can unleash chaotic, stormy energies that actually help with the clearing process. We’re finishing up some old lessons about our true essence as a collective, and personally wherever the latter degrees of Pisces fall in our own charts is where we’re being energized to acknowledge and honor our dreams, free of self doubts and pessimism. Asking for help when we need it through prayer, speaking from the heart to the universe, is a potent lesson before us.
At Spring Equinox on the 20th the Aries Sun trines newly activated Mars for an extra energized beginning to the season, but is also opposed by Saturn, causing considerably slower, more cautious initiations, with much more of an awareness of long term consequences to what we’re putting into motion. This combination of energies affects the entire season ahead, as we recognize more clearly the impact of all our actions and our responsibility to the collective. This is one of the eight major turning points of the year, gateways of powerful significance for all life on this magnificent planet. If we can’t find some time now to step out of the day-to-day and honor our place in the cosmic dance, our lives may be in more serious trouble than we’ve even imagined. The universe doesn’t sing in as much harmony and joy when we’re not conscious participants in the grand performance.
On the 29th of March the Full Moon at 10 degrees Libra is squared by transformational Pluto, pushing us further in the direction of changing our relationships and group involvements to align with our authentic selves. Whatever has not been working in these areas will be absolutely apparent, and most likely unbearable. Mercury-Venus are close in later degrees of Aries making direct, and kind, communication more possible, but this can also go in the other direction. Self-serving, insensitive statements are possible if we’re stuck in the fears and negative projections of the Pluto-Sun-Moon t-square. For the Moon at 10 degrees Libra the Sabian Symbol reads: “Having passed safely through narrow rapids, a canoe reaches calm waters. The self-control and poise necessary to reach a steady state of inner stability.” (Rudyhar)
A more extensive version of the Cosmic Calendar is available at www.salinarain.com. Salina Rain is a professional counseling Astrologer with major focus on life purpose and gracefully navigating transitions. She is also a Reiki Jin Kei Do Master/Teacher, a lineage of energy healing directly from the ancient Buddhist healing practices. Salina is available for astrological readings, classes, Reiki Jin Kei Do master sessions and trainings and may be reached at (707) 668-5408, PO Box 1081, Blue Lake, CA 95525; astro@salinarain.com.
