Awakening: Call for Healing, Peace, Unity

Reflections                                                                        Catherine Al-Meten
Astoria Port                                                                                               2012

Last week’s Solar Eclipse in Scorpio conjunct the New Moon in Scorpio, released, unleashed, and awakened us on many levels. Moving into a new world with the major shifts in the outer, slow-moving planets, and the activity and aspects of the inner planets, we are moving forward at a rapid pace. Our awakening and transformation has given us this opportunity to be receptive to spiritual guidance from the Divine, however you understand or name that Source.  While we can do so much to improve, change, and develop on our own, we are manifest in human form, on this planet, at this time, and in relation to one another. It is imperative that we each acknowledge our gifts, our purpose, and our responsibility to be fully-functioning, beings capable of healing, loving, and creating peace. The movement of the planets, the Sun, and our Moon all highlight and activate energy that affects us and the way we live.  As we look at some of the events of this last week, we understand how intricately we are connected to one another. We are also responsible for paying attention to what is calling us to do, be, receive, and understand within, and then how does that call us to help heal, create peace, and act from love rather than fear, hate, and frustration. What has been awakening within you? Have you wanted to hide from truth or are you willing to embrace what is, and move to do what you can to create and heal?

Whatever has been brewing beneath the surface, suppressed in the subconscious, been hidden and kept secret, now stirs within us and begins to seep out. The archetype of Scorpio, where the Sun (outward expression and actions), Mercury (communication), Saturn (lessons and transformation), and the North Node (gateway to change), is that of provocative energy expressed with intensity, passion, willfulness, and sudden revelations. As with all energy and our use of and response to it, we can use this energy, these inner and outer revelations, understandings, and awareness to heal, transform, and grow stronger and more united, or we can act from the darker side of our nature. The unhealed, unredeemed parts of our nature, express this energy through jealousy, manipulation, violence,  acrimonious and vindictive striking out. Debasing and dehumanizing the targets of our unhealed, aggressive woundedness, we seek revenge by striking out or attempting to diminish others, failing to understand we are hurting ourselves as well through these actions.  Since the energy of Scorpio deals with the subtle, often unconscious sides of our nature, we individually and collectively need to be extremely careful of how we express ourselves. As the archetype of Scorpio implies, the sting of Scorpio can be deadly. The redeemed characteristic of this archetype is reflected in learning through our own woundedness to heal and act from love and understanding. Given the power we have at our disposal, no one person, group, or nation, can be allowed to act from the darker, festering wounds of the past to inflict pain, suffering, and terror on anyone in the name of any righteous purpose or deity.  It simply is no  longer possible to live and survive on this planet through the use of weapons of war and actions of anger, hate, and despair.    

It is clear through our observations and experiences of the last year and months, that the combined energy of people, when brought together to overcome darkness and oppression, can succeed in creating more peaceful and healthy solutions to problems. It is also clear that when we act from our suppressed and festering wounds, we strike out at the innocent in order to drive home our point to our perceived enemies. We make enemies faceless strangers, vilifying those whose ideas and opinions stand in our way or differ from our perception of the world.  In our own personal lives, we also need to be cautious to pay attention to that which rises up within us to be addressed, healed, and integrated into a healthier, more mindful approach to living.  The Sun will move into Sagittarius, sparking us to act upon whatever has come up during its passage through Scorpio.  However, the long-term lessons and revelations will continue to affect our development, our lives, and our relationships as Saturn’s journey through Scorpio has just begun. Whatever deep work has begun within us, will continue to demand our attention, our growth (willingly or not), and our dedication to paying attention to what will continue to stir, and work its way to the surface of our being. The energy, information, and light will come from your own inner wellspring, that part of you that John O’Donohue described as “the eternal echo of the Divine.”  The energy also comes to you through relationships, your daily journey, and through a radical openness to hear the Word of the Divine as it finds its way into your meditations, prayers, and receptiveness to see beyond what your eyes can see, hear beyond what your ears can hear, understand beyond what your mind can conceive. Your radical receptiveness now heightens your awareness both within and from the Transcendent sources and messengers that use the channels of your intuitive knowing to connect you with the true knowledge of being and with that which is the Divine Oneness.

Moon 2/12/ Aquarius Today, the Moon is transiting Aquarius, and our emotional nature may be flying on a higher plane than normal, allowing us to envision the threads that connect us now to what is to be and to affirm within us, that which we need to do and be in order to live in greater harmony. Aquarius symbolizes a somewhat detached and innovative or altruistic  view of life. When the Moon (keeper of our emotional nature) is transiting Aquarius, we are more likely to see the long term and broader ramifications of our actions, perceptions, and thoughts.  We are able to depersonalize our attachment to emotional issues, as we see that the implications of our perceptions and actions have more far-reaching effects than we might normally consider.

Mercury 24/21 Scorpio  Mercury’s passage through Scorpio, has been stirring up, releasing, and jarring our inner channels of communication and knowledge at the same time it has been uncovering, revealing, and blasting holes in whatever has been suppressed, hidden, or kept secret.  We may have the experience of both discovering parts of ourselves we had forgotten or been unaware of. We may have been experiencing feelings, having memories, or feeling desires and needs that we had forgotten or pushed down hidden within us.  It is a time when it is difficult to ignore whatever needs to work its way to the surface of our awareness, works its way out of secret into the daylight, or move into a new level of consciousness in order for us to act on needs, desires, and passions now. 

Venus 25/48 Libra, the archetype of harmony, beauty, and gentility in matters of love and the heart, has been the home of Venus for the past month or so. Venus in Libra has allowed us to feel a sense of quiet detachment in regards to our partnerships and relationships. We are more diplomatic and tactful during Venus’ transit through Libra, willing to negotiate, seek consensus, or compromise on matters of the heart.  It is also a time when we are more gentile in our approach to love and relationships, preferring that conversations and behavior maintain an air of dignity and grace. When taken to extremes, the shadow side of this transit is being too superficial and shallow in the way we handle relationships. Venus transit in Libra may have been somewhat difficult if we have been unwilling to address the deeper issues that have been stirred up by the planets transiting Scorpio. What we may find is that we have become more aware or those places where we are beginning to feel uncomfortable in whatever relationships we are involved in.  Once Venus transits into Scorpios, these areas will become more active and will rise to the surface of awareness. Any resentments held within in order to maintain a pleasant facade in your relationships, are likely to boil over once the Venus transit in Scorpio begins. Notice where you may be holding yourself down or concealing the truth of your feelings, especially if you’re trying to fool yourself.  Use your artistic and creative talents to allow yourself to explore that latent or hidden feelings that Venus in Libra may have caused you to pushed down below your conscious awareness.  Notice any areas of your life where you are feeling like a victim or a martyr, and work on dispelling these roles from the story you tell of who you are. Take a more conscious and active role in the choices of your life.

When Venus enters Scorpio on November 21 (just after the Sun enters Sagittarius), love and relationships will become more deeply passionate and serious. The overwhelming desire to connect on extreme and intense levels, is activated. Watch as relationships become far more important than they have been for a long time. Both their intensity and passion will deepen and become more energetically intense. We do engage in blind faith with our partners at this time, but rather experience ourselves and our partners in our most raw and authentic selves. We feel consumed by  passion, engaged wholly in the raw nature of that which draws us to connect in love.  We may feel more vulnerable, and aware of losing control. While holding onto our power, we still seek to allow ourselves to enter into the passionate connections defined by “genuine intimacy, affinity, and belonging,” (John O’Donohue, Anam Cara), rather than the insecure demanding of attention, affirmation, or meeting of needs that too often stands in for love. Examine your beliefs about what defines your experience of love, and stand on the ground of authentic love and passion rather than holding on, grasping for some idealize vision of what love should be.  This is the challenge of experiencing love as it is, not as we project it to be.  Venus’ transit through Scorpio will provide you with a clearer experience of how love finds and unlocks your true self. Whatever passionate connections you are engaged in or you are seeking, allow yourself the freedom to let it spring from your inner spring of love and be receptive to love as it seeks to join your true, authentic self.

Mars 1/10 Capricorn.

Mars just entered Capricorn on November 17, 2012. Fiery Mars, archetype of action, energy, and war, grounded itself immediately in its very negative shadow expression, landing in  the long-standing tinderbox of fuel and setting off a firestorm in the Middle East with Israel’s attack on Gaza. That, and the inflamed passions of a number of other areas where suppressed tensions are released, indicate areas that must be tempered.  Since Pluto and Mars are transiting Capricorn, it appears that this is just the beginning of more upsetting and disruptive kinds of activities that use force to transform in a very earth-centered way.  How we treat one another and our planet, is crucial to our health and survival.  Mars’ transit exerts deliberate and persistent force and energy to bring about change.  It is incumbent upon us to negotiate, give careful consideration to the consequences of our actions, and consider the long-term outcome of choices we are making at this time. Mars in Capricorn, indicates a time when there is a supply of reliable energy and a commitment to honest brokering for peace, compromise, consensus, and resolutions.  Mars’ fiery entry into Capricorn, needs taming and tempering into  finer and more cool-headed approaches to very significant and far-reaching decisions and actions. It is a time for cool heads and a willingness to bend. The shadow side of a Capricorn Mars is that when frustrated in one’s efforts, the negative tendency is to become rigid and stubborn.  This is a passive form of aggression, and that will not do when so much is at stake. A mature, grown up approach is needed to solve the issues, challenges, and problems that already stand before us. We cannot afford to continue to fight fire with fire.  Nor can we sit in the selfish, self-centered zone of complacency to stand on personal power or beliefs at the expense of  more pressing demands. Channeling energy into solid, grounded ways of repairing and healing (as has been done by those who suffered through the damage, destruction, and loss of Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast of the U.S.) is what the redemptive side of Mars in Capricorn calls for.

Saturn 5/14 Scorpio.

Saturn entered Scorpio just a month ago on October 5, and continues through in the early degrees of Scorpio to awaken us individually on the subconscious and unconscious levels, and collectively, in the areas of our world and Universe where we need to learn to be more realistic about the truth of our lives and ourselves. In whatever area of your life the Saturn transit is occurring, you may find yourself become more reserved and conservative about how you are spending your energy and resources.

In Scorpio, the Saturn archetype ushers in a prolonged period of examining and reflecting on the nature of our unconscious and subconscious nature. Whatever patterns, habits, beliefs, or behavior you discovered over the last year that needs to be released, reexamined, or refined, now provide the  fodder for your meditations, prayers, contemplation, and discernment. You’ll now notice whatever areas of your life and health are out of balance, will begin to become more apparent.  Intuitively, you will know something is not quite right. Physically, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually, the subconscious and unconsciousness will awaken you to whatever addictions, imbalances, or disorders need to be let go of. We can begin structuring and reorganizing areas of our lives to maintain clearer flows of energy and to channel and conserve our resources. The Saturn and Pluto transits are both leading us through a complete restructuring of how we live our lives.  Learning and transforming so as to become more fully-functioning as individuals and in relationship.  When we resist or attempt to scape goat our problems on others (it’s the fault of my marriage, my job, or some other outside connection, including a negative view of your place in the Divine plan), we fail to understand the source of our goodness is the stream of divine love that infuses us and connects us, that reflection of Divine goodness, that we are given to use to create the lives we have come here to live.  We each have gifts we can use to make our own lives and the lives of others, better.  Whatever is in the way, whatever is blocking you from acting from a point of love and goodness, needs to be acknowledged, released, and understood so you can live more harmoniously.

Jupiter 13/12 Gemini retrograde. 

Jupiter’s transit through Gemini, continues her journey until June 25, 2013, expanding our experiences, abundance, knowledge, and understanding. As we continue expanding our thinking, being more receptive to different levels of knowledge and insight, and attracting abundance, good fortune, and ingenuity, Jupiter’s archetype casts the light of optimism, intellectual brilliance, sincerity,  cooperation, and genuine desire to explore, create, and express.  Whatever area of your life Jupiter is transiting will feel this passionate and uplifting transit, and would be useful to help counter any of the other heavier transits and their frustrations or restrictions.  For example, if Jupiter is transiting your 5th house (children, pleasure, sexuality, creativity),  your 12th house may be experiencing the Saturn transit. This can be quite a heavy transit for most of us, causing us to feel deep-seated memories, issues, emotional wounds that are coming into our awareness. The fifth house passage of Jupiter would indicate an area of your life where you could look to life-supporting, uplifting energy to help you with this passage.  Look to the house where Jupiter is passing to determine the likely gifts and support you are receiving to counter some of the more difficult challenges, and in many cases, may be the source of solutions for whatever issues and challenges you face.  Out of our depression, disappointments, or adversity, we often find gifts and treasures that help us convert the negative, or shadow sides to experiences and development into more healthy and healing expressions. What areas of your life are calling for change, alteration, transformation, reorganization, or release? How can you use your gifts as support for yourself and others through the difficulties you face? 

Uranus 4/52 Aries retrograde, continues in the early stage of its 14-year cycle to awaken the urge to make significant changes in our lives. In the fiery sign of Aries, we find ourselves wanting to release restrictive patterns, routines, beliefs, and elements of our psychological and emotional makeup. Uranus brings change about quite suddenly and in often surprising and unexpected ways.  Once the Sun enters Sagittarius, look for sudden and surprisingly pleasant changes and appearances. 

Neptune 0/22 Pisces. Neptune in Pisces awakens us to our mystical nature, or deepens the sense of feeling shrouded and infused with intuitive and deeply spiritual knowledge and experiences.  A very personal experience, for some it awakens a previously closed area of life; for others, it broadens, deepens, and creates a true sense of Oneness and connectedness.  In harmony with Pluto’s transit through Capricorn, Neptune’s mystical experiences are being grounded into our daily lives, and into uniting body, mind, spirit--walking the path of harmony. Our connection with the Divine, highly personal is also now highly charged and clear.Known in ancient Greece as Aescelepius, the healer, Neptune works through our dreams, subconscious/unconsciousness, our imagination, thoughts, and visions, and through the mystical walk we are on. We can be receptive and open, we can learn and acquire knowledge, we can develop practices to awaken and discern, but we also have to let go and be open to life lived right where we are, trusting that the Divine always has been and always will be, the active principle and force of our lives. We are here to walk the path, doing, creating, singing, dancing, and receiving the blessings and gifts that we then use to share and help others. Neptune signals us, fills us with signs, symbols, and messages, and we are to awaken, listen, and walk. 

Chiron in 4/59 Pisces, also lends its support to using dreams, imagination, thoughts, ideas, and our heart-centered feelings to heal, ourselves and others.  Our woundedness is meant to be healed, and our healing supports our health. Living in the stories of our wounds, blocks our growth, healing, and overall well being. Becoming aware of disturbances is the awakening that is meant to unleash the healing powers and grace for our own healing, and to release our need to dwell in darkness, despair, and the past. 

Pluto 6/53 Capricorn continues to work its transformative magic in whatever area of our lives it is transiting. By now we are becoming more aware of what is needing to be changed, released, reformed, and transformed.  We may find that the Scorpio transits have brought home whatever has laid dormant inside you and within your life journey.  With the North Node at 26/3  Scorpio retrograde, we may be rethinking what changes we have recently made. The choices are made; allow yourself to settle into the thoughts that propelled you forward, and proceed with courage, strength, and confidence.   

Uranus 4/52 Aries retrograde, continues in the early stage of its 14-year cycle to awaken the urge to make significant changes in our lives. In the fiery sign of Aries, we find ourselves wanting to release restrictive patterns, routines, beliefs, and elements of our psychological and emotional makeup. Uranus brings change about quite suddenly and in often surprising and unexpected ways.  Once the Sun enters Sagittarius, look for sudden and surprisingly pleasant changes and appearances. 

Neptune 0/22 Pisces. Neptune in Pisces awakens us to our mystical nature, or deepens the sense of feeling shrouded and infused with intuitive and deeply spiritual knowledge and experiences.  A very personal experience, for some it awakens a previously closed area of life; for others, it broadens, deepens, and creates a true sense of Oneness and connectedness.  In harmony with Pluto’s transit through Capricorn, Neptune’s mystical experiences are being grounded into our daily lives, and into uniting body, mind, spirit--walking the path of harmony. Our connection with the Divine, highly personal is also now highly charged and clear. Known in ancient Greece as Aescelepius, the healer, Neptune works through our dreams, subconscious/unconsciousness, our imagination, thoughts, and visions, and through the mystical walk we are on. We can be receptive and open, we can learn and acquire knowledge, we can develop practices to awaken and discern, but we also have to let go and be open to life lived right where we are, trusting that the Divine always has been and always will be, the active principle and force of our lives. We are here to walk the path, doing, creating, singing, dancing, and receiving the blessings and gifts that we then use to share and help others. Neptune signals us, fills us with signs, symbols, and messages, and we are to awaken, listen, and walk. 

Chiron in 4/59 Pisces, also lends its support to using dreams, imagination, thoughts, ideas, and our heart-centered feelings to heal, ourselves and others.  Our woundedness is meant to be healed, and our healing supports our health. Living in the stories of our wounds, blocks our growth, healing, and overall well being. Becoming aware of disturbances is the awakening that is meant to unleash the healing powers and grace for our own healing, and to release our need to dwell in darkness, despair, and the past. 

Pluto 6/53 Capricorn continues to work its transformative magic in whatever area of our lives it is transiting. By now we are becoming more aware of what is needing to be changed, released, reformed, and transformed.  We may find that the Scorpio transits have brought home whatever has laid dormant inside you and within your life journey.  With the North Node at 26/3  Scorpio retrograde, we may be rethinking what changes we have recently made. The choices are made; allow yourself to settle into the thoughts that propelled you forward, and proceed with courage, strength, and confidence. 

The Light Within: New Moon and Total Solar Eclipse

To observe what is happening in the skies overhead during the New Moon in Scorpio and the total eclipse of the Sun on November 13, visit Earthsky’s website. 

Today is the Hindu festival of lights, Diwali, a time when we focus on the light within as we move into the darkness of the winter season. The New Moon in Scorpio coincides with a total solar eclipse. The Sun, the Moon, and the Earth line up in direct line with one another, temporarily blocking the Sun’s light. Symbolically, we are reminded by the planetary transits, that  though darkness prevails, our inner light and substance and the Divine Light and Wisdom of Creation, nourish, inspire, and provide clarity through even the darkest times. Our ability to discover the light within ourselves individually and to join our light with that of others, enables us to transcend and transform the world in which we are co-creators. 

This solar eclipse begins at sunrise in northern Australia (20.36 UT) and moves west. The eclipse of the Sun is certain to unleash a great deal of energy, and that coupled with the powerful alignment of planets over the last month or so, trigger and unleash clarity in what is ready to burst into being.  Whatever intentions have been set, whatever plans are being made, and whatever connections are destined to be made, are virtually unstoppable at this point.  What you have set into motion, enables you now to bring forth what is within you and to share with others who are receptive and inspired by your beauty, gifts, and essence. For the next two weeks on the energy of the New Moon, we build our desires and intentions to the point where projects can be launched, dreams can become manifest, promises will be kept, and desires will be fulfilled.This is the time we have been waiting for, and now is the moment to seek what your heart desires. It is time to honor our true desires, and remain open, receptive, and fearless in our quest to begin the new leg our our journeys.

Traditionally, farmers have considered the New Moon  a good time to plant crops. It is also a good time to begin new adventures, to put plans into motion, and to set the groundwork for what needs to be done. Now is a time to launch new projects and develop new ideas, begin new relationships or begin the first stages of a new phase of your existing relationships. New moons allow us to open new doors, renew and deepen existing relationships and commitments, and discern what it is that we truly require to love and be loved.

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The New Moon in Scorpio is in a fixed water sign. Scorpio new moons are about beginning or renewing one’s commitment to self mastery. Whatever is required to root out any self-sabotaging behaviors, patterns, or activities. New moons signal new beginnings, and with archetypal  passion and resourcefulness of Scorpio, we can enter this new moon cycle in search of clarity, vision, and guidance toward achieving our goals. It’s an excellent time to clear out whatever debris is blocking, clogging, or cluttering our lives. Unblocking all types of energy blocks allows us to feel better and to operate more effectively in all areas. 

The Sun is in Scorpio, putting us in touch with what we desire. We seek answers and solutions to problems now, and we are in a good position to transform and heal in a big way now, if we are willing to use our passion, intensity and energy to remove all blocks and release whatever is holding us back.  By spending time strengthening our spiritual connections and allowing ourselves to be transformed  into more loving, compassionate, and giving people, we enhance and raise the overall vibration of ourselves, one another, and the entire planetary system.  Love is reflected in love, and Love dispels sickness, disharmony, conflict, and the sense of death. All is energy, and recognition of the endless supply and eternal nature of Love, empowers us and allows us to act to choose life. 

The Sun and Moon in Scorpio form a Total Solar Eclipse on Tuesday, November 13. Solar eclipses always signal major change, and what type of change often has much to do with our attitudes and perceptions. We now have the opportunity of new beginnings around matters of intimacy, shared resources and relationships, power and authority, and finances.  While change may occur on the surface in all these areas, it is much more likely that the change taking place is occurring at the deep, subconscious and unconscious levels of our being.  We may find ourselves desiring to understand our relationship to intimacy from  the level of our psychological, spiritual, and emotional development.  No longer content to “understand” what is going on, we seek true meaning, purpose, and depth. We attempt to unravel the connections our present life and relationships have with those unhealed, suppressed, or otherwise undeveloped aspects of our nature. Scorpio is all about going beneath the surface to find the truth.

Scorpio, the planet where not only the Sun and Moon are transiting, but also Saturn and the North Node are located in Scorpio for long term transits. Our greatest lessons are going to come within the confines of more monogamous and stable relationships. To explore, heal, and grow,  commitment and single-focused marriages and relationships allow us to delve to the depths of our own development in relationship. Emphasis is and will continue to be throughout Saturn’s transit in Scorpio, on developing the quality of our lives within relationships where you and your partner are receptive, authentic, and clear when communicating about needs. Seek to find purpose and meaning within a committed relationship. You will find this more fulfilling and meaningful than you might have ever imagined. Uniting on a soul level with a partner affords us the best opportunity of learning about who we are.  The Scorpio planets now highlight this area of our lives, and depending where Scorpio falls in your chart, these transits will affect you in different ways.

Scorpio in the first house: Scorpio transiting your Ascendant/1st house transforms your sense of self and the way you appear in the world.You may appear more serious, as you work to break patterns that have defined and shaped you in the past. Masks, roles, and the worn out facades fall away to make room for freer self expression. Saturn in particular will make you aware of any aspect of your life and being that is no longer energetically alive. You either release the old, or the old is stripped away like the snake sheds its skin.  Unless you attempt to rationalize or cling to old mental patterns and images of yourself, this process will be liberating, and you will find yourself much more animated and relieved. Release all self-defeating, illusory, and co-dependent behaviors and attitudes. This may be a time when you become more serious about setting your own goals, guiding your own career, and blazing the trail to meet your soul purpose. Time to take care of your appearance, paying attention to health, nutrition, exercise, and hygiene.  Coming face to face with the reality of who you are, and needing to confront any areas that require attention or care. Transformation takes place around your self image.

Scorpio in the second house: Transformation takes place around how you value yourself. If you have allowed yourself to be defined by others, your work, or anything external to your own being, you will be experiencing a grand awakening. How does your life reflect your authentic self? What is keeping you from feeling a sense of worthiness and value?  Whether or not you go through a personal crisis that forces you to change and to value yourself and your worthiness more, depends upon whether or not you are willing to accept your good. If we feel unworthy, we expect little or nothing. Examine how you have come to value yourself, and this will be much easier now, though not necessarily pleasant, as Scorpio brings up all the issues, memories, and subconscious business that has gone into shaping you sense of personal value.  With Saturn’s transit, and the new moon and total solar eclipse in Scorpio, along with the North Node, now is the time when you will be at the start of a major reshaping of how you value yourself. Since much of how we see our value comes through the work and relationships we are involved in, you may see a great deal of transformation and change in these areas. 

Scorpio in the third house. Third house issues and gifts relate to our style of communication, our immediate surroundings and environment, and the area and people in our community. Social and intellectual matters feel the full force of Scorpio at this time. Any aspect of the 3rd house areas of your life will go through whatever has become dysfunctional, dry, lifeless, routine (in an unhealthy, failure-to-thrive manner).  You may find yourself dissatisfied with a variety of areas of your life where communication has become too routine, too banal, and too lifeless.  Scorpio stirs up your desire to express yourself with more authenticity, greater freedom. You seek greater connection and mutuality in all forms of communication. You let go of anything and anyone that keeps you from communicating clearly and fully. You take charge of your life, your work, and your voice, and begin living from the center out; much happier and open to greater fulfillment.

Scorpio in the fourth house. Home and feeling at home receive the brunt of Scorpio’s transits. Now more than ever you fine yourself needing to establish a home. Doing so is necessary for your psychological and emotional well being. Some loss around your home, often whatever connects you to childhood (for good or bad), pushes you into the transformation ahead.  The Scorpio transits bring great transformation through dreams, memories, and reflections of whatever has been suppressed, unhealed, or otherwise not integrated into how you define home as an adult.  Whatever is stirred up psychologically, emotionally, or spiritually, needs to be examined in order for you to grow and transform more fully. What we don’t know or face, can hurt us.  Facing our fears, our memories, our past can, with Scorpio transits in the fourth house, force us to regain or discover for the first time, our personal sovereignty. While we are still trapped in the stories of our past, we cannot build our home in the present.  The gift of these transits is that we are now pushed to claim our own power and define for ourselves a personal sense of safety and home. Being comfortable in our own skin is the gift of these transits; being somewhat uncomfortable with the process is the price we pay.  

Scorpio in the 5th house.  The Fifth house rules our sense of pleasure, creativity, productivity, and life force.  Our desire to be happy and loved rests in this house and is nourished by all the experiences and people who affirm, approve, and cherish us.Fifth house matters pertain to how you answer the question, “What would make me truly happy?” When we find ourselves not enjoying life, we know that our fifth house  matters have become stagnant or a burden. Transits of this house indicate heavy responsibilities or the pull to make this area of our life more significant. What brings us peace and saves us, is finding meaningful ways to live our lives.  Seeking meaning in whatever we do, helps us meet the challenges of Saturn’s transit through the 5th house. The Solar eclipse and New Moon in Scorpio highlight, in a big way, whatever it is that we need to change. We get a clearer sense of direction, and can see the doorway to deepening our ability to create, live from love, and find true happiness.

Scorpio in the 6th house. Sixth house matters are the day to day matters including where you spend your time and your physical body and health. Often read as the workplace, the sixth house is about how we spend our time and the effect our work has on our well being and health. Feeling edgy or anxious may signal the need to rearrange the way you are using time. When we over-program ourselves, we suffer the consequences. Transits through a 6th house of Scorpio signal a need to  reconsider your priorities. Transformation and growth come about through having to redefine and restructure the way we do things. Time do do what is nourishing us and what serves our best interests. Now may be the time when you get serious about a new or intensified health regime (yoga, walking, swimming, developing better eating habits).  We tend to feel compelled during this transit, to take better care of ourselves. We can trust our intuitive sense about what needs to be done for improving our health and for making better choices for ourselves. Taking responsibility for our own health means acknowledging that our health is affected by everything we do, and we do have control over both.  Learn to listen to your intuitive senses, your dreams, and your hunches.  Trust that you have the innate capacity to know what you and your body need, and to act for your own best interests.

Scorpio in the 7th house. The Sun, New Moon, Saturn, and the North Node all transiting the 7th house brings change, change, and more change to partnerships and marriages. You are freed, released, or relieved of whatever relationships are already over on the energetic level. For relationships that are based on trust, openness and authenticity, this will be a difficult time, but not impossible. For relationships that are faltering or where feelings have been suppressed and issues have not been resolved, this will be a rocky time. The New Moon and Solar Eclipse should give you some indication or clarity about what relationships are in need of repair and which ones are on a dead end road. Whether or not you choose to work on the issues of a relationship or let go of it altogether, the need for growth, change, and transformation will come from within; listen to your intuition and that inner sense of truth that only you can know, watch your dreams, and pay attention to your instincts and hunches.  

Scorpio in the 8th house. The ruler of the underworld, our subconscious, psyche, and the unconscious dimensions within and around us, experiences the transits in very significant ways.  Transformation, rooted deep in the depths of the psyche, feels the pull particularly around issues related to authority: matters related to taxes, inheritance, legal issues, or other financial matters. This area of our lives is also where we establish our social identity and worth . Notice on this New Moon and Solar eclipse, what areas of your life are indicated for the long term Saturn transit. Eighth house matters have to do with the goods of the dead, so you might find yourself having to deal with such matters either on the subconscious level,  the physical level, or both. Some aspect of life is dying to the old so that a new stage of life can be born. Since Scorpio rules the underworld, pay attention to any subtle agreements, on the energetic level, you may have that need to either be honored, brokered, or simply acknowledged. Look within to know the truth of situations. Trust that you know what is beneath the surface. It won’t change what must be done or what happens, but it will make the way clear and will settle your mind about what is really going on.

Scorpio in the 9th house. Ninth house matters pertain travel, foreign cultures, higher education and higher thought. Whatever you do in any of these areas, what matters most at this time is connecting your personal intentions to your  personal purpose. Without  a clear vision, whatever you do will seem pointless. If your soul purpose is tied to anything requiring 9th house issues, you will spend an amazing amount of time and energy learning about how important a vision is to making your plans connect to your purpose in life. Vision alone is not enough. You will be learning to read the signs that life is setting forth. Transformation and growth come through expanding your world view, learning the basics required for real growth and understanding. Begin a new journey even though you may not know where you are headed.  Now is the time to trust that the lessons are awaiting you, and what is needed is a receptive heart and mind. 

Scorpio in the 10th house. The tenth house is the house of your soul calling. Transits here right now are indicating what is diverting you from your destiny and what you need to learn to transform and grow.  Watch for doors to close, and spend time establishing yourself in the areas where you excel and wish to claim your rightful place and authority. Watch to have your prayers answered or wishes come true in ways beyond your vision and through acts and events you cannot foresee. What is needed is inner 

clarity and vision, and then patience to learn the lessons and experience the transformation that leads you on paths that seem to diverge away from what you want. All roads lead to Rome; all roads are not the same. Let go of expectations doesn’t mean you have no expectations; it means you can expect that they won’t necessarily happen as you think they will Allow for the flow of the the unconscious to guide you now. Where are you being called to serve, lead, claim your sovereignty, excel, or create? Claim your rightful place through a process of discernment, reflection, and understanding.

Scorpio in the 11th house. Eleventh house matters relate to collaborative efforts. Whatever you have claimed as your rightful place or purpose requires the skill, support, and guidance of others. Transits through Scorpio in the 11th house indicates disruption, change, movement, and a reshuffling of allies and associates. It is crucial that you choose wisely during this time, and whatever happens around this New Moon and Solar Eclipse will give you some indication about where you are likely to be seeing major changes as Saturn works its way through this area of your life. You may see alliances fall apart or old associations disappear. Whatever is released now will make room for better and more reliable, growth-promoting relationships and support.

Scorpio in the 12 house. Home of the great mysteries and subconscious and unconscious connections and entanglements of our soul. Whatever we brought into this life with us, has been traveling with us for a very long time. The New Moon and the Solar Eclipse in the 12th house may awaken long-forgotten memories or arouse deep-seated feelings, emotions, or unconscious needs. Saturn’s transit through the 12th house releases the shadow that now rises up to the surface of our lives through our awareness, feelings, memories, and in the context of life in general. We are experiencing a change from one life to the next; a complete transformation is taking place. We are challenged to connect to the Universal through studies of metaphysics, spiritual traditions, and mysticism. We are awakened deeply through this transit, and it is a very personal, private focus for it reveals to us whatever we have been unable or unwilling to face within ourselves, and demands that we meet ourselves at the deepest most authentic level possible. 

Mercury Sagittarius is retrograde during November and December when it reenters Scorpio.During this time, we have the opportunity to review, reconsider, and test out ideas for changes we have been moved to make recently.  We may find that we are capable of seeing old situations in a new light. Communication takes on new forms with the full intention of sustaining sound and solid principles and ideas.  In areas where we have needed to seek solutions for existing problems or where we still do not see our way clear to discover answers to outstanding dilemmas or solutions to problems confronting us,  Mercury retrograde may find us retracing our steps or reconsidering decisions we have recently made. When Mercury reenters Scorpio after November 17, we will find that our intuitive hunches and subconscious stirrings will remind us what it was that made our new path so clear in the first. place.  Sagittarius, the problem solver, prefers action to discernment, so Mercury’s retrograde motion back into Scorpio can actually serve us well as we find ourselves reassured of our path forward.

Venus in Libra until November 21, provides an period of harmony and celebration.  Venus refines and enhances whatever area of our lives she falls in.  At home in Libra, Venus shines her light on whatever aspects of life lend themselves to creating beauty, encouraging the delicate balance between the masculine and feminine energies.  

Neptune is in Pisces for the first time in 160 years. Unconditional love, transpersonal expressions of love. Neptune has been retrograde since June 4, and begins to move forward in early November. This long transit has just begun, and will have a long-term influence in whatever area of your life it is moving.  By now, you should already be able to determine that Neptune is striking a more emotional and creative chord in whatever house it is transiting.  In trine aspect to the Solar eclipse, the New Moon in Scorpio, Saturn and the North Node in Sagittarius, your dreams and intuition should be highly charged making you more keenly aware of what is connecting you to the path you have chosen to follow, and what your are destined to manifest, based on what you have transformed in your life thus far.  Having released and cleared away old patterns, relationships, and emotional and physical clutter, you have a clear path that is allowing a full release and clearing of channels of energy both in the subtle bodies and within the manifested expression of your life. A deeply transpersonal transformation is well under way, and the sense of time and space are dissolving as we operate on a more fluid and mystical level than we ever have before. There is a magnificent collective energy alive and activated, and within each one of our lives, an awakening has occurred. Any pockets of resistance that are blocking, challenging, or causing us pain, require release so that we do not store up any residual energy, karmic patterns of behavior and belief, or unhealthy emotional, mental, psychological, or spiritual manifestations. 

Passages, Thresholds, and the Journey Forward

Threshold                                                                                                                                                              Catherine Al-Meten

In many ways, we are at the threshold of a new time, a new aspect of our collective journey, and a time when individually we have many choices to make. All of our choices will contribute or take away from our overall health and well being, so the choices and direction we take, require our careful consideration and our willingness to step into uncharted territory. 

As individuals and families, we are experiencing events, upheaval, and changes at an ever-increasing rate. We are ennumdated wtih overwhealming amounts of information, experiences, and options.  How we mindfully maintain a sense of balance while experiencing the changes that are upon us, makes all the difference between navigating the tides of change, and drowning in a sea of helplessness, fear, and passivity.  Learning to understand the prevailing, universal trends, and paying attention to how our body, mind, emotions, and spirit inform and compel us to live in greater harmony, are both important at a time of such transformation.  

I am publishing this article as November begins, and as the Celtic New Year begins as well. It has been a roller coaster ride over the last year, and as this we enter November, we might all feel like we’re riding the waves on the high seas in the middle of a storm. And for many, that is exactly what it is. Perhaps we have forgotten how closely linked our existence is to the health, harmony, and balance of the planet upon which we live. We are being called to respect our place on Earth, and our relationahsip to the Universal energies that support and affect us and life on this planet.

The dynamic transformation of the planet, an ongoing part of living on the Earth, may be becoming more real to more people en masse, than ever before. It’s not like this is the first time large numbers of people have been ennundated by floods, storms, or  earthquakes nor is it the first time people have been in conflict with one another or railing against their leaders and one another. This is the nature of who we are. We in the 21st Century however, have become complacent about our power to control our own destiny and manage the powers of nature.  Now that we have the technology to communicate and view in real time, the power of the both natural and human energy, we are more aware of what heretofore had been experienced regionally, and reported in the annals of history.  

Now we are living in the historical present, and are without all the answers. We do, have however, the power to understand ourselves and one another as spiritual beings living within the material and very real limitations and confines of our physical Universe. As those who have lived through any recent or distant calamity (World War II and the other wars of the Twentieth and Early Twentieth Centuries, storm and their aftermath like Katrina, Sandy and countless other tsunamis, storms, earthquakes, floods, droughts, and other natural or human-induced disasters, we are all affected by whatever goes on by these events.  

Today, feeling like I’m reeling as if I were seasick or car sick, I looked to the ephemeris to see what was happening. I might as well have just reflected, as I and millions of others have been, on the power and energy alive on the Planet at this time.  For those who still rely on “hard facts,” “solid research,” or “100% Proof” of what seems to be obvious changes taking place on this dynamic planet, this time might seem to be like proof of ancient and modern predictions along the apocalyptic types.  And as a biblical scholar and student of history, I can understand why people look for explanations beyond the natural occurrences that can be understood by simply understanding that we live in a dynamic Universe. 

We can study and observe the way we relate to the natural world, for after all, we are part of it. As long as we refuse to see ourselves as part of the natural rhythms of life, we will continue to be surprised and shocked. We will also continue to ignore the fact that we must change with the changes that take place around us.  Growing up as I did, near the ocean, I learned early on that the sea was far more powerful than humans. Building your home on a cliff overlooking the ocean, or on the rim of a volcano, or in a dry river bed, was sure to end badly at some point in time when the question of whether nature was more powerful than human ingenuity was ignored or forgotten. The events that are taking place throughout the world (the rising of the seas and the loss of islands and coastal lands, the melting of the ice caps at an amazing rate, and the climate and geological consequences), have been predicted and have been researched. If we humans choose to ignore that “the Emperor has no clothes,” then we are choosing to ignore the obvious. What is going on now, that we can observe in our own lives, to help us make choices and smarter decisions about how we are going to live, work, and use our resources. 

Today the  Sun is in 8/58  Scorpio, the Moon is in 2/32 Gemini (the airy feeling), Mercury is at 2/ Sagittarius, Venus is at 4/ Libra, Mars is at 17/58 Sagittarius, Jupiter is at 15/08 Gemini, Saturn is at 3/08 Scorpio, Uranus is at 5/20 Aries, Neptune is at 0/12 Pisces, and Pluto is at 7/27 Capricorn. Ceres is in Cancer. 

All month Saturn, Ceres and Neptune continue to  form a Grand Trine in Water. Look to the areas of your life where you are receiving the energy from these planets. 

All month Uranus in Aries, Ceres in Cancer, and Pluto in Capricorn are forming a t-square, which sets off energy suddenly around water and earth-related issues, conditions, and problems. The transformative nature of Pluto continues to uproot, while the shocking and electrifying energy of Uranus jolts us unexpectedly with news, energy, or other disruptive forms of communication and events. Ceres in Cancer, feels the impact with more problems around safety, security in the home, and the basis on which we seek to build the foundations for our homes, cities, and societies. For some, this affects the system of beliefs, for others the actual ground on which your home/life is based.  Look to your chart/life to see where these planets are, and to determine the nature of the energetic movement of the planets and the alignment of these aspects and transits. 

On 11/5 Election Day, Venus, the Morning Star, rising before Saturn representing the leader is in conjunction with the Sun in Scorpio, casting its light on the established leader. When Venus rises in the morning, it lends its gifts and benevolence on the existing leaders. Jupiter, the bestower of abundance and good fortune, is nowhere to be seen as the day dawns. Uranus in Aries at the nadir of the chart over Washington D.C., our capital city, tends to favor established policies and trends. Neptune at 0/22 Pisces is in opposition to the star, Regulus in Virgo. Regulus represents the archetype of the heart of the Lion. Anger unleashed by the results of the election and by how the election was run, will lead to widespread. A plan that seemed to be invincible, will fail due to over confidence and an illusory sense of the source of power and authority. The Saturn-Pluto reception and sextile, (each transiting the house of one another’s ruler), Saturn transiting Capricorn (Pluto’s ruler) and Pluto transiting Scorpio (Saturn’s ruler), provide stability and favors skilled professionals, researchers, scientists, artists, medical workers, and others who are progressive in their views and activities, not wanting to ignore the the pressing needs and issues of our times to return to a retrogressive attachment to outworn values, institutions, and beliefs. Collectively, we are turning toward more long-term views and more cooperative, unifying ways of meeting the needs of our times and our people. The Saturn-Pluto reception began on October 6, 2012, and ends on Christmas Eve of 2014.

Mercury stations Retrograde on Election day, indicating problems and breakdowns in communication. With the devastating storms that brought upheaval to the Northeast U.S. on November 1, and with the possibility of further storms coming as winter approaches, the disruptions have already begun that could have a major impact on this election. That and the information coming out about tampering with and underhanded, unethical practices around voting machines, could see this election end up in court once again. Jupiter in Gemini (Mercury’s ruler) and Mercury in Sagittarius (Jupiter’s ruler) are in mutual reception. Mercury will be in reception with Jupiter on election day, and though Mercury can impact communication, Jupiter can impact results. Mercury made a retrograde square to Neptune earlier in the month, and the deception and lies told at that time are having an effect on what is happening during the first half of November, with repercussions extending far into the future.  

This November, both the New Moon and the Full Moon will be eclipses. The New Moon solar eclipse at 21 degrees of Scorpio occurs on November 14. Anyone with planets or house cusps at 21 degrees will experience new beginnings at this This will bring with it surprises and upsets connected to issues related to power and authority, taxes, inheritance, death and related matters.  The status quo is upset in nearly every area of the world and in both natural and human-induced matters. The path of the eclipse extends from Northern Australia and New Zealand to the west coast of South America. These areas in particular are affected by this eclipse. 

The Full Moon Lunar eclipse of November 28, 2012 falls at 6 degrees of Gemini and peaks at 6:48 PST. The path of that eclipse will also affect Northern New Zealand. Venus will be reaching a sextile (favorable) aspect to Pluto, indicating that the work we have accomplished thus far in transforming whatever areas of our lives we have needed to address, will prepare us for what lies ahead. Gemini, the twins, is about uniting opposites. The challenge for us is that we still need to acknowledge, feel, and face the challenges of the polarities within ourselves and within the world. We cannot live at the extremes of opposites; we must unite bring ourselves into wholeness. If there is ever a place and time when this is evident, it is now.  We see ourselves at one another’s throats about ideas and ideals, and we see ourselves pulling together to help one another through the most difficult of times and experiences. One path leads to destruction; the other path leads to healing and creation. 

We may still be experiencing the effects of October’s T-Square in Cardinal signs: Venus in Libra, Pluto in Capricorn, and Uranus in Aries, and the Uranus-Pluto square, that resulted in the birth of a new time, level of perception, and path for us. We are just at the beginning of a new phase of life, and we are already being hit with one reminder after another of the power of the Universe and our need to raise our level of thinking, acting, and believing to reflect and energize ourselves to meet the challenges that face us all. We cannot solve our problems through violence, anarchy, or self-righteous and self-aggrandizing behavior any longer. It simply will not stand up to the challenges we face. 

The ongoing and transformative nature of the Uranus-Pluto square and the archetype of compassion and spiritual awakening of Neptune in Pisces (the start of a 14-year cycle), sets the stage for the years to come. In many ways, we are just at the threshold of change that will unfold for many years to come. Find your true north, and connect and align yourself with the highest good you can imagine, and work and live to manifest your highest good and most loving and kind creative self.