We are now in a new season, defined by today being the first full day of 2016 with the Sun in the cardinal water sign Cancer. In the context of the rest of the astrology, this new season has an apparent theme. That theme is definition.
More specifically (and realistically) one might say we are now in a season defined by an imperative to re-define on both the individual and collective levels. You can see the process playing out in recent days through individual writers expressing themselves here at Planet Waves.
You can also see at least the potential of collective redefinition taking place in the U.S., Great Britain and other places as regards to political issues and candidates currently in contest. In all probability you are also facing either the necessity of adapting to, or the incentive to create, new circumstances in your life.
For astrologers, an all but stationary Mars in Scorpio is part of the picture. For you, it’s probably a big part. Normally, Mars moves around the zodiac at the pace of a degree every two days or faster. Like all planets nearing the end of a retrograde period, however, Mars is now all but stationary.
Specifically, Mars is currently in in the midst of moving very slowly in the narrow confines of one single degree of Scorpio for more than three weeks. Imagine being an energetic little kid attempting (or being obliged to) hold still for more than a few seconds, and you will get a clue about how Mars may well be said to be manifesting in your life now.
Even as much as you may be feeling it, a restless Mars only begins to define our new season on the whole. There is a deeper, more widespread and more prolonged level with which the impatient energy of Mars is connecting. That connection is so precise as to be profound in its implications.
Exactly 150 degrees away from Mars in Scorpio, Uranus and Eris are sharing the same degree of Aries at the same time. Astrologers refer to two planets in close proximity as a conjunction aspect. Hence, Uranus and Eris are conjoined. A separation of 150 degrees, in turn, is called a “quincunx” aspect. In general, the more precise an aspect, the more powerfully it expresses.
Among other things, a conjunction represents a marriage of sorts — two objects merging into one. When you take the revolutionary nature of Uranus and combine it with how Eris seems to correlate with issues of identity, the implication is a redefinition of self. Having Uranus and Eris conjoin in Aries reinforces the picture. That’s because the nature of Aries may be expressed through the declarative statement “I am.” Add in the fact that both Aries and Scorpio are ruled by Mars, and the current quincunx relationship between the Uranus-Eris conjunction and Mars takes on an even greater potency.
Among other things, a quincunx represents a time for adjustment. Depending on the constituent planets that make up the quincunx, and its context in rest of the zodiac, the adaptation implied may be either desired or required. It would not be surprising if you are now experiencing a bit of both.
Any proverbial itch currently originating from inside you probably correlates with Mars. That’s because Mars is usually thought of as a so-called personal planet. One reason personal planets are so called is because they complete their cycles many times in the space of an average human life. You can think of the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars as being quite personal.
Uranus and Eris, on the other hand, take a long time to orbit the Sun and make a circuit of the zodiac’s 12 signs. That length of orbit corresponds with the more impersonal forces expressing in your life — such as economics, politics and history. As such, the role of Uranus and Eris right now correspond with any push to adjust that originates from outside you at this time. The phenomenon may take the form of social pressure, the actions of an employer or the behest of a governing body, among the many possibilities.
Your place in the astrology of this new season very much parallels your relationship to what a change of season most usually corresponds to: a change of weather. When the weather changes, you need to adjust in order to attain or regain comfort. It’s not so much a question of whether you adjust to changing weather, either. It’s more a matter of when and how. The same might thus be said for who you are and your place in the world right now.
Whether any discomfort you are feeling about your identity or place in the world originates from the inside, the outside or both, it’s not so much a matter of whether you will adapt. It’s a matter what form the adjustment takes and how long it will take before you can feel right again.
As such, in these days of a restive Mars combined with Uranus and Eris to provide motivation, you should be more concerned about the consequences of inaction than the results of action. That’s especially true when you consider what the other planets are doing and how other parts of the holistic astrological picture are giving your some guidance. We will examine at least one of those other planets, and its role in the big picture, later this week.
For now, let your need for comfort guide the choices you make and the actions you take. Also, pay attention to whether and how the phenomenon of resistance (whether originating from inside or outside of you) may be contributing to or detracting from your ability to make mature and responsible adjustments to the current climate of your life.
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Len — what’s your take on Ceres in conjunction with Uranus and Eris in the quincunx to Mars?
Amanda: Thank you for asking about Ceres passing through the Uranus-Eris conjunction with such amazing timing. Let’s start with Ceres since the other three (Uranus, Eris and Mars) have been covered above.
First off, I don’t consider Ceres “minor” in any sense. It represents one-third of the mass of the entire asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and because it has sufficient gravity to assume a spherical shape, it has recently been classified as a dwarf planet (like Eris). For any planet discovered by telescope, I don’t like to lean too heavily on the mythology behind its name. I prefer the Phil Sedgwick method of analyzing the sign placement of its ascending heliocentric node (what Mr. Sedgwick referred to as indicative of a “mission statement”) and perihelion (which Mr. Sedgwick associates with an objects “priority list and urgent concerns’).
Also, the discovery chart carries a lot of weight for me. Ceres’ ascending heliocentric node is in Gemini. The perihelion is in Leo. The discovery chart (imagine discovering a new planet on the first day of a new century!) is linked below. When you pull all of that together, Ceres relates to the personal planets inside the asteroid belt a lot more than the planets outside the asteroid belt. It must be said, however that there is an important interpersonal component. Hence the mythological associations with the maternal, nourishment and grain are a least indirectly supported by the Sedgwick method.
On the whole though, i like to think of Ceres as like the mortar between the bricks – overlooked to the point of invisibility, yet representing a principle that makes the difference between a brick wall and a pile of bricks. Hence, Ceres in its current position (sharing the same degree of Aries with Uranus and Eris, while precisely quincunx Mars at the degree of its direct station) is the factor holding you (we, us, etc) together while we go through adaptation and adjustment in response to the astrological environment.
What holds you together in such circumstances of adjustment (either imposed or chosen)? Faith? Self-confidence? Vision? Stamina? Consciousness? Intellect? Values? Desire? Whatever that is, that’s Ceres for you now – at least in my humble opinion. Please let me know if my answer does not satisfy.
http://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Celestial:_Ceres_discovery
THANK you for that explanation, Len. Especially that last paragraph. Something clicked for me, and I became curious about where Ceres lies in my natal chart. Aaaaah… at 19 degrees Aries. So there’s a Ceres return going on as she, Uranus and Eris all oppose my natal Pluto, while aspecting a bunch of other points in my chart as well. Now I’m also realizing that Ceres aspects several potent points in my chart natally…
I’m really just thinking out loud here, but as I said. Something is clicking, and it might just be a bit of insight I’ve been trying to get at for a while now. So, thank you for that and for this fantastic piece of writing.
Thank you Len, your explication of astrological events is always clear and helpful!
Hi Len. It is very interesting, this Mars quincunx Uranus and friends. And this particular degree of Scorpio carries the Uranus-Neptune vibe because when that cycle started in 1993, 24+ Scorpio is where transiting Pluto was. It that wasn’t enough baggage for Mars to be hauling, note that transiting Ceres at the time of the start of the Uranus-Neptune cycle was in Aries (and opposing Jupiter in Libra) then as well.
Now you’ve got me wondering if isolating the aspect of Mars quincunx Ceres would bear fruit. The all-important Martian rulership over Aries would seem the dominant energy, even as Mars prepares to station direct. Perhaps the long-term (compared to most) conjunction between Uranus and Eris has somehow synchronized their exactness to the transit of Ceres who has been heading their way for a while, combined with the return of transiting Mars to the degree where Pluto sat in the Uranus- Neptune conjunction/cycle for a good reason . . . .
If Ceres is the mortar between the bricks which holds a Concept together, and transiting Mars (who is stationing direct) is quincunx her, as is the U.S. Sibly chart’s Neptune in Virgo, then is the Concept that of a revolutionary (Uranus) nature dealing with irreverent and hostile (Eris) patterns of (self) expression (Aries) which the mortar of Ceres is temporarily holding together at this precise time in history, a giant leap forward for the U.S.?
I dare to think YES it is. The Cosmos has provided the ubiquitous transiting square between Neptune and Saturn to blur the boundaries somewhat, including those of protocol. Now, with the Sagittarius Full Moon and the Summer Solstice Mercury in Gemini square Jupiter in Virgo (an important 2-planet cycle itself) that has bonded with the Neptune square Saturn pattern, the personal (Mercury), societal (Jupiter-Saturn) and collective (Neptune) levels of Man are meshed in a kind of challenge for our species, and just when our defenses are down because of all that Neptune.
At least in this country, that appears to have to do with Initiative (Aries and a Mars stationing direct). With the boundaries blurred to some extent and Neptune’s transiting influence as well as the U.S natal Neptune influence so prevalent, emotions have risen to the occasion. Not that Mars, especially in Scorpio can’t hold his own in the temper tantrum arena. What we have seen and felt around us is the expression of feeling, for better or worse, from the lowest and meanest of reasons to the highest levels of our established order; government.
It is true that Uranus is well known for disrupting the status quo, and the ostracized Eris seems to revel in turning one against another, but with Ceres there is a solidifying of this energy isn’t there? A bit of the Face-the-Music stalwartness has been seen of late in unexpected quarters, driven by the power of a stationing transiting Mars, combined with the compassion and spiritually oriented U.S. natal Neptune. These joined forces, for now, reach out to transiting Uranus and Eris and Ceres to make adjustments for this moment in time. Show your courage they implore us.
The Neptune-Uranus cycle this transiting Mars is linked to began in the sign of Capricorn, symbol of governments, corporations, fathers, containers and all established order. Their conjunctions took place in the 18-19 degree area of that sign and that’s where transiting Pluto will be next February. Coincidentally, Bill Clinton’s Inauguration also took place in January, 1993, and Uranus was at 18+ Capricorn, 16 arc minutes behind Neptune at 19+ Capricorn. Pluto was at 25+ Scorpio then, only one degree from where transiting Mars has just stopped his retrograde motion. He will pass over that degree, 25 Scorpio, for the 3rd and final time of this sequence on July 17th. Both transiting Mercury and Venus will be conjunct the U.S. natal North Node at 6+ Leo on that day.
Personally, I’ve found the Ceres attribute of negotiating (in myth for her daughter’s return) useful in recent chart interpretation. Perhaps in July we will recall her role in this recent triple conjunction with Uranus and Eris, along with the Mars in Scorpio station, and recognize some little something in the goings on (July is when the 2 major U.S. political parties hold conventions) that reminds us of Ceres and what she stands for. We might even see some connection between what was going on in 1993 and what will be happening in July, and we will be all the wiser for it.
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