“Strange days have found us.”
— Jim Morrison
If you do not yet feel emerged from the period between eclipses that concluded on Sunday, the Moon’s move into Aries last night should help. This does not mean a sense of total normalcy is in the cards. If you simply contemplate the tableau of President Trump making his first address to the U.S. Congress tonight (Fat Tuesday!), it’s unavoidably strange.
Of course, we have all seen strange days before. We have heard of them too. The Doors recorded a song about the experience in 1967, just as Uranus was separating from three Virgo conjunctions with Pluto over the previous two years. Indeed, ever since then, it’s been legitimate to ask whether “normal” was an obsolete term.
Our current astrology could also be interpreted to account for how events in Washington D.C. tonight might seem even weirder than anything you could see during Mardi Gras in New Orleans. As Eric pointed out in his column on Sunday, the eclipses concluding were paradoxically just the beginning. Just hours before the closure of a solar eclipse, exacting Mercury slipped into sensitive Pisces. Hours after, energetic Mars (uncharacteristically moving faster than Venus) came together with revolutionary Uranus in fiery Aries.
As if all that were not enough, the Pisces Sun is even now closing in on its more-or-less annual merger with foggy Neptune.
Yet, there might well be one planet to tie all the strangeness together: Jupiter, currently retrograde in Libra. Consider that Jupiter is the traditional ruler of Pisces and Sagittarius. Implicitly, then, any activity in Pisces (where the Sun, Mercury, Neptune and Chiron are currently gathered) or Sagittarius (where Saturn now is) must inherently be resonating with Jupiter at this time.
In addition, Libra (where Jupiter currently is) opposes all the activity taking place on the other side of the zodiac with Venus, Mars, Uranus and Eris in Aries. Throw in the cardinal-sign relationship between Libra and Capricorn (where Pluto is currently trucking), and every sign-ruling planet is somehow being significantly influenced by Jupiter right now.
Being easily seen by the unaided eye, Jupiter is one of the “classical” planets human beings have always been aware of. For that reason, its being named after the top dog in an influential ancient hierarchy of deities must be taken into account as well.
Among other things, Jupiter (as ruler of the Olympian pantheon) was known for spreading his genes around. According to Hesiod’s Theogony and other sources, at least some of the reputed progeny of Jupiter were rather strange themselves. Eris, to cite just one example, was not exactly a popular choice on guest lists for social occasions.
One astrological corollary for the personified Jupiter’s promiscuity is Robert Hand’s description of it as “a planet of growth and enlargement.” It is therefore significant that Jupiter’s current retrograde is in the process of repeating many of the aspects it has made made since entering Libra on Sept. 9. Perhaps foremost among those iterations is Jupiter’s second opposition to Uranus (in Aries) coming up on Thursday (or Friday, depending on your time zone).
If there were one time prior to 1967 when normalcy might be said to have left the building, 1781 would be a good candidate. The American Revolution had just concluded, the French Revolution was on its way and Uranus was discovered in 1781. Just imagine the old political order and our understanding of the universe all going off the map together in just a few years’ time, and you can readily grasp that our times are not without precedent (or is that “president”?) no matter how strange things may seem.
If anything, Jupiter is now simply enlarging on strange times seen at least a few times before. In order to better comprehend the situation, you might want to look back at what was going on for you the last time Jupiter opposed Uranus — during late August and early September of 2003. It could be that you can gather a clue or two from that time to surmise that is also a period when Jupiter is implicitly supporting your personal growth.
As with some of mythical Jupiter’s children, you may currently be feeling a bit strange (or estranged) yourself. Don’t worry; by all indications you are in very good company. Besides, as we have seen since Jupiter entered Libra in September, what’s strange now can become both mainstream and influential in a very short period of time.
So, when in doubt, make like the revelers in New Orleans. Be a bit strange, and enjoy it while you can before boring Lenten normality sets in. Sure beats being like some members of Congress who must surely wish they could be wearing a Mardi Gras mask tonight.
Offered In Service
Len, thank you….wonderful how real words can make you feel.
Blessing to you, Char
Hey Len, you make a good point about Jupiter having influence over all the other planets right now, and I love how you suggest we might connect the dots regarding the last time Uranus and Jupiter were in opposition to find clues to these strange times. I gave notice in September ’03 and was preparing to retire from a company I’d worked at for 30 years. Unexpected separation then might be a hallmark of the Uranus-Jupiter aspect.
The U.S.A. came into being just 5 years before Uranus was discovered and therefore the U.S Uranus was just 15 degrees and 5 years before Uranus was discovered. Our forefathers weren’t aware that there would come to be a planet that would personify their revolutionary zeal. It makes me look at the U.S. Ceres in Pisces-square-the U.S. Uranus in a whole new light. Maybe U.S. Ceres symbolizes our British roots. Maybe the U.S. Ceres, Nessus, Child in the 3rd house of the U.S. Sibly speaks to that heritage.
This just past solar eclipse connects to the U.S. Uranus by square, while the transiting Uranus-Jupiter opposition within it forms the eclipse’ backbone. Along with the Pluto-Vesta opposition that gave the Uranus-Jupiter opposition the wherewithal to become a cardinal grand cross, a look back at their cycle’s initiation seeps apropos.
As it happens, one of their 3 conjunctions coincided with another solar eclipse, on January 4, 2011. That remarkable eclipse at 13+ Capricorn was exactly opposite the U.S. Sun at 13+ Cancer. That eclipse at 13+ Capricorn was also conjunct Neptune in the Russia chart (June 12, 1990, 9:45 UT).
In trying to understand the strange happenings of today’s world I’m finding that the Jupiter-Uranus cycle, now at it’s midway point, is helping connect some dots that give a sense of, if not normalcy, then understanding. On the same day of that solar eclipse on January 4, 2011, Jupiter and Uranus were exactly conjunct at 27+ Pisces and sextile the U.S. Pluto at 27+ Capricorn. Add in Trump’s natal Mars at 26+ Leo and you get a Yod. Add in the U.S. natal Moon at 26+ Aquarius and you get a Boomerang.
If one is drawn to this intriguing happenstance then consider that this last solar eclipse at 8+ Pisces is sextile the aforementioned Russian chart’s South Node at 8+ Leo. Together they form a Yod with Russia’s Uranus at 8+ Capricorn and that Russian Uranus opposes Trump’s Mercury at 8+ Cancer, both of whom are square the Russian chart’s Mars a 8+ Aries. This becomes a Boomerang with privileges (Russia’s Mars is sextile the U.S Uranus in Gemini and Russia’s North Node in Aquarius).
So as strange as it gets we can depend on astrology, one way or another, to at least hint at where the strangeness stems from. In this case it would seem that Jupiter and Uranus are playing a big part in the overall tumult. Another of their conjunctions in June, 2010, took place at 0+ Aries, and you know what that means!
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