The Lunar Planner

There are several key alignments in this lunar month that create one powerhouse and pivotal initiatory gateway.

This new moon lies in the overlap of Capricorn and Aquarius constellations, and conjoins the shoulder of the goat, Armus, Eta Capricorn and Albali of Aquarius. This stellar influence brings the issue of responsibility to our awareness. It asks us to realize that our sense of responsibility must not only encompass our selves and our immediate family, but that it must also include our true soul family and greater human family. Armus asks us to graduate from acting from personal motive alone and to consider the needs and experience of all souls in our lives.

Alienation or Unification

This lunar cycle begins with the moon and the asteroid Pallas creating a "T-square" with the Lunar Nodes from Feb 2 through the Crescent Moon of Feb 4. This sets the stage for us to deal with any Pallas issues we may have. We can righteously judge and act from spiteful withdrawal, or we can honor that we, at one time or another (whether in this life or another), have been on both sides of the fence and can co-creatively apply our intelligence from the wisdom we have gained from our past experience for the solution of all parties involved.

Wielding the Hand of Death

On the New Moon of Feb 1, Mars conjoins Antares, the heart of the Scorpion. Antares marks the center of sidereal Scorpio--the "serpent point." Scorpio is also the domicile for Pluto, which lies just a few degrees past Mars. Mars is also considered a ruler of Scorpio, all making a strong resonance between Mars and Pluto in this lunar cycle.

In the midst of the lunar cycle, Mars conjoins Pluto while opposite stationing Saturn. (The lord of time and karma slows to complete its retrograde on the Last Quarter Moon of Feb 22--bringing the world to a stand still once again.) This very significant Mars-Pluto alignment creates a critical period starting on the Full Moon of Feb 16 and that continues through the Disseminating Moon of Feb 20. If we must resort to war to solve our differences and learn our lesson, this is the time.

This very intense conjunction, in the sidereal sign of Scorpio, is significant for a few reasons. The current 780-day Mars (synodic) cycle that we are in lies under the auspices of the "Sting of the Scorpion." This Mars cycle began in early 2001 and completes in August 2003.

From "The Mars Cycle & the 2003 Close Encounter" WEB page.

"The last Mars synodic cycle began on June 13, 2001 in the last couple of degrees of sidereal Scorpio. At the time, retrograde Mars conjoined Lesath, the sting of the Scorpion. The mythical image here is of the Centaur placing Lupus the beast (lower self interest) upon the "Altar of the Centaur" to be consumed in the Centaur's pyre. From the sting of the Scorpion (the often, harsh lessons of life) drips the transmutational elixir so higher self can rise from the ashes. September 11, 2001 occurred 90 days into this "sting of the scorpion" synodic cycle. Need I say more?"

The following Mars 780-day cycle (starting on Aug 28, 2003) lies under the auspices of the beneficent Humanitarian Waterman (sidereal Aquarius). The sidereal astrology of these underlying cycles reveals a cosmic intelligence that is leading us to mature from the harsh lessons of the recent past regarding how we use our raw creative sexual power personally and how the patriarchal force functions in the world. However, we have not quite finished the "Scorpion's sting" cycle, and most importantly, as we come to the completion of this Mars cycle and approach the next, we experience an unprecedented intensification of the Mars force on Earth and within our personal lives.

"Throughout the first half of 2003, Mars moves progressively closer to Earth. As it does, Mars appears to grow larger and brighter each night. By late August 2003, Mars will be closer to Earth than it ever has been in about 73,000 years. It will be about 191 million miles closer to Earth than it is now, it will appear more than six times larger, and it will be 85 times brighter than it appears now--brighter than Jupiter."

To learn of the greater context of these above quotes, the astrological ramifications of this Mars cycle and the following cycle, and the astronomical nature of how these cycles are created, please visit the "The Mars Cycle & the 2003 Close Encounter" WEB page. For those of you who have viewed this Mars WEB page in the recent past (previously titled "The Mars Intensification"), it has been extensively updated as of Jan 21, 2003.

The current Mars-Pluto alignment of Feb15-16 conjoins the Ara Black Hole (Ara is the Altar of the Centaur). Here we are forced to surrender the lower-order Mars expression of ourselves--specifically the grief and pain incurred from the past and the righteous arrogant attitudes we act from in the present because of it--so we can rise to a new octave of creative participation. What will it take to get us to surrender is the question. As with all black holes, this feat is one that we must do within our selves, and it is an all-or-nothing deal with no in-betweens. It requires we surrender our lower-order emotional patterns with conscious deliberation, to let them be consumed and extinguished, and to then re-emerge with the purity we have gained from the transmutational process in a new demonstrable expression.

Reflections

That which is going on upon the world stage is an articulation of the state of collective human consciousness. The world play articulates the dynamic and struggle of forces that we are working with within our selves. If we would examine how we judge, act from or withdraw from spite and arrogance, and insist that conflict, side-taking, one-upmanship, and alienation is the answer to our problems; and if we would examine within ourselves how we could instead co-participate from mutual equality and respect for each other, honoring each other's humanness, frailty, and preciousness, we would then claim the personal power our worldly refection has to offer. Choosing the latter is to make the shift within our selves from judgment and fear to love. Unless we can do this within our selves first, we will not see this manifest in the world. It is that simple.

Healing Hearts

Immediately following the Mars-Pluto Gate of Initiation is the Venus-Chiron alignment occurring on Feb 17. Chiron makes possible the establishment (healing) of new neurological circuitry heretofore unavailable to humanity.

This healing is of the heart--the portal to the soul. This is not only possible regarding all emotional heart issues, but also regarding the bio-logical function of our heart chakras and thymus glands, the latter is the neurological control center for the immune system. Fear shuts the heart and immune system down while unconditional love allows a refined hormonal flow that makes possible a higher-order of health, soul expression, love, and beauty in our lives. This alignment occurs in sidereal Sagittarius under the auspices of the Lyra, Harp of the Angels and the star Vega of Lyra. Vega provides a multiplicity of opportunity for our personal attunement to soul's heavenly sojourn and our intended fulfillment on Earth. This bridge is crossed only through the opened Heart.

The Psychophysiology of Venus

The astrophysical resonances of Venus govern the heart bio-energy centre (chakra), and the thymus, which is the neurological control center for the immune system. The heart chakra is our centre of intuitive knowing, harmony, love, magnetic attraction, and sexual rapture. It is where we find our capacity for compassion and appreciation of beauty. The heart chakra and thymus resonate to the emotional tone of fear and judgment. It is fear that shuts the heart down and causes all immune related problems. We defend our fear with judgment. Like the thyroid (governed by Mercury) is reflexed to the liver, the thymus is reflexed to the spleen. All immune disorders are fear related. The astrophysical resonances of Venus govern heart musculature and firing, lungs, bronchiole, and breasts. All asthmatic and breathing conditions, a sunken chest, and breast problems are fear / judgment originating.

Venus (and the heart chakra), when mature and clear, expresses love in art and beauty, with a wonderful capacity for unconditional acceptance of all conditions--true, non-judgmental love. The unconditionally open heart receives and expresses love that is harmoniously balanced. Mature Venus is open to new experience, is courageous, optimistic, and aware of soul intent and purpose--as the unconditionally open heart is where soul fully radiates. Mature Venus also is sociable, fashionable, artistic, good willed, benevolent, diplomatic, and magnetically sensuous.

Afflicted Venus expresses as all fears and phobias, breathing allergies, and catarrhal problems. The poisoned heart is bitter and vengeful--closed to life in a way that manifests as an inability to integrate and accept experience; with an inability to receive, or to give love. Afflicted Venus negates in jealousy the beauty, abundance, luxury and luck of others--projecting disdain and negativity instead. The poisoned heart is hesitant and insecure, has little self-confidence, and lacks the ability to trust in self or to trust others. Fear to open our hearts leaves us stuck in the head, unwilling to feel, touch, or breath in life--hiding in fear and expressing mentalized judgments with an incessant need to control our reality. The loss of our intuitive ability leads us to blindly follow dogmas and gurus in submission to propaganda and systems of belief, whether our own or those of others.

Focus, Dedication, & Commitment

Also occurring in this lunar cycle (on Feb11, just after First Quarter Moon) is the beginning of the retrograde period of the asteroid Vesta in sidereal Virgo.