23rd July 2011

There is no doubt we are in interesting times, and not quite what many of us would have imagined a decade or more ago when we contemplated the possibilities of the shift we are now moving through.  And yet, how extraordinary not just to be here, but to know that something profound is happening around us.  Something other than fear and crisis, debt and terrorism, disease and famine.

Ceres, Famine and Innocence Un-nourished

Speaking of famine, my open G Centre has been so affected by Ceres moving into the Gate of Innocence (25) and passing over the Aries Point (which she did on 12th July), that at times I’ve felt my chest would crumble.  Or perhaps burst open like in the movie Alien!  Ceres represents all manner of nourishment, feeding, receiving love, eating disorders, agriculture, the culture of food.  And famine.  And just as she arrived at the Aries Point ((0 degrees Aries) to begin a new cycle, the UN declared that Somalia was officially in famine.

At the time, Ceres was opposite Nemesis (46.2) who can represent our old and well known enemy, the darkness that we can’t seem to escape from. This gate tells us to open our hearts and give what we can even if we feel it is a drop in the ocean and can’t possibly do any good. We may not rush off to join Volunteers Abroad.  We may not even donate money.  What’s important here is our intention to share the experience rather than any huge practical engagement.

Ceres was also trine the Moon conjunct Chariklo (34.1).  The power of Chariklo in this position is that she is able to hold a healing space without the need to rush into action.  Her benefit comes from waiting for clarity on the bigger picture, rather than putting a lot of energy into short term but perhaps ultimately unhelpful measures.

On a personal level, we have had to look within our own hearts to see what short term measures we have learnt to use to protect ourselves from ‘famine’ and ‘civil war’, and the consequent inability to connect with what truly nourishes us.  A personal example – in the morning when I’m writing our two cats usually like to come in and curl up with me.  I was quite shocked to realise that this is deeply comforting to me, but that I was always on edge about it (not consciously, I’ve only just realised this!) because somewhere along the line I have taken on a belief that it’s wrong (dirty) to have animals in the house. Relaxing into their gentle comforting presence without that underlying anxiety makes me want to cry with relief.  Every time I do this lately I feel like I am releasing milleniums worth of self denial.

Really allow yourself to test out everything in your life to see what truly nurtures you.  Remember Ceres is in the Gate of Innocence and so this is a very gentle, quiet, even vulnerable energy.   What makes your heart (in the centre of your chest and the middle of your back) feel content?   This is your own personal healing. Chariklo (daughter of Chiron) gives each one of us a powerful opportunity to use our own energy (she’s in the Sacral Chakra) for our own nurturance.   As our own personal famine begins to abate, the dark mass of people in Somalia will have less reason to play out the drama on behalf of humanity.

Salacia the Runaway Bride

Now to something at the other end of the global spectrum – runaway royal brides.  Our newest dwarf planet candidate, Salacia, was the unwilling bride of Neptune.  Apparently feeling herself unworthy, Salacia took off and hid in the ocean to avoid marriage.  Neptune sent the dolphins to find her and in the end all was well.  There are some benefits of being King of the Deep!

Salacia in the Gate of Bringing the Darkness to the Light (36) was activated by Venus, Neptune, Chiron and Snow White on 24th June and a few days later news reports started coming out about another runaway bride.  South African Charlene Wittstock was reported to have tried to flee Monaco three times to avoid marrying Prince Albert.  On the day of the wedding, Salacia was making aspects to the Sun, Moon, Makemake, the Nodes, the Galactic Centre and Sedna (another unwilling bride who ended up in the ocean).  Oh and she was directly opposite Juno, Roman Goddess of Marriage and another dwarf planet candidate, who was conjunct Makemake in Gate 6.3 at the time.

Let me tell you what Gate 6 line 3 is about – the power of an ancient hereditary monarchy.  True!  And the commentary suggests that there is no escape.  The best thing to do is to allow this power to nurture you rather than trying to run away.   Prince Alberts PR team were adamant that the runaway bride stories were not true, but if you happened to see any pictures of the wedding … well I wouldn’t say it’s characterised by the warmth and intimacy we’ve seen in other recent royal weddings in London and Denmark.  There were also reports that immediately after the wedding Prince Albert had to go off to have a paternity test and so the lovebirds spent their first night of marriage apart.

 

23rd July

Today’s chart brings the potential for a huge and sudden shift, probably experienced initially as chaos.  The Moon is about to move into Gate 3 – Chaos and Confusion at the Beginning, creating a channel with the Earth in the Gate of Limitation (60). This channel is known as the Channel of Mutation, a format energy of on and off pulsing that switches us to sudden chaotic change.  This is a 6 hour window created by the Moon (UT 22nd July at 22:00 to 23rd July at 9:00).  This is what I call a ‘birthing channel’ – it runs between the Sacral (creation) and the Root (physical manifestation).  The Earth in the Gate of Limitations calls on us to honour our humanity and our physical connection to the time and space dimensions of this planet.  Sometimes things just take time.

And after leaving Gate 3, the Moon smoozes on up to Gate 23 in the Throat Centre.  This is the Gate of Splitting Apart, again characterised by chaos.  Current home of transiting Sedna, this is a powerful energy of dissolution of old outworn roles and responsibilities as defined by others.  Sedna seeks to bring us back to what is real – community and the nourishment we share with each other and the planet.

Mercury is taking the Sacral energy up towards the G Centre, meeting the Super Galactic Centre in Gate 46.  This is on the Libran point and is always seeking connection and balance but Gate 29 at the Sacral is in the Abyss, feeling as if there is danger on all sides.  Try as we might, the cliff walls of the abyss keep us locked into a certain route.  We might aspire to be elsewhere, but here we are.  We might feel that we should be out in the open – loving, relating, free and happy.  But this is a journey and we can’t get there in one single bound, or leap to the perfect outcome without effort.  Mercury advises us to seek only small gains, what is available to us in the here and now.  Trust that each small step you take is perfectly aligned with the outcome you want.

And finally, look at that Ajna Centre, lit up like a christmas tree in July! Jupiter has moved to Gate 24 at the top.  This is the gate of Returning, coming back again and again to an idea, trying to find a solution.  It asks us to follow our own path very closely, to see what is beginning to germinate.  And it asks us not to fear that we are heading back the wrong way just because we seem to have to deal with some issues from the past as we move forward.  We aren’t back there, just cycling out into a new level of the spiral.