A number of astrological influences are ushering in this new phase of our lives. The planetary mix has moved out of the emphasis on fixed signs, which slowed or stymied progress (at least, the perception of it) over the past few years. The action is shifting to the mutable signs, and we?e not being given the luxury of easing into it. Not only are the cosmic change agents Mars and Uranus traveling through the mutables now (Gemini and Pisces), but they are currently in a harsh, change-demanding aspect and both are contacting the planet that expands any influence it touches (Jupiter, which is in Sagittarius). So change triggers are in a three-way bodyslamming match with a guy who escalates whatever action he? in, and all in signs of change. This is why there have been so many sudden breakdowns, breakups, malfunctions, departures, weird accidents and even deaths (animals included; Gemini rules pets, while Sag and Jupiter rule the large ones.)
Anything that has been stretched to the breaking point is snapping, from relationships and work situations to bones to technology and cars (Gemini rules both). Mars will leave the match after the first week in September, but Jupiter and Uranus will keep it up into early October. While this is hardly a comfortable transit, it? ultimately beneficial. Since Uranus breaks up outmoded structures, including ways of thinking, anything we lose at this time is for our own good. And not all change is bad to experience. This transit has already brought welcome breakthroughs and good news for a lot of people.
While this drama is dominating attention, several other key shifts are taking place. Saturn has moved from Leo into Virgo, where it will remain for the next two and a half years or so. Saturn demands commitment in whatever area of life it is visiting. In the past couple of years it has insisted that each of us commit to our self, and it has brought lessons of taking personal responsibility. Now the focus is committing to our own health and bodies, taking control of our daily schedules, and learning the art of healthy service as opposed to martyrdom. This is also a theme of the current eclipse cycle. We had a lunar eclipse (which occurs at the full moon) at 5 Pisces on August 28, and the companion solar eclipse takes place at 18 Virgo on September 11. The Virgo/Pisces axis deals with matters of the body vs. matters of the spirit, as well as defining the boundary between service and sacrifice. If we are not paying adequate attention to our own bodies, our own energy and our own business, if we are so caught up in other people? problems especially under the guise of ?elping that we?e allowing them to injure us, events will flare up around the eclipses to redirect our focus.
Also, Venus, which rules relationships, values and money, is going direct and changing signs. It has been retrograde since July 27, which means that it appears to be moving backward, the same as when Mercury is retrograde. When Venus is retrograde, it? not a good time to start or formalize relationships (especially marriages or business ventures) or make major investments. Instead, people or issues from the past come back for revisiting. Venus will be direct after September 8, going back over territory from late June and, finally, following Saturn from Leo to Virgo on October 9. Venus will be contacting Pluto before it joins the mutable line-up (and meets up again with Saturn), which will bring a few more dramatic flings involving big money and obsessive attractions. (Also, Pluto will be direct the day before, September 7, revving up its blast through the final degrees of Sagittarius and some more cries of desperation from fundamentalists and ideologues.) Venus sign change will take some adjustment. Venus is cozy in opulence-loving, look-at-me Leo, and the energy will be reluctant to let go of the glitz and glamour before settling into lower key Virgo and recognizing its earth mother possibilities.
The past few years have immersed us in a laboratory of self-discovery. We?e had opportunities to uncover our core essence, priorities and needs and to understand (and redefine) how we relate to others. School? over now. It? time to put what we?e learned to practical use. Live with discernment, making room only for what supports your body and your true self. Take your vitamins; rethink your diet and use of time. (For an inspirational image, cut the label from a Healthy Choice box and tape it on your bathroom mirror or other prominent place of choice.) Tend your own garden and leave all the others to their owners. (Aren? you getting bored of other people? dramas, anyway?) Not exactly an exciting prospect, but sane, sober and, ultimately, life-affirming. And pay attention to the details. Like the adage says, God? in them.
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Kathy Biehl is an attorney, Tarot master and astrologer whose career has bridged intuition and the rational mind for more than 20 years.