let’s set the stage. there was a meeting:

jupiter, xena/eris, sun, moon in aries. 

vesta, north node of the moon, mercury, uranus, juno in taurus. 

book ended by chiron in aries and sedna in taurus. 

venus in gemini, ruling the north node of the moon, and conjunct the north node of uranus.

pluto in aquarius, ruling the south node of the moon while squaring the moon’s nodes and opposing pallas athena in cancer.

there is a looking below the surface, digging as deep as we are able. some of us may ponder into generations past. others may feel drawn to that part of their day when they felt the pull of the current beneath. how do our unconscious or conscious compulsions fare in a tug-of-war with ethics and justice? which ethics ought to be considered when creating safe space? in the landscape of every soul, there is a swamp. we all have within us the dynamic tension between soul compulsions and ethics and justice. we are being collectively invited, or force fed, to review these dynamics.

why?

because cognitive dissonance is in our nature. our collective past and present is filled with countless examples. it is high time that we examine the phenomena of conscious/unconscious contradictions or dissonance between words and actions and the ethical implications, especially regarding emotional safety. in doing so, we ride the polarized line between the up close and personal and the objective lenses. how can we create structures of soul support in which people feel safe and secure to bring forward issues of ethical breeches and injustices?

truth is, collectively and personally, the swamp never goes away. of course, it can go through metamorphosis and evolve to new expressions. the fact is that a swamp is a part of nature. and who dares to look upon the earth and declare one landscape to be less than another? people don’t want to engage with is because its heavy, messy, inconvenient and we have matters of survival knocking at our door. if we don’t look at the dark, unconscious; the iceberg below the surface; that which sustains us…well…we’re going to continue sinking titanics! we will think that we’ve come up with the next full proof way to propel humanity into the future, and will continually come up against icebergs that sink that ship.

what is the present and near future highlighting for us, as shown by this powerful meeting?

let’s start with the gate keepers; chiron in aries and sedna in taurus. they are in balsamic phase to one another which means we are reckoning with the space between our repeated wounds and the grief/deep sorrow that ensues as a necessary step in becoming the wounded healer. there is a transformational journey of letting go of the known, the hands that have fed you thus far, in order to birth something new. that which you birth will recognize you. and you will be their birth parent, with the responsibility to protect. are you willing to rage great storms when basic rights of humans, animals and the earth are threatened? we can only enter or exit this meeting through the doorways of our wounds and grief. if you feel like you can’t feel these things, the collective consciousness is asking you to grab an ice axe and find it. ‘cause it’s there. and the way forward is through fully feeling our wounds and grief associated with ourselves as individuals as well as the earth and all of life and death on it.

secondly, venus leading this entire meeting tells us that we have a leader who holds space for the most beautiful acts of rebellion to transpire. for example, literally stopping to smell the roses. venus also holds space for the heartbreak and pain that is felt when we realize we live in a world where literally stopping to smell the roses is an act of rebellion.

just eight days before this eclipse, jupiter and the sun began a new cycle together. a newly discovered optimism or at least, a glimpse of hope is present at the table. our inner child and all that made them light up their instinctual nature is invited to join the meeting. jupiter squares pallas athena in cancer and quincunx ceres in virgo. if everyone’s inner child shows up, we must prioritize emotional safety needs and ethical considerations for justice. we must integrate the motherly critic, the one who offers critique from a place of love and protection. in the words of one of my favourite activists, vikki reynolds, “calling each other in” rather than calling each other out. in order to do this, there must already be an established agreement of ethics and values.

vesta sextile saturn in pisces. how do we keep our sovereignty and personal and collective sustainability maintained? we stoke the our hearth fires. each of us has the responsibility to do so for ourselves and in relation to each other. it’s called collective or communal care. so much emphasis is placed on self-care while dismissing collective care. we have got big work to do and we can’t do it in isolated boxes of self-care imprisonment.

the north node of the moon sextile saturn in pisces. addressing that which no longer holds water. our society’s structures of “support” (aka: the human services field) are showing us that the structure is not sustainable. also, it certainly does not consider the sovereignty and dignity of every individual. coming to terms with this is easily resisted because of our comfort with the known, even though we know it is not working.

t square: mercury stationing retrograde in taurus while squaring hygeia in aquarius and black moon lillith in leo (who are in opposition to each other). time to clear out the cobwebs of our communication. how has the overly professional objective communication served us? when is it more appropriate or humanly beneficial to lean into the spark of life and the reality of darkness that unifies us all? we are about to embark on a deep review of these dynamics. clearing out ways of relating that are polarized; the objectivity that teeters into the realm of dismissing human dignity and the way too up close and personal approach that lacks boundaries for safety. so often in the human services field, there is a pathological quest to find fault with the person we are working with. mercury is challenging us to rather lean into an investigation of the power of communication and the inherent ethical issues that reside therein. we are humans helping humans. we can no longer afford the robotic approach. people are drawn to this field because they have hearts. when the human services profession forces them to leave hearts out of the equation, it’s no wonder we wind up with burnt out and robotic workers.

uranus in taurus squaring hygeia in aquarius and trine ceres in virgo. it is an act of rebellion to clear out the skeletons in the closet by being critical of the structural systems in our society and our participation in them. what would happen if we all practiced this to the degree that we are socially, culturally, emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually able? even within these dynamic tensions, great shifts are possible if we all do our part. those who are more well-resourced have more responsibility to deconstruct these socio-economic/cultural structures for the liberation of all.

juno in taurus trine ceres in virgo, sextile neptune in pisces and pallas athena in cancer. do our partnerships have the breathing room to dream a new dream? are we creating structures of safety in anti-oppressive ways while fine tuning the relationship dynamics with a nurturing touch, one step at a time? the personal is political. changing the world starts with changing our relationships with our loved ones, and furthermore starts with the inner relationship to ourselves.

pluto in aquarius trine ceres in virgo and sedna in taurus. an integration of the perspective of the mother is necessary as we reflect and descend into the depths of the murky waters that carried us here. mothering ourselves through this process is so important. notice the innumerable examples of each soul’s participation, as perpetrator or victim of violence. allow the face of the mother most appropriate for the occasion to show up and do her part of the transformational process. she may show up enraged, tossing us in the waves of unconsciousness. she may show up as a gentle breeze on our cheek, offering warmth amidst the winds of change.

back to the gate keepers. chiron in aries square mars in cancer. sedna in taurus semi-square mars in cancer. our level of participation with these gatekeepers will greatly influence our desires and therefore the direction they will take us over the next 6 months.