The Sun reached the Aquarius land of revolution January 19th at 9:16pm PST (January 20 5:16am GMT), and will be a beacon for inner and outer freedom through February 18th at 11:26am PST (GMT).
The Aquarius New Moon is on January 29th at 6:15am PST (2:15pm GMT) at 9° Aquarius.
The Leo Full Moon is February 12th at 8:44pm PST (February 13th 4:44am GMT) at 24° Aquarius.
Just because the list of major astrological events is shorter this month, it doesn't mean that less is happening. Actually, we are in a period of consolidation and moving ahead. Our inner work and outer preparation is paying off. There is an opening to take the next step to implement our plans.
Only Saturn will be retrograde between February 3rd and March 2nd (when Mercury again goes retrograde.) We have one month of clear, forward-moving energy supporting our active pursuits. Definitely GO FOR IT during this expansive time.
March 5th Venus will return to Aquarius. March 7th it will return to 1° Aquarius, where it first turned retrograde. This introspective period will be over. It is time to implement our dreams.
Aquarius is the third air sign. In the third and final sign of an element, we touch the pinnacle of power of that element. The air signs express the mind. The highest resonance of the mind is our connection with the Divine - the universal mind. It is through our attunement to the universal mind, that we remember who we are and why we are here. While the Sun is in Aquarius, the Water Bearer is supporting us in remembering our mission. Why did YOU choose to incarnate at this time? What role have YOU chosen to play in the evolution of humanity and the planet? Aquarius, the radical reformer, urges us all to do our part, so that the world is a different place when we leave.
This New Moon is going to be very Aquarian. Not only the Sun and Moon, but also Mercury, Chiron and Neptune are in Aquarius. The Sun and Moon meet in Aquarius once a year. Mercury visits Aquarius once a year, but not necessarily at the same time as the Sun and Moon. Chiron is in Aquarius every 50 years. (Chiron in our birth chart symbolizes an aspect of ourselves that we must heal to claim our power.) It moved into Aquarius Dec. 15th 2005 and will stay through the end of February 2007. Neptune is in Aquarius every 168 years, this time from January 29, 1998 until April 3, 2011.
This New Moon certainly gives all the signs of a new beginning. Saturn retrograde at 8° Leo opposes the Moon, Sun and Mercury. Saturn in Leo reminds us that our authority is in our heart. If we are not connected to our inner authority, we better find out where we have abdicated our Free Will, and reclaim our personal power. Mercury and the Moon tell us we can do so by listening deeply within.
Jupiter in Scorpio is opposing Neptune in Aquarius (both at 17°.) Because Jupiter goes retrograde March 3rd through July 5th, it will square (confront) Neptune through the end of April, and then again on September 24th. There will be no reprieve, as we are challenged to look at how we live in denial. We are going to have to look behind our masks, quit the masquerades, and come clean in front of the mirror of our soul.
February 3rd Venus goes direct at 16° Capricorn. So how are you experiencing Venus retrograde? Are you feeling things you never felt before? Do your feelings and emotions seem more real? Are you more sensitized to your physical and emotional bodies? Are you connecting to what you really want to do with your life? Have you noticed a more heart-centered connection in your relationships, including with yourself?
I am personally noticing a lot of resolution as we near the end of Venus retrograde. The message seems to be summarized in the instruction - LET GO. DROP IT! The past seems to be disappearing. What once triggered me, passes like a fleeting thought that doesn't even compute. The message for the future is - Enjoy and celebrate every moment of your life from now on out.
February 2nd-4th when Venus is stationary, or slowing while moving from retrograde to direct, will be very special days to meditate and listen to your heart. We are being directed from deep within. Listen deeply. Pay close attention. Make yourself available. Find your lover inside your own heart. These are not days to aggressively push or prod. Relax, allow, align and go with the flow. Bless and love your past, with an attitude of gratitude for completed karma. Open yourself to be authentically yourself so that you are available to fully participate in your future.
One of the principle themes of Aquarius is freedom. There are a lot of quirky concepts about freedom, many of which don't have much to do with achieving an authentic feeling of inner freedom, joy and peace. So let's stick to our inner feelings and ask ourselves - What makes me feel free?
Any form or level of denial, lying to ourselves or phoniness is going to close down the gates to our heart, and put a damper on our inner freedom. Venus retrograde in Capricorn is opening the space to be very honest with ourselves. We are being given an opportunity to find and love ourselves in our body. Sometime in February we will discover that we have reached a new level of self-love. We will find ourselves embracing and celebrating our life.
The Capricorn/Cancer theme is accountability. To be accountable for our actions in the world (Capricorn), we have to learn how to be accountable for how we create. To be accountable for what we create, we have to get in touch with our emotions (Cancer) and understand how they are the driving force for what we manifest. Free Will is only free to the extent to which we are in touch with and responsible for what our emotional body is doing. If the activities of our emotional body are hidden in our subconscious, we are not freely living our lives. The more we experience and allow the free flow of our emotions, the more we liberate our Free Will.
Free Will works optimally only if we are authentic and real. We can't fake what we project, and what we project creates our outer reality. Pursuing our goal to reclaim our Free Will in 2006 (see Issue 114), Aquarius and its polarity Leo add another dynamic - AUTHENTICITY. We are building on our theme for 2006. ACCOUNTABILITY makes it possible to be authentic.
Aquarius is an impersonal sign. Uranus is an impersonal planet. The focus is on contribution to the collective, not the self. Aquarius is concerned with social impact and global vision. Aquarius desires radical change. Aquarius can access the detached space, where non-judgment is possible and new ideas are available. Leo is a very personal sign. Our inner Leo asks - What is MY place and MY role in the collective?
To understand the interactive polarity of Leo and Aquarius, we have to first understand Leo. Leo represents our quest to express the unique embodiment of our soul. We find our true nature in our heart. When we listen to and follow our heart we can live our dharma or divine path. The path of Leo, the lion and the king, is to attain sovereignty over himself. To do so, the lion must transcend the dramas of daily life and the duality of the mind. This can only be done by opening our heart to ourselves. Leo's challenge and gift is simplicity - to be AUTHENTICALLY ME, for ME and by ME, and this is our lesson for the Full Moon February 12th-13th. Where 24° Leo falls in your chart is the area of life where you are being invited, to move to the next level of expressing your special creative expression of Self.
Aquarius aspires to be the true servant of humanity. When we reach the eleventh phase of our journey through the Zodiac, ideally we are no longer enslaved by conformity, mass consciousness and dogmatic ideologies. When we can free our minds of limiting belief systems and past programming, we can become divinely inspired agents of change. The Water Bearer receives pure knowledge in the form of innovative ideas, inventions and wisdom, that can guide radical transformation to serve the welfare of humanity. Where 24° Aquarius falls in your birth chart is where you are invited to break from tradition, and your personal past, and use your gifts to offer paradigm shifting alternatives to the world.
Both this Full Moon and the last one occur at 24°. Finding this fact interesting, I looked up 24 in the book The Invisible Garment by Dr. Connie Kaplan. (This book offers insight on the 30 spiritual principles that weave the fabric of human life.) Humility is the key characteristic of 24. The explanation is so pertinent, I am in awe, especially since I consulted this book after I had drafted this issue. The following understanding of humility perfectly integrates the messages of Leo and Aquarius.
To be humble is to be authentically aware of the true nucleus of the essential self. No one else has ever come to form to do what you have come to do. The nucleus self has held a pattern and has waited through all the history of the Universe for the time to be right for you to be born to bring the gifts to form that are unique to your highest self. It is the authentic knowing of that self that allows you to live in Humility. That Humility evokes your godlike beingness. When one has that authenticity, then he or she is able to integrate information directly from the light. When one does not have that authenticity, he or she is so veiled that the light is never directly perceived. (p. 140).
Of course, I had to look up the spiritual principle for 9°. Both the Capricorn and Aquarius New Moons this year happen at 9°. The spiritual principle of nine is awareness. Awareness is what awakens us to all aspects of ourselves. Understanding ourselves makes it possible to participate more fully in our personal and collective evolution. Awareness is certainly a fitting theme for the Aquarian New Moon January 29th, as it launches us into the next phase of our spiritual unfoldment.
Mercury and Uranus, both in Pisces at this Full Moon, make it easier to stop trying to think our way through life, and to open minds, hearts and bodies to receiving intuitive and instinctual guidance. Try being receptive for the day and observe what kind of wisdom comes through. You could get hooked on being a channel for divine inspiration.
There is another grand cross this Full Moon, involving the same theme song - the fixed signs of Taurus (Mars), Scorpio (Jupiter), Aquarius (Sun and Neptune) and Leo (Moon and Saturn). The oppositions and squares demand a breakup of old patterns and beliefs. Our more inspired view of ourselves, each other, and the world, must be accompanied by action to prove that we are willing to leave old footprints behind, and move forward fearlessly and honestly in the shoes of our authentic selves. The Aquarian energy makes it easier to overcome our fear of being different. Our honest dissent can actually facilitate our alignment with a supportive core group that shares the same vision. Communicating our truth with like-minded souls can be both healing and propel us forward in making a difference in the world.
We have to step out of the box to participate in radical change. We can't indulge in negativity, judgment of what is going wrong, and how we dislike war, greed, poverty, exploitation, etc. Our vibration has to be different to create change. This is, of course, a tricky business, because if we liked everything the way it was, we wouldn't have any reason to create something different. Tuning into the detached Aquarian mind, helps us keep the distance and clarity we need to move forward amid the chaos. Aquarius lives in another dimension, where the fog of the current paradigm does not interfere with the Light of our authentic being.
We each participate in the evolutionary flow and unfoldment of the Divine Plan. Aquarius reminds us of this fact and helps us identify our role. Aquarius jolts us to ask ourselves, What do I love? What do I love to do? Who do I love to be? To find out and to be guided by our soul we have to deeply listen for a reply.
Listening is a deeper form of paying attention. If we simply mentally pay attention, we will stay in our minds. We will remain at the edge of body awareness. We will avoid feeling our emotions. Listening engages the inner ear, the heart and the body. Active listening moves us from our mind into body awareness.
Listening focuses our attention. Focused listening moves us into feeling awareness. Together, listening and feeling make us aware of both our physical and emotional bodies. Listening and feeling connect our mind and body. Listening and feeling engage our emotional body. Activation of our wholeness begins to happen. The integration of body, mind and emotions creates an alchemy which we experience as wholeness. Wholeness is required in order to be authentic.
We get anxious when we do not quietly listen to ourselves. If we do not listen, our inner mechanism to connect our mind, body and emotions is not activated. We cannot feel whole because our parts are disconnected. We become conflictual when we do not listen to the silent, neutral channel within. This is because we have disconnected from the God channel, and returned to the polarity channel of our minds.
If we listen to the sound of silence within, we experience the cosmic space which holds us safe and secure. If we listen deeply we make ourselves available to receive knowledge and guidance.
Listening teaches us that our truth and the Truth are a feeling that we can experience.
Truth is a feeling. Truth is not an ideology. It is the quality of our inner experience that pulls us deeper into our truth. It is this quality that we feel within ourselves, which we can use as a touchstone to measure our responses, and to selectively discriminate what rings true for us. It is this feeling, that resonates at the core of our being, that awakens the spiritual power within, and aligns our consciousness with our entire essence. It is this feeling that monitors ideas, filters out illusions, and serves as a wise observer, instead of a judge, of worldly events, others and ourselves. It is by maintaining a firm connection with this feeling of essential truth that we connect with the universal mind. We can access this feeling through listening.
There is a formula. Begin by spending quiet time with yourself in silent contemplation. (After, of course, tuning in and practicing a Kundalini Yoga set).
Calmly listen to the neutral channel, the sound of silence in your mind.
Quietly listen to your breath in your body.
Quietly listen to your heart until you feel the sensations and rhythm of your breath in your chest.
We begin to feel the flow.
We have to feel the flow to go with it.
Listening becomes paying attention to an effortless and pleasurable vibration.
The vibration is love. The vibration is our connection with the essence of life.
What creates discord and stress.
What is true in our heart.
What aligns with our being.
What resonates with our soul.
Our heart always knows what our soul wants, but we have to listen and feel to find out.
One of the verses of Jap-ji, the Sikh morning prayer and song of Guru Nanak, instructs us with the command Sunia. Sunia is often translated as listen. Sunia actually means to deeply listen to the vibration of the sound of the Divine within. Snatam Kaur's CD Shanti contains two beautiful Sunia verses. These two selections are tracks five (listening meditation) and six (listening celebration - below). This whole CD will entice you to listen deeply.
Sit comfortably with a straight spine. With the four fingers of your right hand, feel the pulse in your left wrist. Lightly place your finger tips in a straight line so you can feel the pulse in each finger tip.
Focus the lightly closed eyes at the brow and then the heart. First tune into the beat and listen carefully and lovingly. When you are ready, mentally listen to your pulse beat to the sound of SAT NAM. Start with 5 minutes and build up to 11 and even 31 minutes.
Some people, who cannot seem to comfortably feel their pulse in this position, have asked if they can place their fingers in a different location where their pulse is more accessible. The answer is YES.
This meditation allows you to control your reaction to any situation, and can bring sweetness and one-pointedness to the most outrageous and scattered mind. (This meditation - for Concentration in Action - is in the section Stress Reduction in 2-11 Minutes, on page 141 of Relax and Renew 2nd Edition.
"Aquarius New Moon", by Stephanie Austin, The Mountain Astrologer, Issue #124, Dec 2005/Jan 2006, p. 111.
"Leo Full Moon", by Stephanie Austin, The Mountain Astrologer, Issue #125, Feb/March 2006, p. 102.