Sunday’s Solar Eclipse (4:54pm PDT) illuminates what has been hidden, repressed or denied

A Solar Eclipse is an especially potent New Moon that both sets into motion a major new beginning, and signifies a death or ending. We entered Eclipse Season — a period of heightened emotions and accelerated change — two weeks ago at the Scorpio Full Moon, and we can expect the intensity to escalate as we move into the most dramatic astrology of 2012.

Eclipses stir up the past, revealing what wants to be healed, resolved or brought to completion. On a more micro level, we revisit themes from the previous set of Eclipses, about six months ago — the Sagittarius Solar Eclipse on November 24 and the Gemini Lunar Eclipse on December 10. In the bigger picture, Eclipses reoccur at the same degree of the zodiac every 19 years, and it can be helpful to reflect on what was going on in your life in 1993.

In Gemini — the sign of the mind — the Solar Eclipse presents an opportunity to become more aware of what’s happening on a mental level, and to let go of ideas, perceptions and thought patterns that are not serving us. Other Gemini themes include communication, connection, education, relationships with siblings and neighbors, and how we fit into our everyday environment.

Infusing this Eclipse with a dreamy, sleepy, imaginative, super-sensitive, and potentially confusing tone, the Sun and Moon form a close square (90-degree angle of tension) to Neptune in Pisces. Neptune opens the doors of perception, increasing access to and connection with the invisible realms of magic and mystery — the Dreamtime. Meditation, prayer and ritual are extra-potent.

On the world stage, scandals typically erupt around Eclipses — what the culture has banished to the Underworld wants to come out into the light. Information (Gemini) about the ocean (Neptune) is particularly ripe for revelation. While the Deepwater Horizon disaster has disappeared from the headlines, the gruesome impact of the oil “spill,” and the subsequent dumping of the neurotoxin Corexit (which is ongoing), is only beginning to surface. (See Robert Phoenix’s Two-Year Nightmare of the Gulf Revisited)

I also associate Neptune in Pisces with radiation — it’s invisible, undetectable by the five senses, uncontainable, and doesn’t respect boundaries or borders — a harsh teacher of the Neptunian lesson that we are all one. Evidence is now emerging that there’s been “a deliberate, global cover-up of the true severity of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster” (see “Plume-gate”), and my hope for this Eclipse Season is that there will be a mass awakening out of denial and into a mature response to the severe global threat of radiation.

In a cultural environment that promotes denial, delusion and deception (shadow Neptune), it’s up to us to take responsibility for freeing our minds. Mercury, Gemini’s ruling planet, is now in peaceful, grounded Taurus — the intelligence of the body and of the Earth. With awareness, we can use Eclipses as portals, opportunities to reset consciousness. A quiet, focused mind, unplugged from distractions, grounded to the center of the planet, and tuned into the infinite is a key to accessing the power of Sunday’s Solar Eclipse.

For deeper insight into what this Eclipse means for you, find the house in your birth chart that contains zero degree of Gemini. The areas of life signified by that house are where you’re invited to:  release the past to clear space for a new beginning; transform old patterns of thought and open your mind to liberating new perceptions; set your intentions and plant seeds for a project that will emerge over the next 19 years.

- Emily Trinkaus

dear friends — As of May 15, Venus is Retrograde, and in case you missed it, you’ll want to read all about it on my other blog, Reviving Venus. And, my Venus Retro talk, Renewing Love and Pleasure, is now available here.

Intense feelings are on the rise

The Scorpio Moon opposes both the Sun and Jupiter in Taurus, highlighting the Taurus-Scorpio polarity — themes of sensuality and sexuality, money and other resources, values and meaning, and power. Scorpio is willing to sacrifice Taurus comfort and stability to uncover deeper authenticity, intimacy, passion and vitality.

I’ve already been feeling the force of this Full Moon for days, and for good reason. Let me count the ways:

The Full Moon coincides with the Moon’s perigee (closest proximity to Earth), making this a “Super Moon” — the biggest Full Moon of the year.

It also falls on Beltane, the Cross Quarter holy day that is one of the “gates of power” in the wheel of the year. Beltane, a celebration of fertility — traditionally honored by making love in the fields to bless the crops — marks the halfway point between Spring Equinox (March 20) and Summer Solstice (June 20). Although typically celebrated on May 1, the true Beltane (astro-technically speaking) is this Saturday.

And, the Scorpio Full Moon is the festival of Wesak, commemorating the birth, enlightenment and passing away of the Buddha. At Wesak, Buddha is said to return to Earth to bestow a blessing, awakening humanity’s potential to expand consciousness and align with Spirit.

Oh yeah, AND this Full Moon marks the entry into Eclipse Season, a six-week period of accelerated change. We’re coming up on a Gemini Solar Eclipse on May 20, followed by a Sagittarius Lunar Eclipse on June 4.

Saturday’s Full Moon will be a powerhouse time for meditation, magic, prayer and ritual, so please take advantage of this stellar opportunity to get your juju on. The gates between the material (Taurus) and invisible (Scorpio) realms will be wide open.

For more insight into what this Full Moon means for you, find the house in your birth chart that contains 16 degrees of Scorpio. The areas of life signified by that house are where you are invited to:  regenerate, transform and heal; surrender control so that more power can come through; explore the depths and reveal your secrets; share your vulnerability and deepen intimacy.

- Emily Trinkaus

Portland-area friends: Please join me and Career Coach Aubrie De Clerck next Thursday, May 10, 6:30-8:30pm at New Renaissance Bookshop for Power and Purpose: Guidance for Embracing Your Life’s Work. We’ll explore the Uranus-Pluto square, what it means in terms of the changing nature of work and economy, and identify how it’s activating your personal birth chart. Please bring a copy of your chart!

The New Moon forms a harmonious trine (120-degree angle) to both Mars in Virgo and Pluto in Capricorn. This powerful Earth Grand Trine facilitates tangible progress toward your goals — IF you’re willing to do the work. Mars is still moving slowly as he recovers his mojo after just coming out of Retrograde (see Death and Renewal), and the external results may manifest less speedily than you would like. Mars in Virgo says, the best way forward is one small, precise step at a time. Simply take care of the next task that’s right in front of you, and then the next.

Pluto in the Grand Trine suggests that committing to your priorities might require letting go of something you’ve outgrown or that no longer feels aligned with your values. Mars’ square to the North and South Nodes — signifying your best way forward and what holds you back — reinforces this theme. Do you have the courage to leave behind what’s familiar but no longer serves you? Which course of action reflects and reinforces your commitment to the highest vision of your future self, and to your inner truth?

Venus, the ruler of Taurus, is in Gemini for an extra-long stay because of her upcoming Retrograde (see Reawakening the Goddess). Venus in Gemini, April 3-August 7, contributes to this Spring’s strong Mutable emphasis, calling for flexibility, adjustment and adaptation. With all four Mutable signs — Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces — occupied and activated, the key word here is CHANGE.

The Sun’s entry into Taurus lends a welcome quality of fixity to all the flux, and the Taurus New Moon presents an opportunity to start crystallizing your ideas into reality. Stand strong in the goals that hold meaning and value for you, but be flexible when it comes to how you achieve them.

Set your New Moon intentions any time on Saturday after 12:18am PDT. To get more specific about what this New Moon means for YOU, find the house in your birth chart that contains one degree of Taurus. The areas of life represented by that house are where you are being invited to:  clarify and commit to your values and priorities; create more pleasure, beauty, security and comfort; and take practical steps toward solid, lasting results.

- Emily Trinkaus

I’ll be a guest on Human Spirit Radio today (Friday) at 2:00 PDT — talking about the astrology of 2012, including Venus Retrograde, the Venus-Sun Eclipse, and the Uranus-Pluto square. Please tune in! If you miss the live show, you can listen to the recording here.

Those of us currently “enjoying” Pluto transits, are especially feeling the burn, but everyone is cooking in Pluto’s crucible now. Pluto and Uranus are moving toward their first exact square, which will culminate on June 24. The pressure is on to claim our uniqueness, creativity and passion, step into the role we came here to play, and break free from fear-based patterns and paradigms.

Meanwhile, Mars — Retrograde since January 23 — is stationing, appearing to stand still in the sky before starting to move forward again on Friday. Mars Retrograde has slowed momentum, turned attention inward and toward the past, and asked:  What do you really want? This question may feel particularly pressing over the next few days, and Mars in Virgo — the details — wants you to get very specific with your answer.

As the ruler of Aries, Mars is the presiding deity of the Aries season (March 19 to April 19) — the first month of the astrological new year. This Spring has been off to a slower-than-usual start, a kind of preparation period for the escalating intensity. Ideally, we emerge from Mars Retro with renewed clarity about our desires, strengthened courage and vitality, and regenerated passion and enthusiasm.

And now, as we prepare for Mars’ forward motion and a kind of re-launch of the astrological new year, Pluto’s Retro turn presents an opportunity to get rid of whatever you don’t want to bring with you into this next phase. In order to support your forward momentum and the pursuit of your passions, what needs to be left behind?

For more in-depth insight into what Pluto Retrograde means for YOU, find the house in your birth chart that contains 9 degrees Capricorn. The areas of life represented by that house are where you are being called/compelled to: look beneath the surface to uncover what’s been hidden, repressed or denied; let go of what no longer feels in alignment with your authentic self; and move through fear and stand in your power.

- Emily Trinkaus

Portland-area friends: Please join me this Saturday, 6:30-8:30pm, at New Renaissance Bookshop for my workshop Restoring Love and Pleasure. We’ll explore the meaning of the upcoming Venus Retrograde, as well as the rare transit of Venus over the Sun, and identify how these cosmic events are activating your personal birth chart.

Venus, Libra’s ruling planet, is in Gemini — intellect, information, curiosity, communication and multiplicity. Venus in Gemini invites you to broaden your perspective and explore your options. An open mind, skillful communication, and the willingness to listen to and learn from others are keys to successful navigation. Due to her upcoming Retrograde (see below), Venus will be in Gemini an extra-long time, from April 3 to August 7.

This Full Moon features a strong emphasis on the Air element (Gemini and Libra) energizing mental activity. Brilliant insights that open your mind to liberating new possibilities, especially in the Venus-ruled realms of love and money, are one possibility. On the less optimal side, there could be increased worry and anxiety, triggering that hamster-wheel-in-the-head thing that can keep you awake in the wee hours.

And then there’s confusion — a widely available frequency these past few months. I’ve felt pretty confused since Neptune entered Pisces on February 3, and then REALLY confused once Mercury reversed back into Pisces on March 23. We’ve just emerged from Mercury Retrograde as of Wednesday morning (can I get an amen?), but Mercury — planet of the mind and ruler of Gemini — continues swimming through the hazy waters of Pisces until April 16.

At the Full Moon, Venus forms a tight square to Neptune, amplifying the potential for confusion while increasing access to the invisible realm of dreams, imagination, intuition and magic. Neptune signifies that which is ultimately unknowable, existing beyond the perception of our five senses and analytical mind. Venus-Neptune calls attention to our relationship with the Mystery — a relationship that requires trust and surrender, as we encounter forces much vaster than our tiny human brains can comprehend.

Rather than attempting to rely exclusively on logic and rationality (which will likely lead to more confusion and delusion), a wiser course of action would be to find ways to intentionally engage with the Mystery — art, meditation, dreamwork.

Venus is also approaching the South Node in Gemini, highlighting patterns of relating that no longer serve us — specifically having to do with compromising our truth, our principles, our integrity in order to be accepted by others and maintain (the illusion of) harmony.

Venus and the Nodes, along with Mars in Virgo and Neptune and Chiron in Pisces, are forming a Mutable Grand Cross, stirring up feelings of restlessness and suggesting the need for some major adjustments. The North Node in Sagittarius — which reveals the best way forward — advises us to speak and stand in our truth, without having to “be right” or make anyone else “wrong.” Out of all the options swirling around in the field of potential, what is the direction that aligns with your deep wisdom and inner guidance?

For more insight into what this Full Moon means for YOU, find the house in your birth chart that contains 17 degrees Libra. The areas of life represented by that house are where you are being invited to: return to a state of balance and harmony; recognize and release old patterns of relating and restore feelings of connection; and call in more love, beauty, art and pleasure.

- Emily Trinkaus

Dear friends, If you’re in Portland, please join me at New Renaissance on Saturday, April 14 to explore the upcoming Venus Retrograde and Venus’s rare transit to the Sun! We’ll discuss how to effectively work with Venus Retro, how to make the most of the Venus-Sun transit, and how all of this will influence your individual birth chart!

by Iranian artist Mana Neyestani

The astrological new year begins tonight (10:15 pm PDT), when the Sun moves into Aries, the first sign of the zodiac. Spring Equinox is the time to plant seeds of intention for what you want to create over the coming year.

Every new year is an opportunity for a fresh start — a chance to realign with your authentic self, trust your instincts, step into your passion, and set off in a brave new direction. This year, as Spring Equinox launches us fully into the much-hyped 2012, the intentions we set and the steps we take feel particularly loaded with significance.

The 5,125-year cycle specified by the Mayan Calendar may have closed on October 28, 2011 (according to Carl Calleman), or we may be approaching its end on December 21, 2012. Either way, we’re at a tipping point — the old patriarchal paradigm is dying, while a new paradigm is emerging.

In Western astrology, the hype around 2012 is reflected in the square between Uranus and Pluto, which will be exact for the first of seven times on June 24. As with all planetary configurations, it’s up to each of us how this aspect plays out.

We have the opportunity to awaken to our personal power, break free from the fear-based control system, and contribute our vital life force toward creating a healthy, sustainable, loving new world. Or, we can buy into the perception that we are powerless, insignificant beings, and play victim to the world-destroying systems and structures that are, on an energetic level, already dead.

The Sun’s move into Aries activates the Uranus-Pluto square, sparking the question of how we as individuals can best participate in the unfolding collective story. The chart of the Equinox — which provides a blueprint for the spring season and even the year ahead — advises us to take our time answering this question, and get very specific and precise with our intentions and actions.

Spring Equinox is typically a time to embrace the boldness and courage of Aries and “just do it!” But this year, both Mars and Mercury are Retrograde, tempering forward momentum and suggesting that we may need to slow down, turn inward and make some adjustments before we’re ready to make a new start.

Retrograde Mars — the ruler of Aries and the presiding deity of the season — urges us to rethink our desires, and revisit and resolve issues from the past. Mars is in Virgo, focusing attention on both work and health, and the connection between the two. Does your work contribute to your overall well-being, or drain your energy? Can you trust that the work that feeds your vitality is actually your highest path of service?

At the Equinox, Mars forms a potent Grand Trine with Pluto in Capricorn and Jupiter and Venus in Taurus. Pluto, God/Goddess of the Underworld, transforms and heals through the process of digging deep into the subconscious to uproot whatever is stagnant, diseased, corrupt, or otherwise in the way of accessing and expressing our authenticity and power. Mars in Virgo in cooperation with Pluto facilitates a thorough house-cleaning of the psyche, sifting through the past to identify what is ready to be purged or purified.

The Venus-Jupiter conjunction in Taurus points to the power of the feminine — honoring our bodies and the Earth, and standing strong in our values. As part of the Grand Trine, Venus-Jupiter suggests that we can support this deep healing process by slowing down and taking time to care for our bodies, enjoy sensual pleasures, and cultivate our gardens.

Mars in Virgo signifies the power of the little things — the everyday details of life, our routines and rituals, the choices we make on a moment-to-moment basis. This Spring serves as a preparation period, with a strong focus on our personal lives, where the small changes and adjustments we make can have a huge impact on our ability to create the future we desire.

- Emily Trinkaus

For more Virgoan details and in-depth analysis about the cosmic energies of the upcoming Spring season, you can purchase a recording of my Equinox talk here.

Thursday’s Full Moon in Virgo (1:39 am PST) brings to light what wants to be cleansed, purified, refined, integrated and simplified, and draws attention to the everyday realm of work, health and daily routines. Does your work support your health and vitality, or drain your energy? How do you organize your time and is that working for you? Is there a change you can make in your schedule to better support your overall well-being? Is there an approach to work, service and/or self-care that you’re ready to release?

Perfectionism, judgment, criticism, control, obsession, over-analysis, self-hatred masquerading as self-improvement… Virgo’s shadow is also getting stirred up by this Full Moon, which wants to make obvious — and clear out — the core beliefs and feelings that feed these destructive patterns.

The Virgo part of each of us uses discernment and analysis to see what could be improved, refined or perfected and identifies a practical, here-and-now step to start implementing that change. When “perfection” is understood as an ongoing process rather than an end result, when the motivation is love and compassion, when taking charge of the mundane details is done with the awareness that, in the big picture, we’re not actually in control and sometimes just need to surrender and trust the divine to work it out — then Virgo is in balance, integrated with Pisces, the opposite sign.

But if we’re motivated by an underlying belief that “there’s something wrong with me,” then no matter how hard we work, how many “improvements” we make, we’ll never feel that we’re good or worthy enough.

I recently read Brené Brown’s hugely helpful book, The Gifts of Imperfection, which should be required reading for all Virgos (and maybe the entire Pluto in Virgo generation). “Shame is the birthplace of perfectionism,” she writes, making a (to me) revelatory connection between two things I had never put together, but intuitively feels right-on.

We know that our urge to perfect is fueled by shame rather than love if we’re using (in Brown’s terms) productivity and/or other people’s approval as measures of self-worth. This Full Moon wants us to dig deep to uncover our motivations for the work we do to “improve” ourselves, others and the world.

These Virgo themes have already been strong these past few months, as Mars — planet of action, power and desire — has been Retrograde in Virgo (see Reassessing Desire). Now, as we’re about halfway through Mars Retro (January 23 to April 13), the Virgo Full Moon acts as a kind of punctuation mark, both a blast of awareness, and an opportunity to turn around old patterns and courageously release what no longer serves you.

Mars is forming a powerful Grand Trine with Pluto in Capricorn, and Venus and Jupiter in Taurus. Over the next week, if we’re willing to do the work, we can make strong progress in these areas we may have been slogging through, step by step, over the past few months.

For more insight into what this Full Moon means for YOU, find the house in your birth chart that contains 18 degrees of Virgo. The areas of life signified by that house are where you are invited to: purge shame, judgment and perfectionism; clean, organize, streamline and simplify; harvest results from past efforts and integrate your experience; take a close look at how you’re using your time, energy and efforts.

- Emily Trinkaus

Dear friends – Please join me (from the comfort of your home) for my first-ever teleclass, Spring Equinox Preview, on Friday, March 9! We’ll explore what’s coming up astrologically this Spring and beyond, and how to work successfully with these intense cosmic energies. All are welcome, and if you can’t make it to the live call, you’ll get the recording if you register here.

Grief has been welling up lately

Neptune, god/goddess of the ocean, dissolves the barriers and defenses that block us from feeling the truth of our oneness with All That Is. Neptune is the modern ruler of Pisces the Fish, the last sign of the zodiac, which returns us to the ocean of consciousness, the Source, in order to cleanse, heal and renew.

Both Neptune and Pisces are associated with grief, which, like every emotion, serves a particular function. From a Chinese Medicine perspective, “The Lungs generate grief to dissolve attachments to people, animals, and life situations that have passed from our life. Grief that isn’t expressed and released leads to disintegration of tissues (and mind)” (Ka’imi Pilipovich).

Stepping into the ocean of grief takes courage — there can be a fear that if we really dive into it, we might drown. Traditional cultures typically provide containers for grieving through ritual space, but in Western culture, grieving is not honored as an essential process for the health of individuals and the community. In fact, pharmaceuticals are now routinely prescribed to “treat” grief, as if grieving were a disorder rather than an appropriate, necessary response to loss.

Both Neptune and Chiron in Pisces over the next several years will offer plenty of opportunities to make friends with grief. And now, with the Sun in Pisces (as of late Saturday), and approaching Tuesday’s New Moon in Pisces — conjunct both Neptune and Chiron — grief may feel particularly acute.

Pisces rules illness, which for many of us in this hyper-yang “productivity über alles” Western world is the only way we allow ourselves to have down time. When the body is out of commission and we’re “forced” to stay in bed, we actually have the time and space to get in touch with and feel our feelings. (I have a pet theory that we get colds when we need to cry.)

When we don’t allow ourselves space to feel the feelings, it’s easy to go into overwhelm and depression, when life feels like it’s all too much, which is one of the shadow expressions of Pisces. From this place of overwhelm, escaping into addiction (more shadow Pisces) can be tempting. In a very real sense, it IS all too much if we’re carrying a backlog of emotional baggage while adding more and more to the load.

In the wheel of the year, the Pisces season is the time of dissolution, when we let go of the old so that we can enter the new cycle with a clean slate. Review the past, feel the feelings that come up, and dream a new vision for the next cycle, which will begin at Spring Equinox on March 19.

Every New Moon calls us inward. The night sky is bereft of moonlight, vitality is low, and we’re in that limbo space between the end of one cycle and the beginning of the next. The Pisces New Moon, Tuesday at 2:35pm PST, especially wants us to turn down the volume on outer-world activity and mental distractions, and tune into the realm of feelings. Create a safe space for yourself to feel whatever feelings you’ve been avoiding or repressing, and trust that if you go all the way through, you will come out the other side, cleansed and renewed.

To get more specific about what this New Moon means for you, find the house that contains two degrees of Pisces. The areas of life associated with this house are where you are being invited to: dissolve old attachments; renew your spirit by connecting with something larger than the personal self or ego; practice compassionate service to relieve suffering (“serve or suffer”); surrender and go with the flow; and envision positive outcomes for the greatest good of all.

- Emily Trinkaus

Note to Portland-area friends: Please join me this Sunday, February 26, at the Portland Healing Arts Fair. At 1:45 I’ll be giving a talk on the Astrology of Now — how to work with the current and upcoming cosmic energies.

Mars turns Retrograde just a day after the Chinese New Year — the Aquarius New Moon — initiating the year of the Water Dragon. I don’t know much about Chinese astrology, but was very intrigued when I read that the Dragon is associated with Mars-ruled Aries: “a positive expression of yang, the male principal, balanced by the female yin, represented by the phoenix…. Aries is Dragon’s Western counterpart.” (The Year of the Dragon)

The Dragon is the “doer” of the Chinese zodiac, and this is a year to take committed action on what was catalyzed by last year’s Rabbit. Mars Retrograde suggests that it’s best to move slowly, and ensure that you’re headed in the right direction before jumping in. The Water element of this year’s Dragon echoes the Retro effect:

“Water has a calming effect on the Dragon’s fearless temperament. Water allows the Dragon to re-direct its enthusiasm, and makes him more perceptive of others. These Dragons are better equipped to take a step back to re-evaluate a situation because they understand the art of patience and do not desire the spotlight.” (House of Havisham)

Mars is Retrograde in Virgo — the details — asking you to get very specific and precise about your desires, inspiration and enthusiasm. Mars Retro asks: What exactly feeds your vitality and what drains you? What small adjustment can you make to allow for more nourishing self-care and more courageous self-expression? How do you assert yourself, and is that working?

Mars rules anger — an emotion that is not well understood and that few of us know how to express consciously. While Mars is Retrograde, we’re being asked to look at our relationship with anger, how we’ve used or abused or suppressed it in the past, and how we can more effectively work with the energy. Although there’s a tendency to judge anger as “bad,” from the Chinese Medicine perspective, there’s no such thing as a negative emotion. Drawing on this tradition, my friend and teacher Gilly Adkins writes:

“Anger gets us moving and is expansive. It is a call to action. It is the force that helps us overcome the inertia of stillness or stuckness or unfairness…. Anger is necessary to help us move forward and overcome obstacles that are in our way, it is natural and has a practical role to play.” (from a handout in her amazing Intimate Communication teleclass)

Virgo is the sign of perfection, and Mars’ extended stay in this sign (November 11 – July 3) energizes the urge to clean up your habits, improve your health, hone your skills, and get organized. Work and service are key topics for reevaluation. Are you using your skills and talents in the most effective and useful way? Is there a shift you can make to be of greater service? Does your job inspire you or suck your vital life juice?

If you have a copy of your birth chart and want to get more specific about what Mars Retro means for YOU, find the house or houses that contain 3 to 23 degrees Virgo. The areas of life represented by this house(s) reveal where you are being called to purify and purge, clean up the past, restore order, rethink your desires, reinspire your enthusiasm, and apply your powers of analysis and discernment.

- Emily Trinkaus

Note to Portland-area ladies: Join Dawn Thomson and me on Sunday, February 5 to explore these Mars Retro themes at our women’s yoga, writing and astrology retreat. Find the details here.

“Breathe deep into the energy and, like a surfer, picture yourself getting up on top of the wave rather than trying to quiet it. The wave is a wave, it is what it is and it is building, so no sense in waiting for it to pass, it won’t.” – David Pond, Winter Solstice Newsletter

Winter Solstice, the darkest time of year, calls us inward to meditate and reflect on what we’ve created and how those creations are serving the greater whole. As the Sun shifts into Capricorn — Wednesday, 9:32 pm PST — we enter a new season, the beginning of the end of the astrological year that began at Spring Equinox on March 20. What did you initiate then? What do you want to bring to completion?

The Solstice Sun’s square to Uranus in Aries and conjunction with Pluto in Capricorn activates the Uranus-Pluto square, which will be exact for the first time in June 2012. The Sun’s interaction with the cosmic headline of the next few years urges us to consider our personal expression of the Light within this broader context.

As 2011 comes to a close, instead of getting caught up in the hype of “What’s going to happen in 2012??” a more useful line of questioning might be: How can I be an effective participant in co-creating a peaceful, sane world? What’s my unique role to play? How can I best utilize my skills and talents, and step into my soul’s purpose?

“Belonging to a Greater Whole”

“Imagine a world in which denial of our interrelatedness is no longer an option.” – Christine Page, 2012 and the Galactic Center

The chart of the Solstice can be read as an energetic blueprint for the next three months, and Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn, holds special significance. Saturn in Libra, the sign of partnership, peace and justice, says that the most practical thing we can do is to recognize our relatedness, our inherent kinship with all beings.

Saturn is forming a close trine — 120-degree angle of ease and flow — with dreamy, mystical, visionary Neptune. The Saturn-Neptune trine enhances cooperation between the seen and unseen realms, and reminds us that, as Caroline Casey is fond of saying, “the imagination lays the tracks for the reality train.”

Neptune in Aquarius asks, What’s your most inspiring, liberating dream for our collective future? What’s your best-case scenario? And practical Saturn asks, What’s one step you can take in the here and now to ground your vision into reality? Who can you partner with to increase your potential for success?

Neptune is preparing to move into Pisces in February, and in the last phase of his 14-year tour through Aquarius, we seem to be witnessing the dissolution of democracy in the U.S., exemplified by police violence against peaceful protestors, and now the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act. As I wrote in a previous post, Unconsciously navigated, Neptune the mystic devolves into the illusionist, and over the past decade, we’ve witnessed the Neptune in Aquarius shadow — the eroding of freedom and the illusion of democracy.

In an environment of dissolving democracy and increasing assaults on freedom, it’s easy to get caught up in the Capricorn/Saturn shadow — fear — and to give away our power to totalitarian police state versions of the future (see Fear and Power). When we start buying into that dream, we’re feeding it energy and helping to create it. A more useful approach would be to address the fear itself and process that emotion, which then frees us to claim our authority to write the script for a more positive future, team up with others who share our vision, and start doing the work to bring it into reality.

Saturn also opposes Jupiter in Taurus, extra-potent right now as he stations and prepares to turn from Retrograde to Direct on Christmas day. Jupiter signifies how we make meaning — the stories we tell ourselves — as well as trust, confidence, optimism and expansion. Jupiter Retrograde has invited us to reconsider the stories we tell ourselves about pleasure, money, resources and the Earth, and to realign with our personal values and priorities. The Jupiter-Saturn opposition pushes us to take responsibility for our beliefs and ideals, and strengthen our faith in positive outcomes.

Intriguingly, Venus — ruler of both Taurus and Libra and therefore the dispositor of Jupiter and Saturn — squares both planets. Venus in Aquarius wants to extend the consciousness of kinship beyond personal relationships, and out into the wider collective. Venus’s square to Jupiter amplifies and stabilizes expression of the feminine — love, connection, compassion, receptivity, pleasure, beauty and art. And her square to Saturn points to the feminine as key to liberation from fear and tyranny.

The Sabian Symbol for Saturn at the Solstice beautifully articulates the Venusian theme of connection and kinship, as well as the Neptunian theme of support from the unseen:

“A man becoming aware of spiritual forces surrounding and assisting him:  The realization, at any level of existence, that one is never alone, and that the ‘community’ — visible or invisible — is sustaining one’s efforts…. At the animal level, the whole biosphere is the community; for the ordinary human being, it is the tribe or family, the village community, the nation. As the individual expands his consciousness, he may become aware of a spiritual community…. [T]his stage should bring the realization of ‘belonging’ to a greater whole.” (Dane Rudhyar, An Astrological Mandala)

- Emily Trinkaus

Note to Portlandia friends: Join me and my amazing high priestess friend Katie Todd for Activating Feminine Power, a workshop for women starting in January. Check out all the details here.