Greetings USED KARMA readers - and those of you who access this column through John Derrickson's PsyPlan(tm) site (http://www.psyplan.com)! Many people have been asking me what is going on that feels like Mercury is Retrograde (which it isn't) while everything seems totally weird. Well friends, it seems to me that Uranus, Neptune and Pluto in Retrograde may explain some of the confusion (especially since all of these planets are male). I have been looking for signs of this effect.
I usually write this column on or around the new moon. In the nearly four years that I have been writing this column (without missing a single month!) I have never completed an article later than the first quarter moon. I kept trying and trying to write this column according to my usual schedule, with no meaningful results. I was able to write notes, but the prose refused to flow. Finally I am completing this three days after the full moon in Capricorn. The whole process has felt like swimming upstream in a swift current of a sticky, gelatinous substance.
Does it seem to you as if everything has been really weird lately? (Since I was born with four outer planets in Retrograde - Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto I am something of an expert on weird.) Currently the last three planets in our solar system are Retrograde. Since these planets are so much farther away from the Sun than the Earth is, one of their years is equal to several Earth years. Thus these planets do not have an effect in an individual's chart. Rather, they affect entire generations. You can think of these planets as describing the basic character and drives of large groups of contemporaries. Everyone on the planet has a common resonance with a large group of people according to these planets. Thus there are many things happening that are affecting large groups of people in similar ways, according to the outer planet locations in their natal charts and the aspects (if any) being formed to the current outer planet locations.
I observed earlier that it feels as if Mercury is Retrograde even though it is not. This is manifesting in various ways. One is the 40-day transit strike in Philadelphia, which ended on Friday, July 10. Transit strikes are a classic harbinger of Mercury Retrograde. Another is miscommunications between people, missed appointments, transit delays, and total mutual non-comprehension. As an aside, I noticed something truly odd this past full Moon. Fisherman usually do very well during a full Moon. By during, I am including the few days before the full Moon when the Moon is waxing quickly and the few days after the full Moon when the Moon is waning quickly. I was out in Battery Park just two days after the full Moon in Capricorn talking with some fisherman about their catch. There were several men out fishing at 10 PM, and not one of them had caught anything! One of them told me he had been out since 4 AM that morning! I attribute this to the fact that Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are all in Retrograde.
My apologies to you veteran readers, but let's do a quick recap on planetary Retrogrades. The planetary Retrograde is actually an optical illusion caused by the elliptical orbits of the planets around the Sun. There are times when the planets appear, from our vantage point here on Earth, to be backing up in their cycles. In actual fact planets do not stop moving at all - they continue forward in their orbits around the Sun. During those times when the planets appear to be stationary in their orbits or moving backward are the times when the energy of that particular planet is held back. Thus that planet's energy, as expressed in our world by the areas in life ruled by that planet, is suppressed from outward expression. Instead, we are forced to go inward in contemplation, analysis and intuitive integration of those areas, since we can't express them externally.
For example, Mercury is the planet of communication. When Mercury is Direct, machines function correctly, people understand each other, traffic flows smoothly, planes are on time and life proceeds as normal. When Mercury is Retrograde, traffic lights malfunction, there are signal problems with the trains, people miss appointments by being in the wrong place and/or arriving at the wrong time - or they simply forget them altogether! When a planet is Retrograde it is time to go internal regarding the areas of life ruled by that planet, so Mercury retrograde is a good time to meditate and to perfect areas of inner communication. For example, if you are very critical of yourself and are constantly putting yourself down, Mercury Retrograde is an excellent time to pray, meditate and focus on changing your internal "self-talk" into more positive messages that will allow you to achieve the health and happiness you desire.
So what is happening now? Uranus is the planet of eccentricity, individualism, flashes of genius. Myrna Loftus, in her wonderful book A Spiritual Approach to Astrology (see if Amazon Books has it and get yourself a copy -- http://www.amazon.com) calls Uranus the "Awakener." She says Uranus "represents the unconscious urge to become aware of your true inner individuality (the Sun).1." Ms. Loftus then goes on to tell us that Uranus "is your intuition awakening you to a world beyond our social structure.2."
So when Uranus is Direct, we are assisted in our desire to truly know ourselves and experience our own individual gifts. When Uranus is Retrograde, we must go internal to examine our own unconscious desires for individual expression. It is interesting to note that during this Uranus Retrograde the government of Bhutan, one of the last two absolute monarchies in Asia, announced plans to move to constitutional democracy. In fact, the Bhutanese ruler not only made announcements, but actually invited its general assembly to elect a new ruling council. The newly elected leaders were overwhelmingly young and Western-educated. Such a move would have been unthinkable in Bhutan just six months ago!
Now let us turn to Neptune, the planet of mysticism and illusion. Myrna Loftus calls Neptune the "Dissolver." She says Neptune is "the unconscious urge to dissolve the boundaries of your ego-centeredness in order to 'lose yourself' in the 'Kingdom of God' within...our Superconscious. It dissolves life's patterns in order to teach new meanings in the quest for universal wisdom.3." Remember that Neptune has a far longer journey around the Sun that Earth does, so a Neptunian year is enough Earth years to affect an entire generation. So when Neptune is Direct, people are being propelled in the direction of universal wisdom. When Neptune is Retrograde, people are focused inward on accessing their own personal wisdom.
Loftus calls Pluto "Regeneration." She says Pluto "represents an unconscious urge to transform repressed ego-desire energies into group desire energies in order to live out your role in society's evolution.4." Pluto Retrograde makes us look honestly inside ourselves to see where our own personal desires are superseding those of the community, and enhances our ability to eliminate that which does not serve us. It also empowers us to acquire that which does serve us - the ability to experience love and compassion for others.
On July 12 I heard a National Public Radio listener explaining how his four-year-old had asked him about a story they had both listened to regarding the death penalty. He explained to his son that the death penalty was when someone did something so terrible that the Government killed them for it. The child responded that if the Government did this then the Government should go to jail. If a four-year-old can understand this, you can bet many other folks are capable of it. People are starting to address this and other important social issues with a fresh and clear eye. The outer planet Retrogrades have enabled people to go internal in several important areas of their lives and emerge clearer, stronger and more direct.
Genuine self-knowledge is a necessary precondition for a shift in personal consciousness. When many people experience such self-knowledge during the same time period there is a rapid change in social consciousness, resulting in major changes in existing social conditions. Neptune in Retrograde enhances this process. When combined with Uranus Retrograde there is an added aspect of contacting our own unconscious desires for individual expression, a lovely complement to increased inner wisdom. Now add Pluto, the planet of regeneration and reorganization, Retrograde into the mix and - PRESTO! The old social architecture falls apart and a new one emerges, dictated and shaped by the people and predicated on the interests of all people, not just the rich.
These planetary Retrogrades are having other effects. Because external interactions are heavy and difficult, people are being forced to take more control over their individual lives just to complete their own daily routines. This brings great rewards - namely, that people are taking control of their own communities and governments and are joining together to change life for everyone. This difficult period is preparing us for the light that will greet us when the outer planets are all Direct again and people are moving forward to transform social and political structures in the interest of the planet as a whole and the well-being of all its inhabitants.
Copyright 1998 Marcy J. Gordon. All rights reserved. The author wants you to know you are free to copy and distribute this article for noncommercial purposes, provided you reproduce it in its entirety and credit the author. For quotation permission, please contact the author at mgordon@pipeline.com.
This article represents the author's personal views and in no way shape or form reflects upon the author's employer, although the author's employer is very cool. See http://www.ericmarder.com.
1. ibid., p.26
2. Idem.
3. Idem.
4. Idem.
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