20050322

Planetary gearshifting

My ephemeris has Saturn going direct on the 22nd, and Pluto going retrograde on the 27th. But it's keyed to UT/GMT.


"Mar 21, Monday: Saturn (21 Cancer) stations direct for the last time in the sign of Cancer and the constellation of the Twins for another 27 to years or so. When a planet shifts direction, either retrograde or direct, it creates a shift in the energy related to that planet, often feeling chaotic at first.

"With Mercury having just stationed retrograde two days ago, we are experiencing two planetary shifts that just so happen to also be aspecting each other -- consciously formulating greater awareness around acts of transformative kindness and the powerful impact they have on us. Truly we can restructure our world through practicing acts of kindness everyday."

From Maya del Mar's retrograde forecast:

"[Because of Saturn's direct motion], new approaches to responsibility, to government, and to business can move ahead now... Turnarounds here are appropriate -- particularly for the U.S., which, according to many, has reached a dead end in foreign affairs. Doing battle for security is the short key here."

From another source: "Saturn is about responsibility, carrying your share of the load and being held accountable for what you say or do -- or say you're gonna do."

"21 Cancer, where Saturn has been sitting for a few weeks, also carries Plutonian renovative energy. We see dynamic Pluto operating everywhere this month, bringing power up from the depths to transform life..."


"Ceres turns retrograde early in the morning of March 21, at 26 Scorpio. Ceres is the Great Mother. She has everything to do with nurturing, caretaking, and the whole chain of getting food to the table. In the myth, when Pluto stole her daughter Persephone, Ceres (Demeter) stopped the earth from producing, and there was drought and starvation throughout the land. Eventually Persephone returned, and Ceres renewed the flowering of the earth. Themes of birth and death, of loss and return, of grief and suffering, are part of Ceres’ story.

"Ceres is traveling through Scorpio during much of 2005. She was the signal planet in the Bush Inauguration chart, and thus we see Scorpio-Ceres in action now throughout the world. Mr. Bush, with Pluto on his Ascendant, is Pluto -- and he has stolen the daughter, who represents loving nurturing. Ceres in Scorpio is no weak mama. She takes her revenge. Ceres cutting off of the food supply, i.e., nourishment, is endemic now: the Social Security fiasco; the systematic transfer of resources to the most wealthy, regardless of who suffers; denial of medical care, denial of help to veterans, the killing fields of Iraq, the torture of prisoners, the cruel onslaught on the earth herself, etc.

"Ceres travels retrograde until June 26. Perhaps, during this time, we will see and think about how to repair some of the real problems in regard to the many kinds of malnourishment in the world."


"Pluto turns retrograde on March 26, at 25 Sagittarius. This is a new degree for Pluto, which it entered about mid-February. Pluto turns direct on September 2. It is always an important time in the affairs of humans when Pluto emerges out of hiding, and moves again out into the world."

From another source: "Pluto retrograde is a time for individuals and our Earth to cleanse away pollution and waste that deplete the comfort of our body and the environment. Pluto, the planet of regeneration helps us bring to the surface those secret sides of ourselves we avoided facing or owning up to. Pluto retrograde in the natal chart indicates the challenge of power, not so much getting power but deciding what to do with it; how to teach others to use the powerful and sometimes destructive tools at their disposal without destroying themselves and others at the same time.

"One of the best books on this subject is Retrograde Planets by Erin Sullivan, published in 1992 by Penguin Books."

Anyhow...

"Here is a brief summary of planetary energy-change possibilities this month. We must review our attitudes toward our use of aggressive energy, particularly in regard to security. We will try to get a grip on the big issue of life nourishment, and how we can shift from Scorpio’s death drive to Scorpio’s resurrection drive. We will move out into the world with a new authority to fulfill our responsibilities, especially those for nurturing. And we will begin several months of assimilating and working on inner levels with the emerging new power moves, in our lives and in the world."