Sacred Britain ToursResearch & ArticlesPlanetary SpinAstrology Update for Spring Equinox 2007by Marcus Mason |
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This Equinox occurs in the midst of the on-going Saturn opposition to Neptune, which has been running since 31st August last year, and will continue to have effect until mid-August this year. This is an alignment that occurs only once every 36 years, so although it may be causing you to have an 'interesting time', make the most of it, as it won't be around again for a while. It may appear that it is literally stretching us to our limit... which is exactly what it is doing - Saturn is concerned with the body and all things physical, whereas Neptune is concerned with the spirit and all things non-spiritual. So, this opposition is literally highlighting for each one of us the conflicts within between our physical, personality-based self and our spiritual, soul-based self, challenging us to bring them into a more congruent alignment, so that our outer lives may reflect our innermost nature more fully. This is essential if we are to integrate the profound First Ray / Divine Will energies of the Pluto / Galactic Centre conjunction which is also occurring all year until the end of October. Opportunities like this don't come along very often, and certainly won't come around again for any of us in this lifetime. 
So, if the combination of these profoundly transformative energies is causing you some difficulties, physically, health-wise, energetically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually, then it is because something needs to shift - it will depend on each one of us exactly what it is that needs to shift. For some, we will need to align more regularly with our spiritual nature through meditation, yoga, tai chi, sacred dancing, chanting, etc., whilst for others we may need to be more anchored in our bodies, and in tune with answering the practical necessities of life, especially if we have been doing too much meditation, yoga, tai chi, sacred dancing, chanting, etc., in the hope that if we just do enough of this, then all the chaos in the world around us will somehow go away, or not touch us. For some, we will be dealing with health issues, for some financial issues, or family issues, or career issues, or looking-after-yourself-better issues, or, or - For everyone, the key is about finding Balance - Balance between the Inner and the Outer, the Spiritual and the Physical, the Personal and the Transpersonal. There is also the question of how to balance the physical needs and requirements of the individual (Saturn is in Leo) with the spiritual (and social) needs of the greater whole (Neptune is in Aquarius). What we are seeing from many governments is a last desperate resurgence of the old-paradigm Piscean Age way of dealing with this dilemma - imposing their will for the 'good of the collective' - which is in fact old-style Communism come home to roost, especially in the UK, where Big Brother is watching us (nothing to do with the TV show) - the Shadow always catches up with us in the end, because it was there in the collective psyche all the time - it was just more convenient in the past when we could project it out on to the old Soviet Union or old-style China, and blame them. Now, we're running out of 'hooks' to project the collective shadow on to..there's only really North Korea and Iran left...even Colonel Gadaffi is refusing to wear it any more. And we all know what happens when you go off half-cock and attack your own shadow, ending up between Iraq and a hard place (sadly, not my phrase). So, what can we do to retrieve and own the Saturn Shadow - Be In Our Spiritual Power - that is what the Pluto / Galactic Centre (GC) conjunction is challenging us to do. Not just those who are consciously following a 'spiritual path', not just those who have done loads of 'work on themselves', but everyone the world over. The only reason that governments, institutions, employers, partners, families can have power over us is because at some level, we have given our power away to them, willingly and consciously, or unwittingly and unconsciously. 
Now, as we approach the Equinox, we reach the point of perfect balance in the year, where everything is poised for a new beginning: Saturn and Neptune hold the possibility for each of us to manifest our true spiritual potentials in the world and in every aspect of our daily lives. The Saturn / Neptune opposition forms the backbone of a 'Kite' pattern which also includes Jupiter and a Moon / Venus conjunction. Jupiter in Sagittarius is bringing the possibility for us individually and collectively to create the best possible vision of the future for ourselves - something that is hard to imagine, with all the chaos and fear that is being generated by governments and the media about our collective future - global warming, the threat of further wars in the Middle East, corruption within governments, etc - all of this has the effect of making us feel disempowered, but only if we let it, only if we buy into it all, only if we remain off-balance, off-centre and focussed on the fear and seeping sense of hopelessness that is being generated all around us. If we step back into our centre, into the core level of our being, if we can learn from Pluto and the GC how to stand (or sit, or lie, or dance, or sing) in alignment with the Creative Force of the Universe that flows through us in every moment, to simply allow the overwhelming spiritual Bliss of inner 'emptiness' or non-attachment to empower our thoughts, feelings and actions, then we will retrieve our power, and can begin to manifest the vision of the future that we would like to see. That is what Jupiter offers us this Equinox, whilst the Moon and Venus can enable us to feel the joy and the possibility of realising this vision, and becoming the creators of our own destiny. This can only happen if we accept the challenges of Saturn and Neptune, and of Pluto and the GC - the challenge to overcome the resistances within us, and our fears from the past, and above all to overcome the fear of actually being in our own power - if we are to be in our power then we need to listen to and follow our inner intuitive knowing, to not be dependent on anything or anyone else (phew!), and to have the courage to follow our inner knowing, even when those around us (whom we may love) are telling us different; if we are to be in our power, then we need to not be disheartened or discouraged by the apparently overwhelming levels of control and unenlightened (to put it kindly) 'leadership' that is being wielded all around us, and at the same time not to spend our valuable energies caught up in reaction to that - just another way of disempowering ourselves. The beauty of all this is not that we have to do anything to achieve this level of empowerment. It is happening anyway with the Pluto / GC alignment - all we have to do is to allow it to happen, to allow the resistances and past fears about being in our power to dissolve (Neptune dissolves), to release and to forgive our past - not necessarily to forgive others, but to forgive ourselves for perceived wrong-doings, perceived failings, for the perceived times when we have not acted from an empowered place - we probably had no real choice then, but we do have a choice to let go and move on now. The final pieces of the astrological puzzle this Equinox are held by Mars and Chiron, which are also conjunct with Neptune, by Uranus that is conjunct the Moon's Node, and by the Sun, which is conjunct with Ceres: 
Mars and Chiron, with Neptune:Chiron, the healer is healing our relationship with our personal will (Mars) and its connection with Neptune is teaching us about 'right-action / non-action', that is about us not acting from the personality-will, but allowing our spirit to act spontaneously through us. When we act in this way, we cannot help but engage in right action, and align our personal will (Mars) with our spiritual will (Pluto), and with the Divine or Universal Will (GC). Uranus and the Moon's Node:Uranus is the Awakener, and the Moon's Node shows us the next step on our spiritual path - so quite simply, whatever is happening to you right now has the potential to awaken you to step more completely into your true spiritual path. This links in with Jupiter (see above), and its vision for your future. So, whatever it is that excites and inspires your spirit right now - do it! Sun and Ceres:As the Sun moves into Aries at the Equinox, it always heralds new beginnings and new possibilities. In ancient times, the Sun was seen as Apollo, the god of light, creativity and inspiration. This time he is entering the new cycle hand in hand with Ceres / Demeter, the Mother Goddess. So, maybe we can all enter the new cycle with an awareness of the divine masculine and the divine feminine, honouring our spiritual connection with Source in equal measure to our spiritual connection with the Earth. There has been so much emphasis in the past year on a collective awakening to the effects of Global Warming. Sadly, most of that emphasis has been about approaching the 'problem' from the point of view of its effects on human lifestyle, and the economics of how to sustain it all - put bluntly, saving our skins and the global economy. It is still not yet really about honouring the planet as a living being, on which we are wholly dependent. It is still approaching it from the patriarchal viewpoint, of 'how can we re-gain control of all this?' However, at least we have recognised our human contribution to the changes in our climate...which are also happening as a result of changes in the Sun's behaviour, due in turn to the increased levels of plasma and photon activity within the heliosphere (Sun's total area of influence in space) as a whole - there is evidence that this activity is affecting the atmospheres on all of the planets in our solar system. All of which makes it even more imperative that we take measured action to help create a counter-balance - the argument that it is happening anyway, and not the result of human activity, therefore we don't have to do anything about it, is frankly humbug (to use the technical term). The bottom line is that this situation has arisen as a result of our loss over milennia, of any true communion with the spirit of the Earth, something that was deeply understood and held in respect and awe by the ancient cultures that gave us the incredible global network of sacred sites, such as Stonehenge, Carnac, the Pyramids of Egypt, the Maya and the ancient Chinese, the standing stones, sacred barrows and underground initiation chambers, holy wells, and countless others. So, perhaps we can approach this Equinox as a time to honour the divine within us, to allow the resistance of the past to dissolve, to withdraw our projections from those to whom we would give away our power, to stay in our centre, and to think and act from a place of inner stillness, joy, peace, abundance, and creativity, with an appreciation of our privileged place on this exquisitely beautiful, powerful, yet delicately balanced planet, at one of the most crucial times in her whole evolutionary history - the time when all of her human inhabitants need to become fully conscious of our daily relationship with her, if we are to create the sort of future that we would aspire to from the deepest core of our being. Marcus Mason Marcus Mason is a Soul-Centred Astrologer, Traditional Acupuncturist and Sacred Earth Energy worker, living in Cornwall, England. He has practised and taught astrology for 25 years in England, and since 1999 in Ireland, Belgium and the USA. He is available for one-to-one Life-Purpose Astrology and Astro*Cartography (Location Astrology) Readings. For many years, he has worked with Sacred Earth Energies, facilitating workshops, meditations, ceremonies and Sacred Sites Journeys in England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Belgium, South Africa, and Alaska. He was co-founder of a meditation group that met every Full Moon for 4 years (1994-1998) inside Stonehenge. Further details of some of his work and past projects can be found at: www.2006eclipse.com and www.solarspirit.eclipse.co.uk (contact details & prices on this site are no longer current), to contact Marcus, please email: |
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