The Flow is a weekly blog published to better understand the flow of astrological, celestial, and magickal energies for the week, and how best to use them. It is intended for those with little knowledge of astrology. For newcomers, the idea is to start with the slowest moving forces, as they are the most foundational, and work up to the swiftest, as they are the most fleeting.
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The Flow! is updated every Sunday.
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Synopsis: The Summer of Jupiter in Aries
While much of the US is celebrating the Memorial Day this weekend, the skies are doing anything but taking it easy. In many ways, this coming week is a game-changing shift in the Flow, although so much is occurring within the depths that it may take some time before some changes reach the surface…and I’m not just talking about oil here!
Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune all break some waves this week. So if you pay attention and keep in mind what’s going on above, you can get your ticket punched for a rather wild ride.
To the details, faithful friends and fans of the Flow!
First up is Saturn. It goes direct on Sunday, May 30th at 11:11am. Like when planets go retrograde they tend to be most noticeable, similarly are they noticeable when they go direct. Saturn is the planet of obligations, responsibilities, and discipline. It approaches tasks brick by brick and nail by nail to build monuments that can stand the test of time. It is serious, dependable, and patient, and approaches all it does with a steady, patient, but firm hand.
Last night I watched The Bridge on the River Kwai for the 7 thousandth time, and Alec Guinnes’ character, Colonel Nicholson, deftly plays an avatar of Saturn. He was stern, disciplined, methodical, bound by duty, honor, and an unyielding faith in his principles. He believed wholeheartedly in the benefits of work well done, and was determined to build a bridge that would last hundreds of years.
Except that the bridge he was building was an instrument of the enemy, and regardless of his ideas and principles, it had to be blown up. Poor Alec! I’m sure Obi Wan Kenobi would have known better.
Anyway, Saturn direct is a serious time, so I expect it to cast a bit of a pall on this weekend’s celebrations. Yes, people are glad for an extra day or two off work, and have plenty of plans for the weekend, but mostly people just need time for rest and recuperation. The general mood is somber, as if there were hidden fears and insecurities lying in every shadow. Boo!
Since Saturn went retrograde on January 13th, many of us had to review and revise our obligations – obligations to our selves, and others. Some of us had to review our work, our line of work, or the value of our very jobs. Some of us had to review our relationships with others, a spouse, parent, child, or other loved one. Some of us had to review our finances, our budgets, and our spending habits. And some of us had to review the kind of person we have been, and made corrections and adjustments to our behavior.
Saturn is the gyroscope of our karma. Those rings around it keep it on a steady, even keel, and trying to move them in their designated paths is like trying to move Mt. Everest with your bare hands. Lotsa luck! Resistance is futile.
So, to all of you, to all of us who met Saturn on Saturn’s terms and made adjustments and came out a bit cleaner, leaner, and healthier than we were before – congratulations! As Saturn moves direct, the benefits for your work well done will become more apparent. Enjoy them, they are well earned!
Next up is Neptune.
Neptune goes retrograde on Monday, May 31st at 11:50am. If Saturn is the “reality principle”, Neptune is its complement. Neptune is dreamy, mysterious, spiritual, lofty, idealistic and optimistic. All of which have a tenuous hold on reality, or is it that they are reality and what we think of as real is the illusion?
Neptune rules religion, drugs, and alcohol, but most of all, Neptune rules the sea.
All of the magnificence, power, and glory of the sea is Neptune’s realm. From the calm shores and peaceful beaches to the outermost depths of the Marianas Trench, Neptune’s rule is absolute. And lest you are fooled by Neptune’s often beneficence, there are few forces more destructive than a hurricane.
Neptune rules the seas because to the ancients the seas were their source of survival and sustenance. They envisioned themselves surrounded by the seven seas, and their very lives depended on their relationship to it. We ourselves came from the sea and are still walking vessels of waters.
Neptune, Neptune everywhere! Neptune pervades us everywhere…in our bodies, and in the oceans of water and air in which we exist. Do not be fooled! Neptune’s ebbs and flows affect us deeply.
And none so profoundly as when it turns retrograde or direct. Probably the easiest symbol of Neptune retrograde is an ostrich with its head in the ground. Denial, denial everywhere, and not a drop to drink!
Handling Neptune retrograde periods is not easy. Many around you will want nothing more than to pretend what they don’t like or want to face doesn’t exist. Important facts are overlooked. Important things are forgotten. Important conditions are left out of contracts. Don’t sign one unless you have to until Neptune goes direct on November 7th!
But most of all, Neptune is a call to heed our own inner ocean — to heed the ebb and flow of our own lives, and to understand our selves a little better. Some of us may bathe on breathtakingly beautiful beaches, others may delve into the depths of their soul, and still others may find themselves on some rocky shores. But we are all now ships on Neptune’s retrograde waters. Bon voyage!
And yes, there’s more!
On Friday, just before it leaves Leo, Mars riles the waters and opposes Neptune at 10:54am. You just heard a LOT about Neptune. I like to think of Mars as the Energizer Bunny of the solar system, actively powering everything it touches. But Mars can also be a bit of a pain in the arse. It can be aggressive, pushy, loud, and confrontational. Bullies, soldiers, and athletes all have little Marses sitting on their shoulders.
As you might think after reading about Neptune, perhaps one of the last things it needs is Mars yanking its chain. And while Mars may rile Neptune’s waters, Neptune in turn douses Mars’ fires. Not a recipe for a stroll in the park.
So from late Wednesday when this aspect begins to take hold, through early Sunday at least, play it cool. Don’t upset anyone’s boat. Mind your mouth. Pick your fights carefully. And remember the relationship between discretion and valor. In fact, let’s make that the mantra for the end of the week, “discretion is the better part of valor.” Repeat. Rinse. Repeat often!
And don’t touch that dial, because there’s even more in store!
On Saturday, at 11:29pm Jupiter enters Aries, where it will remain until a little after Labor Day. Oh boy…
Don’t get me wrong. Jupiter in Aries is not a bad thing. But is a very different thing than Jupiter in Pisces.
Jupiter and Pisces get along very well. In fact, the ancients gave rulership of Pisces to the old chap. Jupiter is expansive, optimistic, generous and idealist. Pisces is open, nebulous, accepting, and couldn’t find a boundary if you gave one a map. Pisces is also warm, comforting, easygoing and friendly. Jupiter and Pisces go together like bread and cheese, birds and bees…well you get the picture.
Aries is hot – fiery hot. You might even say Aries gives Jupiter a hotfoot – which may not always be a bad thing, because like Pisces, Jupiter isn’t always the most motivated of planets. So some of what happens when Jupiter enters Aries is that people begin to reengage in all kinds of projects that have been languishing around or percolating beneath the surface.
While on a personal level this can be a good thing, it’s on a mass-scale level that things can get a bit dicey. Jupiter in Aries has a particular problem with the word “no” and when you get into the realm of politics and diplomacy this can be a bit of a problem. Thus, Jupiter in Aries tends to give rise to militant social movements and organizations that often spark widespread conflict.
One of the very good things that often come from Jupiter in Aries is that it usually offers an opportunity for leadership and the benefits to all of us that can come from exercizing it well, personally, socially, or globally. For that reason, Jupiter in Aries often sees the end to limited wars. I would not be surprised if both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars end by the time Jupiter leaves Aries this time next year on June 4, 2011. However, saber rattling from North Korea, Iran, and Venezuela may ignite further conflict.
Economically, Jupiter in Aries is time that the markets usually trend up. Particularly for those products and services that relate to defense contracting, weapons, surgery and medical devices, energy, and metals, particularly steel.
And finally the Ronco© steak knives of the week that Leos, Scorpios, Aquarians and Taureans have been waiting for!
Next Sunday, June 6th at 11:11pm (numerologists take note of all the 11’s going on this week!) Mars finally is done with Leo and moves on to Virgo. From this Leo, it is a deep and emphatic “Hail and farewell!” to Mars. He has been in Leo since October 16th, a very, very long stay for Mars, who usually remains in one sign about two months.
During the time of Mars’ sojourn in Leo, he has caused Leos, Tauruses, Scorpios, and Aquarians quite a bit of drama, upending many an applecart so to speak, and has kept us busier than a hive of bees in a valley of clover.
Now it is those signs turn to get a bit of a break from the action, and time for the Virgos, Geminis, Sagittarians and Pisceans to hop to beat of Mars’ drums. Fortunately, for these folks, Mars will only stay until July 28th, and then be giving hotfeet to Libras, Capricorns, Arieses, and Cancer folks.
I think that’s enough for this week…have a great week!
