This November begins at a frenetic (or is it frantic?) pace. We may feel that we are all over the place, having to address our responsibilities and dealing with unexpected situations that could arise. We might even feel the earth shifting under our feet, both figuratively and literally. Yes, November starts with us betwixt and between, but we can easily question betwixt and between WHAT?
The month starts with three planets in Fire Signs, two planets in Earth Signs, two planets in Air Signs and three planets in Water Signs. Two planets are in Cardinal Signs, three planets are in Fixed Signs and five planets are in Mutable Signs. Five planets are in positive Signs and five planets are in negative Signs.
The entry into November has a T-Square in Mutable Signs, a stellium of three or more planets in Sagittarius and, drum roll please, the Saturn Uranus opposition.
Flexibility and adaptability are key, AND not taking anything too serious. Let’s keep in mind the saying that life’s too mysterious, don’t take it serious. Even if we make judgments about things and have opinions about what is going, something could crop up that forces us to reconsider and
re-evaluate.
Now is a time to adopt an attitude that the jury is out, keep an open mind, yet all the while noting the signals given off by what appears to be going on. Appearance and reality may not truly mesh.
The drum roll for the Saturn Uranus opposition is primarily to emphasize the fact that this configuration, which is exact on the 4th, continues on through the rest of this year, continues on through 2009 and continues on into the middle of 2010. Can I get an aaarrgh?
We are at the threshold, the juncture point, the crossing point of life as we have known it and a brand new day. Actually, it’s a brand new life but day seems so much easier to contend with. The old programs no longer work, but there can be a great deal of resistance to trying anything new. Out of anxiety we could fall back on the ‘tried and true’, even though once tried, no longer true. We might want to cast off the past patterns and past program and lunge forward into the new, the different, and possibly the abyss.
Old and new are doing their dance… dying to the old, born to the new… reinforcing the old, diminishing investigation of the new. Like a metronome wildly swinging out of balance, we could find these times to be quite volatile.
During this month, during the days ahead, it would be wise to focus on awareness and mindfulness. The more we can be mindful of different areas of our lives that are coming up for review or for decisive action, the more we can get a handle on what is being asked of us. The signals will be there. We just have to take off the blinders, let go of our assumptions, work with peripheral vision and be open to what the possibilities and the unfoldings are.
Although we all might prefer resolution one way or another, we are moving out of the sequential reality of beginning, middle and end with resolution. We are moving into a time of process, and a process unfolding not according to any sequential, linear reality. Rather we are stepping onto the magical mystery tour of synchronicity with its kaleidoscope of unexpected events, serendipitous meetings and proddings to be and to do something different than who we have been or what we have been doing.
Exciting times, in deed, but also times that like a good scary movie can be thrilling and terrifying. No knee-jerk reactions please! No assumptions based solely on blind faith! And, please, please, please [kinda like the old musical pleadings of James Brown stage show when he used to fall on his knees and drag himself across the stage floor], no attempts to solely control situations or master the universe. Mastery of the universe is over, done with, an old paradigm of control.
Instead we are moving into times when the parameters can change without a moment’s notice, times when we have to be nimble and quick, flexible and adaptable, mindful and fully aware.
The analogy during these times that I would draw upon is a rope suspension bridge. It will get to the other side but possibly with wild swings as we cross from where we have been to where we are going. There may be times when we have to turn back and go back into the familiar, the old, the customary. And that’s really okay. Other times, we may vaunt across, get to the other side without knowing what the hell we’re going to do or how we’re going to do it. And that’s really okay. For the suspension bridge will cross the chasm between old and new. It might take some back and forth before we reach the other side and decide to cut away the ties that bind our bridge to our past and to our future. And that’s okay too. No judgment… no expectation… cutting ourselves some slack… and recognizing that we are entering uncharted territory, the journey of self-discovery.
With the potential for confusion during this month, it also allows us not to be fixed, not to be rigid, but rather to be open to possibilities that we might not have otherwise considered.
The Saturn Uranus opposition also allows us to draw upon the essence, the substance, the truth of our experience as foundation stones for the investigation, exploration and discovery of our desires, plans and anticipated goals. We have the ability of being visionaries. In being visionaries, the Saturn Uranus opposition allows us to have our head in the clouds and our feet firmly planted on the ground. We don’t have to cast aside all the elements of our past in order to change for the future. We can take those elements that have proven their merit and worth and draw upon them as a best practices approach for realizing our new found goals and dreams.
There will be moments when this month, and these times, are placid and still, other times when the pace accelerates, and times when it may seem almost overwhelming with so much coming at us and the feeling of being pulled apart. No matter, as long as we maintain mindfulness, not accept anything at face value and make our plans with a pencil and large eraser rather than carving our intentions in stone.
November starts with various intense energies.
The Saturn Uranus opposition exact on the 4th is in play throughout the month.
The 2nd has Neptune turning direct and the fog of confusion and illusion can be lifted. We may feel more certain about what we want to do and where we want to go. We are less susceptible to possibilities that are impractical and we can pierce the veil of maya. No matter how clear we might feel, it will be important not to assume that when we have a second wind, that we can rush blindly forward without constantly taking time to consider, re-evaluate and question whether the direction in which we are headed continues to be the direction we intend.
The 3rd has Venus tripping off the Saturn Uranus opposition by creating a T-Square with Venus in Sagittarius squaring Saturn in Virgo and squaring Uranus in Pisces. Relationships can go through a whirlwind. Infatuations with exciting, new and different people can create potential problems with existing relationships and our perceived demands that connections make on us. We may feel increasingly as though we have stepped into some surreal world whereby we are being pushed and pulled, unable to get our grounding both from the conflict of our past and our desired future and from the acceleration with life going ever faster, demanding that we pick up the pace and become adept at juggling.
The 4th ratchets up the intensity of these times. The Saturn Uranus opposition in play until mid-2010 starts in earnest today with the exact opposition between these two planets. But this is not the only energy configuration that could prove daunting. Mars squares Neptune. We may be passionate and determined but a desire to cut to the core might also lead us to make a wrong cut or to be entranced by the mystique without seeing reality. Reality can be a question of opinion, of judgment, of perspective. And on the 4th, Election Day in the US, Mercury sextiles Pluto just before Mercury exits Libra and moves into Scorpio. If we are not swayed by our emotions, by the desire to jump out of our own skin and embrace the different just for the sake of change, our mind can be razor-sharp, even laser-like. We can penetrate the appearances and see what is truly going on. Increasingly, the key elements for us to draw upon during the coming days are awareness and mindfulness. With the kaleidoscope of events, an ever spinning whirr of multi-tasking and the constant juggling at a quick pace, we have to keep on our toes ready to adapt, to shift and to change without a moment’s notice. Awareness and mindfulness.
The 5th has Venus sextile Neptune. If our relationships were strained earlier in the week, we can now sort out much of the superfluous and extraneous that got in our way and concentrate upon the hopes, the potentials, the possibilities. Interactions with friends and others can have us talking about a brand new day and a brand new way. We may see the ideal and consider how we can expand into new realms.
The mid-part of November allows for greater exuberance and focused intent. There is a flurry of activity around the 10th through the 13th. The 10th has the Scorpio Sun sextile Jupiter and the Sun trine Uranus. By attention to conservation and resourcefulness, we can expand our operations and activities in the most expeditious and best practices way. We can be highly effective and productive, especially if we are open to changing our methods and streamlining. We are looking to make changes and during this period we can expand utilizing new technologies and new techniques but in a strategic and detail-focused manner. Mid-November provides great opportunities for us to build upon the past and expand into our future. The 11th has the Sun sextile Saturn. The 12th has Venus conjunct Pluto just before Venus exits Sagittarius and enters Capricorn. And the 13th gives us the Taurus Full Moon with Jupiter sextile Uranus and the Sun square Neptune. Although we are in an expansive and exuberant mood, we have to be careful regarding clarity of vision and clarity of capability. We could get carried away with our enthusiasm, bite off more than we can chew, or make assumptions that are not based on reality but rather on wish fulfillment. Although it could be hard to rein in our enthusiasm, that is what is called for if we don’t want to make a leap into the unknown that potentially could turn into an abyss.
The 16th and 17th are somewhat similar to the energies on the 10th – 14th. In hitting off Uranus, Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune. This time it’s Mercury on the 16th trining Uranus and sextiling both Jupiter and Saturn, followed on the 17th by Mercury square Neptune. Our thoughts can be broad, prospecting for options and alternatives and evaluating them for real possibilities. Our communications can be likewise. A sense of buoyancy and strategic planning can grab our interests and help concentrate our attention. We just have to watch that in our enthusiasm we don’t head down some garden path without recognizing the brambles or the curves in the pathway. The 16th also has Mars moving out of Scorpio and coming into Sagittarius. We may feel like we have gotten a second wind, ready to take on more as a result of our increased energy level. Once again, we just have to be careful that we don’t do too much or overreach.
On the 21st, Jupiter trines Saturn. Our ambitions and projects can meet with success as we both widen our scope and utilize a detailed best practices approach to achieve our results. The 21st also has the Sun moving into Sagittarius and creating a Stellium of three or more planets in the Mutable Fire Sign as the Sun joins Mars and Pluto. This Stellium is briefly reinforced by Mercury coming into Sagittarius on the 23rd and on the 25th conjuncts the Sun. Now is a time when our thoughts and our focus turn more to things far from the normal routine. We are far more interested in things at a distance than those things right in front of us. We may feel beckoned to broaden our reach and take into account foreign situations.
The latter part of the month ratchets up the energy once again. We have two significant planetary changes: Uranus turning direct on the 27th and Pluto entering Capricorn for its multi-year transit of the Cardinal Earth Sign the day before on the 26th. We also have the Sagittarius New Moon on the 27th, Venus sextile Uranus and Mercury conjunct Mars on the 28th and Venus trine Saturn on the 29th.
This latter part of the month talks about beginnings, stretches and raises the question (a question to be raised over the next several years) as to whether we have built upon rock or built upon sand. Anything that is no longer functional, things that are excessive and situations that do not serve a practical purpose may be on the way out. As the saying goes: ‘necessity is the mother of invention’.
We may be far more focused on our necessities, our basic needs and the pressing needs of changing old patterns. We can move into the future with optimism and enthusiasm and with the realization that those things that have true worth from the past can be brought into the future but that our past will not limit our future with its mining of new technologies, new insights and the new paradigm. Although we are likely to go back and forth between our past patterns and testing new possibilities, we are eventually going to cross the threshold into the new paradigm of asequential reality, focused on the process and recognizing that there is no beginning, middle or end but rather a natural unfolding with its own twists and turns… or what I like to refer to as stepping onto the bus for our magical mystery tour.
November 2008… let the games begin…
