If you are a follower of Astrology, you’ve surely been hearing about the Cardinal Climax or T-Square forming in the heavens. The Astrologers have been talking about it for months warning us of the challenge it presents and the transformation that will result. And if you’re up to date, you know that we are well within it right now.
A T-Square or a Grand Cross is the result of a number of planets forming 90 degree and 180 degree relationships with each other. It takes a minimum of three planets to form a T-Square and four to form a Cross. In our case, there are many more involved because there are also some conjunctions going on. And, as always with Astrology, the planets continue to move, backward and forward and at different rates. So, while the majority of this time we are within a T-Square, we did experience a loose Cross for a while there (due to the sun and moon filling the missing leg of the T-Square).
In Astrology, what makes T-Squares and Crosses especially challenging is that each underlying aspect is challenging to begin with. Oppositions (180) and Squares (90) are challenge aspects. The harmonious ones are called Trines (120 degrees).
This morning, while thinking about this, spirit gave me some analogies to understand this.
The Trine is like a cart being pulled by two horses. The left horse pulls slightly to the left and the right horse slightly to the right, but because they are next to each other, they mostly just pull us forward. When the two horses are of equal strength, the slight left/right pulling is canceled out and we (the cart) only feel as if we are pulled forward. So, when planets form a Trine relative to the earth, the combination of energy is harmonious and smooth.
Oppositions are a bit challenging, but not the most challenging. Imagine that you have two lassos around your waist. One friend is pulling you forward and the other is holding you back. Again, if the two are pulling equally, the forces cancel out and there isn’t much movement, yet this time you feel the tension. In fact, the whole experience is wrought with the potential to pull you apart. Change the picture this way, imagine that the lassos are tied to your wrists, one to each. If they pull hard enough, you will feel like you are being pulled apart!
The Square is the most challenging. A good visualization for the Square is driving on a freeway with a VERY strong cross wind. You are trying to go directly forward, but that damn wind keeps trying to push you off course.
When I interpret The Tower in the Tarot, I have come to refer to it as the hard left. It is as if you were traveling happily forward, seeing your goal and heading directly towards it when someone or something comes along and diverts you or slams you into a 90 degree left turn. We tend to resist this type of force because it is complete orthogonal to the direction we want or think we are supposed to be heading in.
I don’t know if any of you have seen Lady Gaga’s most recent video for her song entitled Alejandro, but there is a scene towards the very end, which is analogous to what I feel we are in right now. In this nearly ending scene, all of the male dancers push and pull Lady Gaga. She is thrown to the left and then to the right, forwards than backwards. Since she is not resisting the forces about her, it is actually quite beautiful. She completely acquiesces to it.
When I was young, I never liked amusement parks because the rides either scared me or made me sick. My fear caused me to hold on with white knuckles, thus maximally resisting the motion in an attempt to stabilize myself. As you can image, this was no fun.
It was only much, much later that an adult part of myself instructed me to go with it, to let go and ride the movement. I had to trust that I would be safe and as a result, the ride became much more fun. I was able to enjoy the power of the forces propelling me in directions beyond my choosing.
So right now, as the planets shift ever so slightly into and out of perfect Squares and Oppositions, we are as if dancing with a group of Rugy Players. Yes, they are much larger and stronger than us, muscle bound and not afraid of getting hurt. They see us as that oblong shaped ball and their goal is to get it (us) to the end zone. So, we’ll get tossed around; we’ll be thrown many yards this way and possibly many yard back the other.
And yet, like any dance, there is beauty; there is grace. Dance does contain tension and resistance, but also flow and release. Your partner steps this way and you either fall into his arms or push off of his chest and spin off. When the dance is unchoreographed, there is the element of choice and surprise. You’re never quite sure which way your partner will step next. But remember, in this dance, there are many. You don’t have just one partner, more like five. You can be thrown by one right into the arms of another, push off with fear and turn right into and face-to-face with a third.
And yet, the Perfection of the Universe is still at play in every meeting. We can submit to the dance, yet we still need to pay attention. Unlike the perfect choreography of Alejandro which keeps Lady Gaga from being thrown to the ground, we need to pay attention and maintain our responsibility of self, our self care and put a leg out to catch us before the hard ground slams against us.
Seeming chaos is a powerful force of transformation. Just look at the aftermath of powerful storms. Don’t we always see pictures where a car or boat is thrown into and through a building exposing a breakfast table where a cup of coffee rests unmoved and undisturbed. How does this happen? Such peace within such destruction!
Some days, you’re the boat, some days the house and some days the cup of coffee. It is not just chance. It can’t be.
The Cardinal T-Square is said to reach climax in early August, so the music is playing and the dance has begun. You’ve probably already met some of the rugby players and maybe you’ve already been thrown a few times. If you’re like me, your knuckles are white at least some of the time. The time to prepare for this is long past. All you can do now is go with it, breath, relax, trust and pay attention.
Now is not a time to control as much as it is a time to trust your intuition. Go ahead and react. My bet is that if it’s important, we won’t be able to not react. The emotion will fly to the surface before we’ve even recognized it and by the time we have come to awareness of it, we’ve already done or said something. And when we look back, we’ll see an old pattern. We’ll see (more clearly) something we’ve been doing all of our life. We’ll realize that WE are dancing! We’re the one that stepped left that had our partner step right that had us step back. We’ll realize that our shoulder hurts because we’ve been holding on to that railing far longer than we should have. When it was traveling in the same direction as us, it supported us, but when we turned, holding on to it will cause pain because all of the other forces are taking us this other way now.
Give in to the dance. Listen to the music. When you get a break, look back and see what was gained and say goodbye to what was lost. Laugh at the absurdities and marvel at the miracles. When the winds die down and the clouds part, I’m sure its going to look quite different…
A Fool's Inclination 