Summer of ‘18

The summer of 2018 is going to be a memorable season, Astrologically speaking. The exact center of summer is when the sun reaches 15^o Leo and that occurs on August 7^th. At that time, all four of the Gas Giants will be playing key roles within two trines: Jupiter will be applying trine to Neptune (again) and Saturn will be applying trine to Uranus (again, although it won’t get there this time).

[Note added July 24, 2018] Most interestingly, each Trine serves as a leg of one of two Pythagorean Triangles. My first article discussing this configuration can be found here. I will probably revisit this chart before August 7th arrives.

When slow moving Gas Giants are fixing to aspect one another, the inner planets do-si-do with them intermittently. Since Jupiter and Neptune have been in and out of trine in the middle of the water signs Scorpio and Pisces, everything moving through Cancer (most recently Venus) forms a Grand Trine for a brief period. Well, the same will happen when  those planets later move through early Virgo, since Saturn and Uranus are roughly trine in the earth signs of Capricorn and Taurus.

The mid-summer sun taps right into the trine between Jupiter and Neptune via square and quincunx.

The heat of summer gets further stoked for other reasons. This summer, we’ll experience three eclipses. We have a Total Lunar Eclipse (on July 27^th) sandwiched between two Partial Solar Eclipses (July 12^th and August 10^th). Each of these eclipse charts, which I will show below, are fascinating to study.

On July 12^th, the Partial Solar Eclipse occurs at 20^o 41’ Cancer and nearly exactly opposes Pluto at 20^o Capricorn.

Venus, at 3^o Virgo forms a Grand Trine with Uranus (2^o Taurus) and Saturn (4^o Capricorn). Both the sun and moon are only about 5-1/2 degrees away from forming a second Grand Trine with Jupiter and Neptune.

In a trine, the vibration of one planet readily flows back and forth with that of another planet, especially when a Water Trine or Fire Trine. The eclipse’s opposition to Pluto is significant. It reflects the ongoing resistance to change we all see happening around us.

Life is changing, faster than we’ve ever experienced. Yet there is still resistance to that change. You can call it human nature, but it is more akin to a habit…a bad habit. It is not that life needs to change faster…no ma’am. It is changing plenty fast. Where we fall a bit short is in harmonizing with the change. If we learned to ride the waves of change, we’d enjoy the ride a whole lot more.

The Total Lunar Eclipse features another prominent opposition. This time, when the moon exactly opposes the sun, it will be conjunct Mars.

Those in the eastern hemisphere will be able to see the Moon-Mars conjunction as they watch the eclipse. The Mars opposition is a significant yearly event in its own right. It is when Mars is closest to earth and brightest, rising at sunset and setting at sunrise.

The moon and sun will sit at 4^o 45’ Aquarius/Leo respectively. They form a tight t-square with Uranus at 2^o 31’ Taurus and aspect Saturn at 3^o 47’ Capricorn (via semi-sextile and quincunx).

Chiron, who only recently entered Aries, forms a wedge with the moon-Mars opposition with the sun. This, as I’ve written before, is called an easy opposition. And lastly, Venus, at 19^o 25’ Virgo will be applying Trine to Pluto (19^o 39 Capricorn) and easing away from its earlier opposition with Neptune (16^o 6’ Pisces), which forms another wedge in total.

During the last eclipse, the moon will meet the sun at 18^o42’ Leo, again aspecting Pluto (this time via quincunx) and just 3 degrees off the trine between Jupiter and Neptune. Saturn, which is trine with Uranus, will serve as the corner of a t-square with the Venus-Chiron opposition—and not too far off of the Aries points. Notice that Mars, now in Aquarius, applies square to Uranus. Lots of early sign activity in this chart, which, by the way, includes the nodes of the moon.

The Jupiter-Neptune trine is exact for the last time on August 19^th. The closest Saturn and Uranus will get to a trine is when Saturn stations direct on September 6^th. That means this last eclipse in the cycle occurs just before peak trine activity among the Gas Giants! The eclipses will pluck the harp strings, which will resonate for a while afterward.

The Saturn-Uranus trine cycle is actually over. Saturn trined Uranus three times over the past 2 years: 12/24/16, 5/18/17, and 11/10/17. They occupied Sagittarius and Aries respectively. The near trine that happens when Saturn stations direct on September 6^th is an echo of that activity—an aftershock of sorts. They have both moved into Earth signs, and so the Fire Trine energy from last year is being injected into earth signs this year, creating more obvious manifestation.

The Jupiter-Neptune trine has a shorter lifespan. They too trine three times, the first two having already past: 12/2/17 and 5/24/18. August 19^th thus marks the culmination of that aspect—or at least the beginning of the finale.

By the way, If you look at the chart for Saturn station Direct, you will see a Cardinal Grand Cross and an Earth Grand Trine occurring simultaneously. Everything aspects something near the cusp of two signs or smack dab in the middle.

So what does this all mean?

For one, these aspects show a lot of movement. If I had to summarize it all, I would cite two primary players. One, Uranus’ ingress into Taurus, and two, Jupiter moving through Scorpio and aspecting Neptune.

Aries, as cardinal fire, is the most fiery and active archetype in the Zodiac. Aries packs a punch of potential. It is so full of energy, it feeds the entire rest of the clan.

Taurus is the most opposite archetype to Aries. It is the most solid and stable, stubborn and unchanging.

If you think about it, the physical universe can be attributed to the combination (the cusp) of these two mega-archetypes. Universal energy—direct from Source, unpolarized, pure-positive, and unending, continually channels into physical matter: creating it, holding it together for a time, then eventually breaking it apart.

Uranus carries a strong charge: electric, dynamic, ingenious. It is a revolutionary…Mercury all grown up. It’s time in Aries stimulated the potentials. We transitioned the 2012 threshold with Uranus in Aries, further fueled by the Uranus-Pluto square that occurred over those years.

All of that potential is moving into Taurus now. That energy is stepping down, cooling, precipitating, solidifying, and manifesting. Yes, only a small portion of the potential will manifest. The physical realm is sort of the least common denominator…at least when viewed globally. Things that affect the planet as a whole require an energetic threshold of alignment within humanity. The internet is an example of that kind of manifestation. The information age being the parent of it.

One such Uranus-in-Taurus potential I see on the horizon is autonomous automobiles. The technology is already there and improving rapidly. Nevertheless, humanity still must align with the idea for it to take hold. At this point, it is only a matter of time. We will likely see this technology widely used soon enough.

So Aries, in a sense, symbolizes potential and Taurus symbolizes that which has already manifested. Taurus therefore displays our collective resistance, which is not a bad thing, but an important and necessary aspect of physical reality. Matter can only exist through resistance, through resisting the urge to move back into a state of pure energy.

The polar opposite of Taurus is Scorpio: fixed water. The archetype of Taurus keeps matter solid, and the archetype of Scorpio desires emotional stability through connection and commitment. The two ends both pull in the same direction: inward like gravity.

Jupiter, a ruler of two mutable signs (Sagittarius and Pisces), can’t help but move heaven and earth. His purpose is never to destabilize, but when transiting a fixed sign, he nevertheless does that a bit. He doesn’t pull things apart (as in to destroy), but he does stretch things out. His purpose is expansion. If the container cannot grow with its contents, than it must be shed. Think of a snake molting its skin. The snake is a symbol of Scorpio and molting a symbol of Pluto, the ruler of Scorpio. Jupiter is helping all of that along.

So, we are in a rapid growth, expansion, and evolution cycle. That which cannot grow with us—that which is not sufficiently pliable, flexible, or mutable—must be shed and cast aside.

Negative emotions are indicators of resistance. Positive emotions are indicators of alignment, allowing, resonance, and flow. Jupiter in Scorpio (and especially when trine Neptune in Pisces) is making how we feel so strong, it can no longer be denied (or further resisted). That is a good thing!

The abundance of trines that occur between and among the other planets all feed into, support, and facilitate the flow described above. We are (collectively) harmonizing with and preparing for the next greatest version of humanity, which is imminent. We can travel there with ease and joy, with agonizing fear, or any experience in between. The choice is ours.

If I placed you inside an autonomous vehicle today, and set it to drive on the urban highways, you’d likely feel trepidation. Most of us are probably not ready to volunteer for that. But one who is filled with trust, can sit back and enjoy the ride. S/he needn’t trust the automobile if s/he trusts her own well-being sufficiently.

Uranus in Taurus will find the highest least-common-denominator. It will feel like a revolution to some, and the next logical step to others. The future is now!