Shifting Gears

Full Moon at the Summer Solstice, and a week later, Mars finally turning direct.

Now we have the New Moon coinciding with Independence Day, the celebration of the US birthday!

These are not isolated, separate events.

In astrology, as in life, every event, to be really understood, must be taken in the context of the 'bigger picture'.

If you felt a great deal of mental tension, confusion, information overload in the days leading up to and following the Summer Solstice Full Moon, it is not surprising.

The Solstices and Equinoxes mark turning points in the year, the shift from one season to another, so the timing of this Full Moon highlights the significance of this entire summer as a period marking a big a turning point.

Mars turning direct in Scorpio, a sign associated with transformation, is like an exclamation point on all of that...things can really start to move now! People are marching, protesting, taking action in order to change things.

It is not surprising that we have seen the “Brexit” vote to leave the EU just days after the Solstice Full Moon. This is a signal of things to come.

Just as Mars has begun moving direct, there are now massive protests by those in Britain who had voted to stay. Huge change seldom comes easily or without considerable conflict.

In France, there have been massive protests in the last several months. “Some commentators call the current series of anti-government protests the longest, largest and most sustained since the 1789 French revolution that deposed the monarchy.”

The Full Moon occurs when the light of the Sun illuminates the entire 'face' of the Moon. This symbolizes the illumination of what is usually hidden.

The Moon was in the last degree of Sagittarius as it reached Full. Sagittarius relates to beliefs, religious and otherwise, as well as that which is foreign to us, that which offers new perspective, understanding, awareness, new possibilities. The fact that the Full Moon was right on the cusp of the next sign adds to the symbolism of endings and beginnings.

During this Full Moon-Solstice there has been a very dynamic astrological pattern called a Grand Cross.

As the name suggests, it involves planets that are at 'cross purposes', pulling in opposite directions and indicating conflict.

This Grand Cross was formed by Mercury (in its own sign, Gemini) opposing retrograde Saturn (in Sagittarius) while Jupiter (in Mercury's other sign,Virgo) opposed Neptune (in its own sign, Pisces).

If that sounds complicated, it is. The planets in each of these oppositions are linked to the other pair forming a series of squares, like the corners of a box, forming a closed circuit. It is like a knot of dynamic energy that goes round and round, building up pressure that seeks release.

The Grand Cross includes the separating square of Jupiter and Saturn who have been strong indicators of the current political climate for months.

Saturn represents all that we associate with 'the establishment' and Jupiter has been challenging the 'status quo' all year and has now overtaken it, as Saturn retrogrades.

All the planets are named after Roman gods and in the mythology, Jupiter was the son of Saturn and overthrew his father. Saturn was an earthy god, so represents the material world, particularly the corporations, financial and government bodies in our industrialized world....all our established social structures, including the physical infrastructures of our cities and our fundamental beliefs in the physical sciences and in the limitations of a material reality.

Jupiter was the sky god and represents lofty ideas and ideals, a progressive attitude more concerned with creating the future than preserving the past. Jupiter represents unlimited possibilities.

Saturn represents rules and limitations fear of change. Jupiter represents freedom, optimism, opportunity for growth and expansion of awareness and understanding.

Fear keeps us stuck in a belief that we must hold on to what we know, even if it isn't working.

As the 'Brexit' vote, the marches in France and the class action lawsuits over election fraud in the US indicate, an increasing segment of the population are realizing that the 'old way' isn't working, are demanding change and willing to take action now to bring it about.

On the day of the Full Moon, I read an article about the elections in Italy where it looked like the 'anti-establishment' candidates were likely to win there, too.

We have seen the same theme in the current US election with an enormous groundswell of popular support for candidates who came from outside the two main 'establishment' parties, and are challenging the 'establishment candidates' for the nomination to lead those parties.

We have also seen a very strong Mercurial theme focused on communications, information and ideas, including the 'news' we receive in the mainstream media and the often-conflicting perspective seen via 'social media'.

Mercury is all about curiosity and as it opposes Saturn, is bringing up very serious questions and concerns. It urges us to 'question authority' and to demand accountability.

The involvement of the Jupiter-Neptune opposition suggests a quest for truth and a need to see through any veils of deception that might be blocking us from access to the details and facts. It also signifies the increasing frustration with 'media spin', news that is more entertainment and distraction than information and is contributes to our uncertainty about what, if anything, we can believe.

With the increasing use of the internet and social media for exchange of information and ideas, more and more people are beginning to question what they are seeing in the mainstream media.

More and more people want to know what is really going on and able to search online for alternative perspectives.

This powerful Full Moon-Solstice with its Grand Cross, followed so closely by Mars turning direct, seems to indicate that all of this is coming to a head now and throughout the summer.

Mars is a fiery planet and it could be a very hot summer politically and otherwise!

As it is turning around Mars is in an interesting aspect with Uranus in Aries (Mars' sign). Any combination of these two planets is potentially explosive.

All of this is happening in the context of a much bigger picture.

There is a revolution happening which will have as much, or more, impact than the Industrial Revolution.

Pluto entered Capricorn in 2008 and we saw the economic meltdown, wikileaks, and other signals of profound change beginning.

Things kicked into higher gear when Uranus entered Aries in 2011 and we saw the Fukushima earthquake-tsunami-nuclear meltdown within hours of that change of signs....an indication of the upheaval to be expected as Uranus squared Pluto (7 exact squares) from 2012 to 2015.

Uranus is the energy of rebellion and revolution. Pluto represents total transformation, which generally requires the destruction of the old in order for the new to emerge. When those two planets aspect one another, the repercussions are felt for many years.

The last Pluto journey through Capricorn began in January 1762 and lasted until January 1778, marking the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

It isn't too hard to see how virtually all of the big issues of today are related to the Industrialization that began during that earlier transit of Pluto through Capricorn.

The term 'plutocracy' which is derived from the name of the Roman god of the underworld, is particularly appropriate to Pluto in Capricorn as that Saturn-ruled sign is very much associated with 'the establishment', corporations, banks and other social constructs which currently have the power, money and control.

The people are waking up.

There is an increasing awareness that they, the people, are the 99% and that if the 99% come together and work together, then that will be a 'real game-changer'. The game will change and the '1%' will no longer be 'holding all the cards'.

The Grand Cross at this Summer Solstice, with the illuminating Full Moon offers us an opportunity to shift our perspective and realize that anything is possible if we all work together.

We often talk about 'thinking outside the box'.

This Grand Cross represents 'the box', which can be a portal instead, if we open our minds to realize that, in truth, we have created the box. It is built out of our beliefs.

We can question our beliefs. We can question what we have been told it true.

Many people are beginning to question 'business as usual'.

A revolution has begun.....