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EcoAstrology: Sagittarius New Moon/Solar Eclipse + Solstice
December 14: New Moon/Total Solar Eclipse 8:17 AM PST (23º Sagittarius)
December 15: Chiron D+ (5º Aries) 2:16 PM PST
December 16: Saturn enters Aquarius 9:04 PM PST
December 18: Sun con Galactic Center 6:30 AM PST (27º Sag); Mercury con GC 7:38 PM PST
December 19: Jupiter enters Aquarius 5:07 AM PST; Sun conjunct Mercury (28º42’ Sag)
December 21: Solstice 2:02 AM PST; Jupiter conjunct Saturn 10:20 AM PST (0º29’ Aquarius)
December 22-23: Mars conjunct Eris and square Pluto (24º Aries-Capricorn)
The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away —Pablo Picasso
May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears — Nelson Mandela
Change Perception and you change the world —Jean Houston
YEARLY FORECAST: Due to Covid19, there will not be a gathering for my 2021 Forecast. Instead, my 2 hour recording, plus 6 pages of handouts covering the major alignments of 2021 and how to work with them, will be available January 1. To order, click on the PayPal button on my website here. You can also mail a check for $25 for the emailed version, or $35 for CDs & handouts via mail to: Stephanie Austin, PO Box 1745, Port Townsend WA 98368.
December 12, 2020
Dear Friends,
We are nearing the end of a pivotal year, and the close of the momentous triple conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto in Capricorn, which was the archetypal theme of 2020. In a few days, Saturn re-enters Aquarius on December 16, Jupiter moves into Aquarius on December 19, and on December 21 they conjoin only a few hours after the solstice. All conjunctions mark the ending of one cycle, and the beginning of another. The longer the cycle, the bigger the change it offers. A Jupiter-Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn occurs only every 735 years. A Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Aquarius is also quite rare; the last was 615 years ago, in 1405. Even more striking, there has not been a Jupiter-Saturn conjunction on a winter solstice in the last 5,000 years. This solstice conjunction marks a major turning point in humanity’s evolutionary journey, a growing readiness to embrace the Aquarian ideals of equality, collaboration, and progressive change.
An important prelude occurs just seven days before the innovative Jupiter-Saturn conjunction on the solstice — a total solar eclipse on December 14 at 8:17 AM PST at 23º Sagittarius, offering a crucial reminder, that: What we see depends on where we stand. How we interpret our experience dictates our reality and choices. Sagittarius is the sign most concerned with perspective, principles, and meaning. We assess and interpret all of our experiences through a multilayered filter shaped by our gender, race, religion, culture, country, education, and media programming, plus the tendencies delineated in our birth chart. Until we encounter something outside of our conditioned frame of reference, we remain unaware of our assumptions and biases.
Sagittarius is also associated with travel, higher education, nature, and all pursuits that expand our horizons. Maintaining a sense of the bigger picture is more important than ever, so we can be empowered rather than manipulated, compassionate rather than judgmental, and choose from love rather than fear. As in the November 30 lunar eclipse, Eris again makes the closest aspect, this time by trine rather than semisquare, helping us recognize what is untrue, unjust, and untenable. Watch for important insights and beware of jumping to conclusions around December 22, as Mars makes its third conjunction with Eris this year (the first two were on August 17 and October 3) and its third square with Pluto on December 23 (the first two were August 13 and October 9). What do we think, what do we believe, and what do we know in our heart?
Our Sun contains 99.8% of the total mass of our solar system, and solar winds of highly charged particles stream to the Earth at one million miles per hour. During a solar eclipse, that continual flow is momentarily blocked by a Moon 400 times smaller than the Sun, but amazingly also almost 400 times closer to the Earth. Solar eclipses are thus extra powerful new moons — and a total eclipse even more so, as the interruption of electromagnetic support facilitates a greater shift from one template to another, altering and rebooting our consciousness. Matrices dissolve, new templates appear, consciousness reconfigures. Solar eclipses thus function as extra-powerful new moons, signaling a time of major endings and beginnings. That this solar eclipse occurs near the center of our Milky Way galaxy at 27º Sagittarius increases its potential for quantum leaps on all levels.
Solar eclipses form close to the same degree every 19 years. On December 14, 2001, there was a solar eclipse at 22º55’ Sagittarius, very close to the degree of this eclipse (23º08’). What was important back then? What needs to either be completed or go to the next level now? Where are we being called to trust our intuition over conventional wisdom? The path of totality for this eclipse will be primarily over the Pacific ocean, Chile, and Argentina, but its electromagnetic and gravitational impact is global. For more on the astronomy of this eclipse, click here.
December 13-14 is the peak of the annual Geminids meteor shower, one of the best of the year, with over 100 "shooting stars" per hour visible on a dark, clear night. Meteors and comets are harbingers of transition and catalysts for change. Each time a comet passes through our solar system, a portion of its ice vaporizes, carrying along with it some of the comet’s rocky core, seeding the Earth with energetic codes and organic compounds. The Geminids will be visible worldwide, barring light pollution or cloud cover, and like the eclipse, their effects are global as well. For more on the Geminids click here.
December 15 Chiron stations direct at 4º56’ Aries, ending its yearly retrograde passage which began on July 11 at 9º26’Aries. As the archetype of the wounded healer, Chiron symbolizes how a core issue can eventually become our greatest gift — that the wounding we’ve healed in ourselves enables us to guide others going through a similar journey. While retrograde, Chiron in Aries urged us to work on our fears of living our truth, taking risks, and going after what we really want. The more inner changes we’ve made in the last five months, the bigger the step forward we can take now.
December 18 the Sun makes its annual conjunction with the center of the Milky Way galaxy, located at 27º08’ Sagittarius. Long before 1931, when a Bell Telephone engineer named Karl Jansky discovered that the galactic center (GC) was a source of intense radio emissions, the Mayans knew it as the Hunab Ku, or Mother Womb, a whirling disk which gave birth to the stars and all life. Modern astronomers have discovered that the GC is indeed a rotating disk; a supermassive black hole which consumes and births new stars. Any celestial body aligning with the GC focalizes the continuous gamma, x-ray, and radio transmissions from the galactic core, providing extra support for remembering our cosmic origins and transcending fear-based, limiting beliefs. On December 18 Mercury also conjoins the GC, further facilitating downloads of new ideas and expanded understandings.
December 21 at 2:02 AM PST, the Sun moves into Capricorn, marking the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere, and the summer solstice in the southern. The word solstice comes from the Latin ‘to stand still.’ Twice a year, the Sun appears to rise at the same place for three days before appearing to either climb higher or lower each day, until the next solstice six months later. For several days before and after the exact time of each solstice, a temporary reduction in the Earth's magnetic field allows an increased influx of cosmic energy into collective consciousness. In the Northern Hemisphere, this is the ‘Return of the Light’; the lengthening days are a metaphor for our growing awareness, with the ultimate goal being Christ consciousness, the realization of our divinity and the sacredness of all life.
This solstice includes an unprecedented Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Aquarius, symbolizing the initiation of a more egalitarian and humanitarian era. This conjunction will also be the closest visually (only 0.1 degree apart) since July 16, 1623 (6º35’ Leo), and the closest observable conjunction since March 4, 1226 (2º28’ Aquarius). While Jupiter and Saturn conjoin every 20 years, signifying changes in social, political, and economic standards, they have not conjoined on a solstice in at least the last 5000 years. Their previous conjunction occurred on May 28, 2000 (23º Taurus), a year which saw the burst of the dot-com bubble and the beginning of the real estate bubble. Their last conjunction in Aquarius was on January 16, 1405 at 24º, coinciding with the ending of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Early Renaissance.
Often called the Great Conjunction, Jupiter and Saturn conjoin in one element for approximately 200 years, called the Great Mutation. While the Great Conjunctions were in earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn), the collective emphasis was on what could be made, used, and possessed, accelerated by the Industrial Revolution and the discovery of electricity. During the last 200 years mechanization, urbanization, and materialism have drastically changed how we relate to the Earth and the material plane. The Great Conjunctions moving into Air signs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) signal an archetypal turn from material to social development, from the control of land and resources to the regulation of information and connection, leading to a greater valuing of creativity and innovation, new networks and alliances, increased shared goods and social reform.
Aquarius’ spiritual task is the development of group consciousness, where we evolve beyond identification with family, religion, race, and country to being a member of the human race. It is the sign of equality and diversity, innovation and reform, collaboration and community. The Age of Aquarius is the age of liberty, equality, and freedom for all, the age of unity in diversity. Unity does not mean uniformity; it is the synergy generated from the expression of each unique individual. The eleventh sign instructs us to be inclusive and inventive. How well we tolerate individual freedom and social justice depends on how well we have mastered the lessons of the previous sign, Capricorn. If we have not developed a healthy sense of sovereignty and responsibility, we fall into the shadow side of Aquarius, which can lead to blind conformity, dehumanization, and technocracy.
This solar eclipse, along with the potent Jupiter-Saturn conjunction on the solstice, reminds us that what is needed most of all is a revolution in consciousness. We are in the midst of an evolutionary shift, moving from materialism, polarization, and domination, into the paradigm of the heart, where we realize our interconnectedness, equality, and divinity. We are metamorphosing into a new species, described in Mayan, Hopi, and other ancient prophecies, as well as by modern visionaries. Leslie Temple Thurston, a teacher of enlightenment, expresses it as homo luminous, "a heart-centered consciousness which includes compassion, tolerance, and respect for others, as well as living in states of gratitude, generosity, joy, equanimity, surrender, and peace." Anthropologist and shaman Alberto Villoldo also described homo luminous as: "beings aware of the divine light within." Psychiatrist and researcher David R. Hawkins named it Homo spiritus: “the awakened man who has bridged the evolutionary leap from physical to spiritual,” while social innovator Barbara Marx Hubbard called it Homo universalis: “consciously co-creating together inside the energy of our Oneness… driven by the most powerful force in the Universe — Love.”
What marks the Age of Aquarius? The 12 astrological ages are based on the precession of the equinoxes, which have a 25,800 year cycle, making each age approximately 2,150 years long. The differences between astronomical constellations and astrological signs make it hard to delineate the next age. Plus, there are no fixed lines in space, and like the Moon, each age waxes and wanes. Nicholas Campion, in his Book of World Horoscopes, mentions at least 70 possible dates for the beginning of the Age of Aquarius, ranging from 1447 to 3597. Whatever marker one chooses, humanity is in the midst of a huge transition, with the December 21 Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Aquarius signifying another major contraction, if not the crowning, of a new age. Endings are as important as beginnings. How skillfully and fully we are able to release the old determines how well we are able to envision and embody the new. The less baggage, resentment, and fear we have, the quicker we can move forward. The more we remember the big picture, that life is about cycles, about learning, about living from the heart, the easier it is to see what’s true, do what’s most meaningful, and hold the light in these challenging transitional times.
All these alignments remind us that: "Your light, your hope, your love, the present of your Presence, and the gift of your positive expectations are the most important things you can share with humanity during your holiday season… Anytime you have a few moments, pause… Dream of a reality in which your life is filled with love. Dream of a world where there is respect for all beliefs and opinions. Dream of a human race that cares about your Mother Earth. Imagine people hugging, celebrating, holding hands, working on cooperative projects, glowing with health, and honoring one another's differences…. Every time you allow yourself to focus with love on this wonderful future, you give yourself and the world the gift of empowering the essence of that reality… Allow yourself to look beyond your pandemic, your vaccines, your politics, your disagreements, your fears and frustrations, and dream of the things that you share as human beings. You all want love. You all want a sense of purpose. You all want health. You all want to feel safe. You all want freedom. You all want mother earth to share her resources for generations to come. Empower that future with your anticipation. Empower your present with your joy. Right here and now you have the power to create a better world. You have the power to empower love. The rest of the world may take a while to catch up with your visions, nonetheless, the more of you that dare to imagine a kinder world, the quicker that reality will manifest around you." (Ann Albers Messages from the Angels; full message available here.)
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Namaste,
Stephanie Austin
www.EcoAstrology.com
360-379-3060
PO Box 1745 Port Townsend, WA 98368
Stephanie Austin M.A. is a full time astrologer specializing in life purpose, career, and relationship readings since 1986. She also teaches astrology, and wrote the New and Full Moon column for the Mountain Astrologer magazine for 14 years. Her background includes a bachelor's degree in Psychology, a master's in Consciousness Studies, and a lifelong involvement with meditation, Nature, and healing. For more information on her astrology readings, eBooks, tutorials, and forecasts, please visit www.EcoAstrology.com.
