The sky right now! Image courtesy of Zodiac 13: http://www.astrology13.com/en/40-news/latest-news/286-sunincancer2014

Greetings Cosmonauts! Welcome to August and first a slightly strange philosophical musing to get the ball rolling:

There is a peculiar phenomenon, which occurs all the time in our Universe and in our experience as living beings on a planet; it is the instances when two seemingly contradictory occurrences can exist in the same space-time envelope. It is officially called spatial-temporal dissonance and yet at the same time it occurs with a high degree of frequency. To illustrate further imagine a vast nation with a large population and great vastness of geographic distance between this hypothetical nations biggest metropolitan centers. We’ll call this country Aldeberan (which is actually the name of the brightest star in the Taurus constellation). In one of its cities called Omicron a massive protest movement has commenced which is leading to sweeping social changes throughout its populace. Meanwhile 600km away in the city of Epsilon, a viral outbreak has occurred spurring the municipal government to quarantine its citizens and suspend all civil freedoms until the epidemic is contained or stopped; two completely contradictory events, occurring at the same time in the same place.

It can even be something far less dramatic and yet just as surprising. In the same city of Omicron a couple of adorable gentlemen are stating their marriage vows to one another, while 3km away, a shipment truck is en route to collide with an errant I-beam falling from a support crane, which will cause a chemical spill. Aldeberan is a rather intense place to live clearly. These rather dramatic scenarios aside, the month of August, in the astrological sense is shaping up to demonstrate this phenomenon right down to its atoms; To indicate what I mean by that, take for instance that this month will show a configuration in the sky where two conjunctions will occur with very contradictory outcomes.

The first occurs 4 days prior to the second and involves what in Astrology are called the two malefics, which are the two planets said to be challenging. In this case it is Mars and Saturn who will be fusing in the social sign of Libra respectively. This conjunction is alleged to result on the dark side in an attitude of stubbornness a propensity for violent events, obstinacy, obsession, and vengeance. The additional factor to consider is that it occurs in the air sign Libra. There are a great many things that fall under the purview of Libra including computers, communications and technology including the Internet a trait shared by all the air signs and one of their planetary rulers. It doesn’t stop there however as justice, courts, the legal system, diplomacy and related institutions, social agreements, collective decision making, issues of social, environmental, and economic justice, fairness, tolerance, democracy, equality, beauty and harmony all fall under the sign as well. In fact it symbolizes civilization itself and the agreements we make collectively to make a shared liberty possible, to make it pleasant to live in groups, to ensure we do not have our personal freedoms eroded by the tyranny of the mob mentality.

In essence we can potentially expect to see many of these events related to this conjunction played out on the world stage. This seems fairly appropriate given that we are seeing continuing tensions all across the world currently. The Middle East is of course blowing up right now with Israel being at the epicenter of the tangle. Battling militants in Gaza over the last three weeks has led to recent attacks on UN facilities, a total of 8 UN staff have been killed in the last 24 days. Continuing tension in Ukraine reflective of the Pluto-Uranus square, continues to escalate, spurned on by the deliberate crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight #17, in the Ukraine on July 20^th. Finally, the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia is potentially threatening the ability to contain it. These events do correlate with many of the intense Astrological configurations we have seen over the last few months and it can be suggested that these issues may escalate and intensify if critical tipping points are reached.

That said, there is a silver lining in that this tense aspect does have a bright side, it can also lead to firmness, ambition, perseverance, fortitude, and resilience; qualities that could play out in one of two ways. It could lead to intensification of existing disturbances by making the players in those situations more resistant and obstinate, creating a gung-ho attitude, ensuring that neither side backs down and comes to compromise, although this seems unlikely given that Libra is diplomatic and does find a way to come to some accord or at least a détente, or cease-fire order. Encouragingly it seems on the epidemic front that the latter may be winning out as the affected countries are currently considering escalating their efforts through a possible quarantine and other health authorities are stepping up their surveillance efforts, if this concerted effort continues then the brighter sides of the malefic conjunction will become apparent.

Existing in simultaneity with the malefic conjunction is the benefic conjunction which occurs four days after the malefic conjunction and in this case the planets Venus and Jupiter will conjunct one another in the sign Cancer. This puts a deeply personal spin on this much softer conjunction. Cancer concerns itself with three functions securing a rich habitat to thrive in and creating the perimeters that define that environment, nurturing life in its developmental stages, which makes sense given that the Moon its planetary ruler regulates many life related cycles on Earth, and finally it represents instincts and the desire to feed our hungers. Jupiter is exalted in Cancer so here he is celebrated and adored, can relax and recharge, and is provided with all he could want. Jupiter loves a space to expand the mind, and contemplate the great mysteries. Venus loves to connect and engage in a meaningful way and often is correlated to the way in which we love. With the Cancerian influence we find that Venus connects in a way that is protective, nurturing of her familiars, and feeds primal hungers (food, sex, and warmth). In essence it is the nesting instinct infused with the erotic and then magnified to be larger than life (Cancer, with Venus as the erotic and Jupiter as the magnifier).

It could play out with many of us individually insulating ourselves over the course of the next fortnight, from the chaos of the world all around us, and being more sensitive than usual. We are wise to choose our actions and words very carefully as we do not know how profoundly they could both heal or wound others we care about. There may be an increased desire to pull a wall of protection around ourselves and those we love to create safe perimeter where it is warm and abundant, and we can nourish self and beloved others. Cancer rarely ever attacks when threatened but instead becomes defensive and retreats, it only attacks when it boundaries are violated and then the claws will clamp and pinch. Provided we afford ourselves safe spaces we can activate the better qualities of this fusion. The overall energy is one of chance, opportunity, optimism and benevolence, and achieving a positive outlook even in a world of transient violence and confusion is a feat in resilience and is exactly the objective to aim for. There is no sugar-coating reality it can be a scary place but the nest we build within can often create a secure place from which we can meet the challenges of a dynamic world.

The month finishes out on a more innovative tone as Uranus the planet of revolutions and upheavals forms aspect with Mercury, Venus, Sun and Jupiter throughout the month. Softening the edges of the world in crisis, is the Uranus-Venus sextile. This naturally lends itself to an energy of multiculturalism, found in the Uranus in Pisces desire to unite with humanity in a deeply spiritual connection, and the Venusian desire to connect, further infused by the Uranian acceptance of diversity and uniqueness. It is a feeling of being willing to accept people from all walks of life and finding great joy and fulfillment in connecting to a foreign “other”. It is a celebration of otherness that could help to salve some of the more difficult relationships occurring now. Tolerance seems to be the name of the game and further an acceptance that all need the space to develop and that everything will unfold in due time.

A Uranus Trine to Mercury both in water signs could find the world and each of us being open to innovative and surprising fresh ideas and approaches to seemingly insoluble problems. It could open a door, provided we choose it to new approaches to diplomatic tensions, and high-lighting a strong technical bent, could facilitate our communication technologies as being part of the solution. I wont be surprised to see the possibility that the Internet facilitates a solution to the epidemic in Africa, and acts as a catalyst in potentially easing tensions in the Middle East, that said it could be my own hopes for these tensions to be resolved peacefully. In any case the Internet and social media platforms could be at least mediums for many of us to have meaningful dialogue on these issues and work through the thornier aspects it seems the symbolic movements of the planets is opening to that possibility.

Uranus then makes trine aspect to Jupiter touching off the benefic conjunction and infusing the transit with an inventive edge. Perhaps we are inspired to create homes that are unusual and safe spaces that welcome in a motley crew of disparate people’s seemingly with little common ground to come into affinity with one another and work through their differences, creating a safe cultural space for all to express their unique diversities.

It all finishes beautifully with a Uranus-Sun trine. Solar-Uranus pairings often bring out a desire for autonomy and freedom of expression, and are powerful aspects. Touching off this months energy this final aspect could see those of us attuned to it, expressing our feelings in unusual and deeply creative ways. Bizarre and yet invigorating artistic constructions could emerge from unexpected muses, or there could be revolutionary approaches to everyday living, perhaps the domestic routines get turned on their head creating a unique and deeply satisfying new rhythm that falls into a dynamic equilibrium with a fluctuating world. It all remains to be seen, the chips fall where they may.

Important Dates:

Uranus-Venus Sextile: August 1^st-August 6^th, 02014 SYT

Mars-Saturn Conjunction: August 6^th-31^st,02014 SYT

Uranus-Mercury Trine: August 9^th-12^th, 02014 SYT

Uranus-Sun Trine: August 9^th-19^th, 02014 SYT

Venus-Jupiter Conjunction: August 10^th-29^th, 02014 SYT

Uranus-Jupiter Trine: August 28^th-31^st, 02014 SYT

Alright Psychonauts that wraps up another transmission from the Cosmos, I will see you all next month.

Be sure to catch the radio version of this post on Sunday August 10^th, at 10:30am with me and my fellow space traveller HiC Luttmers, link to follow:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/fireflywillowslive/2014/08/10/revolution-with-hic

References:

1. Tensions Escalate Between Israel and a Second Party in Gaza: The United Nations, SominiSengupta, New York Times, July 31^st, 2014, retrieved August 1^st, 2014 from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/01/world/middleeast/tensions-escalate-between-israel-and-united-nations-in-gaza-strip.html?_r=0
2. Fighting rages in Ukraine town; 2 children among 13 dead, Radina Gigova, Nick Paton Walsh and Ashley Fantz, CNN, July 27^th, 2014, retrieved August 1^st, 2014 from http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/27/world/europe/ukraine-crisis/index.htm
3. Ebola outbreak could have ‘catastrophic’ consequences, CNN Jacque Wilson, August 1^st, 2014, retrieved August 1^st, 2014 from http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/01/health/ebola-outbreak-questions/