“A word of advice, my sweet Emmett – mourn the losses because they are many. But celebrate the victories because they are few.”
― Debbie Novotny, Queer as Folk
The above quote truly does sum up our moment, the recent SCOTUS decision in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriage for the entire nation following on the heels of Ireland’s decision to do the same by an historic public referendum which was unanimous in its victory. . The Arc of the Universe bends towards justice and fairness that said the radical departure is not over (There is still so much to be done because black lives still matter, trans lives still matter, queer lives still matter, disabled lives still matter and Climate Change still matters!) There is still much work to be done to move towards the dream of a truly just and sustainable civilization but the most recent advances are certainly encouraging, there will of course be the inevitable backlash but it seems that ultimately all the major institutions and arcs of our social direction are moving towards a world that is freer, happier, and more peaceful, that said there is still the haunting possibility of blowback and black swan events but that is par for the course and those massive events teach us the struggle is not over and that resilience in the face of hard edges is what gives us humans our indomitable spirit.
July it seems will repeat these themes as we ride the arc of these historical transitions and as the aspects form in the sky, what has been really adorable is the chase that Jupiter and Venus have been doing across the sky as of late and what is more is that after their feverish dance they will finally make contact on July 1st where they will conjunct one another and basically surrender to the urge to merge, sexy times indeed.
July 1st-10th: Jupiter Conjunct Venus: The Star of Bethlehem:
There is some speculation that the star referenced as the Star of Bethlehem referenced in the Bible was in fact the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus appearing a half degree apart in the night sky. This event will culminate a month long dance between the two benefics, as they have been chasing each other in the night sky for the last month or so on the Nights of June 30th and July 1st they will finally consummate their erotic pursuit, and appear only a fraction of a degree apart as a very bright spot in the night sky. The factor to keep in mind about conjunctions is that they are said to be viable for up to ten degrees so they will gradually appear further and further away, but the energy of the conjunction will last for as long as the conjunction does, with this in mind the cosmic echo will reverberate until July 10th. They will be doing the ‘Private Dancer’ shimmy through the fertile sign of Leo so this already larger than life aspect is in the sign of royals, and drama queens. The recent SCOTUS decision which legalized marriage equality in the U.S. is a perfect symbol of this conjunction. There is dancing in the streets at this historic ruling and what’s more is that Gay Pride celebrations this year has an extra reason to celebrate as the Gay Civil Rights Era is coming of age with one of many of its major victories (there are still many more to continue the struggle for, including ENDA to protect LGBQT persons against discrimination in employment, and that is just one of many). In the meantime it is a time to celebrate, not rest on our laurels to be sure, but also a time to claim a victory. On a more personal level it is time when fortune, opportunity and benevolence is magnified a good time to celebrate, especially as it pertains to the love(s) of one’s life no matter what form or manifestation those happen to be, it is a cosmic invitation to celebrate life.
July 2nd: Mercury sextile Uranus: Outlandish Concepts: A moment when the most out in left field ideas are communicated with great impact. Be fearless in communicating the seemingly most non-sensical idea that crops up because it could prove to be the threshold of a new innovation with far reaching impact. Either that or the most bizarre and unusual ideas could emerge over the next week.
July 3rd: Full Moon in Sagittarius: I am a Passenger: Like the Michael Hutchene (a cover of Iggy Pop’s original) Song from the Batman Returns album, this transit marks a great time for foreign travel, space exploration (the SPACE-X explosions notwithstanding), and any affairs having to do with other culture and foreign lands. On a note closer to home the matters pertaining to higher education and philosophical understanding are high-lighted. There is a need for latitude and space, and a feeling of free-spiritedness and happy go lucky expressions.
Kepler 186f, an earth like exoplanet located in the constellation Cygnus (The Swan), orbiting the star Kepler 186 once every 130 Earth days.
Mercury Sextile Jupiter: Cosmic scale Thoughts: Touching off the full moon in the Jupiter ruled sign of the archer, is a mercurial romp with Jupiter. It could be a big week for cosmologists, this of course if pure speculation but the symbolic cyphers of the moment do point to this sort of seeing around corners big thinking. Perhaps NASA of ESA will discover another earth like planet in one of the celestial constellations surrounding our galaxy? It could happen!
July 6th: Sun opposition Pluto: Out of Synch: The populace and those that rule the world are deeply opposed, that is obvious as any cursory glance at the news will state. Times when these two oppose one another this becomes glaringly obvious, expect resistance, the war is still on in this case it is for the collective future and the need to wrest power away from those who would be declared plutocrats.
July 8th: Mars trine Neptune: The Vox Populi: The power of the collective voice is hard to deny at times like these and when it speaks to the idea that another world is possible, the pull of an alternate reality becomes to strong to ignore, the warning is to make sure that we are not falling for an artificial version of this, and the act accordingly to do the Great Work of the current Global Initiation.
July 13th: Mercury Trine Neptune: Communicating the Dreams of the Future: For those of us who are writers of highly speculative fiction including all that falls under the purview of Science Fiction this is a good time to scribble those cyphers on the page, whether physical or digital. On a collective level a time to communicate exactly what future humanity is attempting to build for itself, the wildest conceptions are given prominence under these auspices.Now the caveat, it is easy to get so lost in visions and dreams and being a channel for radical departures that it leads to navel gazing and no practical action to manifest these visions, enjoy the receptivity to higher octaves but do remember that in order for something to become reality and not just a dream it needs to be acted on.
July14th Venus (Leo) Square Saturn (Libra): The Backlash
In a famous role reversal Saturn plays the more progressive role in the sign of his exaltation the Venus ruled Libra. Saturn sheds his sometimes repressive role in this sign and instead makes the cause for social justice that much more real, and with him in retrograde we find ourselves collectively re-examining the social matrix. The recent victories as a case in point. Venus takes on a double face being in the sign of Leo, one of her more playful and creative aspects and it is also a very royal sign which carries with it a double edge. Venus in Leo signals the victory that the LGBTQ population in the U.S. has recently experienced with the historic SCOTUS ruling, but there are those who would wish to repeal the decision and use ancient prejudices as their justification for doing so and so like a spoiled child who has not been given their ice cream NOW!! They will moan about how they are being persecuted and discriminated against for not being to hold the power they once had cloaking it in appeals to violations of their rights to religious freedom.
Rainbow flags along the promenade of San Francisco’s City Hall
This manifests usually with the dominant group that is fast losing its hegemony will claim persecution and oppression from the minority group who has recently experienced an advancement in their rights and protections as guaranteed under the democratic tradition. The whining from the far right about how their religious freedoms are being oppressed and persecuted for their beliefs will continue unabated. What these people will forget is one simple truth that resonates across the ages: THEY ARE NOT AN OPPRESSED GROUP! Here’s why, if one segment of humanity must remain subservient and under the thumb of another in order for the dominant group to remain in their integrity than they are not being oppressed they are the oppressor!
They wont see it, they will insist their rights are being trampled on and they are wrong! Their freedom of religion is not being restricted it is being honored to the highest degree, they have every right to their personal beliefs and to live a life that they see fit to demonstrate those values, what they do not have the freedom to do is to impose on the rest of us, that is tyranny defined, further the non-establishment clause ensures that no state religion is ever allowed in a democratic republic as this is theocracy not democracy,. A feature of democracy is that the rights of minorities are protected as a default setting.
This is in essence what this square means, Saturn is making a new balanced and fair reality possible, and is standing as the symbol of the coming of age of the Gay Civil Rights movement and inevitable the establishment is attempting to block the progress by appeals to tradition which no longer makes sense in a world accelerating in its advancements. The tension between Saturn attempting to mature and materialize the social justice vision and its shadow side which attempts to restrict the forward momentum contrasting with the dancing in the streets in celebration of the unique Venus in Leo idea that Love is Love, and that there is a pasion in this historic decision, and that all manifestations of love are worthy, valid, and carry the majesty of this most intimate of human experiences. Again the trick is to realize that the struggle is not over but the victory is worth celebrating as it sets a new precedent for the next social justice visions going forward and the expansion of issue to cast a wider net and improve the lives of vastly more than marriage equality can.
July 15th: New Moon in Gemini: July’s dark moon falls in the sign of duality and the twins If the experience is one of being “between worlds” this is why, the sky is double-timing it in liminal space with one twin in the underworld and the other walking the more terrestrial one we are all familiar with. A good time to have many irons in the fire, with the caveat that being attentive of details will help to avoid losing the trail of any one thing.
July 16th: Mars Opposes Pluto: The Nuclear Option: This is a tense aspect in that the individual will and the collective will are opposing one another. It symbolically looks like the current struggles between those who would exonerate individual liberties and freedoms and a corporate over-class hell-bent on maintaining its illegitimate hegemony on an increasingly rebellious populace uninterested in being yoked in these impossible scenarios. An example of this is the leaking of secret information surround the TPP Partnership.
Mercury Conjunct Mars: Protest Culture: Touching off the Pluto opposition, and in the verbose sign of Gemini, the conditions around secret deals and other high-level decisions being made without public knowledge or consent could spark renewed interest in protest movements and lead to more resistance and increasing social unrest, with the objective in mind that decisions being made that affect the public so broadly and profoundly will no longer be made without consent from the public. The Guardian posted an interesting op-ed piece to this effect.
July 21st: The Sun Enters Cancer: The duality of the Gemini twins is left behind as the Sun transits into the sign of Life’s Protector, Cancer. A time where acute sensitivity to the conditions of life on Earth becomes more apparent.
Sun trine Saturn: Touching off the ingress of the Sun into Cancer is a trine with Saturn in Libra (The trine is by angle as opposed to sign placement). It’s one more reason to celebrate the advancement of social justice and the importance of this continuing struggle. The retrograde of Saturn through the sign of justice is highlighted now and given prominence, a good \day to plan any actions that need exposure to the public.
July 22nd: Mercury Trine Saturn: The News Cycle: A day when the messages of fairness carry weight and gravitas and will have powerful impacts when communicated to the masses. A good day to discuss any issues of fairness and representation in life.
July 25th: Mars Square Uranus: The battle of Wills: Metaphorical of our times in that the populace is demanding a new course of action and the establishment is digging in its heels and holding the rest of us hostage to an economic model which is leading us to system failure. It is better that the rest of us should keep demanding a radical departure as the those in charge are following a path guided more by psychopathic delusion than reason and sustainability. The auspices of this transit give a feeling of “my way or the highway” and at this critical juncture the need to resist hegemonic power with a kind of enlightened obstinancy is more cogent than ever.
July 31st: Full Moon in Capricorn: Lucifer’s Temptation: Capricorn is associated with the Devil card in the Tarot deck of Medici fame. It has less to do with Christian iconography and a great deal more to do with the aspects we lust after that can bind us. Prominence is brought to this area of life when the moon lands in Capricorn, what consumes you in the fires of desire? Do your lusts entrap you or set you free?
July in a nutshell dear star travelers is packed and celebratory, lets all ride the arc of victory as long as we can until the next one comes. Stay golden lovelies and don’t forget to catch the radio version of this blog with me and my friend HiC Luttmers, airs Sunday July 12th, 2015 at 10:30am PST: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/fireflywillowslive/2015/07/12/revolution-with-hic
References:
‘Double Star’ Moment for Venus and Jupiter in the Night Sky, Michael Pearson, published Wednesday July 1st, 2015, retrieved on Friday July 3rd, 2015 from: http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/30/us/feat-jupiter-venus-conjunction/
Employment Non-Discrimination Act, Various Authors, published: Sunday June 28th, 2015, Retrieved on Friday July 3rd, 2015 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employment_Non-Discrimination_Act
Supreme Court Rules all states must allow Same-Sex Marriage Bill Chapell, published: Friday June 26th, 2015. Retrieved on Friday July 3rd, 2015 from: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/06/26/417717613/supreme-court-rules-all-states-must-allow-same-sex-marriages
Obergefell v. Hodges, Various Authors, published: Friday June 26th, 2015, retrieved on Friday July 3rd, 2015, from: http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/obergefell-v-hodges/
How a Supreme Court decision for gay marriage would affect religious institutions David Masci, published: Friday June 26th, retrieved on Friday July 3rd, 2015 from: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/06/26/how-a-supreme-court-decision-for-gay-marriage-would-affect-religious-institutions/
6 Ways Christians lost this week, John Pavlovitz, Published: Wednesday July 1st, 2015, retrived on Friday July 3rd, 2015 from: http://johnpavlovitz.com/2015/07/01/6-ways-christians-lost-this-week/
Space-X’s rocket just exploded: Here’s why that’s such a big deal, Christian Davenport, published Sunday June 28th, 2015, in the Washington Post, retrieved Friday July 3rd, 2015, from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2015/06/28/elon-musks-spacex-to-attempt-historic-landing/
Breaking!:WikiLeaks Leaks TPP Draft!!! Tasini, Published on Daily Kos, on March 25th, 2015, retrieved Friday July 3rd, 2015 from: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/03/25/1373335/-BREAKING-WikiLeaks-Leaks-TPP-Draft#
Anarchism could help to save the world, David Priestland, published: Friday July 3rd, 2015, vis the Guardian UK. Retrived on Friday July 3rd, 2015 from: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/03/anarchism-could-help-save-the-world
Flying Punk Rock Unicorn Astrology 