Push When the Moment Comes

Hello! I'm back following a brief hiatus, though I've been busy behind the scenes making some art and figuring out schedules, with the intention of providing a more regular service. I dislike making promises, so I'll just say that I have things a little better organised now, and this will hopefully lead to fewer and shorter silences.

I've been gazing for quite some time on the chart for the Sun ingressing (i.e. moving into) the sign of Gemini this year, which happens on Sunday 21st May at 07:09 UT. It's one of those charts that contains a barrage of information, from which it isn't always easy to identify or extract the most salient points. However, there is one configuration that jumps immediately to the attention.

This is the aspect pattern* formed by Mars, Jupiter and Pluto in the early degrees of Leo, Taurus and Aquarius respectively, and Haumea in the last degree of Libra: four objects contacting one another by squares and oppositions, which is known as a Grand Cross: a fairly rare and significant grouping**.

Dwarf planets Pluto and Haumea have orbits of similar duration, and between last year and around 2028 they will have formed several exact squares. When outer bodies like these make contact, the astrological effects tend to make themselves felt in the longer term and in the world at large, often manifesting as social and/or generational patterns.

Haumea is named for the Hawai'ian goddess of childbirth; Pluto for the Greco-Roman god of the underworld. Together, the two apparently connote opposing facets of the cycle of life. Looking a little deeper, Haumea can also represent the pangs of childbirth, and the overcoming of mistakes that is a natural part of creation. Her dominion could be viewed as subsequent to that of Pluto: new life rising from the ashes of what went before, the pain of loss weaving itself into the pain of initiation. These may well be the years in which we have a chance to envision - and help conceive - a society and a system that helps us all to flourish, and to protect the environment.

The involvement of Mars and Jupiter joins the personal with the collective. When Mars and Jupiter communicate, they imply positive action, as opposed to waiting around for things to change. It is therefore possible that the whole aspect pattern refers to a creative process that needs to take place within each of us; that we are called to determine what should be ended in order to facilitate a beginning. Alongside Haumea herself, the chart also contains several indicators*** suggesting that creative work invariably includes numerous mistakes and corrections, endings and beginnings. The harder and more earnest the labour, the greater the capacity to produce something truly beautiful and unique.

Imperfection is an integral part of human existence, and bringing new life of any kind into being requires embracing this fact and having the courage to persist notwithstanding. There is also a reminder here that redemption, healing and forgiveness as well as learning and better choices are rarely, if ever, beyond our reach. As flaws and errors are coded into our world, so are growth, resilience and hope.

* A specific set of angles by which more than two planets are interconnected.

** The Nodes are also fairly close by; although, strictly speaking, these are not counted as forming part of an aspect pattern, their presence adds consequence to the one in question.

*** Among them are (2212) Hephaistos and (3200) Phaethon.

Chart for the Sun entering Gemini. (Haumea, in late Libra, is not shown.)