Post by Barry Hopewell
I was particularly struck by these words by Simon Marlow, from the World Goodwill report of his talk at the recent full moon meeting for Capricorn 10 January 2020 at 19:21GMT:
“There are two distinct yet interrelated qualities to Capricorn. On the one hand this sign symbolises and promotes the deepest involvement in the material realms. It is here that the soul, the spiritual self, finds that it has become a complete prisoner of form, chained, like Plato’s captives, in the dark cave of illusion. The financier Warren Buffett once remarked that “the chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken”. This might be the experience of the personality, yet from a spiritual perspective there is always the possibility of breaking one’s chains, turning around, and achieving spiritual freedom. This is the second feature, or gift, that Capricorn bestows. The dense concretion of form makes it easily shatterable. Once shattered and the debris dealt with and left behind, the mountain top of initiation comes into view and the will to achieve new heights on the spiritual journey makes success on this path possible.
In our present time humanity is exhibiting both of these characteristics to a marked degree –a dense materialism on the one hand and a spiritual vision of unity and service on the other. Will an unthinking, addictive and destructive materialism continue to govern the life of humanity, amplifying the continuing misery of many millions of people? Or can we manifest enough of the spiritual Will to turn around so that we can collectively help shatter humanity’s chains and together start to climb the mountain top of initiation? This is what the full moon in Capricorn offers us.”
These words ring so true for the times we find ourselves in. Humanity does indeed seem to have become the prisoner of form and the material, across so many parts of the world. And yet the voices clamouring for more enlightened attitudes become increasingly strident, as the deadening and deadly effects of this blind materialism become increasingly evident. More and more individuals approach the entrance of the cave through which the light pours, while the majority sit facing the shadows on the wall.
The chart for this full moon, set for London, is quite unusual and suggestive:
The focus of tension on the Cancer-Capricorn axis is immense. The current period of Saturn/Pluto conjunction, itself inherently tense, is joined by Sun/Mercury in the nodal axis oppositions, which all seems to reflect Marlow’s words and the tensions in the world today.
This full moon would seem to have been a very propitious time for meditation.
Thank you for sharing Marlow’s comments on this extraordinary chart for the first Full Moon of 2020, on 10 January, which heralds the dance of Pluto in Capricorn conjunct Saturn, joined briefly by Mars in February and March and by Jupiter for the course of this year. Cancer and Capricorn are connected with birth, death and transformation, with highs and lows, and already this is proving to be a dramatic year at many different levels—global and national, communal and personal. As someone with Ascending Capricorn opposition Uranus in Cancer at the beginning of the sign and Sun in Cancer opposition Jupiter in Capricorn at the end of the sign, I know I am one of many people for whom this will be a year of significant changes and that my task is to be ready to respond positively and work with whatever comes along.
The chart is a striking icon for the times we’re in and are moving towards. Polarisation – especially in Brexit-riven UK, although it’s rife elsewhere too – is symbolised by the opposition across the 5/11 Relationships axis. The stellium in Capricorn makes the 5th a comfortable, familiar place to be with the South Node nestled there too. The shift towards forging new ways of relating in less cosy and familar ways suggests moving to the 11th, where the North Node is showing the way towards a less personal, but still sensitive and caring (it’s in Cancer) mindset. Relating in 11th house ways is more about ideas, thinking, seeing what is possible and looking ahead to the new. On the nodal axis, the Dragon’s Head (North Node) leads the way forward; the Dragon’s Tail (South Node) stagnates and stays put.
Pluto is challenging Saturnian estabishments on many levels, and we, on a human scale, have to find new ways of relating to each other across this axis, and move away from the locked-in conflict of opposition. The only aspect pattern in the chart is part of this 5/11 axis conflict – a Single Ambivalence figure is formed, with Neptune in Pisces at the apex. Neptune points the way towards inclusiveness, acceptance and love. Note how many times being kind and coming together gets a mention – it’s possible if we step away from the conflict. See my earlier post on The Boy, the mole, the fox and the Horse.
https://astrologicalpsychology.org/the-boy-the-mole-the-fox-and-the-horse-by-charlie-mackesy/
Unaspected Venus on the DC chimes with this too, as does the linear quincunx between Mars and Uranus. Watch out for more Extinction Rebellion activity, while the school strikes for climate continue on a global scale, and suddenly the BBC are catching up and taking climate breakdown seriously, even though much of what they’re saying has been known for at least 30 years.
I was interested also to read what Richard Tarnas writes in his ‘Cosmos and Psyche’, about how the Saturn-Pluto cycle has tended to manifest through human history. He uses much wider orbs – 15 deg. – for conjunctions and oppositions, so that these cycles last 3-4 years. They are characterized by intense contraction, “empowerment of reactionary forces and totalitarian impulses”, a tendency towards simplistic dichotomies of good and evil; seeing others as “morally or mortally dangerous threats”, and a “pronounced tendency towards both scapegoating and feeling victimized by specific identified groups”. Arising from this is the establishment of defensive boundaries justified by the need for “vital security”.
This all sounds very familiar and recognizable in terms of Trump’s America and Brexit in the UK. Leaders arise who can articulate the Saturnian fears of the collective psyche.
Thanks, Trish. I see that Tarnas relates the two Saturn-Pluto conjunctions of the 20th century with the start of WW1 and the start of the Cold War with the Soviet Union. I think the current one is not played out yet, but Trump, Brexit and climate breakdown are suggestive symptoms.
Thanks so much, Trish, for drawing attention to what Richard Tarnas has to say in Cosmos and Psyche, which I’ll take another look at. He’s good on historical trends although the enormously large aspects used by archetypal astrologers detract from the pinpoint accuracy that can be achieved when a Huber chart is drawn up for an accurate time. Yes, after years of political correctness and fudging issues, many of us find ourselves unexpectedly drawn into polarised positions or having to pull up and reconsider our opinions as what seemed a plausible argument takes an unexpected twist and heads towards an extreme perspective we don’t espouse. Some things need to be flushed out before new bridges can be built, entrenched positions can be destructive, but changes need to be introduced gently with tolerance and an awareness of the need for continuity as well as novelty. At some level, I sense that most of us feel we are living in uncertain times.
What you have just added, Barry, endorses the sense of insecurity to which I referred in my earlier comment. It’s as if we are on the brink of something.
Having heard Roy Gillett talking about the line-up on 27 January, it seems we should keep an eye on charts of the forthcoming equinoxes and solstices this year. We’re in a tough place and issues we have hitherto shelved are demanding attention.