The ninth lunation of 2014 opens on August 25th with a multiplicity of aspects patterning the matrix. The moment, marked by the Sun and Moon conjunct in the third degree of tropical Virgo, is as ripe as the proverbial swollen fruit. It is ripe with ‘juice’, both the kind that you will find at the heart of tragedy, and the juice that is also the source of healing, which grief expresses and which delivers reparation as an inherent potential of truth. In fact, they are one and the same, and who can deny ‘we’ are in the midst of tragedy and the need for healing, globally. Yet, the moment is also ripe with potential energy and the power for seeding life with, if not the major change of context, then with a completely revolutionary wave of insight and revelation that will increase the inevitability of such Change.

And, as is the way with Nature, since there must be balance in all things, for the potential to be released, the fruit must also fall and undergo consumation.

If the intonation of the moment is writ large  and italicised it is because its theme is similarly engraved upon our times….while the dominant aspect at the opening of this Moon cycle is Mars conjunct Saturn, it is the ongoing series of seven squares between Pluto and Uranus that define the bigger picture. The tension created within that greater aspect will find two more release points before their cycle closes, but, the moot point is ‘how engaged are we with that release of potential energy?’ What are you doing in the world right now…….

In the mundane sphere, much of that collective tension has been visibly expressed through public protests, the predominant focus being exposure of violence, where ‘political lies favour political agendas’, and the allegiences that seek to sustain those lies clearly do not have the will of the people as their prerogative and prima causa…..and so, we come to Mars conjunct Saturn.

This is the defining aspect of the current lunation as it opens, the crucible out of which the events of the last four weeks have found their form and out of which the coming five months will manifest their purpose. The trick, for us now, is to participate, ‘to do’ rather than ‘be done unto’…..sound familiar?

Mars and Saturn conjunct in tropical Scorpio ask us to examine very deeply what this means to us personally, where our most meaningful motivations are rooted. ‘Be seriously pro-active with shaping the impetus of your life’, they say, but, their message is equally ‘there is, in reality, no time like the present’…..and, with more finality, forget notions of transcendance, of ascendance and the courting of immortality, and wake up to the fact that ‘you almost certainly have less time than you think, much less’! Following through on the trajectory of the previous lunation, this is where the energy we have built up over the last month can now be used to that very purpose. Pull focus, hard, and hit the ground running!

The Sun and Moon’s conjunction at the beginning of Virgo is very close to the fixed star Regulus as the lunation opens, emphasising the role of leader, and healer. Regulus is one of the four stellar guardians of the cardinal directions in the heavens. Resonating with this Mars says be prepared to ‘fight your quarter for what is right’, but, the martial code is called to ground, its competitive edge also tempered into service to the greater, more noble cause in conjunction with Saturn. It says ‘find the discipline required to lead yourself, but, not for self gain alone, only, out of devotion’. Its proviso is ‘take full responsibility, as of one committed’. Coming even more down to earth, as they say in the fracking frontlines ‘if you see a job, its yours’. And, if you cannot find the leader within, the worthy cause or personal focus, look out for one who/that rings true……wait until you hear their calling. This is not about being a soldier…..its about being a protector.

That calling might well come most strongly from the otherworlds, in unusual ways. Mercury in Virgo sextile Saturn+Mars, tantilising the current of divine inspiration to reveal itself through Uranus and seed the moment with its undeniable spark, says ‘petition the gods, the spirits, the higher self, that which commands your respect’…….and Mercury too reminds us that, in alignment with its original meaning, to be ‘in competition’ actually means to ‘co-petition the deities’. This the true nature of our endeavour.

In partnership with Mercury in Virgo, Mars and Saturn quincunx Uranus from tropical Scorpio make of Uranus a release point within the chart. Together they form a yod, the combined energies of Saturn, Mars and Mercury looking for expression through the Uranian field around 14-17 degrees of tropical Aries. Look to your own charts to see how this sensitive point and what is feeding it sits. The Sabian symbols for the degrees involved at the blunt end of the yod also point towards petitioning the otherworlds for guidance in resolving and healing the most deeply seated wounds, habits and shadows of our past…..Nature, the Uranian degree tells us, will show us her signs in response, and on this point alone we need to consider the state of Nature herself. Those signs too may be most unusual, out of kilter….think Fukushima for a start. How many die offs and mutations must we see and suffer before we manage to tip the scales of human intervention in Nature’s favour? That question is the most pertinent of fulcrums taking the weight of the human question right now. Within a Virgoan context this Moon may need to examine the causes behind that question much more closely, but, with deeper realism and commitment to healing, rather than unfeeling analysis and subversion.

There are more subtle yods seeding the field with sensitive points at the opening of this lunation, Jupiter being at the head of one that will become stronger throughout this lunation, receiving the wide sextile of Pluto and Chiron. They too bring a ‘down to the bone’ revisioning of what our purpose is and what the role of our spirit is in achieving it. Jupiter has the creative juice needed to manifest the answer. This is highlighted at the end of this lunation when Mars squares Neptune from Jupiters home sign, Sagittarius, and forces an answer. However, at the beginning of this Moon cycle Mercury opposes Chiron, so, Now is the time to get creative with the ‘Big Crayons’ ~ the fact is, it is no longer possible to simply follow one’s own calling and act solely upon that without taking in the bigger picture and recognising our own individual place within it. The kick-back is increasing and, anyway, to do so is to miss the boat……and, if you have not yet surmised from the above, the Boat is about to leave harbour!

Collectively, we are entering the final stages of the current five year wave of Change that has been so strongly figured through the series of squares between Pluto and Uranus. What we undertake over the coming lunar month, as future seeds cast in the rich earth of ‘the present’, will itself reach its own critical moment of purpose and meaning five months from now, when Uranus conjuncts the Moon’s south Node in the midst of the sixth square between Uranus and Pluto. This will coincide with the First new Moon of 2015 at 0° Aquarius. The Great Mother is awakening our awareness strongly now through the rhythm of Her lunar drum……

……and then there is Venus. She is square Saturn+Mars as this lunation opens, equally balanced either side of the equinox point of 0° Libra. That square may be shortlived but, as a part of this lunation’s template, it is absolutely key. Through it She exposes the vilification of the Feminine, the rape of Her daughters and lands by men and the masculine principle, the suppression of her/Her creative energies and the aggressive patriarchal oppression of Her-story ~ ignore her message at your peril as the fiery haired one quincunxes Chiron and firmly presses her cause into Mercury’s bargain. As the lunation opens Venus also completes a yod with the Pluto Chiron sextile ~ is that the sound of distant thunder, or did the Earth just move under our feet……..

All these factors infuse this lunation with a sense that this is our time. An even deeper sense that this is Our time presses urgently from within it. While the outer planets are out of phase with the inner, and the inner encourage us to stake our passions behind our allegiances……by the time Uranus and the Moons nodes square off with Pluto in January 2015, the moment of truth will be upon us. Will we be ready…….will you have made the difference……!?