Perhaps you’ve read that the upcoming new moon in Virgo aligns with Saturn. Those not friends with the task meister, Saturn, tend to pucker their faces into shapes commonly occurring when sewage leaks are discovered. But hey, the time the Sun spends in Virgo symbolically represents the harvest (my apologies to those in the southern hemisphere once again at the disposal of the mythology of the northern hemisphere), so can’t something be reaped out of this?
It all starts on the 17th as the Sun aligns with Saturn. This is the same day that retrograding Mercury returns to Virgo. The next day the new moon arrives, making a trinity: Sun-Moon-Saturn all standing as a virtual one. On the 20th Mercury retros back into alignment with the Sun. And on the very next day Mercury puts his attention directly upon the beckoning of Saturn. While all of this is not a “super conjunction” for those fighting to figure a way to cope with life’s mundane necessities, it’s a chore especially if going against the plan or even the creation of a plan. A relatively unknown part of this planetary sequence resides in the fact that this entire conjunction pattern aligns with an ignored dwarf planet: Makemake. That too!? Thanks for the “when it rains it pours” reminder. Surely there’s a subtle but increasingly intense whispering of “f” words documenting reactions to the trends above - perhaps something like “Facts, fertile minds and fervent fervor feed fecundity following fantasy to fulfillment.”
Yes, Mercury is retrograde and all the communication confusion, misinterpretations, billing delays and erroneous billings, late payments, traffic jams and broken copiers, faxes and offline servers expected by fans of astrology no doubt appear with higher than expected statistical regularity. Too many times people defer to Mercury retrograde, ignoring the transits of energy rich Mars, “go for it” Jupiter, “okay so let’s start a constructive revolution” Uranus, and “let’s set the orbit of the planet and the entire damn universe back on track” Eris. Here we have Mercury, ruler of Virgo, retrograde, tossed in with the gravitational squeeze of a full moon and Saturn, teaming up in vexatious Virgo. This could seem daunting, overwhelming, outside the skill set of even the best multitasker. Or those who flourish in worst case scenario planning methods. Or those who expect the worst and then allegedly more cheerfully greet the best. Or those who simply love to fret and worry.
The underscoring of Makemake offers the greatest relief to anyone troubled by this upcoming pattern. This potent and astrologically under interpreted dwarf planet bears a distinctive affiliation with the lord of the lords, Jupiter, also the planet who arbitrated most disputes between the ego-enriched gods. Makemake and the great benefic (and embellisher) Jupiter both make their closest contact to the Sun in the sign of Aries (a heliocentric measurement) and do so with only one minute of an arc separating the close approach points. It won’t be all that long before Jupiter arrives at the dual perihelion point - March 2011. In fact, in March of 2011, Mars (the 9th), Mercury (the 16th) and Jupiter (the 17th) all reach their respective perihelia. All this at the same time that Jupiter directly engages the perihelion of Makemake and Uranus squares the perihelion of Saturn. In terms of consciousness, this month stands out as one of great realization and the arrival of concepts and ideas that can constructively heal stagnation in the status quo. However, realization does not equal application. Typically, some processing time must follow an achieved understanding to bring it to fruition. Then, dedicated pursuit and nose to the grindstone effort lead the way toward fabulous results.
Yeah, but that’s eighteen months from now and presently we’re fretting over currently finicky planet favors. True. And to launch any major plan, create a realm of consciousness worth pursuing to heal the planet or to come up with innovations that benefit people and provide a personal profit, one must grab ideas, file appropriate legally protective paperwork and locate funding to create prototypes, When the light bulb clicks on above one’s head, soak up every photon without hesitation.
My favorite natal example of Mercury conjunct Makemake, as we’ll enjoy in this upcoming pattern, albeit retrograde, is Thomas Edison. - the guy who is attributed with inventing the light bulb in the first place. For those wanting all the dates of Mercury to Makemake in this tri-fold sequence, the foreshadowing conjunction occurred on the 20th of August, ironically during the preceding Virgo Moon. The completing direct alignment happens on October 6th, again very closely nudging Saturn for support and structure and encourages the approaching Venus to hurry up and align with Makemake for purposes of funding and resource planning. Venus obediently completes the task four days later.
So how does one engage this potentially worrisome pattern for a maximum result? Well, maybe it starts with irritation about events, circumstances and life stuff. Take time to notice that the urge to complain sneakily wraps around and disguises an awareness of something that is not enough - whether it is good enough, strong enough, effective enough, tasty enough or whatever. The key is to notice the emotional annoyance (the Moon) and sling it into the realm of conscious attention (the Sun). Then one can enjoy the identification of what lies behind the complaint. With complaint understood at the origin, something can be conjured to overcome the previous condition of not enoughness. This turns on the light bulb and engages Saturn and Makemake. Saturn immediately manufactures a to-do list, assigns tasks and deeds while Makemake looks at the longer term, bigger picture applications of the creation in mind. Here’s where that linkage between Makemake and Jupiter comes back to aid, abet and play. Jupiter provides the ability to wrap around big ideas and remain enthusiastic without overwhelm. This ensures that Saturn does not sell out to laments of “It’s such a big job,” “It’ll take too long,” “I’m not capable,” or “I’m not worthy.”
Saturn and Mercury get along quite nicely when they agree that detailing facts leads to strategy and a step by step plan for progress. The Sun and Moon agree on matters brilliantly when feelings are acknowledged and brought into the light of clear thinking and consciousness. Makemake underscores the trends with “Yeah, and not only will this be something worthwhile for you to do, it just might save the planet from one of its many threats.” If that’s too lofty, lean back on Jupiter’s bravado for a moment. Hell, everything he does sets straight the flaws of Creation and as a result, his actions deserve a whale-sized amount of press coverage and hype. If you don’t believe me, ask Jupiter. He’ll not shy away from singing his own praises.
Immediately after the new moon, the Sun and Moon travel into Libra and engage the Super Galactic Center. This potent black hole vortex demands that one align spirit and body. Get in that physical vehicle of yours, be excellent and overcome the temptations of mediocrity or the addiction to average behavior of fitting society’s norm. Before you know it, Mercury, Venus and Saturn align with this complex too. Those who cultivate a fabulous sense of oneness within their being shine with a new level of charisma that draws a look-see from even the most skeptical. When dealing with enormous supermassive black holes such as are present here, as soon as one looks through a store window, their consciousness is already inside the store, impacted and engaged.
So, get a plan. If agreements and contracts and filings need to occur in the short, you can use the 20th. Of course it’s not possible to go to a governmental office to file in person on Sunday, but that can be done the next day and still be okay. Larger plans and aspirations, like Rome, will not be built in a day. Maybe it will take until March of 2011, for ideas now in development to make their mark. The time required, one of the things Saturn issues as one of his standards, cannot impinge upon the inspiration and fecundity summoned into action. As this upcoming pattern does its thing, Saturn challenges the collective mind set. Fret or flourish. Offer solutions and methods of resolution instead of pointing out obvious wrongs. Those lacking creative answers and only rendering complaints may argue they invoke the “squeaky wheel” syndrome. But their pain in the patootie attitudes, scathing judgments and onslaught of criticisms, assign themselves the label of unwanted third wheel. There was a reason we once vulcanized rubber tires. But with new technology, the technique belonging to the “never discovered and unlikely to exist” tiny planet, Vulcan, has been relegated to hockey pucks.