The sign of Aquarius has just been lit up by the presence of a great conjunction. Rare images of the planets so close that they form a single point of light have been posted by those lucky enough to live under clear skies. A new 20-year cycle is beginning, a cycle that marks the generations, and brings new beginnings. But the sweep of this shift is even greater, since an even larger 800-year cyclical event has just occurred. Together, we are stepping into a new era.
Aquarius is a sign that brings energy from above and redirects it downward. Medieval representations of the sign almost always show a naked or barely clothed man, pouring water out of a jar. Above his head, we see the stars. An inpouring from the heavens is part of this sign.
In 2020, a dense conjunction of outer planets in Capricorn marked this woeful year, a time of loss and restriction on so many levels. In many ways, Capricorn is the summum of the earth signs, the moment when the element reaches a peak and can go no further. All our well-built cities and systems, authority and hierarchy, have reached their maximum expression. As we step out of Capricorn the old structures have reviled failings and at times lost their resilience. Some will stay standing, but others will no longer be appropriate in the time to come.
In Aquarius, we shift from what has been built to what may come into being. While in ancient astrology, Saturn is the ruler of both signs, moderns have given Aquarius to Uranus. This is the sign of the engineer, the inventor, the infolding genius, of those large ideas that will reshape the world. Capricorn has to do with lasting accomplishment, and the results of past efforts Aquarius waters our spirit with a new vision. I think of it as a waterfall, coming from the stars.
On an individual level, the ego identity is stripped down. Perhaps that is why the Water Bearer, and his female counterpart in the Tarot, the Star, are so often naked. There is no need for signs of social status. What is important in this image is the emptying of the jar. The water flowing into water. Aquarius is creating a flow, and Saturn here may stop things that interfere with flow on the largest level.
In ancient Rome, February was the month of purification. There were many rituals to cleanse the home, the city and the individual. Perhaps this is what we are asked to experience, in our attention to others, in covering our faces, and foregoing the warmth of a hug. This powerful conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurred on the very first degree of Aquarius, just a few hours before the December solstice, the darkest time in the Northern hemisphere, in a moment of perfectly scripted cosmic theater.
We should be able to move forward more quickly now, since air signs offer less resistance. And indeed, the vaccines have arrived, but then, so has a fast spreading variant of the virus. Think of the way air moves through our world in the form of wind – the feeling is different, quicker, faster. Let’s hope we move through the current crisis at a very different pace.
Wishing you wonderful holidays, even without those you love nearby. Here is to Light and warmth and hope.