I’ve been in a private bubble since yesterday morning. Pre-dawn, my wife was driving me to the
airport, and we were watching the morning splash its gold on the Potomac. Then I was navigating the tiny space of an airplane
seat, sucking on cough drops and avoiding the elbows of my seatmate.
After that, I was in the new LAX-it lot, being siphoned into a corridor
where my Lyft awaited. It made the
familiar turn across from La Cienega Park, and there was my son, waiting to
give me a hug and carry my suitcases upstairs.
Since then, non-stop, I’ve been talking to him or my daughter-in-law. Or I’ve been drawing and being goofy with my
granddaughter.
So I hadn’t even read the news until now. I didn’t know about the drone killing of the
Iranian military officer, Qasem Soleimani.
Now I’m reading about it, and searching for more information. It’s chilling. And the timing is even more chilling, since
it’s happening just before the Saturn/Pluto conjunction, a time when effects
are heightened, when ripples go deeper.
I’m looking at the days between January 10 and 13, and I’m amazed by
the conjunction of the sun, Mercury, Saturn and Pluto at the full moon. This is something I’ve never seen
before. When I checked, I couldn’t find
another date in recent centuries when this has happened. Saturn and Pluto have conjoined before – most
notably at the beginning of World War One - and the sun and Mercury many times,
but never all four.
So what does it mean? Is it the entrance
salvo in another war? Another senseless
archduke assassination? In past
months, I’ve looked at these aspects and predicted the downfall of Trump, since
his aspects are quite challenging these days.
But I think maybe I was thinking too small. Maybe larger shifts are beginning now: the ends and beginnings of nations, rather
than individuals.
Having the sun and Mercury with the Saturn/Pluto conjunction adds
another dimension to this intense aspect.
The sun makes things visible, while Mercury spreads the word. So January is going to be a very public month,
full of overt pressure and vocal resistance.
Large structures creak loudly, moan in protest, before they fall.
The change from one year to the next always takes me to a different
place, a place that’s philosophical but somewhat removed. Every year, I restructure my world, recalibrating
what’s important, letting go of what isn’t.
This year is beginning with a sense of threat, but also with the warmth
of family around me. Most of the people
that I care most about were with me at some point in the holiday season. So what I’m doing is drawing in, reaffirming
the love which forms the core of my life.
But it’s true I’m feeling a little fatalistic, and that’s a Saturn thing,
intensified by the conjunction to Pluto.
It’s also an illusion. Saturn is
the planet of reality, and yet mystics and quantum physicists tell us that
reality is not as solid as it seems.
What we see is not necessarily what exists. So my quest, my resolution, is to take the
fear, the anxiety, the worries that are part of our moment in history, and to find
the place where I can flow with whatever is coming into being.
The future isn’t in my hands, but my heart is creating a circle of
light. If all I see is a few steps ahead
of me, it’s enough.
