Astrologer Bill Attride

Mars Conjunct Jupiter (May 1, 2011)

Zoom!  Zoom!  Desire meets Truth and you are really moving forward now! You are filled with enthusiasm, energy and drive; your confidence creates opportunities. Talk about a "Can Do" philosophy; there is no holding you back now! Go For It!

But... remember before you take that giant leap to make sure you can see where you are landing! This is a conjunction in Aries, and you would be wise to look up and out to see where you are heading, (or you might literally bump your head). The exuberance you are experiencing is real, but be careful that you don't let it overwhelm you.

The answer is to let the wonderful energy flow through you, inspire you, thrill you....But then you need to use your awareness; you need to be "present", and so consciously focus the energy upon some activity that is meaningful. The energy is offered up, but you must choose how to use it!

You do not want to waste what the universe is offering to you now. Instead, be a "Focusing Lens" for right action; let your desires be guided by the wisdom of Jupiter. As you align your desires with Universal Truth the path to Right Action becomes clear.

Now... go for it!

Venus Opposition Saturn (April 30, 2011)

This is Serious! ...No, seriously, we are talking about Saturn, the "Ring Pass Not" planet of Reality. You are facing a Reckoning and a Revelation about your Values and Relationships (Venus). But, of course, you are really facing a reckoning/revelation about your relationship to your "self".

With an opposition (like a Full Moon), it seems as if "the problem" is out there, which is partially true, of course. Any of your relationships which have been undergoing challenges will now reach a climax; the relationship will face a reckoning. You've reached a turning point, and this can, and probably should, be painful. There is a sense of finality; "we" may not make it.

The "issue" is the balance, (for both of you), between yourself and the other. Venus is in Aries, asserts the principle of "me, myself and I". Saturn is in Libra, reminds Venus that "I" without "Thou" is meaningless. Balance is achieved when you create a dynamic equilibrium between reasonable self-assertion coupled with loving consideration for the other. The problem here is that either the relationship is being damaged by too much individualism, or individuality is being smothered by a too demanding relationship/partner. The situation has become untenable.

Either way, you need to take responsibility for your part in this, which of course is (at least) half of it! You get and create the relationship you are worthy of, and that depends upon your primary relationship, your relationship to your "self". You cannot, nor should you, seek to change the other. You can re-examine and you should develop yourself; and, you will by those actions change the nature of your relationship to the other. And yes, that means your partner will have the opportunity to move into this new space and change as well.

But your concern must be with your values, your needs and the patterns of relationship that you have created. The question/revelation is about your values; the question seems external but it is truly internal. The issue and lesson is about your self-worth....it is about self-acceptance...it is about your love of self...which then is reflected into your relationship and your love for the other.

You cannot turn away from this moment, this pain that seems to come from outside. Instead move into that pain, look within and examine yourself, your values, and your love of self and by so doing you will strengthen your self-acceptance. Then go to your partner or to your friend and calmly, lovingly and carefully explain what you have now come to understand about yourself. Share your new understanding of yourself and create a new space for you both to move into.

Remember in any relationship you are dealing with "Three"; there is "I", there is "You", and then there is the third there between you both, "We". This third part must be protected, nurtured and develop as you grow. Through greater understanding and acceptance of each other you release one another to create a new space for that "we". Then, and only then, can you come together consciously, agreeing to be bound to one another in mutual understanding, trust and love. Your relationship can, nay must grow again; it must be the place to be more of what you each are than anywhere else, for that is true love.

So, on this day of reckoning, in this moment of revelation, turn and look within yourself and re-connect to the fountain-source of understanding, the source of true love, your soul.

Now turn and look upon your beloved and say those magical words, "I love you".

Venus Square Pluto (April 27, 2011)

Beauty meets the Beast. What happens when Value/Love encounters Willpower/Control?... Well, let's just say that this is not going to be pretty unless you understand the nature of the choice you face.  

The challenge is about understanding and expressing your value or self-worth, and you are under pressure from within and without. Venus is winging its way through Aries, singing the song of individualism and the value of being "I". You feel you must assert your uniqueness and be free to be yourself.

Yet "pure" freedom leads to a chaotic "state of nature", where everyone is for themselves without regard for one another.

Now that urge for perfect freedom is encountering Pluto. Pluto is laying down the challenge from Capricorn: that your pursuit of "I" must be limited by the need for order and the fulfillment of responsibilities; it is the outer order you submit to and the inner order of your self-control. In fact, your ability to be free depends upon a general social order, (and within that order by the quality of your personal relationships), and upon your capacity for self-control. It is that general order and your relationships formed within it which circumscribe your freedom as they also preserve and protect it.

Yet an order that just "is", that upholds order and tradition uncritically, leads to stagnation, meaninglessness and the denial of spiritual growth.

So the urge to be free to be oneself more truly is confronting the order which helped create the conditions for freedom. The tension is between how conditions for freedom are created by a certain structure of relationships, and the fact that this structure must also limit your freedom at the same time.

What is the lesson, what is the choice?

As always the lesson is about your spiritual growth. You and your world are constantly evolving: physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. The values created and embodied in your relationships capture a moment in time in the growth of spiritual self-realization. As you continue to unfold your potentials that very structure which supported you now comes to limit you. The lesson is to remember that you are the creator of the world you are in... You can and will change it. The only question is: how consciously will you bring about a new order?

The false choice here is between asserting freedom and breaking with the order that is, or using force to maintain relationships that are one-sided. You either break your responsibilities to others or force them to fulfill your needs. (Or they force you to serve them.) Either way denies true freedom or meaningful order. But, remember, there is always the "Third Way", the Way of Understanding.

The core issue here is Venus/Value. It is your shared values that bind you to one another in any relationship from the personal to the collective. What you must do now is use the power of Pluto to deeply re-examine what values are true for you and for the other. What you need to do is determine your hierarchy of values, and come to know which are worth sacrificing in order to make the relationship possible. And as you do this you re-affirm the common values that you share with one another. These common values are what bind you to one another; these shared values are the living reality which forms what is Love.

Eventually, as you go still deeper, your spiritual growth is quickened by your experience that all of creation comes from one Spiritual source, and that we are bound to one another not by compulsion but by that Greater Understanding, which is so sublimely met in our Love for one another.

So, let Pluto/Hades take you into the depths of your being so that you may find the "Pearl of Great Price", the secret treasure of Venus/Value at the core of your soul. For it is there that you will meet the one within which is the same as the One of Creation.

You will understand that the great illusion of this world is your sense of separateness; and, you will understand the Great Truth, felt through your experience of love, that we are one in Spirit.  

E Pluribus Unum! (Out of many, One!)

Mercury Turns Direct (April 23, 2011)

Whew! That was bumpy, but Hermes making those "loop de loops" reminds us that life is not lived in a straight line...It's a Spiral Dance in this Life-Consciousness-Spirit journey, and you must sometimes circle back in order to move ahead with greater understanding.

This time you had an opportunity to re-examine your image or presence in the world. Now with Mercury moving forward you can put out the "new you". Your dreams, plans and ideas that have been held in abeyance for 3 weeks, it is time to move them forward. Your communications, networking and technologies which seemed fraught with difficulties (or worse), they should all begin to be operate more normally.

Now, your only problem is going to be that whenever things seem to be going awry... well, you can't blame Hermes anymore!

Thank you Hermes... now lead us on to the Light!

Venus Conjunct Uranus (April 22, 2011)

Well you should be excited now. The planet of attraction meets the planet of electricity and sparks are bound to fly! You want to experience new sensations and discover new delights. Whatever is normal... well, that is just not going to make it now!

Venus rules value, beauty and love. Uranus rules individuality, freedom and independence. The combination of these two provides a wonderful opportunity to understand the core principle of what is meant by "true love".

The core principle of true love is unconditional support (and celebration) for one another's spiritual journey. By doing this, you create a space for one another to be more of what you are than you could ever be outside of that relationship. It is only in a true, loving relationship that you find the conditions that encourage you to extend yourself, to be more of yourself than anywhere else.

Why? Because you understand, accept and believe in one another unconditionally. You love one another precisely because you see what is special, unique and distinctive within one another. That affirmation, that belief in one another, releases the spirit within each of you to grow and express itself more fully.

In true love you create the space in which you are "free to be" rather than "free from" something. The celebration of your unique individuality can only be fulfilled when supported, shared and expressed with another who believes in you as you believe in them. True Love is Spiritual Love; it is Unconditional.

Celebrate the alignment of Venus and Uranus by looking in the eyes of your beloved as you say the magical words, "I see You".

Venus Enters Aries (April 21, 2011)

Aphrodite steps from the Piscean Sea and into the fiery realm of Aries. For three weeks the heart has longed to transcend itself, to sacrifice itself, and through compassion touch the sublime light of the Great Souls who have shown the way homeward.

Now it is time to come back to yourself, to your love of self, to the song of "I". Such is the song-dance of spirit, in and out, back and forth, so that every player may air their melody and dance their jig in the planetary pageant.

With Venus in Aries you need to feel beauty intensely now; you are drawn to the fresh and new in beauty and art. Love beckons like "spring fever"; it is urgent, quickening and intense. Love at first sight is common, yet commonly misunderstood.

Enjoy the resurgent feeling of new discoveries in the beauty that surrounds you. Thrill to the joy of new found love between you and your beloved. But be mindful and not so full of haste or you will miss the true source of beauty that is everlasting and for the love which is eternal. Always remember, that it is from Spirit, the constant source that your enthusiasm springs forth, and it is this same source for that eternal love that you see in the eyes of your beloved.

Celebrate your love of self; your delight in new beauties and love proclaim the joy of life renewed. Dance your dance of spirit, sing your song of songs; and so honor the Divine Seed of one and all, your Spirit-Source in the Stars.

Sun Enters Taurus (April 20, 2011)

Steadied now, focused now, building, building...Your soul's journey turns from the question, "Who am I?" Aries time is done. You've made your presence known. Now from Fire you move into Earth. The second Door of Life is before you. You cross the threshold and so seek to answer the question, "What am I?"

With the Sun in Taurus you seek the experience of what you are made of; now is the time to manifest yourself in a tangible, tactile, valuable way. Dreams, ideas, plans... they are nice, but you need to make it real, you need to be productive, you need to understand Value.

The Lesson of Taurus is about value. Where does it come from, how do you create it, hold it, preserve it, change it and....let it go? This is the second step in your life journey. What do you have within and around you to make manifest your dreams, ideas and your plans?

The key to your understanding of value is the understanding you possess of your self-worth; that is the value you have of yourself. By possessing yourself, your moral and aesthetic sensibilities, your skills, talents and abilities, by having this knowledge of your own value you can then, and only then, have the right relationship with the other beings (and things) of your world.

So celebrate the journey of life-consciousness-spirit; move now from being to doing, from dream to manifestation. Step through the doorway; becoming you are the Creator.

And remember, as it has always been, is now, and will always be, the Key to Life is:

Know Thyself!

Mercury Conjunct Mars (again) (April 19, 2011)

Your mind is on Fire and you want to act on your idea NOW. So... you need to be extra careful today. You might speak too eagerly, too hastily or out of turn, or you might act on an idea too quickly. You'll either end up hurting a relationship or injure yourself.

Remember, the Aesop fable...it's the tortoise who wins the race. So, use your intelligence to "step down" the energy; then listen, ponder, reflect... think again... then, maybe you can act. You should always seek to act with finesse and grace, after deliberation, and never in haste. Work with the energies around you to improve your performance.

Mercury is still moving retrograde, but it is slowing down and about to go forward again on Saturday April 23 (Yeah!). Here it is making the second of three passes over Mars, (just as it is making three over Jupiter in this "do-si-do" dance of the planets). You are getting a triple dose of help in working with the energies of the mind aligned with desire.

So take this opportunity that the universe has brought you; bring new thought forms to the understanding of your desires and actions. Right thinking, Right Action... Shine On!   

 

Uranus Squares Venus in USA chart (April 18, 2011)

This is the same alignment that I mentioned in the overview for 2011. And, it is the same aspect that is happening in Obama's chart too. It very much concerns the debate we are having as a Nation and people as to the question of what values we stand for. This is what I wrote on January 23, 2011:

Uranus Squares Venus (Apr. 18, Oct. 7, Feb. 28, 2012)
Well this is a whole New Year indeed! Excitement and stimulation is activating the planet of value this year. It is frothy, dare we say bubbly, and the last time Uranus made this pass, 1927-28, it was a heady time....but we were heading for a fall that few could imagine then. Will history repeat itself, no... Never! But we have to watch out; we must look back to see what challenges were encountered and opportunities missed, and realize we will face new challenges and opportunities that are appropriate to our moment in time.

Last time
The late 20's were a time of inventiveness and social experimentation. Boundaries were being broken, records were being set. Our imaginative boundaries were blown outward by the courage displayed, (and technology used), in "The Spirit of St. Louis", as Lindbergh connected the new and old worlds. There was an influence that was energizing new relationships both between one another, and in our nation's relationships with other nations. America was seen as the most "prosperous" of nations, we were the rising star in the world and the way ahead looked glorious. What we failed to see, what we failed to confront, was that the very nature of what we considered to be valuable, how we made and measured value, was in desperate need of transformation. The opportunity was there and was missed and so we fell back...

2011 The US and Venus/Uranus, Our value and  purpose.
In 2011 we face a similar challenge and opportunity. The challenge with Venus and Uranus is met when we raise to a new level our experience of value in our relationships with one another, and with the world. The US has its Venus, (and Jupiter and Sun), in the 7th house, the house of relationship. Our values and self-worth (Venus), our principles, generosity and good fortune (Jupiter) and our very being and purpose (Sun), is revealed, realized and shared by the nature and quality of our relationships to one another and with the world.

A New Order
The founding fathers hinted at this, (and much more), when they put forth as the motto of our country, and which is inscribed on the Great Seal of The United States, "Novus Ordo Seclorum" which means "A New Order for the Centuries". They understood that what they were creating was something new, something heretofore unfamiliar because it represented a break with the past. Here, in this nation, we would come together and freely determine our relationships with one another. We would surrender all title and privileges, and stand as equals to one another and be subject to no King, or Prince, or Clan or Class, but to what we had all agreed upon as our compact with one another. This sacred compact is sealed and protected by the one and only true ruler in America, the Rule of Law, (which is why the US has Saturn (order), in Libra (scales of justice) in our 10th house (authority). In the United States, the law is King, no one is above the law.

Embodied in our "Law" are the values that we have so far evolved to in our conduct with one another. Those values are made into rules which we have agreed upon, so that we know how we are expected to conduct ourselves with regard to one another. In other words, we have established these laws as the crystallized form of values with and between one another.

But unlike some, who believe that those original laws, our first rules, the Constitution, to be a finished piece and not to be altered, most of us find that the story of human fulfillment is an unfolding one that is far from over. And, so, we must keep improving upon and adding to our values and our rules. The Founding Fathers knew this work was not finished or done with them. They sought to go beyond what had been, yet they could not reach or agree beyond a certain understanding. They struggled over issues and did not overcome some of their own challenges, and so left it to other generations to face the glaring injustices embodied in our first set of "rules". How could it be otherwise?

Our Challenge, Our Opportunity
In 2011 the challenge we face is to examine to what extent we are ready, willing and able to fulfill and incorporate the message of Uranus into Venus. Uranus in Aries is shaping our Venus in Cancer by challenging us to conduct ourselves at the next necessary level of individual fulfillment and social integration. There are always forces, (and distractions), pulling us apart and drawing us together.

Venus in Cancer speaks from the Truth that we must honor where we have come from; we must remain and find value in our common heritage and so secure and bind ourselves one to another. Uranus in Aries is challenging Venus as to exactly what constitutes "roots" or "heritage" or "security".

There is a constant tension between our nation's desire to return to a simpler time, to our root values (Venus), and the incessant force of spiritual (and technical) advancement driving us forward into new expressions of value (Uranus). The answer is to be found in honoring the spiritual essence of our roots, our common heritage and value that binds us one to another, (but not being bound to the mere letter or the law or form of that value), while at the same time integrating into those values a new understanding of the message of Uranus in Aries which honors, affirms and asserts the essential dignity of the individual within the group order, (without going so far in asserting "individualism" that we break our social contract with one another).

Of course, to many who have seen the abuses of power, and the manipulation of the law to serve the powerful and not defend the weakest of us, to many the hope that we can restore let alone move forward the dream of America and its essential value or worth seems distant at best. Just as in the late 1920's, we too now find ourselves at a moment in history where the greatest inequities exist in the distribution of the wealth in America, a value that we all have created with and through one another.

Nature, (and Spirit), move whatever ordered system from a state of imbalance to balance. It seems most systems have "mechanisms" integral to their nature that bring about a re-balancing eventually. In our social order we must find our way back to "normal" by being courageous enough to face what we have wrought and bring us back and forward to a better world, before the forces in and around us bring about a more painful, because "forced", adjustment.

Time to Act
We have a choice....but not for long. For there are more alignments happening in the world generally, (those Transits to Transits) and to our country specifically (Transits to Natal), that are to meet us this year and in the next many years to come. We have a destiny, but we must understand, decide and act as those brave men (and women) acted in their hour of decision in 1776.

First, we must face what is here before us now; there is more that we must understand about the forces bringing about the changes we will grow through in 2011. So let us turn our attention to the greatest of these in the next posting, the alignment of Pluto with Jupiter. Then we will look at some other lesser, though no less important, alignments for 2011.

Part Five

Mars Opposition Saturn (April 18, 2011)

Okay, this is a really, really tough one... So, be careful! An irresistible force (Mars/Desire) meets an immovable object (Saturn/Reality). Something is bound to happen, and it will not be pretty unless you remain centered, adapt and move into greater understanding.

When Mars and Saturn align like this you have reached a turning point in action/manifestation. Remember an opposition is like a Full Moon, it is time of revelation. It appears as if you must choose between one action/thing or another; but really this is a time to bridge your divide by rising above appearances and so experience the higher truth; that these two opposites are part of one greater whole. You must find your way to right action and so take the higher path of synthesis.

Mars is the force of Desire; it is the Spirit you ride as you manifest your potential through dreaming-thinking-acting. Saturn is the principle of Reality; it is the manifestation of what you dreamed-thought-acted. Now it appears that the Authority-Reality you are encountering is challenging or blocking your Desire. You attempt to move forward, but the harder you try, the harder Reality pushes back.

NOW comes your test...If you push ahead even harder, well, you might make it, but it will probably not turn out well for you or those around you. You will probably cause damage to yourself or your surroundings. And, if you pull back, and deny your desire, well that won't be pretty either. It will churn around within you and come out again, but it will be not be in a very good form when it does.

You cannot go forward; you cannot go back. Okay universe, what's left? And your inner voice will answer, "The Third Way, the Way of Understanding". Look at the two opposites before you.

Perhaps the goal is still true, but the way you are attempting to get there no longer works. Either you have changed, or the world has changed, (or both), and you must find a different means to accomplish your task. Your Desire/Mars is always evolving.

Then turn and look at what you desire, your goal, and ask "is that what I truly want now?" You created a Reality to fulfill yourself, but now it seems to stand in your way. Perhaps it is no longer appropriate or meaningful. Or maybe, if you just adjust your bearings a little, then a better, finer goal will present itself. Your Saturn/Reality is always re-forming.

And oftentimes, it is both. You can no longer act as you had because you have grown; nor can you pursue the same reality because it too is evolving, both through your efforts and that of many others.  

First, you must step back from this crisis, from the confrontation that appears to be "out there", for the true struggle of your life is to be found within. Remember that you are only encountering what you have desired and what you have created. Take responsibility for what you wanted and what you made... Now, re-imagine yourself and take the middle path of understanding. You are the creator.

So be it.