2012
NOT THE BEGINNING OF THE END BUT THE END OF THE BEGINNING
There's been so much written about 2012 that it's hard to find your way through the maze of competing theories and second hand assumptions. The hype started with the so-called Mayan Calendar connection and has continued ever since. In reality, 2012 is not going to be the end of the world; it marks the end of the beginning of personal and global change. Sorry to disappoint you if you've come here for an apocalyptic forecast but that isn't the truth. Read my article “2012 - it's not the end of the world" for more about the catastrophe theories.
THE BEGINNING
The first waves of uncontrollable personal and global change started in 2008 and continued through the Cardinal Cross upheavals of 2010 and 2011. First the economic breakdown followed by the Icelandic volcano, the Haiti and Chilean earthquakes, foreclosure on homes, personal insolvency and high jobless rates. After that, the Japanese tsunami and nuclear fallout and the continuing collapse of the euro along with its political leaders. We saw attempts to shore up and maintain the status quo at any cost. Now we are already in transition from the first to the second stage of change. Denial is no longer possible and is giving way but the revolution has not yet arrived. Uranus has awakened us but to what?
2012 KEY DATES TO NOTE
Planets changing signs
| • Neptune into Water sign Pisces |
4 February until 2023 |
| • Jupiter into Air sign Gemini |
12 June until 2014 |
| • North Node from Sagittarius to Water sign Scorpio |
31 August until 2014 |
| • Saturn into Water sign Scorpio |
6 October until 2014 |
| • Sun/Venus eclipse in Gemini |
5 June |
Eclipses
| Solar eclipse |
20 May |
0 degrees Gemini |
| Lunar eclipse |
4 June |
14 degrees Sagittarius |
| Solar eclipse |
13 November |
21 degrees Scorpio |
| Lunar eclipse |
28 November |
6 degrees Gemini |
THE POINT OF NO RETURN
4 -24 JUNE 2012
Through the lens of astrology, the most volatile period in 2012 is between the 4 June Lunar Eclipse and the first exact square between Uranus/Pluto on 24th June, although the ripple effect will be felt for much, much longer.
THE KEY THEMES OF 2102
• survival at any cost
• husbanding the earth's natural resources
• retrenchment
• practicality
• resistance to change
• incremental transformation not an ending
This is a very powerful Grand Mutable Cross involving Mars/ Jupiter/ Lilith/ the Nodes/ the Sun/ Moon/ Chiron/ Neptune, all in frictional aspects to each other. Black Moon Lilith considered to be a "nodal" point of fate is conjuncting the South Node of self undoing and opposing the Moon. Outside the Grand Cross and cutting across it are Uranus and Pluto square each other. Saturn isolated In Libra and retrograde has only one aspect which makes this chart very unstable indeed. Venus will be eclipsed by the Sun 24 hours after this eclipse; something that occurs once every 100 years! This is a potentially auspicious event, allowing us to understand what really matters. A Grand Cross is a self-contained system which feeds on itself. Once the Mutable momentum has started there are few ways to rein it in. The keyword here is instability. The eclipse will be visible from Australia, rising in Eastern Asia and culminating in the US.
Sabian Symbol: "Conscious approach to spiritual truth and open mindedness"
THE 1ST EXACT SQUARE OF URANUS/PLUTO
This is the first time these two powerful outer planets have met since the Spring of 1966 when they formed a conjunction in Virgo and put their imprint on a whole generation. This conjunction changed music, politics and attitudes to so called authority forever. The waxing square following a conjunction always means Change with a capital letter. In 2012, we have the first of 7 exact Pluto/Uranus squares between 2012 - 2015. Yes - I did say 7 squares - and that's unprecedented. It's as if we're going to put the car into gear in summer of 2012 then accelerate until 2015 with the pace getting faster and faster.
Sabian Symbol:
Uranus at 8 degrees Aries: "A crystal gazer. Direction from within"
Pluto at 8 degrees Capricorn: "An angel carrying a harp. The harmony of fulfilled selfhood"
In 2012, Pluto is in earthy Capricorn and Uranus in fiery Aries. Unlike a conjunction which melds the two planets into a brand new entity, a square aspect is more like a clash of the Titans. There is enormous friction between the tectonic plates grinding against each other. When we consider that Pluto takes 248 years to circumnavigate all 12 signs while Uranus takes 84, we can understand how significant this extended transit will prove to be. Pluto, Lord of the Underworld in Capricorn, sparring with Uranus the Awakener in Aries, is a recipe for revolution. Pluto symbolises institutions desperately clinging on to the status quo through power plays whilst Uranus demands individual freedoms. The Arab Spring was one of the earliest manifestations of this square, triggered by January 2011’s eclipse across North Africa. What it shows is that when huge numbers of individuals get behind one cause, they are unstoppable. These revolutions were the precursor to what’s going to happen during the next 3 years.
From 2008 onwards, world leaders have responded to succeeding economic and political crises by trying to fix the unfixable. The only way forward is to change the old democratic structures which fitted the Western world from the 1760s but which no longer work in our technological age. To name but one example of this: parliament or Congress where there are two polarised parties who fight each other. The game is set up to create the perception of winners and losers. Imagine what could happen with collaborative rather than combative politics!
There has been a crucial game changer in the last 4 years; the spread of personal media though social networks and mobile phones. This new interconnectivity is reducing the effect of top down hierarchies. Anyone with a digital camera and Wi Fi connection can impact the whole world with a single image. The revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya were the first hi tech uprisings.
The 1st exact Uranus/Pluto square is potentially the most unsettled and unsettling part of next year. Not only is there the Uranus/Pluto square but also a Grand Cross in Mutable signs. Mutable signs are flexible, responsive and seeking stability. The preponderance of Mutable energy in 2012 suggests that it will be very hard to find.
Given that there will be another square on 20 September followed by 5 more until 2015, rather than 2012 being a one off cataclysmic change point, we'll experience more frequent shocks followed by forced adaptation: political, global, economic and personal combined with natural upheavals such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions right through until early 2016. The astrological signature of a waxing square is "survival at all costs".
SATURN ENTERS SCORPIO
On 6 October, Saturn enters Scorpio for a two and a half year stay. This puts both Pluto and Saturn in mutual reception i.e. Pluto is in Capricorn, Saturn's sign while Saturn is in Scorpio, Pluto's sign. So the overtone will be deep, intense and very focused. Saturn moves between the inner and outer planets, taking 28 years to travel through the 12 signs. The Dweller on the Threshold rules time, boundaries, discipline, potential and stamina. If you don't do your Saturn by playing the victim or expecting to be given special treatment, you'll find roadblocks to stall progress. Scorpio is a Fixed Water sign whereas Saturn is earthy and concrete. It's going to be a time of facing stark reality, paring everything to the bone in order to survive. Natural resources such as gas, oil, minerals and water could be restricted (a very Saturnian word). So this transit echoes one of the most important themes of 2012 - survival.
On the path to 21 December 2012: The Solar Eclipse 13 November 2012
By now the Nodes of Fate have moved on to the Fixed axis to Scorpio/Taurus. There is a tense T-square between the South Node in Taurus and Mercury/North Node/Moon/Sun in Scorpio with Chiron/Neptune at the apex. There are also unstable quincunxes from Saturn to Uranus and Mars/Pluto to the South Node. This all points to an intense time when fears will be magnified and projected on to other people. Entrenched polarisation will deepen, such as that between protesters and the state or Britain and the euro countries. Resistance to the changes demanded by the economy will intensify. Governments will crack down harder than we've ever seen before on protesters as corporations cling on to what they have. The old guard (think Rupert Murdoch) are like dinosaurs on their way out, still thrashing their tails and very dangerous. The eclipse path will be over the Pacific Ocean and visible from Australia.
The Sabian Symbol: "Aggressive quest for outer and inner sustenance"
21 DECEMBER 2012 SOLSTICE CHART
The Sabian Symbol: "Mastery of a situation through purposeful planning and adventuring"
This is the exact time of the Winter Solstice in the Northern hemisphere and the day, according to conspiracy theorists, that the world is supposed to end. So what can we see from the chart? A Yod or Finger of God from Pluto semi-sextile Saturn pointing to Jupiter. Jupiter in Gemini suggests technological advances while Saturn in Scorpio and Pluto in Capricorn re-enforce the absolute need for practical ways of doing things. Venus is trining both Uranus and the Moon in Fire signs suggesting that any upheavals will be for the better. Neptune/Chiron are the focal points of a Mutable t-square so we look to the opposite degree to find a way through. This is in Virgo; another leitmotif of attention to practicality and detail. The Sun conjuncts Pluto on the world axis - as it does every year! - and squares Uranus. Change is writ large but no more so than we'll have been through in June 2012. See it as a stage of transformation, not an ending.
HOW WILL 2012 AFFECT YOU?
The signs most likely to experience big changes in 2012 will be the Mutables Gemini/Virgo/Sagittarius/Pisces plus Taurus/Scorpio.
If your Sun is in the first 15 degrees of any of these signs, it will be a big year for you. If you have planets or points in these Mutable signs, look at your birth chart to find out which areas of your life will be changed.
For those of you born between 1965 - 67, 2012 will be an awakening. You were imprinted with Uranus/Pluto at Birth. The square plus the eclipses will shake the core of your being. This is the time to claim your voice and stand up for what you believe in. You've often felt out of step with the collective and developed many wounds through your quest for truth and healing. Now these hard natal aspects can be released to help others master what you have learnt the difficult way.
FREEWILL AND CHANGE POINTS
We should always remember that events are beget by actions and that all of us have free will. Astrology provides the cosmic weather forecast so that you can make considered choices through understanding all the options. Whatever December 2012 will mean depends on actions and decisions made now. Everything is multilayered. Tipping points, saddle points and bifurcations will occur, to use the language of chaos theory. There is so much more to look at on the road to the end of 2012 and I will be writing about the likely twists and turns week by week, month by month and in the regular newsletters.
As Steven Forrest always points out; "The planets do not create events, they ask the questions"
© Lorna Bevan 1st December 2011
