FROM FIRE TO EARTH
From Sept 2007 until Jan 2009, three planets change from fire to earth signs.
We explore the quality of these energies, and the opportunity offered.
Pluto has now entered earthy Capricorn, revisiting fiery Sagittarius between 14.6.2008 and 27.11.2008, and then continuing through Capricorn until 2024. The deep changes symbolised by this movement are accentuated, its themes rendered more accessible, by both Jupiter and Saturn also having entered earthy signs. On 2.9.2007, Saturn entered Virgo, where it will stay until late 2009. Jupiter entered Capricorn on 18.12.2007 and will move into Aquarius on 5.1.2009. So during 2008, Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto are all bringing attention to the earth element.
Fire, fire, burning darkly
In astrological terms, the element of fire associates with vision, imagination and intuition. It is a volatile energy, tending to focus on the future, working in a spontaneous and immediate way, promoting joy, action and movement, but negatively can be expressed as haste, anger and exaggeration. Fiery consciousness works in pictures and images rather than words, and produces heat, physically and emotionally. Since 1995, with Pluto in Sagittarius, however, visions of the future as described by ‘prophets’ of the media, both mainstream and alternative, have sometimes been very dark, tending to engender fear. Our relationship with the fire of ‘collective imagination’ is especially important now, as the earth element promotes manifestation. As we cultivate the 'middle way' between denial and exaggeration, we are supported in our endeavour not to be merely reactive to what goes on 'out there', but to place our attention and energy with our own direction.
Down to earth - happy landings?
With Pluto now in Capricorn, we may need to beware of investing in self-defeating attempts to ward off an imagined negative future, whose seeds were sown while Pluto was in Sagittarius. Fear and contraction are the expression of negative earth energy. If we have been over-reaching ourselves, we will have the opportunity to adjust according to the relative stringency of these times. However, we are now supported in positive earthy intentions that relate to where we are now, but that also invite fruitful outcomes. This sudden emphasis on the earth element brings an opportunity to discern what we are ‘giving substance’ to, and what really ‘matters’ to us. For what we cultivate by our attention will grow. This is the way of earth: we gain in wisdom through understanding ‘right timing’, we honour natural cycles of all kinds, both celestial and terrestrial, and we trust that our endeavours of awareness an right action will be supported by the magnanimous cosmos which we inhabit. We understand that all forms, including our own body, have limited duration in time, and will one day end. Such forms may be invisible or invisible: beliefs and worldviews may last longer than individuals, but they too are born and die. It is with this knowledge that the soul seeks that Great Spirit which does not die and is never born.
Earth questions
Rather than looking to astrology for ‘answers’, it can be more interesting to look for the questions that the universe might be asking us at any point in time. In this way, our alchemical dialogue with the sacred cosmos is nourished and stimulated, and our capacity for being present in the moment is enhanced rather than intercepted. Here are some ‘earthy’ questions, and you might like to add some of your own:
‘What do I seek to manifest?’
‘What are the deepest priorities of my life?’
‘What really matters to me?’
‘What is life asking of me at this time’
‘Where is my contact with the eternal, the undying?’
Earth contemplation
There are places where ‘earth energies’ are very powerful. Ancient sacred sites abound, some famous and some relatively unknown. However, the entire earth is also sacred. Think of it, suspended in space on its yearly journey around our Sun, but moving with it at a speed of about 12 miles per second! In addition there are resonant grids of energy which have been described in various ways down the years. In contemplating the earth element, we allow ourselves to sense our connection with these subtle geometrics, for they nourish mind and body by enabling us to feel part of the whole earth and further, its place in the cosmos.
The cube is the Platonic solid associated with the element of earth, and the 2-D version of this, the square, is often linked with the root chakra. Our survival instincts and tribal loyalties, as well as our tendency towards greed and selfishness, are activated at this level, and cause endless cycles of war and violence if not mediated through the progressively more refined energies of the chakras located in the belly, heart and head. By the same token, we meet the density of this energy as we seek to manifest that which really ‘matters’ to us. Therefore, we can expect a purification at the ‘earth’ level at this time.
The cuboid structure of the Ka’aba is the focus of prayers said five times daily by Moslems world-wide, and a major centre of pilgrimage. It houses a stone of unknown age and origin, around which is woven a fabric of legend and myth, including a story that it was once a white stone which fell to earth from heaven in the time of Adam, the 'first man' of the Abrahmic religions. It is a beautiful symbol of the ancient and heavenly ‘holy of holies’ personified by an object clearly relating to the earth element, a metaphor of incarnation itself. The stillness which is the gift of earth enables us to find this holy place of orientation and pilgrimage within ourselves. Indeed, the shift of emphasis from Sagittarius to Capricorn speaks of exactly this internalising. The arrows of the Archer, shot so far and with such intensity, strike the Earth as they come to rest.
The Earth is said to be the 'Esoteric Ruler' of Sagittarius. Its symbol within astrology is the upright Cross within the Circle, an image which resembles a target, or the view-finder of a camera or a gun..... indeed, the trajectory brings 'home' the heart-felt wish for connection with our sense of the Divine Source. For Sagittarius is The Seeker, and The Quest is relinquished in Capricorn. This is not to say that vision and meaning cease. Rather we find that the earthy, receptive energies of Capricorn provide the very earth needed for the seeds of our aspiration to be nourished.
Saturn and Jupiter
Virgo is ruled by the planet Mercury, and focuses on being of service to others by being productive and efficient, concentrating the intelligent and realistic use of resources. During this Saturn transit, our creative ideas become reality, but sometimes not without the ‘blocks, delays and obstacles’ for which Saturn is notorious by transit. Always, these bring further opportunities to turn within, to cultivate persistence and patience and dedication. Purifying and streamlining are favoured; we may feel inclined to do a physical de-tox, or to go through our belongings and make sure we are not hoarding what is no longer useful. Lightening up is the theme, so that we do not feel dragged down by ‘stuff’ but rather may direct the Saturnian energies to creative manifestation. Meanwhile, Jupiter in Saturn’s sign tends towards the experience of stringency, consolidation and integrity. Excess, indulgence and loose boundaries quickly reduce our energy, but here the more introspective side of Jupiter is enhanced, as its expansiveness is turned within, supported by Saturn in Virgo and Pluto in Capricorn.
In addition, Jupiter makes three exact 145° aspects with Saturn, which signal the need to understand something which may have had its origins around May 2000, when Jupiter and Saturn were last conjunct. Consequences are revealed, possibilities which came to nothing are released, and we move on.
