Aspects for the week beginning 17 January 2010

Last week the poor of the world got poorer and the event of the week was the earthquake in Haiti.  Several astrological factors seem to be involved, among them the approach of Saturn’s retrograde turn, and the approach of the Eclipse.  Looking at the 1804 chart for Haiti, there are two transits from Pluto at the time of the earthquake: Pluto conjunct the natal Mars of Haiti, and squaring its natal Saturn.  It seems likely that Pluto was at least partly responsible for knocking down the house of cards.  The Ascendant of the earthquake chart has Sirius rising, which is a puzzle since Sirius has a benevolent reputation.  Where are the Space Brothers when you need them?  Siriusly…It is hard to see a silver lining in this tragedy, but an open mind may reveal one some day.  Meanwhile our prayers go out, hope that the aid reaches its targets quickly, and praise for all those physically helping out there under such difficult conditions.  Jupiter entering Pisces tomorrow (Monday 18th) may bring good news for aid relief as it is a drive for compassionate action and signals a year of renewed vitality for charities.  This may offset some of the flagging support which has resulted from the credit crunch.  Promises, promises, you might say, but fingers crossed that Jupiter will deliver the goods during its stay in Pisces.  It rushes through Pisces over the next six months, then meets Uranus at the beginning of Aries, in a blaze of excitement, then retrogrades back into Pisces, ending the year square the Galactic Centre.  In your own chart it will increase your ability to mine the treasure of your unconscious mind, and this switchover of Jupiter from Aquarius to Pisces will highlight a a different way of dealing with the affairs of the house it falls in.  To give an example, if your Ascendant is Aquarius, it will fall in your first house, and you will notice a deepening of emotion and compassion, as contrasted with the more detached segment of your first house which is composed of Aquarius.   Another planet changes signs tomorrow, and as Jupiter leaves Aquarius Venus arrives there.  The quality of love which is expressed when Venus is in Capricorn is unsentimental but loyal.  Venus entering Aquarius will still be cool and slightly reserved, but will additionally have a humanitarian and idealistic quality, thus again supporting the world response to Haiti and any other natural disasters which may occur during its stay which lasts until 11 February.  It is a week of switchovers, and if you have your Ascendant or Sun particularly at the cusp of two signs, you may feel a shift of gears within yourself.  Wednesday 20th January reveals the third change of sign, that of Sun into Aquarius, by which time such O degree people will have a whole new wardrobe of identities to play around with.  The emphasis turns from straight to quirky, the route of sticking to old solutions transforms into seeking out new ways of doing things, and original ideas for problem-solving.  The first half of the week is markedly a climate of change.  On Friday (22nd) Venus trines Saturn, and this is a marker for honouring and respecting old loves, personal contracts, and expressing yourself with sincerity.  It may also be helpful in stabilizing and pinning down economic resources, including overseas aid.  By the end of the week, you may be better able to answer the question “Who are you?”  And/or the next question, “What do you stand for?”  A man who had to answer searching questions last week was Alistair Campbell at the Chilcot enquiry into the Iraq war.  We know that Tony Blair and George Bush did religion, but it is not yet clear whether Alistair (who quoted psalm 56) does religion.  The North Node, an agent of karmic reckoning, was acting as the presence of God, and trined his Jupiter inviting him to reveal the whole truth.  The search for truth, meaning, and silver linings goes on…