As I mentioned yesterday, the astrology of this month, especially concentrated around today, is some of the most powerful, dense, and unique that we've seen in our lifetimes. For those of us in the Nothern Hemisphere, the sun will shine at its brightest, longest, and highest in the sky today. The blazing Sun's finest moment corresponds with its transit to Cancer, ushering in a new sign and a new season here on Earth. The Sun's transit into 0 degrees, 0 minutes Cancer at 7:28am (on the East Coast) today is one of four times the Sun encounters the Aries Point, also known as the cardinal cross, a literal cross shape created by drawing two lines across the zodiac between the four cardinal signs (Aries to Libra, Cancer to Capricorn).
The history, significance, and complexities of the Aries Point are far too vast to indulge in detail at the moment. As mentioned, the cardinal cross has four points, which are the zero degrees (cusps or beginnings) of each cardinal sign. Most crucial and influential is zero Aries, which is where the tropical (seasonal-based) zodiac is precisely aligned with the sidereal (star-based) zodiac upon the Vernal Equinox, which is why it is also known as the Sidereal Vernal Point or SVP. The other three points also correspond with seasonal changes. The axes of the of the cardinal cross are highly sensitive to transits as well as other astronomical events such as eclipses. For some reason, the power of the SVP has been especially noticeable on Earth over the past decade, given that its timing has coincided with such disasters as September 11th and the Asian tsunami: once again, a much more detailed explanation for perhaps another time. Just know that this phenomenon is explained by most astrologers by its a alignment with several distant but powerful forces, including our galactic core in Aries, the Uranian orbital body Kronos (associated with power and superiority) in Cancer, M87 (a massive galaxy and black hole) in Libra, and the Road to Xibalba in Capricorn (a band running through the center of the galaxy that corresponds to the Mayan creation myth and the reason humanity is supposed to make its exit on the cardinal cross, 21 December 2012).
The Sun's transit into a cardinal sign (Cancer, in this instance) is when our personal lives intersect with larger groups, concepts, and events. The Summer Solstice is a time for us to feel illuminated not just as individuals, but as humankind. The cardinal cross reminds us that the personal is political, and vice versa. For example, we've been lamenting the disastrous BP oil spill for two months now, and although we sympathize for the devastation it has caused the economy, population, and ecosystem of the Gulf Coast, we've seen very little of its effects in our personal lives (unless we happen to live in the area). The power of the Aries Point provides us a perfect opportunity to remember that in our search to point blame at anyone for this catastrophe (government regulators, BP, Deepwater Horizon, etc.), the ultimate responsibility rests with those who provide these corporations the demand that drives their business models. That is not to say that you or I personally are to blame for the oil spill; if I decided to stop buying oil a year ago, that rig would still have been in operation, and the blowout preventer still would have failed. However, the beauty of astrology is that it is not bound by the factual limitations of time and space. It allows us to step back from our lives and think, "What if there really is something else going on here?", or, "What if the way I live my life has more impact on the world around me than I actually believe?"
Thus is the nature of the cardinal cross as well as the study of astrology itself: placing ourselves within a world that is more spatially and conceptually vast than we could possibly visualize or conceive.
As mentioned beforehand, the points of the cardinal cross are highly sensitive to astrological/astronomical happenings, and they provide an accelerated energy that brings us a certain sense of awareness of ourselves and those around us. The Lunar Eclipse this coming Saturday concerns me; although I won't be so bold as to predict a massive catastrophe or world changing event, I do hope that when the Earth prevents the Sun's illumination of the Moon, we do not lose our empathy to the human condition. Bear in mind that although you may feel that things are not coming easily to you, or that you are swimming against the tides, you are not alone. Millions of other people are on your level fighting the same fight, and millions are much less fortunate than you are. After you all, you are on an internet accessible computer, a luxury reserved for only 21% of the world's population.
My fear is that the people of Earth are on disaster overload; that is, so many things seem to be going wrong in the world around us that we don't know where to start when it comes to making repairs on a personal, communal, and global level. We become numb to even the greatest of catastrophes when we don't know how to cope with them, and we remain apathetic if the issue has little effect on our personal lives. The American population (and therefore, the media, and therefore, the government... yes, in that order) has such a short attention span that we acknowledge the results of disasters, but before we can breach the surface of the situation to assess its causes, we move on to another issue. Our dependence on oil, although acknowledged by the past eight presidents as one of America's greatest weaknesses, has been put off for almost half a century now. The issue has persisted, and exactly one month after the SVP in Aries, the political became personal for millions of workers and residents along the bayou.
I feel that we are at a point where our ignorance may start to catch up to us. Like the poor people and animals of the Gulf Coast, the time for larger, seemingly distant issues to permeate our daily personal lives will eventually come to us. With disasters in the gulf, the job market, the Eurpoean economy, the American economy, climate change, and the list goes on, all we need is a Lunar Eclipse after a cardinal transit to manifest these broad issues as specific problems affecting our lifestyles. I hope that this does not mean another disaster, but rather a gradual rise in humankind's collective consciousness about the ills that plague the world around us. Remember, it starts on a personal level, which is connected as a part to a whole by the Aries Point, or as the great boy band 2gether so eloquently put it, you + me = us.
There is a lot more going on in our sky besides the Solstice and the Eclipse, and I will discuss some of the other aspects and transits in an update later this week. For now, just remember; the political is personal, and there is no I in team (although there is a me). Enjoy the sunshine, and the emotional tidings provided by our Sun in Cancer.
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