December 16, 2012
Writing in the US this morning, I first acknowledge our grief over the loss of young children and the adults protecting them in Newtown, CT. As a mother, an educator, and a human being, my heart goes out to everyone who lost someone yesterday and to the community. May we all support each other with kindness, compassion, sensitivity, and love.
As an astrologer, and someone who works with oracles, I point to the primacy of choice. No, we can't predict specific events with any certainty. We live in a world of probabilities, possibilities, and choices. We are actors, choosers, co-creating our lives and fates.
Astrology offers a context, a framework for helping us understand, approach and solve problems. With that in mind, I offer some astrological comments about this tragedy, and where the energies seem to be moving.
Uranus the Awakener stationed direct Thursday night and is now moving forward after five months retrograde. This alone suggests the possibility of a shocking event that shifts our perceptions.
For the overwhelming majority of us, this tragedy is experienced as perception and information. To those who lost loved ones, to those who survived and now look for a way back, I offer my deepest compassion, as inadequate as that is. The rest of us are responding to news.
Astrologically, then, we have Mercury, who is mind and communication, trining Uranus and squaring Neptune and Chiron––news that galvanizes and changes us, wounds us, holds out possibilities of healing, and is also confusing.
Thus far, the news reports have confused the identity of the young man who committed these crimes with his brother, and confused the relationship between the killer, his mother, and the school. The brother and father were reported dead, and are not. Information about the young man is uncertain, unclear. There is no clear motive.
At the same time, we're at the beginning of a Sagittarius New Moon, with Mercury also in Sagittarius. The shadow side of Sagittarius is knowing it all, and in that certainty, being more than ready to set everyone straight.
Touching on hot-button political issues, we've already seen pronouncements from analysts, writers, bloggers, tweeters, and posters on Facebook about the need to instantly enact gun control, and about the complete irrelevance of gun control. We're seeing posts on the need to lock away anyone showing any sign of mental imbalance, the need to stop the administration of psychoactive drugs, the need to increase treatment for mental and emotional issues. Many of these are expressed with absolute certainty, some with outrage, and some with outright vitriol.
Right now, we don't know what happened. We certainly don't know why. We may never be certain. What I do know is that immediately staking out a position will not help us find solutions.
There's lots of evidence that the easy availability of really powerful guns in this country increases the probability that violence will be deadly. And gun control will not magically end violence.
There's plenty of evidence that the mental health system in our country is broken. Drugs seem an easy option. They're also the only option when residential programs are few and far between. Young men are the hardest population to find good care for, hands down. It's easy to call for this to be fixed and much harder to vote for spending to fix it, not to mention finding solutions that work.
Tomorrow's Crescent Moon brings the first glimmers of light on whatever was initiated at the New Moon. This Crescent Moon is in cool, cerebral Aquarius, the sign best able to step back, take in the big picture, and makes plans that are comprehensive as well as calm.
The Moon trines Jupiter, retrograde in Gemini, an easy flow of energy that supports reflection instead of snap judgements, exploration instead of certainty.
Meanwhile, Mercury opposes Jupiter, an interesting challenge as they are in mutual reception: Mercury in Jupiter's home sign of Sagittarius, and Jupiter in Mercury's Gemini. One aspect of this mutual reception is that it places each planet in the sign of its detriment, where they are uneasy, not at home. This also supports reflection, careful examination of facts and situations, and calls into question what we thought we were so sure of.
The Sagittarian Sun squares Pallas Athena, another voice for calm, consideration, and what is best for society. The Sun is also conjunct Juno, champion of what was fair and just.
At this Crescent Moon, Venus shifts from shadowy Scorpio into bright Sagittarius. Venus represents our values as well as our relationships. Now, the things we (hopefully) learned while in the depths, can be brought into the light of consciousness. We look at the implications of what we know, how it changes our lives and our world.
This is a good time to look at our certainties. Avoiding pulpits and soapboxes, we reflect on what is true for us, and how it informs how we live our lives. In the face of terrible loss, we can appreciate––more than that, we can love––what we have, and cherish this precious life.
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