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July 29, 2002
In this issue:
1. The great Saturn/Uranus cycle
2. OPA’s retreat
The Great Saturn/Uranus Cycle
The first time I ever heard of or encountered Jeffrey Wolfe Green
was in San
Francisco in 1974 at an AFA convention. (That was also the
convention in which
Noel Tyl burst upon the scene.) I attended a lecture Green was
presenting about
the phase relationships in cycles of planetary pairs. It changed the
way I
viewed transits and natal aspects forever.
The faster cycles of the inner planets, including the Sun and Moon,
pass rather
quickly and are more personal in nature, but the outer planets, i.e.
those from
Jupiter outward, are more about mass consciousness and historical
trends. One of
the most important ones is the cycle of Saturn with Uranus. But,
first, here’s
an explanation of what I mean by "phase relationships".
You are no doubt familiar with the phases of the Moon, which is
actually a
relationship of the cycles of the Moon with the Sun. We know that
when the Moon
is in conjunction with the Sun (from our vantage point on Earth) it
is the "new
Phase of the Moon", or "new Moon". When the Moon has moved 90
degrees from the
Sun (and since the Sun is moving too, this has to be taken into
account), we
call it the "first quarter phase of the Moon". When the two are
opposite each
other, we call it the "full Moon", and so on around the cycle to the
new Moon
again in 28 days from the last conjunction. These phase
relationships can be
applied to any two moving bodies in the heavens. Since one will be
faster than
the other, then the faster planet will move ahead of the slower one
after a
conjunction, eventually get to the 90 degree mark and be in "first
quarter
phase", then some time later, they will be opposite each other, then
in waning
phase (waxing is before the opposition, waning is after) as it moves
back to
another conjunction. Each pair is unique in how long this process
takes because
it depends on the relative speed of the pairs of planets.
When working with phase relationships we use eight phases rather
than the
traditional four phases of the moon, with which we are so familiar.
If you
divide a circle into 8 sections, each one will be 45 degrees in
size. Therefore,
the new phase is the first 45 degrees of this cycle, the second 45
degrees is
called the crescent phase, the third is the first quarter, the
fourth is
gibbous, and then at the opposition, we have full phase. In the
waning half, the
next one after full is disseminating, then third quarter, and last
is the
balsamic phase. (A good book on this is Marc Robertson’s The Engine
of Destiny
probably available through the AFA) All these phases have meaning
and put the
cycles of transiting planets into perspective so that one can see
the whole
picture.
The great cycle of Saturn with Uranus is 44 years long and marks
great social
changes when each of the 8 phases comes to fruition. It helps put
historical
events into order when we understand this cycle. The last
conjunction of these
two was Feb. 13, 1988, and the next conjunction is in June 2032. The
previous
conjunction in 1988 was at 29 Sagittarius, which is a critical
degree. That
degree, according to Sabian symbols, has to do with transmuting from
following
dogma to a more authentic spiritual viewpoint. From personal success
to
community success. This should be the theme for this 44 year cycle.
When the
cycle starts there may not be a dramatic event, but there would be
one shortly
thereafter since the opening conjunction initiates the rebellion
(Uranus)
against the establishment (Saturn) which takes a little while to
become visible.
It was less than two years later – i.e. around November 1989 – when
the Berlin
Wall came down, and our relationship with Russia went through
enormous change.
Currently, two important things are going on within this cycle.
First, in
October 2002 Saturn will make a station at 29 Gemini opposite the
original
conjunction in 1988. That is not the full phase because that will
not occur
until Saturn is actually physically opposite Uranus in the sky,
which will be in
Sept. 2009. That will be the halfway point when we will be more
consciously
aware of our task in this great cycle. But, the opposition of Saturn
to the
original point, and especially a station, will certainly get our
attention
regarding this task.
The second thing is that they are in the first quarter phase right
now with the
two about to enjoy a trine aspect in the sky for the better part of
the
remainder of this year. I’ve mentioned it before, but I don’t think
many people
grasped the importance of it. The first quarter phase started in
July, 1999. It
is associated with outright rebellion with few constraints. It was
at 15 degrees
of Taurus/Aquarius... another critical degree! These two signs
really epitomize
personal wealth versus collective brotherhood. Uranus is right now
transiting
back and forth over the USA Moon, if the Sibley chart is correct.
Since the Moon
rules the USA’s 8th house (investments, scandals, sexual attitudes,
among other
things), we’ve had the instability of the stock market, scandals
involving
Catholic priests, scandals involving honesty in corporations, and a
general
decline of trust in the integrity of our institutions – all
Sagittarian and 8th
house themes.
After the initial opening of the first quarter phase with any pair
of planets,
rebellion or shock of things comes into the open, and then the pair
goes into a
trine aspect before going into the gibbous phase where scrupulous
attention to
detail and procedure prevails. Gibbous has a Virgo flavor. We are
now in that
period of time where the shock is a bit over and we are taking
responsibility in
adjusting and correcting things. So in a nutshell, I believe we will
see better
days ahead regarding these events, at least. Naturally, there is a
lot more
going on in the sky besides this. But it is a powerful background
theme for 44
years that we should be watching periodically.
OPA’s Retreat
At the UAC conference I was given the position of publicity and
outreach on the
board of the Organization for Professional Astrology. This
organization is a
wonderful idea whose time has come. It is primarily for
professionals and
aspiring professionals in the field and has the aim of improving our
professional expertise and business skills. For that purpose, one of
our main
events will be retreats where we can gather and hone our skills and
learn from
each other in a safe and confidential environment. It is not a time
for lectures
or classes. It is hands-on work to improve our client relationships
and our
business practices.
The first retreat will be at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico from Nov.
14th to 17th.
The cost includes meals and accommodations and at $395 (before Sept.
1st) is a
bargain. The only thing extra is transportation. If you want more
details, go to
OPA’s website: http://www.professional-astrology.org . Also, if you
are a member
of a group, or even just for yourself, I’d like to send you a packet
of
information about OPA so that you or your group might consider
joining this very
worthwhile organization. There is nothing like it out there, and it
provides
quite a different kind of benefit from the other organizations.
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