Planetary Changes, Challenges, and Patterns for 2014

The year ahead through 2014 promises to be highly charged and action packed with a Cardinal Grand Cross defining the momentum of the first half of the year.  Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn) initiate change, each in their own way.  Cardinal signs also describe the areas of relationship starting with oneself in Aries, ones family in Cancer, ones partner in Libra, and finally ones public relationships in Capricorn.

Many changes will take place for all of us with strong emphasis on Cardinal signs in 2014.  Look to Cardinal sign planets in the degrees between 10 and 16 to be especially emphasized.  These changes may be turbulent, powerful, and challenging, but potentially highly rewarding.  Hopefully you will use these energies to move forward in your own lives with resolve and determination to be the best you can be!  Look to your own configurations and check out the many transits in this pattern to see how and where you will be the most impacted.  Will this forceful energy pattern motivate you and charge you up?  I sincerely hope it will.

Many of you reading this may have been born with Cardinal t-squares, or even Cardinal Grand Crosses in your natal chart.  These configurations come and go through the years.  Both my parents born in the early 20th century had Cardinal Grand Crosses, for example.  What makes this particular year so important, however, is the king-pin square between Pluto in Capricorn and Uranus in Aries.  We know that in the mid-sixties these two powerful planets of transformation and change came together in Virgo.  Now some 47 years later we have the First Quarter Phase taking place in Cardinal signs.

This pattern has been discussed over and over again in the past 3-5 years by astrologers world-wide.  The critical ‘crisis of action’ is now here.  The revolutionary spark of the ‘60s is now at the crossroads and commitments of action are now required based on the seed ignited in Virgo.  I should probably write yet one more article on that theme because we live in a time where very little reflection is allowed.  We do need to look back and review what seminal new beginnings marked that time:

Should we consider the anti-war movement and the protests against the Viet Nam War?  Should we consider the civil rights movement centering on African Americans and the assassinations of first Malcolm X in 1965 and then Martin Luther King in 1968?    Should we consider also the spark of a potentially great world leader, Robert Kennedy, also snuffed out in 1968?

Many other themes were emerging in the ‘60s including labor issues and the rights of the working class,  ecology and the environment,  women’s rights and the rise of feminism, greater sexual freedom with the ensuing problems of AIDS and recreational use of drugs, the beginnings of the Medicare program in 1966 (can you believe it was simple and only index cards were used?), fossil fuel beginning to peak and the deadly surge towards an over-load of carbon emissions and global climate change, and let’s not forget the shift from America’s industry base towards globalization of industry while the USA became the military/police force of the planet.

Well, the list just goes on and on doesn’t it?  I do have to mention one more beginning,  the digital age.  I remember as a young woman meeting men in the computer industry who worked on those enormous hard drives and computers that housed entire floors of large buildings!  Yes, I will return to this Pluto/Uranus revolution that is now forcing us into a year of momentous change, and the key question may just be who will maintain control???  I consider that a very, very important question to be asking.  Who should be in control?  Who is trustworthy?  Who has the best interests of the whole at heart?  Who cares enough for the planet and all her creatures to have the right to be in control?

In the midst of this heavy-duty Cardinal blast we will also have a Grand Trine in Water Signs revolving in and out of the crucifix.  The one planet that is part of both configurations is Jupiter in Cancer.  Please refer back to my article posted in July, 2013 for an in-depth look at this passage.  Jupiter is exalted in Cancer so perhaps it lends a modicum of hope and good faith that enough caring and nurturing souls will do their part to right the wrongs and help to create a better world for future generations.  This Water Grand Trine will be comprised of Jupiter in Cancer trine Saturn in Scorpio trine Chiron in Pisces.  There is something so comforting about this configuration because it feels solid, serious, and oh so healing.  Of course, the opposite could also be said, because trines aren’t necessarily ‘good’; they are simply easy.  It may be easy to continue to pollute the Pacific ocean with radiation from Fukishima, for instance.  Sorry, but this is sadly true.  It could also be easy to hurt and wound further the disenfranchised and poverty-ridden the world over.  That, too, is sadly true. Rather, let us use this potentially balanced and responsible network to conserve, heal, and bring abundance to every corner of the globe.  Let us find ways to make whole again a fractured world.  Let us build greater unity and integration where all feel included and nurtured.

For those of you who don’t have the benefit of journals like The Mountain Astrologer or a Celestial Guide, I’m going to now outline the big cross and give you key dates to be aware of.  The key months will be January and April.  I’m putting charts up so you can see the configurations.

This chart for April 22nd is a whopper!  Everything is exact at 13 degrees.

New Year 2014

Be aware, also, that in January we have a great many planets in Capricorn emphasizing Pluto and the Pluto/Uranus square.  By the Aries Equinox on March 20th, we have more Aries energy emphasizing Uranus.  The Summer Solstice on June 21st still shows the same planets in Cardinal signs, but Jupiter has moved out of orb.  By the Libra Equinox on September 22nd both Jupiter and Mars will have moved far away from orb within the Grand Cross.

The initiatory/catalytic forces are really upon us from January through April.  Here is a breakdown of the component aspects.  Keep in mind that there are six in all, with even more forming as Venus in Capricorn moves into orb.

Pluto square Uranus
1x 11.1.13
2x 4.21.14 (Pluto retrograde) 13 degrees+
3x 12.14.14 (Uranus retrograde) 12 degrees+

Key themes:  Life crises all over the planet; great agitation, extremes, struggles to break free, mass catastrophes, out of the eruptions creations of the new.

Your chart:  Where are you making effort to break free?  Where do you feel the conflict of extremes?  What can you create now?  What can you renew?

Jupiter opposite Pluto
1x Aug. 2013
2x 1.31.14 (Jupiter retrograde) 12 degrees+
3x 4.20.14 (Pluto retrograde) 13 degrees+

Key themes:  Super exploitations, polarity of have and have nots in extreme, great push to claim all resources, potentially great success as well as great failures and losses, legal dilemmas.

Your chart:  Is your belief system in alignment with your primal urges?  Where are the extremes manifesting in your life?  Where can you reach success without risking extreme loss?  What is stretching your consciousness now?

Mars square Pluto
1x 12.30.13
2x 4.23.14 (Mars retrograde/Pluto retrograde) 13 degrees+
3x 6.14.14 (Pluto retrograde) 12 degrees+

Key themes:  Tremendous courage, even fighting to the death for survival; assertion of power, fanatical zeal, ruthlessness/brutality, buried rage, endurance.

Your chart:  Where do you need to apply courage and perseverance?  Do you have buried rage that needs to transform?  Will you fight for your own principles?  In what ways do you assert yourself?

Jupiter square Uranus
1x August 2013
2x 2.26.14 (Jupiter retrograde) 10 degrees+
3x 4.20.14 13 degrees+

Key Themes:  Revolutionary ideas, urge to expand, philosophical/religious/political conflicts, new inventions, profits or loss through speculation, beliefs radically changed, sudden luck or loss.

Your chart:  In what ways are your own beliefs changing?  Where are you awakening in a more radical way?  Are you trying to gamble to win something?  Be careful!  Use this energy for being enterprising in a proactive way.

Mars opposite Uranus
1x 12.25.13
2x 4.23.14 (Mars retrograde) 13 degrees+
3x 6.25.14 16 degrees+

Key Themes:  Acts of rebellion, turmoil, and nerve-wracking confrontations, great desires for independence and freedom, potential accidents, the dangers of technologies.

Your chart:  Where do you want more freedom, excitement, and independence?  Who is revving you up or creating turmoil in your life?  Be aware of your desires for freedom to avert accidental occurrences that free you with side effects!

Mars square Jupiter
1x 1.08.14 (Jupiter retrograde) 14 degrees+
2x 4.22.14 (Mars retrograde) 13 degrees+
3x 8.01.14 (Mars at 3+ degrees of Scorpio/Jupiter at 3+ degrees of Leo!)

Key Themes:  Taking risks, ‘Holy Crusades’; fighting for ones beliefs or attacking others for theirs, free enterprise.

Your chart:  Where can you move ahead in an enterprising way?  How do you assert your own beliefs?  Do you attack others for theirs?  Where can you express your enthusiasm for life?

Mars in Libra until July 25th, 2014
I’ve discussed this passage in two other articles, so I won’t be redundant.  Look in my archives if interested.  Just note that Mars will be Retrograde from March 1st (27 degrees+ of Libra) through May 19th (9 degrees+ of Libra).  That is quite a long stretch of becoming aware of how we use our energy.  I like the phrase, “Courage with diplomacy” which one of my clients’s used in describing her own Mars in Libra.

Venus in Capricorn until March 6th.
Venus is now in her retrograde phase until January 31st.  She will turn Direct at 13 degrees+ very close to Pluto at 12 degrees +.  This will be another potent reminder to be conscious of everything that we traditionally value.  So ask yourself, what do you truly, truly value?  What are the time-honored values that you hold sacred?

Of course in the world there will be economic issues big-time.  Already in the news we know that 1.3 million Americans have just lost their extended un-employment.  This hurts us all.  Quite frankly it is money that is and always has been the first and foremost taboo with those who have it.  People of great means usually don’t go around talking about how much they have nor how they acquired it do they?  It is truly more of a taboo subject than sex.

I think as Venus gets closer to Pluto the big questions to be asking are how is money acquired?  Is it acquired through any type of exploitation? By exploitation I mean at the expense of others. Is it acquired through destructive means? That means destroying the water of the planet, the air quality of the planet, and earth/soil of the planet, the living creatures on the planet, and human lives on the planet in order to gain a resource that creates wealth? Another way to look at this would be whether money is gained through implements of destruction such as the military-industrial complex.  Is it acquired through usury?  This list could go on and on, but it does make one think carefully in terms of where one invests, even if that money was gainfully earned.  Conscious investment is difficult.  So is conscious banking.  Where do we keep our hard-earned money?  Do we put it in the big banks that perpetuate all those nasty things?  These are hard questions for all of us to ask of ourselves.  I am as guilty as the next quite frankly.  Sometimes I feel that my very existence is at the expense of others simply by living in a well developed and privileged country!  For me this means that I need to try harder to be conscious of how I gain and how I spend my own resources.

Venus in Capricorn may also be about relationships where authority and responsibility are themes.  Are we responsible as we relate with others?  Are we in relationships where responsibility is shared? We are seeing a lot of renewed interest in family values with the Cancer/Capricorn polarity strong. Within the family nexus is the theme of partnership. This obviously takes us to another aspect:

Venus square Mars
This aspect is strongly in effect by mid-January, and again through late February into early March.

Key Themes:  Assertion versus compromise, fighting for what you love and value, or fighting over it with someone else, over-stimulation, over exaggerated passions, lack of self-control, disputes involving $, love, human-rights, etc.

Your chart:  Where do you need to be aware of money/value/love issues right now?  What are you feeling passionate about?  Can you find the balance between assertion and compromise?

The Lunar Nodes shift to North Node in Libra/South Node in Aries by March
Whoa!  This truly keeps us in Cardinal Mode for quite some time ahead and continues the dialogue between Venus and Mars.  Are men truly from Mars and women from Venus?  Or are we trying to balance the scales here?   Women’s Rights is gaining momentum once again as a theme which started strongly with the feminist movement back in the ‘60s.  There’s much to explore in all of these topics for another time.

Water Trines to soothe and unite
Thank goodness we have this Grand Trine between Saturn, Chiron, and Jupiter through out the first half of the year as an anti-dote to the high speed energy of the Cardinal Cross.  For those of you with planets in water or earth, this is a nourishing combination.  For those of you with more Yang energy this great trine helps to make you aware of your own nurturing and grounding needs.  Water symbolizes feelings and the unconscious.  We need to become aware of both through these fast-paced, turbulent times.

Saturn in Scorpio is with us until December 23rd of 2014.  Please see my article on Saturn in my archives from February 2013.  As Saturn nears the end of its 2.5 year run through a sign it feels heavier and heavier as a rule.  So be aware of this in terms of where it is moving in your own chart.  Saturn always requires work.  If you’re not willing to work, you feel very limited and confined.

Jupiter in Cancer trine Saturn in Scorpio
Exact by May 24th.

Keep in mind that Saturn turns Retrograde on March 3rd, and Jupiter turns Direct on March 7th.

I love this trine between the two most socializing planets.  Here are some Key Themes:
Calm, patient, and persevering; responsible with a sense of duty; resolute pursuance of goals, earnest endeavors; success in negotiations; favorable settlements of legal disputes; more philosophical.

Your chart:  Look to the houses these two are moving through.  Saturn is helping you to test for reality, get down to work, and strive to accomplish your goals while Jupiter is supporting you to grow as well as to reap some rewards.  Since they are both in harmony right now see how you can harmonize these themes in the arenas being activated this first half of 2014.

Jupiter stays in Cancer until July 16th when it enters Leo
Jupiter in Leo will bring in some much needed fire by then.  Get ready to wail, you Leos!

Saturn trine Chiron
This very grounding trine will be in orb strongly from May through September after all the brouhaha of the Grand Cross subsides.

Key Themes:  Powers of healing and transformation, grounding into the body and Mother Earth, the healing of the Earth

Your Chart:  Look to where you can become more grounded, centered, and help to bring healing and transformation to others and the planet.

Jupiter trine Chiron
This lovely trine will stay pretty much in orb through the end of May

Key Themes:  Perceptions strong and accurate at new levels, higher vibration levels, resonation with multi-dimensional realities

Your chart:  Where are you opening to new levels of perception and consciousness?  Can you feel vibration shifts going on?

Another brief statement on Chiron in Pisces:
I’ve been writing about this passage in many past articles, but I want to emphasize that Chiron was in Pisces during the mid-‘60s where it is now again. Think about the fact that Uranus/Pluto conjoined in Virgo were opposed by Saturn/Chiron in Pisces in the mid-‘60s.  The generations born with this signature are waking up to their immense healing abilities right now.  Chiron in Pisces promises a great resonance with the un-seen dimensions which are basically non-technical and therefore less controlled by the ‘reality police’ on the planet right now who feel only technology can be the source of advancement as well as control.  I encourage all of you to tune in to what is always around us and connects us all telepathically.  We don’t need outside sources to know, feel, and experience our divinity and connection with all that is.  We can have direct access now that we know that the gifts of Chiron available to each of us if we will just ‘tune in’.  Look to your dream life, intuition, feelings and hunches, as well as meditative states for inner knowing and answers.

This has been another long piece, but you can print it out as a guideline for the year to come as a reference tool.

In summary:  the big upheavals and impetus for action are going on now through end of April strongly.  By mid-May things should calm down a bit.  By July we get major shifts as Mars and Jupiter enter new signs and Mars speeds up in its two year cycle around the Sun.

May each of you work with these energies for the year to change and transform your life in fulfilling ways, and may each of you reach out to others and lighten their paths through love and responsible action.