“It’s Not Over Til It’s Over!”: The Grand Cross Energies that Linger On

How are you all faring having lived through the April ‘Grand Cross’?  Are some of you wondering what all the fuss was about?  I bet many of you, however, experienced some very definite changes; changes which I would characterize as break-downs, break-ups, or breakthroughs—-or perhaps a combination of any of these.

As I write this in May, the configuration is still strong in the sky so it’s not over quite yet, though the peak of it on April 22nd at that critical 13+ degree of Cardinal is done.  What we have now is a cross that will gradually break up (that phrase again!) until what remains is the long-term conflict between the two transpersonal planets, Pluto and Uranus, which will be exact for the final time in March of 2015.

Let’s now review a few of the themes which did emerge in April for many of us, and are still continuing to unfold now:

Break-downs:  This would be a reference to the work of Pluto in the configuration.  There seemed to be a lot of health crises in April.  This was true of my own life and I saw it in the lives of friends and clients.  My husband developed bronchitis-pneumonia starting around the 9th of the month.  He is part of a generation born with Uranus in Aries square Pluto in Cancer and thus he is going through his ‘Uranus Return’.  That Grand Cross slammed him big time!  He is a strong soul, however, and has come through weakened but resolved to continue on with his life.  Bless his heart!!

I know of one woman who broke her hip, another client who broke her leg, and another client whose wife is facing the health crisis of cancer, as well as many simply getting sick in late spring from the changing weather.  You might say that these are normal occurrences anyway, but looking at the charts of each reveals a clear trigger of certain Cardinal energies going on.

Financial crises and break-downs were also fairly evident with many.  Things just were not flowing in a normal, easy manner with lots of glitches, curve-balls, and challenges in business matters for those not collecting a regular pay-check.  There were even people I knew that were out of work and feeling like they might be at the edge of their own financial cliff.

Keep in mind that Pluto works at these deeper levels of catabolic/anabolic cycles.  Pluto does break things down in order to change the structure and build back up from there.  This can apply to health, money matters, relationships, and even one’s spiritual life.

Relationship break-downs could thus lead to greater awareness for either a break-up or a break-thru!  I saw some of that taking place in April as well.  Did you?  If there was enough love yet present, the relationship could weather the storm and continue on.  If it was time to separate, hopefully it was still done with love.  It’s true there were tornadoes of emotional turbulence spinning people around!

Break-ups:  I didn’t witness as many examples of this, but there were some that I was aware of.  If the tension was untenable, the break-up would take place.  Remember, that Cardinal signs are all about relationship.  Relationships must honor individuality but also participate in the Golden Rule.  The other must also be honored.  There is also the element of caring, protecting, and being responsible without becoming co-dependent or even domineering.  These themes are enormous!  Mutual aid and mutual respect are a good place to start with some of these broader themes.  If you didn’t feel respect from another, perhaps it was time to break-up.  If you felt you were doing all the giving with no receiving perhaps it was time to care more for your own dignity and integrity.  Breaking up an imbalanced union or relationship may be the only solution if no compromise or agreement can be reached.

We certainly were seeing these types of large-scale relationships going on between nations and collective peoples.  What about in your own life?

Breakthroughs:  Now we hit the fun topic!  I must say that I saw more of these than anything else which makes my heart happy.  This would be Uranus at work.  Some of the examples I was privy to were decidedly in the relationship arena.  Newly formed relationships were taking place a lot in April.  I can think of several right off the bat; People meeting someone and clicking.  The energy was there to move things into place quickly. That Mars in Libra was strongly at work.  Libra is a romantic sign and it still is a good time to meet that special someone.  As I write this the Moon is in Libra opposite Venus in Aries, both joining the Grand Cross still in effect.

There were all sorts of other types of breakthroughs including new jobs, projects, assignments, promotions, relationship-renewals, etc.  Why I even bought a car with new energy for myself.   Of course, I tried to wait until after the big cross stuff was subsiding.  This could be another article on how to purchase under the right energies, which I’d be happy to do if any of you are interested.  The entire process fell into place so quickly and easily it surprised even a seasoned astrologer like me.

Health and medical breakthroughs were occurring.  I’ll give you one example:  a dear friend who has needed a liver transplant was waiting patiently in New Orleans for the past 3 months in the hopes that it would be his turn.  During the Grand Cross alignment he obtained the life-saving surgery, and it was a success!  He has a wife with young children still at home.  We rejoice that someone was willing to donate their organ so that his life could continue, and that modern medicine and surgery is evolved enough now to do the seeming miraculous.

People were also changing residences, buying and selling their homes, etc.  I have a good friend and colleague, Donna Fisher-Jackson, who is a strong Cardinal type going through a metamorphosis involving not just that type of shift, but an entire life-style shift. I think she’s written a bit about her journey on her blog, The Awakening Life.   It’s all so fascinating really.  Many people ARE doing it.  Life style changes can take place now quickly.  So if you’ve been considering it, do it!

There were also inner breakthroughs of consciousness going on.  I really do feel in my heart that we now have an amazing opportunity to do the Soul work usually reserved for our after-life right now while we’re still in a body.  The configurations in the sky now truly do conspire to bring us to higher and deeper levels of consciousness if we are willing to engage in that possibility.  Group work facilities this.  I am in several groups now that encourage that process:  a spiritual meditation group, a dream group, an astrology group, and a composite of all three plus the visionary involving Yggdrasil.

The best breakthroughs right now DO involve relationships with others.  Look at your own life and see where this can be implemented.  It could be your important one-on-one relationships whether personal or professional.  It could also be with friends and colleagues.  Joining in with other groups may accelerate you however.  Community is becoming more important than ever as an anti-dote to alienation and fragmentation.  See where you fit into this bigger picture and take action.

I’ll end this article by reviewing with you the unwinding of the Grand Cross:

JUPITER IN CANCER will be the first to leave:  By the end of this month, May, Jupiter will be at 20+ degrees and moving very, very fast. It will no longer be part of the ‘Cross’ after that except as it squares Mars only very briefly in mid-July. It’s going to zip through that final third of the sign until it enters Leo on July 16th.  That will be a forth-coming article for sure.

Jupiter has both supported all elements that Cancer represents including emotional life, family matters, and security/safety issues, but also blown things up ‘bigger than life’ to really see and deal with.

MARS IN LIBRA, the fastest moving of the quartet, is about to turn Direct on May 20th.  Then it, too, will start to move quickly forward.  It will still be within the orb of a square to Pluto and an opposition to Uranus through the end of June and perhaps a wee bit of early July.  By the second week of July it is moving rapidly away from that square to Pluto, and by the third week of July definitely ending its opposition with Uranus.

Whew!

That leaves us with the longer journey of Uranus square Pluto which will continue to keep things interesting into the spring of 2015.  I continue to hope for the breakthroughs of Uranus because the dark-side of Pluto is not a pretty picture.  Still Pluto will continue in Capricorn long after Uranus leaves Aries.  Pluto IS the force to be reckoned with.  Continue to look with great scrutiny at your own life and ask yourself what needs to be changed at the deepest of levels.  What do you need to release?  What do you need to transform?  That work continues…..