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The time is perfect to pick up this little book, and to work with it. For one thing, Uranus has just entered Pisces (in March), which is Neptune’s sign. And Neptune is traveling in Aquarius, Uranus’ sign. These outer planets move slowly in relation to earth, and Uranus and Neptune will have that reciprocal relationship until 2010-2011. This means they give strong support to one another. The journeys of both of them are intertwined. For another thing, we are on the cusp of the Ages of Pisces and of Aquarius. Neptune rules Pisces, and Uranus rules Aquarius, and here they are mixing it up just as we are making this transition. A third reason for the importance now of Uranus-Neptune work is that they have both just turned retrograde. They will be traveling retrograde for a few months, and that is when we can best work very productively with planets on inner levels. A fourth reason for emphasizing inner planetary work at this time is the big shift in the heavens to the water element. Water is the element which most supports meditation, and healing work. And we always need to do integrative, healing work with the outer planets. They are the planets that bring us our demons, as well as our glories. To understand them is to use them well, rather than letting them take us over. For example, we can choose to express Uranus-Neptune in developing a broad global vision of a peaceful, sustainable world towards which we can evolve—or we can blindly use them to get us into endless wars based on Neptune’s fantasies of empire, and Uranus’ fascination with technology. Saturn, too, is essential in these pictures. Saturn, the ringed planet, is the ring-pass-not. Saturn is the last of the inner, visible planets, These inner planets, which we can see, describe our ordinary reality. We can use them consciously. We cannot see the outer planets with the naked eye, and they are, for the most part, unconscious. They live vividly at our deeper levels, in the hidden recesses of our unconscious and subconscious minds, difficult to access. Those outer planets, those outside of Saturn’s rings, are Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus. (Chiron is the bridge. It travels between Saturn and Uranus.) They are our sources of creativity, talent, individuality, and genius…as well as rulers of the unseen forces which bedevil us. They are the sources of evolution, a difficult journey which occurs mostly in those hidden places. The experience of life is mostly about learning to work with these deep forces which move us. And this astute book can be a big help in that process. Neptune and Uranus are both channels to higher consciousness. They both help us to be aware of unseen, subtle, and mysterious forces. They are both visionary. Neptune opens us to the flow of feeling and imagination, and dissolves the outmoded. Uranus opens us to new mental vistas and to "invention," and detaches us from the familiar. Together they are super-creative. Together they have a cycle of 170 years, and in society we see a shift of consciousness as a new cycle begins. A new cycle just did begin, when Uranus and Neptune conjoined in Capricorn in 1993 to set the "new world order" in motion. Capricorn is about business and hierarchy, and we see how corporate globalization rules the world. But with Uranus and Neptune now in the more universal signs of Aquarius and Pisces, we have the opportunity to expand global vision beyond business, to extend it to the hearts and souls of people, to move all of society to a higher dimension of being, to live more consciously. We are learning to respect the dignity of each soul (much of this by negative example), which is a goal of Aquarius and Pisces. It takes understanding and consciousness to work well with Uranus and Neptune, and the stakes now make it worth doing that work. The opportunity to make a big shift in consciousness is unparalleled, thanks both to the universal signs through which Uranus and Neptune are moving, and to the coming changes. So—bring Joy’s book into your life now to help raise your consciousness and that of the planet. This is a wide-ranging, but at the same time a concise and practical book. Joy discusses Uranus and Neptune in history, the arts, and mythology, as well as through the signs and houses. To me the most valuable parts of the book are the planetary meditations, which can really help us to get in touch with the planetary symbols as archetypes alive in us. Joy also includes Saturn in this book. This is because Saturn’s grounding is necessary to put into effect the inspiration of Uranus and Neptune. According to the book cover, Joy Michaud is a practicing psychotherapist and astrologer. She lectures and holds workshops all over England. In this book, she uses her knowledge well to help us to understand not only the planets, but our own inner selves. Joy writes well. Her work is interesting and concise (which is often not the case with psychologically-oriented writing). Joy also includes brief ephemerii showing the positions of Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn during the twentieth century, so that readers can check out the placements of their own planets. This little book also includes examples, sample charts, flower and gem remedies, and questions and answers. The Uranus-Neptune Influence is packed with value, and is especially appropriate for these times. I very highly recommend it. Even if you’re not interested in doing the meditations, you can get a good feeling for these two big gassy planets whose influence is pervasive, and yet often unclear. In the January 2002 Daykeeper, I reviewed another helpful, relevant book by Joy Michaud, Saturn and Pluto, whose two-year long opposition we are just completing. It gave us, among other things, 9-11 and the big terrorist movement. (These are manifestations of Pluto, which is poorly used and poorly understood by most of us.) Joy Michaud’s outer planet meditations are a big contribution to humanity at this crucial time. |
