JANUARY 2008    

by Crystal Pomeroy

With Libra rising in Washington D.C. and Gemini Moon, the Solstice chart presages duality on multiple levels. A map of miraculous manifestation or a severance letter for the planet, it can go either way depending on how we look at it, and even more, what we do with its potential.

Who’s the boss around here, anyway?

Even as the year begins, the meaning of the word duplicity finds new extremes in official versions now portraying events in direct opposition to their true motivation. This tendency expresses the lower octave of the stellium of Pluto and the Galactic Center with Sun, Jupiter and Mercury, the latter three closely bound in Capricorn, an authentic press conference of the Good Ol’ Boys Club.

Does it sound ominous? Before allowing our hopes for a better world to be completely dashed, let’s remember that the promise of power in the solstice chart does not exclude those outside of ruling circles. Still close to the Galactic Center, Pluto reminds us that we are all generators of cosmic manifestation. Though Jupiter and Mercury have moved on to conjunct the Solstice Sun in Capricorn, and Pluto will join them in late January, in the chart that sets the tone for the year he’s in Sagittarius, and also conjunct Jupiter, the latter in the same degree as the Sun. The Archer has passed the scepter to the Mountain Goat, yet he still quite involved; last year’s light on the great creative power within and on our role as participants in something larger than the solar system is still in force.

For 2007, we had predicted:

This is a divine appointment, inviting us to release a tsunami of positive transformation as growing numbers awaken to the power within… esoteric secrets will be revealed... We are called to become active participants of co-creation….

Soon after this prediction appeared in Daykeeper, the movie The Secret was released, expressing this potential. At the current portal; intense and focused effort can make our visions real. This shift was illustrated in a conversation I had with John De Martini, my colleague and one of the teachers appearing in the movie. He told me that the participants had been generally frustrated by the over-simplification of the message. More practical guidelines will be shared in the sequel, The Opus, whose name derives from the Latin word for work, and whose story elaborates on the application required to consolidate the amazing miracles promised—Sagittarian style—in the previous film. Interestingly, the new release was originally programmed for this past fall, but after repeated delays it has been postponed: for after Pluto enters Capricorn.

If we project all power onto the system, the Solstice stellium can be seen as a piece of heavy equipment preparing to push all that remains beautiful on earth into the ground. For those of us who knuckle down and apply whatever inner and outer efforts are within our reach, it can be a year of personal and planetary dreams come true. Besides that option for applying free will, help is now streaming to us from the subtle realms, as we will see a bit further on

Mysterious Assistance

Does this means that things will be easier than they currently appear in a chart beset by stressful aspects? Not exactly, in fact the Capricorn grouping in opposition to retrograde Mars in Cancer suggests setbacks and frustration, Pluto’s involvement implies a potential for violence.

However, on closer examination, a vital reminder is discerned: by turning our attention to the higher dimensions we can receive magical assistance. Retrograde Mars in Cancer guides us to a new kind of action, one based on sensitive reflection. Its Sabian symbol suggests we pause to examine our motives. About the god of war in this sign, Oken says,

“the devotion to the soul is at its greatest… The battle to detach from emotional adhesion to the desires of physical life is also at its height… Release can come through… the right use of mental energy and the repolarization of the mental body to the intuitive.”

This can be a year of growth for whoever directs her or his passions into right thinking and developing the subtle faculties. What does this have to do with desperately needed solutions to political abuses? As many individuals work to refine our consciousness, each with the tools of her or his preference, we can contribute harmonious paradigms to what Sheldrake calls the morphic field of the collective mind.

As the mind’s vibrations become more subtle, they are naturally receptive to intuitive guidance. Whether our goals are personal, spiritual, or altruistic in nature, we will make surprising progress over the next 12 months if we develop a habit of consulting the inner voice, enriched by messages from dreams, the use of pendulum and other oracles of preference, and simply by taking time each morning to listen to the brilliant whisperings within before organizing our day.

Call in the Higher Heroes

Jupiter’s preponderance is another indication of the special assistance available this year. Alan Oken calls its placement in Capricorn “dualistic:”

“On the personality level… [it signifies] materialization of the desires of the lower self… on the soul level [it works] to create those structures… [necessary] on the physical plane for the expansion of the Will-to-Love.”  

This planet shines at the heart of action in the Solstice chart, predicting progress for those who are working on behalf of Higher Kindness (for which we will share suggestions a bit further on). As ruler of angels, “Big J” reminds us that our invisible helpers are very much involved, working to abet our most positive alignment with this year’s potential. As with intuitive guidance, the angelic allies are here but need our recognition to manifest their help. Three easy ways to receive include direct invocation, affirmative prayer and following up on our most loving inclinations.    

These tools can multiply and empower the results of all our efforts, including those on behalf of macro-concerns, many of which will center on the media this year, as the dark control system in the US will focus its obsession control in this arena, as well as propaganda, education and religion. They waste no time, as revealed in Amy Goodman’s report on what she calls the FCC's Christmas Gift to Big Media. On December 18, just as Jupiter entered Capricorn, the Commission voted to allow even more media consolidation than last year. Goodman elaborates in Truthout:

Media corporations that will benefit… are the same ones that acted as a conveyor belt for the lies… about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. We need a media that challenges the government that acts as a fourth estate, not for the state. We need a diverse media. The U.S. Congress has a chance to overrule the FCC, and to keep the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership ban in place. It should do so immediately, before the consolidated press leads us into another war.

Over the coming months the battle for information control will become increasingly intense, although Moon in Gemini indicates that the people will continue to find a voice in alternative media, uncovering untold stories from its position in the eighth house, further aided by asteroid Nemesis conjunct Pluto. Women journalists will be particularly sharp vocalists, and Naomi Klein, Amy Goodman and others will emerge as leaders.

Songs from the Lands of Silence

Native voices will come increasingly to the fore through publications, movies and legal maneuvers, with implications both environmental and spiritual. Across the continent, the indigenous will continue to be heard in their efforts to protect and salvage their territories, lives and culture, so basic to humanity’s patrimony. We can observe this tendency already:

On December 17, as Jupiter poised to enter Capricorn, the Lakota Sioux rescinded all previously signed treaties and declared their territories a sovereign nation, covering parts of North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana. To quote their press release, "The actions of Lakota are not intended to embarrass the United States but to simply save the lives of our people… The Lakota reservations are among the most impoverished areas in North America, a shameful legacy of broken treaties and apartheid policies.”  The Lakota now work to build self-sustaining communities with alternative power sources.

Meanwhile in Ecuador, President Rafael Correa, a dark-skinned Quechua descendent, has shown unprecedented audacity in his support of a suit filed by the native Cofans against Chevron-Texaco, after the company illegally left open pits of oil sludge with deadly results for indigenous communities.

In yet another indigenous initiative, coalitions of small farmers throughout Latin America are demanding the renegotiation of a provision of NAFTA designed to liberalize the importation of many agricultural products, which becomes effective on January 1. Since NAFTA’s implementation fourteen years ago, Mexico´s poor population has increased 400%, rural migration to the US has shot from 26,000 to 600,000 a year, and at least one Mexican campesino dies each day in his or her efforts to cross the border. (US policy in favor of agroindustry tends to be overlooked in the controversy about immigration.)

The indigenous voice is one of survival for peoples and for the earth they are so close to. Each initiative to support their concerns also helps save vestigial languages and cultures, including ancestral wisdom of oral traditions that are all but lost on other continents, and which provide some of the richest links to our higher heritage remaining today. Such voices will become loud and clear this year, and with our support and interest, their actions will meet with surprising success.

A Spiritual Renaissance

Parallel to this, there will be increasing interest in ancient wisdom from around the world, including startling revelations from the distant past. They will enrich the coming renaissance of spiritual teachings both timeless and contemporary. This revival will be met with efforts by The New World Order to intensify fundamentalism and make strides toward its agenda of a single, global church. However, valuable instruction will come through many different human instruments, as well as through the Teacher abiding within us all. Important new books on esoteric subjects will complement the adventure, as will initiatives to awaken intuition as previously mentioned.

Strong messages, both spiritual and political, will also appear in movies (and hopefully move us beyond the effects of entertainment). A good laugh can be very healing, and some of these movies will be very funny.

Other Heroes

In the aftermath of Katrina, and in yet another show of its historic power of resurgence, the Afro-American community will also have a revival, producing leaders in the arts, politics, business and sports.

Stars and artists of diverse races will become more visibly political than usual as the elections get near; actors and actresses will speak out for both the establishment and progressive candidates, and perhaps even run for one or more public offices themselves.

Lawyers will also be in the limelight, many working hard to rescue what’s left of the constitution (no pun intended).

Schools in general will be another focus of ideological control, and we do well to keep a watchful eye on educational programs and policies, especially federal .

Work of a different kind

Not all the battles ahead will be political or ideological in nature. The energy of our emotions will be key in accessing the potential of this New Year, which as a Number One, can mean a truly new and lasting beginning. A magical way to apply this key is simply to spend at least 15 minutes daily quietly concentrating on your love for groups and other beings that concern you, and letting this force go to them. Be sure you include yourself, and do so for a longer time if you feel the need. Chiron’s grand trine to the Moon and Ascendant from the fourth house can be very helpful for healing self-esteem. Twelve-step groups are another way to apply this blessing and stay in touch with our feelings, so vital this year.   

In a world where madness seems to be gaining ground, it is easy to overlook the celestial forces that are working to help us. Whether they be astrological, intuitive or angelic, the magic of our attention is key to their full expression.  When we consider these dimensions, the incipient solar cycle becomes a rather exciting map of manifestation. May the Angel of the New Year help us clarify those projects that are important, not for the small ego, but for our true purpose and service as galactic participants of a planet in need of clear and diverse voices. May she also help us develop or strengthen the habit of referring to the wisdom of subtle realms in our plans and actions. Before appearances either harmonious or difficult, may the will-power of the Newborn Sun help us stay on course with persistent, daily efforts in inner and outer realms, maintaining the light of faith that the Force for Good in us and with us all is great, very great indeed.

In the name of our precious Mother, Maya, whose spirit lives on in our best intentions and ideals, and all the Daykeeper collaborators, these are our wishes for the New Year.

References

Arroyo, Stephen, Exploring Jupiter, Sebastopol, CA: CRCS Publications, 1996

Oken, Alan, Soul-Centered Astrology, New York: Bantam, 1990