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November '13
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by Terry Lamb

November brings the drop of the other shoe. October was a time of clearing and cleansing. Rapid fire, we were discarding old ideas, items, habits, rifts and conflicts. We were removing the obstacles to the peace that lies in our core, centering to be still as the hurricane of events blows around us. There is a big showdown taking place in the political arena that is matched in less evident ways on all other levels of manifest form, from our personal life to relationships to our psyche.

It's time for change. It's the time of the face-off between old and new, and November serves up just the right courses for our passage. As we move through the eye of the needle, we shape-shift and shrink ourselves so that the slit becomes a wide tunnel. In so doing, our helpers appear from the shadows, whispering in our ear, nourishing us with the food and nectar of soulfulness, until we emerge into the light on the other side.

November feels very much like October at its start. We are part-way through the eclipse passage. The first occurred on the October 18 Full Moon, another waits to dislodge us from our false moorings on November 3. In the lunar cycle (month) that ensues, we will rise up into new radiance and vitality, reborn in the true spirit of Scorpio's transformative process. We burst forth from the spark of the noblest urge within us, advancing into the consciousness presented by the North Node tested and proven by its truth-revealing connections with both Mercury retrograde and Saturn since mid-September.

In the face of these proofs, we are coming to accept things we only hoped (and perhaps feared) were real. This means we must change. So with the help of Saturn, Mercury, and the eclipses, we are squeezing through a birth canal of beautifully crafted co-creation (even if we can't appreciate it yet).

This goes for what's happening on the world stage. Although there are some who would hold us hostage with their egos under the guise of lofty ideology, we can rise above that to model a world of soul-centered compassion and caring for each other. The reason for the squirming among the obstructive forces is that the energies of love and compassion have never been stronger—perhaps about to prevail. It is a grand drama on a global stage.

Is this the last stand of the opposition to harmony? Not likely. But with an encircling kindness, enough hearts will be able to dispel the fears that enshroud them and keep them in separation. Little by little, good will prevail.

This struggle comes to us because of human-created imbalances that are brought to the surface by Uranus' square to Pluto. There are seven of these from June 2012 to March 2015. However, the biggest events do not come at the times of the exact squares, so much as at the times when the Sun and other planets ignite their underlying volatility.

This is the corporation or other large, powerful entity (Pluto) confronting the power of the individual (Uranus). Human social structures must serve the good of humanity, or they will cease to exist because they are out of harmony with the intrinsic order of the universe. We can see these forces seeking balance throughout this time as we observe the flux and flow of events.

Are we there yet—or at least, have we turned the corner? There are two ways to think about the long-term shift that we are experiencing as Uranus and Pluto dance with each other so many times. First is the number of contacts the two planets make.

We pass square number four of seven on November 1, so in a sense we're more than halfway through the passage by the simple number of contacts involved. The second measure is finding the midpoint of the time frame during which these exact contacts occur. Remarkably, that midpoint falls on November 4, 2013, three days off from the actual midpoint (fourth) square! This means that on some level, we have turned a corner with this pattern by the time early November is behind us.

The caveat is that the effects of this pattern will take many years to play out—we could even say that it will take the rest of the Uranus-Pluto cycle, which is 138 years in total length, ending 92 years from now (2104). More locally, we will be working actively with the effects—getting used to them as well as making changes—through 2019 (when Uranus leaves Aries). The ancients observed that the most active period, manifestation-wise, was that which came after a planet reached 15 degrees, which Uranus does next May (and Pluto does in March 2015).

So there's still plenty of "fun" to be had. Currently, the shift to the second half of the square period could bring a release of tension precipitating a shift in the power dynamics in Washington DC, as well as around the world. It is up to humanity to determine when the great shift will occur in consciousness—away from the collective dream of being cared for by Father Government-Corporation. As people wake up to the fact that they are caught in a disadvantaging dynamic, one that they cannot overcome without leaving it behind, they will clamor for more fairness, a more equal balance of power between the people and the institutions and businesses that are supposed to satisfy human needs.

We have seen revolutions develop and disperse around the globe, with devastating human/individual consequences and unimaginable suffering. The great sacrifice this is being made by those involved is bringing greater clarity to those who remain. This will eventually culminate in a transformation of the (parts of) the system that weakens us and our ability to survive.

This is juxtaposed against those who would hold on to the current model by every means possible; however, this is fear-driven thrashing in the face of inevitable change. As we see the dire consequences of current behaviors (e.g., burning fossil fuels), we know radical change must occur soon: the longer we delay, the harder and more dramatic the change will be to effect.

This dynamic challenges us to find a peaceful way to observe and participate in what is happening around us. It helps to see things from the big-picture angle, that the forces in play now must come forward; that the sooner the infection comes to the surface, the better it is for the health of the host; and that the truth and the experience of it will be distressing. We must see what the obstacles are because until we see what is keeping us from moving forward, we will be controlled by it. We have to shake ourselves loose from the old mindset of how life must be lived. We have to use our imaginations to dream a new existence. We must then have the courage to live it.

We will each of us find that we have an inclination toward some gift or wisdom by which we can contribute to this new world. Let us invest our time and focus in that. Some will be the activists and hold the line publicly, while others of us will work in quieter ways. We have been preparing for this moment for lifetime upon lifetime.

Because the Uranus-Pluto contact is always with us, we will not notice an exact contact, because it is so gradual and so continuous. We will notice more those things that "wake up" the contact—the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn—especially the contacts that connect to our natal chart. With all the other elements funneling us into the net of change, Pluto-Uranus will have to vie for attention with the New Mercury and imminent Solar Eclipse. So, the time of the exact Uranus-Pluto square is less noticeable than the time when the Sun in Libra squared Pluto and opposed Uranus (October 1–3). If you find that November 1 leaves an impression upon you, it is attributable more to the other contacts of the day—primarily the New Mercury cycle that commences that day (Sun-Mercury Inferior Conjunction).

Personally, in the here and now, this is a time to find the balance point between firmness and flexibility. We need to stick to what we know is inwardly correct, firm in our goals, yet adapt to what comes in the moment. This will lead us through, and we WILL make it.

November brings a number of additional major planetary events. Besides the fourth Uranus-Pluto square, a new Mercury cycle commences on the same day (November 1). Mercury, Neptune, and Chiron all resume forward travel after their retrograde period, while Jupiter starts its four-month retrograde. The Solar Eclipse New Moon penetrates our sphere on November 3, and Venus enters its retrograde shadow on November 20.

All of these lead us through the passage, and this time we emerge from the tunnel into a new life landscape. This emergence will come with the Full Moon (November 17) and Chiron's station direct on November 19, but there will be successive brightening after the Solar Eclipse, with substantial relief as Mercury stations direct (November 10).

A new focus and a new chapter in our relationship life begins to poke its nose above ground once Venus enters its retrograde shadow on November 20. Events begin to take shape subtly at first, with ever more definition as she reaches her stationary point on December 21. This marks the end of the old Venus cycle transitioning into the new one that starts January 11 in Capricorn.

We can prepare for the actual retrograde by observing events and responding from the knowledge that what happens is part of a three-step process that opens a new story for us, which will play out in the coming 19 months. As Venus completes the retrograde, we reevaluate the relationships we have, rethink our values and priorities, make changes in our financial trajectory, and create new agreements with our Self and others based on our process. In November, we feel the beginnings of these changes, the pressure to do some things differently.

November will bring a satisfaction that has been missing thus far this fall. We will see visible progress in our affairs. We may not be perfectly happy with everything that occurs, but we need to find happiness in these events nonetheless, made easier because they move us closer to harmony.

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