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January 2014
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by Terry Lamb

January starts with a bang, as the New Moon coincides with the Sun’s conjunction to Pluto. This underscores the fact that January (and we could say the first half of the year, at least) is all about Cardinal energy.

Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn) are the starters. They head up every season, or quarter, of the year. They provide us with the go-getters of the world. They are where we initiate action, while the Fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius) show where we sustain and the Mutables (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) complete processes and projects. When Cardinal energy dominates, we are all about identifying what and who we are, the processes we are involved in, so we can take appropriate action.

When in a crisis, Cardinal dominance leads us to feel confused as to action and direction. It makes us think about where to go next. This experience is greatly magnified in January (and through July) as the action-oriented planets are found in Cardinal signs: Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, and Pluto. Although the Sun de-escalates the process temporarily when it leaves Capricorn on January 19, the other bodies remain to guide us down new roads and into new expressions of Self.

The Cardinal dominance is fulfilled in periodic Grand Cross configurations, the infamous "no way out" aspect pattern. We may indeed feel this way—and it may be true from our perspective in the visible world. However, there are layers upon layers of meaning in the flow of events, with Pluto in Capricorn requiring us to dig for authenticity beneath the world of surface appearances, and with both Venus and Mars reactivating some very powerful events and timelines in recent history.

Let’s start with the Saturn-Pluto conjunction of 1981-82, which was at the end of Libra. This point is visited directly by Mars at its retrograde station on March 2, 2014, and indirectly by Venus in December at her station retrograde.

One of the things we are learning is how important our relationships with each other are—how they sustain or undermine us. In times of relative stability, we can just about cope with weak relationships, but now, as chaos in culture and ecosystem increases, we see the need for deep, strong relationships that are built on a firm foundation. We discover that the old models for making binding connections are unworkable—based on hidden agreements and throwing caution on the wind in the name of love or money.

Venus and Mars approach us from just this perspective, and their teachings are strongest during their retrograde periods. Timed as they are now in back-to-back periods of backward travel, our relationships are squeezed through a very fine filter of deeper purpose. Does this person provide for an energy exchange that is mutually supportive? Do we have something meaningful to do together? What agreements do we use to support the expression of our connection? Can we use our disagreements and misunderstandings to grow and find true harmony?

When Saturn and Pluto conjoined in 1981-82, something was going on for us (or for our parents/etc. who were alive then) that was a huge context for love and connection, both hidden and powerful. The tendrils of this situation reach forward to us today, impacting us through our attitudes toward connection and love. We express them mostly unconsciously through our expectations in relationships, especially intimate ones. So for instance, we might expect a partner to leave us because our parents broke up their marriage at around this time (even if the separation or divorce occurred years later). Or we might anticipate that marriage means being trapped because we accepted a lasting bond at that time based on agreements that offered little or no choice and felt confining.

The events of 1981-82 involved a power struggle. All relationships develop a power profile, where one partner maintains power in one area, while the other partner holds power in another. In healthy relationships, the power dynamics are flexible and the partners are relatively more aware of what’s going on. They are also relatively well balanced and could be described more as division of responsibilities. In unhealthy bonds, the power structure is more rigid, with strict rules governing behavior, with one person often exerting more control than the other(s).

While something very important was gained by hiding the truth under Saturn-Pluto, keeping this truth hidden indefinitely takes a huge toll. These factors come forward through our behavior and the behaviors of those who experienced the results of those factors. We can see them by using Plato’s "shadows against the wall" technique. If we look straight at what happened in 1981-82, we will see a story, but we may not see its impact until we observe the way we act in our current circumstances in the areas most influenced by that story.

This effect can be global and hard to discern, but during a Venus, or a Mars, retrograde we can isolate the factor(s) that obstruct us. We can see in glaring detail what the problem is, and if we fixate on the problem as being strictly part of and solvable from within the current scenario, we may miss the fact that there’s a bigger picture, a bigger story taking place, that has to do with equality, reciprocity, and the way we connect with each other—male or female, friendship or partnership, intimate or business.

By January 1, our Venus story is shifting, a new one yet to take clear form. We have been focused on letting go of the past—old relationship stories, gripes, and cynicisms that would taint the new agreements we are making. We may see what the lesson is but be daunted by how to solve it. Venus’s timing tells us that we begin the new story in earnest on January 11 (her Inferior Conjunction with the Sun), a story that will take 19 months to fulfill. In the meantime, our connections are more fluid, our agreements less certain and in the process of changing. There are reversals as old "knowledge" is up-ended by truth.

Mars has just entered its retrograde shadow as the new year starts. We are beginning to see where we are straying from our purpose, where we are pulled aside by draining relationships, and where our own ego has held sway in attaching us to firmly to things and people, restricting our movement. As Mars goes through its retrograde, we will be freeing ourselves to truly connect with others, to be completely present for the dance of reciprocity with those around us.

All of this boils down to one thing: defeating old dominance patterns. However, we can’t remove a dominance pattern, an unequal distribution of power, through dominance. We can’t fight it, because the fight is the first part of the problem, how it was created. We can’t give in either, or we have become the weak link in the dominance chain.

Instead, we must separate ourselves from the struggle, allow the energies to calm, and re-enter the situation on a basis of equality. We must retreat each time the struggle is renewed, then go back in when an opening for trust and openness occurs. In the Chinese "how-to" manual called I Ching, this is termed "maintaining a friendly reserve" until our correspondent corrects him/herself. We maintain inner independence through all experiences, coming closer or stepping back as the dance of progressive soul connection proceeds.

For now, what we can do is to identify our story, who the players are, and understand as much as we can about our own personal history that sheds light on how we developed this story. Then we need to watch the responses we get from the world and look at what they tell us about ourselves—how we’re interacting and participating in the drama. We can ask our friends to tell us the truth, we can seek the help of a skilled practitioner, we can engage in self-help to crack open the shell of appearances that keeps us separated from what’s real and vibrant.

When we clear an obstructive thought or feeling, we free up energy that can be used creatively. If we feel tired and listless, we are certainly carrying obstructions, whatever their placement in our energy field; in contrast, when we feel joyous and full of life, we know that we are cleared of obstructions in that moment. There are always more blockages to remove, or at least until we reach ascension. We must take our clearing process in doses and enjoy the ecstasy that pervades our experience between times of release.

January offers us the initiation of a rich experience in how we relate to others, irreplaceable in the unfolding of our soul adventure. Embracing it will bring us a treasure beyond gold—soul-centered love. When we know in every spinning nano-particle of our being that we are in union with all consciousness, we need never feel lonely and disconnected again.

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