Astrological Forecast: December 1996 - February 1997 By Terry Lamb Reaching for the Stars It's a relief that this summer and fall can now be referred to in the past tense! Let's be honest, it was quite a challenge, what the Chinese call interesting times. With planets in the cardinal signs of Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn forming a big cross in the heavens, it was a time of activation, and I know of no one who escaped unscathed. After many months/years when the cardinal cross spoke in whispers, we got the deafening peals of Gabriel's horns, and many of us went from inactivity to sudden activity. For most people that I observed, the energies broke loose in August and seemed to come to rest some time in October, although I experienced a little breathing room by the end of September. My experiences and observations tell me that the energies and forces of light are showering upon our planet with increasing intensity, presenting an opportunity for us to bring spirit into matter more fully and profoundly. It also challenges us to be as clear as possible so that the energies do not get stuck and create problems for us. Two things happen when we become channels for light energy. (Well, more than that, really, but two for starters!) First, as the light enters our energy field, it wants to move. When it encounters blockages whether they are physical (muscle tension, organ congestion), emotional (fear, anger, sadness), mental (anxiety) or on higher levels. The light will attempt to move through them. The result is pain on some level. We may become ill or tired or unhappy or depressed until the blockages are broken through or cleared in some way. The second thing that happens is we feel better; often even as we feel worse. We may experience periods of joy, happiness, even ecstasy, as well as serenity and love. If we are following a path of spiritual or personal development (the same thing, really), we are learning how to turn the first phenomenon into the second phenomenon, to direct the flow and accelerate it through our conscious efforts. The most critical thing to realize is that we are all encountering, and having to learn to cope with in some way, these energies. For most people, pain is a daily experience that they have little control over. They have not learned to see it as their window to self-awareness, the path to joy and love. In a sense, we are all on the spiritual path, but there's no use presenting it to someone in that wrapping paper until they are ready to see it that way. If the energies have been stagnant, getting them moving again can feel painful, like starting to exercise again after months of inactivity or illness. However, it is the pain of awakening, and it does end. This is far different from the pain of stagnation. The slow, deadening ache that numbs the senses and leads us into death-in-life. Time will tell whether the awakening process I see around me will sustain itself or if it is a blip on the screen. However, if the planets of the winter of 1997 are any indication, we are in for another E Ticket ride! December:
The Release of the Arrow? We'd like to think that life proceeds in a straightforward manner, straight as an arrow to its goal, unimpeded and unfettered, no ambiguities, no setbacks. However, that is anything but our experience on this planet! December is a time when the illusion of life proceeding in a straight line will be strong. It will be a month of illusion if we do not pay attention to the subtle clues that lie just below the surface. If we allow ourselves to be seduced by the ease with which things appear to progress. This has to do with Mars, and Mars is the big story of the winter and spring. On December 1st, Mars enters the area through which it will later go retrograde (backward). When a planet is retrograde (an illusion based upon our not seeing it from the center of the solar system), we are inclined by our experiences to focus more closely and carefully on the things that planet represents to us. With Mars, we get to look at our straight-line processes, our desires, our impatience, and our lack of faith, anything that shows our separation from our inner knowing. Our inner knowing is aware that we are never separated from God (dess), that life is creative and does not proceed in a straight line, that the zigzag path is the shortest route, and that there are no goals, only processes. Mars, in its guise as the ego, fools us in a hundred million different ways. It has an answer for everything. Anything that is too easy, too quick, too obvious, or unearned smacks of ego. Even when you try to walk the egoless path, the ego will leap in to help, urging you to harsher self-discipline and a faster path to oneness with spirit. You may wonder what is the path without the ego running our lives like? It is balanced, quiet, accepting and open. We know to be wary of anything that is too easy, and we need to watch for the times when we are overly gladdened or saddened, because this means that the ego has joined in the experience. It is not that we can ever truly conquer the ego, but that we can come to be aware of it and work with it, like a trained horse. So Mars tests us. Through the ego, it pushes our buttons until we learn about them. But once we are on to the ego, aware of its guises and tendencies, Mars will test us on a different level. If we are ready, it will pierce the veils of illusion to show us the reality of the love and peace that are available to all of us all the time when we know how to open to them. During the Mars retrograde, we have access to all these possibilities as at no other time. Mars will speak to us loud and clear if we attune our inner ear. People have a variety of responses to Mars during this 3-month period. Those who have sat on their anger and aggressive side for too long may be compelled to release what has been bottled up. Some will shift naturally to a more disciplined awareness of their egos and be able to see through what was a blind response to the world before. Others will make use of the open doorway to transformative processes. If there is a major configuration in your chart that Mars triggers during its retrograde, you will have an opportunity to understand the inner workings of the pattern in your nature that the configuration represents. For instance, all those born in 1965-67 with Uranus and Pluto conjunct each other will have the opportunity to understand better how those energies work in their nature, especially where the ego is operating, and discover new ways to use them. With such major configurations being triggered, it is good to know when Mars hits them the first time. This happens in December and January. (For those born in 65-67, your configuration is triggered Dec. 1-8 or thereabouts.) It is a time to observe what issues come up and how you respond to them. No matter what happens over the next 6 months, it will be all about Mars on some level and how the ego runs your life. It will also be about what happened in August and September; specifically what happened on or around September 26th, which was the result of what was happening all summer. So, from the first of December, starting watching your ego responses. You'll certainly get a clue on the 1st when Mars triggers the explosive energies of Uranus. Some of it will have to do with not paying attention. There will be an opportunity on the 2nd if you pay close attention, but don't try to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. The 3rd is a date we've all been waiting for. It feeds back into the aforementioned September 26th but also to March 17th and July 19th. This has to do with long-term processes of growth through discipline and hard work, the kinds of things that build a robust foundation for success if we are willing to do them. This stage in the yearly cycle of this planet (Saturn) has to do with claiming the results of our efforts. September 26th was the culmination of the cycle (the halfway point) and you may have had some indication at that time as to the results you were likely to get if you didn't peek before the film was finished developing. You will experience some release/relief on or around the 3rd, and new awareness about relationships is likely to be a part of the picture. Maybe some part of your fantasy will come true (if there was any truth to it to begin with), but remember to retain your common sense. Practical matters and approaches will occupy our minds during the next few days as we work towards resolving the dilemmas that remain as a part of our Saturn process this year. The 8th and 9th provide us with opportunities for resolution, just in time for the new moon in Sagittarius. This begins a month where we will learn to understand the core issues, the universal truths behind the varied things we experience in life. All other things being equal, you'll be flying high the 12th to the 18th, but look for a surprise in love or money on the 19th or 20th. On the 21st, the Sun enters Capricorn, and we reach the longest, darkest night. This is when the ancient Yule celebration took place, from which Christmas derives. It is a time for celebrating the returning light; a time to remember that there is no coming without departure, no leaving without return. All cycles reach their limit, and all things, good and bad, change. Now, as the light returns, focus on what you wish to align yourself with during the coming year and set your intention to work toward those things. You may find that your ability to focus is especially good this year. This bodes well for the coming cycle! On the 23rd, Mercury turns retrograde, so get your Christmas shopping done early if possible! During Mercury retrograde, we get what we focus on. So it's not that your Christmas shopping will go poorly, but that there will be thousands of other shoppers that may not fare as well as you with their understanding of their inner life. Consequently, sales may fail to reach expected levels (or they will reach them to the peril of people's economic safety), and there will probably be a record number of returns and sales after the big day. Before Christmas, some items will be wildly popular beyond expectation and will sell out. Then there will be those of us who may dare to celebrate Christmas in a different, non-materialistic way. Everything else flows well for those who wish to tap the energies of harmony and peace. The full moon falls on Christmas Eve, and nurturing emotions will run high. Plates will be full and liquids will flow and laughter will fill the air. If you look more deeply, you'll feel the energies pushing you into tomorrow, into the unknown, but that's for a couple days from now. Not today or tomorrow though, because it's time to be comfortable now. Indeed, if you can, listen to the voice of the future, for it will whisper in your ear on the 25th, 26th and 27th. Keep on watching for cues to deeper processes over the next few days, because the planets will be sending louder signals until the 12th of January, when Mercury goes direct. January: Shooting For the Stars January may be off to a slow start, but it builds up quickly. On the 1st, 2nd and 3rd we suddenly become aware of new directions and want to execute them. We even begin to think about that relationship we gave up on in September is it really over? Or if we've been developing our sensitivity to Mars, we may become aware of a more conciliatory tone to our interactions with others. Whatever we experienced in September last year (1996) will come back to us for a review at this time. It may actually reappear in the form of events (with the same or different people), or we may have the opportunity to truly understand what happened back then. The opportunity starts now and continues through the middle of the summer; so if you're dealing with a major life process, the time will never be better to explore the hidden issues there and clear them so you don't have to repeat the pattern again. The 7th through the 12th will present one single pattern to us, a small representation of the recurrence mentioned above. By being very present during this time, we can take the first step toward resolving our deeper issues. On the 9th, we cannot ignore the start of a new 13-year cycle governing the manifestation of spirituality into society through politics, religion and the arts. The last time this cycle began was in January 1984. Occurring at the last degree of Capricorn only days before Jupiter changes signs, we may see an outmoded conservatism arise out of this new beginning at first, even as it heralds the last waltz of the tyrants before a more general acceptance of a broader vision of life and society. After a lull to catch our breath, the 16th through 19th may find us running after a dream that seems ready to self-destruct. Be patient, it's not destroying itself but transforming into something really useful and doable in the coming times, into a form that at this time we may not be able to see because we're still hanging on to the past. The future presents itself to us at virtually the same time, as the sun and Jupiter both enter Aquarius within three days of each other! Jupiter will give us our first glimpse of what Uranus in Aquarius will be like from a sociological and economic perspective. Uranus entered Aquarius about a year ago for a 7-year stay. It's one of the planets that represent influences from a higher level of consciousness. Its energy will be very much a part of our focus on the 19th through 29th, but especially around the 23rd and 24th. This is when a new yearly cycle begins which has to do with sudden change and intuitive processes in our lives, that part of our experience that seems accidental or miraculous. Significant dates related to this cycle are April 27th, May 12th, July 29th, October 14th, and October 27th. Another yearly cycle began on the 17th that concerns idealism, creativity, and spirituality. Dates of importance in this cycle are April 19th, May 1st, July 21st, Oct 8th, and Oct 20th. Incredibly (and this is one reason 1997 is so special!), another yearly cycle began on the 19th, having to do with expansion, education and travel. Its energies come into greater focus on May 9th, June 9th, August 9th, October 7th, and November 4th. You will notice that the dates of these three cycles cluster in May, July and October, for the most part. Since the planets involved; Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune, have all to do with possibility and the realms at the edge of reality, this is a time of high-flying idealism and risk-taking that knows no equal. If you can balance the transcendent powers of these planets with groundedness and practicality, you may find that this year puts you on the path to fulfilling your greatest dreams. We get a whole new look at things, a sense of a new world beginning on these last days of January, because we are also entering an 18-month period when our focus will shift from relationship issues to issues in spirituality and service to others. We may be looking at how our work fulfills our path, and if it doesn't, making some changes. February:
The Carousel Ride Begins The first few days of February give us a chance to really let the Aquarian energies sink in, but on the 5th we meet our kismet. Mars turns retrograde today, and now we get to see how well we have been handling our Mars issues, because Mars is speaking more loudly now. Our memories of late summer rise up again. Have we learned our lessons from that time? I mean, can we really apply them when we are being tested? Can we trust our understanding and step out on faith that things will work out if we apply that new knowledge? On the same day, Uranus and Pluto harmonize with each other for the third time in a year, taking us another step into the future begot during the mid-sixties. All the strife and outspokenness of that time must be applied in the world of society and culture. We have 127 years to do this in. Those born during those years of unrest will carry the seed forward in their own challenging and often explosive way, especially now that they've reached their thirties. This will come through very clearly over the next few days, as relationship situations may require our focus; surprises will abound! We may be communicating in a fog, though, thinking we are speaking from a place of clarity in ourselves when others fail to see or perhaps respect our perspective. (That doesn't mean it's wrong, only that it may not be as clear-cut as we thought.) In the midst of constructive processes begun around the 9th, we may find ourselves reconsidering the risks we've decided to take and heading for higher ground. Just take care that your safety issues are a true attunement to the needs of your inner child and not a search for the mock safety of the old but perhaps chaotic false comforts of the past. Still, there are some awarenesses robust and true which will serve us well if we can sort them out from the counterfeit understandings that the ego presents, those which mimic what we learned to believe in our past but which do not fit the now. This time is so powerful, so full of potential that the more we can tune in and separate the wheat from the chaff, the more far-reaching the positive influence of this time will be. This first window of understanding is open through the 1st of March, but it is a theme that will stick with us throughout 1997 and make the year memorable for its deep and positive effects if we but apply ourselves. We must take care not to overlook the new cycle which begins on the 15th. This is the beginning of a 14-year cycle having to do with the introduction into society of revolutionary ideas and politics. Quite often these come into our midst through fringe groups and progressive or creative expressions of our nature like the arts and the youth culture. With this cycle we can expect more egalitarian ideals to become fashionable, and the politics of the coming years will reflect a greater regard for equality even as each person is expected to take responsibility for themselves. The last time this cycle began was in 1983 when the telecommunications explosion began, among other things. As the planets enter Pisces toward the end of the month, we enter a dreamtime between winter and spring. Take time to dream your dreams, because they will form tomorrow's realities. Although these months are not without their potential for suffering, it is through suffering that we come to recognize where we need to grow. We have the power available to us, if we pursue it and ask for it, to turn our suffering into ecstasy. Although the transformative process is not always (or even often) immediate, it unfailingly occurs if we are simply willing to walk our path steadfastly and in self-responsibility. May you find joy and the ecstasy of self-discovery at this time! Blessed Be! Terry Lamb is a nationally known astrologer and healer specializing in facilitating others to develop their focus and gain clarity from the perspective of the soul. She is available for presentations and consultations at (619) 589-1774. | 
