Astrology and Change

I thought I’d change it up a bit today and talk about change. I always tell the astrology students to never use the word change without an adjective. Because if you tell someone that things are going to change, they are going to look at you like – really? You think? Because change is inevitable; we are constantly subject to change. And we all know it. So, if you’re going to tell someone that they are going to have change in their lives – you should tell them what kind of change. Good change? Bad change? Upheaval? Maybe a pleasant surprise? That would be nice wouldn’t it?

The universe is in constant motion. Nothing is truly still. Because at the most molecular level – our atoms – are in constant motion. And that motion is change. What was in one place gets moved to another. That may not happen often – if I think about the pile of paper on my dining room table – it can seem like there’s not a lot of change happening there…but there is. All things move, grow, breakdown, decay. It’s a cycle that the world of matter must go through. It’s one of the rules. The world of matter – the physical world that we live in.

In astrology – the planets change. They are in constant motion around the Sun. They rotate and revolve. Even the Sun changes – its surface is in constant motion – and its flairs and spots are some of the most dramatic changes in our solar system.

Astrology examines change.

And then it makes an attempt to define and quantify what that change will look like. It puts adjectives on a given. At least for the moment – and the foreseeable future – the movement of the planets is predictable. Lucky for us. It’s like a clock with lots of hands and its motion is constant and dependable. Now in millions or billions of years – the solar system is going to look a lot different, but for now, like Earth itself – it appears to remain the same.

That gives us a baseline for looking at upcoming change and what that change will look like. If a train leaves a station at noon and it expected to arrive in 3 hours. It will probably be at its destination by 3pm. It’s predictable. And so is the motion of the planets. We knew that Saturn was going into Capricorn in December, because the motion is predicable. It’s reliably on time. For years, astronomers have been able to tell us the exact moment of a total eclipse of the Sun – down to the second – and exactly where it’s going to occur. That predicable. The day of a Full Moon or New Moon has been known for centuries – and farmers used that information to make predictions about what the planting and growing seasons would be like – often with remarkable accuracy.

When we look at the movement of the planets today – we can see the change – and also the adjectives that go with it. As Jupiter moved into Scorpio the change was about letting go; death and rebirth – growth by Phoenix – the rising up of our truth through the purge of endings. For many it’s been hard. But the change is there to serve us not to create our suffering. It’s there for us to grow.

As Saturn has moved into Capricorn – the change is structure; solidifying change – the change of roots. There is hard work to be done. Efforts must be put forth in order to reclaim and anchor ourselves for even more change that’s to come.

And Uranus – who funny enough rules just sudden change – upheaval – which many of us associate with basic change anyway – is changing sign this year. It’s going into Taurus and so we can expect financial change, changing values, or deep changes in ethics and ethical behavior. We need something.

So the planets time the change, and for the moment, time it in a predictable way. We see their motion and know that when a specific planet gets to a specific destination that a specific effect will occur. Just like the train getting into the station.

One of the more profound spiritual sayings is “the only constant thing is change.” It’s kind of intimidating in a way. All things come to an end. Any of you who have been on a great vacation know how hard it is for that to end. But it does. And we can’t stop it. That’s probably the most intimidating part of it – that we’re subject to change and we have to adapt to it and go with the flow of it – because under no circumstances can we stop it. Sometimes we can slow it down – but we cannot stop it. Things keep changing – aging – growing – moving forward – moving back – and then moving forward again.

As an astrologer – watching the planets and seeing their movement and constant change has helped me to adapt. In the Tarot – Key XIV – Temperance – is about adaptation. It speaks of the need for us to accept change and to flow with it. As a process, it’s a spiritual truth that by accepting change we become free from its limitations. That’s a real key to remaining open in life. Limitations either feel crushing or we accept them. And it doesn’t mean we don’t work with limits and try to press back on them – we do. But that in the face of a real limitation – we grow – rather than become more constricted, limited, or confined.

I think that knowing the changes that are potentially coming helps us to define and navigate them. By understanding the changes that move into our lives we can adapt and grow with them.

January – it’s moving right along. The year promises a little bit of that upheaval change from Uranus still. Even though it is going into Taurus in May – it’s still in Aries until then – and then after being in Taurus for a few months it goes back into Aries in November – so we are not done with the upheavals and clashes of Uranus in Aries yet. But hopefully – the changes that we are going through are the ones that we can accept and flow with – hopefully they are the changes that bring us a greater sense of fulfillment and creative expression. Hopefully they bring us happiness and peace. That’s my New Year wish for you.