I suppose I could write about some of the stuff making astro-kind of news on the web. We’re having a blue moon today (Edited note: depending upon where in the world you live - it is my goal to write inclusively for the entire planet). This is the largest appearing full moon of the year. Mars is close to the Earth again. February has no full moon (Edited note: depending upon where in the world you live - it is my goal to write inclusively for the entire planet). But the key point of this GT is the notable and insistent undercurrent involving Uranus.
Additional edited note: Depending upon where in the world you life, it is true that there was a blue moon in December of last year. It is also false. It is true there is a blue moon in January. It is also false. It is true there will be no full moon in February. It is also false. The truth lies in the time zone in which one lives. My apologies for the cluster flux of confusion. But where I am is just east of tomorrow.
The full moon is a perigee moon, meaning the Moon is full when at perigee - its closest proximity to Earth in its orbit. The Moon reaches perigee every 27.55 days (perigee to perigee is known as the anomalistic month). And every now and again, the full moon and perigee coincide. This month the Moon appears 14% wider and 30% brighter. This effect maximizes gravitational pressures between the moon and Earth while they stand in more or less direct alignment with the Sun. This commonly brings higher tides, stronger storms and more than the average zaniness from those who feel lunar effects most strongly. It’s a good dang thing the new werewolf movie, The Wolfman, doesn’t come until next month! For those interested, perigee/apogee information for our lunar body can be found in Neil Michelsen’s brilliant compilation, Planetary Phenomena (ACS Publications).
Virtually simultaneous, Mars comes to its closet contact with Earth. Mars cozies up to our home planet every 26 months or so. In this particular appearance, Mars looks larger through a telescope than it has at any other time between 2008 and 2014 - sorry to disappoint but nothing special in 2012. So where are all the “Mars attacks” e-mails out there? A close appearance of Mars and I’ve received not one of the “once in a lifetime Mars will appear as large as the Moon in the sky” e-mails. Hmm! Those e-mails that flood in boxes every August are exaggerated reiterations about the extremely close distance between Mars and home base that occurred in 2003. During this passage Mars would have looked as large as the Moon if one was peering through a damn fine telescope; otherwise, we’d likely not be here now. Anyway, the seemingly larger Moon and closer than usual Mars join Sirius for a visual treat over the next two days. It’s worth a look. Take a breath, admire the sight and reset priorities so that your efforts remain loyal to your declared path.
My focus, though, wants to be on other matters. In a time when online requests for scripts and films that are “Vignettes of the Apocalypse” intended for immediate production, dot the script writing/film making landscape, it’s time to restore perspective and reduce some of the insanity that induces the “shoot oneself in the foot” syndrome.
The big news in my book is that Uranus now moves back into the orb of square to the Galactic Center. Not only is Uranus square the Galactic Center, even more precisely the dwarf planet, Makemake in Virgo, squares the Galactic Center. This pattern while, unfamiliar and seemingly subtle, may be more critical than Saturn opposing Uranus and who (Saturn) also joins the tango - or square dance really - with the Galactic Center. Certainly all these patterns intend to inspire evolution.
Since April of last year and through January of 2011, the Uranus-Makemake pattern is in play via reasonable orbs. This pattern presets 2011's trend of Saturn aligning with the dwarf planet Haumea and sets up the impending (in a good way) opposition of Saturn to everyone’s favorite planet to snub, Eris - goddess of discord - the deity who most despises being ignored. I could track the timing exactly, but it seems a bit counterproductive given the length of the run of influence. Suffice it to say, it’s been in play for nine months and remains a strong influence for another year. For those interested, you may find the present positions of the dwarf planets on my site, or with the latest version of Solar Fire, or by buying the Galactic Trilogy CD. Suffice it to say, every time another planet makes contact to the Galactic Center whether in Pisces, Gemini, Virgo or Sagittarius, the impact of this long, ongoing undercurrent bubbles to the surface, placing collective and personal considerations on a viewing slide, ready for the evolutionary insights of one’s inner electron microscope. It’s worth noting that Jupiter creates such agitation in May, October and January 2011. In fact, Jupiter’s pot stirring of the Uranus-Makemake ultra-mix is huge, in your face and potentially crisis breaking - as in there is an intelligible solution right at hand.
Makemake is personal. There’s a curious blend of combining all available resources to create the most insightful plan for creating a long-term era of well being ahead. Without the benefit of Uranus, though, the effort can easily become flawed, resembling the proverbial “shooting one’s own foot.”
In the movie Rapa Nui, the inhabitants of Easter Island cut down their remaining trees to use them as a rolling mechanism to move the famous carved icons to a perfect position. They did this, though, without recultivating vegetation crushed or replanting trees consumed. While one objective was indeed fulfilled, the exhaustion of resources created caused other perilous situations. Life on Rapa Nui - the land of Makemake - remained arduous. More people kept appearing on limited land with food resources limited to birds and fish. In such environments an acute awareness of what’s available and how long that needs to last must remain in the forefront of considerations.
That feels like these economic times. While some entrepreneurs previously maxed out twenty credit cards to build an economically dominating empire, this may not be the time for such action. Try getting twenty credit cards in this time (rhetorical, not a challenge). These days, the repayment of the funds likely demand their due prior to adequate income generation. The real Uranus and Makemake question is: what do you have available right now and how can it support your latest brainstorm?
Brainstorm? Indeed. Uranus, Makemake, Saturn and Jupiter all make passages to the Galactic Center throughout this year... one or the other in orb for virtually the whole dang year. The Galactic Center showers us with answers to perplexing problems, offers progressive insights and renders innovations that may be difficult to grasp at the time of appearance. So what innovative solutions can be pulled from thin air that do not exhaust available resources and create solutions to long-standing problems? The range of this consideration runs from solving political differences, creating economic recovery, saving the planet, untangling the logistical aid nightmare in Haiti, healing personal conflicts and remaining on task with one’s largest dream of life.
During passages of Makemake one is inclined to reflect. With Makemake in Virgo, one may reflect harshly on situations and circumstances of the past, psychically flagellating oneself in the fashion that Pope John Paul II took the belt to himself. The purpose of reflection is to understand not inflict pain or crumble the remains of one’s psyche. From understanding one can learn and to put it in Confucian terms, actualize the past. When creating solutions to short term situations, keep the focus ahead and avoid the tendency to build long term difficulty when rectifying matters at hand.
Today Mars aligns the Earth (and Sun). So is the Moon. Though Mars is retrograde, this is a perfect “get on with it” starting time and concurrent alignment with Sirius (visually at least) renders the literal reminder of with “dogged” determination.