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Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2005

WITH THE MOON now in Gemini, we're officially and certifiably in the Fool Phase. Inner planets as well as the Sun and Moon are making quite a lot of aspects currently and over the next few days, with the Gemini/Sagittarius energy reaching a sudden peak beginning right about now.

Mars and Mercury are direct; Mercury is back in Sagittarius; Venus is about to change signs from Cap to Aquarius and make an exact conjunction to Chiron. This will put Venus into aspect with at least four Centaur planets: Chiron, Pholus, Nessus and Asbolus, planets which are a little like Pluto after reading a self-help book and drinking a entire pot of organic green tea. The Venus sign change is associated with the Full Moon in a near-exact synchronicity. And remember that Venus is approaching its exact point of station-retrograde, which it does in conjunction to Chiron.

In the day after the Gemini lunation, the Sun makes a conjunction to Pluto and is heading directly into alignment to the Galactic Core. So, between the Centaur + inner planet energy, along with the Sun + GC energy, along with the Full Moon, we have a lot of galactic type material going on -- covered in the most recent edition of Astrology Secrets Revealed (see Planet Waves front page for link).

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, the Sun is basically at solstice. The days are through getting shorter. Now the Sun is holding the same degree on the horizon (23+ degrees south, where it will stand for about two weeks, hence the word sol [sun] stice [staying still] so the days are as short as they're getting up north and as long as they're getting down south). That is a feeling all its own; a sense of extreme in one direction; and I am convinced that the ever-shorter days come with a sense of pressure unique unto themselves.

To sum up: there is a lot of electricity moving and just as much exaggeration of just about anything you can name. This will manifest internally for some (as anxiety) and externally (as conflict) for others. Some people will be in overload. And others will thrive on the energy, which in the dark sense may include thriving on conflict. To some extent, everyone will need to steer clear, evade or elude those for whom conflict is a substitute for creativity, and as Dylan said, it always helps to keep "one step ahead of the persecutor within."

Centaur activity can stir up old wounding and insecurity. It can be just as useful at helping make the most of those conditions as energy sources, wells of inspiration and the power of direct contact with self that Centaurs offer. If you are experiencing a pain factor amidst all of this, consider that it's going to be increased by denial and reduced by awareness. I realize that most of the time, the opposite seems true.

Since beginning the Astrology Secrets column on Cainer.com and reading quite a lot of reader inquiries, I have a much better sense of what people go through in life -- the way that pain and frustration manifest. I have learned different things than I have from listening to my clients. The struggle I would say that at least 90% of people write about is being stuck. As one who has spent a fair amount of my life feeling stuck, I can relate. (I thought it was just me.)

That the Western world is racing forward at its insane pace does not help the feeling. What I have learned from lots of listening, though, is that what most people are stuck on is their own beliefs. It is our concepts that form a prison around us. This may seem a perfectly outrageous statement to make, in the face of reality. But the way it most often works is, there are options, there are methods, and we usually have reasons for not using them, and those reasons are the beliefs that hold us.

Often the goal itself needs adjustment; often the goal needs to be defined at all. If you do not know or will not admit what you want, there is very little chance you'll get there. Often the problem needs to be redefined in a way that it can be solved; often a risk needs to be taken; many times, the feeling of having been knocked down before needs to be set aside.

I've found that the most important quality or "thing" that stands between being stuck and not stuck is awareness. The problem with awareness is that it's the opposite of denial; when we become aware, we become aware of our situation and all the things about it we don't necessarily like. But we cannot make the small, obvious changes if we're not using that awareness to get there.

One step at a time, the first one being the most vital. And for the next few days, easy does it, a little is a lot, and to some extent, no matter how much you're benefiting from the energy (or not), this is a wave that is passing, and will pass.