Aries Planets Opposite Saturn in Libra: Good Fences Make Good Neighbours

As the personal planets in Aries oppose Saturn in Libra and conjunct Jupiter until the first week in May, they trigger the area of the Jupiter-Saturn opposition March 28. In turn, this triggers the themes of the 2009 Venus retrograde. Venus stationed retrograde in Aries at this point in March 2009.

At that time on the blog, one of the themes involved the concept of identifying and extricating ourselves from "false karasses." Venus in Aries was sextile the conjunction of Jupiter, Chiron and Neptune in Aquarius at the time, and the theme of being true to ourselves, rough edges and all, so as to find our rightful place in our rightful Aquarian groups was prevalent.

The idea of a "karass" is involved in the fictional religion **Bokononism in author Kurt Vonnegut's novel Cat's Cradle. The word was mentioned on one of my favourite TV shows as a teen, My So-Called Life, and the concept stuck with me.

A karass, according to the fictional religion in this fictional novel, is a group of people who, often unknowingly, are working together to do God's will. The group is held together by a sort of soul-level centrifugal force based in a point of commonality. The people in the karass might not even know each other but act like the fingers that support a Cat's Cradle.

A false karass, called a 'granfalloon' in Bokononism, is a group that mistakenly believes it is held together by this type of connection and common spiritual motivation. An example of this could be graduates of a certain university, fans of a certain football team, members of a certain profession...and, in this case, astrology.

Don't get me wrong. Astrology can definitely involve karasses, but as a subject in its totality, it has a tendency toward false karass in that people assume if you're "into" astrology, you have this type of common ground with all other people who are. Astrologers are seen to have this common ground simply because they practise astrology. But because there are so many different forms of astrology, so many perspectives, motivations and ways to use it, that's not always the case. A lot of times, its as if we're speaking completely different languages for completely different purposes, and it's beneficial for those interested in astrology to be aware of this when choosing their astrology sources.

This causes problems only if it's not recognized and respected.

The "identifications and differentiations" themes seeing a resurgence now seem to me to be an exercise in carving out our niches in order to make the most of our time and energy while we're on the planet. They're also helpful in heading off certain subjects or situations we know are hot button with the people in our lives. Determining where we differ fundamentally is as important as determining where we're in agreeance - maybe more so. Not all belief systems, motivations, directions or points-of-view are compatible. Not all people are meant to work together or to come into close contact with each other. And even the ones who are are going to have certain off-limits areas.

From a March 8, 2009 Venus retro in Aries post:

"Here is where living our diversity as individuals creates the collective we desire. It's not about moulding and shaping ourselves to fit within a group. It's about uncovering and living every nuanced aspect of ourselves, no apologies, so that the community forms around us and fits like a malleable, ever-adapting glove. No bending, no bowing, no squishing ourselves into shoes that don't fit just because everyone else we see is wearing them. Every edge, every corner, every variation is necessary for us to find our rightful place. They are not to be downplayed or explained away."

Determining what we believe, what guides us, what motivates us, and how that shapes our direction in relation to others is a theme that will intensify as the planets in Aries exactly trine the North Node in Sagittarius between May 1 and 15. (Election time in Canada May 2, and it's a feisty one.)

As part of that configuration, our personal histories as far as ancestry/heritage come into play, and we could be running into another theme - the ancient Sagittarian blood feud!

We obviously see this theme being played out unbelievably viciously on the global stage as the Aryan Arien energy blazes on. (I sure hope U.S.-led NATO doesn't "spread any democracy" my way.) The bloodlines, the supposedly superiour races, what people are connected to through ancestral lines.

What I'm referring to in this post comes into play more subtly socially but is connected to deeper themes. These astro energies are an indicator that old school grudges will be rising through ancestral lineages and catching in our present day multi-cultural social realms, infusing people with everything from straight-up hatred and rage to wariness to passed-along wisdom related to certain cultural clash points.

These are irritants and cyclical trigger points coming into play when interacting with certain people in certain ways because someone with their background has wronged or criminally irritated someone with your background (or vice versa) in the near or ancient past, and there is something unresolved.

With all the Aries emphasis currently, this will be rising so we can gain a deeper understanding of what causes the issues and work them out in socially responsible, boundary-conscious Saturn in Libra fashion. Following in the theme of anger impulses as impetus to action, this is about being honest when someone rubs you the wrong way, following it to its root and figuring it out so as to rework social dynamics and points of interaction. Understanding our own natures, motivations and where we're coming from quite thoroughly as well as understanding those of other people becomes a key to successful and respectful relations - along with knowing who and what to just steer clear of! There's a lot of that going around...

The current stellium of planets in Aries is telling us: your irritations do matter. Pay attention. Don't discount them. They're part of the blueprint for peace on this planet - and not a glossed-over, Band-Aid version. The real deal. The only way we can get to a real mutual respect and peace (and I'm not talking about with the sociopaths who erroneously believe they run this joint) is by getting into the nitty gritty of why we haven't been able to in the past.

This also relates to the Venus overlay we're working on currently and until June 2012 - Via Combusta Scorpio.

We're working pro-actively with Saturn in Libra at the moment while things are still relatively light on the social stage before they take a turn for the hardcore depths with Saturn in Scorpio (October 5, 2012 - September 17, 2015) coinciding with the North Node in Scorpio (August 29, 2012 - February 18, 2014). Saturn in Scorpio will be in mutual reception with Pluto in Capricorn during that period, and merger mistakes will be far less forgiving at that point. Anything you can examine and resolve as far as your social foundation now lightens the intensity of the load later when we start to merge energy and resources in less easily extricated ways.

These are dangerous times, friends, so let's not play. The only way we can get along on this planet is by admitting that some of us just don't mix so well - and drawing healthy social boundaries accordingly as we go about our daily lives. Good fences make good neighbours.

To me, this is one of the biggest disservices of the New Age version of humanity - the constant focus on oneness, unity, everyone living in blissful love and light, thinking the same way, feeling the same way, having the same "vibration" and level of "enlightenment."

The common threads running through classes, ethnicities, religions, sexes, sexualities, countries of origin, spiritual inclinations? Sure, they exist. There are universal themes galore in the human condition. But there are also rough edges and ridiculous power imbalances and areas where we absolutely do not hold common ground in any way, shape or form.

This is bloody raw Aries energy driving us into a new astrological era. This is Aquarius, and our differences matter. To gloss over them sets us up for more wounding, ass-burning events and dynamics to unfold.

Injustices and grievances have been passed through our bloodlines that we can't even find words for. We just know they're there. With a Gemini South Node, this is going to be prevalent. We can't put our finger on it, but there is something that just doesn't seem right about someone or some way they do business in their lives. This isn't a comfortable topic, especially for Libra, so luckily for us, most of this can be done intuitively through our Sagittarius North Node, disposited by Jupiter in Aries opposite Saturn in Libra.

This is some of the differentiation that is going on currently with all the focus on identity, motivation and fundamental goals (Aries). Appreciating and benefiting from our diversity and differences are only possible when we aren't being screwed over by them.

Under these aspects, people you thought were friends turn out not to be, and people you had sworn off for good turn out to be sterling-charactered brothers from another mother or sisters from another mister.

Juno is moving retrograde through Virgo until early May, and the people who are a burr in your saddle right now are making things really clear on this front so we can consciously and skillfully avoid the old, sticky, karmic traps as far as relating goes.

These transits relate to the ongoing process of finding where we fit. We're no longer in our clans of origin, for the most part. Most of us have had those destroyed and strewn about more times that we can count in an effort to snuff out who we are and what we know. It sounds counter-intuitive, but this is about getting clear on our rough-edged trigger points and deep soul motives in order to find the places and the people with whom our souls fit now, regardless of personal background. We're not going to find that old school original soul home vibe this time around. But what we are going to find is better for these times. It's rich, it's varied, it's diverse, it gives us the space and detachment to really be ourselves, and it's the best chance we have for survival.

** This reference is in no way an endorsement of the fictional religion Bokononism.