Aquarius 2012 - Freedom in Your Heart

by Guru Rattana, Ph.D. - Issue #189, January 23, 2012

Planetary Alignments

When a planet changes sign or goes retrograde, we feel the effects and have different energies to work with. These shifts happen 3 times in two weeks, between January 23 and Feb 7.

• The Sun is in Aquarius from January 19th through February 19th.
• Aquarius New Moon on January 22nd at 11:41pm PST (January 23rd at 7:41am GMT).
• Mars in Virgo goes retrograde on January 23rd at 4:54pm PST (January 24th at 12:54am GMT), through April 13th.
• Neptune re-enters Pisces February 4th, where it remains through March 30th, 2025.
• Leo Full Moon on February 7th at 1:54pm PST (9:54pm GMT).
• Saturn in Libra goes retrograde on February 7th until June 25th. Saturn finally leaves Libra alone on October 6th, when it move into Scorpio. Yikes - 3 years of relationship challenges!
• Just before the Full Moon, we may be confronted to review, revamp, end and let go of what is unworkable, imbalanced and unsustainable in the arena of relationships. As you read below, you will understand that this is another call to freedom. Uranus in Aries wants us to feel free inside ourselves. Saturn in Libra wants us to feel free in relationships.
• Mercury is in Capricorn from January 8th through 27th and in Aquarius from January 28th through February 15th.

Future Markers to Monitor Your Mood and Energy in 2012

• Mercury is Retrograde in Aries and Pisces for 23 days, March 12th - April 4th.
• Mercury and Uranus will be conjunct within 4° for these 3 weeks.
• Grand Trine on March 13th in the Earth signs. Venus and Jupiter (in Taurus), Mars (in Virgo) and Pluto (in Capricorn) make a triangular formation exact on March 13th, but active for several weeks before and after that date.
• Mercury is Retrograde in Leo for 24 days, July 15th through August 7th.
• Uranus squares Pluto on June 24th, 2012. (Uranus in Aries is exactly 90° ahead of Pluto in Capricorn). Uranus will form seven exact squares with Pluto through March 2015. To be discussed in future issues.

Aquarius and Leo in 2012

Here we are in 2012, and actually living in the question we have been asking for years - "What's going to happen in 2012?" The short answer is that 2012 is a wake-up year. For a moment to moment update, check in with yourself and feel how you are responding to, and using, the energies that impact all of our lives.

At the individual level, the Uranus in Aries factor is impacting each of us in dramatic and challenging ways. Uranus (the awakener) is in Aries (the self and individuality) until May 2018. Everyone is subject to this intense energy for 6 more years! We can feel energized, over-stimulated and overwhelmed. We can experience confusion and inner and outer conflicts. Some people can't cope, and are losing control and hope. Many are doing their best to keep it together and move through their life issues, and some are enjoying the cosmic support, and are able to let go enough to be in the flow of the higher love frequencies.

At the awakening level, people are coming out of their deep sleep state, and discovering things about themselves that help them claim their identity, and encourage them to take more responsibility for their lives. This vital, fiery energy gives us the juice to engage in creative endeavors, to take empowered action, and to claim our personal rights.

At the asleep level, people are getting angrier, exhibiting inexplicable crazy behaviors, and being violent and destructive. We are either fighting to get free, or trying to hold on to what we think we have.

Collectively, the Pluto in Capricorn factor (until 2024) positions our planet in the breakdown phase of our economic, political and social structures. Our denial habit, and naïve hopes that things will magically get better, are being exposed as illusions. Our institutions will not get better until more of the general population participate, and take responsibility for their piece in the revamping process.

It is critical to recognize, and operate from, the premise that structural transformation is possible only when we firstly understand and accept the real nature of our problems, and secondly use that deeper wisdom as a foundation to design solutions that create authentic change. Patchwork puts off the inevitable and makes things worse.

Change is slow in 3D - physical reality. So don't count on, or fall for, any quick fix formulas from either your gurus or our politicians. We are all entering new territory, and trying to figure out what to do as we go.

Chaos and Creativity

As we enter the Aquarian Age, there is a new element in the mix. We have to play by Aquarian rules now, and that requires a shift in consciousness. Not only do we need to expand our awareness capacity, we need to be able to accept and adjust to the unexpected - surprises, shocks, and miracles.

In modern astrology Aquarius is associated with Uranus, who was named for the Greek god Chaos. Chaos shatters old forms so that new ones can be birthed. Chaos may seem to be what we define as chaotic, but the madness is part of a grand design. This energy is unpredictable and cannot be controlled by human will. It represents the Divine intervention that takes place when things get out of balance, and must be realigned at a higher octave. It is the energy, or stimulus, that breaks up old patterns to clear the way for creative breakthroughs.

The Aquarius/Leo Polarity

Aquarius, and its opposite polarity Leo, are concerned with the relationship between the collective (Aquarius), and the individuals (Leo) who create the group. Finding a workable dynamic between the organizing power structures, and the citizens/serfs/population, has been present for as long as humans have gathered in tribes to sustain their existence. In more recent times, finding the optimal individual/collective relationship has been the subject of intense ideological debate and experiments, with Marxism/communism and capitalism/free enterprise representing the two polar positions.

In the Aquarian Age, the interactive nature of the citizen/collective dynamic needs to be examined from a different perspective than the ideological debate, and conflict, between two opposing groups that both profess to possess access to 'the truth'. The Aquarius/Leo polarity poses the two following questions:

1. How can our collective institutions (political, economic, social, religious/spiritual) serve individuals so that they can be empowered, and contributory participants?
2. How can each individual serve the collective so that it can operate effectively, efficiently and sustainably to meet the needs of its citizens?

Answers from Aquarius and Leo

To answer these questions, we can examine the tenants of the two archetypes. The Aquarius archetype unequivocally asserts that continual change and progress are the name of the game. We are forever involved in upgrading our collective structures. When they fail to meet the needs of its citizens, evolution is recommended. If evolution is stifled by the resistance of the status quo, and the subservient, sheep mentality of the population, then revolution is required.

Aquarius connects with the universal mind to bring in innovative thought, technological inventions, and higher wisdom. Aquarius guides the practical implementation of revolutionary ideas to create new systems. Aquarius is a mental air sign and can be cold, calculating and detached.

The Leo archetype adds the heart that brings compassion and caring into the mix. Without heart, our great ideas can devolve into controlling schemes and a bureaucratic maze. Leo unleashes the creativity in each individual, so that everyone can be a contributory member of society.

Aquarius and Leo are fixed signs, which means that they are more tenacious about holding on to the status quo and what they believe in. Both the force of resistance and the motivation for change are built into these archetypes. They let go only after they have undergone a transformation of consciousness, which is required to allow effective change to take place. This actually makes sense. Why try to implement 'reforms' if are simply window dressing? Both Aquarius and Leo require authenticity to pass Go.

Two Untenable Assumptions

The collective/individual dynamic is polarized in the two current political/economic ideologies - state-run economic institutions (Marxism) and free-enterprise economic institutions (capitalism.) The problem is that both are based on untenable assumptions:

• Assumption 1: Given a free rein (no regulation or rules), the actions of individuals will benefit all members of society. This has not proven to be the case. The problem is that lower conscious (greedy, self-concerned) people often act exclusively in their own self-interest, and enrich themselves by taking advantage of and exploiting others.
• Assumption 2: A group of self-selected (dictatorship) or collectively selected representatives (chosen through democratic elections), will use their power to promote and serve the highest good of all members of the collective. The problem is the same - those entrusted with power (or who take power) do not necessary act to serve the needs of the general population.

Consciousness is the Problem and the Solution

The important point is, that both ideologies fail to take into consideration the level of consciousness of both the ruling class and the general population. Our collective structures are a reflection of the level of mass consciousness. Scary!

The consciousness level of the majority of planetary citizens current registers as asleep, unaware or in denial about everything, from how their inner reality creates their outer reality, to acknowledgement of the huge shifts that are necessary for individual, collective and planetary survival. An important question to ask is - "What does it take to wake us up, so that we can act with heartfelt integrity and courage?

Insights can be gained by monitoring how we handle the intense energies in 2012. By the end of the year, we will have gathered some important answers from investigating the following questions:

• Do we accept the confrontational realities that challenge us, or do we resort to denial, victimhood and violent scenarios?
• How long, and why, do we resist the obvious and the inevitable?
• Are we able to take appropriate, peaceful action and work together, transcending divisive ideologies that pit us against each other?
• Can we listen to our soul, and ascertain what is appropriate and effective?
• Are we equipped to handle serious change?

Be Your Own Experiment

Each of us is a laboratory to answer the above questions. Don't try to answer these questions for others or for the planet as a whole. Do your best to answer these questions for yourself. Our job is to individually raise our consciousness, and thus make our contribution to upgrading the collective consciousness. Our assignment this year is to monitor our personal ability to shift our limited and negative programming, so that we can take soul-directed action. Our job in 2012 is to upgrade how we react to confrontational situations. Are we able to live in our hearts with ourselves and others?

The following two touchstones can be useful:

• Assume everyone is having a hard time and needs acceptance and love. Know that your simple acts of kindness contribute to shifting planetary consciousness from fear to love.
• Be kind to yourself. Build an inner foundation of love and compassion for your own life. In doing so, you are making a significant contribution to shifting the global dynamic from conflict to cooperation.

Let's fix the timeline for our halfway check-in progress assessment date as July 3, the day Mars moves out of Virgo into Libra.

Freedom and Flow

Pivotal themes for 2012 are Freedom and Flow. Freedom is not granted. Freedom is earned through consciousness, evolution and maturity, which all require effort and awareness on our part. Living the flow is true freedom.

Mars moved into the territory of Virgo on November 10th, 2011, where it stays for almost eight months through July 3rd, 2012. In Issue 185, I defined Earth Mother Virgo as the archetype that expresses the Tao, or flowing universal force. The Tao expresses in physical reality through the natural forces of Mother Earth. Optimally we will use the rest of Mars in Virgo to align with the Flowing Mother Force.

While talking with a friend recently, I commented on all the things that were demanding his time and patience. His comment was, "Oh, that doesn't matter. I am living in the Divine Flow. That is the only important thing". That is where we all want to be.

Set Yourself Free

Today I opened the 'Tao Tse Ching' for a reading to inspire my day and this issue of New Millennium Being. The Cosmic Tao #13 spoke:
'Success is as dangerous as failure.
Whether you go up the ladder or down it,
your position is shaky.
When you stand with your two feet on the ground,
you will always keep your balance'.

When we are connected in our body to our Earth Mother, we are nourished and supported from both stable and neutral ground. With a stable base and a neutral mind, we can relax into the Flow.

"Hope is as hollow as fear.
Hope and fear are both phantoms that arise from thinking of the self".

Both hope and fear arise from limited personality/ego-based thinking that creates beliefs, ideas and wishes of what we want, or don't want. These thoughts then control not only our mind, but our actions and our emotional state. We are a slave to our thoughts, and prisoners of our emotions. We are not free because we are not aligned with the Flowing.

• TO BE FREE, we must see the world through glasses, without the filters of our hopes, wishes and fears.
• TO RELAX, we must accept things the way they are, not the way we want them to be.
• TO LOVE, we must see others as ourselves. Then we can care for and be kind to all beings.
• The world will be a better place when we allow our heart to speak and our soul to shine.

Mars Retrograde in Virgo - Clean Out and Let Go!

Mars in Virgo goes retrograde (apparent backward motion) from January 23rd through April 13th. During this almost 3 month period, we may feel a lack of energy, weighted down, and with an inability to move forward. There can be a tendency to feel depressed and angry. On the positive side, we get support for deep healing and regeneration.

This is a time for inner analysis, assessment and letting go. Engage in physical, mental and emotional house cleaning, and inner prison reform. Go inside and get in touch with the resistance in your body. Identify the chains that you create in your mind. Feel the ropes that entangle your emotions. Identify how and where you are wasting, or underutilizing, your energy, potential and resources.

Virgo grounds us in physical reality, and counsels us to take action based on the actual situation, not on our opinion about how things should be, or what we wish would happen. Do not resist. Do not prolong your pain. Accept and move on. This is a time to relax and align with the Flowing Mother Force.

The more we set ourselves free, the more our energy flows and aligns with the cosmic flow.

Neptune is part of our cosmic rescue team, as it moves into Pisces on February 3rd. (See Issue 190 - Neptune's Pisces Journey).

Kundalini Yoga - Aligning with the Flow

To take advantage of the energies offered while the Sun is in Aquarius, and by the Leo Full Moon February 7th, practice staying in your heart, with kindness for yourself and others.

The easiest ways to cultivate alignment with the Flow is to relax into the flow of your own breath, as it brings in life force and releases to give back.

When you are in a Kundalini Yoga class, do the moving exercises together as a group. Once the group synchronizes, a powerful group energy becomes available. Monitor your ability to stay focused in your heart and body both (1) when the group in synchronized, and (2) when the group energy is scattered with individual egos going in different directions and rhythms.

Monitor the same when you are in other group situations. In more chaotic environments, your heart focus can also serve as a protective shield that helps you remain centered and contained.

'Heart Shield Meditation' activates and projects the heart (page 147 in Transitions to a Heart-Centered World 2nd Edition.)

When our nervous system is strong, we are less reactive. The 'Kriya for Nerve Balance' on page 86 of Relax and Renew 2nd Edition, noticeably strengthens your nervous system, as does all pranayama.

Aquarius Classes - Guru Rattana Online

Check out Guru Rattana Online lessons for Aquarius under MIND/AIR ELEMENT, for some very interesting class on 'Set Yourself Free', and 'Surprise, Shock! Saturn and Uranus Teachers'.

If you haven't already subscribed, you will need to do so to watch these classes. For a low monthly rate you can enjoy umlimited access to all my classes.

References and Footnotes

"Aquarius New Moon", Austin, Stephanie, The Mountain Astrologer, Issue #160, Dec/Jan 2012, p. 106.

"Leo Full Moon", Austin, Stephanie, The Mountain Astrologer, Issue #161, Feb/Mar 2012, p. 97.

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