Why Was There So Much Despair Between Late July and Mid-August 2011?

by Robert Wilkinson

A fan of the site wrote that in late July he and many others went into various dark funky psychological places, and it seemed to him to be a time when a lot of people he knew were feeling suicidal, discussing suicide, or taking their own lives, including several celebrity deaths. He felt that the atmosphere lifted around mid-August and wondered what was going on to create such drastic reactions in so many people he knew.

He felt like it could have something to do with the fact that as we approach 2012 everything is getting more and more intense prompting many to want to "throw in the towel." While that's true (mainly due to Uranus square Pluto!), it doesn't help us understand how to manage self-destructive feelings and thoughts. So rather than join the amen chorus of cosmic dark nights and other such lurid imagery, I figured I'd take a look at what was happening astrologically that could produce such self-destructive energy.

As I wrote him,

Well, it could be many things. Remember that the Eclipses in Gemini and Cancer set some long range irrationality and "afflictions" into play, with "liberation from ghosts of the past" the theme of the former, and Sun in close square to Saturn the theme of the second, along with Jupiter on the degree of "a widow at an open grave."

Fast forward to the end of July, and we find Mercury semisquare Saturn followed by Mars semisquare Jupiter as Sun and then Venus moved into the Grand Irrationality Leo zone with Neptune and Pluto when they weren't quincunxing those outer invisibles. Mercury was opposed Neptune all of late July and early August.

Early August put Mercury stationary retrograde on the degree of "a liberating ordeal," followed immediately by Mars in Cancer opposition Pluto and square Uranus through the first two weeks of August. Mars at this time also triggered the various squares made in past Eclipses, setting those into motion as well. Not to mention all the extreme Solar flares going on the past few weeks.....

All together, confusing, irrational, flare ups, trying to leave the past behind, friction and more friction, internal and external crises challenging inner equilibrium and perspective. Add that the collective is frustrated, angry, and coming out of a great illusion that somehow the powers that be and their systems of control actually give a d___ about anyone or even the Earth itself, or that any of us are safe in any way, or that our governments have any ability to function in the collective best interest, and you have a great angry awakening out of a long term seduction.

It's nothing less than the separation of humanity into less evolved and more evolved understanding of our interrelatedness with the life that's all around us that's struggling for survival in countless ways. Then there's the larger invisible oppositional polarization between Neptune (collective consciousness) and Trans-Pluto, or Divine Mother energy.

It's as though some elements of collective consciousness are opposing Divine Compassion and Redemption. And when Neptune opposes Parvati, you can bet Parvati ALWAYS wins. Still, for those immersed in collective consciousness delusions or illusions, it's a time of rude awakenings and feelings of powerlessness, since we have no ability to do anything but align ourselves with Divine Mother energy in this 21st century. Those in opposition to Divine Mother are crashing and burning on inner and outer levels.

For some, it's overwhelming. For others, a chance to step back from being immersed in collective assumptions and influences and observe how things move or don't. Usually (unless there's an organic malfunction in the brain chemistry) thoughts of suicide are elements of ego trying to "kill out" that which it cannot control or doesn't want to face dealing with. So of course the best way of dealing with such things is a relative degree of detachment, patience, and choosing what actions you want to do rather than those you feel compelled to do.

After a long slog under great pressure with a sense that we cannot make a difference in the political, economic, and environmental train wreck approaching, it's no wonder that some want to throw in the towel. But of course, that's also an illusion. We are all challenged to find our center of equipoise, identify with the inner and eternal elements of Being rather than outer and impermanent forms of perception and experience, and try to keep a sense of humor and perspective about this parade inside the gold mine.

At least, that's what I counsel people dealing with such troubles. It may not be easy, but at least we don't make things worse than they already are!

I hope some of this helps to make sense of what makes no sense at all....

I realized I hadn't mentioned the doubled irrationality patterns in constant motion since the July Solar Eclipse set off by Lunar transits, creating more than a small amount of non-rational weirdness involving several important planets. These were set into motion off and on all of July, and especially from the third week of July through mid-August.

This constant irrational multi-dimensional pressure precipitated some to make choices that led them off on tangents they couldn't seem to get free of in their minds. And of course, the Moon also kept conjuncting, squaring, and opposing Mars, Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto from early August right up to now, creating a lot of "hard" choices and radical shifts in direction. A wild ride indeed which continues in varying degrees even now!

While I'm sure there is always more that could be said about this, for now this is what I'm observing. Aum and blessings.

© Copyright 2011 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[Lorna]

Thanks for this,Robert-a very timely post.

[Judy Croome]

That explains a lot. Husband and I were saying at breakfast this morning that we're both feeling emotionally & spiritually exhausted from all the challenges of 2010/2011 - we've been feeling like they'll never end - so it's a relief to know that only one short year to go and hopefully we can relax and catch our breath! (I hope!)

Judy, South Africa

[Kala]

There is so much drama in the world, our communities, our families and personal lives and it very exhausting. There has always been drama/crisis going on but now it just seem it has taken a toll on my tolerance for it. I am looking for a clearing in the air as well. Your articles do bring me solace. Thank You!

[Micheline]

Well, I have my own dramas as well. I share with other people and a about a few months ago one of my housemates decided that he would put a play station in the living room. Tonight really made me angry. I am sorry, I have this part of my personality that is very intense and passionate and I do not like being disrespected. Maybe that is the leo ac. Hmm but Also the fact that I treat everyone with so much love and I am not that demanding in return. All, expect is clean up after yourself, and well I him many times over and over again can you put that into your room. Tonight, I walked out of my room and into the living room, and said simply (guitar) appergios are so hard and he snapped at me, cause he was in a middle of stupid game, and I thought wth? I was hurt and it super pissed me off cause i asked him to put that into his room. Anyway, how obvious can it be to anyone around me how demoralizing and useless are things like this. I mean how could you even think that this is useful in life. It is all mind masturbation really.
I am sad that this happens when I worked so hard to make this place a real home and so that people can sit down with each other and enjoy each others company and play music and now it has become this. I think a lot of poeple are not healthy and this is a symptom of the unhealthy spiritualy sick people in the world. Very sad. It is so easy for me to get angry cause I am not very good at controlling my emotions. This is my home but it feels like a scary alien has taken over. grrrrr

[caliban]

There have been many deaths in my locale. I don't know all these people in that I'm not out and about on the local church, school, and/or bar scene, but I know of them. Vehicular deaths. Two people jumping off bridges. And a really weird shooting which doesn't happen here.

And it is becoming really apparent to me, that what serves the larger collective is good for everyone personally. It makes a better environment for everyone. I have seen more times than I can count, volatile parents, who then rail when their child is being bullied at school. Voting for a candidate who supports education cuts, and then railing when the program the person is enrolled in is cancelled. Voting for a candidate that wants to eliminate social security, and then complaining how there won't be any social security for them in retirement. It's kinduv nutty how obvious some of this is becoming.

[Deb Marcoux]

I've never heard of Trans-Pluto equated with the Divine Mother, although I think of her as Prithvi. Once again, I think you've hit the nail right on the head. The Divine Mother opposing Neptune is nasty business but (like you said) she ALWAYS wins! Now we can water our flowers!

[Elizabeth]

Wow..that sums it up!

So...we have another year of this - equal to the intensity of 2010 and 2011..really I'm exhausted too but as you write..I continue to try to get back to my equipoise as often as possible. It is a daily effort.

I thought uranus square pluto was going to be around for a ridiculous amount of time..was I thinking 7 years? Or maybe just until 2013.

Will you please shine a light on my confusion? Thanks!!

[Tessa]

There seemed (seems?) to be two distinct energies I sense:

The snapping/unhinging vs. the letting go and drifting away.

The first feels Uranus/Pluto/Mars exploding repressed anger, frustration and rage. The second feels Neptune, like surrendering to the riptide in the fog and sinking. Mercury/Venus/Sun passes over Neptune and Mercury RX echoing brought waves of this.

Neptune? Robert, your thoughts on this?

[Micheline]

I just reread that. oh my god sorry Robert. Lost it last night. It is not easy to live with people. I went out to the living room this morning and it is a mess. Oh well, such is life. I just skimmed through other people's posts here and I am sorry to hear about everyone sadness, stresses and problems. Mine are not so bad. I still feel very fortunate I have my life. I wish you all better times and peace and love. Sorry, to rant here.

[Valerie]

Thank you, Robert. There is great goodness in receiving validation of the challenges we are experiencing. Your insights cultivate the awareness that we're all together in this boat. While it might look as though we're sinking from day to day, our shared commitment to a better world is bringing us to a new shore.

[taricia]

Yes, and while understanding "why" is helpful, it doesn't negate the pressure mounting for so many. I recall a few weeks ago I was arguing with God all day about how I couldn't continue on (referring to the temp assignment I had that felt like a 6 month prison sentence and counting), and that all I wanted was to give up and return to be with Him. But of course Creator let me know in short order that He had a purpose for my being on that assignment and that if I chose to take measures into my own hands that I would really be choosing separation from Him and not oneness. I had to laugh at myself in that moment because of course He was right; I couldn't have the perspective of the larger plan from where I am. So I said, "Ok, I'll do it your way" in the end. And guess what? About a week later that seemingly unbearable assignment ended. Sometimes it's just about giving up control and trusting that everything is as it should be, and if it doesn't feel like it today, well go to bed and give it another try tomorrow. We are all just the same.

[Sandie]

Robert...thank you once again as you continue to help me understand the craziness amongst us all! I try my best to understand that cosmic alignment can trigger some strange things, however; in my husband's case re: his own mom betraying him...all bets are off and the situation becomes black and white. Life is too short to have people (let alone your own family) treat you like dirt. People need to be accountable for their actions and how they treat others...retrograde or not. What ever happened to treating others the way they want to be treated?! Why is this so difficult for most people?

[Ann Johnson]

My son died...broken-hearted...and I could not get back across the country to him in time.

[Robert]

Hi Lorna - Well, it sure seemed to be something that affected a LOT of people!

Hi Judy Croome - It is truly a time of testing, stretching, and opening doors while closing others. I suspect the trick is not to allow our human feelings to get in the way of our Divine Intention. We're entering the heart of a great storm, but on the other side we'll see a different landscape than the one we're used to. I suppose whether that's good or bad is in the eyes of the beholder....

Hi Kala - As a great sports coach once put it, they wanted practice to be so hard that the players would quit in practice rather than on the field. I suspect that Spirit is the toughest coach in the world! But at least it gets easier with practice, even if it still feels unsettling from time to time. I definitely agree that we all need to practice stepping away from drama and crisis mode, since these obscure clear thinking.

Hi Micheline - Sorry that your living situation is so stressful. This too will pass. The only thing is not to get hooked in other people's dramas and resistant behavior, or then we're involved in something that wasn't ours to begin with. Some people just need to be distracted; our job is not to allow their distraction to become ours, or induce us to lose our equilibrium. I don't believe it's unreasonable to ask another to clean up after themselves. And if someone insists on wasting time, we cannot afford to let them waste ours as well. (ps - I've been known to grrrr too....)

Hi caliban - This is the end of the collective split between knowing and doing, between appropriate response and kicking that can down the road. It does seem that bullies are running rampant, and my advice to those who have complained to me is just go passive aggressive. Either stand up to them or simply agree to disagree, and then do exactly what you know you need to do without referencing them. It's all part of developing divine Discrimination and Dispassion.

Hi Deb Marcoux - Tending to our "garden" is one of the prime metaphors for this Autumn. If you go back through the archives via the site google box, you'll see why I equate TransPluto with Divine Mother. Just google either term and enjoy the ride!

Hi Elizabeth - I suspect that maintaining equipoise is a daily practice for all of us! Uranus square Pluto will in fact be here for a long while, but from time to time will be mitigated by other planets making aspects, like Jupiter in Gemini sextile and quintile Uranus for many months in 2012, and Saturn in Libra and Scorpio quintile and then sextile Pluto. At least these should provide us ways to transmute the generic tension!!

Hi Tessa - We've all been letting go due to all kinds of astrological configurations these past 2-3 years. Your observations are correct; the snapping is mainly due to Uranus square Pluto, the recent T-square, the Grand Irrationality, as well as the other recent irrationality patterns involving Jupiter and Saturn. As for Neptune, welcome to the strange dreamscape that's about to be our field of collective experience for a lot of years to come. (More in the archives in articles from early April).

Hi Valerie - You're so right that as we move through these collective crises together, we realize that we're not alone and our commitment to a greater good yields results over time. While we're in the heart of a storm it's hard to remember that it's not raining everywhere!

Hi taricia - "Why" is just a way of keeping our mind occupied while we're experiencing what we need to experience. There have been several times in my life when I didn't know why I should get out of bed but that "not knowing" didn't matter. I just did as I had to do, and eventually found myself levitating, through no deliberate effort on my part, out of the hell I'd been shipwrecked in for almost 7 years. I just kept my heart open and did my "breathing and loving and breathing and loving" practice until I found that life was no longer flat and grey.

Hi Sandie - You're most welcome. I believe that this site is helpful for all of us in that we remember we are part of a conscious community with open minds and strong hearts, and that's a good thing! As for family betrayals, I know them all too well in some very ugly episodes that taught me to honor my integrity and walk on. My sincere condolences to your husband, since we just don't need that sort of hurt. Life is definitely too short to be around people who throw a cow pie at your head and tell you it's a rose. As for why they don't practice the Golden Rule, well, it's all about ego....

Hi Ann - My sincere condolences. As it has been said, "The greatest illusion of all is the death of a child." As one who has lived that illusion, my heart goes out to you. Sometimes we just cannot be somewhere even when we want to. I am truly sorry for your loss. Time to meditate, time to forgive, time to search for the mystery, and time to be as unconditionally loving toward him and yourself as you can be.

[Jen]

Hang in there guys. It's 1 crazy wave the world is riding at the moment, but we've got to hang on tight and make it to the shore the best way we can. @ Ann- I am most sorry to hear of your terrible loss.

[Elizabeth]

Wow...this is an amazing post (all of them). Thanks everyone and especially to Robert for your 'right on' responses. To Ann - very, very sorry.

[Morvah]

Robert, thank you for this. You have voiced what I have been at loss to describe, bless you - always a light..
@ Ann, so very sorry ..

[H]

Thanks Robert & All... been a particularly frazzled week.... Ann - heart-felt love to you.

[Linda Smith]

My first comment on this site. First, thank you Robert for all of your dedicated work, your kindness, and the clarity with which you share it all. Secondly, to Ann; A long time ago my little sister was murdered. Grief was my life for 3 years. I just stumbled through my life and spread the pain around until I surrendered to forgiving the person who took her life, and taking mine back. Just last September my lovely 37 year old neice took her own life after a valiant battle with physical, mental and emotional illness. I am letting myself just be with whatever comes up. Some days the memories are hard and painful. Others bring happy tears. There is no right way, just "the way" in this moment. Please accept my deepest compassion for your pain. There are many in your place. Perhaps when the pain is less raw you can open to finding "spiritual kin" to journey through this with. Namaste.

[Jimmy]

Unbelieveable! I never want to see this again. This time period all but has killed me. I lost my job, my wife, my apartment, my kitty, the car is next week, and am living with my daughter. If you would have asked me if anything like this would have happened in June, I would have said no way. How blind can one man be?

[SLW]

Wow. All of these comments make me feel like I'm a few steps ahead of the game---the game called "life". I've been feeling this disruption for several years...one right after after, I had a great loss.

I finally realized it was a time for great change, and I was already on the boat sailing in a different direction when I didn't even know it. I felt so lost for so long, and not many people understood my pain nor felt much sympathy, until now. It seems I was hit with the 'great change' thump in the first wave, and I've seen a few waves come in after me. This particular time (late July-mid August) was the last wave to get on the boat with me and the others after me, in order to sail in this great change of direction...and it came with a loud and boisterous 'thump' knocking those who weren't aboard the boat completely, to their feet and said, "It's it's the last call. If you don't jump on the boat, you'll be abandoned because we're not coming back to get you...so, it's either now or never."

I went through a real bad wave a few months ago, much like everyone else in this last wave, and it was excruciatingly painful...but, that was because my feet were hanging over the edge of the baot, which meant I wasn't completely in the boat. I was lucky enough to endure the pain sooner than some who have posted. Today, I'm fearless. My goal is happiness, regardless of the circumstance.

Welcome aboard, everyone. She ship has set sail in a completely different direction altogether, and we'll ride the waves with each other, making any discomfort much more comforting.

[caliban]

Robert, your "cowpie" warmed the cockles of this farm girl's heart. Never thought about using them as frisbies. : DDDDD

[Elizabeth - Montreal]

Thank you Robert for this wonderful article, and to all who have posted such heartfelt replies/comments. And to Ann, my sincere condolences. I can't imagine what you are going through and wish you all the best in the difficult period of assimilating this shock that lies ahead.

[Ann Johnson]

Dear Robert, Jen, Elizabeth, Morvah, H., Linda, caliban, taricia, Lorna, Tessa, Deb, Judy, Kala, Jimmy and SLW,

Thank you for sharing your stories, observations of great challenges, and kind offerings of support. The intention is to hold this time with great love and with energies of Divine Mother. Just laying on the land helps - noticing the simple things and the gifts of Nature dissipates some of the anger and injustice I feel as I move through these days. All the best, whole hearted courage, and gentle blessings to each of you.
With gratitude,
Ann

[Preethi]

Thanks Robert!!!! I always appreciate your pearls of wisdom...........much Love and Light!!!

[Susan Steffen]

Profoundly shocking insanity but in a tiny way pushing me towards where I would like to be- far far away from squabbling and fighting for position and supremacy in the workplace and on the highways.
Totally improbable and desperate responses. Shameless denial of truth. Wondering if people are suffering from early onset dementia or bipolar disease. Police wielding untruths and judgements. Nobody catching a break. Small familial quirks grown into shameful injustices, and no apologies. Inappropriate demands. Has the world gone mad? Not being able to take it any longer. Want to get away?