Astrology in late August 2013 – the Great Sextile Merkaba and Grand Cardinal Cross Is Happening Now Through Next Week

by Robert Wilkinson

Today we enter a run of both productive and frictional aspects that will help us ground spiritually while challenging us to stay balanced.

Today (Saturday) we have Venus square Pluto beginning its activation of the Grand Cardinal Cross along with the superior conjunction of Mercury with the Sun. This brings the old Venus-Pluto cycle to a peak, and can help us get free of extreme or corrosive people.

It also marks the first in the sequence of triggers for this Grand Cardinal Cross, with the next points September 7-8 when the Moon is in early Libra, and September 14-20 when Mercury in early Libra. Each of these will continue to release the energy and give us hints how to navigate these frictional periods that will show us new perspectives and new ideals in acting and interacting.

Look at yesterday and today as a time to re-evaluate the past, seeing it from a more symbolic reference, and a time of crafting us to manifest something of social value. This also is the first transit of an inner planet to 10 Libra, which is the degree where Mars will go stationary direct next May.

At the end of this series of planets creating the Grand Cardinal Cross fracturing elements of our lives, we will eventually experience some form of “relief.” Each of these inner planet Crosses helps us practice what we will need to deal with the ordeal of Mars moving through the squares to Jupiter and Pluto and opposition to Uranus. The first one is in December, and the last one won’t happen until late June 2014.

This sequence triggers conjunctions, squares, and oppositions involving Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn. This August trigger involves the span of degrees from 9-14. The September Crosses involve 9-17 degrees of these signs, which is actually an "off-set" Cross since by the time Mercury squares Jupiter it's closer to a binovile to Pluto than a square. The Sun triggers the sequence in early October, but squares Jupiter at 20 Cancer, which is a binovile to Pluto.

So while this weekend's Venus triggered Cross is relatively tight, the ones coming in September and October will be more of a T-square energy between the planets in Libra squaring Pluto and opposing Uranus followed some time later by the square to Jupiter. This will operate as 1) intense integration requiring good Cancer skills we experienced in July and August when Jupiter was earlier in Cancer, followed by 2) a challenge to release Jupiter energy in productive ways that are organized, disciplined, and self-initiating.

By the time Mars enters the fray, Jupiter will have retrograded back to 17 Cancer, beginning anew its opposition to Pluto and square to Uranus which will last through May of 2014. During that time Jupiter will oppose Pluto at 13 Capricorn in late January, and square Uranus at 11 Aries in the last half of February.

Jupiter will make this fairly tight T-square through early May, with things coming to a head in late April when Jupiter will oppose Pluto again at 14 Capricorn and square Uranus at 14 Aries. This is the exact time of the Grand Cardinal Cross made by Mars retrograde at 14 degrees Libra, promising a huge fracturing of things in the outer world, as well as wherever it falls in our charts.

Let's now get back to the other celestial events happening this next week. The superior conjunction we’re experiencing today is a fusion of “mind catching up to life,” and since it falls at 2 Virgo, it marks the beginning of “a liberating ordeal.” This “liberating ordeal” will last until the next Mercury stationary retrograde point at 19 Scorpio on October 21, 2014.

Some ideas will be revised in the light of this conjunction being opposed Neptune. Get clear about what roles you’re playing, and see things in terms of phases and stages of development. Still, with the number of sextiles and trines created by this Star pattern, any realizations should be practical and help us figure out what to do, how to do it, and who and what fits where in the bigger picture.

Sunday August 25 brings us Mercury opposed Neptune, and the Moon in Taurus kicks off the next phase of the Great Sextile Merkaba 6 pointed Star pattern grounding intense spiritual energy wherever we have the early degrees of Earth and Water signs in our charts. This Star involves Sun and Mercury in Virgo, Moon in Taurus, Pluto in Capricorn, Jupiter in Cancer, Neptune in Pisces, and Saturn in Scorpio. This will bring power to the spiritual initiatives set into motion in late July when Venus was in early Virgo and the Moon in Taurus created this Star pattern.

August 26-27 brings us Venus opposed Uranus and Sun opposed Neptune, August 27-28 brings us Venus square Jupiter, Mercury sextile Saturn, and Mars entering Leo. August 28-29 brings Mercury trine Pluto, August 29-30 brings us Sun sextile Saturn, and August 30-31 brings Mercury sextile Jupiter. So while Mercury and the Sun anchor the Great Sextile energy and create a favorable sextile and trine to Jupiter opposed Pluto, Venus releases the energies of that opposition during this sequences of aspects.

I suppose the good news is that Venus is done activating the Cross by August 27, while Mercury and the Sun are still forming favorable trines to Pluto and sextiles to Saturn and Jupiter for the rest of next week. This should show as friction followed by productivity and stability and/or harmony, or releases and turning points followed by productivity, harmony, and spiritual anchoring.

Try to hang in there through Tuesday, put your best self forward, don’t settle for lesser things when greater rewards are at stake, and demonstrate your “staying power,” however that is appropriate to your situation. This gives power to the spiritual energies we anchored this time last month that are giving form to the emotional intelligence we've learned since June via the Grand Water trines.

You can find out more about how these aspects interact dynamically by taking a new look at the recent article Dynamic Astrology – Riding the Energy of the Jupiter-Uranus-Pluto T Square Into the Grand Cardinal Cross

© Copyright 2013 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[Lainie]

Thank you Robert! It's nice to see your picture. The sun-mercury conjunction is right on my natal pluto, so I'm trying to stay very conscious and productive this weekend. As always, thanks for your astrological guidance and musical interludes.

[Ilse]

Thanks for the overview!

[Judy Croome (@judy_croome)]

Also glad to see Robert's smiling picture!

[Micheline]

Fantastic thank for the heads up!!! I am feeling as down as I was before. I realised I was feeling a bit sorry myself in a way and then my heart was seeing that there is no reason for this. There is a solution to every problem and every difficulty.

[Debbie]

Bring it on! I am relieved to be seeing how many "Martyr" habits I have clearly broken now venus is approaching my 14Libra moon, I am grateful for Saturn having given that moon such a beating while there last year, yep I did actually say, I am grateful to Saturn, never thought the day would come that I would say that, guess only in a blue moon eh? hahaha!

[Beth]

Your site is so helpful and informative -- I'm glad to have found it recently. Thank you VERY much for all you offer.

Could you explain the importance of 10 deg Libra and it being the degree at which Mars will station direct next spring? I have my natal Sun and South Node on 10 Libra in my first house, and so of course they're being shaken up by the Cardinal Grand Cross aiming straight at them!

How will the Mars motion affect this ongoing situation?

Thanks again!