Welcome to The Kosmic Mind Astrology Column written by Guest Astrologer Chad Woodward. Chad is an astrological researcher, massage therapist, healer,  musician, and a close friend.

New Moon @ 3 degrees Scorpio October 26, 2011 3:56 PM Eastern 12:56 PM Pacific

As the solar cycle shifts into Scorpio, we segway into a process of pruning and consolidating our manifestations--cutting away at what is no longer relevant or what no longer serves our own growth and development, and that of our creations. What needs to be released now, so that things can run more smoothly? What's in the way, what's blocking things from blossoming into their highest potential? Letting go, releasing, and editing all the clutter will make room for so much more to grow. Now is the time to cut things back, but not to completely destroy something--look for ways you can keep and maintain what's truly important and that supports the entire foundation, or to release it and let it go. Burning bridges is never the best option, but rather looking for the potential in what is, and how you can use the current state of things to make everything more efficient.

Since I last posted my article on the previous New Moon in Libra, the beginning stages of many changes and shifts have revealed themselves, and each of them is a very significant symbol and key in the process of understanding the current transition. In the article, Intimations of a New World, I outlined the energies and archetypes of September's highly dynamic New Moon configuration involving the mysterious and enigmatic comet Elenin--concluding that Elenin, through the New Moon itself, was communicating, or rather, teaching us about a new model and perception of a new world. The conclusion of the article may have been a bit esoteric--but in hindsight it is very clear that what was received was indeed quite relevant in terms of current world events. The primary conclusion, which is a fragment of Elenin's meaning, was that Elenin embodies the archetype of a collective ideological transition symbolized as the beginning stages of a shift in religious symbolism fermented by the change-over from the age of Pisces towards the the age of Aquarius.

Elenin reveals to us that many new ideologies are about to present and cement themselves within the collective psyche on planet Earth, whether they are religious, spiritual, political, economic, scientific, or philosophical in nature. Elenin also embodies the death of outlived and corroded ideologies and the birthing of new perspectives and worldviews symbolized primarily through the progressive decay of the dominant Judeo-Christian ideology within Western civilization (symbolized through Elenin's current state of disintegration). The New Moon in Libra, which occurred on September 27th, contained a miraculous configuration, involving Elenin and several other comets currently visiting our solar system, which I have intuited to be apart of a process which is activating a "new template for consciousness" within the collective mind. Elenin is currently disintegrating according to the latest observations, but it is not going to completely fade from our awareness just yet. It appears that Elenin is about to receive a boost in its relevance for us, because this month's New Moon exactly conjoins Elenin's natal ascendent at 3 degrees of Scorpio, and within roughly 2 degrees of conjunction with Elenin's natal Venus as shown in the discovery horoscope.

Elenin's Discovery Chart

If you've paid any attention to current events, you are likely aware of the Occupy Wallstreet movement which has now spread to hundreds of cities worldwide. Astrologically, this is primarily catalyzed by the building Uranus/Pluto square which has been anticipated by astrologers for many years, and I have written briefly about it in previous articles (such as Cracking The Cosmic Egg). The Uranus/Pluto cycle historically correlates to the rise of aggressive revolutionary, reformatory, and rebellious impulses which arise from the collective unconscious every time the two planets make a hard aspect to one another, i.e. a conjunction, square, or opposition. The last conjunction of Uranus and Pluto occurred during the late 1960's, beginning an entirely new process of cultural reformation. The key to working with this cycle is understanding that it is a process, not an end-all solution. Whenever these two planets come into a hard contact with one another, we are given an opportunity to further the agenda of the process at that time, and then to allow it to spread and infiltrate until the next contact. The psycho-emotional frenzy that gets stirred up by these forces can be so powerful that many believe the utopian/Promethean/Dionysian vision, which is inherent to the process itself, will fully implement at that time, however, the initial thrust and momentum is likely to recede back into the unconscious once the contact is complete--leaving many to believe that whatever actions that had taken place had somehow failed to be fully realized.

The reality is that the world is not yet ready for the complete implementation of the radical vision of Uranus and Pluto--it has only the capacity to process sporadic phases of experimentation when the time comes, and thus we must trust that each phase of its development serves a deeply significant and meaningful purpose in the end. The ideal would be to transmute the impulsive/aggressive/unconscious revolution into a calm/assertive/conscious evolution. It would be ideal for one to be exceptionally mindful at these times, because the potential exists to become swept away by collective psychic frenzy into social movements which we may not fully understand. We must also be conscious of the fact that the current system of government has the ability, and capacity, to manipulate and infiltrate such social movements as a means of keeping things under control--and thus, the perceived end result may be extremely far away from the original intention of the movement itself.

"Charging Bull", the central image from the Adbusters poster promoting Occupy Wallstreet September 17th. Note the symbolism of Taurus, the sign of values, income, and resources, and also the symbolic reference to the biblical "golden calf" (transition of ages).

What we are seeing now is a foreshadowing of the energies which are going to emerge on this planet from 2012 through 2015 when Uranus and Pluto come into exact contact to one another. It is likely that the current Occupy movement is a stepping stone and segway towards something much more powerful, focused, and directed--which will erupt in the summer of 2012 onward. The Uranus/Pluto cycle can also be rather violent in and of itself--this particular phase of the cycle, the square, has the potential to be extremely violent and chaotic in its expression and manifestation. In looking at the signs involved, we receive more clarity of how this process is to express itself. Uranus is in Aries, the sign of aggressive self-assertion, the power of the people and the individual, the common people, the power of one, the thrust and momentum of a new process, the vibration of the big bang--in tension and conflict to Pluto in Capricorn, the sign of powerful structural and authoritarian power, the very skeletal infrastructure of systems which manifest as governments and corporations, and powerful social control and authority. It is through these images that we see quite clearly how our world is currently playing out these archetypes on the world stage, and armed with a broader astrological perception, we can see that there is a much larger process and cycle at work here.

The bigger question remains....Are we truly directing these forces ourselves, or are these forces directing us? How conscious are we as a society? How aware are we of our own internal workings, shadows, and stumbling blocks? It all begins with the individual, taking responsibility for themselves and their own process. I personally feel that the core message of Occupy Wallstreet is extremely relevant and contains much truth, but in looking at our past history, it is clear that such movements have not always been quite successful in the past, even if history tells us otherwise. When things become aggressive or violent, it is an indication that the collective has succumb to projection of repressed unconscious contents. What we aggressively fight against, we end up secretly becoming and consumed by--psychologist Carl Jung called this Enantiodromia. Ironically, the American Revolution's prime directive was to escape the confines of the monarchy, and yet, today it seems we have but created a similar system to the one our ancestors fought so desperately to stamp out--a Fascist system disguised as democracy. There is so much going on here than simply greedy capitalists who are taking all the money and resources from the common people, there is a deeply rooted conditioning which has been implemented on many different levels of consciousness. Yet, it is true, that the current system we live under is highly dysfunctional and does not serve the majority of people who take part of it. It is true that there appears to be a cabal of elitists who, in the spirit of monopoly, own the mass majority of wealth on this planet. But, is it really their fault that things are the way they are?

I'd invite us to be mindful of where we are projecting any kind of blame here, because we are dealing with something which has been allowed to happen, over time, through a gradual manipulation of consciousness. We are not truly victims of evil or greedy people, we are victims of unconscious passivity, if we choose to be. The perspective that I have chosen to cultivate in my life is that there are no enemies, there are only allies. Every threat offers a lesson and an important teaching--we always have the opportunity to transmute it for healing--though this is usually far more easier said than done, but it is the path of evolution. Nature does not truly destroy, it assimilates. If you're asking or demanding for the system to change, for things to get cleaned out, consider looking within and changing your own life, and looking at how the qualities which are projected onto the system lie within each of us. What do the current problems we have encountered offer to teach us about ourselves? How can we empower ourselves within a system that we perceive as corrupt? The new world cannot succeed if it is infected by the same conditioning of the past, by the same beliefs and ideologies about how change and progress is to occur.

The current economic and political instability was not created by one single group, but rather, it has evolved through a collective collaboration--and everyone plays a part in it. If you feel called to take part of the Occupy movement, I simply invite you to be mindful of the real issues, and be conscious of where the movement is being steered towards, and most importantly of all, of who's actually steering it. As I wrote about about in my article, Emerging From Chaos, all political ideologies have the potential for corruption, Capitalism, Socialism, or Communism alike, are incomplete in of themselves. If you are choosing to destroy something, why not connect with its roots and its foundation first? Pluto is a definitive fragment of our collective shadow, and while it moves through Capricorn from now until 2024, it will reveal the dark side of all systems of control--not just the ones we are currently dealing with (Pluto=Plutocracy). It appears that while the core message of the Occupy movement is the unfair distribution of wealth, and the melding of corporations and government--a lot more heat is being thrown towards Capitalism being the root of the problem by different group ideologies, but is this really the case? I'm not exactly an advocate of capitalism myself, however I know enough about things to see that the problems we are experiencing are not really the result of Capitalism, but more due to the implementation of a Fascist system of government, involving a deeply rooted Oligarchy who plays on all sides of the political dialectic.

On the other end of the spectrum, the movement, whether successful in achieving its projected intention or not--if there really is one--will be successful in bringing about much more public awareness about the deeper workings of our current political and economic system--and will have a lasting social value in re-conditioning the public to a broader perception of how things operate. It is clear that a larger audience of people are being exposed to the reality that all sides of the political game, left and right, play a big role in the perceived corruption within government. It will provide the mass majority who allow the media to dictate their thoughts, to see things differently , and to see how our current political system is dysfunctional the way that it is. If the Uranus/Pluto cycle brings us anything, it's an expanded outlook on reality--of what's possible, and what we're capable of as a collective unit. We are being given the opportunity to experiment and to try something new--but as always, the biggest change starts with you. It starts by making the decision to live differently, to change the way you partake of the perceived problems. Allow this to be a time to truly step out of the box, and start living in a way which is truly in accord with change. It means beginning to think for yourself, and to be mindful of the trap of collective mind-control and group-think. The biggest changes and breakthroughs actually happen in the most subtle of ways, usually far beyond the consensus infrastructure.Must we truly wait for government to make the change, or can we simply change our own lives despite what "the system" is doing?

The Promised Land by Mark Bryan

The primary reason the bankers and elitists make all their money is because people are still willing to buy into what they're selling them. The biggest change can occur on a very small scale--by supporting local economies, changing the way you eat and the food you buy, growing your own food, changing the clothes you wear, or the media you choose to partake of--basically where you spend your time, energy, and money. What we are seeing with the Occupy movement, is a gradual evolution within our global consciousness, and this step is just as significant as the rest we will inevitably take in the future. A new synthesis is occurring within our political systems, as an inevitable result of the tension between opposites. In the end, we are driven by forces deep within the psyche impulsing us to find wholeness, completion, and autonomy. It will take time for the collective psyche to reach a state of homeostasis, so I'm not putting all my faith in the current movement that is developing here, but I am acknowledging that it serves a very important purpose within the whole of the evolutionary process we are all apart of.

As we meditate upon the energies coming in from this new Moon in Scorpio, look to your life and see what needs to go. What needs to be released. What are you holding on to that is stagnating your current growth? Is your current life style really in line with change? If nothing changes within, we often attempt to make changes in the outer world, or to even change other people. When we feel impulsed by these archetypes within ourselves--we must express them, somehow, or we become consumed by them. Look to your own conditioning, and surrender it to the transformative powers of Uranus fueled by Pluto. Now is the time to break out of the mold, and create something new within yourself. There is a deeply powerful transition taking place within each of us, and we are given the choice to embrace it and make it our own--or succumb to it, numb it out, and project it onto something else. Now is the time to stop running from yourself, stop playing games--and choose to face who you really are. Let go of whatever is in your way, or whatever is preventing you from being more in line with your potential and with your personal success. To destroy, is to project.

The highest goal of the Uranus/Pluto cycle is to break molds and to break up large scale conditioning patterns and programs, and to replace them with entirely new templates. This process began in the late 1960's with the first conscious conjunction of these planets since their discovery, marking an era which completely altered our culture forever--even if the current political paradigm is still in place, many people chose to change themselves and chose to experiment with an entirely different way of living. That template still exists, and it is slowly maturing, and now at this phase of the cycle we can assist it by creating conscious change--first within ourselves, and then the rest of the world. The current Uranus/Pluto cycle will not fully culminate, flower, or blossom until the opposition stage of the cycle, which will begin heating up in the year 2045, and this will be an incredibly miraculous time for global change. So again, we must see this as a crucial next step within a much larger creative process, and do what we can with no attachment to the outcome.

New Moon In Scorpio 2011

Let's look to the horoscope for the new moon and gain further insight on its main intention. As I mentioned above, the Scorpio New Moon conjoins comet Elenin's natal ascendent in the discovery chart. This is extremely interesting given the fact that the New Moon which occurred on September 27th was in conjunction with Elenin itself. What could this possibly mean? Well it is clear that Elenin's intention is being greatly magnified, and its "influence" upon the masses will be given a burst of momentum--and if my hypothesis is correct, then we are indefinitely witnessing the beginning stages of a collective ideological transition/transformation. That will likely manifest in the birthing of new political ideologies, which appears to be in the works as a result of the Occupy movement. Along with the symbolism of an ideological transition, Elenin carries with it many projected energies. Elenin embodies the collective fear of death, through the mythos of the deluge, or great flood--and thus we can anticipate that the surrounding energies may bring up this primal fear, especially as many cling to the "old ways" which are currently being threatened by social unrest. Elenin is allowing a processing of deeply seeded collective trauma and fear, which we project as the archetype of the Apocalypse. Another interesting symbolism of Elenin is collective hype, assumption, and speculation. When Elenin was discovered, many different groups, even mainstream scientists--believed Elenin to be much more significant physically than it actually is.

Does this mean that the current energy we are seeing may not have the impact that is expected? Perhaps Elenin is teaching us that great physical changes are somehow less important or effective than simple subtle changes. Perhaps a main intention of this new Moon is to teach us to not assume or project complex speculations about something in our lives, as it may not be as big or even as scary as we initially imagined it to be. Another interesting synchronicity is Elenin's connection to Venus, which is rising on the the Ascendent in the discovery chart. This New Moon conjoins this position, and transiting Jupiter is in opposition to Elenin's natal Venus as well. Transiting Pluto is in opposition to the Venus/Jupiter conjunction in the US horoscope. Obviously, Elenin is very much connected with the Occupy Wallstreet movement, and in fact, the poster advertising the event, which began on September 17th, featured a woman dancing gracefully and quite Venusian, on a statue of a bull.

Venus rules the sign of Taurus, which relates to money, income, possessions, self-sufficiency, and personal values, or what we place value on--and Libra, the sign of September's New Moon, symbolizing relationships, connections, projections, mirrors, balance, and equalization. Perhaps, apart of Elenin's influence is changing what we collectively find value in, assisting us in becoming more self-sufficient, and creating more equilibrium within our current systems and ideologies. Currently, Uranus is crossing the 4th house cusp or IC in the US horoscope (Sibly chart), shaking up and completely altering the very foundation of the American psyche. Change is apparently immanent, since it is the only thing that life truly guarantees. It is quite apparent, that financially, things are about to shift in much larger way, at least for the United States, and that will result in the complete restructuring of American values. Uranus is also about to conjoin Transpluto in the US horoscope. Transpluto had just entered Aries and ignited an entirely new process/orbit around the Sun in the late 1700's just as America was founded. This transit is likely to bring back the vibration of these times, especially since Uranus is inherently revolutionary/rebellious/Promethean in nature.

The New Moon horoscope features a fascinating grand trine between Jupiter in Taurus, Pluto in Capricorn, and Transpluto in Virgo. Transpluto shifting from Leo to Virgo, along with Chiron and Neptune teetering between the cusp of Aquarius/Pisces stirs up so many numinous, mysterious, ominous, beautiful, and terrifying, images--coating reality with this enigmatic and unfathomable silver lining, the combination is quite interesting and symbolic in describing the very shifts and changes the world is currently experiencing.

We are presented with the impulse to generate and embrace the vision of complete unity, healing, wholeness, and transcendence of egocentricity, while surrounded by this collective fog of unimaginable uncertainty. Transpluto has been moving through the sign of Leo since the mid 1930's. I can't help but notice that Transpluto appears to have a highly significant effect on the current symbols of cultural power and control. Logically, this power would be much more influential than Pluto, since it is further out, and so it's influence is much more deeply rooted in the collective psyche. Theoretically then, since the 1930's, just after the great depression--our collective symbols of power have been highly Leonian. Leo deals with the power of being center stage, the spotlight, the subjective experience, the creative process, self actualization--glamor, extravagance, children, playgrounds, entertainment, amusement, pleasure, indulgence etc. Could it be that our collective symbols of power will be shifting towards the vibration of Virgo, slowly, as Transpluto shifts into Virgo between now and 2014?

The transplutonian energies can manifest as deeply rooted obsessions which can completely take over consciousness. Is our culture not obsessed with such things? With glamour, with fame, with stardom, with pleasure, with everything childlike and playful? These symbols can be obsessions, as well as keys to complete freedom, self-sufficiency, and can generate unimaginable wealth and power. Interestingly, the entertainment industry, which was in it's infancy in the mid 30's is now readily available in everyone's home. Since the dawn of the internet (Aquarius polarity?), anyone can be famous--instantly, and anyone can make movies without needing a big Hollywood budget. It would appear that in terms of entertainment we are quite self-sufficient at the end of the transit. At the same time, throughout Transpluto's transit through Leo, the movie star, the leader, and the celebrity has taken on a "god-like" status. It is likely that we will see the gradual collapse of the old entertainment industry as this collective symbol of power dies from now until 2014. Transpluto will be in Virgo from then on to 2107.

Our collective symbols of power and control will begin relating to more earthly matters--to healing, creating order out of chaos, of service, work, purification, the process, integration, and the natural world. This is quite different from Leo, which often sets up a hierarchy with an emphasis on the individual and egocentricity, and Virgo completely flips this latter bringing the focus more towards the individual's place and function with the larger framework of society. Quite a change indeed. With Chiron in Pisces conjunct Neptune in opposition to Transpluto, as it makes this transition into Virgo, we can see that a powerful process is occurring where we are collectively being gifted with a new vision for the future, a vision which incorporates the healing and integration of humanity. The glamor associated with "great leaders" will likely begin to rust, and the middle man, the healer, the worker-- the component which keeps all the gears moving will be our greatest symbol of power. The process itself will become much more significant than instant gratification. The natural world, and its preservation, will also become a symbol of immense power. On the dark side....well...we are dealing with something Transplutonian here, we will see a cultural obsession with purity and cleanliness like never before. If you're not playing the proper role, if you're not moving your gear, then you could be seen as "less then" everyone else. There could be more collective emphasis on birth control and population reduction. This could set the stage also for a collective sado/masochistic drama, whatever that may look like. But, let's just allow this to unfold and see what happens--I feel a massive collective detox in the works.

The sabian symbol for this New Moon, which is the same for Elenin's rising symbol is: A youth holding a lighted candle in a devotional ritual.

This is interesting, what kind of ritual are we apart of now? When I see someone holding a candle or a flame in a symbol, I immediately think of Prometheus/Enki/Lucifer, the mythic rebel. This would present us with an intriguing juxtaposition, one of chaos and rebellion being confined to a structured and ordered ritual. Controlled chaos? A ritualistic revolution? We see a youth carrying this candle, will the youth be carrying out this ritual? Children and young people alike, in an archetypal sense, are inherently carefree, spontaneous, chaotic, and rather rebellious of authority. I feel a sense of awkwardness from this image, of something which is not naturally inclined to a ritual, and yet carrying it out, against its own nature and preference.On a personal level, perhaps this symbol suggests to us the notion of creating change within an orderly and structured manner. It appears that this New Moon offers each of us an opportunity to make a drastic change in our lives, and it invites us to look where we can remove what no longer fits and what is stagnating our growth. Invite change and chaos into your life, but allow yourself to set boundaries with it. Remove what you no longer need, but don't burn down the entire house!

According to researcher Carl Johan Callemen, the actual Mayan calender end date is October 28th, 2011. I am unclear of my position with the Mayan calender, which is why I have not chosen to jump on any particular bandwagon. From Calleman's perspective, humanity is moving from a state of separation and competition to a more harmonious unity-consciousness. That sounds nice doesn't it? If that's true, than like everything else in nature, there is a gradient shift towards the next stage of development. Unlike many who perceive the Mayan calender as an omen of world peace, I do not share the perspective that everyone will suddenly become enlightened when the calender ends. Our world is still much too unconscious for something that drastic, but that doesn't mean that subtle shifts and changes won't occur over time. I will admit that I've noticed the most surprising of people "waking up" lately to a reality I never thought possible for them, but perhaps that's more a statement of my own judgements and expectations. I've also noticed that the power of intention and manifestation has become greatly magnified--and also a significant bridging of my dreams and waking life. Things to ponder.

The current symbols conjured by recent astrological placements and configurations certainly agree with the perspective that things are indefinitely "unifying", and the best possible manifestation of that archetype would a more harmonious unity-consciousness. However, I have this knowing that like all archetypes, they tend to have this sense of inevitable mutivalency in their means of expression. The ideal of unity is one thing, but the process to attain that ideal, seeing the obstacles, may not appear very unified.  As I said earlier, change is immanent, it is one hundred percent guaranteed throughout the life experience. Everything is in a state of constant change, always, nothing is permanent. When Uranus comes into the picture, that reality becomes a lot clearer, but even Uranus changes too! Hope and change are the two primary symbols that seem to be floating around in the collective psyche lately--however--I personally feel we should ditch the hope. What does hope do for us? We can hope for something all day long, but does that lead to change? It sounds like a pretty compelling distraction. Astrologer Maurice Fernandez wrote a book called Neptune, The Twelfth House, and Pisces: The End of Hope and the Beginning of Truth. I seem to resonate more with this profound message, that we are in an age where we are emerging from the delusion of hope, the anticipation of salvation from gods or leaders--towards the far more empowering effects of simple honest truth. Truth can provide far more change and healing than holding onto hope. Let us not hope that things will change--that Wallstreet, the President, or the Fed will eventually change their minds and give us all a break. Let's look to where we can collectively embrace the truth, stare it straight in the eye, and make change ourselves. It starts with you.

Stay in the light.

Notes & References

[1] See my article, Beyond The Womb, which was written for the Solar Eclipse which occurred on July 1st, 2011 conjoining both the Sun and Jupiter in the U.S. horoscope at the Sun/Jupiter midpoint. Pluto will activate this Solar Eclipse position beginning March of 2012 through October 2013, likely peaking in its effects in August of 2013.

[2] http://www.activistpost.com/2011/10/capitalism-cure-not-problem.html

Initial call to action for Occupy Wallstreet: http://www.adbusters.org/blogs/adbusters-blog/occupywallstreet.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_Wall_Street

http://www.redicecreations.com/article.php?id=17177 Rome protests turn to vandalism: http://www.redicecreations.com/article.php?id=17177

http://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-progressive-groups-unite-around-occupy-wall-street-2011-10

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/10/11/wall-street-protesters-plan-millionaires-march-to-tycoons-new-york-city-homes/#ixzz1aUWbkVIz

Bomb Attack On Greek Police  http://news.yahoo.com/photos/petrol-bomb-attack-on-greek-police-1319203604-slideshow/riot-policemen-assist-colleague-whose-clothing-caught-fire-photo-161646954.html

Occupy Wallstreet Hijacked?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVQm8bd0w_g&feature=relmfu

About Chad Woodward Kosmic Mind Blog

Ever since I was young I found myself fascinated and mesmerized by the night sky, gazing up at its brilliance and immensity in awe. Somehow, this innate part of myself was looking for omens in that very sky, completely unaware of the vivid and profound art known as astrology, which has graced this planet for thousands of years. It wasn’t until I was 19 that I discovered the real horoscopic astrology that, from that point forward, would change and shape my life in ways I would have never imagined. It was truly love at first sight, a love that has only increased in its intensity ever since. Life with astrology is truly an adventure, as it unveils the magic of destiny, which has been sadly lost to our world for far too long.

My goal, as the late Joseph Campbell so eloquently stated, is to simply follow my bliss. Astrology is a guide to the unfolding of self and of the cosmos itself. It is in the proper application of this guide, that we as humans, can learn to no longer be an obstacle to the brilliance and intelligence of this cosmic unfolding. Currently, I am simply a researcher, massage therapist, healer, and artist doing my part in the ascension of the planet. I hope to share the joy and bliss that astrology can provide, as we learn to dance and flow in synchronicity with this great and mysterious divine plan.

Order an Astro Report or Moon Chart from Kathy Crabbe here