by Lara Owen

Overview

It’s another dynamic and super cardinal year, with Jupiter and Uranus in Aries (Jupiter from Jan 23 – Jun 4, Uranus from Mar 11 2011 – Mar 2019), Saturn in Libra and Pluto in Capricorn. The Cardinal activity is at a peak during a heightened period of Aries influence in April and May when as well as the Sun (Mar 21-April 20) five planets are in Aries, including its ruler, Mars.

This means, in a nutshell, more big changes, and adds extra energy to the David vs. Goliath, puer vs. senex, democracy lite vs. deep democracy struggle currently being evidenced through the WikiLeaks/US government/ruling interests saga, which is a pretty perfect example of the colliding energies of the Uranus Pluto square in effect now through 2015. Civil unrest and violent clashes between people and government are more likely during this period than they have been since the 1960′s when Uranus and Pluto were conjunct.

This rebellion, often outwardly driven by a disaffected youth, is supported by many of those who were young in the ’60′s and who are often the parents of those who are protesting in the streets and hacking computers now, and it’s the inventiveness born under Uranus/Pluto in the ’60′s that provides the modus vivendi for the revolution. The current developing square between these two planets is the next stage in a long historical arc that began over forty years ago.

In addition, two major sign changes of slow-moving planets this year — Uranus into Aries on March 11 and Neptune into Pisces on April 4 — subtly morph our collective preoccupations and end the past seven years’ mutual reception of these two planets, which saw the explosion and establishment of social networking, democratized communication, freed-up information sharing and enhanced international connectivity. How will the combination of Uranus in Aries and Neptune in Pisces manifest? It could be a new, or renewed, kind of spiritual warriorship, where spirituality and compassion combine with energy and activism. It could be martyrdom colliding with excess militarization. When we add in Pluto in Capricorn, we’re looking at a heightened clash of ideals, for sure, and a period in which discussions about military action, the use of force and the correct use of resources are paramount.

Despite varying conflicts and difficulties, 2011 will for many feel somewhat easier than 2010 because although the energies are still mega-change-bringing, we are more used to this vibration of change now, and the shock of certain sacred cows being unmasked is wearing off. The Aries emphasis brings with it a zest for change and is energizing rather than depressing, which helps counterbalance the gloomy seriousness of Pluto in Capricorn. But we are still in an enormously chaotic period of history, and in our individual lives are being called to act with ever more mindful integrity as we face decisions arising from rapidly changing circumstances.

Major Aspects in 2011

Another reason 2011 will feel easier is that there are far fewer major aspects between the slower moving planets to contend with than last year. Yes, we have the developing Uranus Pluto square and all the Aries energy signifying unrest in the streets, but Saturn has moved past the sensitive points involved in this growing aspect and is no longer making everything feel so dour (although not holding it back either, it has to be said). Jupiter opposes Saturn March 28, when we’ll see more in the news about attempts to resolve outstanding issues provoked by the banking crisis and national debt issues. Jupiter trines Pluto from Taurus to Capricorn, exact July 7 and October 28, which is a positive aspect for abundance and wealth creation.

Aries rules!

Aries energy manifests at its most primitive as raw aggression, and at its most evolved as the willingness to make pioneering and inspired change, to birth new worlds and move confidently into a better future. The Aries impetus coming in this year brings pure creativity, untrammeled or constrained by convention or habit. The accompanying chaos during this period is usual at a birth, and those who have tools, both practical and spiritual, for transforming chaos and uncertainty into clear action and faith will be the most successful at managing upcoming changes.

Aries is the sign of the soldier, and increased military action is very likely with so much Aries energy prevalent. Soldiers need discipline to be successful, and this is so true of Aries. With focus and discipline, with aggression harnessed and controlled, the Aries archetype manifests as a huge force for global good, building wells, roads and bridges, protecting the innocent, and making fearless decisions for the greater benefit. All of us can use this discipline to enhance our own lives, as long as we remember to match it with kindness to ourselves and others.

Aries is the sign of courage, and for those on the brink of change who are allowing fear of the unknown to get in their way, this boost of Aries energy will help you to move forwards.

Neptune in Pisces

As well as the shift engaged by the move of Uranus into Aries, we also have a sign change from Neptune to contend with this year. The signs the outer planets inhabit affect the tone of collective discourse, the tenor of the news on the radio, the headlines in the papers, how we behave, dress and communicate. They creep up on us over time and then we realize, hey, now everyone has a mobile phone, while ten years ago they were much more rare, and certainly didn’t have built-in access to the internet. Neptune in Aquarius in mutual reception with Uranus in Pisces coincided with the universality of the Web and the ubiquity of personal electronic devices.

On April 4, Neptune moves out of Aquarius and into Pisces, the sign it rules, for four months, before entering Pisces solidly in Feb 2012, where it will stay until 2025. Neptune is at its strongest as an influence while it is in its own sign of Pisces. Neptune brings compassion and spiritual awareness, but also fuzzy boundaries, delusional thinking, and escapism, whether through romance, movies, fiction, music or substances. Neptune is the planet most associated with addiction and deception. In Pisces it should act at the better end of its behavioral spectrum, but we’ll have to see.

The upside of a stronger Neptune will be a boost to our collective compassion and spiritually-inspired creativity. The downside could be some new legal drug that many get hooked on, Soma-style, and no doubt, an ever-increasing addiction to visual media that acts as a mass distraction from reality. Best case: compassionate, world-focused spirituality becomes mainstream in an unprecedented way and there is a concerted mass effort to eradicate the worst effects of global poverty. What happens to established religions while Neptune is in Pisces will be very interesting to see. Some apparently entrenched institutions may lose their privileges, and new (or new to the mainstream) spiritual concepts come into greater prominence.

This year as Neptune makes its initial foray into Pisces from April 4 to August 4, we get our first taste of this new quality of Neptunian influence.

Retrogrades

We start the year with no planets retrograde, so projects that have been sluggish or stalled have a real chance to get moving now. Indeed the first quarter of the year is unusually retrograde-free, with just Saturn going backwards from Jan 26 (to June 13), with no other planets retro until Mercury (March 30) and Pluto (April 9). So it’s full steam head Jan to March, and then we get the Aries burst in April and May, so the first half of the year is really active and dynamic.

Mercury has its customary three retrogrades this year, from Mar 30 – Apr 23, Aug 3 to 26, and Nov 24 to Dec 14. These are not times to push the river or sign important contracts, but are excellent for taking vacations and revisiting/rediscovering old relationships and projects.

Eclipses

Eclipses have an influence for between 3 and 6 months, and often we’ll see decisions made at the time of an eclipse that are far-reaching and take 3-6 months to take effect. You’ll be influenced by an eclipse if it falls on sensitive points of your chart, and especially if it conjuncts the Sun or Moon.

There are four Solar Eclipses and two Lunar Eclipses in 2011.

We begin the year with a Solar Eclipse at 14 Capricorn on the New Moon on January 4, loosely conjunct Pluto, and coinciding with the exact Jupiter Uranus conjunction at 27 Pisces, both happily trined by Venus from Scorpio. Best case scenario here is that emotional clarity and resolution combine with an imperative to organize from a place of deep and long term perception.

The Moon’s Nodes move into Sagittarius/Gemini in March,  and we shift from the Cardinal eclipse cycle of the past 2+ years to a Mutable one, (apart from the eclipse on July 1, see below) with the eclipses now falling when the Sun is in Gemini and Sag. This softens the impact of the Cardinal outer planets, as it means the eclipses don’t exacerbate existing tensions. This can make it easier for everyone to deal with problems constructively and with less knee jerk emotionality and prejudice.

The Solar Eclipses of June 1 and Nov 25 and the Lunar Eclipses of June 15 and Dec 10 especially impact those with significant placements in Gemini and Sagittarius. I’ll be writing in more detail about these as they occur.

The last Cardinal eclipse for the closing cycle falls on July 1, at 9 degrees of Cancer. It thus opposes Pluto and squares Uranus and Saturn, stimulating the Cardinal Grand Cross again. This eclipse is relatively weak as eclipses go, being partial and only visible off the coast of Antarctica, but still there will be ripples. It’s a Solar Eclipse signaling a new beginning, but a beginning that we already know quite a bit about. For Cancerians born around July 1 this can be very positive as long as you have been paying attention the past couple of years and doing the work that needed to be done.

2011 in the World

With Pluto in Capricorn squared by Uranus in Aries, many governments and political leaders are struggling to hold onto power while seismic changes come from several directions at once. The struggle to balance leadership with listening to the needs of the people they serve will afflict and perturb many world leaders, some of whom will respond with harsh and tyrannical behavior while others will bend to the people’s directives. Some heads of government will be unceremonially dumped from power as political organization undergoes deep changes in many nations, along with shifts in international alliances.

The July 1 eclipse represents the tail end of a period of rumbling and destabilizing change globally but especially in the US (being a Cancerian nation), and will probably bring more bad economic news. France is also affected, and Sarkozy, like Obama in the US, faces opposition and unpopularity.

The US has had Neptune transiting its natal Moon (27 Aquarius) the past couple of years. In the individual chart the transit of Neptune to the Moon signals a period of vulnerability to deception from women. And indeed, in the US during this period we have seen the rise in power of the Tea Party and in particular of certain women who to many of a more liberal persuasion appear to be delusional and dangerous. Their newfound power is both tragic for the feminist political agenda and for the standing of American society in the rest of the world, but most scarily, it means that the people gaining power right now are doing so on the basis of glamor and shallow thinking rather than substance, even more so than is usual in our televisual age. That aspect is fading now, but is not completely gone until Feb 2012, at which point many of those women who came to power under the Neptune-influenced Moon will find themselves on the way out if they haven’t already.

The UK continues the Saturnian theme of last year with Saturn atop the 1801 chart ascendant, so another freezing winter and not much in the way of good economic news. Uranus heads for the descendant in that chart signifying alliance changes and surprising enemies and conflicts, while the July 1 eclipse is conjunct the midheaven opposite the natal Sun. So, could this combination result in the UK becoming more isolationist, with financial woes and public pressure hastening the pull-back from its role in policing the world hand-in-hand with the US, and/or retreating to some extent from the EU and/or NATO? But then again, Cameron’s chart has Jupiter at 1 Leo exactly conjunct the 1801 chart’s Jupiter, which will get a boosting trine from all that Aries activity this year, and for a while from Uranus at 1 degree Aries, so both he and the nation will be feeling more successful and confident than of late. The entry of Jupiter into Taurus in June and the trine to Pluto exact on July 7 and again on October 28 is beneficial for the UK financially, so there could be an unexpected lift in UK fortunes possibly from the discovery of a natural resource (transiting Pluto is conjunct the IC) or from a sudden change in its relations with allies (Uranus conjunct the descendant). Cameron’s Moon at 6 Leo gets further boosts from the Aries transits — another baby on the cards?

Talking of babies, I’m betting that William and Kate announce they are pregnant sooner rather than later in their newly married life. The July 1 eclipse falls in between William’s Moon at 4 Cancer and Kate’s at 14 Cancer. That’s a new home and family, for sure, although the start may be tricky as Uranus squares William’s Moon mid 2011.

Enough speculation about such matters! I send you my very sincere wishes for a splendid, creative, and awakened 2011.

 

Comments transferred from Planetary Energies

Lara laraowen.com	Submitted on 2011/12/20 at 13:24 | In reply to Willemine. Am very happy to hear you have a clean bill of health. Happy Christmas! Unapprove | Reply | Quick Edit | Edit | History | Spam | Trash
Willemine	Submitted on 2011/12/20 at 12:21 | In reply to Willemine. Dear Lara Just heard from the oncologist there is NO cancer of any kind anymore in my breasts. now that is the best news in years…. hopefully more to follow.. but for this i am very happy and very very grateful! Stay well..and God bless Willemine
Willemine	Submitted on 2011/12/12 at 09:40 Thank you Lara, for this insight..living in South africa, born in the Netherlands in 1938, Virgo with Leo (3/4)and Cancer (1/4) as ascendant.. Am a bit worried.. if the whole, you wrote about, will affect me badly… I had my bad luck more then enough already for the last 10 yrs.. But i will stay positive… Wishing you and all your followers a great Xmas and 2012 Willemine
John Sherry	Submitted on 2011/03/11 at 22:05 Lara, after today’s events in Japan your prediction for the world in 2011 of “seismic changes” is both prophetic and spookily accurate. As an Aries I shall certainly be paying major attention to what you say about our year this year now. Great post and hugely insightful.
Lara laraowen.com	Submitted on 2011/01/21 at 15:54 | In reply to Samantha Cameron. Thank you all for your comments and insights. Samantha, thanks for the appreciation and kind words. I had a quick look at your site, and you, your work and your life look fascinating. Thanks for stopping by here.
Samantha Cameron	Submitted on 2011/01/21 at 14:50 Lara, as a fellow Astrologer, psychological-diva diver, and, meta-cohort, I’m deeply impressed by your POV and your ability to write these difficult contrapuntal energies with such clarity. Thank you for this. I shall be visiting your ideas and wisdom often as I work at similar, yet different approaches via my work and website. Do hope you take time to visit it. All honor on the lovely work. I don’t come across the level of your ability often. Samantha Cameron
Terry	Submitted on 2010/12/27 at 20:52 These last few years have been filled with Good vs Evil for me. It was a continue adventure to live fully in consciousness and unconditional heart. I’m writing from the ego’s perspective, from the spiritual beingness outlook; I now understand that I chose the scripts and characters to play out on this huge theater stage called life! The dualistic energies of good evil, once understood; these energies of electrity transient phenomena of the world are the dance, the external play, of cosmic consciousness. In this dance, every thing, every happening is sacred, has absolute worth, and is an end in itself! Every human being is a potential Buddha or Jesus, etc., with the capacity for awakening to this wisdom. I am truth. I am bliss. I am freedom. It is possible to experience innate divinity and to be conscious of “who we really are”, if we would only believe it~even though our egos usually prevent us from enjoying this experience: “When the ego is gone, the whole individuality arises in its crystal purity.” Namaste ♥
Winter Solstice 2010 and the Holiday Period 2010-2011 » AstroDispatch.com » Astrology Around The Web astrodispatch.com/2010/12/20/winter-solstice-2010… 72.47.223.85	Submitted on 2010/12/21 at 05:02 [...] just posted my forecasts for 2011. Enjoy! The weekly updates will recommence Jan [...]
owlsdaughter	Submitted on 2010/12/20 at 23:10 Wow! I can’t help but mention that 2011 is also going to be a Tarot year of The Emperor (2+0+1+1=4, The Emperor). He is ruled by Aries, of course, bringing yet another dimension to the powerful push coming from the planet of action and aggression. May we use this intense energy to initiate and build, not to destroy.