Mercury is slowing as we approach the winged messenger's retrograde shift at the end of the weekend. Read down this newsletter for more on how to work with this. So, despite the communication slow-down, I hope you are enjoying today's Mars sextile the North Node. We are at a point where we can take destined action and create new karma.
Mars is also closely semi-square Chiron, the centaur of wounding and healing, and sextile Varuna, the outer planet of sovereignty, who, in myth, has access to a thousand remedies and the capacity for a comprehensive health understanding.Â
While we normally think of Chiron as wounding and healing, I like to look at him as growth. That's what wounding and healing is, a growth process. And we only wound when we are insensitive to what is happening in our lives, so we bang into things instead.
In the Vedic tradition, Varuna is a wise and omnipotent god who possesses deep understanding and control over natural and moral laws. He has the ability to restore order and balance in the universe, so he has the remedy for any situation.
Varuna is the god of water, which is a vital element for life and healing. Water bodies like rivers and oceans are sources of nourishment and healing, and thus Varuna's mastery over them symbolises his potential to provide various forms of relief and sustenance.
In some hymns, his name is also invoked for protection and the alleviation of ailments. This invocation suggests that he was believed to possess curative powers, or at the very least, the ability to influence conditions beneficial to health and wellbeing.
So with today's Mars semi-square Chiron we want to be open to growth and nurture ourselves through the experience we are having and, in doing that, we'll find a new physical sovereignty. If we do get wounded in some way, we will have protection and relief from Varuna and access to suitable remedies.
Many of us are discovering that we have to be sovereign in our personal health journey, or in our management of the health journey's of our nearest and dearest. There is so much specialisation in the health industry, that only we have the complete view of our health needs, and only we can decide how to apply the health advice of the professionals.
And much of that advice is based on tradition, based on proven remedies over time, but in today's fast changing world much of it is out of date. As we evolve into the new consciousness that is now available to us with the discovery of these new planets, we are having to move out of Saturnian tradition and into personal health sovereignty, because only we know what is best for our particular dis-ease.
Because Mars is sextile both the North Node and Varuna, this means the North Node is trine Varuna. So, as we take action to enable our destiny in these next days, we may be challenged to heal or grow in some way and this will enable a more sovereign approach to our health.
Last Scholarships
One way to be open to growth, nurture ourselves through the experience, and find a new physical sovereignty, is to grab one of the last couple of scholarships on our Varuna course which is starting after Mercury turns direct. We'd love to have you on board.
Mercury Retrograde
We're coming into one of the three Mercury retrograde periods in the year. These are times when our thinking and communication turns inward, so they are great times for sorting out the things that need sorting out in our lives. Conversely, they are not great times for starting something new, but they can be used to preview things we intend to start after Mercury turns direct.
Here at the Dwarf Planet Uni we try not to schedule classes during the Mercury retrograde. So the next courses, Salacia and Varuna, start after Mercury turns direct. I will be using the retrograde time to develop the house interpretations for our new Varda course, which is running alongside Haumea and Gonggong in the final course bracket of the year.
Join us if you can on Varuna, and thanks for your work embracing these new aspects of consciousness.Â
Love and laughter
Alan
I absolutely loved the class! As a first time student of astrology, I can honestly say that aside from Alan  (a wonderful teacher and guide), every one of the students in the class was a teacher for me. I learned so much and can’t wait for the next class to begin. - Mary Anne Pitt, USA
Thank you Alan for explanation of how we would ourselves, that makes such sense