Today retrograde Mercury is conjunct the Sun. This is the mid-point of the retrograde period, termed Mercury cazimi, when the winged messenger is 'in the heart of the Sun'. Traditionally this is not a great time to step back get perspective on our lives, but it is a time when we can review our ideas and communication in real time to see if it is going the way we want.
We are in a process of cleansing our mind from old harmful ideas and habits, and we do this by sorting out the paperwork, getting the technology working, or getting our business life into better order. As Mercury turns direct in a week and a half we can start putting the results of this reworking into new practice.
This review process is being assisted, or challenged, by the current close square between Neptune and the newest planet on the Dwarf Planet University block, Varda. We put one new planet into our curriculum each year, last year it was Salacia, and this year it is Varda. I've been working on the course materials during this retrograde Mercury break on the classes, and I'm loving her inspiring energy.
Varda is the the interactive struggle we have with our opponents, or with the dark forces in the world, which we win by being inspiring and hopeful, and by creating light in the dark times and places. The planet is named after the queen of the Elves in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. She is the 'Kindler of the Light of the Stars' and is credited with setting the Sun and Moon on their cosmic course.
In the saga she is a crucial element for the defeat of Evil and the prevalence of Good. She inspired her people with light and hope when the Dark Lord took over the Middle Earth, and she led the Elves away from danger and through a transition to a new safer home.
So, at the top level, she gives us the ability to inspire others and lead them through a transition to a new state of being. But, at the unconscious level, we might be living in a rich fantasy world, which has little contact with reality.
This echos Neptune's imaginative, inspirational energy, so the current square between the two planets is likely to accentuate either our tendency to inspire others and bring light, or to retreat into our personal dream world.
I have Varda conjunct Ixion in my 10th House and, with that placement of Ixion, I have had to create my own box in society. That is what the DPU is, my unique way of creating a platform to ask the question "are the astrological rules we're playing by the right ones for these new times?"
The conjunction with Varda makes the answer to that question inspiring, so my questioning of tradition and my passion for seeker consciousness, inspires others to embark on a transition from one state of consciousness to another. That is what we're doing on the classes.
And the feedback I'm getting on my new book, New Stars for a New Era, is that it also does just that. I'm including a great review below from Armand Diaz that was published in the NCGR Memberletter. Some graduates are reporting that they have started using the book in their classes and that students finding it inspiring. That is my Varda at work.
By contrast, to look at Varda at the unconscious level, Donald Trump also has Ixion conjunct Varda, but his conjunction is in the 2nd House. So his lawless use of resources is inspiring to his supporters, and the more he is criminally indicted, the more support he receives. It remains to be seen, however, what sort of state he is leading his followers to, or is he just in a fantasy world.
One ring to rule them all, One ring to find them,
One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.
So today's Mercury Cazimi, with Varda square Neptune, suggests that, at the top level, we're at a turning point where we have a chance to find an inspiring vision to light our path forward to a new state of being!
Varda Early Scholarships
And joining a supportive community of fellow students to study Varda in our chart, could be great start to sorting out this energy in our lives. And, to encourage us, I have some early scholarships on this course.
This is best price you will get the course and this is the only time these early scholarships will be offered. The Varda Zooms will run on Friday or Saturday, depending on your location in the world, and the course starts on the 24th or 25th of October.
Join us if you can on the new Varda course and thanks for your work embracing these new aspects of consciousness.
Love and laughter
Alan
“I have been sensing a reciprocity in my study of the dwarf planets. As I shift focus and embrace each of their unique energies, I am in turn rewarded by a richer understanding of myself and the world in which we live.”
Alison Glennie, Ireland
New Stars for a New Era:
A Consciousness Workbook for our 10 New Planets
Reviewed by Armand Diaz in the NCGR Memberletter.
Most astrologers are aware that we’ve added new planets to our solar system, but most of us don’t know what to do with them. In fact, given the seven classical planets, the three transpersonals (Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto), the four goddess asteroids (whatever their astronomical status), Chiron, the Centaurs, somewhere in the neighborhood of 14,000 asteroids, and perhaps Uranian hypothetical planets, we’re not really at a loss for celestial bodies to represent various aspects of experience. Still, there’s something intriguing - if baffling - about new planets.
Alan Clay is working to remove the baffle around the dwarf planets. He’s written books on Sedna, Haumea, and Makemake, and now offers us New Stars for a New Era, a workbook for ten dwarf planets. The first thing we need to note is that this is indeed a workbook, not simply a description of the energies of these new bodies: we’re meant to work with them, not merely observe.
The central thesis is that these planets represent new forms of consciousness, not things or even ideas, but ways of experiencing reality. We need to develop our own consciousness in order to fully understand and participate in the modes of being offered by these planets. If we can bring the forms of consciousness offered by these celestial bodies into our lives, we’ll be spiritually richer for the effort. On the other hand, if we allow them to operate unconsciously, we’ll be blown around by the powerful forces of undeveloped consciousness.
For each planet, we get the basic discovery story and a summary of relevant mythology. The new members of our solar system have been mostly named for non-Western gods and goddesses, and so the myths around them may be unfamiliar to those grounded in Greek, Roman, or even Egyptian mythology. The expansion of the mythological world serves us well at this point in time, as we need to incorporate other ways of knowing than those we have relied upon for centuries.
The discovery of these new planets coincides with stressful times here on Earth, a point at which we are realizing the limitations of our current worldview or, inner planet consciousness as Clay would call it (for someone interested in these distant celestial objects, even Saturn is an inner planet). The new planets are conceived of as higher octaves of the ten major planets already in the astrological canon, so that Makemake is seen as a higher octave of Uranus, which is itself a higher octave of Mercury. Rather than adding confusion, Clay’s description of the higher octaves brings both the new and familiar planets into sharper focus.
Because the dwarf planets move slowly in terms of the zodiac (Sedna’s orbit is in the range of 45,000 years), the emphasis for personal charts is on house placement. For each planet in each house, the author gives a summary of the way the energy can best be used, then goes on to give examples of how the planet operates if the person is acting from the inner planet level, on the spiritual path, or at a spiritually advanced level. These three levels allow us to see the best and worst expression of the planetary energies.
The workbook aspect of New Stars for a New Era is probably the most unique and helpful facet of the book. As we learn about the potentials of each planet, we are invited to work with them and see how they are reflected in—and can help us develop—in our own lives. Even without knowing your house placements for the planets, it is valuable to explore these new forms of consciousness (the author gives you information about how to find the house placements, however).
The book includes vibrant visual images for each planet, created by Karen La Puma. The images are both appealing and thought provoking, forming min-mandalas for contemplation of each celestial body.
Alan Clay has written a comprehensive book on the newly discovered dwarf planets, exploring everything from their mythology to practical application. More than just reading about these celestial bodies, Alan shows us how to work with their energies and incorporate them into our lives. Best of all, the book is accessible to both seasoned astrologers and novices eager to gain an understanding of the emergence of new consciousnesses in our world. A strong recommendation for this groundbreaking book.