Venus, Saturn & NN, square Varda

Venus is closely conjunct Saturn and the North Node today, so our values, our responsibilities, and our destiny, are all working together. Venus and Saturn are not easy bedfellows however, and the danger is that our responsibilities overshadow our relationships and values, so be gentle on yourself through this transit.

This tight conjunction is square Varda, our new planet of inspiration consciousness, at 29 degrees of Sagittarius. The orb of this square is currently 2 degrees, with the North Node moving off in the next few days as it retrogrades, and Venus moving into the exact square early next week, just before she dives into Aries. Saturn has the longer transit of course, squaring Varda through till the end of May, when he also enters Aries.

This suggests that if we open ourselves to hope and inspiration by stepping into our destiny in these next days, we'll be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel created by the difficulties we face. Then by developing our values and relationships to enable this destiny over the next week, and by facing up to the responsibilities and practical demands this creates over the following month, we'll be able to find our way through the difficult times we currently find ourselves in and inspire others to do the same.

Varda's about shining our light in a world full of darkness. This can frequently feel daunting because the darkness seems inherent and pervasive, but darkness is simply the absence of light, so any brightness we can bring, as we deal with the demands of our lives, dispels it.

I'm into case studies at the moment because they personify the etherial energies so we can see them clearly. So let's look at the Saturn and Venus square to Varda in Oprah Winfrey's chart. She has Varda conjunct Ixion and the MC, which enables her to shine her light in the world by being authentically herself.

Beginning as a television news anchor, she rose to prominence with The Oprah Winfrey Show, which became the highest-rated daytime talk show in history and ran for 25 years. In the Show Finale she said: “You have to know what sparks the light in you, so that you, in your own way, can illuminate the world.”

She had Saturn transiting closely square her natal Varda, and Varda transiting closely semi-square her Venus on 26th March 2019, when her book The Path Made Clear: Discovering Your Life’s Direction and Purpose was published. In the book, she gives advice on determining your life's path and how to walk in that path with purpose when you discover it. 

“No matter how far away from yourself you may have strayed, there is always a path back. You already know who you are and how to fulfil your destiny. And your ruby slippers are ready to carry you home.”

“Whether you call it soul or spirit, higher self, intelligence, there is—I know this—there is a light inside each of you, all of us, that illuminates your very human beingness, if you let it.”

“My real contribution, the reason why I’m here, is to help connect people to themselves and the higher ideas of consciousness. I am here to help raise consciousness.”

So we have a chance to make our path clear over this next month as Saturn transits square to Varda, before he dives into Aries and sets us off on a new stage of our life journey. And the way you can make it clear is to step into your destiny, shine your light in the world and help raise consciousness.

Varda Scholarship

A great way to facilitate that is to join our Varda course, and this is your last chance to do that at the affordable Scholarship rate. Varda is the first course in the next bracket, starting at the end of May, so this is a great value offer. Embrace the power of hope and join us on Varda's inspiration consciousness adventure.

Varda 101 Scholarship

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And remember this course has our new 'choice of Zoom time', and our new 'Tutor support program', which provides support Zooms to help those students who need assistance to complete the assignments. Wherever you are with your understanding of astrology, our tutors can help you participate.

New Stars for a New Era

Just below you can find a great new review of my book New Stars for a New Era; A Consciousness Workbook for our 10 New Planets, this time by noted financial astrologer, Christeen Skinner. More and more people are enjoying this book as the astrological community opens to these new consciousness energies.

The cheapest way to buy the book is to download the Kindle edition to read on your phone! - Just US$11 - You have to download it from the Amazon store in your country and download the free Kindle app first. Here it is in the US: https://www.amazon.com/New-Stars-Era-Consciousness-Astrology-ebook/dp/B0CSBGB1RN/

Join us if you can on Varda and thanks for your work embracing these new aspects of consciousness. 

Love and laughter

Alan

www.dwarfplanet.university

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

Alan Clay’s work has transformed my thinking—about my chart, about my practice—even about astrology itself.  Alan is a born teacher. - Ariel Harper Nave, Canada

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New Stars for a New Era:

A Consciousness Workbook for our 10 New Planets

Reviewed by Christeen Skinner in the NCGR Syzygy Research Journal

It is now an almost exact Pluto cycle since we added Uranus to our charts. In keeping with the themes we associate with Pluto, we are now required to dig deep and incorporate many more orbiting bodies into our chart wheels. Recent discoveries have introduced us to the realm of the Dwarf planets. Our charts are already over-crowded, and it would be understandable if astrologers baulked at the very idea of adding dwarf planets to the mix. Yet there is research that should compel today’s astro-historians to decode more of these dwarf planetary pictures.

The dwarf planets lie in the Kuiper belt from which we deduce that their orbits are lengthy and their movements correspondingly slow. At the discovery of Uranus on that evening in March 1781, three dwarf planets formed a T-Square: Orcus opposed Sedna as Haumea squared both. This T-square formation was within orb for some years: a significant cosmic crossroads that coincided with the emergence of the United States of America and the French revolution. Incorporating Ixion, Orcus, Salacia, Varuna, Haumea, Quaoar, Makemake, Gonggong, Eris and Sedna into chart interpretation is a 21st century astrological challenge. We need books and guides to light the way.

In his book ‘New Stars for a New Era’, Alan Clay presents compelling argument for testing the cosmic waters beyond Pluto at the personal and collective level. He is immersed in the worlds beyond Pluto and offers exciting insights into the potential influence of these dwarfs.

Alan Clay has a distinctively writing and teaching style. He seeks to involve the reader and student at every turn. Sentences often begin with ‘we’. This approach is interesting: we are shepherded to collaboration as we explore these new worlds.

The author would likely agree that more research is needed given the enormous number of permutations of astro-geometry the cycles of the dwarfs yet to explore. Just as we are still discovering ways in which the influence of, for example, Neptune and Pluto vibration manifests in the individual, there is clearly scope for more case histories and thorough research.

Other languages are better able to describe matters of the spirit than seems possible with the English language. The word ‘spiritual’ is used frequently in this work and Alan Clay does his best to illuminate how spiritual welfare and general well-being might benefit from knowledge of the positioning of each of these dwarfs by house in a natal chart.

Each dwarf is given its own chapter. There is a discourse as to the meaning of each, followed by interpretation by house position. Reference is made to the charts of famous people that give insights as to how the influence manifested in their lives.

The challenge for the reader is to develop the suggested interpretations which will no doubt be modified as we incorporate the dwarfs into our own work.

Alan Clay is focused on our expanding consciousness. One at a time, we have learnt to incorporate Uranus, Neptune and Pluto into our chart readings. The years between each discovery gave us time to wrestle with possible influences. Now it seems that we are being thrown in at the deep end. Understanding the potential influence of so many dwarfs at once could be seen as daunting but, not perhaps with Alan Clay as a guide.

Panpsychics argue that the laws of physics as we know them might not explain everything and that it may be that consciousness is not an illusion but everywhere. In inviting the dwarfs into our charts, Alan Clay suggests that we may be tuning into cosmic consciousness and perhaps experiencing the wonder that has been expressed by returning astronauts who have been given rare and privileged views. It is clear that the addition of these dwarfs into our charts offers new perspectives.

The work now required of today’s astrologers should not be viewed as daunting, but exciting and thrilling. ‘New Stars for a New Era’ is only one of the many works offered by Alan Clay whose legacy to astrological literature will surely be appreciated.