The Planets and Stars of Y2K5

January is named for Janus, the Roman god of gates and doors whose double-faced head looks in opposite directions - seeing the past and future all at once. And so it is in late December that we customarily review the past year while preparing for the next 12 months. Atheists, agnostics, and the most faithful among us join in the spirit of self-reflection while pledging to do better next year--if only on our diets.

Nature's "cycle of becoming" is an unfolding of 12: There are 12 months in a year, 12 days of Christmas, 12 inches per foot, 12 step programs, two 12 hours cycles in a day, 12 disciples, 12 tribes of Israel, and 12 signs of the zodiac.

The journey to wholeness is a 12-part process. The soul-based purpose of astrology is to help "see" what is invisible to the naked eye and then to employ the stars invaluable clues to better understand the specifics of that journey for each individual.

The same idea applies as we begin to assess the heavenly patterns for the year ahead.

While many astrologers use their art strictly in the interest of predicting world events, a humanistic or soul-based astrologer sees the same activity through an additional lens, one that interprets all planetary activity as alluding to a lesson plan encoded with growth potential for all of humanity, also known as "the collective."

With that in mind, what is the lesson plan for 2005 and will we pass the accompanying tests with flying colors?

The operative word this past year was polarization: In 2004, the Saturn Pluto opposition of 2001-2002 (the planetary showdown that correlated to the horrors of 9/11) reconfigured into an incongruous and dissonant quincunx (a 150° aspect of disharmony). And between Saturn and Pluto, this aspect depicts an impossible clash between compulsive insistence and obsessive destruction a.k.a. the Hobson's choice of the zodiac.

At the same time Saturn and Chiron opposed one another in a configuration that urged a thorough soul-searching and humble house cleaning on the part of individuals, businesses, and government. With Chiron in Capricorn, serious "adjustments" to societal structures have been in order. And did those sorely needed adjustments happen? That's debatable. One need only to look at the November 3rd electoral map with its sharp contrast of blue coastal states framing the red ones inland to have a sense of how deep this division is (a blue and red checkerboard pattern would have been more indicative of at least the beginnings of cohesiveness).

Will the current climate of polarization dissolve and give way to cooperation, wholeness and harmony in the New Year? In light of the world wide relief effort now under way in Indonesia and the Pacific Rim, Mother Nature's wrath has made certain it does.

On December 12th I attended a lecture in New York in which Betty Bland, the National President of

in America told a familiar parable, the story of the man who had a chance to see both heaven and hell. In hell, an abundance of good food was available but people were starving and miserable because they were being forced to eat with five-foot-long forks. They couldn't get the food to their mouths. In heaven, the scene was much the same, except for the fact that the diners were using their five-foot-long forks to reach out and feed each other. These were the people who thrived and prospered.

The moral of the story: the banquet of heaven is here and now. Everyone is fed if we use what's available to feed one another. We decide to make our own heaven and hell right here on earth. Little did I realize when I heard this in mid-December that the parable would be ringing as true as it does now.

This year, Mars in Taurus will teach us a lesson about avarice and greed. Typically Mars (the planet of drive and aggression) averages six weeks in a sign and goes through all 12 in a little less than two years. But beginning on July 27, and for the first time since 1973/74, Mars will graze for seven months (July 27 `05 - February 17 '06) in Taurus, the sensual sign known for its hearty appreciation of pleasure and indulgence in excess and earthly delights.

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