08 Oct Before You Slip … ~ October 9th-15th, 2017

 

Before you slip into unconsciousness

I’d like to have another kiss

Another flashing chance at bliss

Another kiss

Another kiss

The Sun is more than halfway through the sign of Libra. Over the last twelve months, the sign of Libra has been illumined and expanded by the presence of Jupiter who has asked you to develop the qualities of this sign in significant ways. Contemplate upon how your social skills, your sense of refinement and your instinct for fairness have been exercised over the last year.

The Sun’s presence in Libra now has only added to the necessity of demonstrating what you have learned over the last year, revealing the level of inner harmony that have within you. Harmony can only be practiced in the face of conflict, so try to embody the lightness and air of Libra in the face of whatever pressures you may be enduring. The scales of inner order are being tested to prove their value and worth, not to summon chaos.

This week especially, the strength of your inner harmony will be tested. A major page will be turning over, revealing the next chapter in the story of Jupiter. In this episode, the planet of expansion and wisdom will leave Libra’s intellectual beauty and breezes for the dark waters of Scorpio, where lies the portal to the underworld.

In the liminal place that happens between bidding farewell to Jupiter in Libra and becoming familiar with the new ambiance in Scorpio, pause for some reflection.

The days are bright and filled with pain

Enclose me in your gentle rain

The time you ran was too insane

We’ll meet again

We’ll meet again

Knowing that the last transit of Jupiter in Scorpio occurred between October 2005 and November 2006, what important themes might you be encountering once again? If you feel like the last transit of Jupiter in Scorpio represented a negative time in your life, try to find where the seeds of wisdom were planted even in that darkness. And remember, knowing what you know now, you need have no fear of repeating that same story again. 

Every Jupiter cycle you live through makes you bolder, stronger, and wiser. At this juncture, you are about to be blessed upon a voyage into the underworld to retrieve something vital that has been lost.

What you seek to retrieve on this journey could be many things: a sense of self-control, established wealth, an inspired talent, emotional intensity, sexual appetite, or faith in your own soul’s spark of divinity. Anything that you hold sacred which has been diminished is now yours to go on a quest of recovery for.

Oh tell me where your freedom lies

The streets are fields that never die

Deliver me from reasons why

You’d rather cry

I’d rather fly

So this week, let Jupiter’s farewell to Libra be as romantic and melancholy as the reverie illuminated in The Crystal Ship by the Doors. This song, perhaps more than any other, reveals the mystical quality that Jim Morrison had as a poet.

Many crass interpretations of the lyrics associate its meaning with the obvious sex, drugs, and rock n’roll. While narcotics and the pressures of fame provide the backdrop,  Morrison had a much deeper vision in mind than another confession of decadence. Apart from being deeply personal, this song is an offering to the Celtic bardic tradition.

The Crystal Ship is a reference to an obscure 9th century manuscript of Celtic legends called the Book of the Dun Cow. In the story:

“The Irish hero Connla is wooed by a goddess who whisked him away to the ‘earthly paradise beyond the sea’ in a magical ship that belonged to the sea god Manannan – a ship that was made of crystal, knew its pilot’s mind and was capable of flying over sea of land.”

It should be noted that in this mythology, the sea god Manannan was the guardian of the underworld. Thus, as you listen to The Crystal Ship you are being seduced into that same vessel of enchantment which guides heroes gracefully into death. During the week of Jupiter’s entrance into Scorpio, consider that there might be no better soundtrack to carry you into the darkness of your soul’s quest with such tenderness, devoted love and prophetic vision intact.

Without a vision of return, the underworld can not be safely entered. As in all great poems, the last lines of The Crystal Ship are of great importance. “When we get back, I’ll drop a line”

The wisdom of this song is qualified by the knowledge that this approaching journey into the underworld is meant to be survived, an enduring connection to life maintained throughout.

The crystal ship is being filled

A thousand girls, a thousand thrills

A million ways to spend your time

When we get back

I’ll drop a line

Monday/Tuesday: Slip Into Unconsciousness

Under the light of the waning Moon, the week really begins with Jupiter’s entrance into Scorpio on Tuesday, October 10th. There may be a certain sadness that arises, but a feeling of peace will not be far behind, for the aggravating oppositions between Jupiter and Uranus which plagued all of 2017 will finally be put to rest. Whatever has been catalyzed in you over the last year will now have some time to ruminate.

Wednesday/Thursday: Deliver Me From Reasons Why

Concurrently to this shift in tone, Mars in Virgo will square Saturn in Sagittarius, summoning whatever maniacal tendencies you may have. Whatever aspect of you that revels in being almost mechanistic in your precision, automatic in your schedule and robotic in your readiness for action will be summoned.

The downside of such a hard aspect is that life seems to reveal many obstacles to success. The positive outcome is that you will be endowed with extra strength and poise in the performance of anything demanding.

Considering that this is the beginning of Jupiter’s underworld journey, the perfection of a Mars/Saturn square at the outset may be an omen that vigilance and readiness are going to be needed. This voyage into the Scorpionic depths may become ecstatic, mystical and strange, but the fortitude and determination of a Mars/Saturn square would be wise to remember throughout the coming year.

Friday/Saturday/Sunday: I’d Rather Fly

The weekend brings a fluttering and refreshing wind to whatever stillness may have fallen over the middle of the week. On Saturday, Venus will resuscitate any flirtations you have with decadent tastes and passions when she gracefully glides into Libra, one of her two placements of rulership.

Crowned and reified in Libra, Venus takes on the role of consummate taste-maker, devoting every one of her talents to the expression of harmony and beauty. Thus, the intensity of this week’s revelations will be softened by Venus’ loving hand, smoothing out the fears of darkness with gentle reminders that the light always returns in the third act.

“Have fun, but don’t get lost in the drama”, she says.

Concurrently with Venus’ shift, Mercury in Libra will be opposing Uranus in Aries, sparking some ingenious ideas, no doubt. But there will be just as many ideas that are raised up by arrogance, flattery and the cruelties of social-climbing. Keep a watchful eye upon these potentials, keeping everything light, wherever you can. Enjoy the bonds of camaraderie but make no promises of devotion that you can’t keep.

When Venus spends time in Libra, society becomes her art form and she loves to act as its most brilliant visionary by putting the right people in the same room together to mix and mingle. To Venus in Libra, people are like paints that must be blended through experiments until the subtle hue that matches her vision of the sky is finally created.

Therefore, this will be a season to let the colors of your social life blossom into many romantic relationships and artistic collaborations.