2024: Timelines Diverge

Welcome to a New Year and potentially a New World! I hope you all had nourishing holy days and are recharged to meet this pivotal year. I promised to give you an overview of what lies ahead, but I am going to begin with a look at this New Moon because it lays out the evolutionary themes of 2024.

New Moon in Capricorn: Spiritual Adulthood

On January 11th at 3:57 a.m. Pacific, the Moon catches up to the Sun at 20:44 Capricorn. It’s always fun to check out the Sabian Symbol.  At 21 degrees of Capricorn it reads: “A relay race, each runner springs eagerly into place.” How perfect!

Rudhyar elucidates: “Extreme of cooperation and give-and-take in life relationships. Full surrender of self to service. Planned group behavior.”

You can interpret that for yourself, but there’s no doubt about the forward-looking Aquarian theme of this symbol. 2024 is an election year, but as the symbol indicates, it’s a relay race, and the outcome depends on all of us. We need to pull together. To do that, each of us must step into Spiritual Adulthood – eagerly. This is the time for calling upon our deepest inner resources: our authenticity and intuition, our guides, especially our Higher Selves. Now is the time to forge alliances, with each other and with our unseen allies.

So what is Spiritual Adulthood? It could be summed up as a shift from an ego-driven consciousness to something akin to Christ Consciousness – awareness of our Oneness and compassion for the suffering of others. Basically it’s a shift from “me” to “we.”

We have been transiting the perilous terrain between these two states of consciousness for most of this century. We kicked it off with a really bad choice. We could have addressed the climate situation in 2000, but we chose to return to old ways, to war and its devastation of so many lives. We got our first shock of vulnerability in 2001 with 9/11. And here we are now on the brink of another crucial choice, with our democracy on the line. I believe we will make the right decision. I believe in the goodness of people in this country, in their growing awareness and readiness for change; but we must not be complacent. Democracy requires participation.

When heavenly energies bathe us in Capricorn, we come face to face with our social responsibility, with the institutions we have created, with the paradigm under which we operate, with our political values as well as the shadow side of this sign. We have seen much abuse of power and this year we can say no to it.

We have many options to support our spiritual growth. We can raise our energetic frequency which allows us to see a bigger picture. We can work toward automatic coherence between heart and brain. We can realize that humanity is an organism in the making, a new form of life, a greater whole. And we can reap the glory of contributing our best.

That’s a lot! That’s evolution – the very thing we came here to assist. We live in a universe of free will. We can choose. And if you’re here now, you chose to be here now. We all have parts to play in this cosmic drama and it’s a joy to play our roles. We may not be the stars, but we are the supporting cast.

Interconnections

So what does this chart say about the supporting cast?

First of all, the New Moon lies in the 2nd House of the USA chart. Pluto has been transiting this house revealing to us the corruption and decay of our Union. You might be interested to know that Pluto entered our First House – our emerging identity – in 2000. We know what happened then. And even more amazing is that it entered our 2nd House in 2016. Remember that election and its consequences?

The second house is about value – what we value, how we value ourselves and others. It’s about self-worth. Some people get their self-worth from the outside world. They feel good if they have accumulated a fortune, or made it to the top professionally, or have a lot of recognition and fame. The accomplishment is definitely nourishing, but it’s never enough because it’s transitory. True self-worth comes from knowing who we really are, deep inside where the soul resides with its wounds and suffering, its passions and yearnings. It is through Soul that we connect with our authentic selves and reconnect with our spiritual source. Once we know how glorious the spark of our consciousness really is, we reside in worth. We no longer need to seek it from others.

The New Moon is squaring the Nodal Axis, emphasizing the importance of our choices. Everything hangs in the balance – the future of our country and of democracy around the world. And get this – the North Node is exactly conjunct our natal Chiron at 20 degrees of Aries. Remember – this year we have our Chiron Return. I began a whole new life at my Chiron Return. For the USA it’s the 5th return. It might be an interesting research project to trace those other four returns for clues to this one. Chiron is seen as the wounded healer, but he functions as a messenger from Soul about our suffering. He brings up karmic wounds that are ready for healing, old patterns of pain ripe for release. This can be challenging, but if we commit to seeing it through, we find our way to freedom. We must remember, however, that not all wounds can be healed. We must learn to live with them. These are the wounds that keep us vulnerable, sensitive to the suffering of others, and alert to the issues we came to resolve in this lifetime.

At the New Moon, Venus is about to rise above our Sagittarian Ascendant. At 15 degrees, she is exactly trine natal Chiron, a sign of their ripening relationship. At our Chiron return, Venus will be conjunct Chiron. The message is clear – healing will come through the Divine Feminine energy. It’s all about receptivity. We don’t have to power our way through obstacles. We can receive help and guidance by listening to our intuition, by opening our hearts to let in more love. The Feminine doesn’t battle foes, it opens up more space to include them. Keep that in mind as conflict heats up this year. Find a way to have compassion for the fearful.

The North Node opens a portal to the future of our dreams. Conjunct Chiron, the focus is on healing our collective wounds. We can make our contribution by tending to our own. In the New Moon chart, all the personal planets are in our first house: Venus, Ceres (our instinct for caring and nurturing), Mercury, all in Sagittarius. Mercury began the year stationing direct. Don’t be afraid to dream the impossible dream.

Also in the First House in Capricorn, are Ixion (follow our passion), Mars (our will power), Pholus conjunct Quaoar – spiritual support from invisible sources. Pholus helps us see with new eyes. Quaoar suggests we develop a spiritual practice. That may be meditation, or ritual, or spending time in nature, whatever helps us stay connected to a vaster truth.

The South Node is conjunct our natal Juno. Old commitments may have become useless tethers. Are we still operating under some old contract with parents, or siblings, or ourselves? Have we become stuck in old habits that sap our energy? The North Node is transiting our collective 4th House. This is where we store old programs. It’s a good time to sort through the clutter. Then we can make wise choices for our future.

Our natal Mercury is within 4 degrees of opposition to Sun/Moon. This turns the T-Square with the nodal axis into a Grand Cardinal Cross. This is the challenge for all of us – can we let go of the past, heal it and be done, choose a brighter future? Mercury in Cancer will help us sort it all out, with an emphasis on self-care.

When Sun and Moon come together, the Moon gets charged with Spirit. As the Moon proceeds around our chart it delivers spiritual energy to that part of our lives. Any planets connected by aspect to the New Moon, contribute their energy to the mix.

The New Moon makes a Grand Earth Trine with natal Neptune in Virgo, on the one hand, and transiting Uranus conjunct our natal Vesta in Taurus, on the other. This connects the spark of Divine Love in our hearts (Vesta) to the Great Oneness of All That Is. Trines are harmonious so they work together. Neptune, Uranus and Vesta are in the spotlight.

Uranus is high energy. Its themes include independence, uniqueness, authenticity, transmutation of energies and awakening. It is revolutionary, but also evolutionary. One of the co-rulers of Aquarius, Uranus helps us recognize our Oneness with all humanity. From now until mid-March, Uranus will station on Vesta’s degree, fanning the flames of god-essence that lie within. Isn’t that exciting? All we need do is let our hearts open to receive the energy. Along with this activation, Uranus brings surprises, synchronicities and insight. As you will see shortly, Uranus is one of the biggest stars of 2024. This mover and shaker does not like to stand still! The energy that builds will be enough to catapult us into a higher frequency.

Transiting Neptune has been opposing its natal position, but has moved away by three degrees. Over the past few years, the illusory side of Neptune has thrown us into confusion about what to believe, what’s real, what is truth, and what is our connection to Spirit? Neptune is headed toward the Aries threshold, winding up business in the last 5 degrees of Pisces. This is when the energy becomes most intense.

Pluto meanwhile is trine Sedna, both in the final degree of their signs Capricorn and Taurus respectively. Both planets are radiating their transformative energy from the most powerful final degree of their signs. Pluto will enter Aquarius on January 20th and remain there for most of the year with a brief return to the 29th degree from mid-September through our election.

Can you see how planets of transformation and spirit are lining up to give us a boost? Or as I heard during the Bills/Dolphins game, a “tush-push.” To underscore this point, Mars at 5 Capricorn is trine transiting Jupiter at 5 Taurus and natal Jupiter at 5 Cancer. This tells us to focus our energy on growth of spiritual awareness. Transformation takes energy and we are blessed with an abundance of it.

So let’s look at the year to come.

2024 – Year of Awakening

We begin with the transpersonal planets. As mentioned above, Pluto is on the cusp of Aquarius. A whole new 20-year cycle is beginning with new themes, new focus and a new direction. I mentioned in the title of this newsletter that timelines diverge. How is that possible? I don’t know, really. It challenges our concepts of time and space and the cosmos. But you can hear this message from several channeled beings and spiritual teachers. The concept boggles the mind – how does this happen exactly? It’s a great mystery and brings up a myriad of questions, but the simple truth is that we cannot understand this in our current 3-D consciousness.

We have been traveling for several years on parallel tracks leading into the future. I’m told that in 2024, the tracks diverge. We just need to make sure we purchased a ticket for the right train. I suppose one theory to explain it is Wheeler’s multiple universe hypothesis. He suggests that manifested reality multiplies, much like cell division. But that calls up even more questions – do we split? Does some version of us go on the other timeline? It’s like the quantum mystery of how photons split into particle and wave when passing through a slit. One photon, two expressions. I think we have to experience it to understand it.

By far the stars of 2024 are Jupiter and Uranus. Jupiter catches up with Uranus, ending one cycle and initiating another on April 20th. Mark that date on your calendar because it’s a powerhouse of a day. It’s the exact same day we have our Chiron return. Jupiter expands everything. This gas giant, symbolic of faith, abundance and good fortune will add its energy to electrifying Uranus. Evolution gets a jolt. It’s fun to imagine how it will manifest as an event in our 3-D reality, but the real action is beneath the surface. Our consciousness is being expanded, like a balloon being filled with helium.

We have three months to prepare, if we choose. I suggest working with higher energy frequencies in meditation. iAwake is an app you can download to your device, with a variety of meditations accompanied by falling rain or ocean tides that are infused with different brain waves. That’s a good start. But the brain isn’t the whole picture. We need to prepare our bodies to hold more energy. Nothing like a fitness routine to help that. Strengthening and toning muscles, calming the nervous system and increasing flexibility through Yoga will prepare our bodies to carry more energy. You can also practice entering other frequencies with meditations from The Stargate Experience. Many are free and others are unbelievably affordable.

We can also access energy by ourselves. We can bring Earth energy up into our bodies through our feet. Simply ask the Earth and use imagination. Visualize the energy flowing into all parts of the body. This is a great grounding technique.  We can ask the Higher Self to come more fully into the body. It’s all available to us. Our space is flooded with unseen allies just waiting to be summoned. We can explore this more at a later time if you’re interested. There are Ascended Masters, angels, and alien allies watching our progress, eager to assist us. All we need do is ask.

We can also work to clear sluggish chakras. Tom Jacobs has a wonderful course, complete with channeled meditations to heal and restore our energy centers.

All the work we did in the past few years – work of letting go, of forgiving, of integrating shadow material, of learning to love ourselves, of opening our hearts to vulnerability and authenticity – can find fruition this year as we focus on presence and awareness.

We have already discussed Neptune in the final degrees of Pisces, its home sign. This is an opportunity to pierce the veils of illusion. Saturn will transit Pisces all the way to the end of the second decan, stationing at 19+ degrees, pausing for review and turning direct the day after the Taurus Full Moon in November.

We’ve already examined the nation’s Chiron return, with transiting Venus arm and arm with transiting Chiron, an opportunity to heal the wounded heart.

There will be two eclipse seasons as usual this year.  As if Jupiter, Uranus and Chiron weren’t enough excitement for April, we’ll have a dramatic total Solar Eclipse in Aries on April 8th at 20+ degrees. The path of totality sweeps across Mexico and up through several states: Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, Vermont and Main as well as Toronto and Montreal. We all remember the total eclipse of 2017 that bisected our nation, a harbinger of a rift in the populace. Plan now if you want to see it – order eclipse glasses and pick a location. My first total solar eclipse, which occurred in Turkey, blew my mind. It was eerie, beautiful, breathtaking. I remember at the moment of totality, there was a collective gasp that echoed through the hills. Thousands of people were awestruck at the same moment. It was a glorious experience of Oneness.

The Second Solar eclipse is annular or partial, on October 2nd at 10+ Libra. We’ll examine these eclipse charts when the time nears. Both solar eclipses are preceded by partial lunar eclipses.

Several outer planets will switch signs in 2024. Pluto enters Aquarius this month on 1/20. Jupiter will sweep through Taurus like a whirlwind and enter Gemini on May 25th. Slow-moving Sedna  enters Gemini a month earlier on April 27th. Obviously that means we will have a Jupiter/Sedna conjunction. That takes place on May 27th, two days after Jupiter moves into Gemini. We’ll be donning our thinking caps and seeing our reality in new light if we’re ready and willing. We’ll examine the Sedna myth in depth in May.

The Jupiter/Sedna reunion will be significant for the next 12 years. We will have to be alert to the attempts of AI enthusiasts to make robots of us all. AI can take over our lives if we let it. We must not. On the other hand, Jupiter will give us insight into our spiritual path. That is what we must align with.

Mercury will have three retrograde periods in 2024. The first station happens – of course – in April! It begins on April 1st – Fools Day. Think of the Fool card in Tarot. This retrograde is asking us to embrace beginner’s mind, taking us from 27+ degrees of Aries back to 16 degrees, and crossing back and forth over Chiron. Remember Aries is about new beginnings – a fresh start. What a month April will be!

The other two retrograde periods occur first in August and then at the end of November, extending to the Full Moon in Gemini in mid-December. Mercury will be in Sagittarius – our idealism will inform our dreams of the future. Are we still the dreamers and visionaries who brought freedom to the modern world? Will we resurrect the noble and sacrosanct ideals of democracy. I think so.

Those are the highlights and they all point to change. I can’t say this will be an easy year. In some ways it might be even more taxing than 2023 because of the election and trials. We just have to keep perspective. The media focuses on drama, conflict, scandal and disaster. But that’s not the whole story. Hundreds of Millions of us are working behind the curtain, ensuring a successful outcome.

I’ll be back in two weeks to look at the Full Moon in Leo. That’s a heart-warming prospect.