At a personal level, The Great Conjunction is a time to initiate what will become our primary, central focus for the next 20 years. The freedom to be our authentic selves, though, comes with the responsibility to fully integrate our potential into our daily lives.
Note: This is Part II of the article I've been writing on The Great Conjunction and The Great Mutation that we're currently experiencing. In this article I'll be looking at our personal experience of The Great Conjunction, and exploring how we're called to engage this moment in time.
Part I of this article, which was published earlier today, explored our collective experience of these, including some of the relevant history so that we can place them within a greater context.
The Great Conjunction and The Great Mutation
Okay, before we dive in, let's look at the fundamental ideas we're working with in this article, so it'll make more sense. (I'm copying this section across from Part I, in case you haven't read it. If you have, feel free to skip ahead.)
Every 20 years, as regular as clockwork, our two societal planets - Jupiter and Saturn - meet in the skies above us. When they do, it's known as The Great Conjunction. These are known to signal major historical developments for the collective.
Now, these great planets meet in the signs of the same element over and over again for approximately 180 to 200 years, before then shifting into a new element. This movement of The Great Conjunctions into a different element is known as The Great Mutation, which signals an even greater historical shift for humanity. It signals the opportunity for us to make a monumental, collective leap forward in consciousness. It's a time when we're invited to re-dream the world we live in.
These greater, over-arching cycles set the tone for where we are collectively headed - socially, politically, culturally, scientifically, and philosophically. Typically, like fish who aren't aware of the water they swim in, we are fairly oblivious to the energy of these greater cycles. I mean, the Great Mutation lasts for seven or eight generations. We're just born into them and accept them as our 'reality'. But our baseline, so to speak, is about to change.
The Great Mutation is like Life saying that we've reached a point where something has to give... As a collective, our perspective needs to change. Our relationship with the Earth, with each other, and with the Divine needs to evolve. We're ready for a collective shift in consciousness.
Why? Because, as Einstein said, “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”
It's pretty special that we all chose to be incarnate at the time of a Great Mutation; to personally live through - and contribute to (however consciously or unconsciously) - one of these great epochal changes.
Exciting, right??
If you'd like to read more on our collective experience of this profound transit, please read Part I of the article.
Otherwise, please read on for more on our personal experience of this powerful transit.
How are We to Engage the Energy of The Great Aquarian Conjunction, Personally?
There are so many moving pieces here!! Where to even begin???
Let's consider David Whyte's poem, Sometimes:
Sometimes if you move carefully through the forest, breathing like the ones in the old stories, who could cross a shimmering bed of leaves without a sound,
you come to a place whose only task is to trouble you with tiny but frightening requests,
conceived out of nowhere but in this place beginning to lead everywhere.
Requests to stop what you are doing right now, and to stop what you are becoming while you do it.
Questions that can make or unmake a life.
Questions that have patiently waited for you.
Questions that have no right to go away.
We have personally and collectively reached one of these places... a preordained moment or threshold that has patiently waited for us since the moment we were born.
The Great Conjunction will guide the next 20 years of our lives. It's not a sharp, sudden moment. It's not a Uranus transit, brimming with shock and chaotic earthquakes! No. It's a quiet moment, seemingly 'conceived out of nowhere'. But from here it will begin to lead us everywhere, as David Whyte says. Where it leads, though, will depend on the level of consciousness, commitment, faith, and courage we're willing to bring to it. And, if we're successful in embracing this greater cycle, 20 years from now, we'll look back and realise how this moment became one of the foundation stones of our lives.
The trick is to remember to actively, intentionally engage this longer cycle... not to forget it in two weeks time (let alone in two or fifteen years) when other things have crowded our minds and are competing for our attention. For, whether we remember to actively engage this cycle or not, it'll be unfolding for the next 20 years! We'd be wise to keep it mind. We'd be wise to work with the flow of Life through the eight phases of this cycle, rather than against them.
Working with the Eight-Fold Cycle
Before we launch into the astrology etc., let's touch on the eight Sabbats of the Great Wheel of the Year, or the eight-fold Lunar cycle that we experience and celebrate each & every month.
These monthly and yearly cycles illuminate so much! There is tremendous power in harnessing their wisdom and innate rhythm. But did you know that we can extrapolate these eight phases out to any cycle we're interested in, including The Great Conjunctions?
We can! And if we divide this 20-year cycle into 8 phases, we'll see that each distinct phase lasts for roughly 2.5 years each.
We've just experienced The Great Aquarian Conjunction itself, on 22 December 2020 (Sydney, Australia time), which is akin to the New Moon phase of the Lunar cycle, or Yule, beginning. This is the energy we'll be working with for the next 2.5 years. (More on that in a moment.)
But we've been in the Waning Crescent phase, or Samhain, for approximately the past 2.5 years. (Dates below.) Let's explore where we've been, before looking ahead to where we're going... It might help us gain a greater sense of context.
Waning Crescent Phase of the Previous Great Conjunction
Witches will tell you that the Great Wheel actually begins at Samhain (i.e. the Waning Crescent Phase), and not at Yule (i.e. New Moon). So, as cognitively jarring as this may seem at first, this new Great Conjunction cycle actually began roughly 2.5 years ago at the Waning Crescent phase of the previous cycle.
Samhain, or the Waning Crescent Phase, is when we:
Communicate with the other side of the Veil;
Receive a new vision for the upcoming cycle - in this case, a 20-year cycle; and
Release whatever no longer serves our Soul's evolutionary path.
If you'd like to read more on Samhain, click here to read my article.
Have a look back through your journals and social media posts etc. to get a sense of what was happening for you on and around the following dates: 22 December 2017, 14 March 2018, and 4 September 2018. These were the three dates (Sydney, Australia time) when Jupiter and Saturn met in the skies above at the Waning Crescent point - i.e. they were at their Waning Semi-square. Direct, Retrograde, and then Direct, again.
Contemplating those dates:
Did you receive any ideas, insights, dreams, or visions regarding your Path forward?
Did you realise what has been holding you back from living your most empowered, authentic, self-actualised life?
Did it become clear what you needed to release, in order to commit to your Path?
Did you make any meaningful, life-changing decisions?
Did you let something or someone go, in order to commit your time, energy, and resources to this new Path? (e.g. A job? A home? A relationship? )
There is always an element of 'letting go' involved with receiving a new vision. This wisdom is captured beautifully at Samhain or at the Waning Crescent phase. As Charles Eisenstein eloquently put it:
"The first step ... is to receive a vision that feels true.
The second step is to heal the wounds and doubts that this vision illuminates.
Without doing that, we will be conflicted, simultaneously enacting both the new story
and the old one that accompanies the wounds.
The third step is to bow into service to that which wants to be born.
This process is not linear.
Usually, the vision comes more and more into focus as we heal the doubts that obscure it. That, in turn, allows us to come more deeply into its service.
Deeper service, in turn, brings up deeper dimensions of the vision
along with deeper wounds."
Our lives have most likely been disrupted by loss or trauma over the past 2.5 years - whether through the ending of relationships or our marriage; death; a health crisis; loss of our home; an accident; becoming an empty nester with children moving away to university; or perhaps the loss of a job. CoVid19.
Many (most) of us have been removed from our familiar, steady pattern of life, and this may have felt overwhelming at times... but, in fact, it has been readying us for this important new beginning. It has been necessary. And all of the changes we've experienced during this period of transition from one great cycle to the next have hopefully prompted/forced us into some level of self-reflection. We've been called to contemplate and release all doubts, fears, unsupportive beliefs, conditioned patterns, addictions, and worn-out stories that drain our energy, confidence, and resources... anything that no longer serve our Path forward.
With the full energetic support of Life itself, we've been asked to allow 'the old' to fall away; to dissolve back into Source energy... and to not resist this process. Why? Because we can't possibly build anew, if our life is already full. We can't build a new structure where an old structure already stands. Do you see?
Perhaps without realising it, we've been creating space in our lives for 'the new' to now bubble up from Source, or from the Divine, the Quantum Field, Great Spirit, or Great Mother - whichever language feels more comfortable for you.
This is what the past 2.5 years have been about - realising our new path of service, and clearing all that would potentially inhibit it.
Yule, or the New Moon Phase
And now, the fragile new cycle is being born at 0° 29' of Aquarius, unencumbered by all that we've released during the previous phase. Again, this New Moon phase, will last for approximately the next 2.5 years.
In this phase, we are to engage the - perhaps arduous - work of integrating our vision into our daily lives. We are to take responsibility for it. We are to make a long-term commitment of some kind (Saturn), akin to the New Moon intentions that we set each month but on a much grander scale.
We are to set in motion a new, two-decades long project that will give structure and form (Saturn) to this new vision... something that is purposeful and meaningful to us (Jupiter); something that aligns with our worldview and philosophy (Jupiter); something that illuminates our Soul's highest potential and intentions in incarnating this lifetime.
Ideally, we'll make these long-term commitments consciously rather than haphazardly. This is why I'm taking the time to write these articles - I want as many of us as possible to be aware of the threshold we're crossing, and of the commitment our Soul is making while we do so.
While we wait for the light of this New Moon/Yule phase to gain in strength, we are to hold and protect the vision that we've received over the past 2.5 years, like a seed waiting in the rich, dark, loamy soil of the Earth. This is not a frightening darkness. It is the darkness of the womb... it's nurturing, caring, and protective. Like an expectant mother, let's connect with our unborn vision and help it to feel safe and loved.
We are preparing to move forward into the more empowered, authentic Life that we envision for ourselves. A new beginning. A new Light.
Do We Need to Understand Astrology?
I'd like us to look at the astrology involved, so that we more fully understand what this Great Conjunction is calling us to commit to.
Before we do, though, I'd like to make something abundantly clear.
Some of my numerology students have asked me if they need to understand astrology to figure out what their new vision is. I want to assure all of us that this is absolutely not necessary. Yes, knowing our charts is certainly helpful. But, as I always say, our charts are living and breathing in every moment of every heartbeat, whether we're consciously aware of them or not. We are living out our charts, whether we understand the archetypal languages or not. Our lives will unfold in perfect alignment with them, regardless.
The benefit to understanding astrology and numerology is that they make what is otherwise unconscious conscious. They help us to live more intentionally, with greater awareness. They help us to get out of our own way, at times. They offer us faith in the bigger picture of our Soul's evolutionary path! Why are we here? Where are we headed??
But even without a knowledge of these languages, Life or the Cosmic Mind will have brought this new vision to our awareness in countless ways over the past 2.5 years. AND they will have been clearing our path forward for us.
So, perhaps the most important things in this moment are:
a) How willing we are to intuitively listen and reflect; and
b) How willing we are to take inspired action.
As the great mystic and poet Rumi assured us,
"Each moment contains a hundred messages from God."
The real question is: Are we listening?
We'd be wise to pause and pay attention to whatever has been reaching for our attention - a dream; a 'coincidence'; an overheard conversation; an unexpected compliment from a stranger; a book that longs to be read; the appearance of a particular animal; a colour; a plant; a show on Netflix that we feel compelled to watch; messages received in deep contemplation; or oracular messages of divination (e.g. tarot and runes).
Don't dismiss them as idle daydreams. Pay attention to them. Honour them. Be open to them. Heed the impulse to read that book; watch that show; listen to that podcast. How is Life or the Cosmic Mind trying to reach out to you? But - importantly - be conscious of the deeper aspects of what they are stirring within you. What are they activating or triggering in your awareness? What realisations are they offering? How are they calling you forward?
These are all helpful clues at the moment.
And then, once you've received this vision, be prepared to make a commitment to it, and to then take aligned action to achieve it. Step forward in confidence. But remain aware and listen for signs that you're heading in the wrong direction. Not the voice of your "inner critic", but the voice of the Divine nudging you along the way, so that you stay true to your Path. If it isn't the 'right' Path, trust that you'll be guided away from it.
Astrological Threads to Follow
There are a number of astrological threads we could follow...
Firstly, where did The Great Conjunction fall in our Natal Chart?
I know that a lot of astrologers will be asking us to check which House in our natal chart The Great Conjunction occurred in. Yes, there's a lot of great guidance available there for us. But I'd like to suggest a broader, more holistic approach, astrologically.
The moment of The Great Conjunction was the seed moment of the next 20 years of our life, just as our Solar Return Charts show the seed moment of our upcoming year, from one birthday to the next. (Random side note: Did you know that's why we say, "Many Happy Returns!!" when it's someone's birthday? It's because their Sun has returned to the precise position it was in at the moment of their birth. Our birthdays are our Solar Returns.)
So, instead of zooming in on just one piece of the greater puzzle (i.e. which House Jupiter and Saturn were in) could we consider our chart as a whole, including our transits and progressions? The Progressed Moon and Progressed Sun, as well as our Progressed MC and Ascendant, will offer us great insights. (If you're keen to know more about how your personal chart was activated by The Great Conjunction and you're not an astrologer yourself, then perhaps seek out a Transits/Progressions reading with one of your favourite astrologers.)
Secondly, let's look at the symbolism of Jupiter and Saturn.
Jupiter is our big vision, our beliefs, our philosophy, our worldview, and our hopes for the future. Jupiter is also our optimism and our self-esteem. It's our faith in both Life and ourselves - in our gifts and our talents. Healthy Jupiter believes that we can grow and learn anything, even if it takes a long time.
So, in this moment, Jupiter may be asking us where we tend to underestimate ourselves? Where do we settle for less than we know we're capable of? Where do we cop out on ourselves?
Can we stop second-guessing ourselves and trust that if we've been called to walk this particular Path, then it's ours to walk?? Otherwise, we won't even be able to get out the gate on this 20-year journey. Someone I was speaking with today about this, laughed aloud when I said this. She exclaimed, "That's me! I feel like you just punched me in the face!!! Hahaha!" Do YOU resemble this remark, too??
Saturn is the planet that will give our vision structure and form over the coming decades.
How? By reminding us that whatever is worth having:
is worth committing to;
is worth working hard for, over the long haul; and
is worth showing up for, even when we don't feel like it.
While Jupiter is our self-confidence, Saturn is our internal sense of maturity, dignity, and self-respect. As Jane Haddam once quipped, "In my day we didn't have self-esteem. We had self-respect, and no more than we had earned." Such a Saturnian statement!!
Saturn reminds us that it's worth delaying short-term gratification in favour of our long-term goals and vision; and that it's worth avoiding timewasters in order to move towards stability and a legacy that matters to us.
Heads up: to Saturn, our hopes, wishes, and good intentions mean absolutely nothing. He is only interested in what we actually DO to make our vision real. That secret we've been looking for to make our dreams a reality? It's called 'hard work'. It's called taking ourselves seriously. It's called being organised, diligent, responsible, disciplined, and determined.
Finally, Saturn will insist that we intentionally focus our attention and energy. He reminds us that we can do, be, and have anything, if we’re prepared to work for it… but we can’t have it all. Not simultaneously, anyway. In order to reach the summit of our chosen path, we will need to willingly let other paths go so that we can focus our time and resources. Otherwise, we will accomplish nothing. So. What are we prepared to give up, in order to get where we truly want to go?
Thirdly, The Great Conjunction occurred in Aquarius.
With The Great Conjunction happening in Aquarius, our vision will be Aquarian by nature.
What does this mean?
We're being encouraged to align with our true Soul Path rather than meekly submitting to the "sensible" path that society has neatly laid out for us.
The temptation to conform with societal pressure is enormous! Goodness knows, the rewards for accepting the status quo are high - increased respect in the community; a manicured, well-trodden career path to follow; an ample salary package with four (or more) weeks annual leave, and perhaps a healthy end-of-year bonus built in, too. Are you willing to risk all of that to 'Follow Your Bliss'?? I mean, what we really want to do is impossible anyway! Right??
"You want to be an Astrologer?? FFS. Better settle for being a clinic psychologist!"
(In my case...)
That's what we're told.
In truth, it's time to unplug from the beliefs and thought forms of our conservative, mass consciousness. It's time to internally challenge these beliefs... yes, even those that might seem unchallengeable.
Are we able to determine for ourselves what success means? Are we able to assert our right to be ourselves in the face of possible censure and rejection? Even if that feels terrifying?
Fourthly, Jupiter and Saturn are our Social Planets.
The Great Conjunction looks at a vision or a journey that stems from our own personal belief system, our own philosophy. And then (over time) our personal journey becomes something that we take out into the world, sharing our philosophy or beliefs with the greater community. With Jupiter and Saturn, the personal becomes social.
My Personal Example
I feel it might be helpful for me to share an example from my own journey, to illustrate how the 'personal' can become 'social'.
At the time of the previous Great Conjunction (29 May 2000), I was pregnant.
(For the astrologers among us, my Progressed Sun was applying to my natal Moon with a 1° orb; and my Progressed Moon was conjunct my natal MC.)
With a Cancer Ascendant, I'd always imagined that I would be the mother of a huge, loving, glorious brood... ten children at least, I told myself! As it turned out, though, I would actually become the divorced, single mother of an only child. NOT what I'd expected, suffice to say.
Importantly, I found that I intuitively wanted to parent in a radically different way than typically expressed in society. I'm an Aquarian. I was constantly corrected by midwives, nurses, doctors, friends, and family members. Unfortunately, I was initially too shy and timid to stand up to everyone, so I conformed to societal pressure to parent within the old paradigm. To do so broke my heart many times, but I accepted the lie that it was "impossible" to parent any other way.
And then, one day, I stumbled upon a book called The Continuum Concept by Jean Liedloff. In its pages, I found myself! OMG, I found my tribe! I found people who were actually parenting the way that I'd always wanted to!! I wasn't crazy, after all!! In their stories, I found the strength to stand my own ground! So, I started seeking out these amazing, inspirational books that advocated parenting in a radically different way than the mainstream - books by Alfie Kohn, Robin Grille, Daniel Siegel, Pam Leo, Naomi Aldort, Laura Markham, Shefali Tsabary, Gordon Neufeld, and Robert Bly, and many more. One by one, I'd order them at my corner bookstore and then impatiently wait the two, agonisingly slow months it took for them to travel by ship all the way to Australia from America or England.
With each book, I felt more connected to my own intuitive parenting style and philosophy. With each book, I felt more emboldened and empowered to parent and educate my child in my own way, even though that was in stark contrast with mainstream society. I began to live out my own philosophy. And I started home-educating my beautiful boy, too.
And then one day, I had the oddest thought: "I'm going to start my own bookshop."
"Whaaaaat??? I don't know anything about the book industry, or how to import books!!!"
"True, but I'll figure it out," I assured myself. "I can't be the only parent in Australia who wants access to these books. I can't be the only parent in Australia who wants to educate and nurture their children within this new, peaceful parenting paradigm. I just can't be the only one who is willing to challenge mainstream beliefs on parenting!!"
And so I did. I opened my beautiful, little parenting and children's bookstore.
It was called Little Acorn Books. My tagline was: Nurturing the Mighty Oak Within.
Here's an image of the front of my former business card:
By the Full Moon phase of the cycle (i.e. Litha), 10 years in, my little store was flourishing. How I loved my little bookstore! I loved my brave, out-of-the-box customers. I loved that we were jointly challenging and confounding the accepted parenting paradigm of the day. I loved it when new customers would stumble upon my store and burst into tears when they realised what I offered and advocated. I loved hearing them exclaim, "But I thought I was the only one!!" Yes, we all thought we were the only one. But together we formed our own collective - a place to be witnessed, encouraged, and supported.
I loved that, in my own tiny way, I was a vessel through which this new peaceful parenting philosophy could anchor here in our community. I loved that I was able to contribute to the "100th Monkey Effect," and shift the needle on how we parented as a society.
All of the things I advocated and promoted and supported through my little store are fairly well-established in the mainstream now. They don't raise many eyebrows these days. But that's because of parents like me - and my beautiful customers! - who were willing to step forward into our communities and share our own personal parenting journey with others. We were willing to go against the grain... against the accept standard of the day, to introduce our philosophy and perspective to those around us.
Looking back over this cycle, I can clearly see how my personal parenting journey became something that I was known for out in the community. (Progressed Sun with my natal Moon, and Progressed Moon at the MC, remember?) I was known as a home-educating Mum. I was known for advocating a new parenting philosophy. And I was known as the 'Crazy Book Lady' who supported families to parent in this new way, through my bookstore, Little Acorn Books.
With The Great Conjunctions, our personal path becomes societal. Do you see?
Oh, and one final example of how this great cycle unfolded for me... At the Waning Square phase (i.e. Mabon) 5 years ago, I sold Little Acorn Books. And then, during the Waning Crescent phase that began 2.5 years ago (when we can reasonably expect loss and release), my son moved interstate to study at university in Brisbane. After home-educating my beautiful boy all the way through, and being together nearly every day of his 18 years, I unexpectedly became an empty nester. The Waning Crescent phase 'cleared my decks', so to speak, to ready me for this new cycle that's just beginning.
Let's Check our Diaries
In addition to the dates I mentioned above for the Waning Crescent phase (i.e. Samhain), there are two other dates (both in Sydney, Australia time) I'd encourage you to check in your journals etc..
If we can look back in time and see how the previous Great Conjunction guided us forward, then we'll have a deeper appreciation for how significant this moment in time is. The 'answers' we seek may not be immediately obvious, so I encourage each of us to take the time to pause and reflect deeply.
29 May, 2000 (at 22° 42' of Taurus) - the previous Great Conjunction
1 April, 2020 (at 0° 39' of Aquarius) - the Saturn Mars Conjunction earlier this year
The Saturn Mars conjunction earlier this year occurred at the same degree in Aquarius that we're now having the Great Conjunction, so there's likely to be a connection between the two astrological events. What was unfolding for you that day? What epiphanies or insights did you receive? What was triggered or activated within you? Can you remember? (If not, perhaps consider journaling so you can connect with these things in future?)
To wrap up...
It's kinda like we're at Yule, making our New Year Resolutions for the year ahead, except that the vision we're now dreaming into is our 20-year Plan. Behavioural science tells us overestimate what we're capable of accomplishing in one year, but completely underestimate what we're capable of over five, ten, or twenty years. The Great Conjunctions ask us to think of the BIG picture. What is possible over the long-term?
Where do we want to find ourselves in 20 years? What's our authentic vision?
What does success and ambition mean to us, rather than the safe, sensible plan expected of us by society?
How strategic and disciplined are we prepared to be, in order to reach our goals?
How do we want to be known in/contribute to our community? (i.e. Ultimately moving from our personal journey to the social realm?)
What niche would we like to make for ourselves in the bigger world?
What are we prepared to give up in order to get where we want to go?
Please know that this vision is not necessarily (just) about our profession. Depending on where it falls in our natal chart and what else is happening with our Progressed planets etc., this cycle could be to do with our home & family; our spirituality; our creative self-expression; or our relationships etc.
Phew! I know this has been a long read. If you're still with me now, thank you! I appreciate you sticking with me to the end.
Blessed be. I sincerely hope this has been helpful to you, in understanding this significant transit. Please feel free to share this article with your circle and tribe, if you feel others would benefit from it as well. Or to leave a comment, either here or on my Facebook business page for Soul Weaving. I'd love to hear your insights or lightbulb moments! I love it when people share their journeys with me. ❤
Many bright, beautiful blessings for the upcoming cycle!
May we all trust and embody our full potential!
Peace
Juliette xo
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