Grand crosses (a.k.a. – grand squares) are a bit tricky.
On one hand, a grand cross is a four-legged table – solid, stabilizing, and secure.
On the other hand, a grand cross is made up of squares and oppositions – challenges and balances.
Yesterday, we had a Cardinal Grand Cross of Uranus Retrograde in Aries, Jupiter in Cancer, Venus in Libra, and Pluto Retrograde in Capricorn go into its most exact position, even though its effects will continue to be felt for a few (and possibly, many) days longer as this event may prove to be the beginning of a major collective transformation.
First, this Grand Cross is made up of cardinal energy. Cardinal energy is the initiative energy of the Zodiac, ushering the beginning of each of the seasons. The Sun enters Aries in March at the time of the Spring Equinox; it enters Cancer in June at the Summer Solstice; it enters Libra in September to mark the Fall Equinox; and it enters Capricorn in December to mark the Winter Solstice. Therefore, cardinal energy is the energy you want to have around when you want to start something.
With Uranus Retrograde in Aries, there is a sense of rebellion in the air. You are being encouraged to assess your associations and affiliations from the questions of “what have you done for me lately?”, “what are you doing for me now? “, and “what is the bigger picture my unique individual expression of Light contributing to as part of this group/team?”. These questions are important because you are looking to see where you do and don’t fit in with your communities, and you may find that you need to move into or create new circles to run with.
Under Jupiter in Cancer, there is a desire to grow and expand the joy of your connections with loved ones. You may notice that you’ve been more nurturing, caring, and protective of your emotional investments, such as family, close friends, and life partners/spouses. This is because your capacity to be loving and caring, and protective for as well as your capacity to receive love, caring, and protection from others may be increasing and/or expanding. You may also be more nurturing, caring, and/or protective of yourself as an individual.
With Venus in Libra, you are likely examining the balance of your one-on-one relationships with people and things in your life. Are the partnerships you are in truly balanced, fair, and/or equal? Do they bring beauty, balance, and peace to your life? Are you bringing all of those qualities to the lives of your partners?
And with Pluto Retrograde in Capricorn, the long-held standards of success and social/professional status are being stripped of their importance. Now you are being asked to define success for your individual self rather than having society and/or the world defining it for you. What are you choosing to establish as your goals and ambitions now that no one else can tell you what you “should” want to achieve in your society or in the world?
With all of the players identified and defined, it becomes more clear that this grand cross is calling upon you to consider the circles you are running in socially and professionally. Pluto Retrograde always brings about an air of inner transformation, and in this grand cross configuration, you are being called to notice the transformation happening within you and how it demands that you transform your personal, professional, and social landscapes to align with your new inner clarity. This inner-to-outer alignment is important in that it enables you to pursue your newly-developing standards for goals and ambition without feeling held back or insufficient in serving the larger or higher cause.
Another thing I notice in the combination of these influences is that three of the four of them are outer planets or more collective and generational influences. Only one – Venus in Libra – is more personal by bringing you into objective assessment of your one-on-one partnerships of all kinds. Once Venus goes out of orb within a day or two, it will leave behind a powerful t-square configuration with Jupiter and Pluto in opposition and Uranus as the pivot.
In this t-square, your desire to expand your connections with loved ones is balanced by your determination to make decisive choices about your goals and ambitions. But your desire to find a community which supports and encourages you to claim and express your individuality challenges you in unexpected ways, helping you figure out the right balance of private-personal and public-professional for you. The fact that this is happening with mostly outer planets is a clear indicator that what is happening now is affecting all of us and is about something bigger than you alone, even though it may feel at times like it’s only affecting you.
That said, I am also seeing that we are at the beginning of a time in which each of us is getting very clear about who we are as individuals – how we are showing up for others and in the world, how we feel about the people in our lives, who we are being in our relationships of all kinds, who we are choosing to associate with and how they reflect who we see ourselves to be in and for the world, and what are we each and all striving to create and make real in this world. In doing so, we are individually creating for our individual selves, but out of a collection of individuals doing their individual things, patterns always emerge. It’s the patterns that emerge from each of us living into our unique individual fullness that will define our new collective standards of success and social status.
Right now, it could be tempting to take a victim stance in the world by allowing others, traditions, society, or “the system” to define you. Yet by choosing to clearly define and firmly stand in your own inner truth first and foremost, you are able to choose new and/or different ways to create and live your life that are in alignment with that unique inner truth. Recognize that in many ways, the same outer influences you may be trying to blame for your failures and fears could actually be providing you with wonderful opportunities to learn how you define your own personal standards of integrity (Uranus Retrograde in Aries), relationship (Venus in Libra), love and care (Jupiter in Cancer), and success (Pluto Retrograde in Capricorn).
That is the power of this Cardinal Grand Cross during this 2013 Virgo Sun Cycle. Make the most of it.
Thank you for reading and sharing Signs and Numbers. Until next post…
~ Light, Love, and Blessings,
Grace
