breaking up the old, making room for the new
the winter astrological forecast
january-march 2000

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all dates are based on pacific time.

you thought it was over, didn't you? the millennium was supposed to herald a new age, a new beginning, and after the old age, there's much to want with this new cycle. it is, however, an artifice--something created by western (hu)man for western (hu)man. the animals will not notice the difference, nor will those who observe other calendars. can something like this be of universal importance? the planets won't blink, won't bat an eye with the coming of 0 hours on 1/1/00. they will, however, continue to be active, to tick off the moments by their movements, to reflect our own nature back to us so that we can grow. the planetary actions of the first three months of the new year, 2000 c.e. (that stands for common era.), will be a natural continuation of the last three months of 1999.

is that worth stating? in a culture which divides itself into discreet units by sound bytes and episodes, i think it is. life is a continuum, part of a cyclic unfoldment of events that become experiences (our personal perceptions of events), feed issues or successes (our pre- or newly conceived interpretations of what events mean), and become stories (our re-expression of an event in context).

however, to refine what i mean further, the planets of the last three months of 1999 and the planets of the first three months of 2000 will act as a unit, will seem like one unit of experience, a continuum. (in fact, it will continue through march of 2001!) there will of course be variations on the theme--two themes, actually, but we get a window of opportunity to stabilize, to build on what we have learned, to express our human creativity.

not that this time does not have its challenges, and this is good, because we know what we do when we live a life without challenges: we become soft, used to comfort, and out of touch with the better part of our selves, however subtly. a little bit of challenge gives us the edge, the sense of danger, we need to continue to grow; it's the thorn in our side that gnaws at us and keeps us on our path, accomplishing what we must in order to evolve.

during the latter part of 1999, we resumed working with a planetary focal point that most of us would have dropped in the flurry of activity surrounding our experience over the past year. we spent the first 3/4 of 1999 dealing with the resisting force (fixed-sign energy). the last quarter of the year we spent "mopping up" and getting ready for the next go-round (yearly cycle dealing with the same energetic pattern). however, as the release and stabilization of september and october occurred, this old-new planetary theme began to grab our attention. just as the wave of the resisting force rose and crested over the past year and a half, this wave is the wave of the future. it is rising now, slowly reaching toward a series of soft crests in 2001. the heavens will be treating us gently during this time (relative to the summer of '99, say), as planets that could bring challenge to us manager to miss connecting with each other.

the theme of this rising tide has to do with one of the other two forces of the universe, the integrating force. the other two forces, the initiating and resisting forces, have to do with sparking and stabilizing life forces, respectively. the integrating force is the completer, tying up loose ends and bringing the symbolic and palpable effects of the other two forces' workings. it is the most receptive of the forces, because it works with what is already there, but that doesn't mean that it is any less powerful! its methods of action are indirect, its effects achieved through such actions as dissolving, gathering, and ignoring. the integrating force is the most fluid, hence its astrological label, "mutable." it is always moving, like the shepherding dog that flows around the sheep, gently nipping at their heels, keeping them in a mass as they move toward the dog's chosen destination. it is like a river that will flow around a rock, dissolving it away bit by bit. in contrast, the resisting force would push against the rock, while the initiating force would try to motivate the rock to join it in its endeavors (!), symbolically pulling it along, trying to make it an asset, as it marches to the beat of its own drum.

the integrating force seeks wholeness. it wants all the leftovers, all the disparate parts to be drawn into the whole in every way, or to be discarded because they don't fit there. the sheep all belong in the fold (minus the wolves who would prey on them), but the rock ultimately doesn't belong in the river because it impedes the flow and can never be a part of it (except in the form of smaller particles). through the integrating force, we learn to see the connectedness of all things (gemini), to understand the deepest of truths (sagittarius), to be able to dedicate ourselves to a greater purpose (virgo), and to see ourselves as part of an unseen whole consciousness (pisces).

as with the other forces, this force's methods have their down side. the flow can be overwhelming (a flooding river), it can shirk its responsibility (when "going around" becomes avoiding). dissolving can become undermining, gathering can be indiscriminate (collecting the good with the bad). these are all patterns that humans can engage in, and they are a natural outgrowth of the will to integrate and complete (our use of a force is our will).

as the planets move through the signs whose modality is the integrating force, we enter into more awareness of its working in our life. are we taking the time to integrate? are we extrapolating from our experiences the general principles which ruled our choices? was the outcome good? did we turn our experiences into lessons? did we clean up one project before starting another? did we give ourselves time to rest in between?

if we can answer these questions in the affirmative going into this period, we will fare better than if any of our answers is "no." if we haven't incorporated these perspectives into our lives, we will find out how we've caught ourselves short. we may find ourselves without guiding principles, repeating old patterns, or losing things under a pile of old paperwork.

the aspect of the integrating force that we are working on from last september until the end of next summer has to do with the process of turning our experiences into lessons (knowledge) and guiding principles (wisdom). when we are unable to learn the right thing from what we experience, we will gain results from our actions that do not bring us what we want. in the extreme, those results may be self-destructive or even dangerous. this comes from "mis-education" at some time in our past, in this life or past lives (usually both). as we apply this mis-education, we get the opportunity to learn that something is not right in our approach; we get to learn how to fix it.

these old lessons get stored in our consciousness as a part of our core wound, the deepest lesson that we must work on this lifetime. this year, because of the planets' interactions (chiron and pluto, for those of you who want to know), we gain access to those old lessons and a chance to correct them at the deepest, more core, level.

the way we behave when we are accessing the core wound is somewhat predictable, and that can help us to recognize when it is coming to the surface, which is often difficult to do in the heat of the moment. when the core wound surfaces, we will act in ways which are more extreme than usual, in ways we usually try to control or suppress. we may feel that we are overreacting to the circumstances at hand; we may be at a loss to stop the careening car of our actions. we may also find ourselves defending a position that we don't really support, backing ourselves into a corner regarding an issue that in cooler moments we would simply let go. what distinguishes these moments from ones where we are simply strong in our well-justified beliefs is the compulsiveness or extremism we feel or the sense deep down inside that this is not who we really are.

in observing others, they may be in their wound when we see them engaging in behaviors more extreme or irrational than usual, and it seems as though we can't talk to them rationally or work through the emotional responses.

the first thing to do is to be alert for the emergence of wound-related behavior. once we recognize it, it's time to decide if we're in a safe environment for exploring our wound. if we're with a trusted loved one, this may be the ideal time for exploration. if we're with those with whom we have less personal ties, we may want to withdraw to return to our center before engaging with them again in a calmer moment. if our behavior (or that of a loved one) becomes overwhelming or seems dangerous, it is time to get the help of others who are trained to work with such situations.

over the coming year, we can expect such challenges to arise in march, june, august, and september. the seeds have already been planted in mid-september and the end of december of 1999.

in general, the first three months of the year will find us putting the finishing touches on what we have been able to accomplish and learn during 1999. we will also find ourselves laying our foundation for the next round with respect to the processes we began a year ago, since we still have planets pushing our focus in that direction. this will be a quarter of relative stability in a year of progress. if last year seemed to have us treading water for much of the time, this year will see us able to swim toward shore, even if we don't reach it until the spring of 2001.

january: time to learn from the past

january 1^st is a good time to make resolutions, actually. in fact, we're likely to keep them more this year than in the past, if we're realistic they will be especially effective if we base them on internal locus of control rather than external. an example of this would be to resolve to exercise for 30 minutes 5 days per week and cut out sweets on every day except mondays (internal locus of control) rather than to decide to (somehow) lose 30 pounds (external locus of control). the former puts you in the driver's seat and establishes the concrete methods by which you can accomplish your goals. the latter sets you up for defeat because you haven't defined how you are going to accomplish your goal and establishes an external, appearance-oriented measure of your success. the result may not be wise or healthy. this is in general an excellent day to make agreements with others, although that may not be foremost on our minds. if our resolutions involve getting along with others, they will go especially well. actually, anything involving self-discipline is likely to meet with success if started today.

there is much to stimulate us to look at our deeper issues on the first few days of the month. remember what happened way back on december 30^th? (yes, it really was only four or so days ago.) we get to revisit our experiences of that time on the 2^nd and then rather continuously subject to "pressure peaks" on mondays and tuesdays for the first three weeks of the month (3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18). these will be days when we will get a chance to glimpse our wound. relationships are especially open to deep sharing on the 9^th and 10^th; the pressure will release after the 10^th.

so will another pressure, that related to activities, responsibilities and plans we focused on near april 27^th, august 29^th, and november 6^th of last year. now, at last, we can move toward completion in situations which seemed stuck. as we move ahead, we can increase the value of our past experiences if we take the time to assimilate the lessons we have learned into guiding principles. for instance, if we have learned that we have to have enough money to get us through times of emergency or illness, we may decide to adopt a guiding principle of saving a percentage of our income each month. we may go one step further and decide to curb the satisfaction of our appetites by giving up some of our extra purchases or expenditures in order to create even more stability in our finances through long-term investments.

at mid-month, we'll become aware of our adventurous side. we may feel like expressing our expansiveness by embarking on a new venture or even just getting out in the wide-open spaces. this feeling will stay with us as we reach for the full moon on the 20^th. this one packs an extra punch, however, because this full moon is also a total lunar eclipse, made more powerful through its totality. it hits us as the energies of the integrating force and our awareness of our need to heal also reach a crescendo. this will also hearken back to what we experienced on or around september 14^th of last year.

this eclipse comes right after the sun moves into aquarius. we already begin to feel a lightening of winter's darkness and cold, no matter how slight. often we experience a few warmer days around this time. aquarius is also very dry, and the air may crackle with electricity. similarly, our minds may be percolating new ideas to try out as the weather warms. in the southern hemisphere, of course, the process is reversed. this time of year compares to the time of leo, when the heat is often at its greatest. time to pace yourself to endure the heat and allow the "crops" of your solar year to ripen.

this eclipse may also bring us to a crisis in faith related to the one we experienced last year. there may be a particularly trying circumstance that makes us think of giving up or leaves us bewildered and confused. this is the time when we must turn it over to the higher power and surrender to its great force. we, in our small and narrowly focused consciousness, often cannot discern the best path or outcome, especially in times of confusion. it is important to open ourselves up to not knowing--the awareness that we do not know the answer. this alone prepares us for the guidance that we always receive from the cosmos--we must only listen.

this eclipse is the first of two which occurs every six months. each set of eclipses resets our focus, perhaps presenting new ideas, problems, or issues for us to work with or resolve. since the solar eclipse on february 5^th is near the same degree as the eclipse of august 11^th, the next six months will carry forward some of the issues familiar to us since then. however, the lunar eclipse is emphasized this time, so there will definitely be a new flavor to the coming period, which lasts until mid july. this is the last eclipse set that emphasizes the resisting force; after july, the carryover from the previous year--all the issues of 1999--will have moved more into the background. this six-month period will still be about balancing the needs of the group with the needs of the individual and healing the group by healing each individual through love.

in this, the biggest time of january, we may miss the subtlety of the new beginning which occurs on january 24^th. this begins a new yearly cycle, highlighted this year because it is also near the eclipse. it's time to go inside and find a vision of the future, because it is through our vision that our future is created. if our life is mediocre, it is because we haven't dreamed enough. it is time to dream the dream of our life; then we have a vision to hold onto for the coming year (and beyond). we don't have to decide whether the dream can be realized in a year. we only need to dream and let the cosmos bring that dream into fulfillment through its bounty (the lesson of this time in a

the 25^th and 26^th are good times to communicate difficult concepts or feelings--things that came up earlier this month or relate to what has been left incomplete since last fall. sometimes we have to give a conflict time to mellow--we and the others involved need time to sort out what happened. this is a good time for clearing the air, especially on the 26^th. stunning results may come on the 28^th, and they may not be what you expected!

the month ends with a challenge to our ability to apply ourselves. we may be working too hard to notice its passing. great things can be accomplished at this time, however, so give it your best!

february: promises were made to be kept

if you take the time to relax for the first two days of the month, you'll notice an opportunity. this relates to ideas and energies planted at the beginning of december. don't be afraid to do it--dare to pick up the challenge, even if it seems too big, or you're not worthy of it. there's money and/or love in it somewhere. speaking of money or love, that will be coming in around the 2^nd. yes, it's stable, and you've worked for it, so allow it to flow your way.

remember those things that were left undone or incomplete last spring/summer when all hell broke loose? well, there was a reason for that which you may still be sorting out, but it's not too late for those dangling threads. their promise, while as yet unfulfilled, is still alive. you have been able to work with those threads since late october, but around the 4^th is a particularly good time to tune in and see what finishing touches they need. you have until the 14^th to complete them. after that, you will find that a shift in purpose and approach is called for to renew their potential.

the 2^nd, of course, is when we celebrate winter's halfway mark, at the festival of imbolc. some of us like the dark days of winter, and they offer us respite and that necessary time of reflection and germination which our culture does not teach or support. however, the light has grown perceptibly by this time, signaling that it's time to begin stirring, however slightly, from our state of hibernation. this is a time to look ahead to what we want to accomplish over the coming year. we can ask ourselves: is this what we really want to energize? have we thought of all the repercussions and benefits that may come? have we got our basic plan in place? have we learned all that we can from the last cycle and incorporated those lessons into our attitudes, actions, and beliefs? this is the time to affirm our plan and resolve to fulfill it. it's not that we can't change it later--we will be making adjustments over the year, especially through the spring and first half of summer (until lughnasad)--but we can empower ourselves by setting our intention now. (for those in the southern hemisphere, of course, this is lughnasad, the first harvest and the first ritual of gratitude.)

it may seem like fireworks are part of the planetary agenda on the solar eclipse of the 5^th. the usually rejuvenatory quiet time that we enjoy at the new moon is bypassed when it's also an eclipse. the energies become hard-edged at this time, and we are reminded of what we experienced during the first half of august last year. however, this is a new beginning, a new world, since a yearly cycle begins on the 6^th having to do with innovation and inspiration. don't let the hangover from last year's challenges sour your optimism; have faith that all will be resolved in its own time, and let it go, as if you were placing an order at a restaurant. you know what you want, you don't know how it is prepared (and don't care, as long as it is safe and healthy), and so you wait in confidence knowing that your food will soon arrive. so it is with our cosmic orders: place your order. if you hold on to it, keep changing the order, or worry about it (symbolically bothering the chef as s/he prepares it), how can the order ever be fulfilled?

this energy carries through to the end of the sun's sojourn in aquarius, with new chapters to the story written each weekend through the 19^th. on the 14^th, jupiter re-enters taurus, bringing us back to the perspectives and prospects we were developing (perhaps without much success) since the beginning of june last year. now is your clear shot at it. you've learned a lot since then, and you've been able to lay a good foundation for really getting the most out of jupiter in taurus, which is the bounty of the universe manifested through your ability to make use its earthly energies. jupiter in taurus is often thought to be the most materialistic of jupiter's placements, but, as any taurus can tell you, this is not necessarily a materialistic sign. it is a sign that is concerned with what manifests, but that can often lead to some very philosophically oriented taureans, as they realize that universal laws govern manifestation. so it is with jupiter in taurus. to get the most out of its transit, pay attention to and obey the laws of the universe. jupiter whips through taurus without returning, having dipped into this sign for 4½ months last year. its transit through taurus is complete by june 30^th.

a shift in focus from the resisting force (fixed signs) to the integrating force (mutable signs) takes place on the 14^th, but you may not detect its seriousness until after the 19^th, when the sun enters pisces. the energy of winter softens with the snow as the temperatures warm. winter's rest is nearly over, and the earth seems ready to explode with life--buds bursting beneath the snow's icy crust and within our own hearts. something is stirring. the orchestra is readying itself to begin its vernal symphony. although spring is a month away, we may yearn for its uplift, all the more strongly because this is also a full moon. using this time to dream your plans into existence on the inner realms will empower your actions when it is time for them to begin.

although the full moon and the new month is begins carries promise, on the 21^st the cosmos may seem to have a dark sense of humor, and the joke's on us, because mercury stops in its forward motion today to turn retrograde (travel "backward" through the zodiac) for 21 days. this is part of the rhythm of life, and mercury's message will boom loudly to us during this time. it gives us a chance to check our focus and intention by reflecting what we've really been creating with our mind. mercury retrogrades can be very satisfying, because they relieve the sense we often have of not knowing. mercury makes all things known during its backward transit, and if you like to know the truth, you'll love mercury during this time. for those of us who have invested in the truth, this time will bring a welcome release. for those who have hidden from the truth, some unpleasant surprises may be in store. since we all love the truth and hide from it, we are likely to get a little of each, especially on the 21^st, 27^th, and 28^th.

march: love me, love my wound

the planets of march allow us to begin to heal our wounds: we get to see what the problem is. this is no small task--in fact, according to some, this is more than half the battle. there's no time to start like the present, and the 1^st of the month gives us our first clues. new awareness is highlighted today, and with bright promise, too, because even as we begin to understand, opportunities arise to begin to heal if we take responsibility for ourselves and our actions.

a few surprises on the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 6^th help us to let go of our preconceived notions and open us up to success. there's ample time to adjust and lots of support from the planets, especially on the 9^th. mercury returns to its normal direction on the 14^th, but not with the usual sense of normalcy restored, because another planet makes its station the next day--pluto. you will surely notice issues related to what occurred on or around december 2^nd and march 2^nd. we may feel like a rubber band stretched to its limit for a few days. if we do, it's time to pay attention to what is bothering us, not to ignore it or suppress it and hope it will go away. it will, but it will return later, more powerful and less easily denied, leaving us fewer choices in how to resolve it.

tossed in with the tension are likely to be the confusion and disillusionment felt intermittently over the past year. however, now we can do something about it; we are freed of the constraints of doubt, perhaps by the simple act of another which symbolizes to us that we are on the right path.

on the 19^th comes the full moon, a true blue moon. a blue moon in modern times is the second full moon in a month. however, since a month was initially reckoned to run from new moon to new moon, a blue moon would originally have been when there were two full moons in the same sign. we have it here, the second full moon in virgo. this means we get a second shot at working through the challenges of the virgo-pisces axis and is supposed to be especially auspicious.

the next day, the 20^th, brings us the advent of spring. day and night are equal for a split second, then the light gains ascendancy. we are energized, and life shows its resilience by once again overcoming the stagnation of winter. eostar is celebrated now, and we who seek harmony with the sun in its seasonal cycle can balance the elements of own nature by setting our intention that it be so. in the southern hemisphere, the autumn has arrived, and it's time to prepare for the coming time of restoration that the winter brings.

the 23^rd through the end of the month holds our focus on how we need to heal ourselves and how we can help others to heal. observe your experiences on the 27^th; the 30^th may bring a sharper awareness. don't let the challenges of this time throw you off your path in its essentials. although we may discover many things to repair in our own nature, if we have cast our vision from the deepest levels of self, we are still on the right path. we just need to adjust our way of walking it.

the coming months will reveal more of how we can correct ourselves. although painful, self-correction is the easiest to effect and the most profound in result. for this reason, this year is especially auspicious, because in self-correction lies the surest path to success and fulfillment. may all your most deeply held visions be fulfilled!

terry lamb is an astrologer, healer, mother of two wonderful boys, and the author of born to be together: relationship, astrology, & the soul. she is dedicated to supporting others in their growth through a full range of personal and business services as an astrologer and energetic healer. this column arises out of the convergence of her training in both fields. she can be reached for bookings and appointments (locally or long-distance) atterry@terrylamb.net

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copyright 2001 by terry lamb