GRAND SEXTILE - July 29 2013

Grand Sextile – July 29 2013

On Monday 29 July we will experience a very rare configuration of planets in the sky – a Grand Sextile, otherwise known as a Star Tetrahedron, Six-Pointed Star, Star of David, hexagon, or Merkaba. It is comprised of two beautiful, flowing, harmonious Grand Trines in the Earth and Water signs which join together to form a perfect geometrical shape. Earth and Water signs are feminine (yin) signs and so this Grand Sextile is indicative of a big shift towards the feminine principles of emotional intelligence, harmony, gentleness, kindness, intuition, nurturance and grace. Indeed, it has been labelled by some as “The Saving Grace”! The last time we experienced a Grand Sextile was on February 7, 1945, just a few months before the end of the Second World War. On this day Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin met in secret to discuss post war reorganization after the war so the Grand Sextile definitely represented a shift towards hope and peace after many years of misery, fear and heartbreak. That one was in the Fire and Air signs, Yang energy, signifying dynamic action and mental focus which were very much needed at that point in time. Now we very much need the emotional and intuitive energy of the divine feminine to balance out this yang dominated world we live in.

Before Monday’s profound and beautiful celestial event we must first experience some pretty uncomfortable and explosive planetary energy this week in the form of a tense T-square between aggressive Mars, powerful Pluto and unpredictable Uranus. This T-square is likely to be very intense and volatile indeed and could bring some pretty powerful emotions to the surface. There is a sense of things coming to a head and an overall feeling of “enough is enough!” This combination of planetary energy is combined to push us right out of our comfort zones towards massive change and growth and may make us feel quite irritable and edgy. It is not likely to feel particularly comfortable as it has the potential to create intense power struggles and profound emotional and/or sexual responses which seem to rise up from the depths of our souls. We may experience outbursts of anger and become more aware of the darker forces operating in our lives and the world at large. On a positive note, the tense energy of this T-square could also give us the courage and impetus to make deep reaching changes in our lives, forcing us out of any ruts or limitations and helping us take on our own power and be true to ourselves.

At the same time Venus, the planet of love and beauty, is opposite Neptune, the planet of illusion this weekend. This means that we may not be able to see our relationships very clearly as Neptune does have a tendency to create smoke screens. What seems to be real may in fact be a figment of our imagination and what looks like a budding romance could in fact only exist in fantasyland. It is important to be aware that we may have rose-tinted spectacles on this weekend and only seeing what we want to see, an impossible romantic ideal, rather than what is really there. Neptune and Venus also have the capacity to create scandals and confusion. On the other hand this combination does have the potential to bring about a highly spiritualised kind of love and allow us to relate to each other with great sensitivity and devotion, experiencing a touching of souls. It is also a wonderful time to be creative and Neptune helps us transcend the limits of our imaginations. Dancing, singing and creating music and art would be wonderful outlets for the energy of Venus and Neptune as Neptune provides inspiration and helps us put our egos aside, surrender and let go. Combined with the powerful intensity of the T-square this weekend has the potential to be very interesting indeed and we may find ourselves experiencing some quite intense and confusing feelings that seem to erupt from nowhere.

Two Grand Trines join together to form this Grand Sextile and the first has been with us already for most of the summer. This trine in the water signs involves Saturn in Scorpio, Neptune in Pisces and Jupiter and Mars combined in Cancer. Saturn in Scorpio is helping us to look at our shadows and face our fears, accepting those parts of ourselves that are not so pretty so that we can open ourselves up to true intimacy with another. Saturn asks for complete emotional honesty, first with ourselves and then with others. Neptune in Pisces is opening us up to true compassion and healing, reminding us that we are not separate beings but in fact all come from the same melting pot. What happens to one happens to all. He is also reminding us that we have the power to create our own reality depending on what we choose to believe. Thoughts are energy too and have the power to manifest in our lives and reality, so it is important to be conscious of how we think and what we ask for! The third part of the Water Trine is a blend of Jupiter and Mars in Cancer, bringing a healthy dose of confidence, optimism and enthusiasm to the picture as well as the courage to face whatever Saturn throws at us. Jupiter in Cancer places a high emphasis on family values, nurturance, domesticity and our emotional life. This Grand Trine brings the potential to face our shadows, healing ourselves and others with compassion and forgiveness and daring to dream of a better reality where people are more open, tender and caring towards each other.

The second Grand Trine involves Pluto in Capricorn, Venus in Virgo and the Moon in Taurus. It holds the promise of a profound shift towards feminine values and a transformation of the structure of our society through love and beauty. Pluto has a detoxifying effect on any sign he travels though and in the case of Capricorn he is transforming our patriarchal societal structure, exposing all that is rotten so that something better can be born in its place. This is a slow process as Pluto will be in Capricorn until 2013. He is asking us to be true to ourselves and our purpose in life, stepping into our power and living a life of integrity. Venus in Virgo reminds us that we still suffer too much from the “Whore and the Virgin” syndrome in our society when it comes to the feminine, where women are still expected to live up to some impossible ideal of womanhood and where there is too much pressure on them to be perfect or fit in to an urealistic mould. Venus in Virgo reminds us that we are all in it together and shows her affection and love through acts of kindness, service and humility. Last but not least, the missing piece in the whole puzzle, Moon in Taurus, Mother Earth herself! She is the embodiment of all things natural and feminine; the divine feminine we seek to connect with. She represents sensuality, femininity, security, fertility and beauty in nature. Put these planets together and what do you get? Transformation of patriarchal structure, changing the way woman is perceived and treated and embracing the feminine in our culture. On a personal level this Trine brings the potential of connecting to each other in a very deep and soulful way and delving into the depth of our emotions. This combination promises great passion and the possibility of being transformed by love. Our relationships with others will be far from superficial, that's for sure! Not with the planet of the soul aspecting the two feminine planets!

This combination of planets definitely shows the potential for some much needed energetic rebalancing with a shift towards the feminine principles. Our society is so geared towards outer success that our family and emotional life has taken the back seat as people work harder and harder and take more and more on. We are living in a rat race, spinning our wheels and something simply has to change. I am sure that we would all like to see a shift from competition to cooperation, from war and abuse of power to harmony and mutual empowerment, from greed and lust to loving connection and sharing all we have. How wonderful it would be to live in a world where intuition is valued as much as reason and intellect and where all are treated equally regardless of sex, colour or creed. It really is about time that we shifted towards a healthy balance of the masculine and feminine. We have lived in a patriarchal society for long enough and it is quite obviously flawed! It is time to honour and embrace our emotions as the amazing guides they are rather than being ashamed, denying or suppressing them and to trust our intuition rather than favouring rational logic. A healthy balance between logic and intuition would definitely make this world a better place.

This Grand Sextile invites us to step through a portal, giving us a glimpse of another way of being where tenderness, harmony, gentleness, nurturance, love and beauty provide a healthy balance to ambition, power, aggression, lust and greed. Surely somewhere in the middle of masculine and the feminine lies the answer to life’s problems? During this time we may find ourselves confronting our blocks, recognising where we feel resistance and hold ourselves back from true connection, intimacy and closeness with others. The energy of this Sextile should help us look at ourselves with compassion and forgiveness and help us move through and past our limitations and ruts. Sextiles are like open doors or gateways, showing us what opportunities lie beyond and what skills are available to us if we are to step through them. In order to make the most of this powerful and energetic occurrence we should focus our intentions on Monday, meditating on what we want for ourselves and for the world. We should hold Mother Earth and all things feminine in our mind’s eye as we imagine a beautiful future both for ourselves and for the planet. As on that fateful day back in February 1945, this Grand Sextile could set the stage somehow for something much better, showing us what is possible and creating the right conditions for much needed changes to occur. We just have to be willing to let go of our negativity and step through the gateway into another reality!

The time to meditate or focus our intentions would be during the afternoon/evening (between about 2pm and 9pm) in England and Europe, between 9am and 4pm on East Coast of America and between 11pm 29^th and 6am 30^th July in Sydney Australia. We should definitely keep an eye on any babies born during those times as they are likely to be quite special and unique! It is said that the star that the wise men sought was actually this formation - that they were actually astrologers waiting for a child to be born at the time of a Grand Sextile.

Much love

Amy

xoxo