“What the heck is going on?”, asked my friend Sue.  “Everyone seems to be so reactive – and angry!  People are getting offended by what seems to me to be little things.  I can tell I’m more reactive than usual too!”

Sue is spot on!  If you look at this year’s astrological energies, it’s clear that this year is going to be a roller coaster, with some of the most intense energies coming between January and late March.  Fortunately, we’re almost 2/3 of the way through.  

So what the heck is going on? To answer that, let me first take a step back and ask two more questions.

1. What does the hippie movement of February 1962 have to do with today?  
2. Have you heard the song lyric, “This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius?”  

It was during the hippie movement of February 1962 that we last had 6 planets in Aquarius, and in many ways, it was a precursor to what’s happening now.  

How so?  That movement was about the power of the people. It brought about a huge amount of social and societal change.  It was also an age of protest and truth-telling.  

While the similarities to our current time are great, I’m even more intrigued with the differences.  What we saw in the 1960s was but a foreshadowing of what’s happening now.  This time the shifts are going to be stronger, deeper, and more lasting.  

The Power of the People

Here’s why: In December 2020, we had the shift of the ages – the coming together of Saturn and Jupiter – visible for the first time since 1226.  This was the first time they’ve met in Aquarius since 1405.  That’s 615 years!  This is one of the reasons that this year – 2021 – is the true dawning of the Age of Aquarius.  There are some more reasons as well.

All the major planetary players of the epic year of 2020 are now in Aquarius except Pluto.  Jupiter is in Aquarius for most of 2021.  Saturn stays in Aquarius until March of 2023.  Chariklo just entered Aquarius at the end of January. And finally, even Pluto will come on board:  it moves into Aquarius in 2023 and, after moving back into Capricorn for a short time, lands in Aquarius for 9 years in 2024.  Just as the last few years have been dominated by Capricorn, the vast majority of this new 20-year era will be dominated by Aquarius.

And Aquarius is all about the power of the people.  It’s also about innovation and unity consciousness and a move to a more collaborative way of interacting.  As I’ve mentioned before, it’s about “power with,” instead of “power over.”

But that’s not all.  This “power of the people” energy is getting big boosts from several sources.

The primary astrological influence this year is the dance – and three-time face-off – between Saturn and Uranus which I wrote about in my last blog post.

Dealing with the Roller Coaster

The tension between control and freedom is going to be felt strongly all year.  The fact that this energy follows the huge shift of December speaks volumes.  And it’s not alone. On top of that, we have Eris in a dance with Pluto. Eris is the energy that takes to the streets.  It’s the energy of strife in the service of awakening.  

I believe this year-long Saturn-Uranus dance is one of the necessary boosts to make the deep, long-lasting changes that we’re being called to make in so many areas of life: from climate to every person having a voice and power, especially those left behind, to consciousness, to connection instead of division, and so much more.

Finally, and most important for the long-term impact of this shift, is an amazing event happening to everyone on the planet.  Our planet is literally traveling through a photon belt.  What that means is that light is pouring into us – ALL of us – no matter our background, politics, where we live, etc. – in a way that hasn’t happened in about 12,000 years.  

Light raises our vibration and our consciousness.  These photons are also upgrading our electrical system and DNA.  As we move out of that top-down, might-makes-right energy, all this light pouring into each of us is boosting us into unity consciousness, collaboration, and the power of the people.

So how do we deal with all of this?  Given that it is going to be a roller coaster all year, and given that we’re going to both feel reactive and see a lot of reactivity, and given that we are in the midst of some difficult and uncomfortable unraveling, how do we move through?

Practices That Can Help You Stay out of Reactivity

I know I’ve said a lot of this before, but it’s so vital that it bears repeating.  

The first is doing your spiritual practices.  Anything that connects you with your heart and with others will help.  Anything that helps you move into a higher consciousness will help.  I’ve given several simple practices in previous posts that you can do in a couple of minutes or less.

Here are some links to posts contain practices that will serve you in this time:  How Not to Be Reactive in a Very Reactive Time, and  A Gratitude Practice for Healing and Well Being.

The Brain Balancing Healing Technique is another practice that will help you move out of any kind of reactivity or anxiety or fear.  It will also soothe your nervous system.  Each of these practices takes only a couple of minutes to do, and all will also build your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.

You do have a choice whether to allow the reactivity, fear, and divisiveness to rule you, or to respond out of love.  

The second is grounding.  I cannot overstate the importance of grounding right now.  Here are some suggestions:  Go hug a tree (really!).  Put your feet in the grass if you can.  Place some salt under your tongue. And/or take a bath.  All of these actions will ground you! 

Grounding and Attunement

Finally, I want to offer a grounding meditation that I use with my students and clients.  If you are a member of my newsletter community you received it when you joined.  If you’ve lost it, or don’t have access to it, email me and I will send it to you.

If you are not a member of my newsletter community, please sign up here.  That is the first thing you will receive from me.  It is short and something you can do at any time. 

More than that, it’s important to also ground yourself in the earth’s rhythms as well.  To help you with that, I am offering a series of attunements this year, both to the big astrological events and also to the events that will help ground you in the earth’s rhythms and cycles.

The next attunement will be on March 21 and I will be sending an invitation out soon.  In that particular gathering and community healing session, I will attune you to the equinox, as well as to some wonderfully helpful and de-stressing astrological events happening in and around that day.  If you already know that you want to attend, the link to register is live. To register, click here.

In the next few months, I will be offering more ways to connect and ground.  I will also be bringing in a new cohort to learn how to Mend Webs, which is also key to all the structural shifts and changes we’re making.  If you would like to be part of the change—if you would like to help mend the very fabric of families, groups, institutions, and more, I will teach you how. You can support these shifts through the Mending Webs work.  I will be writing more about it in coming posts.