The Aquarian Consortium of Jupiter, Chiron and Neptune
By Dulce Bell-Bulley
Post Office Box 224, Palisade, CO 81526
970-464-1312



        Living on Earth is a wonderful thing and being human is an incredible gift. Yet life can also be extraordinarily painful. I've been amazed over the years at the depth of suffering the human soul can endure. Suffering was present in the dark heart of the African bush where I was born. Animals ate other animals in cruel and dramatic fashion, and by the time I was seven, Zimbabwe was deep in the grips of a violent civil war. My years as a medical social worker in the United States confirmed that, though suffering may not kill you, it does alter you. Of the last several years, my work as a professional astrologer has shown me that suffering isn't confined to the hospital bed - it exists in many forms.
        The concept of suffering is not new to the human race, and neither is it confined to the past. The U.S., in particular, has an almost apocalyptic view of the future as evidenced by our movies. In some, comets strike the Earth; in others giant waves engulf huge cities. Sadly, the latter has actually occurred.
Thus we approach Global Warming and the end of the Mayan Calendar with some trepidation. We acknowledge a predominate perception in this nation that things can only get worse. We’re aware of the impending energy crisis. Hollywood movies (ruled by the planet Neptune) fuel the fear that at any moment we could be threatened with a crisis. This is hastened by a widely held belief among fundamental religions and some New Age groups that the end is nigh. Where do we find hope for a gentle and happy future?
        Beginning in late 2008, and running into 2014, the so-called "Cardinal Climax" (1) occurs as transiting planets cross the 0° points of the cardinal signs . The crisis evoked by that climax will surely need an antidote. Whilst clouds of change brew on the horizon, the wounded healer Chiron, his teacher and adopted father (Jupiter), and Neptune the planet of oil and movies; connect in the humanistic and equalizing sign of Aquarius. This Aquarian consortium will provide a healing model.
        In the nick of time, just as society cries out in pain over an impending crisis it can no longer deny, the powerful forces of Chiron, Jupiter and Neptune, combine to usher in new scientific technologies, societies and methodologies in a unique and healing model. The long awaited Aquarian Age puts to the test the qualities of quantum physics, spirituality and mass movement. Aquarius denies itself nothing in its approach to the frontiers of human consciousness. Innately rebellious, Aquarius will not allow itself to simply accept.
        Let's take a look at the players involved in this cosmic consortium that meets from April 2009 to January 2010.
Neptune may be considered the "get high" planet. The temptation to dissolve away, to drift on the boat of dreams is Neptune's allure. Yet, it also promises a devout connection to the Divine and is the field of pure potential we activate when we pray or meditate. The poems of the Sufi sheikh Rumi illustrate this well:

"God has given us a dark wine so potent that,
Drinking it, we leave the two worlds.

God has put into the form of hashish a power
To deliver the taster from self-consciousness…

…Drink from the presence of saints,
Not from those other jars." (2)

        In the technological sign of Aquarius, Neptune finds unusual expression. Here the planet that rules all fluids is found to influence them. Japanese scientist Masaru Emoto (3) found that water responds to thoughts, feelings and intentions . This offers additional support for the field of quantum physics, which for many years has studied the response of light and other particles to the mind of the observer. This is currently being reinforced, as Neptune's magical qualities are married to science in Aquarius.
        Jupiter will connect with Neptune in Aquarius throughout 2009 also. Jupiter is Zeus, the King of the Gods. This benevolent presence expands all it touches and is the guiding principle behind philosophy, religion, spirituality, law and all bodies of knowledge.
        Jupiter expounds on theory; it believes and sanctifies actions with spiritual and philosophical knowing. Jupiter in Aquarius is a preacher in blue jeans with a giant crystal around her neck and a BlackBerry in her hand. There is a curiosity about anything new and out of the ordinary. Belief in right relations and harmony among peoples is central to Jupiter in Aquarius. So, too, is emotional detachment and an almost total disregard for convention and tradition. Albert Einstein's brilliant scientific observations involved, in large part, his Jupiter in Aquarius. Indeed, Einstein presented a “new theory of the universe" (4)
        However, to my mind, it is Chiron who is the alchemical ingredient at this gathering of planets. This is because Chiron, by its very nature, represents a healing model, and healing is needed at this critical time. Chiron is known as the wounded healer. He sustained terrific emotional and physical damage, yet his story reveals he provided his own antidote and in doing so, gave us a healing model that is quite relevant for our time. The Chiron model involves the use of consciousness as a healing methodology. This is very appropriate in the intellectual sign of Aquarius - especially when flanked by magical Neptune and brilliant Jupiter.
        As the Chiron story illustrates, Chiron and Jupiter have a wonderful relationship.
        Chiron was rejected by his father Saturn, and by his mother, a sea nymph by the name of Phylria . They perceived Chiron to be a freak. The poor little chap was a Centaur - half horse, half man. It's likely that Chiron's Centaur body was the result of genetic manipulation. One story reveals that Saturn genetically disguised himself so that he could engage in the affair that created his son. (Consider the expanding science of genetics).
        Chiron's early years were fraught with the pain of rejection, until he was adopted by Jupiter. His exuberant adopted father taught Chiron well. The young Centaur grew to have great self-esteem and thus overcame his early rejection. Wise beyond his years, perhaps due to his early emotional pain, Chiron became leader of the Centaurs. An uncouth bunch, the Centaurs ran rampant, acting unconsciously - caught up in their fragmented state of being, neither totally human nor totally animal. Chiron guided them and attempted to teach them. Chiron was also an astrologer, and intuitively gifted. He taught some famous figures, like Achilles and Hercules. (5)
        There are many stories about Chiron's injury. Some state a war was in progress, and others say that Chiron was teaching archery to Hercules one day when a poisoned arrow pierced his leg. Whatever happened, Chiron was wounded and his wound would not heal.
        Herein lies the Chiron dilemma, so prevalent on the earth today. Just how attached are we to our wounds, both as individuals and societies? During 2009, we'll have a powerful opportunity to address our addiction to pain and suffering. In our society, there are many rewards for holding onto pain. Attachment to pain allows us to self-medicate (Neptune), to become attached to self-pity. It also sets in motion an endless hamster wheel of failure and self-blame. It only takes one strong Chiron transit for an individual to get stuck on that wheel. This is especially true for fixed folks.
        But this is not Chiron's message. In mythology, Chiron was determined not to fixate upon his pain nor linger in it. Yet, he was an immortal being and he had a wound that would not heal. Stuck in a situation that appeared to have no solution, Chiron surrendered - another powerful part of the Chiron cycle.
Wounded and unwilling to live that way forever, Chiron took Prometheus' place.
        Prometheus, as you may know, had stolen fire (creativity) from the gods and given it to the mortals. For this crime he was tied up night and day. Each day, ravens and vultures pecked out his liver, and each night, it grew back. Chiron surrendered his immortality to take Prometheus' place. This allowed Chiron to escape his wound by entering the mortal state. It also atoned for Prometheus's crime. Chiron went on to be placed in the constellation of Sagittarius, another great Centaur.
The Chiron story is similar to the Christ story. Suffering and redemption from suffering are all Christ and Chiron themes. Christ too was fragmented - half man, half God, and like Chiron, Christ was a conscious being striving for wholeness.
        Chiron's action is often physical. Chiron transits tend to manifest in the body, through accident or illness. There are strong reasons suggesting that Chiron may well be the modern ruler of physiologically based Virgo. Chiron transits, especially the Chiron return at age 50, may be physically painful, or involve facing rejection in some way.
        Of course, this is not always the case, because the other half of Chiron's story doesn’t involve pain, but the application of consciousness. Many people celebrate a positive Chiron transit, since they're able to use its innate friction to re-align their lives toward greater wholeness. And wholeness is exactly what fractured Chiron wants to achieve.
        The Chiron dilemma is two-fold: first, we must either accept or utterly reject the issue causing the problem. An example from my case files is a woman who during her Chiron return (to her 11th-house Scorpio Chiron) at age 50, was rejected by her husband for a much younger woman, in their church group. Several years later, this woman was still holding onto her feelings of rejection and anger. And her life, instead of growing and changing, was stuck in that painful past.
The second stage of Chiron's model suggests moving on and getting over the pain - letting it go. In other words: applying consciousness. However, this client did not want to let go and move on. She received reinforcement for holding on to the issue from church members who pitied her or sided with her. Combined with other elements in her chart, her loss was evidence of her perceived victim-hood. The negative feelings of the betrayal sank deep, particularly since her natal Chiron was in the fixed sign of Scorpio, which has a hard time letting go.
        Chiron transits can be disturbing and painful; they create primitive responses in us. We may howl with outrage, tremble in fear or respond viciously to the pain of rejection and the wounding. Chiron is half animal, after all. Transits from this planet to points in our birth chart can evoke the animal within. At the same, Chiron invites us to access our higher selves by acknowledging the animal in us, yet transcending it so we may heal.
        In Aquarius, Chiron invites healing at a social level. The Chiron in Aquarius years (March 2005 - February 2011) encourage us to be aware of our wounding, and hopefully, apply our consciousness to the issues at hand. For example, the pending oil crisis evoked by the Cardinal Climax, the threat of global warming, increased violence in the Middle East, and numerous other social issues, offer tremendous possibility for healing when Chiron connects with Jupiter and Neptune in 2009. These social issues will demand that we empower ourselves toward change or live with the consequences of worldwide pain and suffering. Witness the silent protest of the monks in Burma who are resisting the injustices of the current military regime.
        This is especially so for the U.S., when we look at this Aquarian consortium relative to the Sibly chart . (6) (See January 5, 2010 chart). Beginning in April 2009 and running through early January 2010, the Aquarian consortium will conjoin the natal Moon in the U.S. chart as well as the secondary progressed retrograde Mercury and the solar arc directed Venus. Perhaps this indicates that the way U.S. citizens think about the things they love, especially their way of life, is undergoing a profound shift.
        Good 'ole Yankee ingenuity may, indeed, save the day, using the alchemy of Chiron's healing model - the ability to transcend pain through the application of consciousness - combined with the spiritual potential of science and the active practice of quantum physics (Neptune in Aquarius) with the ability to think and act completely outside the accepted norm (Jupiter in Aquarius).
        Nor can we underestimate the power of the collective use of the Internet, which is governed by the sign of Aquarius, as an entirely independent entity whereby huge groups of people of all philosophical persuasions can exchange views and even join together to accomplish a shared goal. We can hold a common thought form and manifest it together as a group. Indeed, this is already happening . (7)
        The role sacred geometry plays in this scenario is also of vital importance. Here, we see the scientific genius of Jupiter in Aquarius: Geometric shapes are used as thought forms in meditation so that individuals can travel or manipulate their lives in some way whilst out of the body . (8)
    Further, the role of music as a medium for healing is likely to grow. Neptune in Aquarius chooses electricity and technology as channels for music. Large groups of people coming together with the intent of making music has been always been a feature of the human experience but will increase under these skies - especially when paired with Chiron, for the purpose of social healing, and with Jupiter who unself-consciously experiments with sound as a medium for healing and self-expression.
        I saw Chiron once when I was drumming in a shamanic ritual. He was much smaller than I thought he would be, about the size of a llama, and there was no evidence of his wound, though he was clearly half horse, half man. He came into the room and bent over a woman who was lying on the floor journeying. He stayed at the back of the room with her until the journey ended, and then he left. As the participants shared their experiences, the woman stated that she'd had an overwhelming healing journey. She was taken to another planet where she discovered that an extremely painful relationship she'd had some ten years earlier was not her fault, as she had assumed. She described the experience as "being unforgettable and wonderful," as healing information was made available to her. Chiron's healing was one of perception. It was also timely; just a few months later, this woman’s current relationship fell apart. This would have destroyed her, she later told me, had she not received Chiron's gift of consciousness.
        Perhaps true healing requires that kind of journey - a journey into the far reaches of space in a sacred shape, into the field of pure potential, where perceptions are re-aligned. We can cross from fractured to fullness by releasing our perception of woundedness. Chiron's alchemy is powerful magic. And when it is combined with Neptune's infinite potential and Jupiter's explorations in the scientific and socializing sign of Aquarius, we are being offered a unique paradigm for healing.
Truly, there is something sacred and irreverent about the days ahead. Chiron will ensure that we see both sides of that dichotomy. I'm excited about it. And don't forget, fellow astrologers, Chiron was an astrologer. It’s likely we’ll play a major role as teachers and guides during this time of friction and healing.

References and Notes
[1] See Tem Tarriktar's article "The Years Ahead and the Oil Crisis" in The Mountain Astrologer, June/July 2007

[2] The Essential Rumi. Translations by Coleman Barks. (Castle Books, 1995)

[3] Masuru Emoto The Hidden Messages in Water (Beyond Words Publishing, Inc, 2004)

[4] Stephen Arroyo Exploring Jupiter (CRCS Publications 1996)

[5] Barbara Hand Clow. Chiron: Rainbow Bridge Between the Inner and Outer Planets. (Llewellyn Publications, 1999)

[6] Lois Rodden www.astrodatabank.com

[7] Shelly Yates www.firethegird.org

[8] www.tomkenyon.com and Drunvalo Melchizedek, Flower of Life (Light Technology Publishing 1998)

The author is a professional astrologer. Her article on Ceres made it to Astrology's Top Ten, and Aspects, The South African Astrology publication, in March 2007. Dulce has studied astrology since the age of 12. Her background is in psychology and she obtained a BA graduating summa cum laude from Fort Lewis College in Durango CO. She also spent 13 years in the field of medical case management and was grateful to leave it when Chiron crossed her MC in 2003. www.astrologybydulce.com

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