Wednesday 24 July

Moon in Aquarius

Miss 15 has been studying a text in English (and I use the term “study” quite loosely when it comes to my beloved) that is very similar in theme to George Orwell’s 1984- a text we studied in my final year of school in, well, 1984.

The premise in both books is relatively simple- essentially it’s a pure communist society- where everyone has clearly documented roles, and individual freedom is sacrificed for the health and common goal of the tribe.

In such a society, there is no room for thought or religion- everything is owned and regulated by the collective and, for the sake of the group, anyone straying outside of this is punished.

Miss 15’s assignment is to take this idea and represent it visually- which is where the bees in the title come in.

You see bees, (as I found out in a podcast I was listening to on the treadmill this morning- yes, I’m a nerd) are the ultimate in communist societies. The hive mentality is one where each worker has a role to fulfil (in fact a number of roles over her short life) and completes it without question. Abandonment of the hive for another results in punishment by death. Ouch. Apparently it’s a pheromone thing.

The structure is there to achieve the collective goal of the hive- which is to collect food and control the temperature to enable the new population to hatch. Even the Queen Bee is sacrificed if her fertility is reaching the end of its usefulness. It’s a little like a bee night of the long knives.

And the best part? When the workers have fulfilled their roles they’re released to fly around freely for the rest of their short lives- like a sort of bee gap year or retirement plan.

Sure, that’s a simplistic overview…but what the flip does it have to do with astrology?

It occurred to me that in a strange sort of way, this goes a way to explaining a question I’m asked a lot.

I get how Uranus can rule Aquarius, but I don’t see how Saturn fits in.

Saturn is the traditional ruler of Aquarius, yet sometimes we are so caught up in the Uranian imagery of Aquarius- the free, forward, individual, scientific, thinker- that we miss the other part of Aquarius- the fixed, structured side.

Both planets roles have to be considered in order to fully understand Aquarius- assuming, that is, that it is possible to fully understand Aquarius…and I mean that in the nicest possible way.

I’ve always explained it a bit like the mechanics of a revolution.

Someone has a bright idea, a vision of the way that things could be, a vision of Utopia, perhaps. Maybe it’s an invention.

That idea is networked and soon others start to listen, and they spread the idea. Now we have a group. In order for the group to move forward with the plan, it needs to be organised. Boundaries need to be put in place, rules and structures nailed down, scope agreed.

Within the group everyone will have a role to play, egos are cast aside in order to achieve the aims of the group. While each individual is important, their health (or emotional wellbeing) matters in terms of how that can affect the goals of the community. Individuality is something that’s encouraged beyond the boundaries of the tribe- after the aim has been achieved.

Saturn and Uranus in action in Aquarius. Sound familiar?

It sounds a bit like the hive, doesn’t it?

In the bee world, as long as the colony is healthy, the bees are able to be out there doing their pollinating and collecting honey thing. When the structure breaks down, so does the colony, and so does our food chain. Community, and the rules that govern it are that important.

Just putting it out there…

And, before you look at me sideways like and say something like “what is she on?” what better time to exchange off the wall ideas than when the Moon is in Aquarius and you don’t have anything else really interesting to talk about! Besides, the Moon is void of course, and by now we know what that means…right?