Nine Number Glow Inner Electric Lamp by Keerat; freedigitalphotos.netWell, I thought it was about time I ventured from my magical cave (where I’ve been playing with all sorts of things, btw) to greet you all in this early part of 2016. I’ve actually been doing exactly what I recommend for most of you this month; pull back and dig deep.

Now before you throw a temper tantrum or toss up your hands in despair, let me explain why.

January 1, 2016, marked the beginning a 9 Universal Year. That means the energy of the number 9 will factor into every facet and layer of life for all of us during these 12 months.

There’s actually something kind of magical about this number.  Look at the way it looks backwards rather than forwards.  There’s a reason for that.  You see, this number marks the end of a numeric cycle that started in 2008.  We’ll be doing a lot of looking back in this year, count on it.  Yet because 9 also carries the energy of all the numbers before it, it brims with possibility.

So we’ll be looking ahead too. Oh, yes.  This is not only a number of endings, completions, and culminations.  It’s a number that urges us to take all we have gleaned from this last cycle and plan how to use that going into the new 9-year cycle that starts next year.  Indeed, it urges us to draft the blueprint for the next decade.

In truth, this marks a transitional point for all of humanity. How we choose to take part in that is up to us.  What does that mean?  For some, it means accepting the challenges of transitioning global movements.  Yet for most the focus beams much closer to home.  You may be part of something (a store, organization, or project) that must change or fold.  Or maybe you’re part of  something bursting at the seams and crying for expansion.

For still others this energy will demonstrate in personal ways; the death of a parent or the birth of a grandchild, a new job opportunity that means selling your home to move to a new location. Or maybe you are transitioning out of the workforce and into retirement or self-employment.  For many these days it means starting over after a major storm or fire takes everything that represented home and security.

Nations and the Earth herself are likewise in transition. In the United States, this is the final year of a major election cycle with a new president determined in the November election. (This one has some laughing, some crying, and a lot just shaking their heads.) Monetary systems around the globe are wobbling and jerking in an attempt to maintain systems that no longer work.  (Johnson & Johnson must be making millions on the band aids applied to this one.) And the weather…do we even need to talk about that?  Unbelievable extremes around the globe altering people’s lives and the landscape in a flash.

Any transition requires release of the old and trust that the new will unfold before us in some way. For most, that is not an easy junction.  That’s again where this number comes in, with service and compassion.  Deep, honest, heartfelt compassion.  Not to be confused with sympathy or self-pity, mind you.  Compassion brings understanding and caring originating from divine love.  It stirs us to action and opens the door to possibilities not yet imagined.  It touches the heart of the giver and receiver alike, not in a crippling way but with a power that ignites hope…no matter what.

We live in emotional times often charged with rage and anger. That too can be exacerbated by this energy if it lands in its lower expression; over emotionality.  Remember, every number carries a higher and lower vibrational energy.  Guard against allowing yourself to be pulled into that undercurrent.  The number 9 is part of the numeric Emotional Triad (3-6-9) so can bring sudden fits of rage or an upwelling of tears of pain or joy when least expected.  (I’m considering carrying a box of tissues with me this year for whomever needs a few…myself included.)

An example of this occurred when President Obama teared up when recalling the plethora of young victims of gun violence.  Why didn’t this happen at other times he spoke on this subject?  We weren’t in a 9 year then.  Plus, the Moon (emotional energy) was transiting his 10th House (career/reputation) during this latest address.

And how does the current astrology figure in all of this. Mightily!

I just gave you an example with Obama. Now consider this.  We started the year with tension created by another close connection between our old pals Pluto and Uranus.  This time they came to within a degree or so of an exact square and will stay in that close positon throughout January and beyond.  If you’ve been with me awhile you know what this signifies and energizes.  Say it with me now.

Revolutionary transformation.

I ask you, have you ever seen a revolution on this planet that was neat and orderly? No?  Me neither.  Revolution is a messy process and one that requires total dedication to the cause.  I’m not speaking so much militarily here–although that’s energized as well–as much as I am of revolutionizing ideas.  We humans resist change like a toddler fighting to retain his/her last binky (aka, pacifier).  It scares us.  And Pluto is good at that, by the way.  The scaring and the changing.  Yet Uranian energy is pushing us forward in sudden bursts, no matter what.  Look beneath all the surface explosions in headlines and sound bites and we find amazing things going on in technology, cinema, clean energy, immunotherapy, and a host of other fields.

Yet sometimes it’s the actual explosions that do captivate our attention. For example, just as the Sun moved into conjunction with Pluto on January 5th, the world rocked from North Korea’s test of what they claimed was a hydrogen bomb, a nuclear device. But then Mercury (communication/ideas) had just stationed to go retrograde, so no one knows for sure and reports are confused. Since the luminaries and inner planets trigger the outer planets, this came as no surprise astrologically.  The Pluto-Uranus square got triggered again, big time.

And what else is going on in the cosmos. Well, more than I can recount here, that’s for sure.

As I mentioned, we are in the first of four—count ‘em, four—Mercury retrogrades this year.  Generally, there are three.  But good ol’ Mercury stepped up to the plate to add his own version of shock and awe by tossing in another 3-week period for reviewing, releasing, and redoing whatever calls for our attention.  Lucky us!  I must say that I agree with astrologer Donna Cunningham, however.   She feels Mercury gets blamed for a lot of what is actually Uranus’ erratic energy when it comes to technology issues.  I watched that last Winter/Spring and again all through December.  Anyway, the first Mercury retrograde is now in effect until January 25th, and I’d wait until around February 8th to actually start any major new project, if possible.  Let the energy settle a bit.

And Jupiter is now retrograde as well until early May. This again pulls our focus inward.  It marks a time for internal work and expansion that can manifest in external ways when the time is right.  Since Jupiter is now in Virgo, that may mean finally determining how to better take care of your health.  Or maybe it’s your daily routine or critical thinking that is boxing you in.  There’s a definite and strong call for freedom (Uranus)now that brings more awareness around anything that constrains us.

It pays, however, to remember that Virgo is a practical, no nonsense Earth sign that loves efficiency and tangible results. Start with making the mental changes to move you forward.  That could even be finding ways to get out of the mental loops that keep you awake at night.  Perhaps it’s your relationships that need attention. (With Black Moon Lilith recently transiting in Libra, relationship shadow issues abound.) Whatever house Jupiter is transiting in your chart will tell you where your focus will be. Realize also that Jupiter also can spark spiritual/religious zeal to the extreme.

So here’s another little freebie from me. If you don’t know where Jupiter is activating your chart right now, go to my website (below) and drop me a note with your birth information.  I’ll give you a one or two-line highlight.

And in the meantime, I’ll be in my cave determining what new explosive idea to play with next.

Blessings!

Rayora Hartman   www.numbersatplay.com

 

(Photo credit: “Nine Number Glow Inner Electric Lamp” by Keerat; freedigitalphotos.net)