Where Were You in 1988?

As some of you know, I follow astrology pretty closely and I pay particular attention to major planetary transits and alignments.

I knew we were into some pretty big and powerful cycles lately, so I started reading up on them and discovered that the current astrological dance is something that many astrologers have been waiting their whole lives to watch.

This past week, we’ve just experienced our third Saturn/Uranus opposition in a series of five and they can definitely bring up some stress. However, when I sought to find out how to interpret this event personally, something I read from master astrologer Eric Francis led me to look back to the time when Saturn and Uranus were conjunct, or in alignment, in Feb. 1988.

I’ve been shown this past week how this can be a profound opportunity for us  to look at what’s been seeded in our lives and what kind of harvest we might be aiming for.

To get a sense of what this cycle is about we need to look at the 2 players.

Uranus is a planet that’s all about energy, electricity, technology, anything new and novel, sudden insights and opportunities, a quickening or sudden shift.

And then, in the opposing corner, we have Saturn, all about structure, limitation, foundation, “doing the work”. Most people think of Saturn as a bit of a downer, all work and no play. But I’ve come to think of Saturn as the life lesson no one wants to go through, but everyone wants to have the benefit of.

These two planets can also be seen as the ‘New Way’ facing off against the ‘Old Way’.

To highlight this even more, the first Saturn/Uranus opposition in this current series occurred on election day last November, the day President Obama was elected. A New Way was most definitely ushered in that day.

Personally, though, I found the clues to my own transition when I looked back at February 1988.

In fact, on Feb. 13th, 1988 the Saturn/Uranus alignment was exact, and it was the morning of the Calgary Olympic Opening Ceremonies. I remember because I was dancing in the stadium that afternoon!

A really interesting thing to know about that particular Olympics, is that it was very first time that seating had been built for the athletes (they usually march into the stadium and then right back out again.) So on that particular day, the “world” all took a seat together, 57 countries or more, in that stadium, with another estimated 1.2 billion watching.

In looking back at this, I’ve realized that I experienced something of my heart’s ideal that day. I was standing in the middle of exactly the kind of world I wanted – full of hope and anticipation, standing together in belonging and collective celebration. It was so tangible to me.

And now, the opposition of these 2 planets puts us halfway to completion of the New Way that was seeded in 1988.

So where were you in 1988?

There was actually a series of 3 Saturn/Uranus conjunctions that year, on Feb.13th, June 26th and Oct. 18th. In a series like that, something often begins in our life and then continues through the rest of the series and beyond into the next year even.

Can you remember where you were, who you were with, what you were doing, what your desire was? Was there a major theme for you that year?

These will hold clues to what is ripening in your life now and what New Way you may be moving towards, or how your life fits into the New Way that we’re moving towards collectively.

This past week, I’ve had a strong sense of being called to remember my ideal from 1988, what it was I dreamed for the world. I had no idea then how I might play a part in making it happen, but now I do.

And suddenly, I can see really clearly where I was going all along and I’m realizing that I need to make a few course corrections to be really on track again.

And since the Saturn/Uranus opposition is exactly halfway into the “growing season” of this cycle, and Saturn is all about doing the work, it feels like I’m being shown that “the work is half done” and it might be time to re-commit to working right through to the harvest.

If you’d like to take a look at your astrology chart for the different dates I’ve mentioned, try out Astro.com. You can set up a free profile there to look at your natal chart + transits and see which houses Saturn and Uranus were in during these events.

And if you’d like to find out more about the planets and the houses they’re affecting, Bob Marks offers a really good basic set of Astrology Lessons with all the descriptions you’ll need.

I’d love to hear what you discover!