MUCH OF the human race struggles with an issue that is firmly under the domain of Aquarius: being an autonomous adult.

People are great at being told what to do, others are pretty bossy, and together we usually fall into relationship patterns that mimic parent-child situations rather than adult-adult relationships. Our governments, religions, work places and most alarmingly, our personal relationships, typically cast people into the role of parents and children rather than peers.

In essence, the familial relationships into which we were indoctrinated as fetuses, babies and kids tend to persist as patterns long into adulthood, and as a result, the world is in quite a warped and backward state.

Yet you of all people know that individuality is not really an option; and that each of us as individuals must do our part to make the necessary reparations to mend humanity and our own individual humanity, and finally to heal the relationship between the two. Though you may have considered these ideas all your life, the time for choice and action is now upon you.

A New Era, For Real

The arrival of Chiron into Aquarius in many ways marks a new era in the story of our world, and just as surely a new volume in your life. The last time this happened, the world went through an extended and very Aquarian moment, experiencing the civil rights movement, on the one hand, and the rise of a culture of people for whom sharing, rejection of accepted values, and cultivating individuality were the keynotes -- the Beat movement. The phase ended with the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961. Not everyone tuned into this wavelength and Kennedy won by one of the slimmest margins in history. But something was available -- and that something is available right now.

You can consider this a kind of personal invitation to reach boldly into your own existence. Because your sign is so closely related to themes that spread throughout the Homo sapien family -- a Latin term that somewhat ironically translates to "wise man" or "thinking man" -- you are being summoned to make contact with people in a new way: one that demands clarity, focusing a sense of mission, and accepting your role in society, however you may define it. This is the longhand way of saying authentic individuality, but it's not for its own sake.

I am presuming that you are aware of a mission and aware of the timing associated with it. If not, you don't have to look far; just listen to your conscience.

When a planet enters one's birth sign or rising sign, we develop a special identification with its themes, and often begin to experience them directly. Chiron is the planet of human potential. Indeed, it was discovered in 1977 at the height of something called the Human Potential Movement, a time when concepts like "self-actualization" and "self-awareness" were not totally meaningless terms. Within the insane midst of the Me Generation, there was a palpable sense, within many communities, that we -- the big We of the human race -- are involved in something together, and that each of us, by growing and advancing our innate capacities, and by consciously choosing to grow, helps planetary evolution along.

Yes, there was also disco. When assessing any time in history, there will seem to be contradictory trends -- particularly now. While on the one hand we have a mass culture that sleeps through life, at the same time there is a reluctant awakening in progress.

Teacher, Mentor or Leader

The conscious use of technology, social responsibility, the urgent need for community and most of all, the memory that we live on one World Earth are coming back to many people -- and you are likely to be one of them. Even the most cynical, "prove it to me" Aquarians in the lot will be sensing the call to pay attention, be it a call driven by excitement or pain, freedom or the sense of being trapped. Anything will do, usually.

But to you who are called to be a teacher, leader, healer or generally one who feels the need to stand out, you must choose your methods and your philosophies consciously. Now, I am describing what some would say are typically Aquarian traits, but Chiron's presence is going to focus them to a degree you may have never felt before and which may indeed surprise you. As the priorities that this transit reminds you are the most important in your life, you will need to prioritize and focus, and you will.

At such times, you're going to need what I'll call serious people around you, be they friends, colleagues or lovers. By serious I don't mean heavy or somber, but I mean people who know life is not a joke and who provide you with support and structure for your journey. Part of serious also means being true to their own cause; those who are at war with themselves will be particularly disruptive to you at this point, and you will need to have special procedures for handling them.

But I don't see this being a real problem. Saturn in your opposite sign Leo is helping you cleanse the people, energy and situations that don't belong in your life, and making room for the ones that do. But more than that -- Saturn is helping you build what you want and what you need. It is up to you to choose consciously, to be honest and most of all to make room for yourself. Saturn in Leo will reward you for choosing relationships in which you can in fact be yourself, and if you are experiencing a struggle, perhaps it's because the opposite is true.

It often seems like the great masses of people (including our friends and neighbors) are sleeping, drugged or hypnotized. At other times, it seems like we are so oppressed by the shadow of global problems that we cannot conceive of their scale; and paralysis is the natural result. Watch closely the games you play, and the games others play, that go under the banner "survival." This is simply not an appropriate rallying cry for your life; surviving is not really living.

Though some would make the case that they live in desperate times, nothing much of substance has changed; the world remains a place where there are lots of people, plenty of struggle, some serious problems, a fair amount of love and perhaps a bit more fear. Most things that can go wrong manage not to do so. And while their numbers may be fewer, some individuals are determined to wake up fully, and most are not satisfied until they join in the wave of awakening. In many ways, I am describing you.

Awareness is the Variable

The whole issue with what I'm calling waking up, or becoming a person, or choosing autonomy over being an automated humanoid, is that it calls for responsibility; and that is not exactly a popular item. Awareness itself, the "great variable of existence," is also not so popular and it doesn't always win you points for popularity. But you don't really have a choice.

This is another of the basic Chiron concepts, the most basic, in fact, and I suggest you keep it nearby as a one-word mantra. We can expand or contract awareness; we can share awareness with others, or withhold it; we can to a great extent choose what we are aware of. But this is, indeed, the variable, the bouncing ball, the focal point.

So, let's get personal. What are you aware of in your life? This might be the time to keep an awareness diary, where the only qualification for getting into the book is the fact that you notice something that seems meaningful, or notice it at all.

How do you feel about your relationships? This is to say, what is your sense of your existence within them? Most people rate their relationships by quality or quantity; I suggest considering evaluating your relationships by the extent to which you can say, for sure, that you -- all of you -- really exists within the situation. With Chiron transiting one's Sun sign or ascendant, there is always this issue of claiming the right to exist. It may not seem that way at first, but when the common thread to many situations is found, this winds up being an effective way to consider the situation.

You've lived a long time with Neptune in your sign, which has had the effect of softening you, taking your awareness to more subtle levels, and in a sense blurring your sense of self. Some have gone so far as to entirely deny themselves under this influence. Chiron, with its powerful focalizing energy, will have something of the opposite effect on you. Chiron really is about seeing what you've been missing, maybe for a very long while.

If Neptune has been leading you to wonder where you begin and where the world ends, where you end and where the world begins (with Neptune around, these may not be the same question), Chiron will promptly show you the line -- and this will shape your encounters with other people, who may not be accustomed to your clarity. The long process of Saturn in Leo opposing Neptune, which reaches its first peak in late August, will help you clarify these questions.

It is clear that you are something of an idealist in your relationships, which at times is helpful and at other times not so helpful. Few people can live up to your idea of human potential, while at the same time, it seems senseless to simply compromise your integrity. Experiencing Saturn so directly will awaken you to the reality that the way to reach others with your ideals is to let them reach you with theirs.

You're also something of an idealist in the way you see yourself. While some people may feel this is a bit arrogant and/or self-centered, in reality you do have a right to design your life, and you do have a right to evaluate your existence; and it's very much secondary that someone gives you approval to do so.

This is an attribute of the full adult status that you carry, innately, as an Aquarian. But there is something else you are here to do and that something is to provide both an example and a workspace for the people around you.

There is plenty to be done, and you have a lot of ideas. Keep those ideas flowing and this will be a monumental year for you in terms of doing what Aquarians love and need the most, which is to build community. I suggest you be open about sharing your vision, and allow this to be the first way you define freedom, as an inner state of psychological and spiritual creativity that you can then offer and share to others. They will find you, and they will hear you.

Most of the truly astonishing benefits of your life this year and next will come through the people who gather around you, and with whom you can share in a way most intimate because it comes from some of the ideas, feelings and ideals most important to you; what truly makes you human.

Modern society makes this a complicated process, first stripping our humanity away from us and then selling it back to us in the form of labels, memberships and other forms of approval. Your first work this year and dearest mission is to teach people they are indeed human by allowing yourself to be so on the deepest levels. You can do it; you are already doing so and you can afford to have faith in yourself as you learn and grow.

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From Wikipedia

"The human mind has several distinct attributes. It is responsible for complex behaviour, especially language. Curiosity and observation have led to a variety of explanations for consciousness and the relation between mind and body. Psychology attempts to study behaviour from a scientific point of view. Religious perspectives emphasise a soul, qi or atman as the essence of being, and are often characterised by the belief in and worship of God, gods, spirits, or other people. Philosophy, especially philosophy of mind, attempts to fathom the depths of each of these perspectives. Art, music and literature are often used in expressing these concepts and feelings.

"Like all primates, humans are inherently social. They create complex social structures composed of co-operating and competing groups. These range from nations and states down to families. Seeking to understand and manipulate the world around them has led to the development of technology and science. Artifacts, beliefs, myths, rituals, values, and social norms have all helped to form humanity's culture."

-- Wikipedia, entry on Homo sapiens