Libran Consequences

9.28.11


Every bargain we strike, between indulging our most selfish longings and bending ourselves to fulfill someone else's, has its consequences.

Whether or not we're always acutely aware of this underlying negotiatory quality to our every interaction, we strike these bargains all the time… hopefully striving for a nice balance. Too self-serving, and we alienate others with our off-putting egotism. Too accommodating, and we trade away our sense of personal selfhood, just to make everyone else happy.

Libra is a sign that calls our attention to this constant bargaining, as its archetypal scales continually adjust and readjust to both considerations. As a representative of the air element, Libra utilizes its clear cool head to carefully weigh the options, taking the requisite intellectual distance to reason through toward what's fairest for all parties. Libra at its best will effortlessly work to attain mutual agreement, so everybody walks away feeling generally content with the terms (or at least satisfied that a thoughtful effort was made, even if common ground ultimately proves unattainable). What's not to like about that?

Yet, Libra's desire to keep the interpersonal dynamics running smoothly (for air signs are inherently social) can sometimes go too far, leaving one to wonder 'what exactly would I want?' if others' feelings and opinions (real and imagined) weren't always already being considered. The problem with allowing a 'clear cool head to carefully weigh the options'? It doesn't take into account the 'irrational'—but no less critical to decision-making—passions, pulls and preferences that our emotions inform us of. Libra at its indecisive worst, alas, doesn't know quite how to interpret its distinct emotional truths… or else is too afraid to listen, and to act accordingly, lest it upset its relational equilibrium with others. What's left is a paper-thin, people-pleasing persona, absent of genuine individuating character traits. (Can we say ick?)

Saturn's present visit to Libra, where he's been since Nov 09, forefronts the call to take personal responsibility for understanding this always-in-effect negotiation. If we're treating these Libran questions seriously, we're on the perpetual lookout for the shrewdest middle-ground compromises between (1) unapologetically being our authentic selves and (2) adequately valuing other people's views. And when we fall short of Saturn's demands, we become ever more obliviously self-centered… or else we lose ourselves in superficial attempts to serve the appearance of being there for others (although who is actually 'being there' remains an unsolved mystery).

Personal planets Venus, Mercury and the Sun are now moving into their annual conjunctions with Saturn, which these days are of course occurring in Libra. These are a defining couple weeks ahead when it comes to effecting, and accepting, the consequences due us for our relative success in the negotiation process. The basis on which we now form, foster, and/or disengage from our relationships and interpersonal commitments—true-hearted mutuality, or pleasant-seeming artifice—will establish their future rhythms. How we reason through, and communicate, our stances on matters that affect ourselves and others will determine whether our word is golden, trustworthiness-wise… or if we're someone who'll say anything to shut 'em up and get us off the hot-seat.

This trio of Saturn conjunctions comes on the tail-end of these same planets having squared with Pluto and opposed Uranus. It's useful, therefore, to think about the next two weeks as our chance for an integrative course correction in reaffirming or revising our bargains. Whatever recently transpired, in upping the stakes of our relational entwinements (Pluto) and/or asserting our needed freedoms (Uranus), must now be consciously considered. Does the prior agreement remain sound? Has it been strengthened, or weakened? Shall we recommit, or start backing away? In this era of Uranus-square-Pluto incessantly rocking us to the core, there is no maintaining the status quo. This is 'evolve or get crunched' time. Saturn in Libra, working along with the personal planets, urges us to stay up-to-date through explicitly honest discussions and relations. It's only fair.

None of us bears the responsibility for ensuring anybody else is 'okay' with how we are or what choices we make. The best we can do is to represent ourselves openly, with integrity… and to permit those we cross destinies with a fair chance to decide their own most appropriate level of involvement with us (or no involvement at all), based on as much information as we can provide. Holding this intention while Saturn is actively whipping us into shape sets a precedent for social justice, on a 'think globally, act locally' model of personal duty, that ripples its positive consequences outward. Failing to stand in our truth in relation to others, meanwhile, spawns its own erosive waves. Nobody escapes the law of cause-and-effect.

Venus conjoins Saturn on Thu Sep 29. Mercury conjoins Saturn on Thu Oct 6. The Sun conjoins Saturn on Thu Oct 13.