This last summer, I read a good book - a novel called “Into the Forest” by Jean Heglund. The apocalypse that Heglund postulated wasn’t a result of nuclear war, but rather the gradual erosion of ordinary structures. Like the electricity. I’ve been reminded of that book frequently during the last six weeks, with the lights going out all over the northeastern US and Canada, then in London, then in Malaysia, then in Denmark, and just a few days ago all over Italy.

Of course, it’s been the Mars/Uranus conjunction. Uranus is about technology, electricity, lightning, revolution, the sudden unexpected. Mars is about action. And since they’ve been retrograde, the focus is on the things which weren’t done properly in the past. Old systems degenerate, reach a point of no return, and the lights go out.

Here in Quito, we have lots of little local electrical outages, so we don’t think much of it. We dig out the candles, snuggle under our four blankets for warmth, and congratulate each other for having bought a gas stove. But still, the power is on here more often than it’s off, which is a good thing for someone who makes her living with the computer. (As I write this, I nervously hit “save”.)

As September ends, Mars has just gone direct ­ and so I don’t think we’ll be going back to the stone age right away. (Hopefully not, as I am woefully ignorant about which roots and berries to gnaw on.) However, it will move slowly in October, like a bear just coming out of hibernation, and so it will continue close to the erratic planet Uranus.

And so - things may still go awry. Technology may show its demon side. And there’s nothing that riles us humans more than when these supposedly logical systems suddenly act completely irrationally. Later, we pretend it didn’t happen. But it did, and as we walk by the blank plastic faces of our machines, we catch a diabolical grin out of the corner of our eyes.

The thing is we’re incorporated them into our lives so completely that they’ve become extensions of our bodies, our ears, our hands, our minds. But do we trust them? Should we? Definitely not in October.

There are other tensions this month. There’s a configuration that is beautiful, but also very taut. It definitely represents a time of learning. This configuration, at the full moon, involves the sun, moon, Chiron and Saturn in a cardinal cross.

Chiron and Saturn both have to do with karmic residue, and the full moon brings this up to the surface. So this is a time when we are more likely to reap the fruits of our past actions. The full moon in Aries/Libra indicates a particular emphasis on relationships. As we have treated others, so will we be treated.

Interestingly enough, the US horoscope has a Chiron/Saturn opposition as well, in Aries/Libra. The Aries/Libra opposition is about the tension between self and other, and we see this inner conflict in the national character. On the one hand, this is a country that believes in rugged individualism, competition, scrappy heroic behavior, and acting unilaterally - all Aries tendencies. And on the other hand, it was founded in accordance with equally strong ideals around cooperation and civilized behavior.

No wonder we’re all so confused. We want to be left to ourselves, to do whatever the hell we want. At the same time, we are a basically idealistic people. In the US chart, both sides of the Chiron/Saturn opposition are squared by the sun in Cancer. And so what has happened, it seems to me, is that the idealism has degenerated into empty sentiment. People get teary-eyed at the flag, and want to plaster the constitution up on the wall, but they don’t want to think about it, or even read it.

And, at this point in our history, the Aries side is dominating, to an alarming degree. We are a country of heroes, importing our self-image to the whole world through our film industry. When there’s a town full of bad guys, we strap on the six-gun and go out and shoot ‘em up. We act as if we are the only country in the world, and we get to call all the shots. And then we wonder why everybody is saying mean things about us.

There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with that Aries energy. It’s bold and strong and decisive. But it needs to be in balance with the Libra energy. Why is it that there’s a romantic lead in every hero story? Because Aries needs its opposite, Libra. Because swaggering heroes need to be civilized by love, by art, by beauty - all the attributes of Libra.

Yes, this is the ancient showdown between Mars and Venus - with Mars ruling Aries, and Venus ruling Libra. For either to win, both must win.

Will that happen during the October full moon, with this cardinal cross? The Aries/Libra full moon is a time of balance. With Saturn and Chiron both held in stasis at the full moon, it’s a time when old wrongs can be redressed. It’s a time when we can all really look at each other, and see beneath the masks we’ve grown used to wearing.

In fact, we all need the energy of both Aries and Libra. We need individuality and we need cooperation. We want to be our true selves, to act strongly and authentically from our core. And we also all want to love and be loved, to exist in a cooperative, pleasant and populated world.

The sun is in Libra, and so the forces of love can come forward. As the freedom song says, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.” And maybe it will shine bright enough to carry us through the blackouts.

Index of Jenny Yates' Writings on Lesbian.com