The Year Ahead

The Year Ahead
by Allison Rae
December 2010
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Life as we knew it is over. For 2011, 2012 and beyond, the game has definitely changed on Earth. Economies, governments, businesses, education, social systems, the arts, sciences, technology and medicine all look radically different than they did just a few years ago.

Incoming cosmic frequencies are speeding up the changes. This has been going on for awhile now. In 2011, ramped-up evolutionary forces shift into overdrive. The reconfiguration is just beginning.

This week the sun sets on a year we'll never forget, and everyone's wondering what lies ahead.

The ancient and prophetic Mayan calendar is ending. The new year begins with an eclipse series, and four outer planets change signs in 2011. The writing's on the wall. The year is all about change.

Not that recent years haven't rocked our reality. In 2011, the energies are more complex. As the evolution of consciousness accelerates on Earth, we're able to download and integrate increasingly complex cosmic programs that further speed up the process. More and more quickly, we're learning to adapt.

In 2011, we go to the next level of complexity. Planetary energies will be highly focused, yet diffuse. It's a year of doing, and being, as we remember our powers of manifestation and begin to shape the next world age.

Within the grand cosmic drama of the Turning of the Ages, it's showtime.

Predictions about what exactly will happen are pointless. We're here to experience this auspicious moment and write history together.

Through sacred science we can forecast the natural energies the new year will bring. It's up to us to focus the evolutionary forces and craft the future of life on Earth.

The Forecast

Energetically, 2011 will feel much different from 2010. Partly this is due to cosmological phenomena predicted by Mayan, Aztec, Hindu, Egyptian and other ancient timekeeping systems. Partly it's because the large celestial bodies closest to us - the planets of our solar system - will rearrange in ways that facilitate the transmission of specific frequencies to Earth. Another reason 2011 will feel different is that we're getting better at dealing with constant change.

The context of this speeded-up evolutionary process is the great cycle shift known as the Turning of the Ages. This is a rare astrological, astronomical, cosmological, geophysical phenomenon encoded in the sacred calendars of many spiritual traditions on Earth.

Vast cosmic cycles are ending and new cycles beginning over a transition period that lasts decades, perhaps hundreds or even thousands of years. We live in the twilight moment between the old and the new.

As we dive into the celestial waters of 2011, it's important to remember that any single year is part of a continuum of time that is cyclic and ever-expanding in nature. There's no specific day, month or year when everything will change.

Evolutionary energies are reaching a crescendo as we make our way through 2011, 2012 and beyond. There's a rumbling, a stirring of our very life force, as our codes are activated and the excitement builds. We breathe with anticipation and wonder where all the change is leading. Rather than watching passively, we're invited to step into our mastery, roll up our sleeves and contribute to shaping what happens next.

Themes and Highlights

The year 2011 features a complex tapestry made up of multicolored strands of energies. Looking more closely, we notice how the various strands are woven together to create a captivating overall design. Here are some themes and highlights that will emerge from this magical terrain.

I. Cosmic Initiation

Another wave of awakening will sweep the planet as the celestial and Earth energies peak several times during 2011.

The new year begins with two important eclipses that connect us with the creative force of the cosmos via the heart center of the Milky Way.

On December 21, the Sun, Earth and Moon aligned in a total lunar eclipse just hours before the Solstice, opening our hearts and minds to higher truth. In a rare cosmic convergence, the historic lunar event happened during the special period when our Sun aligns each year with the heart of the Milky Way, a galactic alignment related to the Mayan calendar and 2012. To experience the play of shadow and light as the Moon, Earth and Sun danced with the Galactic Core was a moment of pure grace.

The dawn of 2011 continues with a Solar Eclipse on the Capricorn New Moon on January 4. As the new year and a new lunar cycle begin, Jupiter and Uranus will be exactly conjunct in late Pisces. Together they square the Galactic Center, creating another moment of divine initiation, an awakening for humanity and the Earth.

Later in January, Jupiter enters Aries, sign of the warrior. Uranus will follow in March. We witnessed the celestial combustion when these two powerhouse planets met in early Aries during the summer months of 2010 (winter in the southern hemisphere). When Jupiter, the Guru, and Uranus, the Awakener, again journey into the cosmic fire of Aries, sparks of insight, ingenuity and innovation will fly.

As the first sign of the zodiac, Aries is associated with rebirth and new beginnings. In early 2011 both Jupiter and Uranus will complete their zodiacal journey in Pisces and begin a new cycle in Aries. The first degree of the first sign is an ultra-sensitive point in astrology. While Jupiter will zoom through Aries and into Taurus in 2011, Uranus moves more slowly and will hang around the initiation point for most of the year. The unpredictable nature of Uranus promises to surprise us both personally and collectively.

In February, the Universal Underworld of the Mayan Calendar begins, blowing open the walls of human perception and freeing us to experience our cosmic nature as divine co-creators. This initiation lasts through October 28, 2011, and signals another quantum acceleration of consciousness evolution.

(Based on the work of Mayan scholar Carl Johan Calleman. See www.calleman.com/content/ppt_slides/slides.ppt) *

Through the portal of 2011, an infusion of spiritual light will flood our world. Enlightenment is available to all in this unprecedented moment in cosmic time. As the kundalini fire of the cosmic serpent re-awakens on Earth, we're invited to the dance of creation.

II. Earth in Balance

We'll need the mass doses of Uranian inspiration and ingenuity coming our way, because we've got some enormous challenges to deal with on our home planet. Uranus is the problem-solver in astrology, the renegade, the "think-different" planet.

The Earth herself will be in the spotlight again in 2011. Earth changes will continue, with peaks likely in March through August, and again in late November through the end of the year.

Perhaps the most stirring memory of 2010, for ages to come, will be the Gulf Oil disaster, which began as the Sun crossed into Taurus, and Uranus and Jupiter hovered in late Pisces. The most important planetary configuration of 2010, the Grand Cardinal Cross, formed in the heavens two months later as oil leaked uncontrollably from the sea floor. The cross has formed several times since, and will again in 2011.

Both Chiron and Neptune will enter the water sign Pisces in 2011, and attention will again be focused on the waters of the Earth. In June, Jupiter crosses into Taurus, the first Earth sign of the zodiac, further emphasizing the importance of healing and harmonizing with our life-giving mother.

Today the oil from the spill continues to devastate sensitive ecosystems in the gulf and surrounding areas. Clean-up has barely begun. Beyond the immediate problem of the spill itself lie the long-term environmental issues that came to light as a result of the incident. We need to pay attention to the messages of this disaster. The day-to-day choices we each make have an impact on our environment and the planet's natural resources.

In 2011, Neptune will journey into the watery realms of Pisces, and Jupiter will venture into Taurus, the sign most associated with our Earth mother. Pluto continues his 16-year transit of Capricorn, reminding us, among other things, that governments, corporations, education and other institutions must be more focused on the environment.

Words and awareness are not enough. Workable solutions and widespread, radical change are needed to address the environmental crisis now, before the unthinkable happens again.

III. Revolution

A compelling feature of the great cycle shift is the collection of energy around a central, quantum tipping point. This energy trough exists in the in-between period as one set of cosmic cycles ends and the next set begins. In the cusp or crease period between world ages, we can tap into the quantum field and make enormous changes very quickly. That time is now.

There have been other moments like this in human history, including the Industrial Revolution that mechanized our world and changed life as we knew it. That was back in 1755, which coincided with the beginning of the Planetary Underworld in Calleman's version of the Mayan calendar. The next cycle, called the Galactic Underworld, began in 1999 and ushered in the Information Age. Again, for many, life on Earth would never be the same.

In 2011, as we enter the Universal Underworld, the rate of change accelerates again, to a head-spinning once every 20 days. Changes that used to take a year during the Galactic Underworld (or 20 years during the Planetary Underworld) will take only 20 days. The new phase begins in February 2011.

Not only is the acceleration of consciousness on our side as we attempt to heal our world and change the course of history, planetary titans Uranus and Pluto will weigh in to support the revolution. Astrologically these are powerful, destructive and creative energies, and we'll need to be vigilant in focusing the waves of momentum unleashed through the ongoing square between these two planets.

Pluto in Capricorn facilitates the destruction of institutions, structures and systems, especially at a societal level, that no longer serve our rapid evolution as a species. Uranian energy strikes unexpectedly, like lightning, obliterating the old to make way for the new. Uranian energies also spark flashes of genius that can be focused toward innovative solutions.

We've experienced plenty of destructive energy in our world in recent centuries and decades. While the demolition of the old paradigm will continue in the new year, there's a shift into a more powerfully creative mode that will help us make changes and solve problems quickly, efficiently and proactively. The building of a new paradigm begins as the old falls away.

IV. Individuated Oneness

Uranus is the modern ruler of Aquarius, the sign of the next astrological age. While there's no single date when the 2,000-year Age of Aquarius begins, Uranus' entry into Aries is undoubtedly a significant moment in this transition.

With his layers of meaning, shrewd complexity and belligerent yet effective approach, this is a planet for our times. Uranus is the rebel with a cause. For each of us, cycles of Uranus represent our process of individuation as we seek our unique identity within a vast sea of consciousness. Collectively, Uranus guides our evolution toward a more humanitarian, egalitarian and enlightened society where the needs of the many outweigh the desires of a few.

A vast societal reorganization will be needed to fully realize human evolutionary potential, and Uranus is just the planet to help us make this transition.

On an individual level, the process requires that we each take responsibility for ourselves and commit to fulfilling our divine purpose at this crucial time in Earth's history.

Uranus and his sign, Aquarius, embody unity consciousness, the intrinsic oneness that underlies all of creation, as well as individuated soul expression. The Aquarian Age calls for teamwork, cooperation and collaboration that honors the unique talents and gifts of each individual.

Personal and group intentions will manifest powerfully under the planetary configurations of 2011, especially those that balance the needs of the individual with the good of the collective, and vice versa. Together, we can turn the tide and create a brighter future for all.

Spiritual GPS

The truth of our being is love. As we travel the spiral, each year our hearts open more fully to this vast creative force of the cosmos. We are empowered to fulfill our destiny as souls embodied on Earth.

We can tune in as often as needed to our internal guidance system, the infinite wisdom deep in our hearts. Throughout all the changes, the acceleration and the exhilaration, the peace, the knowing, is in the center.

Access this wisdom in deep communion with the heart center of our galaxy, and the center of the local supergalactic cluster. This connection is especially strong on the Solstices and Equinoxes and during the moments when other planetary configurations line up with these points in deep space.

To find out the dates of specific alignments in 2011, please visit www.StarPriestess.com/AllisonRae2011AstroForecast.pdf for my full 2011 Astro Forecast.

Astrology doesn't tell us what's going to happen. It allows us to forecast energetic conditions just as meteorologists forecast the weather. It's a heads-up that helps you to make decisions confidently, in alignment with the soul. Understanding how planetary transits and configurations relate to your personal astrology will help you align more fully with the energetic potential of 2011 and beyond.

Where do you fit in this continuously shifting planetary picture? What's your soul song? How are you contributing to individual and cultural transformation? Is your role changing?

How will you tap into the energies of the new year to create powerfully and benefit humanity and the Earth?

These are big questions. Please join me in prayer and contemplation as we prepare for the greatest leap yet in our lifetime journey through 2012 and beyond.

Om Mani Padme Hum

Copyright 2010 Allison Rae/StarPriestess.com