I have just returned from Chiapas and the Yucatan, in Mexico. This is the land of the Maya. Here the needle of the compass of life points in a different direction than in my world back home. Perhaps a couple of images best describe what I mean.

Three sweet little children between the ages of 2 and 4 and their splendidly and colorfully attired mother (?) comfortably and intimately, share a small space, no more than 5 × 5 feet. She is occupied with her handwork, they with a small piece of wood. But it seems to me that it is much more than the space that they share. And it was not just with this grouping that I felt this phenomenon. It was what we experienced as we traveled in their country. The Mayans seem to share an energy, a lightness, beyond their earthiness. This is a paradox because, as a culture, they are closer than we are to the earth . They sit on it to eat, play, laugh, talk, work and nurse their children. Yet while they do that they also seem to be somewhere else, in communion with a more subtle energy.

In another instance, while I plied the computer keys in a small office next to the resort kitchen, one of the two cooks began a gentle melody. He was joined by the other cook, effortlessly, in a delicate and delightful harmony. There would be a break in the song and then another pick up, just the way a natural conversation goes. My heart opened and lifted.

What have we forgotten? What have we lost? So many of us feel the need for a deep sea change in the way that we live our everyday lives. I have heard disenchantment, the sense of a broken dream, already so many times since I have been back.

As I examine the astrological signatures for this winter I can understand why we are more urgently sensing the need for change. It is strongly indicated in the planetary and asteroid alignments.

1. Today, Feb 8, 2007 my Solar Fire chart gives 10 points between 10 degrees Aquarius and 16 Pisces. Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, the Transpersonal planets, are all in direct motion. This in itself, is a powerful signature for transformation.

2. . Saturn on the other hand is both Retrograde and, with the exception of the fast -moving Moon, in a hemisphere by itself. It is in Leo, the sign of personal self-expression. This sets up an interplay between the transpersonal forces and how we as individuals will receive these energies and personalize them in our own lives. Saturn’s Retrograde motion suggests that this process must include an honest and realistic evaluation of our bottled up emotions, insecurities, fears, judgments, blames and resentments. In short, it is a time to face the personal outworn patterns that are shielding us from true creative expression.

3. Chiron, the symbol of the Wounded Healer , is in Aquarius until the spring of 2011. Its transition from Capricorn into the early degrees of Aquarius, where it has stayed for almost a year, has highlighted the tension, disillusionment and sense of ending, that so strongly permeates the minds and hearts of so many in our western cultures nowadays. Uranus, the ruler of Aquarius, correlates to feelings of both dissociation and fracture which it seems are pretty much the hallmark of our cultures on this planet at this time in history. So while Chiron is in Aquarius we will be confronting this deep social wounding and whether we choose to or not, will be dealing with its repercussions.

4. The Sun is absolutely conjunct Neptune today, in Aquarius. This signature helps us to access forgiveness and tenderness towards ourselves, our broken parts and the woundedness of others. It is one way of of healing the transit of Chiron through Aquarius, and it is effective on both a personal and a social level. And we are being encouraged to keep up the momentum.

5. The transitting North Node and Uranus are coming together in Pisces, with the asteroid Ceres also in this conjunction. This conjunction, which stays with us for some time, will help us to keep this healing momentum going. The Mutual Reception of Uranus in Pisces and Neptune in Aquarius ramps up the possibility of unexpected shifts and magical synchronicities that bear the imprint of divine intervention. Collective judgments and truths that smack more of personal than eternal verities will be forcibly, if not willingly, shifted in this climate.

6. With Pluto moving forward then backward over the Galactic Center over the next year, this must be the time to get with the big picture!

7. And now to my new-found favorites the 3 Liliths. Lilith, the asteroid, is between 21 and 22 degrees Sagitarrius. The Dark Moon Lilith has joined her at that degree, to begin a new cycle, just yesterday…and both are within orb of a conjunction with Pluto and the Galactic Center. Black Moon Lilith, the resolution point, is about 12 degrees of Libra., so her message is that a partnership, rather than a dominator model of social engagement is what is being called for. As we head toward 2012, the energies of change will continue to solicit our co operation. Of that we can be sure!