The Forge and the Quench
As Jupiter continues to straddle the gap between Sagittarius and Scorpio (discussed in more detail in the journal entry titled “The Spiritual Knot”) we are all being worked in various ways, like a metal being forged into a new shape, but undergoing the intense shifts between the blacksmith’s Forge (fire) and the Quench (water) as we’re tempered into a material that might serve its purpose (Jupiter in Sagittarius being all about purpose, path and dharma) more effectively. Let yourself be worked! The metal experiences a tremendous amount of discomfort as its plucked from the fire only to be plunged into water and vice versa. The sizzle of steam is its scream, and maybe at this moment of celestial tumult you can sympathize.
The blacksmith’s workshop is an apt metaphor for this tenuous time because Jupiter will jump over this gap between fire and water several times before he finally moves forward into Sagittarius in November of this year. This gives us many months to learn the art of being forged. One of the most challenging aspects of this time period is surrender to the process due to the inherent violence involved in being thrown between two inimical elementsr. Remember that there is a purpose, though at times your mind will not be able to recognize it. This is the nature of the gap between fire and water signs, where the lunar zodiac does not provide a bridge between solar signs. The mind (shown by the moon) has no story to connect to. The psychological territory can feel unfamiliar and there can be a tremendous feeling of displacement. Just notice this internal tension and feel into this blank space as though it was a moonlit landscape—unfamiliar to our daylight vision. Something in our psyche knows how to navigate here. Allow that one to take the reigns.
Be very conscious of the story you are telling yourself in the coming months. Consider your internal story-line a type of sustenance. Are you being fed by GMO corn and soybeans or greens from your garden? A substantive story is different from the lies we might tell ourselves as a way to cope with a repulsive reality. Your internal narrative is the way you frame your experience, and it will often immediately paint the picture of events in the way its accustomed to. These are the habit patterns of the mind, and will show up in the chart as conjunctions or aspects to the Moon, or the placement of the Moon in a Nakshatra.
Given the upheaval in the skies and the forging of our internal material, this is an opportunity to change the shape of the story you’ve been creating for yourself. Perhaps it has a flaw, or perhaps it no longer fits and needs to be forged again in the fire for its edge to be sharpened into something that is capable of cutting.
Every transit is an opportunity, even (and I would argue: especially) the difficult ones. For further support and details as to how this transit effects you, consider an individual consultation.