An Intense Invitation:
The Upcoming Harmonic Concordance

by Jennifer Houle

Showing only the stars involved, this astrological chart illustrates the formation dubbed the Harmonic Concordance at the moment of the Full Moon, which will be in eclipse. The chart, with the Moon on the rise and the Sun below the western horizon, is drawn for 6:13 p.m. MST November 8 over Cripple Creek, Colorado. That is 1:13 a.m. U.T. November 9. Clockwise from the top are Mars in Pisces, Chiron in Capricorn, Sun in Scorpio, Jupiter in Virgo, Saturn in Cancer and Moon in Taurus.

If you have an interest in astrology, along with Internet access, then chances are good that you have heard about the upcoming Harmonic Concordance on November 8-9, 2003. A simple Google search of the phrase “harmonic concordance” brings up a plethora of websites and articles on the subject. The astrological lineup centers on a total eclipse of the Moon - November 8 in the Americas, November 9 in Europe and Asia. The opposition of the Sun and Moon, with the Earth in the center and Earth’s shadow on the Moon, is bracketed in the sky by Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the astrologically important asteroid or planetoid Chiron, the healer, in a six-pointed star of harmonious trines and sextiles.

There is a definite buzz in astrological and spiritual communities. Much has already been written about the phenomenon. Theories as to “what it portends” abound. I’ve been curious about the implications of the Harmonic Concordance since I first read about it a few months ago, and of course, like any amateur astrologer, I searched online for sources of inspiration and enlightenment as to what this planetary pattern might symbolize. Theories and predictions for the moment cover the gamut from those who see it as simply an opportune time for sharing together in healing meditation to those who see it so dramatically as to suggest it could signal “the Rapture” - an event expected by certain Christian denominations in which the saved would disappear from the Earth before a world-ending Armageddon. Much of the interpretation relates to a worldwide kind of meaning.

I, however, felt a more personal kind of pull and interest in the event and was intrigued by a stellium of smaller celestial objects that will be gathering together with Venus, simultaneously and in astrological aspect to the Mars point of the Harmonic Concordance. Therein may lie an important sign in which others might uncover, as I did, a more personal meaning within the chart of the Concordance. A societal meaning, related to the pushes, pulls and balances of masculinity and femininity might also be reflected there.

In contrast to those who predict worldwide dramatic significance at the moment of the event, many astrologers are cautioning their clients and readers not to expect too much, as many equally interesting astrological lineups have occurred in the past with little ado. At www.astrosite.com alone, one can find a number of articles with diverse ways of interpreting the pattern from astrological and spiritual perspectives, together with views of the chart from various places in the world. Reading the articles can be a little overwhelming, but one of the greatest things about astrology is the fact that it is fluid, highly subjective and open for interpretation. No one school or science of astrology is accepted as the one correct way. However, this can make for some very confusing and mixed messages to the amateur astrologer.

A few years ago, I hit a wall in my own astrological practice when I got lost amid the countless different astrological approaches and belief systems I read about in books and online. I never gave up my interest entirely, but for a long time, I became rather astrologically lazy. I checked the transits to my natal chart at Astrodienst online. Minor transits rarely piqued my interest anymore. “Mercury sextile my Mars? Oh big deal, it’s only a one-day transit, probably won’t shake up my life too much.” I tended to pay more attention to bigger, longer-lasting transits like, say, Neptune opposite Mars, or Saturn conjunct my Moon. I’d be willing to bet that many, many people out there do the same. However, looking into the hexagon-shaped Harmonic Concordance Chart has re-ignited my relationship with astrology in many ways.

At first, I was content to just surf the sites and find out what other people had to say about the approaching formation. I tended to stick to the articles that somehow reinforced my worldview and stayed away from those that freaked me out or challenged me. Hey man, some people out there are saying some pretty hardcore stuff about this upcoming celestial event! Some people believe it will be Earth-changing, paradigm-shifting, life-altering – in a word: intense. For me, researching the implications from my own perspective ended up becoming intensely personal.

Where Has All the Magic Gone?

I’m not sure which article did it for me, or exactly when it happened, but at some point over the past few months I found myself thinking very critically about astrology. When I first became interested in it, way back in the other millennium, it seemed magical and alive to me. Previous to that point, I’d always been a skeptic about schools of thought that claimed to offer insight into human existence. Like many a child of the ’80s, I was cynical as cynical could be, suspicious of everything big and old and patriarchal, and wary of self-help or spiritual schools of thought in general. And of course, I was also deeply in need of something to believe in, something to trust. For some reason, when I discovered astrology, I trusted it instinctively. Studying astrology led me directly to study spirituality, for to study astrology separate from a spiritual context simply did not work.

To believe in astrology, you almost have to believe in “as above, so below” and synchronous cosmic timing. You have to believe that somehow you are (and everyone else is) connected to something larger, something great and cosmic and almost unfathomable. One could study astrology from a purely scientific perspective (although few have), but one would not get far, since astrology is a very subjective discipline. An astrologer relies heavily on interpretation. Two astrologers might study the same chart and come up with entirely different analyses depending on what school of astrology they subscribe to.

That is why I hesitate to offer any firm conclusions as to what the Harmonic Concordance foretells or indicates. I encourage everyone interested in the Concordance to research it for yourself and to sit down and deeply consider what it might mean to you. What information resonates, and what falls flat? How does it relate to your own chart? Which houses do the planets appear in for you? Can you feel it coming in the areas of your life those houses represent? Events (even astrological ones) do not typically just “happen.” Usually something leads up to them. Look at the areas of your chart about to be affected by this formation. Go back and get re-acquainted with the basics of astrology. If the planets in the Grand Sextile will be falling conjunct any of your planets, ask yourself when was the last time you seriously took stock of how that planet expresses in your life. What changes might be happening right under your nose? What decisions might you have to make? How do you utilize astrological information, and how does your approach to astrology mirror your approach to life?

In researching and considering the Concordance, I realized that my approach to life had become rather lazy. In my defense, Neptune has been opposing my Mars for over two years and I’ve been sleepier than usual. However, Neptune or no Neptune, it was a sort of spiritual laziness, not an apathetic or a disinterested one. It was a laziness born of increasing disenchantment.

By no means am I suggesting that this has been a worldwide phenomenon, but many of my friends experienced a great spiritual disillusionment after the year 2000, having only been introduced to spiritual notions because of the anticipation of the turning of the millennium and all of the conjecturing that came with it. Some of us had come to spirituality solely because of having read The Celestine Prophecy, which made us suddenly feel like maybe “it all meant something, after all.” A lot of us came to spirituality on the heels of a trend, and when miracles failed to manifest for us, a lot of us began to question our senses. We grew up and got critical, and yet, none of us could deny that we truly had experienced a profound awakening. Because of this awakening, I think some of us really were expecting drastic changes for the better, like having the experience of smashing synchronicities every day and nonstop magic and growth. Alas, of course … this has not been the case. Oh, there has been magic, but it has been of the very real, very earthly variety for most of us.

As our minds and hearts continued to grow and contend with spiritual questions and earthly realities, we needed to reassess our very notions of what constitutes the miraculous, the spiritual, the life-altering. We needed to get to know ourselves all over again. Many of us grew tired, exhausted, annoyed, and fell out of love with our apparently ineffectual spiritual selves. This process has occurred with so many of the people I know that I feel confident in offering it to you as typical of what many young adults are experiencing right now. Whether it is spiritual in nature or not, I do believe that collectively we have been experiencing a very profound disillusionment for at least a year, if not longer.

To name just a few issues that may be contributing to this disillusionment: the scandal in the Catholic Church, the blatant lies told by the president of the United States, the negating of environmental policies in the United States, the downplaying of accusations of sexual harassment leveled at the new governor of California, the shamelessness of reality television, the very troubled economy … Need I go on? It has been one heck of a disillusioning year for anyone with even slightly openhearted and humanistic hopes for society. This is just in the West; in some other parts of the world, I imagine that “disillusionment” is not nearly a strong enough word.

An Invitation to Re-engage

What does all of this have to do with the Harmonic Concordance? Well, as I said, I don’t mean to offer any type of flat interpretation or to suggest that this is the only way one might look at the chart. The following interpretation of the chart is just that: my interpretation. It is deeply colored by my interests and beliefs and personal challenges. In reading the interpretations of others, I have been inspired to develop my own interpretation. I hope each and every one of you will do the same, because in my interpretation, the No. 1 thing to bear in mind about this chart is that it is an invitation to re-engage with the Great Mystery.

It is almost impossible not have some sort of deep-seeded gut reaction to the chart. However, as deep as these reactions might be, it is also extremely easy to lapse into generalization. There’s so much in there to seize upon and grasp as the one thread that makes perfect sense to you – that you can tie into your life or global politics or what you saw on the news last night. There’s so much in there to engage with.

Here is what the pattern consists of: It is a Grand Sextile composed of the Sun in Scorpio, the asteroid or planetoid Chiron in Capricorn, Mars in Pisces, the Moon in Taurus, Saturn in Cancer, and Jupiter in Virgo. The pattern appears within the Earth and Water signs, and entirely in feminine signs. None of the outer planets are involved (although it does involve Chiron, which has gained a reputation as the Rainbow Bridge between the inner and outer planets).

What many people may not be aware of is that there is another very interesting aspect pattern happening during the week of the Concordance – a pattern that emphasizes the concerns of Venus, the feminine planet of earthly love and values. Beginning on November 5, when asteroids Psyche and Eros will conjoin exactly, those eternal lovers will form a close stellium in Sagittarius along with the planet Venus and fellow asteroids Juno and Vesta. The Eros-Psyche conjunction occurs with relative frequency, but this particular conjunction involves Venus as well, and that is a much, much more rare occurrence.

Eros, Psyche, Vesta, Venus and Juno gather together in Sagittarius as Venus squares Mars and Jupiter in the chart of the Harmonic Concordance.

Eros, representing desires of spirit, and Psyche, representing the longings of the soul, are associated with each other, and with fulfillment, in astrology and mythology. Juno and Vesta, asteroids representing facets of goddess energy, add even more fuel to the conjunction of Eros and Psyche. Juno is also known mythologically as the wife of Jupiter, king of the gods, and stands for committed relationships, while Vesta represents sacred fire, the hearth at the heart of the home. The Sagittarian conjunction of Venus and these asteroids will be square to masculine Mars in Pisces in the Concordance Chart. The Mars-Venus square alone adds tension and dynamism to the aspect pattern. The added presence of the asteroids provides even more food for thought. If the Mars-Venus square is a noticeable source of tension – a major wildcard in the Harmonic Concordance Chart – how much more wild does that card become when we consider the asteroids?

Psyche, Eros, Juno and Vesta are all asteroids correlated to deeply relational, sexual and creative human drives. Psyche speaks to the psychological experience of life and love, Eros to deep desire and creativity, Juno to commitment (in all its forms), and Vesta to the sanctity and sacredness of human sexuality. All of these influences color and add intensity to Venus’ square to Mars during the Concordance.

An article I wrote last year in Metamorphosis explores some of the possibilities presented by Eros and Psyche as a pair. It can be found at http://consciousevolution.com/metamorphosis/0209/eros0209.htm. Another very good source of information about the Eros-Psyche conjunction is Kim Falconer’s article at http://www.nrg.com.au/~d-falcon/Guide.htm.

If it seems like I am throwing a lot of website addresses at you in this article, you’re right, as I really hope to encourage individual research of the patterns in the skies as this month gets underway. Not because they portend some great, huge world-changing moment (although they just might), but because, as I said, I believe the chart is an invitation for us all to re-engage with the Great Mystery. Lately, the mystery seems to have gone out of a lot: the strings that pull society have become plainly visible … and many of us have had to contend with the shattering of our illusions.

The thing about illusions: they aren’t magic. And magic is what’s missing from so many of our lives. This chart is an invitation to recover that magic. Many of us have never stopped believing, but we have lost the ability to know how to comfortably believe in spite of all that we see and experience everyday: so many opposing viewpoints, so much corruption (even in the most highly spiritual circles), so much confusion. One thing this chart isn’t is confused. It is overwhelmingly intricate and detailed, but confused it is not.

Mars’ role in the chart is interesting in and of itself. We’ve all been watching Mars closely this year while it not only went retrograde in Pisces and conjoined Uranus but also approached Earth more closely than it has in 60,000 years. Last spring, Mars went retrograde at 10 degrees Pisces. When the Concordance happens, Mars will once again be at this very same degree. Oh, and just by the way, Uranus will also be stationary-direct as it finally turns tail and gets ready to head into Pisces for the long haul.

Can this all be coincidence? Mars just so happens to return to its retrograde position, Uranus goes direct, the lovers Eros and Psyche finally come together, and a total lunar eclipse plays into the overall creation of a Grand Sextile in the sky. That’s a lot for one short week. The eclipse alone would have been exciting enough. It truly is a magical lineup and it is so tempting to believe that maybe, just maybe, all of those long-awaited miracles will finally manifest.

Mars, Venus and the Divine Feminine

Even the most open-minded and least gender-biased of astrologers will agree that Mars most often symbolizes masculinity. Mars rules men. We’ve all heard it. There are even some psychological books (about differences in the communication styles of the genders) that build on the metaphor that Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus. While I don’t believe that biological sex distinctions can or should be turned into narrow gender stereotypes, it is undeniable that Mars does equate with what we, as a collective, still deem “masculine” qualities. The face of masculinity has never been more confused than it has this year; the recent election in California being just one example of how the “male macho” image has been used politically, the George W. Bush action figures being another. For more information on this phenomenon, check out The Rise of the Neo-Macho Man by Richard Goldstein at http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15328. (Yet another link for the curious reader.)

Mars in Pisces in its square with Venus in Sagittarius is one of the aspects I find most interesting in the Concordance. Now, I hate to generalize, but Pisces is often associated with deceptions and untruths, whereas Sagittarius is often associated with the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Contrariwise, on the flipside of both of those signs, Pisces might be equated with inspired or divine revelation, whereas Sagittarius is associated with dogma.

I see the Mars-Venus square in Pisces and Sagittarius as symbolic of the battle between the gender stereotypes and misconceptions that still plague us as a society. Lately, in spiritual circles, the ideal of balancing the masculine and the feminine has been of great interest. I believe this particular aspect points to the ongoing tension between masculinity and femininity and the qualities associated with each, as well as the often very deep wounds many of us have surrounding our sexual identities and our genders.

That the Concordance is happening in the feminine signs suggest to me that it may very well be indicative of a moment of healing for the divine feminine in all of us. That the aspect between Venus and Mars appears as a square suggests that the tension in this area of the collective is still very much in effect, still very much an issue to be contended with for all of us. Venus in Sagittarius suggests that we do desire (via Venus and Eros) the truth (via Sagittarius), while Mars in Pisces implies that we may be tempted to escape (via Pisces) from acting (via Mars) on that truth. But the square will create the tension needed to ensure that escapism is a very uncomfortable and unworkable option.

These are very intense aspects. It is an intense astrological chart, an intense moment in time, but also a very beautiful one. Taking off from these main points of interpretation, my analysis of this upcoming event then turned deeply personal and related to my own life. I hope we can discuss some of the personal issues raised by this event on the Conscious Evolution forums, and with our loved ones, and within ourselves. That is my great hope for this moment, a moment we all live in: that we find ways to embody and reflect it fully. It is an invitation back to our selves, if nothing else.