Venus into Cancer | July 31st - August 26th ... attracted to what feels like home

hanna by aufzehengehen

Venus moves into nurturing Cancer today.

Venus in Cancer is the maiden becoming the mother. It is a natural fit. 

Cancer Suns and Cancer Risings (Cancer ruling the first house of our natal chart) get more attractive - both easy on the eye and able to attract what they want. What house holds Cancer in your natal chart? That house will be more attractive now, too - meaning able to attract our attention, and other people's attention, to that house's theme. 

If you have any planets in that Cancer house in your natal (or progressed) chart Venus will meet with (conjunct) those planets over the next month. Planets in Scorpio and Pisces will trine Venus at various times. Planets in Taurus and Virgo will sextile. Trines and sextiles offer opportunities and we will need all the easy energy and opportunities we can find over the next few weeks!

While Venus is in Cancer we will be dealing with everyone's inner child and inner mother AT THE SAME TIME. We might look in the mirror and see our mother. We will be attracted to people who remind us of mother, home or safety. Our own and other people's childhood patterns related to love and mothering or lack of love and mothering will be observable. We will all be more likely to touch each other - physically, emotionally and verbally - in comforting ways.

So, when that strange guy at the post office with the four inch sideburns and two inch nose hairs, steps a little too close and even touches your elbow while chatting you up about the dangers of cellphones you probably won't even flinch. Probably. Especially if mom had sideburns, too.

Kindness matters now. Yes, of course, kindness always matters. But people will be needing it. Most of us, especially women because Venus rules women but not only women, will be more sensitive. More sensitivity can bring us closer to other people. It can also make life more painful. An offer to make someone dinner or a few extra moments spent with someone who needs a shoulder to cry on can make all the difference now.

We will feel a stronger urge to fit in ... somewhere. Most especially somewhere that feels like home.

The primary urge of Venus in Cancer is toward security. Safety and security, home and family - will be what everyone is wanting. The people and places and situations that make us feel protected will be the spaces we can recharge our Venusian batteries.  

The things we want and the things we need will turn out to be the same things.

Venus in Cancer is less direct. People influenced by this transit will be hinting at what they want/need instead of reaching out. Know this and allow everyone a few extra moments to get to whatever it is they need to get to. Our vulnerabilities will not turn off the people they normally turn off. We will not be walking past that homeless guy quite as easily.

This doesn't mean we open up to just anyone although we will be surprised at who is opening up. A crab's shell (Cancer means crab) keeps it alive, but it is continually being outgrown. We most likely know by now where the safe spaces and safe people are.

We'll go to them and we'll be them.

The next three weeks are setting up to be pretty challenging. Hugs will help. I have a niece who hugs long and hard and hardly ever lets go first. She's a Cancer. Let's try to follow her example now - and not let go first.

xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of July 31st - storms are brewing ....

melf by aufzehenhgehen

Another big, powerful week as we build toward the eclipses! I'll do a big picture forecast this week as well as some dailies for the stuff that stands out.

I am starting with Sunday this week, even though I am writing this Sunday night (!) since we have the First Quarter Moon today. You might have felt it. A crisis point. We kicked off the week SUNDAY morning with the Moon (in Scorpio) squaring the Sun (in Leo). This brings a challenge to whatever started at the New Moon a week ago. Our awareness (Sun) moves to the problem, so we can reform (Scorpio) the situation.

This monthly aspect (in different signs and areas of our lives) is determined to show us how strong we are on an emotional level - how well we can keep our cool when things don't go our way. More could be demanded from us than we expected or we could be the one doing the demanding. The Moon is squaring Mars, making power struggles even more likely. There is a nice healing Neptune/Scorpio trine (brakes off) in the evening though.

On MONDAY, the Moon is void all day. This is not a good day to launch anything, start something new, have a conversation/meeting you want 'something to come of'.

This is the longest void we've seen in a long time!

Mini astrology lesson: The moon is called "void" or "void of course" when she makes no aspects to any other planets. This is important because our moon lives in imagination where all our possibilities are kept alive simply because we never choose to live them out. So, in astrological terms, the Moon has to make an aspect to a physical planet before she leaves the sign she is in, before she 'changes the subject' so to speak, for anything to actually happen in the physical realm.

When an action is taken under a void of course moon - "nothing will come of the matter". 

Venus moves into nurturing Cancer until August 26th - a space she loves. I'll do a post about it tomorrow - Cancer Suns and Risings get more attractive (both easier on the eye and able to attract what they want), our Cancer natal houses get more attractive, our wants (Venus) and our needs (Cancer) will be working together. People (especially women) will be more emotional, more sentimental AND maybe need more reassurances and more mothering.

EXAMPLE FOR LIBRA/LIBRA Rising (Cancer 10th house) - Venus moves into your public life/career house increasing your ability to attract attention in this area. Emotional connections within a professional setting are possible now. Your naturally fine line between work and home or professional and personal softens even more than usual. You attract/earn more/gain more recognition and self-esteem by being a professional "mother" in some way. Empathy attracts. Vulnerability attracts. You don't have to be Superwoman to be a super woman.

On TUESDAY, the Moon will be in Sagittarius making us feel a little more optimistic and broad-minded. The Moon will be adjusting to Venus (freshly in Cancer) and Sagittarius themes could have our attention - travel, education, weddings, foreign issues, media, marketing, politics, religion. We might also be dealing with other people's finances, debts, loans, taxes, reproduction, sex, death issues now. At night the Moon is squaring Mercury making everyone more opinionated and then trining Mars - we could have a burst of energy late in the day or maybe someone wants/demands our attention.

On THURSDAY, Uranus stations retrograde (post to follow). He will be retrograde for the rest of the year. His change of direction could bring some people a temporary release from whatever crazy-making is happening in their lives. For other people the retrograde itself will shake things up. Uranus has been standing almost totally still for the last week or so, so the change/surprise, could be something that has already happened and now we will be dealing with the aftermath ...

EXAMPLE FOR SCORPIO/SCORPIO Rising (Aries 6th house) this retrograde will have you going back over something in your day to day activities, work and health sector (also pets). There could be a sudden or unexpected change to your daily routine or job. An existing health issue could ease up or maybe an issue from the past returns in a more intense way to allow you to re-work the problem. Think lifestyle "re"flection, lifestyle "re"vision, lifestyle "re"boot.

By May of 2018 Uranus will be in Taurus - shaking up our Taurus natal houses, Taurus people, any planets or points we have in Taurus and bringing revolution to our (collective) money, women's issues, our food supply, weather and climate through 2025. Buckle up!

On FRIDAY, we have the third of the Jupiter/Pluto squares of 2016-2017. Post to follow. The first was in November 2016, the second the end of March 2017. Do you have a story playing out? This has been THE major 2017 transit and it will take awhile to unwind itself. In the United States we have been watching a battle between government (Pluto) and media (Jupiter) and government (Pluto) and the courts (Jupiter) - among other battles!

This transit is very ambitious. Power can make us greedy. Success is possible here but there will be consequences for over the top acts of power/revenge/manipulation. With Jupiter in social Libra and Pluto in all-business Capricorn damaged relationships/partnerships/alliances and powerful enemies could be the price to pay for abuses of power and control. This year's transits could bring great success if we haven't pushed (Pluto) our luck (Jupiter) - but could also bring big losses, bankruptcy and time in the slammer for some overly ambitious and unethical power divas.

EXAMPLE FOR SAGITTARIUS/SAGITTARIUS Rising - this week's final square is about a financial opportunity - maybe a cash bonus, big sale or serious source of new/improved income. This would likely come through friends, groups or the internet making this a good time for promotion, sales, media exposure - return those emails! If some opportunity from last November or late March didn't work out, now would be the time to reach out again. The caveat is not to go so extreme that you look desperate, unethical or greedy and have it all backfire. Less will get you more now. 

Mercury is walking the steps he will re-walk two more times - yes, Mercury retrograde is coming! - so pay attention to the news/information/conversations now. AND BACK UP YOUR FILES.

xo all - back later in the week with some dailies and the big picture lead up to the eclipses!

Mars Conjunct the Sun, Venus Sextile the North Node | a new action cycle, investing in what we love

swing by mh22

Mars conjunctions are new beginnings.

Whenever another planet conjuncts (meets at the same degree) the planet Mars we get a fresh start for that other planet's energy because Mars rules Aries and the first house of fiery initiation.

So something from the last Mars/Sun conjunction (mid June 2015, check your Facebook to see what was going on in your life if this time frame doesn't ring any bells) is ending now and something new will begin to open up. Since Sunday's New Moon was conjunct Mars there is likely a connection to that.

This is a fresh start for our Leo house theme (triggered by an ending or culmination) because this is the space the planets are meeting up and this is a fresh start for our Sun sign.

Mars transits encourage action. Leo transits elicit attention. Combined with our natal Sun sign energy (I know everyone knows their Sun sign!) this is our sweet spot of power now.

This is excellent energy to start a new, long term, project!

Two days after the last Mars/Sun conjunction which was conjunct Donald Trump's Sun/North Node/Uranus he announced his run for the Presidency. We might not have this kind of super-potent connection to our natal chart with this one - any planets or points near 5 degrees Leo in your natal chart? - but BIG, or should I say BIGLY shifts, are possible. The impossible can be made possible with this kind of kick-off.

We are living in the days between ages, moving from patriarchy into equality, from the Piscean age (patriarchy, authority) into the Aquarian age (equality, freedom). Anyone who expected the incoming Aquarian age to look like late 1960's hippie culture (peace, drugs and rock 'n roll was pure Piscean energy) is being badly shaken up. Aquarius (ruled by erratic Uranus) is about creation through chaos. With every leap forward (and technology, ruled by Aquarius and Uranus is making sure our leaps are often with lengths unrivaled by Olympic athletes) we face the risk of losing everything.

And yes, right now we, as a collective, are leaping - there are no guarantees of a smooth or even safe landing. Maybe we have to let go of the idea of even landing at all to enjoy (Leo) the trip! My thinking (!) is we can't think too far ahead now because what we are thinking and feeling and doing is constantly interacting with and changing the paths ahead that will be available to us. The "good old days" are what we carry inside us. We aren't going back there. This doesn't mean we don't have good days ahead of us, we have GREAT days ahead of us. They are just different days!

The fear that is crippling us/our planet at the moment, is the closing act of the Piscean play. It's the act whose lead characters are the parts of us - acted out by the people "in charge" - that refuse to change; the parts of us that would rather drown, and take the rest of us with them, than deal with and face up to how wrong their ideas/thinking has become. We see this in the collective, especially in politics, but we also see this within ourselves.

Our heads can't get there from here.

Our future is just too different from our now. And that's OK. With perfect synchronicity our loving Universe/God/Goddess has given us the North Node in heart-centered and Sun ruled Leo to guide us. Our hearts can get there.

With the Moon and Mercury in Virgo today we might be overthinking something. Our overthinking is actually holding the whole world back. Yes, we are that powerful! This doesn't mean we shouldn't be thinking at all. With Mercury in Virgo our thinking and reasoning skills are sharp and needed now.

But it's important to stay centered in our heart with whatever is happening. Remember that North Node in Leo. What do we want to create is this situation? What do we want to be recognized for?

We also have Venus (love, money, women, beauty, balance, fairness, self-esteem, what we value) sextiling  - OPPORTUNITY - our North Node in Leo. The opportunity comes from recognizing what we value now. What do we want to do with our precious hours on this precious planet? If some kind of balance needs to be reset - this is the time. This is the energy to beautify our environment and ourselves. This is the energy to be investing in what we love - what does that make you think about doing with your time, money, attention? Do some of that. This sextile is fleeting but not some small thing - please don't assume because it is only one tiny paragraph here that is isn't as important as all my ranting. It's more important.

xo all

Mercury into Virgo | precise language

emely by sollena fotografie

Mercury (communication, ideas, thinking, siblings) moves into organized and clear-headed Virgo today. Mercury rules Virgo and is uber-happy to be in his/her own sign after blasting through bombastic Leo.

Since Mercury will station retrograde during his stay in Virgo, this will be a good long chunk of time for us to tend to the details of whatever we have going on.

For the next few weeks our thinking will be more analytical. Conversations will be to the point. We will want the facts. Other people will want the facts from us. The numbers will have to balance out. Practical thinking matters. Mistakes will be noticed, so double check language, spelling, grammar, etc (I need to triple check because I always double check and still find errors in these posts!).

We will need to put on our magnifying glasses because if we don't see that missed punctuation mark, mathematical error, problem we have glossed over or unsubstantiated fact we are spouting - there is a very good chance someone else will. 

The shadow of Virgo is self-criticism (and criticism of everyone and everything) and self doubt - setting too high a standard. Perfectionism. Nothing is ever good enough and sometimes things don't get finished so we don't have to be judged and come up short. Since Virgo energy - and we all have Virgo somewhere in our charts - is one of the ways we learn to love ourselves unconditionally, we are pretty much guaranteed to miss something and make mistakes now and then.

We really can figure out and work with the things that need improvement without beating ourselves up when we come up short.

If we have been searching for a solution - this is great energy to nail one down!

Bottom line - it's time to get our sh*t together.

This is a good time to start/reactivate a mindfulness practice. Slow down. Think about what we are doing - ie I am doing the dishes, this water is warm and soapy, these dishes are cool, the sun is shining through the window, etc. There is so much wisdom encoded inside each one of us that gets bypassed when our lives get too noisy.

Mercury will soon be retrograde.

He is walking a path RIGHT NOW (started yesterday) that he will re-walk two more times. This means it is time to pay attention to what is going on in our Virgo/Leo houses because this is the stuff we will be going back over. When he turns direct on September 5th we will be sinking or swimming.

So what is happening now? Yesterday? Today? What are we working with - what are we in the middle of? What is just beginning? What is falling apart?

We are all aching to turn the world around. The collective world and our own personal worlds have reached an impasse with something. Everyone is dealing with their own intractable situation and at the same time we are all dealing with the world's problems that seem insurmountable.

Lots of stuff is about to get shaken up. Have I said recently - the eclipses are coming?!

For today, with Saturn sitting across from Venus and Venus about to confront Chiron next weekend, it is easy to get all mired in our own victim stories and focus on what isn't working. It would be better to step into our own Saturn now (responsibility) and find a way to bring love, balance and kindness (Venus) to someone else .... remember our collective North Node is in Leo - we need to be following our heart. We could start by loving what is right in front of us. xo

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of July 24th - alice ... meet wonderland

alice in wonderland by needcaffine

MONDAY is a powerhouse kind of day.

Leo season is officially started - marked by the Sun's entry into Leo on Saturday and we won't have another Leo season like this ... ever!

Hello Alice meet Wonderland!

We wake up to the Leo Moon sextiling (opportunity) Jupiter (in Libra). Emotions expand. Partners will be looking for recognition and appreciation. So will we. Let's be generous. Let's be grateful for what we already have.

Venus (in multi-tasking, choice loving Gemini) opposes Saturn (still retrograde in Sagittarius).

Venus ruled - love, money, women, self-esteem, values, beauty - hit a wall (Saturn). There are limits (Saturn) to what we can attract (Venus) now. Maybe we are forced to be charming when we don't feel like it. Maybe we just want to be alone (Saturn) with our own thoughts (Gemini), but we are forced to be social (Libra). Maybe someone else (Venus) is tossing a wet blanket (Saturn) on us.

It could be that a less than satisfying (Venus) result (Saturn) is delivered now. With Venus set to square Chiron next week, there could be more painful stuff ahead. Ouch.

Remember that even as Saturn is forcing us to face some kind of limit it might not be as bad as it seems with so much Leo encouragement to go BIG - it could be a kind of counter-balance. Smart choices come with built-in restrictions - that's why we don't always make them! Stop signs, walls, or losses are par for the course and not because the smart choice is meant to curb our fun, happiness or freedom, but because smart choices have built in limits (Saturn!) - that's usually what makes them smart choices.

We don't get the good stuff in spite of the bad - we get the good stuff because of the bad! Two sides, same coin.

EXAMPLE FOR SCORPIO/ SCORPIO RISING - Venus opposing Saturn in your 8th house of other people's resources/values/skills means a clear financial or intimacy limit needs to be faced. Results could show up now related to your partner’s earnings/resources, taxes, debts, loans, inheritance, sex, death, rebirth, fertility. This week's opposition and next week's square to Chiron in the same space could mean a painful disconnect between what you want and what you have. This could connect back to this past spring's Venus retrograde.

We also have Mercury (in passionate Leo) trining (brakes off) Uranus (in Aries) on Monday. Mercury will be at the same degree of our big eclipse next month - so the breaking news/new idea now will tie in to that even bigger FRESH START.

Information/news/communication is sudden, liberating or inventive. Bright ideas will hit us right between the eyes. Our minds will be sharp with access to lightning fast, original thinking!

In the collective (as well as our individual lives) news will be unexpected.

Misuses of power will be called out this week. Lies will be called out. The reality police are on the job. Don't over-promise or over-commit now or we could get ourselves in trouble. With a crazy August ahead of us, if you don't need to make a life altering decision right now then don't - unless your heart is certain, then listen to your heart, but prepare for twists and turns.

Mercury is about to enter Virgo (a sign he rules) and then he will go retrograde (yes, the dreaded retrograde coming right smack in the middle of eclipse season!) and he will station direct (in early September) on the exact degree of the big Solar Eclipse in Leo next month, so whatever comes up now - it will tie in to eclipse season and all the revisions, reinventing we will be tasked with! Pay attention. Act I starts now -and it will be a doozy. Act II is scheduled for early September.

EXAMPLE FOR VIRGO/ VIRGO RISING - Mercury trining Uranus from your first house indicates that new idea, which might seem nuts to other people, is something you need to take a closer look at. Move toward whatever has caught your interest, knowing Mercury's upcoming retrograde and his tie-in with the eclipse energies means this won't be a fast or smooth process.

On Tuesday the Moon and Mercury both move into Virgo. This is good energy for organizing, paperwork, health issues, pet issues, day to day stuff. With Mercury in Virgo we will be more discriminating, more analytical, more careful with our words and more able to think things through.

On Wednesday, the Sun conjuncts Mars - plan to do something creative! We talked about this aspect last week - anytime a planet conjuncts Mars we get a fresh start with that planet. So something from the last Mars/Sun conjunction (mid June 2015, check your Facebook to see what was going on in your life if this time frame doesn't ring any bells) is ending and something new will begin to open up. Since Sunday's New Moon was conjunct Mars there could definitely be a connection to that. Passion, initiative, motivation (also anger) will be amped up, especially around Leo ruled romance, children, games, risk and our creative pursuits.

EXAMPLE FOR TAURUS/TAURUS RISING - the Sun is meeting up with Mars in your 4th house of home, family, home business, security. A cycle that started mid June 2015 has finished and you’ll be starting a brand new home/family chapter that involves assertively creating or going after what you want (have courage Taurus!) in terms of your security needs, appreciation and/or recognition within your home, home business goals and what YOU need to be happy within a family situation. It you want to move or change something in your home situation - well here's a fresh start toward that. This energy will be connected to Sunday's New Moon in Leo.

Creating what we want or going after what we want (including recognition and appreciation) will be driven by our daring and confidence. It takes daring and confidence just to say we want recognition and appreciation ... doesn't it?!

On Thursday morning the Moon enters Libra. This is good energy to be social, get out there and meet with people. The Moon will sextile the Sun at night - good date night!

On Friday, the Libra Moon conjuncts Jupiter in the afternoon - expansion via groups and partners - and squares Pluto in the evening - jealousy, manipulation, compulsion - not a good date night!

xo all

New Moon in Leo | time to set new intentions for what we are known for, our creative work, what we are prideful about

king of the lions by prudicast

Today's New Moon in Leo kicks off a very BIGLY Leo season. I have already talked about it HERE and HERE. We are going to be talking Leo, Leo, Leo for the next few weeks!

The New Moon slips in, plants the seed and pushes things forward. Are you ready?

Our natal Leo house is where we are meant to "shine" - this is where we create, take risks and are "recognized".

This "recognition" doesn't mean everyone is going to love what we are doing. But the stuff we are doing will stand out.

Following our heart is what we do for ourselves. This is a hard pill to swallow for many people (and of course, we can take this too far - some of the shadows of Leo are greed and approval chasing) - the idea that the most important things we do, the stuff that is true to our heart, is really all about us.

New Moons in fire signs like this (we only get 3 a year!) are enthusiastic and impulsive and starting now, within the next couple days, especially with a blank sheet of paper and an OPEN heart - enable the energies at play to work with us. 

Imagine the Gods and Goddesses rubbing their hands together excitedly, "OH! YES! NOW we've got a PROJECT!".

This fresh start will be about what we are known for, our creative work and what we value and are prideful about. 

What is the theme of your natal house activated by these energies?

That's your work space.

Where is 0 degrees LEO in your natal chart? Don't know? Email me or go to astro.com and print your chart for free.

If you have natal or progressed (remember the universe didn't stop moving the moment we were born) planets in fixed or fire signs at close to or on 0 degrees you will feel this New Moon the strongest. Anything ending now is standing in the way of what our heart really wants - let it go.

INTENTION TIPS: 

Let your heart guide you, forget logic with this one, clear your head, write what your heart wants not what you think you should write, write your intentions down by hand in script on a blank piece of paper, speak the words out loud, burn the paper - release your attention from these things knowing your intention is known. 

Life has heard you. 

Know these things are already yours.

xo all - back later with the weekly!

In the last post I linked to Marina's New Moon post about the energies at play during this particular Moon and how they might reflect "tribal shock" and "hive mind". I thought it made so much sense with last week's energies and the Sun leaving Cancer precisely before the New Moon. I felt the rightness of her words, but I didn't see it connecting to my own story.

Within just a few hours of linking to her post I found out my aunt - only family member left from my mother's generation, and only family older than me - had been moved across the country, away from my state, with her son and daughter in law without them telling anyone AND hubs had a big phone fight with his sister and told her to never call him again (in my family we'd be back on the phone within a week, but in his, the end very well could be the end and would leave him rather frozen out) ... families falling, drifting, breaking apart - there could be a familial part of our story that gets left behind as the new energy carries us into this brave, new Leo season ....

Mercury Conjunct the North Node, Sun Trine Chiron | what hurts is what helps, words that point the way forward

home by imagomundi

This week's diverse aspects have been a struggle to think/write about in a way that recognizes they work together and stand on their own.

Taken separately they are like looking at a complicated dinner recipe one ingredient at a time and trying to figure out what you are supposed to make. I am sure an experienced cook with a good eye and mature palate could create something delicious, but this week I have felt more like your average hungry person tossing all the ingredients into a pot and adding some salt.

We have only a couple more days of Cancer season - the season of nourishment. I have been using Blue Apron food delivery service, 3 days a week, for the last month - having lost most of the garden this year to animals. The biggest eye opener is how little food we actually need to make dinner. When I lay out the night's ingredients on the counter I am amazed they will feed 2 people - it looks impossible.

But we always have just enough. No wonder I toss so much uneaten food every week - for years I have been making way too much.

I think this applies to many things other than dinner ...

Today we have the Sun (our self, ego, light) trining (brakes off) Chiron (deep wound). The Sun is still in Cancer so maybe opening up (shining a light on) our home/family issues or childhood trauma actually makes us less hurt or less vulnerable. Maybe under the spotlight we can see these 'vulnerabilities' are part of our strength, too. Somehow they look more friendly in the bright light of day, don't they? What were we so afraid of?

Mercury (communication, ideas, thinking) hooking up with our North Node (collective way forward) means we need to pay attention to what is being said, what we read, what we see, etc now. Since Mercury trined Saturn on Wednesday - there could be some news or information guiding us toward a more stable future.

With the North Node in Leo, ruled by the Sun, these two aspects could work together.

Living our Sun doesn't mean we reject our inheritance. The opposite is actually true - the more we are truly ourselves then the more openhearted and genuine we can be to other people including the ones with the fingers on all our buttons. It's not that their fingers will move on, although they may seem to, it is actually that we won't be carrying around the hidden buttons anymore! AND although we can still see/feel their buttons we also see their frailties and vulnerabilities in a new way giving us the compassion to keep our own trigger fingers safely tucked in our own pockets.

The psychic skeletons that haunt our families - many for generation after generation, so often seen in our birth charts - the power ploys subconsciously designed to keep people 'close', the subtle and not so subtle undermining of talents and potentials, the scapegoating, the envy and resentment and fear that accrues within familial groups - the Sun, our heart, following our heart, has the power to break these family curses.

They need to come into the light.

(and yes, now I am picturing Poltergeist and that poor little girl trapped in the walls, or was she not supposed to go into the light, I don't remember)

I will do a final New Moon post this weekend to set our intentions. See Part I HERE and Part II HERE

The Moon has so many dots to connect and I hadn't been connecting it with all the family drama playing out within this week's closing aspects - here is a post by Marina at Darkstar Astrology where she does this very well ... the possibility of "sacrificing true family connections in order to please a fake, cult family" could resonate now. 

xo all

Sun Square Uranus, Venus Inconjunct Pluto | shaken not stirred

shaken by tori-f

I accidentally set this post to go live at 8PM instead of 8AM. I guess my previous, more upbeat Mars in Leo post wanted a little more center stage airtime - how very Leo!

****

Today we have the Sun (in Cancer) squaring Uranus (in Aries) at 28 degrees. This could be disruptive.

Maybe a surprise situation or unexpected action (by someone else or by us) challenges or brings uncertainty to our security/stability or to a home/family situation.

Change directions too quickly and we could cause an accident, but this is good energy for a change in our appearance or the way we "shine" in the world. This is great energy to break out of a rut!

People will be restless and won't want to be pinned down. Today's stress/challenge could relate back to something from earlier in the week. Stay flexible.

We also have Venus (in Gemini) inconjunct a retrograde Pluto (in Capricorn) at 17 degrees. Our own choices and decisions regarding Venus ruled money, love, values, self-esteem or beauty situations could be contrary to whoever/whatever holds the power now.

Maybe something we thought/hoped we were finished with comes back around or maybe our "rehab" hits some roadblocks. Jealousy, manipulation, obsession, compulsion and power plays could cause issues within our relationships. Whatever the situation we are dealing with, if this transit is hitting our chart, the answers aren't easy and could be out of our hands for now ....

xo all

Mars into Leo | leading from our heart

in heart by Marta Syrko

Today we have fiery Mars (action, initiative, passion, anger) moving into equally fiery Leo (enthusiasm, heart, love, ego, pride, creativity, courage) until September 5th.

Mars will be in conjunction with both the Sun and the Moon on Sunday at the time of the New Moon and Mars will be exactly conjunct the Sun next Wednesday - which ends whatever started at the time of the last Sun/Mars cycle (something started mid June 2015) and launches something NEW

involving universal Leo themes (and/or for us personally the themes of our Leo natal houses) - how/what we initiate, how we take action, how we express our passion, our anger issues or issues we are angry about, something involving our creativity or children or romance. Mars will be active during the August 7th Aquarius Full Moon, too.

If you are a Leo Sun (or other fixed sign - Aquarius, Taurus, Scorpio) this transit is going to wake you up. If you are an Aries rising or a Scorpio rising (your chart is ruled by Mars) this is going to wake you up. Everyone's natal Leo house is waking up BIGLY!  

We will all feel this one.

The great thing about Mars in Leo is that it not only provides that Martian kick off at the starting line, it also provides the Leo ability to stick with it once we get it started!

Leo is the sign of the lion - the king of the jungle. One of the best ways to understand the king of the jungle is to understand the little lions we keep in our homes - those creatures called cats.

Everyone who "owns" a cat knows what a misnomer this word is when applied to the feline species. Cats can't be "owned". We know it and they know it. It is perfectly natural for them to convey an attitude of comfortable superiority.

This energy, this "presence" is what Leo is all about.

Everyone has Leo somewhere in their natal chart - a space we are meant to feel "comfortably superior". Ruled by the Sun, this is an area of life (in addition to our Sun sign) we are meant to SHINE. We are all about to get a whole lot more shiny. I think we will need those eclipse glasses no matter where we live now!

This is a great time to take action with something we are passionate about. Leo energy will not be ignored and doesn't like to wait, so if something needs to happen now - let's make it happen. The two weeks following Sunday's New Moon in Leo are PRIME make it happen days!

If we need courage, if we need confidence, if we need attention - this transit will provide the fiery push to take the action we need to take. Fresh starts don't get any fresher than this.

We have the North Node in Leo now - it is important to focus on the things that call our heart forward. Our blood is flowing faster (seriously I think someone needs to check on this) - our passions are stirred up!
 
Sometimes when we ask what our heart really wants we do not like the answer we get because we know it will force us to disconnect from something else - maybe something we used to love or maybe something that made/makes us feel safe or maybe something that is comfortable - start with those ratty old slippers, toss them!

Or because Leo's instinct is primal we (Aquarius polarity's shadow) start overthinking all the ways this new thing isn't going to work. 

We use our minds and words to start creating problem "cords" and entanglements from our new thing to all kinds of crap we don't want to happen. 

We don't need to do that right now. It is actually counter-productive.

Looking for dragons doesn't protect us from dragons - it actually creates the dragons!

We don't have to get too far ahead of ourselves - we don't have to know HOW we are going to do it. We just have to get clear on WHAT we want/need and take some kind of action. Life can use whatever action we take to get us where we need to go.

The energies on planet Earth have changed since the end of 2012 - we have lost the the energetic gatekeepers that kept things from happening too quickly - they have folded up shop and left the building! 

We don't need them, but we still think we do. 

We really can get there (wherever there is) from HERE. 

(Donald Trump is President people, I mean, who ever thought that could happen - well HE did and that's how it did happen. Instead of, or in addition to if we insist, bemoaning that fact let's celebrate what it shows us is actually possible - so, what do WE really want?)

By the end of the year we will have Saturn coming home to Capricorn the sign he rules - we will have to work harder and there could be more restrictions on us. Things will be a bit more "set in pace" so we want to be doing/living what we love NOW since we could be doing it for a while!

What is the theme of your Leo house? This is the space of our lives where we are all "lightworkers" - we are all able to channel the Sun's (Son's, if you resonate with this) energy unfiltered. It's going to be a space/theme of life we LOVE. And yes, there will be work, notice the word lightworker includes those four letters, too! We are spreading light (knowledge) through work.

Work doesn't really feel like work when we are loving it though, does it?

xo all

Venus Trine Jupiter, Mars Trine Chiron | smoothing things out, do you feel lucky?

beauty outside, myth inside by cobraromania

Yesterday's challenging energies (still in play, but to a lesser degree) give way to today's more manageable aspects.

Trines bring natural grace, support and the ease of things "falling into place".

In our natal chart, trines (120 degree aspects) are our natural gifts, sometimes so innately a part of us we don't even realize they are gifts. They work in similar ways during times of transit - smoothing things out, easing us over rough patches, quietly removing road blocks, sometimes while we are still miles away. They do their work so seamlessly we might not even feel them. We'll just look back later and see the ease with which something potentially complicated fell into place.

With Venus (in Gemini) trining Jupiter (in Libra) at 15 degrees (those with planets or points around 15 degrees of the air signs - Gemini, Libra, Aquarius - will feel this most)

communications within relationships will be more harmonious. Conversations can be more relaxed. This is great energy for socializing. Be out and about. Return the call. Send the email. Situations with Venus ruled themes - love, money, women, beauty, self-esteem, our values - expand (Jupiter) under this transit. We get lucky. 

With Mars (in Cancer) trining Chiron (in Pisces) at 28 degrees (those with planets or points around 28 degrees of the water signs - Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces - will feel this most)

we are offered a cooling balm for any wounds yesterday's Mars/Uranus square opened up. Here's the band-aid. It's a stretchy fabric one that stays put in the shower and, look, it's even got a picture of Bambi on it. Also mom has kissed our boo-boo and given us a cookie. Oatmeal!

Actions (Mars) can be healing (Chiron). Family (Cancer) connections (Pisces) can be repaired. Compassionate (Pisces) action (Mars) heals. What hurts? What needs mending? Work on that.

xo all 

Venus Square Neptune, Mars Square Uranus | proceed carefully

Out of View by FlewDesigns

Today we have two inner planets, Venus and Mars, squaring off with two outer planets, Neptune and Uranus. This gives us multiple ways things can go off the rails. With more positive transits coming as early as tomorrow, today is not the day to leap into something without looking.

Keep a cool head. Don't say/do something you will regret tomorrow.

Neptune squaring Venus is good energy to simply want too much. Expecting too much from other people or from a certain situation dulls our vision to what we already have and where we already are. The grass looks greener on the other side, but that's only because we are not the one who has to water it.

Sometimes we get so caught up in the next thing that we miss out on our connection to the thing we have now. Someone I know with this aspect in his natal chart is always having his hopes dashed. He thinks he has bad luck, but what he really has is a natural tendency to want/expect so much that he is continually disappointed.

(this doesn't mean that wanting/expecting too much is a bad thing - it can be a great thing and most people probably settle for too little - but with today's skies this is something to be aware of)

With Venus in Gemini (choices) it will be easy to make the wrong decision or pursue the wrong thing today. Snap decisions could snap back at us. Keep things realistic. Is this thing "we want or need to take action on NOW" really something we want/need to do? If something logically looks like a long shot, this is not the best energy to have a go at it. Invest your time and money carefully .....

With Mars in Cancer squaring Uranus in Aries, we, and other people, could feel a strong urge to rebel within the family, home or an environment that feels like family. Or things could get pretty passive/aggressive - for example we don't want to go to dinner with someone so we lose our keys and can't leave the house. Or maybe someone is stubbornly holding onto a position simply to annoy the other person or not finishing something as a way to have power over someone else or power over a situation where they feel out of control (ahem).

Something unexpected (Uranus) could be in conflict with what we are doing or trying to do (Mars). There are many tricky situations that can lead to conflict now.

Take care when driving. If it ain't broke don't try and fix it today.

On the other hand if we need to find real courage against something that truly is oppressing us - today's energy could stoke a fire that needs to be started. Chew on that.

Baby steps people, the Sun will come out tomorrow and we are heading into Leo season - the sign that rules HAPPINESS and FUN .... and today's Moon is in Taurus - get outdoors, eat some good food, focus on the things you already have ... xo

(there may be more info in the weekly HERE)

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of July 17th - high stakes, getting fired up, chickens coming home to roost

cutting light by alltelleringet

Last week was fairly quiet in the skies but this week should more than make up for it.

This is a busy week with the most notable transits Mars squaring Uranus on Monday and the Sun squaring Uranus on Thursday. We also have both Mars and the Sun moving into a fire sign and the week ends with a BIG New Moon in Leo!

A Sun/Mars/Uranus mix-up can be rough and challenging. Even angry and violent. We need to be prepared for some unexpected twists and turns over the next few weeks. 

The stuff happening now is reactivating the Pluto/Uranus square we were all dealing with a couple years ago (that we never really stopped dealing with) - chickens are coming home to roost (hoping mine are guinea hens and will eat these damn ticks and mosquitoes).

So, if something needs to be fixed, it needs to be fixed NOW. 

If this means something to you, if something popped into your head when you read that - then deal with that. If there is something we can't outrun - we need to turn and face it. Maybe we can suddenly clock in a 4 minute mile and get away clean, but more likely that thing we have been avoiding is not as far behind us as we thought it was.

On MONDAY, fiery Mars (in Cancer) squares unpredictable Uranus (in Aries). We also have Venus (in Gemini) squaring a retrograde Neptune (in Pisces).

This is confusing energy.

Venus squaring Neptune can leave us inspired but insecure or maybe disappointed or taken advantage of. This is the first square of the Venus/Neptune cycle that started on January 13th, if that date rings a bell. Boundaries could be leaky now and our discernment could be lacking. Let's be diplomatic, but we need to take our time with this one and not rush into something blindly (like maybe rushing in to help someone or agree with someone without all the facts)

because on TUESDAY Venus trines Jupiter (the BEST aspect we could have), so whatever "crisis" is stirred up on MONDAY, the winds will change on TUESDAY, very likely for the better (give life your best shot on TUESDAY - get dressed up, be nice to other people, expect communications to go well). Tuesday is a good day for investments - our money/value of what is purchased grows.

Later in the day on MONDAY Mars is squaring Uranus. People's actions will be unpredictable. We will be restless and so will other people. Crisis points could center around freedom and taking action. Arguments and disruptions are possible now. Keep a cool head.

Taking action (Mars) for the good of the community (Uranus) is favored. New action is favored. The Moon is waning, so it's not necessarily the best time to launch something new, but it's very good energy to do something in a new way. Work outside the box. By TUESDAY Mars will be trining Chiron so it looks like the fight/argument leads to healing. Compassionate, creative action is best.

Our waning Moon will be in Taurus both days which is great energy to get your hands into the dirt, prepare fresh food and enjoy eating it, walk barefoot in the grass, slow down, sing, dance, take an afternoon nap - get out of your head and feel the weight of your physical body on our physical planet.

On WEDNESDAY, Mercury (in Leo) trines Saturn (in Sagittarius) then on FRIDAY Mercury goes on to conjunct the North Node. There is something to pay attention to here. This is the news/communication/conversation/idea (Mercury) that will last (Saturn). This is something you can take to the bank. Something stable. There is not only security here and something tangible (Saturn), it is connected to your best way forward! Like all trines we need to put out some effort. The Moon will be balsamic, so we might want to take another nap, but be out and about. Put yourself, and your words and work, out there.

On THURSDAY, the Sun squares Uranus. This is a bookend to whatever was happening on Monday. Know people will be restless and maybe looking for a confrontation. The best way to use this crisis point (use it or be used by it!) is to understand there is a cost to preserving the solid structures in our lives. Throwing babies out with the bathwater may clear the tub and we won't be cleaning any soiled diapers, but then we don't have that cute little baby to sing to when the lights go out. There are trade-offs.

Of course, if someone else is really stepping on us - this is the energy that will bring the situation to a head. Oppressive situations come up to be worked out. Where there is anger energy, there is also courage.

Also on THURSDAY Mars enters Leo (this is about us putting energy into our creative endeavors) followed by the Sun on SATURDAY (more passion, more creativity, more energy). On SUNDAY we have the New Moon in Leo (fresh start!), so the week ends with a whole lot of Leo fire!

Things are very combustible now. Take care with fire. Everyone will want to be the king of the jungle now. With so much Uranian energy - expect the unexpected (and yes, with the energy focused on Uranus and Leo, expect Trump to be back in the news - has he ever been out of the news?).

xo all - back with the dailies and to finish up and sort out that New Moon post!

New Moon in Leo | July 23rd - start something new, be careful what you wish for ... part II

star wars tcg luke skywalker by anthony foti

In astrology-speak the Moon is essentially regressive in nature. It is always pulling us back to the past, to the mother-child bond, to our basic security needs, to our core. 

The stuff the Moon rules does not really change much over the course of our lifetime. The sign our Moon is in, the house our Moon is in, the sign on the cusp of our 4th house, planets in our 4th house, the degree of our IC - the very bottom of our chart, if our chart were a clock face it would be at 6:00 - Cancer's placement in our chart - all tell the story of our very essence. What we need to feel nurtured at 2 won't be that different from what we need to feel nurtured at 82.

The Sun is different. The Sun is progressive in nature. It changes. It is active and productive and unfolds over the course of our lifetime. It gives us - our "hero story".

You have probably at some time read something about the work of Joseph Campbell (maybe most famous these days with inspiring George Lucas's Star Wars hero journey) and something he calls the "mono-myth" - which is basically the "hero story" that is told in every culture's mythology. This is our solar story. It's the story of the Sun in our natal chart.

Now in every story the hero isn't born a hero. Even if he is born a prince, he has to earn the right to be a hero.

This earning comes in the form of tests and quests.

If we think about pretty much every movie we have ever seen - there is a hero who starts out looking much like you and me (well maybe not so much like you and me if we are not a white man or boy, but you get the idea - so excited to see the promos for a Wrinkle in Time!), there is a journey, there are some dangers and conflicts so we can muck things up a bit, there is adventure, there are tears and fears, there is joy, finally there is a reward and then the hero returns home (to his family, to his home, to his God), maybe to a hero's welcome.

Sometimes the hero will shirk his duties the first time he is called into service - this often happens and it is often then that he meets some kind of mentor or guide. And of course it is even possible to refuse the call of our Sun totally, in which case it comes back around in a different form, with harder tests and more dragons. Trying to escape the destiny of our Sun during important chart movements and we will likely pay dearly on another level for our refusal to become ourselves.

Sometimes the burden is passed on to our children. And we all carry some unfinished solar business from our ancestors.

Now, our Sun (think movie hero/heroine) starts out with everything it needs to fulfill its journey. It has all the right planets in all the right places for what it needs to do (strengths, weaknesses, upcoming transits representing challenges and opportunities). It has the Moon, which although it can give voice to that part of ourselves that can feel wronged and sorry for itself when we dragged away from our comforts, but can also be depended upon, in times of crisis, because it shows us how to look after ourselves. We have many helpers in our chart that are the energies we carry within us to attract what we need - just what/who/where we need at just the right time.

Now maybe the most important thing to remember about the hero's journey is that although it looks like we are doing what we are doing for ourselves - because the journey is really about becoming who we really are - we are doing this 'becoming' for the collective. The actual thing we are doing though must be pressed into us by some inner necessity - if we do it so other people will be happy, or so other people will love us or because we don't want to rock other people's boats by properly manning our own - we wind up in a whole lot of trouble because we won't be true to ourselves, which is, in a nutshell, what our journey is all about.

Test failed. Quest mucked up. It's tricky and a paradox.

There is a reason the Sun rules the 5th house of our chart - creativity, children, fun, enjoyment, romance - the things that give life meaning! So, the sign our Sun is in, the house our Sun is in, the sign on the cusp of our 5th house, planets in our 5th house, planets talking to the Sun, Leo's placement in our chart - all tell the unfolding story of the hero/heroine within us. The role we are called upon to play.

And just like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz who had a life before and after her journey through Oz that likely involved milking the cows and walking Toto - we have other aspects of our life, too. Life is not all witches and wizards and yellow brick roads.

But we enact the hero's journey (our Sun story) in many different chapters of our life story - some of them so short they come to completion in a week, some maybe even a day. And as soon as we have made any step forward in consciousness and self-unfolding, another call comes in and we are off again. 

The Sun is progressive - it is never finished with us (until we draw our final breath and it is).

So what does all this have to do with next week's New Moon in Leo, well we'll talk about that in part III.  xo all enjoy the day!

New Moon in Leo | July 23rd - start something new, be careful what you wish for ... part l

dragon daughter by Makusheva

I'm writing this one a little early so heads up.

If you have anything fresh and new in any kind of preliminary "launch" mode

(particularly if related to your Leo natal house theme or the universal Leo themes of creativity, fun, games, romance, children, sport, hobbies, pleasure - that just about covers everything good anyway, right!)

you might want to get a jump on things and get it out there during the waxing (growing) cycle of this fiery New Moon. This would mean sometime between July 23rd and August 7th.

And by "launch" I am not talking about the space shuttle here or a dotcom start-up. ANYTHING you are looking to get started or do in a new way will get a boost from this energy.

This New Moon is at zero degrees Leo and will be the first of two New Moons in Leo this year - the second will be the "Great American" Solar Eclipse of August 21st at 28 degrees Leo. So one New Moon will take us into Leo - and we have the North Node (our collective way forward) in Leo! - and an even bigger one will take us out.

Events intensify as we move forward from this New Moon. 

Zero is the first degree in astrology and connects to the Magician card in the Tarot. This is excellent manifesting energy since anything is possible here so we should be setting our intentions with this in mind. Take this stuff seriously or skip it altogether this month. I'm not kidding. We need to be careful what we are wishing/intending now because we are much more likely to get it.

This New Moon will be conjunct Mars giving it even greater power.

Mars is all instinct, fiery passion and initiative. Mars is that first powerful kick off at the starting line. We don't have to know exactly where we are going with this, we just have to START. So take some action toward what you want during the waxing days of this New Moon. We'll talk about this more as we move through the week. There is also a Venus/Saturn opposition at the time of this New Moon which is not normally such a great aspect, but I think it will help narrow our choices down for us toward what is most stable and this will be a good thing in the long run.

Leo is ruled by the Sun and with the Sun ruling this New Moon - and the North Node of our collective way forward now in Leo also - this is all about following our HEART. Whatever new thing/situation/person/belief/action we choose to work with needs to be something we are excited about, it needs to stir us. It needs to not have any self-sacrifice or victim mentality connected to it. It needs to come with a certain ease. This doesn't mean there won't be work involved, but it can't be only work involved.

With the North Node in Leo now if we really don't want to do something and we do it anyway, it isn't going to work. What we want, what is calling to our heart, is the only thing that will work now. Choices get easier.

So this New Moon is about our Leo natal house and about our Sun (the Sun rules Leo and is the ruler of this New Moon). Where is 0 degrees Leo in your natal chart? Go to astro.com, free horoscopes, natal chart - find it.

This will be a fiery new beginning. xo all

Up next tomorrow - part ll our Sun signs and the road ahead

Mercury Sextile Jupiter | positive thinking, making plans, releasing our words into the world

the prize of trust by shiny-shadows-art

Mercury (ideas, communication, words) sextiles (opportunity) Jupiter (expansion) at 14 degrees Leo (Mercury) and Libra (Jupiter).

The right words, said at the right time, can move mountains now.

This is good energy for planning our future - whether that means our next vacation or next big venture. Words are not just words - they connect us energetically with what we are seeking.

Don't be afraid to say out loud what you want. Put it in writing.

There is, of course, a fly in the ointment - we could imagine heaven as simply a space without flies!

At the same time both these planets are creating opportunities with each other's energies, both planets are inconjunct dreamy, drifting Neptune (strong but retrograde in Pisces).

Inconjuncts require adjustments and integration. It is pretty much summed up in the expression "between a rock and a hard place". So whatever opportunity the Mercury/Jupiter sextile is stirring up, it is not without complications. The key to working with inconjuncts (especially this one involving Neptune) is to use our INTUITION.

The three planets involved in today's aspect are forming a Yod (finger of God) - pointing at Neptune. In astrological speak - this is like the voice of God speaking to/through us. We have to trust our intuition (gut instinct, hunch) and integrate it into our life. This doesn't have to be some big ginormous thing but there is no standing on the sidelines here waiting for someone else to do it/say it for us.

With Jupiter, things can seem better or bigger or more important than they actually are and the inconjunct to Neptune shows the possibility of the whole thing drifting off-course.

It also shows the possibility of the sky's the limit possibilities here, too.

What does our gut say (and I hope we haven't been clouding it up with white flour and sugar!)? What does our heart want? Get quiet. Meditate. Pray for answers. Portals are open. Positive thinking - yes, positive meaning "certain" - goes a long way now. Stop imagining all the ways we are going to fail and start imagining things succeeding beyond our wildest dreams.

Today's energy can be used to make plans for the future, socialize, make new contacts and say the words we need to say trusting they will be heard by the people who need to hear them.

Make the words compassionate (be kind) and boundless (try to avoid setting too many rules and restrictions now) and the words will surely find their mark. Join with other people (Libra) now in an effort to make an impact beyond our own lives and we will surely make a big impact on our own life, too.

Trust, will play a HUGE part in this because it could appear that 1. we can't find the right words when we need them 2. no one is listening anyway 3. the more we focus, the more we drift off course 4. our memory fizzles 5. what we are saying/hearing isn't logical - we could have to move intuitively through any or all of this crap. 

If we've learned nothing else these past couple years we've learned that what is real is what we/others think is real. So what do we want to think?

I gave a presentation on Tuesday and after finishing I thought I kind of blew it. All I could think about was the stuff I had forgotten to say and the way I had let the questions kind of drift off course. And, I talked too fast. Being polished and professional matters to me (blog readers might be left scratching their heads at this one, but it is very true). I thought it important (and still do) to present kind of "spacey" information with my feet firmly planted on solid Earth.

I have realized over the past couple days though that people connected with what I was saying in different ways and that things had gone much better than I thought they did. It was actually the times I went a little rogue - due to memory lapses and not a plan to "just wing it" - that people connected more with what I was saying. They have asked me back to teach a series (and to speak a little slower). I'll post links when I have them.

Here's the way this Yod could impact us through our Pisces house - if you know what house 14 degrees Pisces falls in your natal chart - use the house allocations with the info below for best accuracy, otherwise check Sun and Ascendant signs:

ARIES (Pisces 12th house) - Yod energies point to something behind the scenes or a "secret" desire/want. Confusion could result between you and another person if your/their glasses are too rose tinted. Adjustments will be required.

TAURUS (Pisces 11th house) - Yod energies point to your friends and groups including online groups. Confusion could be the result of a disconnect between your big ideas and what other people are hearing you say. Your information could have to be adjusted in some way to allow everyone to 'buy in'.

GEMINI (Pisces 10th house) - Yod energies point to you career, responsibility, father and authority - it will be easy to lose sight of what you are really trying to do now. Confusion could result if someone says something that gets your hopes up, but actual results will vary. Stay grounded. Know your dreams will get you where you need to be but things might not come exactly as planned. The key to success here is staying focused on what you really want and need from the situation. 

CANCER (Pisces 9th house) Yod energies point to travel, education, politics, publishing, media, weddings, legal issues or what is foreign. There are adjustments required with what you want to happen here or what you are trying to do. Be especially cautious in commerce where things could be inflated - keep an eye on your benjamins. Instead of plunging forward, take a deep breath and think about what your real goals are here and if what you are hearing really makes sense. 

LEO (Pisces 8th house) Yod energies point to other people's resources - partner's income, debts, loans, taxes - death, birth, sex, fertility. Confusion could result if you want all the cards on the table now, but someone else is still holding their cards close to the vest. Maybe they (or you) want to pour pink paint on a problem and pretend it doesn't exist. Instead of plunging forward now with a loud voice, really hear what the other person is saying to you (or not saying) or what the situation has opened up. What is your intuition telling you is really going on?

VIRGO (Pisces 7th house) Yod energies point to partners and equal relationships. Confusion could result if you are projecting what you want to see on someone else (rather than what they are really offering) or they could be doing the same with you. Trust your gut about what is not being said now. The real issue is probably the thing no one is talking about. A portal is open for unconditional acceptance/love/appreciation now between equal partners if you are BOTH willing to be honest about what you really need from each other and what you are willing/able to contribute.  

LIBRA (Pisces 6th house) Yod energies point to your day to day activities, work, health, co-workers, pets. Confusion could result if your big ideas are not totally workable on an everyday basis. This doesn't mean you toss your big, bodacious ideas out the window, just that you have to make some adjustments to make it all work - it will be the adjustments themselves that create the opportunity here. Time is your friend. Work the problem. Let the things you can't work fall into/or out of place.

SCORPIO (Pisces 5th house) Yod energies point to a creative or romantic opportunity or an opportunity involving children. Something good is budding here, but confusion could result from things looking better than they actually are. Be sure you are not just hearing what you want to hear. It will be hard to tell solid fact from fantasy now, so double check what you are being told. You will know instinctively if something doesn't feel right. Don't disregard the feeling. Trust your gut.

SAGITTARIUS (Pisces 4th house) Yod energies point to home, family, mother, security, home business and ancestry. Your expansive plans in these areas might require an adjustment due to some kind of energy drain which could manifest as both a physical thing within your structure - infestation, leaks, structural damage, necessary things breaking down or not working properly and issues within what your structure holds - family or security problems that you or someone else has not been wanting to deal with or issues that have been buried. This issue and what is really at the base of it - ancestral story, family problem, real structure not attended to - needs to be integrated somehow. Work the problem. Fix the leak. Trust your instincts.

CAPRICORN (Pisces 3rd house) Yod energies point to your communication house - issues could also involve transportation, siblings or your local neighborhood. You will need to balance the actual facts you are dealing with and your own big dreams for the future. Words matter now. Choose them carefully. Be honest.

AQUARIUS (Pisces 2nd house) Yod energies point to your money or your personal values. There is the opportunity now to increase your earnings or your self-esteem. Some adjustment will be necessary though. The opportunity could come through someone foreign or involve media, publishing, travel, higher education, weddings, politics or legal issues. Keep your feet on the ground though, every rainbow doesn't lead to a pot of gold.

PISCES (Pisces 1st house) Yod energies point to your own dreams. Everything I wrote above about the disconnect between what you are saying (or want to say) and what others are hearing applies to you. The results will depend on your ability to integrate intuition and logic now. At the end of the day, everything will not be able to be worked out - some things will just need to be allowed to move in the direction they want to go ... trust the flow. You're a Pisces and we are dealing with your ruling planet Neptune - you've got this thing.

xo all

Sun Opposite Pluto | outnumbered

outnumbered by dresew

We have the Sun (18 degrees Cancer) opposing Pluto (18 degrees Capricorn) today. This was exact last night.

This is ego vs power. Self destructive habits and self-sabotaging tendencies are activated. Egos get bruised. Physical things can break down.

It's a challenging aspect but can also offer us a burst of creative energy to accomplish what we need to do now.

To work this energy in a positive way we need to balance our creative energy (Sun) with collective resources (Pluto) - money, power, influence. Are we making enough money? Are we charging enough? Where is our power? Where is our influence? What are we really afraid of?

This can show us where/how we need more control in our own lives.

Today's opposition could mean an actual opposition to our plans. This could come in the form of other people's expectations of us or someone in power vetoing what we want to do.

The answers don't necessarily show up now, but the problems become more visible. Power games and power plays are likely. Deal with this stuff diplomatically. Channel that inner Libra.

Often (maybe always and certainly for stuff that shows up now with Pluto involved) the stuff out there is really the stuff in here needing to get out.

If we are viewing some person or situation as the BIG problem in our lives, like everything would be good if we got rid of them or that let's remember how this world actually works - this outer stuff is really disowned parts of ourselves. The outer stuff is always inner stuff. This stuff we don't want to look at within ourselves (like how we got ourselves into our current situation) is unconscious and perverts how we see each other and how we see what is really happening. And it doesn't mean the other person or situation is right/good/not a pain the ass just because we can see the ways we have helped create it.

But allowing ourselves to take responsibility in this way (not to beat ourselves up!) - even just a tiny little bit - allows us to know the fact of the situation which is that  

we have more control here than we think we do.

For now, though, we might have to sit a bit with the ways we don't .....

xo all

The Moon is in Aquarius this morning and trining (brakes off) Venus making this a good time for business because the public (Aquarius) will want (Venus) something. Good for harmony with women, too. By afternoon the same Aquarius Moon is opposing Mercury - so some potential for erratic communication or a public/group spat or challenging info. A good day to be out and about and sociable though.

Full Moon in Capricorn | the balance of POWER

Full Moon Service by alltelleringet

This weekend's Full Moon in Capricorn (exact on Saturday night, early Sunday, at 12:06 AM EDT) is a doozy.

The Moon will be at 17 degrees Capricorn, the Sun will be at 17 degrees Cancer, Pluto will be at 18 degrees Capricorn and Mars will be at 22 degrees Cancer. Jupiter is squaring the Full Moon and Pluto.

(if you have natal planets/points around these degrees the Moon will impact you most directly)

This is a whole lot of powerful energy in a tiny slice of polarized sky.

Having both Pluto (power, transformation, karma, birth, death) and Mars (initiative, action, anger, war) involved with a Full Moon ruled by Saturn (Capricorn's ruler) means all the dangerous and powerful movers and shakers are in the same room

(and now this is making me think of the G20 summit - what a time for that!).

The energy of the next few days - and you are probably already feeling this - is about issues of power and control. Hubs and I had the biggest fight we've had in years the other day over an inconsequential nothing - but what it really boiled down to was neither of us wanting to be "controlled" by the other person. And both of us feeling controlled. It wasn't pretty ... or quiet (Mercury in Leo now).

This is about the Cancer/Capricorn polarity.

Family vs. work. The security that comes from nurturing ourselves, nurturing others or being nurtured vs the security that comes from having work in the world and money coming in. Our nest at home vs our place in the world. Summer vs. winter. Preparing for birth vs preparing for death "winter is coming". Childhood vs old age. Vulnerability vs self-sufficiency. Mom (energy) at home vs dad (energy) at work.

There is so much contradiction and conflict here, but like all polarities this is really just two sides of the same coin - likely something labeled SECURITY.

We can't own a coin without owning both sides. But we can only look at (focus on) one side at a time. The other side is in the shadows - so we have to flip back and forth and balance this stuff out with our time, attention and resources. There isn't really an end to this or a way to "win" here. We just do the best we can with what we have.

Spend too much time with one side of the coin and the other side gets all gunky like those pennies stuck in our car cupholder that have had coffee dripped on them. Now matter how shiny the other side looks that gunky side means we never get to actually spend the money

(yes, this could be one of my strange metaphors that don't get us anywhere - except maybe out to the car with a squirt bottle of vinegar and a cup of soapy water).

Being about Cancer (home, family) and Capricorn (work, responsibilities in the world) or our own needs and the needs of other people - any imbalances here will probably show up now to allow us to realign what isn't working. 

Also imbalances with authority and authority figures and the way we use and mis-use our own authority. 

The Capricorn Full Moon throws a light on what power can do and also on the finality of choices we've already made. 

Both Cancer and Capricorn are concerned with issues of SECURITY, both value TIME and are guardians of the legacy of our ancestors.

Full Moons bring culminations, so maybe something ends now. With Jupiter and Pluto in the mix endings will be big. That opposition to Cancer would make things even more emotional. Some people will experience big wins that lead to increased power. Some, maybe especially if power has been misused, could suffer big losses where their power is greatly reduced.

Full Moons bring things to light. Capricorn themes (and your personal Capricorn/Cancer house themes) will be highlighted - tradition, structure, work, obligations, responsibility, authority, ambition, limits, boundaries, restrictions, goals. Pluto will make sure we really see what is exposed now. Cancer will make sure we feel it. There probably won't be any space to turn away and shield our eyes.

Remember the Achilles heel with Capricorn and Saturn is that this energy often values stability over everything else. Its strength is in being 'un-moveable'. But stable things grow stagnant. Being un-moveable is not a good or realistic way to move through a life that is so changeable. We don't want to be un-moved by what is happening in the world!

This has been a rough few weeks, months or years for lots of people. Many people are speaking/acting from their fearful and wounded places now. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it might not be a good thing either. Our vulnerability links us and grounds us in our humanity. Some things must be shared even when the sharing is painful.

This is a war-like Full Moon, so keep that in mind, too, over the next couple days. Power issues will come up. Other people will not want to be controlled - neither will we. Keep a cool head. Drive safely. A fight could turn into a war and not many things are worth going to war over. On the other hand if something needs to be protected now - this is excellent energy to defend ourselves.

This is also excellent energy to establish a POWER BASE - whatever that means to you.

Don't be too tired or too busy to get out and walk in this one. The energy will be crackling on Saturday night.

xo all

Mercury into Leo | creative self-expression, dramatic conversations, blowing our own horn, speaking from our heart

blow my horn by crilleb50

Mercury moves into Leo late this afternoon. Until Mercury moves on to Virgo on July 25th,  conversations will be more dramatic. Volumes will be set to HIGH. This is excellent energy for self-promotion and creative self-expression and speaking from our heart.

If you are a girl who likes things quiet, invest in some ear plugs - you are going to need them. 

Everyone will tell us what they are thinking and doing. Yes, our Facebook feed will explode. Leo loves an audience! Keep in mind that alot of things we will be listening to/talking about now could be exaggerated. 

Our Leo natal house (where is Leo in your natal chart?) wakes up with increased activity and requires more of our attention.

Leo is our fixed fire sign. People's positions, and we will hear all about them (!), will become louder and more entrenched.

No one will be changing anyone else's mind now. This is not the most cooperative energy, but it can often bring out the best in people. Mercury in Leo can be idealistic and enthusiastic.

The BIG picture will be easier to buy into while the tiny details get lost in the expression of big, powerful ideas. That's OK - we'll take care of the details when Mercury gets into Virgo at the end of the month.

For now, it's the time to think big, talk about what we want, get the word out about what we are doing. If there is something we want to take center stage with or "announce" to the public - this is the month. Think - loud and proud baby!

Some especially auspicious times could be:

July 7th when Mercury sextiles Venus  - our words/ideas/communications create opportunities for our money, values, self-esteem, beauty, love, women. July 14th - when Mercury sextiles Jupiter - opportunities for communication/ideas/words to create expansion, luck and growth - watch out for exaggerations though. July 19th when Mercury trines Saturn - roadblocks lifted, clear sailing regarding activities with authority, responsibility, structure, time. July 21st when Mercury conjuncts the North Node (our collective way forward) - words/conversations coming in that sync us up with or help to confirm our best, most simplest and happiest path forward. July 24th when Mercury trines Uranus - unexpected/surprising news that moves things forward - brakes off!

Note these dates are when the aspects are exact, but the energies are working together for a couple days before and after. That sextile to Venus is in play now!

xo all