Halloween havoc - putting October to bed, good-night October, don't let the door hit ya' ....

halloween by kathrinska
The skies are madcap today with TWO planets moving through tense aspects with Uranus and then changing signs - Mercury moves into big-picture, adventure-seeking Sagittarius (if you think the political climate is full of lies and tall tales already, this could escalate now),

Venus opposes Uranus while squaring the North and South Nodes (exact yesterday) and then backing into her home sign of Libra.

Mercury makes his/her own tense aspect with Uranus before he escapes Scorpio for Sagittarius and keep in mind he is walking degrees he is going to walk again and will be back in Scorpio on December 1st.

The Moon (in Leo) has her monthly third quarter stress-session with a square to the Scorpio Sun at 8 degrees. It's a spider web of transits and aspects.

And it's Halloween. That must mean something.

Hang in there. November has some challenges, but still looks better than October!

With Venus retrograde and squaring the Nodes of fate, many people are making important decisions now, especially regarding financial and relationship/love matters. Sometimes our soul has plans for us in this lifetime that our ego finds challenging. This is a crossroads period. What road are we going to travel now (and who is going with us)? The opposition from Uranus says outside influences will have their say. And keep in mind Uranus is charged with getting us back on track - by whatever means it takes. 

We are jolted awake now. 

2018 has not been a time for sissies.

With Mercury flying into Sag and aspecting Uranus, we might want to fly away - shake off the chains, disconnect from whatever feels too tight, too intense, too deep. With Venus stepping back into Libra we will be taking another look at our key connections/relationships - keep in mind she will be back in Scorpio again, so anything Libra wants to push under the rug in an effort to feed civility and find common ground is going to come up again anyway. This doesn't mean we don't nurture the civility and common ground now though. Our relationships are back in the hot seat - our old/usual ways of relating are not going to work anymore.

The Moon's monthly 3rd Quarter Square (Scorpio/Leo) speaks of tension, the necessity of an adjustment - a need to look within and a need to connect our heart with whatever we find there. This will likely be especially challenging for people with important fixed placements (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius). There is a story here of loss, feeling powerless, life altering change AND still that Leo North Node beckons again, with his last powerful blast - what does your heart want? what will make you most proud?

Major new beginnings are coming.

We are going to have to remove our ass from the fence (or Uranus will kick us off) to meet them halfway.

xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of October 29th - NOVEMBER is here and we are setting our course for 2019 and into 2020 - boldness, optimism, enthusiasm, choices, surprises and shake-ups with love or money, big news and information, another emotional week, the FATE train is pulling up to the station folks - ANYTHING is possible

tree's dreams by Anna1Anna

Here are the major aspects I see for the week ahead:

MONDAY - the Sun sextiles Saturn, Mercury conjuncts Jupiter (27 degrees Scorpio) and starts walking degrees he/she will walk two more times during November's Mercury retrograde
TUESDAY - Venus (in Scorpio) squares the North (Leo) and South (Aquarius) Nodes of Fate
WEDNESDAY - Happy Halloween! Venus opposes Uranus then retrogrades back into Libra, Mercury moves into Sagittarius and trines the North Node
THURSDAY - Jupiter trines Chiron

We start the week with alot of Scorpio energy at play, so, again expect to be focused on Scorpian themes - life/death, taxes, banking, big money, other people's resources/money, loans, inheritances, insurance, sex, reproduction, intimacy, secrets, third party situations, power plays/struggles, obsessions, control, jealousy, manipulations, karmic situations, Halloween(!).

The Moon in Cancer (Monday/Tuesday) will likely tie those Scorpian themes in with our Cancerian agendas - home, family, structure, stability, mom, real estate, home business, renovations, patriotism.

If there was a decision we needed to make and didn't make last week - this week is probably going to force our hand.

On MONDAY Mercury (news, information, communication, paperwork) will hook up with expansive and optimistic Jupiter at 27 degrees Scorpio. If you have important paperwork to submit somewhere - get it in.

We can see the forest AND the trees now.

We could be working with private information/conversations, financial paperwork, deep research - the stuff under the hood - including buried psychological issues. BIG ideas are possible now - keep your mind open. With Jupiter trining Chiron (exact on Thursday) there is something healing with whatever we are saying/hearing/learning/writing/signing.

With Chiron back in Pisces we are healing the wounds of our past, our past lives and our ancestors.

There is an opportunity here for a healing explanation/clarification and/or good news AND the fact that Mercury is meeting Jupiter on the day he/she starts covering the degrees she will re-walk next month when retrograde is good news for whatever we will be re-viewing, re-vising, re-working over the next few weeks. Mercury and Jupiter will be meeting three times over the next few weeks - today is the kick-off.

Mercury's upcoming retrograde also means there won't be a straight line from A to B with whatever we have going on, so keep this in mind, too.

We are going to be back here in the beginning of December (the first couple weeks of December are going to be important if we have anything important going on now!) and in the meantime, we are going to have to zigzag our way through all of this!

The fly in the ointment with Jupiter (isn't it too cold for these damn things?!) is we have to keep a lid on anything that is TOO much - over-confidence, over-the-top thinking, sermonizing people (thinking we know it all), fanatical thinking, yada yada.

At the same time the Sun (at 4 degrees Scorpio) is sextiling (opportunity) Saturn (at 4 degrees Capricorn). This is hard work paying off with recognition. This is us setting practical goals and seeing them through. Good energy for dealing with authority figures.

There aren't any short cuts here though.

Saturn is in Capricorn, folks, the green beans MUST be in the cupboard or we don't eat. If our ancestors hadn't filled their cupboards by November, Scorpio season - the season of death - they had to go outside and kill something or pull some root vegetable out of the ground. We probably won't need to shoot a squirrel for dinner (I hope so, for our sake, and, for the sake of poor little Rocky), but it's not the season of picking a tomato from the garden and just eating it. We have to dig.

On TUESDAY, Venus's retrograde journey (as us) through Scorpio brings her (as us) to a crossroads with the Nodes of Fate. Here we are with whatever Venus issue - the relationship, love, money, resources, values, self-esteem - we have been working with since Venus stationed retrograde in early October. There is kind of a "day of reckoning" feel about this energy - like a splash of cold water in our face.

And then tomorrow she is going to oppose "anything can happen" liberating Uranus - the ruler of the South Node! This will connect back to events from last week's Full Moon in Taurus (October 24th).  

Events could take a dramatic turn now. There is a fated "turn of the wheel" with whatever is happening, so know everything is going to be alright, even if it feels like/seems like it isn't. Even if it seems like we cannot handle what is opposing us.

Relationship/financial tangles are going to feel very different by the end of the week when Venus has settled into Libra - the situation may not work out exactly how we had hoped, but 1. we will feel better about it, maybe even relieved, quickly  2. the story hasn't all played out YET and 3. contacts with the Nodes of Fate are ALWAYS moving us in our best possible direction - trust whatever unexpected stuff comes up now.

Remember that North Node is in Leo for ONLY a couple more weeks - this is it.

We are going with our heart, with what we want to create, stepping into the center stage of our own life, taking care of the children/our inner child, making ourselves proud.

We are releasing the Aquarius crap that we no longer need - the distraction, the alienation, the fear of being ostracized, the hiding out in the audience, the detachment, the over-thinking, the intellectual bullshit.

What does our heart really want??!! Venus has been working through Scorpio to show us what we really value - so what do we really value?

It is decision time. This doesn't mean we have to know exactly what we are doing or exactly where everything is heading - we are never going to know this. This is the Age of Aquarius - uncertainty is a certainty now. With all the Sag/Jupiter energy this week, we are going to need some faith.

The Moon goes void at 10:31PM EDT and then moves into Leo at 10:42PM EDT pulling our emotional focus toward Leo themes (or your natal Leo house theme) - creativity, children, our projects, recreation, romance, sports, that thing we are proud of - for the next couple days.

On WEDNESDAY, the energy SHIFTS big time as two planets move into new signs.

Venus backs into Libra - focusing that Venus retrograde situation on our relationships/justice/balance/the other people in our lives (including competitors). She comes up from the Scorpio darkness and into the harmony and civility of a sign she RULES. Even moving backward she is strong here.

Where is Libra in your natal chart - what is that house's theme? The Venusian re-view moves there. At the same time she is going to oppose Uranus (in Taurus and answering to her).

That opposition to Uranus tells us to expect the unexpected. Liberating surprises (Uranus) with love, relationships and money (Venus) are possible now. Women will surprise us. Old loves and financial situations could show up again. Break-ups and breakthroughs are possible. If a purchase has been in the works for a while now - this could be when money changes hands. For impulsive purchases - watch your wallet!

There will probably be a woman in the news that has the collective's attention this week.

Venus/Uranus takes us back to mid-September - what was going on then?- and forward to mid-December when things will be reaching some kind of culmination.

Also on Wednesday, Mercury - the ruler of our minds, thinking, communication, the process and physical means of getting things from point A to point B, our local environment, our siblings, our pets, paperwork - comes up from the depths of Scorpio and flies into the "sky's-the-limit" space of Sagittarius. This can be disconcerting.

The scope of information available to us broadens. All the little details we have been immersed in during Mercury's transit through Scorpio fade from view a bit.

It's like we have applied a wide angle lens to our camera. There is more to see (know) but less to specifically look at.

Sagittarius (ruled by Jupiter) is optimistic energy. So those big bodacious ideas will carry us further now.

People will be thinking and talking BIG. Making BIG plans. Using BIG persuasive, language. It's a good time to sell your "whatever it is", but also a good time to be sold a bill of goods. Keep in mind that words and information could mislead us as our focus moves away from those pesky details and onto the larger landscape.

Sagittarius isn't Mercury's favorite place because Mercury likes precision and focus and Sagittarius is rather boundless and stretchy and with Mercury there our thinking/ideas/beliefs can kind of be all over the place.

Sagittarius is the great teacher/sage. The archer rules wisdom and philosophy. This is a good time to take something we are interested in to a higher level. Sagittarius rules our collective ninth house (plus the house in your chart with Sagittarius on the cusp!) so communications and information could focus on 9th house themes - legal issues, foreign issues, higher education, travel, religion, weddings, politics, the media, marketing.

Keep in mind Mercury is set to go retrograde in a couple weeks and is walking degrees she will walk two more times - so whatever we have going on will be subject to re-views and re-visions.

Immediately Mercury is going to trine that Leo North Node - this is our thinking and OUR WORDS influencing our outcome. PAY ATTENTION. We could hear just the thing we need to hear, the right book falls into our lap, we could say just the right thing at just the right time.  This is where life is conspiring to get the paperwork/the manuscript/the idea into the right person's sights. 

We can see how this week's energies are working together to get us where we need to go.

On THURSDAY, the trine we have been building toward between Jupiter (still in Scorpio but with bags packed for his home sign of Sagittarius) and healing/hurting Chiron in Pisces, is exact.

The truth is healing. The big-picture is healing. Adventure is healing. Optimism and open-mindedness is healing. Humor is healing.

We will talk more about this week as we move through it.

Big energetic shifts are coming mid-week. xo all

Weekend Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Venus meets the Sun - a karmic crossroads, the light falls on a new chapter, fate is playing its hand

B by la-child

On FRIDAY, Venus (retrograde in Scorpio) meets the Sun at 3 degrees kicking off a new Venus chapter - this one steeped in Scorpian themes - financial, sexual, life/death, our resources, other people's resources, the ways and things we merge with other people. Here is the Sun shining a light on the money/relationship/values/self-esteem issue we have been re-viewing/re-vamping since Venus stationed retrograde in early October. Venus last met up with the Sun on January 9th at 18 degrees Capricorn, so there could be a connection to that date, our Capricorn house theme or the collective Capricorn themes of - security, stability, sobriety, our structure, goals, authority, career.

So, we are deep in the dark of Scorpio and someone has turned on the light! 

At the same time the Sun is having its monthly moment of awkwardness inconjuncting (that rock and a hard place) the Gemini Moon. There is no easy solution to an inconjunct. With the Moon in "let's make everything more complicated" Gemini there could be new information which leads to more questions/choices.

We are likely tasked, at this time, with making some kind of decision. With Venus retrograde and poised to pass the retrograde baton to Mercury (Gemini's ruler) in November, I would expect there to be some later course corrections, reviews and reversals. The stuff that is set into stone isn't really set into stone. That doesn't mean we don't make the effort though.

The inconjunct pretty much assures we are not totally comfortable, but there WILL be some kind of fresh beginning brewing in the depths of Scorpio.

We are at a Karmic crossroads - through around Halloween when Pluto starts descending into his underworld for the first time since 1770 (the time of the Boston Massacre) and then in the days after Halloween (also the time Venus backs into Libra) until around November 8th when Jupiter moves home to Sagittarius (the sign that rules legal issues, immigration, what is foreign, our higher thinking, adventure, boldness, religion, etc) - so the next two weeks are HUGE.

The stories in the news will matter. Pay attention.

The stories in our own lives will matter. The people we are dealing with now, whatever we have going on - is very important.

Fate is playing its hand, so some things will be out of our control, but we have a hand to play, too.

On SATURDAY the Scorpio Sun will sextile serious Saturn. The Moon is in airy, thinking and creative Gemini. This is excellent energy to apply creative thinking to our goals, deal with authority and our responsibilities, attend to career matters, write something, sell something, yada yada. There is a square to mystical/dreamy (and unfocused Neptune) in the late afternoon EDT, that could make for some confusion. Get the practical stuff attended to earlier in the day.

The Moon goes Void at 12:37AM EDT off a trine to Mars - good for taking action, not so good for falling asleep!

On SUNDAY we wake to a Cancer Moon focusing us on home, family, real estate, mother, security issues for the next couple days. The Moon is working well with both Venus and Uranus today so a good day for pretty much everything that makes a nice weekend - love, connection, friends, change, breakthroughs. Enjoy it.

xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of October 22nd - the Full Moon in Taurus, the surprise that isn't really a surprise, we either own it or we don't, our karma and destiny is knocking, change is good, major turning point, life has your back, game on

Fairy tale about a girl who became a tree by laura-makabresku

Hopefully you took advantage of the dreamy Pisces weekend because this is another BIG week.

Here's some of the major action this week:

MONDAY - Mercury sextile Pluto
TUESDAY - Sun enters Scorpio, Sun opposes Uranus
WEDNESDAY - Full Moon in Taurus, Sun squares the North/South Nodes
FRIDAY - Sun conjuncts Venus

There is alot of Scorpio energy at play this week so many of us can expect to be focused on Scorpian themes - life/death, taxes, banking, big money (we will almost certainly see some lottery winners this week!), other people's resources/money, loans, inheritances, insurance, sex, reproduction, intimacy, secrets, third party situations, power plays/struggles, obsessions, control, jealousy, manipulations, karmic situations, Halloween(!).

On MONDAY the Moon is in Aries and will be for the next couple days - this is especially good energy for independent work - or connecting with others in ways that require our courage (submit something to a higher up, go on a job interview, apply ourselves to something we have been procrastinating out of fear), taking action and getting things moving. Tempers are short during Aries Moons so keep that in mind. Today's Mercury/Pluto sextile at 18 degrees Scorpio/Capricorn makes it a good day to clear clutter (including mental clutter). Ideas can be transformed. Healing conversations (and the right info coming in) are possible now. Work from the bottom up. Dive in.

The Moon goes void on TUESDAY at 2:18PM EDT until 10:33AM on WEDNESDAY when she moves into Taurus.

I am not going to write a day-by-day this week because Wednesday's Taurus Full Moon encompasses everything - other than to say the Moon will turn void again on FRIDAY from 10:40AM EDT until 3:41PM EDT when she moves into Gemini - giving us an uber BUSY and communicative weekend.

So, don't start anything new or send anything out into the world you want "something to come of" during those Void Moon periods on Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday morning or most of Friday - the Moon needs to connect with other energies to make things happen and these are the times she is flying solo.

OK - let's talk about the Taurus Full Moon - because it's HUGE. This is when the changes promised by Uranus's move into Taurus back in May will really begin to unfold!

TAURUS FULL MOON

On WEDNESDAY at 12:45PM EDT the Scorpio Sun will oppose the Taurus Moon giving us the Full Moon in Taurus. The Moon will conjunct Uranus retrograde while the Sun will be conjunct Venus retrograde and the whole thing will be squaring the North Node in Leo and South Node in Aquarius. The Moon trines Saturn in Capricorn.

Taurus is ruled by Venus and rules the 2nd house of everything money can buy and everything money can't. She rules finances, love, stability, security and comfort. She rules our values and also represents Mother Earth. Taurus energy is nurturing - it brings us back to ourselves.

It also represents fear based thinking when our security is threatened (real or imagined) focusing us on all the reasons something we want to do won't work or all the reasons we can't have what we want. Taurus energy is stubborn (like the bull) or passive (like the cow).

We either own it (whatever "it" is) or it doesn't belong to us.

Like all Full Moons, this is a Sun/Moon opposition. The Sun is in deep, dark, transformative Scorpio and the Moon is in earthy, grounded Taurus. Full Moons represent fullness, peak power, endings - that moment of our breath when our lungs are full just a second before we begin to exhale.

Oppositions are just what they sound like and often at a Full Moon we might find ourselves working with the polarity

(and speaking of Polarity - warning shameless plug ahead - have you seen my lockets?)

of the two energies involved. With Scorpio, some transformation comes to light (Full Moons bring things to light) maybe we have to surrender, there could be a loss of control - with Taurus, we turn toward the present moment - what already exists. We take solace in what brings us comfort - nature, food, touch, our physical senses.

So, all of that applies to every Full Moon in Taurus which happens around this time every year. There are also some energies that apply specifically to the Moon this week:

1. The Moon conjuncts "anything can happen", unpredictable, disruptive and retrograde Uranus. So expect a surprise with whatever is coming to light, reaching a culmination/peak. With Uranus retrograde and opposing Venus retrograde - and with Venus ruling the Full Moon as ruler of Taurus - the "surprise" will be something we can see coming. We've seen the writing on the wall with this. Venus opposed Uranus back on September 12th, so there could be a connection to that date with whatever is happening now.

2. The Moon opposes not only the Sun (like every Full Moon), but also Venus, retrograde in Scorpio, and ruler of Taurus, so ruler of this Full Moon. The Uranian "surprise" will most likely involve a Venusian theme (love, relationships, money, resources, values, self-esteem, women, beauty) or the themes of your Scorpio/Taurus natal houses (the Full Moon polarity themes in your chart). The Uranian opposition to Venus (exact on Halloween) at the time of the Full Moon also indicates a need to do something different. 

3. The Sun/Moon are squaring the karmic North (future) and South (past) Nodes in Leo/Aquarius. There is something fated here - a major turning point. Squares indicate tension/stress - the need to "turn a corner" and keep in mind that like the Uranus/Venus opposition - we have been here before. This aspect's karmic significance is enhanced because the ruler of the North Node (the Sun) is opposite the ruler of the South Node (Uranus). This is cause and effect. We did that and now we get this. Riches earned in past lifetimes (or by our ancestors) can provide an unexpected "harvest". Open your arms.

4. The Moon is trining (brakes off) stable and sober Saturn in Capricorn. So whatever Uranus is throwing at us, Saturn's smooth trine assures us that we aren't going to fall like Humpty Dumpty and break into a million pieces. Life has our back here. The change is good. It is leading us to something lasting and stabilizing. Saturn speaks of making the responsible and "best for you in the long run" move now. Work the solution. Yes, there is work in here somewhere. Even for those lucky lottery winners.

This Moon's chart is a powerful Fixed Grand Cross. Something that has been kept too tightly bottled up is ready to EXPLODE. There are oppositions and squares and that trine to Saturn that shows us the way through.

Looking ahead the energy from around October 29th - as Pluto conjuncts the ecliptic at 18 degrees Capricorn and starts descending for the first time since 1770 (the time of the Boston Massacre that led to the American Revolution) the lord of the underworld is literally returning to the underworld (!) - through November 8th when Jupiter comes home to Sagittarius - is HUGE. And yes, those dates include the important United States mid-term elections! Could we be in another battle for the soul of a divided nation?!

We will talk through all of this later this week, but I wanted to get the Full Moon up on Sunday night.

It is game on people. 

For the collective and in our own lives, too. We've got this thing.

xo all

Weekend Astrology Forecast for Creatives | October 20th-21st - good vibes, harmony, peace, wetsuits and access to all that nice Pisces mojo

Some One by arayo

That Mars square Mercury with Mercury trining Neptune is still in play and we need to WATCH OUR LANGUAGE. We don't want to speak out in anger or impulsivity or with forceful demands and make "the best speech we will ever regret". Just sayin'.

Mostly though the energy this weekend is all about Piscean harmony.

The Moon moved into dreamy Pisces late yesterday afternoon and today she makes nice with Saturn (sextile), then Venus (trine), then Vesta (sextile) and finally she conjuncts Pisces ruling planet Neptune for their monthly love-fest.

This is a great weekend (the good-vibes continue on Sunday when the Moon trines co-ruler Jupiter) to relax and unwind. The energy is especially ripe for imaginative work, meditation, music, healing, day-dreaming - offering compassion and forgiveness and connecting with other people, animals and ourselves. If we can be in or near water at some point all the better.

(I am closing my pool - finally - and that will do. Yes, it's cold here and has been for weeks. No, the pool is not heated. And yes, it's kind of green and freezing and I will be trying not to fall in when doing the final vacuuming - because it wouldn't be the first time. The pool has a dramatic slope since we buried an above-ground pool in the ground and I usually vacuum it from inside the pool because the suction tends to get stuck and toss me off-balance if I am standing on the edge. Maybe I should wear a scuba suit? Where did I put that wetsuit anyway??)

If we can't find something to feel good about this weekend, our sensitivity chip has probably been burned out from all this Uranian electricity (the kind that feels like anything can happen at any time) and we need to connect to something stable - hug a tree, pet a dog, eat some hearty soup, walk the earth in bare feet - now, where did you put your scuba suit? And are those things warm anyway?

Bottom line. Relax. Don't feed the bottom feeders. Let yourself rise like that cream on top of your morning cup of joe.

The Moon will go void on Sunday night at 7:47PM EDT and then move into Aries at just about midnight.

Next week features a powerful, change-maker Full Moon in Taurus (you might be thinking - Taurus, change? remember that's where erratic and unpredictable and disruptive and and retrograde Uranus is hanging out!) so we are going to have to stay flexible folks.

More on that in the next post. Let's not look too far ahead - enjoy the weekend ....

xo all

I hope I don't trash-talk Pisces energy too often. Neptune sits on my ascendant and that slippery Piscean slope toward the great abyss (escape!) is all too near and dear to me, although I am fortunate enough to have sober Saturn sitting on my Aquarius Sun to keep me anchored in reality (most of the time). #kidding, #notkidding "Escaping" reality this weekend is exactly what the energy calls for - just make it a safe and healthy escape.

Mercury Trine Neptune, Mercury Square Mars | avoiding hotheads and raging drivers, letting information reveal itself in its own good time, probably not the best time to announce any sherlockin', don't shoot the messenger, don't get shot, keeping a cool head, forgive, be compassionate, step back, let it go, let it be

Sherlocking by iNeedChemicalX

While we slept Mercury moved into a sweet trine with dreamy Neptune. I woke at five, then, what felt like ten minutes later, checked the time again and it was seven. The morning could feel something like that. Great for imaginative work, meditation, prayer, healing.

Your intuition can be counted on. Boundaries will be thin.

At 10:23AM EDT Mercury moves on to a testy square with Mars. Communications/information could be stressful. Mercury wants to dig in deep, to uncover the truth, and Mars, tired of plowing through airy Aquarius by now but also having spent a great deal of time (since last May) working through issues of freedom and liberation, is having non of that. 

Arguments are possible. The more intense and URGENT something feels the more likely we are to screw it all up. Take a step backward.

The way through today's tension is this morning's dreamy trine (brakes off). Conjure up your Neptune. Be patient. Be compassionate. Be forgiving. Put yourself in the other's person's shoes - you are there anyway. Let go of what you are clinging to so stubbornly - especially any ideas you are totally RIGHT. Release. Just be.

The information/answers we need will come to us in their own time (thoughts really are living things) - this isn't the time to dig and push for them. If we are struggling to find the right words we aren't using the trine. Trines are times when the brakes are off. The energies flow smoothly. If just the right words flow from your mouth now you know you are using that trine - if you are struggling to speak, take a breath and go inside. Life is an inside job today.

If we are the ones looking to divulge someone else's secret, this could backfire on us now. Look within. What are you really doing? In Scorpio, Mercury can discover all kinds of muck, but he/she is also thinking about the ways to put the information to use - to manipulate, to gain power. If anything like this applies to your situation, know this stuff will all come out in its own time.

You don't have to toss yourself/ your reputation on the pyre, too (in other words don't connect yourself with any crap you don't have to or later on when other people think about the 'crap' they will think of you, even though you were just the messenger).  

Yes, messengers get shot under these skies - just sayin'.

This also would not be the best time to submit a mortgage application for example - save the deep disclosures - which yes, includes financial information, for after this square has waned (a few days, if possible).

The Moon goes void from 8:27AM EDT to 4:20PM EDT, so this is not a good day to start anything new. Nothing will come of it anyway. Keep this in mind with any arguments/urge to divulge something that isn't ours to divulge or if anyone is pressuring us for information. Nothing useful will come of their/our manipulations anyway. So don't force anything. Let it be.

xo all

Here is more info from the WEEKLY about today's energy (note this was in play for most of this week and will take a few more days to unwind itself):

"The fixed square will mean no one is going to want to bend and arguments/disagreements are more likely. Mars/Mercury is a restless mind, a fast talker and words have the potential to hit us - and other people - right over the head.

We might want to be the first to think of something, we want to "win" the conversation - communications are pushy. Words can start wars now so think before you speak. Walk away from any loud mouth idiots. Don't fight with your sibling or neighbor. Did I say back up your computer? Back up your computer. Drive safely.

The good news is that trine (brakes off) to Neptune shows us the way through the Mercury/Mars minefield.

Neptune says - release your grip, use your intuition, use your imagination, reach for peace, offer forgiveness and compassion. Meditate on it. Pray. Talk to a spiritual counselor. Go inside. Let go and let God."

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of October 15th - important conversations and mind-changing information, disruption, the rising feminine won't go away, we are re-evaulating what matters, power imbalances, arguments, forgiveness, compassion, if we get through this week without burning any bridges we didn't want to burn we are doing pretty freakin' good plus a peek ahead to later in the month and the change we have been waiting for

*** by ankazhuravleva

MONDAY -Mercury conjuncts Venus (retrograde), Mercury squares Black Moon Lilith
TUESDAY - Sun opposes Eris
WEDNESDAY - Pluto squares Ceres
FRIDAY - Mercury squares Mars and trines Neptune

Lots of Mercury action this week - so expect to be BUSY with lots of conversations, information and ideas. Mercury is good for thinking things through, figuring stuff out and getting organized/getting paperwork done. The squares indicate potentials for tension,  communication problems, misunderstandings, arguments, computer/transportation/sibling/pet issues and also the potential for some NEW information to come in and totally change our thinking about a situation! Remember squares give us something to push against and move us all forward.

This is another challenging and exciting week - stay grounded, keep a cool head.

We spend much of the work week with the Moon in Aquarius so don't let yourself be drawn into other people's drama (we will have enough of our own to work with!). Back up a bit. Also back up your computer. Right now.

On MONDAY the Moon in Capricorn is going to sextile Venus (retrograding through Scorpio) - this creates an opportunity to meld Capricorn (business, goals, authority, responsibilities, structure, paternal issues) and Scorpio (finances, intimacy, reproduction, death, rebirth, sex, other people's money, loans, taxes, inheritances) themes and get things done.

On the same day Mercury will catch up with Venus at 8 degrees Scorpio.

This is when some information could come in or an important conversation could occur regarding our Venus retrograde (love, money, our values, self-esteem) situation.

With Mercury and Venus both also squaring Black Moon Lilith (the no-holds-barred feminine energy) communications/information could be intense and possibly controversial/disruptive. We could be going deeper with something - taking a second look. Venus and Black Moon Lilith squared each other back in mid-September so maybe something from around that time is reactivated. A relationship or financial situation from the past could come back around again. Remember Venus retrograde is getting us in touch with what we really value. We are re-evaluating things. Words can be profound now. We might be going back over old contracts and agreements.

Keep in mind we are heading to a kind of cross-roads with whatever it is we are going through around October 25th-31st when Venus will oppose Uranus bringing sudden changes and unexpected situations. Both planets will be in a Grand Cross with both the North Node (in Leo) and the South Node (in Aquarius) so whatever is going on will have the mark of FATE stamped clearly upon it.

On TUESDAY the Sun (in Libra) is opposing Eris (in Aries). This feels alot like yesterday's Black Moon Lilith energy and whenever we have a week with multiple aspects that kind of feel like the same thing we know it is IMPORTANT. This is more disruptive energy coming to light around power dynamics, the outsider vs insider energy, repressed feminine potential. This will likely play out within partnerships and the themes of our Libra/Aries natal houses.

The Moon goes void at 5:49PM EDT until she moves into Aquarius at midnight turning our focus to our groups, causes, the internet, technology, freedom, original projects, astrology (!) and the ways we work in tandem with other people toward joint goals - for the next couple days. People could be more distracted and detached. Let's give each other a little space.

On WEDNESDAY we have Pluto (in Capricorn) squaring Ceres (in Libra). This feels similar to the October 8th New Moon we talked about HERE. Power imbalances within relationships and with the ways we nurture others, the nurturing we require of others and releasing what has fallen out of season are ripe for transformation. The square speaks of tension/stress and possible extreme weather.

The Moon goes void at midnight until 3:36AM EDT when she moves into dreamy Pisces making us more sensitive and compassionate for the next couple days. The Pisces Moon is the time each month to focus on our imagination, healing, meditating, music, being in or near water. Keep in mind boundaries will be thin. Things could reach natural culmination points. Be aware of your addictive tendencies, any potentials for self-sabotage (and escape hatches) because that stuff tends to get activated during a Pisces Moon. This continues throughout THURSDAY.

On FRIDAY the Moon is void most of the day (8:27AM to 4:20PM EDT) so this is not a good day to start anything new or send anything out into the world we would like 'something to come of'.

Mercury (in Scorpio) is going to square Mars and trine Neptune.

The fixed square will mean no one is going to want to bend and arguments/disagreements are more likely. Mars/Mercury is a restless mind, a fast talker and words have the potential to hit us - and other people - right over the head. We want to be the first to think of something, we want to "win" the conversation - communications are pushy. Words can start wars here so think before you speak. Walk away from any loud mouth idiots. Don't fight with your sibling or neighbor. Did I say back up your computer? Drive safely.

The good news is that trine (brakes off) to Neptune shows us the way through the Mercury/Mars minefield. Trines are easy to miss though - so much easier to see the problem than the solution, right? - so we will have to reach for it.

Neptune says - release your grip, use your intuition, use your imagination, reach for peace, offer forgiveness and compassion. Meditate on it. Pray. Let go and let God.

Back with some dailies and the weekend stuff I didn't finish.

xo all

Think about where we are and how the astrology is playing out through us.

Mars is moving full steam ahead now - flying toward an unknown future in Aquarius. Venus is moving slowly backward, pulling our energy back into ourselves. We are beginning to feel more intuitive, more interested in whatever we are digging our way through, more passionately connected to whatever we have going on now.

This is all playing out through a situation involving something of GREAT VALUE TO US.

Venus retrograding through Scorpio is very, very personal. This is why the collective stories in the news now are greatly triggering all of us.

When Mercury meets Venus on Monday - both in Scorpio - this is IMPORTANT.

Pay attention now.

Information/clarity is delivered. 

Venus is still squaring both Mars and Black Moon Lilith, so the information can be challenging as well as exciting. Mars is trying to move forward and Venus is like, hold up there bub, we have something back here to deal with.

Now, next week on Tuesday - and remember you can experience/feel energies as they build and unwind and not always most dramatically when they are exact - but on Tuesday, the Sun is going to ingress into Scorpio, too - joining Mercury and Venus and Jupiter. And when the Sun gets there he will oppose Uranus (shining a light on sudden, unexpected change, liberation, the unexpected) - just like Venus did on September 8th and Mercury did on October 10th. This is three of our four personal planets in the shadow sign of power and life and death (Scorpio) opposing change-maker Uranus (in Taurus) within just a few weeks!  

This is why we have been feeling such extreme uncertainty and unsettling change. We are not in Kansas anymore.

The stuff that has been stuffed is coming up to be healed. And the energies are once again bringing us back to mid-May and the relationship energies that came up then and how we dealt with them back then.

And on the 25th we have the Sun connecting to Venus retrograde at 5 degrees Scorpio - in an exact t-square to the points where the North and South Nodes were at the eclipse last July - so mark October 25th on your calendar! We also have a Full Moon in Taurus that day conjunct Uranus retrograde - so opposing the Sun and Venus retrograde! Whah!

THIS is the change we have been waiting for! Are we ready for this? xo again

Sun Square Pluto, Mercury Sextile Saturn | power games and power struggles, playing chicken, use your grown up voice, just the facts Jack, speak decisively and honestly, grace under pressure, channel E.F. Hutton

Red Chief by anyaanti

The Moon moved into Sagittarius while we slept. Normally the Moon's first change of sign after the New Moon would help ease the New Moon energies - and it will somewhat - but with the Sun moving into a square with Pluto today (part of the New Moon story which is now exact) we might not feel the "let up" just yet. Some people will though.

With the Moon in Sagittarius for the next couple days, we will likely find our focus move onto Sagittarius themes (or the theme of our natal Sagittarius house) - the big picture, travel, stretching our boundaries, the media, legal issues, weddings, religion, foreign people, adventure, places and the things outside our immediate comfort zones. Avoid getting all preachy about something. Avoid taking anything so far it is dangerous - with the Sun moving into square with Pluto this is not the time for any limb dangling.

The Sun (in Libra) squares Pluto (in Capricorn). This is more of the power struggle energy we have been dealing with. Here is the "peak" of it (note - the energy peaks today, your situation may have already peaked). After today it will unwind a bit.

Someone is determined to come out on top. Someone is playing a serious game of "chicken". The Libra Sun tries to keep everything all cordial and balanced, but there is no balance here and the civility is only on the surface. If you feel someone is trying to control you - they are. If you are the one with the power and trying to persuade someone else (we call it persuasion when we do it and manipulation when it is done by other people) - take a moment here. This is the ultimate stressful aspect - whatever is happening can feel like life and death and it could actually be life and death, but is most likely our ego being squeezed. 

People will want to feel powerful. People will be using intimidation to their advantage. We could attract (Sun) a Darth Vader (Pluto). This energy also feels like trying to control our father/the powerful masculine. We could be feeling overpowered by life right now. Keep in mind this is a transit. It is transitory. 

This is excellent energy for recognizing our own shadow, because we are going to see it in those around us, especially within our close relationships.

The good news, and this feels somewhat similar to the Pallas (Virgo) aspect that was exact yesterday, is we have an opportunistic sextile from Mercury (in Scorpio) and Saturn (also in Capricorn). 

So although there are planets in Libra and Capricorn squaring each other (tension/frustration) and they are major players we also have major players sextiling (opportunity) each other from relatively the same spaces.

So we have Mercury - our communication/thinking/ideas - being supported by sober and stable Saturn. Keep conversations serious. Use your grown-up voice. Actually, just be the grown-up in the room. That's how you get your power back now. Not with any manipulative tactics. Words are powerful. Speak wisely. Your power lies in what you know/communicate. Don't say too much. You know those guys who don't say much and we all think they're so smart - be like those guys.

Don't rush to agree with anyone using any bullying tactics now. Don't be intimidated and just say what you think someone in power wants to hear.

Be honest. And civil. Be the grown-up in the room. Put on your big-boy/girl pants. Be practical. Be strategic. Be serious. Talk about what you know.

Stick to the facts. Be that guy who doesn't say too much and everything thinks he's a genius. Speak decisively. Make every word count. 

Think "grace under pressure" now. 

OK - time to get on with my day. This week's astro is playing out very powerfully in my life. Will write about it this weekend to give you some examples. Try to enjoy this generous Sag Moon a bit if you can - by Sunday afternoon she will be in practical Capricorn and we will be getting down to business.

xo all

Mercury Square the Nodes from Scorpio |what is beneath the words, stuck in a loop, hearing what we might not want to hear, walking our talk, the unavoidable facts, uncomfortable conversations that are worth having, seeing the patterns - MAKING A PLAN

in.my.head by lunariya

Yesterday's astrology was so gnarly that although I wrote about it in the weekly HERE (Mars square Venus, Mercury opposing Uranus) I didn't want to put my thoughts (which are things) onto paper again.

Whatever this was for us - maybe unexpected or abrupt information, frustration - I'm not going to rehash all the possibilities. We know these are challenging times and this week is particularly harsh.

Our Scorpio house is stressed.

After her opposition with Uranus yesterday, Mercury slips into square with the North and South Nodes of the Moon today (2 degrees - Scorpio, Aquarius, Leo).

This indicates an important piece of information comes to us now - maybe something we don't want to know, but just as likely something that points us in a particular direction. There is a conversation/discussion to be had and with that Venus/Mars square still so tight - it could be confrontational and might be connected to something from the past.

Venus (as us) is swimming backward through the dark waters of Scorpio now, so we are re-viewing, re-vising and re-turning to old situations. This doesn't mean we aren't moving forward. We are. It does mean though that totally new things are kind of "moving against the tide". So, when the tides turn (when Venus stations direct or when she starts covering new degrees) our fortunes with those things can, too. So, we could put alot of time/money/energy into something now that won't pan out in the long run. On the other hand the time/money/energy we are using to - review, revise and return - we know are being put to a good use. Maybe what didn't work before, can work out this time. Old opportunities come back around. Remember, Venus is in Scorpio - the sign of other people's resources and the ways we merge ourselves with other people - there is old gold to be mined now.

For today - and you may have received this information yesterday - pay attention to what triggers you. The fight about the garbage isn't really a fight about the garbage. The uncomfortable conversation with your boss is important. That late notice is important. That thing your kid just said to you that made you hold your breath is important. That song that gets stuck in your head is important. 

We are being put on notice. That Aquarius situation, that is very old and very deep - the past life (childhood) trauma, alienation, what happened to us before when we spoke out/when we were uniquely ourselves, when we detached - is ripe for release and here is the information (that yes, could even come through the mouth of an a**hole boss or client) that pushes us toward that Leo North Node - our heart, our children, our creativity, our happiness, that stage that sits empty because it is intended solely for us and we are off hiding in the audience.

Pay attention to the facts that come out now.

There is a nice trine between Pluto (ruler of Scorpio and a hugely important player right now) and Pallas in "dot your i's and cross your t's" Virgo right now. Pallas is excellent energy for strategies, think warrior mode here (where we get to win) and in Virgo is highly effective.

So, make a plan. Step by step. One foot in front of the other. This isn't about making dramatic changes right now (although that Leo North Node does love drama!), but it is about taking practical steps. What has to be done to make the numbers add up? Do more of that. What is working? Do more of that. What isn't working gets cut. Get concise. Look for patterns. Think like a general (or an accountant!). Figure this sh*t out. These energies are activated within us now and want to work with/through us.

We have access to their collective firepower and remember both Venus and Mercury are answering to Pluto!

That trine to Pluto makes the practical VERY powerful right now.

xo all

(whatever news is playing out in the collective now - I admit I have stepped away from it for a couple days - will be important, too)

New Moon in Libra | October 8, 2018 - power imbalances, hard truths, holding ourselves together, planting the seeds of the old fruit, almost time to rebuild

The Catcher by Wonder Milky Girl

Some of today's post I am going to pull from MONDAY in the weekly, but some of it will be new. I thought, after re-reading yesterday's post last night, I might have colored it too darkly with my own current circumstances, so am going to break it down a bit differently here and we'll see if we end up in the same place or with a new vantage point.

The Moon entered Libra on Sunday night at 9:10PM EDT focusing us on Libran themes for the next couple days - partnerships, balance, justice, cooperation, diplomacy. Libra is the sign of relationship.

Before she meets the Sun at 15 degrees Libra (11:47PM EDT) she will square Saturn and trine the South Node (3 degrees), square Vesta (6 degrees), trine Black Moon Lilith (7 degrees) and trine Mars (9 degrees). Note she is doing all of this in the dark (balsamic moon phase) and in Libra she is answering to Venus, recently retrograded into the dark of Scorpio. There is stuff we don't know and can't see here.

The Moon's Capricorn squares today are us reaching limits, dealing with authority, hitting road blocks. The Moon's Aquarius trines (brakes off) speak of an easier time of it off the beaten path now. The Balsamic Moon is a natural time of endings and with the South Node in Aquarius those are supported now. 

She met with Ceres on Sunday, still in play now, which I talked about in yesterday's post HERE. By the time the Moon meets the Sun tonight, this aspect will be waning. The power imbalances within our relationship/situation have been made clear to us (personally and collectively) as well as the things that are out of our hands and any mama-drama we are working through.

Everything is leading us - still in the dark - toward that Sun. Now, unlike other planets that get illuminated when they meet the Sun, the Moon, coming between the Earth and the Sun, blocks the Sun's light. And like other planets when she meets the Sun we get a new story. We get a mini re-set every month.

Because this is happening in Libra we look to our natal Libra house (15 degrees) for the kind of theme we will be working with personally. Then we consider the general Libra themes (relationship, partnership, balance, justice, women, beauty) and we consider what Libra's ruling planet is doing and where she is.

We want to keep in mind with Venus (ruling our desire nature) retrograde  - we could be wanting something we don't usually want. And with the Sun - remember it is the Sun's meeting with the Moon that creates the New Moon - moving toward a square with Pluto (ruling power, but also death/the finality of situations) on Friday - any big moves toward that thing we want could set energies into motion that cut off other options. We might want to carefully consider any big moves this week because they won't be so easily undone later.

That square to Pluto (and general theme of relationship and other people) could indicate the new from the New Moon is forced upon us, maybe not totally welcomed, and grown from the seeds of something that has reached a conclusion - which I guess new things always are, but maybe it is somehow more obvious here. Maybe we are working through a loss of power here. There could be further destruction before we can get to a place to rebuild - like when workers go into a rotten house and tear down the old walls before the new walls go up.

Or maybe we don't have the power to make the things happen we want to happen or to get what we want from the place we now stand.

Neptune is making an inconjunct (that rock and a hard place) to the Moon/Sun, so something involving a Neptunian theme - self-sacrifice, self-sabotage, illusion, delusion, connection - will not be easily reconciled here. It makes me think things may not be quite as we see them - possible not quite as scary or, with Neptune ruling the 12th house of the ethereal realms, just being handled by larger hands than ours. We could spend alot of time/energy working out something we don't actually have any control over anyway.

Remember the energies influence us in subtle and not so subtle ways. Our stories are always in flux. We always, always have the chance to start again with ourselves.

(Astrology forecasting is like predicting the weather. The weatherman can tell you it is going to rain today, but it up to you whether you change your plans, bring an umbrella or just decide to walk in it! Take what is helpful, toss the rest, the Moon is trining Black Moon Lilith and Mars today, so make your own choices)

So we move toward the New Moon on wobbly legs having been unbalanced by the last two weeks, five months, 8 years - who knows. The New Moon's chart, a launching pad, is a lunar reset. We get a fresh emotional start (remember the Moon is about our emotions) with that Libra theme! Let's not waste it - set those intentions!

Now here's the part that is a repeat from yesterday -

MONTHLY AFFIRMATION TIPS for the Libra New Moon:

What house holds Libra in your natal chart?

This is our annual opportunity to restore balance here. Who/what do we want to partner with?

Get grounded - we have moved from an earth sign into air so this is important - always make affirmations from a  positive place (positive meaning certain).

It is a good idea, since the New Moon is literally a blank sheet, to work in a clean, uncluttered space and maybe right after a bath or shower. Definitely when you are alone.

I find affirmations are most effective if I speak less on New Moon days so my words will hold more weight when I need them to. 

I usually burn a white candle to help me focus and thin the veils between me and me. It also helps to channel ancestral energy a bit since I am always thinking as I move my story forward, their story moves forward with me.

Write your affirmations down by hand in cursive, we want the letters all connecting and flowing together. Speak the words out loud. 

I used to write my affirmations on strips of paper and put them into a bowl of rice so I could mix them around every now and then with my fingers if things got stagnant. Then I decided to burn them. I have written them on rocks and buried them.

This month, I'm doing something I did a few weeks ago to line up with a specific thing that happened pretty effortlessly afterward -

I'm going to write my affirmations

(astrologer Jan Spiller recommends writing 10, but I have found myself stretching to do that or writing the same things every month which feels silly, so I have worked my way down to 3 which feels like a powerful number to me)

on my chalkboard while burning a white candle - when the candle burns out, all by itself - don't burn your house down - I erase the words first and then clean the blackboard with water.

Some people store them until the corresponding Full Moon (in this case during Aries season next April) and burn them then. Do what feels right.

I don't think it's terribly important what we do with our writings as long as we are not pulling them out and checking on them all the time. Setting intentions is like baking a cake - checking on how things are going just slows things down.

We are not handing a honey do list to the universe! We are lining up with the universal energies of creation here.

And I wouldn't be sharing them with other people, which also feels like it dilutes the process or pulls them into our story. I was writing them on my blog for a few months, as examples for people, and that definitely wasn't helpful.

Then - and this is the important part - release your attention from your words knowing your intention is known.

Know these things are already yours.
 
xo all 

(please read MONDAY in the weekly for more about this New Moon)

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of October 8th - dealing with loss, control issues, surprising news mid-week, the angry feminine energy (men carry feminine energy, too) isn't going away, fear of losing what we love, losing what we love, things outside our control are making us cray-cray, planting something new from the seeds of the old fruit

s by marina kochetyga

Some important aspects this week are:

SUNDAY - Sun conjunct Ceres
MONDAY - New Moon in Libra
TUESDAY - Mercury into Scorpio
WEDNESDAY - Mercury opposes Uranus, Venus squares Mars
THURSDAY - Mercury squares the North and South Nodes
FRIDAY - Sun squares Pluto

Yes, another cray-cray week. Hold on. Know we are all in this together. Tread carefully.

Mars starts covering new ground this week - finally! - after his long summer retrograde through Aquarius. He is in Aquarius for another couple weeks, but now walking new degrees. This can energize stalled actions, initiatives and projects as well as group causes.

Sunday's exact conjunction between the Sun (in Libra) and Ceres is a big part of Monday's New Moon, so let's look at that.

On MONDAY the Moon (in Libra) meets the Sun (in Libra) at 15 degrees. The Moon and Sun are sitting with Ceres and squaring Pluto (the Pluto square with the Sun will be exact on Sunday so the square is waxing/building at the time of the New Moon).

This is the Ceres/Pluto story come to life! You have likely heard this before, but the following is a very brief rehashing of it:

Ceres (known to the Greeks as Demeter) is the mother - the provider, the nurturer - the goddess archetype of spring. Ceres represents the part of our nature that longs to give birth and then nourish and sustain new life. She represents the essential bonding or lack of that occurs between mother and child. She is the impulse to nurture and also to be nurtured by others.

Ceres's daughter, Persephone, was abducted and raped by Pluto, lord of the underworld. The grieving mother, Ceres wandered the earth in search of her missing child.

In her grief, depression and anger, she caused a famine, withholding nourishment from the world until her daughter was returned. Persephone meanwhile had eaten pomegranate seeds, a symbol of sexual awareness, which gave Pluto a claim over her so she could not be returned permanently to her mother.

A deal was reached so Persephone would spend part of each year in the underworld with Pluto caring for the souls of the dead, but each spring would be reunited with her mother in the upper world as she initiated the dead into the rites of rebirth (spring).

Ceres in our chart alerts us to any challenges with nurturing and directs us to the kinds of experience we need to feel unconditionally loved and accepted. Our mother issues, the way we deal with painful and uncontrollable loss and separation - that's Ceres.

Although not much in terms of synchronicity surprises me with astrology - this is a kind of mind-blowing line-up at this New Moon given what we have been going through in the U.S. collective with the Supreme Court seating. The entitled masculine and the marginalized feminine (and we all carry both masculine and feminine energies within us) and with Chiron back in Pisces digging up old wounds and addictions that are demanding our acknowledgement and release.

With Ceres ruling cycles, the seasons of our lives, the way we nurture and what we need to feel nurtured, our mother issues, the way we deal with painful losses squaring Pluto (power/death and rebirth) - whatever we have going on - New Moons are all about new starts - is likely to involve the themes of loss and power imbalances.

We could be dealing with issues that feel like life and death (which they may or may not be) and potentially de-stabilizing financial issues.

New Moons are times in the dark. The seeds go into the ground, but the day we plant the seeds is not the day we eat the fruit. If we can see the seeds as the ashes of the old fruit - we can see better what we have in front of us.

Ceres is about cycles - the highs and lows. She represents a very real lack of control - her grief was not only about the tremendous pain inflicted by Pluto over the loss of her daughter (how are we losing?) but also about the depression (she could be said to rule over the winter season as well as Saturn) that comes when we can't control important things. She turns away from her life. She wanders the earth.

NOTE - You will find the area of life where Ceres sits in your natal chart to be an area where you experience extremes. The tide is in or the tide is out. Things are either very bright and sunny or very dark and depressing. We often face situations that are out of our control.

For us, as a collective, this New Moon in collaborative and diplomatic Libra is a fresh start seeded through a painful loss/something outside our control. With Libra naturally ruling our 7th house of 'the other person' this could play out through partnership, through agreements - which are likely to be seen as unfair or unjust in some way - at the core of it all we see the Ceres/Pluto square and story - our fear of losing control, our fear of losing what we love.

The New Moon will also be inconjunct (rock and hard place) Neptune speaking of fantasies and delusions. Take care with addictive substances. Watch for rose-colored glasses. This could mean our fear of loss is not totally grounded in reality and also reminds us that bigger hands than ours are guiding this whole thing ....

MONTHLY AFFIRMATION TIPS for the Libra New Moon:

What house holds Libra in your natal chart?

This is our annual opportunity to restore balance here. Who/what do we want to partner with?

Get grounded - we have moved from an earth sign into air so this is important - always make affirmations from a  positive place (positive meaning certain).

It is a good idea, since the New Moon is literally a blank sheet, to work in a clean, uncluttered space and maybe right after a bath or shower. Definitely when you are alone.

I find affirmations are most effective if I speak less on New Moon days so my words will hold more weight when I need them to. 

I usually burn a white candle to help me focus and thin the veils between me and me. It also helps to channel ancestral energy a bit since I am always thinking as I move my story forward, their story moves forward with me.

Write your affirmations down by hand in cursive, we want the letters all connecting and flowing together. Speak the words out loud. 

I used to write my affirmations on strips of paper and put them into a bowl of rice so I could mix them around every now and then with my fingers if things got stagnant. Then I decided to burn them. I have written them on rocks and buried them.

This month, I'm doing something I did a few weeks ago to line up with a specific thing that happened pretty effortlessly afterward -

I'm going to write my affirmations

(astrologer Jan Spiller recommends writing 10, but I have found myself stretching to do that or writing the same things every month which feels silly, so I have worked my way down to 3 which feels like a powerful number to me)

on my chalkboard while burning a white candle - when the candle burns out, all by itself - don't burn your house down - I erase the words first and then clean the blackboard with water.

Some people store them until the corresponding Full Moon (in this case during Aries season next April) and burn them then. Do what feels right.

I don't think it's terribly important what we do with our writings as long as we are not pulling them out and checking on them all the time. Setting intentions is like baking a cake - checking on how things are going just slows things down.

We are not handing a honey do list to the universe! We are lining up with the universal energies of creation here.

And I wouldn't be sharing them with other people, which also feels like it dilutes the process or pulls them into our story. I was writing them on my blog for a few months, as examples for people, and that definitely wasn't helpful.

Then - and this is the important part - release your attention from your words knowing your intention is known.

Know these things are already yours

On TUESDAY, Mercury dives into Scorpio (joining Venus and Jupiter). The planet of communication/ideas/thinking/new/information - also rules siblings, pets, our local neighborhood (Mercury) ingresses into the sign of power, transformation and secrets (Scorpio) until October 31st - note his November retrograde will bring him back into Scorpio to re-walk the final degrees.

This is excellent energy for deep (Scorpio) investigation/research (Mercury).

Instead of learning/thinking/communicating about a little of this and a little of that, now is the time to go "all in" with a subject we are passionate about.

Our mind can focus. Multi-tasking will be harder because our intellect will want to sit with one thing for longer than we usually do.

We will be getting to the bottom of things and will not be satisfied with Libra's (Mercury's last stop) conversational civilities. We'll want to know, and think/talk about, what is really happening. It won't always be comfortable.

The hard truths won't be blurted out spontaneously - we will have to dig for them. 

Decide first if you really want to know what is hiding underneath because Plutonian authenticity is not only transformational - it is permanent. There is no going back to "not knowing". Mysteries can be solved. The truth could come out. Secrets can be languaged and spoken out loud.

Difficult conversations will create deeper levels of intimacy now. 

If you are dating someone and you have sex (also Scorpio ruled) with them you can never go back to not having sex with them even if you never have sex with them again. The intimacy is still there. It will be like this with our words now. 

And once we know the information - we own it. It's our move (with Scorpio the move might be internal). 

It changes who we are and we ignore who we are at our own peril.

Careless language (disrespect for ourselves and others) and our careless treatment of other people's words (and their reaction to ours) will be karmic. Keep this in mind.

There could be battles for mental supremacy and mind games during this transit.

People prone to manipulation could be extremely effective (or someone will finally see right to the bottom of what we are doing - maybe that someone will be ourselves).

This is a time to take a good, long look at what we are really seeking when we are trying to make a situation/person behave in a way that pleases us. Think about it. There are gold nuggets to be mined now. Even tiny specks can be used to create great fortunes. Scorpio rules our inheritance.

The fly in the ointment here is that we might think we are mining for gold when we are really just obsessing on the same old same old. Scorpio rules obsession and compulsion and our minds could easily go there now. Notice it. Don't judge it. Think about - "what does it mean that I keep thinking about this?". Scorpio rules death, too. It's not only what we dig up, but what we put into the ground that matters now.

Maybe some words/language/story needs to be put to rest.

This transit could also be about money and paperwork, contracts - wills, loans, etc.

The Moon is void all day Tuesday.

On WEDNESDAY, the Moon will be in Scorpio focusing us on Scorpian issues - life/death, other people's money - loans, inheritance, taxes, partner's income, the things we share with other people, intimacy, sex, reproduction.

Mercury (in Scorpio) is going to oppose Uranus (in Taurus) at the same time the Venus/Mars square becomes exact. This is a BIG day.

Immediately with Mercury/Uranus we get a surprising truth.

Maybe some disturbing news. Maybe a brainstorm or stroke of genius. Maybe a shocking conversation about money or intimacy issues. If something has been a secret or done below the radar this is the time it could come out.

We have talked about the Venus/Mars square before because we have been dealing with it for a while - although not with Venus retrograde. This is where we really want something but are blocked somehow. Our actions and our desires are at cross purposes. This is the masculine vs the feminine. There could be power struggles.

With Venus retrograde this isn't really the time to push. Do what needs to be done, yes. Don't miss a deadline or just come to a complete stop. Take the actions you can, but know that things have a bit of unwinding to do. Things are in flux. When Venus is direct in November - things will start to fall more smoothly into place.

We will flesh out the rest of the week in the next post. It is equally dynamic!

xo all

Astrology Forecast for Today | October 6th - focusing on the details, getting things done, paperwork, getting organized, pet therapy, drifting off course, knots untying, solutions that look better than they actually are or maybe our problem just dissolves, fragile emotional states, lack of boundaries, maybe time for a primal scream

nothing by Nira Gonzalez

We looked at some bigger picture stuff yesterday, today let's focus in on the details - sometimes it is best to take things day by day, even moment by moment. 

The dark Moon moved into Virgo at 7:15PM EDT on Friday night. Our focus will likely turn to Virgo matters for the next couple days - our daily activities, our work, our pets, getting paperwork done and things organized.

We wake on SATURDAY with the Virgo Moon trining (brakes off) stable Saturn. This is good energy to be productive, focus on our goals - get things done. Good energy for business. We can be practical and orderly. The Moon moves into a trine with Vesta (in Capricorn and sitting 3 degrees from Saturn) - we can emotionally focus now on whatever we are devoted to - it has our attention.

After lunch the Moon will sextile (opportunity) a retrograde Venus in Scorpio - our relationship can feel supportive, we are working together, we can get along with other people.

The mood changes in the PM (if you are sensitive to Neptune or lunar changes you will likely feel this sooner, it could even color your entire day) when the Moon moves into her monthly opposition with Neptune at 7:05PM EDT.

Things fog up a bit. It is harder to know what is true. Our ideas could be unrealistic. Information leaks out. We lose our focus. We drift off course. Our emotions are too stretched to be trusted right now.

Having this energy on a Saturday night is probably better than a Monday morning though.

We'll roll with it.

Saturday night would be a good time to go to a movie, make art, meditate, do something healing. Our thinking will be imaginative.

I will be using this energy meditating (Neptune) with my dog (Virgo) - trying to figure out what she wants me to do for her. I have no idea what this will look like. I am sure hubs (Virgo rising) will try to have me committed (Neptune) shortly thereafter, so if I am not back here tomorrow you will know where I am. Send chocolate and a chisel.

Shortly after that Neptune opposition, the Moon moves into a nice trine with Pluto, so a skillful use of our emotional energy could lead to a success now .... prayers for that one.

xo all

I guess Kavanaugh is getting seated. Venus (feminine), moving backward and in her detriment with Mars (masculine) starting to soar again certainly helped him. The dark of the Moon, ripe for backroom dealings did, too. Saturn in Capricorn can't be underestimated. I guess the power of the collective zeitgeist (his personal story's ability to embody the current energies) overrode somewhat the loss and self-sabotage shown in his personal chart. Let's see what collective muck gets dug up in October and what happens in November when Venus gets back into her home sign. We are playing a long game. And we are in the final stretch and the first quarter at the same time ....

If we are feeling triggered we could ask ourselves when was the last time we were ANGRY. Not sad. Not disappointed. Not annoyed or pissed off. Not restrained. But screaming out loud, smashing things to bits ANGRY.




The Moon goes void SUNDAY morning at 10:03AM EDT off a sextile to expansive Jupiter, then stays void until 9:10PM EDT. Take it easy on Sunday. Relax. Set that circus down ...

Venus Stations Retrograde | relationships and money and women and what we value and how we value ourselves gets re-assessed, maybe life feels like a high stakes poker game, what are we willing to bet? what do we love NOW? and are we too focused on what isn't ours?

Drive. Through the Shadow. by A. Finch

Venus stations retrograde today at 10 degrees Scorpio. I wrote about it HERE

This retrograde is reminiscent of one 8 years ago when she stationed at 13 degrees Scorpio on October 7, 2010. We might find similar themes playing out in our life over the next few weeks.

On Halloween she will get back into the sign of Libra and continue moving backward until she gets all the way back to 25 degrees Libra (November 16th) and then she will station direct and start moving forward - walking again, this time direct, all the degrees she has walked before.

So the degrees from 25 Libra (which Venus first walked back on September 3rd when she kicked this whole season off) through 10 degrees Scorpio are the "hot" spots for this retrograde. She won't be covering entirely new ground until the middle of December when she sextiles Saturn and moves past 10 degrees Scorpio.

Venus is considered in her detriment in Scorpio AND during her retrograde she will be traveling through the "Via Combusta". Via Combusta are the degrees between 15 Libra and 15 Scorpio - that ancient astrologers labelled some of the most challenging degrees of the zodiac because both the Moon and the Sun (the lights of the zodiac) are in their "fall" and the so-called "malefic" planets - Saturn (exalted in Libra) and Mars (co-ruler of Scorpio) are strong.

So, Venus (as us) has her work cut out for her over the next few weeks.

NOTE - the New Moon on Monday is on 15 degrees Libra!

I don't want to rehash what I wrote in THIS post, except to say while Venus is retrograde we will be doing the "re's" with Venusian themes - women, beauty, art, love, money, our resources, our values and self-esteem. Someone from our past could re-appear. An old way of making art or love or money could re-appear. A situation we have been through before with Scorpian themes could reappear. We will be "reviewing" the things we value. In Scorpio this will play out through Scorpian themes - other people's money, big money, loans, inheritances, debts, sex, life/death issues, reproduction, shared scenarios, power struggles, jealousy, third party situations including triangles. Venus retrograde can also play out through the themes of our natal ruled Libra and Taurus houses.

We will get to some kind of cross-roads with whatever it is we are going through by around October 26th-31st when Venus will oppose Uranus bringing sudden changes and unexpected situations. Both planets will be in a Grand Cross with both the North Node (in Leo) and the South Node (in Aquarius) so whatever is going on will have the stamp of FATE marked clearly upon it.

And remember although Venus will be opposing Uranus, Uranus is in Taurus answering to Venus! Also keep in mind that Mercury is in Libra (answering to Venus), Uranus is in Taurus (answering to Venus), the Sun is in Libra (answering to Venus), Ceres is in Libra (answering to Venus) and the Moon will be in Libra (answering to Venus) for the New Moon on Monday - that's alot of our energy in the hands of Venus as she dives through the muck of mid-Scorpio!

October will dig up some relationship and financial challenges, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel isn't a train - it's the Venusian Goddess herself in November as she backs into her home sign of Libra. She will still be retrograde, but we should be able to regain some balance. She will also have a stabilizing sextile to Saturn beginning the third week of October that should help.

We have been through some rocky waters since May, that have probably never really smoothed out. Note - the goal here isn't really about them smoothing out! If we make our goal for things to "smooth out" we won't be reaching that goal anytime soon. We are in the Age of Aquarius - things aren't smoothing out.

We need to find a way to live and love through rapidly changing times.

Now with Mars finally starting to cover new degrees next week we have the masculine energy literally revving up at the same time the feminine energy is struggling for air!

And Venus is squaring Mars as she stations! And Jupiter - moving through his long journey in Scorpio and preparing to move home to Sagittarius next month (!) - is finally leaving his retrograde shadow, too.

Plus this week we have had Mercury squaring Pluto. This is our mind being detonated with one of those Wiley Coyote stacks of dynamite. The Moon has been in sensitive Cancer so we are feeling our way through whatever is going on.

This stuff ain't for sissies.

Venus retrograde - all 40 days and 40 night of it - will have us re-assessing BIG themes in our lives.

The world is going to look so different by next spring. Let's not put any more pressure on ourselves right now than we have to - there is enough outside pressure already!

Let's take care of what is front in front of us. Let's do what is sensible. Let's give ourselves some air and some room to breath. Decisions are challenging during Libra season anyway and we will spend time agonizing over things that in reality are out of our hands anyway ...

Venus in Scorpio is going to make everything feel like life and death, and although some situations might be, many more situations will be playing out very differently than we expect them to over the next few months.

2018 is a bridge year (and yes, for many people it feels like one of those rope bridges swaying high over a bed of jagged rocks) carrying us into the changes of 2019/2020.

We don't usually have Mars and Venus retrograde in the same year - and we are all walking spaces we have never walked before AND in the middle of all this the nodes are going to switch from Leo/Aquarius to Cancer/Capricorn. This is all quite unprecedented.

The first aspect Venus retrograde will make is that square to Mars (in Aquarius) early next week, so we don't want to be overthinking everything right now. Keep that in mind. Or out of mind maybe.

xo all

Mercury Square Pluto, 3rd Quarter Square Moon | power struggles, facing the truth, words are power, news and information, honoring ourselves, hard to cooperate, growing ourselves up, eating the damn apple

autumn by Art-de-Viant

The sensitive Cancer Moon (people with planets/points around 9 degrees of the cardinal signs - Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn - will feel this most strongly) reaches its third quarter square of the month with the Libra Sun.

This is tension/stress. The 3rd quarter Moon is a time of crisis. Summer squares autumn.

This is about the themes of our Cancer/Libra houses or the collective Cancer/Libra themes of relationship insecurities, relationship imbalances, what is fair, what is just. Think about those Libran scales and look through the lens of Cancer (peeking out of her shell - is she safe here?).

The resolution will come through honoring ourselves - our safety, our security, our self-nourishment - AND coming into balance with the other person's position - compromise, cooperation, diplomacy.

Have we been neglecting our own needs/wants to stay in relationship with someone/something? On the other hand have we been unrealistically looking to someone/something else to mother our grown-up selves? Cancer is both the mother and the baby.

Saturn is opposing the Moon now, so we could feel like giving up. Let's not turn a corner into a dark alley just to avoid feeling uncomfortable.

We also have the exact square between Mercury and Pluto today - this one has been in play for a couple days and will take a couple days to unwind itself.

Mercury (communications, information, thinking) from 18 degrees Libra is squaring Pluto (power, life/death, big money/finances) at 18 degrees Capricorn.

Whatever we are thinking about/talking about - will be INTENSE, powerful, deep - maybe bitter.

With Pluto (ruler of that murky Scorpio 8th house) there are secrets and back door deals.

We don't know what we don't know. We can't see what we can't see. It is safe to assume we are not getting the full picture.

Mercury in Libra wants to just push this whole mess under the bed, slap on some lipstick and pretend everything is a OK. That isn't going to work now. Pluto rules Scorpio - the sign that follows Libra. The guy is dragged out from under the bed, the pretty lipstick gets smudged, the angry husband shows up with a shotgun - everything is clearly not a OK.

Some examples of how this energy is playing out with people I know - 1. someone is being audited this week. Mercury (which rules Virgo as well as Gemini - the details, the paperwork, the dotting of the i's and crossing of the t's) squaring Pluto (the tax man, power, other people's money). 2. Someone else is dealing with bankers - this is a similar dynamic and again there is a certain innate unfairness and imbalance (Libra) built into the situation because one side has the power.

3. Someone else is dealing with the reading (Mercury) of a will (Pluto) in a complicated family situation with power struggles. 4. I am dealing with Olive's (Mercury rules Virgo and Virgo rules pets) life/death (Pluto) health issues and surgery again.

All kinds of buried crap is hitting all kinds of fans this week (last week and next also).

This is the stuff coming out from under the bed - I hope for you it's just a few dust bunnies and there aren't any real monsters under there. Are there real monsters? Here's where we need to put on our big girl pants and assure our seven year old self we can handle this.

So what do we do?

Don't pour pink paint and pretend everything is OK. That paint is going to chip and we will be right back here again with an even bigger mess - and there won't be enough paint to cover this anyway.

Whatever it is we are afraid to look at - LOOK DEEPER. The expression - "the truth hurts, but the truth will also set you free" comes to mind here. 

Don't allow someone to manipulate you into something you don't agree with/something that takes away your security. Maybe we need to channel our Black Moon Lilith who is hooked up with Mars today - the powerful are not the only ones with power now.

Don't manipulate someone else and call it persuasion. Keep it real.

We need to be smart and tactful. We need to see/feel the other person's point of view (maybe that is the space where we need to look deeper?).

We may need to stand up for ourselves and we definitely need to take care of ourselves.

Situations will likely have an undercurrent about power and control (maybe life and death or could feel like life and death - which BTW is hard on our physical bodies which can't tell the difference, so take care of yours) and there won't be easy solutions/compromises.

Words are powerful now. We could burn the whole place down with our language today, so be careful.

This is excellent energy for research, delving deeply into some information, journaling, therapy, working out a puzzle, getting to the bottom of a legal matter.


xo all

An example now with the Kavanaugh story playing out in the U.S. collective is understanding HIS-story. Yes, I know we have thousands of years of understanding HIS-story. But LOOK DEEPER.

I was reminded yesterday by someone's Facebook post about the 80's classic Sixteen Candles that "rape in the 1980's wasn't something done by acquaintances at house parties" - remember the scene where the very drunk girl was handed from one boy to another (weren't they the hero boys in the film or am I remembering this incorrectly?) like a sex doll. In the movie, this was all a joke and good, clean fun. We are reminded this was the culture at the time. It's not an excuse. But it does allow us some way into HIS-story if we need one. And we do. Need one.

Because we carry all these archetypes within us.

And we have reached a point in time where it is just too painful to continue on in an un-integrated state. It is no longer possible to just stuff our own fear. It is no longer possible to just ram things through. The polarity within us just stops us dead in our tracks. We must face it directly and resolve the "split" within us in order to be able to move forward at all now. This is why we are feeling more "prevented" and "opposed" than ever. We can push the blame onto the other person or the situation for a time, but it won't stay "pushed" for long now before it pushes back!

Note - this doesn't mean I think Kavanugh should or will be appointed to the Supreme Court. No, I don't (hell, no) and the astrology looks like this storyline is definitely not wrapping up in week. Venus is going retrograde this week, to dig something up in Scorpio (!), and she won't be hitting new degrees until 2019.

And yes, I am being totally triggered by all of this, too.

Looking at 80's culture (and how it has evolved) is just a tool I can use to help integrate the part of me that - wants what it wants, that feels entitled to it, that played by the "rules" at the time (that aren't the rules now) and didn't get my "pay-off", that is foaming at the mouth angry.