weekly astrology forecast | August 1 - August 6, 2022 - wake up calls about life direction, collective shocks, current events impact our future, it's change or be changed time fixed signs

 

August comes in like a lion, kicking off with the exact conjunction of Mars, Uranus and the North Node - this is a BIG-time wake-up call about our LIFE DIRECTION. 

If you are feeling uncertain about what you should be doing, the next two weeks will clear this up for you!

Doors will close. Windows will open - some of them might be painted over and require a push. 

For our NEW beginning to be SUCCESSFUL - this is in Taurus, so think about things that make sense/cents - it will require hard work, patience, discipline, cooperation with groups/collective goals, and for other things to END, which is where the conjunction's square to Saturn in Aquarius comes in. 

 

The kick in the ass we need. 

 

Life is amazing AND practical. 

 

Happening in fixed Earth Taurus, the triple conjunction will require our full commitment to the NEW and our letting go of the past. August is a time to face reality. How much of the mess we find ourselves in has been stoked by our own rigidity/fear of change/fear of lack and how can we shift our thinking with this (maybe see what we are gaining and not just what we are losing/have lost) in order to benefit from these changing/liberating energies? How can we do things differently?

 

Roll with the punches/roll right INTO THE FUTURE.

 

Let's jump right into the week, because it's not going to wait for us!

 

MONDAY - the triple conjunction of Mars/Uranus and the North Node of Fate (the future) at 18 degrees Taurus. People with plants/points in the fixed signs from 15-21 degrees will be feeling this strongest. This is designed to un-stick our stickiest spaces and continues yesterday's Uranus/North Node conjunction. This has been applying for a couple weeks and will be in orb for another couple weeks. It is exact today.

 

Mars is our action, anger, initiative, passion, masculine impulse. Can be destructive, so keep this in mind. When Mars meets change-maker Uranus - we are suddenly moving in a new direction. The North Node says this is our best path forward even if the Mars/Uranus lands us in a pickle/in a ditch/on our ass. This is the shortest/best route. This is probably the only route. Think about the way the world's problems seem so un-fixable, like we have past some point of fixing. We haven't. There is something like this going on in our own lives, too.

(when we had the big Pluto/Saturn back in January 2020, it wasn't until Mars reached that red hot degree in March 2021, that events were hugely triggered - with this conjunction we have the trigger WITH the conjunction - kaboom)

Happening in the fixed soil of Taurus, life will do what it takes to get us moving. Break-ups, breakthroughs, breakdowns, even accidents are possible now, so take care of yourself. Changes can come out of nowhere and for many people these changes will feel FORCED. With the North Node involved - trust this is the best direction forward. If sudden pivots away from something happen, trust we have taken that situation as far as it could go. It's change or be changed. Die or live.

Opposed to the South Node - the past, the death and complicated drama we are mired in NOW - these changes are designed to shake up our current reality and FREE US FROM THE PAST.

Expect collective SHOCKS. People will be reacting all over the place. We want to be the ones responding.

(Biden announced recurrence of covid - 12 house progressed Sun exact on this conjunction, so his health/mental health challenged while Putin - with the triple conjunction tightly conjunct his natal 7th house - open enemies - Jupiter - expansion - announces 'lightning speed response to interference', Uranus rules lightning/speed - the stuff happening now will be important/have ramifications, affect the future - hard/impossible to predict the next two weeks)

Keep in mind in your own life - measure twice. Cut once. These changes are permanent.

 

TUESDAY - Venus sextiles Mars and Uranus, Mercury inconjuncts Pluto

 

Now, Venus, the ruler of Taurus is sextiling (creative opportunity) both Mars and Uranus. This is helpful and happening along side the more dramatic energies. Helping us lean into the new. The more simple. The quality over quantity. We are starting down a new path and are at the beginning of the beginning. The Moon will be in Libra and answering to Venus, encouraging cooperation, balance, peace and partnership. At the same time Mercury inconjuncts Pluto on his/her way out of Capricorn, so there could be some verbal power struggles, ego clashes - this is the energy of a rock and a hard place/give-and-take. This is Leo/Capricorn. The king and the boss. Adjustments are needed.

 

THURSDAY - Mercury enters Virgo

 

After swimming in the emotional waters of Cancer and then getting burnt out fast in fiery Leo, Mercury finally comes home to Virgo! This is especially good news for Virgos and Geminis (Sun and Risings), but EVERYONE'S natal Virgo house and ability to manage our health, pets and day-to-day lives will benefit. With Mercury in Virgo, our thinking, writing and communication will be more practical and commonsense. We will be all about the details. Nothing gets by Mercury in Virgo.  But lots of things get dismissed. If it's not real/not factually stated/if it doesn't work - it's outta here.

This is an excellent transit for organization, cleaning, paperwork, taking care of our health, the ins and outs of our work and daily routine, our pets. We will see all the little problems, but still need to avoid nitpicking. Leo to Virgo is 'creating to critiquing' and that is natural/cyclical, but with everything all of us are dealing with this year we need to be gentle with each other.
 

The biting criticism (that will look to us like practical advice) that is right on the tip of our tongue might need to be swallowed sometimes. Gulp.

 

Mercury in Virgo will help us get the new thing GOING in a step-by-step practical manner. This can't come soon enough and like the Venus sextile is helpful. YAY!

FRIDAY - Venus inconjunct Saturn, First Quarter Moon (Scorpio/Leo)

Venus makes an awkward inconjunct to Saturn. We might feel burdened by responsibility or face some kind of limit with what we can/can't have. There is a need to adjust, do some give-and-take, be satisfied with less. Know there won't be an ideal solution, but we can find some common ground/a way through. 

 

The First Quarter Moon - Moon at 13 degrees Scorpio squaring the Sun in Leo. This is the Moon's first need to adjust after last week's BIG New Moon in Leo. The square is tension/frustration, triggers a crisis between dark and light, what is deep/hidden and the glossy exterior. The Leo Sun, amped up by his trine to Jupiter is optimism, is loud/proud, bold, wants to shine/maybe hog the limelight. The Scorpio Moon means we have to look at the shadow, can't push something under the rug or into a closet. We need to see what's underneath the shine.

SUNDAY - Mars squares Saturn, Venus trines Neptune 

Now, the Mars/Saturn square is exact - we talked about this energy in the opening of this post. This is the "no" or tension/frustration/ending that motivates us into new action or here is where our action is blocked maybe because we need to take certain old responsibilities, commitments and group situations into consideration. This can be frustrating/passive-aggressive, can bring clashes with authority. Road blocks. Reality checks.

 

The way through this one today will be Venus's trine to Neptune because Mars is answering to her. The dream, the escape, art, music, spirituality - it's Sunday, we don't have to beat our head against the wall. We can go higher/rise above the scuffle. Remember Venus is in a sextile to the triple conjunction and now is trining Neptune, so things can expand quickly. Boundaries dissolve. God, your ancestors, every good thing you have ever done is helping you.

 

With Mars/Saturn the harder we push, the harder things get. The Venus/Neptune says there is a path of least resistance here somewhere - find it. 

xo all

artwork by the amazing Julie de Waroquier

the astrology of the new moon in leo | Thursday, July 28, 2022 - restoring our enthusiasm and our faith, the background energy for the big changes ahead

On Thursday, July 28, 2022, at 1:54PM EDT. the Leo Moon meets the Leo Sun giving us this month's New Moon - our annual New Moon in Leo. 

 

This New Moon is happening in our Leo natal house. 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 (although they might!).
 

But it does mean the stuff we are doing will stand out.

 

Let's dive right in and unpack the chart!

 

The Moon is conjunct the Sun at 5 degrees Leo. The Moon is trining Jupiter in Aries, strong and still and stationing retrograde within hours. This is a BIG deal. The Moon is conjunct Ceres and inconjunct Vesta, retrograde in Pisces. The Moon is EXACTLY conjunct asteroid Pythia. The ruler of the lunation is the Sun, doing everything the Moon is doing just a bit slower. The Moon's final aspect in Leo will be an opposition to Saturn.

That trine to Jupiter - arguably astrology's best aspect! - is applying, hasn't happened yet. The Moon's trine reaches exactness Thursday night, the Sun's (and remember he rules this lunation through his rulership of Leo) trine is exact on Sunday. The trine to Jupiter speaks of the ease of expansion with whatever is started now. Confidence with it. Attention/appreciation from it.

 

Luck. 

Jupiter opens windows/doors WIDE. 

The tricky part of this lucky/expansive trine, which we ignore at our own peril, is Jupiter's retro station which will happen before the Sun reaches his trine to Jupiter. The New Moon will trine a direct Jupiter and the Sun, just a couple days later, will trine a retrograde Jupiter. 

 

So, yes, the energy of this New Moon is expansive/lucky/abundant, BUT it is not going to be the usual smooth-sailing a trine often portends. There will be re-assessments and re-visions. Some of the opportunities can turn out to be empty promises, but the trine tells us this will somehow be ok, too. Maybe it leads us to something better. There could be DELAYS. This is actually a GOOD thing, even a GREAT thing, because trines, being such smooth aspects, are easy to miss - we get lazy, think our luck won't run out, and here we see that it can. 

 

I think what this fiery New Moon (especially since it is happening with the Mars/Uranus/North Node fire) is really designed to do is to show us - regardless of how this all turns out - that WE CAN STILL GET EXCITED ABOUT SOMETHING! 

Many of us have been kind of running on auto-pilot and now here is something that lights our fire/gets us going/stirs our heart. 

Jupiter's station also indicates whatever has been GROWING in our lives since Jupiter moved into Aries in May can slow up now. The retrograde will be the time we put all the pieces together, decide what stays and what goes, what is true and what isn't. It's a time for the inner growth to catch up with the outer growth. If we have grown something good, this will be a time to go within - do we still want this? Does this still make sense/cents? Is there maybe a simpler way to go about this?

If what has grown is something we aren't happy with or the promised/hoped for goodies haven't been arriving - the next few months will be the time to make the changes to line up with what we want, so we are on a better path when Jupiter stations direct in November and maybe especially when he gets back in Aries next year. Maybe we need to lower our expectations (just a smidge!), maybe we aren't really following our heart with this one (Leo New Moon as Jupiter stations!), maybe we just need to work a little harder or our timing is wrong (Moon's final aspect that opposition to Saturn).

 

The Moon is conjunct Ceres (and although, out of sign, opposing Pluto, Ceres old foe), so let's take a look at Ceres. This is separating. Has already happened. Maybe we are taking better care of ourselves. Tending to our bodies/our garden. Noticing Mother Nature/the weather. Ceres in Cancer can bring out a kind of smother mothering, so maybe the Leo New Moon BREAKS THAT SPELL. Ceres in our natal chart tells where we have astounding power and creativity, but must always compromise. So, maybe we have been examining our own power. Like Pluto, Ceres in our natal chart is an area of life where we lose power/control again and again. The stages of being a parent as the child grows up is a good representation of this. It's also an area of life where other people will come along and 'test' their power against ours and we will usually lose if we can't find some kind of middle ground. Ceres rules change of life situations/the seasons of our lives and we will often see her in our natal chart touched by transit when we are going through predictable, but challenging life changes.

Conjunct the New Moon here, she is really doubling down on the birth of a new season - so whatever is starting is probably coming from the death/loss of something whose time was over. She might speak of a need to compromise with whatever we are starting. A need to take care of our health or someone else's (but not in a smothering kind of way). It can't be our way or the highway which is a kind of Leo-type thing. This is separating/unwinding, the Sun has already been here, so we probably already know this/what this is. 

The New Moon is inconjunct Vesta, retrograde in Pisces. So, something about this fresh start is at odds with Vesta's review of the dream/ideal that has kept us up at night. If Vesta's retrograde has brought us into some kind of 'tunnel-vision' with our Pisces house theme, this New Moon can bring a wake-up call. Something over HERE to take our attention away from what is over THERE. Inconjuncts require give and take. It's not an all or nothing thing - so more compromise shown by this chart. Leo wants to rule, Pisces wants to share the burden - stay flexible.

The Moon is exactly conjunct asteroid Pythia. Pythia is the name given to the priestesses who served at the Oracle of Delphi as seers. Discovered in 1897 conjunct Pluto and Black Moon Lilith, her discovery chart reinforces the "truth-teller/psychic" archetype, so it can pay to be following our intuitive hunches over the next month as this New Moon cycle plays out. She will add to our ability to see what is really happening at this New Moon even though this is the time in our monthly cycle when we are literally "in the dark". 

So, what do we have here? A BOLD New Moon in fiery Leo - the sign that rules our heart, our heart-filled desires, the Sun, the way we shine in the world, the way we take the center stage, children, romance, creative projects. Something here, or within the theme of your natal Leo house, is ready to START. That trine to benevolent Jupiter indicates whatever starts can grow/make us lucky. Just don't expect things to always proceed in a straight line, there will be some revisions, adjustments with it. This New Moon is enabling us to change our beliefs, worldview, 'big-picture' perspective.

 

The Moon's closing opposition to Saturn is out of orb here, but still speaks of remembering our responsibilities. Having patience. The Sun will perfect this opposition in mid-August. This can be depressing/restricting/feels isolating. Bring test/trials that are hard, but can also make us determined to succeed. Something to keep in mind with what we are starting now. 

(the Moon will oppose Saturn within hours, Moon/Saturn are the hardest aspects in astrology, in my opinion, so we could feel some kind of 'letdown' after the high of the restored enthusiasm)

Mercury is squaring Uranus indicating unexpected news and information now and over the next month that shakes us/wakes us up. Maybe it is this news/information that pushes us to examine our heart, change or start something NEW.

We are coming off the Black Moon Lilith/Jupiter childhood wound work and have hopefully recognized some triggers - just 'seeing' triggers (aha moments, oh that is why I am over-reacting to this) is healing/jams the trigger/takes away its power over us. Venus in Cancer met Black Moon Lilith this week both taking the edge off the wound (bringing Venusian acceptance to our Black Moon Lilith energy) AND bringing the woman who chooses herself/the womb wound to Venus (maybe in the form of someone/something that appears caring, and maybe is, but is also designed to deny us something in some way). And, of course, we have the Mars/Uranus/North Node conjunction perfecting this weekend and next week. This is the future reaching back to us. Mars meeting Uranus is combustible energy. We are going to need to be careful.  Anger, impulsivity, people can get very HOT - and if you are thinking I mean, sexy...well, that's possible, too, I guess, but mostly I am thinking of the kind of HOT that can get us hurt. This doesn't mean we hide, we need to ACTIVELY use this energy for something NEW, so less is freed up/active around us. Keep in mind the New Moon is squaring Mars/Uranus so these changes are kind of designed to be uncomfortable/deal with spaces we don't change unless we are forced to. Collectively we need to be smart with our money/resources now. 

I will write the Part II of that series next, but this New Moon energy will help.. 

 

This New Moon in Leo trining a stationing Jupiter is a fiery fresh start in the house of our chart that holds 5 degrees Leo - designed to RESTORE OUR ENTHUSIASM. Restore our faith. This New Moon cycle is the background energy as we head into the Mars/Uranus/North Node. Our heart, our passion, the ways we are here to shine are pulled into the future with us. 

INTENTION TIPS 

(I will be doing mine on Sunday night when the Moon is in Virgo and interacting with Venus)

Clear a space. Wash your hands. Speak intentionally (and less) in the time leading up to and following this ritual to give your thoughts/words more juice. Don't share them. This is all about you. Let your heart (aided by your head) guide you, write your intentions down by hand in script on a blank piece of paper, speak the words out loud, sit with this as long as it feels appropriate, then 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

the astrology of the week of July 25 to July 31, 2022 - wake up calls and sudden changes of circumstance, red alert for the next two weeks, the U.S. chart is lit up like a Christmas tree

 

 

This week begins a volatile two week transit. You might be already feeling this. We talked about some of the energies HERE.

 

It is teeming with opportunities, but I don't want to sugar coat this, these changes are brought to us by economical, political, social, personal and environmental CHALLENGES. These are cosmic course corrections that will prove pivotal to our collective and individual DESTINIES.

 

Am I over-stating this? I don't think so.

 

If you have been parked at the station, this week (and next) is where the train pulls in. The only thing we know about this train is it won't be the train you were expecting to be on. It might be going in a totally different direction. That doesn't matter. The train that pulls in - and, yes, "pulls in" might feel something like "runs you over", but either way, this is THE TRAIN YOU NEED, although you might change trains later, it's not possible to know because our actions personally and collectively are CHANGING WHERE WE ARE NEEDED/changing where the train is going

 

(and if you are already on a train, well, if a course correction is needed, here is where the train might change course).

 

The Age of Aquarius portals are wide OPEN. 

 

The future is reaching back to us and pulling us forward. Let's stay open to sudden insights and synchronicities. 

 

After we get through the first few days of August, things will slow down enough for us to catch our breath and then when Mars enters Gemini in late August, the pace will pick up again and more important changes will impact our next few months. I'd say buckle up, but 'hang on loosely' and keep moving forward, might be better advice.

Let's unpack the week!

 

MONDAY - Venus, at 8 degrees Cancer, squares Jupiter in Aries, while Juno stations retrograde at 21 degrees Pisces. The Moon in Gemini trines a retrograde Saturn and goes void at 4:14AM EDT off a square to a retrograde Neptune in Pisces, until she comes home to Cancer at 1:54PM EDT.

Let's start with Juno. Juno was the third asteroid discovered. Named for the long-suffering wife of Jupiter, she shows the "for better or worse" energies of commitment in our chart. In our natal, by house and sign, she is about who/what we "commit/wed" ourselves to. Juno became Queen of the Gods through her marriage to Jupiter, the King of the Gods. Picture Carmella Soprano in a tiara. This is the space in our chart where we get the goodies - the prestige/security- when we make a commitment, but we also get the "baddies" - loss of freedom/independence. 

 

Two things are happening when Juno stations retrograde. Transiting Juno goes back and forth over 21 - 7 degrees Pisces through October 23rd when she stations direct (the same day Saturn stations direct and both Venus and the Sun enter Scorpio, so this will be even more important). 7-21 degrees Pisces will get a thorough cleaning by Juno. How much bang are we getting for our buck? What sacrifices are too much? Where are we wanting to have our cake and eat it, too? Important connections/agreements can ebb and flow and lack clear boundaries with Juno in Pisces anyway and now she is retrograding here, so expect some changeable seas as we all pull back a bit to re-look at our commitments.

This is also the day Venus squares Jupiter. Now, since these are both benevolent energies this will only get bad if our rose-colored-glasses are wearing rose-colored-glasses. There are some reality checks coming later in the week, so don't over-invest right now. Don't get greedy. If it looks too good to be true, it will be. Not the day for a big haircut. Emotional fulfillment will be challenging since we could be a bit like a bottomless cup right now. This energy is good for socializing, not so good for getting work done that requires efforts you don't want to make, so keep this in mind if you have some control over your schedule today. And, oh yes, back away from the pie, especially from that third slice!

The Moon will be void until early afternoon (EDT), so not the morning to start anything brand new if you want something to come of it and don't want to do it all over again later. Once the Moon gets home to Cancer in the afternoon our focus will turn to home, family, mothering, the past, home/family business or real estate situations. 

TUESDAY - Mercury, at 14 Leo squares Mars in Taurus while the Moon in Cancer squares Jupiter, meets up with Venus and then sextiles Mars

This is an argument. Verbal tension/frustration. News that pulls us up short. Mercury in Leo needs attention/wants to shine, maybe that is a problem with Mars in Taurus requiring more practical action. There could be a need for an ego adjustment. Maybe we need to let the other person get a word in. On the other hand, and this is why we get two of them, maybe it is a stuck Mars who needs to keep up with Mercury - maybe loud and proud is exactly what we need to be. Just know these are fixed signs, so no one is backing down. And keep in mind, Mercury is making his/her way to a "choice point" with the North Node of Fate at the end of the week, so words/our thinking now REALLY MATTERS. And, of course, Mars - our actions, passion, angers - is on his journey to change-maker Uranus AND the North Node of Fate. Maybe something now is forcing our hand. We need to be smart.

The Moon in Cancer will make us a bit, or alot, more emotional as she squares Jupiter in the morning (EDT), but her meeting with Venus in the late morning will be helpful - our wants and our emotions on the same page. By nighttime she will be sextiling Mars, putting that earlier argument to bed or pulling us home to family for comfort. 

WEDNESDAY - Mercury, at 18 degrees Leo, trines (brakes off) Chiron in Aries while the Moon sextiles Uranus, trines Neptune and goes void off her monthly square to Pluto at 8:54PM EDT.

 

Maybe the aftermath of yesterday's argument/stressful news brings healing. Makes us feel lighter/heard. Or maybe this is an entirely new situation. Either way, it will be easy to say the right thing. We could be communicating about an uncomfortable/vulnerable situation. Maybe a health situation (news can come in now or we could be consulting with someone). Or maybe we are talking about our fears about not being able to take care of ourselves or be ourselves. Whatever this is, we are saying it with courage/not hiding the warts.

For the Moon, our emotions, it is pretty smooth sailing with a nice healing flow to Neptune until she gets to that opposition - power struggle - with powerful Pluto to close out the day. Every month the Moon in Cancer gets this little micro-death. Intense culmination energy. What's been repressed comes up to be looked at/dealt with. This is uncomfortable. There is enough happening this week, I'm going to bed early.

 

THURSDAY - NEW MOON IN LEO at 5 degrees, with the Moon/Sun trining Jupiter as Jupiter stations retrograde and Mercury, at 18 degrees Leo, squares Uranus in Taurus

 

BIG New Moon post next. There are unexpected opportunities here for heart-felt new beginnings/ways to shine. Something here about the way we value ourselves/our self-worth. We will unpack this in its own post. I like this Moon, alot.

FRIDAY - Mercury, at 19 degrees Leo, squares the North Node while the Moon in Leo squares first Mars and then Uranus before meeting up with Mercury tonight.

Do you think it's a coincidence the Moon is in Leo to join Mercury as Mercury squares the North Node of Fate? I don't!

Mercury square the Nodes is a choice/pivot point. A crossroad. Maybe challenging news that changes our direction.

 

What's it going to be? Back into the chaotic, dramatic, complicated "death" that has grown COMFORTABLE, because we are designed (in order to stay alive) to crave the familiar or FORWARD to something NEW and untested, but more simple. With Mercury in Leo we want to be talking/thinking about what our heart really wants. Do we really want to shine in the same old tired ways? Or can we release the need for unnecessary drama, compulsions, manipulations, trying to control what someone else is doing/saying/thinking? Can we stop talking about/thinking about what is dead and dying or these intense situations long enough to see what is GROWING? Can we reconsider what we have come to see as necessary if it is strangling us?

 

Decisions made now/words used will matter, impact our future and could be public. 

 

 Our thinking can shift. Note - Mercury's next move is an opposition to Saturn in Aquarius, so a reminder of our responsibilities/a reality check is coming. 

The Moon in Leo squares Mars and then Uranus (actions and changes that challenge our ego/pride/our heart are possible). Then the Moon meets up with Mercury to chat. Time to choose. The Moon in Leo answering to the Sun in Leo will make sure our heart is heard. 

SATURDAY - the Moon in Leo goes void at 12:20AM EDT off her monthly opposition to Saturn. She will be void until 2:11PM EDT when she moves into practical/organized Virgo.

So, until we get to later in the afternoon, this would not be the day to start anything we want 'something to come of' since the Moon needs the energy of another planet to make things happen. A good day to sleep in, relax and take it easy. We know, other than her monthly opposition to Neptune, the Moon in Virgo is going to be making nice aspects for the next couple days. It's not the Moon's favorite sign, but she will help level out our emotions if the next few days are challenging - we'll take it!

SUNDAY - Mercury, at 22 degrees Leo opposes Saturn, Venus at 16 degrees Cancer squares Chiron, Uranus, at 18 degrees Taurus meets the North Node of Fate and the Sun, at 8 degrees Leo trines Jupiter

So, now we reach the first day of the BIG show, and, of course, we know these aspects cannot be so precisely timed, so things might have already happened - even last week because Uranus pulls the future back to meet us/speeds up time. They might be happening now or happen after the aspects have separated. 

 

Next week is a continuation of this week. BIG, too.

 

This is a LIBERATING SHOCK. It is hard to know how much of this we can see coming, and, of course, some will feel this more strongly than others, but I suspect collective events will have us ALL feeling this. A TRAIN HAS PULLED INTO THE STATION AND WE HAD BETTER GET OUR ASSES INTO A SEAT!

 

Or maybe the train has run right into us, it is hard to say what this will actually feel like because changes/karmic awakenings can be, and are often, uncomfortable/painful. The triple conjunction is squaring reality-check Saturn, so even more challenging. Saturn is in Aquarius, so brought to us via our collective responsibilities maybe.

 

The Sun/Jupiter gives us optimism, faith if we reach for it. Something old being put to right via challenging circumstances. 

The future is being fast-tracked!

OK, I will be back with the New Moon post and we will talk about that and Jupiter retrograde which will take us back into Pisces. And we will look again at the Mars/Uranus/North Node in part II of that series before this weekend - it will be huge for Russia and Ukraine and is hitting Putin's chart very precisely. 

 

If you are starting/planning something NEW and cosmically in sync with the future, maybe you are already in the energies of these big shifts and will get confirmations you are on the right course. That Taurus house of ours that has been rocking and rolling these last few years is where we can expect the unexpected. Again.

xo all

artwork by the talented anyannti

the astrology of the Mars, Uranus, North Node conjunction of 2022 | a world on fire, carrying a flame we didn't light, the divine intervention - part I

 

Just when we thought the 2020's couldn't get any crazier/hotter, wait, did we think that?! 

 

No, I don't think we did! 

 

At the end of July and into the beginning of August we have the very powerful/very unusual triple conjunction of Mars, Uranus and the North Node at 18 degrees Taurus.

 

This is HUGE!

 

Their last triple conjunction was during the peak of the Revolutionary War, during the French Revolution and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and this hasn't happened in Taurus since hundreds of years before the birth of Christ!

 

Uranus is wild card energy, mad scientist meets Billy the Kid meets "I can't take this anymore!".

 

This is Mars - our will, action, passion, the trigger for physical events, anger, force, the God of War, aggression, violence. Mars is the ruler of our Aries natal house (the space we attack and defend) now in Taurus - the sign of his detriment - since he is the ancient ruler of Taurus's polarity sign of Scorpio. In Taurus, Mars learns patience and to value stability, but can get his boots stuck in the fixed earth, mired in situations (very un-Martian behavior, but keep in mind he isn't able to behave normally here) where, maybe to keep things stable, we just do the thing and then we just keep on doing the thing. 

Uranus is set up to CHANGE all that. He is the planet/God of 'not standing still', the future, liberation, revolution, technology, independence. This is the energy of "I can't stay stuck in the mud. I won't be kept waiting. I can't keep doing this."  

 

Then we make a run for it! 

 

In our natal chart, Uranus is a trauma signature. 

 

It's a past life/ancestral SHOCK that we carry into this lifetime, in the same way Prometheus carried fire to the people. If the Sun in our birthchart is where we are shiny/bring our light, then Uranus is where we are fractured/bring our chaos. It's where we spend our life creating/inventing the NEW. Often without even meaning to! Sometimes in very complicated and even painful ways. Sometimes we get more blame than credit for what we make of our Uranus placement. And, sometimes we try to reel in our creation/stabilize things, but it has taken on a life of its own - think Frankenstein's monster here - and won't be controlled/contained. Needs to move/shift - think of the way flames travel. This is not because we shouldn't have created whatever this is in the first place because, well, it's part of what we came here to do - and imagine a world without Promethean fire!

 

This is all happening at 18 degrees Taurus, breaking up the order/the structure/the fixed nature at the center of Taurus (on the sabian symbol of "a new continent rising out of the ocean"). Taurus is collectively about - the planet Earth, our finances, our values, our resources. This is an earthquake. An eruption. If Mars in Taurus is one of those controlled burning forest fires (to destroy old-growth in order to prevent the out-of-control type), then Mars/Uranus/Taurus is the out-of -control type!

Mars and Uranus meet every couple years and start a new two year cycle. Change is created, often just for the sake of change, but there would be no way of knowing we were going in a BETTER direction, it would just be a DIFFERENT direction.

THIS YEAR is different and thousands of years in the making.

 

This year when they meet, they are joined with the North Node of Fate - our best way forward. Which, yes, seems to be through THE FIRE - the chaos, the radical change, the liberation, the revolution - so will be challenging, require courage. 

 

But, still here is the fated FUTURE - the Gods-guided one. 

 

And, yes, it's so bright is hurts our eyes!

If the synchronicity of all this isn't enough, Venus, the ruler of Taurus, so everything is ANSWERING TO HER is exactly sextiling the whole thing from Cancer - the sign of safety, home, family, patriotism, mom and apple pie. 

 

And Venus pulls in our relationships - which are surely being put through the fire now - our sense of fairness/justice/balance. Venus works well in Cancer - can get too soggy after a while, but at 18 degrees is kind of 'peaking' - our relationships, our values/self-esteem and our money/resources are filtered through the watery lens of home, family, mothering, safety, childhood. With Venus in Cancer, there is alot of wanting what we didn't get in our childhood and we've just been through a lengthy Black Moon Lilith square Jupiter transit (if you requested a Black Moon Lilith look at your natal from me and didn't get it please let me know, I sent quite a few through my phone and started getting 'your text did not go through' messages at one point, but I think they have all gone out) digging into childhood woundings/lies. 

With multiple uncomfortable planets in Taurus energies, it is very good news we have a comfortable Venus in this exact sextile (creative opportunity)!

 

It unpacks like this:

 

(keep in mind this is building for a few days before and unwinding for a few days after, so is already in play)

JULY 31st - Mercury at 22 Leo (coming off square to the North Node) opposes Saturn in Aquarius, Venus at 16 Cancer squares Chiron in Aries, Uranus at 18 (first time at 18 degrees in 84 years) Taurus conjuncts the North Node in Taurus, the Sun at 8 Leo trines Jupiter in Aries, Jupiter has just stationed retrograde a couple days earlier and is strong/still

AUGUST 1st - Mars at 18 Taurus conjuncts the North Node in Taurus, Mars at 18 Taurus conjuncts Uranus in Taurus

AUGUST 2nd - Venus at 18 Cancer sextiles North Node in Taurus, Venus at 18 Cancer sextiles Uranus in Taurus, Venus at 19 Cancer sextiles Mars in Taurus 

 

We will dive into all this beginning with the weekly forecast this week. We can recognize that life is FRAGILE and life has ALWAYS been fragile. We can still find ways to make ourselves and our personal situations LESS fragile. Also, keep in mind, this triple conjunction is BEING CUSHIONED in Taurus, slowed down, absorbed by the fixed Earth even as the changes themselves change the Earth's solid surface.

Now, Uranus is WILD CARD energy, so there is no real predicting what is going to happen here.  

 

We don't know what the effects of what we do will be, so we have to treat all our actions STARTING RIGHT NOW as precious and important.

 

This happening during the U.S. Pluto return with Uranus/Mars/the North Node EXACT on President Biden's progressed 12th house (endings) Sun and within one degree of Vice President Harris's progressed 10th house (career, reputation, voice in the world) Jupiter and exactly opposing her progressed natal Neptune AND, heads up, we have a BIG New Moon this week EXACT on the United States natal North Node - signals HUGE changes for the United States. And the world.

 

The triple conjunction itself is within 1 degree of the United States natal Vesta - what we hold sacred, what keeps us up at night, our sacred flame (yes, more fire imagery, sorry! keep in mind fires/riots purge old energies, maybe picture the Statue of Liberty here and the U.S. story with Uranus on both the U.S. 7th house cusp and Biden's natal 7th house cusp - so here's the fire he brings to us - of being made of 'the other' and yet, still, castigating the other as other!). 

 

Vesta, Saturn's daughter, also pulls in themes of male authority and female response.

Short term collective events can be chaotic. Long term, Taurus is fixed Earth, so a LONG TERM ENERGETIC - this triple conjunction bodes well for all of us, is FATED. The Sun is also trining a very powerful retrograde Jupiter (U.S. chart ruler). In the U.S. (which has always been a kind of Aquarian experiment) and the world, this 'divine intervention' is chaotic, liberating, rare, a destiny level re-ignition of what we hold most SACRED. 

 

As we feel, Venus in Cancer, the turmoil within ourselves and our families - when events feel they are moving too fast - TAKE A BREATH. 

 

With the North Node in Taurus we have been 'getting back to basics', living through a need to take a sober look at serious stability issues. Earth signs are also about belonging/our network. We are only as strong as our ROOTS.

 

For some people, this time period has been like putting a comma in a long sentence. A need to regroup/take a breather. Wait for the new words to arrive/write themselves. 

Mars/Uranus/North Node can pull in the "new" like a forest fire clears the brush.  

Some 'flames' are just a kind of frenzy and need to burn themselves out. That's OK. They clear a path. Open a road/our mind/our heart. 

The more important flame that Vesta nurtures cannot be totally extinguished/can be re-ignited when it has ebbed low. Think about that Uranus in your natal chart - that "fire" you carry for the collective through your own trauma wound. How does this matter now?

We still have alot to happen this week before the 'destiny-defining' conjunction.

 

We have a bold New Moon is Leo with an unexpected twist and Jupiter is going to station retrograde - so we will be going backward to get lucky! 

 

Between the New Moon and the triple conjunction we also have the Delta Aquarid meteor shower, quite literally the Age of Aquarius raining down on our heads, folks.

Back with the weekly and the New Moon posts which will make everything a bit clearer, I hope! Then we'll dive back into the Mars-Uranus-North Node in Part II.

xo all 

 

Stay cool everyone. Please excuse any typos, too sticky in this hot studio to re-read this morning!

artwork by the amazing oprisco

weekly astrology forecast | July 18 - 24, 2022 - verbal power struggles and ego hits before the king comes home to his castle making summer official and all of us alot more shiny

 

This week starts out with power struggles, truth bombs and intense turning points, and ends with some OPTIMISM and GOOD NEWS! 

 

MONDAY - Mercury opposes Pluto

TUESDAY - Sun opposes Pluto, Mercury enters Leo, Chiron stations retrograde

WEDNESDAY - 3rd Quarter Moon Aries

FRIDAY - Sun enters Leo

SATURDAY - Mercury trine Jupiter, Ceres enters Leo

MONDAY - TUESDAY - on their way out of Cancer, first Mercury and then the Sun opposes powerful Pluto. This is part of last week's Full Moon story when the Moon opposed and then crossed over Pluto. 

Emotional conversations/information can cause power struggles. Words can be intense. Compulsive. Manipulative. Important TRUTH BOMBS are tossed. People will be more acutely sensitive, more easily triggered. There will be over-reactions based on what we can't see (old wounds, etc). We will be feeling what people are really saying or we will think we are (because we are really hearing our mother, etc). 

 

Oppositions can bring endings, so maybe something Mercurian gets sorted out now. Final words are spoken. Oppositions can also expose our projections, so, for example, if we think someone is trying to manipulate us, and maybe they are, but we need to look at our own motivations/words/actions, too, because the source of the situation is generated from within us. If we get real with ourselves we can usually see how we are trying to control them/the situation, too. 

 

Conversations can be complicated. We could be talking/thinking about death or other Scorpian subject matters - taxes, inheritances, wills, reproduction, intimacy, sex, other people's money, shared finances, investments, third party situations. We could be shown an area where we have grown bitter/decayed.

 

People might be talking over each other/feeling unheard. Since this is a brief collective transit let's give each other a break and not read too much into things said now. Know everyone is doing the best they can. The Sun's follow-up opposition will make everything more visible as 'power is illuminated' - what we have/what we don't have. With Mercury's immediate move into Leo, ego blows are possible. Fears of loss can be triggered. Again, the opposition can bring an ending and/or intense situations/illuminations. Power struggles.

Plutonian endings are permanent, and if something ends, well, now we know where we stand and still standing we are (in the 2020's if you aren't lying down in a big old mahogany box, and I think I can safely assume you aren't, we are STANDING).

 

After his face-off with Pluto, Mercury (communications, information, our mental processes, siblings, local community, commerce, transportation) says hasta-la-vista, baby to emotional Cancer and hello to fiery LEO.
 

Leo is the space we carry what 'makes us special'. It also speaks of our relationship to special/to royalty/to the king. With Mercury (communication, intellect) here, it will be easier to put our 'special' into words and to connect with the ideas and conversations that will push forward whatever we are most passionate about.
 

We will want our words to be heard and appreciated now. Even the most reticent among us will want an audience. Our thinking/ideas (Mercury) can catch fire now (Leo). Or we will want them to. The Sun/Pluto opposition happening at the same time as the Mercury ingress into Leo speaks of this year's Mercury in Leo season being peppered with some power struggles/endings.

 

Leo is a fixed fire sign, so words can burn and words can dig us even more rigidly into our positions.  With Leo there is great opportunity for win-win and also for 'nobody wins'. The energy is excellent for teaching us how we express what we are passionate about. It's very supportive of 'top of the mountain' heart-filled type of proclamations and proposals. 

 

Do people listen to us? Does what we say matter? We will care about this now.
 

Speaking from our hearts will connect us to other people's hearts. Encouraging words will matter. This is very powerful energy. Leo is our superpower and should be used wisely. People will hear us with their heart and well as their head. This gives the potential for hearts to expand as well as to be broken into little, tiny pieces. Keep this in mind. Also the Sun/Pluto opposition happening at the same time as the Mercury ingress speaks of this year's Mercury in Leo season being colored with verbal power struggles/endings. Mercury will be in Leo until August 4th.

 

This is also the day Chiron stations retrograde at 16 degrees Aries. An old injury/physical ailment can flare up. An area of emotional/mental vulnerability (very old wounding) can be made visible/activated to be worked with. In Aries, this is all about giving us opportunities to access our courage, our passion, our anger, our MOTIVATION. To learn we CAN take care of ourselves/be ourselves. Keep in mind, Chiron's wound never fully heals. We are always made to pull that band-aid off again and again, but over time we learn to integrate the wound, to work with it, to let it strengthen us without hardening us, to use it to help other people. 

Chiron will get all the way back to 11 degrees Aries on October 23rd when he will station direct and begin his journey back over 11-16 degrees Aries for the third and final time. People with natal and progressed planets/points near 11-16 degrees of Aries or the other cardinal signs - Cancer, Libra and Capricorn (via squares and oppositions) - will likely feel this transit strongest.

 

On WEDNESDAY - the Moon in Aries will square the Cancer Sun at 27 degrees. 

 

This is the Moon/Sun's final square before next week's New Moon in fiery Leo, so it will pay for us to pay attention. Squares are tension/frustration. They force ACTION. There could be something here about taking care of ourselves/acting independently vs caring for someone else or a home/family situation. Aries squares can make us antsy/impulsive and Aries Moons make us prone to anger before other emotions, so we will need to be smart about this and still we could need to show courage, initiative, anger, passion now. Maybe something about a home or family situation needs to change. Luna's square to the Sun will be her closing aspect in Aries, before she goes void for four hours giving us a chance to chill out/calm down/relax before she squares Mercury in Leo from Taurus when things could get LOUD and people more dug in. Just keep in mind, the important aspect is this Aries/Cancer square that requires some kind of adjustment/action before next week's fresh start. 

On FRIDAY - the Sun enters his home sign of Leo! 

 

The world BRIGHTENS. In Leo, we focus on what our heart wants, children (and our inner child), romance, fun, creative projects - we (and everyone else) want attention. Your Leo house (and the house of your natal Sun) is the space you are meant to SHINE. Prepare to get very shiny. Summer is OFFICIAL.

 

On SATURDAY - Mercury, at 8 degrees Leo, trines Jupiter in Aries. 

 

GOOD NEWS. Optimism. Big thinking. Expansive words. Good for planning. Good for travel. Good for legal matter/contracts. Shiny ventures/our heart expands. If you have this aspect natally - Mercury trine Jupiter - you better figure out how to make the most of it! This is also the day Ceres joins Mercury and the Sun in Leo. Now the Mama-Bear is having fun, too. Is loud and proud. The Moon is in Gemini and sextiling the Sun and Jupiter and Mercury - 

 

what more can we ask for?!

xo all

 

heads up next week's New Moon in Leo is especially POSITIVE and loving with UNEXPECTED OPPORTUNITIES for everyone! - check your natal chart for 5 degrees Leo for Luna's field of play, also expect a BIG post this week about the Uranus/Mars/North Node energies at the end of the month and beginning of August that are going to rock our world!

artwork by the talented lavilsa

today's astrology forecast | Sunday, July 17th, 2022 - outgrowing the nest, time to go, time to let go plus Venus enters Cancer

 

 

The Moon is in Pisces now. We are nurtured/nourished by our dreams and imagination, by art and music. We are moved by our intuition. At home in water. Connected to what we can't see, what has been put away, what is behind us/behind the scenes. 

Luna sextiles Uranus at 11:00 AM EDT (change is good, anxiety is soothed by connection, meditation, art, music), meets ruler Neptune at 11:06PM EDT (heightened sensitivity, creativity and intuition, could make for some potent night-time dreams) and trines the Cancer Sun at 11:25PM EDT.

The trine is this month's Waning Trine. Water. A frictionless point of release between last week's Capricorn Full Moon and next week's Leo New Moon. Pisces/Cancer. Flow/letting things go. Good for emotional connections/endings that offer compassion, nourishment, healing. Share what you are feeling. And maybe do some cooking - Cancer can connect through food/our stomachs/a well-made potato salad. 

This is also the day Venus goes into Cancer. We talked about this in the weekly HERE. Venus shows us how we relate to others, what we are attracted to in others, what we value. Venus in Cancer is sentimental, loyal, wants to feel safe/at home. We might find the next few weeks a time when we need to give and receive nurturing to be happy/satisfied. 

 

Some other things happening now we talked about in the weekly, but I missed today's Ceres/Pluto opposition, so thought I'd pop in about that since these two met up during January 2020's Saturn/Pluto conjunction (time runs out), so something else concluding now in relation to that time-frame. Oppositions are like Full Moons - can bring illuminations and culminations. So, it's interesting we had the Full Moon a few days ago right on the "time runs out" degree and now this Ceres/Pluto opposition and Mercury meeting the Sun (superior conjunction - another 'result'), the other "time runs out" energies. 

 

As I said in the Full Moon post - we really are 'walking away from the end of the world'. Time to move on from 'time runs out'. 

(and no, I'm not sure what that means in practical terms either, but I have a feeling the end of the month and early August's meeting of Mars and Uranus and the North Node of Fate will give us a pretty substantial clue)

Ceres and Pluto are old enemies. Pluto's kidnapping of Ceres daughter Persephone threw Ceres into great grief and the world into great death (as her mourning created the seasons). She could be understood to represent 'season of life' situations, especially times when things are outside our control or when we need to let go and hang on too long. She can also represent times of complicated compromises/concessions (eventually Persephone was allowed to return to her mother for half of each year) - what we have to learn to live with.

 

The Ceres/Pluto is kind of echoing today's Waning Water Trine in Cancer/Pisces and anytime we have repeating aspects we need to pay attention. Maybe someone/something has 'outgrown' the nest. And this might even be about some kind of strange "safety net" nest we have created since January 2020 in response to collective events.

 

Delayed endings are deadening.  

 

This is a good day to let go of something/someone/some situation - the trine to Pisces will allow a gentle, drifting dissolve. 

 

(and, yes, this all happening at the Venus ingress into Cancer, complicates her time here)

 

As always take what fits and is useful, toss the rest.

xo all

artwork by the talented GaudiBuendia

today's astrology forecast | Thursday, July 14th, 2022 - rose colored glasses alert plus our words are our future

 

The Moon finished off her days in Capricorn last night with a conjunction to Pluto (we talked about this in the Full Moon post). She was void until 5:01AM EDT this morning when she moved into Aquarius. For the next two and a half days we are nourished/nurtured by stepping back and seeing the big picture, by intellect, by detaching a bit from our emotions, from our friendships, technology, groups, causes, individuality, freedom. 

The Moon squares Mars in Taurus at 2:38PM EDT (antsy, impulsive, defensive) and sextiles Jupiter at 5:29PM EDT (opportunity for growth through groups/friends, optimism, fresh starts), so once we get past this afternoon's square the Moon in Aqua can strut her stuff (so can we). 

This is also the day Venus squares Neptune and Mercury sextiles the North Node. 

 

Any Venus/Neptune connection is creative, imaginative, great for making music/art. A time for spiritual work, meditation, healing. But Venusian things/people/situations can get a bit muddled. Tend to dissolve/drift off course. Not the day to go shopping with a new credit card. Not the day to run off to Vegas and marry that guy you met last week. This is tricky rose-colored glasses territory. Neptune can be tiring/distracting, lure us away from what we are doing/need to do via a glass of wine or a Netflix marathon. That might be OK, but if something practical must get done we will have to rely on that Moon/Mars square to push us through. 

Mercury sextiles the North Node and trines the South Node. Here is where applying what we have learned about the Taurus/Scorpio polarity over the last few months CAN PAY OFF. 

 

It will be very easy, since the trine requires no effort, to fall into old verbal habits - talking about the complicated drama, over-thinking, reading about death/decay, making ideas too dark/intense, etc, but where the future is/what will get us where we want to go is the sextile to the North Node in Taurus. This one requires a little more effort. The flow is still smooth, but stagnant if not activated. Here is where talking/thinking/communicating in a calmer, more stable, more practical, more peaceful way can pay off over time. Talk about the new growth - WHATEVER THIS MEANS TO YOU - and not the old decaying past. Keep in mind, the trine to the South Node will make it very EASY to talk/think/notice in the same old ways, we have to make the EFFORT to reach for the new words, the new conversation, the simpler idea, the new way of thinking/seeing (note Mercury is in home/family/mom centered Cancer, so conversations may be centered here, may even be about old situations since Cancer is about our roots, but now is the time to talk/think about them in new ways, to listen with new ears).  

 

We have to trust the greener grass is over THERE.

 

xo all

photography by the amazing iNeedChemicalX

the meaning of the astrology of the Full Moon in Capricorn | July 13, 2022 - walking away from the end of the world

Wednesday's Full Moon in Capricorn (2:37PM EDT) is a particularly demanding and ambitious one. Capricorn Full Moons are always heavy. Our emotional Moon, challenged in cold-as-ice Capricorn, is opposed by the Sun in the Moon's sign of Cancer. This one, conjunct powerful Pluto and on an uber HOT degree is particularly hard-core.

In Capricorn the Moon is cold and practical, reserved and quiet. Picture - Mama-bear CEO or maybe better yet, Mama-bear GENERAL. 

 

This is about the collective Cancer/Capricorn polarity AND the themes of our natal Cancer/Capricorn houses. Both Cancer and Capricorn are concerned with issues of SAFETY, both value TIME and are guardians of the legacy of our ancestors. The polarity is about 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/in the bank. Our nest at home vs our place in the world. Summer vs. winter. Preparing for birth vs preparing for death. Babyhood vs old age. Mom vs dad. 

There is so much contradiction here, but like all polarities this is really just two sides of the same coin - maybe 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 cup-holder that have had coffee dripped on them. No matter how shiny the other side looks that gunky side means we never get to actually spend the money.

(yes, this might 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)

 

Full Moons bring things to a peak or a culmination, so maybe something ends now. 

Full Moons bring things to light (conjunct a retrograde Pluto maybe old secrets or something that has been hidden, the Webb telescope's images certainly fit the bill here and as above, so below, so something in our own life comes out of the shadows, too). Capricorn themes (and your personal Capricorn/Cancer house themes) will be highlighted - tradition, structure, work, obligations, responsibility, authority, ambition, limits, boundaries, restrictions, goals. 

 

Let's unpack the chart!

 

The Moon at 21 degrees Capricorn opposes the Sun at 21 degrees Cancer. She is in the sign of her detriment, out of bounds and sitting on some pretty devastated real estate. The Sun is nestled uncomfortably between Ceres and Mercury. The Moon is conjunct Pluto, trines (brakes off) change maker Uranus and the North Node of Fate, sextiles Juno (EXACT) and Neptune, inconjuncts Saturn and squares Chiron and Eris. Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn and so ruler of this lunation trines Venus (EXACT). The Moon is conjunct asteroid Hylonome (EXACT) and ruler Saturn is conjunct asteroid Polyxena (EXACT).

 

Where do we start with this one? I think with the 'devastated real estate'. 

 

21-22 degrees Capricorn is where Saturn met Pluto (and Ceres and Mercury and the Sun) back in mid-January 2020 - the astrological start of 'time runs out', which I had been calling "winter is coming" all throughout 2019, now better known as 'the pandemic'. Mars (the trigger) crossed the degree in March 2020 as the world shut down. Mars crossed the degree for a second time in late February 2022 as Russia bombed Ukraine (within hours, also within hours of the first U.S. Pluto return, also in play this week through Pluto's retrograde). 

(this being the degree of my natal Mercury, I knew this was also the degree where Uranus met Neptune back in 1993 at the peak of the AIDS epidemic as my life was imploding - not from AIDS - so I should have been thinking 'epidemic' for 2020 pre-covid, but my brain - which Pluto was criss-crossing mercilessly - was thinking 'time runs out' because once Saturn stationed direct in the fall of 2019, whatever was going to happen would not be stopped)

The Full Moon answering to Saturn and conjunct Pluto at 21 degrees Cappy takes us back to the Saturn/Pluto (time runs out), but now pulls in Uranus (both the future and the chaos, humanitarianism, equality and tech that gets us there) - through Saturn in Aquarius. Think of us in a higher level of the game now. We don't know what we're doing because we've never been here before and these massively important degrees have been 'wiped out/reset'. This is probably part of what the 'great resignation' is about. It is very hard to keep doing what we were doing, or return to what we used to do, maybe especially in terms of Capricorn ruled careers/goals.

The Moon is quite stressed here. Looks over-worked. Over-stimulated. Out of the control of the Sun, but also maybe herself (multiple out-of-bound planets right now). This might indicate the need for a break. There is a nice applying sextile to Neptune - rest, make art/music, get into the water/a movie, take a relaxing vacation. It's summer. Life is short. And we only get so many of them. 

The Moon's conjunction to Pluto is intense. We've had a bunch of Full Moons in conversations with Pluto and now here is where the Moon finally meets up with Pluto. And now, Pluto is retrograde, so still an old story from the old world that needs to be finished. A closing chapter about POWER and how we have been conditioned to deal with competition and ambition and tradition and the people who hold/have held power over us and the way we hold power over other people. 

 

The Moon's trine to Uranus and the North Node is pulling us into the future - drawing us closer to the end of July/beginning of August's BIG PUSH FORWARD. The Full Moon's illumination or ending is also freeing/liberating. Something now is in flow with whatever we have STARTING then.

The Moon's most exact aspect is her sextile to Juno in Pisces. This is about serious partnerships. Creative collaborations that can last. Capricorn and Pisces at first glance seem to make strange bedfellows, but they NEED EACH OTHER to make anything happen. The dream and the hard work. The reality and the vision. Partnerships, contracts - whether this is a beginning or an ending, there is an OPPORTUNITY here somewhere.

The Moon's square to the mid-point of Chiron and Eris give us multiple kicking off points - that only look like our back is against the wall. Squares are under-rated activators. They create tension/frustration, so we MUST move. For some that Chiron wound - fear of being able to take care of ourselves/be ourselves/our personal Chiron wound - will be pushing us in new directions. This is already in play.

Eris's push here comes from a different place. Eris's discovery opened up a HUGE scary can of worms for science. A Goddess as an outer planet?! WTH! "Not so fast," says patriarchal conditioning. Time to constrain. Time to control. Time to set some new rules. And, so as not to promote Eris and Ceres and their ilk (this all being done somewhat unconsciously) Pluto, arguably the most powerful planet in astrology gets demoted by astronomy! And we all know Eris's 'apple' story. Squares to Eris can bring situations where we are pushed to act because of something like a snub. Our action can likely snowball into something much bigger than we intended, for better or worse, so keep that in mind.

 

Saturn, rules the lunation from 24 degrees Aquarius and is EXACTLY trining Venus in Gemini. Venus rules the North Node (way forward). Something here about multiple options when we get real/deal with the reality of where we are now. Don't cling to what's leaving/maturing/the past. A smooth connection to sober and stable Saturn makes Venus in Gemini's usual fleeting attractions more STICKY.

 

The Moon's opposition to not only the Sun, but also Ceres and an out-of-bound, combust Mercury speaks of challenges/situations outside our control. Ceres/Sun opposing Pluto/Moon brings up resource issues, season of life situations or over or under nurturing. The Ceres opposition is part of this summer's Cancer chapter about dealing with 'mother and childhood wounds'. Maybe with the Moon in its fullness and conjunct Pluto we are reminded things cannot stay young/green. With Mercury here, we are able to think/talk 'outside the box', but also outside the constraints of normal rules/boundaries of conversation, others can, too, so keep this in mind. We literally aren't thinking straight/are seeing things we've not seen/noticed before, which can be a good thing or not so good depending on what we do with this. There could be some intense/uncomfortable conversations as the Full Moon energies play out.

The Moon is EXACTLY conjunct asteroid Hylonome, a female centaur famed for tossing herself onto the arrow that had just killed her centaur husband in battle. Saturn (ruler of the Moon) is EXACTLY conjunct asteroid Polyxena, also famous for her sacrificial death. Since the Moon is conjunct Pluto and Pluto 'rules' death (and transformation because death is only transformation) this whole 'sacrificial death' thing is a thing here. 

Mostly this is speaking metaphorically - as all archetypes do. 

Although there may be people who have lost partners, for example, or who have "done their job" and unconsciously 'let go' now (the Moon/Hylonome exact on Queen Elizabeth's Ascendant/South Node with the Sun opposing from her 6th house of health and Mars - the trigger - on Charles' Moon/North Node of Fate mid-heaven 10th house of career/public life). 

We don't want to be sacrificing ourselves to our work/to our goals in unhealthy ways. We don't want to be killing ourselves - again I am speaking metaphorically - following footsteps that lead us absolutely nowhere in this new world. The patriarchy is ending and I am not talking about old white men in suits. The stuff that is leaving still feels very much needed because it is the structural stuff we (and our ancestors) have built our lives with. There is no Plan B for the patriarchy because in reality it has already ended. We are looking at/holding onto something that no longer exists. Most of us are carrying karma and old contracts and commitments that have already ended. 

We have to trust that everything is happening for a purpose. Even the scary ass sh*t. 

 

And, as for Polyxena on the Cancer Sun, well, this, coupled with Saturn's awkward inconjunct to Ceres and Ceres opposing the Moon makes me think of the ways unconditional giving is no longer appropriate. We don't need to celebrate sacrifice. This 'valuing all life' thing includes ourselves. Yes, even if you are an old white man in a suit. Maybe all this 'sacrifice' is asking us what we are willing to sacrifice to succeed or to feel safe? Or maybe for some there is a very real need to 'fall on their sword' gracefully.

One thing for certain and not much is these days - we don't need to catastrophize endings. The Moon's conjunction to Pluto retrograde isn't bringing any losses/illuminations or outcomes we couldn't see coming.  What we need - Jupiter in Aries - is some faith in the new beginning.

I hope something here is helpful now and over the next couple weeks and even the next six months as this Full Moon fully plays out. 

Be sure to get out and walk in it!

xo all

weekly astrology | July 11-17, 2022 - new efforts and valuing ourselves pays off over time, big news and ideas, intense full moon in cappy takes us back to 'time runs out'

 

 

Are we hurtling toward the future or is the future hurtling back to us?! 

 

The mid-week's Full Moon is mega-important, on the still RED-HOT (as evidenced in late February 2022 when Mars sneaked past Venus, crossed 21-22 degrees Cappy and Russia bombed Ukraine) degree of January 2020 when Saturn met Pluto, China called the WHO to report a new corona virus had jumped countries and 'time ran out'. This Moon is INTENSE. In ambitious Cappy this will have alot to do with our goals, career, reputations and leaders. Something here about grace under pressure, naked emperors, facing loss/death, the inevitability of CHANGE. 

 

Hopefully, we heeded that last Full Moon and let some air out of that 'inflated dream/illusion' and can take advantage of this Full Moon's Venus/Saturn trine (more on this in the next post). 

This is also the week the U.S. Pluto return has its SECOND exact hit. Mercury makes his/her superior conjunction to the Sun (think : LIGHT- BULB MOMENT) while Venus leaves Gemini for Cancer. 

 

Something for everyone. Lots going on. 

Let's unpack the week!

MONDAY - Juno sextiles the North Node

TUESDAY - Sun sextiles the North Node

WEDNESDAY - Full Moon in Capricorn, Venus trines Saturn, Mercury squares Chiron and sextiles Uranus

THURSDAY - Venus squares Neptune

SATURDAY - Sun conjuncts Mercury

SUNDAY - Venus enters Cancer, Mercury trines Neptune, Sun trines Neptune

On MONDAY - Juno sextiles the North Node from 20 degrees Pisces. 

 

This means she is also trining the Scorpio South Node. The trine is the stronger aspect maybe making it too easy to settle/to slide along with tired relationship/partnership/contract dynamics that can be hurtful, complicated, are dead in the water. Or old Piscean agreements with wishy/washy rules, addictions, illusions, one person making all the sacrifices or someone's overly idealistic rose-colored glasses fogging things up. Juno often brings up our tendency to look the other way to preserve the status quo or our relationship to power even if that status quo is killing us softly.

 

Let's rethink that comfortable (because we are used to it) trine to Scorpio and lean into the sextile with the Taurus NORTH Node. 

 

This is where the seed needs to go into the soil/is where the creative opportunity lies. This will take some effort, some movement toward something NEW - something less dramatic and sexy maybe, but more stabilizing, more solid, more simple. NEW, practical efforting toward creating more stability within partnerships and contracts/agreements gets the green light. This will involve actual physical/tangible things and situations. Drifting into the same old Scorpian intensity-driven 'drama' might be the easier flow, since we just float right into it/stay where we are, but is a dead end in the end. Respond instead of react. Take new actions. Set new boundaries. 

 

This won't be about beating our head into the wall, because what we seek is seeking us right back - the new energies will reach back to meet us this week. Practical effort goes a long way. Our efforts will pay off over time.

On TUESDAY -the Sun sextiles the North Node, U.S. Pluto return part two

The Sun, at 20 degrees Cancer, sextiles (creative opportunity) the North Node in Taurus. Cancer/Taurus sextiles are stabilizing/comforting. Here is a LIGHT on a more simple path forward. With the Sun in Cancer, we are standing in our collective roots/home/family, THIS is where our vital force is activated/this is where the fire is burning, and now here is a direct connection - sextiles require movement to activate - to our Taurus house - the space of the North Node - our smoothest, simplest path forward. Keep in mind, the Sun is also trining (brakes off) the South Node, so a nostalgic pull to the past will be felt, too. It will be oh so tempting to stay where we are/stick with what is, even when it is enmeshed in Scorpion intrique - intensity, complication, third party situations, power struggles, secrets. 

 

First Juno from Pisces and now the Sun from Cancer - there is a light on something NEW that is more stable/simple - makes sense/cents - is about VALUING OURSELVES - find it, follow it!

At the same time, Pluto has returned to his exact degree from the signing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence AGAIN. This time retrograde and once more during a week with a re-activation of 21-22 degrees Capricorn (power crumbles, power is cemented, time runs out) from January 2020. 

(in late February 2022 we had Mars pass Venus at 21 degrees Capricorn, as the first U.S. Pluto return became exact and Russia bombed Ukraine, and this week we have a Full Moon at 21 degrees Capricorn as the second U.S. Pluto return is exact)

 

We could see significant changes with the Russia/Ukraine War over this Full Moon cycle (Putin's chart in particular is very heavily aspected at the end of the month and the beginning of August when Mars meets Uranus and the North Node), with supply chain issues/oil, finances. Power shifts. The chart for this second Pluto return is pretty much the Full Moon in Capricorn post we will talk about next. Pluto is powerful/destructive energy. Its purpose is RENEWAL/regeneration. Scorched Earth or the phoenix rising from the ashes. 

 

In the United States, irrevocable change is coming/is here. Can't be stopped.

WEDNESDAY - THURSDAY - Full Moon in Capricorn (21 degrees/back to 'time runs out' January 2020), Mercury squares Chiron and sextiles Uranus and the North Node, Venus trines Saturn and squares Neptune

This is HUGE. The Moon is conjunct a retrograde Pluto (the death that was postponed) and making a ton of aspects. She is opposing not only the Sun, but also Mercury and Ceres. And she is on the uncomfortably RED HOT degree of emperor makers and breakers (and Queen Elizabeth's ascendant). Saturn, the ruler of this lunation is squaring Uranus and the North Node and EXACTLY trining Venus. 

 

And we are hurtling toward the future. 

 

But, I said that already.

 

Expect a BIG post tomorrow.

 

FRIDAY - SATURDAY - Sun conjuncts Mercury, Mercury trines Neptune, Venus enters Cancer, Sun trines Neptune

The Cancer Sun meets up with Mercury at 24 degrees Cancer and then trines Neptune at 25 degrees Pisces. Can you say "LIGHT-BULB MOMENT"? News/information comes to light. Inspiration. We are listening to our intuition. Following a hunch. Praying. Listening to our ancestors. Something should fall into place here, so pay attention. Prayers/meditation are more deeply felt. Compassionate words are connecting/healing. There is magic here, but not alot of grounding. Avoid stimulants/slippery slopes.

Venus enters Cancer until August 11th.

 

Cancer Suns and Risings become more attractive - both able to attract what they want and easier on the eye. All of our Cancer houses become more attractive, too. Venus themes will be emotionally tended to. We will require more emotional connection to feel safe and secure. We will want (or feel the lack of) whatever feels like nurturing to us. Home becomes a more valuable space. Family is a resource. Our empathy increases along with our hurt feelings when we don't get what feels like "mom and apple-pie".

What we want (Venus) is to feel safe (Cancer).

Cancer is both the mother and the baby. So we get what we want/need by being cared for and by caring for others now. Ruled by the Moon, who changes signs every two and a half days, Cancer can be moody. Our emotions around what we want are subject to lunar whims now, but the actual thing we want can become more solid. The active feminine energy (Venus) connects with the responsive feminine energy (Moon). Venus rules love, money, women, beauty, harmony, balance, relationship, our values - everything money can buy and everything it can't. She rules the signs of Libra and Taurus (and if either of these signs is your rising sign - ascendant - she most likely rules your chart) and the 2nd and 7th houses of our collective astrology charts. This year she is ruling the North Node of Fate - our best way forward. She's a BIG deal. And since she's an inner planet, when she changes signs, we feel it and experience it personally - and we move the collective energy forward (as opposed to the outer planet transits that move the collective energy and then we adjust to that). 

 

Universally, home and family will feel more precious. We will want to feel safe. We'll want to move in the direction of whatever feeds this need now.

We might be more emotional. Maybe a little more needy and vulnerable. These do not have to be bad things. If we are waiting for someone else to take care of us though, remember Venus is an active energy herself - and Mars is stuck in the mud of Taurus, soon to be shaken up by Uranus and then back and forth through mutable Gemini for months. Chiron is in Aries and so is Jupiter. Aries is the sign of the self. The one we are waiting on to mother us/help us is most likely the person standing in our shoes, looking back at us in our bathroom mirror. 

 

The fly in the ointment with Venus in Cancer is the kind of smothering/mothering that suffocates or we overindulge ourselves in some unhealthy way or we have an unrealistic expectation of someone else filling some childhood need. So, watch for emotions that are "over-the-top" compared with what is actually happening, particularly within partnerships/relationships, financial situations and dealings with women. 

 

Keep in mind, Black Moon Lilith (the womb wound, mother/family wound, woman who chooses herself) is still squaring Jupiter and Venus in Cancer is now on a collision course with her in a couple weeks. 

If we are emotionally triggered, we can ask ourselves - what are we storing that is triggering these emotions?

 

Back with that BIG Full Moon post.

 

xo all 

Thanks to everyone who volunteered their charts for the Black Moon Lilith reviews. I am down to the last five volunteers and will email them this week (I have been doing about two a day). Keep in mind this is a little like pulling one ingredient out of a recipe and calling it a loaf of bread - for some it may be a cup of flour and very helpful to have, for others more like a pinch of salt. You will have to see how much it means in your life/how helpful the info is to consider/work with. 

photography by the amazing BirdSophieBlack

today's astrology forecast | Friday, July 8th, 2022 - a light on what we need to turn our attention to in order to heal it

 

 

The Moon moves into fellow water sign Scorpio this morning. Now we are nurtured/nourished by power, going deep, knowing something/someone more intimately, sex, secrets, getting to the bottom line, eliminating what needs to go/is dead. 

 

A great Moon for expulsion. People born with the Moon here are intense! Have intense mamas, too.

Luna opposes Mars at 8:06AM EDT, lessening our impact, creating tension (now the Moon is in the sign Mars wants to be in and Mars is in the sign the Moon wants to be in, so there is this tension, but also a way through the tension - yes, the tension can be cut with a knife, but we also have the knife - if we give Mars some Scorpio - our actions the access to passion/probing, and the Moon some Taurus - our emotions access to comfort/nature/stability). 

 

Keep in mind, the dailies are about transiting planets interacting with other transiting planets - the background energy we are working with. When the Moon opposes our natal planet - and if we have natal planets in Taurus, she will over the next couple days - we will feel that more strongly, as she pulls against the permanent vibrational resonance imprint that is somehow embedded in us at birth. This weakens the opposed planet's natural function. Lasts just a few hours. Traditional astrology deems oppositions as 'negative', but sometimes an opposition provides a much needed balance and Scorpio can be a hugely regenerative Moon.

 

The Moon trines Mercury and Vesta at 1:31 EDT - while they trine each other - forming a Grand Water Trine for a few hours. 

 

All our water houses connected, in flow with each other. 

 

Maybe with Vesta involved our focus narrows to that thing that is keeping us up at night/what matters right now. We are talking about/thinking about deeply personal things. This is a mix of home/security/the past/mothering (Cancer), the dream/art/our intuition/forgiveness/inspiration (Pisces) and intensity/intimacy/what's hidden (Scorpio). Grand Water Trines can make us feel nostalgic, pull the past into the present.

This is also the day the Sun squares Chiron, which we might experience as a blow to our ego - the Grand Water Trine will help, provide an emotional balm for any hurt/wounds. 

 

The Sun shines a bright light on precisely what we need to turn our attention toward in order to heal it.

 

With Chiron in independent Aries we have a personal responsibility for our own healing. To act on what we know/use what we have. To do our best to share our gifts, even those with their roots in a painful past, maybe most especially those gifts.

xo all

artwork by the talented Andreea Chiru

weekly astrology forecast | July 4-10, 2022 - our thinking and actions change, a slow down, working with very old wounds, preparing for the future coming at us like a freight train

 

Following the fireworks (not just the 4th of July kind with that Mars square Pluto!) - the energies shift.

 

Soften. Become slower, more deliberate. Both Mars and Mercury leave their home signs - Mars for Venus ruled Taurus (on his way to his big pow-wow with both Uranus and the North Node at the end of July and beginning of August that will change our world, both collectively and personally, yes, again!). Mercury moves into Luna ruled Cancer.

 

We trade anger/passion for determination and physical/practical effort and mind chatter/info overload for a mental need for comfort and security.

 

Next week, we have a BIG Full Moon on "power is cemented, power is destroyed, time runs out" - 21 degrees Capricorn plus the U.S. Pluto return part two, and the month just kind of builds and builds from there until we reach the end of the month's world changing BLAST OFF into the future - big post coming about that this week.

 

In the meantime squeeze whatever you can squeeze in terms of comfort and 'what feels good' out of this week. Stop/smell/appreciate the roses when you can, thorns and all. If a hard conversation needs to be had, don't put it off until the end of the week when Mercury squares Jupiter - things can get bigger/hotter and more emotional than we intended.

 

Let's unpack the week! 

 

MONDAY - Pallas into Gemini 

Wise Pallas moves into smarty-pants/dualistic Gemini. New strategies, more than one way forward. We need to stay mentally flexible. This is a good transit to learn/teach - keep in mind she is answering to Mercury, who will cover a few signs during Pallas's time in Gemini (through September 6th), so it will pay to keep an eye on him/her. With Pallas in Gemini - solutions will come from communication, learning, teaching, trying multiple routes/methods, staying open to new ideas. 

This is also the day the Virgo Moon will sextile  (opportunity for growth) the Cancer Sun at 12 degrees. This month's Waxing Sextile. Virgo/Cancer. Small adjustments make things more comfortable/safe. Practical solutions are needed for home/family issues. Small fixes and small improvements create big changes. Do it one step at a time.

TUESDAY- Mars into Taurus, Mercury into Cancer, Mercury sextiles Mars

 

Mars falls into Taurus, Mercury flies into Cancer (for only two weeks!). They make nice with each other as they settle in. It is unusual to have two planets leave their home signs within minutes of each other, so I think we will all be feeling this one. 

Mars, after a few weeks of being king of his domain/the man coming out on top falls into Venus ruled Taurus, the sign of his detriment. Things tend to slow down when Mars ingresses into Taurus. If we are ready for this time to "stop and smell the roses" - if we have done our "starting" and are now ready to work with what we have accumulated - this is the time the run turns into a walk. Have patience. Our actions will have a more deliberate focus. Will need to be more practical. Hands on. Make sense/cents.

 
Mars in Taurus will wake up our Taurus house - a space naturally inclined toward doing the same old, same old and where we can get a bit "set in our ways" - although with Uranus here the past couple years that 'steady as a rock thing' has been more like a landslide. Taurus Suns and our other Taurus planets will get a visit from Mars sometime over the next few weeks, so they get some revitalizing energy and a WAKE UP call. This is a physical transit - tired muscles feel good. Balancing the books feels good.

At the same time - Mercury leaves his home sign of fast-paced Gemini for home/family/security-oriented Cancer. We will be feeling what people are saying now. Our own words will be impacting other people emotionally, too. When Mercury changes signs, we can simply CHANGE OUR MIND - so can other people. With Mercury in Cancer, words come from the gut and are taken personally. They can be soothing or they can be painful. We can all be more moody. Keep this in mind with communications (and when our own thinking gets overly emotional). Our thoughts/conversations can turn to home/family/mothering situations now. It's a good time to remember how much home and family mean to us. Mercury will only be in Cancer until July 19th.

 

As Mercury and Mars enter Cancer/Taurus - they will sextile each other. Our thinking and our actions are on the same page. Together via a smooth aspect at the beginning of their transits is a good indication of their ability to work well together over the next couple weeks. Mars in Taurus is about taking deliberate action with real-world things. This is about using what we already have/growing things over time. Being practical. Mercury in Cancer is onboard with this, ready to slow down and feel our way through things. A slower Mars can also aid a more emotional Mercury - give us a chance to think things through/not act too quickly when we take things too personally. Since both signs have connections to food, it's a good time to improve our diet with something more self-nurturing, maybe more plant based or more home cooking, less eating out, etc. Also a great time for walking (Mars) our talk (Mercury).

WEDNESDAY TO FRIDAY - Venus sextiles Chiron, Sun squares Chiron

The Sun in Cancer's square to Chiron can activate old wounds around home, family, parents, our ability to be ourselves or take care of ourselves. We can be more sensitive to criticism. The way through this tension/frustration is Venus in Gemini. The power of love, new possibilities, communication, intellect, keeping things light/flirty, not taking things too seriously will all help. The Sun/Chiron pain is intended to create change and that's what Venus in Gemini is all about. Stay flexible. The wound won't vanish, but maybe we can see/feel the situation differently.

SATURDAY - Mercury conjunct Black Moon Lilith squares Jupiter

 

Now Mercury is doing what the Moon did at the New Moon (beginning of last week) and the Sun did at the end of last week. Our emotional words are infused with old pain and exaggerated/enlarged. Maybe to spark new action or to engage with us to broaden our scope. Maybe what we care about is shown to us by the words and information that makes us feel angry or shameful or guilty. Jupiter won't let Mercury past this square until the conversation/idea GETS BIG enough we have to deal with it. 

 

Keep in mind we can also reverse this whole thing and think about the way Mercury/BML is standing in the way of Jupiter's expansion. This isn't necessarily a bad thing - our emotions/need for comfortable words and ideas should be taken into consideration. Jupiter wants to GO BIG. In Aries he wants to START/take action. AND, we've got this square/this problem/this challenge/this opportunity/and also, this EXCUSE. This very old/very deep fear connecting to our very survival. This isn't something we can just dis-regard/plow through, but Jupiter in Aries is direct for only a couple more weeks, the Moon is waxing - we don't want to be sitting still! 

 

And, even saying all that, squares to Jupiter are still access to Jupiter - and through Mercury can bring good news, faith, optimism, courage (sometimes brings blind luck). It just all comes with a little PUSH. Which isn't a bad thing, and can be a VERY GOOD THING, but just don't believe everything you are told, don't over-promise, exaggerate, get too big a head here because Jupiter is about POTENTIAL, everything isn't always real. At the same time a balanced Black Moon Lilith (when we honor the wisdom of our bodies) gives our words/ideas deeply feminine EMPOWERMENT - keep this in mind now, too.

xo all

photo by the amazing ankazhuravleva