Mars conjunct Uranus | going out with a BANG

At 1:20AM EST Tuesday night Mars will conjunct Uranus at the final degree of Aries - the sign Aries rules. This energy is in play now.

Mars is our passion, our initiative, our action, our anger. Uranus is fast change, the future, liberation, something radically different.

This is a lightning strike (or a strike while the iron is hot situation).

It can make us (and other people) impulsive. It can make us accident-prone.

It will be so hard to be patient!

This is the energy of break-ups, breakdowns and breakthroughs.

Anger and passion can erupt suddenly now and be hard to control. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but if something is escalating in an uncomfortable way - take a breath and a step backward.

THE BEST USE OF THIS ENERGY (especially if we have planets or points around 29 degrees Sagittarius or Leo because we are getting the nice smooth trines here) -

1. truly express who we are - this aspect doesn't say we are going to like the outcome, just that we will feel the push to "go for it", if this is something you need to do, this is exactly the energy that will help you to do it

2. release outdated roles and outgrown restrictions (remember the ongoing Neptune/Saturn sextile is dissolving Saturnian boundaries)

Anything that feels even remotely like a cage or collar is going to feel WAY too small. 

3. make some kind of radical move, do (Mars) something different or differently (Uranus) - this is EXACTLY the energy we need to make a leap from our outdated/stifling crap to new and different crap (ie circumstances).

Again, remember, new is not always better. New is just new. Sometimes new is better though.

Also remember when it comes to change and Uranus - we don't always have a choice.

This is "shortcut" energy.

Uranus can get us from here to there very quickly.

And we have the courage and the strength to put something into action here. Something that smells like authenticity (although nobody actually wants to smell your authenticity - keep this in mind - this is a metaphor).

Something that tastes like freedom.

There is a "this is your last chance" kind of feel to whatever we have going on. And for some situations ... it will be!

Keep in mind - LIFE IS FLASHING A HUGE "PROCEED WITH CAUTION" SIGN AT US.

If this action/move is something you have been thinking about for a long time or fits into your long-term planning - it could be the time to go for it. If this is something that just popped into your head and is risky - it is definitely the time to get your head examined.

(and actually Mars rules your head, so take care of your head now, too)

Within hours after these two heavyweights meet, Mars in going to move into Taurus (figuring out how to survive/thrive in the new circumstances, consolidating resources, slowing down and taking a breath, etc). And after spending a few more weeks hanging out at the 29th degree of Aries, Uranus will follow him.

Keep in mind Neptune is sextiling Saturn off and on this year and that transit is being simulated this week by Venus. With Neptune/Saturn working together we aren't supposed to be rowing upstream battling a moving current. We have a sailboat now. The rowboat is back at Aunt Ida's lake-house attracting opossums. We just need to set our sails in the direction we want to go. And yes, we have to have our crap (sorry for all the 'craps' not sure why I am talking like this, I blame Uranus/Mars!) together to a certain degree, that's how Saturn works - the sails need to be there, they need to be pointing - do sails point? I have no idea - in the right direction. We just have to ready ourselves for the WIND.

On the other hand maybe the Uranus/Mars IS the wind.

Mercury is in Pisces now, you are going to have to use your intuition with this part.

If you have planets or points in the cardinal signs around 29 degrees you will feel this energy strongest.

Planets on/near 29 degrees ARIES (conjunction) - a strong push into something else, CANCER (square) - a threat to your stability that creates tension/frustration and forces you to stand on your own two feet or do something radically differently, LIBRA (opposition) - something/someone from the outside brings a threat/ending/need for change likely leaving you in a position of having to make a decision CAPRICORN (square) a threat to your authority that forces you to do something you wouldn't normally do - sometimes the rules are made to be broken dear Capricorn even by you - or do something radically different; a break with tradition

xo all

there is a bit more about this in the weekly post HERE - check Wednesday

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of February 10th - shocking change, volatility, take a chance NOT a risk, break-ups, breakdowns, break-throughs, liberation, then stuff starts to stabilize and slow down

The following are some of this week's big aspects:

SUNDAY - Mercury into Pisces, Moon/Mars/Uranus with Mars trine Galactic Center
WEDNESDAY - Mars conjunct Uranus (near Eris, 29 degrees Aries)
THURSDAY - Mars into Taurus
SUNDAY - Venus sextiles Neptune
MONDAY - Venus conjuncts Saturn (16 degrees Capricorn)


Mars - action, initiative, passion, anger - is uber active this week, still hanging out with angry sister Eris and set to meet anything-can-happen Uranus.

Expect sudden changes, shocking news, impulsive action, threats and counter threats - it's drama on the high seas folks, Captain Jack Sparrow time - aargh!

People with planets and points at the end of the cardinal signs - Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn - will be feeling this chaotic energy strongest. 

On SUNDAY, our Aries Moon is sandwiched between Mars and Uranus - this could activate Wednesday's volatile changes for some people. People are itchy and restless. Drive safely. No dark alleys. You know the drill.

The Moon goes void at 6:48PM EST dialing up the wonky, but then enters stabilizing Taurus (where the Moon is exalted) at 8:28PM EST which will calm the day down. She will sextile Mercury, freshly bedded in Pisces, making tonight a good time for Pisces progress via art, imagination, meditation, compassion, healing. Netflix marathon - ok, drinking yourself into oblivion - not such a great idea.

Mercury ingresses into imaginative and sometimes delusional Pisces where, due to her/his upcoming retrograde she will hang her hat until April 17th!

A retrograde Mercury in Pisces will be confusing at the very least.

We talked about this next part last week, but I'm tossing it in here again in case you missed it.

"Mercury rules our thinking, our communication, our ideas. He/she is considered in her fall/detriment in Pisces (because she rules Pisces polarity sign of Virgo). Virgo's Mercury likes things clear and concise - she wants B to follow A and is sure things would move more efficiently if everyone would just dot their i's and cross their t's.

Pisces (ruled by Neptune and ruler of our collective 12th house) is the space where rules/boundaries are more fluid. B might follow A. But just as easily A could drift right on past B.

It is the space of imagination, universal love, our dreams, spirituality, our connection to each other through the ethereal realms and our emotions, the ways we escape, the things we do last, the things we put away, addictions, delusions, hospitals, prisons, addicts, victims, saviors, martyrs.

You can see how fast-moving Mercury would be quite out-of-whack here.

So maybe our thinking slows down a bit. Our words drift off course. We started to say this and now we are saying that. The words that were so clear and crisp in airy Aquarius, don't come as easily because maybe we start feeling their impact on the other person now. Or maybe we start feeling like one of those old anti-drug commercials but instead of eggs - it is our brain frying on the sidewalk."

Whatever we have going on over the next few weeks keep in mind the story will be back and forth and all over the place!

Mercury in Pisces can be wonderful energy for artists, poets, musicians, meditation, spirituality, healing. With Mercury (ruler of Gemini) in this universal space our words can cast even more powerful S-P-E-L-L-S - keep this in mind, especially while Mercury is retrograde and things can back-fire!

The next few weeks might be the time to let our mental defenses down and just feel it. Or to guard against this very thing - depending on the situation!

On WEDNESDAY, and this is in play all week, but exact on Wednesday, we have Mars meeting Uranus in Aries.

These two meet every couple years and kick off a new chapter together. Happening at the powerful 29th degree, with Mars set to enter Taurus (blazing a trail for Uranus) the NEXT day (which should help things cool down a bit hopefully), with Eris nearby and opposing Pallas - this has a bit of a powder keg feel to it.

Sudden change. Unexpected (and liberating) news and action. 

This is EXPLOSIVE.

With Pallas in Libra, ruling our partnerships/relationships - if this is a break-up there probably won't be any "we can still be friends", with this one. Compromise/cooperation = nope.

This is empowering energy to take a chance, especially with something LIBERATING/different/forward leaning - just not too big a risk, OK?

Breakthroughs are as possible as break-downs and break-ups. Take a different action. Try something else.

The next day, THURSDAY, Mars moves into Taurus.  

This will help stabilize the Mars/Uranus dis-order as we focus on our resources/values.

Keep in mind Mars is clearing the brush for Uranus, set to move back into Taurus next month. So whatever we have going on now (and while Mars is in Taurus) is going to connect to Uranus's long, upcoming transit - maybe not in specifics, but within a more general theme.

Take whatever is happening now seriously.

You want to stabilize whatever this is as much as possible with Mars (action, initiative, courage, passion) in Taurus, before Uranus gets in there! Taurus is that comfortable space in our chart we rely on to ALWAYS BE THE SAME - Uranus - think "bull in a china shop" here - is disruptive. Something is very likely to get broken. Better we deal with what we can for the next month, so we have somewhat of a handle on it before Uranus (no handle on this guy) gets in there for seven years!

With Mercury in Pisces and now Mars in Taurus - life will begin to slow down. Our actions will become more deliberate.

Mars in Taurus steadies our actions and requires we practice patience.

With Taurus it isn't so much about doing anything new (although yes, the Moon is waxing!)  - this is about building on and taking action with "what we already have".

Things won't move quickly, but the things we take action on now will be longer-lasting. 

Success comes to the turtle and not the hare. Whatever we are doing, we need to be prepared to keep on doing it. It may take some time. With Taurus this will be about our security and stability. Also the theme of your natal Taurus house!

People will have a tendency to be more stubborn and unmovable now - we will all be digging in our heels and refusing to change course (hence the slow down). Mercury's upcoming retrograde indicates some course corrections though. Remember the KISS acronym - keep it simple sista'.

That crazy, complicated thingamajig we were thinking about doing - nix it for now. That thing that looks just too basic to work - yeah do that thing. This is excellent energy to get out in nature and get our hands dirty, too. 

Mars will be in Taurus until March 31st.

On SUNDAY the 17th - and I am jumping ahead a bit because this all starts to get within orb on Sunday, the 10th, Venus sextiles (opportunity) Neptune and then the next day, MONDAY, conjuncts Saturn. This is going to re-activate the Neptune/Saturn sextile we are moving in and out of this year. See Thursday in THIS POST.

This is working for the dream, dissolving limits, a sacrifice that stabilizes a situation - maybe we have to give up what we want for what someone else needs or some kind of delay/denial/responsibility coming before the opportunity.

Venus steps into this story-line and when she conjuncts Saturn a new chapter starts with Venus/Saturn.

Venus (love, money, relationships, beauty, our values, our resources, women ) reaches a LIMIT. This transit can be hard on our relationships and our wallets. Karmic lessons/tests here with love and money. Some relationships will end. Others will reach a solid commitment.

(between this and the Mars/Uranus what a week for Valentine's Day?!)

Relationships that kick off with Venus/Saturn are often either business focused or May/December. Take love/money/resources seriously now. Start a budget. Venus/Saturn can be lonely - because with Saturn here we just can't feel the love!

We will talk about this during the week, but I wanted to toss it into this week's since it is a very different energy than the Mars/Uranus and some people may have this transit more in play than the explosive one.

I will pop back in and add the Moons tomorrow, out of time this afternoon!

xo all


On the day Saturn exactly conjuncted my natal Venus a year or so ago I had to renew my driver's license. I told this story back then, and thought maybe with this week's collective Venus/Saturn conjunction it might be a good time to dig it back out, so here goes -

I could have renewed by mail - this option is given out randomly in NJ and for years I complained that I was never selected and had to truck my butt down there to the Motor Vehicle Commission and get in line. This year I finally had the "just-mail-it-in" option, but had procrastinated the whole thing until the very last minute and had to truck my butt down there anyway.

It was pouring outside. I put on some waterproof eye make-up, spent extra time doing my hair, a crazy amount of time picking out just the right scarf, etc - I brought a mirror and an umbrella. You get the idea. Serious (Saturn) attention to appearance (Venus).

The rain and winds stopped just in time. The lines inside were very short. Everything was going my way. I get to the clerk's window and she says "remove the scarf", then "step back to the line and do not smile". Yes, New Jersey has a 'do not smile in driver's license' thing (somehow this is not hard for us here in N.J.). And, we also have a new 'your face fills the entire box' thing, so the license barely shows your hair, etc. WTH!

I remove my carefully selected scarf, relax my face and try to smile with my eyes. "Have a seat" she says, waving her hand toward the waiting area.

I leave 20 minutes later with what is surely the worst photo I have ever taken in my life.

Certainly the oldest looking photo.

It look me about 30 seconds to think about old man Saturn sitting on my precious Venus (!) - appearance (Venus) on official document (Saturn), bringing age (Saturn) to beauty (Venus). I tried to think about a fine wine and about the myriad experiences that I wouldn't change for a second that had produced these lines/spots on my face, but all I could see was this ghastly photo staring at me from my wallet.

This wasn't even my mother's photo.

I had skipped an entire generation and become my grandmother.

Hubs said, "not a bad photo - you just look serious and it's only for three years." Which depressed me even further - is this how I actually look and what the hell am I going to look like in three years?! - and why was he giving me even more sober Saturn! Ugh.

My Venus in Sagittarius doesn't want to hear this crap. I decided to purchase a new wallet that night - something Venusian to house my old man scowl.

Of course Venus/Saturn could have brought something else entirely. Something much more challenging. I tell myself it was actually pretty clever of me to give the energy this space to work itself out. Plus I have a new wallet.

Chiron into Aries | February 18th, 2019 thru 2026 - healing the wounded masculine, our path to self-love, healing through action, our victim stories and wallowing is so last transit, no one is you and THAT is your super-power

Chiron was the first discovered (in 1977) and is the largest of the Centaurs - originally classified as asteroids and now called "minor planets". The Centaurs, like their mythical namesakes who were half-man, half-horse are wild celestial bodies. They come from the opposite side of the Sun and move toward the Sun vertically like comets do. Their orbits are erratic. Chiron, orbiting between Saturn and Uranus, is a bridge between these two great planets - he is a shamanic energy.

Last April, Chiron moved into Aries and gave us a sneak-peak of the next few years, but then stationed retrograde and once again backed into Pisces.

On February 19th, he will once ingress into Aries, this time for the long haul (through 2026). In Aries, Chiron turns away from the emotional, connecting reactions and the victim stories we grew through during his nine years in Pisces and toward the chapter of our personal regeneration.

Aries is the first sign so rules newness.

What does it take to embrace the new? It takes courage.

Chiron in Pisces has been about feeling and then surrendering the wound. Pisces is gentle energy. Water wears away rough edges over time.

With Chiron in Aries changes will be faster. Rough edges will be smoothed efficiently on a chopping block. We will have to get right back up when we fall down. We will see what we need to do and then we will need to do it. 

There will be less time for reflection and there won't be any time for wallowing. 

This will be about taking action.

Individual action. The kind of action that isn't always supported by other people. The kind of action we take for ourselves. This energetic is intensely impactful for the collective, too, although it could feel like we are all alone in whatever we do with this.

Our natal Aries house(s) theme(s) will be our personal field of healing.

Every situation, person, place and thing that comes through this space- if honestly met - will carry the opportunity to simultaneously gift and wound us here.

I believe, as spiritual beings, we came here with a game plan - a blueprint, a set of guidelines for our life arranged in a language of patterns and archetypes. Some of our blueprints are very specific. Most, are specific in some areas and more general in others.

Our natal astrology chart is a complicated set of specifications designed to build up an individual and run him/her. Like we would build a car or 3D print a Christmas ornament, except our "blueprints" are a map of our consciousness. 

Unlike a machine, we always have the choice to become more conscious - more than our blueprints (we have free will) but without our blueprints we can't gain entrance here to life on planet Earth. They anchor us in time and space.

It may seem impossible to believe, that you, that I, that all of us, came into being with a plan/possibility for Chiron (discovered in 1977, so not even knowable when many of us were born) to move into the Aries room in our "blueprint" - the space we have always had to fight, always had to walk through that door alone, always had to initiate, be brave, be motivated - in order to get anything done, in order to be accepted - probably for lifetimes - that Chironic energy (wounded healer) was going to come into this space at this exact time in order to heal the wounds we are holding/hiding here. And all the actions we have taken up until now have prepared us for this.

There is a reason the symbol for Chiron looks like a key. Chiron acts like a portal between Saturn's reality and Uranus's awakening energies. And much about this new energy isn't understood yet.

(note the "key" is really a grouping of the letters O and K - originally called Object Kowal after discoverer Charles Kowal who then synchronistically named his find Chiron)

There are as many ways Aries in Chiron can play out as there are people on this planet.

A word salad could stretch our brain here, so let's try a few:

Healing the wounded (Chiron) masculine (Aries), healing (Chiron) from violence/war (Aries), physical (Aries) disabilities (Chiron), going (Aries) until we drop (Chiron), healing through men, male bonding, healing through self-defense, healing through self-assertion, healing through conflict, healing through courage, healing by going it alone, healing through our instincts or painful instincts, healing by pushing past a vulnerability, healing through expressing/acknowledging unexpressed anger or resentment, healing by resolving competition issues, healing through fighting/through passion, yada yada. You get the idea.

Remember our Aries house has always been the space we have had to fight/work alone/compete/push for what we want if we are going to have it.

Chiron is going to help us lighten this load.

And like the medic resetting a shoulder that has come out of its socket, here is the part where I say, "this is probably going to hurt."

Issues around self-doubt and self-worthiness will surface.

Chiron in Aries will form a natural opposition to Libra (and this is part of the Aries/Libra polarity dance) - this would be a time when the other people in our lives, and the people we meet, who have the energetic frequencies that can easily re-wound us (trigger our early wounding/past life wounds/familial karma), will do just that. 

It can be painful, but this is the path to SELF- LOVE. 

And yes, it will be strewn with roses and thorns.

Chironic healing doesn't mean the wounded space just disappears. Like a scar left after a deep cut, there is something about the wound we have to learn to live with. The healing comes through acceptance which shifts our energy and we become like a BEACON attracting others with similar wounds (the way a recovering alcoholic can help an alcoholic in ways no one else can).

As a collective we will learn to express anger, aggression and force in healthy, positive ways. We will be healing our sense of identity - that thing Uranus has been busy dismantling these last few years!

Uranus tilled the ground for this healing with his own eight year journey through Aries which comes to a close next month. The erratic energy exits stage left and the healing energy enters stage right.

The house is Arian - so the healing is flavored by Martian vibes (just as Uranus has been influenced by Mars these past few years). Whatever house Aries rules in our natal chart is ALWAYS going to be a house that favors action - this healing won't be any exception.

During 2019, Chiron will move from 0 degrees Aries to 5 degrees Aries by July 8th when he will station retrograde. He will get back to 1 degree Aries and then station direct on December 12th. Then we get to re-do the 1-5 degrees of Aries again for the third time (older and wiser). And this is kind of how it will go with the next few degrees every year until Chiron finishes up in Aries. In 2019, people with planets and points between 0 and 5 degrees Aries, Libra, Cancer and Capricorn - will feel Chiron's energy strongest. Aries planets will get the conjunction, Libra the opposition and Cancer/Capricorn the squares. If you don't have any personal planets/points here, you might not feel personally impacted by Chiron's transit this year, but everyone will be impacted on a collective level.

The way things start is very important and the chart for February 19, 2019 reflects the importance of this transit - Chiron moves onto the hyper-sensitive world axis point of 0 degrees Aries. The Sun will be at 0 degrees Pisces and the Moon at 0 degrees Virgo, so this is happening on the Virgo Full Moon. Uranus will still be conjunct Mars (their exact conjunction is February 13th - a very powerful and combustible meeting). The Nodes will be squaring Uranus (this has been in play for a few months).

For the next few years as transitting planets interact with Chiron we will be dealing with certain collective (and personal) events. So, for example during Aries season, the Sun will meet Chiron and likely Mercury will meet Chiron and during Libra season, the Sun will oppose Chiron and likely Mercury will oppose Chiron. There will be squares during Cancer and Capricorn season. And times Chiron squares the Nodes. You get the idea. And with Chiron in Aries and answering to Mars we need to keep an eye on what Mars is doing. For example in May, Mars will be in Cancer and squaring Chiron. In early October 2020 - just a few weeks before the Saturn/Pluto conjunction is exact and with multiple planets in Capricorn - Mars will be in Libra opposing Chiron. In March 2020, Mars will be in Capricorn squaring Chiron.

This is the greatest opportunity we have had in 50 years to heal self-worth issues from our childhoods, from our ancestors and from our past lives.

We all have Chiron somewhere in our natal charts.

This is the Achille's heel/early wounding we try to avoid by building walls, staying busy, running away, hitting them before they can hit us, etc. With Chiron's move into Aries, two things happen to our individual charts. 1. Our Aries house gets the opportunity to heal via a visit from the wounded healer Chiron and 2. Chiron starts answering to Mars (Aries ruler) becoming more Martian - this is where the healing through action, through initiative, through courage part comes in.

By the time Chiron takes his leave for Taurus (2026) we are going to have a greater acceptance of ourselves (SELF-LOVE) and an understanding of how our uniquely individual energy is important for healing both our individual life and the entire collective.

Yes, we are that important. Every one of us.

No one is you and THAT is your super-power.

We'll talk more about this as we move through it. I will link to this (as well as other longer-term posts) on the front page of the site, for easier tracking and I'll add a "by house" section which gets more specific when I do that and post a heads-up. Note - some of this post is new and some is from an earlier post from last spring when Chiron ingressed into Aries before his retrograde.

xo all

Mars Square the Nodes, Mercury Sextile Uranus, Sun conjunct BML | a fork in the road, moving past our fears, allowing ourselves to be vulnerable, liberating speech, a light on something in the shadows, innovative ideas

Today we have Mars (in Aries, but only for a little while longer) squaring the North and South Nodes, Mercury, at the very end of Aquarius, sextiling Uranus, at the very end of Aries and trining Pallas. We also have the Sun conjunct Black Moon Lilith (in Aquarius).

So, a few of the week's energetics become exact.

The Moon is waxing through Aries today on cruise control with no need to adjust our speed until late afternoon (5:06PM EST) when she squares sobering Saturn - patience might be needed with this one.

Mars squaring the North and South Nodes of the Moon speaks of a turning point. Squares bring tension/frustration and they can bring out the worst of both planets/points.

Here is where we decide (and with squares events transpire to force our hand) whether to stay stable and stuck and protected or allow ourselves to feel vulnerable as we reach for something more nurturing.

We are moving through the journey of Saturn (ruler of the South Node now) toward Pluto (exact in January 2020, and within a 5 degree orb in just a couple weeks). Since Pluto went into Capricorn in 2008 we have seen how the structures/authority in our lives are working and not working. We've been shown in what ways we don't feel qualified to be in charge of our own lives, the ways and whys we don't step up, the fear in us that is keeping us stuck. We've learned what matters to us the most and what we lose when we seek to control. We've lived the last 11 years in dog years. Time has sped up as Saturn evolves through his Plutonian houseguest.

We are decades older and wiser now. 

Mercury will move from airy Aquarius where he has kept ideas/communications moving since January 24th into watery, emotional Pisces. He/she was in Aquarius for only 3 weeks and will be in Pisces, the sign of his detriment, until April 17th (!) - because of his upcoming retrograde. This will slow things down BIGLY. In Pisces he will hook up with Neptune multiple times - good for our imaginations, spiritual work, art, healing - not so good for decision making, paperwork, communication - things will be confusing. 

So, the last thing Mercury does before leaving Aquarius is sextile (opportunity - that "click into place") Aquarius ruler Uranus. This is a curve ball we actually catch. A hare-brained scheme that might actually work. Maybe we say/hear just the right thing. Something Uranian - so cool and new and out there, and the words hit their mark. New/surprising information comes in. This is the "innovative thinking" we have been talking about all week. Research could produce sudden or surprising results. Don't be afraid to speak up. The best ideas are outside-the-box now.

That trine (brakes off) to Pallas (in cooperative Libra) tells us this "innovative thinking/speaking up" benefits our partnerships/relationships even as she opposes Uranus now.

We also have the Sun and Black Moon Lilith meeting up in Aquarius. A light is thrown on this outsider energy. We have the confidence to be rebellious/liberated. Someone will be shocking, so I guess someone else will be shocked.

If you are the one with an unscheduled announcement to make now, keep things Aquarian - calm, cool and intellectual.  

xo all 

Sun Sextile Jupiter, Mercury Sextile Mars | take action, make the call, take the call, write the email, get it started/going, partnership/contract revisions, a slow down (and surprise) is coming so get moving

Our imaginative and spiritual Pisces Moon meets up with Neptune (Pisces ruler) and sextiles Saturn while we sleep then she moves on to a late morning EST square to Jupiter - maybe too much of a good thing this morning or just too much!

The Moon goes void at 5:14PM EST until tomorrow morning, off a sextile to Pluto.

The Moon/Pluto longish void - although we'll sleep through much of it - speaks of intense emotions, powerful women, comfort through intimacy.

Exact this evening, but coloring this week with an increased optimism, we have Jupiter (home in Sag) sextiling (opportunity) our Aquarius Sun at 18 degrees while Mercury (in Aquarius) sextiles Mars at 25 degrees Aries.

Jupiter playing nicely with the Sun is good for increased confidence and self-promotion. The Sun isn't uber strong in Aquarius (since he rules Aquarius polarity sign of Leo, although I avoid saying he is in his detriment since I am an Aquarius Sun!), so this is a nice winter boost for our ego!

This is a new way of believing in something! This is also the time of cosmic blessings (Jupiter/Sun!) - with the Sun in Aquarius, the blessings could be more abstract (not necessarily something we can hold in our hand or hold in our hand right now) or more future-focused. It might not look exactly like we thought it would - but if we can surrender what we thought it should look like - believe in something else/something new - the blessing (via a newer, expanded timeline) can come in.

Mercury (thinking, communication) in cool and logical Aquarius playing nicely with a strong Mars in his home sign means we can speak up for ourselves - in a way that isn't too harsh. This is good energy for new ideas, fresh language, commerce.

Sextiles are opportunities and we activate them by activating the planets (via their energies that we carry) within us. If we do nothing with them, nothing is going to happen!

There are multiple opportunities here. And the Moon is waxing (growing). February is really a month divided - with most of the active energy coming in the first couple weeks. Things are about to slow down. Maybe alot, so what do you need to take action on? Do it now. 

Note - I am not talking about jumping from any tall buildings. This isn't a year to bet the farm, folks. It's the long game that makes us lucky. This IS the time to show up, stand tall, make the call, take the first step or the next step.

KEEP MOVING.

Pallas (in cooperative and diplomatic Libra) reaches her exact opposition to Uranus (in Aries, but remember he is co-ruler of Aquarius and the Sun is answering to him now) at 29 degrees. This is the final degree of both signs so brings us to a culmination point/a conclusion. This is the energy of unpredictable Trump (Uranus) pulling the U.S. out of the Russian Nuclear Treaty. Rebelling against wisdom, withholding cooperation. This energy promotes growth through imbalance. Wise and strategic Pallas in Libra sees the need for diplomacy and partnership, but Uranus says - not so fast sister - what about the open fields/NEW over there?

Partnerships, contracts, agreements that need to be shaken up, will be. Don't get into a pissing contest.

Use today's sextiles - expansion through optimism, action joined with wisdom and communication and forward-thinking - to move whatever you have going on FORWARD.

xo all

New Moon in Aquarius | February 4, 2019 - the seeds go into the ground, building on that new(ish) idea/information, courage, LIBERATION, expanding beyond our territory, taking action, that rock that hit you in the head when you took one for the team is the rock your new foundation is built on

Today we have a beautiful New Moon - the Moon and Sun meeting at 15 degrees Aquarius at 4:10PM EST.

The Moon and Sun are conjunct a future-oriented and fast-moving Mercury (WORDS ARE OUR SUPER POWER NOW) and sandwiched between Neptune, strong in Pisces and Saturn, strong in Capricorn (and co-ruler of this month's lunation).

If last month's 15 degree New Moon sandwich (in Capricorn between Saturn and Pluto) was stale bologna on two slices of moldy rye, this month we have a delicious turkey club with some smoked bacon and that chipotle mayo we can never find when we are craving it. Except this month, there it is. Behind the ketchup and WTH it's not even expired!

The Saturn/Neptune sextile (the dream works when we do) is EXACT on the New Moon AND forming a comfortable and spacious cocoon around our happy little couple.

Uranus (co-ruler of Aquarius and this month's lunation) is conjunct a strong Mars in Aries and trining (brakes off) a serious Venus, freshly minted in Capricorn. And look at lucky and expansive Jupiter sextiling the Sun, Moon and Mercury AND trining Mars. Our Moon and Sun are also situated right in the middle of a Venus/Chiron square, but Chiron is trining the North Node, so there's that.

You can't see in this chart, but we also have fiery outsider energy Eris exactly conjunct brother Mars and "take no crap" Garden of Eden exile Black Moon Lilith hooked up with Mercury.

There is angry feminine energy howling at our invisible Moon here. Truth bombs. That thing no one ever wants to talk about - well someone is. 

Let's unpack this baby.

Mercury is conjunct the lunation, but already past the New Moon (Sun/Moon conjunction) making me think there is an idea here, a conversation, some kind of information that we already had. It's not like it comes around again exactly, but more like it happened already, and factors in here rather importantly.

This would be a good time to sit quietly - especially around the exact time of this New Moon - and ASK FOR A THOUGHT, a confirmation, a spiritual awareness, a way forward! Thoughts are things and ideas are alive and waiting for just the right person, the person who can make them REAL, to grab hold of them.

And with Mercury conjuncting Black Moon Lilith - it could be something rather radical, something a bit risky, something that is not everyone's cup of tea. It might be liberating/revolutionary in some way. Yes, this might be the scary part.

Not everyone is going to agree/want to hear about it/think this is a good idea/come with us.
 
With Mercury so important here we don't want to be talking any smack today and tomorrow. No gossip. No idle chit chat. Think about what you are thinking about. Think about what you are saying. Don't say "this isn't bad" when you mean "this is good" - be intentional with your language.

Our words are SPELLS and this is powerful spell-making energy - we need to use our words respectfully.

Don't clutter your mind with a bunch of crap either or let anyone over the age of seven talk your ear off about nonsense.

PLEASE WRITE AND SAY YOUR NEW MOON INTENTIONS - even if you are off and on with them, this month with Mercury - the magician - in futuristic Aquarius and conjunct the lunation, you want to be INTENTIONAL.

You are going to manifest something now, it might as well be something you want!

A good thing about Aquarius is that even though this is a New Moon it is not uber sensitive or sentimental. That cool, non-emotional, ability to think on our feet thing helps keep us in the driver's seat here.

The New Moon is sitting between this year's most promising repeating transit - Saturn sextile Neptune. This is where our dreams meet reality (yes, they'll be work and possibly a sacrifice of some sort required) - and look, there is the New Moon exactly where these two energies meet!

With Saturn and Neptune productively working together (and I am not sure if we have seen these two planets in their home signs working together in many, many years, maybe even hundreds of years!) a structure unwinds/dissolves - maybe we sacrifice what we really, really wanted for something else that someone we love really, really needs, maybe we are required to let something/someone go and it really, really hurts, but from these ashes something new (and somewhat radical - a change for us) gets built. Patience is required and commitment. It may not be easy, but there will be ease here ... and opportunity.

Did I say these power players are working together? Did I say it's rather unprecedented to have them doing this from their home signs? Yes, I did!

The Moon is waxing (growing) for the next two weeks - what are we going to do with this?!

And when do we see Jupiter sextiling the New Moon and trining Mars! There is hope here. There is optimism. There is a fresh start with some kick (here's where that chipotle mayo comes in). Physical action will be required from us. We initiate.

Jupiter can also provide opportunity via a widening of our lens, legal support, media/publishing attention, higher education (Saturn in Capricorn wants to see your credentials - is there something you need to earn here?), help from foreigners or through travel.

Active Mars is conjunct anything-can-happen Uranus plus of course, the New Moon is in Uranus ruled AQUARIUS - this whole thing says - do something different. Or differently. Or something liberating. Or something with technology (or astrology) or with a group or cause you believe in. We could also meet someone who is very different with a very strong will - maybe aggressive/dominating, now.

This new thing requires action. Take the initiative. Take action. Get something started.

There is a challenge with that Venus/Chiron square. It makes me think that even with Lilith and Eris playing such large and liberating roles, we are still penned in here somehow - a boundary, a contract, an investment. Maybe we are short-changed with something or our self-esteem takes a hit. Still, Venus (as us) can move past this hurting/healing (if we allow ourselves to) through that responsible Capricorn energy. And through the release - remember the South Node is here - of our old stories. Old karma. The stuff that used to keep us safe, but now is just keeping us stuck.

There is energy here to be free and liberated, but we can't just be free and liberated.

We still have Saturn/Pluto breathing down our necks. It's still winter. Ignore the cute groundhog, I want spring, too, but this winter takes us all the way into 2020. Trust me on this one.

This is our annual Aquarius New Moon and we had 18 months to release the Aquarius crap when the South Node was in Aquarius last year - eliminating our lazy detachment, deleting the distractions, releasing the alienation and our need to get lost in the crowd and hide out in the audience - if we did our work - and we are not required to do our work perfectly - we are left with a cool head, an open mind and enough emotional distance from whatever we are building to allow the magical forces in play to work for and through us!

This New Moon is releasing our chapter of the last 6 months - remember that total Lunar Eclipse in Aquarius last July and that crazy Mars retrograde in Aquarius! 

New Moons and particularly the two weeks that follow them are initiatory energy.

Stuff starts.

Of course, for stuff to start, other stuff has to end.

The energy here is supporting the fresh start, so a focus on that part pushes us forward.

NEW MOON INTENTIONS

AFFIRMATION TIPS for your monthly New Moon: always make affirmations from a positive place (positive meaning both happy, light hearted and certain) - write your affirmations down by hand in script, speak them out loud. Then release your attention from these things knowing that your intention is known.

Know these things are already yours.

xo all

Our Solar Return is when the Sun gets back to the same degree we drew our first breath (our birthday or very near our birthday) and the chart for that moment is very useful in looking at our year ahead. This New Moon chart is my Solar Return chart since my natal Sun is at 15 degrees Aquarius - the houses are different, of course (I have Sun, Moon, Mercury in the 8th house in this year's Solar Return - this one scared me enough to consider traveling to change it, but then I decided to suck it up and figure out how to work with it, you can run, but you can't hide Cat, plus since this is the house of death, I'm counting on that whole 9 lives thing). My Solar Return chart has the Pluto/Saturn conjunction sitting on my descendant, too, and when I first saw that, I gasped. I kicked and screamed. I threw up a little in my mouth. Then sucked it up (like literally this time, it was disgusting), because it has to be somewhere. The year ahead is going to be big and bodacious, with lots of twists and turns and surprises ahead (with one coming as early as next week) - for all of us!