Mars into Leo | June 11th, 2021 - leading from our heart, taking a risk - part I

 

 

At 9:34AM EDT on June 11th, Mars finally leaves watery Cancer (does it feel like Mars has been in Cancer forever or is it just me?!) for fiery Leo. Mars is our masculine action, initiative, passion, anger. Leo is our masculine enthusiasm, heart, ego, pride, creativity, generosity, risk, courage. We can see how Mars can be much more comfortable, ie Mars-y, here than he could be in emotional, but guarded Cancer.  

 

Mars will be in Leo until July 29th. 

 

It's not even mid-June and our Leo houses are WAKING UP!

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

Now, because Leo is ruled by the Sun, who is still in Gemini answering to a retrograde Mercury - this going backward to go forward thing still applies.

Leo is the sign of the lion - the king of the jungle. One of the best ways to understand the king of the jungle is to understand the little lions we keep in our homes - those creatures called cats. Everyone who "owns" a cat knows what a misnomer this word is when applied to the feline species. Cats can't be "owned". We know it and they know it. It is perfectly natural for them to convey an attitude of comfortable superiority.

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

Everyone has Leo somewhere in their natal chart - a space we are meant to feel "comfortably superior". Ruled by the Sun, this is an area of life (in addition to our Sun sign) we are meant to SHINE. With Mars here for the next few weeks, we are all about to get a whole lot more shiny.
 

The next few weeks is a great time to take action with something we are passionate about. If we need courage, if we need confidence, if we need attention - this transit will provide the fiery push to take the action we need to take. Coming on the heels of a BIG NEW MOON, Mars transit of Leo is even more powerful.  

Sometimes when we ask what our heart really wants we do not like the answer we get because we know it will force us to disconnect from something else - maybe something we used to love or maybe something that made/makes us feel safe or maybe something that is comfortable. Or because Leo's instinct is primal we start overthinking (Leo's polarity sign of Aquarius's shadow) all the ways this 'desire' isn't going to work. 

We might use our minds (and remember Mars is answering to Mercury right now) and words to start creating problem "cords" and entanglements from 'what our heart wants' to all kinds of crap we don't want to happen. 

Let's not do that.

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

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

 

Much has changed since the end of 2012 - we have lost the the energetic gatekeepers that kept things from happening too quickly - they have folded up shop and left the building! We don't need them, but we still think we do. We really can get there (wherever there is) from HERE.

Looking ahead we know with Mars in Leo he is going to inconjunct Jupiter (Leo/Pisces are inconjunct), sextile the North Node (Leo/Gemini are sextile), oppose Saturn (Leo/Aquarius are opposites), trine Chiron (Leo/Aries are trine), inconjunct Pluto (Leo/Capricorn are inconjunct) and when he gets to the very end of Leo at the end of July he will oppose Jupiter who will be retrograde and back in Aquarius. The Sun (Leo is ruled by the Sun) won't be in Leo until July 22nd, so they won't meet and Mars will spend much of his time in Leo answering to Mercury (retrograde until June 22nd, but strong in his home sign). So, we can see our actions (Mars) will work us through the Mercury retrograde story and might involve Mercurian energies - words, conversations, ideas, contracts, paperwork, local situations, tech, transportation, siblings, etc.

I wanted to pop this up, because we really do want to be taking action from this more prominent/less risk-averse position than the security-conscious position we were dealing with in Cancer starting now. Think like a king, Lead with our hearts.

 

In Part II - we'll look at the ways this transit fits in with the larger storyline of the 2020's hero's journey morphing into heroine's journey (and this isn't a male/female thing, although it is a masculine/feminine thing - think about the ways Harry Potter, the films are finally available on HBO and I've been binging them again, is more heroine than he is swash-buckling hero - using beginner's mind/vulnerability, inter-relatedness/inter-dependence, magic/faith, not in it for personal gain, etc). As the disappeared Goddess energies re-emerge into our consciousness CHANGING EVERYTHING, we'll look at how Mars in Leo fits in with this.

 

xo all

 

artwork by the amazing Nardstar

The meaning of the New Moon Solar Eclipse in Gemini | June 10th, 2021 - fated cosmic reset, starting something not totally brand new, clarity followed by faith, our gifts merge with other people's gifts, changing our mind

 

 

On Thursday, June 10th, 2021 at 6:53AM EDT the Gemini Moon meets the Gemini Sun giving us this month's New Moon - our annual New Moon in Gemini, happening conjunct the Moon's Nodes gives us our last Eclipse of this Eclipse season - a Solar Eclipse in Gemini.

Eclipses are cosmic course corrections. Things get eclipsed out or out of our way. Like a computer being rebooted after a change to its operating system - we get a re-set. So, although this is a New Moon - the time in the dark when things are starting that we can't always see are starting - the Moon eclipsing out the Sun, brings an ending, too. This is an Annular Eclipse (the ring of fire), so not a total but because of the time of its prenumbral phase its affects can last for up to 5 years!

Ruled by Mercury and ruler of our collective 3rd house, Gemini rules our growth through the exchange of information, through contact with our immediate environment, through language. Gemini reigns over: the flow of information, technology, communication, our mental processes, conversations, stories, our local community, commerce, our neighbors, our siblings, our transportation.

 

Let's unpack the chart!

 

The Moon meets the Sun at 20 degrees Gemini. Within hours both will meet Mercury (the ruler of Gemini and so ruler of this lunation). Mercury is retrograde (but protected in his/her own sign), cazimi/in the heart of the Sun. This meeting with the Sun is her/his inferior conjunction - the time during a Mercury retrograde cycle when something is ILLUMINATED/something lost is found/something hidden is revealed/helpful information can come in. Keep in mind this revealing is happening right after the Moon eclipses the Sun. So, the Sun gets his reset (in a sense) and then passes this new information/timeline to Mercury.

The Sun/Moon conjunction with the Mercury/Sun conjunction is a double dose of new beginnings with our heart and our head working together and in the dualistic sign of Gemini where 1=2 anyway, PLUS , so near to the Moon's nodes this one is a powerful/fated Solar Eclipse giving it even more oomph and staying power! 

 

Mercury, the Moon and the Sun square Neptune/Pallas conjunct in Pisces (applying/waxing). The three trine Saturn (waning). They oppose Juno (waning). Since this is an event chart, too, we can look to see what the other players are doing. Uranus is conjunct Ceres EXACT, in Taurus and answering to an out-of-bounds Venus. The Moon/Sun/Mercury are biquintile Pluto.

Mercury is retrograde in his home sign of airy/mental Gemini (Venus was retrograde in Gemini last summer, same degrees, and Mars will go retrograde in Gemini in October 2022, same degrees - this is all part of the same story. Our Gemini houses are really getting redone!). 

 

With Mercury, we are re-thinking, re-vising, re-viewing. 

 

He/she (as us) has trined a retrograde Saturn - maybe there were discussions with authority, maybe old responsibilities have strengthened our present situation, maybe our choices have narrowed (in a good way). Saturn is retrograde also, so we are re-structuring, re-looking at our commitments, our responsibilities/the new rules. 

 

We are past that trine to Saturn. We are also past that opposition to Juno - that partnership/contract issue. This is small vs big. Close vs foreign. Facts vs beliefs. Your Gemini house vs your Sag house themes - there could be a million ways this might be playing out. Relationship justice might be a theme here. This is still in play, but waning. 

Mercury meets the Sun - HERE is what our retrograde story has been about. We are at the halfway point now. HERE is something we know. We don't know everything, but we do know THIS now. Maybe we have made a decision/a choice. We are not certain, but our thinking is of the moment. We are in sync with celestial timing. Then moving backward, Mercury slides behind the Sun and he is squaring illusive Neptune - so after some earlier clarity we aren't sure AGAIN, we have to go with our intuition/go on faith - NOT BURN ANY BRIDGES JUST YET.

 

With that Neptune square (which sometimes brings dissolving endings) it will be hard to know what is real. Confusion. Rose-colored glasses. Things can be disappointing/not as they appear. People can over-promise and under-deliver. Anything that looks too good to be true, is too good to be true. If there is something here we don't want to look at too closely THAT is exactly the thing that will sabotage us/trip us up later. If possible, it might be best to delay big decisions until after Mercury is direct and maybe even until after Mercury's third and final square to Neptune in early July. Keep those doors/windows open - hack 'em, jack 'em, whatever it takes. Mars is at the very end of Cancer - so something might have us feeling desperate, like we have to do something and here is something. On the other hand, and this is why we have at least two, sometimes these 'moon shot' style Hail Mary plays - can work, or at least get something unstuck/change its trajectory.

 

And keep in mind, Eclipse events (and they might have come a month ago because this stuff works backward, too) are FATED, timelines are merging. The stuff that's leaving is leaving. The stuff that is coming at us is coming at us. If choose we must, then choose we must. That 29 degree Mars may be just the kick in the ass we need because we can FEEL something needs to happen here/we have to DO something!

We have wise warrior Pallas conjunct Neptune. She is working intuitively in Pisces, seeing the patterns, connecting the dots. With Mercury retrograde, we can't really think our way through this one (although we should be applying logic/facts and lessons from the past) -but we can pray/meditate/value our intuition here. There is an almost dreamy strategy in here somewhere that we have to TRUST. Life knows better than we do how to get us the best results.

 

Uranus is conjunct Ceres EXACT. Another conjunction, another new storyline. In Taurus, a sign Ceres could be said to rule. This one could bring a quick change with a mothering situation. A change of life issue/situation that hits suddenly. Or maybe what we have been growing/tending to in Taurus morphs on us. Maybe this is the SHOCK of new life/something new that must be tended. Ceres is going to quickly square Saturn, so there could be some responsibilities/rules that quickly apply to whatever this NEW is. Saturn is retrograde, so this part - the rules/limits/reality check/hard work - won't be a total surprise.

 

The bottom line with this New Moon in Gemini - something is eclipsed out, this has likely already happened since we had the Full Moon Lunar Eclipse first. Something NEW is starting. The new will somehow not be totally new because Mercury is retrograde. We get a glimpse of reality NOW (maybe have to make a choice knowing it may not be our final decision) then we are back in the weeds for at least another 12 days, maybe until we get past that final Mercury/Neptune square in early July. 

 

Either way by the middle of July we know what we are doing and we are doing it. Our time in the weeds - IS A TEST OF FAITH. Take action with what shows up. Mars is about to move into brave/dignified Leo - this will help. 

 

Venus is out-of-bounds and she ran this race last summer when we were resetting our values. Now, it's our thinking that is getting the do-over. 

Whatever is started now (think seed in the ground) has a biquintile to Pluto - this is a GIFT. With Pluto in Cappy this could be about a career/public life matter, a dealing with authority, other people's money, loans, inheritances, taxes, intimacy, reproduction, truth. Pluto is retrograde, so again this has its roots in the past. Biquintiles merge our gifts with other people's gifts. Here is where 1+1=3, maybe 300!

 

I hope something here is helpful. We have had these confusing Neptune squares with our Gemini New Moons for the last few years - we are being asked to choose without having all the facts. That's how it is. Maybe our knowing would screw things up - maybe we would say, no way, I don't want THIS! When this would actually be the very thing that gets us to THAT (the thing we do want). Any contact with Neptune brings in help from behind closed doors/our past/our ancestors.

GEMINI NEW MOON AFFIRMATIONS

 

This is a great time for affirmations for Gemini themes - your Gemini natal house theme, movement, flexibility, wit, communication, logic, social graces and ease, siblings, local issues, teaching/learning, mental anxiety, areas of life where you are seeing double or doing two things at once, our nervous system, hands, wrists, arms, shoulders and our lungs.

AFFIRMATION TIPS: get into a good frame of mind and into a clear/clean/quiet space - always make affirmations from a  positive place (meaning both happy and certain) - write your affirmations down by hand in script, speak them out loud - then release your attention from them knowing that your intention is known.  

Know what you seek is seeking you (Rumi). 

 

Know these things are already yours.

xo all

Today's Astrology Forecast | Wednesday, June 9th, 2021 - following our arrow, a new idea/conversation that is not totally new, something gets firmed up, one step at a time

 

 

The Moon is in Gemini today. We are nourished/nurtured through conversation, information, having lots of irons in the fire/balls in the air. We might be focused on writing/reading/learning, children's school issues, sibling/local community/transportation situations. Before the Gemini Moon makes her annual meeting with the Sun - tomorrow's New Moon Solar Eclipse - she will meet the North Node and then trine (brakes off) a retrograde Saturn, in fellow air-sign Aquarius, at 5:43PM EDT. 

The meeting with the North Node speaks of a conversation/idea/information that points us in a fresh direction. With the Moon opposing the South Node maybe an outdated belief is discarded.

 

The follow-up trine to sober Saturn could limit our options - in a good way if we have had trouble deciding. The conversation (and with both Saturn and Mercury retrograde this won't be a new conversation) matures/gets serious. Gemini likes her fast moves, but Saturn always plays the long game. Aquarius brings the logic/intellect, the group, the goals that bring us into connection with other people. 

 

Or maybe we need to finish something up before tomorrow's New Moon, some paperwork maybe? Some dealing with authority? What is that about?

 

For today, keep an eye/ear on the North Node. HERE is the way forward. A blinking arrow that might be easy to miss amidst all the other lights/signs/action (Gemini is BUSY I've said that, right?!) - did you see it back on May 31st when the Sun met the North Node - do you feel it now?

 

The tricky part of this, and Gemini, ruled by trickster Mercury, can be quite tricky, is we are building to tomorrow's Eclipse square dreamy/illusive Neptune. Things are influx. Uncertain. And a retrograde Mercury - the ruler of the North Node, the Moon, the Eclipse - tells us we have to go back before we can move ahead. What are we re-thinking, re-viewing, re-evaluating? Gemini is the sign with lots of moving parts - maybe there is a missing piece/detail somewhere behind us we have lost/missed/failed to notice and need to find before we can move on ....

xo all

artwork by Lyse Marion

Today's Astrology Forecast | Tuesday, June 8th, 2021 - the run up to Thursday's big reality check eclipse (powerful endings, starting/re-starting something) and a sneak peek at the week ahead

 

Sorry I didn't get a weekly up this weekend - the weather here (plus that Neptune!) was just too good to avoid a little escape - plus I've been feeling wiped out. 

 

No worries, the Solar Eclipse New Moon post next will pretty much cover everything anyway!

For today, the exalted Taurus Moon begins with an early/early (late) sextile to Neptune at 12:46AM EDT, then trines powerful Pluto (retrograde) at 7:10AM EDT and finally goes void off a sextile to an out-of-bounds Mars at 11:06AM EDT. She is void until 2:47PM EDT when she moves into busy and communicative Gemini and squares bigger-is-better/let's-make-a-mountain-out-of-a-molehill Jupiter at 6:47PM EDT.

 

(keep in mind the Taurus Moon - and Uranus! - are answering to a VERY out-of-bounds Venus in Cancer, the Moon/Venus mutual reception can help tone Venus down, bring her back to herself, but once the Moon gets into Gemini, all bets are off and relationship challenges/disagreements could escalate as the energies move out of balance)

So, the Moon finishes up in Taurus - her favorite sign other than Cancer - with all good aspects. That sextile to Mars should help us take the edge off any uncomfortable antsiness with Mars at the very last degree of Cancer pushing us to hurry up and make something happen (always a bit of a dangerous way to go about doing things!). 

Give yourself a little break during the void/attend to routine work and prepare to be even busier tonight and during the Moon's time in Gemini over the next couple days. Our attention shifts and scatters. Diverse communication and information comes in. Her square to Jupiter tonight could make something seem bigger (maybe better) than it actually is - keep this in mind. 

 

Take a breath. Clear your head. We are still in the Eclipse spin cycle!

THURSDAY is the BIG Solar Eclipse New Moon in Gemini as a retrograde Mercury meets the Sun, BIG post next! Then Mars moves into Leo (YAY!) on FRIDAY waking up our Leo houses for the next six weeks - apply your energy THERE for best results. On SATURDAY Venus will square Chiron (great night to see Venus in the sky!) bringing our attention to challenging relationship, money and self-esteem issues that trigger old wounds. On SUNDAY, the Sun squares Neptune (reality check, delusion, a need for rest) and Venus sextiles Uranus - a tricky day we will unpack as we get a little closer, but at first glance following the Venus/Chiron this could be about trust issues. Us, trusting ourselves or other people. With the Sun/Neptune we might be being misled (or misleading ourselves). Most likely one partner/situation is needing more freedom/a new expression. That Venus sextile to Uranus following the square to Chiron tells us CHANGE is the way through this one. This will factor into the New Moon, so we will talk about it then, too!

 

xo all

artwork by the talented Thomas Salient

Today's Astrology Forecast | Saturday, June 5th, 2021 - if the sh*t's going to hit the fan this will probably be the day, power plays, sharks in the water - swim at your own risk, get it done early, chill out tonight

 

The Moon continues her monthly journey through Aries. She sextiles a retrograde Mercury at 11:56AM EDT, squares a retrograde Pluto at 6:37PM EDT and goes void off a square to Mars ten minutes later. She will be void until 1:46AM when she moves into Taurus.

This is the problem day of the week when any sh*t that is going to hit the fan is most likely to hit the fan (note to self- unplug the fan and get those air conditioners in). Not everyone's chart will be impacted equally. 

 

Mercury, at 23 degrees Gemini reaches his exact square to Neptune in Pisces. Mars, at 26 degrees Cancer, opposes Pluto in Capricorn. Mercury and Pluto are both retrograde. The Moon squares both Mars and Pluto. This just sounds like a mess.

Mercury/Neptune is the Gemini/Pisces we have been talking about. This is a repeating aspect from May 22nd (today is two of three). This is the Mercury retrograde meeting so we are doing the re's - re-view, re-vision, re-peat, etc. We are going back over the facts/what is real/what is not so real. Or we are pulling our head out of the details and giving ourselves a little break. Either is uncomfortable, brings tension/frustration. Squares to Neptune are draining/confusing. Check the fine print. Say it again. Be certain you are being understood (and you might still be misunderstood). Mercury rules transportation, so double check your directions/tires. This is an ongoing aspect we will continue to be dealing with for at least a couple more weeks. The facts/information/conversation is still in flux - keep this in mind. Do we even believe the things we think? Ask questions (Gemini is questions) but don't expect accurate answers ... just yet. Pencil in June 10th for some of that.

The Mars/Pluto is Cancer/Capricorn. This one is faster. One and done. Mars/Pluto is a war aspect, and no joke. Oppositions with Pluto often bring power struggles, manipulations, obsessions, confrontations. This might show up as home/private life vs career/authority/public life. Keep in mind, Mars in Cancer can get pretty passive-aggressive and Pluto in Cappy will just slap that stuff down. We want to be responding and not reacting now. We want to avoid dangerous situations. With the Moon in Aries we can all get a little selfish/self-focused and the Moon is squaring both Mars AND Pluto a couple hours after they square each other. Tonight everyone is going to need to chill out.

 

There is the opportunity, with the high ground, for real 'truth' here - this is kind of a 'gut check' aspect and with Mars/Neptune bringing the fog - this can be a way to maneuver. It's time to kind of under-think it. Pluto is retrograde, so this is old stuff, too. Situations will not be about what they look like they are about - old triggers can be activated. Other times we felt we had no control/faced hard endings or losses of power. So, how do we handle this now? Can we reach for a better/higher response? This aspect, amplified by the lunar squares to the brave Aries Moon - can give us courage/strength (also amp up any destructive/impulsive tendencies that have been tapped down) - we might need to keep a cool head. 

Time spent in water will be good for the 'keep a cool head thing', just know there are sharks in these waters. Swim at your own risk. 

 

Mercury/Neptune can help diffuse tense situations - try humor/keeping it light.

 

Things cool down late tonight (EDT) once the Moon gets into Taurus - the sign of her exaltation. 

 

In the meantime, just do your best to manage these energies knowing what we have to work with. Drive safely. Take care with fire/knives/heavy machinery. It's Saturday. Get some exercise. Then late this afternoon/tonight, avoid confrontations, just chill out.

xo all

artwork by Ian Forrester

Today's Astrology Forecast | Friday, June 4th, 2021 - walking our talk, brave baby steps, being up for what comes up

 

 

The Moon is in warrior/worrier Aries now. We are nourished/nurtured by time alone or spent with men, passion, anger, courage, moving our body, taking action. She will sextile a retrograde Saturn at 4:23PM EDT and then the Sun at 6:37PM EDT. Mars and Saturn are a powerful combination - good for stepping into responsibilities, group dynamics, dealing with authority, taking action on our goals, motivation and ambition. 

 

(In April 2022, Mars and Saturn will meet at 22 degrees Aquarius, with Jupiter at 22 degrees Pisces and the Nodes at 22 degrees Taurus and Scorpio - the ramifications of that 'wiped out' 22 degrees Cappy from January 2020 - the king is dead/falling patriarchy/the ends justifying the means no longer - reverberating change across the zodiac- we will talk about that in a big picture post).

The Moon's sextile to the Sun is this month's Waning Sextile. Aries/Gemini at 14 degrees.

This is about walking our talk. Taking the first brave steps. Action with words. Being a good neighbor. With sextiles (unlike squares/oppositions/inconjuncts that can push our back against the wall and force action) situations are smooth/fall into place BUT we have to take some action/speak up or the opportunities they can initiate just flow on by us. If we only get things done through the pressure of squares life will seem to be harder than it actually is! 

 

Keep in mind Aries is the first sign and gets antsy without something to do - so give the Moon something to do. The Gemini Sun wants to go here and there and talk to her and him - Aries is up for that, too. 

 

Say YES to opportunities/what comes up today. DO something. 

xo all

Heads up Mars (ruler of Aries) is headed toward his opposition with powerful Pluto - exact tomorrow, but in play now (and the Moon will be squaring both of them as we move through Saturday). Mercury's exact square to Neptune is tomorrow, too, so the day is rather treacherous. We talked about that HERE and I will get tomorrow's post up tonight with more. STAY FROSTY - avoid those dark alleys. Drive safely.

artwork by the talented Itay Magen