not a time to rush .....

the magic of literature by ponti55

Mars has moved past Saturn - the young upstart promoted over the old faithful employee, the brash young soldier plowing ahead of his commander's orders, the new bride tucks her mother-in-law's gifted china into a cabinet and displays the assorted, handmade pieces she loves and has chosen for herself - PERSONAL WILL is asserted.

(and if these analogies seem strange I just binge watched 20 episodes of Manhattan, a tv series about the Manhattan project and am lost in the 1940's right now)

Yesterday we had Venus (love, money, values, women) inconjunct Uranus (the unexpected) and with all this Virgo maybe our careful plans were disrupted. Inconjuncts require adjustments.

Remember this isn't the time for big, splashy moves (unless they flow into place and are the result of past efforts) or big decisions (unless our heart leaps with joy at the thought of the choice and our mind agrees).

We are in eclipse season. Mercury is going retrograde on Tuesday. Jupiter is about to change signs. Pluto will move direct. Stuff is in flux. After the New Moon in Libra things will get a lot easier. We have to get through September first and see what is eclipsed out, what comes to light (maybe something big involving a female?). We still have another week to see what the Mars/Saturn conjunction could shake up.

If we are starting something big and splashy and it can wait until October, let it wait. If it is business related and can wait until Scorpio season when Mars is in Capricorn, even better. If not, just move ahead with it, knowing things will require adjustments. Let's not make a big deal out of everything - this is Virgo season and everything can feel like a major thing. Most stuff isn't.

Tomorrow, Venus will conjunct Jupiter. This is about what we want, what we love or what is beautiful -a fresh start maybe? an opportunity? a little luck? The Moon will be in Cancer, so home issues will be emotional and also satisfying. There may be some adjustment required with a male. See the weekly for more info.

Today, Mars squares Neptune. This is tension and frustration (think of that young upstart getting the corner office and then the reality of that responsibility hits her or maybe there is some let down after the climb when that peak is reached or maybe we are starting back down the mountain without ever reaching the peak). Maybe we feel lost or disillusioned or like we have lost the plot of our own story. We have a Gemini Moon squaring a bunch of Virgo planets today so making a half-baked decision, or move, is not a good idea.

There is no rush right now. There aren't any shortcuts that won't come back to bite us in the butt later. We still have some summer left ..... enjoy the weekend.

 xo all

BACK UP YOUR FILES!

one chapter closes, another chapter opens ...

starting point by fox-orian

As Mars meets up with Saturn today in Sagittarius initiating a new chapter of Saturnian lessons we can be grateful for two things

(and gratitude and patience will help us immensely today).

First, even as Saturn narrows our options and requires us to step into new responsibilities, Sagittarius expansion and optimism widen our story.

Jupiter (Sagittarius ruler) is soon to move out of his tiny leased apartment in Virgo where things have been tidy, maybe, but so cramped Jupiter had no space to be Jupiter. The good stuff he's used to unleashing via growth has had no space to unfurl itself.

Well, he's got some new, more spacious digs over in Libra starting next month. He can finally unpack all the goodies he's had stored in the closet the past year. His influence (and the magnetism of Venus who he will be answering to) will be activated.

Influence is what moves us and how we are open and available to be moved. It's good to respond to the power of influence (what are we drawn toward? what do we attract?) with constancy - steadying the motion (action) it inspires and creating a space to contain it. This is where Saturn will be very helpful, because this is what he does.

It might be best to see it in very old fashioned terms. A man (Jupiter) marries a woman (Venus) and brings her into his home (and yes, I know he is actually entering Venus's home, but let's not split hairs, no story is perfect and I'm writing this from my sick bed - play me some violin music and toss me some mentholated cough drops, please) and he makes room for her there. Good luck comes to him from this more feminine way of relating - being open and allowing space for new influences. This will be our good luck, too, in our next chapter.

Influence might first enter our life as a stirring realization that we might be somewhere else. Something starts pulling us thataway with no clear ideas of what it all means other than damn we have itchy feet. 

OK, back to the second thing we have to be grateful for today.

That Scorpio chapter, the chapter that included whatever lessons we learned while Saturn roamed Scorpio from 2012-2015 and whatever was reinforced while Mars retrograded there earlier this year - well that chapter is concluding. Some of the characters and situations make an appearance in future chapters, of course, that's how stories work - but the lessons Saturn tightened up our life to impart on us, well we either got them or we didn't. And I think we did.

So, what have we learned since 2012? Let's be grateful for whatever has made us the people we are today.

Now, we not only have Saturn and Mars getting together today, we also have another Yod (finger of God - fate - cosmic course correction) and something called a Mystic Rectangle, known to ancient astrologers for its power to resurrect old (even very old) dreams.

So, as we head into this new chapter some things will be out of our hands, some dreams will be carried from our past (and our ancestors past) and new influences will soon draw us in new directions and toward new people and experiences and draw others to us (and I hope to hell you've put time into that flock I told you, you were going to need in this next chapter).

Saturn's lessons have steeled us for this next part of our journey. Are we ready?

xo all

Merc's about to go retro - BACK UP YOUR FILES!

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of August 22nd - hitting that wall (part ll)

OK, let's dig right in.

This week is a bit nuts and I'm sorry I didn't get this posted on Sunday night. I am starting to take more seriously how Mars (Scorpio rising) and Saturn (Sun in Aquarius conjunct Saturn) impact my health.

If we have any options this week with scheduling important meetings maybe avoid Tuesday through Thursday. I know this isn't always possible. We can use our knowledge of astrology to realize there will be alot of crazy background noise everyone will be dealing with. If we must present something, interview, etc during this time - know things could be challenging and channel this energy to BE AMBITIOUS.

Ambition is rewarded now.

It's Virgo season, so stay detail and solution focused if things get hairy or move off course.

On Tuesday/Wednesday, we have the Mars/Saturn conjunction we've been talking about

(hitting the wall and doing what it takes to get over that wall). This is a moment of truth - the culmination of some long and unfolding situation is here.

One reason this is so important is that this is happening on the fixed star Antares which is historically been connected to violence and the military and the Sagittarius themes involved (religion, freedom, politics, foreign) have been so much in the news lately. Anyone planning mayhem could get really lucky with this energy. We'll hope that doesn't happen.

The other reason this conjunction is important is that it initiates a new two year cycle of Saturn lessons expressed through Mars.

What does that mean? We have Mars, finally covering new ground in Sagittarius, remember he was retrograde for most of this year and much of the time in Scorpio. And we have Saturn just beginning to pick up speed and move forward from his own retrograde.

They meet now at 10 degrees Sagittarius.

The last time they met was on August 25, 2014 at 17 degrees Scorpio - this initiated the Scorpio cycle that is currently ending.

So, collectively, we (humanity), will be taking action (Mars) and learning lessons through challenges (Saturn) focused on Sagittarius themes. 

Sagittarius is the sign of the gypsy, the scholar and the philosopher. Sagittarius rules the 9th house of the higher mind and higher (meaning further from the place we started) experiences. It rules religion, morality and philosophy. It rules freedom. It rules what is foreign to us (and that will mean different things to different people). It rules: legal, travel, foreigners, education, media, marketing, wedding, religious and political themes.

So we have Mars, which is our initiative and our drive and our physical energy working through Saturn - and Saturn means roadblocks and challenges and success through hard work and taking the time to get things right - focused on those Sagittarius themes.

Considering what is happening in the world with the refugee crisis, religious conflicts and political unrest it makes sense that our actions and focus would be here. Saturn will show us all the ways what we are currently doing is not working. He will make us walk our talk here.

By the time Mars and Saturn meet up in Capricorn in 2018 - our Sagittarius themes will have evolved (how they evolve is the free will part that is up to us). This doesn't mean we will solve the refugee crisis or religious conflicts or the current political systems that serve the few at the expense of the many, but two years of action and energy directed in these areas will create real change and Saturn will make the changes stick!

With Mars there is always the threat of physical violence. Mars is war. Mars is act first and ask questions later. These are dangerous times. I don't want to sugarcoat anything because we will have our collective energy focused on the very themes that have brought us so much violence. On the other hand Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter, is about new adventures and new opportunities and new truths coming to light. 

The reason astrology is not a perfect predictor of the future is that the actions we take change what will happen. So astrology can see the patterns and the archetypes we bring to the patterns but we always get to choose how we act and how we re-act. What we do always affects the outcome. There is a great opportunity for the collective here (and yes there are great opportunities for crazy zealots and military crazies, too, because they will have this energy to work with also) - hopefully we will use it well.

Because we have two malefic planets meeting up in a malefic space this week, it is important to dial down any type of conflict. So, let's say someone says something on Facebook you would normally comment on. Maybe this time you step back, take a deep breath, see that they are allowed this other point of view and just let it go. Exhale. Take a walk. Don't engage.

Your daughter has a new boyfriend and his name is Taylor and he wears skinny jeans and thinks she shouldn't have to stay home on Saturday morning and cut the front lawn because you shouldn't have a front lawn. Take a walk. Don't engage.

You get the idea. 

Now, this new two year cycle is a personal cycle in our own chart as well as a collective cycle. I write about a lot of very fleeting transits in these weeklies but this one matters and will be more impactful.

Where is 10 degrees Sagittarius in your natal (and progressed) chart? We will naturally find this house becoming more and more the focus of our actions and energy. AMBITION in this area of our life will reap the rewards. We will see the road blocks and the ways things are not working, but when we do the work to make changes in this area the rewards will be multiplied by tenfold.

(if you don't know which house this is or what this house rules - ask me!)

If you have planets in mutable signs (Sagittarius, Virgo, Pisces and Gemini) from 8-12 degrees you are undoubtedly feeling the pressure of this week's conjunction already.

For many people, some part of our life is a pressure cooker and this week as Mars meets Saturn - exact tomorrow, maybe most challenging on Thursday - it could feel like we have hit a wall. Because we have.

Our energy, our actions and our anger can take us over that wall or create new and different obstacles - wall gone - pool of slimy muck straight ahead! We're standing on the other side like, tell me again why I needed to get over this wall?!

Of course, there's also the possibility of something dazzling on the other side!

We could give up now or climb by our fingernails over the top.

Whether we make it over or let go of trying (which might be exactly the correct course) - something has to end here.

When Mars moves past Saturn later in the week that wall is behind us one way or the other.

After Mars meets Saturn he squares Neptune in Pisces. This activate the Saturn/Neptune square we have been dealing with all year. Our dreams vs reality- what do we really believe.

On Thursday, we also have Venus (love, money, values, women) inconjunct Uranus so there could be an unexpected adjustment with one of those Venus themes.

The Mars/Saturn stress ease up as we hit the weekend although certain tensions will continue to build as we approach the September 1st solar eclipse. 

On Saturday, Venus hooks up with Jupiter (good luck, expansion) at 27 degrees Virgo, this is an EXCELLENT opportunity for all those Venus themes and if you were born around the 20th of March, June, September or December, even better! Single people get out and mingle.

So we have the most malefic planets meeting the same week we have the most benefic planets meeting!!

And still ahead we have the September eclipses - something eclipsed out, something coming to light, big somethings, Jupiter moving into Libra and Mars leaving Sagittarius. Lots of change ahead for all of us.

xo all (back later this week with a big picture post)

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of August 22nd - hitting that wall (part l)

On Monday, the Sun joins Venus, Mercury, Jupiter and the North Node in detail oriented Virgo.

We are all burning Virgo fuel now! I've been talking about Virgo and our need to prioritize - our health, service to others, small steps, what is right in front of us, the details, quality - since 1. our North Node went into Virgo and it became our collective way forward and 2. Jupiter went into Virgo and it became our way to expand. Little was the new big this year. We are familiar with it. This continues with an even stronger emphasis now.

With a solar eclipse in Virgo on September 1st we can expect major changes for Virgos and our Virgo natal houses.

The shadow of Virgo is self-criticism (and criticism of everyone and everything) and self doubt - setting too high a standard. Perfectionism. Nothing is ever good enough and often things don't get finished so they don't have to be judged and come up short. Since Virgo energy is here to learn to love themselves unconditionally, we are pretty much guaranteed to miss something. 

Learning when good enough is good enough is our job now. This is an excellent time to put our energy (Sun) into Virgo tasks like organizing, sorting, thinking, managing.

The key to getting the most from any Virgo season is focusing our energy in one direction and not getting distracted with all the shiny objects that are outside our control.

With Virgo's ruling planet Mercury about to go retrograde - BACK UP YOUR FILES - we will have extra time to cross our t's and dot our i's with whatever we are about to have in front of us.

The Moon is void all day Monday (working hours) so if you play hookey (or make a big presentation) nothing will come of it. Sleep in. :)

On Tuesday, the Moon in Taurus has us focused on our income, our possessions. There will be adjustments with legal themes or something related to educational, travel, media, marketing, wedding or religion as Mars and Saturn (in Sagittarius) approach their conjunction.

I am going to write the rest of this post tonight - just wanted to get Monday out there. I am sick again -ugh and need a clearer head to write the rest of the week! Big changes ahead! Going back to bed for a bit. xo all

Full Moon in Aquarius | August 18th - freedom, self-expression and individuality, something's gotta change

in your atmosphere by sara linn

On Thursday, we have a Full Moon in Aquarius. There is more information on it in the weekly forecast HERE. Full Moon are always oppositions. The Sun and the Moon are on opposite sides of the earth or more precisely the ecliptic longitudes of the Sun and Moon are 180 degrees apart.

The Sun is in the sign of Leo (25 degrees). The Moon is in Aquarius (Leo's polarity sign at 25 degrees). Leo and Aquarius are fixed signs - they stick with things. They are dependable.

Leo is represented by the lion. A lion is a cat. If you live with a cat you have some idea of what this 'king of the beasts' thing is all about. It becomes the cat's house. You become the cat's human. Cats rule. The male lion doesn't just get to mate with his choice of lioness. He gets all the lionesses.

(and now I am picturing a whole lineup of that little guy from Peanuts dragging his blanket)

Leo represents royalty and generosity and fun and creativity and greed. The shadow of the Leo archetype is a kind of arrogance or self-importance, but what you will find with most Leos is that they have a presence - they impress us.

It is hard to see when a Leo is not OK and needs help because they unconsciously give us a feeling that they can handle anything. So, when Leo energy (and this can be a Leo Sun or ascendant or anyone speaking from the space we carry Leo in our natal charts, ie if you have Leo in the 7th house and are talking about your partner or if you have Leo in the 2nd house and are talking about your money) is asked, "how's it going?" and Leo energy says "not great, actually I am barely hanging in there" - the other person, instead of asking "why, what's going on?" would be more likely to laugh it off and say something like "me, too" and launch into their own story. It's hard for other people to relate to Leo as "one of us". There is a reason the king of the jungle is the king of the jungle. There is dignity here.

Leo rules the space we are meant to shine through self expression, so yes the energy needs a lot of attention and needs to feel special and, yes, it cares what other people think. Because there is a need to leave a legacy here, things can get overblown. Leo has trouble with 'humble' (hence this energy leads us to the next sign the 'humble' Virgo). Leo is ruled by the Sun and must shine (the Pluto in Leo generation was called the Me Generation, pretty appropriately). It is attached and emotionally reactive.

Aquarius energy is the opposite side of the same coin. It's the energy of "we". It is detached (this doesn't mean unaware or involved) and emotionally non-reactive - note I mean the energy and not all Aquarians, no one is just one thing! It doesn't need to feel special because it already knows it is special. It knows everyone is special. Ruled by Uranus it is the sign of the genius, rebel and criminal. The Aquarius space in our chart is where things will work best by being 'outside the box'. It is unpredictable. Aquarius doesn't do humble either. It's hard for other people to relate to Aquarius as "one of us", too.

So, we have this opposition at any Aquarius Full Moon this me/we energy - this heart/head energy.

And Thursday's Full Moon is even more powerful and very complex.

Besides the opposition we have a Yod (called a finger of God; ie fate, cosmic course correction) which is an isosceles triangle in the sky. We have the Aquarius Moon sextiling Uranus (retrograde) at 24 degrees Aries and the Moon and Uranus are inconjunct Jupiter, in Virgo, at 25 degrees and Mercury at 23 degrees.

With Uranus (Aquarius ruler) sextiling the Moon (in Aquarius!) - we know this Moon will have the fingerprint of Uranus - freedom, liberation, unpredictability -there is something chaotic and unexpected here. With the cosmic course correction (Yod) pointing to Jupiter (and Mercury) in Virgo we know the way through this, and the overblown information and ideas that may be brought forth, is with careful consideration, attention to details, attention to our health and a focus on being of service to others.

Virgo will help us ground this electric energy (be cautious with machinery, computers, fire, stored data - anything that can spark including our temper).

With Uranus ruling this Full Moon from its retrograde position we might find someone from our past resurfacing -

this could also be a familiar ego or archetype energy in the form of a new or unexpected person or situation, with a resonance to something from the past. 

This would be something we need to release or reclaim that has to do with the Full Moon's themes of self-expression, freedom and individuality. 

This could relate to change we are resisting or some responsibility we are resisting. This could be about releasing something our ego has self-identified with that needs to go before our new chapter kicks off (Mars/Saturn) next week.

Within the energy of unpredictability and change Aquarius offers the space to step back and look at things dispassionately - to step outside our own drama.

With Jupiter conjunct Mercury information could be overblown. There could also be 'words of wisdom' now.

Let's slow down and take our time here. We might want to leap and there is certainly support for leaping, but with that Yod pointing to Virgo and opposing Chiron (wounded healer in compassionate Pisces) it feels more like a birth from an ending - something fated that needs to happen. Right after this Full Moon we get another mutable t-square. The mutable signs (and people with planets in mutable signs) have had a hell of a year and it's not over.

We are headed into a very heavy duty eclipse season where some very important things are going to be brought to light and some very important actions will be taken. We won't be the same people in October that we are now (particularly the mutable signs) - this Moon is just one of the steps to getting us all there ....

As always get out and walk in it - definitely start tonight as it builds - don't worry if you can't see it, it's there. This is an air Moon so a good time to get a head cold - take precautions. An Aquarius Full Moon could make us (and others) a bit out of touch with our emotions. Keep this in mind. The gift of emotional detachment is the ability to see things from another perspective .....

Anyhoo, check your Sun and Rising sign below (if you know your Aquarius house check the house number for best accuracy) to see where any abrupt, unexpected change (or something from the past that hasn't been energetically resolved) would be most likely to show up:

ARIES (11th house) friends and associates, groups you connect with, a secret goal gets reactivated
TAURUS (10th house) career, reputation in the world, father
GEMINI (9th house) travel to somewhere you have been before or picking up where you left off with some course of study, foreigners, wedding, publishing, marketing
CANCER (8th house) something hidden or taboo, other people's money, divorce, reproduction, taxes
LEO  (7th house) equal partnerships, marriage, something reflected through another person
VIRGO (6th house) health, day to day work, maybe a new work opportunity or a past opportunity resurfaces, your daily routine shifts
LIBRA (5th house) romance, children, creativity, gambling
SCORPIO (4th house) change in home or family, visit from someone unexpected, sudden news regarding your home, be especially careful with fire in the house, mother
SAG (3rd house) changes in the way you think about things or the way you communicate, siblings, your transportation, local neighborhood
CAPRICORN (2nd house) - your values, your money, the things money can and can't buy
AQUARIUS (1st house)  all about you, move something forward in a new radical way or release it
PISCES (12th house) something hidden revealed, some wound from the past, something to do with hospitals or prisons or something that has been 'put away', deep changes here

xo all

I'm going to do a post tomorrow or Friday about the big picture next few weeks  in terms of world events.

Sun trine Uranus | Venus on the North Node - getting noticed by doing our own thing

miss kI by thephotogenesis

Today the Sun, in Leo, trines (brakes off) Uranus, in Aries.

This is a good day to put an innovative spin on something or step into the spotlight in some unusual way.

Leo is the space in our chart (what house is home to Leo in your natal and progressed charts?) where we embrace our passion and make ourselves visible to other people (Leo's polarity space of Aquarius). What looks like is just for us is really for everyone.

Now is a good time to claim our passion; claim our creativity in a new way. It's never too late to begin again! New opportunities and breakthroughs can happen now. If you have the opportunity to show a different side of yourself - take it.

Leo, and the Sun, rule our 5th house of creativity, romance, children, joy, games - it's the house of pleasure - a shake-up in any of these areas (and/or our Leo natal and progressed houses) is possible now - doing something different is the key to making the house of pleasure pleasurable.

Venus, hanging out on the North Node of Fate, is making us very attractive to our best future. She is pulling us toward our greatest and most beautiful good. Can you feel her? xo all