Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of May 20th - fresh information, answers come in, choices and changing points of view, avoiding babble/babel, thinking without over-thinking, exciting changes, buttons are pushed, an old wound is triggered, changing what we can and accepting what we can't

We move past that red-hot mess, emotional Scorpio Full Moon and the energy starts lightening up- especially after the middle of the week! The middle of the week looks a bit challenging, but the holiday weekend looks good (no guarantee about the weather though).

TUESDAY - Mercury conjuncts the Sun, Sun and Mercury enter Gemini
WEDNESDAY - Mars sextiles Uranus, Neptune trines the North Node
THURSDAY - Mars squares Chiron, Mercury sextiles Chiron

On TUESDAY, the Sun moves into Gemini on the same day Gemini's ruler Mercury moves into Gemini and meet - kicking off a new Mercury cycle! They won't stay together for very long though because Mercury is FLYING. We talked about this in the Full Moon post for the weekend.  

Information/an answer comes to light. Clarity. A choice is illuminated. Our mental faculties are ON FIRE. The lights are flipped on. 

We will feel a difference in the days ahead as information and communications switch from turtle pace (fixed earth) to rabbit (mutable air).

Increased choices, conversations and ideas will start to flow.

We won't put everything to use, Gemini can be rather chatty, so some stuff will just move in and out, but the change in momentum will be noticeable.

Keep in mind with Gemini there are more questions than answers and the information might be unreliable.

But easy, adaptable conversations, suitable for the moment, can pull everything forward now.

With the Sun and Mercury both in Gemini this is an excellent time to catch up on our communications. Who do we need to talk to?

During Gemini season (until the summer solstice on June 21) life is busy. Gemini energy talks. It listens. It questions. It perceives what isn't said at all. In short, it doesn't miss a trick. With so much to see and so much to do and so much to communicate - there is not a moment to waste on any of those roses we were smelling last month. We are off to the races!

Ruled by Mercury, Gemini is smart. It is the sign of the quick wit, unending curiosity and short attention span.

Since Gemini rules information we will have alot coming at us over the next few weeks. It would be a good time to learn to use the notepad on your phone is you haven't already. For some people, and for all of us at some times, Mercury will highlights situations with transportation issues/computer issues or siblings/cousins/local neighborhood.

Gemini (the twins) is the sign of duality - of black and white, of feminine and masculine, of truth and lies. Nothing will be totally one way or the other or quite what is seems now. We will be faced with dilemmas and changing viewpoints. In the end, contradictory thoughts and things can come together with this energy.

We all have ideas about how things are supposed to look and work that we've carried since childhood (and before). We have these beliefs and then we, subconsciously, look around for the things that support these beliefs and that's what we notice. Then our beliefs gets reconfirmed and strengthened even though these beliefs are no truer than someone else's beliefs that reflect the opposite thing.

With the Sun in Gemini and all of us burning Gemini fuel - we can give ourselves permission to embrace a more wide open receptive state. We can move against the beliefs we've been strengthening since childhood if they no longer suit us. We can give life permission to not make any sense for a while. If we are confused we are probably doing something right.

See what house holds Gemini in your natal chart - this space will be communicating with you now.

On WEDNESDAY, Mars will sextile Uranus and Neptune will trine the North Node.

Mars (in Cancer) sextiling Uranus (in Taurus) encourages, and indicates opportunity through - change and innovation.

Doing something new or in a new way, particularly within a home, family, home business, family business situation (or theme of your natal Cancer house!). Neptune's trine (brakes off) the North Node in Cancer speaks of the need for release, compassion, maybe sacrifice, a "letting go and letting God", the serenity prayer - knowing what we can change and what we can't. This could also indicate assistance from behind the scenes or the release of something that undermines us.

Today's aspects can also give us the courage to forgive/the courage to apologize.

If courageous words are needed we can find them.

A time for taking action (sometimes uncomfortable action this week) and for things to fall into place. If an auspicious opportunity is presented now, the energy is available to take swift and decisive action. There won't be time to hedge our bets, manipulate the data into what feels comfortable or second guess ourselves - if our intuition says "make a move" then make a move.

On THURSDAY, Mars squares Chiron while Mercury sextiles Chiron.

Chiron aspects trigger old wounds. That guy in your face in the post office will actually be yelling at his controlling mother and you will actually be listening to your demanding brother. Everything will be taken out of context and relate back to something else. Powder kegs are hidden in the most unlikeliest of spaces now. Tread cautiously.

Our actions (in-actions)/other people's actions are triggering an old wound.

There is tension/frustration around a domestic issue (or your natal Cancer house theme). Keep in mind yesterday's sextile to Uranus encouraging us to try something new or something more liberating/forward leaning.

At the same time Mercury's sextile to Chiron in independent Aries favors "telling it like it is" somehow. We are encouraged to talk about it, even when the conversation gets uncomfortable. We might have to stand up for ourselves. The way through the square is with our words/ideas.

Lighten up.

Bottom line - this week moves things forward.

It won't be trouble free (it never is and if it was we wouldn't move forward!) - Mars square Chiron is going to hurt - buttons will be pushed, triggering other times we have been hurt/been afraid, had to be brave/had to initiate. Squares require us to change/pivot and with the Sun in flexible Gemini and an aspect to Uranus encouraging innovation and change - we have what it takes to move past this.

Remember Chiron in Aries is about empowering us through individual action - we are not always going to feel supported when Chiron is aspected..

Maybe the most challenging thing happening right now is we are all kind of on our own (even as we are all in this together) - as the patriarchy fails, the stuff we used to count on is not going to be as available to us. Other people will not be as available to us because we are all moving through the same/different sludge. It's sink or swim. Maybe to show us we can still swim. Maybe so we can actually appreciate other people/situations when we can depend on them later. Maybe so we finally get off our ass and do it/learn to do it ourselves.

Keep in mind I write about the dates when things are most exact - all these aspects are in play for days before and after.

The biggest news this week is probably the kick off to Gemini season coupled with he Sun's conjunction to Mercury - we start a new Mercury chapter. 

It is best in Gemini season to maybe suspend judgements for awhile (Geminis make the best - and funniest - cynics) and approach situations with curiosity.

Fresh information and conversations will come in and expand whatever we are dealing with. This can be stimulating if we've grown weary of Taurus's scrutiny and demand for truth.

Notice your own language this week. Watch for negative words when you mean positive things - like saying "this isn't bad" when you mean "this is good" or using the word "want" when you mean something more than being in a state of "not having".

Watch for your limiting beliefs to show up as you spin your stories now.

Limiting beliefs are the thoughts, stories and 'spells' that we invite, through our own words, into the deepest spaces inside us and sometimes expel out into the world as conversation that inhibit our potential and limit the choices we make in our life.

For most of us, there is less question about whether or not our words are powerful - we know they are - as there is about how to best use this power to improve our world.

I have always loved anagrams and cryto-quotes and similar kinds of word puzzles. I had a bit of an obsession with them as a kid actually - also mythology, astrology and Rumi.

(And yes, all these things work their way into this blog. I was also obsessed with my metal wheeled roller skates, Ellen O'Neal and Tiger Beat magazine - luckily for you, dear reader, I leave them out of these posts.)

Words are powerful.

I love how "word" and "lord" can be combined to create "world". And "uni" meaning one and "verse" meaning word or poem or song makes "universe". And a spell is a s-p-e-l-l.

And dog is God spelled backwards (maybe especially that one - sniffle).

You might be familiar with the Bible story of the Tower of Babel - which is the story of God's displeasure at humankind's progress after the great flood. Everyone speaking the same language and working together meant soon nothing would be out of humankind's reach. This worried God so much that he scattered everyone all over the planet and changed their one language into many as a way to dis-empower everyone.

One nugget to take from this story is that Babel babble = dis-empowerment.

We honor Mercury, especially during Gemini season, when we speak our truth, when we think through our thoughts before we say our words, when we say more and talk less. We dishonor Mercury when we babble.

We also dis-empower (and self-limit) ourselves.

So, consider the words you use before speaking this week. Maybe speak half as much as you usually do. Unless you don't usually speak all that much - in that case, speak twice as much. Avoid gossip. Avoid babble. No little white lies. Think about your random thoughts and the song lyrics that get stuck in your head. This would be a good time to sign up for a class or begin a course of study - it doesn't have to be some big, important thing. Mercury also rules Virgo and the little details, too, remember and we have Mars in Cancer so our body knows what to do - one foot in front of the other folks.

Back with the lunar reports.

xo all

photo by the talented sollena fotografie

The Full Moon in Scorpio | May 18th, 2019 - part 2 : memories of loss/betrayal, disruptions around love or money, losing what we are clinging to, the cat is out of the bag, dead dragons, truth, life-changing directions, an emptying, creating fertile ground

Part I is HERE.

OK, down to business - let's unpack the chart!

We have the Moon at 27 degrees Scorpio and the Sun at 27 degrees Taurus. Mercury is approaching his conjunction to the Sun. Mars, the ruler of Scorpio (along with Pluto) and ruler of this lunation is freshly minted in Cancer (1 degree). Pluto and Saturn are retrograde and conjunct around the South Node (not shown). Venus is conjunct Uranus for the first time in Taurus in about 80 years. The only air in this chart is Pallas (retrograde) in Libra.

There is lots of earth here. Lots of water. Sounds muddy, huh? Our emotions are heavy. 

Full Moons (the part of the monthly cycle when Sun is opposing Moon) bring things to light and to a culmination.

Scorpio Full Moons are some serious sh*t. Through Scorpio, it becomes clear to us we are either living life or we are getting ready to die and since there are about a million things that can kill us these days - we had better make a commitment to being here if we really want to be here. Or else we won't be.

Fence sitters are falling over (another reason to hate plastic fences, fence sitting used to be quite comfortable).

After TWO Full Moons in partnership focused Libra  - we should be aware by now of how our friends/partners/tribe/job/house/town/family - wherever we are feeling any lack of intimacy - are simply reflecting us back to ourselves.

The Moon is opposing Mercury, and remember Mercury has just trined the Cappy planets including Full Moon ruler Pluto. Something needs to be/will be talked about. Maybe something not so pleasant because Scorpio rules alot of complicated, unpleasant stuff. And with the only air being a retrograde Pallas in Libra - our mind won't be much help here. Like Mars in Cancer - we are feeling our way through this thing. We need to be open. We need to be honest.

The Sun is exactly conjunct dwarf planet Sedna.

Named for an Inuit Sea Goddess her story is of a woman betrayed by her husband and then her father whose death birthed the sea creatures she later ruled/protected. She wanted so much to believe in the promises of a comfortable, easy life (from the trickster bird she would marry) she didn't look too closely at the fine print. When she called to her beloved father to bail her out of her predicament, he came to her, but then later, when his own life was threatened, betrayed her also - in a most gruesome way by chopping off her fingers as she clung to their boat before drowning.

(There is a devastating story in the news now of a woman and daughter who tricked and then strangled a young pregnant woman in order to cut out/steal her baby. When the pregnant woman was able to get her fingers between her neck and the cable as the mother strangled her, the daughter peeled the woman's fingers from the cable one by one. As happens when the Sun meets a planet, there is often a powerful story in the news/brought to light reflecting the story of the planet being illuminated, in this case, Sedna.)

So the Sun is bringing to light our stories/histories of loss and betrayal - even soul memories of cataclysmic events.

Our fingers are being pried from something. Maybe there is some kind of sacrifice needed. Something has to die - figuratively, I hope - so something else can be born.

The Sun can also bring to light any tendency we have to go unconscious in seeking the  simpler/easier/more comfortable path (Taurus) as Sedna did when she didn't look too closely at the bullshit story her suitor was peddling - the spaces where we haven't wanted to see what we don't want to see (Scorpio). It could even illuminate a situation where we have betrayed someone to save ourselves. Or where someone is tricking us/hiding something from us; they somehow benefit from our ignorance.

Keep in mind Sedna's death birthed all the creatures of the Sea - so the release of whatever we are clinging to now creates equally FERTILE space. 

Scorpio doesn't provide easy answers because it rules complicated issues (other people's money, other people's resources, loans, debts, inheritances, life/death/rebirth, reproduction, sex, intimacy - the ways and things we merge with other people) - the stuff we don't always want to look at/talk about.

(I know so many people who tell me they don't watch the news because they don't want to see any bad news and I get this and there are certainly times to turn away, but this can be exactly the way of thinking that brings this bad news to our door so we can see it when Scorpio/Pluto is activated. This isn't to punish us. Everything in life is showing us our connection to every other thing - the wheels are set in motion for all of us. We can barricade that door and spend weeks, months, maybe even years holding at bay what we think is out there - it is absolutely coming in anyway - or we can open that door ourselves)

The Full Moon's trine to its retrograde co-ruler Pluto tells us there is a re-making/transformation of a Scorpio situation - see the list above - or a re-structuring of something within the theme of the house that holds 27 degrees Scorpio in our natal charts.

The Sun/Mercury conjunction (their exact meeting will be in 2-3 days, so this situation could come to light/culminate THEN) tells us we learn something. The Venus/Uranus conjunction tells us we learn something DISRUPTIVE.  This will involve a Venusian theme - love, relationships, money, our values, self-esteem, beauty.

The Scorpio Moon is a secret keeper, but Mercury conjunct the Sun will let the cat out of the bag.

Your natal chart would give the best indication as to whether this will be a good surprise or something challenging. Either way with Pluto there is a before and after feeling to things. Like, we used to own this and now we don't. Or we used to value this and now we don't. Liberation. A change of fortune.

Keep in mind the nature of any Full Moon is to bring things to a culmination/conclusion.

So, here we are - having been through all the days since the day we were born until today - with intensified emotions as the Sun and Moon oppose each other - striving for/seeking a DEEPER CONNECTION WITH LIFE.

The only way to get out of here alive is to truly BE ALIVE.

Intimacy/sex/money/power issues between people could come out of the shadows now. Our watery Moon in watery Scorpio is very empathetic. At its point of fullness we could be full of the energies of other people.

This Moon will carry in HIGHER levels of consciousness when we are prepared to let go of what is complete for us (that dead stuff we are dragging around). 

In Scorpio things feel more intense and maybe this feeling is appropriate to the circumstances and maybe it is over the top. Like we are losing something not that important, or something we never actually really had, and it still feels like a death. Honor your feelings with this. There is a reason this energy packs such a punch for you.

Also keep in mind the Pluto/South Node/Saturn conjunction, very much alive all year - we are being made aware of the ways we have given our power away to family, to relationships, to "the man", in order to simply stay alive (in this lifetime and many prior lifetimes and you don't have to believe in reincarnation to believe in the idea that more than a tendency toward brown eyes is carried in our DNA) - these obligations have expired. It's like we have a 30 year mortgage and are continuing to mail in our monthly payments in year 37 or we are still paying our parents' mortgage and they have retired and moved to sunny Fort Lauderdale.

So, what do we do?

We don't have to really do anything (Mars is in Cancer - we are feeling our way through this, our body will KNOW what to do)  - although our current situations will need to be attended to, of course. We get what we need to get just by being on planet Earth and having experiences. We just have to allow ourselves to feel what comes up.

Don't judge ourselves as weak or crazy (yes, Full Moons can make people look crazy!) and allow other people the same gift of non-judgement. Just hold the space for the emotions to come up and out. Tears, sweat, being in or near water can help release lunar emotions.

Transformation is offered by fully experiencing the Moon - by NOT CLOSING OURSELVES OFF from whatever life is showing us now - what life has been showing us for the last couple weeks. This is an introspective Moon. It's an emptying kind of experience. The emptying creates the space for something new.

Imagine those parts of ourselves we have exiled off to Elba being welcomed back.

What old beliefs about what is not possible for ourselves are we ready to tenderly love away now?

Just sit with yourself during this Moon. Take a long walk in it. It doesn't matter if the sky is cloudy. It's there. It doesn't matter if you think you don't know what you want. You do. You came in with a plan. It is fail-safe.

If we've emptied ourselves at the Full Moon, in the days following we will find signs and answers coming in. Nature abhors a vacuum.

Mars (Scorpio's traditional ruler) and Pluto (Scorpio's modern ruler) add strength, courage and intensity to the Full Moon.

Whatever dragons we are facing now - we have the power here to slay them. Dead.


xo all

The Full Moon in Scorpio | May 18th, 2019 - part 1 : the players take the field

Let's take a step back and look at where the planets are right now as we approach this weekend's Full Moon in Scorpio.

The Sun is in Taurus (for just a couple more days). The seeds we planted in Aries are taking root. We are fueled by practical concerns. Security. Simplicity. Silence. Moving through our days on sturdy legs. Our hands in the dirt (since Taurus is our fixed Earth sign - we can also get stuck in the mud). Digging in. Becoming entrenched. Reverence. The Sun has just trined the Cappy planets and sextiled Neptune - we are restructuring our foundations. Sacrificing something to get something more real.

Mercury is in Taurus. Language is something we own. We own our decisions. We own our words. We are valued by what we know. We are talking about/thinking about what we have. Our existing resources are on our mind. It's a time of purchases. Commerce. Contracts. Our words are our fortune. We make practical choices. Mercury is trining (brakes off) our Capricorn pile-up and sextiling (opportunity) our North Node in Cancer, so we are talking/thinking/writing about the past - our commitments/our boundaries. There are opportunities to verbalize and make decision about our future, maybe especially as we look within at what we really NEED. We are re-structuring the way we communicate. Conversations where we are open/vulnerable (owning up to the past/to what we do and don't have) move our story forward in more authentic and stabilizing ways. Mercury will be conjuncting the Sun and opposing the Moon during the Full Moon.

Venus is in Taurus - a sign she RULES. We are making the most of what we have. We are attracting and attractive to stuff that is stable/practical. Quality over quantity. Simplicity. Wanting a more solid bottom-line. Wanting to be touched. Wanting to feel good. Wanting food that is tasty and nourishing. We are wanting what makes the most sense/cents. We are still asking - what's in it for me? Venus (ruler of Taurus and the sign opposing Scorpio and housing the Sun) will meet Uranus at the time of the Full Moon - expect surprises with love, money, our values and self-esteem.

Mars is in Cancer - the sign of his fall. We are acting on our emotions/our moods. Trapped by our passions. Defensive. Childish. Taking things personally. Protective. Nurturing. Brave mama-bears. We can't be all Martian-like changing into battle (unless our home/family/survival is threatened then watch out) and that's OK, because this is a transit. Mars is answering to the Moon. This is a time of inner action. Acting on impulse, acting on what we NEED. Healing. Our body innately knows what to do now.

Mars in Cancer is setting up some of our biggest challenges over the next couple weeks. He is going to square the Aries energies (Chiron) and the Libra energies (Pallas) and maybe most importantly oppose (in June) the Capricorn energies - where we have Saturn, the South Node and Pluto.

Jupiter and Saturn are both retrograde in their home signs. They are strong, but moving backward. We are re-working, re-looking, re-vising.

Through Jupiter we are re-seeking our lost faith/our lost treasure. Maybe an old opportunity re-turns. An optimism/sense of adventure is re-discovered. Our faith re-stored. Our wisdom re-valued.

Through Saturn (sitting with the South Node and on a collision course with Pluto in early 2020) we are re-viewing our commitments, our limits, the rules. Our past. What we have built is being strengthened/tested/reaching a culmination/an ending. Did we build our house of straw or brick? How about our father's house and his father's house?

Uranus is in Taurus bringing change to our most fixed/entrenched spaces. Disruptions. Chaos. Loss of stability/structure. Excitement. New ways to own things. New ways to make money. New values. New ways to create greater self-esteem. Unusual friendships. Owning the chaos. Owning the disruption. We will take those Taurean things we talked about earlier in this post and revolutionize them over the next few years!

Neptune is home in Pisces - since 2011 making it very hard to know what is real. Escape. Drugs. Fantasy. Alternative facts. Boundaries are thin/washed away. Seeing through the veils. Only seeing what we want to see. Creativity. Imagination. Wet weather. Compassion. Compassion fatigue. Seeing what has been forgotten/put away/been previously invisible/done behind our back. Healing. Spirituality. Endings.

The North Node (of the Moon) is in Cancer. The South Node is in Capricorn. The South Node is where we are /what we are releasing - patriarchy, hierarchies, living to work, working to live, our outer life, stability, structure, status, the stuff on our resume, our fathers and their stories. The North Node - our future path - home, family, our inner life, nurturing, stability, structure, the stuff on our tombstones, our mothers and their stories.

Pluto is retrograde in Capricorn - postponing the transformation/death until autumn. Giving us time to clean up the mess, re-search, look under the hood/under the covers/under the radar, merge, purge, re-think our compulsions, manipulations, jealousies, de-construct before the destruction, get our sh*t together, allow sh*t to fall apart.

Of course we are looking at the parts of the whole here which is never totally satisfying or useful. It's how the players interact with each other and the ways they interact with our natal chart that makes this whole amazing universe come alive through us.

We will look at the Full Moon chart tomorrow, but in the meantime maybe think about the ways your life has changed over the last year. There have almost surely been BIG changes.

If we think back to mid-May 2018 when Uranus first went into Taurus we had Mars stationing retrograde in Aquarius (last year's South Node energy - what we were releasing) and then backing into Capricorn (this year's South Node energy - what we are releasing). Then we had the eclipses followed by Venus stationing retrograde in Scorpio followed by more eclipses. This year we have Venus in Taurus in mid-May (a sign she rules) hitting the same degrees Uranus did and then meeting up with Uranus - we'll talk about this in part II - and we have Mars moving through Cancer with the North Node - the direction we are going, not the old South Node stuff like last year - so we are moving toward something new, naturally/innately even though the old stuff isn't quite cleared up (all those retrogrades creating delays that are actually buying us more time). Mars and Venus will be full steam ahead all year with no retrogrades like they had last year.

So, that thing last year that ended or never got started or didn't work out is not an indicator of what we can expect this year. But we already know this. We are still working through the consequences of last year's stuff, but we also have new situations in play, too. Plus we have lucky and benevolent Jupiter in his home sign this year and last year we had him digging through the dirt in Scorpio.

In some ways this weekend's Full Moon in Scorpio is putting some of last year's challenges to bed. It will also bring its own SHOCK AND AWE.

We'll unpack the disruptive Full Moon chart tomorrow night in Part II.

xo all

photo by the talented oprisco

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of May 13th - control over our own lives, changing beliefs, opportunity knocks, romance, changes with love/money, a second chance, protecting our home/roots, stay flexible, endings, answers, we better know what we are talking about, Full Moon leaves nowhere to hide

A HUGE week ahead with Mercury doing this week what Venus did last week, multiple planets changing signs, Venus meeting Uranus and a Full Moon in Scorpio! Whah!

MONDAY - Sun inconjuncts Jupiter and trines Pluto
TUESDAY - Venus sextiles Mars
WEDNESDAY - Venus comes home to Taurus and Mars enters Cancer, Mercury sextiles Neptune
THURSDAY - Mercury trines Saturn
FRIDAY - Mercury trines the South Node
SATURDAY - Mercury trines Pluto, Venus conjuncts Uranus, Full Moon in Scorpio (27 degrees)

On MONDAY the Sun reaches 22 degrees Taurus and trines (brakes off) Pluto (retrograde in Capricorn). This is in play from 5/11-5/16. Major life changes. This is solid, practical power and transformation. This is us having the power/control over our own lives. Interactions with authority should go well. Taurus themes (love, money, values, self-esteem) and the theme of our natal Taurus house are empowered now. We can be bossy or we can be the boss. 

Time to bet on ourselves as we move toward a more authentic version of success/security.

This can also be a time when Plutonian themes come into the light (Sun) so we know what we need to know to stabilize a situation  - other people's money, other people's resources, secrets, sex, mergers and in Cappy - career stuff, goals, etc.

At the same time the inconjunct to a retrograde Jupiter (home in Sag) speaks of the need for a give-and-take with something (without which we get the rock and a hard place); an adjustment via a Sag theme - legal issues, travel, publishing, our beliefs, education, foreign issues, weddings, politics, media. This could be a fear of the unknown/big change.

With both Saturn and Jupiter retrograde this whole thing will be rooted in the past - maybe we are getting a second chance with something this week!

On TUESDAY, Venus (at the very end of Aries) will sextile Mars (at the very end of Gemini). Good for romance, socializing and getting what we want. We know what we want and we are taking action to get it. We are walking our talk. What we want and what we are doing to get what we want are working TOGETHER. We can be assertive and cooperative. Our masculine and feminine energies are simpatico. Now both planets are almost immediately going to change signs (tomorrow) with Venus coming home to Taurus and Mars entering Cancer for the first time in two years.

So, things are in flux. Stay flexible.

On WEDNESDAY, Venus exits Mars ruled Aries and moves home to stable and sensuous Taurus (through June 8th). Mars leaves multi-tasking "let's start a million things and finish none of them" Gemini and moves into Cancer for the next 6 weeks.

Venus loves (and rules) Taurus. After her weeks in Aries trying to be a lover and a fighter, she is quite content to settle into herself again. Taurus Suns and rising signs get more attractive (both physically attractive and more able to attract what they want). All our Taurus houses get more attractive, too.

For everyone, this transit, particularly when coupled with all this retrograde outer-planet back pedaling, can help us really appreciate what is right in front of us.

In Taurus, Venus will be intent on manifesting love and prosperity!

Once in Taurus, Venus will be on a collision course with unpredictable Uranus, so BUCKLE UP.

Mars (action, initiative, anger, passion) is not quite so comfortable in Lunar-ruled Cancer where he is considered in his fall.

This is because Mars can't be all Martian - fired up and passionate and out in the world testing his courage, running onto the battlefield thinking only of himself and how good it will feel to swing that sword - when he has these pesky emotional Cancerian things to contend with.

Things like feelings (it's harder to take the instinctive action he needs to take when he has to feel his way through what he is doing instead of just doing it). And home and family and security (harder to be putting himself first when he has a family depending on him and harder to fight most effectively when he needs to stay alive to come home at the end of the day).

This stuff can make Mars like a pot of hot water ready to boil over at any minute. Like the too-young father who wants to be out bar-hopping with his buds - he is trapped.

Collectively we will be more security and safety conscious. We will be more emotional. We could be more focused on home and family, real estate, a renovation project, a home or family business. We could be taking action to be more protective of whatever we have going on within these themes.

Individually, our natal Cancer houses will experience more initiative, action, passion and anger. Where is Cancer in your natal chart? Wherever it is, Mars is not the usual way we deal with the things ruled by this house (unless of course, you have Mars there natally).

Once in Cancer he will be on a collision course with the North Node in Cancer and an opposition to the Cappy pile-up (Saturn, South Node, Pluto) - this will all be hitting in June and is one of reasons June will be challenging.

So, BUCKLE UP.

Mercury will also sextile (opportunity) Neptune today - good for healing words, creativity, making affirmations, meditation, making art and music, our intellect and our intuition are working together. Good for sales, publicity - words that connect us and what we are doing to other people.

On THURSDAY, Mercury - following Venus's path from last week - will trine a retrograde Saturn (in Capricorn). We want to be purposeful with our language now.

When Mercury aspects Saturn our spoken/written words, and maybe most especially the things we tell ourselves about what is possible, create iron-clad contracts. Only make promises you know you can keep because you will be held accountable. If you say you are going to do something, you are actually going to have to do it or it is going to come back and bite you in the ass.

Avoid gossip. With Saturn being the king of karma and all that, it has a way of coming back around.

Opportunities come through careful planning and preparation as Mercury (communications, conversations, ideas, thoughts) trines serious Saturn (time, stability, hard work, authority) now.

With Saturn retrograde the past is factoring into all of this somehow.

Deliberate, thoughtful and sober words create the most impact. If we want to be taken seriously we need to take ourselves seriously. Conversations should be respectful. Do we know what we are talking about? If not, it's time to connect with someone who does. Lessons learned now stay with us, so what are we learning?

Communications and conversations with authority figures are helpful now. ANSWERS COME IN. Pay attention to what you are hearing. Be sure you are understanding what is being said and that you are being understood.

This aspect gives us the perseverance and concentration that creates stability and is good energy for paperwork that requires accuracy. We can focus on what is most important rather than what might at first appear most urgent.

It is perfectly alright to say, "no", "not yet" or "I have to think about it". We may hear these words now, too. 

With Mercury then moving into a trine with the South Node on FRIDAY - there could be news of an ending this week. We could be nostalgic. Talking/thinking about the past.

SATURDAY'S Full Moon in Scorpio is HUGE and shocking and needs its own post. Stay hydrated.

xo all

photo by the talented Zhivago86

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of May 6th, 2019 - practical thinking, plain talk, a turning point, money/love karma, a reality check, power plays, facing the music, adjusting or moving on, finding old treasure and lost faith, the expansion of something new, rewards for past work, endings and beginnings

Let's take a look at the week ahead! The Moon is waxing (growing) and something in our life is, too - everything this week is influenced by the supportive New Moon in Taurus from Saturday. There will be stressors, but all is well that ends well somehow. Keep this in mind.

MONDAY - Mercury into Taurus
TUESDAY - Venus squares Saturn and the North and South Nodes
WEDNESDAY - Sun sextiles Neptune, Mercury conjuncts Uranus
THURSDAY - Venus trines Jupiter and squares Pluto
FRIDAY - Venus conjuncts Eris
SATURDAY - Sun trines Saturn

What a week!!

There is alot of Venusian energy this week (also Mercurian) so there will be relationship, women, values, self-esteem and money situations. The shifting world is asking us - are we loved and loving? what do we need to do to be cared for financially? who do we need to be? what do we need to believe? can we manifest just by holding a frequency? do we still need to do things we don't want to do to bring home the bacon and send little Abby to Montessori?

On MONDAY, Mercury leaves fiery Aries (where out tongue was courageous, but sharp) and moves into the more soothing energies of Taurus. This slows down communications and conversations and our thinking. That's OK.

Snap decisions and snappy comebacks will be less snappy, but there will be less snapping at each other, too. 

Communications and our thinking turns to more practical things. Taurus gets results through self-sufficiency, by bringing ideas and concepts 'down to earth', by being sensible.

It's a time to acquire (Taurus) new skills, new information, new learnings and teachings (Mercury).

We will be making more sense/cents!

Rushing through ideas, conversations and decisions won't work well now.

Take the time to think things through and get it right. Life will encourage/force this process, so fighting it is futile anyway. If a person or situation is pushing us to make a decision we are not ready to make, events will likely conspire to give us more time. If we can't decide - we should wait. If we are the one doing the pushing we will be frustrated during this transit. Mercury likes to move lightning fast, but Taurus likes to stop and smell the roses.

The fly in the ointment with Mercury in Taurus is its fixed nature. One of the reasons for the information slowing down is that everyone becomes entrenched in their position and digs in. Compromise becomes a four letter word and there aren't alot of choices. The answer is either yes or no, there is no maybe with Taurus. Our resolve is strengthened though.

Mercury in Taurus is the time to mentally recharge our batteries. Simple language will get our point across better than long winded sentences now. Straightforward ideas and communications are favored. Simple beats complicated.

Things will speed up when Mercury enters Gemini on May 21st. 

On TUESDAY, (big day) Venus will square Saturn and the North and South Nodes. Venus is still in her detriment in Mars-ruled Aries - wanting what she wants RIGHT NOW (until maybe she wants something else 10 minutes later) or maybe she (as us) is just really motivated by something NEW.

Well, now our Venus (love, money, women, beauty, self-esteem, our values) is restrained/cornered by Saturn (time, authority, responsibility).

We can't go any further without changing something - we have to pivot. So, maybe we get a 'no". Maybe whatever is happening has us feeling less than desirable/beautiful right now. There could be some kind of reality check. Women are challenged. A relationship is challenging. A limit is reached. The money isn't there. Time's up.

Maybe we face a professional challenge or issue with authority.

At the same time she (as us) is squaring the South Node in Capricorn (what we are releasing) and the North Node in Cancer (our most effective way forward). Nodal aspects tell us to pay attention. There are karmic consequences playing out here. We are releasing old goals/fears/out-dated definitions of success/our paternal inheritance and moving toward a more personally meaningful/softer/home and family oriented/nurturing/maternal interpretation of success. Do we really need another thumbs up? Pat on the back from the boss? Trophy on our shelf?

(well, actually I do have a shelf full of trophies (don't hate me), won by other people, but so what, they look adorable and no one is getting that close to them anyway)

This is a turning point. Face the music. Adjust or move on.

There are old responsibilities and commitments that need to be dealt with though.

To look a little deeper the Moon will be in Gemini and the Moon is going to sextile Venus, so possibly this could play out through a Gemini lens - through a conversation, a meeting, information, a local neighborhood issue, a sibling, a neighbor, a transportation or electronics issue. The sextile to Venus speaks of an opportunity, but she is in a challenging square to serious Saturn. We have to go into this Gemini situation KNOWING we are going to need to bend a bit to authority, to the established order, to "the way this has always been done", maybe to an older person. BUT there is a Venusian opportunity here, too (women, money, love, relationship, beauty, self-esteem, values).

THURSDAY kind of echos this, but by then the Moon will be in Cancer, maybe pulling a Cancer matter (home, family, home or family business, mom, renovation, real estate) into the mix.

Squares require action.

On WEDNESDAY, the Sun will sextile Neptune and Mercury will conjunct Uranus. The Neptune sextile was what the Moon did on Saturday immediately after the New Moon (within orb during the New Moon for both the Sun and the Moon). So here is something about our New Moon beginning coming to light/taking form. The dream (Neptune) awakens (the Sun). We could be more creative/imaginative and also more sensitive - psychically and to things like colds and germs.  

There is magic in practical things now. 

Mercury meets Uranus - this is what the Sun did back on April 22nd - so something could connect back to that time, especially if we had a major plot twist. We could get some surprising news or we could speak out in an unexpected way.  

Words are disruptive.

This is a good aspect for information to go viral! What can we do with that? Keep in mind Uranus's electrical nature and back up your files! If we are feeling too "wired" get out in nature - it's Taurus season!

On THURSDAY, Venus will trine Jupiter and square Pluto. This is a bit like Tuesday's aspect, so could all play out with that. Jupiter trine Venus is one of the best aspects in astrology. In Aries and Sag we get the EXPANSION OF SOMETHING NEW.

Maybe a sign we are moving in the right direction through some beginner's luck!

WE CAN GET LUCKY. 

We are magnetic to the extent we are living our natal Venus and doing our Venus in Aries - staying brave, initiating something new, being passionate about what we want and our ability to cultivate beginner's mind (the state when anything is possible because we are open to it!).

So although Venus is challenged this week with Saturn and Pluto AND the way, she (as we) responds is impacting both our future and our past - she also gets this lovely aspect with a retrograde Jupiter, strong in his home sign of Sagittarius.

There is old treasure here. Something we missed. Maybe something we used to love or an old income potential. Maybe something we used to have faith in (like ourselves!) and now something reactivates that deep faith. This could also play out through a Sag person or a Sag theme (or our natal Sag house theme) - higher education, something/someone foreign, the media, adventure, legal issues, wedding, religion, politics, our beliefs.

The square to Pluto speaks of a power play/manipulation/compulsion. Keep in mind Venus is still squaring Saturn and the Nodes here (see Tuesday), so this is all about us releasing the stuff that is leaving and turning toward something new, stable and comforting in a different, more authentic way.

This whole summer is part of a long good-bye - as we release the stuff  - both personally and collectively - that has looked like it has been holding us up because it was, but is now really just keeping us stuck.

This week is part of that process. We will know what this is all about for us by what is happening now.

We'll talk about this more in the dailies and in the retrograde post I will get up as soon as I get past my Mother's Day orders!

From now until the end of the week are good days to start something new with that New Moon mojo!

On FRIDAY, Venus, who has probably HAD ENOUGH by now conjuncts angry Eris. This will probably feel something like when we have been in a situation where we didn't feel secure and were not in our authentic power (just like Venus in Aries) and then acted inappropriately - maybe bitchy or rude. Something probably out of proportion to the situation because we were channeling all the other times we felt like we didn't fit/weren't enough.

The best use of this energy is to be standing in our authenticity and KNOW we belong and don't have anything to prove. We could have an angry female in the news this week.

On SATURDAY, the Sun (in Taurus) trines Saturn (retrograde in Capricorn)  - another good aspect.

This is recognition of a job well-done. Rewards for past work. Maybe we get more responsibility, but it isn't something that brings too much added pressure. We move right into it. We make a public commitment. Career issues are defined. We know where we stand. This is a good time for connecting with authority or an older person. Things stabilize. This time period could also denote an ending. The shaky ground left behind if something/someone is leaving will be replaced, both quickly and over time, by a stronger foundation.

The ground is being cleared for SOMETHING BETTER. Much better. More freeing and authentic.

xo all - back with the dailies where we will flesh this all out, keep in mind all of these energies are building and unwinding all week, so things may not play out on these exact days other than Moon aspects

New Moon in Taurus - May 4th, 2019 | coming back to Earth, keeping it simple, practical action, the seeds go into the ground, keeping the fire burning, the success of this new beginning depends on how we finish what is ending

At 6:46PM EDT on May 4th, the Taurus Moon meets the Taurus Sun at 14 degrees giving us this month's New Moon.

The New Moon is a time when the skies are dark. It is the time of beginning. The seed goes into the ground. The sperm goes into the egg. The idea goes onto the paper. The nail into the wood.

I am liking this chart alot because it looks rather uncomplicated which is just the way Taurus likes it! And the Moon is exalted in Taurus and this is happening within just a couple days of Beltane.

The Sun and Moon are applying to a trine to our Saturn/Pluto conjunction in Capricorn (if we stretch our standards just a wee tiny bit) and applying to an opportunistic sextile with Neptune in Pisces and semi-sextiling Vesta. Mars is opposing Jupiter.

Keep in mind the Moon (feminine energy) does in about two days what it takes the Sun (masculine energy) a month to do.

So the Moon will move on to exactly trine Saturn and Pluto and exactly sextile Neptune within hours of the New Moon and the Sun within days. This is why New Moon energy plays out quickly and also over a few days to a couple weeks. 

The ruler of this lunation is Venus (ruler of Taurus) - she is in warrior mode in the middle of Aries, sandwiched between Vesta and Eris. She has moved on a bit from her opposition to a retrograde Pallas, but this is still within orb. She is trining Jupiter and beginning to square Saturn, Pluto and the Nodes of Fate (following in Mercury's footsteps through Aries).

Let's unpack this.

The Taurus New Moon trining Saturn/Pluto is stable, ambitious energy.

With both Saturn and Pluto retrograde right now - there is something from the past that factors into this Moon's new beginning or maybe the new beginning very quickly follows an ending. 

If something has recently ended for us (or is about to, Pluto retrograde could be delaying an ending for now) this could be good news. Something still needs to be wrapped up though. The stability of whatever we are starting depends on whatever is finishing up getting a proper ending.

Taurus New Moons bring slow and steady progress to whatever is started now.

This NEW BEGINNING would be about the theme of our natal Taurus house or the collective Taurus themes of our money/earnings, our resources/what we own/ecology/the Earth, what we value and our self esteem. Taurus is our first Earth sign and rules what we have and our experience of what we have via our five senses.

After all the delays in March and all the endless shifts of April - we can now finally begin to move forward with practical and down to earth action! All the New Moon's aspects are supportive.

There isn't some big splashy thing here, but honestly in Taurus, that is a good thing. This is just the way Taurus functions best.

The New Moon is sextiling Neptune in Pisces (the Sun will get to the exact sextile on May 8th) - this is excellent energy for BUILDING A DREAM. This adds imagination, idealism, healing and aid from our muses, angels and ancestors. It also again speaks of support through what is ending or what has gone before. An excellent time to meditate, pray for guidance. And Neptune is at 18 degrees Pisces now - a space he hasn't occupied since the mid 1800's! This is brand new energy for ALL OF US.

The New Moon's most exact aspect is a semi-sextile to Vesta. This tells us the New Moon beginning is intended to usher in an opportunity for the growth of something we will hold sacred. Something that will carry the energies of respect and independence. It offers us an instinctive ability to FOCUS on what is most important.

The opposition from Jupiter to Mars is not always such a great aspect (overconfidence/greed), but I think here it will pack just the needed punch of confidence. It can add enthusiasm, optimism, fire, passion, quick thinking, fast lessons and some options. Mars in Gemini (a great multi-tasker, but who maybe tends a bit toward being all over the place) opposing a strong Jupiter - again retrograde, so bringing us some hidden treasures or lost faith - can help us break up stagnant thinking patterns and beliefs that are keeping us stuck making this -
 
an especially potent New Moon for improving self-esteem through action 

(also for beginning something that will line our wallets or increase our resources over time). I like Mars/Jupiter for helping us to get more excited about the new life than we are missing/clinging to the old one.

Venus (the New Moon ruler), at first glance, looks a bit squashed here, but after taking a second look at the company she is keeping - it feels almost like she is being protected. Not that Venus in take-no-prisoners Aries is exactly in need of protection, but she is in her detriment here (since she rules Aries polarity sign of Libra), so it looks like maybe the girls have her back. Even the opposition to Pallas (retrograde in Libra) is unwinding, so could speak of the wisdom and strategic assistance gained through partnership/other people. We have, in a sense, moved past a relationship issue. V

Venus is applying to a square to the Nodes/Saturn/Pluto, so relationship situations are not perfect. The past is still playing a big role in what is happening now. It may not be all ironed out as smoothly as we would like it to be, but the situation is workable. Think cooperation. Diplomacy. Balance. This also applies to our money and resources. Slow and steady.

Although the Moon (and Sun) are not in aspect with Uranus, just having Uranus in Taurus is changing Taurus. Old habits may still be dying hard, but they can die fast now.

Fast change is Uranus's specialty.

Keep in mind this is still a Taurus New Moon. Taurus doesn't like to rush. She likes comfort and ease and stopping to smell the roses. This isn't about being lazy. This is about our ability to savor. And to put down roots.

These years may be challenging, but KNOW we came here and are alive at this time for these experiences - we carry (each of us our own little piece of the puzzle) the energy needed now.

The New Moon in Taurus always makes me think about stewardship - the responsible care we take of ourselves, our families, our businesses, our planet - this one feels like an excellent time to do some restful things and just be actually. Venusian Taurus always desires peace, so bringing some symbol of peace into our life right now would be very powerful, too.

With Uranus impacting Taurus just by being there, maybe what we thought was stable won't be quite so stable - but keep in mind - what we thought was impossible will not be quite so impossible either!

Two days after this New Moon, Mercury is going to move into Taurus, too (until mid-May).

Everything and everyone is going to start making alot more sense/cents!

NEW MOON INTENTIONS 

This New Moon in Taurus is an excellent time to begin a grounding practice, make affirmations and set intentions about Taurean ruled themes (also the theme of your natal Taurus house): money, resources, contentment with what we already have, patience, self-worth, releasing stubbornness, nutrition, nature, self-care, health issues regarding our neck, throat and voice in the world - this would be a great time to start a singing practice or take a class, simply committing to singing loud and strong every time you are in the car can begin to carry your voice to new spaces and places!

AFFIRMATION TIPS: get into a happy, contented frame of mind HUG A TREE (she needs us) - always make affirmations from a  positive place, and both definitions of positive apply here - happy 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.

Also remember affirmations are action -  they set the energy in motion and by working with the right things at the time of the New Moon we are literally creating the affirmation within the energy that is needed to bring them to life.
 
Words are not just words. If done properly, in the right frame of mind and heart-felt, they line us up energetically with the thing we are seeking. Always. 

The stuff we start now will benefit us later in the year. With Taurus, this is pretty much guaranteed, providing we keep things SIMPLE, finish whatever needs to be finished and keep moving FORWARD.

Look to May 8th when the Sun reaches his exact sextile to Neptune to see what this new dream brings to light and take creative action.

There is nothing fast about a Taurus New Moon, so no big flashy moves are necessary. Make your plans. Get things moving. We are playing a long game.

xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of April 29th, 2019 - responsibilties ease or intensify, lines in the sand deepen or blow away, past issues need to be attended to, pushed to make a decision, arguments, choices, the gazillion things that need our attention, owning what we own, a solid and somewhat uncomplicated new beginning

MONDAY - Saturn stations retrograde
TUESDAY - Saturn conjunct South Node, opposing North Node, Jupiter trines Eris
WEDNESDAY - Mercury squares Saturn and the North and South Nodes and sextiles Mars
THURSDAY - Mercury squares Pluto and trines Jupiter
SATURDAY - New Moon in Taurus, Mercury trines Galactic Center
SUNDAY - Mars opposes Jupiter

This is a tricky week with Saturn stationing retrograde and lots of Mercury busyness, communication and information! Adjustments. Decisions. What have we been procrastinating?

On MONDAY - Saturn stations retrograde at 20 degrees Capricorn. Every year Saturn stations for about 4 1/2 months and zeroes in on 6-7 degrees for a triple whammy. He will get all the way back to 13 degrees Capricorn on September 18th when he will station direct. If we have planets or points from approx 20-13 degrees of Capricorn and the other cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra) we will likely feel this retrograde strongest.

This period of re-grouping will relate to the theme of our natal Capricorn house and in general our careers, goals, the way we show up in the world, the structures in our life, our relationship with authority and our own inner authority, the way we handle our responsibilities, the way we deal with limits, our fears, time, depression, isolation, the past.

Old rules/restrictions can be re-instated. Old responsibilities may need to be attended to. Maybe a career opportunity returns. An old-boss comes back. We hit a reality-check.

Situations will conspire to re-inforce the stuff we have taken ownership of/or need to, that needs our grown-up voice, big girl pants wearing self.

Saturn rules karma - the cycles of cause and effect. This stuff stretches back many lifetimes and through our ancestral DNA. With Saturn retrograde it's almost like repeating a class in school - we get another chance to get it right. We can moan and groan about missing our friends at the beach or we can knuckle under and do what we should have done the first time (or the first five times!).

Any piece of 13-20 degrees Capricorn (and the other cardinal signs via squares and oppositions) that we skipped or glided over the first time - will be OUR REALITY CHECKPOINT.

Saturn hit 13 degrees Capricorn for the first time back in mid-January. This isn't a new issue although new situations can arise now that allow us to re-work what needs to be re-worked. Things can stall. It can feel like things are re-gressing. That's OK.  

Saturn wants us to measure twice before we cut.

There is something important here and we need to get it right!

Is our time being well-spent? Are we running our business or is it running us? What are our priorities? Do we need to validate our credentials? What have we been avoiding dealing with? Stop signs now mean we need a little more planning. Saturn over-do resulting in too much isolation, depression, pessimism, procrastination will show up more clearly to get dealt with, too.

Courses get corrected.

(note with Saturn and Capricorn ruling governments and banks and corporations - expect cosmic re-calculations over the next 4 1/2 months!)

For some, Saturn will hold our feet to the fire (primarily those with impacted planets and points). Others will get some breathing room and a chance to re-turn to the drawing board. Saturn retrograde is a time of karmic comeuppance - we get to own what we own. 

I have a post about this, as well as Pluto and Jupiter's retrogrades for the summer HERE (link coming as soon as post is up).

On TUESDAY, a retrograde Saturn will conjunct the South Node (again) and, keep in mind, since the Nodes are always retrograde, Saturn will be traveling WITH the South Node and opposing the North Node ALL SUMMER. Major endings. Major challenges with staying in our hearts. Major karmic situations. Let it go.

When I say we've been here before, I really mean we've been here BEFORE! Our father has probably been here, too, as well as our grandfather and his grandfather.

Jupiter trines Eris. Eris is the angry outsider and Jupiter expands upon contact and is retrograde. This is rebellion against patriarchal scripts that no longer work (and never worked for all of us) - which might have felt like they were keeping us safe (think of the way God doesn't need to be found in a church anymore and the way we can't get a nice job with a company and be guaranteed a future anymore), but was also keeping us separate because all this comfort was built on the backs of other people who were not comfortable at all and also built though rules and regulations that kept even the beneficiaries of patriarchy STUCK! Life is a wild ride!

On WEDNESDAY, Mercury (in Aries) will square a retrograde Saturn and the South Node, oppose the North Node and sextile (opportunity) Mars (in Gemini). And with Mercury in Aries - ruled by Mars - and Mars in Gemini - ruled by Mercury - both signs are STRENGTHENED NOW, making it easier to walk (Mars) our talk (Mercury).

It could be hard to get our new/fresh ideas and actions to move forward now. There could be walls. Limits. Issues from the past that need to be attended to before we can proceed. Mars in Gemini should offer choices.

We could be pushed to make decisions this week.

On THURSDAY, Mercury will square Pluto and trine Jupiter. This continues yesterday's focus on communication, talks, meetings, our physical actions, issues with authority. Pluto brings intensity. Transformation. Power struggles. Maybe issues around Plutonian themes - life/death, other people's money, taxes, loans, sex, reproduction, inheritances. The trine (brakes off) to Jupiter will move things along, expand whatever is happening or our plans for better or worse - whatever is set into motion will stay in motion. It can also pull Sag themes into the mix - travel, media, higher education, religion, politics, our higher thinking, big plans, legal issues.

On FRIDAY, things should start to ease up (especially once the Moon gets into Taurus in the late afternoon) and we have an almost all-workday Void Moon. With two major planets stationed retrograde within just a few days of each other and all this Mercury activity this week we could be exhausted. Slow down when you need to. This is Taurus season. Get out of your mind and back into your body - away from the computer and out into nature. Get a massage. Put your hands into some dirt.

On SATURDAY, we have our annual New Moon in Taurus, finally in 2019 we get a New Moon preceding a Full Moon and start to get back on our lunar course!

I will write a post - the Taurus New Moon is about steady, solid, uncomplicated birth and growth.

On SUNDAY, Mars (all over the place in Gemini, though aided by his mutual reception with Mercury in Aries) opposes a retrograde Jupiter. Remember last week we had Mars square Neptune. Mars is out of bounds now, so not playing by the rules! Arguments. Tension around ideas/errands. Who has a bigger/better whatever. Passion. Anger. Impatience. Exaggerations. No one will be taking any crap.

Maybe we just want to do this one big thing and are sidetracked by a gazillion little things ... or vice versa.

xo all - back with that Retrograde Spring/Summer post and the New Moon post!

photo by the talented Arctic-art

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of April 22, 2019 - plot twist, shock and awe, a flash of genius, fast change, karmic situations, reaping what we've sown, outgrown suits go back on the rack, we end the week with a caution flag, undermining actions, slow down

MONDAY - Sun conjuncts Uranus, Saturn conjuncts the South Node
TUESDAY - Venus conjuncts Chiron
WEDNESDAY - Pluto stations retrograde in Capricorn (for five months)
SATURDAY - Mars squares Neptune

Another intense week! Is there any other kind of week anymore? Didn't we say April would be life-changing?! Oh yes, we did!

On MONDAY, Uranus meets the Sun - the first time in Taurus in something like 84 years. And it's Earth Day! When a planet meets the Sun we start a new chapter or a new story. Uranus in Taurus is squaring Aquarius (Uranus's sign) so his journey through Taurus maintains this kind of natural square to himself - which brings tension/frustration, but is also the energetic we need to move past self-imposed restraints.

And this is unpredictable and chaos ruling Uranus so we know this new chapter

includes a major PLOT TWIST.

This is a light (Sun) being thrown on something unexpected (Uranus).

This is a strong urge (Sun) to be free (Uranus). This is a flash (Sun) of genius (Uranus).

A cosmic download of our future. We are given a crystal ball. What do we see? We are becoming the magic to such an extent that we have to be asleep to keep the old world going.

That is why we are being woken up!

This is shock (Uranus) and awe (Sun).

This aspect will often show us to what and to whom we are tethered. This might be shown to us in a way that doesn't feel so good. But not necessarily.

Uranus (the conductor of our fastest route from point A to point B) uses what works and sometimes the stick works better than the carrot.

Sometimes we just aren't hungry enough to even notice the carrot

(although I'm betting most of us are hungry for a little more stability and security right now).

We could meet this energy in the form of an actual person. Maybe someone new and unusual or our new and unusual self or thingamajig could attract a person/situation that lets it shine or brings it attention.

It is always better to use this kind of energy rather than be used by this energy.  

Do something NEW.

It doesn't have to be some huge, ginormous thing unless this stuff is hitting your personal planets and points and if that is the case it will most certainly be some big, ginormous thing.

Also if we have been in Lalaland - that long Mercury/Neptune thing - this could be a very big reality check week. If nothing out of the ordinary happens to us, maybe we do not require any major kicks from point A to point B right now.

Know whatever happens now (large or small) - will have its BENEFITS.

(Trump is being MAJORLY challenged this week, especially Wednesday/Thursday, but before we get too excited, keep in mind his strong Uranian nature, meaning his chart is ahead of the curve - I often say he IS Uranus - and the Mueller report dropped LAST Thursday - also with his chart interacting with the U.S. chart it could be a United States situation that is MAJORLY challenging - let's hope not)

Uranus (called the great awakener) only cares about getting us from A to B via the fastest route, he doesn't care if we land on our ass or if the route (like my GPS when I get near a certain body of water and it urges me forward although there is no bridge) drowns us in the ocean.

We will most assuredly wash up at point B, but we might not wash up still breathing. 

In other words - this transit is the impulse to quit our job, for example, but it doesn't provide any help once we've quit - the transit will be gone and so will our paycheck. This doesn't mean we don't quit our job, but it's something to keep in mind now.

Unnecessary risks could put us in dangerous situations.

We could damage/create chaos (Uranus) for our physical body (Sun). Uranus rules accidents and with my stellium in Aquarius (ruled by Uranus) I was one of the most accident prone children on the planet - my father would say "put a piece of paper on the convention hall floor and she will trip on it", so they sent me to ballet, where I continued to fall, but now with a little more drama. I fell going down the stairs. I fell going up the stairs. I fell when I was sitting down - really, what the hell was that?! :)

We could damage/create chaos (Uranus) for our reputation (Sun) - the way other people see us.

Of course, even this could be a good thing if someone is relying on us too much and we let them down.

Things are never totally bad or totally good.

It's probably not a good time to confront authority though. 

Our Taurus house gets a DISRUPTION - a new chapter kicks off. Unless you were alive in the 1940's (and probably even if you were) this is totally uncharted territory.

On the same day we have Saturn (stationing retrograde next week, so we get this aspect three times) meeting the South Node in Capricorn (and opposing our Node Node in Cancer - our way forward).

This is a major ending, a major letting go of the stuff that is no longer working - and it might just feel like it IS working. What we stop doing, dis-engage from or toss is as important as what we keep!

Is the role we played in the past still relevant?

I felt this energy in a major way on Easter - and the answer was a resounding NO. And that hurt. BIGLY.

The South Node and Saturn are both about karma. We reap what we have sown. Or what our ancestors' have sown (which might seem unfair until you realize you ARE your ancestors or until you win the lottery because your great-great grandfather was cheated out of his gold claim).

If we have been undecided about something this year - here is where our hand might be forced.

This energy is in play for the rest of the year, but today is one of the days we get the exact aspect.

We'll talk more about this in the dailies.

On TUESDAY, Venus meets Chiron at 3 degrees Aries. This might connect back to last week's Mercury/Chiron hurting/healing words. This feels like an opportunity to be brave. To love ourselves. To forgive ourselves for our weaknesses.

Maybe there is some kind of attraction to what hurts here.

Like we just want to wallow in it!

We might be extremely sensitive to Venusian issues now - beauty, love, our values, resources, our money. Painful feelings. Not being/having enough.

This could be about making peace with our looks, with our bank account, with our relationships - some things just can't be fixed from the space we currently occupy.

Some deep insights are possible now.

Heads up Tuesday includes an all-day Void Moon.

On WEDNESDAY, Pluto stations retrograde at 23 degrees Capricorn. He will get back to 20 degrees by October 3rd when he will station direct and walk these degrees AGAIN  and since I have a natal 21 degree Mercury in Capricorn I can tell you we have already been here multiple times over the last couple years, but this will be the first time we are doing it with Pluto conjunct Saturn and the South Node!

Pluto retrogrades can reveal our shadows through challenging situations.

What is controlling us? What are we trying to control? Outworn controls, rules and power systems will be re-looked at.

Structural revisions are needed. What is holding us up these days?

Sometimes when Pluto is retrograde we are forced to go "cold turkey" with an obsession/addiction. We are made to dis-entangle from the people/situations we thought we needed to survive. To do or die.

Merging. Purging. That's Pluto.

This week's energy feels alot like last year mid-April - if that time period was big for you, this week might be, too.

I will write a post about these retrogrades - Jupiter, Pluto and Saturn (who will station retrograde in just a few days) including my near-death experience story from last year when Pluto stationed right on my Mercury - ruler of my 8th house.

On SATURDAY, Mars (in Gemini) squares imaginative but sometimes delusional Neptune (in Pisces). This energy sounds kind of exhausting. Like we are running in ten directions at once and getting nowhere. This also could be about a disappointment. Or an addiction/escape where we undermine ourselves.

There is a caution flag out now.

We might take actions that are not in our best interest. Make decisions based on faulty information. We could be undermined. Things could look better than they actually are (this sounds a little bit familiar, doesn't it?!). Boundaries can be blurry and too easily crossed. We need to be cautious about who we trust.

It won't be possible to be certain.

And, of course, it is never possible to be certain, but right now it is CERTAIN we can't be certain. If things do not need to be decided right now, let's not decide right now.  

It's a caution-y, 'expect-the-unexpected' kind of week.

xo all

photo by the talented rt13rosca

Second Full Moon in Libra | April 19, 2019 - another chance to bring our relationships into balance, words or information that hurts, what are we overdoing, what needs to be finished, what beliefs are holding us back, who and what are we partnered with? who and what has our back? dogs aren't really eating other dogs

On Friday morning at 7:11AM EDT we have the second Full Moon in Libra at 29 degrees - Moon at 29 degrees Libra, Sun at 29 degrees Aries - our monthly Moon/Sun opposition.

We had the first Full Moon back on March 20th (Spring Equinox) at 0 degrees Libra/Aries. Two Full Moons in the same sign in the same year is VERY unusual. Coming in the relationship focused sign of Libra and the "we vs me" polarity of the Libra/Aries axis - something here is really wanting our attention! Maybe with such a focus right now on having to do this thing ourselves - it is more important than ever that we get really, really clear on who (and what) we are on this journey with!

We have had a Full Moon followed by a New Moon since the January eclipses (reflecting this whole ass-backwards, cart before the horse thing we have had going on all year) - we will finally start having a New Moon followed by a Full Moon in May!

A post on the FIRST Libra Full Moon is HERE - that might be helpful to reread and think about how those themes have moved forward in our life in the last 30 days.

Full Moons bring things to light, to a peak/culmination and to an END.

Let's unpack the chart.

We can see we have a fast-moving pile up in Aries right now, demanding we prioritize ourselves. Libra brings the focus to the way this plays out within our relationships.

The Sun is approaching his exact conjunction to the "fast-change" Uranus in Taurus. So, we might see Full Moon events play out when this conjunction is exact NEXT WEEK (around Tuesday), maybe giving us an Easter weekend break from whatever "new reality" this second Moon and Uranus are determined to bring to light!

The Sun/Moon are squaring the Pluto/Saturn conjunction - Pluto and Saturn will both be going retrograde over the next week or so, so this is going to ease up a bit before they come back together in the fall and take us into 2020's super conjunction. What you can't see from this chart is that right now, exactly in between powerful Pluto and powerful Saturn is the powerful South Node of the Moon (endings, release, past karma - collective and individual). We haven't had this kind of energetic in 500 years!

We have a retrograde Jupiter trining the Sun and sextiling the Moon.

It could be Full Moon events come through this space of our chart (Sagittarius house) or through a Jupiter-type person (could be a Sag person or someone who is a BIG thinker/talker/explorer) or situation where we - or a partner - are most likely OVER-DOING or exaggerating something or believing in something that needs a wake-up, shake-up call. 

The squares to the Nodes indicate tension/frustration around an OLD responsibility. Something we have already taken on/committed to - and we can't move forward until this is completed/lived up to.

This could also (since the Moon is focused on partnerships) be playing out through someone else in our life - happening to a partner, etc and impacting us - or impacting the partnership itself. Relationships are mirrors.

The full glow of the Moon will spotlight the ways something is out of balance or the way greater Libra diplomacy/cooperation/beauty is needed or not needed. Diplomacy/cooperation could be hard to come by (the Sun in Aries wants what he wants and he's got some help right now, look at all the Aries planets and Venus, ruler of this Full Moon, will be there, too, within hours).

Maybe we get to see who/what really has our back.

Things could feel very out of balance or out of control.

Mercury will conjunct hurting/healing Chiron this same day, so there might be some painful words heard or expressed now. Conversations/information that hurts. Conversations/information that heals. Sibling situations can also trigger old sore spots.

Maybe whatever relationship dynamics we had playing out back on March 20th (the first Libra Full Moon) are TALKED OUT now. Or new information comes out now. Mercury is freshly minted in Aries - we need a new conversation, a new story, a new way in - not to rehash the same old, same old.

The Full Moon in Libra can bring clarity.

We get a second chance to bring something into balance. With everything happening in cardinal signs there is a fresh start built into any ending now.

The Sun is coming off this week's trine to the Galactic Center - so there is fresh information here, a new timeline has crossed into our own and here we are poised at the brink of every conceivable possibility.

Something is still hanging over our head though - something still not finished. A prior commitment maybe or some responsibility not stepped into/lived up to. Something to think about, but not dwell on because things are going to start speeding up now.

We came for the journey. For the experience. Our arrival at our destination was assured as soon as we left home. This isn't a race. No one is keeping score.

Keep in mind always this year that North Node in Cancer. We have to somehow prioritize nurturing. Taking care of ourself. Being kind/compassionate to ourselves and to each other. We have to somehow stay open and vulnerable. If we let ourselves become brittle or jaded or hiding out to stay safe or buying into this "every man for himself" mode of thinking that got us into this mess in the first place, the stakes will just keep getting higher and higher.

The stuff that is really keeping us safe isn't the stuff that looks like it is keeping us safe.

Which reminds me of a day in hub's shop when one of his customers, a young laid-back kind of guy not some crusty curmudgeon, probably watching too much Walking Dead or playing too many video games, was telling us about his business problems and how this was a dog eat dog world, and hubs and the other men present, I believe caught up in some kind of testosterone group hug, without any actual hugging, of course - boy germs and all, were all nodding and agreeing with him and going on and on about survival of the fittest.

And I was like, "Wait a minute, this isn't a dog eat dog world. This isn't even a dog eat squirrel world. This isn't a survival of the fittest world. This may be a non-survival of the very least fit (the one gazelle the lion is able to actually catch), but there is a whole lot of surviving going on."

This was followed by a lot of dead air. Then shuffling feet. Then good-byes.

I always did know how to clear a room.

It is NOT a dog eat dog world, but at this Full Moon compromise could be hard to find. We will want what we want and if we have to fight to get it we will. Someone is likely to be pissed off or disappointed in us - oh well. The last Full Moon and this Full Moon have given us a MONTH LONG ending/culmination. We know by now who has our back. We know by now who are on the same page we are. But ultimately this is a solo journey. Our life (and care) is in our own hands.

Too much certainty assures we are shown the very things that will make us question ourselves. Maybe because when nothing is certain, anything is possible, right? I think so, too.

 Enjoy the Full Moon. Be sure to get outside and walk in it.

xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of April 15th - it's full steam ahead, big love, the cost of our big dreams, not knowing when to stop, returning to dry land, now we know, we are stardust, are we doing this together or not, painful words, coming back into balance, endings, culminations and fresh starts

Lots of Venusian energy and it's FULL STEAM AHEAD when Mercury finally exits Pisces. Expect change and clarity this week as THREE personal planets change signs - two from water into fire and one from fire into earth - AND we have a big and unpredictable second Full Moon in Libra!

Some of the major aspects in the week ahead include -

MONDAY - Venus squares Jupiter
WEDNESDAY - Mercury enters Aries, Sun trines Galactic Center
THURSDAY - Venus squares Galactic Center
FRIDAY - Full Moon in Libra, Mercury conjunct Chiron
SATURDAY - Sun enters Taurus, Venus enters Aries

On MONDAY, Venus (in Pisces) squares Jupiter (retrograde in Sagittarius). Squares bring tension/frustration/crisis, but when our two beneficial planets are squaring each other, things can't be that bad, can they? This speaks of love, compassion and expansion, but maybe also an inability to know when to stop. It has me thinking about the cost (Venus) of going after what we want (Jupiter) - adjustments around this may be needed now. Keep in mind we still have yesterday's trine between the Sun and Jupiter in play - making us lucky and confident.

If we have taken the time to sort out the various knots, disappointments and annoyances of the last few weeks - this is the energy (coupled with the Sun's trine) that can deliver the rewards.

On WEDNESDAY, Mercury finally leaves Pisces after TWO MONTHS and enter fiery Aries. The fog lifts.

With Mercury in Aries our language and thinking becomes more focused, clear-headed and passionate. We don't want to talk about/think about everything (Pisces) we just want to talk about this one specific thing (Aries). We get clarity.

Mercury (ideas, thinking, language) in Aries puts our instinct into words.

Our mind gets faster. Our tongue gets sharper. Words get pushy. It is easier to speak up for ourselves and ask for what we want/need. We can also more easily pick an argument as language becomes more competitive. Mercury in Aries says, "I know what I think and this is what I think."

One of the best uses of this energy, and Mercury will be in Aries until May 6th, would be exactly this - saying what we really think - and yes, this can get us into trouble, so let's not be fools about it - keep in mind Aries impulses can be either self-aggrandizing and immature or passionate and sparking a needed fire. Other best uses include - solving a problem (fire burns off the old gunk and brings fresh insights), initiating a new course of study/learning/teaching or starting a bold, new plan.

Think: fresh start with Mercury themes - words, thinking, writing, learning, teaching, ideas, sibling issues, transportation, your local community. Also bringing fresh words and ideas into your Aries natal house.

Whatever we do with this energy it FINALLY (coupled with Venus's exit from Pisces on Saturday) gets us out of the Pisces water this week. This has been a long journey, but now we know.

At the same time the Sun, still in Aries, but only for a couple more days will trine (brakes off) the Galactic Center. What do we want to manifest? Here is the energetic to change our vibration. Our Sun (as us) is reclaiming our true identity as part of source energy. There could be more reassurance now we are on the smoothest path.

To get the most from this week's transits we need to stop attaching ourselves to our obstacles!

(We are part of a spiral galaxy known as the Milky Way. It is 100,000 light years across and includes over 200 billion stars including our closest star, the Sun. All the stars we see in the sky are part of the Milky Way Galaxy. At the center of our Milky War Galaxy is a super-massive black hole - the Galactic Center. This is the place where time and space were created so you and I would have a place to learn and grow and work and play. This isn't the black hole photographed last week, but google that pic anyway if you haven't seen it yet)

On THURSDAY, Venus (in Pisces) squares the Galactic Center. Venus as a trigger planet tends to bring opportunities to see clearly what we really value, to feel love or any lack of love and the ability to see the beauty in the situation. Squaring source/God/what we are made of - might bring a situation/opportunity for us to feel what is out of alignment with the star-stuff we truly are.

On FRIDAY, we get the SECOND Full Moon in Libra. This Moon brings us back into balance. After this month we won't be having a Full Moon followed by a New Moon, the whole out-of-time thing we have had going on this year - we will finally start having a New Moon followed by a Full Moon!

Like the last Full Moon (at the very beginning of Libra), this one also, coming at the very end of Libra, will be focused on our relationships. What have we learned in the last month? We are getting another look at the spaces we are being overly dependent/independent. And this Moon is ruled by Libra's ruler Venus - who is squaring the Galactic Center and Jupiter! The Sun (opposing the Moon at the end of Aries) will be conjunct anything-can-happen Uranus AND Mercury will be conjunct hurting/healing Chiron.

Expect a BIG post!

On SATURDAY, Venus enters fiery Aries.

Aries Suns and Aries Ascendants become more attractive - both easier on the eye and able to attract what they want. All our natal Aries houses become more attractive, too. Attracting both what we want (Venus) and what we line up with energetically - as the house itself gets woken up by attractive and loving Venus.

In Aries, Venus functions best when she puts herself first.

In Aries, Venus will be thinking, "what's best for me?".

In Aries, Venus is a WARRIOR (and love is a battlefield ... cue Pat Benatar).

Something to keep in mind as we give ourselves permission to go after what we want (always that fly in the ointment) is the impulsive nature of Aries. If Venus was always in Aries our relationships would last 15 minutes and the things we bought/valued would very quickly fall out of favor and we'd be on to the next thing. Maybe not such a good long-haul energetic, but as a transit, ie transitory, Venus in Aries can get on with the business of getting us what we want in a very effective manner.

On the same day the Sun moves from 'Action Jackson' Aries into "stop and smell the roses" Taurus where he starts answering to VENUS and will begin to shine a light on all things Taurus and energize our Taurus houses until May 20th.

This doesn't mean life slows down - especially with Mercury charging off the starting line, but we will feel much better if we make the time to enjoy those slower moments, care for ourselves (and others, but especially ourselves) in loving and practical ways and appreciate what we already have.

If Taurus is stubborn, it's only because it rules really important stuff - the kind of things that have to be nurtured and preserved and seen through to the end.

Taurus is the nuts and bolts of life. She rules our second house of everything important money can buy and everything important money can't. She rules food and nourishment. She rules the sensual touch that feels like love. She rules our resources - our money, the planet. She rules our self-esteem and values.

Ruled by balanced and beautiful Venus our lives could get maybe more imbalanced until they topple over or we are forced to remove something from the more loaded side or add something to the weaker one.

Taurus is the space in your natal chart that naturally encloses what we are here to nurture, preserve and grow. It may be a space we have a bit less passion and ambition because we most naturally feel the need to sustain what takes root here. A bird in the hand thing usually applies to the theme of whatever space Taurus occupies in our natal chart. The energy is cautious because the thing we are holding/carrying here is precious.

It can also become the fear-based space where good things go to die - and then we carry around a bunch of dead stuff like a crate of rotted vegetables and wonder why we are so tired all the time ... and smell like brussel sprouts. So, there's that, too. Sorry Taurus, you know I love you!

(and keep in mind who else is in early Taurus ready for his first conjunction with the Sun here in decades - that fast-change maker, ass-kicker Uranus - we'll talk about that more NEXT WEEK)

This is a big week with lots of twists and turns. The big news is that second (a very unusual happening) Full Moon in Libra

AND we finally swim out of the Pisces energy. Things start to dry out.

I love Pisces and am extremely grateful for the old and ancient personal, family, and ancestral karma this energy carries for us with the purpose of helping us clear the residue of those old traumas and wounds, but two months is enough! It feels good once we clear it, but it can feel like major overwhelm and constant trigger points until we do.

We should feel much relief with that this week. If we were doing the rose-colored glasses thing or didn't know what to do/think - that should ease up now, too. Mercury and Venus in Aries will make it pretty clear what we need to do.

xo all - back with the dailies to flesh it all out

photo by the talented Snjezana Josipovic