Weekly Astrology Forecast | October 4th - October 10th, 2021 - HUGE week, New Moon in Libra, Daddy's home, here is the death/transformation that was postponed, reconnections, clarity

 

This is a HUGE/powerful week. I think you were hoping I would say, "this is a boring week, nothing will happen, go back to bed". Am I right?! No, that's just you Catherine, you say, we are ready for this you say. Hmm. We will see. I am not sure I am ready since I know I have to fight this week (more about that in the New Moon post), but here we go! 

 

(also someone tell me if anyone else is living these weekly forecasts in advance like I am - does this week sound like last week to you?, has this "Age of Aquarius, life at the speed of light" gotten even the astro ahead of itself?)

 

We have a BIG New Moon in Libra, Venus changes signs, Mars and Mercury retrograde meet the Sun and each other AND both Saturn and Pluto station direct. WHEW!

 

Let's take a quick look at the week ahead and expect a  BIG New Moon post tomorrow where much of the next two weeks will be unpacked. 

 

MONDAY - Sun trines Ceres 

TUESDAY - Mercury inconjuncts Neptune

WEDNESDAY - New Moon in Libra, Pluto stations direct

THURSDAY - Venus enters Sagittarius

FRIDAY - Sun conjuncts Mars, Ceres stations retrograde

SATURDAY - Sun conjuncts Mercury, Mercury conjunct Mars

SUNDAY - Saturn stations direct

 

MONDAY - the Sun, at 12 degrees Libra trines Ceres in Gemini. This is smooth/balanced flow in our communications with other people. Nurturing is balanced/accepted if we keep things light/intellectual/try some humor. Give other people options.   

TUESDAY - this is the second Mercury/Neptune inconjunct (the one where Mercury is retrograde so we are revising/reviewing, etc) - the first was back on September 18th. Here is where we get to re-do/re-think whatever communication/information/conversation drifted off course last month. What needs to be cleared up?

 

WEDNESDAY - The Libra Moon meets the Libra Sun at 13 degrees giving us this month's New Moon, our annual New Moon in Libra. EXACTLY conjunct Mars - fresh starts will be turbo-charged, passionate, angry. There is alot going on with this one - we'll talk about this in a BIG post next.

Pluto, at 24 degrees Capricorn, stations direct. Squaring Eris, yes, still, this can bring up uncomfortable truths. Here is the death that was postponed or the transformation of what has died. Mars and Pluto are the co-rulers of Scorpio and Venus, ruler of Libra and this New Moon is in Scorpio - so this station happening just hours after the New Moon is mucho important. 

 

We'll talk about this in the New Moon post, too!

THURSDAY - Venus enters Sagittarius. About 24 hours after her BIG New Moon, Venus rises from murky Scorpio into 'sky's the limit' Sagittarius.  

 

Sagittarius Suns and Ascendants (1st house cusps) get more attractive now - both able to attract what they want/need and are easier on the eye. All of us get a visit from Venus in our Sagittarius houses (what house or houses carry Venus energy in your natal chart?) and those houses get more magnetic.

 

Sagittarius is the sign of the archer. If we were archers - we would gather our energy. We would pull back our bow. We would take aim. We would hold our bow "in tension". This holding position is important to landing our arrow where we intend it to go - to hit our target (of course, if we are in some kind of life and death battle with that arrow then I guess we just let it fly and hope for the best, but most situations we are facing are not quite so dire)

The same way an archer's "in tension" allows her arrow to hit her mark, our own "intentions" release our energy where we need it to go. Intentions are not wishes; they are not hopes - wanting to do something is 180 degrees from intending to do it. Set your New Moon intentions this month - they will be uber powerful.

Intention releases the potential that makes things happen.

So, we have Venus (love, women, beauty, what we value, our self esteem, money) moving into the sign of "potential".

Experience is more valuable than stuff with Sagittarius. Money (Venus) spent on experiences/travel will be well spent. Money (Venus) spent on other Sagittarius themes - higher education, legal issues, weddings, politics - will probably pay off, too, in the experiences we get back.
 

The search we began when Venus dove into Scorpio continues. But now instead of looking at the stuff that is underneath, the underpinnings none of us really want to look at, she looks way out into the horizon at the stuff we might one day meet up with. Sagittarius is the sign of faith. Do we have faith that better days are ahead for us? This faith stuff is risky and Sagittarians have been known to fall on their ass and even off a cliff now and then. But is there really any alternative to not trying? This is the season of faith and potential for all Venus ruled themes - love, money, women, beauty, self-esteem, our values. 

 

How are we going to use this energy? Remember the archer. The archer stays focused and holds herself "in tension" through all the noise. We have our bow drawn and we are focused on the target, but suddenly the dog barks, the phone rings, the guy next door starts blasting Adele and you know we have to stop and listen to that.

(and sometimes this noise can last a while and sometimes life sends us noise to test our intentions and see how badly we want something or sometimes the noise could be there to delay us because there is something better for us later or other people's arrows need to line up with ours)

Because once that arrow is released, it is released. There is no grabbing it midair and straightening that baby out (unless you have some super power that I would be totally jealous to find out about).

We have to have faith enough to release the arrow anyway. Bulls-eyes can be highly over-rated. Sometimes it's the missed targets (did you know the word "sin" was originally an archery term that meant - "to miss the mark") that lead to the best adventures!

 

Venus is going to cross over the South Node (a portal to past lives/old common or karmic patterns), pulling people from our past (or new people with similar energy patterns to those from our past), people and situations from the past connected with our money and self-esteem into our NOW. In Sagittarius, this can bring opportunity, luck, give us hope (depending on what we are carrying in early Sagittarius) or can bring karmic endings/bills coming due/the need to let go. 

Keep in mind this aspect can also slide us right into repetition. There is already a groove here which is the reason this might all feel so comfortable. Is this something/someone still a good fit or are we just too comfortable here for our own good? Mercury is retrograde in Libra's sign, so this will likely ravel/unravel itself as we move through the days and weeks ahead.

 

FRIDAY/SATURDAY - Sun meets Mars, Sun Meets Mercury, Mercury meets Mars - this is all happening within 15-16 degrees Libra, so will be felt strongest by people with planets points near this range (or the other cardinal signs by squares and oppositions).

 

Mars starts a new cycle with the Sun - this is passion/energy, new goals. In the sign of Libra, this shines a light on our relationships/our need for balance and fairness. Keep in mind Mars in Libra can bring the need for confrontation just so some steam can get blown off and now he is not only in the sign of his detriment, but he is being blown out by the Sun. Then Mercury comes in to pick up the new Mars solar story. A light is thrown on information/communication. This is the part of the Mercury retrograde cycle where we get some clarity/HERE is what this retrograde is all about. Then Mercury meets Mars. Clarity/action - just keep in mind Mercury is still retrograde, so we are still revising/reviewing, doing the "re's". It's probably not the time for big moves just yet. Mars in Libra will be squaring Pluto on October 22, so there could be some need now (in preparation) to take action to protect/preserve something we want to keep - maybe something structural, stabilizing or career related, before we get to that square.

 

SUNDAY - Saturn stations direct at 6 degrees Aquarius. His retrograde "review" wraps up. He will move direct until he gets to 25 degrees Aquarius next April when he stations retrograde again and backtracks to 18 degrees.

For people with planets and points between 6 and 13 degrees Aquarius (and the other fixed signs, which will get squares and oppositions) Saturn will make his third pass (hang in there!) over those spaces during the next few weeks and months.
 

There are a few things that will happen now.
 

Saturn's direct motion can release pent up pressure in our Aquarius house allowing us to make solid moves toward our goals and ambitions (and our natal Aquarius house theme).
 

It could have felt, during his retrograde, that we were getting further away from our goals or where we want to be in this area of our life. Maybe obligations weighed heavily. Walls and limitations had to be faced. Corners we had previously cut were noted to be missing.
 

The bills came due. Maybe we learned to say, "no". Maybe we learned to say "yes" to something we had been avoiding. Saturn always gives rewards, but they are Saturnian rewards - coming after we've put in the time and hard work to build something that lasts. And yes, the thing that lasts IS the reward!

Our long range goals that have been stuck can start to move forward now. 

With Saturn (father time) direct - daddy's home! - greater external structure is brought into our lives.

This can feel supportive and rewarding or like a wall/limit/roadblock depending on how we relate to Saturn natally and what we have been doing during his retrograde.

Dad's home.  Have we been goofing off? Staying out late? Running up the electric bill? Worn out his favorite chair or left his tools out in the rain to rust?
 

Karmic books get balanced. Remember, karma isn't about punishment. It is simply cause and effect - we are just being served what we ordered. Most of us do alot of this "ordering" unconsciously.

If we don't like what we are being served - we can choose to do things differently today. Right now. This minute. The wheel keeps spinning! Multiple planets station and change signs this week and we have a New Moon - change is happening! Keep in mind Mercury is still retrograde and Saturn and Pluto are moving VERY slowly, so progress could be slow for awhile. We might continue to feel the ramifications of 'dug in' situations.

xo all - back with that New Moon post! Please excuse any typos - I can proof read three times and still find them these days ...

artwork by the talented Karoline Kroib

Mercury retro squares Pluto for weeks | October 1st, 2021 - power struggles, communication trouble, the wounding that leads to compulsive re-thinking, the inner issue beneath the outer issue

 

 

Because of Mercury's retrograde through Libra, his square to Pluto (retrograde, too) TODAY will basically be in play, off and on, until November!

This aspect was last exact with Mercury direct on September 22nd, so something from now might connect back to then. This is about intense conversations, power struggles. Eris is opposing Pluto from Aries bringing in the energy of something we probably don't want to deal with!

 

And Mars, in Libra, opposing Chiron in Aries, also EXACT today, speaks of dealing with a painful result/culmination. Mars, the warrior, and not so happy traveling through Libra's land of civility speaks of our attempts to be nice/please someone else/not rock the boat/not get mad - these machinations don't work and probably just make us resentful, but pushing/forcing our way through with no consideration for others won't be comfortable with Mars in Libra, and won't work, either.  

 

Regardless, we need to speak up/stand up for ourselves/be ourselves/keep moving anyway. With Mars in Libra our relationships are trigger territory now. If we know this going in - we can do a better job handling it.

The Mercury/Pluto speaks of power struggles/intense information or communication. Something that feels like life and death. It might be, but probably isn't. There could be manipulations/something behind the smile. Someone is saying something to us and we just know they are really meaning something else. of course, with Mercury retrograde we could be just as wrong about their motives as we might be about our own. 

 

What is the real issue beneath the surface issue? Why are we ruminating over this conversation or those words? The real wounding is very old and very deep. The retrograde Mercury squaring deep Pluto gives us access. 

 

Mars/Chiron says any move we make is going to hurt anyway, so make the best one. 

The way through today's morass if we hit one - we have the Moon (in Leo now) sextiling the Sun. 

 

This month's Waning Sextile - Leo/Libra. The Moon in Leo wants to stand out/have fun/enjoy recreation, romance, children. The Sun in Libra wants to shine with other people/stay in balance/be fair and cordial. Libra and Leo are sextile signs because we CAN shine AND be in balance with other people at the same time. 

 

Fun is more fun with other people. It just is.

Leo confidence/joy is the way through today. Lighten up. The Leo Moon wants appreciation/attention, so don't be afraid to stand out. Just be honest about it (that square to Pluto), our fake smiles aren't fooling anybody. Avoid being a selfish jerk and we'll get through this one.

Keep in mind the Mercury/Pluto is an ongoing aspect we are already dealing with and not apt to wind itself up with Mercury retrograde, but  certainly we are more likely to get to the bottom of something. With Mercury in balanced Libra - fairness is our goal here. Just work the process.

 

Shine like the star you are. Just remember everyone else is a star, too.

 

xo all

artwork by the talented Valentina Bucur

Today's Astrology Forecast | Wednesday, September 29th, 2021 - making commitments, feeling able, dissolving resistance, feeling all the feels, lines get blurry, slippery slopes

 

The Moon continues her journey through her home sign of Cancer. She squares Mars (in Libra) at 4:16AM EDT (actions with other people at odds with our security needs/home/family) and sextiles a retrograde Uranus (opportunities to feel more comfortable with change/the future/to detach a bit from anything where we have been too emotional) at 1:53PM EDT. 

We have two SMOOTH aspects today - the Sun, at 6 degrees Libra trines a retrograde Saturn in Aquarius and Venus, at 21 degrees Scorpio trines a retrograde Neptune in Pisces.

 

The Sun trine Saturn (retrograde) is stabilizing energy for our relationships/contracts. Commitments are made, responsibilities stepped into - this likely won't be a totally new thing with Saturn retrograde. Saturn will be direct in just a couple weeks, so if there is some responsibility/work/group situation we have been avoiding, this might be the time to step into it/finish it up. There might be rewards for old work now. We are stepping into our responsibilities/goals - feeling able. 

Venus in Scorpio is trining Neptune (retrograde) in Pisces - and the Sun in Libra is answering to Venus, so today's smooth aspects are both working TOGETHER. Venus is exalted in Pisces, so she likes any contact and particularly a powerful trine. She (as us) can work her magic here. Neptune expands intimacy, shared money, self-esteem. Opportunities can increase as we let go of preconceived notions of what we want/what is ours/what is theirs. Resistance dissolves. The beautiful energy of  Venus with Pisces is also what makes it so slippery - the lines between us and other people, between acceptance and avoidance, between our money and their money, between love and "what was I thinking" will blur. Keep this in mind.

 

If the more stressful aspects this week are challenging us, this aspect can soften any blows.

xo all

artwork by the talented K Shoa

Today's Astrology Forecast | Tuesday, September 28th, 2021 - what do you need from other people, what do they need from you, keeping the peanuts in the peanut butter

 

 

The Moon is void until 9:34AM EDT when she comes home to Cancer - now we are nurtured/nourished by home, family, real estate, mom and apple pie. Her only aspect comes at 9:57PM EDT when she squares the Libra Sun.

The square is this month's Third Quarter Square - the Sun and Moon's final square before the New Moon next week, one last chance to adjust/turn a corner on something. Happening at 6 degrees, the square is Cancer/Libra. 

 

The Sun in Libra is airy/detached - seeking balance/fairness, sometimes peace at any cost. The Moon in Cancer is emotional/attached - seeking nourishment/stability, sometimes safety at any cost. 

 

Squares speak of tension/challenge. 

 

Situations are apt to highlight what is out of balance within our partnerships/contracts/one-on-one interactions. The Cancer Moon wants her needs met, we can feel especially sensitive to detachment or power imbalances. Or maybe this 'getting our needs met thing' (or someone else's) involves some uncomfortable nurturing. We want a partner not a parent. Or they do. 

With us at the very beginning of a long Mercury back and forth through Libra, we don't want to push anything under the carpet - unless we want to be dealing with an elephant under the rug later on - which sounds kind of messy and hard to vacuum. 

 

If the Libra Sun is all smiles 'nothing to see over here, everything is just fine' then why is the Cancer Moon crying herself to sleep? 

 

If one partner's lack of emotion is triggering the other partner's insecurity - this needs to be addressed. If one partner's neediness is triggering the other partner's need for balance/space - this needs to be addressed. Give and take. 

 

Not because everything needs to be all 'even-steven' all the time - the Vernal and Autumnal Equinoxes are the only times we are truly balanced, and that only lasts for a New York minute - the rest of the time the 50/50 split thing is nearly impossible, not at all a goal worth pursuing in the short term. In the long term though, fairness/equity, should be required reading for all of us. Balanced stuff lasts. 

This square can also show up in very literal terms - a relationship/partnership/contract vs home/family/real estate/mom. A Cancer vs a Libra.

 

Cancer and Libra are cardinal signs - they kick off new seasons. Their squares require action (at their heart are identity crises). When planets occupy these signs and square each other, like today, the changes the tension/frustration FORCE can be impactful/lasting. There is more potential to initiate something new here.

 

So, pay attention. If this isn't hitting your personal chart and even if it is, this is likely to be a small thing/fleeting. It's just something we want to address and not stuff/feed - we don't want to be tossing peanuts to an elephant who is going to rampage our living-room next week when the Moon meets the Sun meets Mars meets Mercury retrograde. 

xo all

artwork by the talented Aaron Griffin Art

Mercury Retrograde in Libra | through October 18th - rethinking our relationships, renegotiating contracts, changing our mind, shadow work, avoiding passive aggressive traps

 

The weekend's wonderful weather (yes, autumn weather, I am officially de-pooled) kept me unplugged, so this week it will be dailies rather than a weekly. We'll kick off the dailies with this post on Mercury retrograde in Libra - which begins TODAY!

 

A central idea of the newly developing quantum thinking is that we live in a participatory universe. There is real evidence that our attention and choices are what attracts/forms our material reality out of the vast potential of the quantum soup. Scientists long ago learned our world isn't so much solid things, as the energy that makes up those solid things. More recently they have learned our world is not JUST energy, but data, held together by webs of information, strung like our summer patio lights and creating the structural framework of our universe. 

 

(which is where astrology comes in, although science hasn't caught onto that part yet) 

So, when planet Mercury, ruler of data/information starts moving backward (from our view here on Earth) it is always important to PAY ATTENTION.

"We may not be responsible for the world that created our minds, but we can take responsibility for the mind with which we create our world" — Gabor Maté

On MONDAY, at 1:20AM ED, Mercury, after getting all the way to 25 degrees Libra (and we thought we were almost done with all this relationship stuff), decides, um, not so fast folks, let's re-think this relationship/fairness/balance stuff. He turns around. Time to re-think, re-examine, re-visit, re-vise. 

 

You know the Mercury retrograde drill.

We ignore a retrograde Mercury at our own risk. Trying to plow ahead re-gardless will not work - likely we will have to do whatever 'new' thing we are doing now all over again anyway. It also won't work to stand still and try to wait Mercury out. We must move our ideas, projects, conversations, etc, through the process of the retrograde period.

With Mercury in Libra - this "review/re-do" will be focused on our relationships/partners, what we project onto other people, our need for balance, our ideas about fairness and justice, our contracts and agreements. Libra is an air sign - we are meant to re-think things. Minds will change.  

 

Mercury's station means the only planets in direct motion now are Venus and Mars. So, there is a hell of alot of momentum drawing our attention backwards. What did we miss? What needs to change?

 

A maybe good (and definitely complicated) thing is Mercury in Libra is answering to Venus, who is in Scorpio answering to Mars who is in Libra answering to Venus. This doesn't help Mercury reach his home energies (Virgo or Gemini), but it does help Venus, Mercury's dispositor during his stay in Libra, have some access to her own energy. 

 

Although she will have to go through Mars - take action, get angry, initiate, etc - to reach it.

 

This is reminding me a bit of last fall's Mercury retrograde (and I think 2019's, too) where we went from Scorpio to Libra, because although Mercury stays in Libra during the entire retrograde this year, Scorpio is pulled into our story through Venus - and you might notice in the list of the following aspects Mercury will make, a couple of his important repeat aspects are with Scorpio's co-ruler Pluto and he will finish up after her/his retrograde when he is in Scorpio. 

 

So, the whole "we aren't getting out of here alive" thing applies this season, too. Which probably sounds worse than it is, but that's kind of the point with autumn anyway, I guess.

Here's a rundown for the astro buffs:

9/27 - Mercury stations retrograde, 10/1 - Mercury squares Pluto/opposes Eris

10/3 - Mercury trines Jupiter, 10/5  - Mercury inconjuncts Neptune

10/8 - New Moon in Libra conjunct Mars, 10/9 - Mercury conjuncts Mars

10/12 - Mercury inconjuncts Uranus, 10/16 - Mercury sextiles Venus

10/18 - Mercury stations direct, 10/24 - Mercury inconjuncts Uranus

10/30 - Mercury inconjuncts Neptune, 11/2 - Mercury squares Pluto/opposes Eris

11/6 - Mercury (in Scorpio) sextiles Venus, Mercury inconjuncts North Node

11/10 - Mercury (in Scorpio) conjuncts Mars, Mercury squares Saturn

Mercury's first aspect after his retrograde station is FRIDAY -  a tricky square to Pluto (retrograde in Capricorn, and the modern ruler/co-ruler of Scorpio) and opposition to Eris. Notice Mercury will repeat this aspect again, a month later, with BOTH Mercury and Pluto direct. The square is tension/a space of crisis - verbal power struggles, obsessive thinking, manipulations, jealousy, intense conversations - something can feel like all or nothing/life and death. 

 

The opposition to disruptive Eris might speak of unpleasant truths/conversations/information we really don't want to deal with. 

 

One thing to keep in mind is the Pluto/Eris square is ALREADY in play and not going anywhere (all through 2021 and 2022), Eris is a disrupter. The Goddess of Discord/whistleblower. Eris catalyses vital changes in our lives/reveals what is hidden in the system. Squaring, well, um, death (Pluto) as she is now - is an evolve or die aspect. 

 

This isn't a new situation (and if you have cardinal planets near 24 degrees you have no doubt been tossed into situations where you are being required to state your truth/take your power back), but maybe now we are seeing it/talking about it/Mercury steps into the energy and makes the Pluto/Eris square a cup of coffee. He brings it home. He makes it personal. 

 

(the Moon will be in Leo and sextiling the Sun and Mars (both in Libra) on Friday, so the way through this square will be the Leo sextile - our Leo house, brave, loving, generous, following our heart. Honesty will be the best policy, hiding won't be an option.)

Mercury's follow-up aspect is a trine to Jupiter (who, keep in mind is retrograde, too) which might ease us into something more optimistic/bigger or return our sense of faith/hope, but is just as likely to exaggerate our fears around whatever Mercury retrograde square Pluto and opposed Eris has dug up. Which way this leans is up to us.

 

Then Mercury inconjuncts Neptune (yes, also retrograde) and maybe it feels like a relationship/conversation/information is literally drowning us. It's us or them/sink or swim. Something's got to give. Keep in mind, Mercury is retrograde. This is not the time for big decisions - it's the time to be RE-THINKING/RE-VISING. Let Mercury do his job. Big decisions during Mercury retrogrades often toss babies out with the bathwater. We don't need to ditch our partner (probably not anyway) or turn away from all information to save our sanity, but we do need to look at what the relationship/information is ALLOWING US TO SEE.

OK - by this time, as we near October 8th-9th, we will be building toward a New Moon in Libra conjunct Mars with Mercury applying and catching up with Mars a couple days later. Venus, ruler of this lunation, is still in Scorpio and now we have four planets answering to her. Pluto will station direct at the time of the New Moon, and remember Pluto is the modern ruler of Scorpio. This is a powerful/energized new beginning - keep in mind Mercury is still retrograde - by now we are clearer on what we want/what we have to do to get what we want/what needs to go. Mars will make things active/passionate/maybe angry - expect fireworks. Avoid the passive-aggressive bullsh*t. We will talk about this in depth as we get closer.

A few days later Mercury will inconjunct Uranus - some give and take/rocks and hard places with change, our money/resources/the future. The conversation/information/relationship shifts. Finally, Mercury sextiles Venus - OPPORTUNITY. By now, Venus is in optimistic Sagittarius (Sag ruler Jupiter is direct) and trining Chiron (healing). 

 

Restored faith/expansion/luck and healing via our relationship/balance/fairness story-line that has been RE-WORKED. Now I am not saying all's well that ends well, but a transit that starts with a square to the planet of death and ends with a smooth sextile to benefic Venus (ruler of this whole journey) while she trines (brakes off) healing Chiron, can be counted on to produce SOMETHING OF VALUE.

 

Two days later, October 18th, Mercury stations direct. 

 

Sometimes here is where a situation flips around. Our thinking changes. Once Mercury is direct the re-considering/re-doing time is ended. Things start moving forward. We choose. We decide. 

 

(sometimes we have to make important decisions/choices earlier on and that is OK, too - we just do the best we can with this, knowing things are still in flux and will change. The choices/decisions won't be rock solid until after Mercury stations direct.)

 

On November 4th, Mercury reaches 26 degrees Libra and finally starts covering new ground. 

 

The retrograde, through us, has done its job. What have we learned from our journey back and forth through 10-25 degrees if Libra? About us? About our partnerships/relationships? About what balance means now? Fairness? Justice? Beauty? Here is where we start walking a new road. Here is where we are moving on. 

 

I hope something here is helpful. We'll talk more about this as we move through it.

 

Something else to keep in mind with Venus in penetrating/take no prisoners Scorpio, is that although Mercury in Libra will be wanting to keep things cordial/balanced/polite with Mercury answering to Venus, this smiling 'til our face cracks thing won't work out so well. It will be like pouring pink paint on a problem and call it a Barbie dream house. Venus will insist we go deep, get to the bottom of things, not let those sleeping dogs lie (yes, the metaphors are killing me, too - I'm sorry, I can't stop). We might try to stay at the 'slap a smile on it' surface of things, but there will be something niggling at us that won't let that happen. Or the people around us won't. 

 

BUT even after saying that, it will pay to keep in mind that we have Mercury, Mars and the Sun in diplomatic Libra right now. 

 

Nice guys will finish first (we might have to be dragged into the mud before this is all over, so be it, all those micro-organisms are good for us anyway).

 

Social civilities/being kind will feel good, too.

xo all 

artwork by the talented Natalya Amirova

 

the astrology of the Full Moon in Pisces | September 20th, 2021 - a culmination, something gets cleared up, optimistic information but check the fine print, let go and let God then make welcome what shows up

 

 

This month's Full Moon is an ending at almost the very end of the very last sign. An end at the end of the end. In imaginative/dreamy, but often confusing Pisces. Does this end an area of confusion? Neptune is already retrograde, the tide out, life should be less foggy, but with Neptune so strong in his home sign these last few years - the buck stops here, there is nowhere else to go - I am not certain the tide being out clears up what we are seeing anymore.

 

But maybe the Full Moon will (over the next two weeks as this Moon plays itself out). Does something make more sense than it once did? It should. It will.

With the Moon at 28 degrees by the time she opposes the Sun, let's look at what she has been up to in Pisces before she gets here.

 

The Moon entered Pisces on Sunday. 

 

She squared the Nodes of Fate (Gemini/Sagittarius), she trined Venus (brakes off) and sextiled Uranus (opportunity through change). She met her pal Neptune (Pisces ruler, so here's the illumination or the dream, Neptune is retrograde, so there will be a connection to the past with this, either old dreams/illusions or past-life/familial story-lines). She sextiled a retrograde Pluto (opportunity through transformation/merging/purging/death) and finally she reaches her opposition to the Sun, waiting for her in Virgo - now here is this month's Full Moon, our annual Full Moon in Pisces. And then whoosh, she goes void/radio silence off that opposition. Sounds about right for Pisces!

This is all part of the Full Moon story of the last couple days, but also the story of what is peaking now from the last two weeks and the last six months

The square to the Nodes is tricky through Pisces because Pisces isn't a cut and dried place. Things morph/drift. The square speaks of pivot points and choices - and tension/frustration until we make them - but there is no clear way through. There is fog/uncertainty, sometimes exhaustion, maybe even deception. In Pisces we can't know BECAUSE WE AREN'T SUPPOSED TO KNOW. Pisces is about intuition/connecting to something bigger than ourselves. What do we do when we don't know? Then the Moon (as us) trines Venus (in Scorpio) and sextiles Uranus (in Taurus). Merged resources/intimacy/love/self-esteem/healing prayers, dreams that merge/purge, opportunities for change, opportunities to move toward something new (and keep in mind Uranus is retrograde, so new might not be totally new). New values. Embracing something else. Then the Moon meets up with Neptune (retrograde) - peak emotions about situations older than we are. This can feel like nirvana or this can feel like our batteries have been drained. And keep in mind again that we are talking about the story of Sunday/Monday (this month's Pisces Moon), but also of the last two weeks and six months.

 

That's the backstory, now let's take a look at this moment of fullness - let's unpack the chart!

 

At 7:54PM EDT on Monday, September 20th, the Moon opposes the Virgo Sun (on his way out of Virgo, so he's tired, too, ready to be finished with all the fixing).

Full Moons bring things to light, to peak energy - to a culmination, to an ending. It is the space in our breath cycle when our lungs are full and we need to exhale. Or maybe if we have been holding our breath, now is the time we must noisily gasp for air.

 

Pisces rules the 12th house of what we do last, what is hidden and put away, the ways we self-sabotage because from our vantage point in our 1st house we can't see what's behind us/don't know what we don't know, illusions and delusions, escape, sacrifice, our addictions, our imagination, lack of boundaries, connection, compassion, charity, hospitals, prisons, the things we have forgotten, our distant pasts, our ancestors, water, sleep, illness, healing, spirituality, GRIEF, God.... it is a mystical space of MAGIC where anything can happen.  

The Moon in Pisces is widely conjunct Neptune, sextiles Sedna, squares the Galactic Center. The Sun is conjunct Mars (out of sign with Mars challenged and out of bounds). Mercury trines Jupiter EXACT. Venus inconjuncts Chiron, also EXACT. Asteroid Narcissus trines Saturn, yes, EXACT, too.

 

The conjunction to Neptune, wide, yes, but Neptune rules Pisces and so is the ruler of this lunation - speaks of imagination, dreams, also confusion, maybe a lack of boundaries. Pisces is mutable water. so maybe whatever ends now or culminates has drifted away from us. Been made too big to contain. Become too exhausting to continue. Or maybe the Full Moon brings us peak creativity, connection, psychic sensitivity. A portal to our past, our ancestors.

The sextile to Sedna - remember we spoke of Sedna with the virus/vaccine posts, one is HERE - speaks of what comes from the loss. Remember after Sedna finally released her grip (yes, her father had chopped off her fingers, but still.. she released her grip) she turned into all the creatures in the ocean - a Goddess. She is about a crisis that forces us onto a higher, more spiritual path. Maybe the good that comes from the crumbling patriarchy/the father who turns on us to save himself and his undoing becomes our doing - we are made into more than we were before. With Virgo/Pisces maybe this speaks of a health crisis/mental health crisis - ours or someone else's. Sedna also is about the things we 'know, but don't know', because remember she thought she had a better deal than she had. She didn't look closely enough at the details of what she was getting herself into (and the Virgo Sun and Full Pisces Moon - the end of confusion - won't support this). How does this factor into our Full Moon story? It repeats the Mercury/Jupiter followed by the Mercury/Pluto, so pays to think about. READ THE FINE PRINT.

The Moon squares the Galactic Center (our homing signal, black hole at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy). Through tension/frustration/anxiety we are moving onto a new wavelength. 

The Sun, as he opposes the Moon, from his perch in precise/practiced Virgo is conjunct Mars in Libra. Mars is not himself in Libra, and although he has access to his own ancient sign of Scorpio through Venus in Scorpio, he is still not at his best. The Full Moon in Pisces needs to 'let go and let God' and Mars in Libra is more likely to be holding onto some unfairness/imbalance that he is all worked up about. The Sun adds heat (possible via criticism or perfectionism) to Mars issues, so we don't want to be making any passive-aggressive moves here. The good news is that Mars is trining the North Node, so if we keep our actions balanced/fair/cooperative our path ahead will be smoother. There will be more options. This isn't a Full Moon to be burning any bridges.

 

Venus in Scorpio, and doing the mutual reception thing with Mars, is inconjunct Chiron. A rock and a hard place. Our wounded masculine triggered. An old hurt around our ability to be ourselves/take care of ourselves is like background noise at this Full Moon. Playing a part without playing a part. The Full Moon's bright light might not be what illuminates this, but the relationship intensity/intimacy, financial situations, death, whatever this is, it's old, it's painful. 

 

Mercury, also in Libra, perfects his/her own trine to Jupiter. This is optimistic/expansive. THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT. The Sun in Virgo, no small player in this Full Moon, is answering to Mercury, so this matters. Look ahead. What comes next? Every ending is actually a beginning, too. This trine is good for relationships/partnerships/contracts. Good news can come in. A stroke of luck. Jupiter is retrograde, so there is something about this 'more optimistic' future with its feet in the past. If we look ahead we see that Mercury is going to square Pluto in the middle of the week, that can bring us back down to Earth, here's the fine print. This doesn't delete the Mercury/Jupiter, but just knowing it's coming should be enough to keep our feet on the ground.

 

The best use of this Full Moon's energy is 

1. let go and let God (and there won't be a choice here anyway) and 2. make welcome whatever arrives

 

Yes, you could have skipped right to this paragraph and saved yourself 10 minutes. :) 

 

Maybe get out and walk in it, too. It's potent.

 

xo all

 

We are going to take a look at the virus/vaccines/our collective mental health this week and see where all that might be going.

Weekly Astrology Forecast for Creatives | September 20th - 26th, 2021 - Full Moon in Pisces, powerful Grand Air Trine kicks off, power struggles, money changes, more flies with honey

 

 

Let's dig right in since I have a Full Moon post to write!

 

MONDAY - Full Moon in Pisces

WEDNESDAY - Mercury squares Pluto, Sun enters Libra

THURSDAY - Venus opposes Uranus

SATURDAY - Mars trines Saturn

On MONDAY - the Moon at 28 degrees Pisces opposes the Sun in Virgo giving us this month's Full Moon - our annual Full Moon in Pisces. 

 

Widely conjunct ruler Neptune, squaring the Galactic Center and with the Sun conjunct a debilitated Mars and both Sun and Mars trining the North Node while Venus inconjuncts Chiron and Mercury trines Jupiter - all happening as the Sun prepares to enter Libra (Equinox). Oh my.

 

Expect a BIG post!

 

On WEDNESDAY - Mercury @ 24 degrees Libra squares a retrograde Pluto in Capricorn, the Sun enters Libra

With Mercury set to station retrograde next Monday, his/her square today to powerful Pluto will be the start of a process/recurring situation. This is tension/frustration, verbal disagreements/manipulations/jealousies, power struggles. Dark thoughts. Intense conversations. Information can feel like life and death. Challenging financial information. Even if we try to be civil/polite (Mercury in Libra) we might still feel like we get our head handed to us/stabbed in the back. Words are powerful. Think twice before speaking/passing on information. Say less, listen more. If some over-the-top good news came in earlier - the Mercury/Jupiter at the Full Moon - this is where we get to read the fine print.

 

(for some people Mercury squares will bring transportation, tech, sibling, local community issues - again this will be a repeating situation, this doesn't have to be a bad thing, we will get the chance to revise/review/rethink things)

The Sun enters Libra (crossing a cardinal Aries point, ushering in a new season and focusing our collective attention) bringing those of us in the Northern Hemisphere the Autumn Equinox (it is the Spring Equinox down under). We've reached the mid-point of the astrological year. A time to bring things into greater balance. A time when our desire to shine through/with other people increases even as Autumn begins a traditionally more 'inside job' second half of the year. We'll talk about the Equinox chart as we move through the week.

On THURSDAY - Venus @ 14 degrees Scorpio opposes Uranus in Taurus. 

 

Surprise! Here is the unexpected with love/money. Not totally unexpected with Uranus retrograde though, we could certainly have seen this one coming. Oppositions are results/culmination points. Changes to our money, values, self-esteem, resources (maybe with a woman) has reached a peak/completion. Results can feel like chaos or freedom. Financial market changes. Reversals of fortune. Secrets can come out. Maybe what we want doesn't look quite so shiny up close. Breakdowns, breakthroughs, break-ups. Venus in Scorpio can show us how we are focused on what isn't really ours and Uranus can break our focus.

On SATURDAY - Mars @ 4 degrees Libra trines a retrograde Saturn in Aquarius. On SUNDAY - the Sun @ 3 degrees trines the North Node in Gemini

So, we have Mars trining Saturn followed by the Sun trining the North Node. Here's where our balanced/fair/maybe partner focused goals (Mars in Libra) move forward through realistic actions/taking responsibility/being mature. With Saturn retrograde this might involve an old responsibility/goal/obligation/commitment/career. Saturn in Aquarius can pull in groups, the collective, the future. 

 

Then the Sun in Libra trines the North Node and a light shines in the direction of better options, new information, new ideas and conversations. 

 

This is a Grand Air Trine and in effect from the Pisces Full Moon on Monday until the Sun trines Saturn on the 29th. This is all about LIBRA - connecting the North Node (our future) with the stability/realism of Saturn. 

 

Our balanced, cooperative, beautiful, fair ACTIONS will connect us to FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES - new ideas, choices, information. We won't have to push/bang our head into closed doors. This will be smooth. SOMETHING FALLING INTO PLACE. The right doors opening.

The whole 'more flies with honey than vinegar' thing will apply here (just imagine the flies are something you actually want). Beauty. Balance. Compromise. Civility. Nice guys finish first.

Diplomacy, both in our personal lives and the larger collective, if actually attempted, can improve tense/tired situations now. The gentle art of persuasion via a lighter touch and actually listening to other people (yes, even people we don't agree with) can work, too. Keep in mind that a sober and retrograde Saturn is part of this Grand Air Trine, too. Old commitments/responsibilities, realistic expectations are part of the deal.

 

xo all - back with that Full Moon post!

 

artwork by the talented Sylvie Demers

Today's Astrology Forecast and a peek ahead | Friday, September 17th, 2021 - limits, a "no", not overthinking it, letting time do his job, looking at what's next

 

 

The Moon is in Aquarius now. We are nourished/nurtured by stepping back and seeing the big picture, by intellect, by detaching from results, technology, groups, causes, individuality, freedom. 

 

The Moon will square Venus at 12:02AM EDT, meet up with a retrograde Saturn eleven minutes later and finally square a retrograde Uranus at 12:44PM EDT. The Moon's machinations echo today's Venus, (7 degrees Scorpio) squaring Saturn (retrograde) in Aquarius. 

 

We talked about Venus/Saturn HERE. It's quick. Restrictions. Limits. Feeling old/alone/unloved/financially strapped. With Venus in Scorpio, Saturn can show us what does not belong to us/what we can't have. Maybe the ways we are depending on others or other people's resources when we need to be more self-sufficient. 

 

Keep in mind that retrograde Aquarius and Aqua Moon which can make us prone to overthinking/seeing dragons we will never have to face. Things can look/feel worse than they actually are. Saturn says give things time. Have some patience. Venus in Scorpio tends toward sharpness/a bite/tossing babies with bathwater. She is in mutual reception with Mars in Libra, so we do have access to the more social Libran energies - balance, civility, cooperation, collaboration - through him. This isn't the same as having Venus in Libra, of course, but it does give us somewhere to go other than so DEEP we drown. 

 

Let's peek ahead. 

 

The Moon is going to finish up in Aquarius on Saturday morning EDT and go void off a conjunction with Jupiter. She will be void most of Saturday. She moves into Pisces Saturday evening (EDT) and we start building toward Monday's Full Moon in Pisces - at 28 degrees Pisces; almost the very end of the zodiac. So big things will be FINISHING UP. The Moon is widely conjunct Pisces ruler Neptune making things more emotional/intuitive/compassionate, maybe confusing. 

Looking ahead - we will have a BIG New Moon on October 6th in Libra, with Mars EXACTLY conjunct the Moon/Sun and Uranus EXACTLY inconjunct. At the New Moon, Mercury will be exactly where he is today (and yesterday), so news/information/conversations from NOW can factor into that. This will be a big one focused on our relationships and us needing to bring more peace and balance into our lives. When you read this, Mars is already combust/blown out by the Sun. He's fast-moving, as fast as he will get this month and not playing by the rules, so we have to think before acting - the October conjunction (Mars/Sun) closes out/culminates a cycle that started at 10 degrees Virgo back in September 2019. 

 

What was happening in your life back then? 

 

Before his rendezvous with the Sun, Mars will trine Saturn (commitments, getting serious) and then immediately after meeting the Sun, he will meet up with a retrograde Mercury (old conversations, ideas, arguments) - by this time, EVERY planet, with the exception of Mars and Venus, will be retrograde, but not for long. 

 

On October 9th, we will have Mars, the Sun and a retrograde Mercury all wound up together along with the final (5 of 5) Pluto/Eris squares (collective discord and a call to take our power back - I'm talking to you cardinal planet people with points/planets around 24 degrees - this is in play all year really, but exact times are very potent). We are going to have to watch our language/our ego/our step. Relationship landmines can crop up. Collective storylines will probably be designed to scare the hell out of us. Whistleblowers/rebels can show up. We are going to want to balance our needs/wants/actions with those of other people. Civility, diplomacy, cooperation, negotiating skills (without bending over backward to appease someone else) will be needed. 

 

On October 10th, Saturn is going to station direct - daddy's home (if there is a responsibility we have been avoiding, it would be a good idea to take care of this before Saturn stations).

 

Stability can return, but so might limits/rules. In the days/weeks that follow, more planets will station direct. Things put on hold will begin to move forward. Stuck situations will come unstuck. Dangling shoes will drop. Rewards will come in/bills due. 

 

By October 20th, with multiple planets having changed direction, things will look quite different than they do now. 

 

The change of direction of so many planets in October indicates a change in direction for ALL OF US. October and the first half of November look rather BUMPY.

 

In mid-November we have the final healing Saturn/Chiron sextile (slow and steady healing/cures that work over time, healing group trauma) and the final Saturn/Uranus square in December (freedom vs control, revolution, new rules, financial instability) although the square will continue throughout 2022 and they will come about a degree apart in October 2022, so these energies aren't going away. The square in December is the last exact square though, so maybe a final chance at something more freeing/controlling (which way this goes is up to all of us). Breakthroughs are possible. Breakdowns, too, particularly if we haven't embraced some required change by now - here is where it might be forced upon us. 

 

Eclipse season is in late November and early December (into the spin cycle we go). In late December we'll see the start of a tricky Venus retrograde in Capricorn, her 40 days and 40 nights - back and forth over the "time runs out" degree from January 2020.

 

Jupiter will move back into Pisces on December 29th - I like this one and it's lasting. January will be a mover and shaker, too.. 

 

For now, we are moving toward next week's Full Moon in Pisces. The Sun is still in Virgo, so we are working, healing, helping, fixing, taking things one step at a time. Expect a BIG post. 

 

 xo all 

 

artwork by the talented Dmytro Bryzhak

Today's astrology Forecast | Wednesday, September 15th, 2021 - the sober cappy moon puts us through our paces, a mixed bag

 

 

The Moon is in serious Capricorn now - we are nourished by stability/work/having a goal/having control/a few bucks in the bank/cans in the cupboard.

 

She squares wounded healer Chiron (in Aries) then trines Uranus - all before 8:30AM EDT. 

 

The square hurts. An old wound around our identity/ability to take care of ourselves is triggered. Maybe our authority is questioned or we have trouble with authority. Maybe this tension/frustration is between the 'way we've always done it' and something new. Whatever this is, the Cappy Moon will require we keep a stiff upper lip. 

 

There's no crying in baseball. 

 

The trine to Uranus is the way through the square - there is a smoother path here somewhere, but we are going to have to look over there. Uranus requires change/a future focus. We have to bend the rules/embrace something new/try something else.

 

At 5:04PM EDT the Moon squares Mercury (in Libra). Here's tension/frustration. The energy is ripe for a disagreement or relationship squabble. Imbalances will show up. Situations with other people can be testy.

 

Finally the Cappy Moon sextiles a retrograde Neptune at 9:01PM EDT - put it to bed, put on some music, chill out, relax, meditate, have a glass of wine, watch a movie -

 

what was all the fuss about anyway?

xo all

artwork by the talented Donatella Marraoni

Weekly Astrology Forecast for Creatives | September 13th - 19th, 2021 - reality checks, empowerment, limits, mars into libra for the first time in two years

 

I used to post first thing in the morning but started walking in the morning and began posting at night. Then I started swimming at night. Under. The. Water. Until this year I had been swimming on top of the water. Always. I don't think I had really been UNDER THE WATER since I was a kid. But, there's something about swimming UNDER THE WATER, deep, lungs ready to burst. I don't know why I am just remembering this/finding this out, but now that I FINALLY have - the weather isn't cooperating. The cooler water and air determined to pry summer from my water-shriveled fingers and me equally determined to hold on AS LONG AS POSSIBLE.  Fall has always been my favorite season, sweaters and boots and pumpkin pie, oh my, but this year with this UNDER THE WATER thing ... not so much. I will probably be posting more often soon, once I have my nights back ...

 

Anyhoo, let's check in with the planets.

 

Let's unpack the week!

 

MONDAY - First Quarter Moon (Sagittarius)

TUESDAY - Sun opposite Neptune, Venus inconjunct North Node, Mars enters Libra

THURSDAY - Sun inconjunct Jupiter, Sun trine Pluto

FRIDAY - Venus squares Saturn

SATURDAY - Mercury inconjuncts Neptune

 

We get a little boot to our backside right out of the gate this week (not sure why I sound like your grandma, maybe because I am sipping tea from a rocking chair, might need to update my environment here) with this month's First Quarter Square on MONDAY. The Moon at 21 degrees Sagittarius squares the Sun in Virgo. The faith/intuition-focused Sag Moon is reminding our detail obsessed/perfectionist Sun that we HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION. Maybe we have fixed something enough/helped enough/done the best we can. Now we have to go on faith or with the wisdom we have accrued. This is going to be tricky because the Moon's next aspect is a square to cloudy/illusive Neptune and the Sun is applying to tomorrow's exact opposition to Neptune. Hmmm. What to do? Let's take a look at Tuesday.

TUESDAY has alot going on - some of which will be felt as things build and unwind, so keep in mind the exact days are not written in stone here. 

 

The Sun, at 21 degrees, perfects his opposition to a retrograde Neptune in Pisces. Oppositions bring conclusions/results. This might involve a reality check. There could be a sacrifice or something dissolves/fades away. The Sun is in Virgo so it is as possible that an error/problem gets resolved as an error/problem comes to our attention now (through the light of the Sun) - maybe something we have been avoiding from the past. Maybe our focus fades from something we have been fixated on.

 

Neptune oppositions can make us tired/lose steam/need an escape, so keep that in mind, too. 

This is also the day Venus (at 4 degrees Scorpio) will inconjunct the North Node in Gemini. Some kind of give and take is needed in order to move forward. Venus in Scorpio wants to merge/purge/go deep, but our way forward is more about a little of this and a little of that. Time to lighten up? Keep in mind, the inconjunct is a 'give and take' aspect, so we don't want to be denying the deep Scorpio truth for the flash in the pan Gemini "facts" either. More tricky energy. Life is not for sissies this week, month, year, lifetime.

Mars enters Libra and starts answering to Venus in Scorpio (Mars ancient crib - now I have moved from the rocking chair to a floor pillow and notice my mind has moved forward to MTV 2000 (?) of course I was actually watching Trading Spaces/Curb Appeal not so much interested in Jewel/Snoop Dog's houses) putting Mars and Venus into mutual reception, so although Venus doesn't so much like to be in Scorpio and Mars isn't happy about being in Libra - they (as us) can make this work. This is also good news because with Mercury in his shadow walking degrees he will walk two more times during his upcoming retrograde Mars is not pulled into all that.

 

So, Mars, having done all the fixing, clean up and detailed work he could possibly do in Virgo, now  enters sociable and diplomatic Libra, the sign of the other person, for the first time in two years.

Mars rules Aries, the sign of "me" and now here he is in the sign of "we" (BUT, for as long as Venus is in Scorpio - keep in mind the whole mutual reception thing helping both signs). Mars wants to just go, go, go and in Libra is required to 'see/interact with' the other side of things. There is more flirting than commitment. More passive-aggressiveness. Our actions/passions can get a little more indecisive (the whole - taking both sides into consideration thing coming into play).

Fiery Mars in our collective 7th house of other people means our actions can trigger fast reactions. That whole "I'm rubber. You're glue" thing isn't working. Or maybe it's working backward.

The more Mars in polite Libra becomes a smiling Mr. Nice Guy rather than the warrior he actually is, the bigger the eventual blow-up will be when his (ours or theirs) Arian head explodes. So, we need to be honest about our anger, passions, actions without crapping all over other people. It is a balancing act and Mars' combat boots are not made for tight ropes. Luckily, again, we have the whole mutual reception thing with Venus in Scorpio as we get this cycle started - allowing Mars to have access - through Venus, but still access - to his own energies and Venus - through Mars - to have access to hers. 

 

With Mars in Libra situations will arise that create opportunities for more fairness. More balanced actions. More social activities. More compromise. More win-wins. More allies. Doing it together. Plus our Libra house theme gets an energetic kick-start for the first time in two years.

 

THURSDAY - the Sun, at 23 degrees Virgo inconjuncts Jupiter (retrograde in Aquarius) in the morning (EDT) and then moves on to 24 degrees and trines Pluto in Capricorn in the evening. The adjustment precedes the smooth flow. 

The adjustment is Virgo/Aquarius which makes me think of intestinal problems and allergies, but might show up more like our need for freedom/to be ourselves/group situations adjusting to the details/the work/the day-to-day stuff, our health or someone else's. As with any challenging aspect with Jupiter we want to make sure we aren't overdoing or over-estimating something, The Sun's follow-up aspect being a smooth trine to powerful Pluto is good news. After we work through the Jupiterian 'rock and a hard place' we move into an opportunistic portal - an easy flow with authority (inner and outer), our goals, career, our Cappy house theme. Keep in mind this flow is through the Virgo Sun - our focus on the next step/doing a good job/helping/fixing. 

On FRIDAY, Venus (7 degrees Scorpio) squares a retrograde Saturn in Aquarius. People with planets/points near 7 degrees of the fixed signs will feel this strongest. Debts come due. Limits/boundaries are felt. Intimacy issues can be experienced. Maybe we get a "no"/hit a stop sign. Maybe we are feeling our age. Squares to Saturn can bring pressure/depression. This, too, shall pass.

The week ends with SATURDAY'S confusing Mercury/Neptune inconjunct. Mercury is in Libra, so this can be a relationship/partnership/balance situation that is unclear/hard to pin down/a little disappointing. Words are confusing. Misunderstandings are possible. 

 

The good news - the Moon will be in group/future focused Aquarius trining (brakes off) Mercury, so the way through the inconjunct is probably to be connecting with people/communicating in ways that transcend our personal concerns. The Moon will also meet up with our retrograde Jupiter to allow greater optimism. Go broad. Have faith.

Keep in mind Mercury is walking the shadow degrees of Libra he/she is going to walk two more times during his upcoming retrograde, so news/information/conversations/Mercurian situations will probably not be a one and done. 

xo all

artwork by the talented Evelina Dillon

Today's Astrology Forecast | Monday, September 6, 2021 - New Moon in Virgo, movement, flow, preparing to start/take action

 

 I wrote about the New Moon HERE.

But just in case I wasn't totally clear, since I tend to write three words for every one that is needed, I wanted to be VERY CLEAR about the energies now.

We have a New Moon in Virgo tonight (EDT) - the Moon meets the Sun starting a new lunar cycle. Mars is trining (brakes off) Pluto. Venus is trining Jupiter. Mercury is trining Saturn. The Moon and Sun are trining change-maker Uranus. 

 

This is a HIGHLY unusual amount of unobstructed energy hitting many different spaces in our chart/areas of our life and activating multiple areas of beneficial FLOW. ALL our personal planets are active and are being aided by the interpersonal and outer planets. All the interpersonal and outer planets are retrograde, so this will have some kind of 'been there before' aspect to it, but that isn't a bad thing. Old opportunities can come back around.

We want to be starting something/taking action over the next two weeks and maybe especially over the three days that follow this New Moon (just avoid tomorrow's void Moon for any kind of launch - 3:25PM to 11:20PM EDT). Keep in mind that trine to Uranus will pull in unexpected (not totally unexpected because Uranus is retrograde) events, so stay flexible. The 'unexpected surprise/Uranian strangeness' will work to our benefit. Do something different/differently.

Many children are going back to school under these energies - a very positive sign. And let's hope the trine between 'future-oriented/higher-mind' Uranus and the Moon/Sun in health-focused Virgo energize a treatment/cure for the virus into the collective timeline. Totally possible. Anything is. 

 

For today, in the energies of this build-up - prepare yourself. Think about what you need/want. What needs to be done. How you can help. Think about what you are thinking about/focused on - is this what you want to expand?? Think about your health. Your daily routine. How can this be improved. What we start now is very sticky. Clean up any messes. Clear some space and make room for what you want/need to find you.

 

xo all 

artwork by the talented Dane Shue

the meaning of the New Moon in Virgo | September 6th, 2021 - beneficial change, powerful new beginnings, healing past life traumas, letting go of anger, moving toward that open door

 

On September 6, 2021 at 8:52PM EDT the Virgo Moon meets the Virgo Sun at 14 degrees giving us this month's New Moon; our annual New Moon in Virgo.

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 nail meets the wood. The thought meets the paper. You get the idea. Virgo encourages us to prioritize our health, to value quality over quantity, to be of service to others (not at our own expense though and especially not at the expense of our health), to care for our pets, to take care of the day to day things that make our life our life. It also rules co-workers, employees, our daily activities and our work.

Virgo is the first sign that thinks about 'other people'. We spend the first five signs of the zodiac focused on ourselves - forming an identity, expressing who we are, yada yada. And then in just ONE SIGN we transition toward relating to other people. That's why it feels like such a pressure cooker! We move from "how can I be special?" (Leo) to "how can I be useful?". 

 

That's a pretty hard right turn!  

 

Let's unpack the chart.

 

The Moon meets the Sun at 14 degrees Virgo. They are both EXACTLY trining a retrograde Uranus (this is within a minute/very tight). They are also in a wide trine to a retrograde Pluto and forming a Grand Earth Trine with the Sun/Moon at the focal point. The Moon/Sun are biquintile Saturn. The ruler of this Moon (ruler of Virgo) is Mercury. Mercury @10 degrees Libra is trining Saturn and the South Node/Black Moon Lilith, so unwinding the Grand Air Trine we talked about last week. Mars is trining Pluto EXACT. Venus is trining Jupiter. Black Moon Lilith is conjunct the South Node and opposing the North Node EXACT. The Moon/Sun are inconjunct Chiron. Mars is inconjunct Jupiter. This is a BUSY New Moon, so expect to have a lot going on over the next month.

 

The biggest aspect is that smooth trine to a retrograde Uranus - planet of genius, rebellion, our higher mind, change, chaos, trauma, the FUTURE. 

 

Here is a SURPRISE (although not totally surprising with Uranus retrograde, we have kind of been here before). Trines are smooth flows of energy, so this isn't about chaos (like some Uranian contacts), but it is about CHANGE. Virgo likes a nice, solid plan, but Uranus here introduces a shot of something else, something INNOVATING. It's a couple small steps in a new direction or a big step broken down into small manageable pieces. These are earth signs, so this is practical change/solutions. It makes sense/cents. The key is to do something DIFFERENT or DIFFERENTLY. This isn't something we have to push for/force - we will have to take action, yes, but things should fall into place here. 

 

There is a wide trine to powerful Pluto and conjunction to Mars while Mars and Pluto's trine to each other (more smooth movement in earth) is EXACT. This aspect makes me think of going into the garden after the harvest and cutting down the old/dead growth. Bad habits - collectively we are talking about health, work, day-to-day - can be nipped in the bud. We can go deeper/pull things out at the root. Secrets can come out (to our benefit). Remember this is happening in earth signs, so this is about stuff we can touch/real solid things that can fall into place.

Mercury, ruler of this lunation is sitting pretty in airy Libra - gracious, social, balanced. He/she is trining Saturn and forming a Grand Air Trine with Saturn and the South Node/Black Moon Lilith. More good news. And since this is Mercury we are talking about, good news can mean actual GOOD NEWS. The trine to Saturn (retrograde in Aquarius, so again, somehow not something totally brand new) speaks of our commitments/responsibilities. Things built over time. Serious/polite conversations. Collaboration/cooperation. 

Black Moon Lilith sitting with the South Node and trining Saturn - here is past life/familial connections with controversies, taboos, sexuality, psychological stress/abandonment, forbidden fruit, dark sides triggered, old anger - COMING UP TO BE RELEASED through that South Node contact and trine to Saturn retrograde. The Moon/Sun are also opposing asteroid Nessus - a centaur asteroid that speaks of the damage/danger of trusting untrustworthy people with important matters, revenge/vengeance, third party situations coming back around, betrayal, poison, very old karma. 

 

Remember we are always looking for repeating things to know we are interpreting charts correctly. These two aspects coupled with the New Moon's smooth trine to Uranus tells us we are healing past life/familial DNA trauma as this New Moon story plays out over the next lunar month.

Keep in mind - we have moved through Saturn in Capricorn (2018- 2020) - many people were humbled, sometimes this humbling seemed unfair, but maybe this was what was needed to heal our ancestors who had needed to fall, but didn't. Or sometimes, having had our heads cut off by mad kings in prior lives, we needed to be back on the chopping block in this life to understand that we could now lose our head (job, authority, stability, etc) without actually dying this time. Many people stood up, some for the first time to heal themselves and some to heal their ancestors who needed to stand, but couldn't. Many people lost the structures that were holding them up, their authority, their skills, their youth, their parents, their place in the world. This is all part of the ending of the patriarchy. It's a process. This isn't a snap of our fingers and this isn't painless because the patriarchy is part of us, it's in our charts, in our DNA. It's like losing our arm. This isn't going to be something pretty and we take a picture and slap that baby up on Instagram.

 

Now as we move through Saturn in Aquarius we are dealing with karma with trauma - maybe with group situations, maybe with technology/science. We have a large portion of humanity still carrying a piece of our collective trauma that allows them to be exploited by authority, fear, group-think, technology, emperors (because they thought they were keeping them safe and maybe in prior lives/their ancestry/their childhood - the loss of these emperors caused them trauma - father dies and the children starve, the king is killed and the kingdom overthrown and they are killed, etc) and until this piece of our collective trauma is healed - none of us can move on. This can also be about people needing to be humbled through the king's humbling. Our own trauma - stored survival stress - frozen inside us. We can't access our own feelings, but we can feel the king's. In the United States the king has changed his wardrobe (Trump to Biden), but collectively the humbling continues. 

Back to the chart - Uranus in Taurus is answering to Venus, strong in her home sign and trining lucky/expansive Jupiter. Is this the best aspect in astrology? One of them! Another indication these CHANGES/STARTS ARE TO OUR BENEFIT. 

 

Venus is squaring Pluto - here's the tension/frustration (obsessive attraction, jealousy, manipulation, power plays, desiring something that is dead and buried or someone else's). Don't worry, we wouldn't get very far without ANY squares. Remember we've got Mars in Virgo trining this same retrograde Pluto EXACT, so we know our way through this one. Practical action. Focus. Get things started/going. There are solutions here. Good ones. Don't be too rigid because we've got that trine to innovative/surprising Uranus - and, again, I repeat, the CHANGE IS TO OUR BENEFIT.

Bottom line - this is a POWERFUL/POSITIVE New Moon. I can't remember one with this many smooth aspects. Something can fall into place somewhere for all of us. Take the time to set your New Moon intentions. Follow up with what shows up. If you have something to start - start. This is an excellent time to break old habits and initiate new ones that will bring great benefits. Do things differently. Innovate. The Moon's trine to Uranus can make us more comfortable with CHANGE/the unusual - take advantage of this. Don't worry if something appears to flip around on you/hit you out of the blue. Important ideas can come out of nowhere. Collectively this energy can be good for new cures/new ways to heal. The stress/frustration, maybe around whatever is ending, well, let it go/end. Set your sights on what you can control, the thing that needs starting/fixing. Small is big now.

Good and lasting things can come through these times. Remember benevolent Venus is trining benevolent Jupiter - have faith. 

The flies in the ointment - always flies, although I bought one of those magnetic screen doors to try and avoid them - the Moon's inconjunct to Chiron and Mars inconjunct to Jupiter. The Chiron tells us something about this fresh start triggers an old wound around being able to take care of ourselves/stand up for ourselves (this makes me think of the 500,000 people in New Jersey alone whose unemployment benefits are ending next week - this New Moon chart is EXCELLENT for finding new work, changes that pay off). Mars inconjunct to Jupiter might speak of taking something too far or trying to do too much/being too Marsy or too picky, again we won't have to push. Pushing is just, well, pushy. And the ruler of this lunation is in Libra, so pushing is a no.

 

New Moon Guidelines

Set your intentions and make your affirmations for Virgo themes (and your natal Virgo house theme!) for the best outcomes - health, quality over quantity, service to others, attention to details, work, co-workers, employees, day to day activities, cleaning, organizing, pets.
 

INTENTION TIPS: Let the earth guide you this month, plant your feet firmly on the ground, clear your head, write what your physical self, grounded by the earth, wants - not what you think you should write. Write your intentions down by hand in script on a blank piece of paper, speak the words out loud, maybe burn the paper and give the ashes back to the earth - release your attention from these things knowing your intention is known.
 

Life has heard you. As Rumi said (and I'm paraphrasing) "know what you want wants you right back". Know these things are already yours.  


xo all

Today's Astrology Forecast | Saturday, September 4th, 2021 - more flies with honey, choices confirmed, perfect we ain't, find some time to rest

 

 Did I ever pop back in with a Moon? This week totally got away from me, let's see where we are!

The Moon is in Leo now - sign of sun and fun and prefect for the weekend. She sextiled Mercury at 12:45AM EDT, opposes a retrograde Saturn at 2:54AM EDT (I guess not all fun in the sun!) and squares a retrograde Uranus at 3:23PM EDT. So, some tension/frustration around change/freedom/responsibilities.

Mercury (at 7 degrees Libra) has moved into his/her trine with Saturn. This is a "you get more flies with honey" kind of aspect. Pleasant/cooperative language, social niceties bring stability/structure. If you can't say it kindly, maybe just zip it. I backspaced over two Facebook comments I was going to write yesterday that were a little 'blunt' when I remembered Mercury is in Libra now (no more splitting hairs like we did in Virgo!). Keep in mind, he/she is just off yesterday's trine with the Gemini North Node, so maybe we have received an important message/idea/conversation and now the trine to Saturn gives this its legs/speaks of the work we have ahead of us. Decisions get shored up. We speak with authority/communications with authority go well.

At the same time the Virgo Sun moves into his inconjunct with Chiron (in Aries). The Sun in Virgo wants to help/focus/fix/get it right., but Chiron's wounds, ancient as they are, are not so fixable (more of the learn to live with them variety). Aries likes to make fast decisions and start new things. Virgo likes to weigh things out and drill down into the details of one thing at a time. Cardinal fire vs mutable earth. However this shows up - and keep in mind Chiron is Aries is our wounded masculine, fears around being about to take care of ourselves/stand up for ourselves - maybe some of Virgo's polarity sign of Pisces 'let go and let God' will be the best way through this. Know, whatever wound the Sun shines a light on today, we can only do what we can do/we can only do so much. 

 

Perfect we ain't. 

xo all

 

The Moon is dark now/balsamic - get enough rest. BIG New Moon on Monday with an EXACT trine to shocking Uranus while Black Moon Lilith meets the North Node. Oh my! Back this weekend to talk about that one!

painting by the talented Cecile Pardigon

weekly astrology forecast | August 30 - September 5, 2021 - U.S. chart red alert, diluted actions, lack of motivation, power struggles and slippery slopes, ideas and conversations that stabilize

 

 

This is a red alert week here in the United States. We have transiting Mars opposing a retrograde Neptune (he is repeating what Mercury has already done a few days ago and we can see what happened there!) - and Mars in Virgo is EXACTLY conjunct the United States natal Neptune, in the United States 9th house ruling foreign situations and squaring the U.S. natal Mars with the U.S. natal Mercury (Virgo's ruler) EXACTLY opposing transiting retrograde Pluto (death/transformation). And we have an expansive/retrograde transiting Jupiter conjunct the U.S. Moon (the people). The Afghanistan situation, the virus, the media and Hurricane Ida (making landfall on Hurricane Katrina's anniversary) are all impacted by these transits. 

 

And for all of us as Mars applies to Neptune we have a challenging Third Quarter Moon on tap for MONDAY conjunct Ceres (weather, grief, loss) and Black Moon Lilith (!) with Mercury trining Sedna (Goddess of the Sea/oceans and we've talked about Sedna in connection to the virus and vaccines) at the challenging 29th degree as both the Sun (Virgo) and Moon (Gemini) answer to Mercury! 

 

Let's back up to Sunday, August 29th - the Sun in Virgo is squaring the Nodes of Fate. We had Mercury (ruler of that Node Node) here in the middle of August, so whatever we have going on now can connect back to that time period. A square to the Nodes brings tension/frustration - something must change before we can go any further. Squares to the Nodes are 'skipped steps'. We missed something. With the Sun in Virgo, something is illuminated that requires our focus/fix/practicality/something healthier. What is the problem and what can we do about it? This 'what we can do about it' will be the next step that needs to be taken. Think - practical. Keep in mind the North Node - our best way forward - is in multi-tasking Gemini, so there may be more than one way forward/more than one conversation that needs to happen, more than one solution here.

 

Gemini is about asking questions (and not being so sure we have all the answers), so communicate/talk/write. Keep things light/flexible. Keep in mind also that South Node (where we've been/where we are, what needs to go) in Sagittarius - there could be a 'belief' holding us back. Maybe something has grown too big to be manageable. Maybe we have a yearning for something foreign when what we need is right in our own backyard. Maybe we want to go to 'school' when what we need is a 'class'. Think smaller. More local. Multiple small things instead of one big thing. 

 

After this week, we will have the New Moon and be moving through multiple trines - things will be looking up, but let's unpack this week and see what we have. There are multiple inconjuncts I am not listing (including one on Monday Sun/Saturn indicating blocks/delays, trouble for authority/leadership), so know we will have to be flexible this week. Some of what follows is taken from the monthly HERE. I will update the week to add in the Moons as we move along. Monday's Moon is included.

On MONDAY - we reach this month's Third Quarter Moon as the Moon in Gemini (7 degrees) and conjunct Ceres squares the Virgo Sun. Mercury, ruler of both Virgo and Gemini, has moved into Libra only hours earlier. 

 

The Third Quarter Moon is a frustration/challenge in response to last week's Full Moon result or ending. The Sun is focused in Virgo - wanting to help, heal, fix things, make something better. The Moon in Gemini is determined to lighten things up, ask more questions and offer more choices. She's all over the place - taking us here, there and everywhere - bringing us new ideas/conversations, so if we've become overly attuned to a flaw/problem, here's our chance to come up for some air/be more flexible. Of course, this is a square, so our actions/decisions can feel forced (our back against the wall) and won't be comfortable. With the Moon meeting Ceres - she pulls in our nurturing/mothering, cycle of life situations, Earth/weather issues, probably a need for compromise.

 

Mercury is in Libra now - so we know the way through this square will be our best use of Libran energies. Diplomacy, cooperation, balance. Successful words are more tactful now - more focused on what the other person needs/wants. That splitting hairs and checking for typos Mercury did back in Virgo cedes way to saying it nicely. 
 

Our thinking could become more indecisive. Not because Libra is wishy-washy so much as just able to see both sides of any situation. Libra's polarity sign Aries can make fast decisions because the energy can focus most easily on one point of view - their own. Libra is the natural ruler of our 7th house of other people. Life gets more complicated after the 7th house. Do you have any planets in your 7th house or in Libra - these are the archetypes we usually set up our lives to have played out by other people.

Libra wants everybody to be friends. Diplomacy, both in our personal lives and the larger collective, if actually attempted, can improve tense situations now. The gentle art of persuasion via a lighter touch can work, too.

Words that make people feel loved and appreciated and beautiful will be the right words.

Our natal Libra house gets a visit from multi-tasking, inquisitive Mercury. So things in the area of our life naturally ruled by Libra get busy. Mercury will be in Libra until November 5th.

 

THURSDAY - Mars opposes Neptune (retrograde)

FRIDAY - Mercury trines the North Node

SATURDAY - Mercury trines Saturn (retrograde)

SUNDAY - Venus squares Pluto (retrograde)

THURSDAY - Mars @ 22 Virgo opposes Neptune, retrograde in Pisces. Mercury made this opposition back on August 24th, so this could connect back to information/news/conversations from that time. Oppositions bring culminations/results/endings. Mars in Virgo is precise/focused action. Neptune here fogs things up. This might be a good thing if Neptune loosens our stranglehold on something unfixable, that 'dog with a  bone' thing or if Neptune expands/un-limits (think of not only boundary-removal, but also of something along the lines of a higher calling here) whatever Mars (as us) is doing. 

 

Often though, Neptune dilutes Mars actions/passions. Things get less precise, move in unintended directions, get bigger than we intended. 

 

Maybe we are tired. Maybe we procrastinate (a common problem for perfectionistic Mars in Virgo). Maybe we self-sabotage. Maybe our plans get rained out. It can be hard to get to work/get things done (I am having a terrible time knuckling down and writing this on Sunday afternoon as these energies apply). Neptune's rose-colored glasses and tendency to hide things behind closed door/behind our backs can make it easy to gloss over important details/daily obligations, so this is something to think about. On the other hand, any contact with Neptune opens a portal to a higher realm, our ancestral story-line, past-lives, our dreams - keep this in mind, too. 

 

Let's give ourselves and other people a break now, we are all living through unprecedented times, swimming in uncharted waters. Anger can come out of nowhere and get projected onto the wrong people/situations, so avoid unnecessary disagreements.

 

FRIDAY/SATURDAY - Mercury is going to trine first the North Node (our collective best way forward) and then a sober, retrograde Saturn. Mercury is in Libra here, so this is good news for our relationships/partnerships/contracts/agreements. Heads up for fresh information to come in. Conversations that direct our wagon 'that-a-way'. It's a time of decisions. Then Mercury trines serious Saturn to 'seal the deal'. Keep in mind Saturn is retrograde, so this won't be a totally new deal. 

 

SUNDAY - Venus (in Libra) is going to square Pluto (retrograde) while trining Jupiter (retrograde). Venus is strong in her home sign, but no match for Pluto. The good news - the trine to Jupiter could help lighten this square up, the not-so-good news, the trine to Jupiter can make the whole thing even BIGGER.

 

The Venus/Pluto is tricky/obsessive, speaks of manipulation/power struggles/control/relationship TRIANGLES. Obsessive attractions. Maybe the partner/relationship/whatever we are wanting feels essential for our very survival. Our relationships feel more INTENSE.

 

With Pluto retrograde old, maybe toxic dependencies/needs/relationships can resurface and then the trine to Jupiter just makes that slippery slope even slipperier. One leads to two leads to ten, so be careful.

 

Hopefully the trine to Jupiter (retrograde in intellectual/detached Aquarius) will lighten the intensity and Mars in Virgo will be trining Pluto at the same time taking some of the heat off Pluto if we are taking some kind of practical action. 

 

Once we get to the end of the week and moving into an incredibly fluid Grand Air Trine and New Moon, in incredibly helpful/healthful Virgo, things should start to smooth out. 

xo all

 

Heads up - Mercury will begin walking his/her upcoming retrograde degrees on September 7th, so if you need to get something done and you don't want to be revising it and doing it multiple times (then again maybe three times is the charm) you might want to set yourself a deadline before this date. 

 

artwork by the talented Ascending-Storm