the meaning of the New Moon in Capricorn | January 2, 2022 - a fresh start, new ideas, new choices, starting from the future and coming back to the present, what do you want to build

On Sunday, January 2, 2022, at 1:33PM EST, the Capricorn Moon meets the Capricorn Sun at 12 degrees, giving us this month's New Moon - our annual New Moon in Capricorn. 

I don't want to jinx 2022, but - it looks like a good one to me! 

 

Let's dive right in. Let's unpack the chart.

The Moon meets the Sun at 12 degrees Cappy. The Moon is semi-sextile Saturn EXACT by degree and is trining Uranus and squaring Chiron - both these aspects are separating. The ruler of this lunation is Saturn (ruler of Capricorn) sitting all comfy/cozy at 12 degrees Aquarius - is Saturn ever comfy/cozy? he's pretty straight-laced and buttoned-up, so maybe not. As the ancient ruler of Aqua he is strong and stabilizing here. Saturn is squaring Uranus and sextiling Chiron - also both separating. He is sextiling (opportunity) Mars, who is conjunct the Great Attractor - this aspect is applying/building/stronger. We have a boatload of planets in Cappy right now, but Mercury has just made his exit - TODAY, moving into innovative Aquarius (he will be back in Cappy in a couple weeks during his retrograde).

The Moon's tightest aspect is her semi-sextile to ruler Saturn. A semi-sextile is a 30 degree aspect we often overlook, but being exact here, let's not. With Saturn ruling this lunation and the Saturn/Uranus square (2021's biggest aspect) still in play AND with the semi-sextile playing out through Cappy (Saturn) and Aquarius (Uranus) - this feels like a repeating energetic which is something we always want to be paying attention to. Cappy/Aquarius. Saturn/Uranus. Similar to the square we've been dealing with - that old vs new, rules vs liberation dynamic, but without the "vs" part- something more straightforward than the square, or maybe I should say, in addition to the square, at play here.

 

An innovative fresh start grounded in reality or maybe with something connected to the past anchoring it and/or Saturn speaking of the required commitment/patience.

 

With the Moon trining Uranus and that semi-sextile, instead of Saturn's usual process of presenting us with a reality check/bringing us down to Earth through practical considerations/responsibilities, maybe here we are starting with our feet planted on the ground first and as we lean into the future we find, instead of Saturn's usual obstacles, the wind at our back. 

Is there still such a thing?! Yes, I think there might be!

TAKE ACTION and things fall in line folks!

Something to keep in mind now is Venus is retrograde in Cappy and Mercury will be making his own retrograde in a couple weeks, so both will be re-walking the degrees they occupy at this New Moon - indications that some things will have to be re-worked, re-viewed, re-thought, etc, as we proceed.

 

Mercury has just moved into Aquarius today and is trining the North Node in Gemini which he/she rules. New ideas/conversations/information/facts - maybe more than one - will get things moving/point us in the right direction. There could be a choice/an answer. Maybe we now know and can start to move forward. 

This trine is one of the final aspects of the North Node in Gemini we have been working for the last 18 months, so what have we learned?! Keep in mind the North Node is an area whose exploration will BENEFIT us and the trine removes brakes/obstacles. 

Also keep in mind we get the trine through Mercury being in individualistic, innovative, future-focused AQUARIUS, not Cappy, but Mercury (as us) is going to move back into Cappy in the weeks ahead so we can re-think/re-work whatever this is now and see what sticks. 

At this New Moon we are sort of STARTING FROM THE FUTURE. From an older/wiser/more detached position - as if we already have what we want or are somehow past the struggle for it. We will go back and struggle for it later, ie figure out how to make it work, struggle not being a bad thing here, but see how this kind of thinking can free us up to innovate/change?!

Saturn is sextiling Mars - always a good thing, and another GREEN light - Aquarius/Sagittarius. Our responsibilities to the future/the group/our independence creating opportunities through action. With Mars in Sag, think - QUEST. We want to be bringing our "A" game, what we have learned, our courage/confidence/optimism to the task at hand. Mars conjunct the Great Attractor is another indicator of the 'newness' of what is starting - note, it is through Aquarius and Sagittarius we get to this mind-blowing/time-bending download.

 

Between now and the middle of February when the Cappy retrogrades are finally finished we will be starting/re-working this new chapter. Cappy isn't fast moving energy, but that trine to Uranus and Mars sextile could encourage speed. The Mercury/North Node will bring in - NOW and over the next two weeks as this New Moon storyline plays out - fresh information/ideas and choices.

Some things to keep in mind - with Venus retrograde in Cappy, ALOT of people are re-thinking their careers/their money/their values, the ways we feel we need to earn our relationships or over-work or the way we keep relationships at a distance by wanting something unrealistic. This re-examining is exactly where we should be. Having our Capricorn house all figured out in the middle of multiple retrogrades is unlikely/premature/ASKING FOR TROUBLE. 

 

With Mercury's upcoming retrograde taking us from Aquarius (new ideas) back to Capricorn (what will work/what will last), this won't be a straight path from A that takes us to Z. We are going to need to zig and we are going to need to zag.

BUT right now, with this New Moon, we want to be getting some seeds into the ground. 

 

Make a space for what you need to find you. Something as simple as re-arranging the furniture can create big energetic shifts. We are dealing with an Earth sign - so make whatever you do something you can see, touch, taste or smell.

This is a new Moon in Cappy with a stellium in Cappy. Capricorn is restrained/serious energy. New Moon stuff is happening in the dark so we have to trust that there is stuff going on, good stuff, we can't see yet - we just have to line up our energy with this field by doing the work - getting some seeds into the ground. 

Don't clutter up your life with loose ends now. The North Node is soon to move into Taurus and we will want things to be more simple and less complicated. Take care of your physical body. 

 

The Moon and Saturn interacting with hurting/healing Chiron speak of the fact that much of what is starting will likely have its feet in some old wounds/vulnerabilities, maybe fears about being able to take care of ourselves or masculine injuries. This could be what is motivating us now to get started and that is OK. 

Saturn is more of a stick guy than a carrot coaxer anyway.

MONTHLY AFFIRMATION TIPS:

Some Capricorn New Moon affirmation ideas to think about: security, time, self-discipline, your brand and image, career, ambition, opportunity, goals, delegation, releasing control, father figures, reputation, your bones, knees, skin and joints, your natal Cappy house theme


Get grounded - we're in an earth sign now, so this should be easier. Meditate. Take your shoes off and walk around outdoors. Work in a clean, quiet space. Always make affirmations from a  positive place (positive meaning both happy and certain) - write your affirmations down by hand in cursive. We want the letters all connecting and flowing together. Speak them out loud. Consider speaking/texting, etc less on New Moon days to give your words added oomph.

 

I used to write my affirmations on strips of paper and put them into a bowl of rice so I could mix them around every now and then with my fingers if things got stagnant - do what feels right to you.

 
Then release your attention knowing your intention is know. 

 

Know these things are already yours.

xo all

 

(if you have planets/points in your own chart near 12 degrees Virgo you are starting the calendar year with a powerful Grand Earth Trine, so you REALLY want to be starting something. Is there a better aspect? There might not be!)

Today's astrology Forecast | Wednesday, December 29th, 2021 - something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue

 

The Moon is in deep/dark Scorpio now. We are nourished by power/collective resources/merging/purging/diving deep. Looking under the hood/the covers. During the two days every month the Moon journeys through her sister sign of Scorpio, our emotions can become more intense. Situations can feel more "life and death". 

 

She sextiles the Sun at 5:42AM EST, opposes a retrograde Uranus at 10:51AM EST and squares Saturn at 11:57AM EST. Her Uranus/Saturn aspects pull Luna into the struggles of the powerful Saturn/Uranus square. The old vs the new. Responsibility vs liberation. 

 

Pressure! Are we being made into diamonds? I think maybe we are.

 

The Moon's sextile to the Sun is this month's Waning Sextile. Capricorn/Scorpio. This is ambition. Movement. Opportunity. Power. Whatever we are building/earning, maybe those goals that have been sidelined/gathering dust, the Scorpio Moon adds passion/intensity. 

 

The sextile comes just before the Sun perfects his square to Chiron (in Aries). A light shines on a wound/vulnerability. Our ego/reputation/authority/confidence might take a hit. Fears older than we are around being able to take care of ourselves/stand up for ourselves/be ourselves are triggered. Also, this is Cappy/Aries, so again, more old vs young, traditional vs new, rules/limits vs freedom/impulsivity.

At the same time Mercury meets Venus (retrograde) and Mars sextiles Saturn.

Mercury comes in and gives Venus's retrograde journey through Capricorn a voice. News comes in. Maybe we are talking about what we want/need now. Information, communication, conversations might be focused on Venus themes - finances, relationships, our values, our self-esteem. Old stories are re-activated, old players might re-appear. Yes, we've been here before. Say it again. 

(Keep in mind, Mercury's next stop - tomorrow, but these things build and unwind, so timing is not always so exact - is his own conjunction with powerful Pluto - it's likely whatever conversation Venus is stirring up will become more intense/focused in the hours and days ahead. Could lead to a merging/purging. Powerful commitments. Financial dealings. Twisted bed sheets. Truth/secrets can come out.)

Mars, on his/our quest through Sagittarius moves into an opportunistic/stabilizing sextile to Saturn in Aquarius. Here is where our wisdom/faith/confidence/optimism can pay off. Saturn reins in/stabilizes Mars in Sag's desire to go too far/need for unlimited adventure. Our actions are smarter/less over-the-top. At the same time, Mars in Sagittarius adds fire/optimism to Saturn in Aquarius's cool/detached logic. Our sober actions/passionate practicalities open doors. Win/win. 

A mixed bag, with oodles of opportunity here. What can we do with this?

 

xo all

 

artwork by the talented Silvio Porzionato

applying the weekly mundane forecasts to your own life | astro tip of the week

This is quick, but rather than add this to a post where it could get lost in the sauce, I will make this its own post. 

 

Maybe we will have a weekly tip in 2022.

When reading the weekly forecasts, because they will have a collective bent, it can pay off to give special attention to what your CHART RULER is doing. For this you will need to know your rising sign and which planet rules your rising sign (if you do not know email me and I will check for you).

Looking at this week's forecast (and I skipped inconjuncts and smaller aspects this week because we have so much going on) you will see:

 

TUESDAY - Jupiter enters Pisces

WEDNESDAY - Mercury conjunct Venus, Sun square Chiron, Mars sextile Saturn

THURSDAY - Mercury conjunct Pluto

SATURDAY - Sun trine Uranus

SUNDAY - Mercury enters Aquarius, Mercury trine North Node, New Moon Capricorn

 

Here are a couple examples.

 

If you are a Virgo rising, you look for Mercury. 

 

He is VERY active and you probably will be, too. First note he is direct and in serious Capricorn. Your actions should be straight forward and sober. He meets Venus (now remember YOU are Mercury here), so this could be about a meeting with a Venusian person, a woman, a situation about a financial matter, a relationship situation or self-esteem/beauty issue. Venus is in Cappy, too, and she is retrograde so pulling in career/goal situations and you have 'been here before' in some way or dealing with 'unfinished business'. Then Mercury meets Pluto - this is YOU/Mercury stepping into power/responsibility (this is still stable Capricorn) or dealing with powerful people (maybe manipulative people, so stay practical/balanced), third party situations, other people's money, mergers, intimacies, reproduction, sex. Pluto reveals deep truth, so you, of all signs, especially need to be looking under the hood, asking important questions. Finally Mercury is going to change signs - you move into air - your intellect comes into the situation, you can detach a bit from whatever is going on. Remember, one way to think about this is that you ARE Mercury here. So you move out of serious-as-a-heart-attack Cappy and rise above that situation. Just as you detach/apply "air" you move into a smooth trine with the North Node - your future. In Gemini, so this will be about a decision, choice, commercial interaction, sibling interaction, something within your local community, etc. Whatever this is will have multiple moving parts.

If you are a Taurus rising, you look for Venus. 

 

Venus is retrograde, and she is retrograde less frequently than any other energy, so you are not as used to this backward dance as some other people. She is in serious Capricorn, too, the sign of winter, so you need to be taking care of your physical self. Her only aspect this week is her meeting with Mercury. Now remember YOU are Venus, so this isn't necessary about a "Venusian matter" for you. This will be about the information, conversation, communication, sibling situation, transportation/local community/tech issue that Mercury is activating. And, in some way, because you are repeating these degrees YOU HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE. 

To make the most accurate use of looking at your chart this way, you need to factor in the Moons, but it can still be helpful to add extra emphasis to your chart ruler's story-line as you read the weekly forecast.

I hope something here is helpful.

xo all

we are going to make this easier and just use the modern rulers, if you want to go 'old school' also check Mars for Scorpio, Saturn for Aquarius and Jupiter for Pisces:

ARIES Rising - Mars

TAURUS Rising - Venus

GEMINI Rising - Mercury

CANCER Rising - Moon (the Moon makes alot of aspects, so don't try to calculate each one, just look at the signs the Moon is in for the week ahead and they will give you the general feel of what you need to feel nourished/nurtured and whether you are dealing with mostly challenging or smooth aspects on any given day)

LEO Rising - Sun

VIRGO Rising - Mercury

LIBRA Rising - Venus

SCORPIO Rising - Pluto

SAGITTARIUS Rising - Jupiter

CAPRICORN Rising - Saturn

AQUARIUS Rising - Uranus

PISCES Rising - Neptune

Weekly astrology forecast for creatives | December 27, 2021- January 2, 2022 - a big week to end 2021 and launch 2022

Huge week folks. 

There looks like a little breathing room the first couple days to unclutter, etc, (although Tuesday's Moon in Libra is making some testy squares, so relationship energies will be tricky) and then we are IN IT. 

 

TUESDAY - Jupiter enters Pisces

WEDNESDAY - Mercury conjunct Venus, Sun square Chiron, Mars sextile Saturn

THURSDAY - Mercury conjunct Pluto

SATURDAY - Sun trine Uranus

SUNDAY - Mercury enters Aquarius, Mercury trine North Node, New Moon Capricorn

On TUESDAY, Jupiter re-enters Pisces, the sign of his ancient rulership, so he is plenty powerful here. Jupiter first entered Pisces last May 13th, then stationed retrograde and moved back into Aquarius on July 28th. So, in some way we are getting a second chance/re-do with whatever we had going last May, June and July. This is an opportunity to apply what we have learned and expand in a better way. Jupiter's transit of Pisces is going to be VERY FAST. 

He will be in Aries by May 10, 2022 and then return to Pisces at the end of the year during his retrograde for a two month squat on the final degrees of Pisces (which are also the final degrees of the entire zodiac, so October/November 2022 are going to be a very spiritual and important wrap-up/gift of some kind, heads up).  

Jupiter brings expansion and luck via confidence, faith and risk. 

In Pisces, this energy will be expanding the collective Piscean themes of connection, compassion, gratitude, creativity, imagination, art, music, spirituality, rest, healing. As always the things to look out for - the shadow energies - are these themes taken too far. Things like - escapism, addiction, self-sabotage, self-sacrifice, lack of boundaries (viral spread including thought viruses), delusion, etc.  

The entirety of Jupiter in Pisces is an excellent time for creative projects (that feel guided by a higher power) - poetry, writing, art, music, photography, films, meditation, prayer, etc. Our Pisces natal house, a space we are already not totally rational, expands. This is good news until we take something too far, so stay frosty with this. If you have planets/points in Pisces you will want to be aware of what days in 2022 Jupiter is meeting up with those planets because with such a fast-moving transit the luck/expansion that comes through confidence/faith/risk will be fast-moving, too. 

On WEDNESDAY, we have all our inner planets uber active with each other, so by mid-week things will really start to heat up. Mercury meets up with a retrograde Venus, Mars sextiles Saturn and the Sun squares Chiron.

The Sun's square to Chiron is a light on a vulnerability/wound. We might feel less than up to handling whatever situation this is stirring up. With Mercury (communication, conversations, information) connecting with a retrograde Venus in Cappy - this could bring up a similar situation to something we have faced before especially regarding career, work in the world, reputation or goal or a Venusian theme involving finances, relationships or self-esteem. Maybe what we want is put into words. Supply chain issues might be talked about. It's Cappy season and Uranus is in Taurus - stock up without hoarding. The way through is today's Mars sextile to Saturn. Mars is in Sagittarius - think action/QUEST/courage/bringing our "A' game/staying optimistic. Saturn is in Aquarius, so think about stability with a future-focus, new rules, security within a like-minded tribe or through our own individuality/freak flag. 

The Moon is waning - what needs to go?

On THURSDAY - Mercury, fresh off his/her meeting with a backtracking Venus, meets up with powerful Pluto. Words are powerful (can cut like a knife, so be strong AND kind). Important conversations are happening. Truth can come out. Look under the hood. Ask hard questions. Power is cemented through language/information. This is happening where Venus stationed retrograde pulling Venusian themes into the mix 

(and maybe collective omicron information - keep in mind with Jupiter in Pisces, there is likely to be talk about more spread, maybe, with any luck, here is where we are also hearing the spread isn't producing correlating serious disease/hospitalizations or maybe we get some information about treatments/vitamins, etc that is important- notice which side of the equation you are giving your attention to/choose what feels most empowering).

On SATURDAY - what better aspect for the first day of a new calendar year! - the Sun trines Uranus. 

Uranus is still retrograde until January 18th, so this isn't totally new/new, but here is a WAY FORWARD. A powerful portal is opened between our Capricorn and Taurus houses. We won't have to push for whatever we have lined up here, if something is intending to come in, it will. These are earth signs. Take practical action. Keep in mind one of these energies is Uranus - chaos - something might feel shaky/uncertain, but trust whatever flows/grows here. This is about NEW authority/new status. New rules. This is great energy for making physical changes to structures/kicking off 2022.

SUNDAY - needs its own post. 

The New Moon in Cappy on January 2nd will really get 2022 started! 

With Mercury switching signs and trining the North Node on the same day - we know our thinking/the conversation/information is CHANGING, too. The end of the week into next week is BIG.

xo all - back with the New Moon post and the nodal shift!

artwork by the talented BisBiswas

Venus retrograde in capricorn on pluto | part II - the fear and intensity around something we don't want to have to face again when we have to face it again

 

 

Part I is HERE.

Probably the most important aspect of Venus's retrograde through Capricorn is her three-peat conjunction to powerful Pluto. 

 

Pluto brings up hidden fears/old karmas (unbalanced energies). 

 

With Venus retrograding over Pluto there is something here about what we thought we were past/thought we were over with, coming back around. This is something like, "I thought I was done with this. I don't want to have to deal with THIS again". 

 

We need to be gentle/kind with ourselves now and understand we are not back where we were before. This is Capricorn. We can age in dog years here. We are older and wiser. 

Know that things that feel like life and death, most likely will not be. Things can have an irrational intensity and be based on older situations we might not even remember. Also keep in mind this is Venus we are talking about. This isn't like when Saturn met Pluto. This is our most benevolent energy.

 

So what happens? Venus meets Pluto, she stations retrograde, starts moving backward and quickly she meets Pluto again - this all happens within a couple weeks - then she continues to move backward for another month, stations direct and meets up with Pluto for the final time a few weeks after her direct station. I am not going to fill this post with dates - see part I for that - but as I write this we are approaching her second meeting with Pluto (the one where Venus is backtracking).

So, she, as we, gets past Pluto (death!) in the exhausting sign of Capricorn, she can almost see Aquarius from here/breathe that fresh detached air - it is R-I-G-H-T THERE. We can almost touch it. We can almost taste it (FREEDOM!) and then .. hold up a minute Venus ... this Cappy mountain ain't climbed yet sister. She (as we) is going back.

 

Now, it may not play out exactly like this for us personally and we might not remember the last time we were in this situation, we might just feel this kind of irrational intensity. And everyone's chart will NOT be deeply impacted, sometimes we are affected through other people or collective happenings. But, the story is the story, and it will apply to MULTIPLE situations at the same time. Nothing is ever just one thing, but sometimes when BIG collective things are going on it is easier to connect the dots. In our personal lives and collectively, because Venus is a personal planet, her retrograde through Cappy will have repercussions - the situations will be different, but the story-line, this back and forth climb of the mountain, past death/the intensity again and again, will somehow be the same.

For now, let's focus on their second meeting. Have I said this is happening on Christmas Day? Maybe I haven't - this is happening on Christmas Day (timing is a little loose with planets other than the Moon, we might feel this more in the build-up).

Here's the chart:

We can easily see that pile-up in Capricorn.

Cappy is the sign of winter. A sober season where people die if they don't take things seriously. Cappy is a cardinal sign - something wants to start. Yes, even with that ice cold ground. And it's the last cardinal sign - the something that wants to start is in a way a final start. A last chance, sort of.

 

Now what else do we see? 

 

Venus is conjunct Pluto at 25 degrees. They are both conjunct asteroid Astraea EXACT. Venus in Capricorn is answering to Saturn in Aquarius who is conjunct asteroid Asclepius. 

 

Saturn in Aquarius is answering to Uranus in Taurus who is answering to Venus - so Venus can get back to herself through Saturn - the old and responsible - but she has to go through Uranus, too - the new and liberating - and have I mentioned they are squaring each other. This whole two-step 'mutual reception' which I might have just made up - is there such a thing? maybe not, but it makes sense - is repeating the chart's Saturn/Uranus square. The old vs the new. Tradition vs the future. Responsibility vs freedom. And we are all working both sides of this square at the same time. There isn't a right vs wrong here.

Two important asteroids are pulled into the Venus/Pluto story, so let's take a look in that direction.

 

Astraea was discovered in 1847 by a German amateur astronomer named Hencke. At the time, the four Goddess asteroids – Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta – were still called PLANETS. Astraea’s discovery announced there were likely many more asteroids in that asteroid belt, and the four planets/Goddess energies were demoted to asteroids (kind of like what Eris recently did to Pluto). I think of these asteroids as the feminine energy placeholders (probably something like our junk DNA) for the discarded Goddesses during the patriarchal twist (the one son/sun shift where the power moved to the churches/governments) unleashed during the Cappy time-frame of the Age of Pisces (now ending). Imagine the world we would be living in if these celestial bodies had remained planets! If everyone knew their names! Sniffle ..

 

Astraea is the Goddess of service, peace and justice who became part of the constellation Virgo/Libra when she was the last Goddess to leave the Earth after Pandora's box was opened at the end of the Golden Age/Silver Age. She was said to return at the time of the New Earth/New Golden Age and thought to represent (in our charts) both this new awakening energy - where we come back to ourselves - and the part of us that might stay too long/have trouble letting go of things that are no longer good for us.

She joins Venus and Pluto at this second conjunction, so we've got Venus, Pluto AND Astraea at 25 degrees Capricorn. Past the point we've always died before. Bringing in this new awakening energy AND something about us staying too long at the show.

(and this is going to be a big theme with the upcoming South Node in Scorpio, which is really already in play, a need for the pruning of these complicated life/death intense situations that are no longer needed for our growth, noticing what pay-off we are getting from all this Scorpian drama and letting it go by turning toward something more nourishing - we will talk about this in the Taurus/Scorpio nodes post next)

Saturn, because remember Venus is answering to him, so he is a major player here as ruler of Capricorn, is conjunct asteroid Asclepius.

Asclepius is the God of Medicine (born a mortal), son of the sun God Apollo and the mortal Princess Coronis and father of the healing Goddesses including Hygeia. Chiron taught Asclepius the art of medicine/healing and he is said to have been able to cure people through their dreams and BRING PEOPLE BACK FROM THE DEAD. This earned him the ire of Zeus, who was afraid he would soon have all these immortal mortals running around and how would that work for the Gods, so he killed Asclepius with his thunderbolt. Apollo, the sun God and pissed off daddy then killed the cyclops who made Zeus's lightning bolts which got Apollo evicted from Mount Olympus. Later Zeus regrets his hastiness and awards Asclepius eternal life as a God and he is placed in the sky as the serpent bearer at the end of the constellation Scorpio/beginning of Sagittarius (right where the South Node and Mars are now). The serpent represents the kundalini and the double helix of DNA.

 

Sooo, what does this mean? "Mean" is a bit loaded and has many definitions none of which I am particularly fond of, but I will tell you what I see and mostly let you ponder this out for yourself and see how you might apply this personally and collectively. This is really a time when we want to be thinking for ourselves.

As Venus crossed "time runs out/power is cemented" the degree Saturn met Pluto (and the Sun and Ceres and Mercury back in January 2020), the FIRST time earlier in December while applying to her first conjunction to Pluto, South Africa announced their discovery of the Omicron virus. So, the virus is part of the Venus retro story-line for us, at least collectively. Again, Venus is our most benevolent planet. She isn't her strongest in Capricorn, but she is still bringing something BENEFICIAL to the situation. Keep in mind though, just as she is impacting "time runs out/power is cemented", this energy is influencing her. We might feel weakened/tired. She crosses Pluto. Now she is 'past the death', but she is drained and forced to change course. Believe me, Venus would have liked to just keep on keeping on, but somehow her job (our job) isn't done here yet.

Now, it's two weeks later and Venus is back to face off with Pluto (death/transformation) AGAIN joined by Astraea, the Goddess who speaks of staying too long in difficult situations and is a symbol for a new golden age - the re-integration of the discarded Goddess energy in all of us both women and men. And, Saturn, is with Asclepius, the healing student of Chiron who becomes a great healer. Bringing people back to life. Through their dreams. It is not a coincidence this is happening at Christmas our most magical and holy season, as Jupiter finishes up in Aquarius and as the Nodes finish up in Gemini/Sagittarius. 

 

At the same time Mars is conjunct the South Node (separating) and trining Asclepius's teacher - Chiron. There is healing here, of very old/very deep wounds, if we are willing to work this Mars in Sag on the South Node in a positive way. Through the Nodes - not 'make a mountain out of a molehill', not think we know it all, make some new choices, have some new conversations, talk to some new people, ask questions. And Mars in Sag himself - expand in some way/have faith/stay optimistic. 

When you think Mars in Sag - think QUEST. 

This is a great QUEST that only looks like something has totally f'd with our holidays. 

 

Think about the asteroid energies activated in this chart. What are they saying to you? Think about beneficial Venus. She's a winter Venus here, a practical/all-business Goddess because winter can be deadly and she's got to truck her ass up this snowy mountain. She can't 'beat' Pluto, but we can see in the weeks ahead she IS going to get past him and so will we. 

 

By the time we get to the end of January, Venus will be direct and the North Node (our path forward) will be in Taurus and answering to her. Things will look quite different. AND as early as next week Jupiter leaves Aquarius for Pisces, the sign of his ancient rulership and gets out from under Saturn's thumb for the first time in 3 years.

I can't say exactly what's going to happen, because there isn't a ''thing that is going to happen". There are multiple ways this can all play out depending, for us personally what we do about what we feel/the situation (keep in mind this is the retrograde part where we are re-evaluating) and what we do as a group/collective and, of course, the karmas  playing out. We also have the whole Uranus/Saturn square that will start unwinding after Christmas Eve, but is still in play next year. 

I hope something here is helpful. Life is a transit folks. Everything passes. With Venus retrograde we have the opportunity/gift to approach something in a HIGHER way. Let's be kind to each other whether or not we agree with each other. We don't need everyone to agree even when it looks like we do. This is a planet of duality and this 'ending of duality' isn't something we want to be rushing through, less we get this wrong and end up with something quite different than what we are hoping for. 

Have a lovely holiday week everyone. 

Back with that nodal shift post I keep promising!

xo all

artwork by the amazing akramness

Today's astrology forecast | Wednesday, December 22, 2021 (and a look at tomorrow) - take early action, serious words and following our heart lead to healing and connection, stay flexible tomorrow

 

 

The power of master number 22, along with Saturday's Full Moon and yesterday's Solstice surely is powering everything up! 

 

The Moon in Leo over the next couple days is activating the final Saturn/Uranus square at the end of the week, so we are kind of 'in it' now. The old vs the new. Tradition vs modernity. Limits/responsibilities vs freedom/individuality. This isn't about right and wrong - keep that in mind. Ask yourself - what traditions are worth keeping and what needs to change? 

 

(Keeping things the same/not taking any risk isn't life affirming, it creates depression/makes us brittle AND too much change too fast/not holding to any traditions/responsibilities creates anxiety/makes us brittle - these are fixed signs - Aquarius/Taurus - and don't want to give. And now the Leo Moon pulls in our egos! We can let all this Cappy energy right now scare the hell out of us, whichever side of the fence we are sitting or detach (Jupiter in Aquarius for just a few more days, use it or lose it!) and realize we are all in this together despite making different choices - North Node in Gemini, different choices are OK, really, truly - this ship is steered by bigger hands than ours). 

 

The Moon moved into fiery Leo tomorrow afternoon. We are nourished/nurtured by our heart, the spotlight, children, creative projects, romance, recreation, fun. After a smooth trine to Mars this morning (good for taking action), she will oppose Saturn at 2:28PM EST (maybe challenges with limits/rules/authority) and will square a retrograde Uranus 20 minutes later (so also challenged with freedom/individuality/change). 

 

Looks like multiple frictional alignments (might be felt as little blows to our ego) that continue into tomorrow, so we might not get exactly what we want now (especially if what we want is attention/appreciation/a heartfelt response/that center stage, to have some fun - and who doesn't, right?). 

We also have Mercury (in sober Capricorn) meeting up with Juno and then sextiling Pallas.

Mercury's meeting with Juno speaks of contractual agreements or formal commitments/sometimes endings, especially within partnerships. Agreements/conclusions are reached. Note, Capricorn makes this stuff lasting/stabilizing, but Mercury's immediately sextile to wise Pallas in imaginative/drifting Pisces makes me think some of the rules/limits with whatever Mercury/Juno is looking to cement will be a bit more flexible than we think they are. Boundaries thin. Mergers transcend earthly realms. Maybe a business partnership enables a spiritual connection or karmic wrap-up. Mercury's meeting with Juno (like all conjunctions) starts a new story, so keep in mind, with whatever is starting now, whatever you are 'giving your word to', it could later drift off course a bit as new strategies/patterns develop. And that's OK.

The trine to Mars - get things done early - and the sextile to Pallas - opportunity through connecting elusive dots, creativity, spirituality, letting things GO (remember the Moon is waning now) - are the ways through this day. Also with Leo trine Aries there must be a trine to Chiron in here somewhere today that I missed, so whatever we have going on is healing some very old/very wounded masculine energies.

Tomorrow our Leo Moon (as us) will face multiple inconjuncts/rocks and hard places. 

 

The Moon isn't uber comfortable in Leo anyway, since it is the Sun's sign. The inconjuncts to Neptune, Pluto and a retrograde Venus (bringing up uncomfortable stuff from the past) speak of the need to be flexible, know since this is the Moon 'this too shall pass'. And quickly!

 

Remember we are walking through the Full Moon story-line - see the post HERE, where we've got an ace in the holes/the better coming from the disappointments if we expand/take some risk. We've got the Saturn/Uranus square building, so there's a little 'anything-can-happen' in the air now. And with Venus retrograde we won't only be feeling what we don't have, but every other time we didn't have it! Again, life on planet Earth - not for sissies. And obviously we're not sissies because here we ARE (even if we are a sis still called sissie, so yes, an actual sissie like me).

 

Once the Moon gets into Virgo on Friday morning and starts trining the Sun, see if things feel better.

xo all

artwork by the amazing Tijana Lukovic

Weekly Astrology Forecast for cReatives | December 20th - 26th, 2021 - keep your eye on the fellow in the red suit, the one with the magical reindeer and ... the cookies

 

 

With the final Saturn/Uranus square and Venus backtracking over Pluto - jolly old Saint Nicholas has his work cut out for him this year! 

 

Let's jump right in.

 

MONDAY - Mercury trines Uranus

TUESDAY - Sun into Capricorn, Winter Solstice

WEDNESDAY - Sun inconjuncts North Node, Ceres retro back into Taurus,

CHRISTMAS EVE - Saturn squares Uranus 

CHRISTMAS - Venus conjuncts Pluto, Mars trines Chiron

 

MONDAY - Mercury, at 11 degrees Capricorn, trines (brakes off) Uranus, retrograde in Taurus 

This is great energy for having new conversations, new ideas, new energy that can pull more traditional thinking FORWARD. Minds change/progress. New information comes in. Maybe we are making changes to a verbal or written commitment/contract. 

 

These are earth signs, so keep things sensible/practical. 

 

TUESDAY - the Sun moves into Capricorn - now we are energized by getting down to business, taking things seriously. Empty cupboards get stocked. Big girl/boy pants on. Our Cappy house theme is illuminated/used for fuel now as well as the collective themes of career, goals, our status and ability to step into our own authority. 

(with 3 of our personal planets in serious Cappy now and our benevolent Venus into her 40 days/nights in the desert, tendencies toward depression/negative thinking can get emphasized, keep this in mind and take care of what you give your attention to/what you are absorbing - we've got Mars in expansive Sagittarius applying to his trine to Chiron this week, faith/optimism/expansion/taking a bit of a risk will be HEALING, lean into that)

 

WEDNESDAY - As soon as the Sun gets into sober Cappy, he moves into an awkward inconjunct (rock and a hard place) with the North Node (our path forward) in Gemini. 

 

The Sun in Cappy is about responsibility/maturity/authority, shining through our goals/ambitions, doing things that are traditional/stabilizing/long-term. The North Node in Gemini (for the last 18 months and this is closing out next month as the North Node moves into Taurus) speaks of having an open mind, asking questions, trying new ideas, having multiple conversations, staying flexible, multi-tasking, keeping things short-term. We can see how these two energies might be working at cross-purposes. When Capricorn energy tries to hold the line/Gemini's toes to the fire, Gemini becomes even more confused/despondent over what it feels as an attempt to corral its need for movement. Both sides need to be honored here and even then there are no real winners, just keep in mind Gemini is the North Node - our way forward - so lean into the flexibility/keeping things light angle with whatever this might stir up. 

Cappy loves a high horse, so let's avoid this whole scapegoating thing. 

 

The North Node - our path forward- is in dualistic Gemini - not everyone is going to agree. Not everyone is going to be moving in the same direction at the same time or maybe not ever at all. Not everyone is going to be playing by the same rules. These differences are not going to make any of us any less safe - these differences are what is needed.

 

We have 20 more days to be releasing any certainty we have with "this is the absolute truth", so that we can relate to each other where we are. So we can listen and learn from each other. We can't be afraid to be curious, to ask questions, to change our mind - this will all be good uses of this waning Gemini energy/ways we align with our best path forward. This will not be about coming into consensus because remember Gemini is a dualistic energy. And, as far as the scapegoating of the un-jabbers go, Chiron is in Aries - we are only healing ourselves.

This is also the day, Ceres retrograde backs into Taurus. The Earth Mother back to the garden. With Venus (ruler of Taurus) and Ceres both retrograde it is likely we are NOT breaking new ground at this point, so there is no need to be banging our head against the door/planting crops in cold, dry earth. Ceres retrograde is about review/re-visions to what we have been nurturing/mothering/to our season of life situations. Ceres can activate situations where we feel most out of control, so survival fears might intensify as she stations (finances, resources, self-esteem,values) and this is a sure sign that something needs to be re-solved within us before those seeds go into the ground and our garden can flourish. Taurus is fixed earth - slow your roll. Stock your cupboard with healthy foods and comfortable linens, you'll feel better.

FRIDAY - OK, so it's Christmas Eve and here is the final 2021 EXACT Saturn in Aquarius square Uranus in Taurus. This is the BIG repeating aspect of 2021 and it comes as Venus (ruler of Taurus) retrogrades back over Pluto (in Capricorn, so answering to Saturn)! 

 

This is the third square of three - although it will be unwinding for most of 2022, it will not be exact again after today. The ancient and modern rulers of Aquarius battle it out. Events now might connect back to February 17th and June 14th.

Saturnian aspects are kind of like tests. With Saturn in Aquarius, our responsibilities to the collective are a focus/being tested. ALSO tested is the ability for authority to restrict/impose new rules on the collective (who are we giving our power to?). With Uranus in Taurus, our hive-mind memories of collective and personal trauma around our values, our security, our resources, our money and self-esteem are being shaken/not stirred. 

 

With a worldwide pandemic and the reactions/restrictions - no need to guess how this is showing up.

 

Big picture - Uranus is chaotic (and pre-dates structure/Saturn) and chaos is always about the re-distribution of power. Authority is challenged. And with Saturn squaring Uranus (also the sign of the people), rebelliousness/freedom is limited.

 

This year's Saturn/Uranus squares are the CLOSING squares of a longer cycle that started back on February 12, 1988 (ran through 1989) when they met at 28 degrees Sagittarius (conjunct the Galactic Center - homing signal, seat of creation in our Milky Way Galaxy). They had their opening square from Aquarius/Taurus and their opposition from Virgo and Pisces.

 

The cycle closes out (and a new one begins) on June 28, 2032 when they meet again at 27 degrees Gemini - so almost exactly opposing where they started. 

 

Maybe this CLOSING SQUARE is the space where we can arrive at some unusual solutions. 

 

Whatever happens something should start to unwind after we get past this - although the square stays in play through most of 2022.

 

SATURDAY - Venus, at 25 degrees Capricorn retrogrades back over Pluto while Mars, at 8 degrees Sagittarius trines Chiron in Aries.

The stability of a Venusian issue (love, money, values, beauty, women, self-esteem) is being transformed by Pluto as truths, intimacies, big financial situations, power imbalances, obsessions, manipulations, jealousies, life/death/rebirth scenarios and third party situations are being REVIEWED, re-assessed. We were just here a week ago with Venus direct. Whatever it is we are wanting - or what is being de-constructed now -  Venus/Pluto will make it feel all consuming/like life and death even though it most likely isn't. Keep in mind this is their second of three meetings, the only one with Venus moving backward, so this is the time to be re-assessing, re-working, re-thinking the situation. Time to be getting real about what we really want/love now, particularly in terms of our natal Cappy house theme or the collective themes of our goals/career/the way we show up in the world.

At the same time Mars is trining Chiron, so actions we take, particularly BOLD/expansive moves - and keep in mind this is Christmas Day - are healing/helping, make things BETTER. 

 

Take a risk here people.

xo all

 

back with the Nodes of Fate post this week plus some Moons to round out the week!

artwork by the talented Genzoman

Full Moon in Gemini | December 18th, 2021 - when it's better to be confused than sure, a disappointment, pain followed by good news, faith, luck, future opportunities, having an ace in the hole

On Saturday, December 18th, 2021 at 11:35PM EST the Gemini Moon opposes the Sagittarius Sun giving us this month's Full Moon - our annual Full Moon in Gemini. 

This is our 3rd of SIX Fulls Moon at 27 degrees (remember all the 23 degrees New Moons this time last year?!) - this one near the mid-point of this celestial magic happening with the Sun conjunct the Galactic Center - our homing signal, black hole at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. We will explore this 27 repeat pattern at the end of this Full Moon post.

 

Full Moons are times of heightened emotions. The sky is bright. Something is illuminated. It shows us what we are holding onto/where we are/what is reaching its peak/what is finishing up. In Gemini this is about communication and learning, opinions and options. Our siblings and local community. Stuff that is moving. Stuff that changes. 

 

Gemini is the sign of duality (and how, yes, two things can be true/right at the same time) - think of its symbol of 'the twins' - and we often find we have more than one important thing FINISHING UP at the time of a Gemini Full Moon. 

There will also be more than one way forward - Gemini holds the space of the crossroads.

 

With the Moon in Gemini and the Sun in Gemini's opposing sign of Sagittarius - the Gemini/Sagittarius polarity is activated. This is mutable air vs mutable fire. Flexible, adaptable  - these are signs of transition periods. Mutable signs are restless and prepare us for the change of seasons. Gemini is ruled by Mercury and rules our collective 3rd house of day to day communication and language. It also rules siblings, neighbors, local travel, early education, transportation - movement. Its polarity sign is Sagittarius. Sag rules our collective 9th house of the larger world aspects of movement. So big picture thinking and processes, philosophy, higher education, foreigners, long distance travel, legal issues, etc.

Although the Moon's North Node is still in Gemini for another month, this Moon is too far away to create an Eclipse, but I think happening in the sign of her North Node, still gives the Moon an extra whallop here.

Let's unpack the chart. 

The Moon, at 27 degrees Gemini, opposes the Sun at 27 degrees Sagittarius. The Sun is conjunct the Galactic Center. The Moon is trining Jupiter (applying). The Sun is sextiling Jupiter. They are both squaring Neptune - this aspect is separating/in the past. The ruler of Gemini is Mercury and so as ruler of this lunation we look next to see what she/he is up to (Mercury is an androgynous energy). Mercury is in Capricorn with an EXACT square to Chiron. He/she is sextiling Uranus (applying) and has a quintile to Pluto and a bi-quintile to the North Node (both gifts if activated) - which, remember as ruler of Gemini he/she also rules. We can also see Venus is conjunct Pluto - this aspect is just barely separating, but we know she is going to station retrogarde and run into Pluto two more times. We can also see Saturn is squaring Uranus - we know Uranus is retrograde and going to back into Saturn on Christmas Eve (this year's final Saturn/Uranus square - I don't think 'not a creature was stirring not even a mouse' will apply this year) AND we can see Ceres is conjunct the North Node and Mars is opposing them and moving across the South Node - whew. 

 

The Moon's most exact aspect (besides her opposition to the Galactic Center - which we'll talk about at the end) is a trine to Jupiter in Aquarius. And it's applying - in the near future. Jupiter brings optimism, faith, confidence, luck, good news. In Aquarius this ties in to the future, to groups and 'the people'. This trine and the Sun's sextile (opportunity) is this Moon's ACE IN THE HOLE. All's well that end's well.

(I should also add Jupiter is conjunct the U.S. natal Moon 'the people')

Mercury's exact square - remember Mercury rules the Moon here - to hurting/healing Chiron speaks of a vulnerability/wound we have to get past. Maybe words/a conversation, some information now is painful. Maybe we are worried about being able to take care of ourselves or be ourselves. Maybe some bad news comes in or we face a disappointment.

So, we get the bad news/whatever this is, and Mercury is in Cappy, so its serious news and we take it seriously. BUT remember our ACE IN THE HOLE. Have faith. Stay optimistic. Something BETTER is coming along. This Moon covers the next two weeks (and in some ways the next 18 months) and it speaks of LUCK, EXPANSION, FORTUNE, HOPE.

There is a sextile to Uranus that is applying, too - this, speaks of the opportunity coming through us doing something different or differently this time. Uranus is the modern ruler of Aquarius and so Jupiter is answering to him. Uranus is retrograde, so this change is somehow #new/#notnew.

 

What have we learned after 18 months of the South Node in sage Sagittarius? What have we learned after 18 months of the North Node in smarty pants Gemini? The Nodes are at the very beginning of Gemini/Sag now - just 1 degree - and because they are ALWAYS retrograde, this is the very ending of the signs for them.  There is also a separating transit - that square to Neptune, more endings/dissolvings and the Full Moon is itself a time of endings. And keep in mind what transits are without all the astro babble. They are POTENTIALS that we can witness (in others and within the collective), and, become part of our experience as well, to a greater or lesser extent depending on our birthchart/road map/strategic plan for this lifetime. 

So, there is a pain/disappointment/vulnerability triggered. This is very old/inherited. It is here. Cannot be avoided or glossed over. AND this chart shows luck/expansion in the future. So, if something doesn't work out now, have faith it is because something BETTER is coming. The future is opportunistic. This chart is more indication, I believe, that omicron is going to be beneficial as far as the virus itself goes. What authority does with it - we have that final Saturn/Uranus approaching - is a whole other ballgame. We'll talk about that this upcoming week.

OK, let's dial back to that 27 because we had a 27 degree Full Moon in Taurus last month (that Eclipse that kind of seeded the upcoming Taurus North Node) and a 27 degrees Full Moon in Aries the month before that. Next month we have a 27 degree Full Moon in Cancer (January 17th) and the following month a 27 degrees Full Moon in Leo (February 16th). The 27th degree is a very late degree, but not the final ending degree.

In the iChing, hexagram 27 is called Nourishment. With Ceres on the North Node and the Node preparing to move into Taurus, it feels appropriate to think about this. What is needed to nourish us? 

 

How is our hunger motivating us? If we swallow this 'nourishment' - this is a Gemini Full Moon we don't have to 'swallow' every opinion we are offered - what will we become?

Some of the lessons of hexagram 27 in the iChing are - 

 

the ways the truths we choose to nurture and cultivate become the foundations of our personal eco-system, if what we are depending on is not our true support it will be stripped from us, our jaws literally not lining up - taking too big a bite or too little, what happens when we push away the nourishment that is offered/what we actually need to live (to be left starving not being a good idea, but maybe the need to fast/sit fallow at times), the need sometimes to take a big/intense bite to get to the heart of something/to eat like a lion, rejecting established sources and the need to refuse the way things have always been done in order to get to richer flow, learning that we carry our nourishment with us even as we avoid the pitfall of thinking ourselves invincible. 

 

Maybe something here is helpful to someone. 

 

This month's Moon, opposing the Sun on the Galactic Center is uber important. New energies are being illuminated. The Galactic Center is our homing signal, the black hole at the center of our Galaxy. Things are changing so quickly/so much is in such great flux that our data is way out of date and so are the falsely conditioned  instinctive and emotional survival responses we’ve been limited to. Here's where new data comes in even as our emotional (although less emotional in Gemini) Moon opposes and maybe speaks of challenges trying to make sense of it all. With this Gemini energy and that square to Chiron in Aries/sextile to Uranus - there is some kind of paradox about being whole/alone and THAT bringing us closer to others.

 

We will have to keep thinking about the 27's.

xo all

Today's Astrology Forecast and some thoughts about covid cycles | December 16th, 2021 - risk assessment, longish void moon, respecting the mother, making a new choice

 

The Moon continues her monthly journey though Taurus, the sign of her exaltation. 

 

She trines Pluto at 6:28AM EST (with the North Node's move into Taurus next month, this Cappy trine will become a long term thing - highly competent, stable, creative energy), trines Venus at 8:14AM EST (smooth flow with Venusian themes - money, love, women, beauty, values, self-esteem) and will go void off a square to Jupiter at 11:08AM EST (watch over-doing, over-promising, over-spending, etc). 

 

She will be void until 3:43PM EST when she gets into Gemini and starts heading toward her solar opposition - Full Moon - this weekend. 

 

Early this morning EST, before her Plutonian trine, the Moon inconjuncted the Sun - this month's Waxing Inconjunct.

 

This is the Taurus/Sag inconjunct and is kind of echoing that square to Jupiter that carries us into the void, so there is something here about our need for comfort/security/stability at odds with our need for freedom/expansion/more. It's an uncomfortable reminder that we need to take care of our basic needs/self-care FIRST - this is going to be really driven home to us as the North Node moves into Taurus next month. We can't holiday shop (play Santa) if we have no savings. We can't have the energy we need to explore/expand if we aren't nourishing ourselves properly, etc, AND on the flip-side, we can't sit totally still in order to be completely safe. Living requires risk. Growth is what we came for.

We talked in the weekly about Mars journey across the South Node now - a kind of final TEST about not making a mountain out of a molehill. About being older and wiser (Sagittarius is the guru after all) with whatever we have going on now. 

 

Hopefully this will be applied to collective reasoning in terms of the omicron variant. Maybe we can see the long-term gift - benevolent Venus in Cappy back and forthing over the "time runs out" degree of January 2020 - as yielding a more contagious, but less dangerous and much better prepared for virus than we faced before. We need to work that safety/stuckness vs expansion/risk inconjunct. We can respond sanely and not over-react. Remember it is our collective narcissism (which comes from de-valuing mother/Mother Earth, our natural immune system) that got us into this mess. 

In Vedic astrology, there is a term called Kala Sarpa Yoga.

 

It is the name given to a time period when all planets (they only use planets up to and including Saturn) are captured in one half of the chart by the North and South Nodes of the Moon - which they call Rahu and Ketu, the head and tail of the dragon. The times of Kala Sarpa Yoga are considered troubling times/unfortunate

Even less common than Kala Sarpa Yoga are the times when ALL the major planetary bodies are captured in this 'container' between the nodes (called the Draconic Bowl - sound spooky enough for you?). As Mars crosses the South Node we are ALL IN in the Draconic Bowl - our third trip of three over the last two years. The first two have coincided with greater virus spread and increased lock-downs/responses.

The first Draconic Bowl was February 25, 2020 through May 28, 2020. The second was January 1, 2021 through March 6, 2021 and the third begins now. We truly are 'all in this together' folks.

If we consider Ceres a major planetary body - and why wouldn't we? although keep in mind the Vedic astrologers do not - remember she was at "time runs out" in January 2020 along with Saturn, Pluto, Mercury and the Sun and I think in the future astrologers will see her as the ruler or at least the co-ruler of Taurus - then when Ceres leaves the 'bowl' on January 31, 2022 - this cycle ends. The "mother" has delivered.

 

If we discount Ceres - Mother Earth - and remember it is our discounting of mothering/Mother Earth that creates this narcissistic wounding that got us into this mess (we are going to talk about this in the Nodes post after the Full Moon post), then the bowl will not be 'escaped' until April 23, 2022.

The good news is that after April 2022 this bowl pattern doesn't repeat for at least a decade. Keep in mind it is the decisions we make now, the things we ALLOW that impact the rest of the 2020's and future Earth for our children and grandchildren.

For today, keep in mind that void Moon and the discordance between safety/comfort and growth/being receptive to the new and unknown. There IS a place these energies meet and we can find it.

Back with the Full Moon post and then we'll start talking about January's nodal shift which will change everything.

xo all

a thank you to astrologer Louise Edington for the Kala Sarpa Yoga heads up (say that three times fast)

artwork by the talented Ethemos

Today's Astrology Forecast | Tuesday, December 14th, 2021 (and another look at Wednesday) - chickens coming home to roost, one of the final tests, don't make a mountain out of a molehill

 

 

The Moon has gone void Monday night and moves into Taurus at 3:11AM EST. 

 

With the Moon in Taurus - the sign of her exaltation - we are nourished/nurtured by traditionally nourishing things - good food, comfortable clothes, a warm bath, the soft touch that feels like love. Our focus turns to what we have - our purchases, our resources, our money. We are feeling good if we are feeling valued and if we value ourselves. The Moon begins the day with a trine (brakes off) to Mercury at 5:19AM EST and finishes the day with a square to Saturn (in Aquarius) at 11:36PM EST. 

 

Both Mercury and Mars changed signs Monday, so we might be feeling busy/have lots of errands or things to finish up/have had to change direction or shift what we are doing or saying. Ceres has been moving backward through Gemini and is now hooked up with the North Node (our best collective way forward). 

Both Mercury (through an inconjunct - rock and a hard place) and Mars (through an opposition as he meets up with the South Node) move into tense aspects with Ceres - and Mercury with the North Node today, Mars with the North Node tomorrow.

 

Keep in mind Mercury rules Gemini, so his change of signs is impacting both Ceres and the North Node. In Capricorn, he brings serious information/conversations at odds with Gemini's leanings toward keeping things light/funny/flexible. The inconjunct speaks of the need to honor both sides while understanding there won't be any sure-fire winners here. Traditions and rules need to be more flexible. Authority needs to use a lighter touch AND our need to keep things more airy/nonchalant needs to be balanced with very real responsibilities/commitments. With Ceres here this could pull in mothering situations, situations that require compromise, things that feel outside our control. The Mars opposition could stimulate a culmination/ending.

Tomorrow, Mars is going to move across the South Node (been there, done that) and oppose the North Node. 

 

Moving on old beliefs or taking the same risky actions or thinking we know-it-all or making over-the-top moves like we've made before or escaping with travel/adventure/the old quest instead of dealing with the nitty gritty details could be problematic now. We are dealing with karmic cycles and want to be pointing our sails in the best direction.

 

Impulses/passions/anger with its roots in old situations or that feel familiar are activated. 

 

This is one of the final 'tests' of the South Node Sag of the last 18 months as Mars passes through to see what actions we will take this time based on what we have learned. Everything isn't a test, but this kind of IS. 

 

(we can see this playing out in the collective via the virus) 

 

The way through is still that Gemini North Node and we have a retrograde mama-bear Ceres here to enable some smart nurturing and activate our ability to compromise. 

With Gemini, there is always more than one way through. The steps will be small, so, if it looks like some giant leap is required - LOOK AGAIN.

Ask questions (with Gemini ruler Mercury in Capricorn, they will be more practical, serious, goal-oriented now). Talk. Listen. Deal with facts. Stay flexible. The student is more needed than the teacher. 

 

It's not a coincidence we get this final opposition with Mercury (Gemini's ruler) in serious as a heart attack/daddy-bear Capricorn.

Choose a new way through.  

 

xo all

 

Soooo .... if a problem crops up that feels familiar - choose to dial back a bit what you did before - keep it lighter, smaller, smarter, more localized - does that make sense? No mountains out of molehills right now. 

artwork by Poplavskaya

weekly astrology forecast for creatives | December 13th-19th, 2021 - shifting sands, the conversation gets serious, unfinished business, bold moves, disappointment followed by better opportunities

 

 

We come off Sunday's confusing/draining Sun/Neptune square and start the week with two personal planets changing signs (we will finish the week with another personal planet changing direction, so this week is going to flip around on us). Our attention/our thinking/the conversation shifts. Our actions become less focused/more 'big-picture'. 

 

Unfinished business/old situations are activated. 

 

The end of the week is all about this year's BIG Full Moon in Gemini - 

 

not an Eclipse with the Nodes a hair's breadth from Taurus/Scorpio - but still another nail in the coffin of the last 18 months. Expect multiple situations to come to light/culminate/conclude. With the Moon's ruler squaring hurting/healing Chiron, painful information/conversations/disappointments are possible BUT we also have multiple indicators we can get something BETTER if we go bold/optimistic/faith-full/confident and lean into THE NEW.

 

MONDAY - Mercury into Capricorn, Mars into Sagittarius

WEDNESDAY - Mars conjunct South Node and opposes North Node

SATURDAY - Mercury squares Chiron, Full Moon in Gemini

SUNDAY - Sun sextiles Jupiter, Venus stations retrograde, Chiron stations direct

On SUNDAY/MONDAY we have two planets changing signs. Mercury moves from fun/freedom-seeking Sagittarius - mutable fire - into serious/realistic Capricorn - cardinal earth. Our attention turns to important matters. The conversation changes. We want to start something real. Mars moves from deep/focused Scorpio - fixed water - into fun/freedom-seeking Sagittarius. We want to explore/take bigger steps forward. 

 

We talked about both these transits in greater detail for Sunday HERE.

 

The Moon is waxing. Venus is still direct. This is still good 'start' energy - keep in mind Mercury will return to Cappy during his upcoming Aquarius retrograde and Venus will be repeating this week's storyline, so whatever is 'started' could require some revisions or face some logjams/delays.

WEDNESDAY - Almost immediately, Mars (as us) hits a snag, running into the South Node in Sag and opposing the North Node. Something from the past is returned to/activated as we are given the chance to respond in a new way (rather than make an instinctual reaction - what have we learned?). Or maybe something needs to be finished up. Here in the U.S. many important legal matters (Sag situations) should be and have been a focus and reaching a conclusion. Sagittarius also rules foreign situations, immigration, higher education, weddings, politics, publishing and your own Sagittarius house theme.

SATURDAY - the end of the week is all about the BIG Full Moon in Gemini - not an Eclipse because the Nodes are too close to Taurus/Scorpio now, but our FINAL Full Moon in Gemini of our 18 and a half month Gemini/Sag nodal axis. 

 

Gemini is a dualistic sign (think of its twins signifier), so more than one situation can be culminating, concluding, coming to light now.

 

With Gemini's ruler Mercury squaring Chiron this looks like some painful conversation/information, old vulnerabilities triggered (this is Chiron's final aspect retrograde, before his direct station tomorrow as we move on from this), BUT with the Moon applying to a trine to Jupiter and the Sun a sextile to Jupiter AND with Mercury's next move a smooth trine to change-maker/future-focused Uranus the hurt/pain/disappointment is followed by expansion/LUCK/something ELSE. Keep this in mind. Stay optimistic. Look in a new direction. This sounds like, as these things are apt to, our last 18 months encapsulated into the next two weeks! 

 

The Sun will be on the Galactic Center so this is awakening energy (they are both conjunct asteroid Industria, interesting with the Venus/Pluto in industrious/industrial Cappy activating big-money stuff and Indistria's connection to the Dow Jones). With the Moon opposing and Mercury stressed this is big-time transformational energy. Things are INTENSE.

 

Expect a BIG post!

SUNDAY - the Sun sextiles Jupiter, at 28 degrees Sagittarius/Aquarius conjunct the Galactic Center - this is optimism/hope/faith pulled into our new collective timeline. Sextiles require some effort to get going - this one is fire and air, so something can catch fire/expand QUICKLY. There is opportunity here. Our faith is rewarded. This is empowering/optimistic energy that is future-focused/humanitarian. Sun/Jupiter says GO FOR IT.

Venus stations retrograde - that post is HERE. Yes, this probably takes some of the oomph out of the Sun/Jupiter but re-view, re-assess we must, AND, keep in mind, the Sun/Jupiter as Venus stations aids her story-line.

 

Collectively, happening in Capricorn this will be about us reviewing our goals, careers, reputations, the authority/structures in our lives. For some, work is put into context as we re-evaluate our feelings about needing to 'earn' love. Personally, our Cappy natal house theme is pulled into the mix. All Venus retros pull in Venusian themes - women, love, money, resources, Earth, our values, our self-esteem, beauty. Part II to the Venus retro as we factor in her multi-leg journey over the January 2020 "time runs out" degrees and, as ruler of Taurus, her appointment as our next guiding star - will be out this week. 

 

We are reaching the end of the line for Jupiter in Aquarius AND heading toward next week's final chaotic Saturn/Uranus square - stay flexible. Take care of yourself and maybe especially your nervous system. Google tapping or mindfulnesss. Figure this sh*t out. Meditate. Long walks in nature. Get enough rest. Hydrate. Mars is in a fire sign, so exercise will really help now. We know the drill, we just have to do it.

xo all - back with that BIG Full Moon post and we'll start looking at next week's final Saturn/Uranus

artwork by the talented proxi-mity

Venus retro in Capricorn | december 19, 2021 - January 29, 2022 - part 1 - 40 days and 40 nights to re-assess what we love and value

 

I am posting this on December 10th - Venus is in Cappy, moving forward. The Moon is waxing (growing). The personal planets are all moving forward. Only Uranus, Ceres and Chiron are retrograde. Venus is starting to slow as she approaches her upcoming retrograde, but this is still a time when we want to be TAKING ACTION. This week, we have some advisements against going-too-big, BUT it's not a time to be sitting still. 

 

So, for now forward action, but in nine days Venus will station retrograde and that will be a whole other story. What story? Well, let's unpack it.

 

With Venus in Cappy we are attracting what we want/need through Cappy behaviors - being sober, competent, realistic, goal-oriented, smart/funny, patient, structured/stable, being a boss. People born with Venus in Cappy probably like to be seen this way and are attracted to partners who are like this (of course, there are other chart factors that will influence this). 

 

For our lovely, benevolent Venus this is something like being a young adult woman living in her father's house. There are rules.

 

Venus goes retrograde every eighteen months and every eight years Venus will retrograde through the same sign. This pulls us back to late 2013/early 2014. You might find similar situations/themes at play in your life this time through. You can also go back sixteen years, twenty four years, etc.

 

If we were to draw a map of these retrograde points in her eight year cycles we would draw a five pointed star. And if we drew a map of these Venus retrograde points (named Venus Star Points) over long periods of time we would draw a perfect and graceful five petal flower/a delicate piece of sacred geometry showing us something of our own Venusian nature's kinship with beauty, balance, love and connection.

Since the 1980's (when Aquarius and Virgo cycled out) Venus has cycled through retrogrades in Aries, Capricorn, Gemini, Leo and Scorpio. Over the next ten years Aries and Scorpio will cycle out and Libra and Pisces will cycle in (more signifiers of the gentler and more cooperative years ahead, I think). 

 

So, different generations of people are born into, and live through, different Venus Star Points. 

 

Venus retrograde - all 40 days and 40 nights - will have us re-assessing BIG themes in our lives.

 

On December 19th, Venus will station retrograde (a few hours before Chiron stations direct) at 26 degrees Capricorn with an EXACT conjunction to Pluto. She will get all the way back to 11 degrees Capricorn on January 29th (hours before our annual New Moon in Aquarius). 

November 5, 2021 - Venus enters Capricorn - sobers up/starts answering to Saturn
November 17, 2021  - Venus reaches 11 degrees (starting her retrograde shadow)
December 19, 2021 - Venus stations retrograde - 26 degrees

January 8, 2022 - Venus meets the Sun - midpoint of Venus retrograde cycle - new beginning for Sun/Venus, CLARITY about our Venus retro story-line

January 29, 2022 - Venus stations direct - 11 degrees
March 1, 2022 - Venus reaches 26 degrees (ending her retrograde shadow/cycle) and then starts covering new ground

 

People with planets/points between 11-26 degrees Capricorn (and the other cardinal signs through squares and oppositions - Aries, Libra and Cancer) will probably be most strongly impacted, but Venus is a personal sign ruling our relationships/money/self-esteem, EVERYONE will feel this one. 

 

So, when Venus goes INTO Capricorn - and this is in play as I post this - tradition/nostalgia will become a focus - maybe the way something has always been done. This doesn't mean we have to continue doing things the way we've always done them, but these things will come to our attention now. We get more serious about money. Our careers/the way we show up in the world. Our reputation, Our authority. We get more serious about love, too. If something isn't going anywhere, this can be the transit we cut it loose. Our focus returns to what is real. We attract stability and longer lasting success/love/money by finishing what we start and honoring our commitments.

 

While Venus stations retrograde, we will be re-thinking this whole boss-girl thing. Maybe the way we value ourselves, and other people, only when we/they are being productive/working. The whole 'feeling we have to earn love' is very Venus in Capricorn, so maybe now we are rethinking this. Old situations where we worked too hard/not hard enough or where we didn't quite measure up will be re-hashed in our heads. Again think - young woman in her father's house.

 

During Venus retrograde we will be doing the "re's" (re-do, re-assess, re-value, re-connect, etc) with Venusian themes - women, beauty, art, love, money, our resources, our values and self-esteem. Someone from our past could re-appear. An old way of making art or love or money could re-appear. A situation we have been through before with Cappy themes could reappear. We will be "reviewing" what we value. In Cappy, this will also play out through your natal Capricorn house theme and the collective themes of - our career, the way we show up in the world, the way we deal with authority/step into our own, our commitments, our fathers, our paternal heritage, our karma, our goals, our reputation.

 

This time period will be asking us, through the situations that transpire/the people who show up - to re-look at how we are investing our time, energy, and resources.

 

With Venus meeting Pluto multiple times, some things will not be coming with us ...

 

 During this cycle Venus is going to meet Pluto three times. So, although a Venus retrograde in Cappy has a Venus/Saturn (ruler of Capricorn) flavor - this one will also have a strongly Venus/Pluto vibe.

 

Venus stations retrograde attached at the hip to powerful Pluto. Merge/purge. Scorpian themes are pulled into the Venus/Cappy mix. So, this is almost like two transits - the Venus/Saturn (Venus in Cappy retrograde answering to Saturn) and the Venus/Pluto. 

 

With Venus/Pluto, things can feel very life and death - whether or not they actually are, this is all designed to show us clearly WHAT WE REALLY VALUE. There could be a death - figurative or literal. An ending. An inheritance situation. A tax situation. A loan situation. Intimacy issues. Reproduction issues. Obsession, compulsion, manipulation, power plays.

Venus/Pluto always makes me think of the way a caterpillar turns into a butterfly - it's fun and educational for kids to watch the chrysalis inside one of those net/cage thinga-ma-jigs, but wouldn't be so much fun for them if they could see what was actually happening INSIDE that chrysalis.

 

This part gets gross, so skip this paragraph if you've just stuffed yourself with all those holiday cookies that didn't look good enough to gift .. with Venus/Pluto we are the caterpillar who is digesting herself into the butterfly. 

 

I wrote about my own Venus/Pluto transit a few years ago (back when Pluto was in Sagittarius and met three times over two years with my natal Venus which is on the Galactic Center). The next couple months is kind of a mini-collective version of that. We have transiting Venus back and forth over Pluto. I had transiting Pluto back and forth over Venus - a much longer/intense/dark night of the soul transit. 

 

It's not the same, but there are similarities, so I'll unpack it a little at the bottom of this post.

 

You probably won't be dealing with things exactly like these, but this might give you a feeling for the kind of 'flavor' Venus/Pluto can bring. Secrets, buried truths. Intimacy issues. Merged money issues. Life/death. There is an intensity.

 

Once Venus stations retrograde on December 19th, the energetic flow is more about the re's. Re-turning to something (sometimes someone) we once loved (this might not be a lasting thing), re-assessing our work in the world/our career, etc. Starting something brand new isn't favored until Venus stations direct on January 29th. We would be swimming against the tides here. Sometimes this can't be helped and we just have to go into the "new" knowing there will be re-visions, etc, later. Venus rules beauty, and in Cappy, we might be feeling tired/older - it still could be best to save any major makeovers until she stations direct, especially if it's a radical change not easily "tweaked" later, if what we want changes.

 

That 26 degree Cappy will be strongly hit by the Venus/Pluto and the 11 degree Cappy ultra potent for CHANGE. Venus will trine Uranus from 11 degrees AND the final Saturn/Uranus square on Christmas Eve is 11 degrees Aquarius/Taurus. So, the number 11 is hot, hot, hot.

 

Also when Venus stations retrograde, Juno is going to be at the "about to get hot" 11 degrees Cappy. This is about marriage/serious commitments and contracts and she will have multiple meetings with Venus as this stuff gets re-looked at in BIG ways. Another indication this Venus retrograde needs to be taken seriously.

Some good news for Venus in Cappy is she (as we) is going to sextile (opportunity) Neptune in Pisces. First on January 5th while retrograde and then again toward the end of February after she meets with Mars and he meets with Neptune. Cappy/Pisces is 'making the dream real' energy and activated during this transit. This, plus upcoming aspects with Jupiter let us know once we get PAST THE DEATH (Pluto), there is ALOT to look forward to!!

 

We'll talk more about all this as we get closer, and we'll also look at the ways Venus is interacting with the "time runs out" degree of 2020 in part II - there are REAL reasons to believe the virus's latest variant is a good thing (no matter what the fear-mongering media is saying). 

 

We'll have a Full Moon in Gemini the day before Venus stations with the Sun on the Galactic Center and Chiron changing direction, so we've got some shifting ground to cover before the Venus retro. 

 

Also during the Venus retro, the nodes will move into Taurus/Scorpio appointing Venus our North Star - think GPS destination point here. I am going to write about the Taurus/Scorpio next because that's a collective BIGGIE and, although it doesn't start until January, happening in our money houses - and involving Venus and Pluto, too - it is reinforcing the retro energies AND it can pay off (ka-ching) to start thinking about this sooner instead of later. 

 

Hope something here is helpful. We'll talk about it as we get closer, too. 

 

Here's a little rundown of themes by house. This area of life will be familiar to you because it was uber activated for a couple years when it was all Cappy all the time. This is approx 11-26 degrees Cappy, so could be more than one house in your chart. You can also check this chart for your Sun sign house to factor that in.

CAPRICORN RISING - 1st house Capricorn - our identity, actually our heroic quest for identity
SAGITTARIUS RISING - 2nd house Capricorn - (one of Venus's natural houses) our values, our resources, our money, our self-esteem
SCORPIO RISING - 3rd house Capricorn - communication, information, writing, doing multiple things at once, siblings, community, transportation, tech, commerce
LIBRA RISING - 4th house Capricorn - our roots, home, family, security, home-business, family-business
VIRGO RISING - 5th house Capricorn - self-expression, creativity, romance, children
LEO RISING - 6h house Capricorn - work, health, service, pets, daily obligations
CANCER RISING - 7th house Capricorn - (one of Venus's natural houses) partnerships
GEMINI RISING - 8th house Capricorn - merging/purging, other people's resources, taxes, inheritance, secrets, life/death, sex, spouse's income
TAURUS RISING - 9th house Capricorn - travel, higher education, publishing, religion, beliefs, wedding, legal issues, politics
ARIES RISING - 10th house Capricorn - profession, vocation, goals, public life
PISCES RISING - 11th house Capricorn - the goals that bring us into connection with others, friendships, causes, networks, the internet
AQUARIUS - 12th house Capricorn - things done last, things forgotten and put away, imagination, healing, spirit, addictions

xo all

(copied and pasted from an old post about my Venus/Pluto cray-cray)

For me this transit turned on like someone had flipped a switch in me as Pluto moved within orb and turned off just as quickly when he moved out. This process took a couple years. You can only have one Pluto transit like this in your lifetime and many people never have one (Pluto moves very slowly and may not contact your natal Venus degree during your lifetime). My Venus being in a fire sign in my 2nd house certainly exacerbated the whole thing.

During that transit - some minor Pluto passions stirred - I started reading true crime books, sorting out the family finances, got into Bitcoin (this was early in and I could have made a mint if I stuck around, I did make some bucks) and renovating my bathrooms. I fell more deeply in love with astrology which I consider Uranian, but is Plutonian, too. Textbook Pluto stuff.

 

The big thing that happened though - I became obsessed with my husband. Strangely obsessed. Venus rules my 7th (partners) and 12th houses (past life/ancestral story-lines, etc). I felt jealous/consumed. I never felt like this before/don't think I'd want to feel like this again. Our physical relationship got crazy intense. This made him very happy ... until it didn't. Being an Aquarian Sun with an Aries Moon he needs his space and I was, quite unconsciously, always there.
  

Afterwards, I had hard-earned a very real understanding of the kind of intensity/passion that I (also being a detached/in my head Aquarius) had never experienced - the kind that drives people nuts. I understand totally why my soul chose this experience and am grateful, although at the time it was a kind of agony of vulnerability. I understand people's obsessions in a deeper, more personal way now. 

 
In more recent years, hubs had a Pluto transit/conjunction to his natal Venus. His is in Capricorn. Venus rules his natal 2nd house (money, resources, possessions) and 9th house (expansion/freedom/over-doing, etc). He did not get obsessed with me - no lessons left for either of us there I guess - DAMMIT. But he did get obsessed with the idea of purchasing quite an expensive object. Two of them actually. First a boat purchased at auction after Hurricane Sandy, (surreptitiously with joint finances, all very Plutonian) that he proceeded to secretly rehab for a year. We had it in the water for one amazing summer, but only sporadically after that. He has a million excuses about why this is, but the truth is his longings and affections had by then moved on to object number two. Which he proceeded to purchase, again secretly with joint finances, after spending hundreds of hours researching (I am probably not exaggerating/might be a bit) on the internet. This time his "longing/compulsion with having" ended almost instantly upon purchase because the transit ended that very week. Luckily we sold it and didn't lose much money, but the second purchase created big-time trust issues between us. It's kind of amazing neither of our Pluto transits split us up. Pluto rules third party situations and this stuff gets trickier when other people are pulled into the mix - that didn't happen with us. I'll give astrology, and my transit coming first, some of the credit for us outlasting the intensity, but when I tell you things had to come back from the dead, I am not kidding.

Asking yourself during this transit - why do I want this? why I am obsessing over this? why am I jealous? am I trying to manipulate/control something/someone? is someone controlling me?

With Pluto we have to accept the death/what we have lost/the ending and claim the real power we gain through the loss - which, yes, might look like ownership of some pretty barren landscape for a while ... but, this is Capricorn - GIVE IT TIME.

artwork by the talented SillyJellie

Today's astrology Forecast | Thursday, December 9th, 2021 (plus Friday the 10th) - moving with the moon

 

 

The next couple days are all about our beloved Luna. 

 

TODAY - our waxing crescent Moon is finishing up in Aquarius - we are nurtured/nourished by change, the future, doing something different, unusual people and situations, our groups and causes, astrology, intellect, detaching emotionally from hot button situations. She meets up with Jupiter at 3:52AM EST and then goes void off a square to Mars at 4:59AM EST. That closing square could make us antsy, easily annoyed/angered or, since it follows the Jupiter conjunction add to our enthusiasm/get us really fired up. Watch for tendencies to take on too much now, act impulsively or over-react.

She will be void until she moves into Pisces at 9:53AM EST. 

 

In Pisces, we are nurtured/nourished by our imagination, spirituality, art, music, going with the flow. Our boundaries are more porous, so we are more likely to pick up other people's moods, thoughts, colds. She will square the North/South Nodes (Gemini/Sagittarius) and then go on to square Ceres backtracking through Gemini.

Squares to the Nodes speak of decision points. The Moon is our emotional compass, so what will make us feel better? Choices between the past and the future come into play. The North Node is still in Gemini, answering to Mercury and home to that retrograde Ceres. So, the way forward involves information, communication, staying flexible, keeping options open, thinking local and detailed. With Ceres activated situations involving mothering, seasons of life and things that are out of our control and require compromise might come to our attention. The Moon in Pisces wants to feel her way through whatever this is/use our intuition, but the North Node (our best way forward) is requiring logic/details. Ask questions. Stay open to new ideas/fresh intel. Keep things small and local.

TOMORROW - the Moon continues her journey through loving, but sometimes confusing/draining Pisces. She sextiles a retrograde Uranus at 6:21AM EST - time to do something differently or different - then reaches her first quarter square at 8:35PM EDT squaring the Sagittarius Sun and finally meets Pisces ruler Neptune at 10:50PM. 

At the first quarter Moon we face our New Moon's first tension/frustration. Pisces/Sag squares can bring a required sacrifice or test of faith. Beliefs can dissolve. Our hopes/plans for more can come up against our escapist tendencies (sometimes just exhaustion). Squares in Pisces are intended to enable release, so what will escape if we just open our fingers a tiny little bit? Are we able to let that go? This can also be about getting over an obstacle/closer to that greener grass over there by eliminating escape/distractions. The follow-up meeting to Neptune is good for creative work, healing, compassion, charity work, connecting with the past (is anyone else loving the Beatles documentary) and REST.

xo all - back tomorrow with the Venus retrograde post

artwork by the amazing moonywolf