New Moon in Aquarius | Friday, January 24, 2020 - the need to reinvent ourselves, a change of direction, sudden insights, moving toward what's next

The Moon starts the day void of course and then moves into airy and future-focused Aquarius at 8:20AM EST, where following the Sun's path from the last couple days and Mercury's path from last week - she moves into a jolting square with Uranus (1:34PM EST) followed by a healing sextile to Chiron.

At 4:42 PM EST, the Aquarius Moon will meet the Aquarius Sun (four degrees) giving us this month's New Moon - our monthly beginning.

Here is where 2020 really gets started!

FRESH AIR. Contacts to change maker Uranus - electricity. All the planets are direct, Saturn is past Pluto and Pluto is out of shadow. DON'T LOOK BACK!

All the Cappy energy is still humming along in the background, but now it is background. We are, obviously, still working with the karma (ie cause and effect) of past chapters, but the more we can focus on what will be and not what was - and these are two very different things now - the more wholly we can accept what is - the quicker we can line up with the energies pulling us forward.

And Mercury will be in shadow soon preparing for his upcoming retrograde (in foggy Pisces again this year!), so moves/decisions we make now we won't have to go back and forth over like we will if we wait!! We will still have to deal with Mercury retrograde in Pisces, but we will have something tangible to work with.

In March, Saturn will move into Aquarius (his first retrograde in Aquarius will briefly pull him back into Capricorn for him, as us, to finish up) for the first time since 1991, to pave the way for Pluto's entry into Aquarius in 2023 which will shift everything - in Aquarius we have Saturn paving the way for Pluto, whereas in Capricorn we had Pluto ripping out the paving in preparation for Saturn! And keep in mind Jupiter (expansion, luck) never catches up to Saturn in Capricorn, but he will catch up to Saturn in Aquarius in December 2020.

We'll talk more about what all this means in the 2020 series.

In the meantime, we have today's New Moon which will be in play until our next New Moon (New Moon in Pisces on February 23rd). The next two weeks - while the Moon is waxing/growing is the strongest time of the month for new beginnings/growth.

Let's unpack the chart!

The Moon and Sun are squaring Uranus (ruler of this New Moon) and sextiling Chiron. Uranus is trining Pallas. Eris is squaring Pluto. Venus is sextiling Jupiter, squaring Mars and conjunct Neptune. Saturn, Ceres and Pluto are still conjunct in Capricorn. Mercury is sextiling Mars and squaring Vesta. Jupiter is trining Vesta.

Blah. Blah. Blah. Too much - cue exploding head (whah!)

Let's prioritize here. The most important aspect the Moon is making is her square to Uranus and Uranus as co-ruler of Aquarius is the ruler of the New Moon.

The Moon isn't comfy cozy in Aquarius to begin with - the Moon ruling our roots/our past and Aquarius ruling uprooting/our future - the square just amps up the New Moon's need to break established patterns.

This is disruptive/unexpected change. Sudden insights.

Squares are tense aspects. They create tension to stimulate needed action. The planets within us and outside of us are working at cross purposes - there could be stress/frustration here. Taurus is some of our most entrenched energies, so sometimes it takes big things to uproot this space in our chart!

In this case, since this aspect is waning and we have been working with these energies since Mercury walked this minefield last week, this might not be something that happens today, although we might be feeling the stress of the square today -  

the tension/change coming through our natal Taurus house theme or the collective Taurus themes of our income, our self-esteem, our values, our resources - what we own/what we have. 

Although the change itself will probably not be something brand new, since the aspect is waning/in the past - it could be what the New Moon is really offering us is CLARITY about the door this change has flung open - an awareness of the fresh start/liberation the change/disruption is making available.

The Moon is sextiling Chiron and again this aspect is waning, so the New Moon is pulling us away from this hurting/healing.

In Aquarius, maybe we are sensitive to humanity's plight/to what is best for the group/the future. There is something both hurting and healing here - the Sun is shining a light on this. Maybe we are healing through our relationship to the group. Or through our ability to step away from the group and just be ourselves.

We are integrating our ability to stand on our two feet with other people. The more self-sustaining and self-accepting we can be going forward into the new energies the better!

We can literally reinvent ourselves/our brand now (and something is going to need to shake loose first!).

Uranus is trining strategic warrior Pallas in sober Capricorn. And we had Mercury's square to Uranus (what the Moon/Sun are doing now) on the day Pallas went into Capricorn (January 18th).

So, here is a way through any unexpected chaos - planning, patience, a deliberate focus, ambition. Being smart/decisive/playing the long game.

There is probably nothing better, after a disrupting pattern-breaking Uranus square, than a smooth trine (brakes off) to wise and strategic Pallas! We got this thing.

Also, Mercury is sextiling (opportunity) Mars and squaring Vesta. So, although there is tension around what really matters here - we may want to move our attention from that thing that used to really, really matter and sustain us (that thing that kept us/keeps us up at night) and turn our conversations, our actions and our passion to something that feels more like a stretch/something that gives us optimism and hope - something that focuses on our next step and requires faith.

Ideas can get us fired up, but we need to stop talking about the past! Even the recent past. Don't talk about that cold you had last week that kept you awake every night - take this energy down to its most 3D/mundane level. Shut up about it. Talk about the future. Put your attention there.

Venus is sextiling Jupiter and moving toward a square to Mars (in Jupiter ruled Sag) and conjunction with Neptune - we don't want to fall in over our head and drown here and there will be tension, probably within our relationships or with our money/resources, but we probably need the square to get us moving since Venus in Pisces can get kinda tired and drifting (even sick, so take some extra Vitamin C or whatever you do to stay healthy). Venus/Jupiter is waning, too, but just barely - there is beauty here - something GOOD.

Again the need for faith and that stretch.

Saturn, Aquarius's other ruler is still conjunct Pluto and Ceres. Things are still deadly serious somewhere in our life. There is certainly energy at this New Moon to be free and liberated, but we can't just be free and liberated. We still have Saturn/Pluto/Ceres keeping us tethered to reality.

It's still winter. 

There are so many other aspects in this event chart we would just muddy the waters talking about them.

The bottom line is some turbo-charged fresh air!

And, yes, there is the possibility of the turbo charging coming through an unexpected crisis/frustration. But, this may have already happened and here is where we get the clarity we need to move in a fresh direction.

Aquarius rule groups and the goals that bring us into connection with other people - the Aquarius New Moon is always an opportunity to take a long look at how the life we are building fits in with the other lives we share the planet with and move in a more powerful direction of building a space that supports all of us.

NEW MOON INTENTIONS

As we work with the Aquarius positives - innovation, genius, advancement, the new/modern, the power of groups, the power of the individual (yes Aquarius has both!) and eliminate the Aquarius negatives -  too much detachment, too many distractions, our feelings of alienation and our need to get lost in the crowd and hide out in the audience - if we do our work - and we are not required to do our work perfectly - we are left with a cool head, an open mind and enough emotional distance from whatever we are creating to allow the magical forces in play to work for and through us RIGHT NOW!

AFFIRMATION TIPS for your monthly New Moon:  always make affirmations from a  positive place (positive meaning both happy and certain) - write your affirmations down by hand in script, speak them out loud.

Then release your attention from these things knowing that your intention is known.  

Know these things are already yours.

(I would recommend setting your intentions on Saturday morning or Sunday night to avoid the void Moons plus we'll have the energy of billions of people celebrating the newness of the Chinese Year of the Rat helping us!)

xo all

Today's Astrology Forecast | Thursday, January 23, 2020 - surprises, endings, past the death, a silver lining

The Balsamic Moon continues her journey through Capricorn - the sign of her detriment - sextiling Neptune at 7:19AM EST (dreams grounded in reality, visionary goals) and then meets up with Pluto (7:18PM EST) and Saturn (9:08PM EST).

This is the first time in over 500 years the Moon will cross Pluto and then Saturn in Capricorn - we are past the "death", not only physically, but emotionally now. We got to the place in the game where we (our ancestors/past lives) have died and died and died before, and now, like an avatar in a video game, we are on the next level. This applies somewhere to our life in the "mundane" world.

What have we had to let go of?

We have the dark Moon crossing these "karmic ending" energies today - while the Sun squares Uranus (shaking loose what is desirous of liberation/fast change) and we start to move toward the Aquarius New Moon tomorrow which will bring, over the next couple weeks - fresh air and fresh starts and the beginning of a radically innovative chapter.

The Sun (in Aquarius) squares Uranus (ruler of Aquarius) at 2 degrees.

Change is empowered here. Fast change can leave us feeling disoriented, especially with our dark, besieged Moon - no soft space to fall. Squares indicate tension/frustration, so whether we are the one making the change or it feels like it is coming at us from the outside - it seems our back is against the wall with this. Over time we might be able to see that with this change - a weight is being lifted from us. It could feel heavy now though, especially if we are still holding on to the things that used to stabilize us/make us feel secure that are no longer working/no longer there.

At the same time we have an amazing silver-lining - sextile - between Venus (in Pisces) and Jupiter (in Capricorn) at 11 degrees - as Venus moves toward her meeting with Neptune on Monday.

Here is the real-world expansion of our Piscean imagination/the dream/the big thing we really want that sits beyond the thing we think we want. Again this supports the Saturn/Neptune good stuff - the solid manifestation of the dream. We'll talk about this more in the New Moon post tonight - Jupiter will require we stretch/go out on a limb/have faith, Cappy will require some sweat equity/patience/responsibility, Venus will want whatever we are creating to be beautiful and wanted and Pisces will require connection/imagination/love. We have the support of everything we have ever done and everyone who has come before us here.

There is something bigger/better right over there - but new to this level (like when we get to a new level of a video game and we have to run around a bit and get acclimated) we might not know exactly what we are doing or where we are going just yet.

Doors that need to close, before other doors can open, are going to close.

And if we are hanging onto something that needs to go - keeping that door open, maybe ... just in case - we might create a situation like when we open both front car doors at the same time on a windy day and everything gets blown around or important stuff blows out the door (actually this could just be me in my messy car) because that new door IS opening. We can't hold it closed if we try.

Do what you have to do. Big girl pants are on. That poster about being kind to other people because everyone is fighting their own battle (or something like that) applies now.

Have faith. These mountains are moving folks. The skies are dark. We can't see what we are doing, so take a breath.

xo all - back with the New Moon post

More in the monthly HERE

phopto by the talented iNeedChemicalX

Today's Astrology Forecast | Wednesday, January 22, 2020 - steely nerves, being ourselves, shake-ups and break-ups as we move forward, healing through groups, getting things done

The Moon moved into industrious/ambitious Capricorn at midnight EST last night.

She trined (brakes off - did you jump out of bed ready to get going?!) Uranus at 4:59AM EST and will sextile (opportunity) Venus at 8:52PM EST.

The Moon is considered "in her fall" in Capricorn, since she is at home in Capricorn's polarity sign of Cancer, but if you have something going on that requires steely nerves and dogged determination - a Cappy Moon is your friend.

A good day to make things happen. Get 'er done folks.

The Sun, in Aquarius now and doing this week what Mercury did last week, is sextiling Chiron and squaring Uranus.

Maybe shining a light or energizing/culminating last week's surprise/wake-up call information or conversation. The sextile (opportunity for healing) is Aries/Aquarius so something here about independence/innovation - the ability to be ourselves, maybe stand up for ourselves or do it our own way. The square is Aquarius/Taurus so a shake-up/change (doesn't have to be a bad thing) that is somehow either liberating/innovating involving our resources/values/money/self-esteem.

And, of course, these are collective themes, and we have our personal house themes that will shape this a bit differently for each of us.

(A little example from last week in my own life - hubs and I were out to breakfast during Mercury's - communication, information - walk through this minefield.

I don't know what I was saying to him - chatting up the news or something, but he was looking at me for a long time and then said, "you really are ... a piece of work".

Now most of the time, knowing his Aries Moon/Aquarius Sun very well by now and being an Aquarius Sun myself, I might have responded with a "damn right" and gotten on with things,

but, partly because I was prepared to hear "you really are ... so beautiful" or something like this, even though I would have doubted his sincerity knowing my messy bun and mouth full of bagel, -  I was very hurt. 

Not drama-mama hurt, but actually hurt. And he felt it, too.

So, we had hubs feeling the liberation from what he valued and me feeling my own weirdness detaching me from what I valued. His words triggering all the times I haven't fit in for me and for him, via my reaction, his words triggering all the times he has 'opened mouth/inserted foot' and said something distancing. Somehow these words are still ringing in my ears ...)

Venus is moving toward her square to Mars - there is tension here, and probably the need for movement and decisions. Venus in Pisces doesn't really want anything. She is exalted/has it all in Pisces - this could make us a bit lazy, so I think the Mars square could be a good thing.

The Moon is dark/balsamic (desiring rest) as we build toward Friday's 'change-bringing' New Moon, but in Capricorn she is made to continue to push. 

If something is not moving forward with us in 2020 - and this upcoming New Moon square Uranus speaks of us needing to face this - we can use this energy to fuel whatever needs to be completed/wrapped up.

xo all

More in the monthly HERE

Photo by the amazing Natalia Ciobanu

Today's Astrology Forecast | Monday, January 20, 2020 - fresh air, energized to try something else, stay flexible, inspired thinking and positive action

The Moon moves through fiery Sagittarius today - we are nurtured through and maybe our attention is on - travel, what is foreign to us, politics, the media, higher education, ceremonies, legal issues.

She will sextile Mercury at 4:39AM EST (brilliant and optimistic ideas, what did you wake up thinking about?). She squares Venus at 8:20AM EST (cat fights, what is nurturing vs what is loving, the Sag/Pisces square - truth/dogma vs intuitive knowing, maybe there is some tension with a Taurus or Libra person, this is mutable energy, so adjust). Stay flexible. The Moon is fast-moving.

The Sag Moon connects with Mars at 2:46PM EST - passionate action - we can do it! and finally goes void off a square to Neptune at 11:45PM EST. She will be void all day tomorrow.

The Sun exits the Cappy party and moves on to humanitarian Aquarius. Fresh air. Change.

We are energized through groups and the goals that bring us into connection with other people. By seeing where and how we fit in and where and how we don't. Accepting differences.

During Aquarius season events will conspire that give us a chance to step back a little bit. Sometimes we are too close and too enmeshed in a situation to see clearly what is happening. Stepping back is good and needed. We can see what is happening with less judgment. We can see past societal rules (Aquarius is the rebel, genius, criminal). We get a new set of eyes to see the world. As always with Aquarius all detachment is helpful until it isn't

As we move through our days with the Sun in Aquarius, looking ahead, we are energized to try something else.

At the same time Venus (exalted in Pisces) trines the North Node (in Cancer) - we are creating a beautiful future where everyone has a home. Our attractions pull us forward. We are magnetizing our best and brightest future - have faith!

Know we are all (personally and collectively) in the midst of creating something truly amazing and unprecedented - but it is probably not recognizable/visible from where we are now, and that's part of our unsteadiness. We have to train ourselves to get comfortable not knowing until we do. Keep in mind Uranus in Taurus - separating us from what we think we need. Life on planet Earth isn't for sissies. Saturn is in Capricorn for his third January - (yes, this is one long f'n winter) our big girl pants should be on all the time by now.

I am going to talk about this in the next 2020 post, but if we compare ourselves to an avatar in a video game - we would be (Saturn past Pluto) past the death. We died and we died and we died trying to get to this level and here we are. At this new level. We've never been here before.

So take a breath. We have a new Moon square change maker Uranus this week - change that won't be stopped is on its way.

xo all

More in the monthly HERE

photo by the amazing the firebomb

Today's Astrology Forecast | January 17, 2020 - addressing imbalances with work/goals/authority, avoiding verbal vomit, resource issues, unexpected news, unexpected emotions

Sorry I forgot to schedule this post for this morning!

The Moon in Libra squared Saturn and Pluto while we slept and then goes void off a square to the Cappy Sun this morning (7:58AM EST).

So, here we are already at the lunar month's Third Quarter Square (!) - tension/frustration, maybe challenges, between balance, fairness, our relationships, maybe a client, someone we hire or maybe even a competitor and the rules, limits, work, our goals, authority, responsibilities. Maybe something just isn't fair. An imbalance needs to be addressed.

Work issues, goals, long-term decisions, our responsibilities. Maybe compromises with other people are needed now.

The Moon is void until 1:20 PM when she deep dives into Scorpio.

Now we are nurtured by getting to the bottom of things, solving puzzles, merging, looking under the hood - our attention/focus could turn to Scorpian themes over the next couple days - the money/resources we have merged with other people ie loans, taxes, inheritances, spouse's income, etc and physical mergers - sex, fertility, life and death issues, power, control - anything we don't really want to talk/think about!

The Scorpio Moon will square Mercury at 4:36PM EST and then oppose Uranus at 5:55PM EST - so expect some unexpected news and changes. Things can get stressful.

Something to keep in mind - because now we have the Moon (an emotional, water Moon now) involved in yesterday's Mercury/Uranus/Chiron stuff - we really want to check ourselves if we are shocking just to shock and we really need to have a process we can use for times when the sh*t hits the fan and we need to detox our emotions without spewing them all over other people.

Here is what we talked about yesterday:

"Now, almost as soon as Mercury gets into Aquarius she starts squaring Uranus (in Taurus). This could bring SURPRISING NEWS - maybe around what we value, our resources, our money, our values or self-esteem. He will quickly move into an opportunistic sextile with Chiron- so there is something healing here, too.

With this square to Uranus our own language could be chaotic and out of character if we aren't feeling heard or maybe someone is coming at us from this space of challenged self-esteem. Lean into innovative ideas if it feels right, but don't be shocking just to be shocking."

Stay open to new ideas and keep in mind we are operating at a level we have never operated at before. So let's be more gentle with each other. Take care of yourself - which means knowing the needs of your natal Moon!

The energy is just all over the place today - build in some extra time for yourself. The Moon's aspects are much easier tomorrow.

xo all

photo by the talented Tanja Moss

Today's Astrology Forecast for Creatives | January 16, 2020 - surprising news, disruptive information, impulsive words, unexpected answers or decisions, fresh ideas, a time to think outside the box

The Moon continues her journey through "nurtured through balance" Libra. She squared Jupiter at 3:45AM EST - tension/frustration around our commitments to other people/to women/to making something more beautiful, more balanced.

Are we ready to decide/commit?

Mercury (our thinking, information, communication) FINALLY gets into an air sign this afternoon (1:31PM EST) with his/her move into detached and future-focused Aquarius. Yes, it's fixed air, so people are not always flexible, but at least we've got some air!

One less planet in cardinal Capricorn. We step back a little so we can think clearly. We view our situation from an observer position.

Does what we are saying/signing/thinking/writing MAKE SENSE?

Some people think Aquarius represents independence (Aries), but more accurately Aquarius represents individuality. There is an independent spirit here, yes, but since Aquarius rules the 11th house of groups, it shows people bound together by a cause.

So, in Aquarius we find a better way to work together so it benefits everyone or else we go our own way.

These are the only two outcomes for Aquarius. Aquarius is the space in your chart where it's never going to work to follow the crowd just for the sake of fitting in, you will always have to do things differently. Our rough, uncomfortable rebel edges are there for a reason.

Three things happen when Mercury changes signs.

1. Mercury changes (the conversation changes, our thinking changes, we are more innovative, we can detach emotionally from our thoughts, there is more air in this room so maybe we can breathe easier).

2. The house Mercury exits changes (Cappy house slows down and our attention shifts a bit).

3. The house Mercury enters changes (Aquarius house - gets busy and even busier when the Sun gets there in a few days).

Fresh ideas, new ways of thinking and communicating are possible over the next few weeks (Mercury is in Aquarius until February 3rd). 

Our thoughts gets ahead of us/ahead of our time. Outside the box.

We are thinking/planning with an eye on the future. 

Aquarian detachment allows us to consider things we might have previously discarded as too far 'out there'. 

Keep in mind the Merc in Aquarius downfall - fixed air creating a sense we already know-it-all and a tendency to reject the status quo just because it is the status quo - the whole "rebel without a cause thing".

It is not our job to fix everything/the entire world all at once and all by ourselves, but it is our job to stretch ourselves outside our comfort zone to fix the part of the world that is within our reach.

Now, almost as soon as Mercury gets into Aquarius she starts squaring Uranus (in Taurus). This could bring SURPRISING NEWS - maybe around what we value, our resources, our money, our values or self-esteem. He will quickly move into an opportunistic sextile with Chiron- so there is something healing here, too.

With this square to Uranus our own language could be chaotic and out of character if we aren't feeling heard or maybe someone is coming at us from this space of challenged self-esteem. Lean into innovative ideas if it feels right, but don't be shocking just to be shocking.

Merc's square to Uranus and sextile to Chiron will be in play for a couple days.

Keep in mind the Libra Moon is building toward her squares with Saturn, Ceres and Pluto - exact tomorrow at her Third Quarter, so everything isn't going to flow so smooth and easy.

That's OK.

This is a BUILDING year where we get to develop our gifts of discipline, tenacity and inventiveness. We are privileged to get to be a part of the collective on planet Earth at this time. We were born to do this. Don't doubt yourself. You have risen from the ashes hundreds and hundreds of times!

Stay flexible and centered.

Take care of your physical self.

Back with more 2020 postings!

xo all

photo by the talented eulalievarenne

More in the monthly HERE - check the dates around today

Today's Astrology Forecast | Wednesday, January 15, 2020 - opportunities increase when resistance dissolves, spontaneity can pay off, be out and about, try something new

The Moon goes void at 7:11AM EST off a productive trine to Mercury (communications, commitments, agreements, getting it done). She will be void until 10:43AM EST - maybe giving the day a slow-start, if any crazy pops up just roll with it knowing it is much ado about nada.

After the void the Moon moves into Libra - we will feel nurtured by feeling balanced/socially active/partnered up/acting in harmony. In Libra she starts answering to a happy Venus who has just brought her individual loving into the 'collective love' sign of Pisces - a space she loves. 

Natal Pisces Sun people and Pisces rising people become more attractive now.

All of us attract what we want by working through Pisces - our ability to show compassion, create beauty, honor feelings, stay emotionally open, use our imaginations. In Aquarius it was our differences that attracted people and situations to us, in Pisces it is our ability to believe and honor our commonality.

Venus is exalted in Pisces. She can work her magic here. 

Opportunities increase as resistance dissolves.

The tricky part of Venus in Pisces is we need to know what we want now because the lines between us and other people, between acceptance and avoidance, between our money and their money, between love and 'what was I thinking' - can blur.

In Pisces, things that look too good to be true usually almost always are.

And what flows in can flow right back out again, so keep this in mind.

Venus moves right into an opportunistic sextile (2 degrees) with Uranus in Taurus today. Maybe here is where her (as us) month spent in Uranian ruled Aquarius can pay off.

It could benefit us to be spontaneous now. To get out and meet new people. We could attract new ways to make money/new resources/ new ways to feel more beautiful or more secure through unusual situations and people, by leaning into something new and future-focused.

With Uranus in Taurus if we can only feel secure when and if we have X,Y and Z - we are probably in for a whole lot of shakin'. This sextile with gentle Venus (Taurus ruler) in gentle Pisces, can help liberate us from these kind of "control" dynamics and create some clear space to allow something else to find us.

Pisces is mutable energy and connects us to the higher realms so let's stay flexible and ask life to bring us the highest and most loving connections. 

This is an opportunistic connection between power players Venus and Uranus in our Pisces and Taurus houses - how can we make the most of that? Collectively this is opportunities between love, money, our resources, values, self esteem, beauty and change, groups, friendships, the internet, the goals that bring us into connection with other people.

Late tonight the Libra Moon makes an opportunistic sextile to Mars (in Sag) - so time to make something happen/take action with your Sagittarius house theme or the collective Sagittarius themes of our beliefs, the big picture, what is foreign to us, travel, higher education, politics, the media, publishing, religion, legal issues.

So, although obviously I can't see your personal chart - collectively, we've all got some good aspects to work with today! With the Moon in Libra - a sign that squares Capricorn - we know she'll be clashing with the big boys soon enough, so let's work these good aspects while we have them.

xo all

photo by the amazing anyaanti

The Astrology of 2020 | Part II - a very long and complicated chapter about the unwinding of the patriarchy, the building of the Age of Aquarius (the age of the people) and how we deal with power personally and collectively continues ....

Part I is HERE.

I am going to do a post by sign, but let's take a step back first.

Where we are right now astrologically - is not that different from where we were in the winter/spring of 2018 - so why is so much changed?

One of the major differences between then and now, is last year when Saturn and Pluto were very, very close to each other - they had the South Node with them. The South Node is what we are leaving behind/what we have outgrown even though it may still feel comfortable. It opposes the North Node which is like a collective North Star - where our Earth family energy is heading - our best path for growth, and it asks us to do/feel things that are new to us, that make us uncomfortable.

So in 2019 we had the "beginning of the end".

At the same time Jupiter in his home sign of Sagittarius was offering everyone some opportunities - somewhat diluted or not as good as they seemed/or as good as we hoped - stimulated by his ongoing square to Neptune - but there were opportunities. Jupiter always does his job.

Then Saturn and Pluto stationed retrograde (April 2019) - we had major hints about what was to come, but for the most part (for those people activated by this Capricorn story) the death was postponed, maybe we had time to clean up our mess; to get our ducks in a row - maybe to prevent a big-bang style ending, but more likely to prepare ourselves for it.

Because keep in mind with these major energies - we are talking about major FATED endings, commitments/contracts ending (from many lifetimes and from our ancestors) and major course corrections to get us back on track; to lean us toward where we will be needed in the future - this stuff was in play whether or not we could see this happening.

Then our actions over the summer set our course - were we letting go or holding on, had we stepped into our own power or were we in a situation where someone else/outside authority was running our show.

Then in September and October, Saturn and Pluto stationed direct - for many people, now here was the death that was postponed. Powerful endings and changes. Now, not everyone was feeling this stuff in the same way - these are collective energies. But many people can probably relate to this.

I am seeing/feeling all of this as a collective, "humbling". In order for this patriarchal energy to shift, lots of us have committed - on a higher level and through the re-balancing of our 3D karma - to fall.

Probably many people lost/changed jobs in the last year, lost their voices in the world/the old ways they used their authority, our Cappy house themes would be life's field of play. We'll talk more about this as we move our conversation about 2020 through the signs.

Now, move ahead to January 2020 (and the end of December 2019 when the Eclipse cycle started) - badass Saturn finally meets badass Pluto - at a time when so much else is happening it is almost unbelievable! 

Now we are all feeling the shaky ground.

For some, the other shoe drops. For some, the pebble they got hit with last year is now a rock. If we haven't course-corrected we could be dealing with big changes now - the messes we didn't clean up, the stuff we didn't want to deal with or pushed under the rug might be hitting us over the head.

Others are dealing with a great deal of anger or regret or grief about what they have lost.

Still others are standing up now and stepping into their responsibility; into their own power. Maybe having to step away from tradition. Maybe even having to fight city hall!

It could have felt like our home, family, mother, mothering, a real estate situation, home/family business, country was threatened.

Pluto/Saturn is really a very long and very old story- as old as time itself - about how we deal with POWER.  Questions about how powerful we were then and how powerful we are now come up. Seasons of life issues/things outside our control with Ceres there. Maybe other people took over, while we tried to push back. If we were not personally affected in 2019, people close to us most likely were, so we could experience this through our relationships to them.

It may look like in 2019 we found out how powerful we are/aren't, but in reality it will be 2020 when we find out just what we are truly made of.

With all this Cappy energy, we don't get to skip any steps. We are probably going to need to save more and spend less and work within limits. And abide by rules. We are going to have to walk out talk and justify our confidence. This will continue.

Another difference between last year and this year and this is the difference between night and day is that now instead of that karmic South Node, we get Jupiter - our benevolent Santa Claus - moving through Capricorn.

He is going to work his magic by bringing us hope, optimism, expansion, answers, opportunities, win-wins and a path to a more authentic empowerment by the end of 2020.

With Jupiter now on the South Node, here is where the goodies earned through our Cappy house (by us in this life, previous lives and our ancestor's lives), but never delivered to us, can show up.

Jupiter on the South Node also helps us/requires us to release outdated beliefs and traditions. With the South Node moving into Sagittarius in May - this is going to be an eighteen month process.

And, as we move forward through 2020 and Jupiter moves off the South Node - Jupiter in Capricorn will become more and more about our next chapter - what we are building. And keep in mind in mythology Jupiter, brother of Pluto and son of Saturn - bestest both of them.

2020 is a foundational year; a BUILDING year.

If we can work our way through some of our limiting beliefs/fears, and we are and will - we have lucky Jupiter to help us!

We are halfway through January - the January Eclipse cycle is over and what did we learn?

Well, we didn't get into a full blown war - thank God and that trine to Neptune - that is very good news, obviously, because did the possibility exist (?) - well, I don't know, maybe, the astro was totally hairy!

But we did get very, very stressed/fearful energy coming at us very, very fast - and then things calmed down, so we could find this a repeating cycle as we move through the next six months to two years, in our own lives and the collective. So, we need to find ways to deal with this. To keep ourselves centered and not anxious/fearful. To keep our faith in the better world we are building.

Keep in mind (and if you are in the United States you will be more familiar with the history of the Revolutionary War) we are moving through the same energies that birthed the United States (our Pluto return 2022 - the culmination of an approximately 250 year cycle).

This next revolution won't be without challenges because that first one looked totally impossible until it was done.

We are going to need staying power.

Sometimes we will win by losing and sometimes we will lose by winning. We are going to need to prioritize what matters most. We are going to need to take care of ourselves and our supportive relationships. We are going to need to get rid of any remaining clutter and the crap and those old commitments that are making our life any more complicated than it needs to be. We have to somehow turn our focus to what is starting - even if that looks like a gigantic void at this point - and not on what is leaving/gone.

If we are still holding onto stuff that needs to go and looking in our rearview mirror, it is truly going to feel like it is 'eating you alive' and then 2020 will feel just like 2019. We can get caught in a cycle and waste this whole year! So, let's not.

The biggest repeating aspect of 2020 - we get three passes of this - is going to be Jupiter conjunct Pluto (first up in April) - this is going to be very rejuvenating energy!

And having this Jupiter/Pluto continuing to empower the Eclipse square to Eris - our outsider energy - means we need to bring everybody to the table this year.

Because whoever isn't at the table is going to be heard ... one way ... or the other.

xo  all

Back with the dailies again starting tomorrow and Part III when we look at this by sign then we'll start looking at the 2020 retrogrades because there are alot of them and they will be very significant

photo by the talented Art-de-Viant

Saturn conjunct Pluto | January 12, 2020 - is power cemented or traditions destroyed, maybe both is happening at the same time, the nuclear missile

Today we have:

Saturn conjunct Pluto (22 degrees Capricorn)
Mercury conjunct Pluto
Mercury conjunct Saturn
Moon (in Leo) inconjunct Mercury, Saturn and Pluto
Ceres conjunct Pluto
Ceres conjunct Saturn
Ceres conjunct Mercury
Eris (23 Aries) squaring everybody

We talked about these dynamics for the last couple years and in the monthly HERE and in the Eclipse post HERE.

There are two basic ways this could be playing out in our lives and in the collective.

1. limits/rules/authority is transformed - death (Pluto) of tradition (Saturn - the patriarchy)
or 2. authority (Saturn) is cemented - because this is happening in Saturn's sign - authority is made more powerful (Pluto)

And we may think we know what is happening, but with so many cycles ending/beginning with these conjunctions it will be hard to know.

What is really happening is we have both of these things going on at the same time.

With Mercury in the middle of all of this, the closed door meeting Saturn/Pluto might usually demand isn't going to be allowed.

Important news/information, intense communications and conversations will accompany this.

Mercury in Capricorn is straightforward. We will have the information we need. Keep in mind once we know, we can't un-know (or behave as if we don't know) - Plutonian changes are permanent.

This isn't going to just go away. Things aren't just going to go back to normal.  Because normal has shifted.

With Ceres involved there will be things outside our control here. Cycle of life issues will be activated/enforced. Ceres being Mother Nature means earth changes. Earthquakes/volcanoes/climate change. Mothering/nurturing issues (I had a Ceres/Pluto transit when I lost my beloved dog Olive last year and it was overwhelming, so if you have some major loss now you will need to give yourself plenty of time and space to grieve).

Happening at the same time as the waning inconjunct (rock and a hard place) of the Leo Moon to the Sun (with that Cappy pile-up conjunction), there will be something uncomfortable here that will require an adjustment. Maybe between authority/power and our Leo house theme or the collective Leo themes of - our ego/pride, creativity, children, our natural spotlight, passion, romance, recreation, our heart. It might feel that we just can't win.

The Saturn/Pluto conjunction is uber powerful. They last met in Libra is the early 80's (here's an interesting article on how power became unbalanced THEN - this was also the time of the Berlin wall coming down, cold war, nuclear energy, AIDS) and haven't met in Capricorn in over 500 years.

With the United States having her Pluto return in 2022 (first since 1776) as well as her Uranus return and Neptune squaring her natal position - during the 2020's we are in the throes of the energetics we had during the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and World War II - crisis/opportunity.

Life on planet Earth has never been for sissies.

For us, for now, what do we do? Well, we need to take care of our physical selves. We need to prioritize our supportive relationships. We need to focus on what is starting and not on what is ending. With Jupiter (our most beneficial collective energy) in Capricorn, too, and going to move through these degrees later on - we need to have faith. If things are challenging now we need to know that better, brighter days are ahead of us.

We need to step into our own power and responsibility and probably alot of what is happening in our lives that feels like limits and authority clamping down is pushing us to this space of self empowerment/self mastery.

We need to step up and into the energy of our Capricorn houses.

I am going to write a post by sign and here's an example for:

SCORPIO/SCORPIO RISING - this major, once in a lifetime event, is happening in Capricorn your 3rd house of communication, information, writing, teaching, learning, siblings, transportation and your local neighborhood. Pluto rules Scorpio so your Scorpian powers are getting an upgrade (ability to see what is beneath the shiny exterior of things, etc). Saturn will require that you work hard/use your powers responsibly. Paperwork/what you sign/commit to will matter. Scorpians are more comfortable operating in the shadows, but this is going to require you showing up, connecting with your local world and COMMUNICATING. You will step into your power and authority through your voice. The 3rd house is a fast moving space of ideas and and communication and commerce. We'll talk about this more in a post by sign.

The degree of 22 Capricorn is getting a major upgrade/upheaval. People with planets or points between 21-23 degrees of Cappy (and even the other cardinal signs through squares and oppositions) will feel the truth of this. Plutonian changes are permanent. The sky will be the limit here, as long as we are moving forward and not looking backward - which is a wasteland now. We could feel ungrounded because there is no grounding here (or we could be very grounded having prepared for this change from a space of mastery), but over time, and especially over the next two years, as we step into a more authentic power we will be astounded with what we can accomplish.

Back later with a post by sign.

Keep in mind with Mercury involved in all of this the information/communications that are coming in now - past few days/next few days - are SIGNIFICANT. Things might seem unexpected, but if we are honest with ourselves nothing that is happening now is anything we haven't been given notice about a long time ago.

Also keep in mind the waning trine to Neptune (powerful in his home sign, too) - we step into our power/responsibility - and this does NOT mean taking on other people's problems or committing to things that go against ourselves - and that's when the MAGIC happens. 

xo all

Photo by the talented YouAreViolentRed

Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Cancer | Friday, January 10, 2020 - the mamabear vs city hall, important information comes to light, the pressure that makes diamonds, too much power in too few hands, the crossroads divides us

On Friday, January 10, 2020 at 2:21PM EST the Cancer Moon opposes the Capricorn Sun at 20 degrees giving us a Full Moon, happening so close to the Moon's nodes, makes this Full Moon a Lunar Eclipse.

Full Moons bring situations to a peak, a culmination, an ending or into the light.

It is, in our naturally occurring dance between the Moon and the Sun, a time of opposition.

Eclipses are cosmic course corrections. Things get eclipsed out or out of our way. We get a re-set.
Depending on your individual chart (if you have planets or points near 20 degrees of the cardinal signs this will be stronger for you) you may feel this Eclipse to a greater or lesser degree, but all of us get eclipsed.

The energy we carry for the collective - the energetic lineup when we drew our first breath - shifts.

We change and then we attract changing circumstances - and because there is no time and eclipses somehow work backwards, too - these changing circumstances can precede the actual eclipse!

The Moon is strong in her home sign of Cancer and this year opposing not only the Sun (like every Full Moon), but also Pluto, Saturn, Mercury, Ceres and Jupiter in rule oriented and icy cold Capricorn - it looks like the ways the world values work and ambition and competition and coming out on top could be a bit more than our Mama Bear can handle right now!

This is about the Cancer/Capricorn polarity AND the themes of our own natal Cancer/Capricorn houses. What house does Cancer rule in your natal chart - what is the theme of that house? What house does Capricorn rule and what is the theme of that house?

OK, so let's unpack the chart!

We have the Moon very strong in her home sign of Cancer (with the North Node). The Moon stands alone. Unsupported, so we could all be feeling some lack of support right now.

Cancer rules home, family, our roots, mother, mothering, our ancestry, real estate, country, patriotism, the root of the matter - our emotional security.

The wintry Cancer Full Moon is often called the Wolf Moon and it could certainly feel like the wolf, and he's brought his pack this year, is at the door!

We have the Sun conjunct Mercury, Saturn, Ceres and Pluto (and the South Node).

With the Sun conjunct Mercury - information comes to light. Expect an emotional reaction. With Ceres conjunct Mercury situations involving things outside our control or change of life/seasons of life issues could be highlighted. This could even be about a conversation with our mother or about mothers/mothering.

Saturn opposing the Moon is limits/authority/depression (I had transiting Saturn opposing my natal Moon last winter and it was very heavy - I was very grateful he didn't go retrograde there and give me a three-peat!). Pluto opposing the Moon is equally heavy - here is where we are forced to deal with deep/subconscious emotions including obsession, manipulation, control, power struggles and keep in mind these aspects are oppositions - so projected onto others/coming at us from the outside. With these two on their way to their exact conjunction on the 12th - are the power structures in our life and in the world being dismantled or are their crumbling pieces being cemented into place?

Ceres opposing the Moon could show up as emotional blocks, from us to others and from others to us. Maybe caused by too much to nurture. Or too much outside our control. Overwhelm. A world on fire. And we only have our one little hose ... and, look, it has a kink in it!

So, on the one hand we have all these planets combust/conjunct with the Sun, and on the other hand hanging out with icy cold Saturn and grim-reaper Pluto. If we are influenced by the company we are keeping, half the skies are hanging out with bullies and gangsters! Maybe we feel ourselves angrier/less giving/more "mean" spirited. Who are we keeping company with (also what are we looking at, reading and watching) and how is that influencing us now? This might be something to think about.

The Sun and Moon are squaring Juno, the partnership planet in relationship oriented Libra. This brings our attention via tension/frustration to imbalances within our relationships/commitments/contracts. Juno put up with alot of crap from Jupiter and always makes me think of the things we don't want to look at/what we squash into drawers and push under the rug to keep things looking tidier than it really is. If we are signing on the dotted line now, and some people will be, there could be something we feel is unfair built into the contract/commitment. Diplomacy/another review could be needed, and cooperation. With squares always the need to adjust. 

The Moon is trining Neptune, strong, too, in his home sign. This is waning (we are past this). So we are past the rose-colored glasses - the dream should be more grounded in reality at this point or it could have been discarded - or maybe we are still lost in the dream and just totally in over our head! Trines remove roadblocks. The brakes are off. Is this a good thing or isn't it? That depends on your situation. There is a way through this quagmire (the home, family, mother thingie) coming from your natal Pisces house and its theme. Collectively this is about - our imagination, prayer, meditation, forgiveness, help from the past, help from our ancestors, compassion, surrender, letting go, making art, making love, listening to music. Let go and let God. Please take a few deep breaths and send out prayers for peace and happiness ....

Uranus is standing very still in Taurus (and I am quite certain LEANING ON HIS HORN and gunning his engine by this point) preparing to turn direct just hours after the Full Moon (right after the Moon turns void). Once he stations we will have no retrograde planets. It will be full steam ahead. No second chances. No do-overs. The final train, or for Uranus maybe the final Tesla, leaves the station.

Venus is all alone in eccentric Aquarius, detached/outside the rules, maybe group-focused and feeling the stress of Aquarius ruler Uranus's strength at station.

Mars is moving through early Sagittarius, having missed last month's Sag party, and answering to an unhappy Jupiter, in Capricorn now and sitting on the South Node! He is used to going bigger and bolder in Sagittarius, but with Jupiter limited by Saturn, he needs to keep one foot on the ground and one eye on his reputation. With Mars sesquiquadrate our actions/choices at this time won't be totally comfortable. We could be impatient - anxious to get something/anything going or to make something/anything BIGGER!

Eris (chaos) is squaring the Full Moon from Aries - and note her square is still building to perfection. Didn't we have the shocker/monkey wrench already? The astro would point to this happening after the Full Moon. Don't want to say this and obviously since eclipses work backward, I could be misreading this, but, well, just saying it anyway.

At this Full Moon we could be feeling how we are outnumbered/out-manned/out-powered. Maybe our home/family/safety (theme of our natal Cancer house) feels threatened somehow.

All this Capricorn energy shows us imbalances with authority and authority figures - too much power in too few hands - and the way we use and have misused (and maybe even abandoned) our own authority.

There is a light thrown on what power can do and also on the finality of the choices we've already made or that were made for us.

We have all this PRESSURE.

I think the only thing we really have to fear here is new life being breathed into crumbling, old power structures as Saturn powers past Pluto in Saturn's home sign - not new in the sense of NEW (because this is all happening before Uranus stations direct), but new as in "same-old, same-falling apart", but still alive! Zombie World Part II - ugh!

Maybe the most amazing thing about this powerful Full Moon is that as big as it is, it will be overshadowed in just two days as Saturn meets Pluto (in the midst of all this Cappy energy) and we see if the power structures are crumbling - leading us to something more authentic/more nurturing - or if their power is being cemented?

(note Queen Elizabeth has a 22 degree Capricorn ascendant being strongly activated as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce their departure from all the pomp and tradition of royal life and make their way toward more authentic, more nurturing, and in many ways, yes, more vulnerable new lives - a perfect example of the best use of this Cancer Full Moon and the Neptune trine - letting go)

This weekend is the crossroads.

And the crossroads divides us.

Which path are we on now? The high road that will require open arms and an open heart and the ability to stay flexible and curious and admit when we are wrong and that we don't always know what we are doing, but are following our heart anyway or the low road where we are certain we are 'right' and the good old days were better and we just all need a stiffer upper lift and our boot straps. There isn't a right or wrong answer here, but our answers will divide us ....

Look at our brave mama bear Cancer Moon staring down the mighty and the powerful.

Let's not underestimate her.

And let's not underestimate ourselves either.

xo all

(I was one of tens of thousands of parents/grandparents at a vaccine rally in Trenton, NJ today protesting a proposed elimination of the religious exemption in our state. Since my sister-in-law lost a baby son two days after a vaccine that he had a terrible reaction to, we proceed with care in this area and the religious exemption is the only way we have left to avoid a vaccine that devastated our family. The rally was much larger than anyone anticipated. The legislators backed down and the Mama-bears won. It probably won't be vaccines that divide us in the months ahead, but it could be something like this .... )

Today's Astrology Forecast | Thursday, January 9, 2020 - confronting our fears and insecurities, attention on home and family, partnership tension as imbalances are spotlighted, one last shot at something else

Now the Moon has changed gears, coming home to her own sign of Cancer, building toward tomorrow's Full Moon Lunar Eclipse when she reaches 20 degrees and opposes the Sun (and Mercury, Ceres, Saturn and Pluto!).

We are more sensitive with the Moon in Cancer. Nurtured through our focus on home and family/country and security.

Today, she will sextile (opportunity) a retrograde Uranus (change, the future, the group, the cause, technology, disruption) at 8:11 AM EST and later oppose Jupiter (feeling either really good or really not so good/amplification, maybe home and family vs work and the outer world) at 6:59PM EST.

A piece of our Full Moon puzzle reaches exactness as both the Sun and Mercury (their own conjunction will be exact tomorrow) square Juno in Libra. Here is frustration/pressure focused on our partnership/marriage/relationships/contracts. With both Mercury and the Sun in Capricorn - something could come to light/out into the open that causes tension/disagreement. Communications can be tense or focused around what is imbalanced.

Remember these aspects (other than the lunar) are not just in play for one day - relationships have been and will continue to be points of stress as we move through these changes.

If we have no support, if we are dragging around relationships/and old contracts that are past their 'use-by' date - we are going to feel like we are being eaten alive now and into 2020!

Things are really starting to tighten up here. With the Moon and Jupiter opposing each other from their perch on the North and South Nodes - we are at an important crossroads. The Moon is waxing so this is a time of action/expansion. Uranus's sextile with the Moon this morning is his last exact aspect before he stations direct tomorrow right after the Full Moon.

One final shot at something else. 

With all this Cappy, there is alot of pressure/depression here. Take care of yourself.

Back tonight with the Full Moon post!

xo all

photo by the talented aufzehngehen

Today's Astrology Forecast | Wednesday, January 8, 2020 - a mixed bag, compassionate language, ideas ripe for picking, are we capitalizing on some old luck or does it seem our luck has run out, a time of energetic re-balancing

How is everybody doing as we head into (collectively) the most intense astrology of our lifetimes beginning tomorrow?

Today is a mixed bag.

The Moon (in Gemini) squares Neptune (in Pisces) at 3:27AM EST. It gets hard to see what is real, but on the other hand we can be dissolving limits WITH OUR WORDS now. Talk. Pray.

Keep in mind the future isn't a dystopian nightmare or a utopian paradise - and it isn't determined UNTIL it's happened anyway!

Don't expect things to be perfect. Don't expect things to fall apart.

Stay open. Stay curious.

What story do we want to be telling ourselves?

With Venus in hard aspect to the Nodes - it could be a time of important choices and commitments that can't be delayed. We have to do the best we can with this. All these Cappy planets are telling us to be practical, to get rid of the old crap so we can build something worth keeping. With the Gemini Moon inconjunct (rock and a hard place) the Saturn/Pluto conjunction we won't have all the answers/facts that we need to have to feel safe and secure and none of the choices will feel just right, but maybe that's OK (and if that's what's happening then that is OK) - maybe the "knowing" is not what we need to move through this experience right now.

The good news - Mercury (communication, contracts, ideas) is sextiling (opportunity) Neptune (our dreams, imagination, spirituality, healing). Practical conversations are healing. Practical commitments move the dream forward. We need to be speaking from our heart.

from the Monthly HERE:

Mercury sextile Neptune is subtle. This is good energy for visionary ideas and language. We might wake remembering our dreams. Ideas are AVAILABLE for the right person - the person who can make them REAL - to pick them like apples in an autumn orchard. This is good for learning (Mercury) through osmosis (Neptune), so would be a good time to hang out with the smartest person you know! Compassionate (Neptune) language (Mercury) is helpful (sextile). Siblings may be illusive or confusing. But Mercury in Capricorn is giving us a Neptunian dream a structure to work with. Again this whole thing is subtle, but available. Talk to other people. The opportunity comes as one thought/conversation/idea drifts into another. People with planets/points near 16 degrees Capricorn or Pisces will feel its influence most. 

And at the same time the Moon will trine Venus (in Aquarius) at 5:15PM EST - it feels good to talk/communicate with our peeps, with people who think outside the box, to embrace unusual ideas.

Jupiter, (he will move through the most important degrees at the end of 2020) in Capricorn, is showing us there is a bigger/better future ahead of us.

In the meantime, Jupiter is moving through the karmic South Node - ending things we have been overdoing/that have gotten overblown, leaving behind beliefs that no longer serve us. This can be freeing or add to our feelings of unsteadiness. We don't have to know where we are going from the space of what we are leaving behind.

If we are woke (and I know you are woke!) we will be able to see the ways our beliefs/philosophy are not in line with the truth that is right in front of our eyes.

For some people, Jupiter over the karmic South Node can pull in our very old (past lives/ancestral) Capricorn luck. For others it may seem their luck has run out (for now).

This can also be a time when old opportunities re-present themselves or people from the past (maybe people we used to work with, have authority over or they had authority over us) reappear. Jupiter here can strengthen old structures.

This is a time of re-balancing.

There is so much going on, my head feels like it might explode just writing about it. And, still, every time I want to write about Trump and collective events, I get the intuition to keep it personal. This is playing out in our personal lives, too, and this is where our power is. This is the space we can create change. We are evolving away from the age of competition and war toward an age of cooperation and peace.

It is important right now to get enough sleep. Stay hydrated. Eat well. Avoid drugs and alcohol and sugar. Pray. Meditate. Listen to music. Make art. Be charitable.

Friday's Full Moon Lunar Eclipse has a trine to a powerful Neptune in his home sign - we have the angels and the ancestors helping us as we move through the next few days that set up our year ahead.

The Moon is waxing. The Sun is in Capricorn. Take action on your goals.

Hold on loosely.

xo all

photo by the amazing anyaanti

Today's Astrology Forecast | Tuesday, January 7, 2019 - pushed and pushy, maybe something we didn't see coming, making the dream real, help from our ancestors

Today's Moon in curious and communicative Gemini opposes Mars (in Sagittarius) at 2:05AM EST. Boundaries are pushed. Our actions/our words might feel rushed/sped up. Avoid being too pushed or pushy. Avoid gossip.

The Sun (in serious and ambitious Capricorn) perfects her sextile to dreamy Neptune today (16 degrees). Limits somehow aid our creative efforts. Responsibilities prevent us from "escaping". Here is the Cappy/Pisces energy of "making the dream real", we had in play most of last year. Maybe we have to sacrifice something (end something) to get something else. Maybe we are taking concrete steps toward a dream. There is OPPORTUNITY here/magic/help from the ancestors.

Take practical action with whatever feels unstable/not solid. Give compassionate/artistic license or offer prayers for whatever feels limited/already structured/controlled by outside authority.

The Moon is waxing. The Sun is in Capricorn - what are we building?

Mars, while opposing the Moon, inconjuncts Uranus now, so there could be actions we didn't see coming. Maybe adjustments required involving our money, resources, income, purchases, our values and self-esteem. This week, as we build toward a Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Cancer and a whole host of important celestial meetings - some happening for the first time in over 500 years - is not for sissies, so take care of yourself - get enough sleep, stay hydrated, meditate/pray.

Jupiter is connecting with the South Node all week, so karmic endings/beginnings, re-balancing of situations, re-connecting with past-life/ancestral souls - what is happening now matters and will impact the rest of the year - with Jupiter's tendency toward excess and exaggeration though it will be hard to separate what is important from what is overblown.

See the monthly HERE for an overview - everything through at least the 14th is pretty much in play now.

xo all

Today's Astrology Forecast | Monday, January 6, 2020 - the biggest astrology week of our lifetime begins, the eye of the storm, get done what needs to get done

Our Moon in Taurus squared Venus at 4:07AM ET (tension/frustration/need to adjust around wanting what we don't have or maybe between liberation/advancement and what we want to hold onto) then trined Saturn at 6:07AM EST before going void off a trine to Pluto at 7:07AM EST.

She will be void for most of the day - moving into multi-tasking and communicative Gemini at 9:11PM EST.

Those practical trines make today a good day to get alot of things accomplished. Work with what we have/are committed to. Good for working with authority and stepping into our own power and responsibility.

Time gets stretchy.

In Taurus, where the Moon is exalted she continues to perform during the void, but this would still not be the best day to start something brand new.

When the Moon moves into Gemini tonight - more options begin to open up. Be curious (we are practicing one of 2020's mantras!). Ask questions. Talk. Think. Write. Gemini is mutable air - stay flexible.

In Gemini, the Moon is going to oppose Mars (action, anger, warrior) and stuff starts to get more INTENSE.

This is when the biggest week in astrology in our lifetime really gets started ...

A heads up that no one really needs at this point because we would have to be living under a rock to not see this is a volatile world right now. We are in between two powerful eclipses, headed toward the meeting of Saturn and Pluto, with both our erratic planets, Uranus and Eris, preparing to station direct.

The world (and this is going out both in the collective and in our own lives and bodies) is literally and figuratively on fire.

A major evolutionary shift in humanity has been well under way for years (especially since the end of 2012) and now we are at a great turning point/end of the line - at both a personal and a collective level. Ready or not here is where we restructure our lives, our society and our world.

We are at a crossroads.

And the crossroads divides us.

With the astrology of these weeks in January indicating major events playing out now and the stage being set now for them to play out later, it will be important to keep our bodies nourished and hydrated. Get extra sleep. Pray/meditate. Exercise until you sweat. Get outdoors. Turn off the wifi when you go to sleep. Try some mindfulness exercises/or EFT. Somehow build some extra time into your day, so you don't feel any more rushed and hassled than you have to.

We need to keep a cool head and and an open heart.

I am not going to write a weekly - you can read the days ahead in the monthly HERE - the major events of mid-January may be felt the strongest THIS WEEK as they are building.

Back later today with more 2020 and we'll work our way through this.

Hang in there. We are building a new world. where everyone can survive/thrive, and yes, this will be built through the unraveling of the old hierarchical one. It may seem impossible. But it isn't only possible, the energies will all line up to support this. We just have to do our part and this is much, much more about keeping an open heart than a stiff upper lip. Hang on very loosely. We can do this.

xo all

photo by the talented nylonjuvenile

Today's Astrology Forecast | Saturday, January 4, 2020 - security concerns intensify, keeping a cool head, if the rug gets pulled know there is some solid concrete under here somewhere

We come off a stressful couple days for many people. The Aries Moon went void last night off a square to Pluto - power struggles/burned bridges/endings.

She is void until 11:15AM EST this morning, when she moves into Taurus, the sign of her exaltation, which should feel good, except that she quickly inconjuncts Mars (watch for impulsive anger, action that hasn't been thought out), semi-squares Neptune (emotions based on delusion/not grounded in reality, exhaustion, illness) and then starts moving toward her meeting with unpredictable Uranus late this afternoon (EST).

There could be upsets with what we thought was stable/secure.

Maybe the rug has been pulled out from under us. Or the elephant in the room has outgrown his perch behind the overstuffed sofa. He won't be ignored. And he looks kind of pissed off.

We are going to have to roll with the changes/chaos here, without making some impulsive move - based in anger/out of control passion - that tosses the baby out with the dirty bathwater. If we are trying to hold onto something that is leaving/changing this is going to be even more uncomfortable.

In some cases we will need to be standing our ground now. The Sun is trining Vesta - what is our bottom line need here - where does our attention HAVE TO BE.

Unless we are Aladdin, man of the flying carpet, there is a floor under that rug that has been pulled away. It may not be the wide-planked hard wood we were hoping for, but it's THERE.

Spend some time alone.

Take care of yourself. Give yourself (and other people) a break.

We are in the middle of a major cosmic reset and releasing/healing alot of very old, deeply stored ANGER. We might be feeling the pressure-cooker of this. We need to be brave. We need to have faith.

Keep in mind a favorite quote from the Course in Miracles, "Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God."

xo all

phoot by the talented iNeedChemicalX

The Astrology of 2020 | Part i - the Nodes shift to Gemini and Sagittarius

I don't want to get too far ahead because it will be easier to see/conjecture what some of the upcoming transits will be about after we get through this important January, but let's look at the general gist of things coming up in 2020!

THE NODES

In May, 2020, the Nodes move from Cancer/Capricorn to Gemini/Sagittarius (through January 2022).

Here is where we, as a collective, and in our personal lives, too - appoint Gemini (ruled by tricky and androgynous Mercury) our guiding North Star and Sagittarius (ruled by expansive Jupiter), the space and themes in need of sorting/sifting and, because many are past their use-by date, retirement.

Gemini is all about the movement of information and ideas.

Gemini is about choices and multiple anythings. The expressions "more than one way to skin a cat" and "kill two birds with one stone" make my point here - although in a most ghastly way.

There will be more than one thing to talk about now, more than one thing to do, more than one way forward.

Gemini is a mutable (changeable) sign and led by fast-moving and frequently retrograde Mercury - will give us a run for our money.

Gemini rules our growth through the exchange of information, through contact with our immediate environment, through language. Gemini reigns over: the flow of information, technology, communication, our mental processes, conversations, stories, lies, our local community, our neighbors, our siblings, our transportation and, of course, the theme of your natal Gemini house.

Gemini is perspective. What we notice becomes what we think about, what we talk about, what we act on. 

What we notice becomes who we are. 

We will be compelled to notice what we are noticing because it will become clearer and clearer to us the importance of our FOCUS. 

And of course, because the North Node presents a fresh energy to us - and this will be true even for those with alot of Gemini energy - and not without its challenges - we could find ourselves mired in distractions and probably very busy.

Instead of me writing about (our current Cancer North Node) allowing ourselves to be seen as vulnerable, coming home, being more maternal, taking care of ourselves -

I will likely be writing something like -

don't be afraid to change your mind, ask a question, question ourselves, make a new choice, tell a fresh story, look at fresh perspectives and new ideas, try new things, take a class, teach a class, do something within your local neighborhood, call your sister (or brother or cousin), start that book, start that business, make it smaller, travel/shop/sell more locally, get a new computer, get a new car, open your mouth!

Gemini is the first air sign of the astrological year - a sign of the mind, the archetype of the "teacher" - the storyteller. If you are a Gemini Sun sign this is basically the way you process life. As soon as you learn something, and you are naturally curious and learn alot of "somethings" - you simply must pass it on. Gemini has more to do with questions than answers. She has been mentally exploring and noticing stuff her entire life.

Geminis are actually supposed to know a hell of a lot of stuff that will never make them any money (unless they make it into the final rounds of Jeopardy) - this is the sign of curiosity.

Which brings us to sage Sagittarius, our upcoming South Node/point of release - the sign of knowledge/knowing.

The South Node in Sagittarius will show us "where we actually are".

Our entrenched beliefs, may become even more entrenched until it becomes obvious they are the elephant in the room blocking the door. Sag themes - travel, higher education, weddings, politics, legal issues, the media, publishing, foreigners, everything outside our comfort zone, exploration, our beliefs and higher thinking and, of course, the theme of our natal Sag house - will be subject to the disintegration of whatever is no longer working.

People with planets and points in Gemini and Sagittarius, as well as Virgo and Pisces (through squares) will be most impacted. But collectively we will all be feeling this.

Keep in mind we get the bounty of the North Node (Gemini) through the release of the negative/decaying South Node (Sagittarius). Releasing outdated belief systems, the stuff we are so sure about, moth-eaten religious teachings, our ideas about what is "foreign", our politics, our ideas about what is "true". With Jupiter - ruler of Sag - in Capricorn for most of 2020 - the de-construction of our safety/security in the outer world will likely continue for awhile ...

At the end of 2020, as Jupiter moves into Aquarius and meets Saturn (who will also have recently moved into Aquarius), we should see a major collective shift toward something NEW.

PART II

The Nodes of the Moon are not planetary bodies, they are the points where the Moon's orbit around the Earth intersects with the Earth's orbit around the Sun. The North Node is the ascending node - where we are going. The South Node is the descending node - where we are now/where we have been. They move counter-clock wise (sort of like being retrograde all the time) and are exactly 180 degrees apart - opposing each other.
When we work with them in our natal charts we will be astounded at their accuracy - the same can be said of the collective transits.

On May 5th, 2020, (after 18 months working the Cancer/Capricorn axis) the North Node moved into Gemini, the South Node into Sagittarius.

Keep in mind the North Node is our best path forward, our fate, a psychological shift that needs to happen AND also indicates what will not come easy because it is NEW and untested and we are genetically wired, likely in order to stay safe and alive for thousands of years, to crave what is familiar.

The South Node is where we are now and is the space of the energies ripe for release because they have outgrown their usefulness. Now, not ALL Sag energies have outgrown their usefulness - the good stuff, the stuff that is still valid and needed is going to be avialable to us in greater and more beneficial ways. As we move into the North Node and embrace the Gemini, we get the reward of the best of Sagittarius!

One of our challenges we will be facing with the North Node in the dualistic sign of the twins, Gemini, will be to understand we live in a society with a freedom of choice.

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 will be releasing any certainty we have with "this is the absolute truth" which is different from "these are the facts", 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 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.

We aren't trying to get anyone else to agree with us. Think student here, not teacher.

When we move toward this new mindset, what will happen, because the other person will feel heard (rather than judged/preached at) is we will easily add to the conversation ideas/thoughts/information that help the other person and our words will be accepted.

Now, this isn't some backdoor way to change someone else's mind about something (ie control what they think) because that's not our job and that won't move us in the direction we need to go (because we will be moving in different directions).

Instead, it is a way to get along with people we don't agree with - which we have all done all our lives, but somehow have forgotten how to do now. We will be able to expand the other person's perspective as we listen and allow them to expand ours bringing out the best of that South Node in Sagittarius. A good mantra will be something like, "when I am willing to listen and learn from the other person, I win."

Now, this will be just one challenge of the North Node in Gemini. This will be about everything from our relationship to our siblings/local community to our need to take multiple steps and make multiple choices to get somewhere. Not one big step. There won't be one big solution, but multiple smaller solutions. Like a few years ago when the North Node was in Virgo; small is the new big.

We will talk about this as we move through it.

And because the South Node (where we are now and the problems here are what is ripe for release) is in Sagittarius - the sign of our big beliefs/the sign of the sage/preacher - none of this is going to come easy.

We are in our isolated spaces having deserted everyone around us to explore 'our truth'. We go to our phones and computers and mostly see the stuff that supports what we have seen before - because that's how the algorithms online work now - and we get agitated when someone doesn't agree with us. We even feel the need to argue with other people on their own posts on Facebook or report people's "fake news" to them as if we are their mothers.

We're not their mothers (unless we are, and then, of course, we get to DM them and ask them what the hell they are thinking).

We are not the "truth" police. It's not our job to control what other people think.

Self-righteousness is going to be one of our biggest challenges.

This is one of the reasons the nodes in Gemini/Sag often bring in a time of WAR. We want to avoid that, right. We can all agree - war bad. Avoid the war.

We are going to be working with our very old and very entrenched beliefs; the very spaces we are used to thinking of ourselves as "right".

Also with the Sag South Node we can expect changes with other Sagittarius themes - foreign travel, higher education, weddings, publishing, religion, legal issues, etc.

Now, nothing happens in a vacuum and at the same time we are going to have Neptune in Pisces which makes it very hard to know what is "true" - which is actually helpful for this transit and we are going to have Uranus in Taurus, upending what we value/creating chaos with our security and again this works well with this transit. Because we can't 'do' the North Node in Gemini without some changes to our security and values. We can't 'do' the North Node in Gemini when we have all the answers. We have Venus back in Gemini like she was in 2012 when we could have blown this 3D popsicle stand, but obviously weren't ready (sniffle) and collectively chose, unconsciously, to stay put and fight this out - SNIFFLE!

So, best case with all this is we learn the art of conversation; the process of skillful interaction. Humor will help, too!

We learn to offer our words/ our point of view with a sensitivity to the way the other person is hearing them. We invite their responses. We share helpful information. We turn the spotlight on other people from time to time via our questions rather than just going on and on about ourselves.

Conversation is like breathing, right, we inhale and then we exhale.

OK breathing, which Gemini rules, as well as our lungs, brings us to this pandemic and this corona-virus.

So, we come into this nodal switch with many, many people at home, feeling vulnerable and unsure about our security, our work in the world - if there is even going to be a world.

That North Node in Cancer/South Node in Capricorn - as this sh*t is apt to do - went out with a BANG.

With the Nodes changing at this time - because in astrology the chart when something begins sets up the whole game plan - it looks like we are going to collectively be deciding between two things/two ways of life. With the North Node in Gemini, coming to an agreement is probably not a possibility here. As a group we are going to come apart. We are going to split.

Right now, we are in a kind of limbo land. It's like we have been in an eight billion car pile-up. We have felt the initial impact of the crash. It was hard. It was fast. We had limited time to react. We are hurt and we suspect/know other people are hurt even worse.

The car crash has already happened.

But our car, and the others cars involved, haven't come to a stop yet.

We are still kind of tumbling around/flying through the air. So, whether we land in a soft marsh or slam into a semi going in the opposite direction or a brick wall isn't in our reality yet. We are maybe trying to avoid these worst scenarios, and maybe what we are doing is helping a little bit or maybe it is just creating a whole other set of problems. Like we have avoided the wall (a more rampant disease) which is a good thing, but then that semi is RIGHT IN FRONT OF US (the economy).

We don't know exactly what we are going to do and we don't know what the other drivers, and did I say eight billion, yes, eight billion, are going to do yet either.

I don't want to be negative because like I said we are still in the AIR. I also don't want to toss balloons over the car crash and call it a sweet sixteen party. Someday we will see the good/the silver lining that will come from this, but like I said .. the car hasn't even landed yet. Today is not that day. Tomorrow is not that day either.

I would suspect from the patterns and archetypes we are at a collective split. The cars are going to land on different roads and facing in different directions.

And in some very important ways we have already passed that split. Some of this is maybe already out of our hands. We are married to the future. But maybe there will be paths that lead to the other road in the future if we look hard enough. Then we will carry ourselves to this other space and watch our world reshape herself around us.

With Pluto retrograding back toward my natal Mercury, with my natal Mercury in serious, but also sometimes pessimistic Capricorn and with my third house Aquarius stellium including my Sun/Saturn making me a great over-thinker - I can gloom and doom with the best of them, believe me.

I could see a collective split in the future - being set up right now, between two sides of a scared populace. One side having been taken to the place where all we care about is that "this never happens again" and we give up our right to control our own body and our health via experimental/traceable vaccinations. We are tracked at all times, our conversations and our news controlled - for our safety and most importantly, for the safety of other people, of course. Or maybe there is no vaccine, so it isn't totally safe to venture outside just for pleasure anymore (we don't stop and ask if it ever was) - well who needs that park anymore, we can strip that land and give everyone a virtual reality headset for an imaginary picnic. No need to worry about keeping the cold cuts cold anymore either - another plus! And who needs other flesh and blood people in person - they are all so freaking germy - when we can just talk to the people who agree with us on Facebook or AI can just provide us with friends who will laugh at all our jokes, never be too tired to chat or out-cute us on bad-hair days. Money is dirty so that will go digital and yes it can be turned off and on, but why should we care about that, right? We pay our taxes. They won't turn our money off. We are the good guys. Masks and plastic shields will come in so many pretty designs and even though they could be totally ineffective, they are another great-equalizer and we will keep on buying them. We will call this side - the road for the people who value safety over all else.

And you might say to yourself, I don't value safety over all else, well, let's see then for you there is this other road - you cowboy/outlaw you!

Home to the people who value freedom over safety. This road will have less rules - no masks, no social distancing. There might be more illness for awhile at least, but maybe that will pass. This is the road for people who care more about "returning to the way things were before" or something like that. But maybe these people are not free to get on an airplane anymore or travel outside their "freedom" area or even work or live in certain places. There will be no trips to Disney World or trips to visit their family on the other side for this group. This is alot to give up, so maybe this road is not only the road less traveled, but maybe in not so many years, maybe not in our lifetime but maybe in our children's, it is the road not traveled at all.

This is very depressing, but the car is still in the air, like we said before

and there are certainly a thousand other/better roads - and almost surely I am thinking way too far ahead and extreme anyway. I know I am!

And there is always Chiron in Aries, we can draw ourselves up as the warriors we truly are if we need to.

In the meantime, maybe focus on the art of conversation part of Gemini/Sag. Give some thought to that. And we'll look at some different roads in Part III.


xo all



photo by the talented S-t-r-a-n-g-e