Mars Sextile Jupiter - jump on THIS

jump by poop-art

We have Jupiter

(the planet of expansion, vitality, confidence and faith - all the stuff that brings us good luck if we were to believe in such things - and I do, actually)

cozying up to the North Node of our collective fate/future/destiny this month.

This is happening in the un-cozyest (and yes, since this isn't really a word I can spell it like this) of signs - detail oriented Virgo - where Jupiter isn't super um ... well, cozy. But that's ok. Sometimes cozy is over-rated. Sometimes attention to the details is what makes life cozy actually. And yes, when I say sometimes I mean now.

This transit is helping us line up with our best possible future.

It's like we are at the train station and there's a train leaving for Newark and a train leaving for Hawaii and every thought we think, every decision we make, every action we take, is moving us, step by step, into one of these station lines ... and right now, this moment, we are still in the space where we can go either way. We haven't bought the ticket yet.

There will come a time when, ticket in hand, we will just have to get on our train (dance with the one who brung us so to speak - and yes, same rule applies to "brung" as "uncoziest") and venture forward to Hawaii .... or Newark.

(and I live in New Jersey and it's snowing and you know which line I want to be in)

Of course, things aren't really this dire, because there are unlimited trains for every destination between these two places and there will be opportunities later to hop trains, although that can be dicey, we don't want to lose a leg or anything. You can see what I mean with this. We want to be moving toward the right line now.

As I write this, the planet Mars (drive, initiative, action, will, courage) is building toward a sextile (supportive opportunity) with Jupiter. This aspect is exact on Sunday but will be active all this week and next.

The actions we take during this Mars sextile Jupiter transit can have a bigger impact on our life than the actions we take at other times. Being that Jupiter is well, Jupiter after all, and most especially because he is hanging out with the North Node. Doors that open now won't lead us into a broom closet. Doors that open now will lead us to opportunities for learning and growth and, dare I say - happiness. 

We need to jump on this. We will probably need to pull that door open ourselves. If we are sitting around watching Walking Dead marathons (yes, I know we have to get caught up for the new season) we could miss this. With masculine Mars energy we have to take the initiative. We have to be a warrior. Mars isn't Venus where we attract what we want. Mars has to go and get it.

Now remember this is coming through our Virgo house (check your natal chart) and if you are a Virgo rising (ascendant) we are talking about your whole life and if you are a Virgo Sun we are talking about what fuels your whole life, so the same thing basically.

This isn't "out of the blue" stuff. Mars isn't Uranus. This is us taking action on our dreams and that action (think like a Virgo here - what needs to be done? and how can we do it well?) getting us lined up where we need to be to get what we want. Mars is the energy that gets us what we want. Virgo is the way/space we make this happen. Jupiter is the faith in ourselves and our dreams that lines us up with our "good luck".

Those with natal (and progressed) planets and points between 18 and 24 degrees of earth signs (Taurus, Capricorn, Virgo) or water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) will be most directly affected but the energy is available to all of us to make an impact on our future now.

The Moon is waxing (growing). Mars is in Scorpio so we know what we want. Mercury is out of his shadow on Sunday, too. And Mercury and Venus are moving into forward thinking and forward moving Aquarius.

How do we want our future to look? What steps can we take, right now, to make that future happen?!

xo all

Note - the fly in the ointment and you know there is always a fly in there no matter how carefully and quickly we close the damn door - is that although sextiles are supportive they can sometimes seem to bring unwelcome situations - it's really stuff we are already lined up with so closely there is no getting out of the way. When this is the case though whatever happens is something we will be able to move through quicker and easier than we anticipated.

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Monday, February 8th | a new view of what drives us ... and makes us angry

"so I stopped talking about it. there's no need to talk because the truth of what one says lies in what one does." ... bernard schlink - the reader

alone by zhoya

I didn't get the chance to do a weekly post yesterday, so we'll try a few dailys and see how that goes.

We begin this week with a New Moon in Aquarius. This is the time of the month when the Sun and Moon are joined together at the same degree of the same sign. As always New Moons are excellent times to plant seeds with our intentions - these seeds will ripen by the Aquarius Full Moon in August.

See my post about the New Moon.

The focus here will be on our flock, the causes we care about and how free we are to do the things we want to do... also your natal Aquarius house (19 degrees).

New Moons and particularly the two weeks that follow them are initiatory energy.

Stuff starts.

Of course, for stuff to start, other stuff has to end.

The energy here is supporting the fresh start, so a focus on that part (which can be challenging depending on just what is ending and how invested we are in keeping it intact) moves us forward.

What house holds 19 degrees Aquarius in your natal and progressed charts?

In the angular houses, New Moons work more obviously. They call us to action - these are houses 1,4,7 and 10.

Houses 2,5,8 and 11 are our succedent houses (they succeed, ie follow, the angular houses). They stabilize. A New Moon here will require us to work a little harder and look a little closer to identify the New Moon's opportunity. It's there.

Cadent houses are houses 3,6,9 and 12. A New Moon here requires an adjustment. We are often required to learn something. Preceding the angular houses - this is the thought before we take action.

This New Moon has a wonderful sextile (opportunity) to Uranus (in Aries). This is the 'new thing' that will require some action on our part. It looks good.

Mars is a power player at this New Moon.

The Moon is square Mars, so is the Sun. Squares present tension and frustration. Mars is in powerful Scorpio where he is co-ruler. Mars indicates anger, motivation or drive being activated. With the Sun and Moon in egalitarian Aquarius, tension could come if someone (or we) tries to rule instead of cooperate.

The things we get angry at now will have a higher message for us.

When we get pissed off - and we will - we'll think "ooh, the Sun is showing me my unhealed Mars".

(animals, nature and water are great healers for Mars tension and anger, also EFT - see Cheryl Richardson's video here and most healing of all, by rebuilding what we have destroyed)

With Aquarius we are asked to take a higher view even as Mars in Scorpio plunges us down deep.  This is great energy to break through something that is resistant. Let's keep a cool head and stay steady over the next few days. Mars in Scorpio understands that power comes through us and not from us.

Tomorrow Mars trines (brakes off) Chiron (healing, wounding). Mars rules early, early childhood. Some fear or pain from then can/will be healed now .....

Set your New Moon intentions - YAY! FRESH START! - you know the drill!

AFFIRMATION TIPS: get into a happy frame of mind - 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 - I always write my affirmations on strips of paper. This month maybe we'll burn them and release the ashes into the cool Aquarian air. Then release your attention from them knowing that your intention is known.  

Know these things are already yours. xo all

Ooh also, the Chinese Year of the Red (fire) Monkey kicks off today. I don't know much about Chinese astrology, but a fire monkey year sounds like a fast moving year with lots of chatter - which sounds about right. Back tomorrow.

New Moon in Aquarius on Monday | the answers will be found outside the box

out of our minds by jayelless

Monday's New Moon will be at 19 degrees Aquarius.

(FYI Aquarius rules friendship - they'll come in handy now -  Facebook is calling today Friendship Day - although I remember doing a giveaway for that once in the summer. I guess I was either way ahead of everyone else or way behind. I do like the idea of it during Aquarius season though so I'll go with Facebook on this one)

The lunar cycle (Capricorn) that is ending Sunday began with a conjunction to Pluto and included a retrograde Mercury's conjunction to Pluto and then direct station there. Pluto is the planet of death, destruction and obsession. This is pretty good energy to break our world into the sort of tiny little pieces that faced the king's men and their horses after the fall of Humpty Dumpty.

(I always wondered how the horses factored into this tale)

We were all tossed into whatever personal narrative this lengthy Pluto in Capricorn transit is stirring up in our lives. Many people are dealing with financial and job security concerns pretty intensely.

Remember we are all working through the Pluto in Capricorn transit - the collapse of corrupt and unsustainable structures. This transit isn't just something we are all dealing with collectively - this is energy we are all dealing with in our personal lives, too.

The collective story affects us individually just as the way we handle our personal stories affects the outcome of the collective story! We really are that powerful.

Yes, what you do affects me and what I do affects you.

(and you should probably thank me for all this God awful gut healing bone broth I've been drinking - ack!)

By the end of this week we'll all have received any Plutonian marching orders and reality checks loud and clear. 

Capricorn seasons are never easy but have been particularly harsh the last few years since Pluto moved in (we are at pretty much the midpoint of a 15-16 year cycle). We will all have to work with this energy at times.

Monday's New Moon squaring Mars in Scorpio (and Mars will be retrograde in Scorpio for many months this year) tells us that although we are entering a new lunar cycle we can't simply side step everything that has happened or throw pink paint over our problems and pretend they don't exist.

Carrying the energy of whatever reality these last few weeks have unearthed / bombed us with - even when it's uncomfortable and maybe especially when it's uncomfortable - helps ensure that our future plans and actions are more grounded and have less chance of falling apart later.

(remember this year's primary energy is the Saturn Neptune square that is testing our dreams - there will be obstacles!)

Aquarius/Scorpio is pretty much exactly the energy needed to push us out of a rut. This is 'outsider' energy where doing things differently might be just the ticket as long as we are prepared for things to veer off in whatever direction this energy takes. We could take things too far with this and get hurt or hurt someone else, so let's not do that, ok?

(remember for most of this year Jupiter is in Virgo - precise, measured steps get us where we need to go - also everyone needs to be prioritizing their health and physical bodies now - inflammation issues will require very clean diets this year - good health coaches will clean up)

This New Moon cycle takes us into eclipse season where anything can happen! I'll post more about this in the weekly on Monday, but for those dealing with this month's muck know that lighter energies are ahead of us.

The dense energies will start to lift as more planets move into Aquarius and she brings her kind of unique electricity and leaps in thinking into the mix.

The answers will be found outside the box.

xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of February 1st - lots of push to get things done

a little push by stephanie dan

Busy, fast moving week. Lots of "push" to get things done and by "done", I mean finished. The Moon is waning - whatever needs to go out the door, needs to go out the door.

We start the week with a Scorpio Moon and in the aftermath of the clashes Mercury dealt (is that a word?) with this past weekend maybe some important information came through. Maybe more information just muddies our thinking. Maybe we get a breakthrough. Either way it's a good day to go within and think about our personal evolution since Mercury entered his shadow in mid December.

On Tuesday the Moon moves into lighter and more visionary Sagittarius until Thursday. Lots of busy productive energy. Time will fly, so stay focused on one thing at a time and see it through or nothing will get done. The Moon is void all day Thursday so not a good time to start anything we don't want to fizzle out. The good news - any crisis that crop up then will be a waste of time and worry and not come to anything.

Tuesday is also Brigid's Day (more commonly in the U.S. called Groundhog Day) - the midpoint between winter and spring - although the exact midpoint is 15 degrees Aquarius, and since this is my natal Sun degree - I will celebrate on the 4th when the Sun hits 15 degrees Aquarius - more on this later. Light a yellow candle. Let's be thankful for our progress since the Winter Solstice.

Mid week, we have Mars (still in Scorpio, get used to that) sextiling Pluto (ruler of Mars and currently housed in Capricorn). Also Mercury is sextiling Chiron in Pisces. This could be a good time to give a voice to what hurts and to take effective action. The Sun (in freedom loving Aquarius) also sextiles stodgy Saturn (in big picture freedom loving Sagittarius) so movements toward FREEDOM are getting the universal GREEN LIGHT. This won't remove all obstacles and sextiles require some kind of action on our part - it's like a door cracks open - it's our choice what, if anything, we do with it - it's still some good, positive energy.

At the end of the week Venus conjuncts Pluto (in Capricorn) and then squares Uranus (in Aries). Let's do something we are passionate about. Venus themes - our values, art, money, women - get intense. We will know what we want and what we want might upset some apple carts. Women won't be taking any crap. Maybe something in the collective around women will surface the way the issue about the lack of African American nominees at the Oscars hit a couple weeks ago.

Back in a day or two. For the big picture remember we are working through BIG collective energies that are shifting everything - if our ground doesn't feel shaky, we are probably not standing up.

NOTE - remember I write about aspects when they are exact - they are often (other than the Moons) very near exact for days before and after and you might feel them and be working through them then. xo all

Ceres into Pisces | the mother bear losing her grip

mother bear by alexis photo art

Ceres (nurturing, loss, mother/child, food) moves into Pisces today. As she moves through Pisces thru mid April and as she aspects planets and angles in our natal chart her themes will be triggered for us.

I don't talk about Ceres much (this being a business blog and all - wink). Ceres is the dwarf planet between Mars and Jupiter. You are probably familiar with her story.

Ceres (known to the Greeks as Demeter) is the mother - the provider, the nurturer - the goddess archetype of spring. Ceres represents the part of our nature that longs to give birth and then nourish and sustain new life. She represents the essential bonding or lack of that occurs between mother and child. She is the impulse to nurture and also to be nurtured by others.

Ceres's daughter, Persephone, was abducted by Pluto, lord of the underworld. The grieving mother, Ceres wandered the earth in search of her missing child.

In her grief, depression and anger, she caused a famine, withholding nourishment from the world until her daughter was returned. Persephone meanwhile had eaten pomegranate seeds, a symbol of sexual awareness, which gave Pluto a claim over her so she could not be returned permanently to her mother.

A deal was reached so Persephone would spend part of each year in the underworld with Pluto caring for the souls of the dead, but each spring would be reunited with her mother in the upper world as she initiated the dead into the rites of rebirth (spring).

Ceres in our chart alerts us to any challenges with nurturing and directs us to the 
kinds of experience we need to feel unconditionally loved and accepted.

In Pisces, happenings around nurturing and loss will be emotional now. 

Hanging on to things in Pisces is like trying to hold water - it slips through our fingers. Children are meant to grow up and leave us. Our creative children are meant to leave us, too. 

If you are the type of mama bear who likes to be in control, things ruled by Ceres may feel a bit "slippery" over the next few weeks.

This is a wonderful time though, to dream the BIG and magical dream for the things and people we 'mother', yes, including ourselves.

Check your natal Pisces house - is there something there that is dissolving? something you need to gently release? or maybe something that needs more nurturing? xo all

Chiron on the South Node | Jupiter on the North Node - fate and free will

future tv by a7md3mad

I believe our birth charts are our contracts. They are the imprint of that moment we took our first breath - we literally are the universe at exactly that second (and we carry that energy for all of us our entire lives).

So, maybe there are some things we have set up already and just have to live out, maybe some things we are going to encounter and deal with this go round are just not up to us anymore.

That's the "fate" part - it may be out of our hands now.

(although I believe we set that part up, too, or at least our past actions did)

Then the "free will" part comes in. This part is much more important. It is always up to us how we react and process things, the actions we take, what we do with the situations we face, the way we release things, etc.

Some birth charts have a couple major themes, in other charts there is more going on as if we wanted to get a lot covered while we are here; to burn through a lot of old stuff.

When people suddenly appear to "lose it all" or life takes a total turn, often you can find in that person's chart a kind of integrated life - it's as if they decided OK when I am done with this (ie learned or experienced what I came into that experience to learn) move me right on to that.

Of course, the person living through this may think their life has just fallen apart. And it has actually. But it doesn't mean they don't get a new life.

I was in banking for 10 years. I started as a bank teller and left a decade later as a vice president. I had been a head teller, assistant manager, branch manager and managed both a lending department and a retail telephone banking department. It seems about as far from my life now as I could possibly imagine.

I have lots of stuff in my birth chart to make this early life possible. Scorpio rising means my chart is co-ruled by Mars (action) and Pluto (banking). My Moon (nurturing) is in my 8th house (other people's money). Saturn sits within 1 degree of my 3rd house Sun making me quite serious quite early on and able to present myself (communicate) as older and "in charge". My South Node (past life energy/comfort zone) is in Capricorn (business).

Then along came my Saturn return and life took a hard left. My North Node (future) in Cancer (mother, nurturing) was activated. I lost my job. My 'mother' became very ill and moved in with us. My daughter was kind of running amok (she denies she ever gave us any trouble) and needed me to mother her in a new way. Almost overnight my entire life seemed to revolve around the word "mother".

Fate has a way of pulling, pushing and drop kicking us exactly where we need to be. What we do once we get there is up to us. It isn't always a hard left, sometimes it's just a tiny little shift right that makes all the difference.

For the rest of this month we have Chiron (healer) connecting with our collective South Node (past, comfort zone) and Jupiter (expansion) connecting with our North Node (future).

Life asks us to stop repeating by tempting us to repeat.

Check your natal chart for anything within 5 degrees of 14 degrees Capricorn (or Aries, Cancer, Libra) - that's where this current transit is offering up the fate .... what are we going to do this time?

Jupiter is in Virgo so we practically, helpfully, patiently collect the information and ideas and details we had overlooked before. We use those missed opportunities to craft something else.

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of January 25th - we're moving forward

winter walk by cirtus frukt

Mercury (in Capricorn) stations direct on Monday evening and we can finally begin to move forward with whatever has been holding us back since January 5th.

(Do I hear a Hallelujah?!)

People who have been awol will suddenly reappear. Calls and emails get returned. Situations that have been dead in the water (including New Year's resolutions) will suddenly begin to show signs of life. Maybe the delays of this past month start to make some sense. Maybe not. Either way we start to get unstuck.

There might still be some glitches early in the week as the energy shifts forward, but for the most part the Mercury retrograde delays are behind us (Mercury doesn't truly get to new territory until Valentine's Day when he gets back to Aquarius) and the stuff Capricorn rules - authority figures, business, goals, career - and our Capricorn natal house aided by attractive Venus will be "all - or most - systems full steam ahead".

The other big aspects this week are (1) Mercury squaring Uranus and conjuncting Pluto at the end of the week (Friday and Saturday) - this is the 3rd time we've had this aspect since December 19th and 20th, so something set into motion then winds up. Maybe 3rd time is the charm. It could be a communication, some information or a decision made now ends something or removes some obstacle that allows us to move on.

EXAMPLE for Aries - (Sun in whole house astrology or rising) - Mercury in your 10th house of career joins Pluto and squares Uranus (in Aries) - this is about big changes in a professional or public situation. There could be a final decision regarding a career matter or maybe an out of the blue announcement. Any delays with career and authority figures will end now.

(2) Jupiter retrograde (in Virgo) makes his second exact conjunction with the North Node of our collective destiny. This entire week we have the opportunity for fated connections to our future. This is also big energy for endings - hopefully we don't lose another rock star!

EXAMPLE for Taurus (Sun in whole house astrology or rising) a retrograde Jupiter connects with the North Node in your 5th house of creativity, children and romantic love. This is a push to develop something in one of these areas (just like last week!). This is about what you want - just work with Virgo - details, organization, small steps, careful adjustments. Combine this with Mercury lighting up your 11th house of hopes and dreams (and friends) and it’s looking good!

MONDAY - void Moon in Leo - good day to play in the snow, good day for creative work & production TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY - Moon moves into Virgo - organization feels good. If Monday was a snow day this is a perfect Moon to get back to work. It's good energy to get our acts together with Virgo stuff - health, paperwork, employees, co-workers, pets, habits. THURSDAY & FRIDAY - Moon moves into Libra - emotional stability comes through partnerships, relating to someone as an equal, seeking balance or justice. Aspects with Pluto could have us focused on Pluto themes - other people's money, debts, taxes, sex, death, birth. Endings could make the end of the week a bit stressy.

xo all - back Tuesday or Wednesday with some big picture 2016 stuff!

FULL MOON in Leo | we're us, but we're not

nothing beats a lion by lionique

Think about what a Full Moon looks like - it's the brightest moon; a completely lit circle. There is nothing obscured in the shadows, everything is visible.

During the full moon, something comes to light. 

Every Full Moon in January is called the Wolf Moon, probably after the wolf packs that howled hungrily outside Native American villages amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter.

(and by this time of year our ancestors provisions were running low and their tummies were rumbling, too - this is built into our DNA - we are hungering for something, too, now).

Our Sun is in Aquarius so we know the Full Moon is in Aquarius's polarity sign of Leo the lion. Both the Sun and Moon will be at 3 degrees so this is the space in your natal chart (3 degrees Leo, 3 degrees Aquarius) ripe for illumination.

With any Leo Moon generosity pays off and feels really good - we'll give the other person the benefit of the doubt, an extra big tip, a hand shoveling out, our brightest smile (an old man just smiled at me and totally turned my day around, I need to smile more), the keys to our car

 - maybe not our actual car, but the keys are a good first step or maybe a keychain, yeah we'll give them a keychain - you can get one HERE, even lions take baby steps sometimes - although I think it's stealthy baby steps toward their prey, but you get the idea.

Leo rules the 5th house of creativity and fun. If you are not snowed in today - it would still be a good time to pretend you are. And if you are snowed in, just remember although Netflix marathons can be great, they are a waste of this Full Moon energy when we should be creating our own stories! Give yourself the gift of some creative time now. The Full Moon is our peak energy of the monthly cycle - use it or lose it.

With the Leo/Aquarius polarity and all this Capricorn energy this is about our personal ambition and our devotion to our "flock". It's not about giving ourselves up to the group, but about remaining ourselves within a group setting while integrating. We're us, but we're not. We're them, but we're different.

During this Full Moon we have Mercury retrograde's journey through the waning Pluto/Uranus square bringing maybe some discord and discomfort to what is revealed. The Moon is inconjunct Venus in Capricorn so maybe we don't get exactly what we want with this (although something worth celebrating could certainly be uncovered now, too!) AND remember we have lucky and expansive Jupiter conjunct the North Node of our collective fate reminding us that things are falling into place in our Virgo house RIGHT NOW.

Somewhere among all this chatter is our soul mission, quietly waiting to be discovered.

All we have to do is right in front of us. What gifts and opportunities have we been given? How can we make the most of them? Our Capricorn houses get busy, busy, busy. xo all

Mercury stations on Pluto | January 22nd - stock up on ice cream

lucy in the sky by elif karakoc

Today, as Mercury stations and prepares to move direct he lands right on top of Pluto (in Capricorn) and squares Uranus (in Aries).

(imagine we move our finger through a flame and halfway through we stop and turn around - that space where we slow to a stop and start to reverse - well that space would be pretty intense, it might even necessitate an immediate ice cube and some ice cream later, chocolate chip mint, of course)

And we face our first storm of 2016.

(and with perfect synchronicity one third of the United States is preparing for a blizzard - stock up on ice cream, yes ice cream, when your power goes out and you have no way to heat the hot cocoa you ran out at the last minute and bought - I will be devouring the ice cream I have stockpiled on my front porch and snickering at you through my chattering teeth - yes, in a blizzard I'm like that, I will share if you're nice though)

It may have started for you last week or last month, but it's really been coming for years. We move through the end of the Mercury retrograde which has been happening within the chaotic Uranus/Pluto square and reactivating that.

This could be some shocking news that is probably unwanted.

Something Capricornian and security focused maybe - a change we don't want to make.

Fixed energy. A long term plan is needed even if revisions will be required later. Maybe some technological or cosmic breakthrough. Possible power struggles, lies, intimidation, hmm .... . it also gives us the ability to drill down deep and focus. Mars in Scorpio - secret motives and actions are possible. Shock and awe.

Brilliance is out there. Cue Uranus.

As Mercury (consciousness) passes over Pluto (karma, soul) expect to feel a pull toward something else (Uranus). This weekend's Full Moon in Leo (ego) will illuminate what we need to see (post tomorrow).

Remember that although we are on the brink of something wonderful - our ancestral DNA is registering the danger of change and leaving all of us edgy and worn out. When something drains our energy it is natural to want to sort it out ourselves - definitively and right away. However, often for a situation to be cured, we first need to disentangle from our urge to treat it.

To assume because there is a problem it is our job to intervene and impose a quick solution is a very "entangled" way to live. Of course, we can be too "disengaged" also. Sigh. This stuff is tricky. Again I advise ice cream.

Astrological energy like this weekend's has a way of getting us where we need to be in the most expeditious way possible.

It knows we want to go to the market and that we are headed out the door toward Hwy 9 where there is a 3 hour traffic jam, so it coaxes us toward a new route with a sudden craving for that jasmine iced tea only available at the other market on the opposite side of town.

And we may never know about the traffic jam we missed and end up griping when we drive all the way across town for the iced tea and the jasmine bin is empty. 

And with Pluto and Uranus and Saturn energy all balled together like this it might feel more like everything is falling apart than a cool glass of iced tea. We will hang in there. Whatever is happening will be sorted out over time (Saturn). More in the weekly forecast here. Full Moon post tomorrow. Hang in there, February will be much lighter! Get the ice cream. xo all

Venus into Capricorn | January 23rd - comb your hair

fashion and the fantasy by little flair

Venus moves into Capricorn on Saturday.

Venus attracts. Capricorn Suns get more attractive. Our natal Capricorn house becomes more magnetic.

(speaking of attractive and magnetic - have you seen my lockets? blog readers get 10% off anytime with coupon code blogreader)

Since Capricorn is a serious sign ruled by taskmaster Saturn, the stuff Venus rules gets more serious. Venus rules art and beauty, love and money, our values and partnerships. We will naturally handle these things more seriously and attract situations that require us to get serious about this stuff.

We will look at the people, things and situations we have partnered with like a father checking out his daughter's new boyfriend. Other people will check us out as if we are about to date their precious daughter.

If we want to be taken seriously we will need to look the part now.

We attract (Venus) what we want by respecting Saturn (ruler of Capricorn) - don't make that important sales call or fire off those important emails wearing your pajamas and slippers with your hair in a messy bun.

That might have worked last week while Venus was still partying in Sagittarius, but for the next month (and the month after that - Saturn is co-ruler of Aquarius which is Venus's next stop) get dressed, comb your hair, put on some shoes. xo all

life unravels where it cannot unfurl ....

unravel series by jon jacobsen

Today the Sun moves into contradictory Aquarius and Mercury (still retrograde in Capricorn) squares Uranus in Aries (this happens again at the end of next week when Mercury is moving direct and happened on December 20th before Mercury's retrograde). This is tradition and authority being questioned, challenged, maybe upended. Maybe a bold new idea is generated and we take action, maybe some old information threatens our structure, maybe we step away from the crowd a little bit more, maybe someone else rebels against our authority. Squares are tension that push us into a new action - where have we just had enough?

If you have any planets 16-17 degrees Aries or Capricorn in your natal chart you will feel this transit the most.

Aquarius, the humanitarian, can sometimes view life from twenty paces. Maybe the only way to see anything clearly is to take a step back from it - of course, too many steps and we face a stony future devoid of empathy and geared solely toward the "greater good". Balance in all things. We move from earth to air today. Support your immune system. xo

your creative business and the astrological generations | feeding your customer's Pluto - Part III

dark sun by mirella santana

OK, let's wrap up this series with the youngest Pluto generations your business might be catering to.

To back up a bit - I think astrology could be a good way to analyze "generations" if we look at the natal placement of the planet Pluto (where Pluto was hanging out when we were born). 

Pluto is a slow moving outer planet. The furthest planet from earth (yes, Pluto is a planet, don't get me started!) and represents karma and the "soul".

We experience a compulsive attention to matters related to the sign where Pluto resides when we are born.

NOTE - Pluto moves in and out of a sign as it retrogrades, stations and moves direct so a person born within the first couple years Pluto is in a sign may be more in tune with the previous sign and a person born in the last two years more represented by the following sign. And of course each person has their own individual chart with many aspects and placements including the energy of Pluto's house that may work against this collective energy - still, this way of looking at generations will be helpful when we think about our customers as a group.

See Part I Pluto in Cancer, Pluto in Leo generations 
and Part II Pluto in Libra, Pluto in Virgo generations

Pluto in Scorpio (1984-1995) - The Pluto in Scorpio generation (Pluto rules Scorpio) are intense. Charged with going down into the underworld and coming up alive (which they mostly do, but not always) - they often work through dark and unsettling experiences very early in life - their growth (and the growth of the collective from the energy they carry and transform) is mountainous.

Scorpio (and Pluto) rules banking, big money, other people's money - taxes, loans, insurance, spouse's income, collective money, inheritances - death, rebirth, sex, gender, the resources of others, surgery, metaphysics, reproduction and regeneration. These are the areas this generation is here to reshape.

This is a connection energy like Libra - but Scorpio connects us in ways that are deeper, more transformative and often more uncomfortable.

Born into the energy of "I did not have sex with that woman" and Real World MTV escapades they have turned pornography into "porn", sex into "hook-ups" and invented "friends with benefits". IVF became more mainstream as more and more reproduction issues are surfacing. Faced with a future without enough jobs and with huge educational debts -  energy and beliefs around finite resources and what belongs to "us" and what belongs to "them" will morph mainstream thinking as this group comes into their own. Endless war, media fear mongering and video games has made them more immune to violence than other generations and sometimes a little cold, determined and often brave. It also leaves them open to going too deep and too fast into Pluto's underworld through loss of hope, drugs and escapism.

If your creative business services this group - think about some of these Scorpio buzzwords. What do they need/want now?

They will not chase the bright and shiny thing. They need/want to be lured and are drawn to the mysterious, interesting and different although celebrity culture and their interest in "big money" and "what other people have" could attract them to more mainstream things branded in these ways as long as nothing appears too superficial.

They need to feel "deep" and like things with messages and meanings and will think about the things they own and what those things say about them in these ways. They are drawn to the ancient and esoteric but want the latest iphone. They want to feel different, because they are, actually, and although they need to fit in less than other generations, they are still a connecting force with a need to "fit in" somewhere.

Born into fast moving energy that idolizes - because it's all anyone has time to look at anymore - the stuff on the surface, they will come of age with a need to really see/know/experience what is underneath the glitz and casual conversation. Anything lasting that your business offers this group should best be geared to what is real and what it says about them that they purchased it.

Those plucky, inspirational quotes on Pinterest and Instagram appeal to and are made by this group, as long as it makes them feel strong and powerful. They don't like wimpy sentimentality. Scorpio is about change, so products that are changeable or that grow with them or that they can change and make their own in some way would appeal.

Pluto in Sagittarius (1995-2008) - The Pluto in Sagittarius generation are (or will be, many are still children) all about freedom and philosophy. They are easily bored and not so easily restrained. With brains wired differently (please let's stop drugging them) they will birth new ideas and inventions and things no one has ever thought about. I would say the sky is the limit, but with this group it really isn't.

Sagittarius rules college, higher education, philosophy, foreigners and foreign travel, churches and religion, air travel, publishing, charities and international commerce. These are the areas the energy they carry is here to transform.

Pluto in Sagittarius is about BIG thinking. Growing up connected to the world wide web at all times through their cellphones and ipads not much will feel 'foreign' to them. Their educations may be more limited so they will learn and grow in new and unique ways. They won't be pigeonholed. They want adventure. They want travel. Their thinking will be more positive than the previous generation and so they might be a little more "lucky". This is the wanderer, bohemian, gypsy energy. They will reinvent how and why we travel and how information and products move around the world.

If your creative business services this young group - think about some of these Sagittarius buzzwords. What do they need/want?

This is very young energy - they are age 8-20 right now - so much of this will be future based with them as they come into their own. There are also some of the younger Pluto in Scorpio people who fit in better with this group. The youngest people alive now - born since 2008 are the Pluto in Capricorn generation who are going to transform business and security and those safety nets currently falling apart! Then in 2025 Pluto in Aquarius children will be born to hold that new humanitarian energy and usher in a new age. Yes, it's a long process!

Every generation holds the generational energy they are born into to transform and is shaped by the previous generations - in this way we carry the gifts and sins of our fathers forward. We can only start from where we are. I think science will someday, maybe led by a Pluto in Scorpio person (!), link astrology and DNA the way quantum physics is linking beliefs and DNA.

I hope something in this series is helpful to makers and business owners.

Thinking "What does this person need?" is a much better starting point than "Who do I sell/offer this thing to?". xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of January 17th - here comes the sun .... in wintry Aquarius - uncertainty, second thoughts, expect the unexpected through the rest of January

marina by bubbleguN-oo

Another intense week. Mercury is still retrograde until the 25th, when he stations direct and begins to move forward once again. The route a retrograde Mercury journeys this week, a direct Mercury will travel next week! So whatever happens now might un-happen or switch on us next week. Take things slow. Expect the unexpected.

With Jupiter also retrograde and hanging out with the North Node of our collective fate this is a big transition period - new jobs, relationships, people and spaces moving on, death and birth.  

Opportunities to connect and re-connect with people and situations continue.

On MONDAY we have a cozy Taurus Moon trining (brakes off) Mercury (retrograde in Capricorn) and sextiling Chiron - let's be patient with ourselves and others and give people the benefit of the doubt. This would also be good energy for healing rifts by making amends and accepting others' apologies.

Venus in Sagittarius squares the North Node and Jupiter in Virgo. There is some kind of tension that requires us to change something about a financial, love or values situation. Maybe something we have outgrown needs to be released. Maybe something we haven't yet grown into comes up close and personal a little earlier than we expected. Virgo asks if maybe we already have enough on our plate right now. Follow what is unfolding here. One step at a time. Even good things can get overdone with this energy.

The best use of Venus square Jupiter energy might be to socialize and have fun (if you can play hookey or if you have the day off for Martin Luther King Day maybe just do that). Don't go shopping and overspend though or eat the entire box of Krispy Kremes.

If we are determined to work, Mars in Scorpio (trine Neptune) could see our most productive actions focused on Scorpio (other people's money, sex, death, birth) and/or Neptune (creativity, healing, stuff that is hidden, research, spirituality) themes.

aquarius magnetic locket by polarity

TUESDAY'S Gemini Moon is great for communication, talks, and the flow of ideas - there is an aspect to Neptune that could make things a little fuzzy or sad maybe - stay focused on the present moment. Neptune is quelled with meditation (or try coloring or long quiet walks in a familiar space) although Gemini's buzz will make quiet-time a little more difficult than usual. Another good day for research.

On WEDNESDAY the Sun moves into Aquarius and we all start burning the fuel of the genius/rebel/criminal. Here we take those Capricorn rules and see them not as they are, but as they could be.

Aquarius is the sign of the humanitarian. It rules the time of year our ancestors ventured out into the cold to check on their neighbors. It can also be the space in our chart where we over-give and wear ourselves out. As we move from the grounded energy of Capricorn into Aquarius air it is also a good time to get sick - and especially come down with a head cold. Do whatever it is you do to bolster your immune system.

(at the recommendation of a friend I started putting 3-4 drops of garlic oil in each ear at the first signs of a cold - hubs says it's like sleeping with a pizza, poor fella - in addition to taking vitamin C every couple hours that day and 4 drops of oil of oregano in a tall glass of water - it seems to work very well)

Aquarius sun season is a good time to say yes to social obligations and activities - just stay hydrated and wash your hands :)

Stuff gets complicated beginning Wednesday when Mercury begins a two week long conversation with Uranus (change, rebellion, revolution) and Pluto (transformation).

First he squares Uranus in Aries pulling us back to the Uranus/Pluto square (freedom vs control, stability vs revolution). On Friday, Mercury joins Pluto. Direct confrontations can create permanent endings. Or maybe something just ends. If we commit to something now, it can also be pretty solidly fixed and we might want to adjust it next week when Mercury is direct, so if big decisions, purchases, deals, etc can be pushed out a couple weeks when we have our bearings and can tell where the chips have fallen, that might be better.

Remember the way through is still Virgo - small, measured steps will get us where we need to be. Whatever happens - matters of security and freedom will likely be overwhelming.

(if you are like me you might have started to work with some of these aspects last week, and of course, we will revisit them next week when Mercury goes direct and makes his way through these degrees ... again!)

Venus enters Capricorn on Saturday - love, money, our values - we get serious. We have a Full Moon in Leo on Saturday - this one culminates the New Moon from August 2014 so something from that time finishes up or with all this retrograde energy is back in play somehow - the Ferguson police shooting of Michael Brown/ state of emergency declared there, Robin Williams suicide, stock market decline, ISIL airstrikes, the shooting of Cecil the lion - whatever was happening in our own personal lives the summer before last .....

I'll do a Full Moon post later in the week. xo all

your creative business and the astrological generations | feeding your customer's Pluto - Part II

blossom by aaron mcpolin

Part I about the Leo and Cancer generations is here

Next we have the Pluto in Virgo generation (born 1958-1971).

This is the generation charged with transforming work (computers), health, and habits. These dates roughly correspond to what the media calls Generation X (the slackers?!, NOT).

This is a very self-critical, detail oriented group; a large part of this generation born into the energy of the tumultuous 60's have both Pluto and Uranus (sudden change, genius, rebellion) in the same sign and house since they were traveling together in those days. This makes some area of their lives especially volatile and challenging. Many were also born with Neptune (spirituality, escape, drugs) in Scorpio (potential self-destruction) and a smaller number (1964-1967) with Saturn (road blocks, control) in Pisces (see Neptune above) tossing an extra dragon or two at them to be tamed, befriended or succumbed to.

There was an article in the Guardian recently about the high death rates from suicide, alcoholism, depression and drug use (findings knocked the Princeton researchers 'off their chairs') in this age group. Astrologically, some of the reasons are glaringly obvious. Pluto and Uranus conjunct in Virgo is very likely to bring digestive problems, allergies or immune system issues - we are learning more everyday about gut health and the gut/brain connection with researchers finding there are very real connections between depression and the bacteria we have and don't have in our stomachs. Neptune in Scorpio could be escape leading to self-destruction and Saturn in Pisces a very real need to escape! Toss in the fact they live in the U.S. where Virgo themes are way out of whack - too much work, poor diets, healthcare driven by the drug industry and we have a recipe for some very real, and yes painful, transformations.

Virgo is the sign of the worker, the servant, the craftsman, precision, idealism, the perfectionist. Virgos gain dignity and self-respect from being good at something that is of use to other people. Virgo searches for the tiny torn thread, the inconsistency, the stuff that is glossed over by others - always seeing the flaw, the space for improvement. This generation can "see" reality (maybe a little too well, too much reality can be a rather despairing space to carry!), but has a harder time "accepting" it. They can fall into an idealistic trap - wanting things to be just so and things never living up - that they can appear the opposite of idealistic!

If your creative business services this group - think about some of these Virgo buzzwords. What do they need/want now?

If you have a product based business this is the generation who will appreciate your product's value, it's attention to detail and the skill needed to produce it. Think quality. This generation is tasked to roll up their sleeves and create the future in an increasingly eco-focused, multicultural and technology addicted world. Things involving these buzzwords in some way will likely appeal to them.

Anything that helps them relax, enjoy, appreciate, forgive (especially themselves) will appeal, too.

Pluto and Virgo are health focused; the first generation to embrace gyms and turn activewear into everyday wear. This isn't about staying young forever like Pluto in Leo - this is more about staying healthy and functionable. So anything that helps them keep on working will appeal to them.

They are middle-aged now and having been tasked with a lifetime of noticing everything that is "wrong" and with a second lifetime of work still ahead of them (no retirement for these folks like their parents had - sorry Virgos) many are tired, so anything that feels like a "reboot" or "reprieve" or "relaxation" will appeal, too.

(I am using alot of Mercury retrograde buzzwords but this makes perfect sense since Mercury rules Virgo!)

The Pluto in Libra (1971-1984) generation is here to transform the Libra themes of relationship, balance and partnership. The first generation to grow up with mostly divorced parents and mostly working mothers, they coupled up early and embraced Facebook friendships and texting. They carry the lessons of fairness, cooperation and compromise; the ability to walk in the other person's shoes. Justice. Beauty.

Libra is the sign of the arts and Pluto in Libra's ability to be in 'relationship' with everything gives them a strong connection with art and music. As youngsters they often found connection with others through these areas and probably still label themselves and others by musical and artistic styles and tastes.

Libra rules balance. Unlike the previous generation they will most often prioritize relationships and partners over their work. They will seek out balance and fairness. They might attract the opposite so it/and they/and us (universal energy) can be transformed.

If your creative business services this group - think about some of these Libra buzzwords. What do they need/want now?

Many in this generation are raising young children now. People raising young children often spend more money on their children than themselves and you could focus your business on the kids, of course with Libra's ability to see both sides of an issue and flipflop with the best of them - they will soon be asking themselves, "hey what about me?" and need to splurge on themselves once in a while, too - so your business could be about the 'splurge'.

What would someone who prioritizes relationships, art, music and balance need when raising young children or splurging on themselves? Where does your work/business come in? What can you offer here? Remember these people are hands on creative and often have limited budgets - maybe think DIY kits and budget friendly anytime classes.

This generation wants things to be beautiful. They love Pinterest and Instagram. They connect with others through beauty and art and music. This is where they will be looking. With so much clamoring for their attention, you will need to stand out. This generation likes balanced relationships between equals something to keep in mind if you are a coach or teacher.

Up next post the Pluto in Scorpio and Pluto in Sagittarius generations and your creative business.

NOTE - this series is about generations and generalities. The house placement of Pluto for each individual person has an important influence, too and isn't covered here. And we are all connected so the energy each individual carries impacts all of us.

risks and rewards ....

bowie owl by shannon ott

Venus (in big picture Sagittarius) trines Uranus (in passionate/action oriented Aries) at 16 degrees.

Venus rules love, money, our values, art, beauty, balance and women - she attracts. She also rules people with Taurus and Libra rising (although in different ways). Venus in our natal chart shows us how we can attract what we want, shows men their natural partner, shows us the space we need to feel balanced, what we need to feel loved.

Uranus rules "new", surprise, the unexpected, technology, large groups, the future, creative genius - his job is to break rules and demolish existing structures and paradigms; to get us where we need to be in the fastest way possible. He also rules the sign of Aquarius. Uranus in our natal chart is the space where we need to break the rules, chart our own path, function without social approval (no thumbs up or likes for us here). Uranus shows us what authorities we are determined to challenge, who we will offend and even where we will receive our most misleading advice. (I'm pretty sure being an Aquarius - I'm in your chart somewhere doing exactly this :)

Trines are happy, easy aspects. The energy today and tomorrow is ripe for attracting what we want by doing something in a new and unexpected way. Love, money - what we truly value - may be suddenly exposed. The ordinary becomes the extra-ordinary. Who knows where we might travel this year, if we stop caring what others think?

xo all

(Note - Bowie was an Aquarius rising, ruled by Uranus) My favorite Bowie song, played this one about 10,000 times one summer ....

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of January 11th - back in the driver's seat, positive progress and reading smoke signals

drive by simsalabima

Everything old is new again ....thank you New Moon in Capricorn! Still time to set your New Moon intentions. This one is in the Capricorn house of permanent changes, so changes we make before the first quarter Moon on the 16th will have excellent sticking power.

Our Sun in Capricorn trines (brakes off) benevolent and lucky Jupiter (recently retrograde in Virgo) on Wednesday and then trines the North Node of Fate (also in Virgo) on Thursday. The Sun is then conjunct Mercury (retrograde in Capricorn) and trining Jupiter and the North Node. This week could feel pretty damn good. Maybe we'll all win the Powerball!

While these influences are exact mid-week, we may feel them as early as Monday.

With Mercury's retrograde (especially in sober and all-business Capricorn) coaxing us to take a second look, to make a correction, to ask that question again - this alignment is the perfect opportunity to get it right this time. 

Venus is now in harmony with Uranus giving us a very real opportunity for something/someone we thought was over or something we thought we missed out on to come back around again. So, although for brand new opportunities this is the time to take our time, for past opportunities or things or people that we were maybe disillusioned with or thought we were finished with, well, maybe we'll decide to give it another go-round or maybe this will at least be a good chance to clear the air and energy, so we can all move on. Either way it's a win.

Being sober and taking care of business will play a large role in any success now but there is also an element of "luck" with right time/right place situations. Any luck or opportunity will manifest because preparation has met inspiration has met right timing! It will be what we do with the information/work that is right in front of us that makes us "lucky". Water signs (Sun and Rising) can be especially lucky with money now.

Some things may appear to just fall right into place. Yes, even during Mercury Retrograde this happens sometimes :)

Sometimes there's a little twist first. Like maybe the house we want falls through, but then suddenly the house we wanted last year, the one we really wanted in the first place is suddenly available again. Or maybe a person or situation from the past turns back up at precisely the right time to get us thinking, and moving, in a new and better direction. Maybe a mistake we find while we are re-checking one thing (that costs us money) leads us to discover another mistake that will save us a bundle.

The profit/advantage to us may or may not be immediately apparent - it may show up later on. Maybe when Mercury stations direct at the end of January or maybe when Jupiter stations direct in early May.

Both Virgo and Capricorn are earth signs. So there's a need now for work, practicality and a focus on the small stuff (yes, still - we're ready for this, right). We may not be able to move forward from where we are now, but we can rework old information or redo something. Earth signs are about making things real. The stuff being re-rooted/re-routed now will lead to actual physical changes and material manifestations. Where is your Capricorn house again? What were your New Moon intentions?

This is the time/space that can put us back in the driver's seat or at least reconfirm/illuminate why we started down this particular road in the first place.

Note - the Moon is void all day Tuesday and Thursday afternoon (expect some wonkiness, best times for practiced, productive work) . This week's energy will also bring any pre-holiday chickens home to roost - so whatever we pushed off our to-do lists then will have to be pulled out to be taken care of now. Bills, too (ouch).

xo all

New Moon in Capricorn | Saturday & Sunday - what we're made of (and no, it's not sugar and spice and everything nice)

shock by just a shadow left

When the Sun and the Moon are in the same space, as they are this weekend, all possibilities are on the table.

We have so much happening now - Mercury has moved back into Capricorn. Venus and Saturn are joined in Sagittarius. Jupiter is retracing his earlier steps in Virgo. The Sun and the Moon are having a party.

(although in Capricorn this party probably looks more like an all-night study session or late night at the office where they toss you a slice of cold pizza and some strong coffee and sternly advise you to keep working)

Uranus squares (what we resist persists). Jupiter trines (be wary of over-confidence). Chiron sextiles (and heals).

So, what might all this look like? Maybe we become aware of what we have and what we don't have. With so much energy encharged with looking behind us, maybe we second guess ourselves. Maybe the more decisive among us, just cut their losses and move on. For the rest of us, we see the chances we have missed (ouch) and the choices we have left. Or maybe we don't see any choices. But we will.

For now we just handle what we have to handle. We take care of business.

Maybe we realize we have been asking for too little and secretly hoping more will just fall into our lap .... in Capricorn's ability to withstand we can lose our knowing that we don't always have to settle.

My grandmother always said, "where there is a will, there is a way." 

Well, with Capricorn there is a will.

Capricorn is the sign that rules our public image, our career, our accomplishments, our ambition, our ability to hold the course and just keep going (still winter for most of us right folks?).

Even with a New Moon there are multiple celestial indicators that a new beginning now will not run smoothly. That's OK, we are not afraid of a little choppy water - we'll just take our time with this. There is no rush.

Capricorn is ruled by Saturn so we channel this energy - we use common sense, we get organized, we do things in an efficient way, we make responsible decisions, we keep our word, we think quality over quantity, we get up early (yes, I just want to sleep, too - next week will be better, I promise), we do the thing that is right in front of us.

For years, I have believed the pareto principle - that 80/20 thing, that 20% of the work produces 80% of the results, 80% of the sales come from 20% of the customers, yada yada. The idea that we have to have all this superfluous stuff, and energy expended, to get to the good stuff. I am willing to rethink this. Just because someone called it a "principle" and gave it a lovely Italian name doesn't mean it has to be true anymore and wear us all out. Maybe it's time to cut out what isn't clearly working instead of working on the assumption that it gets us something somewhere else.

We will all be looking at how much we are working and how much we are making and getting out of it and have to show for it - this isn't all about money. But it is about money, too.

We don't want to clutter up our life with loose ends now. We take care of our physical body (Jupiter is in Virgo until next summer - this is the best time in years to get real results from prioritizing our health). This isn't work til we drop stuff - nothing in the universe supports us hurting ourselves ever.

This is first chakra security stuff. Capricorn rules bones, skin and joints.

So if we are not getting what we need from relationships or activities that we spend considerable amounts of time on, our body and mind (depression is here, too) will tell us now. 

First center physical issues like fatigue, skin problems and joint pain that are ignored (ie we don't look at what we are getting back from what we are giving our energy and time to) lead to worse stuff like arthritis, allergies and autoimmune problems. This is an excellent time to create new routines for physical stuff.

If we know an area of our life that can use a Capricorn overhaul - that's certainly where this energy is meant to be used. 

We can wait until Mercury is direct later in the month to make our move, but we can plan our movements now. Mercury retrograde is great for rethinking and planning! Mars will be retrograde in Scorpio for a few months, Jupiter is retrograde now - we have to just go ahead and work with the times we are in. 

If now is when we feel the dissatisfaction, then now is the time the solution is available.

MONTHLY AFFIRMATION TIPS:

Some Capricorn new moon affirmation areas to think about: security, time, self-discipline, your brand and image, ambition, opportunity, goals, delegation, releasing control, father figures, reputation, your bones, knees, skin and joints

Some I will be working with include (note - these are from last year, this year I am going to be more specific - think Virgo precision since that's where expansive and lucky Jupiter is hanging out!):

1. I easily recognize, welcome and enjoy the work that leads to success.
2. I receive and enjoy positive recognition for my work.
3. I easily set personal and work boundaries that create time for me to do the things I love to do
- I shoot for 10 (see Jan Spiller's site for some ideas with these - she calls them monthly wishes, if wishes feels right to you and better than the word affirmation use that)

Get grounded - we're in an earth sign now, so this should be easier - always make affirmations from a  positive place (positive meaning certain) - write your affirmations down by hand in cursive, we want the letters all connecting and flowing together, speak them out loud. I used to write my affirmations on strips of paper and put them into a bowl of rice so I can mix them around every now and then with my fingers if things got stagnant - then release your attention from them knowing that your intention is known.

Lately I have been burning mine and releasing the ashes into moving water. I feel a little more connected with the finality of the results when I do this. Yes, you can flush them, but try to get outside!

Know these things are already yours. xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | week of January 4th - freedom vs. control, mercury retrograde - part lll

the game by vi mark

I cannot believe this week has taken three long posts just to list all the aspects. If you are having a baby this week ... well, he or she is going to be carrying some very big energy!

Good luck to the new mommies and daddies out there with that :)

See part I and part II 

We are in the Balsamic Moon Phase (here's a post on Jess's blog about that) so if you are not feeling the New Year "go-go-go, hit the ground running, fresh start thing" use this time to rest. You can't really go wrong with the Moons.

OK, back to this week- today we have the Sun conjunct Pluto at 15 degrees Capricorn. This feels like some kind of relentless ambition or a light thrown on some area of power. Whatever this is it is getting us ready for the New Moon in Capricorn at the end of the week.

On Thursday, Jupiter stations retrograde (yes, another retrograde planet).

This takes us back to the October 12th New Moon when Jupiter first entered the space he is about to retrace. You might remember we had a Jupiter/Pluto trine - a fresh start, wealth and abundance energy. I don't talk about that kind of thing very often (it's the whole glass half empty thing I think), so when I do, and I did, you might take notice!

There is a test with this transit (Moon square Jupiter) re: self control. We don't want to get over confident with this energy. Greed, extravagance are no-go's here. Remember, Jupiter is in Virgo - small, measured steps, just do the work. If something kicked off for you in mid October, this is your chance (through early May) to get all your ducks in a row with it.

Jupiter is stationing retrograde on the North Node of Fate and he is traveling with the Node of Fate for all of January and most of February! This is about connecting us with our fate. Since he is retrograde these connections may involve people, places and activities from our past. This will be about our work, health, daily routine or pets since the North Node (and Jupiter) are in Virgo (work, health, routine). Mercury will also be trining Jupiter during this transit (plus he is the ruler of Virgo!) - a VERY positive aspect. Check your natal chart for 22-24 degrees Virgo to see where this connection with fate will come from for you. 23 Virgo sits on the cusp on my 10th and 11th houses - so for me this will come through work (10th house) or a friend (11 house) - if you would like me to check for you, just let me know!

We'll talk more about this as we move through the winter, but let's keep our eyes, ears, minds and especially our hearts open. We don't necessarily have to say yes to every opportunity presented now, but we definitely want to take a phone number or business card!

I am going to do a 2016 year ahead post next - I have had a few people ask me for kind of an overview of the energies and also wanting to know when things are going to get 'back to normal'. The second part is easy because there is no 'back to normal' - life has reset for all of us.

It's like we've moved from the Serta perfect sleeper to the water bed - we just have to roll with it now even as our head bumps against the wall and we roll awake every time our partner takes a deep breath - that old mattress is sitting at the bottom of the garbage dump with two years worth of empty Hungry Man dinner boxes lying on top of it.

The mutable signs will feel this year the strongest. And with 4 Mercury retrogrades in earth signs in 2016, lots of physical changes to people's lives will be happening. Spring will be nuts. The way through everything is still Virgo .... we've got that part down .... 2016 will be a year of sobriety - we are all going to need a clear head for this one. xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | week of January 4th - freedom vs. control, mercury retrograde - part ll

everything is illuminated by c paos

OK, back to the week ahead - see part I here.

So, we have Mercury turning backward on Tuesday morning (also the Moon goes void around lunchtime so get things done and out the door early!). We can imagine Mercury leaning conspiratorially toward us, "OK, we've gone as far as we can go at this point in time - we need to backtrack a bit to recheck a few things, allow the stuff we've lined up with to catch up with us and gain a little more experience".

Stuff ruled by Mercury gets wonky because he is looking over his shoulder - this includes communications, electronics and transportation (think - stuff with fast moving parts - he is the fleet footed messenger, after all).

We get re-routed.

Now, we can try to plow ahead anyway and sometimes things must be plowed through - we will just know that some of the stuff we have plowed through, would have been easier to move through later or we will have to plow through this stuff again when Mercury moves direct and passes over these same degrees.

(Mercury spends about 1/3 of the year either retrograde, preparing to go retrograde or retracing his same retrograde path once direct. 1/3 of the astrological signs are mutable signs (cardinal energy begins, fixed energy stabilizes, mutable energy changes) and mutable energy follows fixed energy. It doesn't follow cardinal. In other words, the natural order of things isn't 1. start 2. change 3. stabilize - it is actually 1. start 2. stabilize 3. change then back to start (with the next season). Without the change/shift/re-do part the whole cosmos falls apart ... literally.)

As he backs up he squares Mars. Now he squared Mars last week, too but last week Mercury was in serious and proper Capricorn and Mars was out of sorts in peaceful Libra. This time they are both in better positions so the square is more potent. We can expect some not so nice things to be said. We can expect some agitation. We may be dealing with the theme of control vs freedom. We'll have to wait on outcomes. Mercury's retrograde in Capricorn this month will expose the cold, hard facts of the situation. This will be good practice for us for the rest of the year.

EXAMPLE for Virgo (rising or sun in whole house astrology) -  Mercury retrogrades in your 6th house of work, health and routine and squares Mars hanging out in your 3rd house of communication, siblings, local neighborhood. Maybe your work does not go as smoothly as you’d like. Maybe others challenge your way of doing things. Challenge a Virgo's way of doing things - how dare they?! Maybe your coffee maker breaks down or you drop your cellphone into the toilet - yes, sorry, this could happen, hold on to the damn thing. You could be dealing with an annoying health issue that is back or equally annoying co-workers or employees. By the end of the week, Mercury backs into your 5th house of creativity, children, fun, romance - you may shift your focus from what you need to do (6th house work) to what you want to do (5th house fun), at least for a while. Removing your attention from a work or health issue may be all you can do right now anyway and Mercury wants you to have a 2nd look at something in that 5th house.

Also, we have Venus (in Sagittarius) squaring Neptune in Pisces on Tuesday and conjuncting Saturn in Sagittarius on Friday - basically bumping right into the Saturn/Neptune square we will be dealing with all year (dreams vs reality).

There are a few ways this could manifest for us. We may need to deal with something going on behind the scenes; something hidden or secret. It may even be a karmic situation that needs to be worked through involving Venus issues - love, women, money, values. We could be dealing with Neptune/Pisces themes of healing or addiction, art, spirituality or anything that is hidden away - hospitals, prisons, secret romances, research, etc. Whatever it is we are dealing with it will have us wanting more or feel like an endless opportunity then the options narrow at the end of the week and we see the truth of it.

This week might offer us a midterm exam on how we are doing with the Saturn in Sagittarius transit we are working with until December 2017.

EXAMPLE for Scorpio (rising or sun in whole house astrology) - Venus in your 2nd house of values squares dreamy Neptune, maybe enticing you to spend more than you know you should or give more of your time and attention somewhere than you need to - maybe you ignore some obvious red flags regarding 2nd house issues of money, self-esteem or close relationships. Venus has captured your attention after all and it's hard to stay focused on what we need when we want something more - she's just so damn sparkly! Then Venus cozies up to tough love Saturn at the end of the week and you are confronted with a reminder of where you’ve wandered off the path with this stuff - the bills come due so to speak. Your credit card gets declined, your self esteem takes a hit or you collapse with exhaustion after giving too much to too many. This is more likely to happen if you’ve moved away from your area of primary focus with Saturn in your 2nd house this year : becoming more financially stable, disciplined and certain of what matters to you and what you value!

A key theme for 2016 will be separating the truth from lies and reality from illusion.

This is the ground our brave Venus travels now. Have we tied our hearts to something that is real or something that is an illusion?

xo all, back tomorrow with the rest of the week including Jupiter and destiny :)