Mercury Square Pluto | fallout

drown under by alle design

Mercury (in Aries) squares Pluto (in Capricorn). Mercury in Aries gives an edge to our words. Aries is the first sign; the sign of initiation. Aries energy, needing to go where no man has gone before, is, well, kind of, pushy. It's also passionate. And uncompromising. And often angry.

With Mercury (communication, intellect) in Aries we might speak before we think. Yes, our words can be braver and more groundbreaking, but also more thoughtless.

With today's square there is tension and frustration. Squaring Pluto there could be challenges to power dynamics and authority. Maybe jealousy. After last week's Full Moon eclipse relationship shake-ups some spaces could already be sensitive.

We don't have to be silent, but let's think before we speak. If we are courageous enough (Aries is the space in our chart where we need to stand up for ourselves after all) to launch any verbal truth bombs, we best be prepared for the fallout. xo all

Mercury Trine Saturn | devil in the details

"All good things are one thing. Sunsets, schools of philosophy, cathedrals, operas, mountains, horses, poems - all these are mainly disguises. One thing is always walking among us in fancy-dress, in the grey cloak of a church or the green cloak of a meadow."
 - G. K. Chesterton

details in the fabric by apples revenge

Mercury is trine (brakes off) Saturn making this a good day to put our mental faculties to use. This energy allows for excellent concentration and attention to details and we can get a lot of accurate, and otherwise tedious, work done now. Our thinking will be clear and realistic (although we might have a lot of details coming at us).

On the flip side, accurate work will be expected of us and small errors can derail big projects, so we'll double check things now.

We can be taken seriously and gain the respect of other people. With Mercury in Aries for the next couple weeks, we will need to be sure our words are not too aggressive - we can use Saturn to temper this now.

Tomorrow, Mercury will square Pluto; agreements and interactions with authority or established protocols may not go as smoothly. Today is more of a 'green light' day for important conversations and commitments.

If you have need of this energy (good energy to do our taxes!) use it. xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of March 28th - look up

i love i persevere

I hope everyone had a nice Easter. I will write about my trip next post, but here is a short update about the week ahead!

OK we begin this week with Saturn standing still; allowing us to refine our approach to whatever we are working on now. The stuff (habits, fears, etc) that is in the way of us getting what we want will become clear to us during this transit.

In Sagittarius, the sign of our beliefs and subjective truths, Saturn's five month retrograde will bring support to the beliefs that are working for us (as internal obstacles become clear to us and we build the patience to work through those external barriers) and clarity about the beliefs we need to release.

What really matters to us? 

Is what we are willing to work for actually worth working for?

If we think what really matters to us is having a "successful" business, we need to get clear about what this means. Because maybe we do have one by the standards that really matter, but are measuring our success by some artificial metric. Or maybe what really matters to us is something else and focusing on that will create the movement that brings the "success" we want/need.

The things we value most are always the things we spend the most time on - what does this tell us about ourselves? If we spend most of our time at a job we dislike maybe we value security/safety above everything else, even our own happiness. What needs to change here?

Saturn rules time, the most valuable gift we get on our journey, and there really are no shortcuts with this. That strawberry patch will bear fruit when that strawberry patch is ready to bear fruit and so will we.

On Monday/Tuesday, Venus conjuncts the South Node (in Pisces) and Mercury (in combative Aries now) trines (brakes off) Saturn in Sagittarius. We will be looking backward with Venus ruled love, values and money and existing structures, rules and commitments will be up for review.

This will be one of the last Piscean situations (healing, addiction, art, romance, spirituality, deception, what is hidden) we have been dealing with since eclipse season started three weeks ago. Pay attention to dreams and synchronicities now. This is about endings and what is happening behind the scenes.

On Wednesday, Mercury (in Aries) squares Pluto (in Capricorn) and conjuncts Uranus (in Aries) on Thursday. Surprising information will come to light (if you are like me, this hit last week) - it could be upsetting, maybe come through in anger or provoke anger. Either way something will probably hurt. With Mercury in Aries words tend to fly out (or be received) like bullets. Know this. Be sensitive. Conversations/communications with authority figures can be testy.

On Friday, Mercury is inconjunct the North Node in Virgo - the "news" from earlier in the week will need to be factored into our future path. This doesn't have to be a bad thing. Now we know what we are dealing with. Check the details, think like a Virgo, just do the work. xo all

Saturn Retrograde in Sagittarius | all rules out the window, the gift of uncertainty

let the sky kiss your feet by pretty as a picture

I've been awol only a few days and the entire skies have shifted! I will work through all the changes in the week ahead and we can see/feel which transits are impacting us.

On Friday, Saturn stationed retrograde (thru August 13th) at 16 degrees Sagittarius. Since Saturn is the development of self-discipline via challenges, struggle, hard work and restraints having him ease up on us a little is very likely a good thing. Do I hear a hallelujah?!

It's kind of like dad is going on vacation and we are left with the irresponsible babysitter who snap-chats her friends while we climb on the roof to get a better look at the clouds. Yes, this could be dangerous. Without dad setting limits and telling us what we can't do - we could fall off that roof and break our arm.

It could also be our chance to do something we've never done before!

Some kind of limit - where is Sagittarius in your natal chart? - is removed. What we do with our new found 'freedom' is up to us. All possibilities are on the table (or I should say roof) while dad parties in the Bahamas.

Astrologer Steven Forrest says (I'm trusting my memory with this, hopefully it's not too swiss-cheesy tonight) - Saturn in our natal chart is the area we must learn to walk our talk and walk it all by ourselves. It's the space where any lack of self discipline can quickly lead to our undoing. It's the space where we make peace with solitude and develop patience.

Saturn rules structure. During his retrograde we will be going back and retooling and shoring up the physical structures in our life (including our bodies). Saturn rules time. Time is on our side now. We just need to trust this (patience people!). Saturn's retrograde offers us the time to "re-make" the structure of something before it is too late. It's a time to reconsider rules and obligations. We can truly do it differently this time.

Since Saturn moved into Sagittarius in 2015 (through the end of 2017) our beliefs and commitment to our dreams are being tested. Saturn has been parked between us and our big picture beliefs and dreams for over a year now, making us work for every thing. If we no longer fit in the space we are occupying or holding on where our heart is no longer invested or if we are truly needed elsewhere - life will find a way to end the dream/situation for us during this transit.

Time has sped up.  

Planet Earth needs all participants fully engaged now. There is no sitting this one out. 

Saturn might take certainly with him while he backtracks, but he leaves us with the gift of uncertainty. When nothing is certain nothing is out of the question either. 

"Instead of asking, 'What would you do if you knew you would not fail?' 

ask yourself, 'What's worth doing even if you fail?'" 

Brene Brown

Note - a whole big chunk of life is about to slow down (five planets are retrograde next month) for all of us, if we need to get something done before late summer or early fall, let's get it done. Also with the planet of "no" (Saturn) taking his siesta we might want to think twice before we say "yes" now.

you can lead a horse to water ....

girl and the sea by liquid sunny day

I am out of town for a few days. Right now we have five planets in water signs - so some space in all our lives is probably feeling "all wet", "washed up", "under water", "like a fish out of water", in "troubled waters" or "uncharted waters" or maybe "mouth-watering" - damn the water idioms are just too good and too many!

We have Jupiter and Pluto in stable earth signs. There is solid ground under all this wetness. 

Tomorrow the Sun (in Pisces), Moon (in Leo) and Mars (in Sagittarius) will form a Grand Trine. This will give all of us some oomph, and courage if needed, with whatever stories need to be heard and whatever narratives we need to finally put to rest.

It also feels like a good time to have a good time, so let's use that for the weekend.

Jupiter is the king of the cosmos right now and sitting uncomfortably in tidy Virgo, we might be feeling like our house is falling apart when we are simply rearranging the furniture. Let's keep it all in perspective and just take care of the things that are right in front of us now - nothing ever seems quite as bad, (or quite as good dammit), the day after and as the Sun moves into firey Aries on Sunday our 'day after' is coming.

I'll be back to write about that next week (plus the Full Moon eclipse!) - xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of March 14th - stretching within structure

druid by sophie black photography

This is another week we will be pushing forward through the misty energy that is the time between the eclipses. This busy period in Pisces season reminds us to take care of ourselves, set boundaries, avoid distractions and addictions and offer compassion. We've got this thing!

We kick off the week with a Gemini Moon so we will be communicating, multi-tasking (I hate that word, but nothing more appropriate comes to mind). We might be restless and ready to socialize. Decisions will be hard. Choices will be made. Testy situations might be best defused with a little humor. Save complicated conversations for clearer times.

Whatever is happening we won't have time to feel too deeply about any one thing as our emotions are all over the place. This is a day or two, of choices - maybe an argument - things don't go exactly as expected.

We might have to agree to disagree or something about the situation slips through our fingers. Things can repeat (as they tend to do) particularly with Geminis and Gemini situations (think communications, siblings, local happenings, transportation) now.

We have the quarter moon on Tuesday- traditionally a time of "crisis" (think about the Chinese symbol for crisis which also means opportunity) - when whatever we are working through this week subsides - we will be able to more clearly see how it brought a turning point in our fortunes this month.

If important decisions can be postponed until after the eclipse (last until August) next week, we'll do that. If not, as always, we will make the best decision we can with the information available, realize that every decision is really two decisions (the decision and the decision not to second guess ourselves) and work with any changes, pit-stops, reversals or blocks as they come up. There are probably no clear roads through now anyway.

Venus and Mercury (in Pisces) square Mars and Saturn (in Sagittarius). Squares are tension and frustrations - something 'outside' forcing us into doing it a different way. There is feminine vs masculine drama here. New, exciting possibilities are triggered. The stuff that dampens our excitement is triggered, too.

The mid-week Cancer Moon will have us wanting to nurture and be nurtured, feather our nests and connect with family. Projects put out into the world now are more likely to be 'embraced' when they embrace the other person right back!

As we move through the week and Mercury opposes Jupiter (retrograde in Virgo) and conjuncts Chiron and the South Node (in Pisces) the conversation or disagreement or situation will evolve. We will figure out ways to work around it or it will just become obvious that it’s time to let go of the idea, relationship or situation entirely. We are moving forward now. 

EXAMPLE for Scorpio (rising and to a lesser degree Sun) - Venus and Mercury are in your house of creativity, children and romance squaring Mars and Saturn in your house of love, money and values. Maybe whatever you are working with involving these themes - romance, a creative project or children or maybe a self-indulgence - is restrained by limits in money, self-esteem or priorities. Or maybe the actions you are taking in these areas do not create the money, reactions or movement you were expecting. The way forward with this involves letting go of expectations (ego). The open door, way forward, is there - you just have to widen your vision with this.

Mid-week we have the second of three Jupiter/Pluto trines. This is expansion plus transformation. We had this transit in October and we have another one in June.  

There are opportunities here.

The gains may be incremental - we are building through a detailed Virgo "one step at a time" process - but gains are gains and they will certainly accumulate over time.

At the same time taskmaster Saturn (in Sagittarius) squares communicative Mercury (in Pisces). The dream is once again tempered by the reality of the situation (our theme for 2016!) requiring us to stretch our wings within some structure. 

EXAMPLE for Taurus (rising and to a lesser degree Sun): Jupiter is in your house of creativity, children and romance trine Pluto in your house of opportunities - this can take the brakes off a creative project, an  issue around children or pregnancy or a relationship and the square to Saturn will also keep you focused on financial (partner's income, taxes, loans, other people's money) or intimate relationship realities.

The end of the week kicks off a new cycle - post coming mid-week! We are SO ready! xo all

Venus into Pisces | attracting the dream

i will grow flowers in your hair by i need chemical x

Venus (art, beauty, women, values, money) moves into Pisces (imagination, dreams, compassion, connection) today, settles into a comfy spot at the Pisces party, most certainly in the center of everything or I should say wherever she settles becomes the center of everything - joining the Sun, Mercury, Neptune, Chiron and Ceres - where she can attract ... well, whatever the hell she wants actually.

She is the most beautiful woman in the room and the space in each of us that carries the energy of attraction. Mars goes after what he wants, Venus draws it to her. Her fierce beauty (I wouldn't dare call her pretty and she quite often isn't) has toppled empires and created dynasties. Within the otherworldly realms of Pisces BIG magic is possible here.

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

(how have we never noticed how blue your eyes are or how deep your voice?)

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. 

She expands relationships, money and self-esteem. Opportunities increase. Resistance dissolves. 

The tricky part of Venus in Pisces is we need to know what we want now. 

The lines between us and other people, between acceptance and avoidance, between our money and their money, between love and 'what was I thinking' - will blur.

In Pisces, things that look too good to be true usually almost always are. And what flows in can flow right back out again. But if we set boundaries - what is ok, what is not ok - and release our expectations that outcomes must go a specific way - this is wonderful energy for more beauty, love and money to move into our lives. The irony with Venus in Pisces is that although we can attract more love and money those things often will feel less important now ...

For artists and makers, and yes, that means everyone, this is wonderful energy for the beauty and creativity and imaginings and love we put out into the world to attract more abundance back into our lives. We are more attractive to our dreams now - we call to them just as they call to us.

The feeling is mutual.

xo all, enjoy the weekend

(and speaking of attraction - did you know I am a locket maker? and they are actually quite attractive, too - blog readers get 15% discount with coupon code BLOG15 - artist shown here: Inspire your Art)

time between eclipses | the parsley between his teeth

picnic by kaunau

The two weeks between the eclipses can be hard to pin down - important stuff may be happening or it may feel like nothing is happening (it is - to the other people and spaces our energy is going to line up with later) and either way when we look back at these days our memories will be kind of foggy.

(if important things are happening, take notes - although I guess Facebook might work for this, too)

Life speeds up, life slows down. In Pisces, thoughts and moods and things and people run through our hands like faucet water.

Solar eclipses can trigger our need to defend ourselves (defend our Sun). 

We could react impulsively and make regrettable mistakes now.

How dare our Moon step in front of our Sun?! 

(hello, identity crisis!)

The Moon represents so much in astrology - our emotional temperature, the way we are programmed to react, our mother, the way we mother (nurture, comfort), the way we need to be mothered (nurtured, comforted), 

our spiritual lineage and matriarchal baggage (our mother's unexpressed moods and unresolved spaces that she has unconsciously handed to us like a basket of dirty laundry).

We want to allow eclipse energy to settle before making big plans or changes. With so much in flux for everyone, some more than others - we want to be observant and respectful of others' positions, too. When someone gives us a vague answer or tells us they don't know - they probably really don't know. If things look too good to be true in Pisces season - they usually are.

We can pin things down later.

For now - We weep. We sleep. We DREAM. We sweat. We feel a little numb. We feel a little too much. We set boundaries. They dissolve. We wallow. We get back up. We make plans. They fall apart. We grow tired of fighting the tides and go with the flow. We empty closets and inboxes. We release expectations. We grieve for what we lost. We grieve for what we never had. We forgive.

Or maybe we refuse to move as all this Pisces water washes over us and chips away at our grip on whatever it is that needs to go. Maybe we hold on so long we drown.

The next Eclipse (March 21-23) and then the Sun/Mercury conjunction in Aries will make good and sure we are awake though. We can count on that.

For now we'll do our best with what is right in front of us and we'll hold on lightly.

We have a wonderful Taurus Moon this weekend - perfect for an outdoor picnic or walk in the park. If we do these things with another person, we'll remember to focus on what is really being felt now, not the misplaced words, not the piece of parsley between his teeth .... xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of March 7th - working from the space of who we are now

release by jaysu

This week is all about the New Moon Solar Eclipse in Pisces - I wrote about it here.

(also check out these posts from the weekend for this week's planetary shifts - Mercury into Pisces and Mars into Sagittarius.)

Eclipses are some of the most dramatic means life has to draw our attention to spaces that need to change. They allow us to move from one level to another in some area of our lives very quickly.

This particular Solar Eclipse is as powerful as I've ever seen. We have MANY planets hooking into tomorrow's eclipse (8:45pm EST).

The Sun and Moon at 18 degrees Pisces, Saturn at 16 degrees Sagittarius, Jupiter at 18 degrees Virgo, the North Node at 21 degrees Virgo, the South Node at 21 degrees Pisces, Uranus at 18 degrees Aries, Pluto at 17 degrees Capricorn, Chiron at 20 degrees Pisces, Ceres at 15 degrees Pisces, Pallas at 16 degrees Aquarius and Juno at 15 degrees Scorpio.

Your natal and progressed planets and points from 15-20 degrees will be activated by this.

There are ways we can make this "reset" even more effective and more positive.

We refuse to re-live old woundings and release the ways we self identify as a "victim".

This includes the way we language what has happened to us and the way we language familial pain. We acknowledge the power of those scars and empty spaces as the sacred darkness they are and we work from the space of who they have made us now and not the space of who/what we lost. Even when we tell those old stories it is from this new space. We will cease to attract people and situations that will tear open those hurtful spaces when they are healed and not calling out for attention.

We trust our intuition and our "gut" knowing (if we nourish and heal our physical guts we will be more and more effective with this).

We release our attachment to any absolute beliefs - the more possibilities we are open to, the more doors open to us.

We can do only what is ours to do. We set boundaries - what is ok, what is not ok. We release our desire to "make" things happen or to fix anything. We pass up opportunities to play the martyr and carry loads that are not our loads to carry.

We offer compassion and empathy - (not pity) the highest level of Pisces energy!

People who are always thinking everyone should "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" (and yes, there are times we all need to pull ourselves up!) are usually either 1. people born with bootstraps who cannot imagine what it is like to not have bootstraps or 2. people born without bootstraps who pulled themselves up anyway and think everyone else can, too. It is easier to imagine that everyone else is as powerful as we are than it is to step into our own power and claim what we have actually accomplished!

And if we are having trouble pulling ourselves out of a situation - or grounding our dream in the physical - it could be useful, since the expression is such a part of the collective vernacular and carries so much power - to actually make a pair of boot straps and pull ourselves up.

And, no, of course I have no idea what bootstraps actually are or what this pulling would actually look like! :)

"... when we assume people are doing the best they can, it makes our lives better ... empathy isn't feeling for somebody - it's feeling with them." Brene Brown

Venus into Pisces at the end of the week (next post) - making us very attractive to our dreams. Remember the things we love, love us back folks and we can dream them right into our lives!

xo all

Mercury into Pisces | this is our brain on drugs

floating from a dream by dloraas

Another planet joins the Pisces pile up as we ready for the Solar Eclipse on Tuesday. With Mercury's (communication, intellect) move from Aquarius into Pisces our thinking becomes less stubborn and more flexible. Our focus will not be as razor sharp but seeing the gray areas (as opposed to black and white, good or bad thinking) has its upside, too.

Decisions will become more intuitive and left brained. But the truth can get a little bit stretchy. If we need to make a major decision now it will be hard to tell the facts from the fiction. Stay grounded - meditate!

Mercury, is considered in his detriment in Pisces - he's a Virgo guy and likes things a little more cut and dried. BUT his annual trek through Pisces is excellent energy for artists, healers, fiction writers and everyone working with their imaginations. Muses are standing by!

Our communications and conversations can be more compassionate and inspirational now.

Our Pisces natal house might be the space where we avoid looking at what is really going on. Rose colored glasses and fuzzy edges make everything a little less solid here. Things can be hard to hold onto. It can also be the house of tremendous healing and creativity. Mercury here can open up lines of communication.

Our imaginations will be working overtime. We can use this time glued to a screen watching television or the internet (there are studies that show night time television watchers have less colorful and memorable dreams) or we can use this imaginative energy to lead more creative, intuitive lives.

Also remember Pisces is the South Node collective energy (been there/done that, ready to move on) and Mercury is the ruler of our North Node (Virgo) so having Mercury in this space can usher in a time when we open up to or move past (Pisces) old information (Mercury) in our journey forward or in order to bring some story to its natural conclusion. The victim/martyr/addict energy of Pisces is something we are all releasing now and whatever is ripe for release has a way of bubbling up for us to look at/work through and move past.

xo all

FYI Mercury is the natural ruler of communication, the intellect, siblings, short distance travel, teaching, writing and on the flipside things like nervousness, worry, fidgeting, rationalization, gossip - these areas and our Pisces houses are affected by this transit. 

Mars into Sagittarius | sky's the limit

sky is the limit by zedlord-art

Today we have Mercury (post tomorrow) and Mars BOTH changing signs and squaring each other as they do. It's kind of like an argument that continues from the bedroom into the backyard, but then suddenly we realize we are standing around the backyard in our underwear and the neighbors are looking at us and we forget what we are fighting about ... or maybe we find something bigger to fight about in the backyard, and the neighbors just pull up a chair. It could go either way.

Mars, ruler of Aries and co-ruler (ancient ruler) of Scorpio needs to be doing something. Anything.

He flies out of sharp focused Scorpio today and into big picture, sky's the limit, freedom loving Sagittarius. He's looking for action. Maybe he's even looking for a fight. Actually in Sagittarius he will probably be on a crusade. Our natal Sagittarius house is AWAKE while Mars is visiting. And he is preparing for a LONG visit. He's brought a full set of Samsonite and will be with us until the end of September (minus the weeks Mars will retrograde back into Scorpio - end of May thru early August).

It might be hard to focus our actions now. In Sagittarius, Mars will be eager, revitalized .. and distracted. There's just so much to do. We could find ourselves with several projects going all at once and nothing gets finished. 

He will stir up activity in our natal Sagittarius house and with the themes Sagittarius rules - legal, travel, foreigners, teaching, higher education, media, marketing, publishing, wedding, philosophy or politics (yes, the fighting is about to get even more intense - stay off Facebook!).

It will be easy to go off the rails when people don't agree with us. We need to take the time to think things through. Everyone will be trying to persuade everyone else to see things their way - probably ain't gonna happen. Keep this in mind. The dogmatic spewing of our own "truth" and "wisdom" might not be as welcome as we hoped. It's a good time to take a long look at what we are really fighting for.

With Mars in Sagittarius we will all have more of a tendency to "just wing it" and that may not be a good thing in our "Virgo (attention to detail) is the king of the playground" year.

A good way to work with Mars "antsy-ness" and/or "know-it-all-ness" is exercise - especially the kind that starts with us heading outdoors and ends with us too tired to move.

On the plus side, there is lots of energetic support here to take action toward something very "big picture", and act in big and loving ways toward others - both my Sagittarius rising nieces give the BIGGEST hugs.  We can use this energy to embrace all kinds of newness now. With Sagittarius the sky really is the limit. We are encouraged to set in motion anything that we would want to receive if we were on the receiving end. xo

New Moon Solar Eclipse in Pisces | March 8th - forward on faith

a leap of faith by jk rab

Next week's New Moon in Pisces is a full solar eclipse. We could feel the energies earlier than other new moons (I've felt them as early as one month prior and as late as one month after - usually exactly to the day).

Happening in Pisces, our current south node (been there/done that) - the "new" could be defined best by what is leaving. 

Eclipses (similar to a super charged full moon) will eclipse something out or bring something to light or alternately cover it up. The New Moon will activate the promise of any slow moving transit currently present in our life.

This eclipse has the Sun and Moon in Pisces (18 degrees) as well as Chiron (the wounded healer), Ceres (nurturing/devouring mother) and the South Node (been there/done that). Also we have Saturn (in Sagittarius) squaring the eclipse and the eclipse opposing a retrograde Jupiter (in Virgo) and the North Node (in Virgo).

If you have any planets or points in your natal chart from 15 to 21 degrees of the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) you will feel this eclipse the strongest. 15 to 21 degree planets and points in water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) will also feel it, but to a lesser extent. Check your natal chart and check for your Pisces house - the house will tell you the area of life to expect the impact.

These degrees are similar to those impacted last September by the Solar Eclipse in Virgo and in the same family of eclipses so we might feel a connection with something that happened then.

We are are like computers being turned off and on when the skies go dark and the program that uploads at restart is a little bit (or quite a lot) different than the one we ran on before. 

Eclipses change us, and we, (vibrating differently), change our circumstances by attracting or repelling what our new self lines up with.

Although solar eclipses are new moons and have themes of newness we can't have a beginning without an ending. Sometimes the ending is all we feel with this stuff. So, even when we are soaked in mourning for what has ended and we aren't consciously starting something new, the very fact that something/someone is no longer in our life means we are in a new beginning. 

Now, let's unpack this.

We have Ceres in Pisces. I did a post on this HERE that applies to this eclipse. We have Chiron in Pisces. With Chiron involved we know that whatever is happening has the opportunity to be either "wounding" or "healing" and most likely both. We have our South Node in Pisces. The South Node is our space of completion - we've been there, we've done that, we are ready to move on now.

In Pisces, endings can be kind of vague and drifting. Sometimes we can't even tell until later that something is finished. There is an unmistakable feeling that something is slipping away, but the process isn't so cut and dried. If we don't let go, it's like trying to hold onto water.

We have Saturn (structure, time, discipline, authority, restrictions) squaring the eclipse. This is tension and frustration - something outside pushing/forcing us to take a new action. Pisces is all about faith - what we believe in. We could see what is happening here as a test of faith. I don't mean this in a religious sense, although it could be for some people - Saturn is holding our dreams to the fire. What do we really believe is possible here?

We know if the New Moon Solar Eclipse is hanging out with the South Node - it is opposing (opposite) the North Node. The North Node (our current north star) is in Virgo, along with Jupiter. An opposition forces a decision.

An opposition to Jupiter highlights what is opposed to us being "lucky". An opposition to the North Node highlights what is opposed to us moving "forward" with our life purpose. If we are moving in the wrong direction we will feel like the life is being sucked out of us now. That sounds rather dire, but is probably not an overstatement.

Pisces is healing. Many people with health issues may get answers/peace now. People and animals with major health issues might leave us, so spend time with them. Get yourself to the doctor or hospital as needed.

Saturn forces structure. Many people will encounter roadblocks that put them on the right path because other routes will be closed off. With only one route open to us it is rather easy to decide which way to go.

With this new beginning in Pisces (transcendence) we'll need to have faith. There will not be certainty right now. New moons are times of darkness. Our first new steps will be uncertain. We can trust our intuition (Pisces) now.

As always this year, the way forward (and toward solid ground) is through Virgo.

Do the work. Do it well. Do what is right in front of us. Take care of our health. Take care of our habits. There is no "letting ourselves go" or "letting things slide" this year. And if that sounds exhausting to you - go take a nap - it's Pisces season, we need more sleep.

Remember this energy is in effect until the Pisces Full Moon next autumn. There is nothing about any of this that says we need to rush off at full speed in the New Moon darkness. Just keep moving forward, one step at a time, one foot in front of the other. Doing what is in front of us. Moving toward what feels most "light and right". Eventually we'll reach Virgo solid ground!

And remember this is still a New Moon. Set your intentions - think about Pisces themes - healing, peace, boundaries, dreams, imagination, addiction, vulnerability, compassion, what is hidden!

xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of February 29th - something's gotta go, something needs a boundary

exodus by jon jacobsen

First, Monday is Leap Day so we get a BONUS day this year - this is like the extra hour we get at daylight saving's time multiplied by twenty four. Plus it's nicer to think of it this way rather than just Monday!

(we just need to get the calendar makers to add it to the end of July) 

This is a busy week. Under-schedule because in the run up to the eclipses we can expect the unexpected now.

The Moons are productive all week with no serious void moons during working hours other than late Monday afternoon. Today the Moon is in Scorpio - especially good energy for Scorpio ruled stuff - taxes, loans, other people's money, etc - reproductive issues, sex, death. From late Monday until Wednesday the Moon is in Sagittarius - expansion, what we believe in, adventure, what is foreign, education, legal stuff is highlighted. Early Thursday the Moon moves into Capricorn until early Saturday - grow up, do the work, be responsible, get serious, authority figures are in the mix, our own authority is required here.

Lots of Pisces (weepy/sleepy/letting go) energy. We are building toward eclipse season and Thursday is an eclipse trigger day for March 8-9th's total Solar Eclipse (more on this later) - know that whatever this eclipse energy is working with in our lives - the doors are open for change RIGHT NOW.

The Pisces eclipse pushes us to take a hard look at unhealthy beliefs and habits. The Sun and Moon are on the South Node of what we are releasing.  

Something's gotta go now. Something needs a boundary.

Later in the week, Mars (in Scorpio and walking a path he will walk two more times over the next few months) squares Mercury at the very end of Aquarius. The same day this is exact (Saturday) they both change signs (Mars into Sagittarius and Mercury into Pisces). Planets in the last degrees of any sign are particularly strong and Aquarius and Scorpio are particularly fixed and hard headed.

Squares denote struggle, tension and frustration. We have our mind (Mercury) not aligned with our actions (Mars). We may be pressured to make a decision and take action. We could say one thing and do another. Remember, actions (Mars) we take now matter because we are not finished with them. With Mars in the shadow of his upcoming retrograde it's like we are visiting a space we will return to - so let's not trash the place. With Mars move into Sagittarius the same day there could be ethics or bigger picture stuff involved. With so much Pisces energy whatever the tension is - it could just fizzle out. It might be best to pull in until we're clear. This is great energy for a distracted car accident so it's best to be intentional with our actions and give ourselves time to think.

Also late in the week, the Sun (in Pisces) squares Saturn (in Sagittarius). This transit will trigger issues from the Neptune/Saturn square we are all working through now. Squares denote struggle, tension and frustration. There are obligations, rules and limits. For Pisces the dreamy sky is the limit and Saturn wants us to accept reality. Pluto in Capricorn is sextiling the Sun so there is an opportunity to connect with our true purpose here. The road blocks are real though.

We can see the Saturn/Neptune square playing out in the U.S. primary elections. Each party is choosing a Neptune candidate (dreams, imagination, maybe too much pie in the sky, outsider) or a Saturn candidate (structure, power, maybe too much of the same old thing, insider). The impact from our choices here will reverberate in our personal energies, too. Do we believe big, crazy change is possible? Or do we believe things have to change very slowly over time? There are no right or wrong answers with this. We truly do get to live in the world we believe we live in.
 
The first eclipse, next week, is at 18 degrees Pisces on the South Node (eclipses can take place on the South or North Nodes). This is a Full Solar Eclipse. Because the Sun and Moon are in the South Node of 'letting go' we will have a BIG release/ending in our Pisces house.

What house is 18 degrees Pisces in our natal chart? Also we can check our progressed chart for this same degree. Progressed charts are symbolic. They move our natal chart ahead one day for every year we are alive. Astrologers call these 'secondary progressions'. So, let's say you were born on October 10, 1980 - your chart this year would look like November 15, 1980 - 35 days for 35 years. Secondary progressions offer insight into the unfolding of our unique personalities over time. I noticed the year my Sun changed signs, our Sun will only change signs a couple times in our lifetimes using this method, life very suddenly required me to be a totally different person!

You can find your progressed chart at astro.com (extended charts - choose natal and progressed or natal, progressed and transits) - for the eclipse: find 18 degrees Pisces and see if your progressed chart has you dealing with a different Pisces house (than your natal chart) and if there are any planets in your progressed chart near 18 degrees. If you need help with this, just email me or leave a comment.

An eclipse can pull us in a whole new direction! Are we ready? (there is a sneak peak available - what was happening for you in the spring of 1997 and/or the spring of 1978? what is happening right now?)

xo all

Sun Conjunct Neptune in Pisces | illuminating a weakness?

ann 03 by muszka

This weekend the Sun moves into a comfy conjunction with Neptune - both moving through Pisces, along with the collective South Node of what we are releasing and joining the wounding/healing energy of Chiron.

The Nodes (North and South) are not actual celestial bodies like planets or stars. They’re the two points in space where the Moon’s orbit around the Earth crosses the ecliptic - the path the Sun appears to journey through the skies each year when viewed from Earth.

Unlike the planets, the nodes are always in retrograde motion, moving backwards through the zodiac. They spend about 18 months in each polarity set of signs - currently Virgo/Pisces since last November (you might remember when they were Libra/Aries and I was talking about flocks and not going it alone, ad nauseum!) - and it takes about 18 and a half years for the Nodes to make a complete journey through the zodiac.

With the South Node in Pisces we are, as a collective, working through letting go of negative Pisces themes - unrealistic dreams and fantasies, addictions, escape, lack of boundaries, self-sacrifice, victimhood and martyrdom.

With the Sun lighting up this area now, maybe some space where we are "unrealistic" or our "judgement is cloudy" or we have lost our "boundaries" or played the "victim" or "martyr" or been "untruthful" or tried to "escape" could be highlighted for us.

It's probably a space we have gone unconscious. A space of distraction. Maybe it's something we use to stay safe but it actually keeps us stuck over here while that thing life has been busy lining us up with is over there. Maybe it's just the way we've always done it and something now shows us why it doesn't work anymore.

To grow and change we need to be able to tolerate a certain amount of unreality, 'not knowing' and un-comfortableness. We just have to stand our ground with it now.

The first time we put on a new hat we feel like a fraud. It takes time for that hat to become "ours" and not just something we have perched on our head.

Glass half full - this aspect also offers up quite a bit of inspiration for those ready to dance with the muse ..... dreamy weekend ahead folks, watch your alcohol, drug and sugar intake, it will be very easy to overdo it now - xo all

more fruitful directions ....

apple by basistka

A void and waning Moon makes today a good day for practiced, routine work especially with whatever is winding down. Better to stay busy now. Not a good day for major purchases - the void Virgo moon would probably make whatever we buy less useful than we expected.

Mercury (communications, mental activities) aspects Saturn (hard work, structure) and Uranus (unexpected) this week. We could receive some communication that shakes our foundation or line up with ideas that allow us to break new ground.

We will roll with whatever we can't control here.

The way forward this year is our collective North Node in Virgo - taking care of the details, taking care of ourselves. Our natal Virgo house is expanding. Saturn is in Sagittarius this year. Our natal Sagittarius house is where our feet are being held to the fire. Pisces season brings our attention to what we have been ignoring or denying - the ways we undermine what we know we want. It also frees up our imagination.

Boundaries are thin now. Keep that in mind with anything we are connecting with.

We are heading into next month's eclipse season which will shift energy and allow BIG changes for everyone. The stuff that is leaving/finishing up now creates a space for the new stuff to find us.

Mercury is in Aquarius and ripe with new ideas. They are like the apples on a tree ready for harvest. With Venus in Aquarius, too, our heads (Mercury)and hearts (Venus) can work together here as we choose which apples to take home with us.

(I'd recommend a nice cameo apple with homemade almond butter - delish)

Letting go of what we’ve been hoping for may be cause for celebration now as we finally accept there are more fruitful directions to move in. xo all

FULL MOON in Virgo | Monday, February 22nd | the opposite of addiction is not sobriety, the opposite of addiction is CONNECTION

moon's bride II by prismes

Monday's Full Moon is the culmination of the September Solar Eclipse New Moon. Here is a post about that with some key dates and themes.

The Full Moon is a time of completion. It's the space in our breath when our lungs are full. We can't take in anymore. We have to exhale.

Our Sun is in Pisces and our Moon is in the opposite sign of Virgo. This is the polarity of bringing the sacred (Pisces) into the everyday (Virgo), melding our physical health (Virgo) with our spiritual health (Pisces) and seeing the forest (Pisces) and the trees (Virgo).

In Virgo, the "release" energy could mark the end of our efforts on a health matter, work situation, something with paperwork, employees, co-workers or maybe a pet (all sixth house, Virgo ruled). We've reached a pinnacle and we finally achieve our goal with something here (maybe for all that Virgo hard work!), something comes through or breaks out (ends our striving), wraps up or just ends.

Endings around Full Moons are not always permanent (although they often are) - they are always situations though that have simply run their course ... there isn't an action we can take, or right words we can speak, to hang on to the things that are leaving us now.

With this year's Saturn/Neptune squares we are being shown what stands in the way of, or the difference between - what we want and what we have or where we are and where we want to be. Some are scapegoating the 'other'. Some are seeing what happens when we avoid the dentist for five years. Some are seeing how this dream of what 'could be' is interfering with our appreciation of 'what is'. There are different and multiple storylines for all of us, but the bottom line theme of reality vs our dreams or escape routes being road blocked, addiction vs connection, is something we will/are all working through.

The Full Moon is a time of something being 'brought to light'. With the Virgo/Pisces polarity and the Saturn/Neptune square this could be something about the way we anesthetize ourselves or the way we 'avoid'. This could be something about "victim consciousness" or "savior consciousness". Situation(s) will arise for us to clearly see the way we create the world we are living in.

Things don't happen to us and then we react. It only looks like this if we are not paying attention. We create what is happening.

I'll tell you how this "savior" thing is playing out for me.

Yesterday I start planning a small trip, a weekend across country, to visit a sibling. I was on airbnb looking for a place to stay and noticed some entire houses for rent that did not cost much more than the studio apartments/rooms I was looking at earlier. So, I spend the next 3 hours online making plans. I start turning my small trip into a weekend vacation at the coast for my sister's whole family. Even though this is all outside my budget for this trip and no one has asked me to do this. I get a wake up call from her grown daughter who tells me the house on an island with the 15 minute ferry ride "sounds kind of limiting". I'm slightly piqued she isn't excited about the weekend plans I am making, but I cancel the house and book the studio apartment in town for myself.

(those ungrateful son of a b--------, I grumble to myself)

A few hours later my other sibling tells me about a personal situation he is going through and I start mentally obsessing (and yes, googling) over this clearly "unfixable" happening that is his story and that needs to resolve itself in its own time. I am wishing he had shared this with me sooner (he is only telling me now because I invited him on my small trip). He is not looking for me to fix anything. And yet, I put this weight on my shoulders like a cable knit sweater.

By last night, my right shoulder, which had been feeling pretty good, was throbbing. I sit down to write this post and look at the chart for this Full Moon and see very clearly the "savior" complex I use to keep myself separated from other people and create situations where I get to "lose" and where I get to "avoid" my own stuff. I see how this is playing out in my third house of siblings (where my natal Mercury, Virgo's ruler, calls home).

This is how Full Moons work. Now that I see it, I can't "unsee" it. It's the elephant in the room. I can coax the elephant back into her dusty, neglected corner by distracting her with a bag of peanuts or I can thank her for showing up and allow myself the uncomfortable gift of unraveling her presence and letting her go.

This is an important two week period as we begin the count down to the next New Moon, New Year, Eclipse Season!

I will do a full week post later today. We have a Virgo Moon on Monday and Tuesday, so get organized and be productive. Great energy for dealing with the details!

Get out and walk in tonight's Full Moon - what is ripe for release in your own life?

Here is a great little video "everything we know about addiction is wrong" - very applicable to the energies at play here. xo all

Sun into Pisces | keep it honest

oceanborn 1 by eirian

The Sun moved into Pisces last night - the mutable water sign of mystics, empaths, dreamers, poets, escape artists and addicts.

It's the final sign of the zodiac, the sign of consciousness. Although often pictured as fish, Pisces is best represented by the ocean itself. A symbol of life and healing - the space where one thing flows into the next, until there is no 'next thing'. When we are lost at sea, there are literally limitless options as to where we can go - all directions are available to us.

(which is hell for the indecisive but invigorating when we remember we are here for the adventure!) 

Pisceans have the ability to comprehend almost anything (the downside is the ability to easily hook into stuff that isn't real). Certainty is a temporary state of mind for Pisces. Even the truth can get a bit stretchy. For grounding and to stay in touch with the ethereal energies that continually beckon to them - they really need to meditate daily (research shows coloring activates the same brain areas) - we are all burning Pisces fuel now, and so, especially if we find ourselves distracted, unfocused and forgetful we can use meditation to free up the space we need to remain effective and centered.

Ruled by Neptune, Pisces is the space in our natal chart where we heal, avoid, wallow, dissolve or transcend boundaries. Since Neptune came home to Pisces in 2012, we have all been a little less clear about what is real. We now have the Sun, Neptune, the South Node and Ceres in Pisces. Think of meditation as a requirement for life on planet Earth now - also hydration!

My multi-generational childhood home 'contained' four Pisces. Of course Pisces energy cannot really be contained. It washed over all of us and blended us all together - for better or worse. Three generations of Plutonian women have married Pisces men (I didn't).

Maybe it's Piscean openness helping to break down the fierce emotional defenses that Scorpio energy tends to erect and Scorpio providing much needed stability for the often chaotic/uncentered Piscean temperament. I have to think that through more, but it makes sense.

Anyhoo, Pisces season usually allows the dream to come into focus ... or go down the drain. Either way it opens us up to the new astrological year that kicks off next month with Aries. I notice, for me, Neptune energy (Neptune rules Pisces) and Pisces season often feels like I have returned to square one with whatever I am dealing with. With the Sun in Pisces our ability to force things is not as powerful. The more we struggle to stay on course, the more we drift toward the rocks. This doesn't mean we give up or go back to bed - it just means the best course will be with the current now - saving our strength for when the energy is best for challenging the prevailing tides .....

xo all

VENUS and our handmade business | doing everything as beautifully as we can - part I

"we have no art. we simply do everything as beautifully as we can" .... balinese saying

venus by ryan bater

Venus is the invisible force of attraction. She rules beauty, love, women and art. She rules the signs of Libra and Taurus, our second house of values (everything money can buy that matters to us and everything money can't) and our seventh house of marriage and partnership.

Venus transits emphasize our connection to what we are in relationship with. We fall in love. We fall out of love. We question our worth as well as the value of the things, people and places we spend our energy and resources on. And she makes us aware of those resources. Venus transits show us what really matters to us. Not what we give lip service to, but what we really need.

When we make things for a living - we need those things to be attractive. In an aesthetic sense (remember the opposite of aesthetic is anesthetic and we don't want our handmade offerings to put anyone to sleep!) - and also in the sense of "having the ability to attract".

We increase our ability to attract when we honor Venus.

We all carry the Venus archetype. Our makings do, too. I have come to believe we are the emissaries of the work we put out into the world. Not the other way around. The work has sent us here. We are required to do something for, and with, the stirrings of our heart.

Environmentalist John Seed, channeling his Venus, and working to save the rain forests says if he thought he were just one man, just one Seed (how wonderful his name is Seed, huh?), the vast needs and seeming hopelessness of his work would "feel overwhelming". 

Instead he sees himself as "the part of the rain forest that has evolved into a man."

He doesn't see himself as laboring alone even when he is laboring alone. He connects to the work that has sent him here (his Venus - the thing he loves). It's that connection that allows his work (and ours) to attract what it needs for as long as it needs to exist.

How can we liberate our creative energy? What wants to be created through us?

First and always, remember the Venus energy we carry wants needs to be honored.

We honor Venus when we do everything as beautifully as we can. When we move art from the periphery to the very center of whatever we are doing. The act of creation is a spiritual act that worships Venus. Our grandmothers instinctively knew this because this is how they spent their days - they made bread, they made sweaters, they made friends with their neighbors, they made a life with what they had.

We honor Venus when we are joyfully partnered with the things, people and places we love. Venus isn't the girl who settles. Venus is the space in our chart where settling will never work for us.

The house and sign she calls home in our natal chart is an indication of what we need and find attractive as well as clues to our own powers of attraction.

For example Venus in Gemini needs a mental connection and variety while Venus in Cancer needs an emotional connection and commitment. These are non-negotiables.

Venus asks us to focus society on culture rather than economy. For artists who have turned themselves and their makings inside out in an effort to focus on business instead of art (and trusting the work they are here to do to attract what the work needs) - Venus asks, "if artists become business people, who will be left to be artists?".

And this isn't because Venus is above making money - Venus rules money! Venus knows money flows where our passion does, too. 

We honor Venus when we honor what we value. I am rethinking this. The things we truly value, we naturally honor - one of the ways we know what is really important to us is that it will be the thing we spend the most time on.

What will we pay more for? What do we hang carefully on the padded hanger and what do we drop carelessly on the floor? If our money is crumpled into balls in the bottom of our handbag, is it really something we value? If our partner is valuable to us why don't we do the small things we are perfectly capable of doing and know will make them happy?

Sometimes a Venus transit wakes us up to what we value by bringing us close to losing it.

The Buddhists say the way we do one thing is the way we do everything. Venus would entice us to do everything beautifully.

We honor Venus when we honor ourselves. We honor Venus with simple things like long baths we don't have time for and complicated things like accepting the image of ourselves as "artists". We honor Venus with leisure time and yes, even what we might call "waste". If I didn't give myself the gift of a few hours every Friday night to play in my cluttered studio, I think I'd go mad.

Venus entices us to take another look at what we have blindly called "luxuries" and embrace them as necessities.

Venus is an inner planet and always connected (within 48 degrees) to our Sun (ego). She can drag us into vanity and self-possession turning love into manipulation and have us collecting chalk marks on our bed posts if we carry her into dysfunction. In her highest form though she balances out the masculine energy we carry - she literally soothes the savage breast. She brings us to peace.

I am an artist (and yes, I didn't always feel comfortable with this word and had to grow into using it!).

I am an Aquarius (the rebel, genius, criminal energy) Sun with a stellium (four planets) in Aquarius, and the questions I most naturally ask myself with my work are "is this different?",  "is this humane and sustainable?". My Venus (in my second house of values) asks "is this beautiful?", "can I make money with this?". My Venus (in Sagittarius) asks "will this make people happy?" "will this attract enough people to be worth bringing to market?", "how do I get this to the people who will love it?".

These are not great and noble questions, but simply the way my mind quickly works and I can answer them in about five seconds with anything I am thinking about doing. Sometimes a negative answer will stop me in my tracks. Other times, like with my astrology posts on this blog, my passion for the material is strong enough that nothing can stop me .... and I thank Venus. :)

Here is a Venus ritual from the amazing astrologer Caroline Casey (if you read the wonderful book Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, you might remember she referenced Caroline when she talked about 'trickster' energy, but she called Caroline a 'radio personality' - maybe she didn't want to use the term 'astrologer' in her book - ack!):

1. It’s best to perform this ritual on a Friday - which is Venus’ day. You’ll need a round piece of bread, a dinner roll will work. Make a hole in the bread and put a nickel or five pennies inside (the number five is sacred to Venus, Friday is 5th day of the week).
2. On a small piece of paper, clearly state your desire. Fold this paper and put it into the bread, on top of your nickel. Then pour a little honey on top to sweeten the deal!
3. Finally, place a small candle in the hole (bigger than a birthday candle, but smaller than a taper, Casey says yellow. I have used green). 
4. As the candle is burning, do something to honor Venus - take a bath, bake a cake and eat it, etc. Do something that makes you feel beautiful, prosperous and happy. 
5. When the candle is completely burned down, so that only the melted wax is on the bread, go to a stream or a river, but not salt water like the ocean. Toss this now ritually potent (and fully bio-degradable!) bread into the water, saying a prayer, poem, etc.
6. Venus energy will respond to our desires. She might fulfill our dreams in amazing ways. Or she might play the trickster, revealing a blind spot that still stands in the way of us attracting what we need.

Note - rituals are powerful and effective and carry the energy of all the previous rituals prepared in the same way. If you decide to do this one - use care and respect.

In Part II we will look at Venus in our natal and business charts!

Have a nice weekend! Long void Moon today so a good day for practiced, productive work. Expect glitches with anything out of the ordinary. Challenges now will highlight our comfort zone in some way - upsets, power plays, excitement, dealings with what and who is foreign to us, could disrupt and/or empower our need for emotional and/or home security. The Sun moves into Pisces - more on that next week!

xo all

Venus in Aquarius | our values shift

friends by x---blackstars

The stuff we value (love, money, what money can buy and what it can't) can morph now as Venus follows Mercury into Aquarius.

(that odd thing we couldn't get out of our head now wiggles its way into our heart)

We can attract and be attracted to something outside our comfort zone, not easily available or what is on the edge of what is acceptable.

Last month we combed our hair - maybe this month we comb it into a style that is different.

And at the least we will be drawn to those who do. 

Saturn (in Sagittarius) is opposed to our Gemini Moon today, so whatever is happening now could involve legal, educational, travel, political, wedding or media (ninth house Sag ruled stuff).

We have the fighting siblings exact today (Eris/Mars) - battle of equal and opposing energy. And we have a female energy trying to soothe things and it probably won't work. Sigh.

I'll tell you how this story is playing out for me.

There is a customer who owes hubs a lot of money. This doesn't happen often but it does happen a couple times a year. Usually we sit on this kind of thing for a bit. Usually we eventually get paid. Once in a while we don't. We've been sitting now for four months.

I'm seeing an attorney today (a female attorney actually). I usher in Venus in Aquarius - the clear headed woman who can take a detached approach to the situation - even while I can see astrologically this will not be a quick or certain fix.

Tomorrow, Mars (action, initiative, war) begins the path he will retrace two more times during his upcoming retrograde so I am going into this knowing I might be dealing with this situation for months. Being someone who prefers the path of least resistance, but also someone who prefers to be paid for services rendered and also someone who doesn't sleep well when dealing with crap like this - I am determined that putting the situation in the hands of someone else is the best way to handle this.

Under normal circumstances I would be that detached female energy (Aquarius Sun but with Venus in my 2nd house of love and money, not so easy to detach myself in these areas), but this time feel it best for my peace of mind and physical health to bring in a surrogate (since I see the potential for something lengthy to be unfolding here). I am valuing my peace of mind and health over the money we will pay for outside help.

(which probably sounds like common sense to most people anyway, but I am not so certain the outside help will change the eventual outcome here - I am certain though that changing the way I normally handle things, will change me, and this, the evolution thing, is the entire point of life on planet Earth after all)

This is one of the best uses of astrology - seeing enough of what's ahead to tweak the picture a bit.

Another great day for production and communication!

xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of February 15th Part I - a strange and unusual attraction

c-i-s-m- by nylon juvenile

This week we are in the waxing (growing) Moon phase without having Mercury covering old ground - this is great energy to get stuff done and move ahead with our plans.

The Moon goes into Gemini early MONDAY morning. This supports communications, agreements, sales and talks - we can get the ball rolling now. Mercury is in Aquarius so be sure we are writing down our innovative ideas - their pace will be fast and furious and they can fly out of our heads as quickly as they fly in!

Mars in Scorpio is sextiling the North Node in Virgo and trining the South Node in Pisces (22 degrees Virgo and Pisces).

The South Node is the going bye-bye stuff we are releasing. Trines take the brakes off and Mars in Scorpio could help the ending be quick and painless by focusing us on that North Node sextile (ie the opportunity and in Virgo - our path of service).

This is a sextile between negative elements (yin) - Earth and Water - so we will need to take action to create the opportunity (as opposed to it falling in our lap, although it can certainly have been created by our past actions).

The bottom line with this energy - there is no stopping the stuff that is leaving (our work with it is finished) BUT there is a BIG old opportunity somewhere if we just change the direction we are looking. Take action on the new (and your Virgo house - 22 degrees).

Take business cards, introduce yourself, make that call.

Mars is entering his shadow later this week so whatever we start then we will be working with (our natal Scorpio 23 degrees thru Sagittarius 8 degrees) until August. 

(this will also re-visit the Saturn in Scorpio transit of 2012 thru 2015- we'll deal with it - we are older and wiser now!)

If we have something we can wrap up now so we are not dragging it through the spring and summer with us, wrap it up. Pay attention to what starts this week and know whatever it is, it will be a process.

Remember the energy now can make us unusually effective so let's be sure we are focused in the right direction - we don't want to get what we think we want and then realize we don't really want it.

On TUESDAY the communicative Gemini Moon continues - let's not get overly chatty now or let our minds wander all over the place. Venus makes her move into future-oriented Aquarius. Aquarian Suns and ascendants get more attractive (good time for a haircut or makeover Aquarius!). We are all more able to attract what we want by being more detached from the outcome, more humanitarian - more out of the box. Think rebel, genius, criminal here!

Venus rules love, our relationships, money, our values, women and beauty. The way we work with all these things will benefit from Aquarian's ability to consider new perspectives. Think re-invention. We will all be attracted to the strange and unusual now - which can be a good or not so good thing - just keep this in mind.

There is the potential for some melt-down sibling (equals) rivalry type stuff this week (we'll see this play out politically) - use Aquarius to keep a cool head. This is an old story. This will require some time - some things can't just be fixed.

Melt downs need to melt (and it's still pretty cold outside).  

Keep in mind February and early March, in many ways, is the calm before the storm. When we are tired we should rest. When we are inspired (and we will be!) we should move. Get organized and get into a healthy, balanced routine

(this year of Jupiter in Virgo - ruling our daily habits - can truly aid us in sticking with the stuff we start, especially when it comes to our health and work habits)

 - next month this t-square will strengthen and we will be very, very busy and it won't let up until the end of summer - so get the plans and structures in place now to stay healthy and organized when however this will play out for you personally hits the fan!

Back later with the rest of the week. xo all

Mercury Covering New Ground In Aquarius | decision time

attitude by ntscha

Mercury moved into Aquarius on January 1st, but almost immediately stationed and retrograded back into Capricorn where he retraced his December steps. Then a couple weeks ago he stationed again and started moving forward, yes, retracing those same steps for the 3rd time (two steps forward, one step back). It is only this weekend that he actually starts covering new territory!

We will notice.

We can make decisions now regarding our goals, career, authority and responsibility issues (and your Capricorn natal house issues!). We've been going back and forth over this stuff for weeks. We know everything we need to know. Now we just have to decide. With choices and connections consciously made, there is no need for regret no matter the outcome. This is long term planning decisions and clarity on the rules we will have to play by to get what we want. If we don't get clarity right out of the gates, I can't imagine we won't be clear by the Full Moon on the 22nd.

With that energy behind us, Aquarius in Mercury (communication, information) will focus us on something new and freeing and maybe concerning the group. Expect news and invitations to offer us opportunities to work with this energy.

Aquarian energy is fixed and detached. Let's take a step back and look at the whole picture before firing off an email or communication now. Let's not take things personally. This transit supports our decisions (which might be rather inflexible now) as long as we can detach from our happiness depending on a specific outcome.

Freedom loving Aquarian energy does not work well when entangled ie caught up in deluded beliefs, reckless actions or a compulsion to rewrite history or control the future.

(and yes most Aquarius suns are major control freaks!)

With Aquarian detachment we can recognize what is not ours and not take it on.

Sometimes other people's problems are not ours to solve. Sometimes challenging/bad things happen to us that are not our responsibility. Simply encountering obstacles does not mean it is our job to remove them. Making progress is not the same as removing obstacles - sometimes we can shift, dis-entangled, and keep going.

It's time to put the whole January shit show (pardon my French) behind us and move on. If we haven't solved it by now, it's probably not our job anyway ....