Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of October 5th - don't take it personally ... and brakes off

"You must close your eyes…otherwise you won’t see anything." ... Alice in Wonderland

rebel locket by Jessica Van Braun and me

It's Libra season - sort of, but we (and others) might be feeling more rebellious than cooperative this week.

Libra is the sign of partnership, cooperation and balance (not so much rebellion, she saves that action for her sister air sign Aquarius). Venus and Mars will not enter Libra until November this year so we only have the Sun (no small thing, but you see what I mean) and a retrograde Mercury in Libra. Not the typical October energy. With Venus entering Virgo this week and the North Node moving into Virgo (and let's not forget Jupiter) - it's feels more like a Virgo October season!

(not that Virgo energy is rebellious either, maybe it's just me or maybe I wanted to show off my cute locket by being rebellious!)

Virgo still rules - so that means a work and health focus, taking care of the details and our obligations, we know the drill. We've been here awhile.

We have Mars (action) in Virgo (details) opposite Neptune (dreams) retrograde in Pisces (intuition, escapism). Glass half full - we put our energy and focused attention on our creative work. Glass half empty - we drift off into never, never land and get nothing done (all I really want to do is see the Martian and smell the movie popcorn). Action will be easier as the week moves along. We have a lot of time spent with void moons this week, so it's not the best time to launch anything - it's excellent productive energy though if we can push past the inertia.

The back story this week is a trine between Jupiter (in Virgo) and Pluto (in Capricorn). A trine is considered a positive aspect because it removes all obstacles. But even something good isn't only or always good.

(yes, here comes Cat with her rain cloud again and yes I do carry it around in my purse and pop it out like the other girls pop out their tic tacs - you're welcome)

Imagine you are sitting in your car with one foot on the brake and one foot on the gas. You're not going anywhere. If your foot is suddenly yanked from the brake - you'd move forward ... fast.

Now this could be a good thing - the red light turns green and you really want to beat that annoying guy in the hot yellow Lamborghini who's revving his engine in the lane next to you.

But this could be a bad thing - your foot is yanked from the brake and you plow forward into oncoming traffic.

Rapid (and maybe epic) achievement or rapid (and maybe epic) failure.

If we are striving for something positive, a dynamic trine can make our dreams come true. On the other hand if we are trying to prevent something negative from happening a dynamic trine can rapidly hasten the happening of what we are trying to stop. With Jupiter in the picture we know whatever is being stirred up - the ultimate outcome is growth. It could even enable us to accomplish something significant. This aspect is exact on Sunday.

The trine is at 13 degrees Virgo (check your natal chart for the house) and we will have two more. One at 13 degrees Virgo in March and one at 17 degrees Virgo in June. When Jupiter and Pluto are joined in a chart it's about wealth - in this case it's in the sign of Virgo - work and health.

These trines will take us back to when they first cozied up in December 2007. Yes, that's when the U.S. recession began (brakes off remember!).

The best way to work with this - we will want to be organized and get stuff done. Yes, more Virgo good stuff - this work and health focus isn't going anywhere.

If we haven't had our September eclipse "thing" happen yet - it will happen this week - sometime before Monday's New Moon. 

Saturn will be asking us to prove our value now - this could take the form of an authority figure saying we can/will only pay us this when we really want/need that ... what we decide to do is up to us, but what we need to do with whatever we decide is not take it personally. I know that's easier said than done, which is why I'm saying it.

The biggest news for creatives this week (although depending on your chart, a tiny transit can be big news and vice versa) is Venus finally sashays out of Leo and into Virgo.

It's been a long, hot summer people!

Venus took all of us on a wild ride. This week when she finally puts Leo in her rear-view mirror there could be an opportunity to set boundaries and expectations with things that come up. This will pertain to the people and situations we have dealt with since she first entered Leo on June 5th. We saw sides of people during this transit we haven't seen before and showed others sides of ourselves. As she changes signs (and Mercury stations direct!) there will be opportunities for lots of miscommunications. Keep that in mind. Sometimes miscommunications are good things - they can trigger conversations and kick stuff into the open that needs to be addressed.

Remember what we say, people will hear now. We will choose our words accordingly. We will also remember other people may not mean things exactly the way they say them - that "don't take it personally" thing again.

Note - the Moon is void quite a bit this week, so not the best time to launch anything new. Better to wait until next week when Mercury is moving smoothly forward and we have a New Moon in cooperative and artistic Libra!

On MONDAY we have a Cancer Moon so a good time to nurture something we have birthed, take care of ourselves, take care of our home, act with tender loving care toward ourselves and others - on TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY a productive and generous Leo Moon goes void with a square to Uranus, so expect the unexpected. Mars will be approaching an opposition so our energy may be low and we might be feeling a little 'under water', we will be taking action with a health or work matter - it's great creative energy. On THURSDAY, Venus shifts gears into Virgo - how this feels to you will depend on whether your chart prefers Leo or Virgo. This could bring a more cautious approach with our love and money. Venus will smooth out and attract whet we need regarding any paperwork issues, issues with our pets, our health, our co-workers and employees. On FRIDAY, Mercury stations direct so Mercury things (communication, fast moving devices) may get a little wonky. Things will get smoother after that. Thursday and Friday will be very productive, too.

This weekend we will be in the Balsamic Moon phase, so don't over-schedule things (also watch out for fires we've got a fire trine and yes, this means actual fires and verbal fires, too - no fanning the flames people!).

Next Monday we will kick off the autumn season in earnest - back when the Sun went into Libra the Moon was void, on Monday when the Moon joins the Sun it will feel like ... OK, LET'S GO .....

xo all

Clean Up on Aisle 6

kleangrips

"What does want not get?"

(you might have to say this out loud and drag out the 'get' part)

I overheard this last night while shopping in Target for a new bathroom rug.

The words were said so crisply and emphatically that even though I was lost in my thoughts (does a bathroom rug have to be a bathroom rug?) and minding my own business, it made itself my business and stopped me in my tracks. My sneakers actually squeaked to a stop on the cold tile floor and I never did get that new bathroom rug (or the six other things I would have probably thrown into my cart while I was there).

A mom (very tidy and put together looking) was wheeling her toddler through a space filled with "wants" - colorful things thoughtfully designed (most likely by others and then copied), hastily made and carefully arranged to make us want them.

The kid wasn't screaming or throwing a tantrum. I guess she had used a sentence with the words "I want ..." a few seconds earlier, but I only heard the mother. Her tone was firm, a bit sharp, a little tired. She caught my ear and then my eye. The child did not kick up a fuss. No drama ensued. She had heard it before.

For the rest of my shopping trip her words rolled around in my head. 

I saw the mother as a child hearing the same words with the same tone from her mother. I saw a woman who was disappointed by life and probably attempting to prevent her daughter from being hopeful and disappointed. I saw a child being methodically disabled from her ability to go after what she wants and maybe even know what she wants.

And you're probably thinking, "Cat, get a grip." But I'm telling you it was depressing.

It brought me back to all the times I had been told or had been shown I couldn't have what I wanted.

And all I wanted was that damn rug .....

Even though we've been told by law of attraction snake oil salesmen (apologies to Oprah) that wanting something is exactly how we get it (or step 1 at least) - I have never really believed this. 

I've always found it's when I stop wanting something, when I release my grip on the thought of having it, is when I attract it ... or when the allure of it floats out of my life, usually rather quickly.

The mom's words felt true to me (and excruciatingly hurtful) and so did the girl's shrinking heart. 

Who wants to live in a world where everything you see is something you can't have?

I think people and situations come to us to play out in front of us the energy we are carrying. We can literally look at everything in our lives as manifesting the energies we carry.

We carry this energy through our beliefs. Changing our beliefs is at the root of changing how things are working in our life. This is how good stuff takes us to more good stuff and bad stuff can lead us quickly to everything falling apart. Most of us are pretty freaking ready to fall apart. We've done it before. Sometimes it's more comfortable than getting what we want.

Sometimes we are so used to not getting what we want, or sending out such mixed messages, we don't even know what we want anymore.

We have Mars in Virgo now so we will not miss the tiniest detail. We've got Mercury (Virgo's ruler) in Libra (retrograde) so he is less inclined toward focused attention and more inclined to noticing the point where things overlap, the place where we connect. Jupiter (expansion, luck ie positive beliefs) is enabling us to tap into our best possible self and write a new story. Jupiter has the very best of magnificent intentions and we've got taskmaster Saturn answering to him now! What's to stop us? This is the time to clean the slate and start over.

Maybe all those old stories about why things happened, about how we messed it up (too quick, too slow, too loud, too quiet, too smart, too dumb) were really just a disconnect between our best intentions and life just not quite caught up with what we wanted to create. What if us not believing it was possible really was the only thing making it im-possible? We are that little girl in the shopping cart and we are her mother.

Today I'm chewing on:

1. wanting and hoping are good and wonderful and necessary things and can absolutely be untethered of outcome  2. we're all a bit of a mess even when we look tidy and 3. an old bathroom rug can be flipped over and look exactly like a new bathroom rug (maybe we can, too). xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of September 28th - rolling with changes as the fog rolls in

"So much has changed. And still, you are fortunate: the ideal burns in you like a fever. Or not like a fever, like a second heart." ... Louise Glück, October (Averno)

scarlet fall trees by joy st claire

Sunday night we have an Aries Full Moon lunar eclipse (or Monday, depending on where you live - see times here). This eclipse is the finale of a series of eclipses starting in April 2014. By mid-October everything will be alot clearer for all of us. See my eclipse post here.

This eclipse is in harmony with Saturn (in Sagittarius) so will ground us and provide stability and security - remember with Saturn we are playing the long game. He is father time after all and Rome wasn't built in a day. If changes do not feel good, we will roll with what is happening knowing it is needed to get us back on track and will pay dividends later especially in terms of our self respect. Expect eclipse energy to bring a bottleneck and then a release. 

Hold off making any big decisions until after Wednesday (at the least, mid October at the best).

The Full Moon will still be having its influence (the eclipse will be influential for five months) and we have Neptune inconjuncting the Sun and Mercury this week making things even more foggy.

There will be information coming at us this week, but it might turn out to be very different from its original version. 

We might hear what we want to hear, see what we want to see, you get the idea. 

Mercury retrograde will have us looking at something again and again - those second looks will be worthwhile. 

So ask the same question again, double check the details, double think what we are about to say, etc.

Much moves forward next week. If you have a chance to take a moment now and catch your breath - grab it.

Wednesday is the mid point Mercury retrograde date so whatever this retrograde has been bringing up for us will start to move toward its natural conclusion. If this stuff is hitting our personal chart we may receive some news or information or have one of Oprah's aha moments. 

Gossip may figure prominently for some - but remember we don't know what we don't know now.

This can be a week when everyone thinks they are right (including us). People will tell us what they think whether we want to hear it or not. Remember we are all burning Libra fuel now so honoring other people's views and balancing them with our own moves us all forward.

Last week John Boehner announced he is stepping down as Speaker of the House (an almost, but not quite, unprecedented move) - he quit the day after the Pope spoke to Congress.

People leaving and resigning from leadership positions will probably be in the news over the next two weeks and, really, thru mid November as our North Node (which has been in Libra and has had me talking about finding our flocks for the last two years) transitions into Virgo (yes, my flock talk is about to evolve).

For some reason I've always kind of liked Boehner (the crying pictures probably). He's a Catholic who grew up in blue collar Ohio with seven brothers and sisters in a two bedroom house and started working at age eight in his grandfather's bar. He still lives in the same area, although I assume much cushier surroundings. I hope he does something better with the rest of his life than just cash in as a lobbyist ....

Anyhoo, the Mars square Saturn energy that blocked us last week is over. Mars is in Virgo until November 8th and handing us our to-do lists now. Mercury is still retrograde for another two weeks, so stay flexible.

We have Vesta hanging out with the Sun which is very good energy for cleaning out the house, too. This cleaning can involve dust bunnies or grown up children or wayward boyfriends.

I'm finishing my Amazon Handmade set -up. What are you up to?

xo all

Full Moon Total Lunar Eclipse This Weekend | the blindspot or yes, what you don't know can hurt you

We have a total Lunar Eclipse Full Moon this weekend.

It's also a Blood Moon.

(yeah, that end of the world stuff - don't worry though, the world's not ending, maybe something about the world as you know it, but that could be a good thing, too - see my example below)

The Moon will be at 4 degrees Aries so see where this one falls in your natal chart (where is your Aries house and what does that house rule). Also look for any other 4 degree planets' houses to see where/how this action could show up.

This is a Full Moon so endings and wrap ups are likely.

I'd like to say the finished stuff stays finished but Mercury is retrograde, so maybe not. Most likely it will though.

This Moon will last for a little over 5 hours so its energy will be felt for a little over 5 months.

(and you may have already experienced it, yes, this stuff can hit one month early sometimes almost to the exact day)

I'll tell you how this has played out for me. 

Our side yard is the back yard of a gas station. Ugh, I know.

New mechanics rented the garage part last spring and the place, which has been quiet and almost empty for years, is suddenly crazy busy.

Now, on the one hand I like having prosperous neighbors and our side yard is wide and we do own a truck repair shop on the other end of town so understand the business, on the other hand the noise was getting worse every week and, of course, I'm home all day long. 

My breaking point (and actually Full Moons and eclipse season in particular are great harbingers of breaking points) came when they moved a noisy air compressor into a tiny wood shed behind their garage.

The air compressor was broken and ran all day, never shutting off the way it is supposed to. The shed got hot so they opened the shed door. The noise got even louder. From our backyard it sounded like they were cutting their grass along our fence line, all day long. I talked to them. Hubs talked to them. They'd nod their heads in agreement with us with cigarettes dangling precariously from their lips while pulling up the waistbands of their hanging trousers with tattooed fingers.

(you can't make this stuff up folks)

Nothing changed.

We talked to the town again and again. I was blasting Irish battle ballads and starting to crack.

Finally I called the Board of Health and they sent out a wonderful little pitbull woman, who sounded exactly like Penny Marshall. I really wanted her to help me and take this seriously. Kella was over my house with Sully and Sully (two years old now) really hates loud noises.

When Penny pulled up I grabbed Sully and pulled a bunch of my hair out of its ponytail, although I probably didn't need to look any more bedraggled than I always do.

We met Penny on the side porch. Sully immediately put his hands over his ears and said "LOUD."

(note to self- buy that kid a Porsche Power Wheels)

"This noise is interfering with our quality of life. Look at my baby!, " I wailed to Penny (actually I used the exact language I read online for fighting a noise disturbance).

Penny pulled a decibel meter out of her side holster like a cowboy at a gunfight and clocked the noise at 65 decibels at my property line. Unbelievably this was the legal limit - you will have to trust me about how loud 65 decibels is, especially day in and out when you work at home. She said she couldn't do anything legally but she would go over there and scare them. The garage is called Good Fellas Garage. I didn't think these guys would scare easily. They didn't.

Hubs told them he would fix the compressor and insulate the shed himself. Then he basically begged.

Finally, I happened to look at the September Lunar Eclipse and my chart. I realized this eclipse was at 4 degrees Aries and I have 4 degrees Cancer in my 4th house (home, family) and 4 degrees Uranus in my 10th house (career, business, social status) and this Eclipse was playing out natally in my 3rd house (neighbors!).

I told hubs this would be all wrapped up at the end of September. I went to sleep that night without thinking about these guys for the first time in weeks.

The next day, August 27th, exactly one month to the day of the eclipse, they fixed the compressor, insulated the shed and fixed the shed door.

Hubs would have been more impressed with the astrology if the situation had resolved this weekend along with the eclipse, and yes, there is still the possibility of a meteor landing on my home business and taking out the neighbors, too, but I'm just happy to have this resolved and I have seen eclipse cycles happen a month early before.

Anyhoo ...

Think about what is happening at a total lunar eclipse - something is hidden. 

This is not a good time to make a big decision because something is hidden. 

This is not a good time to make a big move because something is hidden. 

This could be a good time to bury the body (don't look at me) ... but I can't really recommend that (legal reasons and all). 

Unless the body is some 'body of work' you are finishing up - this is an excellent time for a wrap up. Just remember you won't be able to see everything that is going on with whatever is happening.

(in our situation the garage guys didn't own the compressor and were trying to get their landlord to fix it and our town had finally actually given them a deadline - we didn't know about any of the backdoor maneuvering and couldn't see what was actually going on and because of the energies at play it was bringing up, for me, other spaces and times when I felt injustice and the inability to get what I wanted from others making the whole situation larger than it had to be)

This is an especially powerful time to wrap up a fight (Aries south mode energy!) - yes, it's probably been worth fighting for, but it's time to move on now.

(maybe I'll bake those guys some cookies .... um, maybe not)

This can also play out (since we are talking about the Aries/Libra polarity here) as some kind of self interest vs cooperation or other person or group. This could be a commitment issue, fidelity, justice, loyalty, freedom - emotions are high during full moons. Stay grounded and cool headed.

This Full Moon wraps up that Aries New Moon from last April. Pray for clear skies so we can watch this one - here's the schedule.