Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of December 14th - the crossroads ...the price we are willing to pay

crossroads by xeneras

On Monday, our Sagittarius Sun squares Jupiter (in Virgo). This aspect could provide a "lucky" opportunity for success but comes with something like a test of character. Big head = big bust with this kind of thing.

The key to working with this energy is not to get too far ahead of ourselves. In its position square to our Sun, Jupiter is testing our ego. Too much of a good thing is still too much. Focus on the groundwork now. We'll channel grandma and let our mantra be "all things in moderation".

We'll plow toward Friday when the same Sagittarius Sun squares the North Node (in Virgo) as he prepares to exit Sagittarius (sniffle) - events will carry us toward a crossroads.

Let's allow this week to play itself out before we make any big decisions if we can.

This is really all about the dream we are building now. Virgo (north node) is our way forward which means we need to move from what is hazy, vague and general toward what is structured, grounded and precise (Virgo).

Mercury (in Capricorn) is out of bounds this week. There will be an element of a lack of control or things, particularly Mercury ruled things (like communications) will be out of our control. Some rules may go out the window. The inmates will be running the asylum. The cat will be away.

We might be able to get away with some rule breaking now, but we will still have to pay the price for our decisions. Our decisions (and dreams), yes, we're back to that crossroads, can go either way now. Boundaries are weakened. We can buckle down and do the work or we can walk away. And so can other people. There are no easy (or correct)  answers.

There is energy this week around "the cost" of what we want and "the price" we will have to pay. These words will probably be floating around us on multiple levels. This will be part of our crossroad/decision making as we decide what we really value now.

In the outer world we have the climate change talks - a decision made, a cost to be paid - we arrive at a crossroads. What do we really value?

The decisions we make in our own lives influence this energy. 

What do we value now? What path are we taking? Are we willing to do the hard work our dreams require? 

As we make the choices now about our own values we impact the same energy that influences worldly events. It can't not influence them. We really are that powerful!

At the end of the week, Venus (in Scorpio) is inconjunct Uranus (in Aries) this could bring a surprise or maybe some kind of pressure around Venus ruled stuff - money, love, women, art - (the things money can buy and the things it can't) - the things we value. The next day Venus trines Chiron (in Pisces) so probably whatever comes up will work itself out somehow or lead to some kind of healing or clearing of the air. We won't be able to have everything we want ... but when have we ever, right?

xo all - will try to do a few dailys as we move through this busy week!

UPCYCLED Christimas Ornaments | Wine Corks and Wire Hangers = Yoga Love | Tutorial

Here's an easy-peasy wine cork tutorial you will love.

You will need two wine corks

(yes, this will require you to drink the wine - you can thank me later .. or just fall asleep, that's what I do)

2 large eyehooks

(I used 1-15/16" - you can also use the wire hanger wire for the heads if you are feeling particularly strong - maybe do this before you drink the wine) and 1 wire hanger.

You'll need some tin snips or pliers to cut the wire, something to bend the wire around (I used a nail in a board clamped to a table), a hand drill and glue.

1. gather your supplies

2. mark a center hole and screw in your eyehooks - you will see when you do this why I love to work with this nice, soft wood (of course, my arms and shoulders are still a mess, so go figure)

3. cut corners of wire hangers for arms - the sizing isn't as important as consistency, so just make them both the same size - bend as needed around your nail using two sets of pliers, bend hands - work carefully the wire will be sharp

drill arm holes and glue in arms

4. cut straight wire for legs, bend as needed for knee and both feet, drill holes, glue in legs

My lotus pose (sitting) wine cork ornament's legs were a little wonky, but here is a closer look. I used the top folds of the wire hanger. Just make yours more consistent than mine! But you can see perfection is not needed with these little guys - have fun with it. ---->

NOW drop and give me ZEN :)

being a better spokesperson of our own views ....

conversation by aegis illustration

With the Moon joining Mercury in Capricorn and going void after a trine to Jupiter (in Virgo) this would be a good weekend to think about the future, our choices and what/how we are communicating. 

Saturn is in Sagittarius presenting us with practical realities. 

We might find we have to pull in the reins a bit on our ideological stances. We can take a breath. We can count to ten. We can listen to the other person. It is probably best now to be moderate in sharing our principles with others. This is more respectful of them.

Instead of unloading against their view - it's important to be a better spokesperson for our own view. 

Then we take full responsibility for the success or failure of our communications. We don't put it on other people to understand us. This is the important part. That's not our job. The essential word for Saturn in Sagittarius is "truth". The better we can articulate our own"truth", the more our clarity will make us understandable. Others do not have to agree with us. If we need "agreement" to win maybe we have already lost .... xo all

New Moon in Sagittarius | what we do about what we believe

winter by Si3art

Today's New Moon is at 19 degrees Sagittarius. With the Sun and Moon both in Sagittarius we have lots of fire energy - the best kind for universal kick-starts.

(we may not have kickstarter funding but we can use magic!)

The days of the New Moon are dark and we are literally 'working blind'. This allows us to most easily feel our way into new situations and out of old ones. Our other senses are heightened now.

The challenge of working with our instincts during a fire Moon is that since instincts are pretty much habit, we could get caught up in the exuberance of the Moon and recreate the same situation we are leaving. Focus. Get clear. Remember that what is seeded at a New Moon will grow and with Sagittarius we are dealing with the 'big picture'.

The best use of this New Moon energy is to set intentions for Sagittarius ruled themes.

Sagittarius is a fun-loving sign that rules travel, freedom, adventure, legal stuff, higher education, good luck, faith, religion, prayer, optimism, problem solving, truth seekers, boldly going where no man has gone before, the quest  -

it also rules carelessness, taking shortcuts, thinking we are right, making assumptions, throwing pink paint on problems and hoping they will go away, overconfidence, impatience and superficial fluff.

Sagittarius is a mutable sign. The mutable signs prepare us for the change into the next season.

Mutable signs are service signs and Sagittarius is in service through the exploration of Truth - this could be legal truth or political truth but its most especially spiritual truth - its highest purpose is enlightenment and expanding what is known. The lower level energies rule religious wars, legal battles and political bullshit.

Sagittarius is a fire sign like Aries and Leo.

Fire signs like action - their reasons for taking action are different though. Aries energy wants to climb the mountain, first because it's there and second because there is a competition going to see who can get there first.

Leo energy wants to climb the mountain because they have heard there is a film crew waiting at the summit :)

Sagittarius energy wants to climb the mountain to see what the hell it feels like to climb a mountain and how it feels to reach the top. They want the adventure; they want the quest.

(they could be unprepared and throw their back out 100 yards from the summit, too, then they will turn their convalescence into a party for the sherpas and make THAT the adventure)

This is the energy any new intentions set now will step into. What part of our life can use a little adventure? That's the space to use this energy most effectively! The real gift of Sagittarius is the freedom to be who we really are - how are we going to use this gift?

As always, write your New Moon affirmations down - I sometimes use strips on paper and bowls of rice, so I could jiggle them around now and then - but again this month I am feeling the urge to burn them and just know they are done. You don't have to make stuff happen with this, you just have to see what comes up and then take the action that feels right on that.

Trust the process. We have cast our spell.

People always say that affirmations "only work if you take action". And this is true, but not in the way most people think because the affirmation is action.

It sets the energy in motion. Words are not just words. If done properly, in the right frame of mind, it lines us up energetically with the thing we are seeking. The new moon is a time of darkness but there is lots of hidden action in the dark.

(yes, even that kind, all creation starts in the dark after all)

Look at what kind of experiences have been coming your way lately. How have you called them into your life?

My car has been in and out of the shop for weeks. Yesterday I finally got it back. I was happy to find I had to pay nothing at the service center since the repair was totally related to a recalled part. I high fived the dealer, drove home, grabbed Olive and my bags of packages to ship out and backed up in my driveway. I do this turn around thing in the grass, since it's hard to pull out due to traffic. And I backed right into hub's truck. Damage to both vehicles in one swoop. Not little minor scraping damage either. And I knew the energies yesterday said "go slow, be cautious". Expect the unexpected. And I pulled this exact same move (different car, different truck) maybe 15 years ago, except then it was more minor. Now, he rarely parks in this spot (although more often than every 15 years), usually he pulls up next to me and moments before the accident Olive was about to run into the road and I had to yell at her and grab her and my heart was racing (she never does this). I need to think about this. If anyone has any 'backing into myself' thoughts let me know.

Also the entire time my car has been breaking down (pretty much since our trip to Maine), my entirely unearned good health has been stalling out, too (which metaphysically speaking makes total sense). On my last trip to acupuncture - the acupuncturist asked me how much water I drink, told me I seemed a little dehydrated. What she actually said was, "how much water do you drink? how often do you go to the loo?" - this had me screaming WATERLOO - in my own head, of course.

Anyhoo, back to New Moons. There is often a wave of resistance that arrives when we begin stepping into our power. This resistance can manifest as physical health problems, relationships that mirror our shadows, self-sabotaging "mistakes" or when it seems like “fate” intervenes and creates road blocks or sends us  back to “feeling and playing small” - back to square one.

This "upper limit" thing, set by familial programming and energy patterns that is so common when we are in the process of shifting our self-definitions and expanding our influence and responsibility. Something gets in the way, often something that appears to be outside our control - this is all illusion of course, but how do we work through this? How do we move outside our energy patterns?

One thing we can do right now and it sounds like a small thing but there are no small things - is to set a few affirmations (some astrologers recommend 10, 11 feels even more Sagittarian to me) within the energy of this New Moon - it will just take you a few minutes of concentrated effort. Do it tonight.

Today's Moon is in a T-Square with Jupiter (Sag's ruler in Virgo) and Chiron (in Pisces). Since Sagittarius energy is about freedom and the big picture - we might be feeling stuck in the details and the "work" now. Health matters have cropped up. Saturn, hanging out in Sag, too, for the next couple years is making sure nothing comes easy now. That's OK - we will value it more later this way. Uranus (in Aries) is in a positive aspect and can help us get unstuck and move into something new. 

xo all