strange and breathless days ....

"The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning. The weeks that come before are only a climb from balmy spring, and those that follow a drop to the chill of autumn, but the first week of August is motionless, and hot. It is curiously silent, too, with blank white dawns and glaring noons, and sunsets smeared with too much color. Often at night there is lightning, but it quivers all alone. There is no thunder, no relieving rain. These are strange and breathless days, the dog days, when people are led to do things they are sure to be sorry for after."
 - Natalie Babbitt my mind, it wanders

i'm a superman by snieeeeg

Hopefully everyone is sleeping in today - the Moon is void until after lunch, so take advantage!

Since Virgo naturally squares Sagittarius and opposes Pisces as planets move through Virgo over the next few weeks they will be squaring Saturn (currently in Sagittarius) and opposing Neptune (currently in Pisces).

Squares denote tension and frustration - something happens that pushes us into a new action, thought or feeling. Oppositions are exactly as they sound - two opposing viewpoints, actions, situations, people, etc. Although stressful, without squares and oppositions, nothing would change and we would get nothing done, so we'll think of this as a good thing!

Today Mercury (in Virgo) squares a retrograde Saturn (in Sagittarius) and opposes a retrograde Neptune (in Pisces).

This aspect might improve our concentration on "the facts" but serious conversations will be challenging today. The answer could be "no".

We need to stay awake to situations involving lies, too much idealism and a tendency to want to escape. We could have planned to get some serious work done now and lose ourselves in a a hokey romance novel or People.com. Neptune oppositions are strong pulls to float off into lalaland (and yes, I know it's the weekend!) but the square to Saturn tells us it's best if we don't. My plan for the day is to clean my studio while listening to a book on Audible then have some fun later - although a good book on Audible is fun to me!

It is about to be all Virgo all the time folks - capping off the year of Virgo in a big way - or as big a way as possible in the 'keep it simple stupid' world of Virgo.

We need to be claiming responsibility for the order of our Virgo space now. With all these mutable T-Squares over the next few weeks, we might find ourselves arguing out and changing how things will work best.

Some of this might be painful at times, but it leads to clarification of what is 'real' (Virgo style real) for us.

For example Virgo in the 4th house of home and family is about creating "real" and grounded relationships in the home - that is Virgo's (and our) job here. It's also about home organization because the two go hand in hand. If we are running from our power and responsibility here situations will show up to move us back on track. Virgo energy is an excellent homemaker and housekeeper (caretaker of the resources). We won't be able to 'play house' with Virgo in the 4th - this job will be taken seriously.

Our Virgo house is the space in our life things will work best and flow smoothest if we keep things nice and neat.

For now it might be hard to know if we are coming or going. Let's not make assumptions. Stay grounded. Things could be hit or miss and that's OK and par for the course now.

This weekend it's Mercury's turn to be in harsh angles to Saturn and Neptune (next week it will be Venus and then Mars and the following week the Sun) so this is about our communication, thinking, local community, siblings, transportation, computers, etc - all the Mercury ruled stuff. If everything doesn't work out exactly as planned - we'll deal with it.

xo all - also it's still summer and Leo Sun season - get outside and have some fun in the sun!

catching up with the skies ....

calm down by cavecanem42

Alot has happened since I signed off for a blogging break last week!

We had a New Moon in Leo on Tuesday - fire sign New Moons (and the two weeks that follow avoiding void moons) are excellent times to initiate something NEW.

Starting now - especially with a blank sheet of paper and an open heart - enable the energies at play to work with us. 

Imagine the Gods and Goddesses rubbing their hands together excitedly, "OH, YES! NOW we've got a PROJECT!".

This is a great time for a NEW START (or revised start; new to you totally works here) 

regarding what we are known for, our creative work and what we value and are prideful of. 

Mars finally trucked his butt out of Scorpio and entered Sagittarius on Tuesday. I think we can all breathe a little sigh of relief that Mars is out of Scorpio. We are still traveling a path we have walked before - he doesn't hit new ground for a couple weeks. Maybe something we put on hold or started in early March reactivates or concludes now. With Mars in the murky waters of Scorpio we were all looking at our fears, phobias and re-walking the ground Saturn covered a few years back. In Sagittarius we are ready to take actions toward our future (more on this next week)!

Yesterday, Venus (love, money, values, women) moved into Virgo (kicking off Virgo season as we start to release the need for so much Leo drama - things calm down a bit).

Virgo Suns and ascendants get more attractive (physically attractive and also more able to attract). It gets easier for our Virgo natal house to attract what we need. Relationships (Venus) get more picky (Virgo). We get more analytical about summer romances (with people and things). Situations, things and people that seemed so wonderful in the sunny days of Venus in "I want it all" Leo, may no longer feel quite up to snuff. We no longer want it all, now we want the right things and people. Flaws (real and imagined) get easier to spot. 

Virgo's razor sharp analysis will draw our attention to what isn't working with our Venus ruled relationships and our money.

At its core Virgo is about purity (there is a reason the archetype gets its name from the word virgin). It's how we get to this state of purity that is tricky. Venus in Virgo can be the most beautiful (Venus rules nature after all). Imagine a summer sunset or standing at the ocean or sitting by a gorgeous lake. Now imagine the guy next to us starts to cough. Then he coughs again. Then all we can notice is that his cough is ruining our view. Of course, our view hasn't really changed at all - our attention just gets drawn to what isn't working.

With Venus in Virgo our attention can be drawn to what isn't working, what we don't want or the fact that someone else doesn't want us. It is our job with this energy to determine what is real here. Are we picking something/someone/ourselves apart? Do we believe we can't have what we want? Are we ignoring our own problems and trying to fix someone else? Are we unorganized with our money? Are we using perfection as a way to avoid ever finishing and being judged? We'll talk about this more next week.

xo all - will post this weekend about my family reunion!

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of July 25th - the stuff we are resisting

can you resist? by jno0on

This is a busy week. I may take a blog break next week. I have my sister and her family coming on Wednesday from Portland to stay for a week and might not have time to look at charts!

Mars is still moving thru the last degrees of Scorpio- his 3rd time across these same degrees! Mars is very powerful in Scorpio (he is the ancient ruler of this sign) - he has concentrated energy and amazing willpower here. He can also be rather vengeful. Much of the violence we have seen these past weeks probably has a revenge component. This is activated in all of us now. The cure for Mars is Mars. Mars doesn't let go of things (like Neptune) he smashes them to bits. Or just initiates something else. Time to turn that increased energy and amazing willpower over here.

The Democratic party would be smart not to mention Trump or anything Trump is doing at their convention this week (this will probably never happen!) - it's Leo season and they need to stay positive. Uranus is preparing to go retrograde - he is very strong now as he stations. If they had astrological guidance - they would talk about : the ways social programs create freedom (Uranus), human issues (not women's issues, etc - they can talk about the issues but avoid the labels - they are really all freedom issues, all in this together), creativity, fun (let's fix this thing creatively - Leo), avoid shouting matches (Mars/revenge), civility, small changes will get us there - ask not what your country can do for you, etc (Virgo North Node), values, values, values. I am not sure if the convention starts Monday or Tuesday - if Monday it should get off to a fiery start, just like the Republican convention did last week!

Monday's Moon in Aries means we can get a lot done. She squares Pluto so there could be some kind of scapegoat situation or power struggle or manipulation here. It's not a good day to pick a fight with an authority figure - it's a better day to be a team player. Don't be too impulsive. If something stressful can wait for Tuesday's calming Taurus Moon, maybe wait it out. If we need the energy to get something done today though it should be there!

By lunchtime Tuesday, the Moon will move into Taurus and we will want to relax, be comfortable, get outdoors. Our earnings and the things we love and value will come into focus.

On Wednesday we have the Moon (in Taurus) opposite Mars - what/who are we saying goodbye to? There could be competition here somewhere. Mercury (in Leo) trines (brakes off) Uranus (in Aries) - a communication or idea could open up a new opportunity or send us in a new direction. Late in the day an aspect with Venus could mean something with a woman or love or money or beauty doesn't work out quite as expected. Maybe not a good night for a new haircut!

On Thursday afternoon the Moon moves into Gemini. We are busy, people are chatty and focused on Gemini ruled communications, siblings, the local neighborhood or transportation.

On Friday the week shifts off in another direction as Uranus stations retrograde. Remember the power of a planet when stationing! Mercury squares Mars. We might be challenged or pushed to challenge ourselves. Shock. Surprise. Earthquakes (or whatever feels like an earthquake to us). Uranus in Aries is a definite player in the unpredictability and violence in the outer world events this year. This is great energy for an argument. Or an anxiety attack. Or for some out 'of the blue' information that creates tension or frustration or forces us to try something else.

If we encounter resistance now it is probably best to back off a bit. A retrograde Uranus will require us to re-view where we've been resisting change. If we have been delaying a necessary adjustment it will become clear to us between now and the very end of December when Uranus moves direct. It could be best to prepare emotionally and internally for changes now and then make the actual changes next year if possible. With Uranus retrograde the situation will not be a new one - it will be something we have been avoiding dealing with; probably something having to do with Uranus's favorite word - freedom.

Stuff that gets delayed now, can come back around when Uranus moves direct at the very end of December.

On Saturday, Mercury (information, communication) enters Virgo (precision, caution, exactness) - Mercury will go retrograde during this transit so prepare for a long visit (thru early October)  - we will have plenty of time to get out t's crossed and i's dotted. More on this next post. It's good to remember that's it's not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives - it's what we do consistently.

Remember we are in prime Leo season this week - fun, creativity, romance, children - whatever makes us stand out and makes our hearts sing is what the world needs from us now and should be top priority! With the Sun in Leo it's all about "me" for all of us. I have a bunch of house guests coming and am happy to have this get-together in Leo season (fun, creativity, children, passion) but also know everyone will want to do what they want to do and need some center stage! xo all

FULL MOON in Capricorn | the results of working hard or hardly working (or working hard at the wrong things)

by resido lancin

On July 19th we have a Full Moon at 27 degrees Capricorn. Capricorn is a cardinal earth sign, ruled by Saturn. It's all about stability, hard work and responsibility.

We have both the Capricorn New Moon from Christmas Eve and the Cancer New Moon from the 4th of July culminating here.

If we have been slacking off or putting our energies into the wrong things or into things that are just not meant to happen right now this will become clear to us

(the square to Uranus could make it easier to bounce off in an entirely new direction and get some traction fairly quickly).

If we have been working hard - the results will be clear now, too.

With Venus and Mercury in Leo and impacting Saturn, people will be proud (and loud) about what they have accomplished.

(note - there is an aspect for jealousy with this Moon, possibly career related since Capricorn is all about the Benjamins baby. Keep in mind that jealousy serves the purpose of showing us, for better or worse, what we really VALUE - also it's always good to keep in mind that "sometimes" - to quote a wonderful country singer - "we're the windshield wiper and sometimes we're the bug")

There is always a challenge between the polarity signs in play at the time of any Full Moon because we have the Moon opposite the Sun.

This one is about Cancer (home, family) and Capricorn (work, responsibilities in the world) or our own needs and the needs of other people. Any imbalances here will probably show up now to allow us to realign what isn't working. Also imbalances with authority and authority figures and the way we use and mis-use our own authority. The Capricorn Full Moon throws a light on what power can do and also on the finality of choices we've already made.

Right before Tuesday's Full Moon, a retrograde Saturn in Sagittarius will trine (brakes off) Mercury in Leo and right after the Full Moon Saturn will trine (brakes off) Venus in Leo. Since Saturn is the ruler of Capricorn these aspects will play a part in whatever is illuminated now (full moons tend to bring things to light).

However things shake out, they can fall more smoothly into place.

This Moon is all about achievement and commitment.

Plans will be solidified, previous leaps of faith will be confirmed. There could be an important announcement, conversation or answer. If we have been focusing our efforts in the right direction - something becomes more stable now. There is something here we can count on.

We have all been through so much these last few months especially with Mars in Scorpio - let's remember it's not just other people's Mars that is strong and active now (ie violent people doing or inciting violent things) - our Mars is strong here, too!

We need to stand in our own power - our own value - our own authority. What really matters to us?

Remember the Achilles heel with Capricorn and Saturn is that this energy often values stability over everything else. Its strength is in being 'un-moveable'. But stable things grow stagnant. Being unmoveable is not a good or realistic way to move through a life that is so changeable. We don't want to be un-moved by what is happening in the world! Probably the most important virtue we can encourage right now is 'flexibility'.

If we have planets or points in our natal or progressed chart from 25-29 degrees of cardinal or water signs we will feel this Moon more strongly.

Full Moons are very potent energy and this one is all business. Make sure you get out and walk in it!