Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Mid-May 2018 - Not Letting Sleeping Dogs Lie

the source of inspiration 2 by David Shermann

Mercury left his retrograde shadow yesterday. He is still in Aries, but no longer walking degrees he has walked before. Whatever we were going back and forth over should be finished.

There is no more to be gained by continuing to rehash this information/conversation.

May's crazy middle will start to come alive around next Tuesday, May 8th, when the last quarter Moon in Aquarius (answering to Uranus, Aquarius ruler) squares the Sun in Taurus. This brings the month's major energies - Uranus/Taurus - to the same table, although they will be sitting at odds with each other. One desiring the ease of the comfort foods she is familiar with, the other demanding to try takeout from that new Sushi place in the city where robots make your meal.

This is tension between something new, innovative and unproven vs something safe and comfortable that doesn't push our buttons or stretch our boundaries. Except no matter which way we are leaning, routines will be busted anyway this month.

Old habits may die hard, but they can also die fast. 

On May 12th, Mars starts walking the degrees he will walk during his upcoming retrograde. In four days he will move into Aquarius where he will stay for MONTHS (not his usual weeks!). Buckle up Aquarius! Where are your actions focused now? Whatever we do now will likely need to be re-done later. Mars will station retrograde on June 26th. Start moving direct again on August 27th and be back in Aquarius on September 10th. His retrograde in Aquarius added to the fact that Uranus, the planet that co-rules Aquarius in changing signs for the first time in 7 years and the other co-ruler of Aquarius, Saturn is strongly settled in Capricorn, a sign he also rules - is all uber important and so perfectly timed for our Age of Aquarius lightning bolt changes.

On May 13th, Mercury exits Aries (finally) and moves into Taurus. News comes in. The conversation shifts to Taurean matters - our possessions, our money, our values, the planet. Mercury in Taurus slows down communications and conversations and our thinking. That's OK. Snap decisions will be less snappy.

(snaps are highly over-rated anyway, am I right seamstresses, aren't buttons more practical?)

The monkeys in our brain will quiet down now - although maybe only for a moment with Uranus blowing into town in two days (!!) - imagine them quietly hanging in a tree, eating their bananas and watching the sunset. Maybe they eat so many bananas they tumble to the ground in a banana coma for the next few weeks - imagine whatever it takes to quiet those chatterers. They will not do us any good now. They are not needed. And don't worry about the little fellows, they will wake up as soon as Mercury moves into fast moving Gemini on May 29th. 

On May 15th, (one of the BIGGEST days of the year, although you know stuff doesn't always happen when transits are exact) we have the New Moon in Taurus AND Uranus moves into Taurus - after seven years in Aries. Uranus will retrograde back into Aries in a few months while retrograde - to toss a final wrench into the wheel of Aries, then move back into Taurus for a nice, long stay. I will write a big post about this by sign.

Hosting both the New Moon and the "anything-can-happen" (think Trump here) planet Uranus at the same time tells us any early degree Taurus placements (and the other fixed signs - Scorpio, Aquarius, Leo through squares or oppositions) will be rocking and rolling.

This is technology/fast future (Uranus) vs nature/cycles of life (Taurus). Earthquakes. Money changes. Changes with what we value. Here we go!

We have been building toward these energies clashing/figuring out how to work together for a LONG TIME and now here we are.

Uranus is the planet of innovation and fast future-focused change and rules Aquarius - the genius, rebel, revolutionary, criminal. Taurus (ruled by lovely Venus, maybe one day astrology will assign Ceres); stable, stubborn, earthy and patient is the sign that rules our collective 2nd house - our money, our values, our resources, everything money can buy and everything it can't, our values and self-esteem.

I will write a big post about this and I did charts for some readers a few weeks back about this transit. It is going to be BIG.

Changes, likely something that challenges our sense of security, could start off with a BANG.

Remember our natal Taurus houses are the spaces we probably do the least amount of innovation - this is our space of comfort that comes from complacency - the place we are usually willing to LEAVE WELL ENOUGH ALONE. Uranus will confront us about our fixed position through people and situations that make us UNCOMFORTABLE. Sleeping dogs will not be allowed to lie - sleeping dogs will be awake and barking. 

On May 16th Mars will roll into Aquarius and start answering to Uranus and then square Uranus ON THE SAME DAY. Due to Mars upcoming retrograde this square will be a series of three - the 2nd one in the first half of August and the final one in the second half of September. If we think we are done with something now we aren't. Mars/Uranus disrupts the group - the ground beneath our feet is shaking.

Now, if you are reading this stuff and thinking "NO" (this probably means you have strong Aquarius, Taurus, Scorpio, Leo - fixed energy - in your chart), well this doesn't have to be a negative thing. Change is good. Change is good. Let this be our new mantra people! Where are those t-shirts when we need them?! This is the Age of Aquarius and the world is NOT working well for many, many people. Change is good.

Uranus/Aquarius rules the group - the hive-mind. 

Think about the power of that for a minute. Think about how THAT could get harnessed in stable, earthy Taurus and the amazing good that could come from that.

All possibilities are on the table now - the comfort food, garden grown like grandma used to make and the robot-shaped sushi with seafood grown in a tank.

Likely we are going to have some struggles first as we get our bearings, but keep in mind this is a LONG transit.

And remember Taurus is sextile (opportunity) our Cancer and Pisces points and planets and trine (brakes off) our Virgo and Capricorn planets and points. The fixed stuff (Taurus, Scorpio, Aquarius, Leo) will take most of the whomping, but that is the stuff that needs to be shaken up. Life could feel less stable for all of us, but unless we are asleep with the covers pulled up to our chin -  

we are already feeling this.

The last Uranus in Taurus brought us the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, World War II. Cycles repeat, but never exactly.

Maybe this newest Great Depression - has more to do with what is happening to our central nervous systems (there is only one of here) with millions of people passively absorbing information (and pretty pictures) all day long. We have had the South Node in Aquarius for the last year bringing our - addiction to technology, addiction to distraction, addiction to over-thinking - to our attention. Taurus (nature, the touch of another human being, food grown in the ground, trees) is the balm here. Taurus rules our 2nd house of what we own, "do we own our phones/laptops or do they own us?".

Maybe we are about to find out.

I will write a post about this transit by sign, and we will talk about it as we move through it.

In the meantime - heads up about next week and the middle of May. Stay flexible. Have a nice weekend. The Moon is in productive, ambitious Capricorn and then moves into humanitarian Aquarius on Sunday morning. Also on Sunday we have a lovely, opportunistic sextile from Neptune to the Sun (in Taurus). Anything artistic, healing or mystical is favored. Monday morning's energies could be kind of challenging for connecting with other people, keep this in mind. xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of April 30th - imperfect options, compromises, adjustments, making the best of what we have on the table now, contracts, partnerships, take some 'noses in the roses' time because Taurus season won't last forever

Perceive the light by anaispopy

What has all this Scorpio/Plutonian energy brought to light for you? What is dead in the water? What has risen from the ashes or been brought back to life?

There is more lunar activity than anything else this week - we are processing what has happened through our emotions.

I can't tell if this week looks calmer than we have seen in awhile or if we are all just exhausted. There are multiple "rock and a hard place" situations, some positives around the middle of the week, but a lot of the week's energy could feel either unsatisfying or challenging depending on how directly your chart is impacted. We are riding the waves brought by Sunday's Full Moon for the next two weeks.

BIG changes (and REAL opportunities) ahead in May!

On MONDAY, the Moon (in Scorpio) trines Neptune at 8:32AM EDT. What were you dreaming when you woke up this morning? We start the day/week maybe feeling more sensitive and compassionate. Good energy to meditate, make art, do imaginative work. To make magic happen. To pull up anchor and drift off to sea. At 3:11PM EDT the Moon conjuncts Jupiter. This is a good business aspect. It might be a good time to ask someone for a favor. We could all be feeling more generous than usual. By 6:43PM EDT the Moon will sextile a retrograde Pluto (in Capricorn). There is an opportunity here to repair something, to have something that felt "dead in the water" suddenly rise from the ashes.

If you are entering into any sort of partnership/contract this week make sure you are looking behind corners and under rugs. Both partners need to be fired up (Juno in independent and fiery Aries since Saturday) and given enough space to move about freely for this thing to work. This won't be about merging multiple energies into one thing, but separate people/situations/groups working together because both benefit from the alliance. Like someone has a spare bedroom and needs extra money and someone else needs a place to sleep and has the means to pay the rent. This kind of stuff can fall into place now, but keep in mind with Aries energy being so independent and inclined to not look too far ahead - you need to take a more long-term view of what you are getting yourself into, there could be trouble not too far down the road if you are not both moving in the same direction and at the same speed off the starting line.

The Moon goes void at 10:56PM EDT off a sextile to Mars.

On TUESDAY, we kiss April good-bye - don't let the door hit you April (a challenging month with LOTS of growth!) - the Moon moves into BIG picture, big thinking Sagittarius at 11:19AM EDT. The next two and a half days will be fast moving!

This will feel similar to the Moon/Jupiter energy from yesterday. We might be more idealistic with more of a desire to travel and stretch our boundaries over the next couple days. It will be hard to restrict ourselves to one of anything - note to self - hide the Thin Mints.

Venus in versatile Gemini will inconjunct a retrograde Saturn, strong in Capricorn. This is a "rock and a hard place" aspect between what we want and what is actually available. We might not get exactly what we want here, but Gemini tells us there are options available. There could be a choice that doesn't really feel like a choice or a compromise needed. We might have to confront some relationship issues that make us irritable.We could be facing a financial limit, authority issue or maybe just not enough time/resources to do what we want to do!

The good news here is that WEDNESDAY, that same Venus is going to make a sextile to the North Node In Leo (our way forward), at the same time trining (brakes off) the South Node in Aquarius (what we are moving away from). Stay flexible. Adjust toward the new.

Maybe that imperfect option is actually exactly what is needed NOW to move things forward in the long run. 

Saturn will make sure we are working within our limits and means, but also make sure whatever is being built here is stable and lasting.

EXAMPLE FOR VIRGO, Virgo Rising (Gemini 10th house) - Venus is in your 10th house - your career, your calling, your achievements, your achievement goals, dad, business, authority, responsibility - something here is between a rock and a hard place now. Staying flexible in your professional life, even as challenges to your goals/status/authority present themselves will keep you on the North Node path within your career/public life. Adjust toward the new. Sunday's potent Full Moon (your 3rd house) could be bringing you evaluations/feedback/criticism on any changes/actions you took early in the year - pay attention and stay open-minded. There are big changes for all of us that start next month. You are going to need MORE SPACE Virgo.

The Moon squares Neptune making things a bit confusing.

On THURSDAY, the Moon goes void at 8:50PM EDT off a trine to Uranus then moves into steady Capricorn at 10:06PM EDT. Do something different.

The Capricorn Moon will make us more focused on our goals, career, duty and responsibilities for the next couple days. The Moon in Capricorn makes people less compassionate and more hard-hearted - pull yourself up by your bootstraps, like I did, buddy. Also more inclined toward self-protection, just staying alive. Every can in our cupboard could feel like the last can of beans in a blizzard. Good energy for business and building stability.

On FRIDAY, the Moon (in Capricorn) conjuncts Saturn at 3:02PM EDT for their monthly pow-wow. This is yesterday's energy on STEROIDS. Things are taken seriously. If you are prone to depression - give yourself a break now. Stuff could seem harder than it actually is. It could feel like we are facing whatever it is we are facing ALL ALONE. Stepping into your responsibility is required. Hard work pays off.

On SATURDAY, Mercury makes a "rock and a hard place" inconjunct to a retrograde Jupiter. With Mercury in "just get it done/said/out there" Aries - we could say something we regret or make too fast a decision on something. Words could be inflated - ours or other people's. Expectations could be too high. We could be making assumptions. We could be rushing something that shouldn't be rushed. With Jupiter in Scorpio we could reveal too much and put ourselves in a difficult position.

The inconjunct tells us to proceed cautiously, especially with our communications/sibling issues and written and verbal contracts - also whatever is happening with your Aries/Scorpio natal house themes. Jupiter's retrograde in Scorpio has us zeroing in on something in the shadows, something we missed - next week when the Sun (in Taurus) opposes Jupiter, something will conclude or come out into the light.

EXAMPLE FOR Capricorn/Capricorn Rising - (Aries 4th house) With Mercury in your house of - home, family, your roots, mother, mothering, your ancestry, real estate or a home business - family communications, real estate decisions, renovations, etc could be challenged by over-ambitious plans, inflated expectations, making assumptions about what is possible or just by rushing through a choice or decision. Late July's first eclipse on the Cancer/Capricorn axis could be a game changer for you Capricorn - you might be catching a glimpse of what's in store then now.

I will be back with some longer term stuff including Uranus into Taurus (May 15th) and some updates on the Donald series - since we finally have a week with no major transits - I can catch up!

xo all

Full Moon in Scorpio | April 29th - RECLAIMING a commitment to our life

The Moon. by laura-makabresku

Sunday's Full Moon at 8:58PM EDT - the Moon at 9 degrees Scorpio, the Sun at 9 degrees Taurus - squares the North Node in Leo (Ceres is conjunct the North Node) and the South Node in Aquarius. The Moon sextiles a retrograde Saturn in Capricorn. It is also the day Uranus reaches the 29th degree of Aries. We have Chiron and Juno sitting together on the Aries point (0 degrees Aries).

And we have had a powerful, crazy two week period leading into this Full Moon!

The Full Moon in Scorpio is ruled by Pluto and Mars. Pluto is retrograde in Capricorn and conjunct Mars (exact just yesterday).

Full Moons (the part of the monthly cycle when Sun is opposing Moon) bring things to light and to a culmination.

Scorpio, in the northern hemisphere, rules late autumn. The wind is blowing the leaves from the trees, the landscape is becoming barren, death is expected - there is a sense of being cut off, a sense we are on our own. Scorpio energy doesn’t fear the dark. Taurus, in the northern hemisphere, rules late spring. The world is fertile. Taurus energy seeks the light.

Both signs are fixed and want what they want.

(one energy isn't "good" and the other "bad" - neither could exist without the other - they are really two sides of the same coin)

So, we have this polarity - Scorpio beckoning us "come over to the dark side" and not because there are cookies (although there might be and I freakin' hope they are my Girl Scout Thin Mints that still haven't shown up) but because there could be buried treasure.

Scorpio energy embraces complication. There is no fear of what we might find when we go digging around in the dark because Scorpio knows the negative thought or feeling is an aspect of personality we have sacificed to help us survive and "fit in".

(it is up to us to be humble enough, and astrology is helpful here, to find the context for such thoughts and feelings and give them credibility by knowing they are there for some good reason)

Taurus is equally adamant that we should "stay where we are - it's comfortable and working out just fine". Of course there could be a life that is better than "fine" if we are willing to take those steps in the dark to find it.

Taurus energy embraces peace and comfort.

With Scorpio we have the shadow of control and jealousy and taking on too much that can fuel greed. With Taurus; stubborn resistance to change and resistance to anything that is complicated - an attachment to the familiar that is also a kind of greed if you think about it - "this is MINE".

There are no right or wrong answers. Without any journeying through Scorpio though, Taurus "peace and comfort" is just pouring pink paint over our problems and calling them cotton candy.

Scorpio is always reminding us that getting caught up in the ego's preoccupation with conventional morality and what it means to be "good" can rob us of our spontaneity and trustworthiness. We can confuse "being positive" with being authentic.

In many ways, the Scorpio Full Moon is the most powerful and intense Moon of the year (it's Scorpio, so duh!) and this one is super-charged. 

By Sunday, if we have been paying attention, the Mars and Saturn squares to the Sun and Mercury and the Mars/Pluto conjunction, will have bared, any spaces in our lives that we have been sleep walking through by waking them up. Our "no skin in the game" situations have probably demanded some skin in the game

and/or by activating a kind of "going to the dentist" style aversion to anything we are only halfheartedly doing/being/living. 

We are awake to any situations where we are not fully participating. 

With Scorpio, we are either living life now or we are getting ready to die.

And there are about a million things that can kill us these days - we had better make a commitment to being here if we really want to be here.

Fence sitters are falling over (another reason to hate plastic fences, fences used to be quite comfortable).

Our friends/partners/tribe/job/house/town/family - wherever we are feeling any lack of intimacy - are simply reflecting back to us any need on our part to embrace our own passion. Scorpio doesn't provide easy answers because it rules complicated issues. It rules the 8th house (yes, the collective space Jupiter is diving through these days - the house of other people's money, other people's resources, loans, debts, inheritances, life/death/rebirth, reproduction, sex, intimacy - the ways we merge with other people) - the 8th house is the unconscious container of the difficult material, outside of our conscious awareness, that our psyche carries until we are sufficiently mature enough to deal with it.

So, here we are - having been through all the days since the day we were born until today - with intensified emotions as the Sun and Moon oppose each other - striving for/seeking a DEEPER CONNECTION WITH LIFE.

The only way to get out of here alive is to truly BE ALIVE.

Intimacy/sex/money/power issues between people could come out of the shadows now. Our watery Moon in watery Scorpio is very empathetic. At its point of fullness we could be full of the energies of other people.

The Sun is in Taurus opposing this Moon. Taurus rules our 2nd house (money/resources/values/self-esteem) - our possessions. Taurus energy is possessive. It can make us afraid of losing what we have. Taurus might say, "MINE!" like a two year old with a death-grip on her pacifier. The 8th house is our possessions; the resources we share. So maybe we are a couple and why are we holding onto our possessions and not sharing? Stuff could play out around themes like this or one partner treating the other as a possession. Maybe one partner not wanting to share something now (time, attention, resources) they used to share willingly. Maybe a couple isn't having sex. If you have ever seen the 1989 movie with Kathleen Turner called The War of the Roses - that kind of depicts a Scorpio Full Moon style divorce - they tear their house apart with death-grips on their joint possessions. It might be hard to avoid something like this if you are breaking up some situation now (Scorpio is passionate and intense), but it doesn't have to be so dramatic.

This Moon will carry in HIGHER levels of consciousness when we are prepared to let go of what is complete for us (that dead stuff we are dragging around).

This could be an actual death, but most likely it will simply feel like a death ... and maybe this feeling is appropriate to the circumstances and maybe it is over the top. Like we are losing something not that important, or something we never actually really had, and it still feels like a death. Honor your feelings with this. There is a reason this energy packs such a punch for you.

Within hours of the Full Moon, the Moon moves into conjunction with Jupiter - this would be a big emotional release point, if we allow it to be. Tears would help.

Asteroid/dwarf planet Chiron (wounded healer) sitting with asteroid/dwarf planet Juno (partner/contract) at the Aries point is very potent. This is a BIG opportunity - remember the Full Moon is a point of fullness and in Scorpio, ruler of the 8th house, is filled with the stuff we carry for other people and the stuff that blocks our true intimacy with other people - to face the hurt/healing of old familial (and societal power structure) programming/restrictions and carries the ability for us to write off old contracts that no longer serve us.

The ways we have given our power away to family, to relationships, to "the man", in order to simply stay alive (in this lifetime and many prior lifetimes and you don't have to believe in reincarnation to believe in the idea that more than a tendency toward brown eyes is carried in our DNA) - these obligations have expired.

It's like we have a 30 year mortgage and are continuing to mail in our monthly payments in year 37 or we are still paying our parents' mortgage and they have retired and moved to sunny Fort Lauderdale.

A retrograde Saturn is sextiling (opportunity) the Full Moon from secure and stable Capricorn. This is an opportunity to burn that mortgage (ie expired soul contract)!

This can also be the time of a new contract as Juno begins her journey through Aries.

At the same time asteroid/dwarf planet Ceres (earth mother, I think the future ruler of Taurus once astrology has more time to ) is sitting with the North Node in Leo squaring (tension/frustration) the Full Moon and the Sun.

On our journey from the South Node (been there, done that) toward our North Node (collective future) right smack in the middle is this Moon - we have to GET PAST THIS FULL MOON IN SCORPIO.

Remember what the North Node in Leo, South Node in Aquarius journey has been and is about (and this ends this summer when the nodes move into Cancer/Capricorn) - moving from the space of alienation and distraction and detachment and over-thinking into our heart-space, the space we are meant to shine - where is Leo in your natal chart? We come in from the house on the edge (Aquarius) of town and a detached view of life from a distance. We step away from technology (Aquarius) and a detached view of life from behind the screen. We step out of the audience (Aquarius) onto the center stage. We step away from our over-thinking brain that is trying to protect us by giving us all the reasons something isn't going to work and toward what our heart wants. We move from traumatized (Aquarius PTSD) into our power (Leo).

Ceres connected with the North Node on December 2, 2017 and then on January 16th, 2018, so this is the third time around for her (as us). This is the final conjunction so something is reaching a culmination here now. Remember who Ceres is - she was the Goddess whose daughter was kidnapped by Pluto (ruler of this Moon!) and taken into the Underworld. Ceres' grief began the earthly cycles of death and rebirth we experience as the seasons.

Ceres sitting with the North Node (our collective way forward) and squaring the Moon in Scorpio speaks of fated cycles. It speaks of GRIEF. Maybe a life and death fear of losing something that is part of a natural cycle and must be shed or something that is growing away from us but feels like it has been stolen from us. Maybe something about smother-mothering or a pushy kind of nurturing that requires something of us when it should just love us unconditionally. Again this makes me think of that two year old's death grip (have you ever tried to take something from a toddler's hands?!) - we are either holding on for dear life or some situation/person has a hold like this on us.

Again the Moon is the release point on our journey toward that North Node. We are full up. This situation has nowhere left to go. It must unwind itself so we can breathe. 

With the Full Moon squaring the Moon's Nodes we know that whatever it is that is ending now or culminating or coming to light - this is a HUGE Moon for secrets to be exposed - is fate train stuff. We are ready (even as we don't feel ready) for it to come to light or culminate or end now and so it is.

So, what do we do?

One of the great things about Full Moons is we don't have to really do anything - although our current situations will need to be attended to, of course (Mars/Pluto will see to that!). We get what we need to get just by being on planet Earth and experiencing them. We just have to allow ourselves to feel what comes up. Don't judge ourselves as weak or crazy (yes, Full Moons can make people look crazy!) and allow other people the same gift of non-judgement. Just hold the space for the emotions to come up and out. Tears, sweat, being in or near water can help release lunar emotions.

Mars (Scorpio's traditional ruler) and Pluto (Scorpio's modern ruler) are both activated now - adding strength, courage and intensity to the Full Moon. Whatever dragons we are facing now - we have the power here to slay them. Dead.

Just remember the Taurus toddler with the death-grip (MINE!). And the Roses (from the movie) with their death-grips on their stuff and their egos. This is what we want to avoid - filling ourselves up with stuff so we don't have to deal with what is happening underneath. Jupiter - the planet of good luck and expansion - is UNDERNEATH. The treasure is buried now.

Think about - what GOALS (Saturn in Capricorn) would, in order for me to complete them - require that I transform myself into someone I have heart-felt respect for (North Node in Leo)? How would that feel? What would I look like, dress like? What would my work space look like? My house? My town? My day? My bank account? How would the other people in my life make me feel?

This isn't about taking actions toward that goal (although it might be for some people - Full Moons are peak action). Just get into the energy of embracing that new person. 

Transformation is offered by fully experiencing the Moon - by NOT CLOSING OURSELVES OFF from whatever life is showing us now - what life has been showing us for the last couple weeks. This is an introspective Moon. It's an emptying kind of experience. The emptying creates the space for something new.

Imagine those parts of ourselves we have exiled off to Elba being welcomed back.

What old beliefs about what is not possible for ourselves are we ready to tenderly love away now?

Just sit with yourself during this Moon. Take a long walk in it. It doesn't matter if the sky is cloudy. It's there. It doesn't matter if you think you don't know what you want. You do. You came in with a plan. It is fail-safe.

If we've emptied ourselves at the Full Moon, in the days following we will find signs and answers coming in. Nature abhors a vacuum.

xo all

As above, so below - think about physical actions to empty and dismantle - give away a bag of old clothes, delete old picture from your phone, emails from your inbox, expired food from the cupboard, toss broken items, etc. EXHALE.

Mars Conjunct Pluto | something's gonna blow, focus like a laser beam

Beneath the Water Lily by Christine-Muraton

We knew when Mars (how we get what we want, our will, action, initiative, anger) entered Capricorn back on March 17th that at some point during his Capricorn journey - since Saturn is hanging here until the end of 2020 and Pluto is hanging here from 2008-2024 - we knew our hero would have to face Saturn and Pluto. Although they are not together yet, thankfully.

He hit Saturn (obstacle, wall, limit, authority) back on April 2nd.

Today is the day he (as we) runs into a retrograde Pluto (transformation, life/death, rebirth, power, control). This energy has been in play for a few days - you may have already felt this - and will continue to be in play until early May. Since these bad boys are squaring Eris, too - this energy is even more potent.

Mars' Capricorn transit started within hours of his square (in Sagittarius) to the New Moon in vulnerable, compassionate Pisces - so we have been coming at this period from a place of weakness - we kind of started this leg of our journey on our knees.

At the same time we have had Mercury back and forth through Aries for weeks squaring this whole thing. Ugh! Indecision, roadblocks, frustration.

By Saturday both Mars (by conjunction) and Mercury (by square) will have moved past Saturn's obstacles. This doesn't mean we got what we wanted, although surely some people did. And we might not know what we are doing or going to do, but we probably know what isn't working by now.

If we can't have it, we know we can't have it.

Saturn is karmic so in some way these obstacles are the 'effects' of causes we ourselves set into motion. Maybe recently. Maybe long ago. Maybe long, long ago. Maybe in other lifetimes - our other lifetimes and our ancestors' lifetimes because we carry their energy and their stories forward.

Now, after finding out/and working through what we can't have - what we can't go back and redo - our limit here - here is Pluto.

Running into Pluto isn't like running into Saturn. This isn't a wall. This is more like a box of dynamite waiting for our angry, impatient Mars, who just happens to be the man with the match.

Our will (Mars) merges with the ultimate power (Pluto). As you can imagine this can be very potent destruction. Something is going down. This can be a good thing or a not-so-good thing.

This could play out in our lives with an argument as tempers flare around control issues.

People (including us) will be tempted to use drastic measures to get what they want. Think "the nuclear option" as a metaphor for whatever lies within Mars/Pluto potential.

We have the knowledge and power of astrology to see what is happening - to use our power for good. If something we are doing smells even slightly of manipulation or revenge or compulsion, stop, think that action through. Be certain of your motivation. Be awake.

I wrote about today's energy HERE - see Thursday. It might be hard not to get caught up in the heat of the moment. Think about that angry man (who doesn't even know he's an angry man) coming upon that box of dynamite. And we are also that box of dynamite (who doesn't know she's a box of dynamite) seducing that angry man. This is all going on inside us and in our personal world and in the collective.

We can choose to go higher and use this energy is healthy ways. And it is probably best to do something with this, rather than leaving it for other people to act out around us or upon us.

This is good energy for any project we need extreme focus, strength and ambition. This is good destruction energy. What needs to be broken down?

If we find ourselves angry today - go deeper with the feeling. What is this anger really about?

Our Mars journey through Capricorn doesn't end here. Mars will square Mercury on May 12th and then on May 16th Mars will move into Aquarius - where he will start answering to Uranus and Saturn. Uranus will be freshly minted in Taurus (and yes, this information sounds very similar to the Mercury information from yesterday MID-MAY is GOING TO BE HUGE) so Mars will be squaring him.

There will be break-throughs and breakdowns. We will talk about this more as we move through it.

For today - this is the serial/cereal killer energy (not a coincidence the Golden State Killer has finally been caught and by DNA with both Saturn and Pluto retrograde) we talked about the other day. It was only by virtue of my having procrastinated both grocery shopping and dishwasher 'button pushing' that I was unable to take out the entire neighborhood.

And we are building toward this weekend's HUGE "die or be reborn" Full Moon in Scorpio (ruled by Pluto)!

April has been uber challenging for many people - lots of stuff happening with maybe not much headway on the physical plane to show for all our toils in the end, but MASSIVE movement underneath if we are awake enough to feel how far we have come. 

So don't forget the Taurus Sun - take care of yourself, get your hands in the dirt, get a massage, prepare a meal with ingredients that have touched the Earth. This will balance us now.

xo all

There is also something in the energy here about a 'gracious defeat'. About not being a sore loser. About the way we handle things when we don't get 'our way'. The way we handle any need to throw up a white flag will be the energy that seeds the ground our next battle is fought upon. We have many, many wins ahead of us folks. We are playing the long game. In the grand scheme of things we aren't all that many years from the sandbox where we first learned to keep our cool (or not) when little Susie got the red shovel we wanted and took her victory lap around the playground. Do we lay in wait for our revenge (like the box of dynamite)? Or do we move on and go play on the swings. It's our choice.