New Moon in Gemini square Neptune | we don't know what we don't want to know, exposure, questions, choices, lies - changing our mind - listening before we speak, double checking EVERYTHING, tossing multiple ideas out there to see what sticks

the sandgiver by S-T-R-A-N-G-E

At 3:43PM EDT the Gemini Moon meets the Gemini Sun at 22 degrees bringing us our annual New Moon in Gemini.

Gemini is all about the movement of information and ideas.

Gemini is about choices and multiple anythings.

The expressions "more than one way to skin a cat" and "kill two birds with one stone" make my point here - although in a morbidly, Dexter-like, serial-killer style

(who the hell was doing all this cat skinning, bird stoning anyway - I don't even want to know where these expressions come from - although actually I probably do now that I think about it since it's Gemini season and all and I am CURIOUS and yes, now I am thinking about cats again and what curiosity holds for them - yikes).

There will be more than one thing to talk about now, more than one thing to do, more than one way forward.

With the Moon in Gemini answering to Mercury and Mercury in Cancer answering to the Moon both planets are strengthened now.

The fly in the ointment - if you like having choices - is a square to imaginative and deceptive Neptune strong in her home sign of Pisces.

Are these choices real? Is this information true? There is going to be alot to talk about and read and muddle our way through, but at the end of the day - or the end of the next six months when we reach the Full Moon in Gemini next December - will anything here amount to anything? It is hard to be sure. In fact, maybe it is not even possible to be sure of very much right now.

This New Moon - ruled by trickster Mercury - is like one giant flashing yellow light blinking at us "LOOK before you leap".

When I see Mercury square Neptune I think there us a LIE here somewhere. As my grandmother would say "something is fishy in Denmark" or maybe she would say rotten, but I can't bring myself to write that about Denmark!

And, of course, we have multiple Mercurian things playing out right now - how crazy-making for us and how appropriate for Gemini!

We had the Sun and Mercury connect just a week or so ago and square Neptune. I wrote about it HERE in a post titled "alice down the rabbit hole". Now we have the Sun and Moon connecting in Gemini - answering to Mercury - squaring Neptune again. They are past Neptune now.

So the LIE (or Neptunian situation - what is hidden or put away or done behind the scenes, behind our backs, behind closed doors, secrets, the ethereal realms, imagination, hospitals, spirituality, addiction, healing, illness, compassion) maybe started then - around June 6th -7th.

Something at best un-grounded or misguided and at worst deceptive was put into play.

Maybe there was something we glossed over and didn't want to look at too closely because we knew something we badly wanted to add up, just didn't. I know someone who had a botched medical procedure in a hospital. There are as many ways this could play out as there are stars in the sky.

And now in the dark of the New Moon, when the Moon has totally disappeared from view, something here that is no longer needed is probably going to disappear, too.  

Maybe it is the lie. Maybe one of the choices that was never real anyway. Maybe all of the choices because they were never real anyway. Maybe it is our rose-colored-glasses that .. oops .. land on the pavement and are pressed into concrete by the reality police. 

There could be something in play about making a decision through the process of elimination.

The other Mercurian storyline we have playing out now is we have Mercury opposing a retrograde Saturn at the end of this week. This takes us back to January when Mercury met Saturn in Capricorn and we were talking about being careful with our words/thoughts - that we were creating contracts.

So, at the end of this week we come to the closing sentences of one chapter and beginning sentences of another chapter of that story - a check-in date we had written into that contract.

Saturn sits across from Mercury and Saturn asks - "well, what have you done with this?" and then Saturn says "here is your karma, here is your result".

If we have done our work and what we said we would do (and this could have been something we told ourselves, of course) - stepped into our Saturn, lived up to our contract - we will be having a development now. Maybe something related to official paperwork or a career result. Maybe something related to home or family or the themes of our natal Cancer/Capricorn axis.

If we haven't been doing our Saturn or we set up a contract unconsciously - what will probably happen now is we will project our own Saturn onto someone else or some situation (authority/rules/limits) and they will be telling us what to do via a rule or limit, or telling us NO or whatever this tension/frustration is. If this is happening to us let's stop - and Saturn will force the stop - and think about how we ourselves have set this situation up - even when it might look like something is blocking us from the outside! Any space we are blaming the other person now we can be assured what is actually happening is we haven't taken on the responsibility ourselves.

If we like where we are right now, if we are in a good place and OK with what is happening it is because we did the right thing back in January or maybe we have taken seriously what we verbally or mentally set into motion back in January. If we aren't in a good place then the problem/situation we encounter now is designed to get us back on track - another spin of the cosmic dial, another chance to step into our responsibility and claim the authority for our own life. 

The good news - a new chapter is starting so what have we learned here?

For today - it is time to set our New Moon intentions!

There is extra oomph with the Mercury/Moon reciprocity and although there could be a tendency to drift off course with that Neptune or paint too pretty a picture - there is also something here to push against - squares get results!

One of the ways to use this New Moon - and the way I like to use it and I have a strong 3rd house (Gemini rules the 3rd house) - with Mercury, the Sun and Saturn there - is to toss multiple things out there - and see what takes off. With Gemini results are usually spotted rather quickly. It won't take long to see which ideas grow wings and which ideas fall to the ground!

(which is creating more dead bird imagery for me - I am going to take a long walk now! Ack!)

This New Moon in Gemini is all about communication so things might come up now that have us thinking about the way we get our point across, the way we present our ourselves, the way we show up and relate to other people and maybe most especially - with Mars on that South Node in Aquarius now - what we are a voice for.

GEMINI NEW MOON AFFIRMATIONS

This is a great time for affirmations for Gemini themes - movement, flexibility, wit, communication, logic, social graces and ease, siblings, local issues, teaching/learning, mental anxiety, areas of life where you are seeing double or encounter two choices or are doing two things at once, our nervous system, hands, wrists, arms, shoulders and our lungs AND the theme of your natal Gemini house.

AFFIRMATION TIPS: get into a good frame of mind - always make affirmations from a  positive place (meaning both happy and certain) - write your affirmations down by hand in script, speak them out loud - then release your attention from them knowing that your intention is known. Gemini is our first air sign of the year. I am going to speak them into the wind this year (a fan will do) and imagine my intentions flying far and wide, landing on the most fertile soil.

Know what you seek is seeking you (Rumi).

Know these things are already yours.

xo all

Mercury into Cancer | time to TALK about what we NEED plus some mid-year advice from Saturn

Y'all Come Back Now by Pandora Selezneva

Mercury moves into Cancer today where he/she will hang his hat until June 29th.

We will be feeling what people are saying now. Our own words will be impacting other people emotionally, too.

Mercury squares Chiron (the Aries point) almost immediately, so it is likely some words/thoughts could be painful right out of the gate. Whatever this is it won't likely be bandaged up by us (or someone else) saying just the right thing - with Chiron the pain is the healing. Thinking about - "why do these words hurt? what is familiar about this?" and then maybe having a good old cry - yes, one of those big, old ugly ones that make everything a fuzzy, black, mascara-y blur - might just be more healing than trying to fix whatever has just been re-wounded with some Betadine. This wound is too old and too deep for that.

The Moon is dark now and in Gemini moving toward the Sun (and tomorrow's New Moon) - so the Moon in Gemini is answering to Mercury and Mercury in Cancer is answering to the Moon.

Words are powerful and emotionally charged now.

(Trump has his natal Mercury in Cancer and prior to his meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un, said "I just, my touch, my feel, that's what, that's what I do" when asked about his preparation and how he would know if Kim was serious. His infamous verbal word salads aside - this feeling the words is pretty much how Mercury in Cancer communicates.)

Also today the Moon is trining (brakes off) initiating, assertive Mars - this feels like good energy to get the verbal ball rolling with something. Make an important call - maybe something that requires courage. This would also be a good time to make fresh plans.

For the next couple weeks we could be thinking/talking/writing about Cancerian issues more often - home, family, real estate, renovation, home business, ancestry, the past, mothers, country, safety, security.

With Mercury in Cancer we will need to step back now and then and ask ourselves - "am I feeling the actual situation or am I feeling my thinking about the situation?". 

The difference - especially for the next week of so with all this Neptunian fog and Saturnian potential to feel the pressure - is likely a pretty wide gap.

With Mercury in Cancer words come from the gut. Words are taken personally. They can be soothing or they can be painful.

Since Cancer rules both the mother and the baby, Mercury (communication, ideas, thoughts) in Cancer could be a good time to talk (Mercury) about what we need (Cancer).

At the end of this week Mercury is going to oppose Saturn (in Capricorn) so that is some kind of information/authority/restrictive information that BLOCKS us. Maybe we hear a "no" now or maybe more pressure is piled on. This could also be a home vs work issue. The good news with Mercury in Cancer is that this weekend and into early next week we get a glorious Grand Water Trine when she connects with Jupiter and Neptune - all our water signs have a planetary visitor now and they are all talking nice to each other - BRAKES OFF. Then by the following weekend (around the 23rd-24th) Mercury will oppose Pluto (we know as planets move through Cancer they will be opposing our Cappy planets!) so likely whatever it is we haven't wanted to think about/talk about will be what we have to deal with.

Today is great energy to start thinking about our New Moon intentions for tomorrow's New Moon in Gemini!

xo all

Remember where we are now - Uranus has moved into Taurus officially closing out the Uranus/Pluto square we have been dealing with for around 10 years!

We are moving toward the Saturn/Pluto conjunction - exact in January 2020.

2018 is the year for us to take any corrective measures that need to be taken before we get to that conjunction - the heart of winter. Some roads are already snowed in and closed to us. But other roads - at least one - are still open and we have been gifted with SNOW TIRES!

We have the GIFT of a summer focused around Mars retrograde (and the eclipses!) and Venus retrograde in the fall. This is life giving us some opportunities to get our act together and our shelves stocked before we head into the coldest days of winter. Mars retrograde will be in Aquarius and Capricorn - both signs ruled by Saturn - the key to all of this is our relationship with Saturn.

Right now we could be facing empty shelves from the resources we have squandered. The stuff we have procrastinated about and not wanted to face is reaching its logical point of crisis. Jupiter is diving through the stuff we have pushed down and not wanted to deal with and making it BIGGER. This foundational 'pot-stirring' is causing any structural instability to be impossible to miss.

On the flipside - the spaces and ways we have been doing our Saturn - the responsibilities we have stepped into, the work we have conscientiously performed without an audience, what we have appropriately prioritized and the resources we have managed responsibly will create the opportunities for us to not only survive but thrive!

Did we build our house of brick or straw? This is what we are looking at now. And this isn't about beating ourselves up - we ALL have areas of life we have been using bricks and other areas of life we have tossed together some straw.

There is still time to build the necessary bricks. There truly is. But we need to get to work.

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of June 11th - the times they are a changing, new information comes in, unexpected attractions, official words, feeling what people are saying, just how smart are we anyway

Untitled 478 by ErosTurranos

We continue to have alot happening this week. I was going to write a two week post, but the weeks are just too different and this one has too much going on.

Anytime we have a week with two inner planets changing signs - we know our lives will be changing, too.

Add to that a complicated New Moon in a complicated air sign and all this foggy Neptune (there isn't much solid ground for us at the moment) and things can feel very dicey. We won't have all the answers - this is Gemini season, the season of QUESTIONS - keep this in mind.

TUESDAY - Mercury enters Cancer
WEDNESDAY - New Moon in Gemini (22 degrees) plus Venus enters Leo
THURSDAY - Venus squares Uranus
FRIDAY - Mercury opposes Saturn

On TUESDAY, Mercury moves into Cancer until June 29th and begins answering to the Moon. We are feeling what people are saying. Our words are impacting other people emotionally, too. We could be thinking/talking/writing about Cancerian issues more often - home, family, real estate, renovation, home business, ancestry, mothers, country, safety, security.

With Mercury in Cancer we need to step back now and then and ask ourselves - "am I feeling the situation or am I feeling my thinking about the situation?". The difference - especially for the next week of so with all this Neptunian fog and Saturnian potential for depression - is likely a pretty wide gap.

With Mercury in Cancer words come from the gut. Words are taken personally. 

They can be soothing or they can be painful.

Cancer is all about family and home and history and patriotism and security - about having our needs met and meeting the needs of others we are close to. It's about vulnerability and how we deal with that.

On WEDNESDAY, Venus - leading the pack this spring/summer - enters fiery Leo. Our Leo house, the space we have intended to SHINE in this lifetime, becomes more attractive. Leo Suns and rising signs are more naturally attractive (ie easy on the eye and able to attract what they want).

We attract what we want and need (Venus) through Leo now - so by standing out, standing up, being passionate, taking center stage - you get the idea. We could, of course, go overboard with all of this. Leo (ruled by the Sun) doesn't really like others blocking the light. Competition can get ugly. We could become downright diva-like. Being in love with being in love fits here, too.

Wanting to be adored will make being ignored all that much harder to handle.

Also Venus in Leo is not so into compromise. I will write a post.

Today's New Moon in Gemini squaring foggy Neptune and between a rock and a hard place with both a retrograde Pluto and Black Moon Lilith and with the Moon's ruler Mercury squaring healing/hurting Chiron is COMPLICATED. Not that a Gemini Moon is ever not complicated, but this one, being a Super Moon so close to the Earth and at a karmic 22 degrees, is quite, yes, let's say it again COMPLICATED. In Gemini we know there will be oodles of communication, information and choices.

We will have to be smart about whatever we have going on now.

New Moons are times when we are literally in the dark. The Moon and Sun are together at the same degree. Then time moves on, the Moon becomes visible, a little more visible everyday. This is called waxing and is the two weeks of the month when things are naturally growing.

Ruled by Mercury and ruler of our 3rd house, Gemini rules our growth through the exchange of information, through contact with our immediate environment, through language. Gemini reigns over: the flow of information, technology, communication, our mental processes, conversations, stories, lies, our local community, our neighbors, our siblings, our transportation.

Gemini is the first air sign of the astrological year - a sign of the mind, the archetype of the "teacher" - the storyteller. If you are a Gemini Sun sign this is basically the way you process life. As soon as you learn something, and you are naturally curious and learn alot of "somethings" - you simply must pass it on. Gemini has more to do with questions than answers because she has been mentally exploring and noticing stuff her entire life.

Gemini is perspective. What we notice becomes what we think about, what we talk about, what we act on. 

What we notice becomes who we are. 

It's a good time to notice what we are noticing. Of course, we would probably have to stop for a moment to do this and we won't be able to - because we will be so busy!

The next two New Moons after this one - are both eclipses, yes eclipse season is coming hang onto your hats, and are Super Moons, too.

I will write a post about the New Moon this week.

Also don't forget we have Mars conjunct the South Node. See my post HERE on that transit.

On THURSDAY, Venus is going to square Uranus which could set off impulsive attractions - suddenly something over THERE looks/feels very good and we WANT it. Of course, this is a square so there is tension/frustration. Venus is in Leo, so we will want what we want. Venus rules our love, money, values and self-esteem - something unexpected could happen within these themes or with our Leo house theme now. With the Sun and Moon in Gemini - it could also be that we have a couple choices, or with all this foggy Neptune - the appearance of multiple choices - and maybe we could end up choosing poorly. Maybe there aren't any good choices. Maybe all the doors hold booby prizes. It is going to be hard to tell.

This transit could also be the splash of cold water in our face we need right now. Remember we are playing a long game, if something feels extremely urgent or extremely essential right now take some time to think it all through. Imagine a blinking yellow light. Proceed with caution.

On FRIDAY, Mercury (in Cancer) will oppose powerful Saturn (home in Capricorn). Communications will be taken seriously. We could be blocked by someone else's words. This is some kind of outer authority, the rules, the pressure. This could be about official (Saturn) paperwork (Mercury) or a career/home decision or the need to talk (Mercury) like a grown-up (Saturn). This transit can bring negative thinking and depressive thoughts - take this stuff seriously now and use that powerful Neptune to connect with other people.

This is a reality check between our Cancer and Capricorn houses and for some people the more general themes of home vs work.

Once Venus moves into Leo (Wednesday) she will be trining Chiron (in Aries), so there is going to be a flow this week between our love, money, values, self esteem, issues with women or about beauty and our initiative, courage and ability to stand on our own two feet. With Venus in proud Leo - let's not be afraid to say we aren't certain (pretty much impossible to be certain right now anyway) or to speak up about our pain/problems. It could be our weaknesses/sore spots that will attract to us what we actually need.

With multiple aspects/moves by Venus this week we know there will be situations around our money and our relationships. Uranus will bring Venus something unexpected and it will create tension/frustration - which btw is what creates the greatest environment for GROWTH. Neptune will keep things foggy (or us dealing with Neptunian situations - what is hidden or put away or done behind the scenes, secrets, the ethereal realms, imagination, hospitals, spirituality, addiction, healing, illusion, compassion, deception). Saturn assures us stuff will be serious. And all this Gemini/Mercury means we will be busy, there will be lots of communication, information and choices.

I am going to write a few dailies this week and am a bit pushed for time, so am not going to get into the Moons here. The long voids are (not a good time for starts/launches) WEDNESDAY 3:45PM EDT to midnight and FRIDAY from noon until 3:21AM EDT. Back with some daily posts and the big New Moon post, in the meantime this weekly should be a bit of a heads up.

xo all

Pay attention to your dreams, synchronicities and intuition now. Also keep in mind I am writing about aspects on the days when they are exact, but often we feel their biggest impact as the planets are moving into aspect or separating.

Mars Conjunct the South Node | same old fight, moving on from friends who don't have our backs, rubbing salt in the wound, familiar struggles, falling into that same old trap, our old actions and in-actions bite us in the ass

Eaten bubbles by E-BZ

Today we have Mars (at 7 degrees Aquarius) - the actions we take to get what we want, our passion, our initiative, our anger - hitting the South Node (what is ripe for release).

Expect old arguments to flare back up, old goals and actions (and in-actions) to result in consequences now. We might have to lose the battle to win the war. We might have to let go of a goal to free up our hands to reach for something else.

We might find ourselves having a rip-roaring argument with our hubby that feels awfully reminiscent of our childhood battles with our father. There is karma here. Pay attention.

You have the benefit of astrology - so take a breath and think about what is really being stirred up. There will be, or was (although this aspect is exact today it has been building for a couple days and will spend a couple days unwinding) likely an uncanny reminder of having 'gone through this before' with the added realization, if we are lucky and smart, that we can choose differently this time.

Because Mars is preparing to go retrograde in a couple weeks and walking degrees he will walk two more times this is a repeating aspect that will be in play until the end of September.

So we have the repeating pattern of an aspect that is all about repeating patterns!

Whatever situations/issues we are dealing with now will not be the final chapter - be prepared for delays, revisions and possibly a long drawn out battle.

With Mars on the South Node our instinctual drive (Mars) is very strongly and often unconsciously - remember we don't crave what is good for us, we crave what is familiar - influenced by our past.

Where is Aquarius in your natal chart? For many people the theme of the house Aquarius rules will be Mars field of play.

EXAMPLE for Taurus/Taurus Rising (Aquarius 10th house) - Mars is traveling through your 10th house of career, your calling, your achievements, your achievement goals, dad, business, authority, responsibility. An issue, likely within these themes, is activated. Something here is ripe for release - (Mars on the South Node) before the Nodes move into Cancer/Capricorn next fall. Holding on too tightly to something here could actually hasten its speed of departure. Let's say you really need to move on from a job - an action or inaction on your part, challenge at work or argument with authority, for example, could expedite the manner. Mars (as you) will walk back and forth through your 10th house territory - conjuncting the South Node and opposing the North Node (your future). What are you doing, perhaps unconsciously, in regard to 10th house matters that needs to end?

Collectively, Mars in Aquarius pushes for FREEDOM and toward advancement and the future. This summer - through multiple, sustained efforts which could include setbacks and revisions - life is offering us the energetic support to release - and yes, there will be work involved Saturn is still in Capricorn folks - the ties that bind us- whatever is making us feel stuck.

Mars challenges us to find the right level of assertiveness without being a total asshole.

We need to keep our eyes on that North Node in Leo - our creative passion, what makes us feel proud, where we need to shine and take the center stage of our own life - Mars agitating that South Node and opposing the North will be sawing/chopping/shaving away at anything holding us back from what we came to do here.

Next week we have a New Moon in Gemini squaring Neptune - new info will come in, again not everything can be trusted. Hopefully by the time Neptune stations retrograde on the 19th we will get more clarity and stronger sea legs. We also have Mars and Venus opposing each other from the South and North Nodes while t-squaring Jupiter in Scorpio coming soon. Our karma, dharma - whatever this is it will likely relate back to whatever Saturn set in motion back in January. We have Mars set to go retrograde and a heavy duty Full Moon at the end of the month.

I am going to write a June post on Sunday to finish out the month instead of the weekly so we are better able to see around corners.

For this weekend we have the Moon in Aries on FRIDAY hankering for some action, but she will be squaring serious Saturn. Maybe save important negotiations/communications for another day if possible. Not a good first date night! We could want to do something for ourselves but have work or responsibilities that won't allow it. There is a semi-sextile between Mars and Saturn today which tells us if we slow down and do things carefully and proceed one-step-at-a-time there is a very good chance of success with whatever we are starting. On SATURDAY the Moon is uber active - we probably will be, too - and then goes void at 3:00PM EDT. There is a sextile - opportunity - with Mercury early in the day that can be good for commerce, communication and interactions with siblings/the local neighborhood. On SUNDAY the Moon will move into Taurus, the perfect Sunday Moon - garden, cook, relax, recharge your batteries. There could be something testy in the afternoon as the Moon squares Mars.

xo all