Astrology Forecast for Creatives | week of September 2, 2019 - purpose, motivation, taking action, being sober, being practical, big girl/boy pants on, avoid over-doing it, some confusion and need to escape, get the sh*t done, get enough sleep, believe in yourself and your future because it's reaching back right now and pulling us forward

Let's unpack this week (looks like three suitcases at least) - 

SUNDAY - Mercury trines Uranus. Venus trines Saturn
MONDAY - Venus squares Jupiter, Sun conjuncts Mars
TUESDAY - Mercury conjuncts Mars, Sun conjuncts Mercury, Venus trines the South Node
WEDNESDAY - Venus opposes Neptune
THURSDAY - Mercury trines Saturn
FRIDAY - Sun trines Saturn, Venus trines Pluto, Mercury trines the South Node, Mercury squares Jupiter
SATURDAY - Mercury opposes Neptune
SUNDAY - Sun trines the South Node, Mercury trines Pluto, Sun squares Jupiter

This can't be right, can it? WWHHHAATTT?!

Remember in the New Moon post HERE we talked about how the Virgo planets (Mercury, the Sun, Venus and Mars) are going to do - this week and next - what the Moon did last Friday PLUS interact with each other!

So this is busy. This could feel overwhelming.

But we will be motivated and can get a heck of alot done.

The Virgo planets are trining Saturn (stability, sobriety, being responsible), squaring Jupiter (tension/frustration around expansion, overwhelm), trining the South Node (endings, wrap ups, results, what we have to do) opposing Neptune (confusion, rose-colored glasses, needing a rest) and trining Pluto (truth, power, our own authority or interactions with authority, intensity, intimacy, acting on our ambitions).

The reality of 2020 is setting in now folks, if it hadn't already. Can you feel it?

There is no point in writing a day-to-day here in the weekly because I would be saying the same things over and over just in slightly different ways (plus my body hurts, so I need to be concise and quick on the keyboard!). 

We are going to be in and out of a T-Square between the Virgo planets, Neptune in Pisces and Jupiter in Sagittarius for the next couple weeks.

With Jupiter at the apex, we are going to have to watch out for taking on too much, over-spending, over-counting on something, expanding too much, allowing ourselves to be pushed further than we want to go, over-promising, betting the farm, saying too much, basically being over-the top.

BUT with Jupiter at the apex (who better to have at the apex!), strong in his home sign and DIRECT - there are NEW opportunities here. We have to have faith, in ourselves and in something bigger than ourselves. We have to expand our reach and get out of our own way. We have to embrace what is foreign to us. We gotta believe!

All this Virgo will focus us in on a specific problem/situation. We will have the energy/motivation to take practical action to move things forward or fix what needs fixing. Don't ignore health matters now. No cutting corners. No more waiting.

Opportunities come in now. Some things fall into place. Yes, there will be times we are overwhelmed and have to take a deep breath and even a break now and then. The trines to Saturn keep things serious - our money, our relationships, our words - we need to be sober and wearing our big girl/boy pants.

The oppositions to Neptune create some confusion, things are hidden, we don't know what we don't know. Avoid jumping to conclusions or into things that seem too good to be true.

The trines to the South Node speak of karmic endings/releases. The things that are no longer working. Results can come in. The stuff we have been procrastinating will be biting us in the ass. Good thing we have been drinking these double chocolate chip frappuccinos and have some extra padding. We are strong, We were born to do this. We keep going. 

Every time things start moving too smoothly there will be a wrench tossed in the works. Every time things start looking too 'blue skies' a storm cloud will roll in. BUT every time we want to give up we will get a second wind or some encouragement or whatever it is we need to keep going.

The inner planets are going to roll through this pattern and it will be hard to separate one from the other. We won't need to. In general (you have to look at your natal chart for themes) with collective themes - we zero in a health or work problem. We will want to fix it/talk about it/take action on it/ clear things up. There could also be connections to the Cancer stuff we have been dealing with - home, family, mother, home business, family business, real estate. Stuff can feel bigger than it actually is (and yes, it can be pretty big for some people) or solutions/pending results can look easier/better than they actually are or will be. Don't over-do anything. Watch your Benjamins. Watch your language, especially around what you are committing to. Have faith. Know things are improving. Look for the opportunities. Stay positive. Some things will be hidden - we don't know what we don't know. Old work issues or results or issues with authority come up. Our stability/security comes through what we know/what we've already done or accomplished. We could be wrapping something up/ending something. There will be chances to take breathers and pit stops - take them. Our future is over there and over there looks pretty freakin' awesome and you might not be able to see this yet, but trust me it is.

If we are doing the shadow side of Virgo/Pisces we will be screwing this up by - criticism of ourselves and other people, nothing is good enough, trying to fix what can't be fixed, service to the point of exhaustion, too restrictive a diet, health obsession, enabling, playing a victim/martyr, escaping into drugs/alcohol/Netflix marathons. Check yourself on this stuff. Just stop. Do a little better.

If we are feeling too much Virgo - need to get something perfect, too much doing/helping/service, critical, exhausted  - we need to move toward Virgo's polarity sign of Pisces - take a breath, make some art, dance, listen to music, meditate, pray. If all this Virgo has us zoning out and moving too much toward Pisces, we will need to pull ourselves back to the Virgo - make something smaller, focus on the details, make a list, grow a backbone, do what is right in front of us, wash the dishes, skip the cake and eat the f'ng salad.

Do your job. Play your part. This can be a really productive week. We've got this thing. Things that we haven't been able to rush, because this is all a process with billions and billions of moving parts, will start to unfold.

xo all

Heads up all these planets bundled together means another week of long void moons, so stay flexible when things get wonky and have to be re-done (!) - MONDAY Moon is void from 4:30AM EDT to 7:35PM EDT, WEDNESDAY Moon is void 6:58AM to 11:08PM and Friday from around noon EDT through SATURDAY morning.

photo by the amazing ankazhuravleva

Today's Astrology Forecast | August 31, 2019 - triggered by words, the dangers of unsolicited advice, sitting with the information, some things aren't fixable, chill out

The Moon in Virgo's final aspect was a trine to Pluto at 4:46AM EDT (nice, solid manifestation energy). The Moon will be Void all day until she enters social Libra at 7:08PM EDT. I hope everyone will have some time to chill out today - all these planets in Virgo can be exhausting!

Mercury inconjuncts Chiron at 4 degrees Virgo/Aries. We talked about this in the New Moon post, but the exact aspect is today. Practical language or information (that Mercury in Virgo) triggers an old wound around our courage/ability to take care of ourselves/go it alone/our ability to initiate/our passion.

Not the best time to offer unsolicited advice.

Not the best time to try to "fix" something, probably with words, that isn't fixable.

This is the fly in the ointment of the New Moon chart playing out over the next month. Inconjuncts are the rock and the hard place and Chiron is already about the stuff we "just have to learn to live with".

We might have to respond to something that we can't make 100% better or stand up for ourselves or do something on our own now that isn't totally comfortable. We might be starting/working with something that isn't exactly the way we hoped it would be.

We can't find the right words because there aren't any. 

Or maybe the bottom line reality of our situation is shown to us via information/a conversation/ a sibling or transportation issue - and it hurts. Why weren't we braver when we needed to be? Why weren't we faster off the starting block? Why isn't anyone helping us? How did we get into this mess in the first place?

Keep in mind this moment - the Moon is Void off a trine to transformative Pluto. How do we want this thing to turn out? How do we want to feel? Let's use all this Virgo to make a plan (while we sit by the pool drinking our iced coffee, I hope).

Remember what the Moon has done in the last 24 hours the other planets are going to do over the next few weeks. If your Friday was especially stressful this might be the time (especially Sunday when Venus and the Moon are interacting with sober Saturn) to come up with a serious and practical game plan for September.

xo all

photo by the amazing sirbion

New Moon in Virgo | August 30, 2019 - a practical magic, one foot in front of the other, surprises, do it differently this time, make a move, seal the deal, prioritize health, that back burner thing we have been waiting on is moved to the front burner, time for a detox

On Friday, August 30th at 6:37AM EDT the Virgo Moon meets the Virgo Sun at 6 degrees giving us this month's New Moon. September is a HUGE month and here is our chance, right out of the gates, to set some intentions for how we would like this all to go.

Let's unpack the chart!

We can see a BIG pile-up of planets in earthy Virgo between 2 and 11 degrees with the Sun/Moon sandwiched in the middle. Six planets in earth signs, folks!

Earth is the new black and we can feel this in the collective headlines and in our hearts and heads now.

The New Moon is a time when the skies are dark. It is the time of beginning. The seed goes into the ground. The sperm goes into the egg. The nail meets the wood. The thought meets the paper. You get the idea. And you may actually have an idea now (or new information may come in, seeing something we didn't see before) because Mercury - the planet of ideas and the ruler of Virgo and so the ruler of this New Moon is moving toward a trine with the planet that rules genius (Uranus) on Sunday!

Virgo encourages us to prioritize our health, to value quality over quantity, to be of service to others (not at our own expense though and especially not at the expense of our health), to care for our pets, to take care of the day to day things that make our life our life. It also rules co-workers, employees, our daily activities and our work.

Virgo is the first sign that thinks about 'other people'. We spend the first five signs of the zodiac focused on ourselves - forming an identity, expressing who we are, yada yada. And then in just ONE SIGN we transition toward relating to other people.

That's why it feels like such a pressure cooker!

We move from "how can I be special?" (Leo) to "how can I be useful?". That's a pretty hard right turn! 

The best use of this New Moon energy is to do our Virgo this month!

Focus on the details. Use commonsense. Do one thing at a time. Do your best. Know that it won't be perfect. Nothing in nature is perfect. Know that perfect isn't the point. 

We might have to respond to something that we can't make 100% better (that inconjunct to Chiron) or stand up for ourselves or do something on our own now that isn't totally comfortable. We might be starting/working with something that isn't exactly the way we hoped it would be.

The trine to Uranus speaks of something unexpected.

SURPRISE! We thought this was going one way and now here's something else.

Trines are smooth flows of energy, so this isn't about chaos, but it is about CHANGE. Virgo likes a nice, solid plan, but Uranus here introduces a shot of something else, something INNOVATING. It's a couple small steps in a new direction or a big step broken down into small manageable pieces.

Many people could be dealing with health challenges. Some tweaks in a new, improved direction can create big changes down the line. Virgo also rules our work, co-workers, our pets, our day-to-day life - as well as the theme of your natal Virgo house. Here's a place to FOCUS your attention. What needs to change?

Every detail is going to matter now.

I am not saying this to make all of us crazy.

But we need to know this going in.

There is the potential here to birth something significant, but Virgo rules work, so we know there is going to be work. Effort. And the work is going to have to be good (not perfect, but good). There isn't going to be a whole lot of middle ground.

It's time to make it real or get rid of it! 

In my own life, we are closing up hub's shop this month now that our landlord has sold the building. In my chart Virgo rules my 10th house (career, goals, business, work in the world) and Uranus is bringing change from my Taurus house (7th house of partners). So, dealing with spouse's career changes and changes to our public life, as local business owners, makes sense. Hub's chart has Virgo ruling his 1st house (himself) and Uranus bringing change from his 8th house (other people's resources, the stuff he has merged with other people). This is a big New Moon for him conjunct his natal Pluto (transformation, life/death) and he feels it. September is our clean out month for the building. The start of a new life for him, maybe without this business after 18 years (exactly to the day). Bittersweet and also slightly terrifying ...

The trine from Uranus makes me think of Earth changes - weather situations, climate change, the health of the planet as well as the health of our personal resources, what we value and hold dear.

Mercury (Virgo's ruler and so the ruler of this New Moon, and the co-ruler is likely Chiron) is strong in her/his home sign and conjunct Juno - this New Moon is focused on our relationships and commitments. Talking with other people and communicating about partnerships, relationships, commitments. Signing contracts. Doing a deal. Maybe something that comes in suddenly. With Jupiter and Neptune approaching another exact square maybe it takes all these planets in Earth signs to get our heads out of the clouds!

With Mars and Venus both conjunct the Sun/Moon - we are on the same page with ourselves. Venus isn't that happy in Virgo, so everything now will NOT be totally to her/our liking.

Bottom line - we just need to do our Virgo.

One foot in front of the other. Go over the details. Be precise. Exact. Make it smaller. Prioritize. Organize. Say what you really want then effort toward that. Be productive. This could be about something we have previously put on the back burner. Stuff we were kind of 'waiting it out' with and now we could be glad we waited. September offers us focus and quick change and stabilizing support ahead through those applying Capricorn trines.

It's go time (a great New Moon for back to school). Let's not get so caught up in things having to be a certain way that we don't get moving/started. Also let's not sell ourselves short or over-extend ourselves. Keep in mind Uranus through Taurus over the net few years is showing us what we really value and the ways our self-esteem (how we value ourselves) is connected to our pocketbooks and bank accounts.

This New Moon is a practical, fresh start with an emphasis on both the practical and the fresh.

Now all these Virgo planets (that have us focused on the details and day-to-day), as they continue to move through Virgo, are going to start interacting with the other planets (longer term outcomes/situations). The Moon (fastest moving) will get there within a  few hours, the other planets within days -

first up will be a trine to stabilizing Saturn. Here is clarity around a new commitment. Emotional security. Maybe rewards. Then a trine to the South Node (endings) at the same time squaring Jupiter (overwhelm/something feels too big to get done or maybe it expands too fast, too soon or it feels bigger than it really is - this could also be us questioning that Saturnian commitment - should we stick with it or go broader/bigger/have faith in something better?). Then an opposition to Neptune (release, rest, let go and let God). So, all those New Moon Virgo planets are going to move through these energies over the next few weeks.

Finally the planets will all trine (brakes off) transformational Pluto. Power/influence. Intimacy. Intensity. Merged money/resources/bodies. How badly do we want it? Who's in charge? Are we still standing? Yes!!

By mid-September when we get to the Sun trining Pluto, Saturn stationing direct and the Full Moon in Pisces - the energies will be huge and then we will all need a break (plus mini-breaks over the next couple weeks as the planets oppose Neptune). By the time Pluto stations direct in October (the death that was postponed/the mess that needed to be cleaned up) - we will be through it or ready for it. If anyone can ever be ready for Pluto!

For now it is important to keep plowing ahead while not working ourselves to death! We can get alot done over the next month.

In Virgo, health issues ALWAYS take precedence and can surface now.

I have been having (once again) neck/shoulder/arm/hand stuff and know it is the time to try something else and incorporate changes into my day-to-day life that I can continue once I get over this flare-up. I am thinking about recording these posts - the typing is uber challenging right now. Also our new pup Rosie has been diagnosed with an old, untreated femur fracture (from before we received her) and we are deciding our best options with this. Virgo is the sign of service and rules the stuff that is within our care - our physical bodies/health, our pets, our work. All this stuff make sense. It can feel overwhelming, but the beauty of astrology is we can look a bit ahead and see all the support and the good stuff that is coming. And it is!

New Moon Guidelines

Set your intentions and make your affirmations for Virgo themes (or your natal Virgo house theme!) for the best outcomes - health, quality over quantity, service to others, attention to details, work, co-workers, employees, day to day activities, cleaning, organizing, pets.

INTENTION TIPS: Let the earth guide you this month, plant your feet firmly on the ground, clear your head, write what your physical self, grounded by the earth, wants - not what you think you should write (do you see any air in this New Moon chart? no, there isn't any!). Write your intentions down by hand in script on a blank piece of paper, speak the words out loud, maybe burn the paper and give the ashes back to the earth - release your attention from these things knowing your intention is known.

Life has heard you. Know these things are already yours.  

What do you do next?

Hug a tree. That tree in your backyard is talking to that tree in my backyard and they are both talking to that tree in the Amazon - they need us.

xo all

Today's Astrology Forecast | August 29, 2019 - another long void moon, out of sorts, a light is shone on something different, finshing up what we've resisted, one step at a time, words matter, details matter, what's the matter?

The balsamic Moon, now at the end of fiery Leo, went void at 8:07PM EDT last night and stays void until tonight when she moves into practical Virgo at 7:57PM EDT leading us toward tomorrow morning's New Moon. She hooks up with ruler Mercury at 10:22PM EDT, putting our emotions and our head on the same page tonight.

A long dark void Moon in Leo can be uncomfortable. 

We could feel restless/lethargic today with the energies supporting twists and turns and do-overs. Practiced work is best or some last minute summer fun.

Mercury joined the Virgo party while we slept last night.

Now, all the personal planets are in Virgo (plus the Moon starting tonight!). Mercury (communication, thinking, ideas, local neighborhood, siblings, transportation, tech) is happy to be home to Virgo - a sign she/he rules.

In Virgo he will be moving fast, she is only in Virgo until September 14th, so we need to make the most of this!

In Virgo, our thinking, writing and communication will be more practical and commonsense. We will be all about the details. Nothing gets by Mercury in Virgo.  But lots of things get dismissed. If it's not real, if it doesn't work - it's gone. This is an excellent transit for organization, cleaning, paperwork, taking care of our health, the ins and outs of our work and daily routine, our pets. We will see all the little problems, but still need to avoid nitpicking. With so many planets in Virgo it may be hard to see the forest for the trees - so we look at the trees now. The details. One thing at a time. Lists are good. Ideas and solutions can pop right into our head (especially around the time Mercury trines Uranus on Sunday).

Pay attention to your language - we want to be precise now. We want to honor Mercury. Think about what you are thinking about. Watch what you are watching. What you are reading, talking about, hearing - will matter now. Notice how you verbally get in your own way - use unnecessary negative words (like saying something "isn't bad" when you mean it is good), double speak, babble, gas-lighting, lies. Avoid that "sorry" thing some people say moving through life. We aren't really sorry anyway right - so why are we saying it. Words are powerful. They are one of the most powerful tools we have to move through life on planet Earth - let's not hold ourselves back by tossing around stuff we don't mean/don't want to have/be.

Mercury immediately sextiles Pallas in Scorpio. The opportunity (sextile) comes by getting to the bottom of something. Intimacy. Merging resources and ideas. Our talk can't be superficial. This could get uncomfortable (maybe a conversation/plan around money, life/death issues, sex/reproduction, taxes/insurance, stuff we don't always like to talk about), let it get uncomfortable - talk about it anyway. We are going deep and staying practical. We have mega access to common sense/cents now. This is good energy for research. Take one thing and really go deep with it.

Hot off yesterday's exact Mars/Uranus trine (this is the step by step change we have been talking about all week) we have the Sun trining Uranus now.  Uranus change can mean chaos and disorder, but this time we can move smoothly with the changes if we stay practical and meet challenges one thing at a time. Excellent energy for changing health habits. Do it now. With Uranus retrograde we might feel pulled to change course and move back in an old direction - let's stay moving forward. The grass in our backyard is dead. The grass is greener over there. Small changes create HUGE shifts this week.

The Sun is inconjunct Chiron now - some things just can't be fixed. We know this already.

The trines to future-focused Uranus say 'try something else'.

The Moon is balsamic - a time for rest and reflection. Don't push too hard now. If there is something you have resisted wrapping up - get it wrapped. Tomorrow is a brand new day!

xo all

Back tonight with the big New Moon post - you will love this one!

photo by the talented anyaanti