Today's Astrology Forecast | November 4, 2019 - freedom vs commitment, taking a step back from all this merging to think things through, a crossroads, commit or quit, time to reorganize and focus, keeping a cool head

The Moon in humanitarian (and detached) Aquarius squares the Sun in Scorpio at 11 degrees at 5:23AM EST, giving us this month's First Quarter Square (have you seen our gorgeous Moon in the night sky?).

This is the first "crisis/problem/tension" point following last week's New Moon in Scorpio.

Happening between Aquarius and Scorpio - both fixed signs, so expect heels to be dug in - this is probably something like staying detached (I want to sit comfortably over THERE and be part of this and not part of this at the same time) vs throwing ourselves (our resources, etc) totally INTO the mix.

Our sweet point may be somewhere in the middle now. Or we may have to move in one or the other direction. Think crossroads. In Scorpio this could be about something we are lining up with now from energies we put out a long time ago - so do we still want this thing, because be assured this New Moon beginning is a COMMITMENT.

The emancipated Aquarius Moon requires us to take a step back and get a grip on ourselves amidst all this Scorpian emotion. "Is this what I really want/need?, Does it offer enough freedom? Are these my people? Is this taking me forward or backward?".

There are no easy right and wrong answers right now.

This is the time of the month when life tosses us an 'easy to see coming' CURVE BALL, so we can commit or quit, although with Aquarius ruled by Uranus, maybe this was not so easy to see coming this month. Mercury is retrograde; we are working things out - financial things, boundary issues, life and death matters.

Keep in mind commitments made with all this Scorpio energy tend to be very STICKY and messy (and potentially profitable, but also draining), so there's that to think about.

The square will color the day, and then at 11:27PM EST, the Moon will trine Mars in Libra.

Partnership matters move more smoothly later in the day. Agreements can be reached. Eyes meet across the dinner table (wait am I eating dinner at 11:27PM? well, if I am awake I am probably eating something, this cold weather makes me hungry/hangry - let's hope you aren't in my time zone) with compromise and kindness. Aquarius (the Moon) and Libra (Mars) are buddies.

It's easier to stay friends when we are on the same page and keep things cordial and balanced.

(partners does not necessarily mean romantic partners, grown children can show up here depending on what we are doing together, clients, people we hire like attorneys, some friends, our competitors, even enemies and Sully was telling me just the other day that people are either your friend or your enemy and this can change in 37 seconds - apparently kindergarten life is not for sissies either)

We are building toward tomorrow's exact Mars/Pluto square (a warlike power struggle aspect). Keep in mind things don't always happen when planets are exact - buildups and un-windings have impact, too, so stay frosty, cool headed (the Aquarius Moon will help) and SAFE.


xo all

photo by the amazing Natalia Ciobanu

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of November 4, 2019 - power struggles early in the week, working for the dream, solid opportunities, magical assistance, mining for gold, an important cosmic reboot

SUNDAY - the Sun trines the Cancer North Node, Venus trines Chiron, Juno moves into Libra (until September 20, 2020!)
TUESDAY - Mars squares Pluto
FRIDAY - Saturn sextiles Neptune (third of three), the Sun trines Neptune, the Sun sextiles Saturn, Ceres conjuncts the Galactic Center

On SUNDAY, Venus (in optimistic Sagittarius now) trines hurting/healing Chiron at 2 degrees Aries. Independence and initiative combine with faith and optimism to move us past old triggers and woundings. We are exploring new desires. It feels good. Jupiter is out of the shadow of his retrograde now, so new adventures/expansive ideas and situations can be percolating.

The Sun is trining the North Node in Cancer (10 degrees) - shining a light on a path forward; the way home. Doors can open this week. At the same time the Sun is sextiling (opportunity) the South Node (our Cappy goals, career and ambitions). Remember when we DO the North Node well we GET the South Node goodies. The Sun is in Scorpio, so whatever this is for us, it could involve intimacy with other people, merged financial dealings, other people's resources, the stuff we have dug up, truth (Scorpy stuff), etc.

Juno moves into Libra, where she will reside due to her winter/spring retrograde, until September 20, 2020! So we have the planet (planetary body) of marriage and contracts and partnership and commitment, and yes, also jealousy and maybe revenge and "look the other way" so this whole house of cards doesn't implode - she was the wife of the philandering Jupiter after all - in the sign of relationships and balance and "look the other way so this whole house of cards doesn't implode" Libra for a LONG TIME. With Juno in Libra - balance/equality/fairness - within relationships and contracts will be important. Balanced partnerships will matter. Imbalances will become more visible and harder to ignore. Relationships are our MOST IMPORTANT learning platforms. It will be important to be kind to each other for the next YEAR. To not lose sight of each other's beauty and the symmetry we have together when we are in our groove. With Juno in Libra we will want to shine as equals. Sometimes, lately, hubs and I have days where we just say to each other "ok, let's be nice to each other, because right now we are all we've got" - something like that. Ack!

On TUESDAY, we have the big challenging aspect we have been building toward since Mars got into Libra (doesn't it feel like Mars has been in Libra for four years instead of four weeks - or is it just me?!) - Mars squares Pluto at 20 degrees. Power struggles within partnerships. Maybe career/work vs relationship kind of issues. Mars is just past his square to Saturn. How hard all of this is hitting you will depend on whether the planets are interacting with your natal planets/points or whether you have Mars/Pluto or Mars/Saturn aspects in your birth chart (current transits will activate natal aspects). Mars/Saturn is (basically) pent-up frustration/roadblocks and Mars/Pluto is a compulsive desire to push forward/become more powerful.

Both are stressors.

Saturn is forcing us to not fly off all willy-nilly. We need a solid plan. We need structure. Pluto is making sure we are stepping into the power we naturally carry. Are we going to manipulate situations or force something to be under our control or are we going to be our authentic selves with our own AUTHENTIC POWER. Letting go of losing battles so the "fight" loses steam rather than gaining power will be helpful now.

FRIDAY, looks like all the goodies are dropped in our laps at once. We have the third of three Saturn/Neptune sextiles of 2019. Making the dream real. The sacrifice to get to something more stable and longer lasting. I said in the beginning of 2019 we needed to take this year seriously and start with the end in mind. Well, here's the end. Of this one at least. And keep in mind this is the date the aspect is exact - it has been in play for the entire year and will continue for a few more weeks/months, but the BIG power of this is NOW.

This is where our dreams and reality meet. Hard work makes our dreams come true.

This can be a time of rewards for past work.

This is excellent energy for creating a solid foundation around a creative/spiritual business or finding/building a dream home or home life. Pisces rules the ethereal realms - our muses/angels are standing by to help us PLUS the Sun is trining Neptune TODAY!

Neptune is retrograde this time around, so this could be about an old dream, something maybe we had put away and now are being called to bring back to life in a more solid/real way.

Neptune (our imaginations/dreams/art/spirit/healing) has been working WITH Saturn in 2019 (his squares to Jupiter this year have made it hard to feel this, but the squares are in our rearview mirror now) - not like in 2016 and into 2017 when they were squaring each other! Instead of our dreams (Neptune) being trashed by reality (Saturn) or our foundations/goals (Saturn) drifting away (Neptune) something we've kind of gotten used to in the last couple years - now our dreams can be supported/grounded (sextile) in reality.

Keep in mind Saturn stuff builds over time - so patience may be required here. And keep in mind Saturn/Neptune aspects often involve a sacrifice - we have to willingly give up this, to get that.

Also today we have the Sun joining this aspect - trining Neptune and sextiling Saturn - bringing that Scorpian life and death/intimacy/shared resources/other people's money into the mix.

We are digging up the buried treasure now folks!

At the same time Ceres is crossing the Galactic Center (seat of creation) - that mothering issue, situation with an important pet, season of life issue, situation where we have no control - is getting a TOTAL RE-BOOT. This will also bring a huge wake-up call about our commitment to Mother Earth.

This feels like a very POWERFUL week.

Monday morning looks stressful (first quarter square Moon - Aquarius/Scorpio), but the evening looks smoother and more supportive. The Moon will be void most of the day Tuesday off a square to Mercury after a sextile to Jupiter - so we are feeling expansive but then, not all news is good news maybe, tension between heart and mind. Tuesday is also the day the Mars/Pluto square is exact (power struggles/tension and frustration via relationship passion) and Venus will inconjunct Uranus - we will need to be flexible via changes and whatever this new, expansive vision is Venus in Sagittarius is bringing us, it's not going to play out exactly the way we are expecting. So, Tuesday is tense. By Tuesday night into Wednesday with the Moon in Pisces we are feeling more sensitive, compassionate and creative. Mars is past that square to Pluto and we want to move forward, BUT Mercury is retrograde and will have us re-assessing the financial aspects/the resource merging/the way this will impact our intimacy with other people. By Wednesday night and into Thursday our intuition will be strong. What do we really want? We will pay attention to our dreams. Meditate. Pray. We can ask our ancestors for help - our story is still impacting their energies - they can, and want to,  help us! On Thursday night when the Moon in Pisces squares Jupiter we have access to higher information/realms. Thursday/Friday there is alot of magic in the air. By Friday morning the Moon is in Aries - we need to believe in ourselves and know our value. Lots of creative and stabilizing energy late in the week.

Saturday looks more stressful maybe, but I am getting too far ahead - let's look at the Moon in the dailies!

Back tomorrow.
xo all

Today's Astrology Forecast | November 1, 2019 - a focus on our goals and ambitions, attracting our potential, embracing the adventure

Today's Moon in serious and responsible Capricorn trined Uranus at 6:46AM EDT (productive flow, moving forward with new, future or tech focused projects/commitments) and then sextiles the Sun at 3:21PM EDT - more energy for getting stuff done.

Even better news Venus escapes Scorpio for the fresher (and more optimistic) pastures of Sagittarius. We want something more. We want something better.

The grass actually is greener over THERE.

It's time to widen our reach/explore different opportunities.

From the weekly:

"Sagittarius Suns and Ascendants (1st house cusps) get more attractive now - both able to attract what they want/need and easier on the eye.

All of us get a visit from Venus in our Sagittarius houses (what house or houses carry Venus energy in your natal chart?) and those houses get more magnetic.

Sagittarius is the sign of the archer.

If we were archers - we would gather our energy. We would pull back our bow. We would take aim.

We would hold our bow "in tension".

This holding position is important to landing our arrow where we intend it to go - to hit our target.

(of course, if we are in some kind of life and death battle with that arrow then I guess we just let it fly and hope for the best, but most situations we are facing are not quite so dire)

The same way an archer's "in tension" allows her arrow to hit her mark, our own "intentions" release our energy where we need it to go.

Intentions are not wishes; they are not hopes - wanting to do something is 180 degrees from intending to do it.

Intention releases the potential that makes things happen.

So, we have Venus (love, women, beauty, what we value, our self esteem, money) moving into the sign of "potential".

Experience is more valuable than stuff with Sagittarius.

Venus will be in Sagittarius through November 25th - experiences will be valuable now.

Money (Venus) spent on travel will be well spent. Money (Venus) spent on other Sagittarius themes - higher education, legal issues, weddings, politics - will probably pay off, too, in the experiences we get back.

The search we began when Venus dove into Scorpio continues. But now instead of looking at the stuff that is underneath, the underpinnings none of us really want to look at, she looks way out into the horizon at the stuff we might one day meet up with.

Sagittarius is the sign of faith. Do we have faith that better days are ahead for us?

We attract what we want and need by optimistically embracing potential now. We don't have to know how this is all going to turn out, we know there will be adventure here - if we embrace what we do with an adventurous heart.

Yes, it's risky. And Sagittarians have been known to fall on their ass and even off a cliff now and then. But is there really any alternative to not trying?

This is the season of faith and potential for all Venus ruled themes - love, money, women, beauty, self-esteem, our values. How are we going to use this energy?

Remember the archer.

The archer stays focused and holds herself "in tension" through all the noise. 

We have our bow drawn and we are focused on the target, but suddenly the dog barks, the phone rings, the guy next door starts blasting Adele and you know we have to stop and listen to that.

(and sometimes this noise can last a while and sometimes life sends us noise to test our intentions and see how badly we want something or sometimes the noise could be there to delay us because there is something better for us later or other people's arrows need to line up with ours)

Because once that arrow is released, it is released. There is no grabbing it midair and straightening that baby out (unless you have some super power that I would be totally jealous to find out about).

We have to have faith enough to release the arrow anyway.

Bulls-eyes can be highly over-rated.

Sometimes it's the missed targets (did you know the word "sin" was originally an archery term that meant - "to miss the mark") that lead to the best adventures!

Remember even rock solid things, and actually especially rock solid things, will turn to dust eventually if they are allowed to just sit there.

Shake things up a little. Reach for something new."

The first week of so of November we are still dealing with Mars squares to Saturn (in our rear-view mirror, but still in play) and Pluto (exact on November 5th).

How hard this is hitting you will depend on whether the planets are interacting with your natal planets/points or whether you have Mars/Pluto or Mars/Saturn aspects in your birth chart (current transits will activate natal aspects). Mars/Saturn is (basically) pent-up frustration/roadblocks and Mars/Pluto is a compulsive desire to push forward/become more powerful.

Both are stressors.

Saturn is forcing us to not fly off all willy-nilly. We need a solid plan. We need structure. Pluto is making sure we are stepping into the power we naturally carry. Are we going to manipulate situations or force something to be under our control or are we going to be our authentic selves with our own AUTHENTIC POWER. Even letting go of losing battles so the "fight" loses steam rather than gaining power. 

Mercury is retrograde for pretty much the entire month.

We know to expect mis-commmunications, travel delays, mechanical glitches and some disappointing or frustrating setbacks. It will also pay to remember Mercury rules not only Gemini (ruler of all this stuff typically mentioned with a Mercury retrograde) but also VIRGO. So health situations, pet situations, our day-to-day activities and work are all subject to a deep re-structuring/re-view while Mercury is retrograde. Plus our natal Scorpio house themes.

For today - the Cappy Moon is full steam ahead with our goals, responsibilities and ambitions. Venus's move makes us more attractive to our potential. Maybe even more lucky. Mercury will be digging up some uncomfortable truths, but also some resources we had probably forgotten about or never knew we even had ....

xo all

photo by the talented Reine-Haru 

Today's Astrology Forecast | October 31, 2019 - Happy Halloween, Mercury stations retrograde, time gets stretchy, being a dog with a bone, a stabilizing month ahead with hidden resources to be uncovered

The waxing Sagittarius Moon goes void off an optimistic hook-up with Jupiter at 10:29AM EDT. She will be void until 10:38PM EDT when she moves into serious and business-minded Capricorn. So, not the day to start anything brand-new, but that conjunction to Jupiter should give us a nice BOOST.

Roll with any twists and turns. Expect some do-overs and for time to get kind of stretchy. 

The big news today is Mercury stations retrograde (27 degrees Scorpio) at 11:42AM EDT. She/he will be retrograde until November 20th and start covering entirely new ground around December 8th.

We start at the same degree where Mercury met Venus yesterday - and you might remember we had Venus retrograde in Scorpio last autumn (at earlier degrees). Venus moves on (she is at 28 degrees Scorpio by the time of Mercury's station), but Mercury turns back.

Time to re-think, re-examine, re-visit, re-vise whatever attraction Venus has brought us.

Mercury is retrograde, and we ignore that at our own peril. Trying to plow ahead re-gardless will not work. It also won't work to stand still and try to wait Mercury out. We must move our ideas, projects, etc through the process of the retrograde period.

I remember when most people had never heard of a Mercury Retrograde transit and now it seems like poor Mercury (planet of communication and MAGIC) is being shamed/blamed for everything that goes wrong!

This is probably because 1. the internet has exposed many more people to astrological teachings 2. most people are moving so fast now any sort of slowdown feels like a problem  3. it's a convenient excuse when stuff falls to shit (pardon my french), especially stuff that would normally be considered our fault

The truth is, that although we don't want to spend too much time looking backward - we can't full steam ahead through life either. And life doesn't stop because Mercury (or any other planet) is retrograde.

Now this particular Mercury retrograde is beginning at almost the very end of SCORPIO (27 degrees).

So we get almost to the very end of something and ... there is a hold-up.

This deep diving and emotional Mercury retrograde will help us build the MENTAL STRENGTH we need to deal with the changes we have been experiencing and the changes still to come - because the truth of these volatile times we are living in is this - we have to do what we came here to do and for some people this means big endings because we are needed somewhere else.

With Mercury long past her opposition to Uranus (Mars will still oppose Uranus after he gets into Scorpio) and with Scorpio trining Neptune and sextiling Pluto and Saturn - this Mercury retrograde shouldn't be so typically stressful! There are opportunities here.

We are diving deeply into something and then going back and forth through it - revising, revamping, redoing, rethinking. Scorpio doesn't play and rules really important matters, so this stuff will likely be both collectively and individually meaningful.

Secrets can come out. Intimacy issues/financial information will be talked about. Deep emotions will be expressed. This is an excellent time for communications with our ancestors. It could be, we (and other people) will be digging up what no one really wants to talk about and then talking about it.

If we are doing important research before making a serious commitment or taking another look at a verbal deal or something we have learned, keep in mind information and communication will be influx until the third week of November and also keep in mind that Scorpian commitments last.

This could be about a Scorpio collective theme - life/death, other people's money, investments, inheritance, loans, mortgages, taxes, intimacy issues, sex, reproduction, the resources we have merged with other people - a Mercurian theme we are going deeply into - information, communications, commerce, learning, teaching, sibling issues, local community issues, transportation situations - or the theme of your natal (or progressed) Scorpio house.

What we discover (and what we do with what we discover - a retrograde Mercury doesn't mean we sit on our butts) in November - remember Scorpio rules hidden resources AND we have the final sextile of Neptune and Saturn this month (!) - will have a great impact on how the December and January powerhouse energetics work through us.

We'll talk about all of this as we move through it.

xo all

photo by the talented sara-with-a-gun