Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of March 2, 2020 - reality checks, pivot points, backing into a new idea/plan, wanting what we already have, disruptions, surprises, hand wringing and hand washing

March is an uber important month this year with major PIVOT POINTS and energetics including the remainder of Mercury retrograde, a big Full Moon in Virgo, oodles of Venus and Uranus aspects, Mars meeting Jupiter on that HOT 22 degrees Cappy bringing us back to mid-January, a powerful Spring Equinox and New Moon in Aries, lots of important information mid-month, Mars meeting Saturn and old man Saturn himself briefly changing signs to give us a spring preview of what we will be building over the next couple years (!).

By the time Mercury comes out of her/his retrograde shadow in April our life will be RADICALLY CHANGED AND REJUVENATED and we will ALL have a better understanding (keeping in mind this is a process and we are kind of in that crack in the book between chapters) of the collective BULLDOZING/REBUILDING ADVENTURE that is life on planet Earth in the year 2020.

In the meantime, March is coming in like a lion - big week this week, folks - and going to go out like a lion, too!

We start the month needing to make some choices/pivots, but still moving through this confusing Mercury retrograde. There are roadblocks and realities that can no longer be ignored, particularly around love, relationships and our money and resources.

Our mistakes, especially mistakes made by avoiding what we knew we needed to do, could be plainly visible now.

The good news - almost as soon as we hit this "limit", life tosses us a lifeline as Venus sextiles Mercury and moves into her home sign of Taurus focusing us on what we already have. Think of Mercury passing her a note (as he backs into Aquarius and out of Pisces) reminding her of a previous conversation/idea/way around/through/over/under this "limit" thing that is liberating/forward leaning.

By the end of this month, there are going to be opportunities with love and money and as early as the end of this week, changes and BIG SURPRISES.

Also at the end of the week the Sun will make his annual meeting with Neptune in Pisces - we are going to need strong boundaries, to wash our hands and to keep those rose-colored glasses in the bedroom drawer. No doubt the corona virus, now called covid-19, will be in the news. This is wonderful energy for art, creativity, spirituality, imagination, illusions and delusions and seeing what is behind us.

Let's unpack the week.

TUESDAY - Venus squares Saturn
WEDNESDAY - Mercury retrograde backs into Aquarius, Venus enters Taurus, Mercury Sextiles Venus
SUNDAY - Sun conjuncts Neptune, Venus conjuncts Uranus

MONDAY - QUARTER MOON (GEMINI/PISCES)

We start the month with the Third Quarter Moon - the Moon in busy, communicative Gemini squaring the Sun in dreamy, escapist and idealistic Pisces. There is tension/frustration/maybe feeling the need to make a choice. Mercury is still retrograde - we just aren't sure. Maybe we want to just drift along with the tides or maybe we are feeling uncomfortably pushed to take action. We had Mercury meeting the Sun a few days ago, illuminating where we stand/giving us some clarity. We don't know everything, but maybe we know enough for now to choose (trusting life will conspire to line up with our choice) or to choose to let it go. The first half of March is a tricky time for planning (if you want to hear God laugh ... you know the rest). Try to go with the flow. If you must choose - go with your best intuition/instinct and trust that life has your back ... because life does.

Keep in mind just as there is more than one thing that got us into whatever mess we are in, there is more than one way out of it. 

TUESDAY - VENUS SQUARES SATURN

Venus, in her detriment at the very end of Aries, squares Saturn, strong in his home sign at the very end of Capricorn. With Saturn squares what usually happens is - the reality of the situation can no longer be ignored.

The buck stops here. The sh*t hits the fan.

We see cobwebs in our wallet. Wrinkles on our face. Love/what we want is restricted.

Venus rules our very important relationships, love, money, our resources, beauty, our values and self-esteem. If you are a Taurus or Libra rising (ruled by Venus) or have Venus/Saturn aspects in your natal chart or planets/points near 28 degrees of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) you will probably feel this challenge/tension the strongest.

There is a need to pivot/adjust. Pushing won't work because Saturn won't be pushed.

And after last week's Venus/Pluto square power struggle/facing some financial or intimate truth and yesterday's challenging Quarter Moon demands for action/a decision, this one probably isn't going to feel so good either (sniffle, hold me mommy).

Keep in mind how challenging Venus/Saturn will be for us will depend on the central players' locations and aspects in our natal chart. For example, let's say you have a very strong Venus in your birth chart, well, maybe, she has no problem with Saturn and you pivot smoothly past a little hiccup. On the other hand if you have moved too far off course (Saturn rules fate) that same strong Venus becomes an obstacle; a hindrance rather than a helper - turns a molehill into a mountain - and makes it harder for us to change course.

Squares with Saturn require us to turn the wheel to get around him because he isn't moving!

This is a 90 degree angle. If you are driving your car in a straight line and suddenly make a 90 degree turn, it would be a pretty big change of direction, right?! 

You are in Texas headed for Canada and end up in Rhode Island. 

This isn't some random thing that is happening to us. We didn't just decide to change course even if it looks like we just decided to change course. 

We can't go any further on this path. 

The road to Canada is closed. 

We are going to Rhode Island. 

Saturn is the heavy-handed taskmaster/father time/fate. His squares are necessary course corrections to get us back on track. 

This doesn't mean we are never going to get to Canada. But there is something we need to do/get/see/experience in Rhode Island first, so hello Providence!

EXAMPLE  for VIRGO/VIRGO RISING - Venus is in your 8th house of other people's money and resources - your spouse's income, debts, loans, taxes, inheritances - the ways you merge with other people - intimacy, sex, life, death. This is the area of life that is hitting Saturn. The wall, a limit, the reality police, authority - are knocking at THIS door. How might this look? Well, there are as many ways for this to play out as there are Virgos. Maybe your tax refund isn't going to be what you hoped it would be and you need to adjust. Maybe your inheritance isn't and you need to adjust. And remember your inheritance isn't just dollars in the back. Maybe an inherited tendency is what is hitting the wall. Maybe someone else doesn't want what you have to offer. Maybe you are comparing your life to other people's lives and seeing what you are missing (intimacy, resources). Maybe your sex life/sex drive has stopped. Maybe your partner's income is less than it used to be and adjustments must be made to work with the reality of the situation. Maybe some resource you are receiving from someone else has dried up. The ways you feel unappreciated or inadequate are coming to your attention via other people's resources.

Now, keep in mind this transit is a collective transit. You will feel it most strongly, ie more personally, if you have a natal Venus/Saturn aspect or a natal or progressed planet/point near 28 degrees of a cardinal sign.

At the end of March, Venus is going to get opportunities with Saturn and Pluto and Jupiter, but for now we are going to have to deal with some roadblocks/and maybe make some changes we don't feel ready for because we probably aren't. But the Moon is waxing (growing) so we can't just sit on our ass either.

The challenges of the last couple days are coming through our Aries and Gemini houses. What are those themes in your natal chart? Expect challenges and choice points that won't feel like choices, but keep moving.

WEDNESDAY - RETROGRADE MERCURY BACKS INTO AQUARIUS, VENUS MOVES INTO TAURUS, MERCURY SEXTILES VENUS

This day sizzles with two personal planets changing signs and sextiling each other as they do! And keep in mind, Mercury is still retrograde, so like Ginger Rogers in high heels dancing with Fred Astaire she is making this move BACKWARD.

Let's unpack this a little bit.

We start this day with Mercury at the very beginning of Pisces - remember he is retrograde, so moving backward and then Venus, moves into the very beginning of Taurus, and briefly sextiles (opportunity) Mercury - BEFORE Mercury backs into Aquarius. So it's kind of like a high five/fist bump/dapping-thing. They are both like "YES, here we go!" and then Mercury kind of slides a note into Venus's outstretched hand for her to take with her into Taurus (imagine a loving, magical promissory note here, since not much screams "abundance" quite like Pisces/Taurus). The sextile will be strongest felt by people with natal Mercury/Venus aspects and people with planets/points near 0 degrees of Pisces or Taurus, but we will all have access to this.

Venus is now out of her detriment in Aries and off that square to "reality police" Saturn and into her home sign of Taurus. Whew! Venus loves (and rules) Taurus. After her weeks in Aries trying to be a lover and a fighter, she is quite content to settle into herself again.

Taurus suns and rising signs get more attractive (both physically attractive and more able to attract).

Venus in Taurus, particularly when coupled with all this retrograde mud, can help us appreciate what we already have and what is right in front of us.

Taurus is a fixed sign, so things happen slowly. It can take some time for a person who is used to (remember we are hardwired to crave what is familiar) seeing beauty in a lush green lawn, for example, to appreciate the magnificence of a dandelion. If you can't see the beauty in what you already have - look again.

(did you know the word dandelion comes from the Latin "lion's tooth" - dandelions are some of the honey bees earliest food, are reproductive superstars - an energy sorely needed now and have centuries of usages in food, drink and medicine)

The power and real beauty of Venus in Taurus is a deep seeded belief that everything we need is available to us. Either we have it, or we can attract it, if we believe we are worth it. Venus will be in Taurus until April 3rd.

Now, at the same time, Mercury drifting backward through the confusing energy of Pisces, for what seems like forever, is still drifting backward, but now Mercury (our thinking, information, communication) moves into an air sign - the detached and future-focused energy of Aquarius. Yes, it's fixed air, so people are not always flexible like they were in Pisces, but at least we've got some air! This gets a big THUMBS UP.

So, three things happen when Mercury changes signs.

Mercury changes (the conversation changes, our thinking changes, we are more innovative, we can detach emotionally from our thoughts, there is more air in this room so maybe we can breathe easier). The house Mercury exits changes (Pisces house slows/relaxes a tiny bit). The house Mercury enters changes (Aquarius house - gets busy). Mercury will be in Aquarius until March 16th.

Mercury in Aquarius is about clear-headed, dispassionate thinking focused on the future.

Its clarity comes from the space that is generated from detachment. From a change of perspective. We mentally step back a little bit and the pictures in our head get a little clearer, our words a little more sharp.

Maybe we are questioning/re-thinking (Mercury) our groups/friendships/causes now (Aquarius) or turning back to them.

We might be unraveling spiritual messages received while Mercury was in Pisces.

A liberating or out-of-the-box idea/conversation could come back around, too.

Now, Mercury is still retrograde. We are still re-viewing, re-vising, re-thinking. But airy Aquarius - Mercury loves air! - is certainly an improvement over Pisces

(now keep in mind we are going to be back in Pisces in a week, so our time in mental Aquarius will be very brief).

SUNDAY - SUN CONJUNCTS NEPTUNE, VENUS CONJUNCTS URANUS

The Sun, more than halfway through Pisces now - meets Neptune, ruler of Pisces. At the same time we have Venus, home in Taurus now remember, meeting change-maker Uranus as she is about to sextile (opportunity) the North Node - our path forward.

The illumination comes from our Pisces house theme. The shift comes from our Uranus house theme.

With the Sun in Pisces meeting Pisces ruler, our dreams, our illusions/delusions could reach a peak now. Covid-19 will likely be in the news and we are going to have to keep in mind that panic can be more contagious than any virus.

The Sun can shine a light on something that's been in the shadows or maybe a bright spotlight on our best path forward.

With Neptune, things can slip into place or slip through our fingers.

We are going to have to go with the flow here - the less we are trying to frantically control some outcome (because we can't), the better we will feel.

At the same time we have Venus (our love, money, resources, beauty, values, self-esteem) connecting with anything-can-happen/disruptive shocker Uranus in Venus's home sign of stable Taurus.

Conjunctions close out cycles - this time Venus/Uranus - as they begin new ones. So what no longer makes sense/cents, what is no longer valuable or maybe what is no longer valued either ends or HAS TO CHANGE.

New sources of income, new resources, new love/relationship shifts, new ideas about what matters now are activated/triggered.

Expect the unexpected with love and money or your Taurus natal house theme. Situations that bring about sudden realizations about what we really want and value are possible now, too.

EXAMPLE FOR TAURUS/TAURUS/RISING - Venus (your ruling planet) is meeting change-maker Uranus in your 1st house of yourself. Sudden changes with your appearance, your brand, your image are possible. Opposing your 7th house of partners and other people - this could bring an unexpected new relationship or surprise from your partner. At the same time you have the Sun meeting Neptune in your 11th house of friends, groups, your causes, technology, astrology, the goals that bring you into connection with other people, old trauma stories - there is a light being thrown here, but keep in mind everything won't be quite as it seems.

Venus, as us, started the week with a roadblocking/ball-busting square to Saturn and now she meets Uranus - CHANGE, that is yes, disruptive, but also in some way liberating and did I say she is on her way to an opportunistic connection with the North Node (our future) next week!

Remember conjunctions start new stories, so two conjunctions in one day is like a double flashing green light for FRESH START. 

Ok- that is a taste of the week ahead.

I get emails from people asking when things are going to "go back to normal" and I totally get this, but we all need to consider that maybe a bigger problem than things changing so fast or feeling so abnormal, is that we keep thinking they "need to go back to normal"!

Remember our North Node in Cancer - you need a home, a nest, a safe place, a sanctuary, an unshakeable belief that your soft, vulnerable underbelly is actually what keeps you from turning entirely into a brittle shell and you don't want to lose it - forget the whole "normal" thing, but make yourself a comfortable inner/outer refuge, take care of yourself - this will make any shaky ground easier to live with now.

xo all

photo by the talented BirdSophieBlack

a quick look at the astrology of China, the Corona-Virus and the Saturn/Pluto Conjunction - major changes through the world's workforce as our patriarchal unwinding continues

In the middle of January when I was writing about the Saturn/Pluto conjunction in Capricorn (the first time in more than 500 years) HERE and looking at its potentials I didn't think to look at China's chart to see what was happening there.

This morning, thinking about the astrology of March 20th's meeting of Mars and Jupiter on the 22 degrees Capricorn trigger point (the degree Saturn and Pluto met in January) and amid all the corona-virus talk in the media - I looked up China's natal chart and their transits for mid-January blew me away.

This is the chart for China during the Saturn/Pluto conjunction which happened in China on January 13th (the 12th in the United States). Saturn and Pluto and the Sun (and we had Mercury and Ceres almost precisely conjunct, too) were meeting EXACTLY on China's natal Jupiter in their 12th house (viruses, disease, endings, death, no boundaries, secrets and lies). At the same time, transiting Jupiter is opposing their natal Uranus (trauma signature, chaos, disorder) in Cancer in their 6th house of work and day-to-day activities and health. And transiting Mars is conjunct their natal hurting/healing Chiron in the 10th house (their work in the world, patriarchal energy, father).

Whew!

This was always going to be very big for China (and by extension, all of us).

According to a timeline of the corona virus: on January 11, 2020 - China reports to the World Health organization their first death from the virus and on January 13th, they report the first case outside China (the Saturn/Pluto - the breakdown of limits/authority, the end of the death postponed, time runs out). And remember this was all playing out at the time of a Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Cancer, giving this whole thing even more energy and unfortunately, staying power.

I had an intuition to toss Pholus (we talked about this Centaur's story last month - the genie out of the bottle, uncorking of something that can't be stopped) into China's natal and found he is conjunct their natal Jupiter and their ascendant (!) - so a very important energy in their country's signature and was being mega impacted by the Saturn/Pluto conjunction. In productive and ambitious Capricorn this energy has likely helped them many times, but certainly not with this.

I am sure they applied herculean measures to contain this thing, but it was never going to be stopped here.

With so much happening in Capricorn let's take a look at their natal Saturn (he also rules their Cappy rising chart) - in their chart Saturn is in their 8th house of other people's money, the resources merged with other people, death, secrets. The same house that contains their Sun/Mercury/Neptune conjunction in Libra answering to Venus in their 10th house, but ruling their 9th house - showing their important, and highly visible, industrial partnerships with other countries and the way they have become the world's "work force".

If we move their chart ahead to March 20th, 2020 when Mars (action, military, impulsivity) meets Jupiter, making something bigger, maybe more explosive - at the HOT degree of 22 Capricorn - they are having their Jupiter return (Jupiter back to where he was at their country's birth) - hopefully that Jupiter return brings them some luck/optimism instead of a possibly abrupt expansion of the problem (!).

We also see Saturn sitting on their ascendant, transiting Pholus moving into their HOT 12th house and the transiting North Node (coming home, a focus on home and family and nurturing, the value they do or do not place on mothering and babies, on allowing themselves to show any vulnerability) hitting their natal Uranus (change, chaos, tech, the future) and the transiting South Node that patriarchal conditioning/mega work ethic/productivity/authority opposing their natal Uranus trauma point.

Something big will be happening - although we might not hear everything, because the 12th house is a place of secrets.

Major change playing out through our world's "work-force" as the patriarchy unwinds ...

xo all

Today's Astrology Forecast | Saturday, February 29th - relax, do something pampering, the eye of the storm, feeling more inspired and optimistic

The Moon, exalted in Taurus (so functioning at her best), sextiles dreamy Neptune at 2:50PM EST and trines expansive Jupiter at 5:41PM EST. We should feel more inspired, more optimistic. Taurus is all about comfort and feeling good. The center holds.

On SUNDAY morning, 10:52AM EST. the Moon will go void off a trine to Saturn (she trined Pluto while we slept) and be void until 2:2PM EST, when she moves into busy and communicative Gemini. She will square a retrograde Mercury at 6:05PM EST, so Sunday night could be a bit frustrating, but the rest of Sunday looks good for dealing with authority, our responsibilities, etc.

So, the Moon is really helping us for most of this weekend to stay grounded and feel better.

Once the Moon gets into Gemini, she starts building toward her square to the Sun (Monday) and we are in between Venus's square to Pluto and her square to Saturn (next week), so the weight of choices we need to make, decisions hanging over our head, maybe the feeling we are being uncomfortably pushed to take action is still here, but probably background noise this weekend.

In the meantime, take care of yourself today.

Treat yourself well - whatever that means to you!

Take advantage of this "eye of the storm" energy. Breathe deeply. Exhale.

Tomorrow keep in mind that void Moon (not the time to start) - expect a little wonk and for time to get stretchy and some possible tension tomorrow night.

xo all

back with the monthly and we'll dive into March

photo by the talented ESPRIT-CONFUS

Today's Astrology Forecast plus the last few weeks of Cancer/Capricorn - allowing ourselves to just not know and how everybody wins in the end

The energy is quite stressful for the next couple days, so I thought I would pop back in from looking at March charts and toss up a post.

We talked about Friday HERE.

The Moon is in Taurus now (where she is exalted) joining chaotic Uranus. Venus, ruler of Taurus and so ruler of the Moon now is squaring - tension/frustration - Pluto from her perch in fiery Aries. And she is going to square Saturn next week.  This is challenging energy focused (collectively) on our relationships, our money, our resources, beauty, what we value, our self-esteem.

What we want, and may not be able to get, or what we have that we no longer want - can feel like it is suffocating us/eating us alive. Jealousy, Compulsion, Power struggles. What we have/need squaring off with what we have merged with other people (through intimacy, sex, our bank account, the stock market). Plutonian squares create wins through transformation, but something has to die/be eliminated first.

This stuff is not for sissies.

Remember our North Node is in Cancer - our power lies within us. Life is an inside job. If we are giving too much power to outside situations/other people/other people's resources/to having things turn out just a certain way in order for us to feel safe, to feel loved, to feel valuable - we are going to be on very shaky ground right now.

Before just plowing ahead, let's stop and think for a minute - and yes, I know Mercury is retrograde in Pisces - our brain is frying on the sidewalk, but let's take a breath then. Venus is in Aries - she wants to win. And she wants to win now. We can see that even once she gets past Pluto, she is going to hit Saturn's reality check. Pushing is probably not going to help. She is at her detriment in Aries and Saturn is at his strongest in Capricorn. And Mars is in Capricorn and trining the Moon - smart business moves/doing the responsible thing.

The Moon is exalted in Taurus. We want to feel better and we CAN feel better. At the same time Mercury (who, yes, is retrograde in confusing Pisces) is sextiling Uranus. New information. New ideas. Change is good. New ways to do commerce/to be in our local community/to deal with sibling issues. This can also bring assistance through a Uranian/Aquarian person or through technology/astrology.

I have been working on March charts and I can't lie to you, it is a very challenging month and we are going to be pushed to make decisions/choices from very unsteady spaces, BUT once we get past the pivots and changes (and this means actually making pivots and changes) the month gets much easier.

Keep in mind the energetic framework that set up this year - things looking really, really bad, but then never getting as bad as they look like they might. Think back to January and the Iran situation.

Now we have the corona-virus - which with Mercury retrograde in Pisces is almost certainly not going to be "contained", but Mercury will not always be retrograde in Pisces. By April she/he will be walking new degrees and much sooner than that (March 4th!) she gets back into Aquarius - fixed air doesn't feel quite so contagious to me - and then she will station direct just a few days later, by the time he/she gets back into Pisces we will know what we are doing with this.

The stock market/economy is dealing with all this Venusian stress plus we have Uranus (anything-can-happen) in Taurus (our money and resources), for the next few years. When the energies are ripe for adjustments (via transits) - this stuff is going to adjust. Its strength and usefulness will be tested. The stock market may not even exist by the time Uranus leaves Taurus - we may have found better, more sustainable and more equitable ways to merge our resources. But right now it does exist and it's based on mutual trust. Does the market trust the investors? Do the investors trust the market?

Right now, during these fluctuating times we have the gift of the North Node in Cancer (who says you can't go home again?). We only have this energy here for a few more weeks.

How have we used this? How can this help us now?

We talked about this HERE and all throughout the past year.

That Capricorn South Node - where we are, what is working and most especially what isn't - is like winter itself. When life becomes fixed and rigid and inflexible we go on auto-pilot. We lose the capacity for reflection. For compassion. Growth stops. Nothing can be learned.  

As Carl Jung said, "the sure path can only lead to death".

In order to live a creative life we have to be receptive to what isn't known. There is no other way. No crystal ball that really works. We have to be able to be led by circumstances. Even to move, at times, against our own better judgement. 

Not all the time of course, because total instability would drive us all insane I would imagine - Capricorn stability is very, very useful energy, and shouldn't be totally disparaged just because we have been digging through its negatives over the last year or so. 

But without some Cancer vulnerability, some chinks in our armor, we can't have interaction with the world or even interaction with our own authentic self (our real home). 

So, of course there is alot of anxiety in admitting that we just don't know/that we can't be sure and maybe most anxiety producing of all - THAT MAYBE NO ONE ELSE KNOWS EITHER - and yet to have our world carved in Cappy ice would be even more terrifying wouldn't it?

An unlived/unloved life doesn't just go away ....

Try to keep this in mind through unsteady times.

Vulnerability is actually our super-power, people.

xo all

(this 'anxiety' thing is how the millennials are going to change the world btw)

photo by the amazing Avine