mercury stations retrograde | more of March 2025's karmic storyline takes shape

Hot on the heels of an UBER powerful Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Virgo, Virgo ruler Mercury stations retrograde. This is happening at 9 degrees Aries - the degree of our next UBER powerful Eclipse in two weeks.

We know that whatever gets held up now, whatever turns around, whatever is delayed - is important and meant to be CLOSELY LOOKED AT, discussed. Arguments will matter (more than they might appear to) and what we are saying and thinking is IMPORTANT. 

With Mercury in fiery Aries - words can be, and sometimes might need to be - blunt, angry, passionate, just be CAREFUL. If a disagreement needs to happen it will, but we don't want to say things we don't mean and will regret later. Mercury retrograde can bring a conversation or situation we thought we were done with back around. PAY ATTENTION. This is important. We will be back here in two weeks with an ECLIPSE!

For now, with Mercury retrograde expect possible delays, hold-ups and turn-arounds. 

Sometimes Mercury retrograde can see us going back to an old situation to kind of 'pick up where we left off' - sometimes this makes sense and this time it will undoubtedly be karmic but know that the situation might turn around again when Mercury stations direct in April. 

On March 29th, just a couple hours after the Solar Eclipse in Aries and a couple hours before Neptune enters Aries (for the first time in over 150 years) - Mercury is going to back into Pisces. THIS IS GOING TO BE HUGE. We will have Saturn, the North Node, Venus retrograde and Neptune tightly conjunct in Pisces when Mercury backs into Pisces right on top of NEPTUNE - ruler of all this Pisces! They will all be trining Mars at 22 degrees (a powerful number) who will be in an EXACT square to Chiron at 22 degrees Aries (a powerful number). 

What is all this Pisces?! Prayers answered? Spiritual awakening? Great grief? Major anesthesia? Water events? BIG magic? Major escapes from reality? Certainly, very old knots are dissolving. 

The Mars/Chiron square has been an ongoing aspect since the middle of October when they first squared off. Then they squared again at the beginning of February with Mars retrograde and now we have the FINAL square. PAINFUL ACTIONS.

We are FORCED to confront the past. Very old family/country/roots and security issues and vulnerabilities and wounds are triggered. 

We will be feeling VERY SENSITIVE. This square is going to happen with Mercury falling back into Pisces. Feelings will be uber raw, but can we have compassion? Can we forgive? Can we forget? Do we need to surrender/retreat/rest? We have been here before and we are older and wiser now. NOTE - this final square between Mars and Chiron is actually exact on March 26th as Venus retrograde meets Neptune. This is a BIG part of Venus retrograde's return to Pisces. This is the last time Venus will meet Neptune in Pisces in our lifetime and it happens just as Mars - bringing the war home - makes his final painful square to Chiron. Neptune is a conduit to something much bigger than we are and this story is, too. 

There is a connection - right now - through this first Eclipse and Mercury retrograde with what is going on later. An old chapter we have long forgotten needs to close out. Know that events from about two weeks ago - before the first Eclipse this week - until the middle of April are very KARMIC. There is a reason we are having TWO of three of our personal planets retrograde for this time period. Retrograde planets are always asking us to re-align something. To look within. To slow down. 

This time period is about major endings that have been VERY LONG IN COMING that lead to very fresh starts. 

Karmic/fated - must happen.

For now, the usual Mercury retrograde stuff applies. Anything started with "re" becomes the most effective use of our time. Re-thinking, re-evaluating, re-flecting, re-peating, re-unions, re-novations, etc. Mercury retrogrades are re-curring opportunities to shift out of old mental patterns. We are often asked to pull back from the world and face our shadow self in some way. When we’ve exhausted the possibilities for what we can gain by projecting our shadow self onto the external events and people in our lives, we are ready to face them within our own mind (and heart).

Know that Mercury in Aries wants fast answers and Mercury retrograde is not so compatible with anything 'rapid-fire' causing tension and frustration. Don't shoot off an email (or your mouth) without double checking what you are saying and who it is going to. Not listening and rushing can be especially costly. Quick can be careless and come back to bite us. 

Take a breath.

 

Mercury will be retrograde until April 7th.

xo all

the astrology of the Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Virgo | March 14th, 2025 - first eclipse of 2025, seeing how well we have taken care of the details, letting go of the need for things to be just so, retiring our inner judge, liberating closures, all roads lead to the end of march's solar eclipse and neptune into aries

weekly astrology forecast | march 10th to March 16th, 2025 - into the eclipse spin cycle we go to lose our mind and find our soul

the astrology of march 2025 | part II - projections and gas-lighting rampant as we go back to get a better ending, surrendering is what happens when fighting fails, the line between the ending and the beginning begins to dissolve

weekly astrology forecast | march 3rd to 9th, 2025 - words get fiery and empowering, mega-healing emotional grand water trine, get things done this week and take care of yourself because it only gets more slippery from here

the astrology of the New Moon in Pisces | february 27th, 2025 - a karmic clearing, letting go, connecting to the strength of our divine gifts and the muscles we have grown through our labors, an expansive fresh start we will have to keep our eyes on

weekly astrology forecast | february 24th to March 2nd, 2025 - everybody into the pool

the astrology of march 2025 | part I - Pisces pile up ahead, swimming with the fishies, heads up for some march madness

And you might be asking yourself if things can get any madder? 

Well, let's look ahead a little bit. 

(and how mad you think things are now, at least in the United States, depends a great deal on whether you think Donald Trump and company are breaking things or showing us what is broken)

Mars is set to station direct in three days - after being retrograde since December (we are now back where we were in October). Mars stations at 17 degrees Cancer, where he is now and where he will sit, as us, for another couple weeks. I can't say it is full steam ahead, but I will say we have FIVE DAYS with all the planets direct (although Mars isn't actually moving). 

Then we get the New Moon at 9 degrees Pisces (we have been in a cycle of 9 degree New Moons) on February 27th. ALL planets are direct at this New Moon in the final sign/the sign of endings - Pisces. 

Then on March 1st, Venus will station retrograde.  This is her 2025 journey from Aries back into Pisces. We talked about that HERE and we will talk about it again. We have to go BACK before we go forward. 

We need to find a BETTER ENDING. 

So, now we will have Venus retrograde in Aries, the Sun in Aries and Mars (who rules Aries) direct, when Mercury enters Aries on March 3rd. Aries is cardinal fire. Something is starting. 

But we will only get so far, because on March 15th, Mercury will station retrograde at 9 degrees Aries. 9 degrees Aries will be where we have the FINAL Aries Solar Eclipse at the end of March. 

In the meantime, before Mercury stations retrograde - and this is important because Mercury rules Virgo - we get the FIRST Virgo Lunar Eclipse on March 14th. ECLIPSE SEASON IS LIT. Juno will station retrograde at 1 degree Sagittarius (now both our RELATIONSHIP planetary bodies are moving backward) and heading back into Scorpio (intimacy/intensity). Then Vesta stations retrograde in Scorpio. Fixed water. Emotions we are holding onto. Then Venus retrograde moves back into Pisces. This is on March 27th. 

Then on March 29th, we have the BIG and FINAL Eclipse in Aries - 9 degrees - AND Mercury backs from Aries into Pisces on the same day and then a few hours later on March 30th - Neptune, the modern ruler of Pisces who has been in Pisces since 2011 - ENTERS ARIES. 

BOOM.

(note - this "enters Aries" thing is a first pass/sneak peek because Neptune will be back in Pisces on October 22nd for about three months)

On March 30th as Neptune leaves Pisces for Aries FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 165 YEARS - crossing an important collective Aries point of 0 degree Aries (where Neptune will meet Saturn in 2026 and time will run out again) - we will have the Sun, Venus, Mercury, Saturn, the North Node and Ceres in Pisces. 

What madness/magic is this?!

Before we can even begin to guess let's back up and think about Pisces.

Pisces is the final sign. The glyph for Pisces is two fish swimming in opposite directions. Imagine one going all the way to the edge of the sky and the other one all the way to the bottom of the sea and then they come back together/touch base and then flow back apart again. In some ways maybe this is the story of US. 

Pisces rules our collective 12th house where there is no separation between us and everything else. There is no time. There is no space. This is where we find God/spirit/the Universe. Pisces is the last house - it rules endings and the things we do last. Because the 12th house is behind the 1st house (our physical selves) we can't easily see what is there. It rules what is behind us, what is done behind our back, what we have put away, our past, the things we have forgotten, memory, our ancestors, sleep, charities, prisons, hospitals, the ocean, water. 

The positive expressions of Piscean energy include - connection, imagination, music, art, empathy, compassion, healing, spirituality, transcendence of the physical world. The negative expressions of any energy are really the positive expressions taken to an extreme. So, imagination becomes delusion/lies, empathy becomes martyrdom, transcendence (lack of physical connection) becomes addiction, escapism, sickness, mental illness, self-sabotage. 

Think about the symbol for Pisces ruler Neptune - the trident (picture Aquaman without all the muscles). The trident is a HOOK. And with all this Pisces, and especially since 2023 with Saturn in Pisces, too - there is alot to get HOOKED ON. Alcohol, spiritual bypassing, movie marathons, SCROLLING, video games, escapes, mental illness, likes, lies, AI's algorithms that have us continually watching/looking. There is good stuff out there we can hook onto, too, of course, but for many people this is about the stuff we can hook EASILY. The stuff that will be continually biting no matter how lazy a cast we have made or how cheap our bait is.

Saturn (reality) went into Pisces (not reality) in March 2023. On a Virgo Full Moon. THAT was the Moon that allowed us to see reality just before reality changed. 

So now with Saturn preparing to leave Pisces in May - and, yes, he will be back in Pisces, too - we have not only a Virgo Full Moon, but a Virgo Full Moon Lunar Eclipse. 

The Vedic astrologers who use a different system than western astrologers are anticipating something HUGE and unprecedented happening at the end of March. 

In Part II this weekend we will look at the charts and see what is going on. I am glad the North Node (our collective best way forward) is in Pisces right now! 

HAVE FAITH. 

xo all

Some other tidbits that are not so 'bitty' -

The United States Chiron (wounded healer) return is exact right now. Chiron is back to his position from July 4, 1776. Benevolent Venus is approaching Chiron, but will turn around before she gets there. So will Mercury. There is healing coming, but there is this kind of festering first/airing of dirty laundry.

Nessus (trusting untrustworthy people with precious things, revenge themes, being destroyed by a dead enemy) is traveling with Saturn (authority, structure) and Saturn is back at 19 degrees Pisces where he stationed retrograde last summer and then popped that LONG squat. Elon Musk has a natal Venus (finances) and Nessus EXACT conjunction at 19 degrees Gemini, so sextiling (creative opportunity) our current Saturn/Nessus as he cuts spending, and again, your feelings about this can vary depending on whether you think he is breaking things or showing us what is broken. Surely the untrustworthy/revenge thing is something to think about either way. 

Ukraine has an natal EXACT Juno/Ascendent tightly conjunct their natal North Node - destined to play Juno. And right now Juno (partners, what we do to retain power, Jupiter's wife and the United States is Jupiter ruled - IS Jupiter) is squaring the Sun and opposing Uranus. Trump has a very tight Sun/Uranus/North Node, so is destined to play Uranus and the Sun in the same way Ukraine is destined to play Juno. Their relationship is tense/frustrating. 

Pope Francis is hospitalized with double pneumonia. A hopeful Sagittarius with a tightly conjunct Sun/North Node - also destined to play the Sun, although a different kind. Francis was sworn in during another Pisces pile-up in March 2013 with transiting Pluto on his natal Mercury, Venus and the Sun sandwiching his natal Saturn (he is having his third Saturn return now) and with Mars at the 0 degree Aries collective Aries point. 

Germany, Europe's biggest economy heads to the polls Sunday with transiting powerful Pluto on their natal Jupiter and transiting Jupiter tightly conjunct their natal Venus/Astraea (do they have a woman running?) and trining Neptune (for some illusion/delusion, but also the ruler of all the current Pisces) and applying to their natal retrograde Mercury which is exactly conjunct Trump's Sun (!). The Pisces pile-up is in their 2nd house maybe indicating the economy/finances/resource issues is driving things?

(Astraea was discovered in 1847 by a German amateur astronomer named Hencke. At the time, the four Goddess asteroids – Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta – were still called PLANETS. Astraea’s discovery announced there were likely many more asteroids in that asteroid belt, and the four planets/Goddess energies were demoted to asteroids (kind of like what Eris recently did to Pluto). I think of these asteroids as the feminine energy placeholders (probably something like our junk DNA) for the discarded Goddesses during the patriarchal twist (the one son/sun shift where the power moved to the churches/governments) unleashed during the Cappy time-frame of the Age of Pisces (now ending).  Astraea is the Goddess of service, peace and justice who became part of the constellation Virgo/Libra when she was the last Goddess to leave the Earth after Pandora's box was opened at the end of the Golden Age/Silver Age. She was said to return at the time of the New Earth/New Golden Age and thought to represent (in our charts) both this new awakening energy - where we come back to ourselves - and the part of us that might stay too long/have trouble letting go of things that are no longer good for us.)

weekly astrology forecast | february 17th to 23rd, 2025 - relationship long chapter starts, big promises, resistance to change, keeping the faith, walking our talk, MARS STATIONS DIRECT - the war has come home, whatever is important is whatever is happening

pallas into aquarius for the rest of the year | unusual strategies, tech solutions, breakthroughs, detached emotions, smart ideas and fresh perspectives are the way forward

valentine's day relationship astrology | soul contracts, karmic debts | part I - blake and ryan - trump and musk - catherine and william - taylor and travis

the astrology of the Full Moon in Leo | February 12th, 2025 - a very uncomfortable full moon, grand fixed cross, cutting cords, disruptive change that makes us more authentic and truly ourselves

weekly astrology forecast | february 10th to 16th - shocking news, disruptions, the changes continue, by the end of the week we let go of the conversation - to feel, to rest, to retreat, to recharge

weekly astrology forecast | february 3rd to 9th, 2025 - beneficial information, changes of fortune, learning to have faith that the cosmic plan for us is bigger than ours, be smart with love and money, february's forward movement starts now

the astrology of venus and the moon meeting neptune on the north node of fate | february 1st, 2025 - destiny calling, dream big, the ultimate fantasy, let go or be dragged

the astrology of the New Moon in Aquarius | January 29th, 2025 - breaking free from what has been hidden, old gold and opportunities come back around, dealing with what we know and can't unknow, multiple warnings about flying too close to the sun and believing our own hype, second chances for some and karma biting the asses of others

weekly astrology forecast | january 27th to february 2nd, 2025 - surprising reveals, the conversation changes, feeling new frequencies, New Moon in Aquarius, second chances to shine and expand, our date with destiny (through April) starts now

the astrology of 2025 | part V - Venus goes retrograde in Aries and Pisces - revising the ending before the new beginning, finding the compassion, connection and dreams we left behind, re-assessing our relationships, resources and values

today's astrology forecast | the sun meets pluto in aquarius for the first time since 1779 - PREPARE FOR TAKE OFF, prepare for revolution

the weekly astrology forecast | January 20th - 26th, 2025 - the king is dead long live the king, words hurt, a disagreement that might require us to grow up, deepening partnership opportunities and what we want and what we have to do to get it line up

the astrology of the second inauguration of donald trump | january 20th, 2025 - jupiter gives ixion his second chance, the king is dead - long live the king, back to the future, hard earned gains, truth comes out, the return of the triumvirate as a powerful new chapter begins

the astrology of the New Jersey drone phenomenon - this jersey girl looks up and sees trouble ahead - the way we see the world needs to change, maybe it's time we all look up

mars retrograde in leo and cancer 2024 - 2025 - the war comes home | part VI - the los angeles fire, its connections to the great fire of rome when nero fiddled and the christians got burned, we have compassion for those who have less but can we have it for those who have more

the astrology of 2025 | part IV - the eclipses of 2025 - accumulated prayers pay off, re-setting our work vs rest balance, building faith, compassion and connection while getting organized and making improvements, our physical and our mental health are spotlighted

 

Full Moon in Cancer | Monday, January 13th, 2025 - old anger, defending your home, familiar emotional waters and emotional breakthroughs, working through childhood patterns again, something new here as we detach from the same old same old

weekly astrology forecast | January 13th to 19th, 2025 - home and family and real estate situations come to a head, the gift of an opportunity to really want something, reality checks and results, Aqua season kicks off a revolution

weekly astrology forecast | january 6th to January 12th, 2025 - here is what comes next, challenges with authority and limits, choosing between the past and the future, mars brings the war home, breakthroughs are coming

the astrology of 2025 | general trends and overview of 2025 part III - URANUS, PLUTO AND NEPTUNE - the outer planets totally change life on earth by the mid 2030's

the astrology of 2025 | general trends and overview of 2025 part II - Saturn and Jupiter, the middle planets, change signs - growth and luck come through our homes and roots, responsibilities that come in before we are ready for them

new moon in capricorn | december 30th, 2024 - serious starts, building on what has gone before, sober plans for the future, creative opportunities and turning points, the tiny things that create big and life-changing results

weekly astrology forecast | december 30th, 2024 to January 5th, 2025 - new energy for our careers and goals, Mars Pluto opposition is back bringing stand offs, power struggles, explosive peaks and endings

first look at 2025 astrology - the nodes of fate move into pisces and virgo in mid-January | we are in god's hands now

weekly astrology forecast | december 23rd, 2024 - December 28th, 2024 - merry christmas week as our first cappy season in 16 years without pluto kicks off!

My internet has been off and on for days, driving us nuts and backing me up. 

We have just entered Capricorn season and celebrated the Winter Solstice for the first time in 16 years without Pluto, so that's DIFFERENT! 

Let's jump right in! 

What is with all these testing squares this week?! I wish this astro looked better for us, but we do have a Moon/Sun sextile on Christmas from Scorpio, so deep, reflective, connecting energy ... and, your chart could look, and feel, better than these collective transits. 

MONDAY - Sun square the Nodes

TUESDAY - Jupiter squares Saturn

WEDNESDAY - MERRY  CHRISTMAS!

THURSDAY - Mercury opposes Jupiter

FRIDAY - Mercury squares Saturn

SATURDAY - Venus squares Uranus

SUNDAY - Chiron stations direct (19)

MONDAY - the Sun in Cappy reaches 2 degrees and squares the North Node in Aries and South Node in Libra giving us a Cardinal T-Square with a Cappy apex. This might signal, for some people, an issue with rules/limits/authority/career that creates a crossroad/pivot point where we are pulling back into something more balanced or collaborative or moving on into something more independent. The best bet here would be to lean toward your Aries house and the more courageous/independent action. 

On TUESDAY - FRIDAY - let's bump all this stuff together as it is surely all connected and I could be bumped offline at any moment. Jupiter retrograde reaches 14 degrees Gemini and squares Saturn in Pisces. This is a repeating aspect and one of the major aspects of 2024. Mercury (news/information) then opposes Jupiter and squares Saturn - more repeats, endings, challenges that push us toward action. 

The Jupiter/Saturn square is the 2nd of three Jupiter/Saturn squares that bridge 2024 and 2025. This is expansion vs contraction. The first square happened back on August 19th, 2024 and the final square will be on June 15th, 2025 when this three-peat will finish up with Jupiter in Cancer and Saturn in Aries, so whatever this ongoing storyline is for all of us, the wrap-up/finish is pulled into and will come through different spaces in our lives.

For now, the square this week connects back to the middle of August.

August 19th was the day of the Democratic National Convention here in the U.S. and part of the big Full Moon in Aquarius, so I would expect to hear some Harris or Democratic party news this week. The August Full Moon was big for all the U.S. politicians and Israel/Netanyahu. 

The Jupiter/Saturn square this time around pulls in Mercury, so is about the NEWS and INFORMATION. Mercury squares can bring tech and transportation events and situations. With Mercury in Sagittarius, we are collectively dealing with things like politics, legal situations, foreign people and situations, travel, publishing. Jupiter/Zeus/the King could speak of news/restrictions about a world leader. Bill Clinton's chart is highlighted now and with the Democratic party having kind of imploded since its high-flying days of the convention, and with the Clintons certainly being the 'old guard' of the disintegrating party, his current health scare could be serious. The Jupiter/Saturn square in June pulls in the Sun/king, so again looks like trouble for leaders, that one maybe even double-trouble. Collectively the Saturn squares with Saturn in confusing Pisces speak of hidden agendas, illness, secrets, past-life unfinished business, stuff we don't see coming or stuff that is done behind our back. Weather/water can impact plans. Addictions and escapes can come to a head/create tension/frustration.

On CHRISTMAS EVE we have a lovely Moon in Libra trining Venus in the early morning hours EST and then a void Moon for the REST OF THE DAY. Best for socializing, drifting, dreaming. CHRISTMAS DAY the Moon moves into deep Scorpio and squares Pluto and Mars early which might speak of some AM tension, but by lunchtime EST Luna moves into a smooth/opportunistic aspect with the Sun. The day could be intense, but also deep and connecting. 

SATURDAY - now, Venus, at 23 degrees Aquarius squares Uranus retrograde in Taurus. This is unexpected circumstances with groups, tech, love, money, women. Squares speak of tension/frustration/the need for some kind of action. People could feel rebellious/will not want to be fenced in. This is the energy of - break-ups, breakdowns, tense breakthroughs. These planets are in mutual reception - Venus in Uranus's sign and Uranus in Venus's sign - so this doesn't look as challenging as it might be - there is good to be had here by doing something different/new/unexpected. 

SUNDAY - Chiron stations direct at 19 degrees Aries. Nineteen has been a hot degree in 2024. Now, as Chiron moves forward - we are moving on from a wounding/hurt/vulnerability. This doesn't mean the wound is healed, but we are learning to live with it/be with it/work with it. Health situations can turn around. Turnarounds and progress can be even more dramatic when Mars himself - ruler of Aries - turns around in February.

xo all - back with the NJ drone stuff, which I have found some interesting info and then we will take this week and next week when I am slow to look deeply into 2025! 

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!!! 

the astrology of luigi mangione and brian thompson | the united healthcare ceo murder - intense connections, death, delusion, revolution, asteroids toro, hybris and hidalgo, the past becomes the present and the future reaches back to us to start a conversation, start a fire, speak about things we don't see coming, the war comes home part V

weekly astrology forecast | december 16th to december 22nd, 2024 - a mixed bag kind of week with the best aspect in astrology tossed in

Full Moon in Gemini | December 15th, 2024 - a message of completion, seeing double, second chances, rain-making, the need to allow things to be revealed and not imagine that we already know, more info and more talk probably won't help, forward movement and a change of direction or change of mind quickly approaching

weekly astrology forecast | december 9th to december 15th, 2024 - full moon in gemini, disagreements, endings, beginnings, mercury stations direct, all roads lead to next week's good luck with love and money

mars retrograde in leo 2024 - 2025 | part IV - changes of heart, life changing re-directions of purpose, power struggles, the king goes home, changing the way we seek attention and appreciation, the birthing pains of the new aquarius world are felt as we go back to go forward

On Friday, December 6th, 2024, Mars stationed retrograde at 6 degrees Leo. Mars has been here for a couple days and will sit at 6 degrees Leo for about another week before beginning to backtrack.

Mars makes the longest and least frequent retrogrades of all the personal planets. 

He will get all the way back to 17 degrees Cancer, when on February 23rd, 2025, Mars will station direct. He (as we) will then REPEAT 17 degrees Cancer to 6 degrees Leo, moving forward this time, until April 18th, when Mars reaches 7 degrees Leo and this whole cycle is over.

People with planets and points near 0-6 degrees of the fixed signs and 17-29 degrees of the cardinal signs will feel this retrograde strongest, but all of us will be impacted. 

Some people will have complete changes of heart and life changing re-directions of PURPOSE during this cycle. 

We've talked about Mars in Cancer's lengthy part of this story HERE, HERE and HERE. Now, let's talk about Mars re-treat into LEO - the December chapter of the Mars retrograde story - and what this might look like. 

Leo is the sign of the King/the ego, ruled by the Sun. The Sun is our life force/what keeps us ALIVE. Mars is about action, our passion, our anger, masculine energy. This retrograde is a big flipping deal. And starting exact on the North Node of Fate of the United States - fate is surely pulling the United States backward before we can move forward.

(the Leo portion of this retrograde runs back and forth over Biden's Pluto - very tight, Trump's Pluto, Vance's Sun, King Charles' ascendant, Israel's Moon)

As Mars backs into early Leo, he will get closer and closer to his REPEATING opposition to Pluto in Aquarius. 

We had the first Mars opposite Pluto at the election here in the United States - they were at the end of Capricorn and in a gnarly T-square to Juno. The next opposition - likely, again, to show up as a POWER STRUGGLE - will be on January 3rd from Leo/Aquarius. Mars will be retrograde.

For now, Mars (as us) re-treats in some way. 

For some people this might just show up as making different choices of action during the holiday season. More re-flection/nostalgia. Projects hitting roadblocks and delays and re-visions due to the upcoming holidays or other people's holiday plans, etc, seem almost par for the course this time of year. Some of the energy of Mars journey from Leo - our center stage/life force - to Cancer (home, roots), will be used in just doing the December holidays. 

But there is a bigger story here, because Mars doesn't move from Leo into Cancer during a normal course of events. And, although this retrograde is more about the Mars in Cancer part (Mars is just getting started in Leo when he turns around and he will spend most of the retrograde in Cancer), there is a reason Mars gets into Leo. A reason he/we need to be pulling that Leo part of our life back into the Cancer part of our life. 

The day after Mars stations retrograde, Neptune will station direct. Now Neptune is on a straight course from Pisces (where he has been since 2011) to Aries. 

Neptune's time in Aries will be a sneak-peak of the new Neptune energy because Neptune will return to Pisces at some point, and with the 'sneak-peak' happening with Mars (the ruler of Aries) retrograde - there is almost certainly some kind of pull to the past with this one, too. Recycled imaginings. Recycled dreams. Recycled addictions and mental issues. Stay frosty. Don't over-invest in anything just yet. We have to be careful that the recycled thing-a-ma-jig is actually recycled into something else. Because, in the end, only the NEW stuff is going to survive this harsh winter. Maybe applying lessons we have learned in the past to current circumstances is the best use of these days, and not actually going back to something, if you see what I mean. People's situations and use of this energy will vary.

Mars' retrogrades always creates a certain degree of PRESSURE because Mars, at his best, wants to go-go-go and now there is some reason that he (as we) just can't. Try to build a little leeway into your December calendar. 

Mars in Leo is about heart-centered action (royal action/we go after what we want) - the things we do that get us appreciation and attention and there is something about this 'way of action' that is wanting to be RE-INVENTED now. Leo is the sign of royalty. Kings go back to their roots. Kings go home. Kings turn around. Our Leo house AND our natal Sun placement is where we carry our own crown. The Sun/king doesn't go retrograde. The Sun/king doesn't get to turn around. Mars retrograde in Leo is the closest thing we ever get to a solar re-do. 

Let's say, for example, you are a Leo rising (Leo is the sign on the cusp of your 1st house). This Mars retrograde journey has Mars travel through your 12th Cancer house - past life maternal stories, your maternal inheritance that sometimes you might be blind to because it is behind you/you can't see it, the reasons that are behind the way you mother others/nurture yourself, your story with food and sustenance. Then Mars goes into your first house - your physical body, your heart centered self/maybe your actual physical heart. Then Mars turns around and heads back into your 12th house Cancer - something here was MISSED.

I have a family member who is a Leo rising. 

She is a Taurus Sun and when Jupiter met up with the Sun and Uranus in 2024 they were EXACT on her natal Sun and her MC (top of her chart). She had recently been voted President of her child's school's PTA after several years of being home with him - and having never served on the PTA before. She had also recently sold her parents' old house (her mother had died a couple years before) and received a sizeable inheritance - the house had not been selling. As soon as Jupiter entered Taurus (her Sun sign) a bunch of beneficial - if she stretched for them and she did - things started happening FOR HER. Things started lining up. Her Sun was preparing to meet Jupiter. This unexpected luck would be long-lasting, in some ways forever because 22 degrees Taurus would remain HOT for her (and all of us to a lesser extent), but, most strongly until Jupiter meets the Sun again which won't be until next summer (that one will not really be impacting her). So, she has this kind of 'protection' going on with her Sun for a good long time. So, summer comes and the transiting Sun enters Leo - goes into her first house of herself. 

Now here is where I back up to say this woman was born with a hole in her heart (our hearts are ruled by the Sun/Leo). She did not know about this hole and found this out during the birth of her actual SON several years ago. The doctors told her the hole was too small to worry about and gave her medication to thin her blood (blood I would either give to Leo/Sun since Leo/the Sun rules the heart or Aries/Mars). But now, her SON is 7 years old and she had started to feel a bit more out-of-breath and her intuition (Pisces North Node) and concern for her child (she is an older mom and wants to, of course, be here as long as she possibly can, Cancer 12th house with her Leo Moon in that 12th house, so motherhood being a thing she does 'last/late' and having a connection to her heart - Leo) were pushing her to take greater 'action' - at this point Mars was in Gemini catching up with Jupiter. She found another doctor who would do surgery to close the hole in her heart. 

To cut to the chase here - she has the surgery with Mars in Cancer (making his first pass, setting up the retrograde), the doctor is stunned to find the hole in her heart is more than double the size they were expecting it to be - the Jupiter- expansion/Sun-heart/Uranus-surprise from months before! 

The surgery goes well and now she is dealing with the healing which has had its ups and downs. Mars in Leo - the first house of her physical self and her heart - turning around. So, now Mars (action/blood) is backtracking and her 'heart' story will, too, in some way. Revisions with meds, etc - as it moves back into her 12th house Cancer in 2025. Her SON healed the metaphysical 'hole in her heart' she came in with (that 12th house Cancer/12th house Moon in Leo - royal story around children/motherhood that brought her in with that hole in the first place) and now it is through the SUN's journey that the physical 'hole in her heart' gets healed. And, I will add she had a past royal life where she marries a wealthy man and his daughters - who are around her age - do not accept her. She also has two sisters in this life - and I should say her family is kind of a local 'royalty' now - who had daughters that she helped raise when she was younger. Life is crazy magic folks. We are always in the middle of things as we work and re-work very OLD STORIES. 

Now, not everyone will have a chapter this tangible about the Leo to Cancer journey of late 2024 and early 2025, but we all have SOMETHING. 

Many people will have something BIG. 

I didn't get this up earlier in the week and I want to move onto writing the weekly today, so we will have to finish this up in Part II as we look at the collective and some other things I wanted to get to about this. 

Let me get to the week ahead. Venus will move into an opposition with Mars this week, so stirring things up .... that post is next.

xo all

please excuse any typos or nonsense ..

weekly astrology forecast | December 2nd, 2024 to December 8th, 2024 - new love or money or purchases, the obstacle, a visit with the king, changes of direction and focus, things that feel big, intense attractions, mars turns around and kicks off the beginning of the end of 2024

new moon in sagittarius | december 1st, 2024 - a fiery start that takes us backwards, obstacle right out of the gate, cultivating patience and faith, a need for confidence, genuine guidance available, maybe something about how far we are willing to go for our partner or for a partnership

weekly astrology forecast | november 25th, 2024 to november 30th, 2024 - mercury retrograde begins, new moon in sagittarius, powerful grand fire trine is pulling us into the future, stay optimistic, have courage, get some marshmallows

weekly astrology forecast | November 18th to November 24th, 2024 - healing words, time to unclench tired fists and jaws, following our heart and our passion, 2025 a year loaded with fits and starts in some ways begins this week

Full Moon in Taurus | November 15th, 2024 - shocking/#notshocking results and endings, second chances on steroids, for some - painful circumstances create opportunities and for others - old wounds are healed by positive events, lots of changes ahead

weekly astrology forecast | November 11th to 17th, 2024 - women get down to business, no one wants to hear what anyone else is saying, the boys can't win if the girls lose and vice versa, jarring fresh starts and conclusions

the astrology of the united states election | part IV - trump wins fast and big, needs to be careful of his personal safety, can harris still become president without a win, much to come before inauguration day

the astrology of Wednesday, November 6th, 2024 - the sober bird gets the worm, bold words and news that pulls us forward, pay attention

the astrology of the united states election 2024 | part III - jupiter (the united states) can't decide, unexpected changes rock both candidates mid-month

weekly astrology forecast | november 4th to november 10th, 2024 - election week plays out, are we ready for this?

new moon in scorpio | November 1st, 2024 - transformative competition, powerful endings, potent energy for commitments, intense beginnings that bring authority and stability over time

the astrology of the united states 2024 election | part II - kamala harris, juno, hopi, the karma of America's roots and maybe the part where 'kill all the buffalo to kill all the indians' and the trail of tears comes back around to be healed