Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of April 15th - it's full steam ahead, big love, the cost of our big dreams, not knowing when to stop, returning to dry land, now we know, we are stardust, are we doing this together or not, painful words, coming back into balance, endings, culminations and fresh starts

Lots of Venusian energy and it's FULL STEAM AHEAD when Mercury finally exits Pisces. Expect change and clarity this week as THREE personal planets change signs - two from water into fire and one from fire into earth - AND we have a big and unpredictable second Full Moon in Libra!

Some of the major aspects in the week ahead include -

MONDAY - Venus squares Jupiter
WEDNESDAY - Mercury enters Aries, Sun trines Galactic Center
THURSDAY - Venus squares Galactic Center
FRIDAY - Full Moon in Libra, Mercury conjunct Chiron
SATURDAY - Sun enters Taurus, Venus enters Aries

On MONDAY, Venus (in Pisces) squares Jupiter (retrograde in Sagittarius). Squares bring tension/frustration/crisis, but when our two beneficial planets are squaring each other, things can't be that bad, can they? This speaks of love, compassion and expansion, but maybe also an inability to know when to stop. It has me thinking about the cost (Venus) of going after what we want (Jupiter) - adjustments around this may be needed now. Keep in mind we still have yesterday's trine between the Sun and Jupiter in play - making us lucky and confident.

If we have taken the time to sort out the various knots, disappointments and annoyances of the last few weeks - this is the energy (coupled with the Sun's trine) that can deliver the rewards.

On WEDNESDAY, Mercury finally leaves Pisces after TWO MONTHS and enter fiery Aries. The fog lifts.

With Mercury in Aries our language and thinking becomes more focused, clear-headed and passionate. We don't want to talk about/think about everything (Pisces) we just want to talk about this one specific thing (Aries). We get clarity.

Mercury (ideas, thinking, language) in Aries puts our instinct into words.

Our mind gets faster. Our tongue gets sharper. Words get pushy. It is easier to speak up for ourselves and ask for what we want/need. We can also more easily pick an argument as language becomes more competitive. Mercury in Aries says, "I know what I think and this is what I think."

One of the best uses of this energy, and Mercury will be in Aries until May 6th, would be exactly this - saying what we really think - and yes, this can get us into trouble, so let's not be fools about it - keep in mind Aries impulses can be either self-aggrandizing and immature or passionate and sparking a needed fire. Other best uses include - solving a problem (fire burns off the old gunk and brings fresh insights), initiating a new course of study/learning/teaching or starting a bold, new plan.

Think: fresh start with Mercury themes - words, thinking, writing, learning, teaching, ideas, sibling issues, transportation, your local community. Also bringing fresh words and ideas into your Aries natal house.

Whatever we do with this energy it FINALLY (coupled with Venus's exit from Pisces on Saturday) gets us out of the Pisces water this week. This has been a long journey, but now we know.

At the same time the Sun, still in Aries, but only for a couple more days will trine (brakes off) the Galactic Center. What do we want to manifest? Here is the energetic to change our vibration. Our Sun (as us) is reclaiming our true identity as part of source energy. There could be more reassurance now we are on the smoothest path.

To get the most from this week's transits we need to stop attaching ourselves to our obstacles!

(We are part of a spiral galaxy known as the Milky Way. It is 100,000 light years across and includes over 200 billion stars including our closest star, the Sun. All the stars we see in the sky are part of the Milky Way Galaxy. At the center of our Milky War Galaxy is a super-massive black hole - the Galactic Center. This is the place where time and space were created so you and I would have a place to learn and grow and work and play. This isn't the black hole photographed last week, but google that pic anyway if you haven't seen it yet)

On THURSDAY, Venus (in Pisces) squares the Galactic Center. Venus as a trigger planet tends to bring opportunities to see clearly what we really value, to feel love or any lack of love and the ability to see the beauty in the situation. Squaring source/God/what we are made of - might bring a situation/opportunity for us to feel what is out of alignment with the star-stuff we truly are.

On FRIDAY, we get the SECOND Full Moon in Libra. This Moon brings us back into balance. After this month we won't be having a Full Moon followed by a New Moon, the whole out-of-time thing we have had going on this year - we will finally start having a New Moon followed by a Full Moon!

Like the last Full Moon (at the very beginning of Libra), this one also, coming at the very end of Libra, will be focused on our relationships. What have we learned in the last month? We are getting another look at the spaces we are being overly dependent/independent. And this Moon is ruled by Libra's ruler Venus - who is squaring the Galactic Center and Jupiter! The Sun (opposing the Moon at the end of Aries) will be conjunct anything-can-happen Uranus AND Mercury will be conjunct hurting/healing Chiron.

Expect a BIG post!

On SATURDAY, Venus enters fiery Aries.

Aries Suns and Aries Ascendants become more attractive - both easier on the eye and able to attract what they want. All our natal Aries houses become more attractive, too. Attracting both what we want (Venus) and what we line up with energetically - as the house itself gets woken up by attractive and loving Venus.

In Aries, Venus functions best when she puts herself first.

In Aries, Venus will be thinking, "what's best for me?".

In Aries, Venus is a WARRIOR (and love is a battlefield ... cue Pat Benatar).

Something to keep in mind as we give ourselves permission to go after what we want (always that fly in the ointment) is the impulsive nature of Aries. If Venus was always in Aries our relationships would last 15 minutes and the things we bought/valued would very quickly fall out of favor and we'd be on to the next thing. Maybe not such a good long-haul energetic, but as a transit, ie transitory, Venus in Aries can get on with the business of getting us what we want in a very effective manner.

On the same day the Sun moves from 'Action Jackson' Aries into "stop and smell the roses" Taurus where he starts answering to VENUS and will begin to shine a light on all things Taurus and energize our Taurus houses until May 20th.

This doesn't mean life slows down - especially with Mercury charging off the starting line, but we will feel much better if we make the time to enjoy those slower moments, care for ourselves (and others, but especially ourselves) in loving and practical ways and appreciate what we already have.

If Taurus is stubborn, it's only because it rules really important stuff - the kind of things that have to be nurtured and preserved and seen through to the end.

Taurus is the nuts and bolts of life. She rules our second house of everything important money can buy and everything important money can't. She rules food and nourishment. She rules the sensual touch that feels like love. She rules our resources - our money, the planet. She rules our self-esteem and values.

Ruled by balanced and beautiful Venus our lives could get maybe more imbalanced until they topple over or we are forced to remove something from the more loaded side or add something to the weaker one.

Taurus is the space in your natal chart that naturally encloses what we are here to nurture, preserve and grow. It may be a space we have a bit less passion and ambition because we most naturally feel the need to sustain what takes root here. A bird in the hand thing usually applies to the theme of whatever space Taurus occupies in our natal chart. The energy is cautious because the thing we are holding/carrying here is precious.

It can also become the fear-based space where good things go to die - and then we carry around a bunch of dead stuff like a crate of rotted vegetables and wonder why we are so tired all the time ... and smell like brussel sprouts. So, there's that, too. Sorry Taurus, you know I love you!

(and keep in mind who else is in early Taurus ready for his first conjunction with the Sun here in decades - that fast-change maker, ass-kicker Uranus - we'll talk about that more NEXT WEEK)

This is a big week with lots of twists and turns. The big news is that second (a very unusual happening) Full Moon in Libra

AND we finally swim out of the Pisces energy. Things start to dry out.

I love Pisces and am extremely grateful for the old and ancient personal, family, and ancestral karma this energy carries for us with the purpose of helping us clear the residue of those old traumas and wounds, but two months is enough! It feels good once we clear it, but it can feel like major overwhelm and constant trigger points until we do.

We should feel much relief with that this week. If we were doing the rose-colored glasses thing or didn't know what to do/think - that should ease up now, too. Mercury and Venus in Aries will make it pretty clear what we need to do.

xo all - back with the dailies to flesh it all out

photo by the talented Snjezana Josipovic

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of February 3, 2020 - paying attention, our thinking changes, time to listen, real deal opportunities, an ending, good news, paying attention, did I say that already, yes I did and I see you are paying attention!

MONDAY - Mercury into Pisces, Venus sextile Saturn
WEDNESDAY - Venus square Galactic Center, Mercury sextile Uranus
FRIDAY - Venus into Aries, Ceres squares Uranus
SATURDAY - Mercury trine North Node
SUNDAY - Full Moon in Leo, Venus conjunct Chiron

Another powerful week with multiple inner planets changing signs - this will impact us personally as well as collectively - and a big Full Moon,

plus something to keep in mind - Mercury starts walking the degrees he/she will walk back and forth over during her upcoming retrograde - so the news and conversations, the stuff that is playing out NOW (for some Mercury will highlight sibling, local community, transportation, computer/communication situations) will be an indicator of what we will be dealing with for many weeks.

This week is the first pass, and sometimes the first pass only looks important in hindsight. With most of this retrograde happening in illusive Pisces, our best play may be to stay flexible, connected and compassionate. Know everything isn't as it appears to be, but trust that "Pisces magic" has our back now.

Also, we have three indicators this week of important messages coming through so WE NEED TO BE PAYING ATTENTION.

Whenever I am looking at a chart and especially a natal chart and I see something once, well it may or may not mean anything important. If I see it twice, I take note and if it shows up three times (multiple aspects indicating something similar) then I know I am seeing something important.

On MONDAY - Venus sextiles Saturn - this is in play through the beginning of the week. There could be a real deal opportunity here - something solid and lasting. Good for dealing with authority, making a commitment, stepping into our own authority, working with a mentor/someone older, etc. This is an opportunistic connection between our Cappy house and our Pisces house. Keep in mind Venus - ruler of money, love, our values and self-esteem - is EXALTED in Pisces.

The dream is real. The love is real. The money is real.

Look for the open door.

On the same day Mercury leaves airy Aquarius for watery Pisces - now the Sun is all alone in Aquarius - boy that was fast, wasn't it! Mercury, ruler of Pisces polarity sign of Virgo is in her/his detriment in Pisces.

At the same time Mercury is moving into Pisces, the Moon is moving into Gemini (ruled by Mercury) and this means Mercury and the Moon are squaring each other as they shift.

Our thinking changes. Dots get connected. Our intuition strengthens.

But at the same time our boundaries are down.

This makes me think of the corona-virus so we may get news of this spreading (with Mercury, ruler of health via Virgo going back and forth through "no boundaries" Pisces, over the next couple months we could see more of this spreading) - BUT remember what we talked about during the eclipses and what happened then being a foreshadowing of our next six months - stuff seeming very alarming, very fast and then petering out, so we will have to see. Mercury rules Gemini as well as Virgo and ideas and information can spread with Mercury in Pisces, too, not just germs!

Keep in mind Virgo's Mercury likes things clear and concise - she wants B to follow A and is sure things would move more efficiently if everyone would just dot their i's and cross their t's. Pisces (ruled by Neptune and ruler of our collective 12th house) is the space where rules/boundaries are more fluid. B might follow A. But just as easily A could drift right on past B.

It is the space of imagination, universal love, our dreams, spirituality, our connection to each other through the ethereal realms and our emotions, the ways we escape, the things we do last, the things we put away, addictions, delusions, hospitals, prisons, addicts, victims, saviors, martyrs.

You can see how fast-moving Mercury could be a bit out-of-whack here.

So maybe our thinking slows down a bit. Our words drift off course. We started to say this and then we are saying that. The words that were so clear and crisp in airy Aquarius, don't come as easily because maybe we start feeling their impact on the other person now. Or maybe we start feeling like one of those old anti-drug commercials but instead of eggs - it is our brain frying on the sidewalk. 

Details might be fuzzy. Our thinking might be, too.

With Pisces ruler of the last house of the zodiac maybe a conversation comes to an end now. Our natal Pisces house - what house has Pisces on the cusp in your natal chart? - a space we are naturally inclined to more dreamy, Piscean ways - suddenly WAKES UP.

Our attention goes there. 

This is wonderful energy for artists, poets, musicians, meditation, spirituality, healing. With Mercury (ruler of Gemini) in this universal space our words can cast even more powerful S-P-E-L-L-S - keep this in mind.

As our cognitive thinking slows down, our intuition speeds up. With Mercury in Pisces - it's time to LISTEN.

Due to her upcoming retrograde Mercury will be in Pisces until April 11th.

With the Moon in Gemini early this week we will be busy. Errands. Things to do. Decisions to be made. New choices/new information.

On WEDNESDAY - Mercury, who has had a couple days to get his feet wet in Pisces by now, will sextile (opportunity) Uranus in Taurus. We could get unexpected (good) news. Conversations will be forward/future leaning. We are thinking outside the box. Having flashes of genius. Wake up calls and unexpected solutions/understanding are possible now. Good surprises are possible.

At the same time, Venus, at the very end of Pisces, is squaring the Galactic Center (black hole at the center of our Galaxy,. seat of creation) - we will have to see/feel how this plays out for us, but I would suspect, coming at the same time as the Mercury/Uranus - we could be dealing with something that puts our back against the wall to give us something to push against if we are needing to move in a new direction.

It's time, and fast approaching PAST time, to be focusing on what we have gained rather than what we have lost.

The Moon is in Cancer now - moving our focus to home, family, real estate, home business, family business, mother - and making nice with Mercury in Pisces and Uranus in Taurus.

On THURSDAY - we have a fast moving emotional water trine. Then the Moon moves into opposition with the Capricorn planets, so there could also be a 'no' with something today or on Friday. Maybe a roadblock or an ending.

On FRIDAY - Venus moves from Pisces (where she has been exalted) into Aries, where she is considered in her detriment (since she rules Aries polarity sign of Libra). Now we have two of our three inner planets in their detriment.

Aries Suns and ascendants (first house Aries) become more attractive - both able to attract what they want and easier on the eye. Everyone's Aries house becomes more attractive, too.

In Aries, Venus functions best when she puts herself first. With Venus in Aries, we will need to take into consideration "what's best for me?".  

We attract what we want by going after it! By being brave. By having a beginner's mind. Through men and masculine energy.

In Aries, Venus is a WARRIOR (and love might be a battlefield ... cue Pat Benatar).

Something to keep in mind as we give ourselves permission to go after what we want (always that fly in the ointment) is the impulsive nature of Aries. If Venus was always in Aries our relationships would last 15 minutes and the things we bought/valued would very quickly fall out of favor and we'd be on to the next thing. Maybe not such a good long-haul energetic, but as a transit, ie transitory, Venus in Aries can get on with the business of getting us what we want in a very effective manner. Just keep in mind some of what Venus in Aries accumulates will not be so long-lasting.

Venus will be in Aries until March 4th.

Ceres (in Aquarius) squares Uranus (in Taurus). It can be hard to fit in/hard to feel boxed in. A Ceres situation - cycle of life, nurturing, etc or something having to do with our Aquarius natal house theme - could get a shake-up. For the collective this could be some kind of planetary wake up call.

On SATURDAY - Mercury trines the North Node (in Cancer). Here is news/information/a conversation that points us toward our future - a more authentic future. PAY ATTENTION. This is building all week and at play in Sunday's Full Moon. Keep your ears and eyes open for a message/messenger. With Mercury in Pisces, this could be intuitive information. We can understand and glide forward easily. No pushing will be needed.

On SUNDAY, we have Venus conjunct Chiron (loving ourselves wounds, warts and all) as the Aquarius Sun opposes the Leo Moon at 20 degrees giving us this month's Full Moon in Leo.

We'll talk about this one in its own post later in the week!

*****

As always keep in mind the bigger picture - Saturn is past Pluto. We are past the death. And past the place in the game where we always died before. Permanent endings. No going back.

Some early Cappy placements still have this to play out as Mars crosses the South Node over the next couple weeks

and we all will be triggered as Mars hits Pluto and the degree of last month's Pluto/Saturn conjunction in March. 

In the meantime this is a big information week - SO PAY ATTENTION.

xo all - will get up the monthly after the Full Moon post!

photo by the talented Elif Karakoc

Chiron backs into Pisces, Sun squares Saturn | the healing power of our collective imagination, unbalanced and unfair, arguments, power struggles, limitations that require compromise and adjustment

diving for the ground by Dark Gomo

A retrograde Chiron (the wounded healer) returns to Pisces today, allowing us to clean up any unfinished business left behind from his 7 year cycle there (which ended in April).

If he is backing off planets or points in our chart (early Aries/early cardinal signs - although with the Full Moon energy here still uber active you may not feel it for a few days), this could be experienced as an easing up of a situation. If he is moving toward a planet or point (early Pisces/early mutable signs) an old situation, from Apirl/pre-April, could intensify.

Probably these past few months with Chiron in Aries (healing the wounded masculine) has taught us something about "putting the oxygen mask on our own face first", setting better boundaries, embracing the new, being brave, getting our own tired asses out of the well. HERE is a post about Chiron in Aries.

Something in our Aries house has been seeded. We will get back to it in February. And by then we will have Jupiter home in Sagittarius (keep your eye on November!) - we will be feeling much more optimistic!

For now, he moves back into Pisces until February to finish up.

In Pisces - we let go.

This can be a good thing. This could be a time of forgiveness (a big Pisces theme) - which we do for ourselves and not for them - we release that story's hold on us. Pisces kind of gone, is gone-gone. It's out to sea, lost in the vastness of the ocean's waters. Impossible to hold onto, slippery when wet.

Grief gets released as we are given one more chance to accept the loss/pain. 

Letting go could also pull us back into a fantasy (maybe of being taken care of?), an addiction, an escape from reality. Chiron in Pisces can be an almost crippling sensitivity. His years in Pisces speak of a mass deception, collective confusion and disillusionment - a mass escape from reality.

So watch for the "dream" to pop back up. Remember we had that Virgo New Moon a couple weeks ago where we were literally pulling that Piscean dream into our Virgo reality or else we need to let that dream go, lest we be pulled under with it. 

A good use of this time is to connect with ourselves (by starting a meditation practice or a mindfulness practice or both), offer other people compassion/connection - it is easier to feel other people's pain now. There is healing through art, imagination, music, water. We have the healing power of the collective imagination. 

Keep in mind Chiron's healing power is in the acceptance of the wound - it's not some magic fairy dust that makes the problem itself disappear.

******

We wake on TUESDAY within the energy of the Aries Moon squaring Mercury (in Libra). Communications could be testy. Our words, and the words of other people, could come off harsher than we intended. We might have been feeling this last night, too. Arguments are possible.

Our minds are restless. 

By 7:40PM EDT, the Libra Sun is squaring Saturn (in Capricorn). We talked about this in yesterday's Full Moon post because the energy is part of the Aries Full Moon story.

We are kind of being awakened to our personal challenges now. Limitations will require adjustments and compromise. A duty or responsibility can be demanding our complete attention or rigid compliance. We are dealing with issues of our reputation. This doesn't feel good. Libra wants things balanced and for justice to prevail and somehow it isn't.

Heads up that tomorrow is another all day Void Moon - 6:28AM EDT through midnight - so won't be a good day to start anything brand new - and goes void off a square to Pluto which speaks of power struggles and intense emotions (things can feel like life and death). But we could also have alot of stamina and energy on WEDNESDAY and get alot accomplished.

xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of March 19th - new astrological year, the week gets more challenging as it goes along, Mercury stations retrograde, life slows down, frustrations, actions and re-actions, watch for power plays at the end of the week!

23 hours by Old-York

This week we kick off the astrological year with the Spring Equinox - the day the Sun moves into Aries (March 20th)!

We are blasted with new, motivating energy, although the blast will be kind of short lived - we are quickly met with a series of reality checks.

Welcome 2018 - here we go!

First reality check - Mercury will station retrograde squaring both Pluto and Saturn. Mars is going to square the Sun and conjunct Saturn (we have had both Mercury and Venus hit Saturn's wall in the last couple weeks and now it is Mars' turn). Venus is going to square Pluto. Know corners cannot be cut now. And, believe me, we could be tempted!

When Mars ingressed into the sign of Capricorn (0 degrees) yesterday it reached a declination that is beyond the limit set by the Sun. We call this being "out-of-bounds". As you might guess, an "out-of-bounds" planet knows no boundaries and accepts no limits. There is nothing - since it has moved past the Sun's restraint - to stop it.

And because Mars rules action - what we do to get what we want - our actions (and those of other people, of course) will be more unrestrained. This is a good thing - more creativity, taking action outside our comfort zones, yada-yada. And a not so good thing - doing things we later regret, going AWOL, living outside the 'rules'. And with Mercury in Aries answering to an out-of-whack Mars this includes saying things we could regret, signing things we could regret, etc. Some people need a shot of 'out-of-bounds' and it could be a good thing. For other people it could be kind of an excuse to just burn the whole place down.

Mars will be out of bounds until April 7th.

Now, even though Mars (as us) is going to want to fly. Things will not be quite so simple because here is where another reality check comes in.

First, Mars is in Capricorn (and answering to sober Saturn), a sign with built-in restraints and, second, Mercury is stationing retrograde this week (hooked up with that same sober Saturn - so prepare for a serious retrograde this season folks) and Mars is going to square the Sun and conjunct Saturn while out-of-bounds.

So, Mars - our actions - feels ready to go, but Mercury - our thinking - isn't quite so sure we have all our ducks in a row. Mars doesn't care about ducks. Mercury wants them decked out in cute spring outfits and lined up according to size. 

Mars is going to be frustrated as Mercury doubles back to give things another look. Now Mercury is in impulsive Aries, so he/she will be frustrated with these delays, too. If we are trying to just push things through quickly, it won't be easy going until Mercury stations direct mid-April.

Let's take a look at the week ahead. We have the following major aspects - all of this stuff is pretty much in play all week:

SUNDAY - Sun conjunct Chiron
MONDAY - Ceres stations direct
TUESDAY - Spring Equinox, Sun into Aries, Mercury conjunct Venus
THURSDAY - Mercury stations retrograde at 16 degrees Aries
FRIDAY - Venus squares Pluto
SATURDAY - Mars squares the Sun, 1st Quarter Moon
SUNDAY - Venus conjuncts Eris (!)

Moon is void | Monday 3:29PM EDT thru 9:07PM EDT - last aspect is a conjunction with Uranus in Aries - liberation, the unexpected, doing it my way.
Wednesday 1:21PM EDT thru 1:30AM EDT - last aspect is an opposition between the Moon in Taurus and Jupiter in Scorpio - generosity, openness, lack of self control, emotional upset
Friday 11:52PM EDT thru 4:53AM EDT - last aspect is a sextile between the Moon in Gemini and Uranus in Aries - opportunity for doing something different, unexpected news, being yourself

The Moon is waxing this week - a time good for new beginnings, just avoid those voids and know with Mercury's retrograde some things are going to need to be re-done. Big launches that can wait until after April 15th, probably should wait - we have from mid-April until Mars goes retrograde on June 26th for a mostly full-steam ahead. But don't stand still.

The Moon is growing and so are we!

(not literally I hope, although I did eat an entire box of thin mint Girl Scout cookies within the last 2 days all by myself and have my eye on the short-breads)

On MONDAY, the Moon is in Aries until the void, squaring Pluto in the middle of the night. In April we will be having a whole lot of squares between Aries planets (our will, independence, impulsiveness, action) and Capricorn planets (structure, authority, responsibility, patience, limits), so we could get a little preview now - heads up Aries, Libra, Cancers and Capricorns! This could make us moody - stimulate action and re-action. Power struggles, intense emotions are possible.

The Moon conjuncts Uranus in the late afternoon EDT - there could be something surprising or unexpected. We could have itchy feet and want to call it a day early. Anything that feels even slightly tight or confining will be something we want to ditch.

Ceres stations direct at 18 degrees Leo. She will be in Leo until mid-June. Ceres time in Leo has been supporting our collective Leo North Node - encouraging us to nourish our purpose, our children, our creative project or romantic intentions. She has been retrograde since December 16th taking us back over some creative potential - allowing us to really look at what our heart wants and how we are meant to shine. If we are shining through only our children's accomplishments or a romantic partner's achievements and have lost sight of where we are in all of this, it has probably been made clear to us over the last couple months. We might have also had to be a brave mama-bear with a child or creative project or romantic situation or been working through a 'seasons of life' situation that required a re-look, re-do. If a creative project has been dormant or road-blocked, there should be forward movement here.

TUESDAY is probably the best day of the week. Venus hooks up with Mercury again (this happened back on March 4th so there could be connections - what has happened since that date - what has happened since they both hit Saturn's limits?) - Mercury slowed down for his retrograde and Venus has been booking along - our words attract, we hear what we want to hear, talk is sweet, we could find ourselves talking about Venusian subjects - love, money, what we value, beauty, women. Ideas (Mercury) get shared (Venus). Women (Venus) are heard (Mercury). This is good energy for socializing and good for commerce, ka-ching! The Moon is in Venus ruled Taurus, an added bonus and trines Saturn for stability - makes us want to be responsible and do the right thing. Around lunch-time the Sun moves into passionate, independent and impulsive Aries - launching a new solar year. This is the time to show up, go for what you want - great day to make a vision board as we are drop-kicked into 2018.

On WEDNESDAY, we start the day with the Moon (in Taurus) trining Pluto (in Capricorn) - we are energetic, ambitious and have good instincts now. Avoid power plays, manipulative moves and control issues because machinations now could result in higher stakes than we bargained for. The Moon goes void after lunch with an opposition to Jupiter - we could face some kind of moral conflict or be dealing with a lack of self-control; our own or someone else's.

On THURSDAY, the Moon is in Gemini (answering to Mercury) and Mercury stations retrograde at 16 degrees Aries. This is NOT the day to have an important meeting/conversation. Um, no. Trust me on this one.

We are doing the "re's" - rethinking, redoing, reviewing, rekindling, reinventing, revisiting whatever is happening in our Aries house.

The stuff we have done/said hastily or without enough thought, will now be analyzed and gone over more carefully. We downshift. Life slows down. This can be frustrating, but necessary.

This can be about our Aries house theme or the general Aries themes of ourselves, our bodies, our brand, name, identity. Situations and people from the past will show back up. Mechanical stuff can encounter glitches. Rushing around will only result in stubbed toes (in Aries more like accidents and head injuries/headaches!) - let's take our time here. Something isn't quite ready for prime-time. Here's our second chance to get it right. Mercury will be retrograde until April 15th, so it will be a few weeks before everything is full-steam ahead. Just expect this. Give yourself extra time. Double check things. Of all the retrogrades Mercury is the most frequent and can be the most significant. If the retrograde crosses over one of your planets (16-4 degrees Aries) know this is even more significant. We'll talk about this on Thursday.

On FRIDAY, and throughout the weekend - we have Venus square Pluto and inconjunct Jupiter. Remember Venus (in Aries) is a warrior. She wants it now, she wants it first and she wants what's best for her. That square to Pluto will make any loss or potential for loss now feel like life and death. 

We are on the fate-train now baby!

The inconjunct (rock and hard place) with "bigger-is-better" Jupiter will enlarge the scope of whatever is happening. Compulsions, manipulations, jealousy, obsessions, power-plays are all possible now - we need to bring our A game and keep our feet on the ground. Emotions can be intense and there could be hidden/secret agendas now.

The Gemini Moon - all over the place anyway and answering to a retrograde Mercury - won't be any help.

Venus rules love, money, our values and self-esteem. Financial/relationships shifts are possible now. There could be consequences for going too far too fast. What do we really value? What do we want? What will we do to get what we want? What will other people do?

At around the same time Mars (in Capricorn) will be squaring the Sun (in Aries) - this is tension around situations that require patience and maturity. This is SPRING FEVER with obstacles. We'll want to do this and have to do that. We could get into arguments - this is kind of a father/son aspect and the fellows are butting heads. Saturday will be cray-cray.

Drive safely. Avoid that hot-head in the other lane. Don't be that hot-head in the other lane. Exercise will help!

Let's do what we can with these energies - maintaining our values, knowing what is most important to us, knowing that things are going to take some time to work themselves out.

We are playing the long-game.

Remember we talked about avoiding ruthlessness in the last post - this includes trying to manipulate someone else's emotions or behavior. This is important now. Ruthless doesn't always mean riding into town and taking over the place - it means forcing our will on someone else. Some people are very good at this and it isn't until later we realize we have been bamboozled. The stakes could be high - although they could feel much higher than they actually are - let's direct our energy consciously now - let's be neither a bamboozler or a bamboozled. Ack!

We have some challenging weeks ahead for all of us and this is one of them - the collective news will be rocking and rolling - back during the week to talk about that.

xo all

weekly astrology forecast | July 18 - 24, 2022 - verbal power struggles and ego hits before the king comes home to his castle making summer official and all of us alot more shiny

 

This week starts out with power struggles, truth bombs and intense turning points, and ends with some OPTIMISM and GOOD NEWS! 

 

MONDAY - Mercury opposes Pluto

TUESDAY - Sun opposes Pluto, Mercury enters Leo, Chiron stations retrograde

WEDNESDAY - 3rd Quarter Moon Aries

FRIDAY - Sun enters Leo

SATURDAY - Mercury trine Jupiter, Ceres enters Leo

MONDAY - TUESDAY - on their way out of Cancer, first Mercury and then the Sun opposes powerful Pluto. This is part of last week's Full Moon story when the Moon opposed and then crossed over Pluto. 

Emotional conversations/information can cause power struggles. Words can be intense. Compulsive. Manipulative. Important TRUTH BOMBS are tossed. People will be more acutely sensitive, more easily triggered. There will be over-reactions based on what we can't see (old wounds, etc). We will be feeling what people are really saying or we will think we are (because we are really hearing our mother, etc). 

 

Oppositions can bring endings, so maybe something Mercurian gets sorted out now. Final words are spoken. Oppositions can also expose our projections, so, for example, if we think someone is trying to manipulate us, and maybe they are, but we need to look at our own motivations/words/actions, too, because the source of the situation is generated from within us. If we get real with ourselves we can usually see how we are trying to control them/the situation, too. 

 

Conversations can be complicated. We could be talking/thinking about death or other Scorpian subject matters - taxes, inheritances, wills, reproduction, intimacy, sex, other people's money, shared finances, investments, third party situations. We could be shown an area where we have grown bitter/decayed.

 

People might be talking over each other/feeling unheard. Since this is a brief collective transit let's give each other a break and not read too much into things said now. Know everyone is doing the best they can. The Sun's follow-up opposition will make everything more visible as 'power is illuminated' - what we have/what we don't have. With Mercury's immediate move into Leo, ego blows are possible. Fears of loss can be triggered. Again, the opposition can bring an ending and/or intense situations/illuminations. Power struggles.

Plutonian endings are permanent, and if something ends, well, now we know where we stand and still standing we are (in the 2020's if you aren't lying down in a big old mahogany box, and I think I can safely assume you aren't, we are STANDING).

 

After his face-off with Pluto, Mercury (communications, information, our mental processes, siblings, local community, commerce, transportation) says hasta-la-vista, baby to emotional Cancer and hello to fiery LEO.
 

Leo is the space we carry what 'makes us special'. It also speaks of our relationship to special/to royalty/to the king. With Mercury (communication, intellect) here, it will be easier to put our 'special' into words and to connect with the ideas and conversations that will push forward whatever we are most passionate about.
 

We will want our words to be heard and appreciated now. Even the most reticent among us will want an audience. Our thinking/ideas (Mercury) can catch fire now (Leo). Or we will want them to. The Sun/Pluto opposition happening at the same time as the Mercury ingress into Leo speaks of this year's Mercury in Leo season being peppered with some power struggles/endings.

 

Leo is a fixed fire sign, so words can burn and words can dig us even more rigidly into our positions.  With Leo there is great opportunity for win-win and also for 'nobody wins'. The energy is excellent for teaching us how we express what we are passionate about. It's very supportive of 'top of the mountain' heart-filled type of proclamations and proposals. 

 

Do people listen to us? Does what we say matter? We will care about this now.
 

Speaking from our hearts will connect us to other people's hearts. Encouraging words will matter. This is very powerful energy. Leo is our superpower and should be used wisely. People will hear us with their heart and well as their head. This gives the potential for hearts to expand as well as to be broken into little, tiny pieces. Keep this in mind. Also the Sun/Pluto opposition happening at the same time as the Mercury ingress speaks of this year's Mercury in Leo season being colored with verbal power struggles/endings. Mercury will be in Leo until August 4th.

 

This is also the day Chiron stations retrograde at 16 degrees Aries. An old injury/physical ailment can flare up. An area of emotional/mental vulnerability (very old wounding) can be made visible/activated to be worked with. In Aries, this is all about giving us opportunities to access our courage, our passion, our anger, our MOTIVATION. To learn we CAN take care of ourselves/be ourselves. Keep in mind, Chiron's wound never fully heals. We are always made to pull that band-aid off again and again, but over time we learn to integrate the wound, to work with it, to let it strengthen us without hardening us, to use it to help other people. 

Chiron will get all the way back to 11 degrees Aries on October 23rd when he will station direct and begin his journey back over 11-16 degrees Aries for the third and final time. People with natal and progressed planets/points near 11-16 degrees of Aries or the other cardinal signs - Cancer, Libra and Capricorn (via squares and oppositions) - will likely feel this transit strongest.

 

On WEDNESDAY - the Moon in Aries will square the Cancer Sun at 27 degrees. 

 

This is the Moon/Sun's final square before next week's New Moon in fiery Leo, so it will pay for us to pay attention. Squares are tension/frustration. They force ACTION. There could be something here about taking care of ourselves/acting independently vs caring for someone else or a home/family situation. Aries squares can make us antsy/impulsive and Aries Moons make us prone to anger before other emotions, so we will need to be smart about this and still we could need to show courage, initiative, anger, passion now. Maybe something about a home or family situation needs to change. Luna's square to the Sun will be her closing aspect in Aries, before she goes void for four hours giving us a chance to chill out/calm down/relax before she squares Mercury in Leo from Taurus when things could get LOUD and people more dug in. Just keep in mind, the important aspect is this Aries/Cancer square that requires some kind of adjustment/action before next week's fresh start. 

On FRIDAY - the Sun enters his home sign of Leo! 

 

The world BRIGHTENS. In Leo, we focus on what our heart wants, children (and our inner child), romance, fun, creative projects - we (and everyone else) want attention. Your Leo house (and the house of your natal Sun) is the space you are meant to SHINE. Prepare to get very shiny. Summer is OFFICIAL.

 

On SATURDAY - Mercury, at 8 degrees Leo, trines Jupiter in Aries. 

 

GOOD NEWS. Optimism. Big thinking. Expansive words. Good for planning. Good for travel. Good for legal matter/contracts. Shiny ventures/our heart expands. If you have this aspect natally - Mercury trine Jupiter - you better figure out how to make the most of it! This is also the day Ceres joins Mercury and the Sun in Leo. Now the Mama-Bear is having fun, too. Is loud and proud. The Moon is in Gemini and sextiling the Sun and Jupiter and Mercury - 

 

what more can we ask for?!

xo all

 

heads up next week's New Moon in Leo is especially POSITIVE and loving with UNEXPECTED OPPORTUNITIES for everyone! - check your natal chart for 5 degrees Leo for Luna's field of play, also expect a BIG post this week about the Uranus/Mars/North Node energies at the end of the month and beginning of August that are going to rock our world!

artwork by the talented lavilsa

weekly astrology forecast | march 18th - 24th, 2024 - spring equinox! a Mercury retrograde preview week, dissolving agreements, powered and empowered, reality checks, opportunities to attract something better and relationship pivot points

astrology forecast for the week of march 21st - March 27th, 2022 | hope, faith and gunpowder, explosive changes ahead

 

There are two prevalent themes this week, 

 

one is optimistic/hopeful (likely won't all pan out, but we'll follow the breadcrumbs at this point anyway) - we lean in, toward something BIGGER focused on new growth/the future as we release any tangled obsession with something that is overly complicated/dead.

 

The other theme is about breaking free from what has grown stagnant/too rooted via unexpected disruptions, outbursts, accidents. And we can see how these two themes are working together.

 

We want to be RESPONDING AND NOT REACTING to frustrating situations this week. 

 

Change is necessary, but can be upsetting/uncomfortable.  

 

We only have a few more weeks of miracle-making/spiritual-healing Pisces energy

 

(we have not had this much celestial magic in our lifetimes folks as the Pisces heavy hitters approach their own "world starts up again" pow-wow in mid April) 

and now, with the Sun in Aries and Mercury by the end of this week, it will be easier to actually do something with it. 

 

We'll talk more about this in the next post when we look ahead to April.

For now, let's unpack the week:

 

MONDAY - Mercury conjuncts Jupiter, Mars sextiles Chiron

TUESDAY - Mars squares Uranus

WEDNESDAY - Mercury conjuncts Neptune, Mercury sextiles North Node

SATURDAY - Mercury sextiles Pluto

SUNDAY - Mercury into Aries

 

MONDAY - Mercury, at 18 degrees Pisces meets up with Jupiter, while Mars, at 11 degrees Aquarius, sextiles Chiron in Aries, TUESDAY - Mars, at 12 degrees Aquarius squares Uranus in Taurus.

 

There could be BIG news now (it might be a bit or quite a bit overblown, so keep this in mind) - hopeful, optimistic. The impossible can look quite possible ... and this is the sign of miracles, so maybe it is. Life doesn't dangle these carrots to make us crazy (or hungry), but to wake us up to what is possible. Excellent energy for prayer/meditation. There are opportunities for healing via our actions/passion/initiative/men/groups. Maybe the news/information/conversation itself is healing. Maybe this, rather than the accuracy of the information, which is hard to say at this point, IS the point. What does it mean if we really, really want something to be true? With the Mars/Chiron our old vulnerabilities/embarrassments are now empowering us. We CAN be ourselves, take care of ourselves, start something new - whatever this is. 

Now, as Mars is sextiling (opportunity) wounded healer Chiron, Mars is also applying to his square to disruptive Uranus (and with Mars in Aquarius he is answering to Uranus which is probably just powering this whole thing up), so it could be through tension/frustration we get the LIBERATION/CHANGE that creates the opportunity to heal these very old wounds, strengthen ourselves and over time share these strengths with other people because we understand these particular kinds of struggles ourselves.  

Expect breakthroughs, breakdowns, break-ups. Disruption. Impulsivity. Sudden anger. The challenge comes through our Taurus house, so collectively this will be about resources, money and values (and our natal Taurus house theme).

 

This is explosive energy, although not something that comes completely out of the blue because we've had the Sun and Mercury through here and Venus just within the last few days. This is accident prone energy, so slow down. Think, before you say/do something you might regret later. On the other hand, since Mars is the last inner planet to work a square with Uranus until summer, if something in our Taurus house needs to break free, it probably will. Hold on loosely, change is necessary, but could leave us rattled and we could take things too far if we act TOO impulsively, so try to keep a cool head.

This is Mars/Uranus closing square that will be unwinding until they meet and start a new cycle in August. So, there will likely be a connection now to something we have going on BIG TIME near August 1st when Mars meets Uranus AND the North Node (fate/the future). Space for the NEW is being created.

To use this volatile energy in its most potent/positive form - do something differently. Be brave and INNOVATIVE!

(Mars/Uranus is likely to bring something explosive #unexpected,#nottotallyunexpected to the Ukraine/Russia situation since it was Mars across the HOT 22 Cappy that launched that)

We don't want to be resisting change just because we do not know how to respond to it. The backdrop of the big Pisces energies is silently guiding us through the emotional/mental uncomfortableness, through the Uranus disorder/crisis to a place that is more simple, clear and real.

On WEDNESDAY, Mercury, at 23 degrees, meets up with Neptune and sextiles the North Node in Taurus.  

This might speak of acceptance with the change/disruption. We are going to need to go with the flow here. the currents are moving us in the direction we need to go, we can trust this. Our intuition will be high now. We have an open channel to both our ancestors and our smoothest path forward - which is their path, too. They are alive through us just as we are alive through them. Pisces is reciprocal energy, think of the number eight lying on its side; the symbol of infinity. Words/messages are powerful now, and pointing us in an opportunistic direction, but Pisces energy can also be subtle. We are feeling what people are saying more than hearing what words are coming out of their mouths. 

 

GO WITH THE FLOW.

By the end of the week, on SATURDAY (keep in mind dates are not exact for aspects other than lunar), Mercury has now reached 28 degrees and is sextiling powerful Pluto. 

Words are powerful/persuasive. We are looking under the hood/the covers. Hidden resources/opportunities can float up to the surface here. This aspect has some 'dark magic' connotations, so don't try to manipulate data/information/the conversation/other people now. 

 

This is Pisces/Cappy energy - good for making the dream real. 

 

Putting some solid legs under something illusive. Good for dealing with authority and stepping into our own in a compassionate manner. Good for healing curses. Making powerful vision boards. Setting intentions. This 28 degrees Pisces is where the Sun sextiled Pluto last week and where Venus will meet Jupiter at the end of April while sextiling Pluto - which could be the best aspect of 2022 and will close out a volatile month with a GIFT. So, what seeds do we want to plant now with our words/imagination? Since this is Pluto (ruler of Scorpio and death/rebirth), and Mercury is at the very end of the very last sign -  thinking about/talking about/writing about what we want to release (because it is dead, not good for us), transformed, merged in a very intimate way or what we are pregnant with (kind of the pre-birth energy of something) is very powerful now. 

 

On SUNDAY, Mercury joins the Sun in fiery Aries. Our language and thinking becomes more focused, clear-headed, courageous and passionate. We don't want to talk about/think about everything (Pisces) we just want to talk about this one, probably 'new' thing (Aries). There might be as much arguing as talking.

Mercury (ideas, thinking, language) in Aries puts our instinct into words. Our mind gets faster. Our tongue gets sharper. Words get pushy. It is easier to speak up for ourselves and ask for what we want/need. We can also more easily pick an argument as language becomes more competitive. The silence that was so golden in Pisces gets broken in Aries. Think: fresh start with Mercury themes - words, thinking, writing, learning, teaching, ideas, sibling issues, transportation, local community. Also bringing fresh words and fresh thinking into our natal Aries house theme and the house that holds our natal Aries. While in Aries over the next few weeks, Mercury will meet Chiron, meet the Sun, sextile the Aqua planets - Saturn and Mars and square Pluto. Mercury will be in Aries until April 10th. 

 

Keep the faith everyone, BIG, likely chaotic, change in the world this week, but know Venus and Jupiter are meeting on the North Node at the end of April providing a loving/expansive portal into the best possible timeline. We have already started lining ourselves up with this - we'll talk more about it in the next post.

xo all - back with a look at April and we'll take another look at Ukraine/Russia.

 

artwork by the talented hooook

Weekly Astrology Forecast for Creatives | September 28th - October 4th, 2020 - love gets picky and practical, something hurts, course corrections, some delays end, karmic results

 

MONDAY - Venus trine Mars and inconjunct Saturn

TUESDAY - Sun inconjunct Chiron, Mars square Saturn, Saturn stations direct

THURSDAY - Full Moon in Aries conjunct Chiron

FRIDAY - Venus into Virgo, Sun inconjunct Uranus

SATURDAY - Pluto inconjunct North Node

SUNDAY - Pluto stations direct, Mercury inconjunct Chiron

Wow - I hadn't really laid this week all out until just now, it's a BIGGIE.

 

Mercury is in Scorpio now and Ceres has retrograded back into Aquarius. This week we have a BIG Full Moon in Aries, two monster planets changing direction (daddy's home and he's brought the big boss for dinner), an important inner planet changing signs, Mars second square to Saturn (challenges, issues with goals, authority, responsibilities) and multiple challenging inconjuncts (the need to adjust).

 

Cue the flying monkeys - we are going to need them.

 

Saturn direct kicks off the final leg of our Saturn through Cappy journey. His square to Mars at station (Tuesday) speaks of BLOCKS/frustration that takes us back to August 24th. BUT with Saturn direct there will be PROGRESS, too. Big structural change. Time to commit or quit. Maybe we will discover, if we don’t already know, how well and how fully we are solving our Cappy problem. Our world and "the world" can shift rapidly. Decisions will be made; some outside our control. Some we have already made but don’t even realize it yet. I wouldn’t count anyone in or out. Stay open and flexible, willing to honor the highest good in everyone and everything and re-frame, reshape your vision as you move through this. We close the week with Pluto direct - on that hot and powerful 22 degree Capricorn - as Mercury (in Scorpio, so answering to both Pluto and a retrograde Mars) inconjuncts Chiron. Painful truth as that power, sex, finance, tax, inheritance, intimacy, reproduction, goal, authority, career situation shifts gears. 

Three aspects to Chiron this week, so we will be confronting our wounds/vulnerabilities as we shift into this final leg of our 2020 Capricorn story about how we deal with power, how we deal with CONTROL.

Don't pack too much into this week if you don't have to. 

MONDAY - Venus trines Mars - this is what we want smoothly flowing with what we have to do to get it. Keep in mind Mars is retrograde, so this could be an old situation/something from the past. Delays/revisions can and have required work, but this speaks of our ultimate success with something. This is Leo/Aries - courage might be required. We probably want to do something with his because Venus is in her last days in generous/happy Leo and taking any last vestiges of summer with her. 

 

Now, keep in mind at the same time Venus (our relationships, money, creative projects, self-esteem, children, romance, our values, our place on the center stage) is inconjunct (that rock and a hard place) a sober Saturn in his own sign. There are going to be rules/limits that need to be followed. This whole thing could take time/patience. I said last week and I'll say it again - it's important to keep tending to the things we are passionate about even if we are not seeing the progress in the way we expected.

TUESDAY - the Sun inconjuncts Chiron - shining a light on our old wounding. Mars' second square to Saturn reaches perfection - this is the one with Mars retrograde and Saturn direct - note, Saturn stations direct in the early A.M. hours and the square prefects at 5:49PM EDT. We had this first square back on August 24th, so this could connect back to that time. 

 

Saturn has the upper hand. We keep our cool and live to fight another day or we lose. This is unyielding - a denial of aggression/assertion. There is a "no" here. Responsibilities/burdens are strongly felt. We want to do this and we have to do that. Roadblocks/limits/traditions serve a purpose - sometimes we need to go around, crash over or plow through them and sometimes they keep us from falling off the cliff. On the other hand, Saturn (as us or as authority) can win the battle and lose the war if he overplays his hand. We might have to work harder or just accept that we cannot get exactly what we want right now. 

 

The big news - DADDY'S HOME.

 

After many months retrograde - Saturn is back where he was on May 17th and in some way so are we - Saturn's retrograde "review" wraps up. Commitments are firmed up. Endings become the real deal. Second chances are over. We need to be taking responsibility for our actions and holding other people responsible for theirs.

It could have felt, during his retrograde, that we were getting further away from our goal. Maybe obligations weighed heavily. Walls and limitations had to be faced. Corners we had previously cut were noted to be missing. The bills came due. Maybe we were re-evaluating, re-assessing, re-affirming our responsibilities and commitments. Maybe we learned to say, "no". Maybe we learned to say "yes" to something we had been avoiding.

 

What happens now is going to depend on what we did with this retrograde and sometimes, especially if we are looking at an ending, something ends no matter what we did, hopefully we have had some time to prepare for it.  

With Saturn direct - daddy's home! - greater external structure is brought into our lives. This can feel supportive/rewarding or like a wall/limit/roadblock.

Have we been goofing off? Staying out late? Running up the electric bill? Worn out pop's favorite chair or left his tools out in the rain to rust?

Karmic books get balanced. Rewards for hard work come in -and these rewards can look like endings if we have hitched our ladder to the wrong wall. This is simply cause and effect - we are just being served what we ordered. If we don't like what we are being served - we can choose to do things differently for next time. We can start today. Right now. 

THURSDAY - Full Moon in Aries conjunct Chiron (standing up, confronting what hurts)- expect a BIG post. Mars, Aries ruler, is holding all the cards now, so we know this will be an important Full Moon. Those with planets/points near 7- 9 degrees of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) will probably feel this energy most.

FRIDAY - the Sun (in Libra) inconjuncts Uranus, this is relationships/balance vs our freak flags/independence - nobody wins, everybody loses a little. Adjustments to both sides are required. 

 

At the same time Venus moves into precise and practical Virgo. We will be analyzing what we want and what we have. We will be analyzing our relationships/our resources/our values. The problems will stand out. We won't be able to miss them. And since what we focus on grows, sometimes things get worse before they get better during this transit. But this is excellent energy to fix what needs fixing and accept (or eliminate) what just isn't fixable. 

Virgo Suns and Ascendants get more attractive - both easier on the eye and able to attract what they want. Our natal Virgo houses get more attractive, too!

Venus in Virgo is about loving the details of something, enjoying the work, appreciating the craftsmanship and complexity of something or someone or some situation - yes, also, noticing the imperfections, Virgo can't miss those, and choosing not to dwell on them.

 

SUNDAY - Pluto stations direct right on the degree of January's Saturn/Pluto palaver. Here is the death that was postponed - maybe we had time to clean up our mess; to get our ducks in a row - maybe to prevent a big-bang style ending, but more likely to prepare ourselves for it (we are back where we were on April 25th). Pluto forges ahead again - bent on deconstructing the old order.

Pluto direct speaks of a loss (this could have already happened with Saturn's station a few days ago in the same sign), a total transformation or change of course of some part of our life and/or real EMPOWERMENT. 

 

If you have planets or points near 22 degrees of the cardinal signs, you are no doubt feeling this (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn).

Pluto's direct station (as Mercury begins his long journey through Scorpio) is a time for truths to come out. A time for us to consider things we didn't want to have to deal with/think about - the stuff we shoved into closets and pushed under carpets -situations that require authentic Plutonian power (a kind of fearlessness; a sense of being past-death) - from intimate and honest financial or sexual conversations to indomitable power moves in business.

At the same time, Mercury (in Scorpio now so answering to Pluto and a retrograde Mars) is making his own inconjunct to Chiron. Words that hurt/wound. Information we don't want to hear/deal with. Maybe a need to stand up for ourselves. The week seems to go out with a bang. Or a good long cry.

 

Back with the dailies where we add in the Moons plus a Full Moon post and a big picture October because it's going to be a very important month.

 

xo all

 

photo by the talented IrinaJoanne 

the astrology of the winter solstice 2022 | December 21, 2022 - Capricorn season begins with an enthusiastic PUSH, a time to take stock, stock-up, prepare for winter

 

Happy Solstice everyone!

 

Doesn't it feel better to call the Winter Solstice the longest night rather than the shortest day?

The shortest day sounds like we are missing out on something. The longest night sounds like we can lie in bed and finish our book and still get a good night's sleep.

 

This is the perfect time during the busy holiday season to take stock of where we are, what we have, what we've done and where we are going. In the northern hemisphere we move into the challenging season of winter. And with Pluto still in Capricorn, since 2008, this is the space of our collective humbling. This is also the time of the season, maybe especially when things are not quite as we wish they were, when melancholy can set in. It is a good idea to check in with other people. See if they need anything we have to give. People are needing more than presents wrapped in big red bows this year.

In Capricorn, the Sun gets serious. We are heading into the serious time of year - the time our ancestors could starve if they hadn't stocked up properly or catch a cold that would turn into pneumonia. They would celebrate the Winter Solstice and go into hibernation for a few weeks (exhausted from the harvest, escaping the cold and, intuitively, the germs and bacteria, too, I'm sure), venturing back out sometime mid-Aquarius season for some social interaction and hoping to trade whatever they still had plenty of to restock whatever had grown scarce.
 

This is true for us today, too. Without structure, responsibility and discipline - mandated by Capricorn's ruling planet Saturn - we'll be in trouble when the cold settles in and the stuff we need to survive is covered with two feet of snow and ice.

So Capricorn is a serious sign because it rules very serious things. Capricorn rules our collective 10th house of career, reputation, ambition, hard work, the pinnacle, fathers, patriarchal story-lines, safety, security, tradition, history, our structure, what we need to get us through the winter.

Saturn isn't about rushing and neither is Capricorn. Usually we can catch our breath, take stock of where we are and what we have (probably more than we think we do) before starting this new chapter.

 

With this particular Solstice though, as the Sun moves into Capricorn he moves into a square with Jupiter in Aries.

 

Jupiter in Aries is anything BUT patient. 

 

This square can really help us. The square to Saturn will benefit Jupiter since he will want to go, go, go and he is answering to a retrograde Mars who is about to be answering to a retrograde Mercury, so he (as we) needs to be smart about this whole go, go, go thing. On the other hand Saturn can sometimes use a little or a BIG PUSH. So, Jupiter is pushing solid/practical Saturn to get moving/start and Saturn is giving Jupiter some limits/reality checks. They both benefit, which, of course, means we do. The takeaway from this energy is to get moving (don't allow the retrogrades and Saturn to stop you in your tracks), but, also, don't over-do anything, over-promise/exaggerate and don't allow yourself to be rushed. Keep in mind Mercury is going to station retrograde in Capricorn next week, so we are going to be going back and forth over our natal Cappy house themes and collectively our careers, reputations, goals and ambitions. This is good news because it gives us extra time to get things RIGHT before the real green lights start flashing in the middle of January.

 

With Jupiter freshly into Aries and the Sun freshly into Capricorn, both planets are tied to each other at the start of their new cycles. Jupiter's good luck/expansion is linked to Saturn's hard work and responsibility. And Saturn's achievements are linked to Jupiter's ability to TAKE A RISK. Have faith/confidence. Know what the hell he is talking about. 

I think this Capricorn plus the retrograde hold-up with Jupiter in Aries will help us prepare (buy us some time) for 2023 when so many things will be changing and we are really going to start feeling Uranus in Taurus again. Uranus has been held at bay the last two years through his ongoing squares to Saturn, but once Saturn gets into Pisces in March that all ends and Uranus will just get stronger and stronger until he is really feeling his oats (when Mercury goes into Capricorn, my natal placement, I REALLY start talking like your grandma, do you notice?) when Jupiter joins Uranus in Taurus in late spring. 

This is the perfect time to be STOPPING bad habits, making long-term plans, getting our ducks in a row. The ruler of Capricorn, Saturn, is in Aquarius. This is all about clearing old group trauma/moving into a better relationship with the collective. We need other people. They need us. Aquarius is where we bring our individual selves to the group. How can we remain true to ourselves and also be part of something larger? How are we contributing to society? We are planting the seeds for our future self right now, so what's going into that cold ground? It needs to be hardy to survive until spring. The upcoming New Moon in Capricorn is about finding  a more modest way to move through our remaining time on this planet. 

It's not about building big things, so much as it is about building the right things. 

Like my 5 year old nephew Joel's "Boys Rock" house. 

"It's a moving house that moves around with people in it playing music in different boxes" ... Joel

"Are those musical notes outside? It must be loud" ... his dad (the musician/music teacher)

"No ... no. It's a satellite. It pushes the music to the people all over as it moves." ... Joel

The first time Jupiter went into Aries last May, he moved right into a square with Black Moon Lilith in Cancer (here is a post about that HERE and HERE) - the womb wound/the mother wound/the woman who chooses herself. The energy we carry of that time we were tossed from the plush garden/shamed for wanting something we are perfectly entitled to want. We were right in the middle of the Johnny Depp trial. You might remember both Johnny Depp and Amber Heard (born 23 years apart) have their natal Venus at 26 degrees Taurus, the space of fixed star Algol (they fell head over heels in love and then chopped each other's heads off). Here in the United States we had all the Roe vs. Wade stuff going on as Jupiter squared BML. This was around the time of the Cancer New Moon and now we are at the opposite time of year. We were working through the home/family/mother stuff through the summer and now we move into the world/work/father stuff. 

As Jupiter returns to Aries (after his retrograde in Pisces) this week, he is also moving right into an opposition with Ceres in Libra. Poor Jupiter in Aries, can't catch a break, with these feminine archetypes. We will talk about this in the New Moon post next, but we can expect alot to be going on within our relationships. This is a kind of run-up to the South Node's entry into Libra in 2023.

Going to keep this post short and sweet (although it looks like it isn't) since I don't want to be repeating myself in the New Moon in Capricorn post and I am about to be. The New Moon is joined with asteroid Hygiea and the Sun joins her now. With Chiron about to station direct, Capricorn season (which lasts longer than the Sun's time in Cappy) seems to speak of our need for healing and self/collective care (as well as, I suppose, what is going on with flus/viruses, etc).

The Moon hasn't caught up with the Sun quite yet. Today the Moon moves into Sagittarius. This should feel better - at least until this evening when the Moon squares Mars and starts looking for trouble/an argument, watch your words! Shopping tonight, parking in crowded lots, can be aggravating - just sayin' - especially if you, like me, were feeling that Moon/Saturn square yesterday afternoon that took us back to the tense Eclipse energies. Keep in mind the days before the New Moon are the days of the Balsamic Moon, a time to rest/re-coup, so probably the less we have to do now the better we will be feeling.

 

Keep in mind also Mercury's retrograde station next week. 

 

Besides the Cappy/career/goal stuff we will all be re-visiting/re-vising we can help to alleviate some retrograde madness by choosing to consciously release a bit of the Mercury shadow stuff we are carrying in our own lives that needs to go.

We might want to do some releasing on anything we are ruminating about with a Mercury angle to it - the wrong word we said at the wrong time. The conversation we didn't have. The email we didn't send or the one we did and wish we hadn't. The idea that didn't work out. The research we didn't do. The thought that stopped us in our tracks and so we quit or the thought that kept us going when we should have quit. The sibling crap. The lemon or 'beyond our pocketbook' car we bought when we knew better. The times we were less than neighborly. If we can somehow - between present buying, wrapping and gifting - toss our thinking/ruminating/self-judgements and recriminations about this stuff into the trash bin with those tiny bits of wrapping paper and balls of twisted tape we wrapped around our fingers instead of the packages, we would be much better off over the next couple weeks ...

 

When we personally let go of shadow Mercury the collective Mercury shadow has less to work with/release during Mercury's more intense periods like next week..

 

Drive carefully and with a cool head. 

 

xo all - back with the New Moon in Capricorn post

photo by the amazing Amanda-Diaz

the Astrology of the Week Ahead | March 15th - 22nd, 2021 - healing opportunities, power plays, making things more equal, shifting gears

 

MONDAY - Mercury into Pisces, Venus square Juno

TUESDAY - Sun sextiles Pluto

WEDNESDAY - Sun squares Galactic Center, Mars sextiles Chiron

THURSDAY - Venus sextiles Pluto

FRIDAY - Venus squares Galactic Center

SATURDAY - Sun enters Aries (new astrological solar year, vernal equinox) 

SUNDAY - Venus enters Aries, Mars trines Saturn

This is a BIG impactful week as we ready ourselves for Aries/the New Year and the promises of Saturday's New Moon in Pisces begin to roll in!

 

We have multiple opportunistic sextiles, just enough frustrating/testing squares to get some wind beneath our wings and three of our four inner planets change signs, including Mercury, ruler of our North Node path forward. The end of the week's switch (Sun/Venus) from loosey-goosey Pisces to red-hot Aries will surely be FELT BY ALL OF US!

Someone recently told me that when I write about problems/challenges she almost always experiences whatever I write about, but when I write about opportunities they just don't happen to/for her. She thinks she is jinxed. 

 

She isn't. 

Because she is on the lookout for problems - she unconsciously searches my posts for dragons (which is why I attract so many people with strong Virgo!), for roadblocks, for reasons to delay. And, of course I write about alot of dragons. 

 

I see them first and easiest, too (hard to miss the breathing fire in your face part). 

Sextiles (opportunities) can be harder to spot. Even literally when looking at a chart - you have to train yourself to see them. 

Like the more challenging aspects (squares and oppositions and often conjunctions) they usually require some kind of movement - a shift in our emotions, thinking, actions.

But instead of jumping out of the way of a moving train we need to jump on to the moving train. 

And it is easier to stand there and let the train pass us by, than it would be for us to stand there, and let the train run us over. See what I mean.

So we notice the challenges (that train is heading straight for me!) more than the opportunities (that train is headed straight for the BEACH!).

 

This final week with the Sun in Pisces, still feels kind of  like things are 'wrapping up' to me, although the Moon is waxing. After the weekend's Equinox/New Year - it will be all systems GO though the end of the month. We should feel this build-up as we move through this powerful week, filled with subtle (because, well, Pisces) opportunities for power, healing and greater abundance.

Let's unpack the week. We'll add in the Moons with some dailies!

MONDAY - Venus at 22 degrees Pisces squares Juno at 22 degrees Sagittarius, Mercury moves into Pisces until April 3rd. 

 

Venus (relationships, love, money, values, self-esteem) reaches her exact Piscean/Sag square to Juno (partnerships, contracts, marriage, agreements, family structures) - this could be a time when what we want clashes with a partnership/the hopes of someone else. With Mercury changing signs at the same time, maybe we need to give something a voice (gently) instead of assuming someone else knows what we want/are thinking. Maybe the sensitivity of Pisces is clashing with the bombastic tendencies of Sagittarius. Or maybe someone's Piscean excesses - addiction, escape, illusion - are causing tension/frustration for a committed relationship/partnership - draining hopes and optimism. 

 

This is a mutable square, so we are making changes/turning corners/facing dragons in preparation of the new energies to come. 

 

What isn't working? What needs to change? This week has multiple aspects indicating a greater need for balance and fairness, how might this apply here?

 

This is also the day Mercury leaves high-minded Aquarius for silky smooth Pisces. Unlike the last two years, when she/he stationed retrograde in Pisces, this year is a fast trip, which is probably good news because Mars in Gemini has been making me feel like Mercury is already retrograde! But maybe I just have too many Gemini-ruled machines ready to break down!

 

Mercury rules our thinking, our communication, our ideas. 

 

He/she is considered in her fall/detriment in Pisces (because he rules Pisces polarity sign of Virgo), because Virgo's Mercury likes things clear and concise. She wants B to follow A and is sure things would move more efficiently if everyone would just dot their i's and cross their t's. Pisces (ruled by Neptune/Jupiter and ruler of our collective 12th house) is the space where rules/boundaries are more fluid. B might follow A. But just as easily A could drift right on past B.

It is the space of imagination, universal love, our dreams, spirituality, our connection to each other through the ethereal realms and our emotions, the ways we escape, the things we do last, the things we put away, addictions, delusions, hospitals, prisons, addicts, victims, saviors, martyrs. You can see how fast-moving Mercury could be a bit out-of-whack here.

So maybe our thinking slows down a bit. Our words drift off course. We started to say this and now we are saying that. The words that were so clear and crisp in airy Aquarius, don't come as easily because maybe we start feeling their impact on the other person now. Or maybe we start feeling like one of those old anti-drug commercials but instead of eggs - it is our brain frying on the sidewalk.  

 

Details will be fuzzy. Our thinking might be, too. Also nostalgic. This is great for our imagination, but when things get too "lala" it's time to ground yourself with some earth, sit by a tree, walk barefoot outdoors, meditate, etc.
 

With Pisces ruling of the last house of the zodiac maybe a conversation comes to a slow/dissolving end now. 

 

Our natal Pisces house - what house has Pisces on the cusp in your natal chart? - a space we are naturally inclined to more dreamy, Piscean ways - suddenly WAKES UP. Our attention goes there. This is wonderful energy for artists, poets, musicians, meditation, spirituality, healing. With Mercury (ruler of Gemini) in this universal space our words can cast even more powerful S-P-E-L-L-S - keep this in mind. 

 

And if you haven't done your New Moon intentions - there is still time - do them now, just before the Moon goes void at 11:40PM EDT.

This is maybe not such wonderful energy for to-do lists and more practical concerns. So start, double checking communications. Re-read important papers. Give other people a break when their language isn't as concise as you would like it to be. Especially when they just can't decide. Mercury in Pisces takes in so much universal information from the world that it becomes hard to take a singular stance. 

 

Our thinking becomes more intuitive. 

 

Cold facts are not so cold and hard decisions can go limp. Lies might be spoken and take on a life of their own. That whole "alternative facts" thing applies. It is the time to let our mental defenses down and just feel it. Or to guard against this very thing - depending on the situation!

We don't have to understand everything or figure everything out. Pisces dissolves. Pisces feels. Pisces is a water sign and heals through wetness - blood, sweat and tears (I would avoid the blood though if possible). If we want/need to cry, and even if it turns into one of those big old ugly cries that has our eyes all scrunched up two days later and people asking us what the hell is the matter - it's time to cry. You will probably not need me to tell you this though .....
 

If you really need to knuckle down mentally over the next couple weeks, it could be best to give Neptune his due with some creative time - meditate, color, paint, etc - first.

 

On TUESDAY, the Sun at 26 degrees Pisces sextiles Pluto at 26 degrees Capricorn. They met back on January 14, 2021 (this was the day Trump was impeached by the House for the second time). We were, all of us, past the death, past the point in the game we'd always died before. Results came in. A new cycle, around how we handle power, ended and began.

Now the Sun/Pluto's annual story has moved on and we reach the time of their opportunistic sextile. This is power through compassion. Through our intuition. Through forgiveness/transcendence. Osmosis. We are able to influence things from behind the scenes. The power we once had (or our ancestors did) is available to us, especially for those with placements at 26 degrees. This is subtle, but effective/impactful. This is about how we increase our power/chances for success. Sextiles with Pluto encourage mergers, intimacy, financial opportunities. Going deep and seeing what is behind the curtain.

 

This is Neptune/Capricorn - building the dream. OR releasing the old/tired structures standing in the way.

On WEDNESDAY, Mars at 8 degrees Gemini sextiles Chiron at 8 degrees Aries. At the same time, the Sun, powered up by yesterday's meeting with Pluto is squaring (tension/frustration) the Galactic Center (our homing signal/seat of creation). 

Mars/Chiron here is about healing actions/conversations. Wounds around our ability to stand up for ourselves/take care of ourselves are healed by doing just that. Use that Gemini humor/keep things light. With Mars in Gemini there may be multiple situations/multiple ways through this or maybe we are called to choose/decide. This might not be some big thing, we will just say what we need to say and move on.

Twice a year the Sun squares the Galactic Center - once from Virgo and once from Pisces. Squares are tension/frustration - a kind of testing. Mutable signs ready us for the new season ahead. Mutable squares test that readiness as we approach the fall and spring equinoxes. These are powerful lessons around our ability to adapt/change and our ability to bring things into a greater balance/equality. Powered up from yesterday's sextile with Pluto, the Sun (as us) is now challenged to stay flexible, spring ahead/fall back into our star-selves by remembering where we came from and how there is really only one of us here.

On THURSDAY, Venus in Pisces (following the Sun) sextiles Pluto at 26 degrees Cappy. What we want becomes more intense. Our relationships/finances/values/self-esteem can be strengthed.

 

Capricorn is about ownership. We own it AND we own it (take responsibility for it).

Venus is Pisces is gentle/attracts. So, this isn't about going into battle to SEIZE the land. That's the old way of thinking about ownership. We attract it now by tending to it, by desiring it, by being alluring and calling it to us. 

This is the real opportunity now. 

And remember to own it we have to OWN IT (take responsibility for it). We have given too much power away to too many naked emperors. Worked too many farms for somebody else. Tended too many gardens whose flowers went into other people's bouquets.

Let's take some kind of action, symbolic totally works, to claim ownership of what we want this week. Then be prepared to step into our responsibility and work like hell for it.

THURSDAY - now it's Venus's turn to square the Galactic Center - we don't always get this in preparation for the Equinox, so this challenge/frustration/time of testing is a GIFT. Again this is about balance/equality. Venus, exalted in powerful Pisces, is the civilizing influence of beauty, pleasure, our innate longing for love and connection. She is the key to recovering our true humanity. The power nature of the exalted Venus (no limits) speaks of the nature of love overcoming the tension between opposites. She permits/allows union despite differences. We'll see what the Moon's aspects this day add to a more complete picture when we get closer.

 

SATURDAY/SUNDAY - first the Sun and then Venus, cross 0 degree Aries (the Aries point, first degree of the zodiac, first degree of everything), leaving free-floating Pisces for the fresh start of passionate, angry, "let's get going" Aries. The Sun's move into Aries begins a new astrological year. A time of balance/the powers of both day and night equally available to us. We'll talk about the New Year in a big post!

 

Following the Sun's annual gift of a New Year, Venus moves in to smooth our path forward. She shifts from her exaltation, to the sign of her detriment (Aries being the polarity sign of Venus ruled Libra), 

 

but, Aries Suns and ascendants (first house Aries) become more attractive - both able to attract what they want and easier on the eye. Everyone's Aries house becomes more attractive, too.

In Aries, Venus functions best when she puts herself first. In Aries, Venus will be thinking, "what's best for me?". In Aries, Venus is a WARRIOR (and love is a battlefield ... cue Pat Benatar). Something to keep in mind as we give ourselves permission to go after what we want (always that fly in the ointment) is the impulsive nature of Aries. If Venus was always in Aries our relationships would last 15 minutes and the things we bought/valued would very quickly fall out of favor and we'd be on to the next thing. Maybe not such a good long-haul energetic, but as a transit, ie transitory, Venus in Aries can get on with the business of getting us what we want in a very effective manner.  

 

At the same time, Mars at 10 degrees Gemini, is trining (brakes off) Saturn in Aquarius. We've been waiting for this one since Mars got into Gemini. Interesting (and important) that it happens after Gemini ruler Mercury gets into compassionate and illusive Pisces. Here is where our words, conversations, ideas, our teachings, curiosities, signed contracts, community actions are in smooth flow with the new rules/authority/the future. Excellent aspect to get something accomplished. 

Back with some dailies and a big-picture New Year post!

xo all

 

photo by the talented Catrin Welz-Stein