BIZ Astrology for Friday August 29th - last holiday weekend of the summer!

peanut oak print

Friday is a nice day (duh!) - the Moon is still in Libra until noon and then goes void - there is a feel good quality to the energy (and, for many of us, having a holiday Monday doesn't hurt!).

With the Sun opposite Neptune in Pisces there is an opportunity for real intimacy this weekend, but if we do not hold firm to our personal values and have boundaries in place for ourselves we can end up sacrificing what is most important to us for someone else.

Let's not let that happen. Situations and ideas can appear better than they are now.

Any big decisions will need a second or third look - time to check in with our heart and also check in with our head. Does this make sense? Once the Sun clears Neptune on Sunday things will be clearer. See if those plans still hold water next week. We will feel a real push then toward the things we are supposed to create.

The best way to work with this Neptune energy is to respect it with our actions - get in the water, get lost in a daydream, work a spiritual practice, write some poetry. Feed him his daily dose of imagination and vastness. This is the last holiday weekend of the summer - let's enjoy it!

This weekend the Moon goes into Scorpio and aligns nicely with Neptune. This is excellent energy for efforts we make behind closed doors.

Saturday night will highlight a square to Jupiter so it feels like some extreme emotional changes. Caution is needed. Check ourselves. No flying off the handle. We may be given an opportunity to work through some feelings like envy or jealousy. Don't stuff it.

Negative emotions (if we don't stuff them with ice cream - clear your freezer now!) give us the opportunity to ask ourselves "what is it I believe that is creating this feeling?" - often it is something like "there isn't enough for me" or "I am not safe" or 'I am not enough".

Then ask ourselves "what would I have to believe to let this belief go?" - so then some opposite belief forms our affirmation. So we start an affirmation practice with something like "I am always safe and supported" or "There is always enough for me."

Affirmations are powerful tools. If practiced regularly they are like exercise - they must work when we actually do them. We don't have to do our affirmation and then take action. The affirmation is the action. Physical changes will work through us once we expose, accept, expand and release the negative belief. Our higher consciousness has already chosen. The Moon is a waxing crescent now and will support our plans to grow.

xo all

BIZ Astrology for Thursday August 28th - appreciating and expanding our relationships

happy letter shop - sunshine print

The Moon is in the balanced and tactful partnership sign of Libra today with friendly aspects to Jupiter in Leo - she is looking to expand our relationships.

What is the best way to do this? Think sandbox etiquette now. Play nice, share, don't bite. With Leo this expansion comes from our generosity and appreciation of others.

With the Sun in Virgo the small details matter - so showing someone they are loved and appreciated with a cup of joe, a grateful email or a kind word goes a long way today.

The Moon squares Pluto at the end of the day so anyone with hurt feelings about being left out (including us) at that time, probably needs a little extra appreciation (even if we feel like wringing their neck) - no coddling though, with our grounded Virgo Sun everyone has the ability to put their own feet on solid ground now.

The Moon opposes Uranus in Aries so this is the emotional test of finding harmony while taking action - how do we find peace in less than peaceful situations .... if an unexpected opportunity comes our way due to an ending or someone leaving today - we should probably grab it.

It we can't get what we want now - let's try something else. Jupiter gets a little testy if what we want are conventional ideas of success that are not part of our life purpose. Our intuition can guide us with this.

Jupiter also reminds us not to ask for too little. Some energies can only be engaged when we over-reach! The Virgo Sun encourages baby steps, but to get Jupiter's attention we need our own enthusiasm and heartfelt exuberance activated!

The Sun is starting its big opposition to Neptune which is kind of a checkpoint for us to see if we are on track. We'll talk about this tomorrow - also see last night's post about Neptune's current long transit.

Mercury is in Virgo which is his home space - but he does create this energy where we pick up every little detail and it can feel like too much. Communicate responsibly now.

xo all

Neptune in Pisces - the power and problems with being unbounded

lupen grainne photograph

The immense power of water - 70% of our human bodies and 70% of our earth's surface! Water changes things gradually over time and also in an instant.

When my mother was very ill with emphysema, sometime during the last few months of her life, she was released from a hospital (one of many hospital stays) but was not ready to come home.

She went into a rehab facility where they primarily worked with adults recuperating from accidents and where they were totally unequipped to help her. Her second day in rehab they wheeled her exhausted, tiny body attached to her oxygen tank into a wheelchair sized shower stall, turned on the water and she had her first actual shower in years.

I arrived just as she was getting back to her room and she looked exactly like our fluffy white cat when she had been caught in a rainstorm - hair plastered to her head, white as a ghost, shivering and totally exhausted. I was very angry and certain they had just given her pneumonia.

I helped her from the wheelchair into her bed where she slept for 16 hours and woke up more clear headed and less frightened than she had been in months and was basically a different person until her death a few months later.

Native American culture would throw a wayward man into the sea and tell him to call back his spirit.

(Hubs and I wanted to do this with his brother David a couple years ago and had serious conversations about how we could do it, without him drowning or us going to jail - I still regret we never had the chance!)

We have all heard the story of Pavlov's dogs (ring a bell?), but the ending to this story is not so well known. When there was a flood in the Russian scientist's laboratory none of his surviving dogs retained any trace of their conditioning.

This is the power of water to create a life changing disruption.

The New Moon this week was the first New Moon since the mid-1800's where the New Moon triggered an opposition to Neptune in Pisces. This opposition will likely show up over the next two weeks in the form of another person (this sometimes shows up as a process).

This can be a good thing or a not so good thing (sometimes this person shows up as someone who is deceptive or addicted or ungrounded). Whatever happens we probably won't be able to miss it.

Neptune is a slow moving outer planet. He rules over the watery realm of our dreams, imagination, intuition, creativity and compassion and inspires us with art, music, poetry and spirituality .

He also rules addiction, distraction, escapism, self-deception, vagueness, obscurity, unrealistic desires, illusion, confusion, intrigue and lies.

He moved into Pisces late in 2011 then sauntered back to Aquarius for a few weeks and has now been steadily in Pisces since February 2012. He will be here until 2025. So, we have Neptune the God of the Sea, governing water and dreams, in the watery, dreamy sign he rules (Pisces).

This is a whole lot of water for us to navigate - we all need scuba masks now!

Check your natal chart to see where Pisces was hanging out when you were born because that house is where you will feel this current transit. In addition, using Pisces house 1, Aquarius house 2, etc we can work our way around the astrological wheel with your Sun sign and see where else he will affect us. This sounds confusing and maybe it is - hit the LET'S CHAT button on the right with your birth date and time and I will work this out for you privately!

This is good information to have. This is the space in our life where we can dive in, but must build boundaries and safety nets so we don't get in over our heads. For example people with their Sun in Aquarius can make money through creative ventures, but just as easily lose it through carelessness or deception. If you are an Aquarius - a person you can make money with creatively or lose money through can enter your life now. This also applies to anyone born with Pisces in their 2nd house.

I have Pisces in my natal 4th house - which rules home among other things - and when Neptune moved into Pisces in February 2012 - hubby's brother (with addiction and mental illness), a walking talking Neptune in Pisces moved into our extra bedroom. I also got back into astrology again, much more intuitively now, after several years away from it which I do from home and since I work at home making jewelry my creativity has greatly increased along with, unfortunately, a distractibility and tendency toward depression I never had before. Boundaries around 4th house issues have become extremely important to me.

When we make time for dreaming, for poetry, for gazing at the moon, Neptune promises us in return he will offer up crisp focus when needed. He always reminds us we are much bigger than our current circumstances.

If anyone wants a personal heads up with this aspect just let me know.

BIZ Astrology for Wednesday August 27th - details, adjustments, release, peace

Today the Moon goes void in Virgo before entering Libra around dinnertime.

Void Moons are not a great time to start something new but they are a wonderful time to put the details into place and practice. Routines will make us feel nurtured and safe now.

Artists know that small details are never really small details.

This is an excellent day to attend to practical stuff. Clean our studio. Organize our paperwork. Eat right and light. Move our body.

We've got Venus in Leo wanting us to experience what we love - she is just moving off that tense square asking us what really makes us happy - when the Moon moves into Libra tonight and relationship spaces in our lives will take center stage.

With the Sun and Neptune starting to make an opposition many people will be feeling a spiritual calling now - with a Virgo Sun this could show up as health or work practices. What are we here to give?

There may be a feeling of unresolved wanting regarding a creative project, relationship, children, fun vs work or financial stuff today so if we feel some tension in those areas just know this is really a timing issue. Other things have to fall into place. This can frustrate us or make us push harder. Today feels like a day for the easier road. Give it time.

Jupiter in Leo is beginning to make a square to Saturn - these are the big boys of the zodiac so there are lots of opportunities coming our way. We will have to choose though. We can't have it all. This aspect is still a little bit in the future for most of us, but it's something to think about. We are grounded in Virgo now, what does our heart want?

Later this week I am going to put up a Neptune in Pisces post - we have this dreamy outer planet in dreamy Pisces from 2011 thru 2025. This is incredibly creative and powerful manifesting energy - magical makers listen up! It can also leave us ungrounded and without boundaries. Now that we are a couple years in and can see (through the haze) where all this might be going for us personally it feels like a good time to talk about it. Knowing the sun and ascendant signs from your natal chart will be helpful.

xo all

BIZ Astrology for Tuesday August 26th - responsibility and self love

ashley goldberg print

We still have the wonderful New Moon in Virgo (mutable earth - steady change) until tonight so use this space to set those intentions - see yesterday's post.

This is the best time of the entire year for universal, energetic support to set intentions and put new processes into place for Virgo matters:

Work attitudes, health, habits, employment, employees, tenants, servants, co-workers, pets, dependents, service given to others, routine matters, clothes, hygiene, aunts, uncles, unconscious mind, high school years, apprenticeships, food, small animals, solar plexus, bowels, productivity, nutrition, tools, analysis, coping with stress, chores, duties, your feelings about employment, work output, self improvement, dedication, devotion, loyalty, faithfulness, discipline, celibacy, bread, magic, harvest, criteria and our skills.

Let's DO THIS! Tomorrow the Moon is void (between signs) so take some action today.

The Moon conjuncts Mercury - so we get a little clarity today, but there could still be some stress around how to proceed. On Friday the Sun will oppose dreamy Neptune and the blindfolds will come off. Let's postpone big decisions until next week if we are undecided.

We have Venus square Saturn and Mars so this could show up as delays and frustrations in our creative life (also romance and money) - this is really about showing us where we need to put in the work (we may not want to hear this if we want to play these last weeks of summer - I hear you!).

Saturn is an aspect of the father/authority figure - the 2nd largest planet; the planet of contraction (Jupiter, the largest planet, is the planet of expansion so we always expand a little more than we contract). Saturn is about boundaries, responsibilities, karma, commitments, self-control - the stuff that defines (meaning = outlines) us.

He sets the rules. This is the aspect where if we quit, we quit (and sometimes we need to quit). This is the aspect that supports those who are not afraid (or too lazy or distracted - shakes fist at Neptune) to put in the work and the time and take responsibility for what we put out there without any guarantees about the outcome.

If we aren't sure what we should be doing and we think we need to be sure before we put in the work this is the universe giving us a little smack upside our head. This is not the way life on planet Earth works. We are living through a transition. A transition that we asked for. Transitions aren't the wobbly spaces between two stable places anymore - the places we work through to get to the other side - the entire space is the transition - there is no other side.

This is not because there isn't a rainbow at the end of our choices, but because the space of making choices is what we are here for - we didn't come for the rainbow!

Venus slamming into this bad-ass boys' club brick wall today shows us if we need some outer source (even our partners) to make us feel good, it's going to be a long day/week. Thin skinned people better grab a sweater, too.

Trust that lots of things are coming together for us - patience (and patience isn't about waiting), adjustments, responsibility is needed now. Virgo is like a cosmic Martha Stewart - she wants it done right and at the end of the day this will be a good thing.

xo all

BIZ Astrology for Monday August 25th - New Moon in Virgo (the small stuff matters now - new beginnings)

my virgo aromatherapy locket by polarity

The astrology wheel is the hero's journey of self discovery. When the sun moved into Virgo this weekend, it is the hero's first encounter with service.

The hero is learning when to help and when helping isn't really helping. Virgo is the modest healer with the critical eye that takes care of the details. Meaningful work and competence are key now.

Virgo knows we are not here to do the work we love - we are here to love the work we do. There is a difference. This is the difference that changes the world. This is the difference that changes us.

Every sign has something to learn from the sign that follows it.

Leo learns from Virgo (and we all have Leo and Virgo in our charts somewhere - its placement will affect how this activates in your own journey) - to do the work. Virgo teaches Leo to let go of the need for the spotlight and recognition and to just focus on the work.

It is no coincidence that Virgo comes in autumn; the time of the harvest - the time we separate the wheat from the chafe.

Virgo's shadow is perfection. Perfection is a ferocious teacher and many people with strong Virgos have the battle scars to prove it. There must be self acceptance here.  

If a Virgo is unhappy with what she sees in the mirror, she will be unhappy with what she sees everywhere else.

Self-esteem is the key to avoiding self-destruction. Despite Virgo's need for careful planning (a well planned job is half done is certainly one of her mantras) she must learn to live in the moment and to live there with compassion (for herself and everyone else).

This is everyone's lesson now.

Today we have a NEW MOON in Virgo and the energies at play are as complex as any Virgo we will ever meet. We are truly laying the groundwork for our new beginning. This is a big week.

We have the Virgo New Moon opposing Neptune in Pisces and the New Moon's ruler (Mercury rules Virgo) sextiling the Mars - Saturn malevolent conjunction (war with physical consequences) in Scorpio we are all dealing with.

Saturn is the foundation builder. And when Saturn is galvanized by Mars he will build them even stronger (bulldozers aren't moving these babies once they're up) AND nothing demands a more concentrated and sustained effort than Mars with Saturn in the depths of Scorpio.

NOW is where we hit the wall.

We either muster the energy to scale the damn thing or we go in another direction - there is no one answer here. There is no right answer either. What is our heart telling us?

We can work harder (with Saturn) sustained by the knowledge our second wind (Mars energy) will be there

or we can release what isn't working for us and begin to move in a new direction.

There is a finality to the energy now. Lots of endings. Lots of old stories being addressed. So what are we going to do?

This isn't about making a big decision today - we've still got this Neptune in Pisces opposition fuzzing things up.
   
This is about little decisions.

This is about tying our shoes and going for that long, sweaty walk. This is about putting a pitcher of water on our desk and not getting up until the work is done. There is great power in sticking to a schedule now.

The next two weeks are very important.

We are starting a new two year period with this Mars - Saturn cycle about our purpose in the world (and our relationships). We are laying a foundation - we may not be able to see exactly what we are building yet (we will by the end of October), and that's OK, but whatever this new structure is, it is our job to ensure the labor that builds it be practiced and detailed and precise.

Venus in Leo squares Mars - Saturn. This is about a need to evaluate our personal and professional relationships. On Friday the Sun opposes Neptune and relationships may get even more confusing. We need to ground ourselves (the Virgo sun will help us with this, spend some time in it) so we can see people for who they are and not who we want/need them to be. Patience is rewarded now.

We each have it in us to do what we are called to do and we are the only one who can do it. When our belief becomes that we are here to serve the world, that is exactly the space that will open up for us.

Today is the day for excellent energetic support for affirming what we want.

A Virgo New moon is the perfect time to focus on Virgo areas such as : health (diet and exercise; the maintenance of our health), work/job, creating order, relaxing perfectionism and helping others.

Examples of some affirmations:

1. I am easily attracted to foods that are healthy for my body. I establish routines that create total health for me. I easily swallow vitamins (ugh).

2. I easily complete tasks with minimal stress and maximum efficiency. I create routines that give me time to relax. All tendencies to postpone necessary tasks and errands are totally lifted from me. I create financial abundance for myself while adding value to the lives of others.

3. I restore my work space to order on a daily basis. Any resistance to 'cleaning up the mess' is lifted from me. I create order in my home.

4. I am free of critical judgements of myself and others. The compulsion to 'be right' is easily lifted from me. I use positive language.

5. I consciously feel satisfaction from being of service to others in my work.

AFFIRMATION TIPS: get into a happy frame of mind - always make affirmations from a  positive place (both definitions of positive apply here; the one that means certain and the one that means favorable)- write your affirmations down by hand in script, speak them out loud - I always write my affirmations on strips of paper, burn them and release them into moving water - as we release them we release our attention from them also knowing that our intention is known. Know these things are already ours. xo