Venus Sextile Pluto | passionate about the things we love

Ashlin I by surabhiguptaphotoart

Venus in Pisces sextiles (opportunities) Pluto in Capricorn today.

Venus ruled women, art, money and beauty can be the catalyst for change and transformation now. Sextiles are gentle aspects - things can fall into place so easily that opportunities can be overlooked. This is feeling passion about what we love or falling in love with what we are passionate about. Fated relationships - personal and business - could begin now.

Back this afternoon with the inauguration chart once we see what time he actually takes the oath of office. We have the Scorpio Moon squaring the Aquarius Sun - so big changes ahead folks, but we probably don't need astrology to tell us that! xo all

Mars Square Saturn, Sun into Aquarius | giving that situation some space

Snow queen by thefirebomb

Today is a busy day in the skies. Mars - our initiative, our energy, our action, our anger -  still in Pisces for another nine days and not uber comfortable, is squaring Saturn (in Sagittarius until the end of the year).

Saturn here is that wall, that constraint, that authority blocking our way forward. Maybe an unexpected or unwanted "no".

Getting angry (Mars) or deciding to push harder won't help the situation now. Saturn is unyielding. Roadblocks 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.

For today, the best choice is likely to let things move at their own pace. Patience might be needed.

It is unlikely for Mars (young man) to beat Saturn (old man) while Mars is plodding through Pisces' shifting sands. If we keep our cool we live to fight another day here. If we don't, we lose. Also, if we are playing Saturn to someone else's Mars know that we could win the battle, but might lose the war.

Saturn in Sagittarius is asking us "what do you really believe? ... and how's that working for ya." The highest use of Mars in Pisces is compassion and healing - this is the spiritual warrior at work. Keep this in mind.

Also today the Sun begins his annual journey through Aquarius and gives us a chance to step back and look at the big picture. It energizes us to step outside the box and try something else. It allows us to put some space between us and that challenging, draining situation. As always with Aquarius all detachment is helpful until it isn't.

We are about to get very familiar with this energy when the South Node moves into Aquarius in May. Sometimes we are too close and too enmeshed in a situation to see clearly what is happening. Stepping back is good and needed. We can see what is happening with less judgment. We can see past societal rules (Aquarius is the rebel, genius, criminal). We get a new set of eyes to see the world.

Of course (that fly in the ointment thing again), if we step too far back we are like an outsider in our own life and this is not a good thing. Detachment can create dispassion and with the South Node's move into this space, dispassion isn't going to work anymore. The problem with loving 'people' in general more than we love the person lying next to us in bed ... or the person looking back at us from the mirror, is one of the themes we will be working with in 2017/2018.

For now, we will all get to feel what it feels like to burn Aquarius energy for fuel - how appropriate that we usher in Trump with his natal Sun conjunct Uranus (Aquarius ruler Uranus coloring his Sun and making him very Uranian and an honorary Aquarian).

Aquarius ancient ruler is Saturn (before Uranus was discovered). And because we have Saturn squaring Mars the day the Sun enters Aquarius and Saturn squaring Neptune the day of the Aquarius New Moon (the 27th) - we know this Aquarius season will be very much Saturn flavored - work paying off, realism, patience. But still Aquarian - independence, humanitarian, group-focused, being an individual within a group setting.

I'm going to take a look at Trump's inauguration chart tomorrow - trying to talk a little politics here (since it so aptly represents our own lives these days) without being divisive. The chart itself would be in play for whoever won the election, so we will add Trump's natal and see what we see.

For today - keep a cool head if you must go up against authority now. Live to fight another day.

xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of January 16th - cloudy skies and a thorny crown

Crown by Natalia Drepina

The word inauguration comes from the Latin "inaugurationem" meaning to install under good omens (auger meaning predict). In ancient times new phases and spaces were inaugurated when omens were favorable. Of course, 'favorable' meant whatever it meant at the time. This week's omens, whether looked at astrologically or just by taking the temperature of the U.S. populace, are probably not so favorable. 

(Remember the same troubled astrological skies would have ushered in Clinton had she won - although Trump's chart when synchronized with the U.S. chart and the chart for Friday, is particularly volatile. The inauguration chart will affect Trump's - and so the United States' and world's - next four years.)

On Monday, Mars (in Pisces) conjuncts Chiron and moves into position to square Saturn on Thursday. Mars in Pisces is tricky enough to manage. We are trying to direct the flow of water - it's not easy. The highest use of Mars in Pisces is compassion and healing. The lowest is deception and self-sabotage. 

Hooking up with Chiron (the wounded healer), someone's actions (ours or other people's) are 'opening a wound'. Actions are painful.

Sometimes the only way to clean a wound is to open it. This doesn't make it hurt any less. Also the Moon is in critical and persnickety Virgo now. Kindness matters. If our goal is 'to take someone down a few notches' - we might succeed in doing this, but with the approaching square to Saturn we will bring things to a screeching halt, too. If we are up against an authority figure or a situation that is 'always done this way' - it is unlikely to budge. Saturn is going to win this week. Let's really think about our goals with what we are doing and saying. There is a way around this. We all have Saturn in us. Time and patience may be required.

This doesn't mean authority and the status quo should not be challenged - this is the year it will be! But we must be pushing for (or better said - moving in the direction of) what we want and not against what we don't want. Keep this in mind.

The Virgo Moon says - get to work, get organized. Mars is behind the scenes (deception, addiction) so we don't know what we don't know. The distraction is probably not real anyway. Focus.

On Tuesday, the Moon moves into Libra so our attention naturally turns to partnership issues (equal partners - spouses, clients, attorney, agent, competitor, etc). We could be responding to challenging news. 

Mars (war, courage, passion) energy is getting stronger. If there is any great mayhem this week, it will likely be sometime now through Thursday.

On Wednesday, we continue to build toward the Mars/Saturn square - exact on Thursday. Whatever is going on in our natal Pisces house or behind the scenes or with a Pisces theme - addiction, healing, compassion, imagination, deception - is about to run head on into Saturn (authority, structure, time, limit, commitment, career). With Saturn in Sagittarius the theme will likely be something legal, higher education, politics, publicity, religion or travel. 

We can see the wall. Keep a cool head.

On Thursday, the Moon is void all day - don't start anything new, don't initiate. Mars squares Saturn - I'll do a post about this in the dailies. We hit a limit. Big boy pants are required. The Sun moves into Aquarius focusing our attention on the group, the internet, revolution, innovation, Trump (Sun conjunct Uranus natal), humanitarian causes. 

By Friday, the Moon moves into deep, dark Scorpio. There are a couple good aspects this day, so the inauguration chart isn't totally challenging. We'll talk about this later.

By Sunday when the Moon moves into Sagittarius - we are starting to move past 'the hurt'. We are focusing on 'what's next'. 2017 is all about moving us into our hearts and getting unstuck. This week concludes part one of that.

xo all
 

FULL MOON in Cancer | January 12th - pulled in different directions

Self medicating by Katy Twist

Today's Full Moon in Cancer is BIG.

The monthly Full Moon is always a time of Sun opposite Moon - this month, the Sun is in Capricorn at the same degree the Moon is in Cancer. It is always a time we are being pulled in two directions. Well, this month we also have Uranus and Jupiter forming a Grand Cardinal Cross with the Sun and Moon. Imagine a giant cross in the sky with each planet at one of the four points. And imagine us in the middle!

So now we are being pulled in four directions! Cardinal signs initiate. Grand Cardinal Crosses create situations, usually stressful, that cause us to initiate changes.

This energy will be very potent and impact us strongly until the next New Moon on January 28th and to a lesser degree until the New Moon in Cancer next summer. Most impacted will be people with planets or points around 22 degrees. 

(this energy will be in effect during the U.S. Presidential inauguration and the U.S. - born on the 4th of July - is a Cancer Sun country)

This is a battle of extremes. With the Moon (our emotions, motherhood, patriotism) in its home sign of Cancer - emotions will be very high for everyone. Grand Crosses are difficult to resolve because it's like each side wants what they want, and something has to give here.

Luckily for us Saturn is forming beneficial angles to all the players in the cross. Saturn brings all of us together. Now, Saturn is called Father Time, so patience will be required. It may be time that heals this wounding. Hard work could be required since he rules that, too. Maybe Saturn will show up in the form of an actual older person (older than us or a very Saturnian person - strong Capricorn, strong Saturn) who pulls things together.

Saturn will be trining (brakes off) Uranus - this is an excellent aspect for young and old to work together. This is good for traditional ways to work with new ways. With Saturn in Sagittarius, this could bring people from different backgrounds together. Saturn will be sextiling Jupiter - this is measured expansion that creates opportunity over time. Common sense is needed. And, of course these Saturn aspects - the way through this - will play out over a longer period of time.

For now, if something happens that feels like it is threatening our security/family, remember we have faced hard things before and survived. We will survive this, too. For some of us, there is karma and fate in whatever happening is catching us off guard. This might be helpful to think about even if things are painful. Be flexible. Flow with what is happening. There is literally soul healing here ....

Also today Mercury moves back into Capricorn (moving forward) - this story has been unfolding since around December 19th. We have all the information we need and are ready to face the truth with this.

This Moon feels so challenging I wouldn't even walk in it - if you get what you want here, celebrate respectfully, because someone else isn't .... xo all

Mars Sextile Pluto | the courage to go for it

You and my winter by TanjaMoss

Today is a good day to tackle something we have been procrastinating or have been afraid would be too difficult. Action creates opportunity. Mars (action initiative) in Pisces (dream, imagination) is sextile (opportunity, ease) Pluto (karma, transformation) in Capricorn (work, authority, career).

Also the Sun is sextile Chiron and squaring Jupiter - this is us having faith in our goals and ambitions. This is us getting back on that horse.

I have to head out but wanted to get up a few sentence or two since the energy is there for us to take a chance. We could over-do things (not a good day for shopping!), there is that Jupiter square (see the weekly post for Wednesday HERE), we might also accomplish something we thought was out of reach. Focus. xo all

Sun Square Uranus | lead up to this week's Full Moon - tradition gets shaken up ....

her hands by Natalis Drepina

With the Sun, in Capricorn so answering to Saturn

(and I should say influenced by and not 'answering to' since the Sun, being the biggest big cheese of all, doesn't ever 'answer to')

squaring off with Uranus, the planet of the new and unusual - we might feel a strong urge to try something new now. Someone or something else could upset our apple cart, too, by doing things in a new way or acting unexpectedly. Restless energy can break through very stagnant and stifling walls, but could take the floors and ceiling out, too. Maybe they need to be taken out or maybe it just makes more of a mess to clean up.

This is a good time to try something else, but keeping one foot on solid (and proven) ground for a while will probably be a good thing. Take care driving since not everyone will be playing by the same rules.

We also have Vesta (keeper of the hearth) retrograding from Leo back into nurturing Cancer today. We talked about her a little bit here. Maybe we move away from Leo ruled - creative project, children, romance, passion, play - and refocus on taking care of ourselves. An energy of "devotion" moves from our Leo to Cancer natal house (where are Leo and Cancer in your natal chart?) for a bit of backtracking.

We are building toward Thursday's Cancer Full Moon which is part of a Grand Cardinal Cross (imagine a cross in the sky with a planet at each point and us in the middle being pulled in four different directions) involving the Moon, the Sun, Uranus and Jupiter. There is something shocking here. Something anxious to be born. So many planets at the same degrees and no planets in fixed signs at all!

Life is changing folks.

There's still so much Pisces energy ... we swim, we float or we drown. Maybe we cry. Maybe we just get wet.

xo all