Mercury into Taurus | the essentials

walking like giant cranes by hellolikegoodbye

Today, Mercury (communication, conversation, thoughts, ideas) moves into steady, grounded (and fixed) Taurus.

Communications and thinking turn to practical things. The pace slows. It's back to basics.  

Taurus gets results through self-sufficiency, by bringing ideas and concepts 'down to earth', by being sensible.

This is not the time to enact complicated plans unless we want to make ourselves (and everyone else) crazy re-doing or rejecting them later.

Better to drill down to the fundamentals now.

Mercury is covering ground he will walk twice more - by the time we return to this space in a few weeks we will know where we stand having figured out just what we must have - what is essential.

When Mercury stations retrograde (in Taurus and then back into Aries) beginning April 9th the pace will slow down even more. Patience will be needed. There is a lot of retrograde activity in April and planets changing signs - so much will be in flux, hard to pin down and "re"-evaluated it will be uber challenging to stay on a complicated course. Are there things that we can do now to remove some obstacles from our path? Things will require extra time. Keep this in mind.

Rushing through ideas, conversations and decisions won't work well now. Take the time to think things through and get it right - life will encourage/force this process, so fighting it is futile anyway. If a person or situation is pushing us to make a decision we are not ready to make, events will conspire to give us more time. If we can't decide - we should wait. If we are the one doing the pushing we will be frustrated during this transit. Mercury likes to move lightning fast, but Taurus likes to stop and smell the roses. The upcoming retrograde will amplify this.

Straightforward ideas and communications are favored.

The fly in the ointment with Mercury in Taurus is its fixed nature. One of the reasons for the information slowing down is that everyone becomes entrenched in their position and digs in. Compromise becomes a four letter word and there aren't alot of choices. The answer is either yes or no, there is no maybe with Taurus. Our resolve is strengthened though.

The good news is we will all have more certainty by the time he moves into Gemini on June 6th. Have a nice weekend - so tired of the dreary rain here! xo all

Jupiter Square Pluto | dealing with those pesky power imbalances ... again

balance by JeanFan

Today's square (tension) between Jupiter (in Libra) and Pluto (in Capricorn) is the second of three we will be dealing with this year. The first was in late November, the next is early August.

This is the only one of the three squares where Jupiter is retrograde. 

When Jupiter is retrograde (about one third of the time) we are "re"flecting on Jupiterian themes - with Jupiter in Libra during this year's retrograde the shadow side of Libran energy (denial) is expanding (Jupiter) in proportion to our need to deal with it - or I should say in proportion to how much we have not been dealing with it.

Whatever situation Jupiter has us revisiting could be a bit uncomfortable. If something is moving too fast or getting too big too fast we will feel the discomfort of the stretch of that now. 

Problems/weaknesses may come to light around what is out of balance or what is unjust. Situations where we are doing too much or too little need a re-evaluation. Expansion could be tempered (maybe temporarily). A careful assessment of what is growing is needed now.  Focus.

The shadow of peace loving Libra is denial so Jupiter is showing us that elephant in the livingroom (now through June) by feeding him peanuts. Lots of peanuts. He is, or soon will be, too big to tuck behind the living room sofa. Yes, even one of those five piece sectionals from Pottery Barn. Whatever the situation it will require ADJUSTMENT.

Question : WHERE'S THAT ELEPHANT? Hints below. Check sun and rising signs.

Aries - this imbalance is about equal partnerships
Taurus - this imbalance is about work or health
Gemini - this imbalance is about self expression
Cancer - this imbalance is about home and family
Leo - this imbalance is about self-expression
Virgo - this imbalance is about love or money
Libra - this imbalance is about you
Scorpio - this imbalance is about stuff that is hidden behind the scenes
Sagittarius - this imbalance is about groups, friendship, something public
Capricorn - this imbalance is about career, public image
Aquarius - this imbalance is about travel, higher ed, legal, relocation, publishing
Pisces - this imbalance is about shared resources, intimacy, loans, taxes, investments

Now - this is what the Jupiter retrograde is about (it is from an earlier post I wrote) and now today Jupiter is squaring powerful Pluto in powerful Capricorn.

There is a struggle here. Areas of black and white rigid thinking and beliefs are in for trouble. The more we stand for exactly this thing - the more the other person will stand firmly in exactly that. With Pluto, any extreme positions we take will scare people off or shut them down.

A more middle ground is needed. Something out of balance is being transformed.

Can we see how our controlling behavior is based in our fear of the future?

Libra and Capricorn are cardinal signs that launch new seasons - they require action. Maybe an old opportunity comes back around now for us to decide/move on again. We just can't take things too far or we'll shoot ourselves in the foot - maybe get what we want and then realize we don't really want it, maybe challenge the people/things/situations we are going to need later. 

The bottom line - Jupiter square Pluto is about the friction (square) needed to create BIG (Jupiter) transformation (Pluto). For some it only takes a little friction to get us moving, for others it takes a nuclear quantity. Life will supply what is needed here.

Remember everything in our life is a challenge to the degree we resist it. Everything. 

xo all

Mercury Trine Saturn | planning and concentration gets the gold star

old man by lash-upon-lash

Opportunities come through careful planning and preparation as Mercury (communications, conversations, ideas, thoughts) trines (opportunities) serious Saturn (time, stability, hard work) now.

Deliberate, thoughtful and sober words create the most impact. If we want to be taken seriously we need to take ourselves seriously. Conversations should be respectful. Do we know what we are talking about? If not, it's time to connect with someone who does. Lessons learned now stay with us. What are we learning?

Communications and conversations with authority figures go well now. 

This is great energy to work toward developing mastery of a subject. Saturn rules time, so this won't happen overnight. That's OK. We have more time than we think we do. We are in the energy of that fresh new Aries Moon encouraging us to start again; to take fresh action - especially if we have planets and points near 7 degrees of a cardinal sign, Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn, in our natal chart.

This aspect (Mercury trine Saturn) offers us the perseverance and concentration that creates stability.

With Saturn in Sagittarius (an old wise man if ever there was one) we do (or most likely with Venus retrograde and ruling almost everything we "re-do") whatever it is we are working on with maybe not quite as much youthful exuberance and confidence that we are always right and will always win as we might normally associate with an Aries New Moon,

but more like the way an old person rises in the morning with achy joints and a grateful heart - another day and I'm still here! - unsure of the outcome or what is around the next corner but putting both feet on the cold linoleum floor and moving forward anyway.

This is great energy for paperwork that requires accuracy.

Four of ten planets change direction over the next four weeks - are we ready for this ...... xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of March 27th - fired up

locked heart 06 by hip-possible

Monday night's New Moon in Aries (7 degrees) is the PERFECT time to make a vision board for a fresh start as we kick off the new lunar year with our first New Moon!

Let's make it by incorporating images, words and phrases reflecting the things/feelings/situations we want to learn about, share with others and bring into our life this year. Get it done over the next couple days.

We are also starting (as of Saturday) a new 8 year (or 4 year) cycle in our natal house that holds 5 degrees Aries. What are we passionate about NOW? This will be about our money, values, love, beauty, self-esteem and/or women.

This is the fresh start energy that last week's Venus/Sun conjunction assured us was coming.  

Now, Venus is still retrograde for another three weeks so there is a past love, values, money or woman situation we are still working through or that needs to be reworked for us to get where we are going. So we'll work that as our plans start coming together. We might also be required to stand up (Aries) or maybe fight (Aries) for what we love and/or what we'd love to have now. Venus is a morning star (warrior) until January - get used to it!

The Moon is void Monday morning until 10:11am EST when it moves into fiery Aries. Mars (in Taurus) is making nice with Neptune (in Pisces) now. This is steady, grounded energy for taking action with Neptunian themes - spirituality, healing, imagination, addiction, escape, things put away.

On Tuesday, the Aries Moon steps into our ongoing t-square (the main aspect that's causing all the crazy stuff in the outer world) with Jupiter, Uranus and Pluto - we will either be charging ahead or feeling stifled that we can't. Mercury is now walking the degrees he will cover twice more over his upcoming retrograde. Notice the information coming at us now because we will be rehashing it for a while. Patience is needed.

On Wednesday, the Moon is void until noon EST then moves into the more gentle energy of Taurus - see if you feel it. Mercury and Saturn are working together well so talks (Mercury) with authority figures (Saturn) are favored. Our words are our bond now. Conversations and information could center around Sagittarian themes - foreign issues, travel, higher education, politics (please no!), religion, media, marketing and publishing. Saturn is moving slower now and preparing to go retrograde until autumn.

On Thursday, we have the second of the three 2017 Jupiter/Pluto squares. This is about something that started last November and will finalize in August (this is clobbering Trump's chart BTW). Jupiter wants to grow and change through expansion, Pluto wants to blow the damn thing up and start again from the ashes. This is about bringing power into balance. We'll talk about this more on Thursday.

On Friday, the Moon moves into Gemini and Mercury enters Taurus. Even though there will be lots of information and conversations coming at us - we will need to stop and smell the roses a bit. Stop thinking so much. Take a walk. Mercury is all about communication and the way we think and process information. Taurus is cautious and deliberate and all about security, material comfort, Mother Earth.

With Mercury hunkering down in Taurus for this extended stay - he stations retrograde in early April, we can expect our ideas, conversations and communications to be evaluated on more practical terms now. Stuff that doesn't have a clear track record, or stuff that is considered too risky, will be discarded.

New ideas might be back-burnered (at least for a while) for more tried and true methods.

People will be less flexible. Ideas will be more carefully assessed. Patience and proof will be required.

If we are looking for a commitment we can count on - this is very good energy. With Mercury in Taurus, our words, and the words of other people, will carry extra weight - promises will matter here. They will be harder to come by, but once made will be honored. Keep this in mind.

With Mercury in his shadow degrees (the space he will be retracing) some things may start to slow down or maybe closer to April 9th. This can be frustrating if something feels 'ready to go', but retrogrades (if used to reassess, redo and realign) have a way of paying off later on. Trust this.

Patience and the long game will be rewarded.

MONDAY'S NEW MOON IN ARIES

The New Moon is an excellent time for energetic support to make changes with things ruled by Aries - the head (headaches, acne, eyes, brain), our overall physical self, exploration, initiative, courage, leadership, strength, stubbornness, impulsiveness, temper tantrums, anger, stress from inaction - what do we need more of in our lives, what are we needing to release.

Now is the time to set intentions for this stuff.

AFFIRMATION TIPS: get into a calm, centered frame of mind - always make affirmations from a  positive (meaning both certain and happy) space - write your affirmations down by hand in script, speak them out loud - this month I'll write my affirmations on strips of paper and burn them - then release your attention from these things knowing that your intention is known.  

Know these things are already yours. xo all

Venus Conjunct the Sun | shining a light on what/who we love

why i take pictures of couples by make-a-wish

Today, Venus reaches the midpoint of her 2017 forty day retrograde journey.

We should know what this has been about for us by now. If not, here it is right in front of us. The Sun's bright light this weekend provides a point of clarity. Is this what we really want? "Maybe" is not close enough to "YES" for Venus.

During Venus retrogrades our relationship with what we love and value is tested. The way we handle our money (and other resources including the planet Earth) is tested. The stuff we used to love sometimes gets revisited so we can decide if it still makes our heart sing or if it needs to go to make room for something else.

This could be about a person, but it could just as easily be about our work, our career, our art, our role, our self-esteem.

(with all of this happening in me, me, me Aries what we are doing must be valuing ourselves and putting ourselves first - it's oxygen mask time, people! - and that Leo North Node is coming in May when we move forward by working from our heart - it's crunch time to figure this crap out)

Venus wants us feeling that full-hearted affirmative by the Aries New Moon on Monday when she will be sitting conjunct the Sun and the Moon. What is it going to take to get us there?

For us, for now - today's Venus/Sun conjunction at 4 degrees Aries will bring clarity (Sun) around love (Venus). This could also bring something to light (Sun) or something into our heart (Sun) involving a Venus theme - love, money, values, women or the theme of our early Aries house.

Tomorrow, Mercury (news, information, communication) will conjunct Uranus (anything can happen, revolution, surprise) - notice this happens between the Sun/Venus conjunction today and the Aries fresh start New Moon on Monday. Watch for it - although if this impacts you personally you won't be able to miss it. Back tomorrow to talk about that. xo all


NOTE - This journey of Venus (our love, money, values, women) is called an inferior conjunction and means she is changing from an evening to a morning star. We will have to rise before dawn to see her in the sky now because the Sun will be encapsulating her. We are all very attractive to what we really want now. During the time (now) when Venus is a morning star she is a warrior Goddess. She descends into the underworld to reappear reborn.

Mercury Opposite Jupiter | Bold Words

Speak by Jean Fan

After yesterday's dust up with Pluto (still in play) fast moving Mercury (in Aries) moves into opposition with Jupiter (in Libra).

Stop ruminating on problems.

There is the potential for good news now (just check the facts), especially about whatever our retrograde Jupiter has us revisiting (see this post). This is a good time to talk about something we are passionate about. Embrace optimism with our speech.

There is the possibility of some over-the-top language that doesn't amount to much in the long run - this possibility is always on the table when Mercury aspects Jupiter. Exaggerated ideas - an ability to gloss over the details and take on more than we can handle. Watch for this and avoid pushy sales people now. The downside of Jupiter is greed and over-confidence - if we avoid that stuff there is good energy for success here.

Be careful not to exaggerate or count chickens that have not been hatched, both will be easy to do now, but if we use this energy for positive communications - mountains can be moved.

NOTE - this energy will tie into Mercury's ongoing story this week which continues on Sunday with a shock, surprise or an unexpected announcement, information, conversation or idea, as he meets up with Uranus. Also note Mercury also rules siblings, our local neighborhood, teaching, learning and transportation - stories could be unfolding with this themes, too. xo all