Mars Opposite Saturn | between a rock and a hard place

set me free by ashley mae

This transit is perfecting next Monday.

I was going to write about it later in the week, but in light of the Manchester bombing I thought I would write about it now.

Astrological transits (other than the Moon) have an impact for days (even weeks and months for outer planets transits to our natal planets) before and days after they reach an exact aspect.

There was quite a bit of tense astrology happening late Monday, but it isn't until you look at the chart for the city of Manchester itself you see the biggest challenges. I wish every town and city would employ an astrologer to track each area's transits. This wouldn't be fool-proof, obviously, but it might be helpful at times.

The chart for Manchester for the time of the bombing shows Mars (initiative, action, anger, war) opposing Saturn (structure, authority) in the first house (the city itself). The Mars/Saturn opposition (two malefic planets) is a violent signature. It can show up as bullying, anger, frustration and conflict. Mars squares Chiron (wound that can't be healed) in the 4th house of roots, home and family. Mars was conjunct the asteroid Chaos and square to Neptune. Neptune (loss). rules over events like music concerts (places of escape, places we lose ourselves, music - we have seen a Neptune signature before with nightclub shootings).

And, of course, with something happening "out of the blue" we would look to see what Uranus is doing - Uranus isn't about violence necessarily, but brings something sudden and unexpected. Uranus was conjunct the Moon with the Moon sitting on the IC (4th house cusp - home, roots - extremely important space of a chart). We also see Lilith and Eris (more and more Eris is showing up with a prominent placement in charts involving terrorism) conjunct Uranus and the IC - a "shocking, violent event that hits close to home".

Jupiter is the chart ruler and Jupiter rules religion and what is foreign and is retrograde now, so out of sorts. Venus (women) is opposite Jupiter. The murderer could have been focused on religion or felt foreign to the people he was hurting (Jupiter), maybe wanted to hurt women (Venus), maybe part of a larger structure or just looking to hurt society (Saturn), but it doesn't take astrology to guess at this.
  
(I wish the media would stop calling murderers 'terrorists' as if they had earned some kind of "title" through their actions the way a geologist or theologist or biologist would - language is power)

Moving forward this Mars/Saturn opposition is going to be building through Monday when it starts to unwind itself.

We have Mars (in Gemini) opposite Saturn (in Sagittarius).

(during the 9/11 attacks in the United States we had Mars in Gemini opposite Pluto in Sagittarius - again two malefic plants in the same signs)

Mars is action, initiative, aggression, anger and war. Gemini is thinking, communicating, fast moving, transportation, the local neighborhood, young people. Saturn rules authority, structure, rules, time. Sagittarius rules religion, anything foreign, higher thinking. The word salads do not look like anything remotely edible. At best I am seeing religious arguments or arguments with authority figures.

At the same time we have Venus (in Aries and answering to Mars) just coming out of that opposition to Jupiter we talked about last week about to make a hard square to Pluto and Jupiter, Neptune and Mercury are forming a Yod this weekend. We'll talk about this later. It is definitely not all bad - we have alot of good energy ahead, too.

Remember it's not that things are getting worse - they are just getting more visible. If you need to back away from the news DO THAT. Oxygen mask on your own face first now. Raising our own energy helps the collective in ways we cannot even imagine.

So use your astrology knowledge to help yourself. Keep the Mars/Saturn energy in mind, but don't dwell on it. Keep a cool head. Stay flexible. Get some exercise. Write something. Keep attuned to your local environment - pay attention to what is happening around you. The Moon is dark - reflect, meditate, send prayers to the people who are hurting now ... xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of May 22nd - sharpen your pencil

pencil girl by cetrobo

The start of Gemini season will mean a busy week for most people. This will probably also be another sensational news week!

Let's jump right in.

On Monday, we'll have the energy to get right down to work with an Aries Moon that has everyone focused on "action, action, action" and "me, me, me'". If you are presenting something to someone now make sure you focus on 'what's in it for them'. If you need a boost of courage, today is the day. The Moon makes nice with Venus early in the day - great energy for a fresh start with women, money, self-esteem, values and beauty issues. Balance, harmony, fairness will prevail.

Then around lunchtime the energy shifts (eat a light lunch, so you don't lose it). There is a whole John Wayne cowboy vibe to the rest of the day - people will be more willing to use force and go their own way to accomplish their goals. The Moon squares Pluto (in Capricorn) which is not such great energy for dealing with authority figures. There is tension around goals, structure and ambitions. Emotions can also be intense. More can be accomplished working alone today, especially in the afternoon. 

On Tuesday, the Moon moves into Taurus (where the Moon is exalted) focusing us in on money issues, purchases, what we value and what we own. In Taurus we want to stop and smell the roses. The Moon is only in Taurus a couple days every month and now that Taurus Sun season is behind us, it is important to use that nurturing energy in some way, so take some time - today and tomorrow - to relax, get outdoors, get your hands in some dirt, cook a nutritious meal, etc. This would also be the perfect day to get a massage.

The Moon is balsamic - it's a natural time for a monthly time out. 

On Wednesday, the Moon is making beautiful music with Neptune - good energy to make art, work with our imagination, healing, romance, spirituality, hospitals - stuff that is hidden and put away. Around noon the Moon trines (brakes off) Pluto - this is the time to work with those authority figures, goals, structures and ambitions. Emotions can still be intense but things will move smoother.

Remember Jupiter is retrograde for another couple weeks - we will have to work for our luck, the golden ticket is probably not going to fall out of that candy bar (so let's not kid ourselves that it's a good idea to eat five of them). And that's OK. It's alot easier to hold onto the stuff we have to earn anyway (plus Gene Wilder has passed on and it would just be us and the Oompa Loompas).

The Moon goes void at 3pm EST so maybe plan an early escape, save this time for routine work or at least don't start anything new in the afternoon - nothing will come of it.

On Thursday the Moon conjuncts the Sun in Gemini. The Gemini New Moon kicks off a two week growth period of choices with a focus on words, sales, meetings, writing, interviews, communications, conversations, local community activities, stuff with siblings and neighbors, our vehicles and electronics. Also the theme of your natal Gemini house.

Also on Thursday, Venus (in Aries) squares Pluto (in Capricorn). This is tension within our relationships - compulsion, power struggles, obsession. This is not the time to be possessive. Trust me on this one. I find Pluto squares usually bring up issues around fear of abandonment and we all get a bit more paranoid.

Try not to channel Glenn Close in that rabbit movie (I forget the name). If you meet someone new now the energy could be a bit like Fatal Attraction (that's it!), so prepare for fireworks, heartbreak and a likely hospitalization that requires stitches #kidding, #notkidding.

This is good energy for focus and powering though problems though. Just check that you are using your most awesome powers for good. No one will be a push-over today. So don't push. Nobody puts baby in a corner either, especially not Gemini. That New Moon in Gemini assures us there are multiple options. Look again. POST TO FOLLOW.

On Friday, Neptune (delusion, illusion) is squaring our Gemini New Moon so I wouldn't make any big decisions right now. The day will be busy with lots of communication and information. Check any impulsive behaviors in the p.m.

On Saturday the Cancer Moon takes over focusing all of us here in the USA on mom and apple pie and the long holiday weekend. There is some tense and important stuff this weekend that connects back to the beginning of this month. We'll talk about it later in the week!

NOTE this weekend with its first quarter Moon in Cancer is an excellent time to plant vegetables and flowers in the ground.

Remember we are in Gemini season now and Gemini rules the 3rd house of our immediate environment. It's a good time to think about how we deal with the stuff that is right in front of us. Do we see danger where there isn't any? Are we off in lalaland and not paying attention to actual snake pits?

Staying in the present moment (plus meditation and clean eating) keeps our instincts sharp. We are going to need them sharper than ever (think about that number two lead pencil we needed to have ready for those fill in the dot exams back in grade school) as we move into June, throughout the rest of the year and in the years ahead.

Gemini season is distracting. Make conscious choices and conscious moves now. We are being prepared for ever shifting grounds and increased uncertainty. Conscious action (and Gemini season) is good practice. We've got this thing.

It can be challenging to start new projects, and have things run smoothly, or move too far ahead with things in Gemini season because so much is in flux. It doesn't mean we can't or shouldn't do these things, definitely keep moving, just know that new information will probably come in that changes our perspective. Stay flexible. And open-minded. And sharpen your pencil.

xo all

Sun into Gemini | going WIDE and seeing double

flowers for a bed by kittysyellowjacket

The Sun moves into Gemini today where he will hang his hat until June 21st (summer solstice).

During Gemini season life gets busy - physically busy and mentally busy.

Do you know which house holds Gemini in your natal chart? A light is shone on that area of your life now. Multi-tasking skills will come in handy.

Gemini is the teacher who never stops learning - it is about the processing of information. Ruled by Mercury and ruler of our 3rd house of communications, thinking, ideas, early childhood education, our neighbors, local community, our siblings, transportation - you will recognize all these themes from when I am writing about Mercury!

Gemini is a mutable air sign (head cold are possible now as we move from earth to air, cue the vitamin C). Geminis are flexible.

The energy goes wide rather than deep. They want to look at, and learn about, and talk about and do - a little of this and that and the other thing.

Geminis are clever and very good with words. They can say one thing to one person and something else to someone else - they are changeable. Geminis can create the perfect blend of imagination, half-truths and logic making them sometimes less than totally truthful, but they are so freakin' fast and so freakin' funny we might not even notice. 

Their symbol is the twins and with Gemini things often come in twos.

My Sun is in my 3rd house (Gemini's house) in Aquarius ruled by Uranus (in my 10th house of career). With my "career" things almost always come in pairs. In my first job doing taxes I worked in two different offices, when I was in banking I managed two totally different departments at the same time, I once had carts in two different malls selling things in two different sizes and I now have two websites and two different jewelry lines both of which carry items that come in two different sizes. I am currently writing two books at the same time (have been for awhile, don't ask) and am renovating a vintage camper which I have in mind to house two different businesses. I could go on and on (but I won't, don't worry, I know you are busy now). This career "things come in pairs" thing hasn't translated into double the money - go figure.

Some of this may be a natural inability on my part to make a normal focused decision (of course my Mercury is also in my 3rd house), but most of it has just kind of happened. Sun in the 3rd house, house ruler in the 10th.

Anyhoo, with the Sun's move into Gemini things will not be quite so black and white as they were in Taurus. It's a time to be curious. Ask questions. Try different things. We've been going deep and now we want to go wide. 

Now that we have the North Node in Leo ruled by the Sun - we can use the Sun's monthly journey, over the next 18 months, to help us focus on our Leo path!

While the Sun is in Gemini is a good time to talk about what we are doing and what we are going to do. It's a good time to advertise. It's a good time to promote what we are doing. It's a good time to try something new focused on where our heart is leaning. It's a good time to read, learn, write and teach about what we love!

Our natal Gemini houses (where is Gemini in your natal chart?) is about to get very busy. Did I say that already?

It would be a good time to get familiar with the notepad on our phone to jot down info on the go - short conversations, notes, ideas, appointments, etc. Gemini is all about WORDS.

The fly in the ointment (yes, the fly is back) is that in Gemini quantity can rule over quality as thoroughness loses out to speed. That's OK for now - we've spent almost half the year bogged down in retrogrades - fast is the new slow. xo all 

Saturn trine Uranus, Venus opposite Jupiter, Sun square North Node | shifting energies!

learning to let go by Ashley Mae

We have lots of stuff happening today. The following is in no particular order - see if anything is helpful. 

Saturn (retrograde in Sagittarius) makes his second (of three) trines with Uranus.

If you have planets or points around 26 degrees of the cardinal signs - Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn - you have probably been feeling that Uranian urge for change, change, change! I will toss you some applicable word salads:

Something old (Saturn) is new again (Uranus). A good time for new (Uranus) structures/boundaries/rules (Saturn). Work (Saturn) for change (Uranus). Some kind of structure (Saturn) creates more freedom (Uranus). The old (Saturn) and new (Uranus) work together - remember trines are 'brakes off' periods when things flow. They are also easy to miss for exactly this reason. Pay attention. Also with trines we don't need to push - stuff falls together. With Saturn time is on our side as long as we are doing our work.

Anything contacting Uranus can give us itchy feet (and unexpected out of the blue situations). Now is a good time to work (Saturn) with the itch. Solid plans began now (Saturn rules time) can create big opportunities for change (Uranus). Remember our freshly minted North Node in Leo - what does your heart want? Which direction is your natural spotlight? Check your Leo and Sun houses for themes!

We had this transit on Christmas Eve (the itch started then, and yes, I know, that super strength hydro-cortisone cream isn't working - the only thing that will work is, surprise - CHANGING WHAT ISN'T WORKING) and we'll have another one in November. This is a three-parter. This is the part where Saturn is retrograde. And, if this isn't directly impacting our chart these transits could simply be the old and the new working together smoothly during these time-frames!

We have the Sun (in Taurus) squaring the North Node (in Leo). Squares are tension. There is something here about using what we already have as we walk toward the future that is stressful. Don't toss the baby out with the bathwater. Squares to the Nodes are turning points. We will note this date for our Leo/Aquarius journey ahead! Shifts are happening all around us and within us.

Venus (in Aries) is opposite Jupiter (retrograde in Libra) just as Venus starts covering new territory. That Venus retrograde (started March 4th) is finito. This can bring good news, maybe VERY good news. With Jupiter things can look better than they actually are BUT they can also be pretty good. This is about love or money or self-esteem. Don't overspend (writes the armchair astrologer about to do just that!).

Mars/Pluto inconjunct now could create some argumentative energy. There could be a power struggle or acting out of obsession. Small things can create big triggers for people with this aspect and over-reactions are possible. Keep a cool head.

That North Node in Leo for the next 18 months also means we need to be thinking/researching/acting for our heart health now. The physical and metaphysical work together! What does your heart need?

New portals are opening all around us this weekend.

Stuff is moving from the back burner to the front burner - we are moving forward, belly full of butterflies, grieving for the stuff that is over, unsure of what is ahead, still with more questions than answers - 18 months from now everything will be totally different, maybe even 6 months from now. We might have to feel the fear and do it anyway. We can't be worrying about what anybody else thinks and what other people are doing. We'll talk about this as we move through it.

xo all