The August Eclipses | Part II - the Full Moon Lunar Eclipse August 7th

Breath by Tanja Moss
Part l is HERE - read it first.

August is a huge game changer month!

The way we go into the month (although some people strongly influenced by what is happening will be going into the month swimming in these turbulent waters already) will not be the way we come out.

If we don't have BIG news (real news, not the current stuff that passes for news where we can't tell up from down) in the collective during August my shock will be 'astronomical'. And, yes, I'm going to use this word often from now on, why the hell have I been saying BIGLY when I can write ASTRONOMICAL - although now that I see it in capital letters I am not liking it quite as much.

Anyhoo, let's start with a look at where all the players are as we head into our first eclipse, the partial Lunar Eclipse in Aquarius on Monday afternoon.

Venus went into Cancer last week. Venus loves being in Cancer. Her placement here will allow us to value (Venus) Cancer territory ie home, family, safety, security, mother, ancestry, country, women. She doesn't move into anything challenging until around the middle of the month.

Mercury is in Virgo. Mercury loves being in Virgo (a sign he rules). His/her (Mercury is a rather androgynous character) placement here allows our thinking to be more analytical. We want the facts. We want the numbers to balance. We want conversations to get to the point. Virgo rules our day to day activities, our work, our health, our pets, our service to others (without self-sacrifice please) and because Mercury will soon be re-tracing the exact steps he is covering now while moving backward, we know some information we are working with NOW will be up for review, pretty much all month.

He will station retrograde on August 12th (right in the middle of the two eclipses!) and station direct on September 5th - the same day Mars changes signs and at the same degree of the August 21st eclipse so we know Mercury ties into the eclipses AND we will not be totally clear with everything that is happening until at least September 5th and maybe not until Mercury starts covering entirely new degrees a couple weeks later.

Mars is in Leo. Mars loves being in Leo. His placement here asks us - although Mars isn't much of an "asker" - to take action (Mars) from our heart (Leo). Fiery Mars (action, initiative, passion, anger, war, military) in equally fiery Leo (enthusiasm, heart, love, ego, pride, creativity, courage, greed) is a major player in BOTH eclipses his month. At some point during August all the personal planets - Sun, Moon, Venus, Mars and Mercury will be in Leo!

Jupiter is in Libra. His placement here is about expansion within our relationships. It's about art, women, justice and balance. The final Jupiter/Pluto square (the major transit of 2017) was exact yesterday. This has been playing out, since last November's first square, within the collective as media vs government, courts vs government, media/courts vs big business, sexual abuse and sex trafficking stories in the news and courts, etc. In line with this transit we had that greedy "pharma bro" guy going to jail and  U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions tell a room full of reporters yesterday he will make it easier to jail them for not releasing sources (watery Neptune is home in watery Pisces for a good long stay they should let it 'sink in' that leaks are probably going to continue).

And Pisces placement in Trump's chart (which impacts the U.S. chart while he is running the place) makes everything Neptune in Pisces is likely to bring even more likely - leaks, lies, secret enemies, prisons, hospitals, water, poisons, toxins, confusion, addiction, miscommunication, foggy thinking, isolation. On the other hand Neptune in Pisces can make it easier to hide what we need to hide (not during eclipses though!), dream, imagine, see what is behind the curtain, see what others can't, etc.

Uranus is retrograde in Aries. He stationed retrograde right at the beginning of August AND he rules Aquarius and the Lunar Eclipse on Monday. Uranus in Aries has been fighting and disrupting his way through everything since 2011. He is a major player this month, so we know whatever the eclipses "bring to light" or 'eclipse out" will be unexpected. Keep in mind eclipse action can happen for a couple months prior and after the actual eclipses - usually on or near the eclipse date (so around June 21, July 21, August 21, September 21, October 21st).

Saturn is retrograde in Sagittarius. He will station direct a couple days after the Solar Eclipse (August 21st) so he will be pretty much standing still at the time of that eclipse and uber powerful. A stationary planet is like moving your finger through a flame and stopping over the flame!

Pluto is retrograde in Capricorn and Neptune is retrograde in Pisces. So at one point during all the crazy August energy we will have Mercury, Saturn, Uranus, Pluto and Neptune retrograde!

The Sun is in Leo. The Sun loves being in Leo, the sign that he rules. The Sun has just recently moved past Mars for the first time in a very long time. Our intuition, our trust in the universe as a safe and abundant place for us, our higher guidance is leading our actions. I see the Sun overtaking Mars just before eclipse season as a good signal that whatever is happening has a higher purpose for all of us. We need to be following our heart. We need to be brave - and yes, we learn to be brave by encountering situations that require us to be brave, but with the Sun in Leo, we have the courage to face whatever we need to face now.

If we are on the fence about something, this isn't really the best time to make an important decision and jump off (unless we are pushed, of course) - let's see how everything shakes out by the end of August/early September. Some splinters in our ass will be a small price to pay for letting the stuff that is going to unravel, unravel FIRST.

Know that stuff is happening to get us in touch with our hearts (the north node in Leo) and detach us from our detachment (Aquarius).

I want to stick with talking about Monday's Lunar Eclipse until we are through it.

The big Solar eclipse a couple weeks later will take a couple posts to unpack. With unpredictable Uranus ruling the first one - let's see what that one shakes loose first. 

During the first week of August we have Venus changing signs, Mercury hitting his retrograde degrees, Uranus stationing retrograde, the final Jupiter square Pluto AND a Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Aquarius. Whew!

So in early August we might feel a strong urge to make a big change (and this change could be made for us and we'll talk about that next). But we can't see everything we need to see yet. Jupiter in Sagittarius needs to check out everything and Pluto in Capricorn wants to focus like a laser beam on one specific and probably ambitious move. We might be willing to take risks that are too big here. We need to take a breath and look around some corners and under some beds. If we are wanting to break away from something now, let's slow down and think it through. Are we sure will be better off on the other side of these shifts without this thing/situation/person? Maybe we are. But does it really need to happen right this second?

(this doesn't mean we don't make the move away from something or someone or some group, but if we can wait, let's wait until Mercury is direct on September 5th and then we will know for certain it is the right decision)

With Jupiter in Libra in the middle of this Full Moon we should be looking at the big picture within our relationships, thinking more diplomatically, weighing the pros and cons, being willing to compromise.

Now, if this change is forced upon us. Poof! Something is gone. Or maybe something come to light that pushes us to make a change. Maybe we see something we can't un-see. Let's not panic and make a crazy move that is the first thing that pops into our head. Slow down. Take a breath. Let's let a little bit of this erratic energy unwind a little. It may not be possible to control what is happening but we can control our response/reaction. Take small actions if possible until you have a clearer picture of everything that is happening.

Monday's Lunar eclipse is in our South Node of Aquarius. The South Node is what we are releasing. We need to release in order to move forward, so for certain something's gotta go here.

My first astrology teacher in the early 90's said in the late 2010's and early 2020's people would be going mad as a hatter and mad as a hornet. She was right, but since she couldn't imagine both the gifts and challenges of the technology headed our way she was wrong, too. She saw the future, through astrological patterns, where we were 'all connected' but couldn't see the technology that got us there, so thought the 'all connected' thing was a more solid way of being connected. She saw it as something like we would be reading other people's minds in a way that made it difficult to tell fantasy from reality, borders would be thin and we would all be 'blending together'.

We aren't reading each other's minds, but we do know what is happening around the world as it is happening. The line between what is truth and what is a lie is very blurry. Our news has become like the commercials we watched as children with an agenda and corporate sponsorship. The borders between us are thin. We are blending together - nationalities, sexes, etc.

She saw the patterns, but couldn't see the vehicles we would create to get us there. It's the same for all of us now when we look ahead into the Age of Aquarius - we just don't know what we don't know.

At the end of 2012 many intuitive people were feeling that the world as we knew it was ending and we were ascending into a higher energy (which it did and we were). In the 3D world, this process looks more like the 'Facebook effect' where we are all seeing different things. We are all living in different realities. There are problems inherent in only looking at the stuff we want to look at, in only seeing the stuff we agree with, in only relating to our own flock. And now we have to figure these problems out. That's one of the things the Age of Aquarius is all about. Learning how can I stay me and let you be you and we can get along and live together even though I do not agree with you.

We are moving from the age of patriarchy (Pisces) into the age of equality (Aquarius) ready or not. Keep in mind this will not be the age of matriarchy (yes, we have the rising feminine now because the feminine in all of us, women AND men, has been suppressed and is rising to meet the masculine energy, not to run the whole show) - we've been there, done that - although most of the age of matriarchy has been erased from our 'his'tory books.

For now, we have this Lunar Eclipse in Aquarius asking us to release our Aquarius shadows. 

Fake connections, detachment, over-thinking, over involvement with the group at the expense of the individual and at the expense of ourselves, over investment of time and resources in technology. 

It is not a coincidence that the last New Moon, the one in Leo, had us working through issues of real family vs our hive mind family and tribal shock.

So hold on loosely. Focus on the highest attributes of both Leo and Aquarius - following our heart, generosity, dignity, enthusiasm (Leo), logical thinking, non-judgement, vision, non-conformity (Aquarius). 

Don't get into a power struggle now. Compromise maybe or don't commit until you are clear. For certain, the high road is the one with the best view and the cooler breezes.

Individually this eclipse is about the polarity themes of our natal, and progressed, Leo/Aquarius houses -  if you don't know where they are in your chart just leave a comment or email me.

We are preparing for Pluto's move into Aquarius (Age of Aquarius - we are probably already in the Age of Aquarius, but by the time Pluto hits the sign we will all be certain) in just 6 short years!

Whether we get a robotic future, run by a small elite class, where the many, the rest of us, are numbed out and equal in our hidden desperation or an egalitarian society where we can all live together, expressing our authentic selves in a free society. This isn't wishful thinking (although there is always the possibility I am mad as a hatter AND  a hornet) - this is truly our only options. Ages last over 2600 years, so we won't get to see the full roll out. We are here for the kick off though, the ones to get this whole party started. We are the ones who matter (LEO!).

My best advice for this first eclipse if you have stuff hitting the fan now, is to make small solid steps where you can, but not to make any big moves until we come out the other side of this crazy month.

xo all (back with the weekly tomorrow)

Final Jupiter Square Pluto | 3rd times the charm .... what are we willing to risk to succeed

1935 by arvael18

Jupiter (in Libra until October 10th) and Pluto (in Capricorn 2008-2024) have squared off three times this year. First in late November, then in late March and for the last time today. 

Squares create friction and challenge. They are stressful. They test us. They reveal to us how we react and respond to tense situations.

Jupiter in Libra wants justice or peace. Pluto in Capricorn wants power or transformation. In our own lives we could feel this as a hunger to succeed at something and the questions around what we are willing to do or risk to succeed.  

This could be conflicts between work responsibilities and our personal relationships, power dynamic tension within relationships, authority issues and even infidelity issues - some kind of unfaithfulness within a relationship or partnership structure. Imbalances will show up if one person is compromising too much and/or one person has too much power.

If this stuff is hitting personal planets in your chart, major breakthroughs are possible now.

This is a series of aspects that started around last Thanksgiving, so where are we now? Maybe we have taken a leap of faith (Jupiter) and increased our power (Pluto) or maybe we have taken on too much and are dealing with the realities of that now. Know however the story is playing out in our lives, things will start to cool down as the planets begin to separate and this square unwinds itself.

This could be a major turning point (with its connection to next week's Lunar Eclipse - you might not see results for a few days) for some 2017 stories since this is a major transit for this year.

For today, let's check ourselves when trying to push our beliefs on other people - not a good idea. Judgemental attitudes will create conflict with others. Know everyone else is dealing with this, too, so keep a cool head. 

Relax. Fear of the future is what is getting us all tangled up now. It's eclipse season and we just don't know what we don't know. Loosen the reins a bit ....

xo all

(I had two people tell me that advice to let someone's mother move in with them and sleep on their couch was very bad advice - this was something I wrote about in a recent post. Now, I didn't tell the person to take in her mother. I asked her what her heart wanted to do - what was the simplest, least complicated thing. This person gets along well with her mother. Her mother is already in her house about twenty hours a week watching her children. She just didn't want the added interruption/responsibility. She was really asking me "if I let her move in - will she ever move out?" so we were looking at timeframes, etc. The couch part is my own invention. I have no idea if an actual couch is going to be used, although if you want someone's stay to be short, offer them your couch - turning over the master suite and having it painted in their favorite color is probably a bad idea. Please don't take this story as meaning we need to help other people at our own expense - which I think is what both readers were saying I was saying. I wasn't saying that. Or if I was saying that I wasn't meaning that. This was her mother. And maybe mom sleeping in her car would be more heartache than safe in our livingroom, right?")

Uranus Stations Retrograde | loosening our grip

trio by alkapralka

Late last night Uranus stationed retrograde. He will be retrograde through the end of the year.

If we have been hit by a curveball recently things may smooth out a bit. For other people it will be the retrograde degrees that bring the intensified changes.

The degree Uranus stations (28 degrees Aries) trines the August 21st Solar Eclipse also at 28 degrees. Trines allow things to happen faster by removing roadblocks. This could be a good thing because now you can get where you are going. Or it could be a not so good thing if say the roadblock is preventing your car from speeding over a cliff. The best use of a trine is to take action rather than allow the action to happen to us.

And, of course, the best way to take a good fall if your car is already too near the cliff to change course - is loose limbed, don't tense up - or drunk, that works, too.

Uranus is also the ruler of the August 7th Lunar Eclipse since it is in Aquarius - his station, meaning his seemingly erratic energy that gets us from point A to point B in the most expeditious manner our current situation can possible line up with - ties in to both eclipses. He has been sitting almost still in the sky for a while now which is why the eclipse commotion (area of focus) is already in play for many people.

This is where knowing your natal (and progressed) charts will come in handy. Uranus is at 28 degrees Aries and moving backward. Let's say you have a planet at 29 degrees Aries - well, Uranus will be backing away from that planet. If you have been on a rollercoaster ride with changes this year in the area of life ruled by late Aries in your chart (remember Uranus moves very slowly and transits last a long time), then your rollercoaster ride will slow down - you might even be able to exit the damn ride. 

But, let's say you have a planet at 25 degrees Aries, well now Uranus will begin to move toward that planet. So, just when you think it's safe to go back into the water, you see another shark. Whatever this disruption is - it will be strong enough to finally shake loose whatever it didn't manage to shake loose the last time it crossed your planet (while it was moving direct). So, things might appear to get worse before they get better. What is really happening is that you are being freed up. With the eclipses involved I am thinking the stuff we are "freed up" from is not stuff we are so intent on losing. But it won't be a total surprise either, even for those people who claim it is ....

If you have planets or important points (think of 12,3,6 and 9 on the face of a clock) around 28 degrees of the cardinal signs - Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn - you will feel this whole thing strongest.

The best way to work with Uranus (this would be kind of like working with Donald Trump, who with his natal Uranus sitting on his natal Sun, would probably cause the people who work with him to age in dog years, trying to keep up) is to loosen our grip on things. Stay open to changing our mind and direction. Expect the unexpected. Maybe what seems totally crazy, will make sense later on.

After he moves into Taurus next year, his retrograde then will take us back into Aries. Yes, another trip over those beleaguered late degrees of Aries - sorry! But by then I suspect most of us will be so focused on what he has been shaking up in Taurus (ruler of our money, our resources, the planet, weather, food) that we might not even notice ....

Uranus is retrograde for 5 months of every year and for most people it is like background noise. We don't notice unless he is touching our charts directly. This year, with his tie in to BOTH this month's eclipses, we could all be feeling this.

xo all

The August Eclipses | part 1 - the Full Moon Lunar Eclipse August 7th

head in the clouds by pawssou

The Sun is 400 times larger than the Moon and 400 times farther away. Does the chance of this being anything even slightly random strike anyone else as impossible?

Wouldn't the odds be "astronomical"?

As we approach the big "American" eclipse on August 21st - which will not just impact America btw - there will be more and more astronomy talk on the news, hopefully some astrology voices will be heard, too.

Someone told me recently that it was such a coincidence that the eclipses were in Leo/Aquarius this year and the Nodes of the Moon have moved into Leo/Aquarius, too (North Node in Leo, South Node in Aquarius). Hehe! The nodes of the Moon, the points where the orbit of the Moon crosses the ecliptic ARE the eclipse points so eclipses ALWAYS happen in the signs of the North and South Node because that's what the North and South Nodes are! I thought it was funny that she said this because I always say North Node this and South Node that and probably never explained them!

Maybe the big news this summer is the August 21st Solar Eclipse in Leo. But before we talk about that one and there is ALOT to talk about, let's take a look at the first August eclipse next week - in many ways this one looks bigger to me than the next one!

On Monday we have a Lunar eclipse (Full Moon) at 15 degrees Aquarius. Full Moons are the culmination point of the monthly cycle. There are natural endings and conclusions. The night sky is lit up and something comes to light down here - both in the collective and within our own lives. It's a time when the Moon is opposite the Sun. With the Sun in Leo and the Moon in Aquarius - the Leo/Aquarius polarity themes (as well as the polarity theme of your Leo/Aquarius natal houses) will be in play.

This polarity (warning shameless plug ahead - have you seen my lockets?) is about our ego vs the collective, the king vs the people, the stage star vs the audience, our heart vs our head, following the rules vs breaking the rules, following our heart vs maintaining unity within a group, yada, yada - we work this polarity best when we blend big heart (Leo) with big mind (Aquarius).

The Lunar Eclipse in Aquarius is just a few days after Uranus (ruler of Aquarius) stations retrograde. There are multiple aspects involved with this Full Moon, but the Uranus station is important.

This might be about stepping away from a group or feeling like we don't fit in anymore. We could be re-evaluating something that is restrictive or that we perceive as "holding us back". I also get the feeling from looking at the other aspects and seeing what I am dealing with in my own life (my natal Sun is at 15 degrees Aquarius) that there is something here about a person, situation or event, taking away our personal power.

Or more correctly stated, this loss of personal power is the feeling that is generated. It could feel like a threat to our safety, security or way of life.

We'll want to work through our feelings about whatever is happening between this eclipse and the next one. Releasing what is happening to God/Goddess/the Universe - trusting that what is happening is what needs to happen ....

Eclipses are usually about loss and often the thing or situation or belief or person we lose is not something we are ready to let go of.

Things that are already shaky and uncertain, areas that are already volatile, these are the spaces where things tend to come to a head. Often the 'eclipsing out' appears to be 'out of the blue' or sudden, but it is almost always something we could have or should have or did see coming.

Because we have the big Solar Eclipse a couple weeks later, it makes me think the things we lose or see at this one might be particularly challenging (this doesn't mean it is necessarily a big devastating loss, just that whatever it is we are tasked with releasing is challenging to let go of or whatever it is that 'comes to light' is challenging to look at probably because we won't want to take the action it is forcing) - since this eclipse is kind of clearing the space and making room for the next eclipse.

At the time of this first eclipse on August 7th, the Sun will be hanging out with Mars (in Leo) - so both planets will be opposing the Moon. The Full Moon is always a time of Sun vs. Moon - hence its reputation for crazy stuff to happen - but with Mars involved here, this one has an extra kick. Mars can bring passion and initiative. Mars can also bring anger and violence. Managed poorly we could see shocking abuses of power (this Lunar Eclipse also carries the energy of this Friday's final Jupiter/Pluto square). Managed well - a gigantic creative push to get us to the top.

There are some GREAT aspects for this eclipse, too. The Moon is trining Jupiter and the Sun is sextiling Jupiter. Both increase our opportunities for GOOD LUCK and expansion (Jupiter). Let's focus on them. We'll likely have to wade through the other, muddier aspects to reach these, but they will be worth the dirty boots.

So hold on loosely. Focus on the highest attributes of both Leo and Aquarius - following our heart, generosity, dignity, enthusiasm (Leo), logical thinking, non-judgement, vision, non-conformity (Aquarius). Don't get into a power struggle now. Compromise. The high road is the one with the best view and the cooler breezes.

If something ends or someone leaves, eclipses are reset points - it's/they're gone. If something comes to light now that pushes us away from a group or situation or ideal or vision - it is something we are meant to see now.

This is a karmic culmination point - we have been building toward it for a long time ....

We'll talk more about the Lunar Eclipse in next week's post, but I wanted to post a heads-up.

Eclipse season is not the time to make any big crazy moves if we don't have to because we don't know what we don't know.

We can't see there from here. Let's let the eclipses do their job first. Let's see where we are all sitting by the first week or so of September when Mercury has done his magic, too, and assess from there.

With that North Node in Leo the right move is not going to be some super complicated thing where twenty things have to fall into place for us to get what we want. Following our heart should feel natural. There is an ease to this. 

I have a friend whose mother lost her house (so many people have lost long term housing situations in the last few months!) and the friend is unsure and worried about her mother moving in with her. She loves her mother, but is thinking about all the problems that could happen and the changes her own family will have to make. So, I'm asking her, "well what is the simplest thing here? If your mother doesn't come to stay with you what will happen?" She tells me, "well, there isn't really any other place right now, but I'm not sure I want to do this!".

The North Node in Leo is saying to go with our heart. So what does she do? Is she following her heart (oxygen mask on own own face first, right?) by helping her mother or isn't she? Is she really hurting herself by helping her mother or is she overthinking and projecting the situation too far ahead?

Leo brings us to the bottom line. She loves her mother. She has a couch and a pillow. Her mother has a head that needs a pillow. There you go. That is the simplest thing (and yes, I know this isn't simple, but the first, next, best step almost always is).

(and, of course, if there is any way to push this whole decision off until mid September she should do that and she will be glad she did)

Thinking twenty steps ahead is what Aquarius does - we don't want to be doing that. Right now we follow our heart. We have to trust this stuff to work out. This overthinking thing "my mother is going to live on my couch forever!" which our heart knows is ridiculous, but our head is stressing over is often what keeps us from following our heart.

This "following our heart" thing isn't about all of us hopping into an Uber and heading to California to be movie stars. Your head might want to be a movie star (and I guess someone has to be one), but I can promise you your heart's desires are much closer to home .....

xo all

Venus into Cancer | July 31st - August 26th ... attracted to what feels like home

hanna by aufzehengehen
Venus moves into nurturing Cancer today.

Venus in Cancer is the maiden becoming the mother. It is a natural fit. 

Cancer Suns and Cancer Risings (Cancer ruling the first house of our natal chart) get more attractive - both easy on the eye and able to attract what they want. What house holds Cancer in your natal chart? That house will be more attractive now, too - meaning able to attract our attention, and other people's attention, to that house's theme. 

If you have any planets in that Cancer house in your natal (or progressed) chart Venus will meet with (conjunct) those planets over the next month. Planets in Scorpio and Pisces will trine Venus at various times. Planets in Taurus and Virgo will sextile. Trines and sextiles offer opportunities and we will need all the easy energy and opportunities we can find over the next few weeks!

While Venus is in Cancer we will be dealing with everyone's inner child and inner mother AT THE SAME TIME. We might look in the mirror and see our mother. We will be attracted to people who remind us of mother, home or safety. Our own and other people's childhood patterns related to love and mothering or lack of love and mothering will be observable. We will all be more likely to touch each other - physically, emotionally and verbally - in comforting ways.

So, when that strange guy at the post office with the four inch sideburns and two inch nose hairs, steps a little too close and even touches your elbow while chatting you up about the dangers of cellphones you probably won't even flinch. Probably. Especially if mom had sideburns, too.

Kindness matters now. Yes, of course, kindness always matters. But people will be needing it. Most of us, especially women because Venus rules women but not only women, will be more sensitive. More sensitivity can bring us closer to other people. It can also make life more painful. An offer to make someone dinner or a few extra moments spent with someone who needs a shoulder to cry on can make all the difference now.

We will feel a stronger urge to fit in ... somewhere. Most especially somewhere that feels like home.

The primary urge of Venus in Cancer is toward security. Safety and security, home and family - will be what everyone is wanting. The people and places and situations that make us feel protected will be the spaces we can recharge our Venusian batteries.  

The things we want and the things we need will turn out to be the same things.

Venus in Cancer is less direct. People influenced by this transit will be hinting at what they want/need instead of reaching out. Know this and allow everyone a few extra moments to get to whatever it is they need to get to. Our vulnerabilities will not turn off the people they normally turn off. We will not be walking past that homeless guy quite as easily.

This doesn't mean we open up to just anyone although we will be surprised at who is opening up. A crab's shell (Cancer means crab) keeps it alive, but it is continually being outgrown. We most likely know by now where the safe spaces and safe people are.

We'll go to them and we'll be them.

The next three weeks are setting up to be pretty challenging. Hugs will help. I have a niece who hugs long and hard and hardly ever lets go first. She's a Cancer. Let's try to follow her example now - and not let go first.

xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of July 31st - storms are brewing ....

melf by aufzehenhgehen

Another big, powerful week as we build toward the eclipses! I'll do a big picture forecast this week as well as some dailies for the stuff that stands out.

I am starting with Sunday this week, even though I am writing this Sunday night (!) since we have the First Quarter Moon today. You might have felt it. A crisis point. We kicked off the week SUNDAY morning with the Moon (in Scorpio) squaring the Sun (in Leo). This brings a challenge to whatever started at the New Moon a week ago. Our awareness (Sun) moves to the problem, so we can reform (Scorpio) the situation.

This monthly aspect (in different signs and areas of our lives) is determined to show us how strong we are on an emotional level - how well we can keep our cool when things don't go our way. More could be demanded from us than we expected or we could be the one doing the demanding. The Moon is squaring Mars, making power struggles even more likely. There is a nice healing Neptune/Scorpio trine (brakes off) in the evening though.

On MONDAY, the Moon is void all day. This is not a good day to launch anything, start something new, have a conversation/meeting you want 'something to come of'.

This is the longest void we've seen in a long time!

Mini astrology lesson: The moon is called "void" or "void of course" when she makes no aspects to any other planets. This is important because our moon lives in imagination where all our possibilities are kept alive simply because we never choose to live them out. So, in astrological terms, the Moon has to make an aspect to a physical planet before she leaves the sign she is in, before she 'changes the subject' so to speak, for anything to actually happen in the physical realm.

When an action is taken under a void of course moon - "nothing will come of the matter". 

Venus moves into nurturing Cancer until August 26th - a space she loves. I'll do a post about it tomorrow - Cancer Suns and Risings get more attractive (both easier on the eye and able to attract what they want), our Cancer natal houses get more attractive, our wants (Venus) and our needs (Cancer) will be working together. People (especially women) will be more emotional, more sentimental AND maybe need more reassurances and more mothering.

EXAMPLE FOR LIBRA/LIBRA Rising (Cancer 10th house) - Venus moves into your public life/career house increasing your ability to attract attention in this area. Emotional connections within a professional setting are possible now. Your naturally fine line between work and home or professional and personal softens even more than usual. You attract/earn more/gain more recognition and self-esteem by being a professional "mother" in some way. Empathy attracts. Vulnerability attracts. You don't have to be Superwoman to be a super woman.

On TUESDAY, the Moon will be in Sagittarius making us feel a little more optimistic and broad-minded. The Moon will be adjusting to Venus (freshly in Cancer) and Sagittarius themes could have our attention - travel, education, weddings, foreign issues, media, marketing, politics, religion. We might also be dealing with other people's finances, debts, loans, taxes, reproduction, sex, death issues now. At night the Moon is squaring Mercury making everyone more opinionated and then trining Mars - we could have a burst of energy late in the day or maybe someone wants/demands our attention.

On THURSDAY, Uranus stations retrograde (post to follow). He will be retrograde for the rest of the year. His change of direction could bring some people a temporary release from whatever crazy-making is happening in their lives. For other people the retrograde itself will shake things up. Uranus has been standing almost totally still for the last week or so, so the change/surprise, could be something that has already happened and now we will be dealing with the aftermath ...

EXAMPLE FOR SCORPIO/SCORPIO Rising (Aries 6th house) this retrograde will have you going back over something in your day to day activities, work and health sector (also pets). There could be a sudden or unexpected change to your daily routine or job. An existing health issue could ease up or maybe an issue from the past returns in a more intense way to allow you to re-work the problem. Think lifestyle "re"flection, lifestyle "re"vision, lifestyle "re"boot.

By May of 2018 Uranus will be in Taurus - shaking up our Taurus natal houses, Taurus people, any planets or points we have in Taurus and bringing revolution to our (collective) money, women's issues, our food supply, weather and climate through 2025. Buckle up!

On FRIDAY, we have the third of the Jupiter/Pluto squares of 2016-2017. Post to follow. The first was in November 2016, the second the end of March 2017. Do you have a story playing out? This has been THE major 2017 transit and it will take awhile to unwind itself. In the United States we have been watching a battle between government (Pluto) and media (Jupiter) and government (Pluto) and the courts (Jupiter) - among other battles!

This transit is very ambitious. Power can make us greedy. Success is possible here but there will be consequences for over the top acts of power/revenge/manipulation. With Jupiter in social Libra and Pluto in all-business Capricorn damaged relationships/partnerships/alliances and powerful enemies could be the price to pay for abuses of power and control. This year's transits could bring great success if we haven't pushed (Pluto) our luck (Jupiter) - but could also bring big losses, bankruptcy and time in the slammer for some overly ambitious and unethical power divas.

EXAMPLE FOR SAGITTARIUS/SAGITTARIUS Rising - this week's final square is about a financial opportunity - maybe a cash bonus, big sale or serious source of new/improved income. This would likely come through friends, groups or the internet making this a good time for promotion, sales, media exposure - return those emails! If some opportunity from last November or late March didn't work out, now would be the time to reach out again. The caveat is not to go so extreme that you look desperate, unethical or greedy and have it all backfire. Less will get you more now. 

Mercury is walking the steps he will re-walk two more times - yes, Mercury retrograde is coming! - so pay attention to the news/information/conversations now. AND BACK UP YOUR FILES.

xo all - back later in the week with some dailies and the big picture lead up to the eclipses!