Full Moon in Aries | October 5th - whole vs. good, mind readers wanted, double check the info, keep the receipts, how are we underestimating ourselves

"I'd rather be whole than good." ... C.G. Jung

bright full moon by claire solo

The Full Moon is always a time of tension - it's a time of Sun opposite Moon. Oppositions are pretty much just what they sound like. There is a reason police departments and emergency rooms are uber busy during Full Moons!

This month we've got the Sun in Libra at 12 degrees  (ruled by Venus - peace, women, balance, fairness, love, cooperation) and the Moon in the opposite sign of Aries at 12 degrees (ruled by Mars - war, young men, initiative, passion, courage, anger, violence, independence).

This is the culmination of the Aries New Moon that launched the lunar year back in April, maybe something from that time is finishing up. Feels like years ago, doesn't it? I am aging in dog years now, how about you?

At the Full Moon things culminate or come to light. Results are delivered. Stuff finishes up.

The Sun is conjunct Mercury so a spotlight (Sun) could be directed onto a conversation or message or idea. The opposition to the Moon in fiery Aries tells us something here is too demanding or creates contention or is simply unfair. Or maybe our head is at odds with our emotions (instincts). Imbalances within relationships could be highlighted. Self-interest could be highlighted - this is the Aries Moon after all!

The Sun and Mercury are loosely inconjunct dreamy Neptune (in Pisces). There could be a lie, illusion or some rose colored glasses involved. Maybe our too high hopes mislead us. Or old insecurities fog up the glass and make it hard to see what is real. Keep this in mind.

We are not mind-readers but might think we are, sooo -

Double check the information. Keep the receipts. Be able to show your work. Spell it out. Get expectations in writing. To recap - the Full Moon could expose some information, but all may not be as it seems. Mars and Venus are both in Virgo - the facts/truth is in here somewhere. Continue to be logical and practical and attend to the details. Something hidden or unacknowledged or something we have been avoiding (do not allow things to go unsaid now) will likely be the thing that trips us up later. Take care of the loose ends so there will be less for Saturn to unravel in a few days. 

How our actual world is different than our comforting illusions could be highlighted here.

This is also the day Venus finally meets up with Mars - so we have the Sun in Libra answering to Venus conjunct Mars and the Moon in Aries answering to Mars conjunct Venus. It just makes whatever this relationship thing is "me vs. him/her/them" a bit more incestuous and tightly bound.

Our wants/needs and action are lined up now, but Mars and Venus are headed toward that meet-up with Saturn next week, so everything isn't a honeymoon for the universe's favorite couple. Maybe we get what we want, but it's not quite what we thought it would be. Maybe the promotion we had been hoping for comes through, but the added duties and responsibilities take a higher toll than we had anticipated. If we go for our freedom now, we have to be willing to live with the consequences.

This doesn't mean we don't take the action we are called to take. Taking the action changes the results/consequences. When we shift today's energy, tomorrow's energy must change, too. That's why we can't look too far ahead now - with the South Node in Aquarius we just don't know what we don't know. We will just do our best with whatever we are facing. Just use whatever resources you currently have (facts, money, intuition, courage, time, love, optimism, your super-power, etc) when dealing with whatever you are dealing with.

Decide. Then decide to not look back. When we hit the roadblocks up ahead we will deal with them. We won't allow the roadblocks to make us think we have chosen the wrong thing. If we didn't choose at all or chose the other path there would just be different roadblocks.

This doesn't mean we act foolishly though. Whatever we are dealing with, with Saturn laying in wait up ahead, we must be honest, patient, do the responsible thing and basically be a grown-up with any situation we are dealing with.

The Full Moon is in a T-Square with Pluto - God of the Underworld. 

What is gone and isn't coming back? What is dead that we are still feeding? What is waiting to be born?

Aries rules our first house of ourselves. Aries is about me, me, me and it should be. It's where we start. If we don't start with ourselves, and many of us don't, we won't even know where we want to go!

C.G. Jung, father of both modern psychology and modern astrology, said, "I'd rather be whole than good." And by whole he didn't mean perfect. And by 'not good' he didn't mean bad.

looking ahead ...

Jupiter is just days from his Scorpio ingress. He will be in Scorpio from October 10, 2017 through November 8, 2018. In Scorpio he will be answering to Pluto (ruler of Scorpio) who is in Capricorn answering to Saturn (ruler of Capricorn), who is about 14 (?) weeks from being very strong in his home sign of Capricorn (late December). By January, we will have Jupiter and Pluto and Saturn all answering to Saturn!

But we still have a couple months when Saturn is still in Sagittarius, so Jupiter, the ruler of Sagittarius will be answering to himself. Which is good for us because he is the astrological Santa Claus!

This is why I have been saying get those BIG changes rolling before the end of December. Because Santa Claus will soon be answering to Scrooge. And not Scrooge McDuck either, the real-deal Scrooge with the scowling face and the miserly attitude. We will talk more about this later. It won't all be bad, don't worry. Winter might be coming, but that means hot chocolate and warm sweaters. There are always perks!

Scorpio rules all the stuff we push down deep and don't want to look at. The taboo stuff. The stuff polite society doesn't permit us to chitchat about. There is a reason Scorpio follows Libra. In Libra we partner. We balance things out. We seek peace and fairness. In Scorpio we push aside those Libran niceties and we get real. We cook the relationship down to its essence rather than take it out half-baked to get approval and look good for the neighbors.

No one will be left scratching their head and wondering what we meant.

At least once Jupiter leaves Libra we won't be dealing with his squares and oppositions to the outer planets in cardinal signs - Uranus (in Aries) and Pluto (in Capricorn) - it will be easier trines and sextiles for Jupiter in Scorpio - you lucky Scorpians, you!

In the meantime if we haven't cleared that Jupiter in Libra relationship elephant from the living-room (mine is looking rather saggy, baggy these days, but still manages to somehow block the coffee table)

then the Aries Full Moon and the days/events that follow will be our final chance to push his ass out of the house. We don't want him thumping around over our head when we head down into the basement (Jupiter in Scorpio).

Yes, basement! I know what you are thinking. Our flashlight will go out and the wall switch will fail to work. The wooden steps will splinter beneath our feet. The door will mysteriously lock itself behind us and the whole place will smell like wet laundry left in the washer for three days. Exactly. The good news (and the bad news) is that everything in the basement is something WE put there.

We are going to dig this forgotten/avoided/hidden stuff up and carry it home gently like a mama cat carrying her kittens. We will notice how we use other people's energy and resources and how they use ours (among other things - where is your Scorpio natal house?).

Vampires do not really only come out in the night and there are consequences for the things we do in the dark ....

Can you tell I have Halloween on my mind this morning??? Don't forget to get out and walk in the Full Moon. xo all

Venus Trine Pluto | looking for love or money in all the wrong places, how much do we really value ourselves, relationship issues, compassion, feeling vulnerable, our rough edges rubbing against other people's rough edges

forrest heart by niebezpiecznygroszek

Venus (love, money, values, self-esteem, women) in Virgo trines (brakes off) Pluto in Capricorn.

This follows Mars trine to Pluto on Sunday, which was about clearing the way for self-empowerment, but we can see from the news when the God of War (violence, guns) cooperates with the God of the Underworld (death, destruction) the potential for the wrong people with the wrong ideas to become empowered greatly increases, too. There are no words for this madness. The Moon is in Pisces so the energy of compassion, tears (water), feeling our vulnerabilities, sadness, losing our boundaries and coming together, once again, through tragedy continues .... as long as we continue to allow the corporations to set our agenda via the blood money they pay our Congress people they will continue to politicize issues such as guns and the environment to divide us and benefit themselves. With the Pisces Moon opposing both Mars and Venus our emotions (and anger) will be harder to work with.

Today, it is Venus's turn to dance with the Underworld energy. Love (Venus) has the power to destroy, but also the power to create. We could have some deep insights now into what we really value, what is really pushing us to do (or avoid) the things we do. It will be important to value ourselves and maintain high standards with our heart, body and money now. This intense energy can make some things hard to resist. Diving deep into the whys is the way to the treasure here.

Why do we want what we want?

The Venus/Mars dance of October could play out something like this - events early in the month conspire to get us clear on what we really want and then Saturn shows up to throw some roadblocks and cold water on our plans and then at the end of the month tensions and issues arise that force us to take action/move forward. Then we are off to the races. Sort of. 

We could be looking for love (and money) in all the wrong places. It is very easy to slip into unconscious patterns, but also easier to see them now. A sense that there is a certain destiny (Pluto) with our actions/needs/the people we meet continues this week.

If money (Venus) is stretched thin, it is good energy to eliminate unnecessary expenses (Pluto) rather than seeking to increase income. The more we value ourselves, the more money we will attract. If expenses have already been pared down just give something of value to someone else - Venus is still in Virgo, so small steps can create big energetic shifts.

Know that once you put money into a bank (have more than you personally need in astrology speak) it moves from your 2nd to 8th house - from Venus territory to Pluto's. It becomes "other people's money". And the way it grows and the way you hang onto it changes. Both these spaces - our resources (2nd house) and other people's (8th house) can work together now. It is good to remember they are two different things though - your resources/self-worth and your bank balance! An investment in your 2nd house - your skills/what you love and value can pay off later by providing you with "more than enough".

Venus rules relationships and today we also have Black Moon Lilith (out-of-bounds woman) squaring Chiron (wound) AND Mercury squaring Juno (still in sober Capricorn). It won't be easy to cross the line and do something taboo/un-tame without triggering something painful. But Lilith can't be controlled and in Sagittarius the sky really is the limit for her. Relationship agreements (Juno), both spoken and unspoken, could run into tension and stress. What are we really committed to? Communication (Mercury) is key, honest - even if uncomfortable - words are needed. Whatever is going on, our equal relationships still answer to Venus and she is in Virgo - so practical action and dealing with what is right in front of us - our current situation in a grounded, common-sense way is still the way through the sticker bushes.

Remember we have the North Node in Leo - following our heart is the way forward - and the South Node in Aquarius - detachment, looking too far ahead, over-thinking is what we need to leave behind.

xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of October 2nd - what we want meets what we have to do to get it, facing the music, truths and illusions, relationships, us vs us plus them, avoiding dark alleys and men with excessive pocket lint

45 by stefa-zozokovich

Here we go! This is going to a big week and a BIG month.

On MONDAY, the Moon is void until 10:26AM EDT when it moves into dreamy Pisces for the next couple days. Pisces Moons are great creative energy, great for meditation and prayer and encourage compassion, but could also make us a bit too sensitive, vulnerable, more likely to pick up other people's burdens as our own (boundaries are thinner) and likely to drift off course. 

Keep this in mind because Mars and Pluto are close enough to yesterday's exact trine to create payoffs for working hard and following through on our goals now. 

Staying active is the best way to resolve/release old emotional patterns with this planetary lineup!  

On TUESDAY, it is Venus's turn to trine Pluto. The energy of "I want this" (Venus) combined with "and this is what I have to do to get it" (Mars) is in a smooth conversation (trine) with powerful Pluto!

This is earthy energy, so working with what is happening now in a grounded, practical way (Virgo) and taking action (Mars) toward what we want (Venus) can evolve (Pluto) a situation to a new level. This will likely focus on Venus and Capricorn themes - women, love, money, beauty, self-esteem, values, work, career, authority, responsibility and progress in a Virgo manner - one step in front of the other, organized, practical, healthy (you know the drill!).

Any obsessive tendencies or self-esteem issues with work (Capricorn) or power (Pluto) could come up so we can see what is happening and re-align our actions/feelings with what we truly care about. The ways we are not valuing ourselves or not giving ourselves permission to change and thrive could be reflected in what is happening. This would be an excellent time to start couple's counseling if we are stuck to our knees in the muck with another person. Life on planet Earth is not always easy. 

At night the Moon will oppose Mars making everyone testy or antsy. Digestion could be tricky. Eat light.

On WEDNESDAY, the Moon is void most of the day. This is not a good day to start something you would like 'something to come of'. The Moon goes void with a square to Saturn - this is a restriction, maybe a feeling of "less than", some kind of emotional coldness - definitely don't launch anything into the world until after the Moon gets into "me, me, me - have I said it's all about me" Aries at 4:40PM EDT. Problems that crop up before this time will be much ado about nothing. This would be a good day for visualization, creativity and inner work with the Neptune/Jupiter/Sun mash-up, but save the action for late in the day.

THURSDAY is a big day. I will write a post! We have Mars and Venus finally meeting up on the same day as the Full Moon in Aries. And we have the Libra Sun conjunct Mercury at the same time (which means the Moon is opposite Mercury so our head and gut instincts opposed). And it makes a t-square to Pluto. Full Moons bring culminations, endings, things to light, the luna-tic out in all of us. There are also confusing inconjuncts to Neptune so it will be hard to know what is real and what is illusion here. With Pluto and Mars (Aries ruler) it could be explosive or violent - this is in play since Sunday's trine and all week actually. This is alot about the masculine/feminine and our self/relationship polarities. We will pick our way through this in another post. People could be impulsive. Please don't venture into any dark alleys with a flashlight looking for your lost cat. The cat will be OK, but I can't be sure about you.

As we consciously work with Mars (action, initiative, anger, masculine, how we get what we want) and Venus (receptivity. attraction, diplomacy, feminine, how we attract what we want) this week the energy of the Full Moon will increase our potential. The results this Full Moon brings will almost certainly culminate or "bring to light" accurate/precise (Virgo) actions (Mars) focused on mending or adjusting whatever it is we want/need (Venus). That sounds a bit word-salady, but we'll flesh that out in the dailies. Results could be directly proportional to the amount of work we have put in so far. Yes, I know, that scares me, too.

I am out of time tonight.

Heads up - next Sunday we have Venus squaring Saturn - so that looks like a potential roadblock with whatever we are conjuring up this week. And Mars will square Saturn three days later. So, Saturn will definitely slow down our progress and/or demand we step up to the plate in a bigger way and/or shine a light on what is wrong or missing and/or deliver us some unavoidable consequences  - we'll just have to deal with what comes. We'll use the astrology to be more prepared, but not let it stop our action NOW. What we do NOW changes what lies ahead of us.

Mercury and the Sun meet up in Libra on Sunday, too, kicking off a new Mercury cycle. We will talk about this later.

For the early part of the week just get moving on what you want - focus on what is most important. Don't start anything or do anything important during the voids and we'll get clearer on that Full Moon as we get closer!

And we'll take a step back and look at the big picture. Jupiter will be in Scorpio in just a few days and we are all going to have to go a little lot deeper ...

xo all

The second day of my garage sale was a bit of a bust. My first two customers were both men in suits (maybe coming from Church but strangely alone, kind of spooky actually) - the first one walked over to a baby pack and play marked FREE. He picked up the new mattress pad inside and walked away - without the pack and play, just took the mattress pad rendering the pack and play kind of useless. I didn't think to yell after him in time because I was distracted by the second man who picked up a $.50 toy and proceeded to empty his pocket, yes, lint and all, into my outstretched hand for a grand total of $.42 which, of course, obligated me to say, "close enough" as he walked away without thanking me.

The day pretty much proceeded from there.

I did meet another new neighbor though - I never even noticed the old ones disappearing - I am left wondering who they were and where did they all go? The other good news - no ice packs or fresh insect bites mostly thanks to hubs' quick thinking when we found the yellow jacket nest - I will post a picture in the morning light. Such a clever fellow.

Mars Trine Pluto | empowering action

spidey one on one by kopfstoff
Welcome to October!

We kick off this action packed month with today's trine (brakes off) between active and energetic Mars (Virgo 16 degrees) and transformative and karmic Pluto (Capricorn 16 degrees).

This is about action (Mars) collaborating (trine) with transformation (Pluto).

Mars in Virgo says let's clean up this mess (I am on the 2nd day of my yard sale - the "just get this crap outta here day"), let's fix this thing, let's do it right this time, let's not put off until tomorrow what we can do today.

We only get a Mars/Pluto trine once a year and the energy will only be around for a couple days - make something happen here

(in my case a cleaned out storage space - yes, I finally got the last one emptied, of course it looks like my house threw up all over my front porch right now - ugh!).

The moon is in Aquarius - good for connecting with groups, humanitarian activities (the FREE PROJECT signs are going on all my leftovers today!) and unique, creative work. An Aquarius Moon is also a good time to release the Aquarius shadows - so bye-bye distractions (boxes of junk), bye-bye detachment (I spoke with more neighbors yesterday in one day of 'yard-saling' than I have in 6 months), bye-bye Aquarius stubbornness (everything I priced yesterday with the thought of "well, I can't just GIVE it away", today I am giving away).

I am going to talk about this in tonight's weekly because we will have Venus meeting up with Pluto by Wednesday - and then a BIG Full Moon in Aries at the same time that Venus finally catches up with Mars - another HUGE WEEK. This will be about what we want (Venus) and what we are willing to do (Mars) to get it. Saturn will be active and provide some obstacles.

For today, think about how you can move past whatever is distracting/distancing you and onto your own path of power/transformation! And yes, it might just be the crap cluttering up our closets or inboxes. At least it's a place to start.

xo all

During the last week I have pulled a muscle or bruised a rib - since I am, of course, self-diagnosing I am not totally sure - on my right side. Had muscle spasms in my left back that scared me so much - the last time I had back spasms I ended up immobile for a day or so - I took 8 year old muscle relaxers, which worked BTW although I don't recommend doing this, and then yesterday was bit my a yellow jacket on the tip of my finger while reaching for a donut my daughter delivered during my yard sale. So I have been laying in bed at night with ice packs for a week. I know this is all related to my yard sale and not just the achy body, over-doing it part - I will not part with my stuff easily even when the stuff is dead (to me) ... hoping today's trine cleans out all the buried muck without any additional ice pack injuries. Wishing all of you the same!!