Venus Sextile the North Node, Samhain| happy celtic new year, HAPPY HALLOWEEN, ancestral assistance, relationship from the past resurfaces, opportunities with women, cooperative efforts move us forward, agreements are reached

Sully, the mad scientist, at Saturday's Halloween party - not the photobooth camper -  this one might become a book mobile though!

Today is actually the first day of the Celtic New Year/first day of winter and was presided over by the Goddess Samhain. The ancients believed the veil between the worlds was thinnest now and certainly today's Moon in unbounded Pisces helps that along.

This is a good time to say a prayer for our ancestors well-being and also to ask them for their help. Our relationship with them works both ways. There was a scene in the Spielberg movie 'Amistad' where the brave Mende tribesman Sengbe Pieh stood in the crowded bowels of the slave ship and appealed to his ancestors for assistance, "I am the only reason you were ever born", he cried out. There is some truth to this. Not only in a physical sense of carrying a bloodline, but more importantly in the spiritual sense of "continuing their story".

The birth of my nephew, whose birth chart (natal chart from the moment he drew his first breath - in his case calculated by my brother down to the millisecond so he could give me the correct time) is such an exact representation of his parents' story at the time of his birth has convinced me our chart is not only a road-map for our personal journey (our spiritual contract) and a complete embodiment of that actual moment in time for us to carry for the collective, but also a perfect accounting of our parents' story through that moment the baton is passed and we pick up whatever bits and pieces we have agreed to work with. Of course, the same happened at their birth and their parents' birth and so on and so on back through time.

So complicated as to be unbelievable that all these pieces could fit so nicely together ... and yet they do.

The Pisces Moon encourages creative work and connecting with other people until the Moon goes void at 5:08PM EDT. It moves into Aries at 11:43PM EDT. A Void Moon during the trick or treating hours makes me think of people wandering around lost in the dark, so keep your children close. The Moon's last aspect before the void is a square to Saturn creating inflexibility and a need to follow the rules. This is NOT a good time to use drugs or overindulge in anything. Stay grounded. Keep your wits about you.

Today we also have Venus (strong in her home sign of Libra) sextiling the North Node (in Leo) at 21 degrees. Sextiles represent opportunities and Venus rules love, money, women, our values and self-esteem. At the same time she is, of course, trining (brakes off) the South Node (in Aquarius).

Whatever/whoever (a romance, woman, friendship, group, ideal) leaves now is meant to go. It should go smoothly. With Venus it could be a value or something we believe about ourselves/our situation that has outlived its usefulness.

Stay open to the opportunities that come up.

Maybe something or someone from the past resurfaces now. Maybe this is about carrying something we used to love with us as we journey forward - we are reminded somehow of what we need to keep. 

There could be opportunities through women or through working with Venusian themes. 

Cooperative efforts within relationships - both personal and business - create future opportunities. Agreements are reached. Relationships started now have a feeling of being fated.

Whatever this is for us, the energy is smooth and pleasant.

Enjoy the day. xo all

Mercury Square the North and South Nodes | mentally stuck, between the past and the future, finding the right words, opening our mind, sibling rivalry, as Jack would say, "you can't handle the truth!"

ncnb by StarofDavid
Today we have Mercury at 21 degrees (in Scorpio) squaring the North Node (in Leo) and the South Node (in Aquarius). The North Node is our collective way forward. The South Node is our collective past. Mercury is our mental abilities, communications and ideas.

As we mentally shift from the old into the new maybe something (a worn out belief about ourselves and the world we don't need to carry anymore) has us stuck. So we are given the gift of this square to bring things to a tension/crisis point and help shift our trajectory.

There is some information/conversation we need to work through or get past now. With Scorpio, it is probably something intimate and uncomfortable.

There is a choice here. We can retreat back into the detachment of that Aquarian South Node - maybe into the safety of being anonymous, of being the audience.

Or we can bravely (Leo) step into whatever this is for us and bring it out into the light and onto center stage.

There could be a fear of speaking out or standing up and apart from the group. 

Maybe a new idea has taken root, but it requires us to do something new and unusual. 

Maybe there is a truth we are afraid to hear (or speak) because then we will have to deal with it. 

And yes, there could be challenges here - this is a square after all. 

Remember our North Node is ALWAYS the path forward. So it is through Leo - following our heart, courage, confidence, generosity, showmanship - we move forward now.

That uncomfortably intimate conversation/idea may not be easy to work with. But we aren't getting out of this space - stuck between the future and the past - until we do. Trust yourself.

xo all

Note: since Mercury also rules siblings, our local environment and transportation - there could also be an issue within these themes, or the theme of our natal Scorpio house, that we need to 'get past'. This square is exact today but has been in play for a couple days and will be in play for a couple more.

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of October 30th - rules, regulations, pressure, deadlines, asking for help, remaining open and vulnerable, honesty, letting go, conclusions, the real value of what we are left holding, truth

used goods by lans-bejbe

I am a little under the weather today with two store orders to get out on Monday, so will jump right to the big stuff and do the usual dailies during the week!

The larger celestial happenings start on THURSDAY when Saturn (in Sagittarius) squares Chiron (in Pisces) at 24 degrees.

The Saturn/Chiron square has been one of 2017's biggest aspects and this is our third go-round. We also had this square on December 28, 2016 (21 degrees) and April 30, 2017 (27 degrees). And Saturn and Chiron will square each other again in 2018, but by that time Saturn will be in Capricorn and Chiron will be in Aries - so the story will have shifted.

Squares are tension and change our trajectory. This one could hurt. Maybe we get a 'no' from an authority figure. Or maybe we are required to step into our own authority and say no. It's a good time to remember we learn from experience not from success or failure.

The results of our actions are sometimes out of our hands.

Maybe some obligation or responsibility or debt needs to be lived up to. Maybe some rule is rubbing us the wrong way or limiting us.

Maybe something about whatever hurts here feels familiar. How are our beliefs impacting this situation? What is really true here? When I see Saturn (time) and Chiron (wound) together I think of the old adage "time heals all wounds". Maybe this applies. Or maybe this will apply later.

The good news - and this will sound familiar from last week when Mercury sextiled Pluto! - is that Mercury is trining (brakes off) Chiron at the same time Chiron is squaring Saturn.

Mercury (in Scorpio) is our way through this tangle.

Honest and open dialogue. Thorough research. Deep communication. Conversations about the very stuff we don't want to talk about. The hurt could be something humbling here.

This is the most direct route to the assistance/guidance we need. This is where the buried treasure lies. There could be alternatives, resources and possibilities we hadn't thought about. At the very least there is room for understanding if we allow ourselves to be exposed and vulnerable - and yes, I realize the nights are getting chilly and this is the last thing we might want to be!

The Moon will go void at 12:03PM EDT until midnight. Not a good time for launching anything new or sending anything out you need something to "come of". 

Late FRIDAY/early SATURDAY we have the Full Moon in Taurus (Sun in Scorpio).

The Sun and Moon are squaring Ceres (in Leo). The Moon will be sextiling (opportunity) Neptune (retrograde in Pisces). The Sun will be trining (brakes off) Neptune. At the same time Venus (in Libra and the ruler of Taurus and this Full Moon) will be opposing Uranus (in Aries). And Uranus will be trining (brakes off) Saturn. We'll discuss it more thoroughly later in the week - this could all be about one thing for us or play out in multiple situations.

Full Moons are culmination points. They bring things to light. They brings things to a conclusion. They send us howling into the night.

The positive aspects with watery Neptune tells us that anything running through our hands now (dissolving) is meant to go. Its release will free up our hands for more solid holdings. 

With Uranus (the unexpected) opposing the Moon's ruler Venus whatever is coming to light or concluding now could be surprising or pull us off into an entirely new direction.

Some people will get lucky. Something could reach its maximum value now.

Uranus is the ruler of Aquarius and I am going to stop writing we are moving into the Age of Aquarius and just say we are in it! I think we can all feel this. There is no "normal" anymore. There is only change and resistance to change.

That square with nurturing Ceres tips us off to potential tension regarding motherhood or growth or security issues.

Again the Taurus/Scorpio contrast between what we have and what we want/need/don't have. We will talk about this later in the week.

Will be back with the dailies.

BIG xo all

Note - Pisces Moons on Monday (beginning mid-morning) and Tuesday are excellent energy for dreaming, creative work, connecting with people on a deeper level - also to drift off-course. Keep this in mind. 

Venus Square Pluto | Mercury Sextile Pluto - wanting what we can't have, wanting what someone else has, wanting more, deep thinking, honest communications, what our yearnings are trying to show us

shhh by theluckynine
See the weekly forecast HERE

Today, we have Venus (strong in Libra) squaring (tension) Pluto (in Capricorn) at 17 degrees with Mercury (in Scorpio) sextiling (opportunity) Pluto. If you have been watching the beautiful waxing Moon, it probably won't surprise you that we also have the first quarter Moon (in Aquarius).

Pluto squares are about power, passion, control and truth.

Maybe we don't have something we want and with Venus we will be feeling the space that sits empty/maybe stagnant with our longing - there could be manipulation, obsession, compulsion, power plays involved here.

These are the emotional reactions that tell us something deeper is going on - within us. We have squashed something down that we don't want to look at and now it is rearing its head in misshapen ways. Likely coming out through relationship issues, financial issues or issues involving women (or beauty/aging). Calling out for attention. Calling out for communication.

Maybe we want more than is even possible from a situation/person. Maybe we are comparing ourselves to other people. Maybe our ambitions with something are not in line with divine timing.

Whatever this is, the opportunity (sextile) lies with today's Plutonian contact with Mercury (communication, conversation, local environment, siblings, transportation, information, thoughts). Something from that Mercurian word salad, most-likely the "communication, thinking" themes present the real opportunity for growth here.

This isn't so much about getting what we want as it is about looking at why we really want it. Venus has been a big player in 2017, none of this is really new news. It could be a fresh situation though. Maybe not.

Think through what is happening. Think about what you are feeling. When have you felt this way before? What is this current situation really stirring up? What are you really afraid of? Maybe this kind of thinking process is enough. Maybe this thinking needs to shared/communicated with another person, though not necessarily the person you are dealing with (if that is what is happening).

Maybe a mentor or authority figure (maybe an actual Capricorn person).

Maybe after working it through ourselves mentally, an honest/open discourse within the relationship/other people involved will allow us to figure out what is really going on. The energy may not be quite ripe for a solution, but maybe the tension (the square) can be diluted enough that we can all sleep at night.

Today's energy could push yesterday's optimism into the "punch drunk" territory. Keep this in mind. 

We also have the first quarter square Moon (in Aquarius). Whatever started at last week's New Moon - and something ALWAYS starts, the reason we set our intentions is to have some input - hits an obstacle.

With Aquarius we could need to consider outside points of view or maybe what we are doing isn't meeting with the approval of others. If we are feeling defensive or defiant - take a breath. This might require some flexibility and Aquarius is fixed air - not wanting to bend. Can we bend without breaking? Without losing control? Not because we are doing anything wrong, but because maybe there is a better way we can't see through the dense Aquarian "know-it-all" energy.

And yet we need to follow our heart here. This isn't about tossing away our authenticity, but let's stay flexible. We can't bend so much we snap in two like a twig, but we can't remain so stiff we will surely break anyway. The first quarter Moon is the time of adjustment. So adjust.

The Aquarius Moon every month is good energy to work with people via the internet and attend to independent online work.

xo all

Sun Conjunct Jupiter | do you feel lucky, hidden resources coming to light, if more isn't better, staying positive, when you change the way you look at things the things you look at change, taking action, doing something new

by raetselleben

The Sun meets up with expansive Jupiter at 3 degrees Scorpio today.

See the weekly forecast HERE where we explore the "lucky" aspect of this transit. We all kick off a new Jupiter cycle and if you have a birthday this week you will be exploring this Sun/Jupiter energy all year! You lucky duck you!

A light (the Sun) shines on a Scorpion theme (or the theme of our natal Scorpio house) and it expands in a Jupiterian way. Something is growing here. Likely our optimism about a particular situation. With the Sun exposing Jupiter, ruler of our beliefs - we have the chance to change/expand our world-view to improve a situation.

This is all happening in Scorpio and Scorpio rules the taboo. The stuff we have pushed down deep and don't really want to look at. Certainly the stuff we don't talk about in polite society; sex, death, taxes. In Scorpio, we merge - ourselves and our resources with other people.

Maybe, something in the shadows is brought into the light now. The Jupiterian energy creates expansion and - although it doesn't offer a notarized guarantee of a positive outcome - due to the power of positive thinking, usually things will turn out well in the long run. 

Maybe an opportunity or resource we hadn't previously considered comes to our attention now.

We could find we have more power than we thought we did or more additional outside help

(possibly even via a Santa Claus figure - Jupiter - or a father figure - the Sun).

This is excellent energy to get something started. Do you know the theme of your natal Scorpio house? There is a natural fresh start offered there, but any area of life can benefit from a kick-off that carries this powerhouse combination.

The fly in the ointment with Sun/Jupiter in Scorpio is that problems can get magnified and grow now, too. Expansion sounds good in theory, but much depends on what is expanding! And more isn't always better. Remember the jam study.

The good news for us - bad news for the fly - is the very fact this situation has our attention and energy NOW tells us there are opportunities ripe for development in here somewhere.  

Cast a wider net. Stay positive.

There could be a connection with information from the October 18th Mercury/Jupiter conjunction. Something there gains traction here.

It's important to remember Jupiter is a planet made up entirely of gases. We could take something too far over-the-top now. That's what this energy is pushing us to do - to take a chance, to go for it.

The Moon is in stable Capricorn today, but by tomorrow will be in anything-can-happen Aquarius and we could be moving far outside our comfort zones especially in regard to money and relationship situations. Keep in mind we are flying in a hot air balloon.

By Saturday/Sunday our Jupiterian optimism could be as deflated as the balloon which has now landed. I hesitate to even write this, since I am sure some readers with strong Virgo or Saturn placements will see this as a stop sign. It isn't.

The balloon has given us a wonderful view of possibilities. These are real things. 

Every move we make, every chance we take, shifts our current timeline (and yes, I'll be watching you*).

By next week we will have a better view of where this all stands. The Sun will have "enlightened" us, Jupiter will have expanded the situation and we will be ready to take action.

Please don't take this as a call to sit back and wait until next week.

Life doesn't work this way. What we do today impacts next week. And the weeks after that. We can only connect the dots looking backward, never forward (who said that? Steve Jobs I think). We can't see how everything is falling into place until later.

The North Node is still in brave and heart-centered Leo - move toward what your heart wants.

The Moon is in Capricorn. Let's get to work - our potential for success is greatly increased now. And let's buy a lottery ticket, too, because you never know ....

xo all

* although now that I think about the Police lyrics they may not fit terrible well - still a good song though.

And speaking of police, Olive's barking yesterday afternoon alerted me to a 'police situation' in my own backyard - well, front yard. A storm was kicking up and I usually ignore Olive's barking during storms since she gets stressed and uber-determined to alert me to anything that moves out there, even something like a blowing piece of paper. She barks at the window and then runs toward me. Back and forth. Again and again. And again.

For some reason I got up and went to the window to see what intruder ie lost receipt she was barking at this time.

There was a line of about 10 policemen dressed in black riot gear sneaking along my neighbor's fence (across the street). Their movements were in unison almost like a marching band, but instead of oboes and tubas they were carrying guns and shields. It was gut wrenching for a moment there.

I should mention I live in a very quiet, very small town and this particular house is right next to the town hall which contains the state police barracks!

The police proceeded to break in my neighbor's front door and charge into the house. Of course, I went upstairs for a better view and pulled over a chair, cursing myself for having sold George's old binoculars at the yard sale (every single time I sell something I haven't used in 15 years I need it. what the hell is that?).

Anyhoo, they proceed to, I assume, since I can't see what is happening inside the house, this particular neighbor always has their blinds closed - tear the place apart for a few hours.

The police finally leave. I can't tell if any of my neighbors leave with them because the action had moved to the side of the house out of my view.

The front door opens and I can see the outline of someone inside the house. They look like they are fiddling with the broken lock, etc (I should say I wasn't sitting and watching all morning, but I did seem to be looking at all the right times!). Suddenly a GIANT cross drops from over top of the front door and hangs there on a rope. Like a two foot tall cross. On a door that has never even held a holiday wreath.

I am thinking this is either a prayer to the Gods to leave them in peace or a signal to someone that the place isn't safe to enter, the way red crosses on doors would alert outsiders that sick people were in a house and not to come in. It's very ... odd.

I don't know these neighbors. And there is a wide assortment of them in different ages. The women all seem to go to work (or they go somewhere fairly regularly, sometimes with children buckled into carseats). The men all seem to walk uptown for cigarettes and coffee and then slink back into the house. They were friendly enough during the Memorial Day Parade when they gave Sully the candy they collected from the marchers who tossed toward their side of the street.

I have been googling 'drug bust farmingdale nj' but so far nothing. Maybe the drug bust was a bust.

There seems to be fewer cars over there. Of course, hubs has been suspicious of them since they moved in and now feels vindicated. His suspicions were mostly due to his thinking that 1. there are just too many of them and 2. one of the bedroom window's lights is too bright and on all the time. That nothing good/legal could be happening in a bedroom that well-lit.

I am not so sure. I tend to think most of the time it's the hidden stuff we have to watch out for. Except I can't anymore because I sold those damn binoculars!

At least I have my 18 pound guard dog to alert me when my neighbors get arrested ... or a slip of paper drifts into our yard. And hubs to keep an eye out for bright lights and suspicious groups of people. Now I just need to hunt up a new pair of binoculars ... probably at someone else's garage sale.

Mercury trine Neptune | instinctual decisions, healing conversations, sensitivity, creativity, compassion, connection, fantasy, facts are slippery, softening our words, silence is golden, body language

Us by goodmuiscgoodpeople

Today we have Mercury (in Scorpio) trining (brakes off) Neptune (in Pisces) at 11 degrees.

Our greatest ease comes through connecting these two energies.

Maybe we make decisions (Mercury) using our intuition/imagination (Pisces) - I wouldn't make any BIG decisions with today's energy though - since the truth could be slippery. Maybe something we hear or read or say (Mercury) is healing/connecting (Pisces). Maybe the answers (Mercury) come through meditation and prayer (Pisces). Maybe our thinking (Mercury) is creative (Pisces). Maybe it is time to speak (Mercury) our dreams (Neptune) out loud.

If we are talking about or learning about (Mercury) Piscean/Neptunian subject matter - healing, spirituality, art, poetry, music, photography, addiction issues, escapist tendencies, etc - our mind won't be focused on the details, but we will be able to feel the bigger picture here.

Maybe without focusing on the dots, the dots can finally be connected. 

Our senses, especially if not fogged up with sugar (at least in my case), are heightened now. We know what people are really saying no matter what words they are using and other people will be picking up on the subtle, often unconscious, clues we are putting out.

So, if someone says to us today, "why are you so angry?" and at first we think they are nuts and we are not angry. Well, maybe we will stop - we have the benefit of astrology! - and go a little deeper (scan our body for tension, feel their words instead of immediately discounting them). They could be picking up on something we are not wanting to look at/talk about. On the other hand with Mercury trine Neptune - they could actually be nuts. It will be hard to tell. :)

Silence could speak louder than words now. Really listen.

Mercury and Neptune are sextiling Juno (in Capricorn).  

So, today's communication is likely to offer the greatest opportunities (sextile) within partnerships (Juno ruled) - both personal and business (Capricorn).

Contracts and commitments can be talked about in a way that is connecting rather than alienating now. Both parties can feel heard. Our dreams can merge together. Scorpian secrets and taboo subject matter (Mercury is in Scorpio, don't forget) can be discussed.

There is alot of water involved so emotions could run high. The sextile to Capricorn should stabilize the whole thing though and the energies involved should help soothe the situation.

Mars is in Libra - nobody really wants to fight now anyway.

We truly are all in this together.

Remember, see the weekly forecast HERE, that the Sagittarius Moon goes void from 12:44PM EDT to 8:12PM EDT and then moves into Capricorn. You know the drill with that one.

xo all