Taurus New Moon | Uranus into Taurus - embracing change and learning to survive and THRIVE through uncertainty, our stability gets shaken but so does our sense of what is impossible! part l

Take me there by ideoda

At 7:48AM EDT on Tuesday, May 15th, the Taurus Moon exactly meets the Taurus Sun offering us the annual Taurus New Moon (24 degrees).

This year we have a hugely powerful New Moon with the literal power to shake (Uranus) the Earth (Taurus) - and the lives of its inhabitants! What house (area of life) holds 24 degrees Taurus in your natal chart? Something here is about to shake loose!

The New Moon (and Sun) trines (brakes off) a retrograde Pluto (in Capricorn) and Mars (in Aries).

Venus, ruler of Taurus and so ruler of this New Moon, is in "multi-tasking, information accumulating, chatty, the more choices the merrier, two heads are better than one" Gemini. She is also out of bounds and not interacting with any of the major planets at the New Moon, so a bit of a wild card here and maybe creating somewhat of a disconnect between our head and our heart. She is conjunct Pallas (more creative intellect in Gemini) which gives us an increased ability to strategize now and initiate.

When trines are formed "the brakes are off" the energies of the planets connected - there is nothing stopping the energies. This can be a good thing - we are trying to get somewhere and an obstacle is suddenly removed from our path and we can keep going or not such a good thing if that obstacle was the only thing standing between us and the side of a cliff.

And fiery Mars and unpredictable Uranus are going to exactly square each other the day after the New Moon, so this is even more restless energy creating an urge to break-free of constraints. This is excellent energy for creative break-throughs but also primes the pump for distracting accidents and break-downs. If it ain't broke, this wouldn't be the time to try to fix it.

So, the energies surrounding the New Moon (and we haven't even looked at Uranus moving into Taurus within hours!) are challenging the usual Taurean ways of doing things - taking it slow, staying comfortable and secure, getting rooted, building things that can be sustained, taking the time to touch life and smell the roses. Taurus is the first earth sign and relates to what we have. And our experience of what we have via our five senses. She rules our collective 2nd house - our money, values, resources, self-esteem.

Taurus doesn't like to rush. She likes comfort and ease and stopping to smell the roses. This isn't about being lazy. This is about our ability to savor. And to put down roots. We live on a beautiful, miraculous rock hurtling through space. How is this even possible? 

So, yes, maybe what we thought was stable won't be quite so stable - but keep in mind - what we thought was impossible will not be quite so impossible either!

We have Mercury in Taurus now. With Venus (ruler of Taurus) in Gemini (whose ruler is Mercury) these two planets, Mercury and Venus, are in mutual reception and strengthening each other. There is also more flow between these two energies so we are communicating (Mercury/Gemini) about money (Venus/Taurus) now or we are comforted/stabilized (Venus/Taurus) by more information (Mercury/Gemini). Mercury in Taurus is an observing energy - it likes the time to think things through, but can sometimes take so much time or dig so deeply into a position that it gets itself stuck. Venus in Gemini via more information, conversations, movement pulls Mercury out of the mud. Venus in Gemini says "let's try this and that and the other thing" and Mercury brings her back to reality, "uh, Venus we only have five bucks, two hours and half a tank of gas here".

Having them working together at the New Moon is good news for whatever we have going on in our lives and for the things we are initiating now. And Mercury is only at 3 degrees of Taurus, so he will grow through Taurus during this entire New Moon cycle (through to the Full Moon at the end of the month).

He/she (Mercury is rather androgynous energy) will trine stable Saturn on Friday - and THAT is when we will probably have a clearer solution/explanation/result.

OK back to those New Moon trines. The trine to Pluto (retrograde) in Capricorn adds stability to whatever this New Moon is launching. There is a commitment being made here. This is important. The trine to Mars (in Aries) speaks of action based on our instincts. Also, initiating actions that move things forward quickly.

At the New Moon, Uranus is at 29.59 degrees - literally the very, very last space of Aries. This is UBER powerful and then just a few hours after the New Moon, 11:23AM EDT, Uranus slips into Taurus for the first time in 84 years!

We talked about this in the weekly and month ahead and we will talk about this tomorrow in Part II by sign. In the meantime start thinking about your intentions because this is UBER powerful energy we are heading into.

 NEW MOON INTENTIONS 

This new moon in Taurus is an excellent time to begin a grounding practice, make affirmations and set intentions about Taurean ruled themes (also the theme of your natal Taurus house): love, money, contentment with what we already have, patience, self-worth, releasing stubbornness, health issues regarding our neck, throat and voice in the world - this would be a great time to start a singing practice or class, simply committing to singing loud and strong every time you are in the car can begin to carry your voice to new spaces and places (are you wanting to get your voice heard? think about it, I am totally serious, this is how life works) - nutrition, nature, self-care.

AFFIRMATION TIPS: get into a happy, contented frame of mind - HUG A TREE (she needs you, too!) - always make affirmations from a positive place, and both definitions of positive apply here - happy and certain. Write your affirmations down by hand in script, speak them out loud - then release your attention from these things knowing that your intention is known.  

Know these things are already yours.

Also remember affirmations are action -  they set the energy in motion and by working with the right things at the time of the New Moon we are literally creating the affirmation within the energy that is needed to bring it to life.

Words are not just words and now we have Venus - ruler of the New Moon - in Gemini and answering to Mercury - ruler of words and in mutual reception! This makes our words even more powerful - PLEASE create your intentions this month.

If done properly, in the right frame of mind and heart-felt, they line us up energetically with the thing we are seeking. Always. 

The stuff we start now will benefit us later.

xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of May 14th - Uranus into Taurus, Taurus New Moon - New Earth, new ideas about what makes us wealthy, the other side of the COIN drops, aliens coming to earth (?) - a preview of 2019-2026

*** by oprisco

SUNDAY - Mercury Conjunct Uranus, Mercury into Taurus
TUESDAY -  Uranus into Taurus, Taurus New Moon
WEDNESDAY - Mars into Aquarius, Mars Square Uranus
FRIDAY - Mercury Trine Saturn
SATURDAY - Venus into Cancer
SUNDAY - Sun into Gemini

You might be tired of reading - "this is a big week" - but this is a BIG (!!!!) week.

On SUNDAY, Mercury - after MONTHS in Aries - slips into Taurus for just 26 days. Mercury (communication, conversation, thoughts, ideas) is grounded and steady (and fixed) in Taurus. The war of words is over.

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

Taurus gets results through self-sufficiency, by bringing ideas and concepts 'down to earth', by being sensible. Information and the physical world are adjusting to each other. 

This is not the time to enact complicated plans unless we want to make ourselves (and everyone else) cray-cray. Better to drill down to the fundamentals now.

Now, the thing to keep in mind this year (Mercury transits Taurus annually) is that Uranus - the planet that is anything BUT steady - is moving into Uranus for the first time in 84 years in about 48 HOURS. So, how steady Mercury will ACTUALLY be for the next 26 days in Taurus is anyone's guess.

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

With Uranus moving into Taurus on Tuesday some of this Mercurian 'entrenchment' won't be possible this year. I have been saying Trump is Uranus since the election (with Uranus on his Sun and North Node natally), so we'll see how Uranus's change of position - from fire to earth - will work for him. Will he stable out a bit? or double down on his scorched Earth maneuverings until he burns out?

For more about Sunday - check the weekend post HERE.

On MONDAY, the Moon (in Taurus) will trine stable Saturn while we sleep - we should wake up feeling steady and grounded. At 5:44PM EDT the Moon will sextile (opportunity) mystical Neptune - excellent energy to relax, meditate, create art, be all dark Moon lazy. At 8:08PM EDT the Moon will oppose Jupiter (in Scorpio) - this is expansive energy, could be a bit overbearing and too much if we meet it outside ourselves. If we use this energy to look within, it can bring to light buried issues about how we get in our own way and block Taurean flow - love, money, resources. The entire day's energy really flows perfectly into Tuesday's big events.

At 7:48AM EDT on TUESDAY, the Moon conjuncts the Sun and gives us the Taurus New Moon (24 degrees). The Moon trines (brakes off) a retrograde Pluto (in Capricorn) and Mars (in Aries). This is stable, ambitious energy. An excellent launch pad to create something lasting within your natal Taurus house theme and the universal Taurus themes of money, physical resources, our values and self-esteem.

This is about bringing all our resources/talents/skills to the table. It's use it or lose it time. Remember we tend to undervalue the things we inherently do well. There is no time for that crap any longer. You have to bring everything you carry. We are late in the day, folks.

Taurus is the sign of Mother earth.

This would be the time to stop weeding and get those seeds into the ground.

At 11:23AM EDT Uranus slips into Taurus. He was last in Taurus from June 1934 to May 1942.

This is about the revolution (Uranus) of what we value (Taurus). The Earth (Taurus) will shake (Uranus).

Uranus will be in Taurus until he slips back into Aries late fall for his retrograde, returning to Taurus for the long haul in February 2019. So we get a taste of this now, then he heads back to finish up the last 7 years in Aries, then he hunkers down into Taurus until .

Anything past its expiration date in your Taurus house is going to go bye-bye.

See more in my post HERE about Mid-May.

So, the New Moon starts off in grounded Taurean fashion and then heads off in a new direction. An entirely new direction.

I will write a post by sign this week. I just wanted to get something up today.

Changes, likely something that challenges our sense of security, could start off with a BANG. 

xo - back tomorrow.

Learning Astrology with the Donald | part Il - Trump and the ladies, Moon and Venus

Part I is HERE

I thought it would be interesting to do a series of astrology posts focused on learning astrology by analyzing Donald Trump's natal chart (it's a doozy) - and then we will take what we have learned and look at his upcoming transits to  

make some predictions about what he might do and what could happen.

Now, let's take a look at Trump's lunar side - let's talk about his Moon.

His natal Moon is in Sagittarius in his 4th house. Sagittarius ruler Jupiter is sextile the Moon in his 2nd house. The planet on his 4th house cusp (keep in mind the Moon rules the 4th house) is Scorpio answering to Pluto in the 12th. His Moon opposes that dynamic Sun/Uranus/North Node conjunction (born on a Full Moon), is conjunct his South Node and trines his Mars and his Ascendant.

The Moon is the natural ruler of our 4th house - where we come from, the roots of our chart, our heritage, the influence of our mothers. It is through our Moon that we continue our matriarchal line and our mother's emotional journey. She influences our relationship with the public. She shows our emotional temperature. She speaks of the instinctual feelings and responses that we may/or may not actually give expression to. The Moon is the celestial body closest to the Earth and influences all areas of our lives. Her phases regulate our lives.

I feel that I am taking away from her MAGIC by trying to pigeon-hole her with words here and this is way too brief, but you can get a basic idea.

The Moon's natal sign and house offer us very precise information about the kind of things that make us feel safe.

Trump's Moon is conjunct his South Node with Scorpio on the house cusp with ruler in the 12th, so we know his relationship with his mother and with his own children - the people his mother's lineage passes to through him - is karmic with past life connections being worked through in this lifetime (especially his female children). I think with that powerful solar opposition to his Moon he would tend to see his mother as weakened - or needing protection somehow - even though she is clearly the nurturing presence here, maybe in Sagittarius encouraging some kind of broader thinking or higher education in Donald.

That weakness he senses in her could even make him angry (that Mars trine), but it would likely be an unconscious thing (Mars in the 12th house).

Moon in Sagittarius could (and does in this case) indicate a foreign (Sagittarius) mother (Moon), also real estate (Moon) in foreign countries (Sagittarius). And keep in mind this is an excellent indicator of what he needs to feel safe - and he went on to have multiple foreign-born wives. This would also make him feel safe with foreign people and benefit from them (that trine to his Mars/Ascendant) - and I know this runs counter to his immigration rhetoric, but remember that Moon is being opposed by his life force Sun/North Node/Uranus energies, since he was born on a Full Moon and will be filled with contradictory and complicated energies. This foreign energy is the BASE of his chart. He is foreign and feels (Moon) all the ways he doesn't fit in.

His chart gives him too much Moon and too little Moon at the same time.

Too much Moon (which he has) and a purely matriarchal consciousness might ignore the value of the individual and give total importance to the value of family and "tribe"- this becomes our narrowed view of patriotism. What is needed to stay safe - build a wall (and the Moon is the natural ruler of Cancer where Trump's Saturn - walls, limits - sits conjunct his Venus, making it hard to feel the love remember, the wall is a perfectly logical expression of this), anything is justified to preserve home/family/country.

Too little Moon (which he also has with that powerful opposition) and we lose our sense of connection and care for our physical body, nature, feminine impulses, our connection to the present moment, Mother Earth. The Moon also rules 'the public' and we can see how he runs hot and cold with people.

The Moon is the natural ruler of the sign of Cancer and so rules his 11th house. That's where his very important Mercury sits as well as his Saturn with a close conjunction to Venus.

Saturn conjunct Venus echos the South Node/Moon conjunction - karmic connections with women - with Saturn ruling his Capricorn house (5th house - children, recreation, creative projects, romance) there would be karmic connections with his sex partners (fun, no strings attached sex is the 5th house not real intimacy) and his children - I think we said that before (ECHO).

Venus conjunct Saturn would allow him to attract older more successful mentors/protectors to help 'polish him up' when he was younger and younger partners when he is older/past mid-life - all through the public sphere (11th house). Venus/Saturn is also a "being in the right place at the right time" kind of energy.

Usually Saturn/Venus people are very loyal, but with Saturn ruling his 5th house of casual sex this might not apply as much.

His Venus/Saturn could have played out as needing to be like Saturn (serious, goal-oriented, business-like, successful) in order to be loved (Venus) in his childhood (Cancer/Moon); having to grow up fast - but then being that serious Saturn walls him off and brings a loss of closeness - so the Donald child can't win - he can't be loved unless he is Saturn, but he can't feel the love if he is Saturn. He can earn the love, but it won't feel like love because it is earned. See what I mean?

I know you are thinking - oh for pete's sake - play me some violins ... (I played the flute for just six months in 4th grade so can only offer an awkward rendition of jingle bells!) but Venus conjunct Saturn has some heavy challenges. Some people with this aspect, sometimes oldest daughters, are very late-bloomers, but when they bloom, they BLOOM. Everything improves with age here. And it is never too late for Saturn/Venus people to flower. I would never count them out.

Trump's is actually a very good chart to support the rising feminine energy on the planet and the releasing of generations of feminine/masculine karma. I know it might seem that the opposite is true, but shadow energy is powerful stuff.

In Part III - we will look at his other planets and begin to lay out what could lie ahead for the Donald

xo all

Weekend Astrology Forecast for Creatives | May 12th thru 13th - feeling like time is running out, keeping our cool, shrugging off the nasty, the slow down

random 21.2 by 7oretta

With Venus ruled Taurus late into Aries and changing signs on Tuesday coupled with a dark and moody Aries Moon focusing us on "me, me, me" - we might be feeling/seeing the results of prior thoughts, actions and in-actions that have resulted in our current Venusian situation (love, money, values, self-esteem) - do we have enough love? do we have enough money? what have we been doing/not doing that is screwing things up for ourselves?

(ie a good thing to do with Venus ruled Taurus preparing to shake things up is to avoid focus on bad habits - procrastinating, distraction, addiction - but on filling more hours with good habits or productive activity - so instead of limiting your computer time, for example, get a part-time job that will require you to limit your computer time, instead of quitting smoking find a way to fill more time with something that requires you to not smoke - you get the idea - you don't say to yourself I am not going to waste an hour every morning on the computer, you say to yourself "I will do XYZ for an hour every morning" - the bad habits shake loose naturally)

SATURDAY could be testy with both the Moon and Mercury in Aries and squaring fiesty Mars. This is great energy to lose our cool - so let's try to avoid that.

You have the benefit of astrology. You know the weather and can bring an umbrella or stay home and do something productive with your head and hands. This isn't the time for a heart to heart conversation/negotiations because everyone will be focused on their own best interests (Aries). Words could be curt and cutting.

The Moon is dark now as we build toward the Taurus New Moon early next week. Things could feel uncertain and kind of muddy. When the Moon and Mercury meet in Aries it will be at the final degree of the sign - this always makes us FEEL LIKE TIME IS RUNNING OUT. And we have Mercury set to meet (and then pass Uranus) at this same degree on Monday. I am not going to say the sense of urgency isn't real because in some cases it will be, most likely though as these planetary energies whoosh out of cardinal "let's get this party started" Aries - we will be regretting all the things we didn't get started.

Keep a cool head. Many people carry Mars all wound up in a tight ball ready to spring, so stay mindful of where you are and what you are saying/doing. Don't regurgitate your Mars all over other people. And excuse other people, who don't have the same benefit of knowing the astrological weather, their outbursts. The Moon in independent Aries will make it easier to shrug off the nasty, if our Mars has a healthy outlet. Get some exercise. 

Drive safely now.

The Moon will square Pluto at 10:54PM EDT which could bring up jealousy, compulsion, manipulative behavior - feeling like we need to manipulate a situation to get what we want. It could make us focused on what we don't have. Then, if we are still awake to see any benefit, the Moon will sextile (opportunity) lovely Venus at 1:01 AM EDT - charming conversations to send us off into dreamland.

On SUNDAY, Mercury will conjunct Uranus at 6:49AM EDT.  

Our plans will be subject to change. We could change our minds. New information can come in now. Uranus is the higher octave of Mercury connecting us to group consciousness - this would be an excellent time for writing! Don't sleep in writers!

At 8:40AM EDT Mercury enters stable Taurus - our thinking slows down. So do communications and commerce. Things should begin to feel a little less urgent (maybe not with Uranus still at 29 degrees though!). Decisions will be made more cautiously now. Get outside and hug a tree. Mercury has been in Aries since the beginning of March due to its recent retrograde so this slow-down (if we feel it!) could feel good if we have been go-go-go.

At 2:05PM EDT the Moon enters Taurus, too, focusing us on our money, resources, values and relationships over the next couple days.

We are REALLY building toward Tuesday's New Moon now and we will feel it. The Moon will hook up with Mercury at 2:57PM EDT (in Taurus). Our heart/emotional needs and our head are together here. We know what we want.

We have a BIG week ahead, so try to enjoy late Sunday's slower energy.

xo all

pulling weeds ... in the midst of a deep Scorpionic purging, secrets exposed, surgery, a need for some rest - clearing the ground for Uranus

Tree People by newjuventud

The Sun in Taurus (18 degrees) is now opposing Jupiter (retrograde in Scorpio). The Taurus Sun is seeking something stable and comfortable, asking us what is OURS. Jupiter in Scorpio is digging through old/deep stuff - do we still have the right tools for the job? - the Moon in Aquarius tells us that something new and unusual, something Uranian is needed now. And right on time - isn't astrology amazing! - Uranus is set to enter Taurus in 1 week. But who's counting? Is your hand up? Mine is!

To back up, we had a Full Moon at 9 degrees Scorpio on April 30th.

So now, one week later (exact yesterday), the Moon is in its first quarter square to the Sun (they were exactly opposite each other at the Full Moon). If you can picture a clock on the wall with the hands at 6:00 on the Full Moon - it would now be 3:00 (astrological movement is counter-clockwise).

The Moon is in Aquarius and connecting to the South Node - this is stress/tension, maybe obstacles, building around an old situation that has been requiring or trying to get our attention since January.

Now, the Moon is going to keep on keeping on, as the Moon tends to do, and in another week (May 15th-16th), she will arrive at 24 degrees of Taurus at the same time that the Sun, which, of course, has moved on, too - will arrive at 24 degrees Taurus giving us the Taurus New Moon (the clock hands are both now at the 12).

Jupiter by then, moving slowly in reverse, will be at 17 degrees Scorpio, loosely opposing the Sun and the Moon.

Now, back in the beginning of 2018, on January 6th, we had Mars meet up with Jupiter at that same 17 degrees Scoprio - HERE is a post about that.

There is something from then we are being reminded about now.

In early January (when all the planets were direct, but we still weren't getting anywhere for some reason!) this was all exactly squaring the North (Leo) and South (Aquarius) nodes (past/future, karma) and at the New Moon next week, the star players will be loosely squaring the nodes, too.

What does all this mean?

Well, this will look like something different for each of us,

but there is a deep purging of something Scorpionic happening within the collective and within our personal lives - secrets, obsessions, compulsions, manipulations, intimacies, shared resources (debt, inheritances, other people's money), sex, life/death scenarios, reproduction, past-life entanglements, ancestral IOUs.

Ground is being cleared. Weeds are being pulled. Diets are being cleaned up and lightened.

This is the perfect time for a surgery to have something removed. And this could, of course, be a metaphoric extraction - which would also leave us tired and needing to recuperate.

Something is each of our lives is about to be MODERNIZED. Change is coming folks. And keep in mind that North Node in Leo - if our heart's not in it, the rest of us shouldn't be in it either.

xo

Note - the South Node is where we have ALREADY earned our degree (where is the south node in your natal chart? what house is it in? what planet rules that house?) so with the Moon touching the South Node now - even though it is in future-oriented Aquarius - there is something here we have already mastered. It can feel great to sit in our south node. It is very comfortable and we are uber successful here. The gains/skills found here WE CANNOT LOSE.

BUT when we sit too long in our south node energy - life starts to feel kind of dull and stagnant and like it is missing something - that's because at a soul level we are still sitting "in the familiar" - it's like we have our degree and we are still taking classes in that same subject!

So, yes we can ace these classes, but so what?! We could all ace 8th grade if we took it three times, but we would never get to explore high school!

So, now that we are living in the Age of Aquarius AND this year having the South Node in Aquarius (been there, done that) - there is a certain general kind of malaise we have to break out of. This is what Uranus (ruler of Aquarius) is going to do. The stuck energy will come unstuck. The wild erratic energy will have a place to begin to take root and get settled and comfortable just in time for the North Node to move into Cancer next summer.

This won't be easy, but we didn't come here for things to be easy. It's always good to keep this in mind.

Also keep in mind it is Taurus season and the Moon (ruler of Taurus) is in lively Gemini - there is a youthful detachment to ideas here, an available flexibility. Also the Mars/Pluto challenges with authority/standing up for ourselves .... this stuff is all connected. Remember the Moon is waning now - get enough rest, take a step back from something if needed, catch your breath.

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of May 7th - AVALANCHE of news and information, intense conversations, adjustments, rose colored financials, luck and optimism, wrapping up that 2011 story, making the decision to GROW

The Story Maker's Tools by The Fox and the Raven

A BUSY and exciting week ahead as we wrap up the Uranus in Aries story we started back in 2011. 

Lots of big energy this week - focused on news/information and our money, relationships, values and resources. BIG SURPRISES next week as everything that isn't nailed down (or I should say - everything that IS nailed down) starts to SHIFT.

The aspects this week are:

SUNDAY - Sun Sextile Neptune
MONDAY - Mercury Square Pluto, Venus Square Neptune
TUESDAY - Sun Opposite Jupiter
WEDNESDAY - Mercury Conjunct Eris
FRIDAY - Sun Trine Pluto, Mercury Trine Galactic Center
SATURDAY - Mercury Square Mars
SUNDAY - Mercury into Taurus, Mercury Conjunct Uranus

We start the week on SUNDAY with a lovely, lazy Sun sextile Neptune. The Sun is in Taurus and wants to relax and get comfortable. Neptune says let's dream this day away. And it's Sunday, so why not? Around the same time - 10:48AM EDT - the Moon moves into Aquarius. So we will be focused on group activities for the next couple days. We will all require a little more freedom. There could be unexpected events, dealings with unusual people (or an actual Aquarian) and situations that are more impersonal. Monday's Mercury square Pluto might start to be felt on Sunday night.

MONDAY is probably going to be challenging. Hang in there - the week will get EASIER.

The Moon continues her journey through Aquarius. We may find clues about what we can expect next week, especially if we take the time to reflect on how we are feeling now.

Before we wake (4:49AM EDT), Mercury (in Aries) will move into his/her square with Pluto (in Capricorn) - moving forward she will square Mars on Saturday, so the news, information and events of these days could be connected and tense. We will need to adjust.

This is excellent energy for diving deeply into something mentally - for puzzling our way through problems and dilemmas, for deep study or test taking. 

Interactions with other people - especially people in authority (power dynamics) can be tricky though. It will be hard to stay objective - although the Aquarius Moon should help.

Words might feel like the lava spewing from the Kilauea volcano. Communications could be harsh. Maybe simply particularly blunt or maybe even coarser - something manipulative/threatening. This aspect can also trigger worried/compulsive thinking - situations could seem like life and death.

Words that have been buried can come up now. 

Think twice before making off-the-cuff public statements. We could be pushed to speak out as our passion/anger is activated, but we will need to keep a cool head and at the same time not allow ourselves to be manipulated. This is tricky energy designed for power plays.

Mercury in Aries is already apt to use words like a hammer and interactions with others now can be particularly INTENSE.

This week's challenging Mercury energies are designed to dis-entangle us from our safe, but limiting ideas and thinking.

Words will really deliver a punch now. Maybe even a knock-out blow. 

Keep in mind the high road is the one with the best views and the fewest mosquitoes. 

Take care when driving and operating machinery, too.

Mercury also rules (besides our mental abilities, ideas and communication) thru Gemini - transportation, including the transportation of information ie computers, phones, and the movement of goods ie commerce, also our siblings, our local environment and thru Virgo - our pets, daily activities, co-workers, work and health. Any of these themes (as well as the themes of our natal Aries/Capricorn houses) could be feeling the squeeze with transformative Pluto.

At 5:59PM EDT Venus (in Gemini) will square Neptune at home in Pisces. Then she will move on to inconjunct (rock and a hard place) Jupiter on Wednesday and Pluto on Saturday. Venus rules our money, love, relationships, values, resources and self-esteem. With Venus in Gemini challenged by dreamy, foggy Neptune things could be CONFUSING.

What looks at first like a smorgasbord of fancy lunch options could turn out to be a choice between a baloney sandwich that's been pulled out from the couch cushions and a ham sandwich that's been rolled around on the sidewalk. Just how hungry are we exactly?

DOUBLE CHECK everything.

What are the actual facts around what you WANT? What do you really know?

Keep assumptions to a minimum because we will be looking through rose colored glasses now. We could come to regret the things we jump into. Boundaries are blurry. Answers only bring more questions. Avoid alcohol and drugs under this aspect - the effects will be magnified.

On TUESDAY - our lovely Taurus Sun will oppose Jupiter (in Scorpio). The Sun will move on to trine (brakes off) Pluto on Friday. THIS is the space where we need to keep our eye on the prize. HERE is a post by sign of the area of your chart Jupiter is exploring - keep in mind this will likely be most accurate if you use your rising sign AND keep in mind that Jupiter is currently retrograde, so this won't be a brand new thing. The Sun will bring something Jupiter has unearthed either INTO THE LIGHT or toward a culmination now.

If we don't allow the week's Mercury/Venus (see Monday for the highlights) challenges to throw us off our game - today's faith, hope and optimism will carry us FAR.

We decide to GROW and we do. It sounds like magic and it is because Life IS Magic.

At 11:11PM EDT (!) the Moon will move into compassionate, spiritual, artistic Pisces. We will be more sensitive and emotional for the next couple days. In Pisces the Moon will make some nice contacts with those serious Capricorn planets and expansive Jupiter.

On WEDNESDAY, Mercury will conjunct Eris in Aries. We will need to continue to be mindful of our words. The angry feminine "outsider" energy could be given a voice now in the news and within our personal conversations. If OUR Eris is activated, they will be talking about US.

WEDNESDAY and THURSDAY look generally calm - although of course, we have earlier energies unwinding and the upcoming ones moving into position.

The Moon on Wednesday will sextile Saturn (one of the positive Capricorn aspects I spoke of earlier) at 4:22PM EDT, so we will be acting responsibly, doing what we have to do.

On THURSDAY, the Pisces Moon will conjunct Neptune while we sleep - hopefully bringing us some nice dreams! - and move on to trine benefic Jupiter at 10:26AM EDT encouraging idealistic emotions and expansive feelings. The Moon will square Venus and then sextile (opportunity) the Sun, followed by Pluto - all before dinnertime EDT.

Friday and the weekend are HUGE and explosive. This week is part of the bridging that carries us into THAT. Folks with a strong Uranus/Aquarius - and you probably wouldn't be reading an astrology blog if you didn't have this! - are surely already feeling this as well as those with planets and points being hit.

I wrote some about it HERE but will be back later in the week to talk it all out.

xo all