Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of July 9th - love gets practical, let's pay attention to what we are talking and thinking about, big news, tension, partnership potentials and decisions, whatever got gummed up in March starts to move forward, grounded assistance, life and death, the eclipses are HERE

gaia by ezorenier

This is a very important week and kicks off our summer eclipse season - three eclipses this time, instead of the usual two! Keep in mind eclipse events don't usually happen at the exact date of the eclipse and can start weeks before and unravel for months after the actual events. I often see events one week or one month, usually almost to the day, before or after the eclipse date.

The biggest aspects this week are:

MONDAY - Venus enters Virgo, Mercury squares Jupiter enters shadow
TUESDAY - Jupiter stations DIRECT
WEDNESDAY - Venus trines Uranus and Juno
THURSDAY - NEW MOON SOLAR ECLIPSE IN CANCER opposing Pluto
FRIDAY - Venus trines Saturn

Let's unpack this massive suitcase!

I am not going to write all the Moon aspects because we have enough to cover with the planets. Note there are multiple long Void Moons this week.

The Moon goes VOID on Tuesday at 4:01PM EDT until Wednesday at 1:59PM EDT (into Cancer after the void) AND on Thursday at 10:48PM EDT until Friday at 1:31PM EDT (into Leo after the void) AND on Saturday at 7:12PM EDT until Sunday at 1:31PM EDT (into Virgo after the void).

On MONDAY, Venus moves into Virgo until August 6th. She puts away her queen of the jungle Leo crown, ties her hair back in a neat little bun and gets to work (it's not a surprise Virgo is not her favorite place to be!). On her way out of town she hits that still-hot degree from last August's eclipse - so if that eclipse triggered something for you it will likely be re-activated now.

The bad news for us - Venus is in her detriment in Virgo (not able to function as her best, most attractive Venusian self), the good news - during her stay in Virgo she will trine (brakes off) the other planets in Earth signs and we get two of those trines this week, so a Grand Earth Trine which will really help ground us during this week's de-stabilizing solar eclipse!

Since Venus collectively rules our 2nd and 7th houses (Libra and Taurus) the themes of these houses - love, money, self-esteem, values, relationships, women, beauty, our resources - are subjected to Virgo's keen focus and attention to detail over the next month.

We will be analyzing what we want and what we have. We will be analyzing our relationships.

The problems will stand out. We won't be able to miss them. And since what we focus on grows, sometimes things get worse before they get better during this transit. But this is excellent energy to fix what needs fixing and accept (or eliminate) what just isn't fixable.

Our Virgo natal houses get a visit from lovely Venus. Virgo Suns and Ascendants get more attractive - both easier on the eye and able to attract what they want. Our natal Virgo houses get more attractive, too.

We could also use this energy to criticize the people we love. But please let's not do that. Constructive criticism is not possible. It's still criticism. Nothing constructive there.

Things could get bitchy and people could get hurt.

It's always best to work on ourselves and not try to change others. We will then attract from others something different as they mirror the something different we project onto them. We can't change people. So we allow Venus (love) to soften Virgo (critical thinking, seeing what is wrong).

Note Mercury has started walking the degrees (as of Sunday) he will walk during his upcoming retrograde - yes, Mercury retrograde is coming - BACK UP YOUR FILES.

This means whatever we have going on now is stuff we will be going back over, so pay attention,  and, YES, we are already doing this with Mars retrograde and Mercury is opposing Mars (Mercury in Leo, Mars in Aquarius) so that polarity is what we are all going back over. These are the areas of life we have been talking about all year!

Also on MONDAY, Mercury (in Leo) squares Jupiter (in Scorpio). With Mercury going retrograde - we will have this same aspect three times between now and the end of August. Monday is the first hit.

This is BIG News or information or a conversation. Good or bad the square indicates tension. Jupiter will make everything bigger, but also 'appear bigger' than it actually is. So keep this in mind.

Mercury also rules sibling issues, local issues, childhood issues and transportation. Know that things here are going to change over the summer as we go through the retrogrades and two more squares, so whatever is happening now will be in play for awhile and won't be the end of the story.

EXAMPLE FOR TAURUS/ Taurus Rising - Mercury is moving through your 4th house of home and family (your Leo house) and squaring Jupiter in your 7th house of partners/partnerships (your Scorpio house). Conversations/news - possibly tense - could be happening now within these themes. Because Jupiter is going to move direct later this week - whatever your partner has been sitting on/waiting for/re-imagining will begin to move forward (something expansive). Keep in mind we have two more squares this summer and they could change their mind/thinking/opinion, maybe multiple times! That's OK. That is what this retrograde period is for! We are not wasting time, we are GETTING IT RIGHT. So don't jump too far too fast. By Labor Day issues regarding partnership and home/family or home business will be on more solid footing. You will have worked through alot of the crap and know (Mercury) what to do.

On TUESDAY, Jupiter stations direct at 13 degrees Scorpio. I wrote about his retrograde HERE. It is very hopeful that he moves forward now - we need him awake! We had the Sun trine Jupiter last Thursday as part of that "feel-good" Grand Water Trine (the one where I warned you not to feel TOO good, because well, that's just how I am - Pluto on my Mercury for months and months folks, you will thank me for this later).

Jupiter moved into Scorpio last October, expanded the hidden stuff in our Scorpio (power) houses (one big example is #metoo) until it couldn't be ignored. Then stationed retrograde in early March. Jupiter tends to rush and the details can get overlooked. He (as we) needed to slow down  - stop adding more pieces to the Scorpio puzzle and look closer at what we had uncovered since October. So now we've had four months to go back and look at the pieces already on the table. And remember he was going back over an area of our chart that Mars retrograded through in 2016. So the re-evaluation (or the re-re-evaluation!) was likely very Martian in nature (and Mars co-rules Scorpio) based around our past actions or in-actions, initiative or lack of, anger or repressed anger, sexuality or repressed sexuality, etc. Anyway, now he (as us) moves forward. Our natal Scorpio house - and collective themes of the way we share resources, collective money, banking,debt, sex, fertility, reproduction, power, death and rebirth - WAKES UP. Jupiter will continue expanding Scorpio, for better or worse, until November 8th.

Because expansive Jupiter naturally rules our collective 9th house of foreigners, what is foreign to us, our higher beliefs, the stuff we have to reach for - travel, higher education, weddings - politics, legal issues, the media, publishing, stuff outside our comfort zone, exploration, our beliefs and higher thinking - things here will pick up where they left off in March, too. Maybe a vision/project we put on hold in early March can begin to move forward now!

Keep in mind the series of Mercury squares this summer along with Mercury's retrograde - this situation will be in flux over the summer as we re-think, re-do, re-vise, yadda-yadda. Multiple tensions, or the same thing again and again, between our Scorpio and Leo houses (and these are both fixed energy and not so inclined to want to change - fixed signs I feel your pain!) will push things forward - as we move BACKWARD!

EXAMPLE FOR SCORPIO/Scorpio Rising - Jupiter is in your 1st house of yourself (Yay that he will be moving forward for you now Scorpios - keep in mind your ruling planet Mars is still retrograde, so if you do not feel the forward movement right now that is why - you will have something shift though - the squares with Mercury will wind down right around the same time as Mars stations direct so by the very end of August/early September all systems will be GO!) so something about your physical self, your body, your brand moves forward now. Note the square this week and two more in August with your 10th house of career and public life. Career moves and plans will be subject to change as you move through the summer!

On WEDNESDAY Venus trines Uranus (and Juno) - she will exactly trine Saturn on FRIDAY - this is ALL IN PLAY now and through the middle of the month. This is the solid ground (yes, there is solid ground available) we need to get through this week's eclipse. This is our Capricorn, Taurus and Virgo houses - they work well together naturally - supercharged with Venus, Saturn and Uranus.

Collectively (Virgo ruling 6th house, Capricorn 10th, Taurus 2nd) - this is good for work and money. An organized, healthy daily approach attracts new ways to make money or get the most from existing or new resources, support from those in charge and the ability to reach our long term goals - something like that - there are many ways this can play out. With Juno conjunct Uranus now, partnership agreements, even sudden or unexpected alliances or good stuff for a partner could bring us greater money and stability. Where are Virgo, Capricorn and Taurus in YOUR chart? How can you make use of this trine? Trines create smooth flow, but can also make us lazy and we miss the good stuff.

Saturn is in Capricorn - it's winter even when the temperature is hitting 100, folks - don't miss the good stuff.

We will talk more about this energy, too, in the New Moon Solar Eclipse post.

On THURSDAY the Cancer Sun meets the Cancer Moon at 20 degrees - exactly opposing Pluto at 20 degrees Capricorn and although the Moon's nodes have not quite reached the Cancer/Capricorn polarity - where they will be in November - they are close enough to trigger our first Solar Eclipse on the Cancer/Capricorn axis, so a kind of preview of where these things are heading in 2019.

We are are like computers being turned off and on when the skies go dark and the program that uploads at restart is a little bit (or quite a lot) different than the one we ran on before.

Eclipses change us, and we, (vibrating differently), change our circumstances by attracting or repelling what our new self lines up with.

Solar eclipses are New Moons and have themes of newness and beginnings. With this one opposing Pluto (ruler of death), the beginning requires an ending that is very much an ENDING (yes, I am running my finger across my jugular - ouch).

What are we willing to give up to get this fresh new beginning? Not that Pluto is asking - ha!

As we move through the early years of the Age of Aquarius we are holding space while the structures disintegrate. This is what we came to do, but this work is #notforsissies.

We will talk about this in the next post, but for example if you are an ARIES/Aries rising with Cancer in your 4th house and Capricorn in your 10th house - something in your 4th house (home, family, real estate, renovation, mother, ancestry, your roots, possibly home business) is BEGINNING and something in your 10th house (career, your calling, your achievements, your achievement goals, dad, business, authority, stepping into your responsibility) is ENDING.

These things may or may not be connected. There are as many ways this can play out as there are Aries people and this will be more important for people with planets or points on or near 20 degrees of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn).

For LIBRA/Libra rising the same houses are activated but in the opposite way, so the 4th house has the ending and the 10th the new beginning. This will be as complicated or as simple as it needs to be for us.

We'll talk this all out in the Eclipse post, but remember Eclipse energy is wild card energy so we won't be able to see or prepare for everything!

This is the first eclipse of the season - the second eclipse at the end of the month is really a whopper - with even greater potential for a blow-up. For now let's concentrate on this first one on Thursday - start thinking about our New Moon wishes - plantings at a Cancer New Moon (Cancer is ruled by the Moon) are especially fast growing and potent.

xo all

We will also take a look at where we are in the collective/world news with the Solar Eclipse post, too.

Weekend Astrology Forecast for Creatives | breaking with tradition, hair trigger tempers, the touch that feels like love, compassionate action, hands in the dirt, balance the books, go jump in the ocean

Breaking the waves by Phoenixstamatis

Heads up - this is our final call to get stuff done before Mercury starts to hit her retrograde degrees on Monday. Keep in mind the stuff we are doing/thinking next week we are likely to be re-doing/re-thinking.

On FRIDAY the Moon finishes her travels through independent Aries. Let's get done what we can.

The Moon reaches her last quarter of the month squaring the Cancer Sun. This month's third quarter square speaks of tension/frustration around security/home/family issues. This is about us moving in a new more independent direction vs. what we have done/what has happened/what kept us safe or comfortable or just comfortable enough to feel safe enough in the past.

With the Moon in Aries squaring the Sun, people (including us) could be quicker to anger, more anxious and abrupt. Patience could be required of us now. The dark of the Moon approaches - what can you finish up?

The Moon goes void while we sleep off a lovely trine to Venus - sweet dreams.

By SATURDAY (8:50AM EDT) the Moon has arrived in Taurus where she is exalted. We would do best to focus on more Taurean things for the next couple days - nature, comfort, gardening, tending to the things we own that are in dis-repair, balancing our books, getting our hands in the dirt, preparing food grown in the dirt with our own two hands, getting/giving a massage, taking a long bath -  

whatever brings us back into our body and in touch with the value of our existing resources is a good use of Taurean energy.

The Moon immediately hooks up with "anything-can-happen" Uranus - do something different this morning.

We might not have a choice in this! Expect the unexpected - surprising circumstances and emotional reactions. We could also be dealing with an unusual person or an Aquarian.

By the afternoon she is trining (brakes off) serious Saturn in serious Capricorn. Excellent energy for solid, practical maneuverings, goal setting, getting work done - our emotions and our ambitions are working together. Dealings with authority and older people should go smoothly. The Moon will square Mars at 1:51AM EDT, so if we stay up late or we start feeling this energy sooner (some will and of course, not everyone is on EDT) we could be impatient, short tempered and even itching for a fight - so could other people. This is NOT the night to close down the bar. We might say or do something impulsive we later regret. This aspect also makes us accident prone - keep this in mind.

On SUNDAY we have the Sun (in Cancer) trining Neptune (in Pisces). This is excellent energy for healing, charity work, compassionate action, meditation, spiritual practices, using our imagination. This would be good energy to start a creative project. Church pews and meditation circles should be occupied. We will be very sensitive to where we are and who we are with now - keep this in mind. Get near, and in, water if possible!

The Moon is uber busy today - squaring Mercury, opposing Jupiter, sextiling Neptune (adding greater opportunity to the Sun/Neptune trine!), sextiling the Sun and trining Pluto. A mixed bag so things will be in flux.

By Monday, Mercury (our thinking, ideas, communication, information, sibling issues, transportation and local community issues, childhood and children issues, early education) will be walking his first steps over degrees he will walk two more times and the Moon will move into Gemini - ruled by Mercury - so add an exclamation point (or two or three)!

Eclipse season is approaching. I will write a post by sign on the New Moon Solar Eclipse in Cancer - July 12th!

Enjoy the weekend everyone - a Taurus Moon on a summer weekend is a nice gift - let's find a way to be good to ourselves and unwrap it!

xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of July 2nd - a message is delivered, what words are we noticing, what needs to be said, where are we saying one thing and doing another, an argument, sib trouble, car trouble, things falling into place but what place and where's that HORSEFLY

words by andaria

This week is all about building toward our first eclipse of the summer season (and first eclipse in Cancer/Capricorn) which will be NEXT week when the Cancer Sun (home, family, real estate, home business, mother, mothering, security) opposes a Capricorn Moon/Pluto conjunction!

Let's take a breath first, see where we are and look at the week ahead:

Mars (what we do to get what we want, passion, impulse, action, anger) is moving backward through Aquarius toward the South Node (what is ripe for release) and toward an opposition with the North Node (our future).

Mars doesn't mind being in Aquarius. He is not exalted here, like he is in Capricorn (the sign where his backward movement will end up), but Aquarius is about advancement and the future, and ruled by Uranus - fast change - so Mars can usually make it work here.

Moving backward though is not so fun at high speed as he (as us) is finding out. Retrogrades always have us going back over something - in this case maybe something started around mid-May when he first entered Aquarius. So, we might be re-thinking something or re-doing it or delays and obstacles could have something stalled. Retrogrades are a GIFT or we would be falling off cliffs all the time.

Venus (in Leo for just a few more days) is still desirous of attention, still in love with love, still wanting what she wants, being ignored is hard to handle as are compromises. On July 10th, Venus will take up her position for the first half of this intense summer, with her move into Virgo.

This will put relationship issues as well as issues around what we want and what we already have under the microscope. Venus doesn't like being in Virgo. In Virgo, problems will stand out because the details of things move front and center, and remember Venus rules Libra and Taurus, where problems maybe get smoothed out, but just as often get pushed under the rug in favor of diplomacy and comfort.

Now, the problems will be visible. We won't be able to miss them. They might be all we can see. And since what we focus on grows, sometimes things get worse before they get better during this transit. But this is excellent energy to fix what needs fixing and accept (or eliminate) what just isn't fixable. This is all part of getting us clear on what we want and appreciative and aware of what we already have.

Mercury, freshly unpacked in Leo, and moving full steam ahead, is headed toward his North Node meetup TOMORROW (in play NOW). This is a message being delivered. This is a communication or information or a conversation or an idea that hooks us into our future. PAY ATTENTION. This might also be us delivering just the right information or saying just the right thing that will open a door (or window!). 

So, connect with people - be verbal, be out and about! If nothing is happening - go online, visit a bookstore.

The outer planets are all retrograde, too, except Uranus. Plowing full steam ahead is unlikely now. 

The Sun is in Cancer all week - we are burning Cancerian fuel and our Cancer houses are LIT - remember that first eclipse next week is in Cancer because the North Node - our future! - is moving into Cancer in the fall. We are focused on Cancerian matters - home, family, real estate, renovation, home business, mothers, mothering, our security, the theme of our natal Cancer houses.

The Moon this week will move from Pisces - dreaming, escaping, art, imagination - through Aries as we build toward the last quarter square Moon late in the week (triggering a crisis point, people with planets/points around 12-16 degrees of the cardinal signs will feel this one most strongly - Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) initiating, being passionate, fighting, taking action (and yes Aries ruler Mars in moving backward, so likely either actions we have previously taken or actions where we are going back over things) and finally by Friday morning EDT she will move into Taurus - where she is exalted - nature, comfort, pleasure, sustenance.

Some of the big aspects this week are:

TUESDAY - Mercury conjunct the North Node
THURSDAY - Chiron stations retrograde, Mercury opposes Mars, Grand Water Trine
SATURDAY - Mercury enters his retrograde shadow

We kick off MONDAY morning without much kick. The Moon is void until 1:31PM EDT when she moves into dreamy Pisces. The next couple days will be good for imaginative work, meditation, healing, escaping from reality, making art and music and endings. 

On TUESDAY, Mercury (in fiery Leo) will conjunct the North Node. A message is delivered. This is a communication or information or conversation or idea that hooks us into our future. PAY ATTENTION. This might also be us delivering just the right information or saying just the right thing that will open a door (or window!). So, connect with people - be verbal, be out and about!

On WEDNESDAY - Happy 4th of July America! - the Moon is void all day until she moves into Aries at 12:50AM EDT (early Thursday morning). An excellent time to kick back and relax.

There is alot happening on THURSDAY, but of course, some of this will be playing out a couple days before or after - this is just the date the energy is exact!

Chiron (wounded healer) stations retrograde until December 9th. Yes, another retrograde energy!

He has been SLOWLY moving through Aries since mid-April when he left Pisces and now he stops (at 2 degrees Aries) and reverses course. Chiron in Pisces had been about feeling and then surrendering the wound. Chiron in Aries is requiring us to take action on the wound. Individual action. The kind of action that isn't always supported by other people.

If his retrograde motion means he is moving nearer to a planet or point in our chart whatever is hurting will intensify now - maybe we will be required to be brave, do something we don't want to do, stand up for ourselves, etc. For most people though, and especially those with planets or points that Chiron is backing off - this will be about us doing the re's here - reflecting, re-evaluating, revising - with whatever eases up a bit. With Chiron in Aries answering to Mars and Mars retrograde and moving toward the South Node, too, whatever has been zapping our ability to get what we want (do Mars!) is up for review/release - our motivation, passion, courage. See my April post about Chiron in Aries HERE

Also on THURSDAY we have Mercury (in loud and proud Leo) opposing Mars (in detached humanitarian Aquarius).

An argument now is probably covering old ground (or about what Mars retrograde is delaying) but it could also be constructive. We might be compelled to speak up/out this week. New ideas could oppose actions we have perfected through practice. This could also be about us (or them) saying one thing (Mercury) and doing another (Mars). We could have an argument with a sibling or a transportation/local community issue - all Mercury ruled. This is not the day to call your sister or operate heavy machinery. Or operate heavy machinery with your sister. Drive safely.

Also exact on THURSDAY but in play pretty much all week is a Grand Water Trine (our 3rd of three within the last few weeks!) - this time between the Sun in Cancer, Jupiter in Scorpio and Neptune in Pisces. We had this energetic when Venus was in Cancer (June 1-2) and when Mercury was in Cancer (June 19th-20th).

Trines remove roadblocks. If the roadblock IS the problem, then great, things improve. Things slide into place. If the roadblock has been holding the problem at bay - things might appear to grow worse, but really it is a closed loop and we can only deal with what is already in here.

While we have the trine energy, working to remove the block - forgiveness, compassion, etc -  is very helpful. These are water signs so expect to be emotional about whatever is happening here.

The fly in the ointment here and he might have grown into one of those nasty, biting horseflies by this time, is that because this is our THIRD Grand Water Trine in just a few weeks - we might start feeling something abnormal is normal.

An unhealthy activity turns into a habit, we overdo, we overspend, we drift into something dangerous or destructive because the energy is starting to feel comfortable now. Miracles appear commonplace. We start believing the odds are 'ever in our favor'. We increase our bets.

It will be easy to make a very impractical decision that we will be living with long after the trine's 'easy-breezy' power-player energetic is gone. 

Horseflies aren't easily shaken.

Avoid mind altering chemicals and known addictions.

Life's natural anesthetic is moving in reverse now - Neptune retrograde, so the lure of outside numbing agents - another day at the beach or shopping spree or pain pill will be stronger - keep this in mind. Yes, I know I am a negative thinker (and Pluto back and forth over my natal Mercury in Capricorn is like being besties with a Dementor).

I am sure other astrologers are reporting good things with this and they are totally correct.

Just be careful. This is excellent energy to feel good (and to feel like that big thing is possible and yes, the only way that big thing is possible is for us to feel it is!) - just keep it real - be cautious with big decisions this week that can't be unwound later when that trine is gone. Saturn in Capricorn is making everything sticky and that horsefly could be left biting our ass for years.

Back later in the week - xo all!

Mercury into Leo | dramatic conversations, NEWS, using our outside voice, speaking from our heart, do people listen to us? does what we say matter? we will care about this now

Speak by Jean Fan

Mercury (communications, information, our mental processes, siblings, local community, commerce, transportation) says hasta-la-vista to Cancer today and moves into fiery LEO where, because of his upcoming retrograde, he will hang his hat until August 19th!

Leo is the space we carry what 'makes us special'.

With Mercury (communication, intellect) here it will be easier to put our 'special' into words and to connect with the ideas and conversations that will push forward whatever we are most passionate about.

We will want our words to be heard and appreciated now. So will other people. Even the most reticent among us will want an audience. Our thinking/ideas (Mercury) can catch fire now (Leo).

Speaking from our hearts will connect us to other people's hearts. Encouraging words will matter.

This is very powerful energy. Leo is our superpower and should be used wisely. People will hear us with their heart and well as their head. 

This gives the potential for hearts to expand as well as to be broken into little, tiny pieces. Keep this in mind.

Leo is a fixed fire sign, so words can burn now and words can dig us even more rigidly into our positions.  

With Leo there is great opportunity for win-win and also for 'nobody wins'. 

The energy right now is excellent for teaching us how we express what we are passionate about. It's very supportive of 'top of the mountain' heart-filled type of proclamations and proposals. Do people listen to us? Does what we say matter? We will care about this now .......

Mercury will station retrograde on July 26th, so he will get all the way to 23 degrees Leo, then stop (from our perspective here on Earth) and reverse course to 11 degrees, then stop, reverse course again and start moving forward again. He will get back to 23 degrees Leo on September 3rd and then start covering new ground. So from July 8th when he hits 11 degrees Leo through September 3rd we will be going back and forth over whatever Mercury's retrograde is stirring up for us in our natal Leo house.

This is the house of the North Node of Fate and our future, only for a few more months (!), so certainly this will be about us following our heart, our creativity, children, romance, stepping into our natural spotlight, doing what makes us feel proud and generous. At the same time he will be opposing that South Node (of what is ripe for release) in Aquarius - distraction, detachment, herd-mentality, releasing identities that cause division.

It is not a coincidence we have Mars retrograding back and forth through Aquarius (the South Node) and Mercury moving back and forth through Leo (the North Node) ALL summer, Venus will be in Virgo, the sign of her detriment and the other planets will ALL be retrograde. Plus have I said - 3 eclipses! July and August are going to be intense. We can already feel this.

The first aspect Mercury makes (exact TOMORROW and in play now) is a square to rebellious, anything-can-happen Uranus (in Taurus at 1 degree) and a trine to Chiron (at 2 degrees Aries).

Communications/news/information will be LOUD and UNEXPECTED likely causing tension and frustration. The brakes-off trine to wounded healer Chiron tells us to give voice to our pain; to talk about what hurts. This could relate to whatever Thursday's Full Moon brought to light or to a peak or culmination.

For many people a sudden shift of circumstances begins this week.  

Heads up that Mercury is going to hook up with the North Node on TUESDAY so let's pay attention to the information/conversation/news that comes to our attention beginning NOW, but especially early next week - clues to the smoothest movement toward our highest level future path are being tossed at us like breadcrumbs and even full loaves of Wonder, let's hope the birds - my backyard Blue jays are brutal this year - don't get to them first!

xo all

Remember the Moon is void all day today folks. Not a good day to start anything new.

Full Moon in Capricorn | closures and commitments, security, power, control, painful losses, surprises, the results of working hard, hardly working or working hard at the wrong things, did we put our ladder against the wrong wall?

Today's Full Moon in Capricorn (12:53AM EDT last night) is a challenging one. Capricorn Full Moons are always heavy - our emotional Moon, challenged in cold-as-ice Capricorn, is opposed by the Sun in the Moon's sign of Cancer - and this one is particularly hard-core.

The Sun at 6 degrees Cancer opposes the Moon at 6 degrees Capricorn, conjuncts Saturn (ruler of this Full Moon through his rulership of Capricorn) squares (tension/frustration/pain) wounded healer Chiron and trines (brakes off) "shocking and unexpected" change maker Uranus.

This whole thing sounds very much like Sun opposite Saturn which we talked about yesterday - and which of course, is still in play here.

In Capricorn the Moon is cold and practical, reserved and quiet. We might not feel like howling at the moon with this one. Strikes could be deadly, but they will likely be controlled.

This is about the Cancer/Capricorn polarity AND the themes of our natal Cancer/Capricorn houses.

Family vs. work. The security that comes from nurturing ourselves, nurturing others or being nurtured vs the security that comes from having work in the world and money coming in. Our nest at home vs our place in the world. Summer vs. winter. Preparing for birth vs preparing for death "winter is coming". Childhood vs old age. Vulnerability vs self-sufficiency. Mom vs dad.

There is so much contradiction and conflict here, but like all polarities this is really just two sides of the same coin - something labeled SECURITY.

We can't own a coin without owning both sides.

But we can only look at (focus on) one side at a time. The other side is in the shadows - so we have to flip back and forth and balance this stuff out with our time, attention and resources. There isn't really an end to this or a way to "win" here.

We just do the best we can with what we have.

Spend too much time with one side of the coin and the other side gets all gunky like those pennies stuck in our car cupholder that have had coffee dripped on them. Now matter how shiny the other side looks that gunky side means we never get to actually spend the money

(yes, this could be one of my strange metaphors that don't get us anywhere - except maybe out to the car with a squirt bottle of vinegar and a cup of soapy water).

Being about Cancer (home, family) and Capricorn (work, responsibilities in the world) or our own needs and the needs of other people - any imbalances here will probably show up now to allow us to realign what isn't working.   

Also imbalances with authority and authority figures and the way we use and mis-use our own authority/responsibility.
 
The Capricorn Full Moon throws a light on what power can do and also on the finality of choices we've already made. 

This Moon pulls us back to the January New Moon and the work we set into motion then (ie New Year's resolutions) - how is that working for us? 

Both Cancer and Capricorn are concerned with issues of SECURITY, both value TIME and are guardians of the legacy of our ancestors.

Full Moons bring culminations, so maybe something ends now.

Full Moons bring things to light. Capricorn themes (and your personal Capricorn/Cancer house themes) will be highlighted - tradition, structure, work, obligations, responsibility, authority, ambition, limits, boundaries, restrictions, goals. Old Man Saturn will win this round. Chiron will make sure we feel the loss/culmination. Uranus will catch us by surprise and push us toward a different future. There probably won't be any space to turn away and shield our eyes.

Remember the Achilles heel with Capricorn and Saturn is that this energy often values stability over everything else. Its strength is in being 'un-moveable'. But stable things grow stagnant. Being un-moveable is not a good or realistic way to move through a life that is so changeable. The trine to unpredictable and freedom-loving Uranus will mitigate this somewhat or just push things Saturn's way, but at the end of the day old man Saturn (not quite as changed by his journey 6 months ago across the Galactic Center as I might have hoped ... not quite yet) won't be messed with. Rules, limits, boundaries, responsibilities will be enforced.

There are many changes ahead this summer (and re-plays) as an out-of-bounds, retrograde Mars journeys back and forth across the South Node of Fate through 3 eclipses and multiple Super Moons releasing us from lifetimes of ancestral karmic contracts. We have Chiron back and forth across Pisces and Aries. We have Uranus back and forth across Aries and Taurus.

We are still physically, mentally and emotionally hanging onto an old reality that doesn't exist anymore (Age of Pisces/patriarchy/top down authority).  

We just can't see that yet.

And with Ceres (I am more and more coming to see her as ruling Taurus, ground zero for lightning strikes and Uranus is answering to her now) moving into Virgo TODAY, where she will stay throughout the summer (until September 6th) - this is also the updating of everything we think we know about our physical body and our health as we release attachments to old familial DNA patterning and the deep-rooted beliefs that keep us limited and stuck.

For today, this Moon is very grounded. Walk in it .. if you dare :)

xo all

Note, if we are not liking the results we are seeing now the trine to Uranus could make it easier to bounce off in an entirely new direction and get some traction fairly quickly.

Sun Opposite Saturn | limits, NO, a difficult direction, taking responsibility for our situation without judging ourselves

16.365 by Laauraa

Once a year the Sun and Saturn line up in exact opposition. Today we have the Cancer Sun opposing Saturn (in Capricorn) at 5 degrees.

We could hear a "no" now, we could say "no", hit a limit, have to deal with some kind of burden. A light shines on WHY we are being blocked and what obligations remain. We are being pushed in a difficult direction.

Saturn/Sun can also limit self-expression or bring father/authority issues. The opposition comes from something outside ourselves (appears to) - the action of another person or a situation it seems we cannot control. At the same time we can see the way our own actions/thoughts have set ourselves up here.

This energy might not feel good. Saturn can be depressing because it is quite literally like a weight pressing down on us.

I am not going to write again about the need to "step into our responsibility", work hard, do the right thing, yada-yada. We know this. We are just as likely to get off course by stepping into someone else's responsibility, working too hard, taking on too much or neglecting the other muses. Saturn isn't everything (he hasn't been the "buck stops here" limit since the invention of the telescope, we have to keep this in mind) and he doesn't run every show as much as he (as we) would like to.

We are building toward tomorrow's Full Moon in Capricorn. Let's give ourselves a break (Cancer!).

We can take responsibility for the situation we find ourselves in without judgement.

Just hold space for yourself. Look without attachment at the current situation. Resolve to move forward in a more responsible manner in whatever area of life we feel this pressure. And remember that "in a more responsible manner" will have different meanings for different people!

People pleasing is a kind of grandiosity thinking/belief system that creates Saturnian challenges.

My natal Sun/Saturn conjunction means I do not often encounter Saturnian limits outside myself - I am much more likely to encounter a person/situation ready to hand off their own overloaded bag to me and/or to spend my time figuring out new ways to overburden/limit/stress myself out.

(On Sunday I went to a birthday party for my nephew which was decorated in an explorer theme. I had loaned my sister-in-law a few props for the party - vintage suitcases, vintage globes, etc. As the party was wrapping up, a good friend of my sister-in-law asked me if she could borrow one of the vintage suitcases - my favorite one - for an upcoming show. She is a very talented and commercially successful artist.

She had the suitcase in her hand when she asked and I had my hands filled with presents I was boxing up. She said she had searched for a suitcase like this and they cost around $85.00. Now instead of saying, "yes, they are hard to find and that is probably about what I paid for it. Unfortunately it is a favorite and irreplaceable and I don't lend it out" instead of thinking about why I should risk my $85 suitcase to someone who doesn't value it enough to purchase her own - I said "sure".

Later on I heard her talking about how she wished she could take the hot air balloon my brother had made with her for her show, but it wouldn't fit on the plane but a suitcase would be an easy thing to take on a plane (on a plane!). That night, when I was home and had time to think, ie ruminate, I was totally annoyed with myself that I had given so little thought to lending out something I cared about and couldn't replace if something happened to it and annoyed with her for asking and "putting me on the spot".

I was busy Monday and Tuesday and by Tuesday night when I slowed down - and with the Sun approaching his opposition to Saturn, which I was feeling, but not thinking about - I called my sister-in-law to get her friend's number to rescind my "yes"; to tell her "no". Sometimes 'stepping into our responsibility and living up to our obligations' is about our responsibility and obligation to ourselves - to putting ourselves first.

I am grateful to this woman for this experience - which I obviously needed "to put me on the spot" - even though it has been very uncomfortable (and, of course, a minor situation, but I would rather learn by the pebble than the rock). Next time, when the situation isn't a minor situation, I will do better. I will do better. How many times should I write that to make it stick?! Maybe I need a suitcase tattoo. And how appropriate this is about a suitcase and I am really wanting to travel since cancelling my trip! Did I write about that?!)

We also have an all day Void Moon.

The best use of today's energies could be working - probably alone! - on a project/goal. In the collective we will see corporate/conservative "wins" (Saturn wins this one) like we are seeing with the Supreme Court rulings over the last couple days.

xo all

As we build toward Thursday's Full Moon conjunct Saturn this is an excellent time to see the planet Saturn in the night sky. More info on that HERE.