Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of September 10th - hurricane season, where is your power, where is your expertise, staying grounded, expecting the unexpected, relationship/financial challenges, stepping into your power

s by marina kochetyga

Some major aspects this week are:

SUNDAY - New Moon in Virgo, Venus moves into Scorpio
MONDAY - Mars returns to Aquarius and squares Uranus
TUESDAY - Sun trines Pluto and sextiles Jupiter
WEDNESDAY - Venus opposes Uranus and sextiles Saturn, Jupiter sextiles Pluto
THURSDAY - Mercury opposes Neptune
SATURDAY - Mercury trines Pluto and sextiles Jupiter

Look at those aspects! Whew!

Keep in mind all the aspects listed above (other than the New Moon) are transits. So the dates listed are the days when the aspects are most exact, but we can feel them days before and after, building and unwinding, and that can be when situations play out or peak.

We have Mars leaving Capricorn where he is exalted and moving into Aquarius where he is totally unpredictable! He was first at zero degrees Aquarius back in mid-May, then early August retrograde and now makes his final pass on Monday.

What story has he been walking back and forth over in our life?

This is also the loaded degree Mars transited on the very pivotal election day of 2016

(HERE is a post about that)

and Pluto (after meeting with Saturn in January 2020) crosses this degree in January 2024 as he finally leaves Capricorn having transformed via his sledge hammer all the structures ruled by Capricorn - our government, safety nets, banks, yada, yada, yikes.

Both January 2020 and January 2024 are tied into the U.S. inaugurations, so politics plays a big role in our collective Aquarian future.

I noticed the Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has some really challenging Neptune/Pluto aspects - don't know his birth time though - that could pull the rug right out from under him - which although it seems impossible he won't get in with the Republicans really pushing for him and the Democrats so powerless - fits with the upcoming astrology, so I guess we'll see what happens. If he does get in maybe he won't do what the people pushing for him want him to do once he gets in there or maybe he doesn't get to stay - but is that even possible? Trump, of course, has challenges in September and even bigger challenges in December that we talked about before and I know I still need to finish up his series!

Keep in mind we have never had an impeached President - if something like that were to happen - actually tossed out of office (Nixon resigned and Johnson and Clinton were impeached by the House and acquitted by the Senate). And Pence's chart - although I don't have a birth time - doesn't look very presidential ....

OK, back to our week ahead -

SUNDAY - we talked about the New Moon HERE.

Please do your New Moon intentions - we are literally pulling the dream (Neptune) into our reality through that Virgo New Moon portal. We won't have all the answers and we could still feel foggy and distracted and are going to have to knuckle under and stay with it. Just do the logical next step with whatever you are wanting to begin.Virgo doesn't require some big, bold move.

Venus leaves her home sign of Libra and moves into intense and complicated Scorpio - she continues to walk degrees she will walk two more times due to her upcoming retrograde. So whatever we have going on with Venusian themes - love, money, relationships, resources, our values and self-esteem - will be playing out over the next couple months.

Scorpio Suns and Ascendants (Scorpio on the cusp of the first house of your natal chart) become more attractive - making them both easier on the eye and it gets easier for them to attract what they want.

Venus is considered in her 'detriment' in Scorpio. It's dark. It's ruled by Pluto. It's not her favorite place to hang out. We will notice how we use other people's energy and how they use ours. Vampires do not really only come out in the night.

Venus in Scorpio doesn't look like the more traditional beauty of Venus in Libra. Her beauty is dark and forbidding now. She doesn't flirt. She seduces. She doesn't want peace at any cost so much as she wants to feel what's really underneath all the phony smiles and superficial niceties.

Scorpio rules death and destruction and now this comes through our relationships.

Here Venus pushes herself to the edge of life with compulsions, intimacy, jealousy, obsession and a struggle for real power. She goes into the dark corners that hold all our secrets and she coaxes them out into the open. There can be brutal and deep honesty here.  

Relationships get intense. 

If you are working through the unraveling of a relationship or financial quagmire - this energy will be your best friend. 

Scorpio Suns and Ascendants get more attractive (more beautiful and more able to attract what they want). Your Scorpio house (where is Scorpio hanging out in your natal chart?) gets more magnetic, too.
Although the theme of whatever house is ruled by Scorpio in our natal chart is naturally complicated!

Honesty is recommended for the next few weeks because we will all be feeling our way through everyone's bullshit.

While Venus is in Scorpio (she doesn't get into Sagittarius until January 7th!) we are charged with figuring out what we really want and why we want it. Much of this work will be done unconsciously. With Scorpio (modern ruler Pluto, ancient ruler Mars) this is alot about power and control.  

Does the other person/situation make us stronger or more vulnerable?

We could be merging our resources (ruled by Venus) with other people's resources (ruled by Scorpio/Pluto) - this could take the form of relationship commitments, sex, reproduction, mortgages, financing, cooperative ventures. Things along these lines that we might not normally consider we could be attracted to now.

These attractions could easily lapse into obsessions.

We could fill hours looking at expensive houses on the internet or other people on okcupid. If something begins to feel like, "we must get this NOW" we will know we have slipped over the edge. It will be time to ask ourselves what we are really looking for. With Venus (and let's not forget Jupiter) visiting our Scorpio house the answers will be available to us if we seek them ... and maybe even if we don't!

Venus in Scorpio could uncover some not-so-pretty truths. Things we might not want to see or know about. But like a car wreck on the side of a highway we won't be able to look away.  

We could be amazed by the depth of our feelings now.

It's also a good time to uncover other types of hidden resources including money. I would say 'start digging' but with Jupiter in residence your shovel is probably already in the dirt.

On MONDAY the Virgo Moon starts off the day very productively with a nice trine to an active and ambitious Mars in Capricorn - so get things done EARLY. If you haven't done your New Moon intentions get them done before the Moon goes void at 11:12AM EST.

After a short void, the Moon moves into Libra at 11:20AM EST focusing us on Libran themes for the next couple days - partnership, balance, social activities, beauty, art.

At 3:34PM EDT the Moon will square Saturn - this is challenging. Limits are tense and frustrating. It will be harder to get along with other people. Not a good time for negotiations.

We will just have to deal with whatever is coming at us.

Venus inconjuncts Chiron (wounded healer). Here's a rock and a hard place (no real solution) between our love, money, relationships, self-esteem, values, resources and something that hurts - a sore spot/fear is triggered. With Chiron in independent, warrior Aries this could be about something we can't control or maybe it seems we need to fight and we are past/not up to fighting. We can't let ourselves be strong armed into just giving up. Chiron in Aries is about being brave even when we need to go it alone. Maybe today's battle is unwinnable, but not even bothering to put up a fight means we lose not only the battle, but the entire war.

Maybe there is a higher way than taking up arms - maybe we can embrace what is hurting us - that's what Chiron is all about really. Although with Mars move into radical Aquarius it is really going to hurt to give up anything - especially anything that smacks of independence. Or maybe there is another solution. Personally I am not so into loving what hurts right now. Maybe there is a way to rise above the entire situation. Remember Venus is walking degrees she will walk three times and she is sextiling stable, serious Saturn and trining powerful Pluto - Venus (as us) is playing the long game now, too. Be smart. Don't go too deep, too fast, but don't be taken advantage of either.

How badly do we want this thing?

EXAMPLE for Taurus/Taurus Rising - Venus is in your 7th house of equal partnerships/relationships. She is inconjunct (rock and hard place) Chiron in your 12th house - what is happening behind the scenes, behind your back, your own self-sabotaging tendencies, your past, what you don't want to look at. She is moving into an opposition with Uranus (in your 1st house of yourself) and into sextile - the opportunity - with stable Saturn while trining (brakes off) powerful/transforming Pluto. A partner can bring swift changes or what you want can be visible through another person. No matter what this is - the opportunity comes through Saturn - YOU stepping into your authority, your responsibility - focusing on long term goals, seeing past what is happening right now to what is REALLY happening. Do your Saturn! Is this good for you long-term or isn't it? Don't sabotage yourself because of a fear of the fight. Venus - your ruling planet - is in manipulative Scorpio now. You can fight, too.

At 8:56 PM EDT Mars says hast-la-vista baby to Capricorn, not to be back for a couple years, and moves back into Aquarius.

The story we have been walking since mid-May comes full circle.

If we left something to rust along side the road in April/May it could be time to pick it back up. Mars in Aquarius is out of bounds until the end of the month - this is good because we can do things we have never done before, but not so good for things where we need stuff to go as planned because it won't.

Mars isn't containable in Aquarius like he was in Capricorn and he immediately starts squaring Uranus (still at 2 degrees Taurus) so expect disruptions and unexpected situations/events.

If you made some kind of crazy move mid-May ... that story could wrap up or move forward in some way now. With Mars moving from Earth to Air -  we could ALL feel like we are coming out of that cave in Thailand!

The Moon is waxing (growing). Set some wheels in motion, folks. 

EXAMPLE for Aquarius/Aquarius Rising  - Mars returns to your 1st house of yourself until the middle of November. Something you set aside last spring is ready to be brought back onto the table. Mars will bring back your motivation and it will be full-steam ahead. Go for it. 

On TUESDAY, the Sun (in Virgo) sextiles Jupiter (in Scorpio) and trines Pluto (in Capricorn). Jupiter and Pluto have been on friendly terms for months and now the Virgo Sun shines a light on the details, information, etc we need to make the most of an OPPORTUNITY. 

This energy is dynamic and confident. We could reap the rewards of our hard work now, too. This is good energy to fix what needs fixing, to use our power wisely and opportunistically and to BUILD SOMETHING. See WEDNESDAY for more about this one.

EXAMPLE for Virgo/Virgo Rising -  the Sun in your 1st house of yourself lights up that ongoing opportunity between Jupiter (in your 3rd house of communication, information, writing, siblings, transportation or your local neighborhood) and Pluto (in your 5th house of creative projects, your self-expression, what you give birth to, children, romance and recreation). Written projects, the ability to say just the right thing at just the right time, on-target communications are all possibilities. Speak with confidence Virgo! Just remember that foggy Neptune is opposing your Sun so double check everything.

At 7:57PM EDT the Moon squares Pluto - this is good for working hard all by ourselves. Interactions with other people can be tricky - avoid obsessions, manipulations, power plays.

The Moon goes Void until 2:15PM EDT on WEDNESDAY. Don't start anything new on Wednesday before this time.

While we sleep, Jupiter moves into his 3rd exact sextile with Pluto. This is an expansion of power. This is us taking the thing we do well and making it BIGGER. This is when we see the forest AND the trees. This is deep and lasting transformation.

And now we have the Virgo Sun lighting up the whole thing. 

This is an important three-peat aspect.

We had this first on January 15th at 19 degrees Scorpio/Capricorn, then today at 21 degrees with Jupiter retrograde and then the final sextile will be on September 12th at 18 degrees with Pluto retrograde.

These sextiles will most strongly impact those with planets/points around those degrees.

This is about DEEP change. Fortune favors the bold with this one. Jupiter is expanding Pluto's power. Someone is making a big, bold move. There is opportunity here, but we will have to confidently act on it. This could be about our beliefs about what is possible. 

Venus opposes Uranus and sextiles Saturn - we talked about this for TUESDAY with the Chiron aspect. Opposition usually come through other people.

With Uranus, people will bring us what we are not expecting! 

With Venus upcoming retrograde we will be dealing with Venus/Uranus for a while. This could be a sudden love affair or sudden financial purchase. Venus is very seductive in Scorpio and Uranus is something/someone we wouldn't normally go for or someone/something that is different from what we usually have/want. 

Keep in mind Venus is preparing to go retrograde and do her 40 days and 40 nights when we could be enticed (sound familiar?) into some kind of relationship/financial impulsive actions we might regret later.

The Moon will oppose Uranus today, too - so we can really expect the unexpected (ugh, I hate that expression).

Venus is in Scorpio - seducing, manipulating, obsessing. Uranus is in Venus-ruled Taurus so answering to her, but Uranus is disruptive. Relationships are challenged here. So are finances.

Uranus could bring a break-through or a breakdown. The opportunity (sextile) with this comes through Saturn - stepping into our authority, dancing with the one who brought us, living up to our responsibilities, having a long-term plan, setting limits - which will be hard with that freedom-loving Uranus opposition. Think - structured changes and self control. AND give the other energies their due - do something different, expect a different side of ourselves, and other people, to emerge now - be welcoming.

On THURSDAY the Moon is in Scorpio focusing us on Scorpian issues for the next couple days - banking, taxes, other people's money, our debts, loans, partner's income, intimacy, sex, reproduction. We will be feeling whatever we are feeling more intensely now. It's a time to avoid obsessing over things. Avoid compulsions and manipulations.

At 4:02PM EDT the Scorpio Moon sextiles Mercury - good for research and  going deep with information/conversations. At 4:51PM EDT she trines Neptune - good for our imagination, spirituality, meditation, prayer, healing.

The big energy for the end of the work week comes at 9:32PM EDT - we will feel this a couple days before and after - when Mercury (home in Virgo) opposes a retrograde Neptune (home in Pisces).

Yes, more of the Virgo/Pisces polarity.

(and speaking of Polarity - warning shameless plug ahead - have you seen my Polarity Lockets - blog readers get 15% off this month with coupon code OLIVEBITESBLOG)

With the opposition involving Mercury - communication/ideas/information - we could be taking in too much information and not all of it will be factual!

This is not the best time to make a big decision or more forward with something based on information that comes in right now.

Things will not be quite what they appear to be now.

Remember this is an opposition. We are either "just the facts jack" Mercury in Virgo meeting dreamy, illusionary and possibly deceptive Neptune via another person or outside situation. 

Or we are dreamy Neptune and our fantasy meets those uncooperative, messy things called facts.

Either way the sands are shifting.

We will need to think twice about what we are saying/communicating. Misunderstandings are likely now.

The truthfulness of whatever we are dealing with will be complicated.

We could be lied to or we could be the one spinning a tangled web.

Treat what you hear/read/experience now with a sense of curiosity - ask yourself - "well, isn't that interesting?" - nothing will be quite what it seems.

People, including us, will think they know more than they do. Things can look better, or worse, than they actually are. It would be best to read this post, and everything else you are consuming via language now (especially the news), with more skepticism than you normally would.

This could also be about us avoiding the facts. 

EXAMPLE for Scorpio/Scorpio Rising - Mercury is in your 11th house of the collective - your friendships, groups, causes, the internet, the public, the goals that bring you into relationship with other people, your advancement, technology and opposing Neptune in your 5th house of -
creative projects, your self-expression, what you give birth to, children, romance and recreation. Be careful you are not just seeing/hearing/reading what you want to see within these themes. This energy is activating that powerful Jupiter/Pluto sextile so what do you actually KNOW - where is your expertise Scorpio? Focus on that. Talk about that. Your words - that 3rd house Capricorn - are powerful now. You can convince an Inuit to buy an ice maker, but don't. Use your words wisely and you can reap the benefit.

We will talk about Friday and the weekend in a following post! Mercury is flying so it will be another busy week.

xo all

The New Moon in Virgo on September 9th | looking past what isn't working, cleaning up, doing the mending, moving on from the mess, NOT getting lost in delusion/distraction, intensity, attraction, expansion, start it right this time, focus, stay the course

Sometimes a voice - have you heard this? -
wants not to be voice any longer, wants something
whispering between the words, some
rumour of its former life. Sometimes, even
in the midst of making sense or conversation, it will
hearken back to breath, or even farther,
to the wind, and recognize itself
as troubled air, a flight path still
looking for its bird.
- Don McKay

choose your life by Benegesseritt

On SUNDAY at 2:01PM EDT the Virgo Moon (the Moon moved into Virgo on Saturday morning) meets the Virgo Sun at 17 degrees.

The Moon is trine powerful Pluto (retrograde in Capricorn), sextile opportunistic and expansive Jupiter (in Scorpio and answering to Pluto - so that's a nice, strong loop of energy!) and opposing dreamy Neptune (strong in his home sign of Pisces).

We also have Venus moving into Scorpio on the same day making Venusian themes - women, love, money, our values and self-esteem - more intense. Scorpio Suns and Ascendants (Scorpio on the cusp of the first house of your natal chart) become more attractive - making them both easier on the eye and it easier for them to attract what they want. And for all of us, our Scorpio houses get more attractive, too ... and more complicated.

(although the theme of whatever house is ruled by Scorpio in our natal chart is naturally complicated!)

So, lots of Plutonian power with this Virgo New Moon! And then that foggy, distorting Neptune opposition which is reminding me of the Full Moon in Pisces two weeks ago!

So, let's unpack this.

The New Moon is a time when the skies are dark. It is the time of beginning. The seed goes into the ground. The sperm goes into the egg. The idea meets the paper. The nail meets the wood. You get the idea. And you may actually have an idea now because Mercury - the planet of ideas - is the ruler of Virgo and this New Moon. And just out of his retrograde and his retrograde shadow - he is flying!

Virgo New Moons are fresh starts that begin with small, focused steps (and Pluto in Scorpio is all about focus!). Focus on the details. Use commonsense. Do one thing at a time. Do our best. Know that it won't be perfect. Know that perfect isn't the point.

Virgo encourages us to prioritize our health, to value quality over quantity, to be of service to others (not at our own expense though and especially not at the expense of our health), to care for our pets, to take care of the day to day things that make our life our life. It also rules co-workers, employees, our daily activities and our work.

Think about Virgo's place in things. Virgo is the first sign that thinks about 'other people'. We spend the first five signs of the zodiac focused on ourselves - forming an identity, expressing who we are. And then in just ONE SIGN we transition toward relating to other people. That's why it feels like such a pressure cooker. We move from "how can I be special?" (Leo) to "how can I be useful?". That's a pretty hard right turn!

Pluto, very powerful at the time of this Moon, with his sticky fingers in everything is retrograde. So everything new now may not be totally new. Pluto gives this new beginning a whole lot of muscle. Jupiter brings expansion and optimism (the optimism now is tempered somewhat by his time in Scorpio and Virgo's natural ability to over-complicate things).

Every detail is going to matter now. I am not saying this to make all of us crazy. But we need to know this going in. There is the potential here to birth something significant, but Virgo rules work, so we know there is going to be work. So, we either go deep with whatever we are doing now or we don't do it at all. There isn't going to be a whole lot of middle ground.

It's time to make it real or get rid of it!

That opposition to Neptune - and oppositions usually show up through other people - is either going to look like 1. escapism - we fight doing the work and waste the New Moon (totally possible), 2. sacrifice - we need to let go of something to get something else - this is making me think of that Pisces Full Moon two weeks ago. This is an excellent time to release a sabotaging habit. 3. we go too "pie-in-the-sky" here with wishful thinking and rose-colored glasses, 4. mega creative potential - has anyone else been feeling uber creative the last few days? 5. we feel pulled toward escape, abandonment or self-sabotage, BUT (and this is mostly because we are not perfect) we DO THE WORK to get this thing going.

This doesn't have to be some great gigantic thing. Keep in mind that Virgo rules the details.

New Moon Guidelines

Set your intentions and make your affirmations for Virgo themes (or your natal Virgo house theme!) for the best outcomes - health, quality over quantity, service to others, attention to details, work, co-workers, employees, day to day activities, cleaning, organizing, pets.

INTENTION TIPS: Let the earth guide you this month, plant your feet firmly on the ground, clear your head, write what your physical self, grounded by the earth, wants - not what you think you should write. Write your intentions down by hand in script on a blank piece of paper, speak the words out loud, maybe burn the paper and give the ashes back to the earth - release your attention from these things knowing your intention is known.

Life has heard you. Know these things are already yours.  

What do you do next? Do what is right in front of you.

xo all

for the very best time to set your intentions and start something with this New Moon - see my post HERE and look for the HEADS UP.

Mars returns to Aquarius next week - buckle up. Also that Venus in Scorpio at the same time of this New Moon could make something very attractive. Too attractive even. Like so attractive it could kill us. But you know me and my negative thinking. Let's take things one step at a time ....

Saturn Stations Direct in Capricorn plus today's astro forecast - forward movement toward our goals, daddy's home, reaping what we have sown, the reward of something lasting, something stabilizes, relationship imbalances, also HEADS UP for a good date and time to START SOMETHING

don't insult the witch by slavic-frost

At 7:10AM EDT, Saturn stations direct at 2 degrees Capricorn. Saturn moved into Capricorn last December (remember - winter is coming, how many green beans are in your cupboard?). He got all the way to 9 degrees Capricorn then stationed retrograde in mid-April and started backpedaling.

HERE is a post about that. It could be useful to re-read now.

Saturn's retrograde "review" wraps up.

He will move direct until he gets to 20 degrees Capricorn next April when he stations retrograde again.

For people with planets and points between 2 and 9 degrees Capricorn (and the other cardinal signs) Saturn will make his third pass (hang in there!) over those spaces during the next few weeks.

There are a few things that will happen now.

Saturn's direct motion can release pent up pressure in our Capricorn house allowing us to make solid moves toward our goals and ambitions (and our natal Capricorn house theme).

It could have felt, during his retrograde, that we were getting further away from our goals or where we want to be in this area of our life. Maybe obligations weighed heavily. Walls and limitations had to be faced. Corners we had previously cut were noted to be missing.

The bills came due.

Maybe we were re-evaluating, re-assessing, re-affirming our responsibilities and commitments.

Maybe we learned to say, "no". Maybe we learned to say "yes" to something we had been avoiding.

Saturn always gives rewards, but they are Saturnian rewards - coming after we've put in the time and hard work to build something that lasts. And yes, the thing that lasts IS the reward!

Our long range goals that have been stuck can start to move forward now. 

With Saturn (father time) direct - daddy's home! - greater external structure is brought into our lives.

This can feel supportive and rewarding (if we have been doing our Saturn retro work) or like a wall/limit/roadblock (if we have been partying like it's 1999 - does anyone remember 1999? it seems so last century).

Dad's home.  

Have we been goofing off? Staying out late? Running up the electric bill? Worn out his favorite chair or left his tools out in the rain to rust?

Karmic books get balanced.

Remember, karma isn't about punishment. It is simply cause and effect - we are just being served what we ordered. Most of us do alot of this "ordering" unconsciously.

If we don't like what we are being served - we can choose to do things differently today. Right now.

Multiple planets change signs this week, Saturn stations direct and we have a New Moon - change is happening!

We have alot of powerful energy right now - with multiple planets operating at peak efficiency. Venus is in her home sign. Mercury is in her/his home sign. Mars is in a sign where he is exalted. Saturn is in his home sign. Neptune is in his home sign.

Having so many planets "at home" means a substantial amount of very effective energy is at our disposal.

Plus as Saturn moves into Capricorn, he trines Uranus (in Taurus) and Mercury (in Virgo). Don't we love these Grand Earth Trines during Virgo season folks!

EXAMPLE FOR Sagittarius/Sag Rising - Saturn stations direct in your 2nd house of your money, your values, your resources and self-esteem. Something within these themes will move forward - maybe a check you have been waiting for comes in now. Saturn forms a Grand Earth Trine with both Mercury - in your 10th house of your career, your calling, your achievements, your achievement goals, dad, business, authority, responsibility and Uranus - in your 6th house of  your day-to-day activities, your routine, work, co-workers, pets and your health. The trine is a smooth "brakes off" opportunity to strengthen a connection between these areas - for something here to fall smoothly into place. Maybe the changes to your daily routine include a new career/job opportunity that increases or stabilizes your income. Results will be Saturnian (karmic) - you will get out what you put in. For right now it will be important to do your Virgo and your Capricorn - check the details, dot your i's and cross your t's, don't cut any corners. Maybe something new will begin to break open by Sunday's New Moon in your 10th house of career/goals. There are twists and turns and changes ahead for all of us this month and we don't know what we don't know yet, so think - structure building, not tall building leaping. You can now begin to focus on what is most important to you, do the details, keep your commitments, PREPARE for your future Sag!

If you want to know how to integrate this Grand Earth Trine for your personal chart leave a comment or drop me an email. Earth Trines can creates something REAL - something we can hold in our hand, put in our wallet, cover our head with on a rainy day and tuck into bed at night. Something solid. This aspect is exact tomorrow and in play until September 10th.

HEADS UP - if you are preparing to launch something into the world that you would like to reach a successful conclusion, the time from September 9th - after 2:30PM EDT, we want the New Moon BEHIND us - and before the Moon goes Void on September 10th at 11:10AM EDT looks good. The Moon makes multiple favorable aspects during these hours and both the Sun and Moon are working together in earthy Virgo. Anything started during this time will be stable and enjoy support from authority. There are also positive and expansive money/merging aspects here. This would also be a good time to make a decision - remember thoughts really are things, and this would be even more powerful if this were a written decision/contract. Mars leaves Capricorn - where he is exalted - the very next day and won't be back for a couple years. Figure out a way to use this. Starting something Virgo ruled - work, health, diet, pets, day-to-day activities - or something within the theme of your Virgo natal house would be especially effective.

Anyhoo, back to today. We also have Ceres move into Libra today (through November 11th).

Ceres is about the seasons and cycles of life, our mama drama, the healthy and unhealthy ways we nurture and receive nurturing, how we handle deep loss and estrangement.

Ceres is the dwarf planet between Mars and Jupiter. You may be familiar with her story.

Ceres (known to the Greeks as Demeter) is the mother - the provider, the nurturer - the goddess archetype of spring. Ceres represents the part of our nature that longs to give birth and then nourish and sustain new life. She represents the essential bonding or lack of that occurs between mother and child. She is the impulse to nurture and also to be nurtured by others.

Ceres's daughter, Persephone, was abducted by Pluto, lord of the underworld. The grieving mother, Ceres wandered the earth in search of her missing child.

In her grief, depression and anger, she caused a famine, withholding nourishment from the world until her daughter was returned. Persephone meanwhile had eaten pomegranate seeds, a symbol of sexual awareness, which gave Pluto a claim over her so she could not be returned permanently to her mother.

A deal was reached so Persephone would spend part of each year in the underworld with Pluto caring for the souls of the dead, but each spring would be reunited with her mother in the upper world as she initiated the dead into the rites of rebirth (spring)

Ceres in our chart alerts us to any challenges with nurturing and directs us to the kinds of experience we need to feel unconditionally loved and accepted.

In Libra this will be about partnership and balance. The give and take of relationship. Situations will transpire that allow us to see where we are giving/sharing/receiving too much. Keep in mind Libra rules our collective 7th house which mirrors us back to us. If we aren't getting what we are needing from other people, it is probably time to ask ourselves what we are withholding from ourselves. Ceres is going to square Saturn next Tuesday - the same day Mars moves back into Aquarius and it is September 11th, so will be an important day. Relationships will likely start to feel the strain of this.

The Moon enters Leo at 9:54AM EDT turning our attention to Leo themes (and our natal Leo house theme) for the next couple days - creative projects, children, recreation, romance, gambling/risk taking and self-expression. People and situations will be more dramatic. We may all be needing a little more attention.

xo all

Mercury inconjunct Mars plus Mercury home to Virgo | a tense conversation, somebody gets loud, uncomfortable information, heated discussions, time to speak clearly and confidently without fighting or stirring an already boiling pot, time to get our shit together

Reversed reverie 08 by MotyPhoto

Mercury inconjuncts Mars on his/her way out of Leo today.

This makes for tense - possibly LOUD - conversations, uncomfortable information - rocks and hard places between our words and our actions.

This might take us back to a situation/issue from around August 20th when a retrograde Mars walked this same degree.

Let's look at an EXAMPLE for Aries/Aries Rising (Leo 5th house/Capricorn 10th house) - and because this is also where the collective energy falls since an Aries first house means the houses all get their natural rulerships, so Aries rising applies to everyone to some extent.

See if anything in the following is useful to you:

"This is a tense conversation or uncomfortable information regarding career/authority/limits likely connected to something that came into play around August 20th. Maybe you can't say what you want to say now without making the situation worse. Listen carefully. Speak precisely. Details won't be skirted. Don't jump to any fast conclusions because happening just before Mercury changes signs - this could be a whole lot of fuss about nothing much in the end.

Inconjuncts indicate "rocks and hard places" so there won't be an easy or tidy solution even with Mercury's subsequent move into Virgo -the 6th house of daily activities, co-workers, routine, pets, work and health. The good news - Saturn moves direct in Capricorn (10th house) just a few hours later stabilizing not only that house but also your finances/resources and daily work/health. Hang in there."

This is happening at the powerful and karmic 29th degree, so whatever this is - and it is happening between our natal Leo and Capricorn houses - it will be important at the time, but probably pass quickly as Mercury changes signs within hours and then Saturn (ruler of Capricorn) stations direct.

We might need the courage to say what we think, but at the same time keep in mind we don't just want to be adding fuel to a fire with our words. Walking our talk will be challenging now.

There won't be a perfect solution, but we will do our best with this.

The Cancer Moon will be in a healing/creative Grand Water Trine with Neptune and Jupiter early in the day and then will oppose Pluto in the late afternoon EDT, so we probably want to avoid getting caught up in power struggles, manipulations and other people's drama and intrigue as the day plays out.

At 10:39PM EDT, Mercury (communication, ideas, thinking, siblings) moves into organized and clear-headed Virgo until September 21st. Mercury rules Virgo and is uber-happy to be in his/her own sign after such a long time in bombastic Leo.

For the next few weeks our thinking will be more analytical. 

Conversations will be to the point.

We will want the facts.

Other people will want the facts from us.

The numbers will have to balance out.

Practical thinking matters. Mistakes will be noticed, so double check language, spelling, grammar, etc (I need to triple check because I always double check and still find errors in these posts!).

We will need to put on our magnifying glasses because if we don't see that missed punctuation mark, mathematical error, problem we have glossed over or unsubstantiated fact we are spouting - there is a very good chance someone else will. 

The shadow of Virgo is self-criticism (and criticism of everyone and everything) and self doubt - setting too high a standard. Perfectionism. Nothing is ever good enough and so things don't get finished so we don't have to be judged and come up short. Since Virgo energy - and we all have Virgo somewhere in our charts - is one of the ways we learn to love ourselves unconditionally, we are pretty much guaranteed to miss something and make mistakes now and then.

We really can figure out and work with the things that need improvement without beating ourselves up when we come up short.

If we have been searching for a solution - this is great energy to nail one down!

This is a good time to start/reactivate a mindfulness practice. Slow down. Think about what we are doing in the moment - ie "I am doing the dishes, this water is warm and soapy, these dishes are cool, the sun is shining through the window, etc."

There is so much wisdom encoded inside each one of us that gets bypassed when our lives get too noisy.

Mercury in Virgo says, " it's time to get our sh*t together ".

xo all

Mars/Mercury inconjunct played out for me yesterday like this:

I had been out in the morning and rushed back home to make lunch.

As I am driving home I am thinking I should just call hubs and tell him to get a chicken salad wrap at the deli next to his shop, but then I think about all the tomatoes - 12 jars canned just the day before - and stale crusty french loaf getting harder every minute on the kitchen counter, so instead I step on the gas.

He rushes home for a quick - and most likely quite unsatisfying - lunch. He also had a busy morning with some bad news - yes, the rock and hard place kind - about his shop location

(landlord/authority providing the uncomfortable news that he is suddenly, possibly looking to sell the building we rent and may have a buyer who I have no doubt we will find out contacted him originally around August 20th).

We are both kind of testy. Well, one of us is tired (that would be me) and one of us is testy (that would be him).

On his way out he notices an animal has been in the trash on the side of the house - trash we both forgot about from an event at our house on August 19th - and he comes back in the house yelling and  looking for a garbage bag - which he somehow needs my help finding although they are in the same place they have been for at least a decade.

So we are both out there - and I should add it is about 100 degrees and humid - him totally pissed off and me speaking clearly and confidently without pot stirring and walking my talk (astrology saves the day again folks) ie drenched in sweat and cleaning up the mess - which yes, we have no choice about and yes, includes rotting food - some of which I should have composted - ugh! - and dirty diapers - a clear indication from a wise and loving universe that it is time to get our sh*t together folks.

And start reading this blog. 

Yes, all of us. I include you, dear reader and innocent bystander, because there is really only one of here after all. The sh*t must be cleaned up. And it might be sh*t we have forgotten all about .... or have tried to.

xo again

Today's Astro plus Pallas into Virgo | a break from routine, feeling at home in unusual situations, sobering up, dealing with authority and limits, the devil is in the details, exacting standards, keeping our eye off the prize, releasing the need for applause

sleepy little sailor by waveystar

At 8:03AM EDT today, the Moon enters Cancer turning our emotional focus for the next couple days toward home, family, renovation, relocation, mom, patriotism and apple pie. We want to nurture and be nurtured. Our attention turns to what we are growing.

We (and other people, of course) can be more sensitive now.

"My house here is painted the yellow colour of fresh butter on the outside, with glaringly green shutters; it stands in full sunlight in a square that has a green garden with plain trees, oleanders and acacias. It is completely whitewashed inside, with a floor made of red bricks. And over it there is the intensely blue sky. In this house I can love and breathe, meditate and paint."
 - Vincent van Gogh

Home projects, getting the kids off to school, nurturing activities and just curling up on the sofa and getting away from it all will be enticing.

First up, three hours later, an opportunistic sextile to "out-of-the-box" Uranus (retrograde in Taurus), so a good time to handle any family/home situations in unusual or modern ways. We could feel at home in unusual situations or with unique people. This could be a good aspect for kids going back to school today - a break (Uranus) from home (Moon).

The mood gets heavier after lunch (12:22 PM EDT) when the Moon opposes sober, authoritative Saturn. The kids get restless, the teacher (and need to sit up straight) sets the rules.

I know someone who is going to traffic court tonight and that sounds about right, too. This could also be a home vs work or family vs work in the world issue. The Moon is at home in Cancer and Saturn is at home in Capricorn, so both are strong and at their best. Worthy adversaries, but Saturn is standing still and preparing to station direct right now, so UBER powerful. If we are feeling depressed this afternoon/tonight know this is a transit. It is transitory. Saturn is heavy.

We will feel what we are carrying now.

Today we also see asteroid Pallas (patterns, strategies and tactics) move into exacting Virgo. Our plans/strategies become more precise, more practical.

(we also have Mercury - communication/ideas/information - moving into this same space tomorrow, a space he/she RULES)

If we can avoid the critical, nitpicky Virgo crap - the perfection story based in our fear of whatever we are doing being judged not quite up to snuff - we can make real progress by focusing on the details and putting one foot in front of the other for the next few weeks.

With Pallas in Virgo - and Mercury about to join in - it will be easier to see what fits and what doesn't. What works and what needs fixing/tossing. What is possible and what isn't. We analyze. 

We feel the need to "get it right".

Remember Virgo is the chapter, in our hero's journey, that follows Leo. The space where those pesky "other people" start to factor into things. The space where we carry that thing we have created in Leo and bring it into the service of other people.

The space we release any need for applause. 

So, it is likely best to focus on our TACTICS rather than goals/results for now. We trust the best, most carefully worked out tactics to produce for us the best results - but we keep our eyes on the tactics - the one foot we are putting in front of the next - NOT on the finish line.

We will talk about this more tomorrow.

xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of September 3rd - part 1 - smooth communication and information flow on MONDAY

diagonal people by Igor-Demidov

We have a very active week with multiple planets changing signs, one planet stationing direct and a New Moon!

I had family over for a barbecue yesterday, so didn't get to the weekly. I will either finish out this post later today or tomorrow morning or do dailies this week.

MONDAY - Mercury sextiles Venus 
WEDNESDAY - Mercury inconjuncts Mars, Mercury moves home to Virgo and inconjuncts Chiron
THURSDAY - Saturn stations direct in Capricorn (2 degrees)
FRIDAY - Mercury trines Uranus and Saturn - Grand Earth Trine(!) - and the Sun opposes Neptune
SATURDAY - Venus squares Mars
SUNDAY - Venus moves into Scorpio and we have the New Moon in Virgo (17 degrees)

On MONDAY the Moon continues her two and a half day monthly journey through Gemini. We are busy. We are communicating. We are running errands. Information is moving. Maybe sibling issues and the local community are keeping us active.

At 8:58AM EDT, Mercury (in confident, loud and proud Leo) will sextile (opportunity) Venus (in Libra) at 25 degrees.

This is a three-peat aspect with the last sextile on August 18th when Mercury was retrograde. So something now could connect back to that date and/or to the previous Mercury/Venus sextile.

This is easy communication, the ability to get someone else to "buy in" to what we want. An opportunity between our Leo (creative projects, children, romance, recreation) and our Libra houses (relationships). Reach out to other people early in the day while this aspect is hottest.

Note - we are still under the influence of yesterday's Moon square Sun (Gemini/Virgo) - choices, decisions, information overload, obstacles.

At 1:37AM the Moon will go void and then move into Cancer at 8:03AM EDT on TUESDAY (turning our focus to home, family, home business, mother, nurturing issues for the next couple days).

Also on Monday, Venus enters her upcoming retrograde shadow.

This means Venus (as us) begins traveling degrees she will travel again while retrograde (October 5th to November 16th) - she will be back to this week's exact degrees in November. Right now she is still in her home sign of Libra. She will move into Scorpio next week and spend most of her retrograde in Scorpio.

So, if we have planets or points between 0-10 degrees of the fixed signs - we will likely feel this retrograde strongest, but everyone will be impacted either directly or through our interactions with other people. The most directly impacted will be planets/points in early Scorpio. Taurus planets (opposite the retrograde Venus) will experience oppositions - issues coming at us from the outside, culminations. Aquarius and Leo planets/points will experience the tension/stress of squares. The other water signs - Pisces and Cancer - will experience trines (brakes off).

29-25 degrees of Libra and the other Cardinal signs will also be impacted. The most directly impacted will be planets/points in late Libra. Aries planets (opposite the retrograde Venus) will experience oppositions - issues coming at us from the outside, culminations. Cancer and Capricorn planets/points will experience the tension/stress of squares. The other air signs - Gemini and Aquarius - will experience trines (brakes off). We'll talk about this as we move through it.

With Venus retrograde we will be re-examining WHAT WE TRULY VALUE.

In Scorpio, events can conspire to show us the ways we merge our emotions/bodies/finances/resources and if this stuff is still working for us. Venus rules relationships, balance, love, money, women, beauty, our resources, our values and self-esteem.

Relationships are tested. Our values and self esteem are tested. Our ideas of beauty and women are tested. The ways we handle our money and resources are tested.

If we have lost ourselves in something - maybe this autumn is the time we come up for air ...

In the meantime, this week, we will want to pay attention to the Venusian themes in our life (the stuff she rules) because with Venus set to revisit the degrees she is walking now (two more times) - these situations are going to be in play for awhile. It could also be that something that starts now will come to a dead stop later on (and with Scorpio ruling death I do not use this word lightly), so keep this in mind.

xo all - back tonight or tomorrow