Full Moon in Gemini | November 23, 2018 - looking before we leap, re-thinking something, taking a breath, something comes to light, to a culmination, to a conclusion ... sort of

At 12:39AM EST on November 23rd, the Gemini Moon meets the Sagittarius Sun at 0 degrees.

Full Moons are about culminations, but with this one coming at the very beginning of Gemini and with Gemini's ruler Mercury traveling retrograde through Sagittarius (the sign of the Sun since Thursday) this doesn't feel much like "culminating" to me.

Add to this the fact that Mercury (ruler of the Full Moon) is debilitated in Sagittarius and Mars, uber uncomfortable in Pisces, is squaring the whole thing.

Also the Sun is conjunct Jupiter, strong in his home sign, and heading toward their exact meeting in a couple days - that luckiest day of the year thing - and Mars is quickly approaching his exact meeting with Neptune - maybe that is the laziest day of the year! And Venus, still opposing Uranus, is moving toward another exact opposition with him (chaos, the unexpected).

Nothing here seems settled. At all.

But still something is culminating, coming to light, reaching a peak energy. It might be when Mercury stations direct on December 6th that we actually get to the finish line though.

Full Moons are always potentially stressful because we have the Sun (this month in Sagittarius) opposing the Moon (this month in Sagittarius's polarity sign of Gemini). Oppositions are exactly what they sound like.

Yes, you can imagine a boxing ring, some sweaty towels and bandages.

This Moon is about choices, decisions, options and endings - although the endings are maybe not really endings quite yet. Gemini is the natural ruler of our collective 3rd house of communication and language. It also rules siblings, neighbors, local travel, early education, transportation - movement. A spotlight is being thrown on a lot of information now. Almost too much to process. With Gemini, truth is shifty and it is hard to tell fact from fiction.

It's a time to speak clearly. This is not a time for babble or childish gossip. Let's not say one thing when we really mean something else - even habits like saying "this isn't bad" when we mean something is good dilute our energy. Just say, "this is good!".

Let's unpack the aspects.

Mars is squaring the Moon and the Sun, so it is likely the Full Moon will be a time of action. We could feel a great push to get something moving or to jump on whatever comes up. We could get mad.

BUT the rest of the Full Moon chart is encouraging patience because we are going to have a much clearer view of everything over the next couple weeks. Mars is also squaring Jupiter, so we are really going to feel the squeeze/pressure/tension that makes us want to make a move/release something. Know the gift of astrology is we can look ahead and backward - Mercury and the Sun are getting closer to Jupiter next week and the Moon will no longer be in opposition, so things will be clearer if we wait a bit. More info is coming in, especially around things we have done before or things already in process.

We are going to feel pressure to do something now via our action/anger/passion, but the timing is still off - the timing is not just now.

It will pay to keep in mind that Mars (our initiative, action, passion) is in watery Pisces. He just spent six months in Aquarius instead of his usual two and he is worn out.

He is half asleep right now!

(and yes, he snores and hogs the covers)

Although a sleepy Mars is probably actually a gift to us because he might keep us from jumping into something too fast, too soon. This is why our urge to escape (go back to bed, have another drink, watch another episode) is so strong right now. Our inner warrior is taking a siesta!

And look at that chart again and notice he is squaring Mercury -  

how are we going to make up our mind/get to the bottom of things/finish this "whatever this is" up! 

We aren't. Take a breath.

With Mars, Neptune (retrograde) and Chiron (retrograde) all in Pisces and being squared by all the Sagittarius energy - we are like batteries being drained!

It can feel depressing, but it is really our energy being drained.

Look at Mercury (our thinking, communications, ideas) - ruler of this Full Moon - could he/she look any more uncomfortable?! Squaring foggy Neptune and moving toward optimistic, but over-the-top Jupiter (who is conjunct that Sun) it is hard to tell fact from fiction now. We could be deluding ourselves or being lied to by someone else who may be deluding themselves!

Our thinking really can't be trusted right now. Keep this in mind.

If we do manage to come to some kind of conclusion/decision right now we can probably be assured it will change a couple times before December 6th when Mercury stations direct.

Jupiter, strong in his home sign of Sagittarius, is conjunct the Sun and opposing the Moon.

Jupiter rules legal issues, foreign issues, travel, higher education, our beliefs and higher thinking, religion, weddings, the media - maybe this is the kind of situation (or the theme of our natal Sagittarius house or, of course Gemini themes - listed a few paragraphs earlier or our Gemini house theme) that is reaching a conclusion/culmination - the Gemini Moon (Gemini always has another trick up his sleeve and is always playing multiple angles) and the retrograde position of the Moon's ruler indicate stuff is still in flux here.

We still have that Grand Trine we talked about the other day between the Sun (although out of sign now), the North Node in Cancer and Chiron in Pisces to help smooth things over - to take the edge off whatever is coming to light/concluding now. Keep in mind that North Node in Cancer - there is strength in vulnerability now.

Rereading this it feels like quite a mishmash, which feels appropriate to this Moon and this time, although not super helpful. I'm sorry. Jupiter is going to square Neptune for most of 2019 - three times exactly - this energy of uncertain optimism is something we will all be working with.

For now - let's take a breath. Let's look before we leap. If something can be pushed off until sometime after December 6th, push it off. Wait. Don't push. 

Coax it into December. If you can. Try some good cheddar or turkey jerky - it works with Olive.

If you must decide, if something must conclude, if something comes to light that requires action - at least give the information another go-over. Things will be clearer after Neptune stations direct this weekend - that's when the dream (Neptune) can start to move forward via our action (Mars in Pisces answering to Neptune).

Remember every ending has a fresh, new beginning built right into it and ours is going to be AMAZING!

xo all

We are at a collaborative turning point for our collective - we are all in this together. Grateful, generous hearts are needed. Grateful, generous words will open the hearts of others. Sometimes the less we say the more powerful our words are when we use them now. Our words will be remembered so let's make them memorable ... and kind.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving if you are in the USA, a Happy Thursday otherwise - back in a few days ... don't forget to get out and walk in the beautiful Full Moon and if you can't see it, know it is still there working for you!

Sun trine Chiron and North Node, Sun inconjunct Moon | independent work favored, a wild card is tossed into the game, taking the edge off the pain, prioritizing home and family, doing the brave thing, allowing ourselves a place of refuge, go back to bed

cold morning by mrs-pinkeyes

The Moon is waxing (growing) as we head towards Friday's Full Moon in Gemini.

In Aries today, she moves into opposition with Venus (home in Libra) at 10:44AM EST - this indicates more can be accomplished through independent work and interactions with other people could be stressful. Watch any tendency to overspend or overeat now.

Later she inconjuncts (that rock and a hard place) the Sun (at the end of Scorpio) and finally at 5:46PM EST she hooks up with Uranus - her last aspect before the void, so expect the unexpected - and then goes Void for about an hour, until 6:43PM EST, when she moves into Taurus - where she is exalted. 

Today's waxing inconjunct indicates the possibility that something new or unproven (Aries) - maybe connected to an intimacy/financial/hidden issue or maybe just unexpected or chaotic - is tossed into the situation just as we are expecting to finish/close something out - that approaching Full Moon.

The good news - the Scorpio Sun is trining (brakes off) both Chiron and the North Node (in Cancer now and ruled by the Moon).  The energy is available - and yes, it could be emotional - to get us through this smoothly. To move us along on our best path forward.

The trine to Chiron should take the edge off the pain, this will happen naturally - there is alot of Pisces energy right now, please don't over-medicate, drink/drug/distract the pain away.  The trine to the North Node speaks of prioritizing our home base, our family, what makes us feel most stable and secure within ourselves. With the North Node in Cancer, looking to the outside world for validation isn't going to work/feel good. We have to know our own worth. We have to know what we really value - what we are really made of.

We have just been through a bloody Venus retrograde in Scorpio and she is still re-walking those degrees (!) - we know what we most value because it is what we are still feeling connected to.

Mercury is retrograde. And his/her square to Neptune is really fogging things up! Have you noticed it is hard to remember what time/day it is? Time is kind of drifty.

Do what needs to be done today. Take appropriate action. The Aries Moon can require bravery. So, yes, if something feels scary it could be the appropriate thing! But it might just seem scary because we are looking too far ahead. Don't look too far ahead. Mercury is retrograde! 

Once the Moon gets into Taurus this evening she makes all positive aspects tonight and tomorrow - making nice with Mars, Saturn, Neptune and Pluto! Our focus will naturally turn to Taurus themes for the next couple days - being comfortable, our money, our values, our resources, the important stuff that money can buy and the important stuff it can't, the stuff we already have.

xo all

Heads up - the Moon will be void all day on Thanksgiving so plans may get thrown off course. Maybe we cook a turkey and then find out most guests has gone vegan. Or maybe we forgot to defrost it. Maybe some people catch colds and don't show up - take some extra Vitamin C and D, so we aren't those people! Wet weather, plumbing issues, insect/rodent infestations all tend to happen when Pisces is activated as she is now.  Stuff gets released when boundaries thin. We'll need extra sleep now and to allow ourselves, and other people, to feel more emotional. We will need to escape a bit - go to the movies, read a new book, make some art, get into or near water. We need to stay grounded so we don't drift totally off-course AND we need to allow our Neptunian imagination/compassion/spirituality roam, too.

Mars Square Jupiter | avoid taking on too much, stay grounded, tension between the big picture and whatever action we are taking, allow, stop pushing, don't be preachy, being brave with our words and thinking, staying open to BIG possibilities without losing our shirt (unless it's the shirt that shrunk in the dryer and makes us feel like we have eaten too much pre-Thanksgiving pumpkin pie or maybe we HAVE eaten too much pie, either way that shirt, that one, we can lose)

Shirtless, Sheet-less and ... by Erin-boo

I didn't get to the weekly yesterday, so we will work with some dailies!

We start the week with the Moon in fiery, "let's get something started" Aries. Good for taking initiative and being brave, but we'll keep in mind that Aries ruler Mars is in Pisces - encouraging connection and the allowing of what is unfolding rather than any strong pushing for a specific agenda and discouraging Mars natural impulse to just "go it alone".

Mars (and with our Moon in Aries and answering to Mars we could feel this more acutely) squares Jupiter (in Sagittarius). Squares are tension/frustration.

A tired Mars cornered by a powerful (enthusiastic, but also possibly overly optimistic) Jupiter could result in us taking on more than we can handle or over-promising what we can actually do. With Mars in Pisces aggressive actions could seem to come out of nowhere and Jupiter will make things BIGGER - or to seem bigger, it's hard to say with Jupiter - than they would otherwise be.

Our negative Piscean tendencies - addiction, escape, shoving stuff into closets and under furniture - could get exaggerated now.

We might jump to a wrong conclusion and with Mercury retrograde in Sagittarius we are meant to be questioning our beliefs not yet concluding anything mentally - we just don't have all the facts yet.

We are going back and forth with something because it is time to be going back and forth with something. Two steps forward and one step backward is how life actually works. It only feels like a problem if we are pushing and it's not the time to be pushing. With the Moon trining (brakes off) that same retrograde Mercury we could be looking backward with regret about some prior action/inaction. The Sun's trine to Chiron tomorrow will likely help ease the sharp edges off any of that.

Looking ahead this week the major aspects I see are:

MONDAY - Mars squares Jupiter
TUESDAY - Sun trines Chiron
THURSDAY - Sun moves into Sagittarius and trines the Nodes
FRIDAY - Full Moon in Gemini
SATURDAY - Neptune stations direct
SUNDAY/MONDAY - Sun Conjunct Jupiter (and that luckiest day of the year thing)

For today - we have that trine between Mercury and the Moon encouraging courageous conversations/thinking and that square between Mars and Jupiter tempting us to overdo whatever it is we are doing. Warning us about any tendency to wander off-course and make mountains out of molehills and advising us to keep one eye on the rear-view mirror for things can seem to come out of "nowhere" now and are closer than they appear - and also bigger or smaller than they actually are depending on our natural inclination toward optimism or pessimism, so keep all of this in mind.

Our minds are stretchy with Mercury in Sagittarius so this will all surely fit in there somehow. We might have to ditch a few awful middle school memories to clear some space and that's a good thing, too. :)

The best use of today's square - instead of feeling cornered, let's allow ourselves to stay open to BIG POSSIBILITIES. Some things are outside our control now - which is probably the good news.

xo all

Weekend Astrology Forecast for Creatives | more flies with honey, the power of our imagination, the fine print, adventure, the Sunday night blues or inspired ambition

And suddenly it's evening 1X by Michela-Riva

We wake on SATURDAY morning having slept through our monthly Moon/Neptune conjunction. If you had any memorable dreams maybe write them down and give some thought to them. This energy should put us in a relaxed, dreamy state for the early part of the day. It could be hard to know where we begin and other people leave off though. Boundaries will be thin.

By 2: 10PM EST the Moon moves into a sextile (opportunity) with Pluto (at 19 degrees).

This is the energy for eliminating (Pluto) our delusions/illusions (Neptune), for deep/maybe dark (Pluto) magic (Neptune), for transformation/lasting change (Pluto) through compassion (Neptune), for using the power (Pluto) of our imagination (Neptune). Good for meditation, making art, healing. Stay sober. 

This is an opportunity between our Capricorn and Pisces houses. It's like Aquarius has gone to use the restroom and Cappy and Pisces are holding hands under the table.

How can we use this? For example in my chart this is an opportunity between my 3rd house (communication, conversations, siblings, neighborhood, transportation) and my 4th house (5th house if we are talking rulerships - but the Moon will still be in my 4th house) of home, family, property, my roots, mother/motherhood - so communicating about a home/family situation is favored. This energy is swift, but potent.

Also on Saturday - which could factor in or be about something else entirely - we have the Scorpio Sun (25 degrees) opposing Juno (in Taurus). Juno is about our relationships, our commitments and contracts involving partners, our marriages and in Taurus she is focused on stability; on keeping the relationship safe. Also, she is focused on the money, honey and on the relationship's resources. 

Remember Juno is Jupiter's long suffering wife and the part of us that will look the other way to keep our commitments and contracts intact.

So now along comes the Sun shining a bright light/bringing a conclusion (a solar opposition is like a Full Moon to the planet being opposed) to something that the Sun in Scorpio has dug up. The Sun is drilling into the fine print in that relationship contract and comes to Juno with a flashlight in one hand and the thing she (as we) maybe does not really want to look at in the other and she/we can't look away.

On SUNDAY, the Moon, in her final Piscean play, has trined the Sun in Scorpio, while we slept. This would be another good night for a dream analysis if we can remember any. The Moon moves into action-oriented Aries at 7:56AM EST. We'll wake up ready to GO and by mid-afternoon she moves into a nice trine with Jupiter (2:18PM EST), so the afternoon is ripe for any Jupiterian pursuit - an adventure, a focus on the big-picture, higher education, travel, anything/anyone foreign to us, weddings, the media, religion, etc. This aspect brings optimism. 

By late Sunday night, the Aries Moon will be squaring Saturn (in Capricorn), focusing us on our responsibilities - our goals and ambitions. Squares bring tension and stress, but are really the energy we need to get things done and there is no better energy to get things done than a square to Saturn.

We get what we want by following the rules now, yes, and yes, there are obstacles in our path, but an Aries Moon eats obstacles for breakfast! And getting this monthly aspect on a Sunday night instead of a Monday afternoon might make it go down easier.

The flies in the ointment with this one are - we could be dealing with cold emotional responses, fights with dad/authority, feelings of being caged in or lonely - just keep in mind the long-game we are playing. This is just one fast (fight?!) transit.

Avoid physical risks.

Tonight's energy could feel like a let down if the day felt especially good. It's like the guy with the good jokes and the good pot has left the party.

Don't let Sunday night ruin a perfectly good weekend. We know Monday morning is coming. It always comes.

Mercury is retrograde folks, expect delays, having to do things again and not knowing what we don't know. Roll with it.

xo all

Next week we have what astrologer Susan Miller calls the luckiest day of the year - are we ready for that? Yes, we are!

shifting sands ahead .....

Untitled by Irina Joanne

OK, let's take a breath before the next round of shifts starting tomorrow and see/feel where we are.

We are on a brave new quest with Jupiter's return to Sagittarius - just keep in mind this is a year-long quest. We don't have to do everything in the first week!

We have Mars - the planet of our action, our initiative, the way we go about getting what we want - leaving Aquarius after six MONTHS. The last time Mars was in Aquarius for this long was in 1971! He moves into Pisces on Thursday where he will stay for about six WEEKS.

Aquarius is not Mars favorite place (neither is Pisces!) - and he had to deal with the South Node there (what we are releasing) and because Aquarius is a fixed sign - this left Mars squaring Uranus in Taurus, opposing all the Leo energies (including the North Node of where are heading) and then squaring all the Scorpio we have been working through with Venus! This has been challenging us since May. Although Mars can still perform in Aquarius, he isn't fond of Aquarius penchant for - over-thinking, digging in too doggedly to a mental position, detaching - Mars wants to just go for it. And Aquarian energy does not work like this.

Now, he (as us) moves into Pisces. This would be a great time to rest if we can rest. If our life is not set up to rest for the next six weeks (Mars is going to really, really want to nap!) and I know mine isn't, and yours probably isn't either, we are going to have to be careful we don't slip up and sabotage ourselves by - zonking out, drifting off purpose, totally losing our boundaries, escaping with another glass of wine, going on a shopping marathon, taking action based on what we are seeing through our rose-colored glasses, vegging out with too many Netflix marathons, letting things slip away.

Maybe we should put a rubber-band on our wrist and snap ourselves awake every hour!

We are going to have to muster whatever reserves we have to stay on top of things for the next few weeks. AND we are going to have to prioritize rest and escape somehow, too.

We are NOT going to push because Mars in Pisces can't push. It will be like pushing jello up a hill - nice for the guy behind us who isn't pushing and gets a delicious strawberry dessert tossed at him that he didn't have to work for - but not so nice for us; the ones doing all the work. On the other hand Mars in Pisces is excellent energy to go within, to meditate, to make art, to heal, to work with our intuition, to work with our dreams - this is the energy of the spiritual warrior and having this compassionate energy during the holiday season is a very, very beautiful thing - a gift to us.

Mars in Pisces won't be squaring Uranus and Venus and the Nodes anymore, but he will be squaring Jupiter (freshly home to Sagittarius) and these are our two BIG unlimited energies. And Mercury is stationing retrograde in Sagittarius, too, so our thinking is surely going to be more optimistic, obviously a good thing, but also more unrealistic and more over-the-top.

This can get us so caught up in what is possible, some far-out-there dream that we toss the baby out with the bathwater - and it's pretty freakin' cold out there for babies, we jump from that plane (adventure!) without checking to see if our parachute is working or if we are even wearing a parachute.

We party like it's 1999 ... and it ain't 1999 no more folks.

Think rubberband. Think wrist.

#kidding #notkidding

The day after Mars finally moves out of Aquarius we have Venus stationing direct (25 Libra) and Mercury stationing retrograde (13 Sag). Now all three personal planets have changed sign or direction within just two days - how often does this happen?! Friday is a very big day, but big things don't always happen when energies are exact. Sometimes they happen as the energies wax or wane. I would still expect Friday to be a big day.

We have been going back and forth through Venus over relationship/financial/resources/self-esteem situations since early October. We have made decisions and had to deal with other people's decisions - maybe multiple times (!), we have weighed things out, we might have had to let something go (relationships, money, power). Things have been up and down and out of balance.

This energy will shift forward and we will regain some balance now. We are following up on decisions that we made a few weeks ago and again asking ourselves - What do I really value? What do I want? What do I need? Have I been too focused on what isn't mine?

And because Venus is STILL squaring the nodes - remember they moved into cardinal signs, too - we are STILL making decisions - and yes, some of this is out of our hands -  and these decisions are going to impact us for a long time. The North Node in Cancer - which I am going to write a big post about - is asking us to root ourselves in our new decisions and grow something from this stronger, smarter position.

Maybe we may have worked ourselves right around in a circle to the same place (maybe not)! Either way, we are different people now. If we haven't totally wasted the last few weeks and that would have been pretty much impossible - our decisions will be better, stronger and smarter than they were in October.

So now we have committed to something with relationships or money and we will know where we stand ... but we are not finished with our work here

because Venus will still be walking degrees she walked twice before until December and because Mercury - it is not a coincidence these stations happen at the same time - now takes some part of this story - the deepest part - remember he is headed back into Scorpio where much of the Venus retrograde took place - backward again.

Venus has shown us what we truly value. Now Mercury says, "hold that thought"..

Something needs a re-view, re-vision, a re-novation, a re-location - think "re" here - with our thinking, with the paperwork, with the information, with the idea, with the conversation. Squaring foggy Neptune it is going to be hard to tell what is real and what is bullsh*t.

And keep in mind Venus (because Uranus has changed signs, too) is moving toward another opposition with "anything-can-happen" Uranus - remember that opposition during the Kavanaugh hearings?! - and the North and South Nodes - because they moved into cardinal signs last week - are still squaring Uranus, only from new positions. We have to stay grounded.

By early to mid-December we will know what we are doing. By the end of December/early January we will be moving full-steam ahead.

(just keep in mind we will never totally know what we are doing and we are never totally full steam ahead plus I can't see your natal chart transit which could countermand all this stuff)

If we can't wait - if decisions must be made and strong decisive action taken, and this could certainly happen - what do we do?

Well, we work with what we have. We have a lifetime of experience that got us to this place. We already know what to do. We already know when something is too much. Just know it is likely, because Mercury is retrograde, we will have to go back over some things and revise them. It's not a time to bet the farm, but most decisions are not that big. Most decisions can be tweaked later and as we move through the remainder of 2018.

We need the time between now and the end of the year to get things right. But we can't just take a powder for the next six weeks or we will sabotage the whole damn thing.We'll wake up in December/January with nothing to move full steam ahead with.

We have to be smart and we are smart. We can make progress during Mercury retrograde and Mars in Pisces it just won't be progress in a straight line.

Straight lines are boring.

xo all

Also keep in mind that next spring Uranus is going to move back into Taurus (this time not just for a few months like he did from May through last week, but for a few YEARS) - so we can't do the Venus/Taurus stuff the same way for much longer anyway - the way we do relationships, the way we earn and spend money, the resources we value, the way our self-esteem connects to our wallet, the way we toss our old crap into a landfill, the way we disrespect the "mother" - this is all going to change. For all of us. Big time.

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of November 12th - Mars finally out of Aquarius after 6 months, Venus stations direct, Mercury stations retrograde - hold that thought!

The Involvement by 7oretta

OK guys, here we go again. We are moving through our second week of adjustments now as even more energies change course.

This week ALL our personal planets (except the Sun) change signs or directions so we will feel these shifts in our individual lives. Keep in mind some things will continue to be undecided - just like the mid-term election results!

Some situations move forward, others grind to a halt.

These are the important aspects I see for the week:

SUNDAY - Ceres enters Scorpio
THURSDAY - Mars sextiles Uranus and then enters Pisces (after 6 months in Aquarius!!)
FRIDAY -  Venus stations direct (25 Libra), Mercury stations retrograde (through December 7th)
SATURDAY - Mercury squares Neptune

On SUNDAY, Ceres (mother issues, nurturing, the seasonality of our lives, compromise, power sharing, division of resources) dives into Scorpio (death/rebirth, power, loss).

More and more I like thinking of Ceres as the ruler of Taurus (sorry Venus, but you will forever have Libra) - this would make Ceres in Scorpio (Taurus polarity sign) in her detriment now. A planet in its detriment - opposite its home sign - has an extremely narrow focus of expression.

What this stirs up will depend on what house (house's theme) Scorpio rules in your natal chart, but collectively, she will activate Scorpian situations/issues around shared finances, other people's money, taxes, loans, inheritances, shared resources, reproduction, sex, intimacy and death/rebirth.

We could face situations (and something could have hit us like a thunderbolt within the last few days as she opposed Uranus) that make us aware of the ways our own power is limited in any of these areas or the ways we are not as safe as we thought we were. Compromises will be made.

During her transit here we will uncover personal sources of resilience and power. Ceres will be in Scorpio until January 25th.

We start the work week with a serious Capricorn Moon on MONDAY. This is the time to focus on work, responsibilities, getting things done. A good day for career and working with authority figures and stepping into our own authority. Work on goals (especially long-term goals), within limits, do what needs to be done, yada yada.

The Moon will hook up with Pluto at 12:57PM EST - this speaks of intense experiences and passionate/deep emotions. Maybe power struggles with a woman/women or pressure from a woman. Obsession. Manipulation. Taboo stuff. Whatever we have going on - we are feeling it.

On TUESDAY, the Moon has a short void from 10:13AM EST to 10:43AM EST then moves into Aquarius focusing us on  - friendships, the goals that bring us into connection with other people, our future, whatever we are doing on the internet, our groups and causes and new experiences - for the next couple days.

A monkey wrench is tossed into that Capricorn situation - goals/authority/career/responsibility - in the afternoon/evening as the Moon squares Venus and then Uranus, although sometimes Uranian squares will resolve themselves almost as quickly as they appear - maybe they will drag the Venus tension (love/money) away with them!

Aquarius is fixed air and the Moon here wants what she wants, but we need to stay flexible.

The week starts to flip on us by THURSDAY when Mars, planet of initiative and action, FINALLY leaves Aquarius - yes, you can begin to exhale now Aquarius, Taurus, Scorpio and Leo - and heads into dreamy Pisces. But first he sextiles (opportunity) Uranus inviting us to try something new and different.

Action Mars is not a happy camper in the drifting Piscean waters, but maybe after six months in Aquarius, where he wasn't happy either - he can at least catch a nap once in a while!

Mars is our masculine energy - he (as us) wants to go out and make things happen. Pisces in where we allow things to happen; we go with the flow. With Mars in Pisces, there is just no way to "force things" - stuff will go or it won't.

Mars (our actions) will be working through our emotional intuition now. We'll need to use our inner guidance and work with divine timing.

Our natal Pisces house - is shaken awake and its theme (where is Pisces in your natal chart?) is activated. We are used to just going with the flow here, so Mars moving in could be just the kick in the a** we need to get moving.

Keep in mind Mars is still Mars even though he is wearing a toga and smoking some of those funny cigarettes Michigan just legalized. He (as us) can still get things done.

The key to working with Mars in Pisces (think spiritual warrrior now) - and he will be here through the end of the year -  is to continue to initiate, continue to take action, continue to move forward, but to avoid pushing.

And we will know we are pushing because whatever we are trying to do won't be working.  

Mars in Pisces is also a kind of perfect storm for self-sabotage, so stay moving and AWAKE.

Also on Thursday we have the First Quarter Moon as the Moon (in Aquarius) squares the Scorpio Sun. This is the first tension/challenge to whatever kicked off at the New Moon last week. Maybe Scorpio wants to go all-in and Aquarius wants to step back and detach. When we check to see what the Moon does next for our way through this challenge - we see the Moon moves into a trine with Venus (in Libra) so things will move forward through diplomacy, cooperation, balance, since Venus is retrograde - maybe taking a small step backward. Kindness matters. At 10:58PM EST the Moon will sextile (opportunity) Uranus (in Aries) opening us to change and trying new things. Then the Moon goes void until 11:41PM EST when she moves into Pisces.

This will naturally draw our focus to Piscean themes until Sunday - what is hidden or put away or done behind the scenes, secrets, the ethereal realms, imagination, hospitals, spirituality, addiction, healing, art, illusions and delusions, etc.

On FRIDAY we have the biggest energy shifts of the week as Venus stations direct and Mars stations retrograde on the same day!

Venus stationed retrograde on October 5th and since that time we have been going back and forth over what we want/what we really value. The ways we have been too focused on the things that aren't ours. HERE is a post about the retrograde.

Now Mercury (wait a minute Venus, hold that thought!) stations retrograde - and we know how strong planets are at station - and then immediately squares dreamy, fuzzy Neptune.

Venus's retrograde has made clear to us what we want; what we value. Mars into Pisces is giving us a new way of going about getting it (by allowing!) and Mercury - passed that retrograde hot potato from Venus - is charged with figuring this thing out (ideas, conversations, paperwork, daily actions). Mercury will start with the big-picture and then as she moves back into Scorpio - ironing out the intimate details, looking at the stuff that is under the hood, scrutinizing the numbers - then reversing course and moving over this stuff for a third and final time.

A retrograde Mercury brings the usual re-minders. We are doing the "re's" - re-thinking, re-doing, re-viewing, re-kindling, re-inventing, re-visiting whatever is happening in our Sagittarius/Scorpio houses. Collectively - our beliefs, the big picture, Sag themes like travel, higher education, weddings, politics, legal issues, the media, publishing, foreigners, everything outside your comfort zone, exploration, your beliefs and higher thinking and Scorpio themes such as other people's resources, other people's values, intimacy, other people's money, spouse's income, loans, debts, taxes, inheritance, sex, reproduction, life/death.

All of this pulls us into mid-December and right around the time Venus starts covering brand new territory.

For now, know that Mercury is going to square Neptune at the very start of her/his retrograde at the end of this week. This speaks of the possibility of a lie, an illusion, a delusion - and by this time we have Mars, the Moon and Neptune all in Pisces! Our rose colored glasses will be wearing rose colored glasses. And Mercury, retrograde in Sag is answering to Jupiter strong in his home sign - so everything will feel big and IMPORTANT.

And maybe it is, but maybe it isn't and either way -

the truth/facts will be hard to come by - whether our future is so bright it hurts our eyes or we are seeing the lights from the oncoming train, is hard to say - just know we will be going back over this stuff for a few weeks. 

We don't know what we don't know yet, but we will know later. Keep moving, Keep allowing. By mid-week, stop pushing so hard - life has your back. When it's over it's ready to begin. Trust this.

I will write more as we move through the week.

xo all

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