Mercury conjunct Jupiter, Mercury conjunct the Sun, Mars sextiles Saturn | magical ideas come knocking, the details join the big picture, news comes in, stable groundwork for our BIG, bodacious dreams

Exhale by Machihuahua

After a short void while we slept the Moon moved into fiery Leo early, early this morning EST. Our emotional focus could turn to children, our creative projects, romance, recreation, the things we take pride in, the drama we didn't save for our mama - for the next couple days.

Mercury (news, information, our thinking, communication, siblings, transportation issues) is UBER busy today, meeting first with expansive Jupiter and then our illuminating Sun.

Mercury's meeting with the Sun (4 degrees Sagittarius) marks the mid-way point of her retrograde journey. Our heart and our mind connect. News comes in that stretches us somehow.

We reach a space of greater clarity regarding whatever this retrograde has been about for us.

Happening at almost the same time Mercury meets Jupiter (strong and home in Sagittarius) and trines that Leo Moon - this could bring us news/clarity/information that makes us feel proud/generous/ready to roar.

Mercury is still retrograde so news probably doesn't bring things to a conclusion, but our next move becomes easier to see/feel.

BIG IDEAS are waiting, maybe for eons - maybe for seconds, for the right person (the person who can make them REAL) to grab hold of them. 

Open your mind. Open your eyes. What do you hear? What do you see? Thoughts are things. Think about what you are thinking about.

With Mercury retrograde this might be something we have previously thought about or connect us back to a person or situation we were previously aligned with. 

With Mars (in mystical Pisces) sextile (opportunity) Saturn (in stable Capricorn) - there is divine right timing with anything birthed now.

This is also good energy for working with authority figures and stepping into our own authority.

Excellent energy to sober up ... like, forever.

Grab that domain name you have been putzing around with in your head. Write that email. Apply for that scholarship. Plan that big trip. MAKE IT REAL.

Vesta (our devotion, our ability to keep the fires burning) is also conjunct the Capricorn South Node and opposing the Cancer North Node. There could be something we have to give up here to get something else. Maybe something we used to be devoted to, but no longer are. This could be the time we can either give it a proper burial or maybe it is the time we level it up. Does it nurture us? Does it strengthen our roots/home base? Does it make us feel safe? The gold here comes from allowing ourselves to be vulnerable - not from adding more bricks to the wall.

The details join the big picture today and things come into focus.

xo all

Jupiter conjunct the Sun, Mars square Mercury | that "luckiest" day of the year thing and this is how we get lucky

Crown-backstage by la-child

This is another important week.

If you have big things happening in your life, this is why. If you have big dreams and nothing appears to be happening with them (it only looks this way), this is why.

We'll talk about the story that is playing out and do some dailies this week.

SATURDAY - Neptune stations direct
MONDAY - Sun conjuncts Jupiter, Mercury squares Mars
TUESDAY - Sun conjuncts Mercury (retrograde), Mercury conjuncts Jupiter, Mars sextiles Saturn
FRIDAY - Venus opposes Uranus
SATURDAY - Mercury retrogrades back into Scorpio, Venus squares North and South Nodes
MONDAY - Venus re-enters Scorpio (this time direct), Sun squares Mars

First, let's back up a couple days.

On Saturday, Neptune stationed direct at 13 degrees Pisces. He is strong and still this week. Remember that finger through a candle flame analogy - planets are strong at station.

Neptune went retrograde back on June 18th and has reworked 16-13 degrees of the sign he rules. He now moves forward for the final time over these degrees (in our lifetimes). A dream/mirage could dissolve now. The rose colored glasses come off. Wet weather, porous boundaries, the need for extra sleep, leaky everything. Neptune rules the 12th and final house - what we do last and the "end of the day" - situations/people "hanging on by a thread" might leave/end/finalize now. If you love someone working a recovery program check in with them - our boundaries are thin now - CONNECT.

The good news is whatever Neptune has been fogging up will start to clear up in the days ahead.

The other good news with Mars in Pisces until the end of the year and answering to imaginative and spiritual, but often foggy, escapist and 'sleepy' Neptune, Mars, as us, (our action, initiative, passion) is aided by a newly direct Neptune.

Mars is making his way to Neptune - he will get there on December 7th (at 13 degrees - yes, Neptune will still be at 13 degrees and Mars will have covered 8 degrees - we are starting to catch up with our dream!) this is just one day after Mercury will station direct.

There is divine perfect timing/fate at play as we make our way forward. This stuff can't be rushed - remember no pushing, but no totally avoiding either! 

We are working on faith here. 

No big moves just yet, but take the logical, grounded action that is required. Yes, we will need extra rest with Mars in Pisces, but we can't ONLY rest. God/the universe has our back, but we won't get very far if we don't also move our legs!  

TODAY is a big energetic. We have Jupiter meeting the Sun at 3 degrees Sagittarius. Jupiter kicks off a new 12 year story AND we get a glimpse at what the next year's transit of Jupiter through Sagittarius (the first chapter) will be about for us.

Now we have time (Saturn) on our side AND we have luck (Jupiter) on our side. That powerful Neptune warns about blind faith, illusion and drifting into la-la land. This much Sagittarius warns about too much of anything. Yes, even those delicious toffee almond milk hot chocolates.

Today's Jupiter/Sun conjunction - that "luckiest day of the year" thing (according to astrologer Susan Miller and others) is a time for optimism and enthusiasm.

The caveat here, is, we also have Mercury (ideas, information, our thinking, communication, sibling issues, transportation) in big-picture Sagittarius - the space of the skies Jupiter and the Sun are meeting up - squaring Mars (our action, initiative, anger) - in that space of the skies Neptune is so strong right now.

And Mercury is retrograde and walking degrees he/she is going to be walking again in December. So, things are still in influx. Our attention could be scattered and we want our attention on that Sun/Jupiter - enthusiasm/optimism - something bold and new. But Mercury is reminding us of something old that needs re-looking, re-viewing, re-working first.

These squares to Mars are tension/frustration, yes, but they also bring us into contact with divine intervention now!

It's not the time to push - especially our ideas/beliefs on other people! With Mars in Neptune we have to go with the flow. We have to have faith and trust that things are falling together even if it looks like they are falling apart.

God/the Universe is moving mountains to get things to line up for all of us. There is divine timing here. Stuff is being shuffled around behind the scenes. She/he has got this thing. Relax. Take a breath.

It's time to read the writing on the wall (and the contract). Pay attention to what grabs your attention and think about what you are thinking about.

MONDAY and TUESDAY are very Mercurial days.

So we will be busy. There will be lots of information coming in. We might be letting go of things - good time to clean things out and you will likely have the urge for greater organization. It's a good time for commerce, for conversations, for writing, for caring for pets, for dealing with work and co-workers. We may be dealing with general Sag themes (or the theme of our natal Sag house could be crazy-active) - legal issues, foreign issues, a foreign person, travel, higher education, media, marketing, wedding, religion, our big-picture beliefs, taking something to a higher level/to the next step. With Pisces all lit up since the weekend issues around healing, addiction, water, wet weather, our imagination, art, hospitals, spirit, stuff from the past, things done behind our back or behind the scenes, secrets, our sabotaging habits, endings - could be in play. The Moon is in home and family oriented Cancer so toss a home/family/home business/real estate situation into the mix.

There is the potential for alot to be going on!

Tuesday is the better day for dealing with authority/a power play situation. With that beautiful sextile between Mars and Saturn - something very opportunistic and long-lasting can get firmed up then. Just keep in mind there are bigger hands on the wheel now AND you still need your feet on the gas.

We'll talk about this tomorrow. I have to go and make the donuts.

For today, for this week, keep your eyes and ears open. TRUST that you are on the right path and you will know what to do when the time is right. No pushing.

Don't be an idiot and stand in front of a moving train, praying for the train to stop.

Follow your intuition. This is how we get lucky now. That is your official play book.

"Hmm, I am thirsty and there is a coffee shop", she thinks to herself as she steps off the tracks, that were so overgrown with weeds she hadn't noticed them - and although she is oblivious, since she is in the Starbucks line ordering a delicious toffee almond milk hot chocolate - the train rumbles past her, leaving her head securely attached to her neck, her arms and legs in their proper places.

Unlike that missionary fellow, who although well-meaning, headed into indigenous tribal territory to "push" his beliefs on other people. The story doesn't end so well for him. Or them probably. Since they pushed back.

Don't push. Trust life. Venus is heading toward her final opposition with Uranus, so there are unexpected events coming. There is magic afoot people. Stay optimistic ... but not stupid.

xo all

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!