making something REAL | Pinocchio aspects, stay in your magic baby

New dress by Natalia Ciobanu

Today (and tomorrow) our waxing Pisces Moon provides the fertile soil our New Moon last weekend was lacking.

Over the next two days she will sextile (opportunity) communicative Mercury then stable Saturn, square (creative tension) expansive Jupiter, conjunct (immerse herself with and in Pisces, she is answering to Neptune) dreamy, imaginative Neptune and finally sextile (opportunity) Pluto and the Sun - both in "make it real" Capricorn.

In older times magicians would be gathering their spell-books, healers their herbs and priests their flocks. All would be taking their words and actions seriously. All would be wanting their words and actions to be congruent. We will be as successful as we allow ourselves to be.

We have outer planet aspects on Friday and this weekend that connect to our story in the spring - so whatever we are doing now - deciding, eliminating - in the spring we will be either celebrating our actions/in-actions or kicking ourselves for them.

So, let's use this time intentionally!

We have had Venus back and forth through Scorpio for weeks and weeks - we know what we want!

(and if you think you don't, maybe ask yourself if you might already have it or if you are too burned out to feel it and then you need to give yourself a break!)

We want our words and actions to be crafting/casting for positive change. 

The Sun meets Pluto tomorrow, so it's not the time to be holding on to something that is dead/dying.

A new cycle is being birthed from the ashes.

1. Clear a space - honestly we could spend this entire two day period cleaning our house and it would be time well-spent; setting up a clean slate, giving ourselves the gift of tidiness, showing appreciation/love for our physical space. Intending for much to flourish here over time.

2. Keep a personal focus - we don't want to be focusing/thinking about/taking action on spaces that are not our spaces. Unless we have direct responsibility for someone else - they are our young child or we have their legal power of attorney - using this energy to influence/manipulate someone else (this is called black magic, folks) is not a good idea. We all have free will and it can't be interfered with.

Think about what you are thinking about. Think about the actions you are taking.

Do you own this?

If you knew the stuff you are to do/say/think over the next couple days matter more than they look like they do - how would you spend your time/resources/attention?

3. Take some kind of action - spellcasting (intentionally intending) has to connect to the real world or it just stays in the ethereal realms - which isn't a bad thing, but is maybe not what we are hoping for. Things have to line up - our word/thoughts with our actual deeds - for things to function. We are a few days past the New Moon now - the Moon is waxing (growing) - it's action time.

For Pinocchio to become a real boy, he needed to prove himself to be "brave, truthful and unselfish", but first Geppetto had to actually carve him from a piece of wood.

It doesn't have to be a big thing. But it might be.

Doors are opening. Mountains are moving. Your muses/angels are standing by. Stay sober and present. Don't toss this energy away with alcohol or Netflix marathons. Connect with other people. Promote yourself. Send that email.

If you find yourself drifting into something unintentionally now, pull yourself back to yourself.

Clean the bathroom.


xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of January 7th - in the eclipse spin cycle, being rebooted and uprooted, breakthroughs, death and rebirth, keeping our word, walking our talk, saying no to something so we can focus somewhere else, increased potential, all in or all out, the final answer, purging, obstacles create change, get some extra sleep and take your vitamins

Persephone by fae-photography

Mercury is meeting Saturn this week and the Sun is meeting Pluto - keeping our word/walking our talk is VITAL. The congruence of our language and our action, doing what we say, is about more than reliability. It gives the other person, and our entire collective, a sense of their own substance.

Our congruence places ground beneath the feet of other people.

The following are the major aspects I see for the week and keep in mind we are in between eclipses now, so stay flexible, rested and hydrated - anything can happen!

We are being rebooted and uprooted, folks!

SUNDAY - Uranus stations direct at 28 degrees Aries
MONDAY - Venus enters Sagittarius
TUESDAY - Mercury (in Capricorn) squares Mars (in Aries)
FRIDAY - Sun conjuncts Pluto at 20 degrees Capricorn
SUNDAY - Mercury conjuncts Saturn, Jupiter squares Neptune and the Sun squares Eris

With Uranus now direct in Aries - all the major planets are direct. We don't get this often and it only lasts for a few weeks, so take advantage by moving ahead with your projects and plans.

Uranus has only a few more weeks in Aries (remember he went into Taurus in mid-May, then stationed retrograde and returned to Aries in early November) before he will be back in Taurus for several years. He won't be back in Aries in our lifetimes, so whatever still needs to be shaken and stirred in that Aries house - well, expect the unexpected, because it will be!

If you didn't feel a kind of "all systems go" on New Year's Eve when Mars came home to Aries - Uranus's direct station could do the trick.

On MONDAY the Moon moves into airy Aquarius (answering to that newly direct Uranus) - finally some air! - and she moves on to sextile (opportunity) Mars (action, initiative), giving our ideas some fire/passion. Opportunities/our attention could be focused on our groups and friendships and the goals that bring us into connection with other people.

Venus FINALLY leaves intense Scorpio and moves into Sagittarius for the next few weeks.

Sagittarius Suns and Ascendants (1st house cusps) get more attractive now - both able to attract what they want and need and easier on the eye.

All of us get a visit from Venus in our Sagittarius houses  - what house holds Sagittarius in your natal chart - that house gets more attractive/magnetic - what houses does Venus rule? those houses get more expansive and optimistic.

Sagittarius is the sign of the archer. If we were archers - we would gather our energy. We would pull back our bow. We would take aim (and we would aim a little high because, well, first of all, gravity, but also because Jupiter, who rules Sagittarius, is known to inflate things - we might need to overshoot our goal to actually hit it). We would hold our bow "in tension".

This holding position is important to landing our arrow where we intend it to go.

(of course, if we are in some kind of life and death battle with that arrow then I guess we just let it fly and hope for the best, but most situations we are facing are not quite so dire)

The same way an archer's "in tension" allows her arrow to hit her mark, our own "intentions" release our energy where we need it to go.

Intentions are not wishes; they are not hopes. Wanting to do something is 180 degrees from intending to do it.

Intention releases the potential the thought/idea/situation is carrying.

(In this time of winter and long season of Saturn it will pay to keep in mind the wise expression - "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" - the end doesn't justify the means. It never has, but it especially will not for the next couple years. The means will give us the end. What we do to others we do to ourselves and to our own now. And yes, with the South Node in Capricorn we could be paying for the sins - missed arrows - of our fathers/ancestors/past lives. We always have been, but now the chickens are coming home to roost. At the same time we are shedding the limits/boundaries set for us within those same Capricornian constructs. That is the reward for doing the work and over the course of this year and the next few years we will see just how great the rewards can be.)

So, we have Venus (love, women, beauty, what we value, our self esteem, money) moving into the sign of "potential".

Experience is more valuable than stuff with Sagittarius.

Money (Venus) spent on travel will be well spent. Money (Venus) spent on other Sagittarius themes - higher education, legal issues, weddings, politics - will probably pay off, too, in the experiences we get back.

The search we began when Venus dove into Scorpio continues. But now instead of looking at the stuff that is underneath, the messy underpinnings none of us really want to deal with, she looks way out into the horizon at the stuff we might one day line up with.

Sagittarius is the sign of faith. Do we have faith that better days are ahead for us? We have the GIFT of Jupiter in Sagittarius this year. By the end of the year Jupiter will be in Capricorn, too. So, let's keep this gift in mind as we move through 2019!

This is the season of faith and potential for all Venus ruled themes - love, money, women, beauty, self-esteem, our values. How are we going to use this energy? Remember the archer.

The archer stays focused and holds herself "in tension" through all the noise. We have our bow drawn and we are focused on the target, but suddenly the cat jumps in our lap, the phone rings, the guy next door starts blasting Imagine Dragons and we have to stop and listen to that.

(and sometimes this noise can last a while and sometimes life sends us noise to test our intentions and see how badly we want something or sometimes the noise could be there to delay us because there is something better for us later or maybe we are shooting at someone else's target!)

Because once that arrow is released, it is released. There is no grabbing it midair and straightening that baby out.

(unless you have some super power that I would be totally jealous to find out about)

Venus will be in Sagittarius until February 3rd. Don't do anything too crazy - it's winter. Your ancestors froze to death if they weren't careful. But take some kind of "act of faith" toward your dreams this month. The end of the month (20th-25th) in particular - when we have Mars trine Jupiter and Saturn sextile Neptune looks especially good for bold moves!

On TUESDAY, Mercury is going to square Mars - this could indicate an argument, maybe challenging news that creates stress/tension, this could be an issue with authority. This is conflict. Mar's squares can create the "push" we need to get through a problem/blockage. At the end of the week when Mercury meets up with Saturn will be when we get the final, final with this. Either a rock-solid commitment/contract or on the disappointing side a final "no". Whatever it is - it's serious/heavy. The rules are laid out. Reality is unavoidable. If you commit to something now - verbally, written, etc - know you will be held accountable for it.

This square is from the Aries/Capricorn spaces - new actions/youthful energies vs the old established rules/authority creates the challenge. There is tension. This can all be happening within us - maybe we want to do something new and we are stuck working with/finishing the old now or working within limits/rules we are weary of.

With Saturn in Capricorn on his journey to meet Pluto and with the South Node in Capricorn, too - "accountability" is everyone's word of the year.

As Saturn speaks to/through us via Mercury this week, as the divine masculine rises, as we are all handed back the stuff (responsibility for creating our own lives) that, through our patriarchal paradigm, Saturn has carried for us - THANK YOU SATURN - we are ready (ready or not) to take back the controls. This is about using our wisdom. The life we are creating now, the life we will be living in a few months, in a few years will be all on us. Does this thrill or terrify us? Did you just scream "BOTH!", smart reader?! Yes, I will second that one! Ack!

On WEDNESDAY the Moon goes void at 11:53AM EST until 2:44PM EST when she moves into healing, imaginative Pisces focusing us on Piscean themes for the next couple days - what is hidden or put away or done behind the scenes, secrets, ancestors, the ethereal realms, imagination, hospitals, spirituality, healing, art, music, movies, addiction, escape.

On FRIDAY, the Sun meets Pluto at 20 degrees Capricorn. This is pretty huge and was building at the time of the New Moon Solar Eclipse last weekend. This is also only two degrees from the big January 2020 stellium in Capricorn. Shadows (Pluto) are illuminated (the Sun) - manipulations, power plays, gas-lighting, obsession, transformation, death and rebirth, abuse of power, narcissism, shame, blame, bullying, trauma. With the South Node in Capricorn - we aren't going to be able to blow this stuff off (or get away with it) anymore. Life is calling bullshit on our bullshit.

Pay attention to who/what is trying to dominate you and what/who you are trying to dominate. What is really going on?

The stuff underneath (Pluto) of whatever situation we are dealing with is brought into the light (the Sun). The truth (Pluto) is revealed (the Sun).

This is an excellent time for purging and deep cleaning! Excellent for beginning a therapy program.

This transit can also draw attention to the fact we are running on empty. Being ‘positive’ can be a recipe for disaster in the winter. We can't ask for the help we need and half our soul gets cut away in the name of what’s best for us. When the Sun meets Pluto the part that's been cut away comes into the light. Maybe through an almost compulsive interaction with someone/some situation tearing us down. Ugh. Stuff can also be "resurrected" now. This is excellent energy to see our shadow instead of casting it on other people. Plus with perfect universal timing Pluto starts a new solar cycle.

The Moon is void all day, so nothing to chew on but this Sun/Pluto.

We wake SATURDAY morning with the Moon in fiery Aries. She plays well today with both Venus and Mars - so the day should be active/passionate/productive.

On SUNDAY we have Mercury meeting Saturn - here's the final, final we talked about earlier.

The answer. The deadline. The "no" - we either hear it or say it. The time to sign on the dotted line. The commitment. Here is where we give our word and it is taken seriously. We could be speaking with authority or speaking as an authority. And although this is exact on Sunday it is building all week and unwinding for a couple days after.

Be careful with your language now. When Mercury aspects Saturn our spoken/written words, and maybe most especially the things we tell ourselves about what is possible, create iron-clad contracts. Only make promises you know you can keep now because you will be held accountable. If you say you are going to do something, you are actually going to have to do it or it is going to come back and bite you in the ass. Talk like a grown-up. Text with punctuation. Yes, I am serious. Seriously, serious. Talk less, say more now.

This is where we have to say no to something, so we can focus - devote out time/energy/resources - somewhere else.

Between this one and the Sun/Pluto yesterday we are all in or all out now, folks. 

This is also the day Jupiter and Neptune make their first of three squares of 2019.

Both planets are strong in their home signs. Both are expansive - Neptune through connection, blending together and the dissolving of boundaries between us and other people and between us and what we are wanting and Jupiter through optimism, growth and the kind of "luck" that comes by thinking we are lucky!

Take note of what this aspect brings - this will be between our Sagittarius house and our Pisces house - because it is a three-peat. These major players will square again on June 16th and September 21st, so something now could connect later to those dates. This is going to be a big story.

If we have been too trusting/overly optimistic someone could let us down or we could let ourselves down. This is not the time to bet the house on that "sure-thing" crypto your brother-in-law told you about.

The energy is kind of drifting so it will be easy to lose things, drift into something we didn't intend to drift into, feel confused, catch a cold or catch another cold. The Mercury/Saturn should help though. Great energy for spirituality, healing work, art, music, imagination. You can grow (Jupiter) the dream (Pisces).

Jupiter/Neptune and Mercury/Saturn is excellent manifestation energy - for making thoughts into things. We'll talk about this later in the week and we'll talk about 2019.

xo all

Remember the North Node is in Cancer - take care of yourself!

New Moon Solar Eclipse in Capricorn | January 5th, 2019 - clues about the year ahead, the space we need to get our act together, getting down to business, accepting the changes of a new season, letting go, starting with the end in mine, a year we need to take seriously

At 8:27PM EST on Saturday, January 5th, the Capricorn Moon meets the Capricorn Sun at 15 degrees giving us our annual New Moon in Capricorn and because of its proximity to the North/South Nodes - this year's Cappy New Moon is also a partial Solar Eclipse giving it extra oomph and staying power.

You can see in this New Moon chart - the Sun and Moon sandwiched almost exactly between Saturn (11 degrees) and Pluto (20 degrees) and right in the middle of serious Capricorn.

For our challenged Sun and Moon this looks like about as much fun as going to the dentist. Without novocaine. And just when you are finished and thinking to yourself "well, maybe that wasn't so bad",  the dentist hits you in the face with a hammer. And then steals your wallet.

Hmmm.

Keep in mind the Capricorn New Moon is always challenging because, well it's CAPRICORN. We are planting seeds in a frozen ground, so we know we are going to have to work hard to keep them alive. 

We don't just get to pop them in the ground and GO. 

This year is especially challenging. The Sun and Moon are wedged between two powerful and challenging energies. One that wants to toughen them up with trials and tribulations and one that wants to ... well, kill them. The seeds will need bootstraps to pull themselves up. And their bootstraps will need bootstraps, too.

OK, so we know this going in. Whatever is starting now, whatever we have going on for the next month - it is going to take work. Don't kid yourself that it won't. And yes, I see that sextile to dreamy/easy-peasy Neptune and that Grand Water Trine between Venus, Neptune and the North Node. They will make this all bearable (and shows the manifesting potential available to us throughout 2019!) ... and emotional, but not really any less hard. And there are no air signs in this chart. We can't think our way through this.

A New Moon is a fresh start (in the dark) and an eclipse is a cosmic reset - something gets eclipsed out of our life or out of our way. Eclipse events are tricky to time, so if this is hitting your chart, the "eclipsing out" thing could have already happened or happen in almost exactly 30 days, or sometimes even later.

Saturn (authority, limits, structure, hard work, time) is making his way toward Pluto (death, transformation, rebirth) and because of his retrograde, they won't actually connect until January 2020 and by that time Jupiter - which expands everything - will be in Capricorn, too. Saturn hasn't met Pluto in Capricorn in 500 years!

This Saturday's New Moon is a kind of pre-cursor to that. A heads-up.

A last chance (we have six months until the Capricorn Full Moon) to get our acts together.

We really don't want to screw this up.

Don't clutter up your life with loose ends now. Take care of your physical body. This isn't work til we drop stuff - nothing in the universe supports us hurting ourselves ever. Don't take on too much, but don't take on too little either. Capricorn is all about hard work, ambition, common sense, perseverance, survival, efficiency, organization and responsibility. It can also be so dry and brittle that stuff can ... break.

Luckily we have a Grand Water Trine to keep things lubricated!

This is first chakra security stuff. Capricorn rules bones, skin and joints.

So, if you are not getting what you need from relationships or activities that you spend considerable amounts of time on, your body and mind (depression is here, too) will tell you now.

First center physical problems like fatigue, skin problems and joint pain that are ignored (ie we don't look at what we are getting back from what we are giving our energy and time to) lead to worse stuff like arthritis, allergies and autoimmune problems.

This is an excellent time to create new routines for physical stuff.

This year, and especially the next six months are very important, because the summer will be especially gnarly and probably leave us hanging on by our finger tips. Don't bite your nails. You might need them in June and July for extra grippiness.

We want to be thinking/acting/talking/walking responsibly. The structure/stability of our lives is shifting (this is what the end of patriarchy feels like folks). The institutions we thought were strong will be shown to be weak. We won't be able to count on the people/things we have been counting on because they will be shifting/barely hanging on, too. We are going to have to pull ourselves out of that well, so let's not go peering over the side, or dancing on the rim and fall into the well in the first place, OK?

Let's look at this Moon by sign. The Aries post is longest (not because I run out of words as I go along ... really ... really) because it APPLIES TO ALL OF US since Aries rules our collective 1st house.

Check your Sun sign and especially your rising sign and maybe the signs around them if nothing seems quite right or email me/leave a comment to know what house holds 15 degrees Capricorn in your natal chart. For example, my hubby is a Virgo rising, but 15 degrees Capricorn is his 4th house not his 5th house, so he would need to read Libra rising - something like this could apply to you if the info sounds off.

This area/theme of your life has been rocking with activity for awhile so it shouldn't be hard to find!

ARIES/ Aries Rising - this New Moon Solar Eclipse is happening in your 10th house of your career, your calling, your achievements, your goals, dad, business, authority, responsibility, your reputation, your calling. This is your shifting sand. Situations that put you at the mercy of a boss/authority/power structure are designed (over the next 6 months and year) to put you in touch with your power. Misuse of power on your part could result in a fall from grace (over the next 6 months and year). NOW is the perfect time to start a job search, get a promotion/pink slip/new job, start a business. Maybe your boss leaves or your company hierarchy shifts. Maybe a major client comes or goes. Whatever is happening, with Saturn and Pluto book-ending the Moon things won't be without challenges. This New Moon is squaring your house creating tension/stress/crisis around authority/control. Now is the time to redefine your career/ambitions/goals. If you are struggling with something that has outlived its usefulness here - start letting it go or 2020 will see it crashing in a big way. If you have been loafing you will pay for it. By January 2020 you will either have stepped into your authority or authority will have stepped on you. Take this part of your life seriously in 2019. This weekend's Neptune kick-off sextile (opportunity) is coming from your 12th house of what is hidden or put away or done behind the scenes, secrets, the ethereal realms, imagination, dreams, hospitals, spirituality, addiction, healing. How can you use something here? Uranus is in your sign for just a few more weeks Aries demanding you prioritize your freedom and release anything/anyone that won't allow you to be yourself. When Uranus turns direct on Sunday you will have a few more weeks to make any final adjustments as you bravely reinvent yourself - what else needs to be done? AND you have Mars (your ruler!) in your sign. Get on it.

The best use of Saturn's journey toward Pluto for you is to redefine your career/calling. Let what is dying go. Holding on will just pull you down with it! Work hard. Be ethical. Don't cut corners.

TAURUS/ Taurus Rising - this New Moon Solar Eclipse is happening in your 9th house of your beliefs, travel, higher education, weddings, politics, legal issues, the media, truth vs false prophets, publishing, foreigners, everything outside your comfort zone, exploration, religion, your grandchildren and higher thinking. This is your shifting sand. This is the perfect time to start something in one of these areas - travel, study, change of beliefs. This New Moon is trining your house so changes should be more stabilizing than for some other signs. But whatever is happening with Saturn and Pluto book-ending the Moon things won't be without challenges. Take this part of your life seriously in 2019. This weekend's Neptune kick-off sextile (opportunity) is coming from 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. How can you use something here? You have a few more weeks before Uranus is back in your sign Taurus (what has changed in your life since last May?) - if changes need to be made, make them yourself now, so there is less for him to steamroll.

The best use of Saturn's 2019 journey toward Pluto for you is to push your boundaries/expand your beliefs about what is possible via education, travel, publishing, legal situations, contact with people and experiences outside your comfort zone. Let dying beliefs go or they will pull you down with them. 

GEMINI/Gemini Rising - this New Moon is happening in your 8th house of other people's resources, other people's values, intimacy, other people's money, spouse's income, loans, debts, taxes, inheritance, death, rebirth, sex, reproduction. This is your shifting sand. This is a challenging house because it rules all the stuff no one wants to talk about. You could take on a large debt now or pay one off. You might be dealing with a tax issue or inheritance issue or changes to your spouse's income. Intimacy/sex/financial/life and death issues are highlighted. Purge, Purge, Purge Gemini! Whatever is happening with Saturn and Pluto book-ending the Moon things won't be without challenges. Take this part of your life seriously in 2019. This weekend's Neptune kick-off sextile (opportunity) is coming from your 10th house of career your calling, your achievements, your goals, dad, business, authority, responsibility, your reputation, your calling. How can you use this?

The best use of Saturn's 2019 journey toward Pluto for you is to release financial, intimacy and sexual baggage. Pay down debts. If you are cheating on your spouse/sleeping around you will get caught. Situations will arise to encourage greater intimacy within your relationships - take advantage. Let emotional trauma go (good year for counseling or astrology studies) or it will pull you down with it. Don't be afraid to look at the stuff you don't normally want to look at - look under the bed, check your financial statements, set boundaries around intimacy/money.

CANCER/Cancer Rising - this New Moon is happening in your 7th house of partners and partnerships. The way you deal with/experience other people in close relationships (business and personal) is your shifting sand. The New Moon is opposing you so could trigger a culmination/ending. The power structure of your relationship could change or your responsibilities to someone else could increase. Whatever is happening with Saturn and Pluto book-ending the Moon things won't be without challenges. Take this part of your life seriously in 2019. This weekend's Neptune kick-off sextile (opportunity) is coming from your 9th house of your beliefs, travel, higher education, weddings, politics, legal issues, the media, publishing, foreigners, everything outside your comfort zone, exploration, religion, your grandchildren and higher thinking. Something here could be helpful now.

The best use of Saturn's 2019 journey toward Pluto for you is the complete transformation of your relationships (owning what you are projecting on other people, releasing what they are projecting on you) with a goal toward greater balance and power sharing. Let go of "blame games", compulsions/jealousy/manipulations, anything you are "putting up with" or it will drag you down with it. You will see yourself and your own issues through partnerships. Be a grown up. Expect other people to act in grown-up, mature ways also.

LEO/Leo Rising  - this New Moon is happening in your 6th house of your day-to-day activities, your routine, work, co-workers, pets and your health. This is your shifting sand. These are the areas you need to put on your big girl pants and do the right thing. Everyday. This is an excellent New Moon to start a new diet/exercise program. Get organized. This stuff will be biting you in the ass all year and by January 2020 you will be looking at a serious problem here if you don't get this stuff under control. The energies are on your side if you start now. Then stick with it. Whatever is happening with Saturn and Pluto book-ending the Moon things won't be without challenges. Take this part of your life seriously in 2019. This weekend's Neptune kick-off sextile (opportunity) is coming from your 8th house of other people's resources, other people's values, intimacy, other people's money, spouse's income, loans, debts, taxes, inheritance, death, rebirth, sex, reproduction. Something here will be helpful now.

The best use of Saturn's 2019 journey toward Pluto for you is the complete restructuring of your daily activities with a focus on responsible, nurturing action. Get on a schedule. Eat healthy foods. Move your body. Keep your paperwork organized. Take care of your pets. Be responsible with your work and daily obligations. Let go of bad habits and laziness or this stuff will take you down (loss of job, loss of health, etc) as we move through 2019 and in an especially big way when Saturn meets Pluto in January 2020.

VIRGO/Virgo Rising - this New Moon is happening in your 5th house of creative projects, your self-expression, what you give birth to, children, romance and recreation. This is your shifting sand. This is an excellent New Moon for a fresh start in one of these areas. Keep in mind you will need to commit serious energy, time, effort to get the most from what you are growing here over the next 6 months to 1 year. Whatever is happening with Saturn and Pluto book-ending the Moon things won't be without challenges, but the Moon is trining you, so helping to stabilize/support whatever is happening. Take this part of your life seriously in 2019. This weekend's Neptune kick-off sextile (opportunity) is coming from your 7th house of partners/partnerships. There is help to be found here now.

The best use of Saturn's 2019 journey toward Pluto for you is moving toward your heart's desire - what you want to create, a better relationship with your child(ren), a romance, more fun in your life. Let go of trying to control how this is all supposed to look. Let go of whatever is standing in the way of you creating your heart's desire. Let go of trying to control your child or a creative project or love in an unhealthy way or this will blow up in your face in a very serious way by January 2020.

LIBRA/Libra Rising - this New Moon is happening in your 4th house of home, family, your roots, mother, mothering, your ancestry, real estate or a home business. This is your shifting sand. You could move into a new home, start a new home business, renovate, be dealing with heavy foundational issues or mother issues/responsibilities. Whatever this is, it will require your commitment. The New Moon is squaring you so you will be dealing with power/authority tension, stress or an actual crisis. Whatever is happening with Saturn and Pluto book-ending the Moon things won't be without challenges. Take this part of your life seriously in 2019. This weekend's Neptune kick-off sextile (opportunity) is coming from your 6th house of day-to-day activities, your routine, work, co-workers, pets and your health. Something here can help now.

The best use of Saturn's 2019 journey toward Pluto for you is the complete transformation of your foundation - a new home (built to last and what you can afford), family situation, home business, root re-structure, relationship with your mother/matriarchal inheritance, relationship as a mother. Let go of whatever is standing in the way of this including your own inability to change/bloated dreams that you can't let go of - because they will take you down with them.

SCORPIO/Scorpio Rising - this New Moon is happening in your 3rd house of communication, information, writing, siblings, transportation or your local neighborhood. This is your shifting sand. This could be about turning a thought into a thing, stepping into your authority via the written or spoken word, an emerging sibling or neighborhood situation. Walk your talk. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Big changes could come in 2019 in the life of your sibling. Find outlets over the next year to prevent stagnant thinking and depression. This New Moon is sextiling you so pay attention to messages, ideas, information that come in now for breakthroughs. Whatever is happening with Saturn and Pluto book-ending the Moon things won't be without challenges. Take this part of your life seriously in 2019. This weekend's Neptune kick-off sextile (opportunity) is coming from your 5th house of creative projects, your self-expression, what you give birth to, children, romance and recreation. Something here can help now.

The best use of Saturn's 2019 journey toward Pluto for you is to turn high level thoughts into high level things. Your voice gets heard and your ideas noticed because you have worked hard and put in the time and effort. Let go of ideas that are no longer working. Lifeless ideas/thoughts/beliefs will pull you down. Avoid gossip. Avoid lies. Avoid chatter if you want your words to matter to other people. Write.

SAGITTARIUS/Sagittarius Rising - this New Moon is happening in your 2nd house of your money, your values, your resources and self-esteem. This is the "she works hard for her money" Moon for you Sag! New sources of income will spring from dried up wells, but you will have to work to unearth them. This is not the month/year to take your resources/income for granted. Multiple income streams are a definite possibility. Grab opportunities as they come along. Whatever is happening with Saturn and Pluto book-ending the Moon things won't be without challenges. Take this part of your life seriously in 2019. This weekend's Neptune kick-off sextile (opportunity) is coming from your 4th house of home, family, your roots, mother, mothering, your ancestry, real estate or a home business. Something here can help you now.

The best use of Saturn's 2019 journey toward Pluto for you is to maximize your self-esteem, solidify your values, increase your income and shore-up your security. Situations that challenge your bottom line and self-worth will come up. You will need to be strong and centered and wearing big girl pants. Let go of dried-up revenue sources, your fears around money and resources, fears around growing old, release the stuff you think you need but the energy expended holding on to them outweighs the benefits, don't overspend, don't undervaluing yourself. Or else when the chickens come home to roost in January 2020 you will be living in the chicken coop with them.

CAPRICORN/Capricorn Rising - this New Moon (and next two years really!) is all about you, my dear friend! You may be asked to take on a new responsibility or commitment now. The boundaries that have kept you limited are crumbling Cappy. This eclipse (and other eclipses this year on the Capricorn/Cancer axis) are determined to shake you and wake you; powerful cardinal sign of winter. Your reality is being totally re-defined and the world is re-structured because of it. The dead wood needs to go. The past is gone. Now. Whatever is happening with Saturn and Pluto book-ending the Moon things won't be without challenges. Take yourself seriously in 2019. This is your job and we need you to do it Capricorn. Much is on your shoulders and I know they are tired and ache because so much has always been placed there (thank you!). This weekend's Neptune kick-off sextile (opportunity) is coming from your 3rd house of communication, information, writing, siblings, transportation or your local neighborhood. Something here can help now.

The best use of Saturn's 2019 journey toward Pluto for you is transforming yourself into a compassionate/not afraid to be vulnerable authority. Let go of worn out structures, rules around what you should be and do, self-imposed limits, playing small or weak, FEAR.

AQUARIUS/Aquarius Rising - this New Moon is happening behind the scenes for you in your 12th house of what is hidden or put away or done behind the scenes, secrets, ancestors, the ethereal realms, imagination, hospitals, spirituality, addiction, healing. The New Moon's beginning comes from an ending. Fantasy ends, reality begins. The boogeyman comes out of the closet- what are you going to do now? Self-sabotage yourself ... again OR wield your incredible hidden sources of strength and power Aquarius aka Wonder Woman! Whatever is happening in your life with Saturn and Pluto book-ending the Moon situations won't be without challenges. Take your dreams, your health, whatever is finishing, your imagination, secrets, your ancestors, self-sabotaging crap seriously in 2019. This weekend's Neptune kick-off sextile (opportunity) is coming from your 2nd house of money, your values, your resources and self-esteem. Ka-ching Aquarius!

The best use of Saturn's 2019 journey toward Pluto for you is turning your dream into a solid reality that nothing can shake. Let go of self-sabotaging beliefs/behaviors, the dead stuff you are carrying around, your fears of the man behind the curtain. WAKE UP. Don't fall back to sleep or into a delusion/addiction/escape - the world is counting on you Aquarius to lead the way in just a couple years. We need you.

PISCES/Pisces Rising - this New Moon is happening in your 11th house of of the collective - your friendships, groups, causes, the internet, the public, the goals that bring you into relationship with other people, your advancement, technology. A new friendship, group association, public situation could kick off now just as other friendships, causes and goals that have brought you into contact with other people will end. This Moon is sextiling you, so could be more gentle than for some others. This weekend's Neptune kick-off sextile (opportunity) is coming from your 1st house of yourself Pisces, so what do you want to make of this Moon? Mars is in your money house for the first time in 2 years - what can you do with that?

The best use of Saturn's 2019 journey toward Pluto for you is new, enriching friendships that power up the big goals that bring you into connection with other people. Let go of the spaces you feel like an outside or are feeling "judged", unsupportive friendships and associations or they will bring you down as they crumble when Saturn meets Pluto in 2020.

NEW MOON INTENTIONS

Get grounded - we're in an earth sign now, so this should be easier. Hug a tree. Plant your bare feet on the ground. I know it's cold. That's probably a good thing. Mindfully think about what you are doing while you are doing it. Use a clear, clean space. Always make your affirmations from a positive place (positive meaning certain and positive meaning cheerful) - yes, smile while you are writing them. If you can't smile, take a break and write them later. If you still can't smile, forget the cheerful - this is Capricorn after all, cheerful is probably not that important - and just go for the more powerful kind of positive meaning "certain". Write your affirmations down by hand in script. We want the letters all connected and flowing together and made by you. Speak them out loud.

Do what you are inclined to with the paper. Release your attention from these thoughts knowing that your intention is known.

Know these things are already yours.

xo all

I hope something here is helpful, and keep in mind you do not want my words/intuition to countermand your own. Use your own judgment/instinct with everything this year.

Uranus stations direct tomorrow and Venus finally leaves Scorpio on Monday (this will really help!). We are in the eclipse spin cycle now - in between eclipses (the next Eclipse is in two weeks) - fast change is coming!

Post on 2019 coming, too!

Sun conjunct Saturn | a limit is reached, report card time, recognition for hard work, commit or quit, stepping into our authority/responsibility, the chickens come home to roost, the pilings go in, finding that box of Ronzoni

let it snow by Natalia Ciobanu

Today the illuminating Sun meets sober Saturn at 11 degrees Capricorn.

If the New Year has us partying like it's 2019, the party is over.

Once a year these big guys meet up and we get to see clearly what is really happening in our world and in the collective. Report cards are handed out now. A light (the Sun) is shown on reality (Saturn). We sober up. Happening this year in our Capricorn house, might make this annual wake-up call a little less startling since it is an area of life we are most likely already quite serious. What house does Capricorn rule in your natal chart? What is the theme of that house?

(we are going to talk about this by sign in the Solar Eclipse New Moon forecast coming within the next couple days!)

A limit (Saturn) is illuminated (Sun). A responsibility is illuminated. Consequences from our previous actions are illuminated (good or challenging). Chickens come home to roost. We put a ring on it. We get the raise, the account, the promotion, the pink slip. If we aren't serious about something, or haven't taken something seriously enough, it can end now. Commit or quit.

It might sound harsh and somewhat stifling ... and it can be, but there is lots of good that comes with this annual transit (says the girl with this active natally, so trust me on this one) and it will be in play during this weekend's New Moon Solar Eclipse, so in effect longer than it is in transit.

The good news - this is the perfect pivot point. Limits and boundaries create focus. Structure creates structure.

(Imagine you are in someone else's kitchen and they ask you to cook dinner - it would be totally overwhelming, right? You open their fridge and there are all kinds of foods in there and what are you going to do? How the hell do you know what is in all these plastic bowls and what do their kids eat anyway? Now imagine instead of them asking you to cook dinner, they ask you to cook the pasta. Now you have been given a structure. This is life with Saturn. It's limiting. You can't whip up your signature meatloaf. But the limit creates a focus. You know your next move and it's a real, solid thing. You can still get creative with the sauce, but you first need to find that box of Ronzoni.)

The Sun/Saturn conjunction kicks off a new chapter for Saturn (as us). Saturn starts over. Yes, we start at the bottom, but that's how we know the groundwork is done properly. That's how we know the things we are giving legs to, will actually support us. Saturn rules time and patience and the stuff like Rome that isn't built in a day.

Just take the next step. This Capricorn house of ours is set to be uber important over the next couple years - it's why I have been getting us ready, for years, with weather warnings (winter was coming). It's time to work. It's time to settle up our accounts. And I know you have that box of Ronzoni in there somewhere.

We have Mars in Aries supporting our courage and action. The Moon is in Sagittarius since last night and her only aspect today is a trine to Mars (brakes off, although yes, Saturn is applying the brakes - so there could be a push/pull with something or a hurry up and wait). The Sagittarius Moon supports our big beliefs and broader ambitions.

We really couldn't ask for a better, more solid way to start this particular year.

xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of January 28th - information comes to light, we all think we're "right", the dream works if we do part 1, hotheads, ambition, challenges to authority, changes to what we want/need, valuing our freedom even when it hurts or makes us less secure, sh*t gets real, yes, even more real

Another HUGE week.

The major aspects in the week ahead are:

TUESDAY - Mercury conjuncts the Sun
THURSDAY - Saturn sextiles Neptune (1st of 3 in 2019)
FRIDAY - Mars and Eris square Pluto,
Venus conjuncts the Galactic Center
SATURDAY - Venus trines Uranus
SUNDAY - Venus squares Chiron, Venus enters Capricorn

The week gets more and more intense as we move along although that volatile/possibly violent Mars/Pluto is in play from around Wednesday on. Venus is very active this week so whatever we have going on with our Venusian themes - love, money, resources, women, self-esteem, values - is going to be a focus.

Look at that list and what Venus (as us) is doing this week - she moves across the Galactic Center (seat of creation, center of our Milky Way Galaxy) where she gets a new download (new information/new way of moving through the world) then she trines (brakes off/smooth energetic) unpredictable, liberating and forward-leaning Uranus (valuing freedom), squares (tension/obstacle) healing/hurting Chiron and finally moves into all-business Capricorn - where, yes, sh*t gets real.

This is within 72 hours!

To say Venus is a brand new girl would be putting it mildly.

Expect changes (long-lasting if we play our cards right) with what we love and value, what we think of as beautiful, the ways we attract money, the things we spend money on, our relationships, yada yada.

Keep in mind that trine to Uranus - sudden and unusual attractions or financial situations, surprises and bolts for freedom. Our Venusian super-power as we move through these transitional times is that NO ONE IS US (look at all the different women who have announced plans to run for President in 2020!).

Also keep in mind our brand new Venus is on a collision course (over the next couple weeks) with Saturn and Pluto. Relationships/money/what we want - it all takes work in Capricorn. Goals within relationships and with our money/resources are powerful. Now we commit or we get committed - ha! And this week's painful Venusian square to Chiron triggers something very old and very deep.

At the end of the week and over the next month this is more "growing up" stuff - figuring out the difference between what we want and need, setting healthy limits, putting on our big girl pants. If we are clingie and weak and passive and helpless and fearful with Venus in Capricorn (through March 1st) we are going to starve. It's winter - everyone is hoarding their last cans of beans and wanting to share the warm covers with someone who isn't whining about the cold and expecting other people to gather the kindling!

On MONDAY the Moon is in Scorpio (taxes, loans, investments, inheritances, intimacy, sex, life/death, reproductive issues, secrets) - we are in a closing cycle, so maybe are pushing to finish something. The Moon has productive aspects with Saturn, Neptune and Pluto today - good for purging/merging, digging deeply into the numbers or under the hood with something, getting intimate, dealing with authority/power issues. Get it done by 5:39PM EST when the Moon goes void, but continues to perform off that opportunistic sextile to Pluto.

On TUESDAY the Moon is void until 9:33AM EST when she moves into Sagittarius favoring a focus on our Sagittarius house themes or the general Sag themes of - travel, higher education, weddings, politics, legal issues, the media, publishing, foreigners, everything outside our comfort zone, exploration, our beliefs and higher thinking - for TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY & some of THURSDAY.

Mercury meets the Sun at 8 degrees Aquarius. Our thinking and our will combine. Maybe the conversation (Mercury) takes on a new life (Sun).

Information comes to light or brings things to a culmination (possibly something from late November).

(also note Mercury is walking the Sun's path from last week and still aspecting the Nodes of Fate, so pay attention to what you hear now, the people you meet, what comes to light - things could be important later)

In Aquarius and answering to Uranus and Saturn - there could be surprising/liberating information that stabilizes a situation (over time) or ends it.

This is good energy for clear communications - which is why it feels like "truth". We get it. They get it. This is a good time to make verbal affirmations - positive affirmations work really well for people who are born with Mercury/Sun conjunctions - and it is not that uncommon since the Sun and Mercury travel together. Our thoughts are more "self-centered" ie centered on ourselves.

Words will matter now for all of us. We are who we think we are. And happening in fixed air Aquarius, everybody thinks they are right.

EXAMPLE FOR CANCER/Cancer Rising (note house placements can be different depending on your exact chart Cancer) - this is happening in your 8th house of - other people's resources, other people's values, intimacy, other people's money, spouse's income, loans, debts, taxes, inheritance, sex, reproduction, so maybe something here, via written information/a difficult conversation/maybe through a sibling issue or local community issue or even a transportation issue "comes to light" now.

On THURSDAY we have the first of three powerful Saturn/Neptune sextiles in 2019 - this one at 14 degrees (Capricorn/Pisces). The next one is on June 18th at 18 degrees with Saturn retrograde and the final sextile will be on November 18th at 16 degrees with Neptune retrograde. THIS is the one with both planets direct. If you have planets or points in your natal chart between 13-19 degrees of Capricorn or Pisces (or Cancer/Virgo) - you will feel this opportunistic energy strongest this year.

This is where our dreams and reality meet. Hard work makes our dreams come true.

This is also a time of rewards for past work. This is excellent energy for creating a solid foundation around a creative/spiritual business or finding/building a dream home or home life. It is exact now, but really in play all year. Pisces rules the ethereal realms - your muses/angels are standing by to help you!

Remember Saturn is on a collision course with Pluto - MEANING THAT power structures that are not built on firm foundations will crumble - we already see this. We do not want to be manipulating/coercing/controlling/obsessing/back-stabbing when Pluto meets Saturn.

And we don't need to be anyway!

(And think about what things like "manipulating" mean because all the time we are unconsciously manipulating other people!)

Neptune (our imaginations/dreams/art/spirit/healing) is working WITH Saturn now - not like in 2016 and into 2017 when they were squaring each other! Instead of our dreams (Neptune) being trashed by reality (Saturn) or our foundations/goals (Saturn) drifting away (Neptune) something we've kind of gotten used to in the last couple years - now our dreams can be supported/grounded (sextile) in reality. Keep in mind Saturn stuff builds over time - so patience may be required here. And keep in mind Saturn/Neptune aspects often involve a sacrifice - we have to willingly give up this, to get that.

And after a few adjustments at the end of this week Venus will be in Capricorn and working with Saturn, too.

Rules are being re-written. Limits surpassed. Emperors shown to be without clothes (and this includes the spaces within ourselves that lay naked now, too). If we are working in any kind of snarky, corner-cutting, victim-playing or controlling way everything is going to bite us in the ass in the end.

We know what we want now. We know what really matters. Yes, Saturn demands we take responsibility for what we put out there and yes, this is all going to be work. Saturn is/will be a new man, but he's STILL SATURN.

EXAMPLE for Scorpio/Scorpio Rising (note house placements can be different depending on your exact chart Scorpio) - Saturn and Neptune are sextiling from your 3rd house of communication, information, writing, siblings, transportation or your local neighborhood and your 5th house of creative projects, your self-expression, what you give birth to, children, romance and recreation. What are you writing? What are you creating? What are you learning/teaching? What are you doing with children? Do you need to have more fun Scorpio? There is opportunity here in 2019.

The Moon goes void Thursday night at 5:33PM EST off a trine to Uranus and then moves into Capricorn at 7:47PM EST focusing us on our Capricorn house theme and the collective Capricorn theme of our career/work in the world/structures/authority/father - for the next couple days.

FRIDAY brings heightened volatility this week as an impulsive Mars (with angry sis Eris nearby) squares powerful Pluto at 21 degrees Capricorn (and aren't I excited since this is my hub's birthday to have this aspect exact in his solar return chart in his 4th and 7th houses and sitting right on my Mercury - fun times - ack!).

No dark alleys. Expect short fuses.

Power plays/grandstanding/testosterone overload. If you are dealing with a situation involving domination/who has the bigger whatchamacallit, keep in mind authority (Pluto) will win this fight. Even in his own sign and with his sister Eris backing him up, Mars isn't going to beat Pluto.

He will die trying though.

Expect intense competition and unbridled ambition. Manipulations. Obsessions. Jealousy. Your power could be challenged or you could be the one doing the calling out.

Mars (and Eris) in Aries wants us to push against power - challenge "the man", and there are times "the man" needs to be challenged and Mars is certainly strong here, too, and who am I to tell you this is not one of those times, maybe it is for you, BUT particularly in a public situation or with anything involving your career, try to think twice. Now would be the time to use our Mercury in detached and forward thinking Aquarius to choose a way through this that doesn't end with us nursing a bloody nose, a tarnished reputation or a pink slip.

At the same time our girl Venus is moving through the Galactic Center at the end of Sagittarius. She's like, "let my boy Mars bloody up Pluto a bit, so they'll be less of Pluto I have to deal with in a couple weeks!" - ack. Venus is the last of our inner planets that needs to get past (and this will be throughout February) those challenging energies - the South Node, Saturn and Pluto.

EXAMPLE FOR VIRGO/Virgo Rising (note house placements can be different depending on your exact chart Virgo) - Mars is squaring Pluto from your 8th house of other people's resources, other people's values, intimacy, other people's money, spouse's income, loans, debts, taxes, inheritance, death, rebirth, sex, reproduction - issues/situations around money or intimacy could feel out of your control - keep in mind our Aquarian Mercury now - you have the power to detach, to take a step back or away from the situation, to say "no" yourself. If you are the one doing the dominating/controlling (doing your Pluto) from that 5th house so maybe over a child, romantic interest or a creative project situation again keep in mind the powder keg you could be lighting. You might win the battle, but lose the war. Use that intelligent and forward-leaning Mercury in Aquarius for a work around. Old issues could be triggered and deep issues worked through here - what is playing out isn't really what is playing out. Look deeper.

FRIDAY/SATURDAY/SUNDAY - Venus (what we love/want, our resources, our relationships, our money) can shift somewhat radically now. Maybe instead of thinking do I want this or that we are thinking how do I hold onto this as I transition into that? But it will be different things for different people. What does your natal Venus look like? What does she want? This is getting a boost.

As she crosses the Galactic Center we get re-booted/upgraded. She then trines Uranus - maybe something very different catches our eye or a new way to get what we want is activated. There is something liberating here, but then that almost immediate square to Chiron - tells us the "something liberating" and sometimes we are liberated by losing something - leads to something painful - with Chiron, we are "triggered", so something that hurts, hurts more than it should because of something else. We think this thing here hurts us, but it is really something very old and very deep that is doing the throbbing. Something we have to learn to live with and to help us with this Venus immediately moves into serious Capricorn, so we get past the hurt with a focus on the GOAL, on the work, on putting on those big-girl pants and doing what needs to be done, on our responsibility.

The Moon will be in Capricorn, too, in her dark phase, so there won't be alot of soft places to fall at the end of this week and into this weekend. Please be careful.

(keep in mind our North Node in Cancer - take care of yourself, take care of your home and family, allow yourself to be vulnerable with the people who have earned your trust)

The Moon goes void on Sunday morning off a square to Uranus (ouch) at 5:53AM EST and then moves into airy Aquarius at 8:03AM EST focusing us on our Aquarius house theme or the collective themes of friends/groups/the goals that bring us into connection with other people/the internet/our causes, etc - for the next couple days.

There is alot to unpack this week and we'll talk more about it as we move through it.

I am making blog changes this week, so it might look wonky from time to time if you stop by, but the most recent posts should be easily find-able.

xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives - TUESDAY, January 1, 2019 | a time to de-clutter, what's gotta go, freedom vs control, relationship contracts, caring for ourselves and others, appreciating where we are and what we already have

Sunday by little-moonshine

We wake in 2019 with Mars in Aries. After his long journey back and forth through Aquarius last summer/fall and then these last few weeks slogging through watery Pisces, Mars feels especially good to be back in his home turf. 

Fiery Mars in his home sign of Aries is just what we need to get a jump on our goals - our initiative/ courage/passion will return over the next few hours/days/weeks.

Keep in mind with the Sun set to meet Saturn tomorrow (wall, limit, responsibility, report card) and a New Moon Solar Eclipse at the end of the week (in industrious Capricorn), followed by Uranus stationing direct (in Aries!), I would give things a few days before we jump into too much of that new energy. There are a few twists and turns ahead before we start PUSHING, but Mars in Aries is pushy, so there will be pushing. If possible launch any big, new endeavors after January 6th/7th for maximum impact. This doesn't mean we are standing still until then though.

Our Scorpio Moon is waning, and although it is the New Year, is still about endings and finishing things up.

Ruling our collective 8th house of elimination - this is the perfect Moon for de-cluttering after the holidays (tomorrow is our annual Sun/Saturn day and reality can slap us in the face - best to have things kind of cleaned up by then). Stuff, including intense emotions and possibly our stomach contents if we over-indulged last night, want to come up and out.

The Moon makes aspects to Black Moon Lilith (square - tension/challenges around freedom, being ourselves, possessiveness), then Juno (opposition - contracts, relationships), then conjuncts Ceres and Venus before going void at 5:27PM EST. So, we could be working with quite a bit of up and down, deep, emotional energy today.

Barring anything too crazy hitting your natal chart, things should end more warm and fuzzy with a peaceful evening where we can appreciate what we have and where we are ....

Get some sleep tonight.

The year really starts tomorrow and this year, right out of that gate, will require us to take it seriously.

xo all