Today's Astrology Forecast | October 31, 2019 - Happy Halloween, Mercury stations retrograde, time gets stretchy, being a dog with a bone, a stabilizing month ahead with hidden resources to be uncovered

The waxing Sagittarius Moon goes void off an optimistic hook-up with Jupiter at 10:29AM EDT. She will be void until 10:38PM EDT when she moves into serious and business-minded Capricorn. So, not the day to start anything brand-new, but that conjunction to Jupiter should give us a nice BOOST.

Roll with any twists and turns. Expect some do-overs and for time to get kind of stretchy. 

The big news today is Mercury stations retrograde (27 degrees Scorpio) at 11:42AM EDT. She/he will be retrograde until November 20th and start covering entirely new ground around December 8th.

We start at the same degree where Mercury met Venus yesterday - and you might remember we had Venus retrograde in Scorpio last autumn (at earlier degrees). Venus moves on (she is at 28 degrees Scorpio by the time of Mercury's station), but Mercury turns back.

Time to re-think, re-examine, re-visit, re-vise whatever attraction Venus has brought us.

Mercury is retrograde, and we ignore that at our own peril. Trying to plow ahead re-gardless will not work. It also won't work to stand still and try to wait Mercury out. We must move our ideas, projects, etc through the process of the retrograde period.

I remember when most people had never heard of a Mercury Retrograde transit and now it seems like poor Mercury (planet of communication and MAGIC) is being shamed/blamed for everything that goes wrong!

This is probably because 1. the internet has exposed many more people to astrological teachings 2. most people are moving so fast now any sort of slowdown feels like a problem  3. it's a convenient excuse when stuff falls to shit (pardon my french), especially stuff that would normally be considered our fault

The truth is, that although we don't want to spend too much time looking backward - we can't full steam ahead through life either. And life doesn't stop because Mercury (or any other planet) is retrograde.

Now this particular Mercury retrograde is beginning at almost the very end of SCORPIO (27 degrees).

So we get almost to the very end of something and ... there is a hold-up.

This deep diving and emotional Mercury retrograde will help us build the MENTAL STRENGTH we need to deal with the changes we have been experiencing and the changes still to come - because the truth of these volatile times we are living in is this - we have to do what we came here to do and for some people this means big endings because we are needed somewhere else.

With Mercury long past her opposition to Uranus (Mars will still oppose Uranus after he gets into Scorpio) and with Scorpio trining Neptune and sextiling Pluto and Saturn - this Mercury retrograde shouldn't be so typically stressful! There are opportunities here.

We are diving deeply into something and then going back and forth through it - revising, revamping, redoing, rethinking. Scorpio doesn't play and rules really important matters, so this stuff will likely be both collectively and individually meaningful.

Secrets can come out. Intimacy issues/financial information will be talked about. Deep emotions will be expressed. This is an excellent time for communications with our ancestors. It could be, we (and other people) will be digging up what no one really wants to talk about and then talking about it.

If we are doing important research before making a serious commitment or taking another look at a verbal deal or something we have learned, keep in mind information and communication will be influx until the third week of November and also keep in mind that Scorpian commitments last.

This could be about a Scorpio collective theme - life/death, other people's money, investments, inheritance, loans, mortgages, taxes, intimacy issues, sex, reproduction, the resources we have merged with other people - a Mercurian theme we are going deeply into - information, communications, commerce, learning, teaching, sibling issues, local community issues, transportation situations - or the theme of your natal (or progressed) Scorpio house.

What we discover (and what we do with what we discover - a retrograde Mercury doesn't mean we sit on our butts) in November - remember Scorpio rules hidden resources AND we have the final sextile of Neptune and Saturn this month (!) - will have a great impact on how the December and January powerhouse energetics work through us.

We'll talk about all of this as we move through it.

xo all

photo by the talented sara-with-a-gun

Today's Astrology Forecast | October 30, 2019 - deep conversations about love or money, knowing what we want, opportunities through partnerships, back up those files

The Moon is in high-flying Sagittarius now - her only aspect today a square to a retrograde Neptune at 9:48PM EDT. The Sag Moon could see us focused on Sag themes - foreign issues, travel, higher education, legal issues, media, publishing, religion, weddings, our beliefs and BIG ideas.

The square to Neptune speaks of tension/frustration via possibly anything we are over-doing. With the Moon in Sag talking to Neptune - things can look more ideal than they actually are. Excellent for creative work though. Stay grounded. And sober.

Mercury catches up to Venus (this is the degree of Mercury's station TOMORROW, so part of a longer story that may require some re-visions - have you backed up those files?!) at 27 degrees Scorpio.

Sweet (Venus) talk (Mercury). Deep conversations about love/finances/intimate issues. Seductive words. Secrets and bottom-line information is communicated. Knowing what we want. Talking with/thinking about women. Good for commerce. Plans and information could look good - keep in mind, Mercury is about to start moving backward (from our perspective here on Earth), so whatever we are dealing with now is part of a long and winding story that will require re-looks, re-vision, re-dos, etc.

(for some people Mercury will activate transportation situations and sibling/local community issues)

With the Sag Moon/Neptune and Venus/Mercury we could easily put the cart before the horse with some situation and spend the next few weeks re-working/re-vising decisions we make now. I am not saying this is necessarily a bad thing, just something to keep in mind.

Sextiling Juno, partnership issues are likely factoring in here and opportunities are coming through other people - who we partner up with, who we enter into contracts with, who we hire, etc.

xo all

photo by the talented vampire-zombie

Today's Astrology Forecast | October 28, 2019 - forward movement, expect the unexpected, tension between what we have and what needs to go, relationship challenges

Today we move through last night's New Moon in Scorpio machinations.

See the post about that HERE.

The Moon in Scorpio passes the Scorpio Sun and moves into a sextile with Saturn at 5:18PM EDT (could be a good time to set those intentions if you haven't yet) - this is fertile, productive energy and the Moon is waxing now (growing!). At 6:51 the Moon trines (brakes off) a retrograde Neptune - deep emotions, we are feeling/processing whatever is happening. More forward movement.

The Sun (in Scorpio) opposes Uranus (in Taurus) at 4 degrees. Maybe a light is shined on something Scorpian (life/death, other people's money, other people's resources, taxes, loans, inheritance, sex, intimacy, reproduction, third party situations) through an unexpected situation or encounter that shakes up our world via changes to our money, values or self-esteem. Scorpio and Taurus are fixed signs and change doesn't come easy. This is tension between holding onto what we have and releasing what needs to go. For some, with this coming at a New Moon in Scorpio, if directly hitting your chart, the very ground beneath their feet could be shaking. For others maybe an unusual person enters your life (they could exit just as quickly) and creates some disorder. Expect the unexpected. Be prepared to think on your feet. Do something else. Buy a lottery ticket because well ... Uranus is interacting with a personal planet and I can't see your chart. 

Mars (still in Libra) inconjuncts - that rock and a hard place - Neptune (retrograde in Pisces). This one is challenging, too. Actions conflict with escapism/fantasy/the dream, but take action we must - waxing Moon with good aspects. Maybe we partner up for something now knowing something less than ideal is likely to come of things or our partner's drifting into lalaland interferes with our ability to get something started/done (or maybe vice versa). We are challenged to take imaginative/creative AND balanced actions within relationships here. We could swing from assertion to passivity with partners.

The Scorpian Moon's trine to Neptune should help focus our energies and allow us to persevere if we want to give up or get to the truth of something. Definitely avoid alcohol and drugs with this one.

xo all

photo by the amazing thefirebomb

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of October 28, 2019 - fated activity, hurry up and wait, rethinking that sweet talk, digging around in the dirt and then allowing the dust to settle, attracting more and better, smartening up

We begin this week with the North Node in Cancer (home/what feels like home, nurturing, family, mother, vulnerabilities, our interior world) on last summer's final Eclipse point - there is much fated activity happening in people's lives at this time. Our safety/happiness/way forward lies in our ability to become more authentic/more real and consistent. More in touch with our inner world. More in touch with our roots.

Let's take a look at the transits and we'll unpack the Moons in the dailies.

Oh, and Mercury stations retrograde on Halloween - BACK UP THOSE FILES!

SUNDAY - New Moon in Scorpio, Sun opposes Uranus, Mars squares Saturn
WEDNESDAY - Mercury conjuncts Venus
THURSDAY - Mercury stations retrograde in Scorpio
FRIDAY - Venus moves into Sagittarius
SATURDAY - Mercury conjuncts Pallas

SUNDAY - We talked about the New Moon which greatly impacts the next couple weeks HERE. Don't forget to set your New Moon intentions!

On WEDNESDAY - Mercury meets Venus.

Sweet (Venus) talk (Mercury). Seeing the beauty in the stuff we didn't want to look at before.

So, just before lovely Venus exits Scorpio for the blue skies of Sagittarius - she meets up with Mercury (in Scorpio for the long haul). Tell someone you love them. Talk about what you want. Send the email/the card/the letter. This is happening in Scorpio, so this won't be superficial fluffy chitchat. This is deeply felt. Maybe intense conversations during intimate moments. Scorpio rules big money/other people's money so financial transactions are favored now, too. Monetary stuff is promising, although it won't be so cut-and-dried

because right after Mercury meets Venus she/he stations retrograde on the same degree, so we could be re-thinking/re-viewing/going deeper into those same lovely conversations or promising financial information - over the next few days/weeks.

On THURSDAY - Happy Halloween! Mercury stations retrograde in Scorpio until November 20th.

Situations slow down. In a water sign, events will transpire to see that we get another look at our feelings. In Scorpio taboo subjects get re-examined. This will be INTENSE. Scorpio themes of intimacy, life and death and shared finances (and the theme of your natal Scorpio house) will have our focus. We will (over the next few weeks) be re-viewing old losses/old desires - stuff that brought us into connection/mergers with other people or other people's resources - as well as dealing with new information and the aftermath of losses/releases/deaths. We get a greater clarity about why and how some things were cleared from our lives and what we still need to let go of in order to move forward into greater freedom. Financial and intimate secrets can come out over the course of this transit. If we ask for the truth we had better be prepared to hear it .... but keep in mind we are going back and forth over this stuff, so it's not the time to take things at face value. It's not so much that the information will change over the course of this transit (although it certainly might), but our feelings will undoubtedly change. By the time Mercury exits Scorpio and the dust has settled we will know so much more than we do right now- no point jumping the gun here.

On FRIDAY - Venus lightens things up a bit with her move into blue-skies Sagittarius. Sagittarius themes (and the theme of our natal Sagittarius house) become more favored - travel, higher education, weddings, politics, legal issues, the media, publishing, religion, foreigners, everything outside our comfort zone, exploration, our beliefs and higher thinking.

Sagittarius Suns and Ascendants (1st house cusps) get more attractive now - becoming both able to attract what they want/need and easier on the eye. All of us get a visit from Venus in our Sagittarius houses (what house or houses carry Venus energy in your natal chart?) and those houses get more magnetic. 

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. We would hold our bow "in tension".

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

(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 that makes things happen.

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 (through Mercury). But now instead of just looking at the stuff that is underneath, the underpinnings none of us really want to look at, Venus (as us) looks WAY out into the horizon at the stuff we might one day meet up with.

Sagittarius is the sign of faith. Do we have faith that better days are ahead for us?

This season Venus is even more powerful in Sagittarius because she will be meeting with Jupiter in his home sign for only a few more weeks!

This is excellent energy for artists and creatives to reach for something else, to work with something/someone foreign, to learn something new, to stretch. We attract what we want and need by optimistically embracing potential now. We don't have to know how this is all going to turn out, we know there will be adventure here - if we embrace what we do with an adventurous heart.

Yes, it's risky. And Sagittarians have been known to fall on their ass and even off a cliff now and then. But is there really any alternative to not trying?

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 dog barks (or in my case - bites), the phone rings, the guy next door starts blasting Vampire Weekend and you know 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 other people's arrows or targets need to line up with ours)

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).

We have to have faith enough to release the arrow anyway. Bulls-eyes can be highly over-rated. Sometimes it's the missed targets that lead to the best adventures!

Remember even rock solid things, and actually especially rock solid things, will turn to dust eventually if they are allowed to just sit there. Over the next month Venus (as us) will shake things up by expanding us outside our comfort zone.

So, even as Mercury is digging deeply in the dark, another part of us will be reaching for/attracting something bigger and more expansive. We will talk about this more as we move through November and Venus starts interacting with the other players.

On SATURDAY, Mercury conjuncts Pallas.

So here is our deep, focused thinking/conversations meeting up with the wisdom and strategies we need. Remember Mercury is retrograde now, so this won't be new information so much as our increased ability to make sense of it. We see the tactics we need. We recognize the patterns we need to avoid. It's time to smarten up.

xo all

photo by the amazing kevron2001

New Moon in Scorpio | October 27, 2019 - disruptive change, evolving through the shadows, truth bombs, danger Will Robinson, liberation, pushed to shift gears

On Sunday, October 27, 2019 at 11:38PM EDT - the Scorpio Moon meets the Scorpio Sun giving us this month's New Moon.

Let's dig right in and unpack the chart!

The Moon/Sun meet in deep, dark, intimate and powerful Scorpio at 4 degrees.

They are exactly opposing disruptive Uranus, so we have our annual Sun opposing Uranus (unexpected shake-ups and changes) coming at the same time as the New Moon in Scorpio's powerful and transformative NEW BEGINNING.

There is a definite before-and-after kind of permanency around changes now.

With Uranus in Taurus - our money, our values, our self-esteem, our resources - the shake-ups (unexpected ending, etc) could impact one of these themes (or the theme of your natal Taurus house). Oppositions are projections. Someone or something that is not us is interacting in our life in a way we don't want. Uranus often brings sudden change and disruption and coming at the time of the New Moon in Scorpio and right before Mercury is set to retrograde in Scorpio - the change will likely push us into something deeper and more intense, maybe something that creates greater intimacy with others or something that re-aligns our values in a new way.

Our New Moon in Scorpio is answering to Scorpio rulers Pluto and Mars (old ruler).

Mars in Libra (our actions, our motivation and passion, in Libra dealing with our projections/our relationships/balance) is exactly squaring Saturn (in Capricorn). There are limits/rules here. Dealings with authority. Hierarchical maneuverings. Relationships are challenging. Delays are frustrating. With Mars in Libra we will need to be polite/diplomatic, more gracious than we may want to be. Be kind. Be fair. Some may need to fall on their swords. Ouch! Saturn here is a wall, a constraint, an authority blocking our way forward. We could get an unexpected or unwanted "no" or maybe a partner's actions challenge our own sense of authority.

(there is also the chance of physical injury or the need for hard labor to the point of exhaustion - this has been in play for a few days - drive safely, be careful with fire/sharp objects, etc - no dark alleys, back away from danger slowly)

Getting angry, frustrated or passive-aggressive (Mars) or deciding to push harder won't help the situation now. Saturn is unyielding. There will be delays/ending/limits. Roadblocks serve a purpose - sometimes we need to go around, crash over or plow through them and sometimes they keep us from falling off the cliff.

Squares to Saturn take a material form. Situations show up in the real 3D world. They can be a time of testing. We are dealing with the consequences of  previous physical actions (karma, cause and effect), but squares themselves are nobody's fault. They simply push us toward an unexplored new action. Without squares nothing would actually happen!

Pluto (still sitting on 20 degrees Capricorn) is direct - the death that was postponed is no longer postponed. Endings and beginnings now are connecting to the big December 2019 and January 2020 energies. There is no turning back now!

The New Moon looks like a new beginning (in the dark, so lots we don't know right now) birthed from an unexpected and possibly chaotic and jolting ending/change/liberation. 

This could be INTENSE.

Mercury is stationing retrograde in just four days, so whatever gets started, and it feels to me like a quiet start (that packs a long-term punch) - it will likely require re-visions, re-thinking, re-dos, etc. And keep in mind this is Scorpio (power/control) we are talking about so we want to be sure we know what we are doing with this energy! The skies are dark so we won't know everything, but maybe something about this Uranian change/shocker clarifies our values or turns our focus and then Mercury's upcoming back-and-forth gets us clear over the next few weeks. Nothing in Scorpio is without some risk. Everything can feel like an ordeal. 

We may have to adapt to sudden change QUICKLY now. Maybe something has come slowly and then ALL AT ONCE.

Scorpio themes include life and death, rebirth, other people's money, spouse's income, mortgages, loans, inheritance, taxes, intimacy, merging/purging, sex, reproduction, secrets, the stuff we do in the dark, the stuff we don't talk about in polite company.

Venus (in Scorpio) is moving toward her conjunction with Pallas. Partnership strategies. Mergers and acquisitions. Good for financial planning. Love/money wisdom. Recognition of our patterns within our relationships. Win-wins. Plans with other people and with our money/resources that are both smart AND strategic. This is an intense and profound time for relationships (with the living and with people and animals no longer living) and this conjunction will help.

The inconjunct to Chiron is waning (fading). We are moving past the pain/the feeling we need to do everything ourselves or that we can't do something/the blow to our ego.

So here is a fresh start birthed through that hurting/healing, too. These are long chapters in thick books we are working through folks. It's a time for healing our shadow and what is hidden from us in the shadows.

There is a gathering of planets in Scorpio at this New Moon. And Mercury is slowing way down and preparing for her/his long-haul here. We are digging deep. Secrets are coming out. We can uncover unexpected resources/unexpressed power. Things we might have breezed right through last month are more intense now. The superficial/lightweight doesn't cut it.

Scorpio is uber powerful, so be prepared to commit to anything you start now. Actually, commit as if your life depends on it ... maybe it does. We go all the way or we sit this one out. 

There is no middle ground with a Scorpio New Moon.

And know that sometimes sitting this one out (for now) - especially with that square to Saturn sitting with the South Node and Venus opposing Vesta (the past, the thing that we used to be devoted to but just aren't feeling it anymore) might be OK, too. Use your intuition and internal guidance.

Sitting fallow allows a creative void for the energy to fill. It may take some time for life to get us lined up with something else. And that is OK. Even though some roads are closed to us by now, Saturn is in Capricorn. Time is still on our side. And Mercury is about to station retrograde, so unless you can get something done before Halloween it is going to be subject to the "re's" anyway.

This is an important month to set written/verbal NEW MOON INTENTIONS.

Scorpio is very powerful and this is the energy that rules our secrets. If we don't set this stuff consciously - our unconscious will attract what we are already lined up with - and this may be a good thing, but will depend on what we have stuffed in those closets and under those beds, so maybe not - with Scorpio, we don't know what we don't know!

I vote for conscious intention setting now - we just have to be clear on what we want/need or really we have to be clear on what we want/need to FEEL.

Set your intentions around that. 
 

AFFIRMATION TIPS: get into a positive frame of mind - always make affirmations from a positive place (positive meaning both happy and certain) - write your affirmations down by hand in script, speak them out loud - then release your attention from them knowing that your intention is known.

Know these things are already yours.

xo

We went to visit my sister and her family in the Pacific Northwest mountains last week and I had a post I scheduled but somehow never posted, explaining that - yikes. I knew there would be spotty wifi, but thought I could work with it. I couldn't. Then we had to return suddenly due to a death in the family and my heart just wasn't into writing until tonight. Hope something in this post is helpful.

Today's Astrology Forecast | October 17, 2019 - investing in what we love, having some skin in the game, uncomfortable conversations, clearing the way for greener pastures, information, communication, busy-ness

The Moon continues her way through Gemini, mostly unobstructed. We are busy, communicative, curious, active. We want to know what we are talking about. Humor is connecting. She will trine (brakes off) Mars (in Libra) at 3:10PM EDT. Walking our talk with other people. Social activities.

Any Moon/Mars contact could make us (and other people) more easily irritated. We could feel rushed.

Our focus might be on Gemini themes - communications, information, siblings, neighbors, writing, sales, local travel, decisions, for some people Gemini will show up as transportation situations.

Venus (almost midway through Scorpio now) trines the Cancer North Node at 12 degrees.

What is deeply, passionately felt is pulling us forward. 

The deeper we go, the closer we get to a more authentic, more nurturing, more "feels like home and safety and mom and apple pie" future, even if it makes us feel more vulnerable. The thing we merge with other people - love/finances/resources - is moving us toward our future - as long as we are real with this (the Libra frivolousness/social niceties won't quite be enough); as long as we have some skin in the game. Move toward beauty. Move toward peace. But remember this is Scorpio. We can't just like it. We've got to LOVE IT. Scorpio demands commitment. We can't just stick a toe in and check the temperature, we have to get our whole body wet. 

People with planets/points on or very near 12 degrees of Cancer/Scorpio will feel this strongest, but we all have access.

Take something one step further. 

Dig a little deeper. 

Get a little closer.

At the same time Mercury, also in Scorpio, (more depth/more truth) is trining Black Moon Lilith in Pisces. Giving a voice to a taboo space we are holding. Uncomfortable conversations. With Mercury walking his/her pre-retrograde degrees we will be back here two more times (11/9 retrograde and 12/4 direct), so this conversation isn't over.

We have the Moon in Gemini able to keep things light and intellectual. Wanting to stay on the surface. But, Gemini's ruler Mercury (deep in Scorpio now at 18 degrees) NEEDING to know what's underneath.

We also have Jupiter semi-sextile Pluto at 20 degrees. We have to trust that what has died/what we have lost/the power that has crumbled is happening and has happened to pave the way for something BETTER. When we lose, we win. Jupiterian "luck" requires faith. We are being made stronger, being readied for something MORE.

xo all

photo by the amazing thefirebomb