Full Moon in Virgo | March 9th - coming down to earth, the only thing we have to fear is fear itself, a need to make things better and healthier, a dragon the size of a mouse, the solutions are coming

On March 9, 2020 at 1:43PM EDT, the Moon in Virgo opposes the Sun in Pisces at 19 degrees giving us this month's Full Moon; the year's first Super Moon. A Full Moon brings something to light (to our attention or into the open), to a fullness or to a culmination
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It's the space in our breath when our lungs are full. We can't take in anymore. We have to exhale.

Let's unpack the chart.

The Moon is not only opposing the Sun (in Pisces) this year, she is also opposing Neptune (ruler of Pisces). So, we have the Sun inching past foggy, mystical and imaginative Neptune and we have the Moon in practical and grounded Virgo mumbling to herself "what the hell am I looking at here? is this for real? how am I going to clean up this mess?".

There is a kind of perfect storm of confusion in this chart. We have the Sun on Neptune with a Full Moon opposition, Mercury stationing direct (and we know how cray-cray things get at her/his station), Venus (our money, values, love, beauty) conjunct Uranus (chaos, anything-can-happen).

With Sun/Neptune maybe something hidden/something from the past/something we need to heal/something cray-cray is revealed. If we have been overly idealistic, bubbles pop. Fantasies are shown to be, well, fantastical. 

In earthy Virgo, we are brought down to earth

(like the world discovering here's what doomsday predictions will bring us, here is the reality - an economic meltdown, something that cannot be contained - and saying this makes me check where Pholus is in this chart - the genie out of the bottle asteroid/centaur - and he is exactly conjunct the South Node. We have been here before. This is not about a conspiracy theory - this isn't about some deep state trying to control us - this is about how life on planet Earth works - we change the world with our FOCUS. Are we going to let 24 hour news cycles with their own agenda control our focus?).

As the Sun pulls away from Neptune - and as Mercury stations direct and we get our legs underneath us and move through the next two weeks of this Full Moon cycle - we will have more CLARITY.

With the Moon in practical and industrious Virgo we can open ourselves up to answers. Wake-up calls - focused on our health, our work, our daily routines, our pets (or our natal Virgo house theme) are designed to wake us up, not kill us. This chart says there is something we can actually DO besides "wash our hands" of germs and the situation.

Think - better, healthier routine. Think - neutral position. By April we will know where we are going, but let's get our daily routine/any health neglects taken care of now to pave our way forward.

Keep in mind in Virgo we gain dignity and self respect from being good at something that is useful to other people. Think back to your Virgo New Moon intentions from September. It's a great time to take a step toward something - the Full Moon reflects plenty of inspirational Pisces Sun to light up our paths and those Earth trines will be supportive to physical action.

It is certain all we really have to fear here is fear itself.

Now, the ruler of Virgo and so ruler of this Full Moon, is Mercury - currently standing strong and still and retrograde in Aquarius, preparing to station direct in just a few hours. In Aquarius, she/he can deliver the news/facts we need without a lot of fluff and emotion. Maybe we step away from the fantasies/ghosts/mainstream media hoopla - and take a breath. REMAIN NEUTRAL.

As Mercury stations direct and moves through the end of Aquarius for the third time and goes back into Pisces to clear things up - over the next couple weeks - we will start to see more solutions, more facts (although some collective things could continue to be foggy until late spring/summer), more ways to fix what isn't working, more ways to heal, improved/healthier habits, more ways to make things BETTER and more ways to make better things.

Venus is sitting with Uranus so changes with our relationships, with our money and resources could be coming at us fast and furiously.

The good news. and there is alot here, the Moon is trining that Cappy pile-up providing some earthy and practical superpowers.

She is moving toward a conjunction/meeting with expansive, confident, and 'lucky' Jupiter.

All the energy we talked about for last week (other than the Moons) is in play at this Full Moon plus all the energy we will talk about for next week in the next post.

We'll talk more about this in the weekly tonight. There is alot going on and things can move in many different directions pretty quickly. This isn't about fortune-telling. It's about using the patterns and archetypes to make our life better.

Let's get Mercury moving direct, let's allow the Sun to move off Neptune. We have some nice solar sextiles later in the week and the only fly in the ointment is Chiron's square to the Nodes on Saturday.

Practical, grounded and health-focused advances are coming collectively as we step into this personally. This doesn't mean isolating ourselves. And it means washing our hands, but not of the situation - because this is really about us building a healthier body that can withstand a blow (by bending and not breaking). And keeping our focus on what we want and not on what we don't want - not because there is a deep-state plot to destroy us - but because this is the way life works!

There is alot of stuff coming at us and this isn't going to stop, life is always going to be like this - and yes, this is challenging for our nervous system and we are going to have to find ways (meditation, walks in nature, etc) to deal with this. The world has never been stable - we are just more awake now.

Remember where we are headed as the Nodes change signs in May. We started talking about it HERE.

Back with the weekly!

xo all

A Missing Child .... and the story's unnerving mythological connection

I wrote a couple weeks ago (?) about a chart I did for an online crime solving group to help locate a missing New Jersey woman.

I also did this chart for them around the same time for another open case and thought now that the murderer has been arrested I would put this up here, too, without any names for privacy reasons, for any astrology or mystery peeps that might be interested.

Working on this one made me depressed and nauseous. Not sure I will do any more of these unless the case is very, very old. It's heartbreaking and makes me think about all the ways we do not value and cherish children in our society. Such a challenging world to be a vulnerable child ... :(

*****

G  was an 11 year old boy living in Colorado with his father, stepmother and their children. His birth mother lived in another state. He was reported missing in the early evening of January 22, 2020 by his stepmother (I don't think the 911 call has been released, so I couldn't get a time for that to make an event chart). She told police he had stayed home sick that day and then asked to visit a friend after school and never returned. I believe she intimated he may have run away.

At some point days later, during the search for G, a neighbor, checking his front door's ring-camera footage discovered photos of G leaving the house that day with his stepmother (this is the time used in this chart) and further footage of her returning home a few hours later without him.

Let's take a look at the chart for the time G and his stepmother are getting into the truck.

The chart shows Aries rising, the first house is G  - so Aries represents G - fitting for a young man and answering to Aries ruler Mars sadly found in the 8th house (death) and in Sagittarius (a journey/toward what is foreign and distant/the boy traveling away from this chart). Sag is ruled by Jupiter - here at the top of the chart, so we can guess this story will become known and likely get media (Jupiter) and legal (Jupiter) attention. We have Eris and Uranus both in the 1st house (G's house) so he might have been an energetic and disruptive kind of energy - exactly the job of an 11 year old boy!

Mars (ruling G here) is at 16 degrees Sagittarius - the position of the fixed star Ras Algethi - called the head of Hercules (who we'll talk about below) - and according to a 1923 book on fixed stars by Vivian Robson, is said to be indicative of a native whose "life will be afflicted by devious plots" and if poorly aspected, as here with that square to an exalted Venus, "said to cause much irritation, especially in connection to females". This star is in the 6th Chinese Lunar Mansion "that which separates wood from water" - not sure if that has anything to do with where they went that day or where this poor boy ended up.

The descendant, representing the perpetrator is in Libra, conjunct Juno (the jealous wife who will do anything to keep her husband/position), and answering to Venus, exalted in Pisces and exactly conjunct foggy Neptune. Maybe the perpetrator is a young woman, probably a wife and she is either on drugs/mentally ill/a pathological liar/there are almost certainly past life connection. Venus is exalted in Pisces and stronger than Aries in Sag, so she is in the more powerful position than he is.

We can see there is alot going on in that self-sabotaging 12th house along with Venus (representing the stepmother).

On intuition I added the asteroid Nessus (which is often found in charts to represent abuse, but a more full telling of his story. which we will do later in the post, adds more info) and we see Nessus is nestled between the Moon and Venus (the Moon will represent G here, too, in an event chart, but she is also denoting Venus's status as the stepmother here and maybe also showing his birth mother). "Dangerous woman" Lilith is here as well as hurting/healing holder of our very old/very deep wounding, centaur Chiron.

The Venus/Neptune conjunction (the stepmother) is exactly squaring Mars (G), so there is tension/frustration here. Mars rules violence and the head, so he could have been hit in the head or pushed and hit his head. That square to Neptune could indicate he is drugged/sleeping/sick.

G is also represented by the Sun, in its fall in Aquarius and ruler of the 11th house (also G 's age), so escalating Aquarius's tendency toward chaos/disorder and answering to Uranus, in Taurus so answering to Venus, which represents the stepmother, again showing she is in control (and also, out-of-control) here.

We have the Saturn/Pluto conjunction - the end of the road/death that was postponed/time runs out - at the top of the chart in the house of the father. We got a big hint about what the Saturn/Pluto was going to be about last April as Saturn stationed retrograde and then again in September/October when Saturn stationed direct and with Jupiter in Capricorn and answering to him, I wonder what was going on in this family at those times and if some action could have been taken then that would have changed the course of this tragedy.

Something to keep in mind when looking at this kind of chart is that we all lived through January 22, 2020 at 10:13AM MST - and thousands of people lived through this exact moment in Colorado Springs, Colorado, too, and were not on their way to being murdered or murdering someone else. I don't have the birth charts of these four people (G, the stepmother and his birth parents), but I am sure they would be interacting intimately with this moment, which remember becomes important because the ring-cam video of this moment becomes known - that Jupiter on top of the chart.

There is a potential in every moment of time - for the better and for the worse. And, of course, hindsight is always 20/20 (maybe more like 20/40 sometimes), and certainly there are parts of this chart that could be interpreted many different ways.

There is no way to know from this chart exactly what happened and I am certainly not saying that I do.

I would guess their relationship was very tense (that exact square). I would guess he was a handful - from her perspective - and she sees him as the biggest disorder in her life. She was either jealous of G's relationship with his father/her husband and/or wanting to keep her marriage without this beautiful little boy. With so much connecting this story to past life and/or generational karma I doubt she herself could understand the negative feelings he could have invoked in her as they were triggered.

Maybe on the day this happened she loses her temper/her mind (she is almost certainly mentally ill/some kind of personality disorder or on drugs here) and she does something to hurt him (blow to the head) and thinks the only way to save her marriage/her position is to hide what she has done. Maybe the reason his movements toward the truck appear labored in the neighbor's video is because of this or maybe she has drugged him and the head trauma comes later. She may have gotten him into the truck telling herself she was taking him to the hospital, although subconsciously planning something much more horrific. Or with Mercury in detached Aquarius maybe she planned this whole thing out.

With G's Mars in Sagittarius this snapshot of time would have taken him on a long  journey, outside his comfort zone, toward a place that was foreign to him.

There are multiple indicators of old past life connections/familial story-lines/karma with what is happening here including all that 12th house energy, Nessus between the Moon and Venus (the past-life connections including not only G and the stepmother, but the birth parents), Moon in the 12th, Sun in the 11th in Aquarius - too much to even list. We can't see the South Node in this chart, but it is sitting right on the top of the chart!

It is very, very heartbreaking to look at this chart and know what it is leading to and see G's Mars all alone in that dangerous 8th house and the North Node in Cancer (mother/mothering, home, family, the way we care for our most vulnerable people and spaces) sitting at the bottom of this chart - the energy that would have changed everything - abandoned, too ....

They have arrested the stepmother for G's murder although they haven't found G's body.

Who this woman really is, it is hard to say. She lived a well-hidden life in that 12th house tossed about by her own delusions, lies and karma (the Libra shows this would not be so visible to casual acquaintances, no doubt the people closest to her knew something was wrong with her - you can only hide crazy/or an addiction whatever this is for so long in intimate relationships and I doubt her feelings for G would have been easy to hide). Maybe she was abused and is abusive, and she was undoubtedly a very dangerous caregiver for that sweet little boy and I wish with all my heart, someone somewhere somehow had figured this out before January 22, 2020.

xo all

Here is the Hercules/Nessus mythology - see what you think about how it relates to what we know about this story. In astrology, Hercules is a constellation, the fixed star representing his "head" was exactly conjunct G's ruling planet, Mars, in the event chart and Nessus, an asteroid in astrology representing abuse, trusting someone not trustworthy and murder is conjunct the stepmother's ruling planet,Venus.

So - Nessus was a centaur in Greek mythology. We've talked about the wild centaurs (half man, half horse) many times - their stories all seem to center around Hercules (Heracles to the Greeks, but I'll use the more familiar Roman name Hercules here) and death. 

Hercules was maybe the most famous hero of Greek mythology and represents our own hero's journey. He was given his twelve labors (after he murdered his first wife and children in a fit of madness induced by a jealous Juno - note in the event chart Juno is conjunct the descendant ruling the stepmother) and a great deal of his story is told in their retelling. With Hercules head on G's ruling planet and Juno conjunct the stepmother's house we could stop right there and the mythology would give us some clues about what happened, but let's keep going ...

In the Nessus myth, Hercules, and, his then wife Deianira, are fleeing a war where Hercules has just single handedly killed hundreds of centaurs

(this part is kind of important because although Hercules had been tutored by the gentle centaur Chiron, it would be impossible to believe that after a war where he had killed hundreds of dangerous centaurs he was not by now aware of their animal nature and reputation as rapists and murderers).

They come to the river Evenus needing to cross and they meet Nessus; the centaur "ferryman" who carries people across this river.

Here's where the myth has some different variations, but all tend to agree that, Hercules gets himself, and his weapons, across the river and negotiates with Nessus (the centaur) to carry his wife across. Nessus, rapes or attempts to rape Deianira, and from across the river Hercules fires off a poisoned arrow to kill him. He wanders off in pain to die unburied, but not before he lies to Deianira that his blood will ensure Hercules future fidelity and she collects some and takes it with her.

Years later as Hercules heads to a tournament without her, a suspicious and jealous Deianira pours some of the "fidelity potion" on a cloak for Hercules to take on his journey. Later, she accidentally spills some of the potion on the floor and, as it eats through her linoleum I suppose, she realizes it is a poison (um, duh) and she tries to get word to Hercules, but the message doesn't reach our hero in time and he dies - done in precisely as the Delphic Oracle had predicted years before "by a dead enemy" and, of course, aided by his wife's jealousy.

Nessus was a savage, but Hercules certainly knew better than to hand his wife over to him - and with his super-human strength surely could have carried her himself. He passed her off to Nessus (you might wonder if subconsciously he wanted to be rid of her, and their marriage is a whole other interesting story) leading to the demise by poison of both Nessus and Hercules.

Some themes here include abuse, rape, revenge, jealousy, some kind of set up for a rape or murder, implied consent, trusting untrustworthy people with precious cargo, betrayal, poison, third party situations, things coming back around, very old karma.

Nessus was in Cancer (the sign of mothering/motherhood) from the 1970's and well into the 1980's - I am not sure when the stepmother was born, but I would guess an afflicted and activated natal Nessus in Cancer. I would guess G's natal chart might have a connection to the Hercules constellation if not the 16 degrees Sagittarius fixed star itself.

It is likely a very old karmic story playing out here and makes me think again of the ways these strange celestial bodies, recently discovered, named for the centaurs and known for their oddball orbits connect to our generational karmic stories and inheritances .... life on this third rock from the Sun continues to be a mystery wrapped in a mystery ....

Today's Astrology Forecast | Friday, March 6, 2020 - unexpected changes, working through some tension/frustration/wonk so we can get to the fun stuff

We wake with a fresh and fiery Moon in Leo.

For the next couple days we are nurtured through our Leo natal house theme and the collective Leo themes of happiness, generosity, play, recreation, risk, creative projects, children, self-expression, romance, following our heart, taking the spotlight, taking the center stage, needing attention.

In Leo, the Moon gets busy squaring the Taurus planets - first, Venus at 7:00AM EST and then Uranus at 11:05AM EST - setting us up for some maybe uncomfortable and unexpected situations. We want/need to feel happy/valued. We want/need to know what the future holds. There is some tension/frustration here, maybe some shake-ups and changes. Things should ease as we move through the day and the Leo Moon moves off those squares and gets her groove back.

The Moon won't be making any aspects on SATURDAY, so we'll move through that fun-loving/heart-centered/creative Leo vibe unobstructed.

On SUNDAY (see the weekly HERE for lots of info) we have the conjunctions of the Sun/Neptune and Venus/Uranus - this has been in play all week and for another few days. More pivot points.

Sun/Neptune will let us know if we need some rest, some art, some music, a Netflix marathon!

Venus/Uranus could bring some unexpected goodies and our "wants" become focused on the future/something innovative/something else. 

The Moon (in Virgo here) makes nice with the Venus/Uranus conjunction pulling Virgo themes - our day-to-day stuff, our health, our pets, our work - into this.

Keep in mind we are building toward Monday's Virgo Full Moon happening as Mercury stations direct - answers come in, our trajectory/momentum is about to shift.

xo all

photo by the talented argyria

Today's Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Thursday, March 5, 2020 - high emotions, too needy or too nurturing, focus on the future and the healing, also where are my girl scout cookies and do i need to shake-down a girl scout to get some

The Moon continues her journey through her home sign of Cancer nurturing us through our attention on home, family, real estate, renovations, home business, family business, mothers, mothering, the need to water our roots.

She trines the Sun (our monthly waxing trine) and Neptune early in the day - good for spirituality, creativity, compassion. Healing dreams.

The nocturnal kind, too.

We might not consciously remember important dreams for very long, because anything from that Neptunian realm will dissipate quickly in the cold light of day, but our bodies/our emotions/the long-memory of that Cancer Moon recognizes their significance. 

With Saturn heading into Aquarius (karma with trauma) in just a couple weeks and with Venus home in Taurus (the home of Aquarius ruler Uranus these days) - the ways we are out of alignment/the memories our emotional/physical bodies carry that were too painful/too ancient for our conscious mind (Mercury, retrograde in Aquarius now so answering to Uranus, too) to hold onto can be healed through our unconscious in miraculous ways while we sleep/meditate/pray/make art/music.

Although strong in Cancer, the Moon will face some opposition from those Cappy planets today, so situations could get more stressful.

She will oppose Jupiter at 11:55AM (emotions get bigger, extra enthusiasm or grandiosity, could be hard to put the brakes on something if we need to, fears about the future/security could come up, maybe we want too much or too much is expected from us), Pluto at 6:50PM EST (power struggles, transformation, drama, intensity, feeling like something is life and death) and finally go void off an opposition to Saturn at 2:11AM EST. She will be void for a couple hours and then move into big-hearted Leo at 4:27AM EST tomorrow.

Our emotions could be high today, but so will our intuition.

With the Sun approaching Neptune and the Moon trining Neptune - facts will be tricky, so this is not the best time to try and sort them out. We don't have to buy what someone is selling just because they are selling it. Turn off the news.

Mercury is in Aquarius, so we want to avoid over-thinking everything/getting too fixed into our position and keep in mind she is still retrograde.

Let's give ourselves and other people a break since we will all be feeling overly emotional - maybe too needy/too giving - whatever part we are playing here. This, too, shall pass.

Focus on the positives/inspiration/the future/finding your girl scout cookies. Move something forward. Life/God/the Universe can take it from there.

xo all

photo by the talented ESPRIT-CONFUS

Today's astrology Forecast | Wednesday, March 4, 2020 - things lighten, out-of-the-box love or money, a second look, saying it again, asking again, one of those March pivot points we talked about

Our Moon, at home in Cancer turns our focus to and nurtures us through home, family, real estate, mom, mothering, anything that feels like an "inside" job, allowing ourselves to be vulnerable and not have all the answers.

Her only aspect today is an opportunistic sextile to Uranus at 6:25AM EST - out-of-the-blue or forward-leaning money, love, relationships, resources. This is nice background music for the rest of the day's energies because -

this is also the day, and we talked about it HERE in the weekly for WEDNESDAY - Mercury retrogrades back into Aquarius, sextiling Venus on the way and then Venus moves home to Taurus.

Now, Mercury first walked 29 degrees Taurus back in early February - so we could be re-looking at something that we first talked/thought about back then. With Mercury in Aquarius now, and us having been backward through the confusing Piscean waters, we should be able to get a clearer/more logical look - we step back and see things more clearly. Reconsidering something from a better/less emotional angle. We might make a choice. Have an important conversation. Make a deal. Ask a question again.

That sextile to Venus indicates this is a good thing - an opportunity. Water/earth sextiles are yin - things should flow, there should be cooperation. I once read someone said "the odds and the Gods" are smiling upon us with sextiles and that sounds about right!

This is fleeting and then Venus takes this idea/conversation - home to comfort-loving Taurus. Maybe it makes sense/cents. So this is maybe something that makes us feel more loved/more secure/aides our resources/our wallet.

March is going to bring us multiple pivot/choice points and here is one of them.

xo all



photo by the talented IrinaJoanne

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of March 2, 2020 - reality checks, pivot points, backing into a new idea/plan, wanting what we already have, disruptions, surprises, hand wringing and hand washing

March is an uber important month this year with major PIVOT POINTS and energetics including the remainder of Mercury retrograde, a big Full Moon in Virgo, oodles of Venus and Uranus aspects, Mars meeting Jupiter on that HOT 22 degrees Cappy bringing us back to mid-January, a powerful Spring Equinox and New Moon in Aries, lots of important information mid-month, Mars meeting Saturn and old man Saturn himself briefly changing signs to give us a spring preview of what we will be building over the next couple years (!).

By the time Mercury comes out of her/his retrograde shadow in April our life will be RADICALLY CHANGED AND REJUVENATED and we will ALL have a better understanding (keeping in mind this is a process and we are kind of in that crack in the book between chapters) of the collective BULLDOZING/REBUILDING ADVENTURE that is life on planet Earth in the year 2020.

In the meantime, March is coming in like a lion - big week this week, folks - and going to go out like a lion, too!

We start the month needing to make some choices/pivots, but still moving through this confusing Mercury retrograde. There are roadblocks and realities that can no longer be ignored, particularly around love, relationships and our money and resources.

Our mistakes, especially mistakes made by avoiding what we knew we needed to do, could be plainly visible now.

The good news - almost as soon as we hit this "limit", life tosses us a lifeline as Venus sextiles Mercury and moves into her home sign of Taurus focusing us on what we already have. Think of Mercury passing her a note (as he backs into Aquarius and out of Pisces) reminding her of a previous conversation/idea/way around/through/over/under this "limit" thing that is liberating/forward leaning.

By the end of this month, there are going to be opportunities with love and money and as early as the end of this week, changes and BIG SURPRISES.

Also at the end of the week the Sun will make his annual meeting with Neptune in Pisces - we are going to need strong boundaries, to wash our hands and to keep those rose-colored glasses in the bedroom drawer. No doubt the corona virus, now called covid-19, will be in the news. This is wonderful energy for art, creativity, spirituality, imagination, illusions and delusions and seeing what is behind us.

Let's unpack the week.

TUESDAY - Venus squares Saturn
WEDNESDAY - Mercury retrograde backs into Aquarius, Venus enters Taurus, Mercury Sextiles Venus
SUNDAY - Sun conjuncts Neptune, Venus conjuncts Uranus

MONDAY - QUARTER MOON (GEMINI/PISCES)

We start the month with the Third Quarter Moon - the Moon in busy, communicative Gemini squaring the Sun in dreamy, escapist and idealistic Pisces. There is tension/frustration/maybe feeling the need to make a choice. Mercury is still retrograde - we just aren't sure. Maybe we want to just drift along with the tides or maybe we are feeling uncomfortably pushed to take action. We had Mercury meeting the Sun a few days ago, illuminating where we stand/giving us some clarity. We don't know everything, but maybe we know enough for now to choose (trusting life will conspire to line up with our choice) or to choose to let it go. The first half of March is a tricky time for planning (if you want to hear God laugh ... you know the rest). Try to go with the flow. If you must choose - go with your best intuition/instinct and trust that life has your back ... because life does.

Keep in mind just as there is more than one thing that got us into whatever mess we are in, there is more than one way out of it. 

TUESDAY - VENUS SQUARES SATURN

Venus, in her detriment at the very end of Aries, squares Saturn, strong in his home sign at the very end of Capricorn. With Saturn squares what usually happens is - the reality of the situation can no longer be ignored.

The buck stops here. The sh*t hits the fan.

We see cobwebs in our wallet. Wrinkles on our face. Love/what we want is restricted.

Venus rules our very important relationships, love, money, our resources, beauty, our values and self-esteem. If you are a Taurus or Libra rising (ruled by Venus) or have Venus/Saturn aspects in your natal chart or planets/points near 28 degrees of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) you will probably feel this challenge/tension the strongest.

There is a need to pivot/adjust. Pushing won't work because Saturn won't be pushed.

And after last week's Venus/Pluto square power struggle/facing some financial or intimate truth and yesterday's challenging Quarter Moon demands for action/a decision, this one probably isn't going to feel so good either (sniffle, hold me mommy).

Keep in mind how challenging Venus/Saturn will be for us will depend on the central players' locations and aspects in our natal chart. For example, let's say you have a very strong Venus in your birth chart, well, maybe, she has no problem with Saturn and you pivot smoothly past a little hiccup. On the other hand if you have moved too far off course (Saturn rules fate) that same strong Venus becomes an obstacle; a hindrance rather than a helper - turns a molehill into a mountain - and makes it harder for us to change course.

Squares with Saturn require us to turn the wheel to get around him because he isn't moving!

This is a 90 degree angle. If you are driving your car in a straight line and suddenly make a 90 degree turn, it would be a pretty big change of direction, right?! 

You are in Texas headed for Canada and end up in Rhode Island. 

This isn't some random thing that is happening to us. We didn't just decide to change course even if it looks like we just decided to change course. 

We can't go any further on this path. 

The road to Canada is closed. 

We are going to Rhode Island. 

Saturn is the heavy-handed taskmaster/father time/fate. His squares are necessary course corrections to get us back on track. 

This doesn't mean we are never going to get to Canada. But there is something we need to do/get/see/experience in Rhode Island first, so hello Providence!

EXAMPLE  for VIRGO/VIRGO RISING - Venus is in your 8th house of other people's money and resources - your spouse's income, debts, loans, taxes, inheritances - the ways you merge with other people - intimacy, sex, life, death. This is the area of life that is hitting Saturn. The wall, a limit, the reality police, authority - are knocking at THIS door. How might this look? Well, there are as many ways for this to play out as there are Virgos. Maybe your tax refund isn't going to be what you hoped it would be and you need to adjust. Maybe your inheritance isn't and you need to adjust. And remember your inheritance isn't just dollars in the back. Maybe an inherited tendency is what is hitting the wall. Maybe someone else doesn't want what you have to offer. Maybe you are comparing your life to other people's lives and seeing what you are missing (intimacy, resources). Maybe your sex life/sex drive has stopped. Maybe your partner's income is less than it used to be and adjustments must be made to work with the reality of the situation. Maybe some resource you are receiving from someone else has dried up. The ways you feel unappreciated or inadequate are coming to your attention via other people's resources.

Now, keep in mind this transit is a collective transit. You will feel it most strongly, ie more personally, if you have a natal Venus/Saturn aspect or a natal or progressed planet/point near 28 degrees of a cardinal sign.

At the end of March, Venus is going to get opportunities with Saturn and Pluto and Jupiter, but for now we are going to have to deal with some roadblocks/and maybe make some changes we don't feel ready for because we probably aren't. But the Moon is waxing (growing) so we can't just sit on our ass either.

The challenges of the last couple days are coming through our Aries and Gemini houses. What are those themes in your natal chart? Expect challenges and choice points that won't feel like choices, but keep moving.

WEDNESDAY - RETROGRADE MERCURY BACKS INTO AQUARIUS, VENUS MOVES INTO TAURUS, MERCURY SEXTILES VENUS

This day sizzles with two personal planets changing signs and sextiling each other as they do! And keep in mind, Mercury is still retrograde, so like Ginger Rogers in high heels dancing with Fred Astaire she is making this move BACKWARD.

Let's unpack this a little bit.

We start this day with Mercury at the very beginning of Pisces - remember he is retrograde, so moving backward and then Venus, moves into the very beginning of Taurus, and briefly sextiles (opportunity) Mercury - BEFORE Mercury backs into Aquarius. So it's kind of like a high five/fist bump/dapping-thing. They are both like "YES, here we go!" and then Mercury kind of slides a note into Venus's outstretched hand for her to take with her into Taurus (imagine a loving, magical promissory note here, since not much screams "abundance" quite like Pisces/Taurus). The sextile will be strongest felt by people with natal Mercury/Venus aspects and people with planets/points near 0 degrees of Pisces or Taurus, but we will all have access to this.

Venus is now out of her detriment in Aries and off that square to "reality police" Saturn and into her home sign of Taurus. Whew! Venus loves (and rules) Taurus. After her weeks in Aries trying to be a lover and a fighter, she is quite content to settle into herself again.

Taurus suns and rising signs get more attractive (both physically attractive and more able to attract).

Venus in Taurus, particularly when coupled with all this retrograde mud, can help us appreciate what we already have and what is right in front of us.

Taurus is a fixed sign, so things happen slowly. It can take some time for a person who is used to (remember we are hardwired to crave what is familiar) seeing beauty in a lush green lawn, for example, to appreciate the magnificence of a dandelion. If you can't see the beauty in what you already have - look again.

(did you know the word dandelion comes from the Latin "lion's tooth" - dandelions are some of the honey bees earliest food, are reproductive superstars - an energy sorely needed now and have centuries of usages in food, drink and medicine)

The power and real beauty of Venus in Taurus is a deep seeded belief that everything we need is available to us. Either we have it, or we can attract it, if we believe we are worth it. Venus will be in Taurus until April 3rd.

Now, at the same time, Mercury drifting backward through the confusing energy of Pisces, for what seems like forever, is still drifting backward, but now Mercury (our thinking, information, communication) moves into an air sign - the detached and future-focused energy of Aquarius. Yes, it's fixed air, so people are not always flexible like they were in Pisces, but at least we've got some air! This gets a big THUMBS UP.

So, three things happen when Mercury changes signs.

Mercury changes (the conversation changes, our thinking changes, we are more innovative, we can detach emotionally from our thoughts, there is more air in this room so maybe we can breathe easier). The house Mercury exits changes (Pisces house slows/relaxes a tiny bit). The house Mercury enters changes (Aquarius house - gets busy). Mercury will be in Aquarius until March 16th.

Mercury in Aquarius is about clear-headed, dispassionate thinking focused on the future.

Its clarity comes from the space that is generated from detachment. From a change of perspective. We mentally step back a little bit and the pictures in our head get a little clearer, our words a little more sharp.

Maybe we are questioning/re-thinking (Mercury) our groups/friendships/causes now (Aquarius) or turning back to them.

We might be unraveling spiritual messages received while Mercury was in Pisces.

A liberating or out-of-the-box idea/conversation could come back around, too.

Now, Mercury is still retrograde. We are still re-viewing, re-vising, re-thinking. But airy Aquarius - Mercury loves air! - is certainly an improvement over Pisces

(now keep in mind we are going to be back in Pisces in a week, so our time in mental Aquarius will be very brief).

SUNDAY - SUN CONJUNCTS NEPTUNE, VENUS CONJUNCTS URANUS

The Sun, more than halfway through Pisces now - meets Neptune, ruler of Pisces. At the same time we have Venus, home in Taurus now remember, meeting change-maker Uranus as she is about to sextile (opportunity) the North Node - our path forward.

The illumination comes from our Pisces house theme. The shift comes from our Uranus house theme.

With the Sun in Pisces meeting Pisces ruler, our dreams, our illusions/delusions could reach a peak now. Covid-19 will likely be in the news and we are going to have to keep in mind that panic can be more contagious than any virus.

The Sun can shine a light on something that's been in the shadows or maybe a bright spotlight on our best path forward.

With Neptune, things can slip into place or slip through our fingers.

We are going to have to go with the flow here - the less we are trying to frantically control some outcome (because we can't), the better we will feel.

At the same time we have Venus (our love, money, resources, beauty, values, self-esteem) connecting with anything-can-happen/disruptive shocker Uranus in Venus's home sign of stable Taurus.

Conjunctions close out cycles - this time Venus/Uranus - as they begin new ones. So what no longer makes sense/cents, what is no longer valuable or maybe what is no longer valued either ends or HAS TO CHANGE.

New sources of income, new resources, new love/relationship shifts, new ideas about what matters now are activated/triggered.

Expect the unexpected with love and money or your Taurus natal house theme. Situations that bring about sudden realizations about what we really want and value are possible now, too.

EXAMPLE FOR TAURUS/TAURUS/RISING - Venus (your ruling planet) is meeting change-maker Uranus in your 1st house of yourself. Sudden changes with your appearance, your brand, your image are possible. Opposing your 7th house of partners and other people - this could bring an unexpected new relationship or surprise from your partner. At the same time you have the Sun meeting Neptune in your 11th house of friends, groups, your causes, technology, astrology, the goals that bring you into connection with other people, old trauma stories - there is a light being thrown here, but keep in mind everything won't be quite as it seems.

Venus, as us, started the week with a roadblocking/ball-busting square to Saturn and now she meets Uranus - CHANGE, that is yes, disruptive, but also in some way liberating and did I say she is on her way to an opportunistic connection with the North Node (our future) next week!

Remember conjunctions start new stories, so two conjunctions in one day is like a double flashing green light for FRESH START. 

Ok- that is a taste of the week ahead.

I get emails from people asking when things are going to "go back to normal" and I totally get this, but we all need to consider that maybe a bigger problem than things changing so fast or feeling so abnormal, is that we keep thinking they "need to go back to normal"!

Remember our North Node in Cancer - you need a home, a nest, a safe place, a sanctuary, an unshakeable belief that your soft, vulnerable underbelly is actually what keeps you from turning entirely into a brittle shell and you don't want to lose it - forget the whole "normal" thing, but make yourself a comfortable inner/outer refuge, take care of yourself - this will make any shaky ground easier to live with now.

xo all

photo by the talented BirdSophieBlack