‘Batseba ontvangt de brief van koning David’ (Bathsheba receives a letter from King David) By Jan Steen c1656-1660 {{PD}}

Why is it that, at the moment we need to muster our authority and prove our right to exert our Will, we allow our wounds to distort our sense of rightness, to mar the personal provenance that grants us our powers? Could it be because something, either external or in our own make-up, has surprised us, thrown us out of step–or is it the way the group has influenced our thinking? Our mentality may change character on a dime today, and if you need to innovate or invent, it’s the day to do it. In any case, our perceptions of the state of the material world, as well as the state of any obstacles we face or solid accomplishments we enjoy, is tremendously accurate–and this, and only this, should influence what we choose to do, and how we choose to exert dominion over what is clearly our territory.

(Chiron sesq Ceres, Mercury qnx Uranus and nov Saturn)

Invitation to Rex ball, Mardi Gras 1891, New Orleans, Attributed to Anders Wikström {{PD}}

Today’s word image is an invitation to a party. This image brings to mind that joke about introverts, where what they really enjoy is cancelling plans! Does the thought of a gathering that’s purely social sound pleasant or stressful to you? Whatever your response, honor it–you don’t owe anyone an explanation (much less your presence) if you prefer to be elsewhere.

Happy Birthday, Mom! She won’t see this, but I thought I’d say it anyway.

Close-up on the shiny aluminum panels from outside, of The Atomium building, Brussels, Belgium. Photo By Tomhannen {{PD}}

We have only a single, subtle influence perfecting today, Saturn parallel Vesta. Reality takes on the sheen of the ideal, we see our priorities and what we honor right before us, and we find they are either blocked or made manifest in a tangible way. We can see the results made manifest of our sense of right and wrong, of possible and impossible, of our own failures to hew to our ideals and those ways in which we have successfully woven them into our lives. If you see roadblocks wherever you look, it suggests you’ve set your sights too low, not seeing the potentials for birthing your highest ideals into your world; if you see real-world manifestations, you can judge the effectiveness of, and perhaps the level and purity of, your ideals; and if you see your highest vision take on real-world form, then you can know you’re bringing your ‘A’ game to your everyday life–you’re acting as a beacon to others.

By P/\UL / Paul Randall – Flicrk photo Emergency, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8692197

Today’s word image is a Tweet you wish you hadn’t sent. Or that can be a letter, a remark, a phone call, a text, or some other communication you regret putting out there. The answer to why you regret it is a mini-reading of some quality in you that needs your attention. Were you off-the-cuff? You might need to practice restraint. Were you cruel in what you said? You need to focus on empathy, on the other guy’s POV. Did you speak without thinking? The remedy to that one is obvious. Were you misunderstood? If the misunderstanding was genuine, then no harm, no foul; if it was deliberate with either party, then the relationship needs immediate resuscitation, or a swift execution. Did you speak your Truth? The question you must ask yourself is, Was it necessary? It’s not an automatic right to be ‘honest’ especially when we know it might result in harm. Did you have a hidden agenda you haven’t admitted, maybe even to yourself? You know where the honesty needs to be applied–unacknowledged agendas can read as anywhere between manipulative and outright deceptive–and you don’t want to be known as anything like that. Did you embarrass some else? Did you mean to? An apology, as long as it’s real, will fix that. Nothing’s unfixable–that’s important to know.

By Hendrick Avercamp c1610 {{PD}}

I’m always reluctant to post the very next aspects following a Full or New Moon, as I think it’s much more important to pay attention to that Lunar energy as it peaks and plays out–and always looking to the next thing can keep us from seeing where we are, right now, and dealing with it effectively. So, try not to be distracted by what may be ahead–live right now.

This issue today coalesces like a soupy fog around our actions and choices, and the question becomes, are we driven by idealism, by a dream, or are we deceived or deluded, and accepting this as fact, pushing forward? If the former, yay! but if the latter, we have a way to measure whether we’re following what’s best or what’s deceptive: if you feel yourself rebelling against that supposedly inspiring energy, symbol, or cause, that is your individuality urge, your uniqueness, the most original part of yourself, letting you know that this direction, impulse, or choice doesn’t resonate with or speak for you at core–and so is likely untrue, in some way.

Two other things to keep in mind: thinking is all future-aligned, so may neglect the here-and-now (sound familiar?)–and where we put our attention may seem to be loaded with restrictions or constraints–but that’s really just the Universe pointing out how Self-discipline (rather than that supplied by externals) is necessary for building, creating, accumulating successfully. That means that the more Self-disciplined you are at this time, the less you’ll notice ‘Stop’ signs around you.

(Mars parallel and conjoined Neptune and semi-sq Uranus, Mercury trine NN, Sun parallel Saturn)

Today’s word image is a boy who ventures out onto pond ice, trying to help a deer that has fallen through, and falls through himself. This image is about being sufficiently equipped (including sufficiently mature) to help another. There is a certain kind of person who habitually rescues others, with little regard for whether the effort is successful, or even appropriate (have you ever been ‘rescued’ when you didn’t need it? particularly by someone for whom the ‘rescuing’ was about them, not you?) That kind of person is ‘under the ice’ themselves–and whether the effort is a continuous attempt to convince themselves and others that they’re a ‘good’ person, or is a mechanism for ignoring that they themselves are in danger of drowning, matters not. The problem is one of knowing when to take ‘appropriate action’–which involves not just when or when not to act, but also what to do, the good judgment to know what efforts are truly needed or even welcomed by those in a predicament. Another way to see this, should it apply to you or someone you know: Check yourself before you wreck yourself.

See the New Moon here–

Why do we make Eve responsible for Adam’s choice? She’s responsible only for her own. ‘The Temptation’ By William Strang 1899 {{PD}}

There’s something that’s tempting us, no, rewarding us, for acting and choosing against our own best interests. We’re sabotaging our future, acting in ways we know aren’t wise, and refusing to listen to our instincts and our inner knowing. Why is this happening? We don’t trust ourselves, don’t trust our vision, and we have things we are in denial of or are hiding–and that leaves an opening for discordant influences to take advantage of us, to aim our own better natures against ourselves and our goals, to undermine what we are at the very core. The thing is, if we lack trust in ourselves as able to be most responsive to our own needs and in our own defense, then we are at the mercy of how the Universe and those others in it treat us–and feeling that way is debilitating to all facets of Being. Today, concentrate on cleaning out the psychic closet; facing reality, admitting the Truth, and hiding nothing bring immense inner strength and center us at a Soul level. Take your own hand, reassure yourself that you’re right here, and then relax–you’ll handle it.

(Mars sesq NN, qnx Pallas, and contraparallel Sedna, Venus sq Vesta, Sun sesq Uranus, sq Neptune, and sxt Black Moon Lilith)

‘Self-Portrait as a Deaf Man’ By Sir Joshua Reynolds c1775 {{PD}}

Today’s word image is a word/ term that I keep hearing and think, ‘That’s the word image!’ but over the course of several days, I’ve forgotten it repeatedly, specifically when I’m writing a post! So, until I hear and remember it for a future post, we’ll make today’s image something you’ve forgotten–but will remember at just the right time.

Thomas Eakins {{PD}}

Try as we might, we can’t see a clear path into the future. What to do is obscured by our own wants and ambitions, and though we can identify both what’s practical and what’s wise, it’s not helping. It feels like we’re thinking clearly, but the reality is that the mental faculties are caught at the liminal point of turnaround, mired in a kind of retrograde energy that makes accurate perception difficult as peering into a dark cave–are those shadows, someone moving deep within, distortions of the light, beasts, or are our eyes playing tricks from concentrating so hard? Note impulses, the desire to move in a particular direction, note what you want and what you see as smart–and then wait a few days (again, past the Merc direction and the New Moon) to choose among those alternatives and then move forward.

(Mars parallel Zeus, Mercury semi-sq Pallas and trine NN, Sun sesq NN and sxt Pallas)

By Ian Boggs from Astoria, US – Lightning on the Columbia River, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3353472

Today’s word image is lightning striking twice in the same place. There’s a saying that claims that doesn’t happen, but it does. What big event, amazing occurrence, fortuitous serendipity, fated meeting, or once-in-a-lifetime opportunity happened to you before? Well, get ready, because in some form, something special will present itself to you again–maybe exactly the same, a second chance, or maybe something quite different but rare, an unusual, twice-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Try to recognize it for its scarcity, and how you won’t get another chance like this again, so if it’s something you wish to do, go forward without hesitation, and without fear.

‘The Fever’ By Tsukioka Yoshitoshi 1883 {{PD}}

Do you feel things slowing, thoughts lagging, languishing in a strange heat created by too much reaching back to (and regretting) the past, too much ease in locating wounds and spotting opportunities missed, too much resentment of the facts and the way they’ve restricted you, then and now? It’s a fever raised by actions at which we are highly competent; we act, choose, and express ourselves well in the appropriate environment–and yet we fail to give ourselves credit for all we’re doing not just right but skillfully, in an accomplished way. Instead we look at all we’re missing or have failed at. Don’t let a wrong-headed focus distract you from the current opportunities, the many healed energies, and the absolutely brilliant thoughts you’ve come up with (but proceed with caution on this last, waiting until both direction of Mercury and the New Moon have had their say, on the 6th, to go forward on anything).

(Jupiter parallel SN, Mars parallel Ceres, Merc nov Saturn and trine Chiron)

Watch out for the broken glass! A detail from ‘Breakfast Table with Blackberry Pie’ By Willem Claeszoon Heda 1630 {{PD}}

Today’s word image is pie served to someone who doesn’t like pie. Those people don’t exist, you say? What an ungrateful person to disdain gooey fruit between two slabs of dough-ness, you say? This image is about assumptions, and being open to noticing that those around us have very particular tastes–and that to ignore those is to ignore a part of the individual. Is it your job to know and cater to every little thing in your loved ones? Absolutely not. But the image does suggest that you may be offering something to someone that you assume they will like, will see as good, when they really have no taste for it at all.