The Cancer Moon fills in a Grand Cross in the wee hours of the 28th AM PST with Juno, Mercury, and Zeus; our feelings show us revelations concerning power and communication, specifically in terms of where power lies across our landscape, and feeling reactions give us a glimpse behind communications to their ‘real’ (i.e. emotional) meanings for us. By the 6 AM hour PST the Moon has moved on to quincunx Ceres, prompting, perhaps, a short period where we become acutely aware of the ways in which we’re in harmony with nature, and the ways we’re not, too; this may guarantee a surreal moment where we feel our animal-ness, or where we fail to–either way, we have a new perspective. For some the effects of this will linger through the day, bringing our minds over and over back to that glimpse of nature, and our place in it (or perhaps, the place we’d like to hold).

The Crab, courtesy http://www.karenswhimsy.com

By the 8 AM hour the Moon trines Pallas and squares Juno exact (this is perfection of this aspect, which was involved in the Grand Cross). West Coasters will start off the day with a solid belief in their own wisdom and good sense, and a chip on their shoulder, definitely related to unresolved conflict that was presented by the Grand Cross; for all other time zones, this feeling of competence and smarts pops up in a way that feels ‘out of the blue,’ and then immediately turns the attention toward the way in which the power struggle can be worked out–feeling one can outsmart one’s adversary can give a huge boost to energy and creativity, whether the estimation of the power situation or the possible resolution makes sense in reality or not!

The 2 PM hour brings the Moon’s conjunction to the South Node and opposition to the North, bringing us face-to-face with the past in some form. The starkness of the incident or memory is juxtaposed with our current life direction–and if we needed to be reminded that the past is not only truly gone, but is something that doesn’t belong in the ‘now,’ this is it.

By 9 PM PST the Moon has moved on to trine Uranus and quincunx Chiron and Neptune. This is a recipe for, if not excitement, then at least variety and a need to adapt. Emotional reactions do best if they stay flexible and open to accomodate the unexpected–no matter how this manifests, it’s unlikely to be a run-of-the-mill evening! Void begins 11:06 PM PST, as we anticipate the arrival of the Full Moon.

Bonus: Tomorrow Jupiter is in range of quincunx to Saturn. Watch for the way in which the urges to expand and contain war it out, internally and externally. This will set up a pervasive energy that plays right into any inclination we have to be indecisive. Libras, keep a light touch on the scales! Everyone else, try to avoid whiplash as the energies bounce us back and forth. There’s no resolving them, only trying to go with the ever-shifting flow.

We’ve almost run out of January! I’ll still be doing the daily diary, but for a comprehensive overview with aspect details that lets you plan ahead, you need your forecasts for February, March, and April, found in the Winter issue of Eclipse, along with my research on Zeus and intercepted House meanings, http://dogandsunflower.wordpress.com/eclipse-in-depth-astrology-for-the-21st-century/

Today’s Link: Wit, fun, and really good astrology http://distractedastrologer.wordpress.com/

I don’t mean the situation with Uranus, though its current sesquiquadrate to Pallas and trine to the South Node do speak of some need to adjust the impulses to accomodate what we know to be smart, as well as what we’ve learned from past experience–no, that’s a helpful situation, if we’re responsive to it; I mean an escalation of social ‘nerve,’ the kind that relies on our conditioning toward civility and polite response to allow someone else to over run us. This, I think, is Jupiterian. Yesterday we saw a quincunx from the Moon light this up; now, as planet of latest degree, we see Jupiter come forward coupled with the ongoing effects of conjunction to Chiron and Neptune, showing in startling ways that require we step outside our conditioning (and sometimes our politeness boundaries) in order to deal with them effectively, and in a way that respects our personal individuality. Jupiter (behavior acceptable publicly) plus Neptune (those who would deceive or confuse) plus Chiron (let’s just say, it’s not gonna help you!) are the elements some pulled out of their bags of tricks.

The full pic from which the header comes

For me, this showed in several ways; remember that a**hat yesterday who asked for free chart work, then told me he was just doing me a favor? He added me to his spam list, attempting to sell me a raw foods seminar in Maui and lots of podcasts. I’m about ready to name this guy publicly; I’d just hate to promote his ‘business’ in any way. For most of his life he was a failed (as in working in towns so small I’d never heard of them) radio talk show host, who got an ND and jumped on the raw foods bandwagon (and no offense meant to those who are into this; my point is that he has used this like camouflage)–when you put his past and present together, what comes to consciousness is how everything he does is about promoting himself, first and foremost–though of course, he would have us think otherwise. And, he has counted on my socialization (1. that I’m a female, taught to want to please, and 2. the particular, popular misconception that those who work in ‘New Age’ related disciplines are just here to share their ‘gifts,’ they are driven to ‘help,’ never mind making a living, which means they’ll do anything for publicity, and are just waiting to demonstrate, kostenlos, what they can do) not only to make me provide free services, but for me not to broadcast what a crass Self-promoter this fool is, because I think he believes I should be humiliated that he let me know my services aren’t worth paying for. He has misjudged me; I have a fierce and fearless core that is not loathe to face down anything or anyone even, or perhaps especially, in public, where each party can show openly who they are, and let the chips fall where they may, including the judgments of others. Maybe it’s my Sun/ Mars/ Jupiter conjunction that makes me feel so jaunty and formidable 🙂

Just before the Moon quincunxed Jupiter yesterday, I looked out my window and saw a tall woman in an oversized trench coat. She held something close to her body, hidden under the coat, and moved quickly from the grass on one side of the house to a place toward the center of our large lot (it’s about a quarter of an acre, not easy to wander to the middle of), next to the garage and very close to the back door. I opened the door and told her to get out of my yard; she was clearly not in distress, and there’s no way she could’ve mistaken it for a park! She turned and started yelling at me that I should be nicer when kicking people out of my yard–and she didn’t move. I reiterated; she continued to yell. Her words were the words of a practiced manipulator or abuser, caught in the act–the first thing this kind of person will do when confronted is tell you how bad you are. Finally I said, “You’re trespassing–get out” and calling it what it was, an illegal act, did make her move–after I said it twice! I know this is a small incident, but unnerving; I live in a big city, but neighborhoods are very contained here–you get to know everyone who passes by on a regular basis, and I had never seen this woman before. She was a test of my Jupiterian mettle, daring me to call her what she was, taunting me to live up to my social conditioning–and instead treat her like someone to be catered to, rather than the Neptunian bullsh*tter that she was.

So enough about the past–what about today? That Libra Moon has yet to conjunct Zeus and square Merc, Venus, and the Sun–why all the conflict, during a time when the surface says all should be going smoothly? I think the biggest problem is a confusion of energies–major energies in a cluster (and we know what word goes along with that) can start to stumble over one another, and our emotional stance challenges each energy in turn–and they’re all wearing the same damn hat, pretending to be in harmony when it would be easier to understand them if we saw that each energy has its own agenda, and so demands an independent take. We have the energy and impetus to sort them out and address them one by one (Moon sextile Mars) and we’ll be glad if we do; otherwise we may feel the Juno/ Vesta exact quincunx acutely, and this could signal power and Self-assertion needs that upset the relationship, home, values, and yes, sex apple-carts (and please, send me pics of your sex apple-carts and I’ll share them here).

My header, by the by, is by one of my favorite artists, Marc Chagall. There’s some controversy about the actual name of this picture; he painted so many wedding pictures (you can see the top of the bride’s head on the right) that many of the designators have become jumbled over the years. It’s the gentleness of Chagall’s work, though, that has always called me–plus I love that he uses a lot of chickens!

Today’s link: Check out Dana’s work here http://mooncircles.com/blog/  Read both ‘The Wrath of the Feminine’ and ‘Slowing Down’ for a delicious exercise in perception and contrasts!

Have a great one!

I’ve decided to try a daily diary-style format for a bit; seems like I’ve been out of contact a little too much of late, though I know it’s irrational to perceive writing to an audience as the kind of exchange one experiences speaking with others-–and yet I do. So, what do we have to look forward to over the coming 24? We’re starting things off with a Moon/ Uranus opposition, Moon quincunx Chiron, which is not only perfect symbology for spontaneous expression of emotion/intuition, and the potential for a demand made on the wound or the skills, it shows the ambush I just received by email: a guy “wanting some insight” on what he perceived to be a very profound moment coming up in his chart. Having absolutely no patience, I wrote quickly to say he should see the ‘Want More’ page; he wrote back, saying no thanks, he didn’t think my time was worth paying for, he thought I would want to do it because I would want to write an article about this upcoming config and, apparently, his breathtaking bad Self! I didn’t want to devote the energy to writing back to inform him that this transit configuration is of course happening to everyone (and I’m sure he’d have time to snap back that he knows this, as he doesn’t appear to have much going on–like all the people who write astrologers looking for free analysis–honestly, would you say to your doctor, I’d like some insight on these symptoms, but I shouldn’t have to pay you, because you can use this in a medical journal!?) The conjunction of Jupiter/ Uranus and their opp by Saturn later in the year will be stressful for some, challenging for others, and carry the spring-tension of a drawn bow, poised to send them hurtling forward, for still others, but it’s not, as Mr M put it, ‘a tipping point’ in any absolute sense; he threw in a square from Pluto for June, too, but let’s not get sloppy! It will be a rare human being for whom this doesn’t have some effect, as is typical when heavyweights form geometric shapes (in the flat chart) in the sky, but let’s not get our panties in a twist. It reminded me of those years when I thought I still wanted to focus on fiction; at parties or gatherings inevitably people would share what they do, and when I’d be feeling adventurous (as I’m more than aware of the pitfalls of declaring something like this in public) and admit that I’m a writer, there’d always be one or two people who would corner me at some point and insist on sharing elaborate (and typically unusually banal) story ideas or plots, and then would cheerfully declare, “You can use that, and I won’t even charge you for it!” I am continually amazed at the general lack of understanding of the creative/ generative processes displayed by the average yokel; a small, totally evil part of me always longed to thank them for sharing what a complete Tool they are–but you aren’t toolish, are you, dear reader? You’ll understand.

But you’re here to find out about your day. The Moon’s quincunx to Neptune brings confusion, a need to adjust fantasy to emotional reality, or a tiny punch to the emotions/ intuition from the ideals, reminding us what we’re really about. The Virgo Moon calls it a wrap with a quincunx to Jupiter; will the social arena demand adjustment, or will we broadcast what we feel, despite our better judgment? Or will we just follow the impetus to expand, that may promise us some emotional relief? Then we’ll see a Void, beginning 4:30-ish PM PST and lasting through 8:58 PM PST–suggesting we should sit back, relax, and not be too focused on controlling that which is clearly out of our reach.

Moon into Libra is not always as soothing as it sounds–sometimes we are put into the tension of a perpetual balancing act as we diplomatically try to please everyone. Don’t let this be you! The Moon will square Pluto by 2 AM PST of the 6th, conjunct Saturn by 4–we may be caught up in ‘iron fist in velvet glove’ syndrome, with a contest (or two) of Will v Will likely.

Anything else for today? Not really, though my attention is drawn to retro Mars as it forms a quincunx with the Sun; this may illuminate our wrong-headed actions, our missteps, and may give us a chance to course-correct before there’s any damage, or anyone else even knows. Gee, thanks, Mars!

Featured Post: http://astrologyexpressed.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/the-mighty-neptune/ I can attest to the link between Neptune and allergies–but Neeti just said nice things about my post, while describing herself as a “half-wit” due to allergy medication–should I be reading between the lines here? Just kidding! Please go check out her observations, if you haven’t already. I’m going to link to at least one outstanding post a day–so watch for this as a regular feature.