‘Angel of Love’ :Eligiusz Niewiadomski c1900 {{PD}}
Love (or maybe Money or Talents or Values) is where it’s at today; Venus trines Uranus, bringing spontaneous and surprising bursts of beauty, reward, and, let’s be real, unanticipated costs. Sudden expressions of talent can lift the ordinary to exceptional, and we may be challenged to face exactly where our priorities are, as we make freehand changes to what we’re willing to invest in, support, and use our talents and resources on. Venus also parallels Ceres and noviles Mercury-Pallas, steering all our Venusian choices into wisely and practically thought-out expressions of our own power within our rightful realm. Add to this that we have a clear and somehow inspired view of the world (Sun nov Saturn) that is informed by our deepest instincts (Vesta semi-sq Sedna) and for many reasons, this could be an extraordinary day.
Now that you’ve had time to vote in the poll of the 7th on Mars’ entry into Scorpio, I’m happy to report that as of this writing less than 2 percent of you anticipate revenge as a motivating force (for yourself or others) during the period, and absolutely no one thinks they’ll be dragged to hell and back–so, that’s good news!
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Gianfranco Campestrini ‘Le ginestre (Verso il mare)’ 1968 Source/Photographer Artgate Fondazione Cariplo e Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
It’s all about the direction we’re headed today, and that encompasses two areas: how much our personal power is able to shape our Path in the present, and how well we’ve stuck with our standards in the past. With the former, we must adjust our expression and the territory we consider our own, likely because relationships and/ or finances require we so so, and this conveniently shapes our life direction; with the latter, if we’ve been faithful to our values in the past we will be in a good position to think creatively, simply because we won’t be burdened with trying to clean up messes we made yesterday. We can adjust our power expression, responsive to the interaction or cost/ earnings challenges presented, but if we’ve betrayed our own standards in the past, there may be nothing we can do but face the problems that have arisen from our transgressions, and deal with them. Definitely not the worst thing that could happen, but it would be nice to head into the future with a clean psychic slate; the sooner we handle problems, the sooner we can tap into the creative mental flow that’s available today, but proceed with caution: inspiration and ideas are out there, but implementing them should wait until Merc turns around the 25th (Ceres qnx NN, Vesta parallel SN, Venus parallel Pluto and sxt Black Moon Lilith, Merc nov Neptune and semi-sq Saturn)
Most of the influences out there today are centered on Power (and secondarily, on how that settles out in relationships or affects finances or the asset picture), and Pluto square Black Moon Lilith epitomizes the best and worst of it. The issues will rest on (but this will not always be obvious) all those power expressions we have ignored from others, denied in ourselves, or that are made but don’t suit us, and must be changed, whether that’s to curb our own power statements or to get out from under those of others. Whatever’s been tamped down, put aside, overlooked (whether that’s out of fear, diplomacy–I’m looking at you, Libra–or indifference under less stressful times) will be excavated–and the square promises the unearthing comes under conditions of conflict or duress. The buried rage, the need to change things, the need to show our own significance, will not let those matters that under better circumstances we would continue to ignore or deny continue undisturbed. For most of us, this will involve mates, partnerships, a situation involving aesthetic expression, or something where we must cooperate with or work in concert with others (BML in Libra)–or it may be seated in matters of the natal House where BML is currently transiting. It’s just that BML has gotten herself into a hard relationship with Pluto, and the whole thing can’t be put aside or brushed off.
There are other power situations brewing in other areas, and the Pluto-BML situation may bleed into those; personal power expression and the scope of our sphere, our power ‘territory’, may need adjustment within the social sphere or in order to take advantage of current opportunities, and times past when we’ve found ourselves empowered may contribute to the need for a present-day, reality-oriented power-remaking (Jupiter qnx Ceres, Juno sesq SN). We do have some mojo working for us, though, specifically in that what we choose to do, or the actions we take, will do what they need to do to smooth things over and take us forward (Venus nov Mars, Mars nov NN)–and we don’t need more than that luck or facility or magic touch to soothe and make something positive out of all that upset.
The 9th makes it easy to profit from efforts, take the opportunity, or do the rewarding thing; there’s a Willingness and enthusiasm provided by the still-conjoined Venus-Saturn in Fiery Sagittarius that is upped exponentially by the fact that they’re parallel, as well, and Mars novile Jupiter doubles down, making every gesture big and every action fortuitous. That’s a nice setting for the New Moon in Capricorn, which falls at 19 Cap 13 at 5:30 PST. We have to give it some generous orbs to make real contact at all, but that’s acceptable when it’s consistent; with nothing closer than the square from Zeus with a 57 minute difference, we can afford to loosen our parameters. The entire reason to look at the New Moon aspects in the first place is to impart meaning to the event; here we see the square to Zeus is actually part of a Cardinal Grand Cross with Earth and Uranus in the other arms, and there is also a sextile to Chiron and the NM is part of a loose Earth Grand Trine, with wide conjunction to Pallas and trines to Sedna and Jupiter-NN. Keeping in mind that major leeway for a Sun-Moon meeting is in order, we also have the NM conjoined Pluto, albeit well past exact.
The New Moon offers us a couple of scenarios; how it affects each individual is likely dependent on how the event hooks into the natal chart. No matter what, the New Moon itself is conjoined both Pluto and Pallas, with the implication potentially being that what has its origins here (in matters of the natal House where it falls) must move us from a destructive or power-focused approach to one that is more oriented toward skill acquisition or use and to what’s practical and wise–that is, moving from a Pluto viewpoint to a Pallas one. And this is what we carry into both the Grand Cross and the Grand Trine, the need to move forward, refine, draw back from a sheer need to control or change to one that seeks to change through application, of what we know, and what we know to be right. In the Grand Cross this arrives through a moment or event of tension, conflict, or confrontation, and the demands of the group or our own demands to be unique (Uranus) clash with our ambitions and desires (Zeus), and so affect our material situation (Earth), with a solution of sorts found in the ‘new approach’ of the New Moon.
In the Grand Trine the New Moon triggers a chance to harmonize a future-oriented opportunity (Jupiter-NN) that meets a primal and largely unconscious impulse, one that we might call an instinct (Sedna) through the NM event; that is, we are given a beginning that serves both an inner and an outer need, one that allows an interior urge an external outlet or expression. As well, the sextile to Chiron signals that all the events or beginnings that emerge from the New Moon energy offer healing, if we’ll take it.
The Sabian is, ‘A Hidden Choir Is Singing During A Religious Service’. Apparently, what Beethoven said explains something of the Sabian meaning: “Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life.” In all the aspect scenarios, this New Moon offers connection, offers its own vibration as a conduit linking something tangible and something intangible. That is the ‘hidden choir’ of the event or beginning, bringing together or stringing a line between the seen and unseen, and doing so in a spiritually advanced way. We see that in, besides the aspect situations, the call to move along the Capricorn (that is, material) spectrum from more brute energies (Pluto) to more refined ones (Pallas). Bringing together a spiritual intention with a material one is what we’re here for–and this New Moon offers us a means to do it.
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Everything gets serious today: we have to ‘get real’ in our assessment and use of assets, talents, and in the true nature of our relationships, and we may have to cut costs, restrain spending or assertiveness, or repress our feelings. Discipline may itself be beautiful, or may be the hallmark of all that’s worthy and desirable. Communications will reflect this temporary restraint, and at the same time add to tension, as words aren’t said in some kind of misguided need to retain control or to at least provide oneself with the illusion of it, and what is shared may be clipped, cryptic, or show the bare bones of instruction or facts. We can choose to focus on our sense of hurt, or our potential for healing, but in either case, action will, accidentally or not, cause injury or re-open old wounds, and we’ll find more obstacles to ambitions than stepping stones–but if we can accept that time, Universal laws, rules, and discipline can result, eventually, in a positive outcome, we can make significant progress and perhaps make something truly worthwhile (Mercury retros into Capricorn and sesq Chiron, Venus conjoins Saturn, Jupiter semi-sq Juno, Sun sxt Chiron and sq Zeus)
What’s smart for one person to do, pursue, or be may be decidedly unwise for someone else; giving away a million dollars is one experience for a billionaire and an entirely different one for the individual who has a million dollars plus one. So, context combines with perspective and is leavened with need or goals in determining what’s wise for an individual to do, be, or pursue–and the ability to apply skills, before, during, or after the decision-making may make the difference between momentary success (I want the sensation of flying, so I climb up on the roof and jump) and a more lasting solution with a more favorable outcome (I learn to sky-dive). Though it may seem that wisdom and skills are absolutes, they are relative (and can even be relative to each other–it’s far smarter to send a negotiator who ‘speaks the language’ than it is to simply send someone intelligent), and it’s the scope and contours of this relativity we must keep in mind when assessing Pallas.
Maximilian Liebenwein ‘Pallas Athene’ 1906 {{PD}}
The Warrior Woman representing both wisdom and skills harmonizes in an Earth Grand Trine with Sedna and the North Node-Jupiter=the smart thing is to find a balance among instincts, skills, and the desired life direction within the social sphere, as achieving synergy among these will allow for exponential growth, the element of ‘luck’, MORE, or however you wish to term opportunity for enhancement of the smart choice–that is, taking the opportunity that both serves the natural, internal need and the need found within the social order. It could mean finding your ‘place’ or role or purpose, at least temporarily.
Franz von Stuck ‘Pallas Athene’ 1898 {{PD}} Notice the similarity to Klimt’s work, especially the breastplate–they were painted in the same year.
The key to this empowerment will be a willingness to adjust attitudes toward what we normally hold sacred (and in holding it sacred, we don’t make fresh observations or question priorities, which is what we’ll need to do–Vesta qnx Juno); the temptation that could scuttle our efforts will be to rebel, to do something just to be different, to insist on pure originality, to require academic back-up, justification, or support, or to simply act erratically, and so present, if not a danger, then an element of unreliability within that social order wherein we’re hoping to succeed (Sun sq Uranus). Find ‘right relationship’ among what’s personally wise and practical for you (that is, best use of skills), the needs of the social order, and the needs of the instinctive Beingness–and you could have a very good day indeed.
Don’t forget to vote in our Mars in Scorpio poll, below–
And here is Carl Hagenbeck, who had Louis Corinth paint his portrait with a walrus named Pallas. I don’t get the connection 🙂 Maybe they’re just friends?
Corinth 1898 {{PD}}
If the January 3rd poll is any indication, Pluto is a strong influence in the natal chart of many of my readers. Not a surprise to me, really; with Venus in Scorpio square Pluto, I see the beauty in the Plutonian way, and that probably helps make Plutonians feel a little less like the bull in the china shop (a symbol so resonant of Scorpio-out-of-water, as its opposite number, Taurus). And now on to Mars, lately arrived in Scorpio. Transits set a kind of energy tone; the real effects come from contact to the natal placements, but we can’t discount the way the sign is emphasized as we run into others ‘having a transit’, or the way the sign’s influence shows through, in this case, moments of choice, action, effort, and anger, all Mars.
‘Jump’ Gemälde Zyklu Adam Marian Pete Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International
If today were a swiftly moving, bracingly cold river, the best thing we could do is plunge right in without hesitation–heck, without too much thought at all–especially in terms of what we do and what we choose (NN trine Sedna, Mars nov Saturn). Merc’s already retro, and typically that brings a lack of surety (or maybe reliability) to the thought processes, and this is doubly so when Mercury retrogrades in an Air sign, as it has done this time in Aquarius. We may not be able to connect yet with the old retro reliables, Venus and the Moon, so that we may feel our way through what we would normally meet with the mind, though what we receive through the senses and sensation can carry a kind of wisdom of its own (Venus semi-sq Pallas); and we may be far too easily mislead by appearances, mirages, or plain old lies (Neptune trine Juno) when it comes to our province, our rights, and our status and its privileges. That leaves us to rely on instinct, on impulse, to trust that somewhere in our store of knowledge or reflex lies the appropriate response–so jump in, the water’s just fine!
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Sure, women can be Plutonian, and it doesn’t mean she’ll devour you, either! John Collier ‘In the Venusberg Tannhäuser’ 1901 {{PD}}
Do you have any Plutonian people in your life? If so, do you find you’re able to understand (or maybe withstand!) the sheer energy they emit better than the average human? And do you notice they don’t seem to understand their own psychic strength? If you’re hanging around with Plutonians, you’ve probably got a strong Plutonian inclination yourself–nobody else could put up with the x-ray vision that burns as often as it’s insightful, or the ripple that runs through the Cosmos every time one of these Hadean natives gets upset. This came to mind when I was interacting with my very Plutonian husband; he entered this plane in one of those waves of Uranus-Pluto in Virgo, and he has the added bonus of Mars also conjunct this pair, with an Aries Sun like a cherry on the energy sundae, focusing an enormous drive and powerful persona through the individual identity. We were talking about effective communications, and I mentioned to him that the way he goes at interaction is highly Plutonian: he charges forward, bludgeons the unsuspecting with words, then dashes away to his (mental) cave. For him, every conversation is a confrontation, everyone else someone to be bested; he’ll drag you into his own special hell, if given half a chance. It’s not a bad place, it’s just the one he’s comfortable in, and if you can stand the heat, you can get a lot out of that kitchen. Luckily I have Venus in Scorpio; I adore this energy, and I’m absolutely not afraid of the dark, literally or figuratively. What about you? You might be a Plutonian if:
3 points and you can definitely sympathize, empathize, and understand the Plutonian viewpoint; 4-6 points and you find that shadow in you at times; 7-8 points suggests a Plutonian facet to your nature that is definitely a vital expression of who you are; and 9 or more points makes you the Plutonian others make way for.
Somebody searches me every day, and every day they spell my name wrong; they add a ‘w’ where there is none. I don’t mind the misspelling, I mind what it says about the person seeking help. They are bothering to search out what I have to say, but they aren’t observant enough to realize that, day after day, they are searching incorrectly. It implies they aren’t really seeing what’s in front of them, and that implies they aren’t really understanding the posts they find. Whoever you are, slow down and really look–it can only make things easier.
Mercury hit 29 degrees on the 31st and we experienced a cascade of equipment failures over the following hours: my camera and memory card died (after being lost all summer and then working strangely); our car battery died with no warning; and our phone didn’t stop working, but it no longer rings and the speaker function doesn’t work (to everyone’s delight, really, because who likes to be on speaker?); and the cable ‘disappeared’, taking television service but not the internet with it! By the time Merc entered Aquarius in the AM Pacific time of the 2nd, all was resolved, but with Merc going retro at 5:06 AM PST on the 5th, we may have been dealing with what amounts to material world electrical/ modern method chaos, shaped by the sign and degree placement, but spurred by the upcoming retrograde. Leaving Capricorn may have strained the physical components of what carries energy impulses of one kind or another, as if the components themselves were being dragged across a rough surface; drained and damaged, the stress is only cleared with Merc’s entry into the tech-aligned sign of Aquarius. Also of note is the way Merc retros only 2 minutes from completing a square to Mars, suggesting that during the retro period we may want to act, or express our energy or anger, but may not be able to, or may first try words–which may prove woefully inadequate.
But with the retro only days away, I’m anticipating we might have a recurrence of the situation we just saw when Merc once again moves into Cap. This happened between my Whole Sign 12th and 1st Houses, suggesting that what manifested may have been expressions of ‘me’ and my unconscious, specifically in the ways I wanted to change communications, especially communications that were personal (the 1st). Where did it happen for you, and what effects did you notice, if any?
3 January we may discover our active philosophy of life and our working beliefs clash somehow with our highest ideals. With Mars entering Scorpio, we’ll have the energy and drive to dig it all up and resolve the discrepancy–and that’s a good thing to do, as carrying that kind of dissonance disrupts everything. A lucky ‘shift’ in Love or Money is also on the agenda; it’s change you can embrace and enjoy, a kind of reward for those open to modifying the current arrangement (Jupiter contra-parallel Vesta, Venus nov Pluto)
4 January is the day to ‘do it’: we enjoy almost unprecedented internal harmony, a surfeit of wisdom, practical skills are on point or we receive required help within the social sphere, and thoughts vibe to Love, though for a few Money might be the mental tuning fork. What we seek is right in line with our deepest values, and honors what we truly care about (but be prepared to see what you or others really care about–we could find our emphasis is on Love, Money, Relationships, or Life Values when we thought it was on a different one of the four). This is a day with ‘Success!’ written all over it, for those who trust themselves and the Universe–everybody else just gets a nice little boost so really, nobody loses (Jupiter trine Pallas, Venus trine Vesta, Merc parallel Venus)
5 January is an important day, though it might not be an easy one. We see what needs to change, and we may have to answer for missteps made yesterday that were based on misperceptions, fantasies, or lies. As a result, tempers will flare, even if our touchiness is only within our own minds; we won’t like having to face matters we’d rather ignore (especially if we’ve been successfully ignoring them up to now!) but doing so will have the virtue of clearing up a lot of shadows and handing back to us wasted, stolen, or misplaced energy (Venus sq Neptune, Merc sq Mars–though it doesn’t perfect–and Sun conjunct Pluto, both sq Black Moon Lilith)
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Lajos Gulácsy ‘The Garden of the Magician’ 1906 – 1907 {{PD}}
There is an almost uncanny alignment between our mentality and the physical realm; what we think, our ideas, elide seamlessly with the material world. There is as well a kind of cooperation between limits and boundaries and the thought processes, so that each complements the other. We know when to stop, when to hold back (but whether we do so is a matter of choice!) The best thing is that, as long as we are willing to be very clear between what is and what could be, we will see wisdom shape the creative urge and funnel through the mind. Inspired and yet practical thinking is the result (Merc parallel Saturn, Neptune semi-square Pallas)
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Hmm, I titled this, ‘Ready to Act, Ready to Defend’, but it may actually be ‘Ready to Offend’, as on the 31st we have Venus sesquiquadrate Uranus, which may see relationships invite us to be our most erratic, irresponsible, irritating, radical, and original Self–or could tempt us to spend in unique and potentially regrettable ways. We may, inadvertently or even quite deliberately, sabotage interactions or acquisitions by ‘going too far’. Channeled well, we could earn through unusual means or create something of singular beauty, and Mars parallel Neptune gives us both the energy and the creative spark needed to manifest Love or Art in the form we believe it should ideally take (Venus in Sagittarius)–if, that is, we can hold it together under Uranus’ heady influence.
Thoughts run deep, and it may be difficult to consider something without assessing its potentials for power acquisition or significant change (Merc parallel Pluto); that could put us unconsciously on the mental defensive, should we be someone for whom power struggles are the very definition of power expression. We might do best to take our cues from this: whatever is spotlighted, whatever draws our attention, may be the most ‘natural’ venue for our effective individual expression, in part because our unconscious, our ‘blind spot’ material, and our instincts, will all be exerting their influence, and so tailoring our expression quite specifically to who we are. It’s a passionate, intense, and in many ways powerfully affecting atmosphere we ourselves generate on the run up to the New Year; then we have the 1st for sorting things out.
We may find a surprising amount of internal harmony in our New Year’s Day reflections, and the intellectual approach is most likely, so that any emotional impacts of our behavior are conveniently packed away for later examination. However, we may have to acknowledge something about our ambitions and desires, something that the past 24-48 hours or so has made abundantly clear. We’d best see this as a good thing, a chance to enter the next standard trip around the Sun with a more accurate understanding of our role and place in things, relative to what we want, what and who we care about, and what we hope to accomplish. Happy New Year, Everybody! (Vesta parallel Black Moon Lilith, Venus semi-sq Zeus, Mercury enters Aquarius)
Julie Demboski's ASTROLOGY 
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