Category Archives: current events in the sky

11-13 May 2020 Hazardous to Your Health

10 Sunday May 2020

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, forecast, Retrogrades, Venus Retrograde

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‘Rokeby Venus’ By Diego Velázquez 1644 {{PD}}

Now we stand in the shadow cast over our reality by Saturn’s retrograde on the 10th, and we likely feel the need to reassess our approach and our standing according to the new conditions we see around us. Are you a ‘suddenly halted’ Saturn responder, or an ‘obstacles removed’ kind of Saturn person? The answer to that will tell you whether this period is a ‘go forward with all those stalled projects’ time, or a ‘take a Zen approach and accept stalls as delays meant to turn your attention elsewhere’ time.

The 11th sees some serious questions around power and values answered, specifically as they are addressed through ambitions, desires, and the array of personal responsibilities each of us has. Though we may feel disempowered, may feel that thoughts don’t match actions, we need to know that off-the-cuff choices and efforts will make more issues than they address–so avoid the spontaneous, if possible. Look in the dark corners for the information that is vital to making good choices (and of course, we didn’t know that before–that’s why we put it in a dark corner!)–and then go forward on the 12th, in all areas except purely creative ones. New impulses and ideas need to be noted, but not yet instituted–and it’s clear why when we consider that the 12th also has Venus turnaround in apparent retrograde.

This retro occurs every 18 months and institutes a short (approx. 6 week) period when we may see any or all of these effects: we re-visit an issue or Venusian-themed subject that was active 8 years ago, the last time Venus retrograded at roughly this point in the natal scenario. Things may pick up as if no time has passed, or we may see the same material re-emerge in different form. There’s a potential for quite abruptly seeing relationships, financial, and aesthetic matters in different terms; perceptions in these areas are temporarily distorted, making us more inclined to be adventurous, to stray from our normal preferences–and sometimes to make life changing choices. Our tastes don’t run in their usual channels. With any permanent change in those areas you consider making during the retro, put off the actual step until after Venus goes direct. The difference in choices should look something like this: henna tattoos–Yes! Real ink–No! Dating someone you might’ve typically turned down–Yes! Getting married spontaneously–No!

And this is all shaped by where in the natal chart this Venus retro occurs for you. Re-visited subjects will be found connected to the House where the retro falls (and possibly will involve Venusian matters or matters Venus rules or is otherwise involved with via chart rulerships), and they’ll carry the tone of the sign in which the retro occurs, in this case Gemini. That could mean the mind takes center stage, overruling aesthetic judgments and giving you lots of reasons why what the heart yearns toward isn’t the logical (or tidy, or justifiable) choice. Venus retrograde withdraws our innate taste standards, preferences, and ‘what we love’ and respond to, replacing it in this instance with what our minds, or the arguments of others, tell us we should love.

Interesting to note that on the 12th, unlike through the rest of Venus’ turnaround, the mind will be sharp, reality-oriented, and unusually smart, stable, and reliable. If you’re going to listen to the mind alone during the Venus retro, this is the day to do so–after that, remind yourself that nothing is done by thought alone, and thoughts without heart don’t tell the whole story.

On the 13th we may not understand how truly destructive or deluded our choices are, especially those around matters of health. What feels like deep thinking is really hyper-pessimistic. Let it go, for now, and stay with what you already know and practice.

Have a great week!

 

Your Weekend 8-10 May 2020 Proceed With Caution

07 Thursday May 2020

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, Saturn Retrograde

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By bryan… from Taipei, Taiwan – Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, 名古屋, なごやし, 愛知縣, 愛知県, あいちけん, 日本, にっぽん, にほん, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66511356

Friday the 8th is quiet, and yet we may hear whispers that are worrying or wounding–but is this really what’s happening? We may be a little hyper-sensitive when it comes to our values, and in particular, right now we may be treating our beliefs about our health and well-being as sacrosanct. Realize that sensitivity is making us reactive. That’s an understandable response when we feel vulnerable; being aware that we’re too touchy (and that others are, too) will keep things from spinning out of control and so causing real injury.

By the 9th, if we’re having a hard time making good decisions, it’s likely because we’re afraid: of being wounded further, of actually having power (and so being completely responsible), or of whatever changes true awareness might bring. We’re rejecting the still, small voice within in favor of the big, blasting air horn of alarm in our heads. Power struggles, or at least negotiations over territory and reach, are inevitable at this point; the more comfortable we are with hard-edged realities, and the more clearly we are able to focus on goals for the future, the better for us overall.

And then it’s the 10th, which features stationary Saturn finally beginning to retrograde. And what’s the atmosphere in which this happens? We are optimistic (maybe overly so), looking for opportunities, and trying to flee our own doubts, which nag at us. We may think that if we can just concentrate on goals, we’ll make progress and beat having to deal with those subjects we’d like to ignore or are in denial about, but that won’t actually work. Some of these issues can be tucked away long-term and dealt with later, thanks to Saturn’s withdrawal (this is the most likely option if these topics are ruled by Saturn natally, or are related to the House Saturn is currently transiting). The rest, though, if we insist on ignoring them, leave us open to deception or delusion. With the ‘right’ mindset (mostly one of trusting the facts as well as ourselves, especially trusting that if we are informed we can make the right choices), and our attention focused on channeling creative or spiritual energy, we’ll redeem the day and, perhaps unexpectedly, deal successfully with at least some of what we tried to ignore.

Saturn’s turnaround typically has one of two effects: it either withdraws support to something we’d hoped to build on, instituting (often unexplainable) delays, or it suddenly and again, inexplicably, removes impediments that seemed, shortly before, to be unbreachable. I find that everyone consistently responds to the Saturn retrograde cycle in one of these ways, and I encourage everyone to determine which is your typical response, as knowing can aid timing and mark where and when you can make progress, and where it might otherwise be prohibited (and that saves a lot of energy!) It was a revelation for me when I discovered that I actually have a positive response to Saturn’s retrograde, with obstacles falling away on its reversal. Learning that showed me that one-size-fits-all definitions of astro events, well, just don’t fit all!

Have a great weekend, everybody!

See my take on the recent Full Moon in Scorpio here–

Full Moon in Scorpio 7 May 2020

04 Monday May 2020

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, forecast, Full Moon, Sabian Symbols

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‘The Path in the Wood’ By Hugo Darnaut 1884 {{PD}}

We have a Full Moon on 7 May at 3:45 AM PDT at 17 Scorpio 20. The Full Moon noviles Juno, opposes Mercury, trines Neptune, and quincunxes the combo of Vesta-Hygeia. A Full Moon brings conclusions, endings, big reveals, or makes it apparent that a situation will go no farther. We may see a definitive end or just a stall that makes us think things might go on–but they won’t, and we may not quite believe it at the time. Hope may spring eternal, but the Lunar cycle (usually) tells us what has matured and so we can turn our attention elsewhere; it also informs as to what’s just over, with or without our consent.

The most difficult thing about FM events is that it can be tough to see in the moment what is a true ending and what is merely a plateau, with this latter specifically making us think things will get rolling again, when they instead may refuse to develop any further, leaving us in a state of limbo that we may not immediately recognize as a prompt to turn to something else/ something new. This Moon’s placement in Scorpio points to at least some of the meaning of the event being hidden or obscured, from ourselves by ourselves (for our own safety, or so that we can stand to go forward with something we’d otherwise run away from) or by others, for any of the various reasons others keep things from us. And, there’s the potential for us to fail to recognize that current events may actually be prompting us to start something new, or to look elsewhere for what we have been getting from the present situation. So, we may mistake this for a pause, misreading it as a delay because of something we imagine or that we’re unable to see or understand via the ease with which a Neptune trine obscures, when it’s really time to move on and not look back, in no-nonsense Scorpionic Plutonian style.

Let’s look at each aspect, one at a time. The novile to Juno promises that the Lunar event will reveal clever, unique, and highly inventive ways to empower ourselves. Empowerment is a broad term, but we know it when we see it–or do we? Part of what a Scorpio Full Moon may offer is a new way of looking at the power situation, and this time we have the potential to see some truly genius ways of getting some for ourselves–that is, if we can cut through the Neptunian fog or distraction. The need to keep this in mind can’t be overstated: we must assume there’s something we’re not entirely aware of at the time of the Full Moon. Just knowing something is slipping outside the grasp of the conscious mind should be enough to help us navigate events–but of course, we’d all like to be completely conscious of conditions, wouldn’t we?

Three days before the Full Moon we have the Superior Conjunction of the Sun and Mercury, which is the meeting of the two bodies during Merc’s direct phase, and by the time of the Full Moon Mercury is still within orb of opposition to the Moon-Earth combination. This suggests that what was revealed or came to fruition at the SC by the FM stands separate from Lunar implications. It’s as if what was central on Monday (the day of the SC) has somehow become much less so by the Full Moon. Since Mercury is in Taurus, this could translate as thoughts, approaches, or ideas that seemed practical, grounded, comforting, that suddenly don’t seem to be enough, in some important sense. That kind of discovery can be a bit disorienting, and so leave us open to the Neptunian distraction–or to the Neptunian creative surge.

And speaking of that Neptune, in connection to the Lunar event, we could be inspired by a wave of feeling energy, spiritually or artistically, or have pointed out to us our weak spots, those places where we are addressing reality with fantasy or the impractical. The House Neptune is currently transiting is a prime spot delineating the possible subjects through which we experience Neptune’s effect, as is any natal energies and/ or the House(s) these rule in the natal chart that are currently aspected by Neptune.

The Full Moon also makes a quincunx to conjoined Vesta and Hygeia. This suggests adjustment, especially emotional adjustment, to the need to honor our own health. Quarantine fatigue is real, and as someone said, it seems as if we’re right around the 64th of March. This is the point when renewing our commitment to behave in healthy ways for both our own and others’ benefit is paramount–and this aspect may remind us just how much relies on our own responsible behavior.

The Sabian for the Moon-Earth meeting is, ‘A Path Through Woods Brilliant With Multicolored Splendor’. We can see the way ahead of us, see which direction we need to go–if we’re honest with ourselves their will be no confusion about moving forward. A more literal idea of getting out in Nature is beneficial; Scorpio is a sign of renewal, regeneration, and re-birth, so a connection to growing, living things shouldn’t be overlooked as a way to refresh and replenish. Too, our task may be to appreciate the variety that surrounds us, and the journey itself, now more than ever.

We also look at the Sun, source of the Moon’s illumination, for a Full Moon. ‘A Woman Airing An Old Bag Through The Open Window Of Her Room’. The only reason for someone to air an old bag is to be able to re-use it. This image perhaps points toward the need to be more conscious of our resources, of what we discard too easily, what we re-use again and again, and what we think we need new and shiny when we might not need it at all. We are humans, and therefore we consume, so there’s no shame in it, but greater awareness in what and how much we use can only be a good thing.

See notes on the 4th, 5th, and 6th here–

A Good Day To . . . 28 April 2020

27 Monday Apr 2020

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‘Medea the Sorceress’ By Valentine Cameron Prinsep 1880 {{PD}}

The 28th is a Good Day To . . . get rid of any standard or commitment that doesn’t respect your personal autonomy and power. You are a force of Nature, with an obligation to use that power wisely–and anything that stops you must go!

A Good Day To . . . is based on the aspects perfecting on each day, Pacific time.

A Good Day To . . . 27 April 2020

26 Sunday Apr 2020

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By Illustrator unknown. “Copyright 1937 by Paramount Pictures Inc.” – Scan via Heritage Auctions. Cropped from the original image and retouched; see upload history for unretouched original., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=88027348

The 27th is a Good Day To . . . notice that our first impulse to choose or do isn’t really a smart one–and this is so despite the way our ideas are truly inspired and creative. It’s a matter of needing to do or choose with our eyes on the future, rather than indulging in whatever the ego or our own more base needs dictate. That could mean that by taking an attitude that puts the meaning behind what we’re building or creating first, rather than just acting for our personal gratification, we can make the most of the exciting things we’re visualizing and thinking about. Being mindful of what we’re creating means everybody wins.

A Good Day To . . . is based on the aspects perfecting on each day, Pacific time.

A Good Day To . . . 26 April 2020

25 Saturday Apr 2020

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The 26th is a Good Day To . . . sort out whether it’s the social order or the facts that don’t support what and to whom we’ve dedicated our energy. Essentially, we’re being given a hard time, though whether the criticism is valid or not is almost beside the point; this actually challenges us to assess our own circumstances through a Higher Mind lens. That will lift us above the fray and show us the way we may profit, or recognize the worth of our relationships or talents, and so know if the critique was an important signpost or really more about the critiquer. And, with the Sun conjoining Uranus, it’s a day when every accident or unexpected thing tells us something vital about ourselves–so listen attentively as the Universe speaks.

A Good Day To . . . is based on the aspects perfecting on each day, Pacific time.

A Good Day To . . . 25 April 2020 + A Little on Ceres

24 Friday Apr 2020

Posted by in astrology, Ceres, current events in the sky, forecast, Retrogrades

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‘Ceres Enthroned’ By Michele Pannonio c1450-60 {{PD}}

A Little on Ceres

Here’s a question: Does Ceres (Mother Nature) in Pisces (related to fluid-borne illness, hard to diagnose symptoms, returning to the Collective, miasmas, and unreality, just to name a few correspondences) necessarily represent Covid-19? Many have stated that the recent Saturn-Pluto conjunction kicked it off, and that this represents Covid. Just as with the astrology of a human being, many factors can apply to the overall picture. I do think Ceres’ move into Pisces while trine the North Node is significant. That contact to the Nodes, just as they are poised to move from Cancer into late Gemini (because remember, the Nodes shift and shift but overall move backward through the zodiac) suggests the direction of energy will move from caring to a kind of communicating where networking and connections are integral to the sharing of information. The NN in Cancer brought forward so many moving and Selfless acts of kindness with the onset of these trying times; the change to Gemini, we might reasonably anticipate, will usher in connecting and networking prompted by stress (as the first place the Nodes go is to that under pressure 29th degree). So, perhaps soon we can look forward to some true cooperative efforts, a genuine pooling of information that can take us forward, and benefit everyone. And it’s notable that Pallas is at 29 degrees of Capricorn right now, implying a last ditch effort to avoid being practical or failing to call whole-heartedly on those with appropriate skills to address changes to structures, institutions, ‘the rules’, and reality itself. We certainly see this every day in the US at the Corona virus briefings, where it’s much more a PR stunt (“If we can persuade them everything’s okay, then it’s okay!”) and the President’s time for Self-promotion, than it is about mobilizing efforts to fight the virus. Don’t worry–the Nodal move into Gemini/ Sagittarius should bring more attention to actual information, to the facts, and to a pooling of resources so that more or less we all get on the same page.

Yes, Saturn-Pluto certainly paints a picture of a destructive plague decimating the current social order, deconstructing the status quo, promising to forever change what is–but I think Ceres tells it from a slightly different perspective, that of the state of the planet. Earth is sick, in effect, and that just so happens to affect some of the species that live on her. In this sense, Ceres is the state of health of the planet, the eco-system that expresses viability, analogous to an individual’s state of health, while the Earth corresponds to an individual’s body. Ceres in Pisces, then, suggests we may not be able to know or contain this state of Being, that control may never happen–which means accommodation must instead. Ceres as symbol of our relationship to Earth has moved from a condition of intellectualizing our interaction, and understanding but not doing anything about the relationship itself (Aquarius). That is, we went along, analyzing what was happening, but treating it as effects of the modern, something to study, but not to act on or react to as there seemed to be so little urgency, until suddenly, there is. With current events, Earth and humankind are trying to achieve a better balance, something to supersede the increasingly uneasy living arrangement we’ve had up until now. Together we can make it work.

The 25th is a Good Day To . . .  expect rewards and benefits to suddenly appear from within some fairly difficult circumstances or because of some hard-to-accept restrictions, barriers, or boundaries. Accepting limitations offers us something positive, Love or Money or satisfaction or praise (Venus is currently in Gemini), and that should take the sting out of the negative things we hear and the negative social situation that surrounds us.

Too, Pluto retrogrades today, possibly withdrawing the feeling that we can change things at all. Despair or fear would be a normal reaction–but one you need to realize is based in a temporary condition. This too shall pass is one of the wisest things we can remember at this time.

A Good Day To . . . is based on the aspects perfecting on each day, Pacific time.

A Good Day To . . . 23 & 24 April 2020

23 Thursday Apr 2020

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This might be Ceres’ ideal, high summer, a time when her beloved Proserpina has returned to her. ‘Ceres’ By Osmar Schindler c1902 {{PD}}

Ceres enters Pisces on the 23rd, and this has several implications. We may be inclined to see the potentials in Mother Nature, both Her ideal forms, and the way in which she could develop, the paths she might take–and that can be frightening, if what we envision is her ability to cleanse the planet, because we’re all too aware right now that might include us! And we know in our gut that She tells us what’s coming, as her entrance into Pisces places her trine the North Node point: she easily determines the future, with or without our consent. We might all do best right now to honor Nature, to nurture the health of the plants and animals and environment that surrounds us. Whatever form that takes for you personally (will you water a plant, or plant a field? pick trash from the roadside or contrive a smaller carbon footprint? care for an animal or decide not to eat them?), if all of us participate, it will amount to a Collective signal to Ceres: we bow to You, we honor You, we find You sacred, and so commit to doing our best to treat You with care, respect, and to live with You in harmony. It’s worth a try and in Pisces, She’s ready to embrace us, and to receive our message.

For the 24th we’ll likely be conscious of a smooth interlocking of energies that buoy us forward and that ‘reward’ us with surprises and unanticipated revelations, sudden understanding and, potentially, a higher point of view, should we step back from things and take advantage of it. Attend to health–good ideas about how to enhance it come to us–and listen to the inner knowing, that voice that speaks, not in some external, incorporated admonition, but the one that is purely our own, the one that knows with certainty what’s good for us. Hint: ambitions can’t be served today–we’ll get the wrong message if we do pursue them–instead look to the wider picture, and how you can make your corner of the world a better place.

A Good Day To . . . is based on the aspects perfecting on each day, Pacific time.

See the New Moon of the 22nd here–

A Good Day To . . . 21 April 2020

20 Monday Apr 2020

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‘A Stroll on the Beach’ By Michael Peter Ancher 1896 {{PD}}

The 21st is a Good Day To . . .  see how relationships and/ or finances challenge us to be smart or practical. It’s a matter of what we really value being tested–the situation is almost beside the point–it’s all about this: how much do we really mean all those things we say, think, and see ourselves as, in terms of allowing principles to guide our behavior and choices? Once again, we’re being offered a chance to shed illusions about ourselves, to connect with instinct and what we ‘know but don’t know’, and to heal a little part of our hurt. If we accept the challenge, and eliminate any distance between what we say we are and what we are in real life, we earn a kind of security that comes specifically from honoring what we truly revere. It’s a genuine chance to ‘walk our talk’.

A Good Day To . . . is based on the aspects perfecting on each day, Pacific time.

See tomorrow’s New Moon here–

New Moon 22 April 2020 Eye of the Storm

19 Sunday Apr 2020

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‘The Large Poplar Tree II (The Coming Storm)’ BY Gustav Klimt {{PD}}

The New Moon perfects on the 22nd at 7:26 PM PDT at 3 Taurus 24, both bodies moving quickly to conjoin Uranus–first the Moon, of course, then the Sun. This may build-in to New Moon events a particular, high-strung energy that makes everyone hyper-vigilant, hyper-aware, hyper-anxious, and just plain hyper–and this despite the event taking place in normally placid, steady Taurus. We may be presented with a surrounding situation that is all calm vibes and low-key mellowness, only to find that it’s very difficult to sit still, with reality and real-world circumstances forcing awareness of (and maybe ceaseless rumination on) problems or restrictions and limitations, or stressful (and likely confining) circumstances. Or, we could be the calm eye of the storm, with everyone or every thing else swirling around us. In either instance, a contrast that can’t be readily explained.

The thing is, Neptune is loosely semi-square the New Moon; that almost certainly brings a bedeviling energy, with imagination on overdrive and each of us too quick to believe what may not hold up upon examination. Too, this aspect of the NM to Neptune could bring the birth of a new dream, ideal, or misbegotten goal–that latter having its origins in a misconception from which nothing truly sound or productive can come. It’s our job, right now, to know the difference, but don’t be hard on yourself if you fall for a Neptunian delusion, as even with what appears to be a misstep, the contact of the NM to Uranus tells us that whatever transpires at this time offers enlightenment in the form of Higher Mind understanding (Uranus). We may be inspired, or we may falter, caught up in a spontaneous illusion, but in either case we learn a greater Truth, or see our world through a higher and wider perspective.

The Sun-Moon blend noviles the pairing of Venus and Hygeia, suggesting new awareness of the costs in both relationships and material assets of maintaining health. This most certainly applies to quarantining and lockdowns around the world. The New Moon may offer ingenious ways to cope, to soothe, and to provide (Taurus), and will likely show us what we’ll lose if we move too quickly and ignore what’s required to overcome this expression of Nature. Important to note that Ceres, Mother Nature Herself, is currently trine both the Earth and the North Node=we must balance our needs with Nature’s, in order to have a future at all. Ceres is also at 29 tense degrees, and novile Black Moon Lilith=Nature is forcing us to confront what we’d rather ignore; she’s in distress Herself, and needs us to acknowledge certain realities, if we’re both to go on. Ceres at 29 Aquarius screams loud and clear: we can’t go on intellectualizing, justifying our position with ‘reasons’! If we stretch we add to this the way the New Moon is also novile Vesta, suggesting that honoring the ‘right’ things is required, that it’s the smart thing to do, and that we must start today.

The New Moon is also within trine of the South Node and in wide square to Saturn and even 29 degree Pallas. Right now we may be seeing all the difficulties, all the restrictions and issues that the real world presents, the results of past actions and choices. But again, we see that doing the smart thing, the right thing, the wise thing, is required; we’re at a crisis point, and we’re being called to ‘go to war’ in an Athenian way, that is, with consciousness and good intent, to make things right, and to solve real-world problems.

The Sabian symbol for the New Moon is, ‘The Pot Of Gold At The End Of The Rainbow’. Well that seems kind of obvious, doesn’t it? We can see how to win, what material surroundings and the environment require–now we just have to keep ourselves united in purpose long enough to do it.

Stay safe! If the astrology for this New Moon doesn’t convince you that we need to continue to Self-isolate, I don’t know what will. And if anyone reading this happens to be among those who are protesting the Stay at Home orders, I say with all the love in my heart, go fuck yourselves–you clearly don’t understand what’s going on, and you don’t have the right to endanger the rest of us.