Category Archives: current events in the sky

6 May 2019 Wheel of Fortune

05 Sunday May 2019

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The Fortune card from the Visconti-Sforza Tarot deck, By Bonifacio Bembo, Antonio Cicognara c1450 {{PD}}

Today we get a surprisingly crisp look at what our actions and choices have wrought. We see the price we’ve paid for fulfilling desires and ambitions (and if we’re lucky, we see what it would’ve cost, if we’d gotten our way in some area denied or only partially fulfilled), and we see how that is currently presenting us with a kind of existential crisis: has all that desire chasing been worth anything, or is it irrelevant to both our life’s meaning and purpose? It’s a health check of a sort, the kind that lets us know if our focus has been too personal, too petty, or if in committing to our values we’ve had to bury a body or two–and if so, today you may have to dig it up, and decide what to do with it, once and for all.

(Cardinal Grand Cross of Venus opp Zeus sq the Nodal axis, Mercury enters Taurus and sxt Black Moon Lilith, Sun parallel Hygeia, Vesta semi-sq Black Moon Lilith)

Setting the table for your year ahead. Art by Peter Ilsted {{PD}}

For those born with the Sun at 16 Taurus. Check your natal chart for the correct Sun degree (you may want to read both the degree number and the one that follows, if you have minutes on your Sun position–that offers a more complete picture of your year ahead). You are on the way, dear Taurus, to a future-determining creative surge–and the question this Solar year, through to your next birthday, becomes: How well will you handle it? Will you squander that creative impetus on pleasures or ambition fulfillments, will you make something lasting, will you make choices that bring you farther along your path or simple dawdle by the wayside for a pleasant interlude? Either is possible–it’s up to you to make something out of this very useful energy and creativity that you’ll be offered. And, with careful preparation, correct use of your ability to manifest will result in Love or Money. Good luck!

5 May 2019 Warriors Vs. Gods

04 Saturday May 2019

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Illustration from “The Russian Story Book” by Richard Wilson, illustrated by Frank C. Papé, 1916 {{PD}}

We may sort out into opposing categories today whether we are aware of it or not. A facet of the primary identity comes through, charges forward under that Archetypal banner, and beware those who try to approach things with subtlety or nuance–it just won’t be appreciated. My sense is we may wear some identity that corresponds to our Ascendant. This is, at least in part, done as we feel pressure about the life path; which way are we going, and can we justify our choices, even to ourselves?

It’s Warriors versus gods, those designated leaders versus those who feel they have the ‘facts’, the optimistic versus the Willful, those who want to take action versus those who want to demonstrate a passive faith, and it all intends to show us a creative way to deal with relationships and those matters where we hope to gain or profit. Take up the banner that comes naturally, realize that most of what you meet today is about clarifying your own choices and direction, and take note of how the world responds to you, including its criticisms–the only people who will criticize, today, are those who want to control something about you–this will tell you, more than any other indicator, how strongly your inner sense of Self, the identity with which you see yourself, is the right one, for you, and should help you see that you are indeed on the ‘right’ path.

(Nodal axis sq Zeus, Mars qnx Pluto and opp Jupiter, Venus contra-parallel and Mercury novile Neptune)

Setting the table for your year ahead. Art by Peter Ilsted {{PD}}

For those born with the Sun at 15 Taurus. Check your natal chart for the correct Sun degree (you may want to read both the degree number and the one that follows, if you have minutes on your Sun position–that offers a more complete picture of your year ahead). Why do the emotions feel so raw, to the point that they are causing you health issues? Or is it intuition that plagues you, intuitive insight that you’ve refused to acknowledge? Or is it simple heartache, from the loss of someone or something? Whatever it is, dear Taurus, I want you to know that this year gives you the chance to heal this rather large upset, and to heal it permanently. Your guide will have to be your personal highest standards, what you find sacred–and here, too, you may find you’ve got work to do, in the form of really stating with surety what it is you care about. In fact, that may be what lies beneath each and every upset this Solar year, through to your next birthday–so take advantage of this year, and free your heart from whatever’s holding you back.

4 May 2019 New Moon in Taurus: Healing Through Instinct

03 Friday May 2019

Posted by in astrology, Born Today, current events in the sky, Finger of God, forecast, New Moon, Sabian Symbols

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‘Cures’ come in many forms.’The Last Message’ By William Hatherell 1917 {{PD}}

If I had to sum up this New Moon day, including the non-Lunar related aspects, I’d call it Healing Through Instinct. This is the form of instinct that knows our wounds, and so our needs, that is aligned with our ideals, highest values, and most sacred feelings, and that calls upon both inner wisdom and personal authority (the latter in the form of both a sense of understanding and an awareness of one’s domain). This is the inner voice that speaks for the Soul, and for your truest intentions; it’s not always easy to tell it from the voices we’ve incorporated from caretakers and authorities, or that express contrary and Self-destructive impulses, but today, we can be assured that the inner voice, the inner impulse, is very much our own, and expressing in concert with our highest aims, to make some sort of New Moon new start, one with a Taurean flavor and so likely having a material aspect or impact.

The Sun and Moon meet at 14 Taurus 10, at 3:44 PM PDT of the 4th. The New Moon as a singular occurrence is very much a conscious one; it’s the accompanying non-Lunar aspects that add subtlety and instinct to an already intuition-raising event. The event itself makes a semi-sextile to Vesta, a novile to Chiron, and forms apex to a Finger of God with base of Pallas-Ceres. The contact to Vesta insures we are aware of our values specifically because either the origins of the New Moon event or the event itself contrast mildly with our stated, conscious standards; this requires a confrontation with the primal wound, and shows (via the novile) a genuinely brilliant way this can be healed.

As the apex of the Finger, the New Moon is in some way the outcome of knowledge or facts (Sagittarius) that support or express our personal position of responsibility or authority (Ceres) and that then engages in cooperation or exchange of this wisdom or practical information with others (Pallas in Libra). This New Moon may manifest as an event of inner healing that has an unusual external component; this healing is facilitated by the partner or well-meaning others, in some way utilizing the acquisition and sharing of knowledge, and the clever way it discomfits our values and beliefs, challenging us to re-shape them, just slightly, in order to fit their real-world expression.

These two are meeting the world with style. By Beinecke Library – Flickr: [Photograph of a man wearing a top hat and a woman with a lace overskirt], CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16215370

The Sabian symbol for the New Moon is, ‘Head Covered With A Rakish Silk Hat, Muffled Against The Cold, A Man Braves A Storm’. In this instance, I take the symbol to be an example of how to face what comes up at the New Moon: even if it’s difficult or uncomfortable (the storm), one should not only dress for the occasion (be prepared) but should take a daring, confident, and even playful approach to trouble, which in this case is likely the wound that needs healing and the circumstances that brought it forward. That is, don’t take yourself or your problems too seriously; a sense of proportion and humor will bring benefits and spark inventive solutions that aren’t available to those who are reverent of themselves.

(Add to the New Moon influence the perfection of Juno and Venus novile Sedna, Mercury parallel Sedna and sesq Ceres)

For those born with the Sun at 14 Taurus. Check your natal chart for the correct Sun degree (you may want to read both the degree number and the one that follows, if you have minutes on your Sun position–that offers a more complete picture of your year ahead). The year offers you a fresh emotional start, dear Taurus–will you take it? Or will you insist stubbornly that the course you are already on is the only smart way to go? Because that wouldn’t be smart at all. See this coming Solar year as a chance to start fresh with yourself, and to re-make your relationships in the image of your highest ideals. What you find sacred should be your guide–but again, don’t be stuck, be willing to admit when those things you are honoring by rote no longer make sense–and as well, admit what in your life needs to be added to the pantheon, to be given more regard than it is right now. Good luck!

3 May 2019 A Day of Subtleties

02 Thursday May 2019

Posted by in astrology, Born Today, current events in the sky, Dark of the Moon, forecast

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‘Landscape- Shinnecock, Long Island’ By William Merritt Chase c1896 {{PD}}

Nothing hits us hard, or if it does, it turns out it’s all about the more subtle aspects of things, so that’s really good news, right? We can pretty much ignore or not take too seriously what comes at us; it’s the little things we must pay attention to, largely because we need to be consciously aware of their influence. Things suppressed, forgotten, or rejected in the past may come back, claiming to hold the answer–they don’t. Communications and even our own thoughts are likely to run in pessimistic veins concerning our desires and ambitions–don’t accept them as valid. And attention may be unduly drawn to all the stupid things we’ve ever done or chosen–and since we’ve already learned from them, why are we giving them our energies? We shouldn’t. Allow the Dark of the Moon atmosphere to impart its subtle (and sometimes unconsciously delivered) wisdom–it’s the time of the month when the veil is thinnest, when we can access much of what’s unspoken–and then hold what you learn in reserve, for use later.

(SN nov Black Moon Lilith, Mercury contra-parallel Zeus, Sun qnx Pallas)

Setting the table for your year ahead. Art by Peter Ilsted {{PD}}

For those born with the Sun at 13 Taurus. Check your natal chart for the correct Sun degree (you may want to read both the degree number and the one that follows, if you have minutes on your Sun position–that offers a more complete picture of your year ahead). Wisdom will be yours this year, dear Taurus, if you can access the imagination and creative ‘juice’ without accepting the untrue and the misleading, the false and the deceptive. You will be offered a flow of inspiration, of genesis material, and it will be up to you to make the most of it. Of course, no one sets out to be deceived or misled, but too often we are complicit, willing to accept what we often, somewhere inside, know we should reject. Your other job, besides using the creative energy that will be abundant for you, will be to stay connected firmly to reality, to possibility, to the real-world material picture. If you can do both, you will shape your future–and even if you can’t do both, how you handle things will still shape your future. There’s no escaping the idea that this year is a fortune-determining one–so be aware of that, as you make your choices. Good luck!

2 May 2019 Temper Tantrum

01 Wednesday May 2019

Posted by in astrology, Born Today, current events in the sky, forecast

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Don’t let temper get the best of you. ‘The Last Day of Pompeii’ By Karl Bryullov – tAFrCGFUhXM8Jg at Google Cultural Institute {{PD}} https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21863469

Is it rage that powers our communications, now that the facts so clearly align with our upset, or is it that destructive thinking is in tandem with a belief that lashing out is the only way to break free, to expand? Whatever it is, we may be tempted to stick with our beliefs, priorities, and those things we honor, even as it’s clear that isn’t wise–and temperament, and the sense that we are right to indulge it, is a real problem. The issue may be that we don’t see the worth in acknowledging all that doesn’t work, that we’ve been in denial of, and how doing this will allow us to access our personal authority and ‘natural’ power. Facing what we’ve ignored will bring reward, particularly healing, and will set our minds in the direction of recognizing new opportunities–all possible, as long as we don’t let temper run the show.

(Vesta opp Pallas, Venus semi-sq Black Moon Lilith and parallel Chiron, Mercury sq Pluto and trine Jupiter, Sun qnx Ceres)

Setting the table for your year ahead. Art by Peter Ilsted {{PD}}

For those born with the Sun at 12 Taurus. Check your natal chart for the correct Sun degree (you may want to read both the degree number and the one that follows, if you have minutes on your Sun position–that offers a more complete picture of your year ahead). Your personal relationship to power, and to any natural roles you hold (father, mother, sibling, child, positions of responsibility or in relationship to Nature itself), dear Taurus, may find its groove this year, through to your next birthday. Truly coming to understand your most personal powers in relation to others is vital to moving forward–no more hazy ideas of who you are and what your domain in life actually is–and once sorted out things can move very quickly. Early in this Solar year you may face a kind of emotional deficit, when you may not have the energy to spare to really feel (or so it seems), and you may be forced to deal with matters you’ve shunted to the side, or that you may be in denial about–but again, all for the good, clearing the decks for the revelations that are bound to come around your power position in life. Good luck!

1 May 2019 Bedeviled

30 Tuesday Apr 2019

Posted by in astrology, Born Today, current events in the sky, Dark of the Moon, forecast

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Love the this poster from 1901 by Thomas Theodor Heine {{PD}} She looks bedeviled, right?

What we did in the past, the kind of thing that left loose ends dangling into the now, bedevils us with a quandary: how to process what happened then, and how to think of its effects now? Too, our state of mind is such that we may refuse what’s wise or practical, buying into a belief system or social construct, and in the process abandoning what we know to be smart. This is all about knowing what matters to us, what our priorities are, and what we honor. If we can center on that, a great deal of the static and noise of current situations (fed in no small part by our rebelliousness and the way it spurs the imagination) will fall away, leaving truer outlines of What Is, and so allowing us insight into our best course forward.

We enter Dark of the Moon late in the afternoon, Pacific time, and should be mindful of the way the Aries Moon may turn our attention, prompted by emotions, back onto ourselves. There may be a lot of Self-examination going on, and most interactions will be tinged with Self-talk–that is, what others say will apply more to them and the inner reality they’re dealing with than it will to you–just so you know.

(Uranus semi-sq Neptune, Jupiter contra-parallel Pallas, Saturn conj SN and Mars qnx both, Venus conj Vesta and opp Pallas, Mercury the arm of a T-square with NN opp SN-Saturn)

Setting the table for your year ahead. Art by Peter Ilsted {{PD}}

For those born with the Sun at 11 Taurus. Check your natal chart for the correct Sun degree (you may want to read both the degree number and the one that follows, if you have minutes on your Sun position–that offers a more complete picture of your year ahead). Dear Taurus, How long have you been waiting for a smart and practical way to show your skills and your power, to claim your place as an authority, even if that’s just as an authority over yourself? This year, through to your next birthday, you have the chance to do just that: claim your rights, your power over yourself and your domain (whatever that might be), by doing two things. One is by being open to cooperation with others you might not normally accept into your world. These others will be different than those with whom you normally want to create obligations or with whom you want to share duties. The second is to be unafraid of embracing ALL the facts in any situation. Those who are adept at shaping their lives will tell you that to ignore realities and the facts on the ground as they stand at any one time is a surefire way to fail–so don’t, welcome what all knowledge, and use it as a basis for knowing to whom and with what you should reach out, to fulfill your goals and steer your personal journey successfully. Good luck!

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30 April 2019 Compartmentalize

29 Monday Apr 2019

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‘Schiele’s desk’ By Egon Schiele 1914 Photo By Yelkrokoyade CC BY-SA 3.0

We may feel that our own nature, our propensity to ignore or deny particular issues, to refuse to deal with matters that enrage us (and so threaten to swamp us), drains all our power away–but that’s not the reality of it. Compartmentalizing has its positives, and in this case, refusing to indulge in daydreams or fantasies, refusing to behave as if our ambitions are the only thing of worth and our happiness lies somewhere in the future, are not only what will make us productive, it’s what will bring significant power and reward, and the key to it all is: take action. Answer the call of whatever grabs your attention. Here’s a hint for handling things successfully: remember what real-life measures were most effective in the past–these hold some kind of information vital to handling what you tackle today.

(Juno contra-parallel Black Moon Lilith, Vesta and Venus conj and trine Ceres, Saturn conj SN, Venus semi-sq Sedna, Mercury opp Zeus, contra-parallel Neptune, and sxt Mars, Sun nov Mars)

Setting the table for your year ahead. Art by Peter Ilsted {{PD}}

For those born with the Sun at 10 Taurus. Check your natal chart for the correct Sun degree (you may want to read both the degree number and the one that follows, if you have minutes on your Sun position–that offers a more complete picture of your year ahead). What you love, your duties and obligations, loom large this year, Taurus, and you work hard to maintain and  respect that, and reap the benefits. This may sound usual, but your attention is so focused on these matters that you may not understand how significant these ‘statements’ about what you honor are. They serve as conduits of power–and you find out not just how far and deep your reach and personal authority extend, but who you are responsible for, and what your true place in Nature is, as well. It’s a year, through to your next birthday, for finding out who you are in your most powerful earthly guise; embrace it, accept it, and continue to keep your eye on what you find sacred–that’s where all the Love, Money, and other rewards lie.

29 April 2019 Full Stop

28 Sunday Apr 2019

Posted by in astrology, Born Today, current events in the sky, forecast, Saturn Retrograde

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‘Das Schlossportal’ By Ferdinand Knab1881 {{PD}}

We expect a full stop, when Saturn stations retrograde, but often it’s more like we get some paperwork returned with a big red ‘DENIED’ stamped on it. We’re so shocked by the sudden barrier that we don’t really see what in our world has actually come to a halt. We think we see it, but more often than not, what’s really happening is that access is prevented to only one or two things currently in progress that have moving parts, and that may merely be a slow down or delay, not a true denial. It’s in other areas, typically the matters of the House Saturn is currently transiting, that we may suffer a true denial, a permanent removal or a potential dashed on the rocks of Saturnian reality.

What may make this especially frustrating is the way we are full tilt headed toward ambition fulfillment. We’ve made efforts, worked hard, taken responsibility for fulfilling our own desires–and yet we must remember that if Saturn denies us this, it is likely temporary; our hard work will pay off, later or in some other way.

The other thing that may frustrate is perception. Our thoughts follow the grooves worn by hurt and our attention turns repeatedly to what bounty, largesse, or expansion we see others have but find difficult to grasp ourselves–though we have a comfort in knowing that our own previous proactive stance will pay off, though probably not in especially direct ways. Instead we may find a problem falls away, or someone else’s mo jo slides and we get a break, or something previously ignored or denied no longer need be. It all works out, but I can almost guarantee you’ll end the day with a whole different viewpoint than you started it.

(Saturn stations retrograde, Mars trine Zeus, Mercury parallel Chiron, Sun sesq Jupiter, parallel Juno, and contra-parallel Black Moon Lilith)

Setting the table for your year ahead. Art by Peter Ilsted {{PD}}

For those born with the Sun at 9 Taurus. Check your natal chart for the correct Sun degree (you may want to read both the degree number and the one that follows, if you have minutes on your Sun position–that offers a more complete picture of your year ahead). Dear Taurus, has it seemed lately as if emotional matters are tying themselves up with a neat little bow, easy easy easy? Or does it feel as if they are becoming thinner, as if the associated emotions might just disappear? Whichever it is, you need to know that this Solar year, through to your next birthday, offers the perfect circumstances during which to find Love in just the form, style, and amount you crave. That’s great, yes? The price, one you’ve shied away from paying before, might be this: you must let your imagination have free rein, allow it to call the shots, allow it to admit to what you really want. So, easy and not so, right? Good luck!

28 April 2019 Among the Troubles, Miracles

27 Saturday Apr 2019

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By John Atkinson Grimshaw 1886 {{PD}}

Why is it that so often we find the most illuminating, uplifting, and fortuitous things arising from less-than-positive circumstances? Not exactly a phoenix from the ashes–more like a diamond from carbon hardened under enormous pressure, this time around. We find our wisdom and our spirit tested, and somehow what we care for, have pursued, cherish and honor combines with what we’ve denied, ignored, or failed to honor and somehow, from that injury or negative circumstance comes our own empowerment, or a powerful reward or relationship. Ha! Go figure.

(Pallas sesq and Venus nov Black Moon Lilith, Vesta semi-sq and Mercury nov Sedna, Chiron sq Juno)

Setting the table for your year ahead. Art by Peter Ilsted {{PD}}

For those born with the Sun at 8 Taurus. Check your natal chart for the correct Sun degree (you may want to read both the degree number and the one that follows, if you have minutes on your Sun position–that offers a more complete picture of your year ahead). Taurus, I know that Love or Money seems just out of reach, but really, this time it’s up to you to go out and get it. No modesty, no reticence, no ‘I don’t deserve something so grand’–oh yes you do. For you it may start with being able to admit to those emotional Truths you’ve been hiding, ignoring, or denying; that should open the floodgates, bringing wisdom heretofore unavailable to the conscious mind. This is possible through your next Solar return, but don’t wait–the sooner you start, the sooner you benefit. Good luck!

27 April 2019 The Power of Transformation

26 Friday Apr 2019

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‘The Garden of the Magician’ By Lajos Gulácsy c1906 {{PD}}

Today we hold in our hot little hands the power to transform something within our domain in brilliant, unique, original ways, and we may not care a bit if the change we create is smart or not. It scratches a primal itch, a desire to remove some troubling, angering, or guilt-inducing from our minds–and to achieve any sort of peace in this time and place is to be pursued, even if we’ll have to clean up a bit tomorrow.

(Pluto nov Ceres, Mars semi-sq Uranus and sq Neptune, Mercury semi-sq Black Moon Lilith and opposed Pallas)

Setting the table for your year ahead. Art by Peter Ilsted {{PD}}

For those born with the Sun at 7 Taurus. Check your natal chart for the correct Sun degree (you may want to read both the degree number and the one that follows, if you have minutes on your Sun position–that offers a more complete picture of your year ahead). Oh Taurus, do you have the sense that Love and/ or Money are running away from you? That’s an illusion, created by the way you’re thinking of your relationship to said Venusian element. You may have recently taken a too-aggressive mental stance, one that has put a hard edge on your pursuit and made Love feel (to the other party) like a commodity, and Money react illogically, as your attitude disrupts the natural flow of energy. What to do? This Solar year, through to your next birthday, you, Taurus, must take an actively Self-responsible approach to life. You may think you’re there now, but lately you’ve strayed, putting too much responsibility on the desirables in your life to make you happy, and too little on seeing that it’s really your job to do that. Remove the unreasonable expectations, and once again you’ll find you’ll attract all that you want, and more.