Category Archives: current events in the sky

Solar Eclipse 14 October 2023: Zombies, Or A Fresh Start?

11 Wednesday Oct 2023

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, New Moon, Sabian Symbols, Solar Eclipse, Sun/Mercury Superior Conjunction

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Well, that’s one way to get people to close a gate. Visitor7 CC 3.0

The Sun and Moon meet at 21 Libra 07 at 10:55 AM PDT of the 14th, lovingly cupped (it’s Libra, after all) in an 8 degree span by Mercury approaching for Superior Conjunction (the 19th) and Zeus and the South Node which both Moon and Sun are on their way toward. Then there are the oppositions: Earth, of course, along with Chiron and a close conjunction of Eris and the North Node. The Nodal points close to the Sun-Earth axis are to be expected, as that occurs with each set of eclipses, symbolically signaling the idea of Lunar extremity, the very kind of definitive change we should expect from an eclipse. For either Solar or Lunar eclipses, circumstances are reaching an apex, a pivot point, a point of no return, a point at which Things Will Change, with the Solar like a conception (the beginning of a thing), the Lunar like a birth (the arrival of the completed thing).

But in order for something to be conceived, previous conditions have to be set aside–it’s that old physical conundrum about two things unable to occupy the same space at the same time–so that a Solar eclipse can sometimes feels anti-climactic, a tiny sparkle in an empty space, a glimmer of newness to come, perhaps overwhelmed by a hollowness left by what is not there, anymore. We may feel things have ended and be looking around for the new start, or we may just then become aware that something is no longer–and only in that moment realize there are new opportunities ahead (because nature and vacuums, right?)

This time we may be heading toward fresh ambitions and goals (Zeus), our desires just taking coherent form (Superior Conjunction–expect to really understand what the eclipse means for you then), and they grow either from past experience and what we’ve learned, or from a previous want we’ve long forgotten or abandoned, perhaps thinking it was never to be (South Node). An old desire comes back to life–but will this be a genuinely new crack at achieving what we want, or will it be a zombie, re-animated but without the Soul presence needed to make a living, breathing result? Those zombies will be Plutonian, once again visible since Pluto’s recent direction: serious, potentially life-changing, resurrecting something you never thought would happen, so it may be hard to distinguish between what’s coming back that really is a birth (or re-birth), and what’s dead on its feet.

This Solar eclipse says there are others waiting to assist, cooperate, or partner, under aesthetic conditions we find pleasing (unless this eclipse hits by hard aspect a natal body involved with this particular desire/ ambition–then it could be a much different story). This may be surprising, or emerge out of chaos, with the eclipse forming a quincunx to Uranus in Taurus, but in either case, others will appreciate our originality, and want to help. Then there are the oppositions: to Chiron (which is at a degree prior to eclipse formation, suggesting a wound already suffered is part of what leads to now), bringing reactions or lessons derived from hurt into the mix, and to the Eris-North Node combination, which could suggest one of two things: either women or anima sensibilities are instrumental in shaping the future path, or that any underlying conflicts will surface, and in so doing, shape what comes. The oppositions are in Aries, implying that the individuality and Will, ours and that of those with whom we deal, will be the form these challenges arrive in. It may seem like our interactions are caught in the vagaries of personality on the one-to-one level, but we must recognize that each of these persons represents something larger, a force, a trend, the Universe itself, and that we’ll all be communicating larger matters for one another.

The Sun and Moon also form a semi-square to Venus in Virgo, and as ruler of both the current positions of Uranus and the eclipse, tells us a few things, chief among them that our critical judgment may be in crisis mode, under- or over-doing assessment, and Venus herself is widely conjoined the Black Moon Lilith point, which is opposed Saturn at 00 Pisces. This is a mini-portrait of the potential for relationships and/ or financial situations that will be sabotaged through an unwillingness to see reality, whether that’s by denying or ignoring important aspects of the matter, by allowing righteous anger to make our decisions for us, or by a simple denial of reality, and particularly denial of real-world problems or barriers we just don’t want to acknowledge–and this is all reinforced by Mars in Scorpio sextile Black Moon Lilith, quincunx Sedna, and trine Saturn, spelling Willfulness fueled by the darker side of our nature, and easily manifested in the world. This can mean that our eclipse new start is at first wrapped in just this kind of bull-headed resistance, a zombie of a circumstance that just won’t die–and that only after we deal with this distraction and the distortions we’ve allowed to our own perceptions will we be able to locate that glimmer of a new start.

The Sabian for the New Moon eclipse is, ‘A Child Giving Birds A Drink At A Fountain’. What strikes me about this is the phrasing: “giving birds a drink”. The water is there, maybe poured into the fountain by the child (though a fountain, by definition, already contains water), but still, that child can’t really give them a drink, they must come to it–her only real contribution may be that she doesn’t flap her arms and shoo them away! I think this points to the need for clear perspective, to see what we’re really doing, saying, or being, and the needed effort to refrain from obscuring what’s going on (by using euphemisms, by omitting facts, by making assumptions, by placing a veil of opinion or prejudice over matters) in a way that may skew the event in the perceptions. This may relate to Venus in Virgo as ruler of the eclipse: our judgment is a little wonky, so striving for clear sight may be the most helpful thing we can do.

Full Moon in Aries 29 September 2023 The Courage to Chart Our Own Course

24 Sunday Sep 2023

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, Full Moon, Sabian Symbols, T-Square

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Are you going to trust yourself, or listen to some guy who’s pointing? Pilot Officer J H Smythe of Sierra Leone, a newly-qualified navigator, being instructed in the use of the sextant by an instructor at No. 11 Operational Training Unit, Westcott in Buckinghamshire, 1 August 1943. CH10740.jpg {{PD}}

The Full Moon perfects at 2:57 AM PDT of the 29th at 6 Aries 00, forming a loose T-square with an arm of Vesta in Cancer and opposed by the Sun and Pallas, together in Libra; the FM also sesquiquadrates a close conjunction of Venus and Juno in Leo, and quincunxes Ceres in Scorpio. Is there such a thing as a subtle hit with a hammer, a gentle punch in the face? That’s what we’re likely to get in some form, with the aggressive Self assertion of Cardinal Aries taking a Lunar (and so emotion-fueled, nebulous, fleeting, changeable) state. The tension comes from what we care about, are dedicated to, are committed to (square to Vesta), with the challenge presented by Self interests (Aries), probably of a material or security-oriented nature (Moon conjoined Earth), as they face off against the interests of others (Libra). The thing is, others may have the current zeitgeist on their side (Sun), and may have the advantage of seeming wise or practical (Pallas), in contrast to the I Want of the individual–but what we need to know is, that doesn’t make others’ interests more ‘right’, more important, or a better choice for us personally than our own.

We’ll need courage and confidence to face an atmosphere that is filled with the message, “We know what’s best for you.” That comes if we can live with and function beyond the discomfort (the sesquiquadrate) of Venus-Juno (empowerment via the anima energy, that of aligning ourselves with our receptive essence, a Beingness rather than a Doingness, in sync with Love rather than Duty) and the irritation (the quincunx) generated within us by authorities (or those who think they’re authorities!) with nominal dominion over our world.

The Venus-Juno combo is of particular importance, as being located in Leo reinforces autonomy; that is, if we can locate our own sense of being responsible for and capable of running our own lives, we can tap that courage and surety needed to follow what Luna calls us toward, rather than what everyone else thinks we should do. And what does this Full Moon promise? A path forward, a way to achieve what we want, that is truly resonant with our core spirit. It offers us an individual emotional yardstick by which to measure our need to do or be certain things, and in the process, shows us the only permission we need is our own approval of what we’ve chosen; all we have to do is be willing to be responsible for those choices.

Note too that Venus-Juno is square Uranus in Taurus and sextile Mars-Zeus in Libra. That tells us that a sudden twist or difficulty isn’t an impediment, it’s a necessary part of getting us to go in the right direction (and again, that direction is unique to us, probably at odds with the group), while with the appropriate spirit of cooperation or partnership, the correct support, our energy combined with others will set us on the path of fulfilling ambitions. It’s about finding those who truly support us and our efforts, as opposed to those who merely see us as players in their dramas. Remember, too, that there are others who’ll look to you for this support in their lives–don’t be too busy chasing your own dreams to help them, as well.

The Sabian for the Full Moon is, ‘A Square, With One Of Its Sides Brightly Illumined’. The thing about a square is that all sides are equal–and this may be the message of the Full Moon: it’s time for you to shine, while still remembering others have just as much worth as you. It’s a ‘First Among Equals’ situation, with each person’s uniqueness honored, and given a time to shine, even as we recognize all are entitled to a moment in the Sun. The Sun’s Sabian for this Full Moon is, ‘A Man Watches His Ideals Taking A Concrete Form Before His Inner Vision’. This might be the atmosphere: one of anxiousness, as each of us sees certain ideals (or fears) materializing–that may be the tension that makes some reach out, try to control others, entreat them to take the ‘safe’ option–but only the individual can decide what should be risked, what they must do.

New Moon in Virgo 14 September 2023: The Shock of Reality

11 Monday Sep 2023

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

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‘In the Magic Garden’ By Paul Klee 1926 {{PD}}

There’ll be an accounting, with this New Moon in Virgo (6:39 PM PDT of the 14th at 21 Virgo 58), one that lays out what really is, who owes what to whom, what resources are available to us, and what assets and assistance we’re lacking. It’s a point when we get things straight after a Venus retro period that was, in its own way, dazzling–as in Venus in Leo backtracking had us wrapped up in our own heads. We were meant to be Self-focused–but now it’s time to get some perspective, a nuts-and-bolts inventory of matters in general, and our emotional state in particular, that this New Moon promises to deliver.

Are we ready for this? The New Moon’s trine to Uranus in Earth signs says, no; the material world will easily present us with a shock, surprise, revelation, or needless rebellion (with this latter, perhaps us from the group, or the group from us!) that reveals our actual position. This will, by definition, be something we can’t anticipate. During the retro we were thinking about, mulling over, measuring our assets in all forms, and considering where this places us in our world–but now we find there’s something we missed, were unaware of, or didn’t count–and remember, this is coming ahead of the Mercury direction, so may push us to act or draw conclusions too early, when there are still things to be revealed.

Let’s call this an interlude when we gather information (or rather, it comes at us! Like it or not). And that trine to Uranus is it, in terms of relevant major aspects. I suspect, though, that our attention won’t really be on the New Moon energy, at least not immediately–we may instead be focused on Venus-Juno conjoined in Leo (an attention hang-over from the retro, perhaps) square Jupiter in Taurus (which of course has the potential to blow anything it touches out of proportion). This says we’re still preoccupied with our personal empowerment and our personal status, still trying to work out our appropriate place, our public standing.

Hello! Wake up! That’s over–at this point if continued it becomes navel-gazing, with a guarantee that you’ll miss important revelations if you continue to ponder a la Venus retro. The New Moon will deliver a status report, a clear accounting of where we are. No need to try to read the auguries–the info will be printed out, bullet-pointed, spreadsheeted, so–obvious, obvious, obvious–if we’re willing to look up and take in what’s happening/ shown us.

Also there’s Sedna, Vesta, Pallas at 00 (Sedna trine Pallas, Vesta square Pallas), and these are in various states of contact with Pluto and Ceres very late in Cardinals. This is a lot of ricocheting energy, predominantly Cardinal and Air, and some of us may find ourselves distracted by this, this anxious urge to do do do that dominates thought. What we need to see is that some things are ending (Pluto and Ceres as ways of doing, as forms of power expression) and some things are too new to their energies to be sure how to express (Sedna as an awakening of instincts and the surfacing of things we ‘know but don’t know’, Pallas as wisdom, practicality, and skills, Vesta as awareness of what we truly honor), and that means, again, that we still take time to consider, to look before we leap.

The New Moon Sabian is, ‘A Royal Coat Of Arms Enriched With Precious Stones’. A Coat of Arms is covered in shorthand, symbols, for identity–exactly how the Universe will inform each of us at this time as to what, precisely, we have and have become, using symbology that is familiar to us. Too, a Coat of Arms doesn’t represent just one person, but a group of them, related, somehow–so we’re back to that Uranian potential for our position in the group to be part of what we discover, part of what we now function under/ call ourselves/ identify with.

I want to mention what the Moon and then days later the Sun will contact, as a preview of possible near-future developments. That’s a quincunx to Eris-North Node in Aries, just as Moon, then Sun, opposes Neptune. This hints at tensions that crop up as we pursue our path–and then have to face an illusion, a challenged ideal, a creative or spiritual matter, that requires us to know ourselves (Aries) better than we probably do–because otherwise, where would the tension, the conflict, the challenge come from? The New Moon will introduce some facet of what we may face–so consider it getting a head start on what you’ll soon have to deal with.

Pointing Out the Magic, Pointing Out the Poison

07 Thursday Sep 2023

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, Finger of God

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‘The Magic Mantle’ By Isobel Lilian Gloag 1898 {{PD}}

Neptune is involved with a pair of Fingers of God, once as apex, once in the base, but both times posing a question: how much of what we think we know is real? We have the Black Moon Lilith point in Leo sextile Ceres in Libra, with Neptune in Pisces apex, suggesting that those things we’ve ignored or denied, those things we’ve crushed down and hoped not to have to deal with (and they’re things about who we are, they concern what makes us shine, what we present to others as a genuine way of Being–Leo), combined with our sense of personal authority and autonomy, those instances and circumstances in which we call the shots, hold power, or have the power to negotiate, and this may involve areas where we hold sway over others (particularly the partner or spouse–Libra). Our personal authority meets those things about ourselves we’d rather pretend don’t exist–and voila! We are either shown how we have met these challenges in ways that conform to our ideals, in a perfection of the spiritual and the creative, or we are shown how misguided we have been, how we have fooled ourselves–and in each case, we are given the way to make the most of where we find ourselves.

The other Finger has a base of Neptune with Pluto in Capricorn, apex the Black Moon Lilith point. Here are related energies, and so related opportunities, in this case to take what we find, the magic of the ideal within us, or the poison of delusion we’ve accidentally consumed, and we have the chance to transform it, with the way out via Black Moon Lilith–that is, the way out is through, found in confronting whatever it is we’ve been avoiding.

I hear a groan rising through the ether. We are tired; we need rest, and positivity, and a sense of hope, you might assert–and I agree, though I would say that what we really need is positivity that reflects the real: real assets, real talents, our most genuine qualities, and a sense of hope that isn’t waiting for rescue, but that is instead founded in our own willingness to embrace the power and make the transformation happen ourselves (Pluto in Capricorn). These Fingers are pointing the way: to what we are, what we need to do, to what we can become. That’s a very useful and promising place to find ourselves.

Pallas is also opposed Neptune=if we’re willing to set aside our fantasies, to see clearly, to be practical, willing to accept that certain kinds of magic are real and that the ideal really can be our daily guide, we’ll have direct access to wisdom, within and without, a set of directions aimed at a successful harvest and accounting (Pallas in Virgo).

There are actually two other Fingers of note: Neptune sextile Uranus, apex South Node-Zeus, and Black Moon Lilith sextile Vesta, apex Pluto. With Neptune-Uranus we are given the sudden revelation, one based in ideals or in our own creative outreach to the Universe, which together offer reassessment of the past and how that shaped/ shapes our desire nature and current ambitions, especially concerning aesthetics, the Arts, and/ or our partnerships or romantic relationships (SN-Zeus in Libra). We’re offered a chance to perhaps change our interpretation of our own past behaviors; I would hope that means we will judge ourselves more kindly than we might’ve previously.

With BML and Vesta we see how those things we’ve avoided dealing with on the domestic scene, in our most serious and passionate commitments, and in those matters we find sacred, have become somehow unavoidable at this point–and we are seeing it’s a do-or-die moment, a time to come clean, transform the energy into something powerful (because the Truth will always generate an incredible engine for righteous change), a time to make permanent improvements, or to get rid of some troublesome issue entirely (Pluto as apex).

We also have Eris conjoined the North Node in Aries, which may give us the impression that making change will stir up a veritable sh*t storm–but the only sh*t flying will be stuff that needed to come out in the open and so lose it’s stink. We may fear anything that makes others angry is our fault, but that’s just one of those Aries-tinged egotisms–people will be angry on their own, without any help from us. Not totally reassuring, but we should proceed knowing that fear of what might come out is overblown, and the need for it to come out is overdue.

Mercury is still retrograde through midday Pacific time of the 15th, so we’re going to have to remain aware the thinking may be unreliable until Merc’s in good forward motion, but Venus has recently gone direct, so that the feeling nature may be freshly tuned-up and ready to go–especially when those sensitivities are applied to the Self (Venus in Leo). Uranus has recently gone retro; with the slower bodies those shifts in direction are more subtle, the station-change-station pattern playing out over more time, and so not felt as acutely. In this case Uranus is backtracking in Taurus and perhaps bringing our attention to material matters we haven’t really been seeing the actual state of or details surrounding, particularly those related to the matters of the natal House where Uranus is currently in transit. There will be some surprises, of course, some shocks, a few revelations–but what we must avoid is bullheaded pushing forward, rebellion for rebellion’s sake, that can become so tempting with Uranus in retrograde, and especially when Uranus makes hard contact during that backward journey to other transiting bodies (that affects all of us) or to our natal placements (a little static electricity generated just for us).

Full Moon 30 August 2023: A Period of Adjustment

28 Monday Aug 2023

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

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‘Morning Fog’ By Jasper Francis Cropsey 1854-55 {{PD}}

The Full Moon perfects at 6:35 PM PDT of the 30th at 7 Pisces 25, and it makes only a handful of aspects: a quincunx to Juno in Leo, a sesquiquadrate to Zeus-Ceres in Libra, and a novile to Pluto in Capricorn. That’s a goodly amount of Cardinal energy working on a Watery, nebulous Lunar energy infused with a fiery bit of egoism–and all of it through the more subtle mechanisms of less pronounced aspect relationships. That makes the events surrounding the lunation emotion-heavy and personally focused to a greater degree than usual.

A Full Moon brings to culmination some matter either related to the sign in which it occurs, or to the matters of the natal House where it falls, with specifics added by any close aspects it makes to natal placements. That specificity is why a general overview only goes so far (and, I think, contributes to the idea, fed by those familiar only with Sun sign horoscopes, that astrology is superstition, rather than what it really is, a language–one we’ve barely begun to decipher–through which the Universe itself communicates).

The Full Moon in Pisces promises endings related to illusions, delusions, dreams, ideals, or a creative effort (and the fact that it’s the second Full Moon of the month, termed a Blue Moon, really doesn’t matter–the movements of the planets–to include the tilt and orbit of the Earth around the Sun–are Nature’s calendar, not a man-named month). As we know, endings don’t arrive solo–they always contain the seeds of the next thing (or at least, they make space for it, with surrounding energies poised to fill that vacuum we hear so much about Nature abhorring).

The quincunx to Juno gives us our theme: personal empowerment. Something about what occurs shows us how we must adjust (the quincunx) to keep or enhance our ability to direct our own life and make our own choices. It’s fueled by Fire (Juno in Leo), probably making us feel we must do something, even though the matter is perceived through the emotions and intuition in a direct pipeline from the Universe (Moon in Pisces), and so may demand we process it thoroughly, as much as it calls for action. Feeling strongly the impetus behind the Creative (Pisces) may only add to our sense that we need to actively address matters, with the sesquiquadrate to the pairing of Zeus-Ceres in Libra entangles events and the issues they stir with ambitions and level of personal authority we enjoy in relationships–where we see those need adjustment, too (the sesquiquadrate).

Think of what happens around this Moon as a fact-finding opportunity where we are quite naturally able to interpret creative and effective solutions or approaches; then the challenge becomes having the courage to make permanent, irrevocable transformation or change, or to eliminate something that has outlived its time in our sphere (aspect to Pluto). We should be assured that our ideas of how to respond with power and grace are inspired ones (the novile). That means there’s nothing to be afraid of–and that if we don’t make the needed changes, Pluto will reach out and start trimming and shaping without our consent.

The Sabian for the Full Moon is, ‘A Girl Blowing A Bugle’. So this is a call to action, mustering our creativity in service to our ideals and imagination. The Sabian for the Sun, giver of light, is, ‘A Five-Year-Old Child Takes A First Dancing Lesson’. This image suggests we may feel we’re beginning at the beginning, likely in terms of what fills the void left by what the Full Moon ends or eliminates; that can be frustrating and even discouraging, but only if we are judging ourselves with a big ‘should’ that says we must be further along, further developed, on this particular path. That’s an attitude that will drain us and is guaranteed to stop progress. I suggest we abandon our ‘shoulds’ and our ideas around where we must be in life according to our judgments about age and skill, and instead embrace this new thing as a child would: seeing it as a new world to explore, a place of opportunity, and for the older among us, a reminder that ageless living (that is, living life without constant reference to one’s biological age, and all the shoulds that accompany that) really is the ideal.

Some of you may question why I’ve not included the wide conjunction to Saturn that the Full Moon makes–in my opinion, it’s too far past to ‘speak’ within the Lunar picture. It does suggest a situation that restricts one’s freedom, license, or creativity, or some sort of restriction or denial, leads up to the Full Moon event, probably making us aware of a way in which we’re not being fulfilled, with the FM bringing home emotional impact of this, and then making clear what must change in order to move closer to our desires, or to achieving our ambitions (sesquiquadrate to Zeus). The potential novile to Chiron is also a bit too wide–suggesting that hurt feelings aren’t necessary, so if you see any displayed, they may be more of an indulgence or attempt to manipulate.

Special note for those with placements between 6 and 9 Libra: that adds this natal energy as base, with Juno in Leo, to a Finger of God with the Full Moon as apex. This suggests your empowerment quandary will precede the Full Moon, that the Full Moon will bring an emotional result that illuminates the ways in which the expression of that natal energy is or isn’t calling its own shots. This is likely to impact your identity and your relationships (Leo, Libra)–so proceed with that in mind.

Have a wonderful Full Moon!

Mercury Retrograde 23 August 2023: Look To The Moon

23 Wednesday Aug 2023

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, Mercury retrograde, Retrogrades + Directions

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‘Reaching for the Moon’ By Edward Mason Eggleston {{PD}}

Mercury has just begun one of its periodic apparent backward journeys, at 21 Virgo 51, right around 1 PM Pacific time–so we brace for the usual reviews, retreads, reorientations, reminiscences, and with any luck, can avoid most potential regrets, by proceeding with the awareness that the mind is not a suitable device for understanding or comprehending at this time. That awareness, this time around, is doubly difficult to grasp, since the retro happens in one of Merc’s own signs, the earthy but mentally-attuned Virgo. We feel the urge (and our surroundings naturally prompt us) to use thoughts to discern the truth, rightness, or validity of things, and yet that’s the very instrument we should avoid using!

Using the mind is especially seductive as Mercury turns around and runs right back into the arms of Pallas, which will be the first major non-lunar contact after retro. That says we’ll try our damnedest to be smart about things, to access wisdom, to be practical, to respect our own skill set–and yet we are doomed not to see things clearly–the song that plays during every Mercury retrograde.

We’re hobbled by the unexpected; normally during a retrograde of the Messenger we can turn to the feeling nature of Venus for perceptual info, for using the barometer of what’s dear to us to make our choices fit a context we can’t quite otherwise see–but now we suffer from Venus retrograde, as well, and that just sends us looking for another faculty with which to assess the landscape.

We find it in Luna. The Moon offers us a more fluid feeling ability (it’s in Scorpio as Mercury starts to back up) and it throws in the bonus of intuition, accurate if the Moon’s not aspecting something in our natal chart that’s reactionary in the presence of emotion and emotional perception. This suggests that we should look to our own inner emotional tides for illumination of other circumstances; rather than thinking, we go within and feel, trusting our emotional perceptions to convey the information we need, that we’d normally glean from the mind.

This can be harrowing, especially for those who are ‘married to their minds’ (have lots of natal Air placements), but should provide a field day for those who are Water-attuned; they’ll quite literally be ‘in their element’. I would suggest that as the Moon progresses during the approximate 3 weeks of retrograde we continue to check its position, and particularly the sign it’s in, daily; though the Scorpionic urge to depth of feeling echoes throughout the Merc retro period, the daily placement of Luna will add its own qualities and viewpoint to our attempts to process information, and conscious awareness of these qualities will only help us navigate and get the most from our intuitions and feelings. And, if the transiting Moon at any point forms a hard aspect to a natal point or placement, you will know that for a few hours ideas and impulses around the placement’s concepts or related to House matters may be unreliable, overly emotional–so that you can then defer related choices until the Moon passes.

It’s notable that the Scorpio Moon in the Merc retro chart is opposed Uranus and essentially forming a T-square with the Black Moon Lilith point. Be ready during the retro for emotional revelation, for the surprising and unusual, for those things ignored or denied to arise once again and demand attention–and look to the material realm (Taurus) for the messages it sends, the symbolisms it lays at our feet. The same rules apply: use feeling, use intuition, use emotional intelligence (otherwise known as maturity) to the greatest extent possible, and you’ll come out the other side of the retro if not unscathed, at least much much wiser.

Expect a difficult, emotionally tense situation on the day of Mercury’s Inferior Conjunction with the Sun, 6 September. It’s a new seed point for something driven by feeling, as indicated by the transiting Moon’s square from Gemini to the Sun-Merc combo (and at this point Venus will have stationed direct, perhaps giving us access to the feeling nature in a way that makes us think it’s an ‘all clear’ for making decisions). The temptation will be to believe the head over the intuition–just remember that things processed mentally now will be missing some key information, or we will be unaware of some important circumstance, that might otherwise change our assessment of them.

When Mercury stations direct, on 15 September 2023, it does so at 8 Virgo 00, primed to be sextiled by the Moon, once again in Scorpio, on the 18th, but otherwise not forming any aspect anytime soon. We may have to feel our way in the post-direction period, as well, with the themes of depth and change still present from retro times–and that suggests we might almost undergo a purge of sorts, a re-making and re-forming of our feeling sensibilities, by the time all is said and done.

New Moon in Leo 16 August 2023: Standing Up for (and to) Yourself

14 Monday Aug 2023

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

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‘Lady Standing at a Virginal’ By Jan Vermeer van Delft c1670-1672 {{PD}}

The New Moon occurs on 16 August at 2:38 AM PDT at 23 Leo 17, and forms a tight square to Uranus in Taurus, effectively making a T-square (when we include the always-opposed-to-the-Sun Earth in Aquarius). The tension involves our life direction, the surroundings this has resulted in, and sudden surprises or revelations about these, particularly about how the environment has been either Self or group generated. A Leo New Moon primes us to become aware of fresh feelings or intuitions about the role of the Self, about the identity, and specifically who we have become, with the dissonance of the T-square pointing to disparities between what we expected to become, the measure of our once ambitions and desires, and what we’ve actually made of our life (NM sextile Zeus-South Node), especially the identity we carry, both the one we see ourselves as having, and the one(s) the group may assign us or see us as fulfilling.

The New Moon forms just before the Black Moon Lilith point. That suggests the lunation brings a kind of dawning realization, accompanied by growing feeling, around some matter of equal treatment, particularly where you are being seen as ‘less than’. Leo can be prideful, too Self-involved, and way too Self-reverential, but it can also be healthy ego, the kind that reminds you you’re on (or should be on) an equal footing with others, and gives you the positive Self-regard that allows you to speak up, ask for what you need, and set boundaries–all very necessary, challenged only by those who will lose their advantage when you respect and honor yourself. This is reinforced by the NM’s sextile to Vesta; if you can muster the Self-respect it will become abundantly clear what you must invest your energy in, what you must honor.

Luna and Sol also form a semi-sextile to Mars=here’s the energy, related to the Warrior instinct, or maybe survival instinct, that can fuel Self-assertion, and deal with the identity/ role issues that will inevitably arise. And lastly, the New Moon trines the combo of Chiron-Eris-North Node=this is a potent grouping that could easily (the trine) lead us into reacting to circumstances with hurt or vengeful thoughts, but we need to remain aware that would shape the future–and nobody deliberately creates disaster (even as I write that, though, I think of the Self-important and the short-sighted–but even they don’t mean to pull the house down around them–or if they do, they’re thinking it’s constructive in some other sense, meeting some goal).

If we receive this Leo Moon energy in its most positive form, we can gain: admiration, purpose, a healthy respect for the individual, proper boundaries, and a much clearer idea of how we, uniquely, shine in the roles we take on. This requires, though, that we honor not just our own individuality, but that of others, as well, and it doesn’t mean we suddenly become a law unto ourselves–those with authority do hold it for a reason (though that reason can be corrupt, sometimes it’s because they truly know more, or are empowered to help in ways we can’t) and that’s true of others familiar with areas we are not: sometimes they will know more than we do, and we have to be able to acknowledge that, give them their due as individuals. It’s called humility, and Leo can show us examples of this, too (sometimes by example of what not to be like!)

The Sabian for the New Moon is, ‘Totally Concentrated Upon Inner Spiritual Attainment, A Man Is Sitting In A State Of Complete Neglect Of Bodily Appearance And Cleanliness’. This is an image of extreme imbalance, which occurs when we see some roles and functions as less worthy, when we put the physical and the spiritual at contrasting ends of the spectrum, and then totally fail to honor one end, and massively exaggerate the sacredness or importance of the other. Look for where and how you might be carrying this attitude; disdain for the physical and excessive worship of the spiritual, for instance, are seen by some as a ‘higher’ way of living, but it’s actually an ignorant way of living. Reality is the spiritual in tangible form. We need to honor the seen and unseen equally; it’s arrogance to believe we can judge the worthiness of anything, of the world or beyond it. Arrogance can be a Leonine trait, but it doesn’t have to be; use the Moon’s sensitivity of perception to take note of the ways the unseen manifests through the physical, how the what is aligns with thought, feeling, and intention–and note how all of it plays out against a background of Universal constancies, also known as Truth.

Next up: Mercury Retrograde! I hope you all got a glimpse of the Perseid showers, and have a wonderful New Moon!

Full Moon in Aquarius 1 August 2023: Anger or Action?

31 Monday Jul 2023

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‘Racing’ By Gerald Sargent Foster 1934 {{PD}}

The Full Moon perfects at 11:31 PDT on the 1st at 9 Aquarius 15, and makes very few aspects, the closest being a quincunx to Pallas in Virgo, setting a tone of adjustment and an atmosphere of critical discernment, and all of it arising from our own inner wisdom or from practical considerations or exercise of skills. We see what’s not working, and know that adjustment is the right thing. What comes to a head at this time creates a response in us that doesn’t allow us to remain as we have been–and this is so whether our feeling is one of temperament/ anger/ aggression or action/ expression of Will–and it will be some version of one of those two.

That reactive and active response to Full Moon energies is indicated by the quincunx to Mars that will complete within hours for the Moon, and days for the Earth, suggesting feeling or intuition precedes physical effects. Our initial reaction may be anger, a feeling that we need to stand up for ourselves, but as we often find, that response can hide fear, or mask a defensive posture with righteousness, a ‘How dare they?’ position. Rather than go with our first reaction, we may want to hold back, use that moonlight to look deeper into our feelings. Whatever causes this, we’ll see it coming–and that means we have a little time to make our response reasonably conscious, and so shape what might otherwise have been an impulsive outburst or choice.

Simultaneous to the Mars aspect, the Moon-Earth also squares Jupiter, implying that our Full Moon response either brings conflict over the facts, makes knowing in any sense related to the real world or the social order difficult, sees us at odds with the social sphere, and/ or renders attempts to expand or ‘get more’ tough, if not impossible. This may be the aspect that tells us why we must adjust our response, and maybe also is that thing we should plan ahead for, inspecting our feelings or what we intuit so that our answer to Jupiterian conflict (which can be the clash between two strong entities that carry differing agendas) genuinely reflects the choice we’d make that’s steeped in our ideals, in hopes of creating an ideal situation.

The Full Moon makes one other aspect, a trine to Ceres, that with very generous orbs could be seen as part of an Air Grand Trine involving Vesta. This emphasizes the way much of what occurs surrounding this Moon will be mental in nature–that is, all in our heads! That doesn’t mean that our experience isn’t ‘real’, it instead means that so much of the discord and frustration is seated in either the way in which we’re processing incoming info, or the viewpoint we’ve taken (and possibly mistaken for objectivity). We see this in the Full Moon Sabian: ‘A Man Who Had For A Time Become The Embodiment Of A Popular Ideal Is Made To Realize That As A Person He Is Not This Ideal’. Revelation, courtesy of the Aquarian Higher Mind, probably delivered by the social experience (Jupiter) or through realization of our own agency (Mars). It’s as useful to us to know what we’re not, as it is to know what we are; such knowledge can only help us refine our journey.

We also look at the Sun Sabian for a Full Moon, as we owe it all to the Sun, don’t we? ‘Early Morning Dew Sparkles As Sunlight Floods The Field’. The ‘day’ is fresh, newly arrived, our prospects are sunny, what lays before us is wide open. That’s an image of optimism and brand spanky new starts–so we might do best to see the Full Moon energies as offering a chance to refine ourselves and our lives more in line with what Higher Mind (Aquarius) intends. Take any feedback that comes at this time in this way and you’ll benefit exponentially. That future contact to Ceres and Vesta only reiterates the dual message of this Moon: it’s about the accuracy of our sense of agency and personal authority, and the level and kind of dedication we commit to around our highest values, and how these shape and become integral to not just telling our story, but to living it as successfully as possible.

New Moon 17 July 2023: T’d-Off

15 Saturday Jul 2023

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Don’t look at where those arrows are landing, look at who’s shooting them. Sagittarius Weather Vane at the American Folk Art Museum, NYC {{PD}}

The Sun and Moon meet in Cancer, as they do once (rarely, twice) every year, at 11:31 AM PDT of the 17th at 24 Cancer 56, and this time form some tense, T-square energy across the Sun-Earth axis with Eris, a square to which is the next aspect both Sol and Luna will perfect. Eris is generally blamed for creating strife, but I see her more as bringing to the surface already extant tensions–she has the nature of a catalyst, facilitating the interaction of other factors. Eris gets blamed for causing trouble because no one wants to own something they’ve worked hard to ignore–and that means there may be lots of finger-pointing (or worse, sotto voce insinuations), all in the name of denial. Wherever the weather vane is pointing, look back in the direction that wind is coming from–that will tell you much more than will fixating on the direction it’s traveling.

What’s more, we’re talking about Cardinal energies, and that means stresses will prompt action–and it’s likely those choices won’t have been fully considered, there’ll be such pressure to do something about ‘it’, with the pressure to act coming as much from within us as from externals. Vesta semi-square the New Moon says our own highest values and deepest commitments will require we act. One way, though, to help us judge how accurate and/ or effective those impromptu moves might be is by examining what the Sun and Moon contacted just before their meeting (illustrating the time leading up to the New Moon) and what each will contact just after, before either leaves the sign of Cancer.

Both sextiled Uranus, and almost simultaneously squared Zeus. That suggests our attentions have been on deep desires, our passions stirred by want and ambition (and in both instances, these have our attention because we don’t have fulfillment there–the square) and surprise, shock, a sense of rebellion or revolution, sudden awareness or information gleaned through Higher Mind, or the effect of the group on individual autonomy or originality, figure in to the scenario that leads us up to the ‘now’ of the New Moon.

And what springs from the inception point of the New Moon, from the seminal energies of emotion, what we care about, what we nurture, ‘mother’, protect? Out of the stress of the Lunar event we see an enormous creative, imaginative, or spiritually-infused burst (trine to Neptune) and just after that, a scenario where we must choose, involving elimination, destruction, or transformation of a facet of surrounding structures, rules, disciplines, or frameworks upon which we have been reliant (opposition to Pluto in Capricorn–and note this occurs in the 29th degree, suggesting the choices we will have to make, even be forced to make, will in themselves be stressful).

The Sabian for the New Moon is, ‘A Willful Man Is Overshadowed By A Descent Of Superior Power’. That’s Cardinal energy, all right, describing a highly Arian sort of Being–and Mars at the time of the NM will be in Virgo, just moving out of conjunction with Pallas, telling of a recent point where we asserted ourselves based upon what was wise or practical–with the ruler of Mars, Mercury, in Leo, so ruled by the Sun, which is ruled by and conjoined the Moon, leading us back to the Lunar picture. So, the action we took then, or choice we made, is integral to the New Moon event–and likely affecting us much more emotionally than we realize (or care to admit). But, the image declares that whatever way in which we’ve made our Will known, by the New Moon, will be overtaken by a larger, more potent force–which suggests something about the Lunar event will show us not everything is within our power, under our control, or subject to our Will. A lesson in limits and modesty, that will serve our creative and transformative efforts that follow.

Full Moon 3 July 2023: One Better

01 Saturday Jul 2023

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‘Guitar on the Table’ By Juan Gris 1915 {{PD}}

The Earth and Moon will be just separating from trines to Jupiter when they meet to perfect a Full Moon, on the 3rd at 4:38 AM PDT at 11 Capricorn 18. As we all know, eleven is one better than ten, typically the highest point on the scale, and just leaving that Jupiter aspect–well, we’re probably at a high point or just coming down from one, emotionally or in the social sphere, marking a solid, possibly real-world accomplishment–and those with a natal placement between roughly 8 and 13 Virgo may find this Full Moon brings serious fulfillment, maybe on a large scale.

The rest of us may have a more subtle experience, perhaps getting a lesson on (or even being forced into) taking wise action or making ‘the smart move’ (Mars-Pallas in Leo sesquiquadrate Moon-Earth), or seeing the power of caring words or the impact of feeling on thought and identity (Moon-Earth opposed Mercury-Sun). A Full Moon can bring conclusions, the summing up of an emotionally tinged period that stretches back weeks or even months before, and this can arrive as much in quiet realization as it can in dynamic events.

A few other things to note: Pluto is back in Capricorn at 29 degrees and retrograde–my sense of this is a re-visiting of crises or darkness we thought we’d dealt with but that is now doing its best to hide from us–because if we could detect it we could deal with it, truly eliminating the upset once and for all–and yet it’s just not time to wipe the slate clean in the areas of change, transformation, in areas of mystery and delving deep, not yet–we’re not ready, even though we think we are.

And then there’s the way Pluto and Neptune sextile each other, forming the base of a Finger of God with apex Pallas=this offers us an oblique way to process at least some of the powerful Plutonian charge, by mixing liberally with creative energies, ideals, and making change informed by spiritual beliefs–that’s the way to institute practical change or put wisdom into practice (Pallas), the Finger making for one of those instances where the outcome is bigger than the sum of its parts.

The Sabian for the Full Moon is, ‘An Illustrated Lecture On Natural Science Reveals Little-Known Aspects Of Life’. This points to our gaining life knowledge from what occurs, that this is both natural (as in part of Nature, or part of our nature), and that it will be right in front of us, illustrated somehow in what we see or in our surroundings. That’s reassuring–all we need to be is reasonably attentive to what goes on–the meaning of it will be apparent. It brings to mind a quote from Franz Kafka: ““You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet, still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.”

We also look at the Sun, giver of light, for a Full Moon: ‘A Chinese Woman Nursing A Baby Whose Aura Reveals Him To Be The Reincarnation Of A Great Teacher’. This suggests that what is being nurtured right now is in an early stage, not to be judged in its present state, but to grow into the logical result of all it has been in the past, combined with what is being added to it now. A reminder that nothing comes out of nowhere–it all has origins, all gathers influences, so that there’s no thing we can’t trace back through its genesis and our own nurture or lack thereof, to create what exists today, and what it will grow into tomorrow. That implies we need to be alert to our own responsibilities, our own part in things. Both positives and problems don’t spring from the ether, they’ve been growing and developing for some time.

Expect to come out of this Full Moon better by one–in the area of the chart where the Lunar event occurs, or in some area of interest that carries the Capricorn flavor. Not every New or Full Moon is a major event for each of us–sometimes it’s a marker of minor but still significant change, something that may figure even larger down the road.