Category Archives: Retrogrades + Directions

The Summer of Us, 2025

28 Saturday Jun 2025

Posted by in astrology, forecast, Mercury Direction, Mercury retrograde, Mystic Rectangle, Retrogrades + Directions

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‘Summer Night’ By Harald Sohlberg 1899 {{PD}}

By ‘us’ I mean each of us, individually, as the upcoming Mercury retrograde is contained entirely within Leo, focusing our thoughts, concerns, communications, judgments, conclusions, and revelations, whether we want them to or not, firmly on ourselves and our roles, socially, with our families, and within the greater scheme of the Cosmos. Leo intends to show whatever passes through it how to ‘shine’, but that useful reveal could be thwarted by our own reluctance to appear selfish, out of fear if we take our eye off our duties we might fail our relationships or those who rely on us, or from simple modesty–it’s not uncommon to want to inspect ourselves and our Soul’s work privately, and the Leo spotlight may feel not just too revealing, but as if we’re seeking attention–but you need to know, that’s not what’s happening, at all.

Personal enlightenment is one goal during this retro cycle, while gaining a better understanding of ourselves within the current parameters of our lives is another. One mistake easily made is to believe during the cycle we’ll sufficiently understand what we learn and what it means, that we can immediately charge forward (which is something, of course, that saucy Fire sign Leo will encourage us to do). We’ll need both processing time and the perspective that automatically comes when we are a step or two past the retro season. For instance, just as Merc retrogrades it’ll sextile Venus in Gemini–which almost certainly will persuade us we know and understand the ‘lay of the land’ in terms of both relationships and asset earning and usage; we may quite literally believe ‘we know what we think’ (Gemini). The problem is that, just as our capacity to handle things with the mind is withdrawn, we’ll get the impression that we’ve hit on what we need to know about Venusian matters; that’s when we’ve got to remember that feeling, sensation, intuition, sentiment, Love are how we gather knowledge during Merc retro–all else is misinterpreted or incomplete, lacking a full picture, or crucial details, of situations or events.

The moment of retrograde comes on the 18th at 9:45 AM PDT at 15 Leo 34, during a last quarter Moon on its way to the Dark period, suggesting a kind of ‘winding down’, energetically speaking. Merc will turn around sesquiquadrate Saturn, which will go retrograde itself just 5 days before; this suggests that understanding what’s concrete or solid, and what a barrier, rule, or prohibition actually means, may be a significant challenge during this period. Rules may not be clear, and the smartest option may, consistently, be to wait for direction to make a choice, decide, or to inspect circumstances again in a new light. At the time Neptune, which retros on the 4th, will still be conjoined Saturn; use the influence to make dreams a reality, and to give the imagined goal physical form, rather than succumbing to misleading or confusing detritus that only clouds the picture.

And, in less than a day, the Moon in Taurus will move into position to create a brief T-square with Mercury and the Black Moon Lilith point in Scorpio. This may bring feelings and intuitions about stability, security, and resources to the fore, and encourage us to believe this is the whole picture; not only will we be missing the details, we may also be ignoring those things we find less than positive, those things that threaten to destroy our emotional or mental balance, or which through neglect or refusal to acknowledge we have buried like a ticking time bomb somewhere out of sight.

The 29th retro Merc will semi-sextile Jupiter in Cancer, bringing enormous optimism into play. Remember, using the intuition and feeling nature at this time is the way to gain information, with the caveat being that we may accept that as the whole picture–which it definitely is not. This may feel like a high, and could urge us to put things in motion too soon–and the feeling carries over to the Inferior Conjunction, where it just might take on an exaggerated sense of urgency.

The Inferior Conjunction, the meeting of the Sun and Mercury during Mercury’s apparent retrograde phase, occurs on 1 August at 9 Leo. Within the past week both bodies will have opposed Pluto in Aquarius, suggesting interludes of despair, the threat of obliteration, an awareness of mortality or the inevitability of change, or realization of the power to transform–so it’s not like we’re hitting the Conjunction free of shadows, fears, or insecure in some way. With this as background, the Inferior point could see us vowing to overcome, to meet the challenge, or to give up and release ourselves to the flow of events.

For once this Conjunction doesn’t really serve us taking a new perspective or beginning anew; we’d do better to tell ourselves there’s no need to start over, that all that has happened was necessary to deliver us to our current position. Reminding ourselves of the eternal nature of the Soul (Leo) is needed–and if that’s not true, if instead we wink out of existence when it’s all over, that should be in its own way reassuring as well, because in either case, there’s nothing to fear.

Mercury’s direction occurs on 11 August at 4 Leo 14, and there’s an unusual amount of harmony among bodies, even as some of these combos are potent and possibly a little threatening. Mercury turns around at the rough midpoint of the Mars-Uranus trine, is opposed Pluto, and is trine the still extant Neptune-Saturn conjunction–and of course all these other entities make their own contacts to one another, as well. This forms a Mystic Rectangle among Mercury, Mars, Pluto, and Saturn-Neptune. Mystic Rectangles allow the four or more involved energies to function in a way that makes for a larger positive whole than we could’ve assembled from the pieces singly. In this case, we should expect the Truth, how to apply this to what we think and what we do, making areas to transform clear and the path to implement the dream obvious. The one energy left out of this equation, but which still contacts Mercury, is the sextile to Uranus–so the fact of surprise, revelation, innovation, or unexpected upheaval may be the trigger that sets off fate-shaping events.

Don’t expect it all to be revealed at once, despite the big impact the direction might deliver. The Pisces Moon passes over its own North Nodal point on that day, suggesting we become aware of our life direction in a big, Universal way, as Luna heads toward the upcoming eclipses of September. Don’t expect to enter autumn without having undergone a summer of change, and a reinvigorating of, and reinvestment in, your life.

Your Word Image for this week: ‘Mistaken Identity’

Neptune Enters Aries 2025 The Responsible Warrior

20 Thursday Mar 2025

Posted by in astrology, Neptune, Retrogrades + Directions

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Dahomean women warriors, or Amazons.The horns, probably made of tin, were an insignia of rank: these are officers. Horns were also icons of power, associated with such animals as the antelope and buffalo; “furious antelope” and “wild buffalo” cadres were among the fiercest Amazon battalions. By N.N. c1894 {{PD}}

Neptune lingers in the last degree of Pisces until 30 March, when it moves to the Aries Point, 00 of the sign, and remains there until the final few days of April when it moves forward in Aries, dipping back into Pisces for a nostalgia tour (look how carefree and/ or muddled we were! Those were the days!) from late October to late January 2026. How much are we conscious of this kind of shift, a heavy leaving its longtime home for a new sign–and even more pointedly, leaving its own sign for what is, at least symbolically, the inception point of the zodiac? Those Cardinal points (00 of Cardinal signs Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn) are often significant, felt in the same way a sudden drop in the barometer is; every cell of our bodies feels an intense change in pressure, accompanied by an urgent impulse to act, to express the essence of the transiting energy in new ways. With Neptune in Aries, impulses toward the creative, the ideal, the spiritual, and the deceptive, seem to require individual effort of (almost) heroic proportions–we become keenly aware that we alone can make it happen–and circumstances urge us to embrace the right to Self-assert. Of course, what it is we’re thinking of asserting is intimately aligned with the situation of our natal Neptune, and how and where we typically express it. A sense of responsibility may overwhelm; so might confusion, as we find we may have a lot of sorting, true from imaginary, real from unreal, to do.

That Neptunian fog rolls into Aries and asks, “Wait a minute–who’s in charge here?” Don’t hold your breath for an answer; every assumption we’ve been making about the confluence of energies that make up civilization will be brought into question. We’ll need to examined what’s around us, with the goal of determining as an individual where we will be responsible, how we might take the lead, and in what way we must put in motion our own ideals. No more relying on the Collective (Pisces) to carry us along; the individual in Warrior mode is needed now. Anything short of complete personal responsibility will leave a lot of Neptunian energy on the table–and unused Neptune leaves us open to being deceived, misled, or kept in the dark when we have a clear right to know. It’s that principle of energy ownership: if we don’t take command of our creative and spiritual inclinations, they’ll come at us in a much less useful form from the outside.

It’s a tall order, asking each of us to examine our creative and spiritual goals, and yet, if we don’t get specific about it, we’ll suffer confusion, be taken advantage of, or may believe things that just aren’t–to our eternal detriment. The dreamy state that was Neptune in Pisces dissolves (such a Neptunian word!) in the aura of accountability and call to action of Aries. With Neptune in Aries, we’ll each become a spiritual force, our statements of ‘I Am’ a direct line to who we are as creatives and as spiritual Beings–but whether we’ll muster on the side of ‘good’ or ‘evil’ (that is, deception) will be a choice each of us must make alone. To make that choice as consciously as possible is to exert a strong influence on the world at this time, our impact commensurate with our surety of purpose. Clarity in knowing who we are (that Aries ‘I Am’) will offer a kind of creative power and powerful expression we haven’t had available to us before; let’s hope that being so potently armed (for the Aries energy is nothing if not Warrior energy), we’ll all choose the side of ‘good’.

Navigating March 2025

04 Tuesday Mar 2025

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

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The Sombrero Galaxy NASA/JPL-Caltech and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) {{PD}}

Venus retrograded on the 1st at 10 Aries–but what does that mean? Venus, an energy we experience in highly personal ways, in apparent backward motion will mean different things to different people, depending on where and in aspect to what it contacts the natal chart; what we all share is the way Venus retrogrades in the same part of the chart/ sign, within a couple of degrees, every 8 years. With such a loop to the Venus retrograde cycle, we may not immediately recognize that we’re in territory we’ve trod before–or that we’re seeing the results of our previous, 8-years-ago responses, whether they take the same shape or are the same challenges in a new Venusian get-up.

Retrogrades are ‘re-‘ periods, times when we can (and often must) review and reconsider our usual stance on any number of, in this case, Venus-themed areas, but the 8 year cycle places those circumstances of review and revision in an area where we’ve already experienced them–and now, as noted before, we face either the renewal of the situation, as if no time has passed, or we find the same issue dressed up in a new form, with the possibility that we don’t notice the echo-quality of what’s happening; we may believe we’ve already dealt with this Venus issue satisfactorily, ‘putting it to bed’ 8 years previously, or that what’s before us is unrelated to anything that’s come before–and in both instances we’d be wrong.

This time Venus retrogrades in Aries, an energy she’s inherently uncomfortable in, as she is receptive, seductive, looking for pleasure, and Mars-ruled Aries is assertive, aggressive, looking to impose the Will. It’s hard to be receptive when the surrounding energy is urging one to go out and get what is wanted–and yet, that’s one way we can reconcile the disparities here: Venus wants, as well, and if she can modify her usual seductive or appealing-to-the senses stance to seek actively, as Aries does, she can find a way to be effective within an atmosphere that’s less than sympathetic to her preferred modus operandi.

Then we have the question of where this retrograde happens in the individual chart. It’s incumbent upon each of us to look back at our situation 8 years ago–and in particular, to look for those echoes, those repeats, the re-emergence of what we thought long settled. Say this retro occurs in your 3rd House, and 8 years ago you and your sibling discussed going into business together. It didn’t pan out, but now you find yourself considering the idea again, or your sibling has gotten in touch, just lost their job, asking if you ever consider going for that food truck you both talked about? Or it falls in your 5th: 8 years ago you were head-over-heels for someone, and now you’ve just found out you’re pregnant (by another partner–haven’t seen that 8-years-ago guy in 7 years). What’s the connector? Romance and children are both products of the 5th; 8 years ago you were considering the value of the relationship, while today you’re considering what having a child will mean to you. Both are relationships that fall under the 5th, and both are Venusian, two different versions of Love. It may take a little detective work, but finding the thread will help us understand what’s at stake, and how Venus retro may shape things going forward.

Beyond the Venus-keyed patterns we see, we’ll also deal with the garden variety Venus issues that spring up during a retro period: changes in our customary tastes, our attitudes toward relationships, toward Love, toward aesthetics, toward sharing and cooperation, toward diplomacy, Art, comfort and sustenance, and in our values, preferences, and wants. We must be ready to experience changes in what we find attractive or pleasing–and we must be aware that our tastes, once the retro is over, will bounce back to the shapes and styles we had before the retro, meaning that we must be careful what aesthetic alterations we make during this part of the cycle. We’d be wise to do things that aren’t permanent, to experiment, but not in an irreversible way; if the change or adventure leads to something that we’ll have to live with, we’d be wise to save the idea until after Venus goes direct–then if it still appeals, go ahead. Otherwise, dye your hair, but don’t get a tattoo; date someone new, but don’t marry them, just yet; vacation in a part of the world you’d never found appealing before, but don’t decide, between flowery umbrella drinks, to move there. It’s a time for exploration of the senses and what pleases us; choose something irreversible (or at least difficult to alter) and you risk being stuck with something that ‘just isn’t you’.

Venus goes direct 12 April at 24 Pisces. If you experiment, and are considering a permanent step, please wait until after this point; then, evaluate, and measure, according to your more usual tastes and feelings. Though it’s not as much fun as off-the-cuff change, assessing things in a sober light is worth it (because that’s what it can feel like during the retrograde, like we’re drunk on some kind of Venusian punch, a high that undercuts our judgment in favor of a momentary feeling of invincibility). We deserve to enjoy Venus in a form most supportive of who we are–and we can only have that when our senses aren’t distorted as we make choices and invest in ourselves.

Mercury retrogrades on the 14th at 9 Aries, making for a period of reconsideration and review around what we do (Fire sign). Are we happy with our choices, with the way we’ve expressed our Will, with our leadership role(s) or lack of them? Have we gone after what we want, and are we okay with what we had to do to get it? Remember, at this time the mind and the mentality are, in certain ways, ‘blind’ to the facts, to communications, to the details, or these are actively not being shared–and that means that, even with the most careful efforts, we’ll still be making decisions and coming to conclusions without a full and complete picture of the situation. Inevitably, post-direction, we find out things we didn’t know during the retro period, but sure wish we had. Usually I’d encourage everyone to rely on the feeling nature to supplement/ circumvent the mind, but with Venus retro, that leaves only the intuitive faculties of the Moon as reliable–and even then, our feelings may color things so that what we think is accurate could be distorted by emotion and even leakage from the atmosphere around us. Maybe hold off on significant decisions for the retro period, as well as the usual don’t sign, don’t buy warning, which goes through direction on 7 April. Try instead a ‘go with the flow’, noncommittal attitude, leaving yourself as many options as possible, and a gentle refusal to judge or condemn yourself or your actions as you review them; by the time Merc reaches the direction point, in Pisces, the imagination may have supplied more possibilities than the mind could on its own, offering up potentials Mercury normally would’ve overridden before the idea even dawned.

All the outer planets are direct through March and April, with the spell being broken by Pluto’s retro on 4 May at 3 Aquarius. Since Mars was recently retro, and Merc and Venus will be, this imparts a difficult to sort personal picture but a crystal clear Big Picture. Our difficulty may be in discerning where, exactly, we fit in that larger scenario–but again, definitive statements of ‘I Am’ can wait until Merc re-enters Aries, 16 April. Pluto’s turnaround, by the way, will probably feel like a mental scouring pad; don’t over react–just remind yourself, It’s good to give things a thorough scrubbing! No matter how raw we feel immediately afterward.

Neptune moves into Aries on 30 March. This may feel as if someone lit a fire under our imaginative, creative, or idealistic inclinations–but the thing is, that’s fire applied at the end of a watery journey through Pisces–and fire applied to water is–steam! Will we harness it, and use it to move forward, ‘Little Engine That Could’ style, or will we just complain about the humidity? It all depends on your relationship to your own creative energies, and to reality–do you know where you stand? Because that’s required, if you want to make choices that will really matter. Prepare by (before the Mercury retro) going over recent creative efforts and where they stand–and remembering that our sense are affected right now by the Venus retro, so that making practical rather than aesthetic judgments is probably the best use of time.

And, just before Mercury retrogrades, we have a Total Lunar Eclipse in Virgo. More to come soon!

Snapshot, Early February 2025

06 Thursday Feb 2025

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, Retrogrades + Directions, Sun/Mercury Superior Conjunction

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‘The Girl With The Pearl Earring modern alteration Selfiegirl’ By Mitchell Grafton

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With Jupiter in Gemini now direct and slowly gathering apparent speed, we can expect an opening up, even an avalanche–of information, of others reaching out, even of gossip (beware misinformation!). Venus teases a sextile to Jupiter (which should be our payoff moment to what we learn, right?) but instead Venus does her once-every-18-months retrograde March 1 (at 10 Aries, “I was gonna do it, but . . .”), before that information or bounty (Jupiter) of worth (Venus) is delivered. We believe our efforts, initiative, or choices (Aries) will benefit us, but we’re in for a rude surprise–our reward is withdrawn (the retro), at least temporarily–so keep that in mind as the month drags on, and we think, probably more than once, that we’ve found ‘The Answer’ that will deliver that reward, only to have it deflate in our hands.

At this point (the 6th) Mercury is just a day away from Superior (direct) Conjunction with the Sun, promising revelation (of information, a reveal of circumstances, or Higher Mind understanding–Aquarius) that was sparked back at the Inferior Conjunction 6 December, and that involves Sun-Merc forming a quincunx to still retro Mars=irritation or unsureness may lead to aggressive words or ill-thought out actions. This duo also sextiles Chiron, suggesting that we may need to call on our own unique talents in order to maintain our independence and continue to call our own shots–or that it may be a little too easy to retreat to the wound, rather than tackle what’s in front of us.

The recent direction of Uranus in Taurus (30 January) has been showing us the weak spots inherent to our (threatened) sense of security and the potential upheavals to our material situation–and these will continue at least through mid-March, until Uranus picks up speed and Mars, by then direct, comes along to sextile it from Cancer in early April, showing us what to do to address those matters we care about. Right now Mars in Cancer is closely trine Saturn in Pisces, delivering real-world inspiration that we may put into action at a later point–so note what you’re dreaming of making a reality, as you might just get the chance to make it happen, soon.

Other notable contacts include: Neptune in Pisces conjoined the tense North Node, trined by Juno in Scorpio, sextiled by Pallas in Capricorn, and semi-sextiled by Hygieia at 29 Aries=this suggests we may be unsure, inspired, or under some delusion about our path forward; the current direction is, however, empowering, as long as we remain aware of our own darkness, and our own inner wisdom–to lose touch with either of these is to court an unhealthy situation where we’re prone to at least be misled, if not robbed of one or more facets of our autonomy.

Ceres in Aquarius is now in a tight square with Uranus in Taurus, with Ceres trine the Black Moon Lilith point in Libra, which is also conjoined Zeus (and Uranus quincunx this point), and Eris in Aries sextile Ceres and opposed BML-Zeus=authority squares off against individuality and Self-determination, with authority essentially approaching things as if it’s an intellectual exercise and those they’d like to impose their Will on rebelling, especially in terms of the material situation and what makes them feel secure. The subtle (and so not realized or acknowledged) influence is ambition and desire along with every matter buried or denied. Isn’t this the recipe for a bomb? And here’s the fuse: Eris in Willful, headstrong, go-one’s-own-way, can’t tell me what to do Aries. Those who want to make the rules are approaching things from an airy, theoretical POV, and haven’t the slightest clue as to the massive pent-up energies of rebellion and Self-determination their template for others calls forward. All I know is that I want to be on the side of those who support freedom, as those would-be overlords don’t see what they’re up against, or how much their own wants and fears are both driving and weakening their position.

A quincunx from Chaos in Cancer to Pluto in Aquarius sums it all up: we’ll overturn all the tables in the temple to keep what we care about from being destroyed–and at the same time we must remain aware of the way obliteration and regeneration are a fact of life, and a means of renewal. But the planets, and especially the story the asteroids and other points are telling right now, says we don’t have to sit back and let others decide those changes for us.

Have a lovely weekend, my friends!

Defining Ourselves

25 Monday Nov 2024

Posted by in astrology, Mercury retrograde, Pluto Into Aquarius, Retrogrades + Directions, Saturn in Pisces

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‘The Butterfly Girl’ By Winslow Homer 1878 {{PD}}

As Pluto moves out of Capricorn (not to return in our lifetimes), we are consumed with ridding ourselves of the last vestiges of institutions, restrictions, boundaries, restraints, barriers, rules, and authorities that seem to be holding us back–but the operative word here is ‘seem’. That final pass of Pluto through the 29th degree of Capricorn, that began in September and lasted through November 19th, ground down on our last nerve and made us feel that if we didn’t throw off our chains, we’d lose any chance at freedom–forever. That’s Pluto at his most dramatic, threatening oblivion and wipe out, when the real agenda is change–or clear the boards–or even transformation, which can be a butterfly-delicate business. Leaving Capricorn means leaving behind much we’ve come to see as steadying, reliable, safe–we understand these rules, whether we like them or not–and entering Aquarius what we are most likely to sense is approaching chaos–and that can make even the coolest of us panic. Every time you feel that fear of anarchy rising, remind yourself that this lack of constraints is something we’ve silently been wishing for–and that what we’re enjoying now is the opportunity for significant Self-determination, the development of our individuality, originality, and expression unique to us. That’s a great gift, if we can release our fear of the unknown and embrace trust in ourselves, believing we’re able to handle whatever comes.

Mercury moves into apparent retrograde motion at 22 Sagittarius 40 on the 25th, and it may take a few hours (or days) to feel it’s moving backward reliably; it’s almost like the stationary period leading up to the retro has been extra trying, making us question what we know and what we believe, and we may remain in that state until it picks up speed (certainly by the 29th, when Merc pulls out of its quincunx to Uranus). That will remove the sense of unpredictability to what we hear, think about, absorb, or perceive mentally–and in its place the way should open to using the feeling nature in making choices and understanding our surroundings (look at the states of natal Moon, transiting Moon, and natal and transiting Venus, for best ways to read, approach, and handle current events).

Remember, trusting our intuition, those things we ‘know but don’t know’, and the feeling conduit we each have that feeds info directly from nature/ the ether/ our surroundings/ people around us to our bodies is vital to accept without letting our mind take over and question those perceptions. We find this knowledge not just in that flood of ‘knowing’ that can occur; it’s also available through the pit in our stomach, the flutter of our heart, the chill to our bones, or the hair standing on end, just to name a few of our most effective non-mental information mechanisms. During a Merc retro period these sensations must be honored as genuine sources of guidance–anything less just means we will turn to the (just for now) incomplete and unreliable mental assessment of the situation–and for the present that’s what we need to avoid.

One other thing I’d like to point out: Saturn in Pisces isn’t getting much contact from other bodies currently, but it’s the kind of energy we’d do well to take active advantage of. It’s offering ways in which we can take ideas into reality, giving the imagination or the ideals concrete, lasting forms. All you need to do is tap into it through appropriate effort–Saturn rewards work–and once you start it can lend an inspired air to what you build or give form, and pulls in some surprising inspiration and support along the way.

Just a thought, but one I think worth mentioning: consider who you are, what you see yourself as, and then consider how that changes when you remove from your definition all the things you are against. Too often we define ourselves via what we don’t want, like, or support–but that focus on a negative can backfire, drawing it to us, making the thing we hate or reject a stronger part of us than we realize. For instance, if you were a cancer researcher, and suddenly a cure was found that meant no one would suffer this disease again, how would that affect your idea of you? Until then you had seen yourself as a warrior against cancer–but with cancer no longer a danger, who do you become, and what do you do with that energy that was dedicated to eradicating something you’d made central to your life? This issue isn’t always that obvious or dramatic, but still worth addressing, as we can all use as much available energy as possible right now. I would suggest allowing yourself to dwell only on those things you want to be, live like, do, while refusing to dedicate any energy to what you find unacceptable–see if shifting your attention to the positive doesn’t lighten the load, and free up energy in unexpected and refreshing ways.

Have a lovely week, everyone!

Full Moon 15 November 2024 The Shape of Things

14 Thursday Nov 2024

Posted by in astrology, Full Moon, Retrogrades + Directions, Sabian Symbols

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Walt Disney Concert Hall, Photographer Unknown www.Pixel.la Free Stock Photos {{PD}}

The Moon reaches exact opposition to the Sun (and so exact conjunction with Earth) at 1:28 PM PST of the 15th, with both bodies at 24 degrees, Sun in Scorpio, Moon/ Earth in Taurus. A Full Moon promises culmination, a big reveal, resolution, completion, even abandonment of a course that proves ineffective, a kind of end signaled by the Full Moon point–but this time what occurs is shocking, or shockingly original, or potentially unleashes chaos, with Uranus conjoined the Lunar energy and both grounded through the presence of Earth as well as their placement in the most security-oriented of the Earth signs, Taurus. It’s a combination that suggests anarchy, internal or external, a disorienting sense that what comforts us, makes us feel prosperous, soothed, established, secure, and materially safe, may disappear. The earth threatens to shift beneath our feet, and an inventory of what surrounds us is made impossible by our inability to discern the genuine shape of things, as the Sun shines on the Scorpionic depths, lights up the cave, spotlights the rot, what needs to be cleaned out, rehabilitated, or transformed, but never really gives us a clear picture of what is–vital areas are blurred, the solid indistinguishable from shadow, angles mislead, and what we see is a Rorschach that should illuminate but ultimately fails to reveal meaning.

What surprises us about the Full Moon event may come in the form of an ideal realized, a fantasy come to life–or discovered, come to light–the establishment of a form of payoff or security we didn’t really anticipate (sextile Neptune), or as destruction of what no longer serves, or the clean sweep or falling away of a power or circumstance that has been restraining us, or threatening to overpower us (wide trine to Pluto). So, there’s a lot that’s difficult to see, and the action happens whether we consent or not, which can be upsetting. This all happens on the heels of the Saturn direction at 12 Pisces; does this take the brakes off our dreams, or does it gently apply them, steering us away from what we thought we wanted, denying what we were sure would be ours, or delivering what we were sure wouldn’t?

The Full Moon delivers fulfillment of some condition that affects us emotionally, or that validates our intuition. We see some lesser influences with the Ceres in Capricorn trine (the Lunar effect and what it brings is natural, perhaps necessitating negotiation, or acknowledgment of our boundaries, or perhaps seeing clearly for the first time the implications of or to our health or personal authority); Eris semi-sextile in Aries suggesting that expression of our Will will definitely stir extant resistance in others; Circe at 21Pisces sextile the Moon promises a strong woman/ female energy that offers support even as it may try to distract us or delay us; and Pallas sits quincunx the Moon from Sagittarius, requiring us to adjust our approach and attitude in order to accommodate the facts or what we learn.

It’s notable that the Sabian for the Full Moon is 24 Taurus; normally we would have minutes on the degree that would push it to the following symbol. ‘An Indian Warrior Riding Fiercely, Human Scalps Hanging From His Belt’ suggests to me that we are to gird ourselves as if we’re entering battle, taking ourselves and our efforts seriously, a ‘take no prisoners’ approach–and yet, the Sun’s symbol says, ‘After Having Heard An Inspired Individual Deliver His “Sermon On The Mount,” Crowds Are Returning Home’. We may feel as if an aggressive approach is required in order to triumph, and certainly, that’s the mindset we need initially, but it’s the message that drives us that’s ultimately most important. We must believe in ourselves and our cause, but the larger impact will come from what our conduct conveys about our beliefs and expectations. That’s how we’re actually communicating–and considering that Mercury is set to retrograde in just a week and a half at 22 Sagittarius, whatever we’re actually putting out now will come back to us, along with the consequences, probably much sooner than we think–so be as conscious of what your choices truly mean as possible.

There’s a Mystic Rectangle in force right now, made up of Mercury, Black Moon Lilith, Jupiter, and Chiron. If we’re willing to do the hard work around communicating on tough subjects (especially around what we’ve denied or ignored), we could really benefit, even heal wounds. The trick is doing the digging and being Truthful without treating our wounds as if they’re sacred; we can’t make progress if we’re afraid of a little pain.

Make note too of a Venus in Aquarius/ Mars in Leo opposition that occurs 12th-13th of December, about a week after Mars goes retro. Right now Venus and Mars are quincunx, meaning these energies call for adjustment, in order to get along; their December encounter promises a total re-consideration around our actions and choices regarding Love, assets, partnership, values. Keep that in mind now, making an effort to accommodate, to balance Higher Mind and ego, and the December contact will be that much easier to navigate and understand, and will require a lot less re-doing than it otherwise might without an early awareness of the way these energies will tangle.

Notes on November-December 2024: In Spite Of

06 Wednesday Nov 2024

Posted by in astrology, Pluto, Pluto Into Aquarius, Pluto Retrograde, Retrogrades + Directions

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‘Autumn Maples with Poem Slips’ c1675 By Tosa Mitsuoki {{PD}}

So, how have those New Moon new starts panned out for you? Those endings leading to regeneration or transformation or destruction are still happening–and of course, not in the way we expected them to occur. It’s Pluto’s farewell tour through Capricorn that’s casting a pall even as it promises change (which, when under stress, we typically see as good, a relief)–but how is it that nobody’s really happy with what’s being swept aside, with what’s in genesis mode, with what’s washing away the last vestiges of what was, the status quo, the structures we thought were permanent, reliable, steadfast, the rules, the guardrails, the serious and studious? Why is it that the restless need for change takes chaotic form, costs us in a million unexpected ways, and isn’t at all what we imagined? Or is it that we’re rebelling against what’s actually worthy, (wrongly) convinced that there’s something better out there, something ideal? What we need to know is that the outer discord is simply mirroring our own inner dissonance, and that endangers what we love unless we keep ideals in the forefront at all times, and most particularly in spite of what we see before us (Uranus quincunx Venus and sextile Neptune).

We’ve got at least 12 more days of this–and when Pluto enters Aquarius, what can we expect? Clarity? Not right away. Pluto will remain at 00 until the very end of December; in Aquarius this may feel a bit like we’re losing our minds, the intellect disintegrating (or really, seeming to), and a mild confusion may suffuse everything. We may rebel on impulse, not knowing why we feel so contrary, struggling for freedom but unable to name what we think is constraining us. Revolution will be attractive, and we may feel the power inherent in changing our minds–though that’s only if we do so out of what we’ve learned or observed, not in practice of pure theory. But, justifying erraticism and overthrow with purely intellectual reasoning may put us in a very bad spot, one where we try to impose theory on reality and find ourselves more disconnected, more out-of-step, than ever. It makes us sitting ducks, targets for those who are more in touch with what is and who aren’t distracted by a vision of what should be–their connection to reality will be their strength, and it’s something we should strive for, too.

During this same period we’ll experience Mercury retrograding and then going direct in Sagittarius (25 November-15 December), suggesting the mutability of the mind is emphasized, but can be shaped, even rescued, by making facts, knowledge, and an understanding of what’s foreign or exotic to us a priority. Remember, during a Merc retro the feeling nature isn’t just our friend, it becomes a reliable barometer in matters where the mind is too distracted or inward-turning to function well; the mind also has a tendency to miss important points or details during a retro, so that if we rely on it we set ourselves up for unwanted surprises or regret over agreements or plans upon direction.

We also see Mars turnaround in this period (6 December), an event that occurs roughly every two+ years, and which will last through late February (direct on the 24th). It moves from early Leo back into Cancer, suggesting a reassessment of our own role in things, our actions and choices, and brings about clarification of what we care about, what really matters, what we need to nurture and protect. This can help enormously in our quest to adjust to Pluto’s new sign, and new focus. If we stay clear on who we are (Leo) and what and whom we care for (Cancer), the intellectual and individual upheaval almost certain to arrive with Pluto’s foray into Aquarius will be minimized, will have a reference other than itself to measure and calculate by. Think back to late March through mid-June 2023, and late January through the end of April 2024 for glimpses as to how Pluto’s re-entry to Aquarius may affect you.

Neptune goes direct on the 7th of December in Pisces, poised to take off for Aries (very end of March 2025) and then move back into Pisces at 29 degrees, where it remains, direction coming December 2025 and the whole cycle lending a sense of urgency, to address our dreams, to see the future so we can prepare, to prophecy correctly for ourselves, to match ideals to actions–so, long-term challenging, but not in a bad way. Saturn will go direct on the 15th of November at 12 Pisces, only adding to our urge to make what we imagine, what we find ideal, what we want to create, permanent, physical, steady and dependable. These two urges can work together, united by the Piscean + Saturnian task of creative manifestation according to dreams and ideals. These two give us something to work toward, and that’s good–it’s a time to go for those dreams through taking solid, concrete steps toward making them reality, no matter how distant, ephemeral, or illusive those goals may seem.

The Party’s Over: Mercury Direct, Venus Stressed, and Neptune at the End of His Rope

28 Wednesday Aug 2024

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By Jean-François De le Motte mid-17th century {{PD}}

Mercury stations direct in apparent motion in the wee hours (2:13 AM PDT) of the 28th at 21 Leo 25, just as the fresh Cancer Moon quincunxes retro Pluto at the 00 degree. The closest aspect Merc forms is a trine to Chiron in Aries. These factors, the turnaround at the same time as Lunar contact to Pluto, with the direction’s closest aspect to the body representing the primal wound, suggest an easy sense of hurt arising from uncomfortable matters that make us feel vulnerable and even threatened. On an individual level Chiron in the natal chart is the deepest hurt each of us carries, as well as a very unique gift we each have that is keyed to that sign energy, and when transiting Chiron is prominent we may feel upset related to the sign it’s transiting that is layered over our own life-long wound, in this case either a feeling that others are too aggressive, or that we are angry, maybe acting out our own hurt through proxy situations (Chiron in Aries). Awareness that this tension is something external may make us less likely to adopt that stressful feeling as our own; we won’t feel it and begin looking for a reason in our own lives, if we know it’s part of the atmosphere. This is a danger especially if we have a lot of Water in the natal scenario, if Aquarius holds personal placements, or if our natal Moon is currently under transit, progression, or Solar Arc stress.

Hours after Merc’s direction, Venus hits the 29th degree of Virgo. Again with the stress! This time a situation where strain in relationships, the compromise of values, or uncertain finances draws worry and criticism. As with the free-floating anxiety of the Merc to Chiron and Luna to Pluto contacts, this tension will exist in the atmosphere and those who are sensitive will be prone to channel it right out of the air and into their lives. Be alert to the ease with which we can fall into critical mode, and know that it’s Venus’ inherent discomfort in the Virgo energy that brings out the nit-picking and dissatisfaction. This is over by late on the 29th; we’ll all breathe a sigh of relief when Venus hits her own sign of Libra, and everything and everyone starts looking beautiful again.

Neptune in the 29th degree of Pisces is ongoing; I just wanted to remind everyone that the feeling of crisis around the creative and the spiritual, as if things will never reach completion, is, though prolonged, ultimately temporary. Celebrate this liminal space, because the never-ending feel of the tension and effort can break down conscious barriers and open doors to new ideas and new worlds, showing us things we may under normal influences be too quick to dismiss or undervalue. In one sense, the party’s over; we must accept current circumstances as they are, and work with things from there, as staying poised in hopes that things will change on the fly will make us wait for tomorrow and neglect today, and in the process accomplish nothing. The situation with Venus, short-term, and Neptune for a time longer, tempts us to hold out for perfection–but allowing the moment its own shape is a kind of perfection in itself, one we may not, right now, be in the best place to recognize or judge. So, just let it happen.

New Moon report is right here–

Spotlight: An Earth Grand Trine–And What About Ceres?

14 Thursday Dec 2023

Posted by in astrology, Ceres, current events in the sky, Grand Trine, Jupiter retrograde, Mercury retrograde, Retrogrades + Directions

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‘Venus, Cupid and Ceres’ By Cornelis van Haarlem 1604 {{PD}} It’s such a drag to have to wear a shirt, isn’t it, ladies? Ceres is the one with wheat in her hair.

Freshly retro Merc in Capricorn connects with retro Jupiter in Taurus and the Black Moon Lilith point to form an Earth Grand Trine. One, BML, is just a mathematical point, you may argue–and yet by its very contact with these other two we see this point in Virgo bring a little intellectual heft, a little airiness via ruler Mercury, to what might otherwise be a formidably dense formula–and that’s only exaggerated by the way both bodies are in apparent retrograde motion. Have you ever seen a child who doesn’t yet grasp the concepts around concealing their entire body play hide-and-seek? Invariably, they will scrunch into a corner or behind something and cover their eyes–with so much of the rest of them visible to all! That’s what we’ve got here: Jupiter and Mercury behaving as if they aren’t really noticeable, and Black Moon Lilith mustering constructive criticism in order to make both planets deal with their current energy states head on.

Jupiter in Taurus retrograde would tell you money and things aren’t important, that what you know or believe doesn’t really affect what surrounds you or what comes to you, and Mercury in Capricorn retrograde may have warring assumptions all at once: thoughts that embrace the status quo and current power structure as if they’re solid and will last forever, and at the same time thinking repeatedly of the ways the present framework and rules can be skirted, undermined, or exploited through a loophole.

Then along comes the Black Moon Lilith point–which critiques and creates lists for the other two, asking: what about the social sphere and the place it offers you is unsatisfactory? Is what you have and the environment you create nurture and comfort you, or is it designed to impress others? Does your thinking support the power elites, or your own interests? And are you confused about what really benefits you, and what works against you?

Black Moon Lilith insists you face/ deal with what you have been ignoring, denying, or with things that enrage you but are suppressed; in the case of Jupiter, this hinges on social roles and interaction, and with Mercury this is about the mentality you exercise. With both bodies retrograde, the examination of these areas can seem that much more difficult, as the energies feel less accessible, more hidden, and somehow contrary, even when you come at them as consciously as possible. So, right now we have an ongoing examination of social roles, thinking, and the material reality they create for each one of us. Tips to handle this? At present letting things flow around you, with less insistence on control and less deliberate expression of the Will, is probably a good idea; if you can keep things low key, watch the symbolism inherent in every day life, and practice acceptance, you’ll get to the end of the Merc retro period (early AM PST of January 2nd) and Jupiter retro period (early AM PST of December 31st) with a much more fact-based and realistic understanding of both your material situation and the social sphere and your role in it. After both are direct, you can move forward both more confidently and more effectively.

And what about Ceres? It’s at 8 degrees Sagittarius, same degree as Merc and BML–and it’s square BML, and so semi-sextile Mercury. This suggests that much of what we find out at this time will be seated in Nature, both in our place within it, and in our relationship to it. We’re going to find out things, learn facts, experience the validity (or ineffectiveness) of our beliefs, and this will shape our sense of personal authority, our ability to genuinely nurture, our health, and again, our command of our environment, going forward. The retros offer us chances to reconsider–and the other related bodies help us discover what it is we need to know.

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.