By Pieter Brueghel the Elder – Christian Vöhringer – Pieter Bruegel. 1525/30-1569 Tandem Verlag 2007 (h.f.ullmann imprint) S. 129 ISBN 978-3-8331-3852-2, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9483474

What’s wise is what we respond to instinctively, we act to fulfill ambitions and find a minimum of obstacles and barriers before us, and we feel knowledgeable and powerful. There is an internal harmony that all else flows from; our job is to make sure that what flows from us is a true and positive expression of our ‘best Self’. Simple, and yet a true challenge, for how do Will and the reality picture reconcile, where does our imperative stop and others’ rights begin, and how do we handle forces within ourselves or from others that are deliberately hurtful or destructive? Your mantra for today: follow the impulse but consider the impact.

(Pallas trine Sedna, Mars semi-sq Saturn and trine Zeus, Venus parallel Mars, Mercury trine Chiron, conj Jupiter, and parallel Pluto)

Today’s word image is a car that completely refuses to start, is in fact totally dead. How low is your battery? Re-charge, before you get to a point of no return.

‘Los pescadores valencianos’ By Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida 1895 {{PD}}

The 25th could be the day when what we don’t see could get us. Jupiter opposes Sedna and may suck all the oxygen out of the room; opportunities, chances to expand our world or get the word out, social roles, and unfettered optimism all threaten to ambush us as they distract from instincts and those things we ‘know but don’t know’, those prompts and internal pressures we would normally listen to and follow. We are invited to overdo, to ignore our internal warning system in favor of what we believe are ‘the facts’; the problem is that what we’re framing as facts are actually beliefs, a hopeful interpretation of what bare bones we are acknowledging.

We find a helpful guide at this time in the parallels of Venus and Jupiter to the Black Moon Lilith point. What appeals, promises Love or Money in some idealized form, those opportunities held out to us, will contain hidden things, traps constructed of what we have ignored or denied, or that harbor circumstances which, should we get our way, will only enrage us in their ultimate injustice. Knowing this, we can inspect what attracts with a keener eye, taking the time to really see what’s before us, warts and all. Resolve to notice what you might be tempted to brush aside, and to note all the components of a situation–it’s the only way to make effective decisions we won’t later regret.

Got squirrel? ‘The Squirrel’ By James Jebusa Shannon c1896 {{PD}}

Today’s word image is a squirrel that unsuccessfully tries again and again to get into a bird feeder. What are you relentlessly going after that is never going to pay off? Can you admit this, and put your energies elsewhere, or has this become so much a part of your identity that you’d rather continue fruitless pursuit, just to keep your idea of who you are intact?

See the Full Moon report here–

Charles West Cope ‘The Night Alarm’ 1871 {{PD}}

We are compelled to run into the dark recesses of the mind, the places we’ve been avoiding or in denial of, and we (probably wrongly) believe we can get in and out unscathed. Today we believe in the power of the intellect to surmount or address every issue–silly us! There’s something about those hidden, forbidden, or enraging topics that pulls us in, that makes us run into the burning building, and despite our hair catching fire, we still think we are at one remove, safe, unharmed. Beware the illusion of invincibility, even as you embrace the chance to right something gone very, very wrong (Mars conj Black Moon Lilith, Sun contra-parallel Chiron)

Morse Code receiver and recorder from the late 19th century. Photo By Rauantiques CC BY-SA 4.0

Today’s word image is a future where media–print, dvds, cds, film, video, all ways of recording picture, sound, thoughts–is scarce. For me that would almost be like losing language itself. What would you miss? Would your life be deeply affected, or barely touched, by the disappearance of such material? Now imagine that future world is your brain–are there ‘tapes’ you’d like to get rid of? Would your future be poorer if you were able to erase the painful things, or richer, freer? What ones do you want to make sure to keep, no matter what? Sort through them, and give yourself permission to discard the ones that are negative, painful, or no longer valid, just as long as you have nothing else to learn from them, or don’t need them as important reminders. (This image points me toward the Void Gemini Moon period, or perhaps toward Mars, SN, and BML huddling together in Aquarius, ‘acting to wipe out the past’, plus Saturn-Vesta in Capricorn: ‘What constructs and parts of the past are sacred, to be honored and preserved?’)

Resist technique, probably from India for export, Artist not identified CC0

Why does no one seem to want to cooperate with us? And why are they saying things that they know might blow everything up? And why does the unhealthy thing seem like our only option? Are you still reading, in spite of my whining tone? Here’s what I think: 1) if you don’t seek power, that is, don’t fight, there is no struggle, and 2) think seriously, as if the very thought you entertain is itself transformative–because today it is (Juno contra-parallel Zeus, Saturn sq Hygeia, Jupiter semi-sq Ceres, Merc trine Pluto)

French postcard from the 1920s, {{PD}}

Today’s word image is: a dentist drills and fills the wrong tooth. Let’s cut to the chase: what ‘operation’, project, or effort is aimed in an ineffective, even pointless, direction? There’s no excuse for such carelessness, unless . . . our ‘dentist’ doesn’t care.

“Drei Grazien” (‘The Three Graces’)1920 By Albert Maennchen {{PD}}

Actually, what we’re talking about is the trouble with strong women, and by that I mean the disruption of the status quo by the sheer fact that there are more women than ever in this world willing and able to hold and express their own power. In this instance it upsets conventional ‘wisdom’ by alleging that women interacting with the world in a determinative way is somehow impractical; of course, it’s really about those in power not wanting to acknowledge the rage and too-long-denied need for autonomy, Self-determination, and for taking up an adequate amount of space for Self-expression felt by the disenfranchised of all stripe. A true presence in the world is something each and every one of us deserves–today is a day during which you can take significant steps to make this happen. Hint: Think Big, and use the facts–they are definitely trending in your favor (Pluto sesq Pallas, Saturn sq Ceres, Sun sesq BML, sxt Jupiter, trine Pluto, Pallas semi-sq Zeus)

The goddess Thetis dipping the infant Achilles into the river Styx, which runs through Hades. In the background, the ferryman Charon can be seen taking the dead across the river in his boat. The scene was painted by Peter Paul Reubens around 1630/1635 as part of the Achilles Series

Today’s word image is the Achilles heel. We all know what that is, right? One’s vulnerable point. We’ve all been injured there, lately–how did that happen, and what must you do to keep it from happening again? The suggestion is that it occurred because of some sort of unconscious extremity on your part–not to blame you, but to point out how inattention can be as injurious as anything inflicted by others.

In case you missed it: the New Moon, and the great attractors in the natal chart. Have a great day!