‘La Montagne Sainte-Victoire’ by Pierre-Auguste Renoir c1889 {{PD}}

The 22nd sees material situations (possibly literally) hurt, wound, or demand our Chirotic skills be used, brings confusing, inspiring, or out-of-touch communications, and yet we can’t avoid some spontaneous, surprising, or forward-thinking rewards, and could enjoy an abundance of Love or Money. The particular variety and tone of current aspects implies a jumble of influences and some crazy-positive results, even if they come from what initially appears to be negative, and vice versa, good things may lead to something less-than-positive. The biggest factor may be that the influences, seen or unseen, will have a Rube Goldberg-esque quality that keeps the various traps, trips, and connections from drawing a straight line between first step and last; many will remain hidden, so that luck appears to play an almost magical part in what occurs. Our motto for today should echo the Scouts: be prepared.

On the 23rd we are empowered and/ or productive in direct proportion to how willingly we deal with reality and face those issues we’d rather ignore. Consequences of not taking care of ‘What Is’ include being the target of aggression (especially if our own aggressive stance is something we’re in denial about), injury to the identity or reputation, and being presented with what seem to be insurmountable barriers in our path. Progress accrues to those who don’t look to the social sphere for answers, who don’t accept injury as ‘just part of life’, and to those who are willing to make commitments (yes, even during Merc retro!) and accept the parameters of the game–then play the hell out of it with eyes wide open.

By the 24th our thoughts may not know where to go; both our own reflections or advice from others seems unnecessarily gloomy or destructive, and we may not realize that it’s in allowing the dark thoughts to play out mentally that we find the new direction we must take. You know about the Jack Pine, right? Its cones are shut tight with resinous sap–the seeds can only escape when the cone burns. This is something like the process we’ll go through today. Don’t allow yourself to get so distracted by your own negative outlook that you miss the new thing, concept, or idea pushing up to the light–and what you choose to do about this idea in the material realm will help shape your future.

The 25th our power will be derived from following our instincts–but that requires we don’t confuse those with our Will, our emotions, or our mind. If we keep our thinking aligned with our highest values, we’ll find ourselves empowered, so don’t sweat it if you can’t immediately turn off the usual decision-making processes. In spite of this, it’s not a good time to take material action–and too, those who let the ego run the show will run up against a brick wall or three, when it comes to getting their way.

Seagulls (painting by Arkady Rylov, 1910) {{PD}}

We have an image for the week, as well: At the edge of the water, on a sandy beach, a gull eats a young crab. The crab did nothing wrong, to make him something else’s dinner–but the gull didn’t do anything wrong, either, in catching and eating him. This week we may be more than a little aware of the natural order of things, and of the fact that Nature isn’t always gentle. We don’t have to like it, but we do have to accept it, and we’d be wise to respect it, as a part of that Vestal ‘Greater Than’ of which we’re a part.

See all my books, including my latest on Vesta, here–and thanks to all for the fabulous response!

Credit for mosaic: Ecclesia romana (particolare), XII sec. d.C., mosaico policromo, dalla Basilica di San Pietro. Museo Barracco, Roma (Italia) Uploaded by Archeologo to Wikimedia Commons released under CC BY-SA 3.0