Despite a lot of angry rhetoric, I have the happy feeling that the 8th brings forward the smartest and most loving of feelings–mainly because, in the case of both aggressive communications and loving practicality, everyone’s focus will be on the ideal (with a sad few lost in their own delusions). That means that even under the shouting or harsh expressions, there’s a strong desire to see things become as we would ideally envision. Of course, that also means there are some who won’t recognize boundaries or the rights of others–simply because they lack that kind of awareness in the first place. Everybody’s tired; today may offer a largely unexpected chance to see our own empowerment blossom, to see positive forces win out, for once, if we’re able to see that communications are what they are because the people involved are where they are (mentally, emotionally, psychically speaking). (Mercury enters Aquarius and sq Mars, Venus enters Capricorn and nov Pallas, Uranus qnx Juno, Sun parallel Mercury and sxt Neptune).

Saturday the 9th sees two distinct ‘flows’ of energy, and each of us will likely choose (or maybe, fall into) one or the other. Both show us the power of our words and thoughts to manifest in the material world; one, though, will ‘put us in jail’ in some form, restricting our thoughts or expressions (or even holding us to some promise or discipline we’ve previously claimed), while the other conjures up our beliefs and assertions in real-world terms that show us the positive power of a mind disciplined and clear in intention.

Add to this two other possibilities: 1) that interaction with the social order, or expressing our beliefs or laying out ‘the facts’ will add to our personal authority and enhance our personal power, and 2) that we have a chance to balance opposing energies so that they are complementary to each other. This latter is due to a Venus trine to Mars that can not only see yin and yang in perfect harmony, but can also make taking considered action (the kind that keeps others in mind) pay off nicely. Warning: if you find yourself suffering under that ‘jailed’ sort of energy described above, you do run the risk of spending or aggressing in relationships in an attempt to break the energy impasse and soothe your own frustrations–better not to, though (Jupiter sesq and Sun qnx NN, and Jupiter nov Ceres, Mercury conj Saturn).

By the 10th we have an interesting opportunity: to focus on and honor those things we truly revere and are committed to. This is not only a good chance to see our values in action, it’s a good chance to see where we need to reinforce our values expression in the everyday (Sun trine Vesta). Other influences are minor, describing facets of what we find sacred and how we need to adjust to make these closer to our ideals, especially in the ambitions we pursue and our ability to ‘walk our talk’ (Juno semi-sq Zeus, Mercury semi-sq Neptune).

The Weekend Word Image is 30 pieces of silver. Of course, we know this as coming from the New Testament of the Bible, as the price Judas accepted for betraying Jesus; in current parlance it means much the same, referring to a benefit someone has received for betraying others, a community standard, or some cause it would otherwise make sense for them to support. It’s easy, especially right now, to point to the many betrayals going on publicly, and we’ve all got a short list of others who’ve done us wrong and left us with a permanent feeling of their treachery that will forever color our memory of the relationship. What I would ask each of us to do is to consider the possibility that there is some significant way in which we are betraying ourselves. This most likely comes in one of two ways: either by ignoring a genuine need we have, or it has occurred inadvertently, over time, as we compromise with others. With the first we are acting against our best interests, and we’re likely aware of this but not totally conscious of how much of a betrayal this is of our own needs and well-being. With the second we may have simply crossed a line without realizing it, in an attempt to cooperate with or respect others; in this case, we’ve come to the point of injuring ourselves and failing to fulfill our own needs out of a blurry line between ‘us’ and ‘them’, very possibly caused by us taking on too much responsibility for others’ needs or happiness. The first step is to become conscious of this condition, and the second is to ask, in what way am I benefiting, what is my ‘pay off’, for betraying myself?

Have you gotten your new calendars for the year?

New Year’s Eve is just about my favorite point in the year. The idea that time itself has a ‘new beginning’, that we get a fresh start in the midst of life, one that comes without upheaval, trauma, or stepping off a figurative cliff, one that comes on a regular basis, that condones us re-thinking ourselves and our practices so that we can re-make ourselves for the better, makes me happy. We can easily be too hard on ourselves if we make resolutions that for whatever reasons we won’t keep, and it’s common to feel a sense of let down and even like a failure once we leave the party and go back to the demands of the every day. In that vein, I’d like to suggest that we embrace a sense of renewal that isn’t accompanied by a compulsion to judge. It starts with accepting ourselves as we are in the moment, taking in that fresh, open, ‘new year’ energy without treating ourselves as if we’re a building (or Soul) in need of a remodel. Are we all flawed? Of course–the problem comes with the expectation that we have the potential to eliminate every un-perfect thing about ourselves. Let me just remind everyone: there are no perfect people–so don’t hold yourself in the unkind light of unreasonable expectation–instead focus on the things about yourself that you like, focus on what you want to be as a human Being, and go from there.

As noted in my previous post, New Year’s Eve is a day for caution, particularly when we note Venus conjoined the South Node, square Vesta, and parallel Pluto; that’s like a recipe for bad decision-making, based on seeing the past as ‘better’ than now, on feeling that living your highest values only creates conflict and makes things difficult, and perhaps seeing Love as destructive, or that Love and desire lead us to destruction–or will it be that Love already feels eliminated, or that it’s transformed to something dark we never anticipated. Maybe it’s just that we’ll be keenly aware of the dimensionality of Love, that it has many faces, of the way we have trouble recognizing genuine lovingness if we have lived too-attuned to cruelty or indifference, mistaking those for love, instead. And then there are the potential worries about money that so many will face in the New Year; it’s devastating to think that loved ones may suffer for lack of personal resources, which is especially hard to take when we consider how much money goes to bombs, to vanity, is wasted on the useless and the foolish.

Take care, as the old year turns to the new. It’s definitely a time for celebration, not least because of the horrendous events delivered by 2020. New Year’s Day itself shows two opposite sets of influences, so it may read positively for some, negatively for others, or may present a mixed bag that could confuse or make us throw up our hands and declare there’s no way to know what’s up!

We may see true profitability and genuine, concrete expressions of Love and caring that take real-world forms, that manifest in ways we can hold in our hands, and these may be delivered in unexpected and brilliant ways (Venus novile Saturn). We also see creative thinking in good form, and if we allow ideals to guide our reasoning, we could end up making effective changes to life direction (Mercury sextile Neptune and quincunx the North Node).

But, if we hedge our bets by refusing to be truly Self-responsible, if we blame our own most unreliable or erratic impulses or insist it’s the fault of ‘the group’, then we end up making poor choices and unwise decisions just because we’re trying to avoid certain realizations or certain burdens we need to face (Mercury semi-square Juno, Venus sesquiquadrate Uranus, Pallas square Black Moon Lilith).

By Saturday the 2nd of January we’ll be facing a whole new set of positives and a few new challenges. Creative energy and highest ideals can inform choices so that we do the wise thing, the practical thing (Neptune novile Pallas, Mercury trine Vesta), building confidence and leading to innovative decisions and inventive answers to problems, and this helps us on the social scene, in absorbing and using effectively ‘the facts’, in gaining ‘more’ of those positives, and facilitates moving toward our goals (Venus sextile Zeus and novile Jupiter, Sun sextile Ceres).

Negatives? They live in undermined trust of ourselves, in fear that there are dark and divisive things hidden in what we care about or in relationships, and in a refusal to look at what we ‘know but don’t know’, or to accept that we have blind spots, and need others to help us point out and deal with these (Mars contraparallel Juno, Venus sesquiquadrate Black Moon Lilith, Sun sesquiquadrate Sedna). Do you notice a theme? In short, bad things happen when we refuse to look at the whole picture; shying away from reality puts us at a disadvantage–so don’t.

A switch flips for Sunday the 3rd. The magic of Self-responsibility, of that New Year’s work of accepting ourselves, pays off. Healing is possible and actions are inspired; we see the worth of doing what’s wise or practical, and we understand the value in being ourselves (as the old joke goes, be yourself, because everyone else is taken!) The only pitfall may be too much attention to ambitions and goals–if we attend to our own well-being, our careers, accomplishments, and efforts will naturally flow out from there, so no extra attention required (Chiron trine Juno, Jupiter semi-square and Mars novile Neptune, Venus semi-square Pallas, Mercury square Zeus, Sun parallel Venus and quincunx Hygeia).

Monday the 4th there’s only one thing to do: Speak, Think, Communicate the Truth, with a capital ‘T’. That means that what we deal in intellectually must be real, factual, and without ulterior motive for its communication. Words can be power, and can destroy, more completely than usual, so honor yourself and others with a commitment to a positive honesty (Mercury conjoined Pluto).

Your Weekend Word Image: Hyacinth. I heard this word, which I’d not heard in years, 4 times in less than twelve hours in 4 different contexts. That was enough to draw my attention. So, I went looking for the myth of Hyacinth–do you know it? Hyacinthus was an athletic Spartan youth with whom the god Apollo fell in love. They were throwing a discus (Apollo declared he wanted to “scatter the clouds”) and Hyacinthus, trying to catch the discus, was hit in the head and killed. Apollo used his skills as a healer, but to no avail, and from the blood of his fallen boyfriend Apollo made a flower grow. Though there’s some dispute over what kind of flower this was (as it probably wasn’t what we call a hyacinth today), that’s the legend in a nutshell. So, what does that episode say to me? Well, that depends on if you’re Apollo (the god figure) or the eager youth who is, in terms of both capability and safety, playing way outside his league. Of course mortals break when the gods play with them–so maybe this is a small warning, to know who your playmates really are, and what they’re really capable of.