Pierre-Auguste Renoir – ‘La Tasse de Chocolat’ c1912 {{PD}}

Today communications of all kinds are like F. Gump’s famous box of chocolates–you never know what you’re going to get. Worse, you also don’t know what you might say! And that’s not even taking into account the unspoken messages, or those written so that we could take them this way, or that, or the ones conveyed by other means, a glance, an action, a choice, an emotional reaction one is unable to hide. A couple of things we can know for certain, in all this: if we react precipitously, we will be doing so out of misunderstanding or the illusion that we are being disempowered by what’s happening (Sun qnx Neptune and sq Juno, Mars semi-sq Neptune), and this starts something with bigger implications (retro Merc and the Sun meet, known as the Inferior Conjunction), to be ‘delivered’ as an ending or fait accompli in a couple of months (at the Superior Conjunction–that is, in direct motion–of Mercury and the Sun). What we need to understand is how we’re listening right now; our perceptions are dented by hurt, anticipating conflict, and relationships or financial matters quite specifically threaten our sense of wholeness and right (Venus contra-parallel Pallas and opp Chiron, Merc sq Juno, sesq Chiron, and semi-sq Venus)–how could any of us hope to make good choices, or even hear what’s coming at us clearly, with such influences? We can’t, so be kind to yourself and others, and realize that what you think you’re hearing/ the message you’re getting is distorted, somehow, and you need to let a little time go by before you respond.

Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida – ‘El Pescador’ The Fisherman 1903 {{PD}}

Uranus officially starts apparent backward motion with a semi-square to Neptune and a sesquiquadrate to Ceres, and try though it might, it will not be able to complete a square to Mars anytime soon, which is on its own retrograde and on an ever-widening march toward re-entering Capricorn. The Uranus turnaround may challenge both our fantasies and what we see as our rights; expect to shed an illusion or two, and to have to justify your prerogatives, as others won’t necessarily agree those are your territory–and that may be one of the illusions that falls.

Meanwhile, creative types should mine the past for inspiration and former sources of empowerment–it may be time to employ those same methods again. Cooperation is the word of the day, even though to get there may necessitate giving up a little of our power or denying some of the perqs of our status–but if it gets things moving, it might be worth it. In any case, effort definitely brings reward. It’s obvious today what the smart or practical thing is; now if we can only overcome all our ‘Yes, but . . .’ excuses as to why it shouldn’t be that way–(Neptune nov SN and sxt Juno, Venus sesq Juno and trine Mars, Sun conj Pallas)

No real way to completely avoid the spiders, so concentrate on extricating yourself from their webs. ‘Die Schwarze Spinne’ By Franz Karl Basler-Kopp {{PD}}

We are victims of that tangled web we find around us, our part in it mostly being that we were cooperative, stood by in one place long enough to see it woven around us, didn’t object when those first silken threads were laid down! The thing about a web is that all the lines are entangled, each leading to several others, and they to others, and we bouncing in the middle, not sure where to snip to free ourselves. Our wisdom is questioned and others, one way or another, ‘attack’; we reject the social sphere and/ or what we learn (we are smart to), as the facts of the matter simply do not paint an accurate picture of reality–and yet, they do reflect the way our ambitions and desires have shaped things–for the most part, though, not having come out the way we’d hoped, and with a lot more entanglements and consequences (the web) than we’d ever anticipated. Venus’ entry to Libra and trine to Black Moon Lilith is our way out. We once again employ cooperation or partnering with others, but this time with an eye to meeting head on everything we’ve ignored, denied, or been angry about. Too, we may be constrained from speaking out, but that’s mostly about how others don’t want us shining a light on the facts. Do it, though; that will clear the air, and blow a heck of a lot of that web-work, and the sticky situations involved, away (Jupiter sq Pallas, Mars sesq Ceres, Mercury sxt Zeus and sesq Saturn, Sun sq Jupiter).

‘One-Shot Jimmie’s’ by Andrew Stevovich, 1988 Photo By Andr.V.S. – The painting was photographed in my studio Previously published: Published on my web-site (http://www.andrewstevovich.com) and my blog (http://andrewstevovich.blogspot.com) as well as several exhibition cataloges., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19053154

At least, it may feel like the social sphere, or our partner, or maybe the facts, or perhaps the whole world, is against our active empowerment and our exercise of all our prerogatives, especially those conveyed by our status or standing (Jupiter opp Juno)–but that’s likely just a projection, where we assign the external world the role of stopping something we know (unconsciously, subliminally) isn’t really something we should do or embrace. Relationships or finances, it doesn’t matter, we know what’s smart (Venus parallel Pallas), we just might not be able to admit that to ourselves, and that’s where the world steps in and prevents something we’ll regret later. Thanks, world! If we’ll just use our highest values as a guide, we’ll know exactly what to do; exhibiting this kind of trust in ourselves both contributes to our healing, and calls forth our sharpest skills. Never mind that it may seem we’re crossing already-tread territory–we’re doing it and getting it absolutely right, this time (Mars retro nov Vesta and sxt Chiron).

This looks like a big deal. Sandro Botticelli – ‘La nascita di Venere’ (The Birth of Venus) c1485

Or at least it will feel like a big deal, as a magnifying glass hits our sense of personal authority and our finesse at negotiating, causing examination of the sheer extent of our power over our domain and our reach into the lives of others, especially those for whom we’re responsible. It brings opportunity, a chance to communicate cleanly, a better understanding of our own priorities, and just possibly a wicked, enmeshed power struggle between two formidable figures. A scant few may freeze under the glare of attention, even though for most of us that attention will come completely from ourselves. There’s no shame in not being reactive, if it means we won’t lose ourselves to a world that’s expanding well beyond our comfort level (Jupiter sxt Ceres, Mercury trine Vesta).

Tomás Yepes {{PD}}

A hard day–but only if we rebuke what’s healthy, wise, recommended by our inner wisdom. Too, staying true to genuine values and commitments may cost us, or bring negative feedback–but we’re big girls and boys, so we can just let that roll off our backs, as at this point it’s more important to support our values (including important commitments to others) than to please someone else’s demand or whim. That’s it in a nutshell–have a great start to your week! (Venus sq and Sun sesq Vesta, Mercury sesq and Sun trine Hygeia)

A salute to nut and nutcracker portraitist Elizabeth Tashjian, aka The Nut Lady. She not only painted them, but opened her own nut museum in Old Lyme, Connecticut USA (No restrictions, via the Smithsonian Institution)