John Bauer – Bland tomtar och troll, 1915 {{PD}}

The AstroEssence: The mental faculties have a genius for finding and exploiting empowerment situations; it’s almost as if we think about having an impact and we do! This facility is tempered by a lot of conditions and caveats, though: we may be confused or following a deception or illusion if the areas involved are ones we’ve been angry over or have assiduously ignored or been in denial of; we may find ourselves thinking from a stance of past values, rather than current ones; we may imagine we’re fueled by a righteous cause or spiritual necessity when we’re really trying to show our independence in relationship or finances, hoping to gently ‘stick it’ to someone we suspect (yes, it’s easy to be paranoid, right now) doesn’t love or respect us; and we may eschew what and who we care about out of a misguided idea that others are not being honest with us. As much as possible, stay grounded in your current ideas, viewpoints, ways of perceiving, and your most evolved way of seeing the past–we must work to keep our own hidden beliefs and prejudices from coloring our current perceptions, and especially from allowing vague suspicions to taint perfectly good relationships (Vesta trine SN, Neptune trine and Venus semi-sq Black Moon Lilith, Uranus parallel and Venus qnx Pallas, Venus trine Sedna, Merc nov Juno and contra-parallel Venus)

Today’s word image is individuals, seen at a distance, helping each other scale a mountain. Right now many of us may be dealing with issues surrounding how much we need or want others in our lives; we try to measure our own need for aid, possibly with the built-in judgment that to accept or require assistance from others is bad. Nothing could be less true: a version of cooperation is the heart of civilization, and needed for everything from survival to creating Art (for if we make it, what does it matter, unless there’s someone to receive it?) See if you carry some judgment against working with others, seated in misplaced pride, unreal pressures and expectations, or in the myth of ‘rugged individualism’–and then let it go.

Virgo can make significant progress right now, especially in terms of the ‘power harvest’ that lies just upon the horizon. Vincent van Gogh – ‘Enclosed Field with Ploughman’ 1888 {{PD}}

For those born with the Sun at 4 Virgo: this year, through to your next birthday, you may be dealing with important crises in Love or Money–and yet, if you’ll take a step back, you’ll see that they aren’t problems, but turning points, ones that will allow you to align the real-world issues surrounding assets and interactions in a way much more in line with what you need and want, and how you truly feel. You may think yourself a little cold, taking a largely mental approach to these matters, but the reality is that applying your own critical assessments to these areas will vastly improve them–and open the way for the ‘power position’ that you are very close to achieving. Good luck, Virgo, and Happy Birthday!

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“Ryu sho ten” or “Ryu shoten” (“Dragon rising to the heavens”), a ukiyo-e print from Ogata Gekko’s Views of Mt. Fuji, showing a dragon rising out of smoke near Mt. Fuji, ascending towards the sky. Attribution: Adam Cuerden, for re-touched photo of a public domain work.

The AstroEssence: A great deal of the free-floating angst we’ve been experiencing may come down to a pair of Mars contacts this week: yesterday’s perfection of Mars conjoined Saturn, and today’s perfection of Mars square Neptune. This combination urges us to apply our Will to the physical environment–and promises at least some ability to shape our reality, as long as we don’t succumb to confusion, illusion, deception, or that particular form of imagination that we turn against ourselves, causing panic, fear, even despair, conjuring upset (and so paralysis) out of thin air. This is in part why I urged action and confidence yesterday, as soon enough we would face a Neptunian doubt or three, imagined dragons menacing our way forward. Today’s mission is clear: continue forward with what you set in motion, and instead of entertaining hesitations, actively access creativity, especially when confronted with something that brings forward fear. Tackle problems and invent, envision, and then act on those inspirations; doing so combines the required active stance with a useful channeling of energies that might otherwise feed insecurities. And don’t be surprised if creative efforts either run into problems on first look, or arise from problems (the square); in either case, it’s our response that both matters, and determines our success, with results coming clear most likely when Saturn squares Neptune, perfecting September 3rd.

We also see these familiar themes still front-and-center: we have the wisdom to pursue the ‘healthy’ Path–but as always, it’s a matter of choice; wants, finances, or relationship dynamics could spur rebellion or spark unreliability as we seek (a probably unreasonable) independence from issues; and we are not thinking like the social sphere, which could emphasize our differences (with the biggest problem the potential for distraction from what really matters) (Pallas contra-parallel Hygeia, Mars sq Neptune, Venus qnx Uranus, Merc contra-parallel Jupiter)

Henri Rousseau 1897 {{PD}}

Today’s word image is a surge in the electrical lines leading into a house. We rely on a constant, steady stream of power, whether from the power company, our metabolism, or our psyche; when there’s a surge, the system overloads, and the contact becomes destructive. In the individual this results in manic behavior, compulsive agitation, and we lose the ability to rest, accept gaps and spaces in efforts, we lose the grace to value the element of Time (often needed for something to develop, to ripen), and we fail to value the receptive and responsive stances that are the necessary complement to action. How or where are you overloaded, and what steps may be needed to restore balance or refurbish contact, so that it’s useful, rather than destructive, once again?

A little weird fun from Imagine Dragons that isn’t so far off our feelings this week—

By MELISSA WOLFF, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20317281

For those born with the Sun at 3 Virgo: this coming year, Virgo, through to your next birthday, you may find yourself ever-more concerned with the power situation in your world: who holds it, how much you have, your say or lack of it over others (and theirs over you), and the influence you have in a particular area or ‘territory’ you can call your own. This may be the year when you establish yourself as an authority in some area vital to your identity; it may also, depending on your age, be the year when you find a mentor or become one yourself, and issues with your parents or over being a parent yourself may be prominent. Independence and the ability to exert your Will will be the focus; the two main caveats are: don’t focus on material results at the expense of relationships, and keep actions and choices grounded in reality–deceptions and creativity are both abundant. Good luck, Virgo, and Happy Birthday!

‘The Lantern Bearers’ Maxfield Parrish 1910 {{PD}}

The AstroEssence: We may be tempted to let our values and priorities slide, to set ourselves at odds with the social sphere, or to ignore the potential for wounding others within relationships, just to make things happen; the smart thing would be to reassess our values, if they’re getting in the way of growth, expansion, or ‘the facts’, to remember/ reconnect with Nature and our place in it, and to stop ignoring those realities that don’t serve our current idea of who we are–with this latter, deal with what’s been denied so that it no longer contradicts the Self-image. If we’re not honest with ourselves, it’s impossible to have ‘clean’ relationships or to teach, advise, or to interact with enough Self-awareness that everything we say doesn’t contain a touch of irony to those who are more awake. We have the chance to manifest our Will at this time, to apply the control, the restraint, and the ‘rules’ of reality to manipulate the physical world so that it is an exact realization of our wants and intents–don’t blow it by denying ambitions or desires (out of false modesty or a reluctance to claim those wants as your own–see the ‘Self-image’ section, above), and don’t think that things can be ‘thought’ into being–today is about action, choice, Self-responsibility, and knowing (and proudly claiming) your essence (Pallas sesq Vesta and qnx Jupiter, Mars conj Saturn, Venus contra-parallel Juno and opp Chiron, Merc contra-parallel Ceres, Sun contra-parallel Black Moon Lilith and semi-sq Zeus)

Today’s word image is a sponge. As if that isn’t obvious! There are areas of life for all of us where our boundaries are down, and we are wont to absorb the environment and the associated influences indiscriminately. My thought is that this area of both trust and vulnerability may be located in matters of the House that holds Pisces (I confine it to the sign, as where Neptune sits we are often more conscious of issues of faith, acceptance, and a tendency to accept influences). Consider in what life areas you may be too prone to accept what you’re told, offered, or that you experience without the needed critical assessment and the deployment of a discerning perception (both related to opposing sign Virgo). You may need to ‘wring out’ the sponge, relieving yourself of burdens and ideas accepted without much inspection–or you may simply need to note where you have uncritically taken for granted the truth of things, and perhaps look at how much of this agrees/ clashes with what you believe, and what you think, need, and feel.

Oda Krohg – ‘A Japanese Lantern’ 1886 {{PD}}

For those born with the Sun at 2 Virgo: you may have the odd sensation this year, Virgo, that your fate and future are rushing toward you–which may make the inability to see clearly what’s coming all the more frustrating. It may be a year when sights are set on ambitions, goals, and the desire nature, but when not much happens in fulfilling those areas, as energy will shortly go toward emotional conflict, and the need to work out with others how much of that feeling nature you are willing to share, and how much you must keep for yourself, in order to fuel the push toward creating what you want–because if the emotions are sent too completely in one direction or another, developments in what you aim to create will go slowly, sporadically, or grind to a halt. You duty is to allocate emotional energy in the correct proportion between relationships and your own needs–everything else this year is small stuff. Good luck, Virgo, and Happy Birthday!

A Roman votive; see their use here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Votive_offering By http://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/obf_images/3e/3a/2ad7275ff3a73e94d881a820049b.jpgGallery: http://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/image/L0035830.html, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36068939

Rejoice! Rejoice! We have no choice

—Crosby, Stills, and Nash

The AstroEssence: I know! I can seem very negative–but then, you shouldn’t bother reading my assessments of the daily influences if you only want the sunny side of things, or if you think only some parts of life are ‘spiritual’, and others not–we have an intangible essence (the Soul, if you will) that’s having a material experience–how can everything we do not be a reflection of the spirit? And that’s my lead-in to today’s perfecting aspect set, which consistently warns us against our own destructive, rebellious, erratic, impulsive, ego-centered, negative impulses (whew!). Within we feel the urge toward empowerment, toward making our mark, having our say, expressing ourselves, but it goes awry; it seems the most easily shifted, independent urges within us are front and center in a way that sees spirit, mind, and heart suffering as we set out to express and end up rebelling, destroying, or just plain insisting things must be done our way. Thoughts may foster acting from wounds, in retaliation or response, and relationships shake our power foundations, not actually threatening them so much as making us question them–and really, today, it is our own mind, rather than circumstances or others, doing a number on us. Be willing to adjust: thinking, to what we know to be wise–we know what’s smart, it’s a matter of letting go of our contrariness long enough to follow that wisdom–as well as be willing to confront those things that we are choosing that are detrimental to our well-being, and to mellow what are inclined to be knee-jerk actions or responses into something a little more impersonal–again, the smart thing to do, say, or be is known, we just have to do it. And don’t worry; by tomorrow attitudes will become much more grounded, and restraint will allow us to give positive form to our actions, choices, and Will (Hygeia sq Pluto and contra-parallel Uranus, Mars sesq Uranus, Venus semi-sq Juno, Merc contra-parallel Chiron and qnx Pallas)

Today’s word image is the empty lot in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle where Neptune Coffee used to be. A gas explosion in March of this year destroyed a handful of businesses and blew out windows in a two block radius; the Neptune was leveled. Luckily it happened in the early morning hours when the fewest number of people were in what is usually a heavily trafficked area, and there were no fatalities, only minor injuries. But, walking by the empty lot can be haunting, and it brings to mind this: what good thing in your life has been wiped out or removed in a shocking way, and it’s been long enough that the hole it left now just seems like part of the landscape? We can learn to live with anything; the trick is not letting awareness of what we’ve lost slip away.

No plague doctors for you this year, Leo! Paul Fürst 1656 {{PD}}

For those born with the Sun at 1 Virgo: health is at the core of all you attend to this year, Leo: physical well-being, financial, emotional, spiritual, all areas of life are vetted for balance, vigor, and sustainability. Some hints on making the most of things: don’t let your imagination fill in the blanks–stick to facts and realities; make sure the emotional perceptions receive attention, with an emphasis on security and comfort–this is important, as the emotions will, temporarily, drive the life direction; and don’t allow your instincts and inner knowledge to be drowned out by the social sphere. Good luck, Leo, and Happy Birthday!

Saturnino Herrán – La cosecha, 1909 {{PD}}

The AstroEssence: our attention is on what’s wrong (this has been a trend, lately, right?), on what’s dark, hidden (but then, how do we know something’s there if it’s hidden?), on the unhealthy, the destructive, and any sense of change, as it likely strikes us as decay or deliberate waste. We may fully embrace this preoccupation with the intention of assessing issues and fixing them, but between an inclination to misjudge or misread our own values (yes, it can be done, when we are not processing experiences along most characteristic lines) and the tendency to both exaggerate and see shadows where there are none, we are best off delaying any critiques and plan-making for a later time. Best approach: focus on ‘the facts’, don’t fight obviously inevitable change, and keep what you hope to accomplish (in the form of ‘the harvest’) perpetually in mind (Vesta semi-sq Sedna and trine Neptune, Merc conj Jupiter, the Sun enters Virgo, semi-sq Hygeia and sesq Pluto)

By Sir James – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39172103

Today’s word image is bocce balls. I don’t know much about bocce; my only association is with the courts that were always busy in San Diego’s Balboa Park. At the time it struck me as something only old people would play, but now I think I was mistaking more gentle exertion as automatically only appealing to those who were unable to do anything more strenuous, an idea I’ve since learned isn’t valid. What ‘game’ might you be dismissing as irrelevant to you, that it might behoove you not just to learn the rules for, but perhaps consider participating in?

Gioco delle bocce ad Arcè (frazione di Pescantina, provincia di Verona) in una foto d’epoca {{PD}}

For those born with the Sun at 0 Virgo: all the action this year, Virgo, through to your next birthday, will be centered on issues of identity and matters of the natal House where the Sun is posited. You may be accused of navel-gazing or being Selfish, but really, you need to take this time for yourself, to sort through and be sure about who you are and who you want to be–it’s the only way you’ll be able to wrap your head around what’s slated, and just beginning to show itself, for your future. Good luck, Leo, and Happy Birthday!

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