Edvard Munch – ‘Summer Night by the Beach’ (1902-03) {{PD}}

Big things make us itch; they seem like small things, like things we should be able to do something about, to swat away like gnats, but they persist, because they really are things that need a lot more of our attention than we’re currently allotting. We are tormented, affected, and not aware of how really major the impulses we’re influenced by; in the parlance of noir novelist Raymond Chandler, we’re feeling like we’re in the midst of “one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands’ necks. Anything can happen.” The surprising part is that it happens so suddenly, and though we’re focused on ideas and the meaning behind events, we’d be smarter at this point to take things at face value; if we don’t we risk loss, injustice, and dangerous circumstances.

I don’t mean to make today’s influences sound so ominous; I’m simply trying to convey the elusive, and potentially impulsive, nature of it all. Following our impulses, what we want, lust for, long for, carries a price, if we go for it directly, without considering consequences–and if we pause long enough to consider what might befall us as a result of our desire-driven choices, then we are likely to see that the road between ‘here’ and ‘there’ isn’t quite as straight or obstacle-free as we first thought (Vesta sesq Zeus, Mars semi-sq Pluto, Venus conjoined Sedna, Sun enters Gemini and qnx Black Moon Lilith)

Johannes Vermeer – ‘Lady Writing a Letter with Her Maid’ c1670 {{PD}}

Today’s word image is a sealed letter you thought already sent, found at the back of a drawer. That message was never received by the addressee, and yet you’ve likely conducted your interactions with them as if it were. Consider the impact of not having said what you thought you’d said; does it need to be said now? Or are things good the way they are? Sometimes forgetting to ‘send our message’ is the best thing we could have done.

We’ll close today with another quote from Raymond Chandler: “To say goodbye is to die a little.” So Mars semi-square Pluto! Enjoy your Friday!

See the upcoming Full Moon here–

Vilhelm Hammershøi – Sovekammer (1890) {{PD}}

Love heals (Venus sextile Chiron)

If these were in Alice’s world, they’d have tags that read, ‘Drink Me’. Arjen Bangma, Transnatural director CC Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International

Today’s word image is a ball of white light. See it around you, inside you, hand it out to others like a gift.

See the report for the upcoming Full Moon in Sagittarius here–thank you, and enjoy your Thursday!

‘Le Destin’ Henry Siddons Mowbray c1895 {{PD}}

A most interesting mix of influences occur the 17th. On the one hand we are likely to find our impulses, especially those keyed to creating the future, inspired (probably without our awareness) by those things ignored, denied, or by injustices we’d like to address–and this is highly fortuitous, making our inclinations much more effective than they would’ve been had we really thought about the matter (Merc still retro and entering that most tense point before direction–no wonder it’s best our mind stays out of the way!)

On the other hand, we may see a kind of breakdown of alliances along gender lines, with the ladies somehow more willing to cooperate or collaborate with each other than they are to accept male input (maybe it’s all that mansplaining we have to put up with). In fact, the collaboration of those with assets (no matter their gender) and those with power or access is another way this energy may show itself. There’s the potential for some mild antipathy to permeate female-male interaction (with or without actual cause in the relationship), and if you do feel it, the wise course is to back away slowly, no eye contact and no big, sudden movements, and just go about your business; there’s no reason to pick a fight, or even be snarky, over something so non-specific, so undefined and even baseless, as this (NN nov Black Moon Lilith, Venus nov Ceres, Sun semi-square Ceres)

‘Black bird near Red Rock Canyon, Las Vegas’ Photo by Barbara Whitney, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International

Today’s word image is a black bird inside a black box. This one I don’t think I can explain; just go with what comes to mind for you.

Thank you to all my readers. I do my best to get the next day’s post up by 1 PM Pacific, in case you’d like to schedule your visits. You may want to: Read! Donate! or see available Services, and have a wonderful Tuesday!

David Gauld – T’he Haunted Chateau, Grez-sur-Loing’ 1896 {{PD}}

We’re thinking about ideals today, our thoughts filled with those things we find sacred and want to dedicate our life energy to, but as we look around we catch a wispy shadow out of the corner of our eye, we open a closet and find it deeper and darker than we thought, or we thrust our hand into a hidden spot, retrieving our pen as it rolls away, and feel a sting and sharpness and wonder, ‘What the hell was that?’ We have the strong desire to understand, to lay out our plans, to get clear on our goals, but it’s a little like being haunted: you can’t see anything wrong, but you just know it’s there, energetically intruding on everything. Don’t let it throw you; mulling and meditating on what we care about, on our wishes for home, mate, and cause, are all highly appropriate today–but we must be willing to hold off on acting, on implementing plans, even as we look behind obstacles and barriers, noting what dark thing we must eventually deal with to get around them (Vesta enters Gemini, Saturn semi-square Black Moon Lilith)

Generously released into the public domain by Beardedman

Today’s word image is a pairing of colors: that yellow again from last week, this time with orange. Seen together, they act as synchronicity markers, they prompt us to pay attention right that moment, or they may indicate which to choose, when we have a choice.

‘Hatsuhana doing penance under the Tonosawa waterfall’ Utagawa Kuniyoshi c1841 {{PD}}

Today, gaining power (in whatever form you’re seeking it) and making your influence felt are 1) grounded in reasoning focused on what we know to be wise and of value, that respects relationships and the flow of assets, and that is willing to adjust ambitions and ‘the target’ to accommodate genuine need, and 2) requires conscious acceptance of what is Universally true: change is constant in two forms, evolution and decay, and it’s our ability to embrace and work with these that fuels our own growth. We must adopt altruism that honors the individual even as it benefits the Collective, openness to the six senses, the sensory flow, and a willingness to modify ambitions to fit our current level of empowerment–all will contribute to some immediate and rewarding successes. That means opposites, such as erraticism, thoughtless behavior, blocking flow, wasting assets, or failing to regard others as essentially worthy, will all act to drain you in some way. Today we are the only obstacle to our success (Pallas trine Juno, Merc conjoined and parallel Venus, both qnx Zeus and trine Pluto)

Coin of Abdissares (210 BC), Armenian King of Sophene Photo by Rs4815 – CC BY-SA 4.0

Today’s word image is an ancient coin. Old truths and long-held assets both need our attention today. If you’re unsure what might qualify, look to who and what has been in your life from early times, and honor what they still give you, today.

Edgar Degas 1874 {{PD}}

Sometimes on the journey we become so Self-involved that we forget others are on their own journey, an experience that is just as real for them as ours is for us. When we are concentrating on what is wise, what is the smart move, working on developing our skills and making an impact that affects the material world, that is practical, we may begin to see others as mere actors in our play, rather than as playwrights of their own, with a viewpoint that may be far different from ours. As physical incarnations we are focused on amassing and controlling power–and this is so whether we see it as so or not, because power is really just another way of talking about the life force–and so our every effort is in the name of fortifying and making effective our expression of life force–and so is everyone else’s. Just a reminder found in the astrology for today, when smart thinking, in spite of Merc retro, is accessible for us all (Ceres semi-sq Sedna, Mercury parallel Vesta and trine Pluto)

‘At the Theater’ 1879
Mary Cassatt {{PD}}

Today’s word image is anyone wearing yellow. See them as messengers, synchronicity markers, symbols, warnings, guides, and maybe snappy dressers. And have a great Thursday!

Photo by Zyance CC BY-SA 2.5

If you’re making positive channels for and expressions of your Venus energies (giving love to others, using your gifts and talents, being generous, being kind, being polite, being diplomatic–which really is just going out of your way not to disrespect others–thinking of ‘the relationship’, expressing your Art whatever that may be, actually making Art, in some form keeping a flow of worthy and valued things, actions, thoughts going), then you will get a lot more positives for your use, whether those are directly related to the Venus element you’re ‘working’, or if they come in another Venusian form–but either way, a bounty that likely is grounded in facts or knowledge, with the prosperity either coming from the sharing of these, or the sharing coming from plenty, a way wherein we get ‘more’ by ‘knowing’, whichever comes first.

Don’t expect it to be as simple or direct as an infusion of Love or Money; though it can be (and we’ll certainly see this aspect in the material world, with both bodies in Earth), we profit by looking behind the result for the mechanism at work. Doing so offers us a glimpse at the true workings of the Universe, and so a better understanding of what we need to do to get what we want, to immerse ourselves successfully (rather than feeling lost or drowning) in All-That-Is. This aspect (Venus trine Jupiter, with Jupiter just direct once again) brings the bounty from belief–so expect to see, aside from anything else, energy and material manifestations of the way you believe the Universe works.

At this time inspirations come from dark corners, from the neglected, ignored, or denied, and from injustices previously dished out. Inequities birth ideas that follow ideals; those things we’d rather pretend don’t exist are the very places we need to put our attention right now–this will only benefit us. Our imaginations are caught by the painful or less savory, and these show us both our ideals and our nightmares–and give us the creative approach necessary to deal with them (Neptune parallel Black Moon Lilith)

Oddly enough, our strength, power, and confidence right now all come from not looking to the future. An eye to what’s coming will only distract us, skew our aim, or weaken us with unnecessary fears. Practice centering consciousness in the now–more easily tossed off in a blog than done, I know, but something worth trying, as all indications are this attitude currently benefits us far more than any other (Ceres contra-parallel NN)

Thank you for an amazing response to the specials offered over the weekend! The special is now over. Just a reminder: when you order something and I respond that I can work with you, payment is due immediately, both to keep your ‘place in line’ and for me to know I can go ahead (I don’t go to work on your package until the fee is paid). Though I appreciate hearing you’d like one or more services, I have difficulty planning my time when I don’t know how serious you are–and that’s shown by payment. And if you’ve changed your mind, that’s okay too–but I (and everybody waiting behind you in line) appreciate it when you let me know.

Relief representing a two-headed eagle on the sphinx located at the right of the Sphinx Gate, Alaca Höyük, Turkey Photo by Bernard Gagnon GNU Free Documentation License

Today’s word image is a bird with two heads, looking in opposite directions. This has been extant as a symbol for over three thousand years, with the implications something like those for a phoenix: a promise of strength and prowess destroyed and regenerated, a kind of immortality guaranteed by the way the energy is never lost, but reconstituted in a fresh form, again and again, in an ever-renewing cycle. The dual heads may suggest the way this symbol unites past and future through the unbroken line of re-birth. The suggestion may be that there is something in our own lives that waxes and wanes, seems prominent and then lost, but always returns in a ‘new’ form. What thread runs through your entire life, and how does it connect your past to what will come?