Two things: a Mars-Jupiter square, and a Mercury-Chiron trine, with the Moon entering saucy Sagittarius AM PDT. The square is Cardinal, pushing us to do, to choose, in front of the whole world, or at least our social circle, and the effect can be intimidating; we hesitate because a misstep seems as if it would be disaster, but that’s just the ‘we think everyone’s watching’ effect. In reality, everyone else is feeling the same. And with all of us worried about our own performance, we don’t have time to critique anyone else’s! Knowing that doesn’t necessarily make our own actions or choices easier, but it should take some of the pressure off; we can choose according to our own wants without fear of immediate blow-back.

The trine is the dangerous thing: it makes it far too easy to speak or think hurtfully (and that includes toward ourselves). It doesn’t help that Merc and Chiron are in Fire signs, suggesting words or thoughts might be generated in flares of temper, out of misguided anger or tension, or out of a restless need to express, contributing to the likelihood of inadvertent wounding or thoughtless offense. But, this same energy can be channeled into active planning for expression of the Chirotic talent, the unique ability, made possible by your own very particular experience and knowledge, that you have available to share with yourself and others. If you’re not acquainted with your natal Chiron, find the sign it’s in and think about the gifts you might see as having roots in that sign energy, as well as areas associated with House placement; also consider the state of that sign’s ruler in your natal chart. For instance, if you have Chiron in Pisces in the 1st, your Chirotic gifts might center on the creative, the spiritual, or on realizing the ideal, with yourself (1st House) as the conduit, and ruler Neptune in Scorpio in the 8th brings in others, who may support your endeavors, or for whom you may use your gifts in their quests around the creative or some form of Self-realization.

Please see previous posts for other effects that may still be in effect.

The Daily Word Image is a brief rain shower that doesn’t get anything wet! Is there something you’ve tried, made an effort toward, or just begun that seems like it’s not going anywhere? If you hold genuine hopes for success (as opposed to approaching it with a casual roll of the dice) then you shouldn’t give up just yet. Give it more time, more effort, share more of your psychic and emotional ‘waters’, before you turn away from it.

The Scorpio Moon passes over the Black Moon Lilith point, revving up that Water Grand Trine described yesterday with even more feeling–and these emotions are likely to be in-the-moment reactions around things we thought we’d already handled, come back to haunt us. This will mostly occur internally, within our hearts and minds, but will definitely stir up things long forgotten, and serve them up with a side of regrets–or maybe it’s more like we’re reminded, from back in the day, when we were planning our future, what we’ve lost, what we’ve sacrificed, what we willingly gave up, to get to where we are right now. We may be a little surprised at what surfaces, even a little sad, but we’ll likely see the wisdom of why we chose what we chose–allowing us to put at least some of our fears that we took the wrong path, or let go of the wrong hand, to rest.

The Daily Word Image is insomnia. How do you handle those times when you can’t sleep? Do you toss and turn in bed, get up and do something, read, watch television, go over every ‘mistake’ you’ve ever made or misunderstanding that’s ever happened to you? Whatever you normally do, the next time you’re plagued with sleeplessness, do something other than what you usually do–it may shake things up, could take you out of your ‘response rut’, and you may even find yourself asking, “Am I really even sleepy?” Sometimes expectation and habit get in the way living.

All those heavies are still in play (Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto) early in their respective signs; I elaborate in previous posts, though we do see Venus in Leo move to sextile Uranus, trine Saturn-Neptune, and oppose Pluto, making the stakes on reform, our connection to reality, and innovation feel much higher than they actually are. That should be reassuring; our fears of loss aren’t as dependent on what we do now as we may think they are. We’re freer than we perceive ourselves to be; with Sedna conjoined Uranus and Persephone and Damocles square, we sense threats and worry about our fate when we’d be better served by ignoring the shadows and ‘what ifs’ and just moving forward. Otherwise, there’s not a lot else new, though we do see the Libra Moon oppose Chiron, noonish PDT, giving a last emotional poke at our wounds–but will it come from the partner or others, or will it be something we feel inside our own heads, where someone’s jab lives rent-free?

The Daily Word Image is the repeated cry of an osprey, heard clearly though the bird remains hidden in the forest. Are you ‘hearing a call’? Have you pursued it? Have you not answered it, with the excuse that if you can’t ‘see’ proof of it, you needn’t treat it as real? Or, rather than being personal to you, is the call you’re hearing someone’s plea for help, assistance, rescue, or ‘call to arms’? If so, the issue becomes whether you’re a) suited, and b) willing, to answer that cry.

The Virgo Moon passes over the Virgo South Node today, and we connect emotionally and/ or intuitively with the past. Whether this comes in the form of memories, repercussions, persistent situations or circumstances, time travel, nostalgia, or hauntings, is an individual matter, but it will show up–but to what purpose? Possibly we visit the past because Mercury squares the Black Moon Lilith point and Jupiter closely trines it, making difficult matters foremost in our thoughts (whether we like it or not!) and easily showing us the ‘Big Picture’–so it’s all quite fortunate, as our perspective from 30,000 ft, and yesterday’s experience, show us exactly how to process, handle, confront, or modify it all. A very helpful day, if we don’t get too distracted by Memory Lane.

Please see previous posts for other still extant influences.

The Daily Word Image is Strawberries. I know, you may be saying, Get over your fruit obsession, lady! But for me strawberries are something I’m allergic to. Just the thought of them makes me itchy and uncomfortable, so I ask you to consider what comes to mind when you think of these berries. For me, it suggests there’s something currently in my world that I need to avoid–but for you, it might evoke very different references, and that’s the beauty of a symbol, isn’t it? Each of us has a particular relationship to the elements of the Universe, the combinations of which are what makes every individual amazingly unique.

Our attention’s still on the state of the world, on reality, how clearly we do or don’t comprehend it, and, most importantly, how we can facilitate change (Sun quincunx Saturn-Neptune sextile Pluto in a Finger of God), and this is mostly because we keep repeatedly being shocked, surprised, or suddenly realizing innovative or inventive approaches to what concerns us; we’re receiving one of the Universal forms of ‘higher education’, and we need to keep up, the best we can, to get the most out of it (Sun square Uranus). The distraction, though, is still the Venus-Chiron Cardinal square, with Venus ruling Mars in Libra and Mars ruling Chiron acting like a boomerang and exacerbating both the urge to act and the sense that we’re agitated, but can’t pinpoint exactly why (or perhaps more accurately, whom to blame!)

Answers may lie in a Water Grand Trine with Jupiter and the Black Moon Lilith and North Nodal point. Grand Trines offer an opportunity to create balance, outlining a graceful interaction among various components; here the idea seems to be that if we focus on expanding what we care about, either in some form having or investing in more of that, or in expanding our world so that we care more about the wider one that surrounds us (Jupiter in Cancer), and by accepting (if not embracing) those things we’d rather not acknowledge, see, or that enrage us, that we typically keep hidden or treat as secrets (BML in Scorpio), we can have a big, conscious say in creating our future–and who could want more than that?

The Daily Word Image is a tomato on the vine that from a distance looks beautifully ripe, perhaps left too long in place, as it proves to be rotted after a sudden summer rain. What looks perfect, mature, in your life that at this point really isn’t desirable at all? Or is it that you’ve left something too long, hoping to maximize its perfection, only to find that you missed its peak and it’s now no good? Missing the moment when something should be used, accessed, celebrated is one of life’s small tragedies–look around and make the most of things that are ready, ripe, before they’re irredeemable.