Defining Ourselves

25 Monday Nov 2024

Posted by in astrology, Mercury retrograde, Pluto Into Aquarius, Retrogrades + Directions, Saturn in Pisces

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‘The Butterfly Girl’ By Winslow Homer 1878 {{PD}}

As Pluto moves out of Capricorn (not to return in our lifetimes), we are consumed with ridding ourselves of the last vestiges of institutions, restrictions, boundaries, restraints, barriers, rules, and authorities that seem to be holding us back–but the operative word here is ‘seem’. That final pass of Pluto through the 29th degree of Capricorn, that began in September and lasted through November 19th, ground down on our last nerve and made us feel that if we didn’t throw off our chains, we’d lose any chance at freedom–forever. That’s Pluto at his most dramatic, threatening oblivion and wipe out, when the real agenda is change–or clear the boards–or even transformation, which can be a butterfly-delicate business. Leaving Capricorn means leaving behind much we’ve come to see as steadying, reliable, safe–we understand these rules, whether we like them or not–and entering Aquarius what we are most likely to sense is approaching chaos–and that can make even the coolest of us panic. Every time you feel that fear of anarchy rising, remind yourself that this lack of constraints is something we’ve silently been wishing for–and that what we’re enjoying now is the opportunity for significant Self-determination, the development of our individuality, originality, and expression unique to us. That’s a great gift, if we can release our fear of the unknown and embrace trust in ourselves, believing we’re able to handle whatever comes.

Mercury moves into apparent retrograde motion at 22 Sagittarius 40 on the 25th, and it may take a few hours (or days) to feel it’s moving backward reliably; it’s almost like the stationary period leading up to the retro has been extra trying, making us question what we know and what we believe, and we may remain in that state until it picks up speed (certainly by the 29th, when Merc pulls out of its quincunx to Uranus). That will remove the sense of unpredictability to what we hear, think about, absorb, or perceive mentally–and in its place the way should open to using the feeling nature in making choices and understanding our surroundings (look at the states of natal Moon, transiting Moon, and natal and transiting Venus, for best ways to read, approach, and handle current events).

Remember, trusting our intuition, those things we ‘know but don’t know’, and the feeling conduit we each have that feeds info directly from nature/ the ether/ our surroundings/ people around us to our bodies is vital to accept without letting our mind take over and question those perceptions. We find this knowledge not just in that flood of ‘knowing’ that can occur; it’s also available through the pit in our stomach, the flutter of our heart, the chill to our bones, or the hair standing on end, just to name a few of our most effective non-mental information mechanisms. During a Merc retro period these sensations must be honored as genuine sources of guidance–anything less just means we will turn to the (just for now) incomplete and unreliable mental assessment of the situation–and for the present that’s what we need to avoid.

One other thing I’d like to point out: Saturn in Pisces isn’t getting much contact from other bodies currently, but it’s the kind of energy we’d do well to take active advantage of. It’s offering ways in which we can take ideas into reality, giving the imagination or the ideals concrete, lasting forms. All you need to do is tap into it through appropriate effort–Saturn rewards work–and once you start it can lend an inspired air to what you build or give form, and pulls in some surprising inspiration and support along the way.

Just a thought, but one I think worth mentioning: consider who you are, what you see yourself as, and then consider how that changes when you remove from your definition all the things you are against. Too often we define ourselves via what we don’t want, like, or support–but that focus on a negative can backfire, drawing it to us, making the thing we hate or reject a stronger part of us than we realize. For instance, if you were a cancer researcher, and suddenly a cure was found that meant no one would suffer this disease again, how would that affect your idea of you? Until then you had seen yourself as a warrior against cancer–but with cancer no longer a danger, who do you become, and what do you do with that energy that was dedicated to eradicating something you’d made central to your life? This issue isn’t always that obvious or dramatic, but still worth addressing, as we can all use as much available energy as possible right now. I would suggest allowing yourself to dwell only on those things you want to be, live like, do, while refusing to dedicate any energy to what you find unacceptable–see if shifting your attention to the positive doesn’t lighten the load, and free up energy in unexpected and refreshing ways.

Have a lovely week, everyone!

Full Moon 15 November 2024 The Shape of Things

14 Thursday Nov 2024

Posted by in astrology, Full Moon, Retrogrades + Directions, Sabian Symbols

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Walt Disney Concert Hall, Photographer Unknown www.Pixel.la Free Stock Photos {{PD}}

The Moon reaches exact opposition to the Sun (and so exact conjunction with Earth) at 1:28 PM PST of the 15th, with both bodies at 24 degrees, Sun in Scorpio, Moon/ Earth in Taurus. A Full Moon promises culmination, a big reveal, resolution, completion, even abandonment of a course that proves ineffective, a kind of end signaled by the Full Moon point–but this time what occurs is shocking, or shockingly original, or potentially unleashes chaos, with Uranus conjoined the Lunar energy and both grounded through the presence of Earth as well as their placement in the most security-oriented of the Earth signs, Taurus. It’s a combination that suggests anarchy, internal or external, a disorienting sense that what comforts us, makes us feel prosperous, soothed, established, secure, and materially safe, may disappear. The earth threatens to shift beneath our feet, and an inventory of what surrounds us is made impossible by our inability to discern the genuine shape of things, as the Sun shines on the Scorpionic depths, lights up the cave, spotlights the rot, what needs to be cleaned out, rehabilitated, or transformed, but never really gives us a clear picture of what is–vital areas are blurred, the solid indistinguishable from shadow, angles mislead, and what we see is a Rorschach that should illuminate but ultimately fails to reveal meaning.

What surprises us about the Full Moon event may come in the form of an ideal realized, a fantasy come to life–or discovered, come to light–the establishment of a form of payoff or security we didn’t really anticipate (sextile Neptune), or as destruction of what no longer serves, or the clean sweep or falling away of a power or circumstance that has been restraining us, or threatening to overpower us (wide trine to Pluto). So, there’s a lot that’s difficult to see, and the action happens whether we consent or not, which can be upsetting. This all happens on the heels of the Saturn direction at 12 Pisces; does this take the brakes off our dreams, or does it gently apply them, steering us away from what we thought we wanted, denying what we were sure would be ours, or delivering what we were sure wouldn’t?

The Full Moon delivers fulfillment of some condition that affects us emotionally, or that validates our intuition. We see some lesser influences with the Ceres in Capricorn trine (the Lunar effect and what it brings is natural, perhaps necessitating negotiation, or acknowledgment of our boundaries, or perhaps seeing clearly for the first time the implications of or to our health or personal authority); Eris semi-sextile in Aries suggesting that expression of our Will will definitely stir extant resistance in others; Circe at 21Pisces sextile the Moon promises a strong woman/ female energy that offers support even as it may try to distract us or delay us; and Pallas sits quincunx the Moon from Sagittarius, requiring us to adjust our approach and attitude in order to accommodate the facts or what we learn.

It’s notable that the Sabian for the Full Moon is 24 Taurus; normally we would have minutes on the degree that would push it to the following symbol. ‘An Indian Warrior Riding Fiercely, Human Scalps Hanging From His Belt’ suggests to me that we are to gird ourselves as if we’re entering battle, taking ourselves and our efforts seriously, a ‘take no prisoners’ approach–and yet, the Sun’s symbol says, ‘After Having Heard An Inspired Individual Deliver His “Sermon On The Mount,” Crowds Are Returning Home’. We may feel as if an aggressive approach is required in order to triumph, and certainly, that’s the mindset we need initially, but it’s the message that drives us that’s ultimately most important. We must believe in ourselves and our cause, but the larger impact will come from what our conduct conveys about our beliefs and expectations. That’s how we’re actually communicating–and considering that Mercury is set to retrograde in just a week and a half at 22 Sagittarius, whatever we’re actually putting out now will come back to us, along with the consequences, probably much sooner than we think–so be as conscious of what your choices truly mean as possible.

There’s a Mystic Rectangle in force right now, made up of Mercury, Black Moon Lilith, Jupiter, and Chiron. If we’re willing to do the hard work around communicating on tough subjects (especially around what we’ve denied or ignored), we could really benefit, even heal wounds. The trick is doing the digging and being Truthful without treating our wounds as if they’re sacred; we can’t make progress if we’re afraid of a little pain.

Make note too of a Venus in Aquarius/ Mars in Leo opposition that occurs 12th-13th of December, about a week after Mars goes retro. Right now Venus and Mars are quincunx, meaning these energies call for adjustment, in order to get along; their December encounter promises a total re-consideration around our actions and choices regarding Love, assets, partnership, values. Keep that in mind now, making an effort to accommodate, to balance Higher Mind and ego, and the December contact will be that much easier to navigate and understand, and will require a lot less re-doing than it otherwise might without an early awareness of the way these energies will tangle.

Notes on November-December 2024: In Spite Of

06 Wednesday Nov 2024

Posted by in astrology, Pluto, Pluto Into Aquarius, Pluto Retrograde, Retrogrades + Directions

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‘Autumn Maples with Poem Slips’ c1675 By Tosa Mitsuoki {{PD}}

So, how have those New Moon new starts panned out for you? Those endings leading to regeneration or transformation or destruction are still happening–and of course, not in the way we expected them to occur. It’s Pluto’s farewell tour through Capricorn that’s casting a pall even as it promises change (which, when under stress, we typically see as good, a relief)–but how is it that nobody’s really happy with what’s being swept aside, with what’s in genesis mode, with what’s washing away the last vestiges of what was, the status quo, the structures we thought were permanent, reliable, steadfast, the rules, the guardrails, the serious and studious? Why is it that the restless need for change takes chaotic form, costs us in a million unexpected ways, and isn’t at all what we imagined? Or is it that we’re rebelling against what’s actually worthy, (wrongly) convinced that there’s something better out there, something ideal? What we need to know is that the outer discord is simply mirroring our own inner dissonance, and that endangers what we love unless we keep ideals in the forefront at all times, and most particularly in spite of what we see before us (Uranus quincunx Venus and sextile Neptune).

We’ve got at least 12 more days of this–and when Pluto enters Aquarius, what can we expect? Clarity? Not right away. Pluto will remain at 00 until the very end of December; in Aquarius this may feel a bit like we’re losing our minds, the intellect disintegrating (or really, seeming to), and a mild confusion may suffuse everything. We may rebel on impulse, not knowing why we feel so contrary, struggling for freedom but unable to name what we think is constraining us. Revolution will be attractive, and we may feel the power inherent in changing our minds–though that’s only if we do so out of what we’ve learned or observed, not in practice of pure theory. But, justifying erraticism and overthrow with purely intellectual reasoning may put us in a very bad spot, one where we try to impose theory on reality and find ourselves more disconnected, more out-of-step, than ever. It makes us sitting ducks, targets for those who are more in touch with what is and who aren’t distracted by a vision of what should be–their connection to reality will be their strength, and it’s something we should strive for, too.

During this same period we’ll experience Mercury retrograding and then going direct in Sagittarius (25 November-15 December), suggesting the mutability of the mind is emphasized, but can be shaped, even rescued, by making facts, knowledge, and an understanding of what’s foreign or exotic to us a priority. Remember, during a Merc retro the feeling nature isn’t just our friend, it becomes a reliable barometer in matters where the mind is too distracted or inward-turning to function well; the mind also has a tendency to miss important points or details during a retro, so that if we rely on it we set ourselves up for unwanted surprises or regret over agreements or plans upon direction.

We also see Mars turnaround in this period (6 December), an event that occurs roughly every two+ years, and which will last through late February (direct on the 24th). It moves from early Leo back into Cancer, suggesting a reassessment of our own role in things, our actions and choices, and brings about clarification of what we care about, what really matters, what we need to nurture and protect. This can help enormously in our quest to adjust to Pluto’s new sign, and new focus. If we stay clear on who we are (Leo) and what and whom we care for (Cancer), the intellectual and individual upheaval almost certain to arrive with Pluto’s foray into Aquarius will be minimized, will have a reference other than itself to measure and calculate by. Think back to late March through mid-June 2023, and late January through the end of April 2024 for glimpses as to how Pluto’s re-entry to Aquarius may affect you.

Neptune goes direct on the 7th of December in Pisces, poised to take off for Aries (very end of March 2025) and then move back into Pisces at 29 degrees, where it remains, direction coming December 2025 and the whole cycle lending a sense of urgency, to address our dreams, to see the future so we can prepare, to prophecy correctly for ourselves, to match ideals to actions–so, long-term challenging, but not in a bad way. Saturn will go direct on the 15th of November at 12 Pisces, only adding to our urge to make what we imagine, what we find ideal, what we want to create, permanent, physical, steady and dependable. These two urges can work together, united by the Piscean + Saturnian task of creative manifestation according to dreams and ideals. These two give us something to work toward, and that’s good–it’s a time to go for those dreams through taking solid, concrete steps toward making them reality, no matter how distant, ephemeral, or illusive those goals may seem.

New Moon in Scorpio 1 November 2024: The Nature of the Beast

23 Wednesday Oct 2024

Posted by in astrology, New Moon, Sabian Symbols

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I don’t think we’re this far down the road, do you? The Horned Beast from the Bamberg Apocalypse Folio c1000 {{PD}}

The New Moon perfects at 5:47 AM Pacific time at 9 Scorpio 35 on the 1st, and makes only one major aspect, a trine to Saturn at 12 Pisces. The new starts of a New Moon in Scorpio may look more like endings, or rather, re-workings, or even transformations; inherent in that perception is the idea that we’re losing something even as the new thing emerges, and we may not notice just what it is that’s gone until the whole thing is past. Something’s contained, cut off, limited, denied, given shape, or made manifest, and that may be just as you imagined, but a little deeper, a little darker.

It’s the nature of the beast right now that emotions run high and our attention is half beyond the veil anyway–and that makes for distortion to the worldly perceptions and yet a much greater understanding through the feeling faculties and intuition–and this New Moon is a new beginning in terms of what we know with all our senses, especially the intangible ones. We intuit below the surface, our minds feeling around, so to speak, and there’s some urgency to it; we see this in the Water Grand Trine of Mars at the crisis degree of 29 of Moon-ruled Cancer, trine both Mercury in Scorpio and Neptune in Pisces, and this is given emphasis and even more urgency with Pluto still at 29 Capricorn opposed this Mars. We’re likely inundated with feeling that may precipitate action, destruction, or choices, before we know what we’ve actually decided, or thought it through much. What we do or choose is in service to our ideals, our dreams, and what we see as the Truth, and yet . . . that urgent feeling leads to overdoing, in an attempt to make sure what we do ‘sticks’, or to inadvertent destruction, arising from too much seriousness, too much intensity, focused on what might better be approached with nuance, with finesse, with gentle acceptance for ‘What Is’ even as we seek to change it.

Help in reconciling these energies may be found in the Jupiter in Gemini sextile to Chiron in Aries. Optimism, hope, and the chance to get more or do better comes through understanding and accepting hurts, and then acting to heal them. It’s in knowing that our wounds aren’t fatal, but instead make us more sensitive to this very hurt in others, that we find mastery of some of the most difficult challenges we’ll face–and also provides the antidote to a too-emotional read of the current landscape, and helps us understand that, though action is desirable, unthinking action, or desperate action, can ruin what we’ve so carefully constructed.

The Sabian for the New Moon is, ‘A Fellowship Supper Reunites Old Comrades’. The past is part of the Scorpio energy; it has to be, since regeneration must acknowledge the something that was, before it can become something else. This image may speak to that way we will lose something in the process of birthing the new, but that if we’re attentive, we’ll have time to remind ourselves of the way it was, and all the good, all the contacts and rewards and knowledge and experience we gained, the companions who, no matter the passage of time, we are still as close to as ever. Even when we only want to leave the past behind, we must see that we were there for a reason, and that we touched many lives, and they touched ours, and that’s still a resonant and worthwhile thing for us all.

The dream is within reach, but we’re all so nerved up we can blow it if we succumb to tension or fear. This New Moon in Scorpio says, ‘A cycle is beginning, and a cycle is falling away, and what starts now must flow with existing energies even as it refuses to embrace extremes’. If you can carry forward the spirit of Libran balance so recently experienced, and apply it to the now, you’ll have the needed control, and the foresight, to choose wisely.

I’ll be stepping away from the computer for a much needed break, and will return just after the New Moon. All comments, inquiries, and purchases through the Press will be processed when I return to work. Thank you all, and have a wonderful couple of weeks!

Full Moon 17 October 2024 Potent Healing

16 Wednesday Oct 2024

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, Full Moon, Sabian Symbols

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‘The Love Potion’ By Evelyn de Morgan 1903 {{PD}}

The Full Moon perfects at 4:27 AM PDT of the 17th at 24 Aries 35, with the Moon conjoined Chiron and a loose Cardinal Grand Cross formed with the Sun/ Earth-Moon axis by Mars in Cancer and tense 29 degree Pluto in Capricorn. This suggests action, perhaps extreme action, motivated by emotional hurt, or at least a tenderness around the feeling or intuitive nature that pushes one to choose, to take the ‘next step’, possibly out of fear or a deep desire for change. The energy around the event is precipitous, even dangerous, due to the amount of unconscious material that may push us to act. We can only hope that what we want to change or eliminate (Pluto) is something established, that we’ve already considered changing for a long time (Capricorn), and it will definitely be something we personally care about and see as our responsibility (Mars in Cancer, Aries Moon). Best case scenario is that this Lunar culmination offers potent healing, a chance at permanent change that rebalances personal power across the ‘I Am’/ ‘We Are’ axis (Aries/ Libra).

Remember, all arms of a Grand Cross are activated at once; that means we must recognize that, no matter what form these Cardinal energies take, they are connected, with action in one area affecting all the others. So, that scary Plutonian ultimatum may seem isolated from our beef with our partner (Libra Sun), and both those may seem unconnected to hurt arising from something we ourselves have done (Chiron conj Moon in Aries), but the reality is that each situation feeds off the others–and that means that sources of hurt, change, and actions may all become confused. We may think it’s our partner’s fault something is ending, when our own wounded nature has actually set up the hurtful circumstances so they’re aimed straight at us; or we may in some way feel ‘we have no choice’, and so fail to see that, even in the most dire circumstances, we actually do–it’s just that in our minds, we lack acceptable options, not genuine alternatives.

Consider that what we demand from the landscape, our surroundings, from others, from our lives, only spans a very particular range; perhaps we need to acknowledge that the unacceptable or undesired must become so, in order to open those possible options, and so radically change our viewpoint. Remember, too, that healing doesn’t necessarily mean we will go back to an old state of what we see as ‘whole’; it may instead mean a new state, with the interim period time spent in our very own chrysalis, the Full Moon a new step forward in regeneration, in being remade.

The Jupiter sextile to the Moon-Earth-Chiron is exact by degree to Chiron, suggesting what hurts is exaggerated, overdone, or presents big new opportunity, or may even represent optimistic thinking (Gemini) around the potential for healing or expression of one’s unique, natal Chiron gift. Also of note is Venus sextile Pluto, both at 29 degrees, of Scorpio and Capricorn, respectively. This is not just a potential, it’s a demand from the Universe: Love your Transformation, because this change is here to stay. If you carry a natal planet or point at 21-24 Scorpio that puts that natal entity at the apex of a Finger of God, with your natal point describing some facet of the outcome of learning to love what’s changing in or around us.

The Full Moon Sabian symbol is, ‘The Possibility For Man To Gain Experience At Two Levels Of Being’. That doesn’t call for much explanation, does it? At this Full Moon point we’ll have one foot in our current state, one in the ‘new’ state just reaching readiness–and that’s a unique spot, one that allows us to see our present with a previously unavailable clarity and understanding that we can now carry forward, into our developing circumstances and state of Being.

We also look at the Sun’s Sabian for a Full Moon: ‘The Sight Of An Autumn Leaf Brings To A Pilgrim The Sudden Revelation Of The Mystery Of Life And Death’. We are the Pilgrim, obvs, a person in search of something that has a distinctly spiritual flavor–and the time is right now (Autumn), when we are slated to receive some of the most important information we’ll ever get (the ‘Life And Death’ nature of that info). The word ‘revelation’ points us, in my mind, directly toward the energies of Uranus, and when we look we see that body is a busy bee: it works into the Full Moon Lunar picture obliquely, by quincunx to the Sun, semi-sextile to the Moon-Earth (but not Chiron), sextile Neptune and wide sextile to Mars, trine Pluto, and opposing that stressed Venus (I’d mention Pluto’s ongoing stress, but we’ve lived with it so long, it’s starting to fade into background noise–but just imagine the relief when it finally leaves Capricorn for good!) This revelation, then, is not about that potent healing available to us if we are open to current energies (Chiron is ‘missing’), but something ‘other’, namely, Love, the state of Being we discover when we see the whole picture and vibrationally (that is, in attitude) rise above it. It’s a creative energy, one that calls for adjustment of our idea of who we are, even what we are, as well as requiring our acceptance that there are things beyond our control that in the same breath, the same moment, will deliver us to a perfect state of Love. Not bad, getting a glimpse of the eternal, and of the most potent healing force in the Universe–now just open your arms, and take it in.

Bonus: if you have a natal placement between 25 Cancer and 2 Leo, that body fills in a Water Grand Trine with Neptune and Venus, implying you have the chance to experience an ideal Love, in some form, whether that’s finding the love of your life, falling into it with a puppy, utilizing a talent, or discovering a new depth of feeling and understanding with someone who up to now may have been a problematic relationship or matter you’re dedicated to. The nature of and state of the natal body will describe what you can expect, what style this ideal Love may arrive in. Lucky you–savor it.

To all my Readers: have a wonderful weekend!

October 2024: Zombie Issues

08 Tuesday Oct 2024

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, future events in the sky

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1943 {{PD}}

There are a number of current aspects, most waning, that occupy us right now, but my thought is these are largely distractions, influences that feel vital, in need of handling, and yet in a week or a month what was sorted will be no more than a faded blip on our radar. This is chiefly due to the separating Water trine of Venus and Mars. What could draw our attention more completely? Venus is in Scorpio, carrying a much more serious demeanor than she usually does, endowing her energies with a life-or-death aura, and Mars in Cancer is, well, a bit whiny for a Warrior. He wants his sensitivity to be seen (and perhaps celebrated), but everyone knows this is atypical, and he’ll be back to his old aggressive Self (rather than this passive-aggressive Self) in no time. And aspecting each other in Water only serves to make it all feel so compelling, so emotionally important–and yet the urgency here is temporary, even artificial–though by tomorrow Venus becomes apex to a Finger of God with base of Jupiter-Chiron–and boy will we hear some howls of pain, hear of the cost to us of our wounds. Examine them, yes–glory in them, exaggerate them, or try to use them as social currency, no. If we do wear them like a Self-serving sackcloth and ash, the only lasting result will be a reputation as too sensitive (which really translates as ‘aware, and asking for the rest of us to be so, too’) that will gain us an undeserved ostracism from those matters we most want to affect.

Mercury will move along quickly from its opposition to Chiron and trine to exaggerator Jupiter–again, an indicator that our thoughts about our own wounds will lack staying power and so lack genuine, lasting impact–so if you’re plagued by worry at present, especially about the consequences of your own injuries, emotional or physical, or about those dysfunctions so easily observed in the social order, know that the concerns are at the very least overblown, and may in fact not end up being a problem at all.

A Fist of God is formed by a square between Uranus and Neptune with apex of the Black Moon Lilith point (and just a few days ago the apex was filled by the transiting Sun). This may explain more of the underlying feeling that is so pervasive right now. The unexpected seems to be everywhere, things unanticipated or shocking jumping out of the woodwork very suddenly, and we’re unable to discern whether there’s real danger there, or real potential, and that confusion may even be internal, a case of us not even feeling we can reliably trust ourselves (or, worse) trust our perceptions. What resolves this upset is a willingness to admit what we may be in denial of, what we may have tried to bury. ‘Tis the season for issues that just won’t die, zombie matters we just wish would go away–and seeing that these issues won’t may enrage us. A clear-eyed look at those things we’ve been dodging is the talisman we need to ward off so much of our confusion and upset–so do it.

And finally, Jupiter, which has been stationary like an elephant sitting on our chests in matters of the House in the natal chart where this falls, and as well in the compulsive nature of our thoughts and communications of late (Gemini), will officially go retro tomorrow. Very slowly it will appear to move backward, with its first encounter a semi-sextile with Mars in Cancer the 13th-14th. Think of this as a premature trigger, and don’t let it push you into impulsive action fueled by the discomfort that the blind Will can feel when it realizes it must care (Cancer). Better to let the impulse pass. There’s a point, well off, when we are going to need to find a balance between optimism and pessimism, hope and reality, abundance and conservatism: roughly, the period of December 21-New Year’s, when Jupiter and Saturn share a languid square. Not acting impulsively now will put us in a much better place end-of-year. Just a thought.

Have a wonderful week, my friends!

Solar Eclipse 2 October 2024 Harmony In Confrontation

25 Wednesday Sep 2024

Posted by in astrology, New Moon, Sabian Symbols, Solar Eclipse

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‘Harmony in Blue’ By James Ensor 1919 {{PD}}

Yes, I’m aware that’s contradictory; how can we find accord in the midst of conflict? It seems impossible, but that’s exactly what we do, with this eclipse, first perfecting at 11:48 AM PDT of the 2nd at 10 Libra 03: we find our new beginnings, after the event wipes the slate clean, through the New Moon and a pair of components of the Sun-Moon conjunction, the Black Moon Lilith point and Mercury, all in Libra, with a less than 1.5 degree spread. This describes a seminal point in relationships (especially intimate or partner-oriented ones), in the Arts, and/ or in matters of diplomacy and fairness (judgment as objective as possible, and the attempt to allocate resources or energies as deserved). The conflict or confrontation may be internal or external (with another), but in either case involves something ignored, denied, or that enrages (BML), while harmony comes from effective, open communication (Mercury, in Air sign Libra) that puts caring and considerate interaction (Libra, a Cardinal, and so action-oriented, sign) ahead of Self-interest or one’s own feelings (the Sun-Moon conjunction=the Self/ Sun meets the emotions or intuition/ Moon). Important to note, if the conflict is an internal one, we will essentially be wrestling with something we’ve set to the side or tried to ignore, and now must face how this affects our relationships or interaction overall; communicating honestly with ourselves becomes the New Moon eclipse necessity.

There’s a loose T-square formed with the opposition of Ceres in Capricorn to Mars in Cancer, with the eclipse, BML, and Mercury as the handle, with the Superior (direct) conjunction of the Sun and Mercury just a day away; this last event will bring some conclusion or revelation planted during the Inferior conjunction, when the Sun met retrograde Mercury back on August 19. Now it’s a realization about us in relationship, what is and should be communicated, that delivers a truce in the tension between what’s natural, real, observable (Ceres in Capricorn) and what we need as an individual to assert, express, attack, or make happen according to our Will, because we care (Mars in Cancer). The eclipse offers a way to resolve the gap between what is and what we want–not a bad influence, at all.

The eclipse and friends also form a loose semi-sextile to ruler Venus in Scorpio; This may provide the oomph to investigate, to look below the surface of things, that might otherwise be missing with so much Libran consoling, cooperating, and smoothing over in the air. Also in the air is an Air Grand Trine with the eclipse/ Merc/ BML and Psyche at 8 Aquarius and Hera at 8 Gemini. This suggests that mental balance may be achieved when we know our roles in relation to others, particularly partners. Both these mythical figures dealt with a great deal of friction in intimate relationships (mate, children, mother-in-law) that forced them to discover who they are, and how best to exert their own power. We could say that both of these women have stories that eventually connect them with their own power in the same way Juno does–and Juno just so happens to be at 18 Libra, pointing us back toward right now finding one’s best expression within interaction, especially with those close to us.

Also of note is the way 29 degree Pluto has effectively stationed and is poised to resume forward motion on October 11, though it will still carry stationary status until about a week later. This may either impart a sense to everything (as Pluto sits in the final degree of reality-focused Capricorn) that it’s a general state of emergency, where nothing seems stable and everything is threatening, or it will make us feel the only way to gain a sense of security and freedom is via elimination or destruction. The sextile to Neptune, which obscures or makes our imaginations run wild, doesn’t help. Be aware this feeling of threat is, in some important ways, an illusion, one that may cause us to react to what’s not there, or to overreact to what is there. Note too that Chiron is sextile Jupiter=exaggerated hurt, and Mars is trine Saturn in Water=we may act on feelings in the real world, or suppress action because of hurt feelings, and either reaction actually stands outside what’s really needed now. Mars-Saturn can offer us stability in the emotional perceptions, if we can acknowledge that feeling isolated or insisting on having our way (both dangers when our Martian energies feel sorry for themselves) arise from tender and over sensitive (that is, too Self-focused) ways of interpreting the world.

The Sabian for the Solar eclipse is, ‘A Professor Peering Over His Glasses At His Students’. So much of what we’re dealing with at this time is rooted in the matter of authority: who holds it over us, how we handle it ourselves, how we exert it over others, and how we measure authority in every interaction we have. We might think of it as this: do we assess others essentially as equals, or are we always weighing to see who holds more power? Do we act differently in the presence of those we see as holding authority over us? Do we respect others because they are people, or do we respect those who hold an advantage, and disdain those who don’t? These can be deeply unconscious attitudes, but worth exploring, as you may believe no one can tell how you’re judging them–but oh, they really can.

The only way to find harmony in relationship, really, the only way to feel safe and so able to be open with and to others, is to know ourselves, what we require, and to feel our own sense of empowerment, a sense that is not dependent on the sanction or support of another, and that does not rest on judging oneself superior or inferior, in some way. This eclipse seems to offer us a chance to correct this, with the event a launching pad for better relationships, simply because we stand within our own power, unafraid of what others might say, do, or feel, which makes us truly free, able to handle whatever comes at us.

Have a safe and happy Solar eclipse!

Lunar Eclipse in Pisces 17 September 2024 Reformation of the Dream

09 Monday Sep 2024

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‘World of Dreams’ By Laura Theresa Alma-Tadema 1876 {{PD}}

Though an eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs during a relatively long period of time (minutes or hours), for astrological purposes we’ll look at the moment when the degrees and minutes for the opposition between the Sun and Moon become exact: 7:34 PM PDT of the 17th, with maximum eclipse effect occurring at 7:44 PM PDT (see more details on timing here). Here in Seattle the event actually begins while the Moon is still below the horizon, so unobservable, with the penumbral period starting at 5:41 PM.

A Lunar eclipse is a Full Moon; what makes it an eclipse is the alignment of Sun, Moon, and Earth, with Earth between the Sun and the Moon, so that what we’re seeing during a Lunar eclipse is the shadow of the Earth blocking the Sun’s light from reflecting off the Moon. If we were observing this from the Moon, we would see the Earth come between our vantage point and the Sun, throwing us into at least partial darkness (depending on how precise the alignment, which determines whether the eclipse is partial or complete). Fun fact: the Moon is moving away from the Earth, at the rate of roughly one inch per year. How do we know? We put mirrors on the Moon, then over time shoot lasers at them and measure how long it takes the light to bounce back to us.

The Lunar eclipse of September 17th occurs at 7:34 PM PDT at 25 Pisces 40, with the Moon just short of conjoining Neptune and sextiling Uranus and (barely) sextiling a 29 degree Pluto in Capricorn (though a big orb for an event sextile, Pluto’s stressed status suggests it will be felt, one way or another). Add to this Jupiter forms a wide T-square with the eclipse axis, while Venus will soon perfect a quincunx to the Moon that is already within orb. Eclipses are events where previous energies are wiped out, replaced with a rearrangement of energies based on the eclipse picture; in this case we see the full potentials of both idealism and delusion as they might play out fully formed (FM in Pisces). This suggests that however we imagined things to be before, whatever we believed would be an ideal outcome, whatever delusions we continued to support, knowing full well they were delusions, these will all be undeniable and we’ll have to acknowledge their implications–and in so doing we see a new set of ideals, new dreams, take shape before us, along with new potentials for being misled, for following what we imagine is there, not what really is there.

This reformation of ideals, dreams, and delusions is potent (conj Neptune); we’re unlikely to have a totally conscious handle on what’s happening, and we’re unlikely to see the full picture, whatever that is. This is where the Lunar intuition, a sense of knowing that springs entirely from the unconscious perceptions and the feelings they incite, should be employed; to rely on the mind is to ask to misunderstand and misinterpret. Proceed knowing that at least some of what presents itself is inherently deceptive, that we may be in a fog, unsure, confused, or, let’s hope, inspired. A good way to handle uncertainty at this time is to exorcise it through creative effort led by feeling–I’ll rephrase that: a good way to handle everything at this time is by allowing what we feel to inform the impulse to create–and then to follow through on that, not aiming for a finished product, but rather to giving what we can’t bring to conscious awareness a representation that can show us something about who we are, or what direction we need to take.

Expect the unexpected, the original, the unusual, and maybe a little chaos (sxt Uranus) and the potential for real change to the landscape that, up to now, surrounded us (sxt Pluto). There will definitely be a sense that either destruction is imminent, or that if we institute change, we will cause destruction. Neither is necessarily valid; if we want to harness Plutonian energies, we need to think of them as transformative, and accept that anything that is destroyed or falls away in the process needed to go, anyway. Balancing our feelings with the facts (Jupiter sq) will go a long way toward offering stability, as will being willing to modify our choices in order to respect those people and things we love (Venus qnx)–a simple but effective yardstick for measuring the appropriateness of our choices.

There are two asteroid contacts of note, with Karma and Pandora conjoined in Cancer and trine the eclipse. These suggest myriad possibilities–in fact, a Pandora’s box of them–released with the eclipse. I think it’s reassuring (or damning, depending on your own past operations) that what occurs is karmic–that is, earned or deserved. That could bring possibilities, good, bad, or otherwise, that up til now only lived in your imagination (Neptune, Pisces)–but those possibilities can be ideal, and hold the potential to make dreams come true. Someone once said that a good way to know if you’re living up to your own ideals of behavior and beingness is to thing about “getting what you deserve”. If that phrase is appealing, you’ve definitely been doing your best; if not, it’s a signal that you’ve either strayed from your own ethics and standards, or mistreated others, or both, and need to get right with your Soul. No matter what, Pandora’s box contained hope, the absolutely, rock-bottom, vital ingredient for going on, and for each of us personally going in a positive direction.

‘Pandora’ By Odilon Redon c1914 {{PD}}

The eclipse Sabian is, ‘Watching The Very Thin Moon Crescent Appearing At Sunset, Different People Realize That The Time Has Come To Go Ahead With Their Different Projects’. A slender crescent Moon is a very new Moon, symbolizing the new starts we typically associate with this Lunar phase; in this case, though, it’s a symbol of the new creative landscape and outlook we’re likely to develop during the eclipse. At sunset suggests, possibly, that the project we see as ready to go forward has already received sufficient scrutiny and effort (the day that’s now done). It’s a point of realization, offering a significant step forward, if we’ll only take it. The Sabian for the light-giving Sun is, ‘A Boy With A Censer Serves The Priest Near The Altar’. The project of the Lunar symbol is, in some important way, a form of service that fits us perfectly. This may be an odd interpretation of the symbol, but here goes: we’ll know whether we’re going in the right direction, taking the right steps, if it ‘smells’ right (the intense odor of the incense burning in the censer). Intuition, then, is key–good thing we’ve got a Lunar eclipse to pump up the intuitive volume.

Starting tomorrow, the 10th, I’ll be unavailable until Sunday the 15th. All comments will be answered and orders will be filled then. Thank you, and have a wonderful week!

The Party’s Over: Mercury Direct, Venus Stressed, and Neptune at the End of His Rope

28 Wednesday Aug 2024

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By Jean-François De le Motte mid-17th century {{PD}}

Mercury stations direct in apparent motion in the wee hours (2:13 AM PDT) of the 28th at 21 Leo 25, just as the fresh Cancer Moon quincunxes retro Pluto at the 00 degree. The closest aspect Merc forms is a trine to Chiron in Aries. These factors, the turnaround at the same time as Lunar contact to Pluto, with the direction’s closest aspect to the body representing the primal wound, suggest an easy sense of hurt arising from uncomfortable matters that make us feel vulnerable and even threatened. On an individual level Chiron in the natal chart is the deepest hurt each of us carries, as well as a very unique gift we each have that is keyed to that sign energy, and when transiting Chiron is prominent we may feel upset related to the sign it’s transiting that is layered over our own life-long wound, in this case either a feeling that others are too aggressive, or that we are angry, maybe acting out our own hurt through proxy situations (Chiron in Aries). Awareness that this tension is something external may make us less likely to adopt that stressful feeling as our own; we won’t feel it and begin looking for a reason in our own lives, if we know it’s part of the atmosphere. This is a danger especially if we have a lot of Water in the natal scenario, if Aquarius holds personal placements, or if our natal Moon is currently under transit, progression, or Solar Arc stress.

Hours after Merc’s direction, Venus hits the 29th degree of Virgo. Again with the stress! This time a situation where strain in relationships, the compromise of values, or uncertain finances draws worry and criticism. As with the free-floating anxiety of the Merc to Chiron and Luna to Pluto contacts, this tension will exist in the atmosphere and those who are sensitive will be prone to channel it right out of the air and into their lives. Be alert to the ease with which we can fall into critical mode, and know that it’s Venus’ inherent discomfort in the Virgo energy that brings out the nit-picking and dissatisfaction. This is over by late on the 29th; we’ll all breathe a sigh of relief when Venus hits her own sign of Libra, and everything and everyone starts looking beautiful again.

Neptune in the 29th degree of Pisces is ongoing; I just wanted to remind everyone that the feeling of crisis around the creative and the spiritual, as if things will never reach completion, is, though prolonged, ultimately temporary. Celebrate this liminal space, because the never-ending feel of the tension and effort can break down conscious barriers and open doors to new ideas and new worlds, showing us things we may under normal influences be too quick to dismiss or undervalue. In one sense, the party’s over; we must accept current circumstances as they are, and work with things from there, as staying poised in hopes that things will change on the fly will make us wait for tomorrow and neglect today, and in the process accomplish nothing. The situation with Venus, short-term, and Neptune for a time longer, tempts us to hold out for perfection–but allowing the moment its own shape is a kind of perfection in itself, one we may not, right now, be in the best place to recognize or judge. So, just let it happen.

New Moon report is right here–

New Moon 2 September 2024 Realm of the Gods

22 Thursday Aug 2024

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‘Following the Example of the Gods’ By Henryk Siemiradzki 1879 {{PD}}

The New Moon perfects at 6:56 PM of the 2nd at 11 Virgo 04. Long-time readers know I like to keep aspects tight, in order to get a crisp, unmuddied picture of the event and what it means; in this case, the New Moon makes only a single, wide aspect to other major transiting bodies: a loose opposition to Saturn in Pisces. This is epic, in its own way. A New Moon in Virgo means new beginnings in matters of accountability and the results of our efforts, a ‘clean sweep’ of old methods and previous allotment of assets. Our intentions turn toward getting a clear accounting of responsibilities, what we have, distribution of ‘the harvest’, and accurate critique that focuses on details, especially around the practical and material (Earth sign). Saturn in Pisces has been a trip on its own: fantasies brought to life, delusions shut down, materialization of ideals, and uncertainty about the future, rooted in the inability to see the present clearly. Now, these energies face new and revelatory emotional perceptions, with feeling applying a critical eye to What Is.

These sets of energy, Sun-New Moon and Saturn, oppose each other, and what we might see is a denial of reality, even as one inspects things intently, sifting through circumstances with a fine-toothed comb; we could also see an end (for now) to attempts at meeting the real world with creativity (or, for some, unrealistically), supplanted by a commitment to sort responsibility and reward and distribute these among appropriate parties. One way or another, the emotions that come forward interfere with making dreams real; if you find yourself being hyper-critical (especially if this isn’t your usual MO), you can be sure that the feeling nature is trying to speak, to get your attention, to re-balance what you see as possible, and what you imagine as ideal.

With such a generalized picture, I naturally wanted to see what asteroids where involved with this event, how contacts from the realm of the gods might shape the reassessment of reality. The New Moon is conjoined Apollo, suggesting the power of solar energies like identity and Self-expression, and perhaps a hyper-focus on the Self and the personal feelings (and especially of being critical of them–Virgo)–which can, Saturn-like, limit ones ability to take in information and/ or be relatively objective. Apollo is a figure who’s fairly insistent on having his own way, so keep that potential for too narrow processing/ too constricted attention in mind.

Sisyphus and Narcissus are conjoined in Scorpio, with both sextile the New Moon. Here again we see insistent focus on the Self, to the point of being mesmerized by one’s own Beingness (Narcissus) and/ or persisting in tasks better re-evaluated or abandoned (Sisyphus). This is complimented by a sextile from Dionysus in Cancer, a god known for granting a sense of freedom through pleasure and indulgence. Maybe we end up needing a break from scrutiny of ourselves; Dionysian escapes include religious ecstasy, insanity, attendance at festivals, sex and other expressions linked to fertility (including tending one’s garden), and drinking a lot of wine–so choose carefully. Are these a good idea? Could be, if such license helps us accept the reality we’re seeing. The danger would lie in letting the escape disconnect us from what we need to see, evaluate, and feel.

Then there’s Persephone square to the New Moon (and so forming a T-square with Sun-Moon at one end of the opposition and the Earth widely conjoined Saturn at the other) and Aphrodite quincunx the New Moon. The T-square suggests we have a choice: will we remain above-ground, so to speak, dealing with the surface world (and possibly experiencing the interference of someone nurturing and controlling, as Persephone did with her mother, Demeter, also known as Ceres), enmeshed with material productivity and ‘the harvest’, or will we choose to delve into the Underworld, committing to the experience of learning about ourselves? In either case we are, if not subservient to, then certainly ‘partnered’ with others of great power, which can be both an impediment to what we need and a distraction.

Pluto, planet of power, is retro at 29 Capricorn, implying that our involvement with and awareness of the power of others is at a crisis point (and may be what drives us to concentrate on ourselves, on what we actually can control), though our ability to understand those exerting their power is obscured, and so not necessarily accurate (Neptune at 29 Pisces, sextiling Pluto and so facilitating a perceptual or creative crisis). The contact to Aphrodite, the Greek counterpart to Venus, implies we must continually re-adjust (the quincunx) the relationship and/ or asset picture at this time–and considering how difficult parsing out our attention could be, we just might want to pour that drink or pick up a trowel, and try to maintain enough perceptual distance that our judgement isn’t completely out of whack.

The Sabian for the New Moon is, ‘After The Wedding, The Groom Snatches The Veil Away From His Bride’. First of all, rude. But, this may give us a glimpse into the kind of aggressive energy we’ll have to deal with; even as we want to assess ourselves and our situation, we get some entitled goon grabbing at us, in an attempt to ‘reveal’ us. Whatever point they think they’re making, the only result is they fail to look at themselves, and succeed in distracting us from whatever new tack the New Moon shows us we need to take. A fresh way to measure ourselves and our accomplishments is the New Moon in Virgo goal; how we get there will be a lesson in focus and Self-control, and how much of that is too much.

Julie Demboski's ASTROLOGY

Addressing the Individual Experience Within the Universal Truth

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