21 February 2019 Firecrackers

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A large flower cracker. Two shots taken for 1s duration are stacked together. Photo By Subhrajyoti07 – Own work CC BY-SA 4.0

Most of us won’t be out to deceive anyone, but the atmosphere is such that we end up either overplaying or underplaying our reach, skills, or status and so giving others the wrong impression. The problem with this is that we don’t get the payoff we were aiming for, and it all makes choosing or taking action difficult. Bright spot: Ideas snap like firecrackers. Write them down, just plan to act on them at a time when the flow is smoother.

(Neptune contra-parallel Juno, Venus sq Zeus, Mercury nov Uranus and semi-sq Mars)

Setting the table for your year ahead. Art by Peter Ilsted {{PD}}

Happy Solar Return to those born with the Sun at 02 Pisces! (Sun passes into this degree this year at about 3 PM Pacific of the 20th thru to that time on the 21st–see your birth chart for your Sun degree!) This year you may feel like you’re in ‘drive’ and pressing on the gas, but still have the emergency brake on! Frustration may be a looming background issue the entire year, and in some very real sense, you may think (or believe) that you’ve ‘missed the boat’. Please don’t let this get you down. The reality is that there is a purge going on, one that will remove toxins, unjust conditions, and at the same time will limit your capacity to embark on change. You’ll be able to speak to what you care about most very soon; until then, allow instinct and what you ‘know but don’t know’ to surface to consciousness and guide you on your way.

20 February 2019 Hell-Bent On Change

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‘The Motorist’ By Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec 1898 {{PD}}

Instinctual or reflexive drives are strong and yet we need to be aware they’re tuned to the past, not the present, and as such they don’t serve current impulses but instead draw on blind spots and those things we know but don’t acknowledge–which can be fortuitous, if that knowledge keeps us away from something negative, or can lead us straight into a quagmire of our own making. These instinctive drives are a vital part of the equation needed to make the changes we are hell-bent on making right now, because if we abandon ourselves to impulsiveness or arbitrary action (which is the temptation, should we reject our instincts) we come up with precarious situations in need of fixing that deposit us way off our targets. Embrace change wholeheartedly, but at the same time insist on standards of what’s wise, what’s practical, to measure those changes against. Allow that instinctual input, but run it through that inner filter that tells us whether an option is smart, or not–that’s bound to steer us toward healthier methods of realizing ambitions, as well as toward using only the best the past has to offer.

(SN trine Sedna, Hygeia contra-parallel Zeus, Uranus opp Pallas, Sun nov Pluto, contra-parallel Uranus, and semi-sq Saturn)

Setting the table for your year ahead. Art by Peter Ilsted {{PD}}

Happy Solar Return to those born with the Sun at 01 Pisces! (see your birth chart for your Sun degree!) You may be too conscious of emotional wounds at this point to effectively see the forest for the trees, but it won’t be long before you can let go of a sort of critical fog into which you’ve fallen, and instead deal with real-world problems and obstacles that have plagued you for some time. It doesn’t sound exciting, but it actually is: you’re right now in a position to make some truly perfect plans, the kind that make for sure-fire progress–and once you’re in motion, you’ll find out how empowered you actually are (that’s much more than you think), and how recent, hurtful experiences have set the stage for a new sense of Self, a new confidence, and a more realistic and worldly viewpoint, that will make new efforts, starting just over a month from now, really soar.

The Daily Word Image is a hole in the floor. This is going to make each person think of something different; I recall an old Volkswagen (The People’s Car!) I had years ago, which somehow developed a hole right through the floor on the passenger side. It was a scary, thrilling sensation that looking through that hole as I sped along the freeway gave me–I can still feel it even now–so for me this is a symbol of something a little bit dangerous seeming that isn’t any more dangerous than it ever was, it’s just more visible, more conscious. It was always a risk to drive such a tin-can like vehicle! It was only that, suddenly, I could see how rickety everything really was. So, what’s it mean for you?

See the Full Moon report here, and the forecast for the 19th (aside from the FM) here.

19 February 2019 Undercut

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‘Calf’s Head and Ox Tongue’ By Gustave Caillebotte c1882 {{PD}}

Either relationships or finances are the ‘hard sell’ today, with one or the other making us feel disempowered, as if we’ve overstepped our bounds or rolled the dice and lost–but that would just be a feeling, not accurate to the reality picture. The perception of loss is really about our own sense of having been undercut, either by someone else in some personal way, or in circumstances surrounding the earning situation. We’re prone to attribute that dis-ease to our own inadequacy, when it might be more accurate to realize that the only thing holding us back is our acceptance of the messages of loss, scarcity, or limit we’ve been handed.

See the Full Moon report for today here–

(Venus sesq Juno, Mercury sxt Saturn)

Setting the table for your year ahead. Art by Peter Ilsted {{PD}}

Happy Solar Return to those born with the Sun at 00 Pisces! (see your birth chart for your Sun degree!) Is that fresh heartache I see on the horizon, or is it just a fear that Love will be taken away? Don’t fret; though relationships and/ or finances have been under stress recently, they won’t be for much longer. Here’s how you recover: put yourself first–I know, it seems a bit contrary to a healthy relationship, or to pleasing an employer, but stress has made you undervalue yourself of late–no more; be creative in the way you see things, and in the ‘stories’ you tell yourself about your reality–you’ve been too negative in your assessment, and too narrow in your approach–that’s where you’ve contributed to things; and don’t underestimate the power of a ‘new start’ that comes along later in the year.

18 February 2019 Solid

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‘Snow Peaks’ By John Williamson 19th century {{PD}}

You’re going to find out today what resources, what Love and Money, what values of your own and others, you can rely on. There is solid, real-world proof, and possibly reward; in any case, the results of your investments come home. The problem, though, may be that we’re unable to perceive this; a fog may descend, words may mislead, or our imaginations may run away with us, making at least for a time a kind of crisis state around our inner wisdom, and the issues of what’s smart, what’s practical, what’s a good use of our skills. Think of it this way: we can see what’s smart, if we are open to–we can’t accept flaking out, acting jumpy, being unreliable, or acting as if we ‘don’t know’ as an excuse. The influence is one that feels disempowering, but is in reality a sort of testing of our own trust in ourselves. Have you ever left yourself behind, failed to come through for yourself? If you did, it was only temporary; you always rallied, came back, came through, and that alone should be enough to tell you that trusting yourself is where it’s at, right now.

(Venus parallel SN, nov Ceres, and conj Saturn, Mercury conj and parallel Neptune, sesq Pallas, contra-parallel Juno, semi-sq Uranus, Sun trines Pallas, then enters Pisces)

Setting the table for your year ahead. Art by Peter Ilsted {{PD}}

Happy Solar Return to those born with the Sun at 29 Aquarius! (see your birth chart for your Sun degree!) Wisdom, originality, how healed you are, are all tested this year, and though there’s strain and stress, there’s also a magnificent payoff, in that you discover some amazing qualities in yourself, utilize them to the utmost, and end up creating a Path forward that, if you saw it now, would stun you.

17 February 2019 A Bold Vision

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‘The Sense of Sight’ By Philippe Mercier c1745 {{PD}}

I don’t want to say all your dreams will come true–that’s the kind of hyperbole that may get Pedro elected but will ruin the credibility of astrology, and to a large extent, its usefulness–but I will venture this: Love or Money, jealousy or envy, the values picture, greed, affections, a ‘crush’, or desires activate the ideals and illusions–and you have a good chance of getting what you visualize, dream of, hallucinate, or want to hide from–so yes, what we fear and conjure is an issue, too. Venus does her dance, and our imaginations soar–the result depends not just on our relationship to the Truth, especially our own awareness of our real motives and goals, but on our ability to separate our wants from the rights of another. Passion and creative energy may combine in such a powerful way that they become a kind of glitter bomb that goes off suddenly and gets everywhere–meaning we’re so assertive that others lose the chance to say no, not participate, or have a say of their own. Instead try to craft a bold vision, something aligned with ideals, that draws on the best of your most original inclinations, talents, knowledge. You may be hit today with enough surprises, shocks, sudden revelations, and deceptions that staying centered may be a challenge–but if energy goes into creating, clearly and in detail, the vision of some ideal you desire, rather than making an internal cyclone external, you can wake up tomorrow with a dream realized, or at least a plan for the dream, ready to implement.

(Venus sxt Neptune, Sun sxt Uranus)

Setting the table for your year ahead. Art by Peter Ilsted {{PD}}

Happy Solar Return to those born with the Sun at 28 Aquarius! (see your birth chart for your Sun degree!) What’s all the excitement about? You may be in a big hurry this year to make things happen, but look carefully before proceeding; chances are this urgency springs from an old wound–and if so, better to take a step back, as guaranteed this won’t be the way to get ‘it’ done. It’s time instead for concentrating on the way forward, and the guideline is this: what you care about, what moves you, must act as your unerring compass through to your next Solar Return. You’re shaping your fate, right now, and your conscious judgement is just a tad ‘off’. Emotional responses and emotional investments are the way to measure the wisdom of potential answers to the choices before you.

Full Moon in Virgo 19 February 2019 Molten

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‘The Heart of a Volcano Under a Full Moon’ By Jules Tavernier 1888 {{PD}}

I think we might all need this forecast a little early, so here it is.

The Full Moon perfects at 00 Virgo 42 at 7:53 AM PST, sextile a 29-degree Pallas in Libra, sesquiquadrate Saturn, quincunx Chiron, and trine a 29-degree Uranus in Aries and Mars in Taurus, and square Juno (a T-square with the Sun-Earth-Moon axis). If we thought we were going to get a definitive ending to something, we may find instead that we get a setting-straight, or maybe a dressing-down, a full accounting that shakes off all illusion and calls us on the carpet to defend our use of our own power, to stand up for our choices, and to verify the effectiveness with which we’ve carried out our roles. It’s not pretty; some make the unwise move of throwing partners under the bus, feeling they have no choice, while others rebel against all responsibility, insisting they can’t answer for themselves, much less lead others, and a third group buries themselves in sensual escape. You can’t blame anyone, really–we were all ready to blow, and someone or some thing came along and made it happen.

We may suffer a molten combination of stress, expectations, and accumulated hurt. We just want to do something to feel better, to alleviate tension, and what we get instead is our inventory taken–and whether that’s by an individual or the world at large, it probably strikes us as 1) inevitable, and 2) unfair. What’s the real issue? We’ve failed to keep careful track of the reality picture, and worse, we’ve failed to maintain reasonable boundaries. All that hot trouble has seeped under our defenses, come in through the keyholes and cracks, and now, in typical Virgoan fashion, it comes as a scalding critique.

Don’t worry; the sources of our discomfort exist under their own stressful conditions–and in truth, we may be playing the same role of inquisitor for someone else. It’s the circle of life, kids–we all take our turn in the cauldron.

The Sabian for this Full Moon is, ‘In A Portrait, The Significant Features Of A Man’s Head Are Artistically Emphasized’. I think this tells us that Full Moon events, rather than being an injustice, will actually be showing us a representation of ourselves, with some features emphasized so that we get the message. We should look at the Sun’s Sabian, as well, since it’s the source of our Lunar light in the first place. ‘In A Crowded Marketplace Farmers And Middlemen Display A Great Variety Of Products’. This suggests to me that the cause of our Full Moon experience was triggered by our own attempts to ‘sell’ something about ourselves to another–and that triggered the assessment shared by others that allows us, in the typical generous way of the Universe, to see ourselves in a different light, if not, indeed, in the exact way others sometimes see us.

So what’s the goal of all this? Maybe it’s found in the quincunx the Full Moon makes to Chiron, freshly back in Aries and informing us loud and clear about our responsibility and leadership issues. This is the closest aspect the Full Moon makes, and may suggest that what we really need to go forward is to adjust our sensitivity levels, to let go of as many hurts as we can around the ‘I Am’. Our personal Chiron effect as it left Pisces may have been that we accidentally slogged along with us perceptions of Collective injury (the eco-system and the cries of a dying planet, oppressive and non-representative politics, unnecessary scarcities as the well-off withhold) generating stress as we mistake them for personal inadequacies and shortcomings of ourselves or others–and with the Full Moon we look at the world and demand, ‘Do something about that!’ Not the way to approach it, but we’ll find out soon enough.

And, we live and learn.

16 February 2019 What Are We Building Toward?

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‘Devil’s Bridge’ By Carl Blechen c1830 {{PD}}

We may start (or continue!) to question what it is our life is building toward, because suddenly we become aware: of the direction our impulses are taking us, of any ‘unhealthy’ thoughts we’re having, of plans that ignore our inner, knowing voice, of a sort of passive-aggressive contrariness where we try to force others (very subtly, of course) to make happen what we’re loathe to do ourselves. It feels as if everything we do is sullied by necessity or less than ideal conditions, held together with spit and a song, but the shakiness of our inner vision is due almost entirely to fear of the future. This springs from a current hyper-awareness of ourselves as just one tiny speck in things, a speck that doesn’t enjoy the control of our circumstances that we typically persuade ourselves we have. Something to know: the mind won’t be our friend today, in terms of helping us stay rational and sane! Instead send out those intuitive feelers, try to sense your environment rather than mentally assess it, and avoid making any decisions or pronouncements at this time–they’ll either be made in fear or ignorance of actual surrounding conditions, and so wildly inaccurate as to their effectiveness.

(Mars contra-parallel Vesta, Mercury contra-parallel Hygeia and Sedna, sesq NN, parallel Zeus, Sun contra-parallel Mars)

Setting the table for your year ahead. Art by Peter Ilsted {{PD}}

Happy Solar Return to those born with the Sun at 27 Aquarius! (this year in effect late afternoon Pacific time of the 15th through evening of the 16th–see your birth chart for your Sun degree!) Are you stuck between a rock and a hard place? You seem to be resisting your own instincts and inner knowing–and something’s got to give, as hurts over unreliability, rebellion, or recent revelations peak. This coming year may require from you some very careful and deliberate efforts to repair matters and relationships, as current stresses have caused damage you’re only beginning to be aware of. Know that you never meant harm, and that will show to others through this year’s gently caring emotional approach, and so go a long way toward making repairs. Even better, something you truly desire is on the horizon–be aware of ‘the facts’, and be ready to get way more than you bargained for.

15 February 2019 A Sacred Revision

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By Henry Oliver Walker – This file was donated to Wikimedia Commons as part of a project by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. See the Image and Data Resources Open Access Policy, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57367065

Today reality itself has the drawing power of a drain, and our choices are: circle around it and go down by disrespecting our own values and by struggling to keep the future at bay (good luck with that!), or embrace that what you once thought sacred needs review and revision. It may seem sacrilegious, but even values must change as experience accumulates, morphing perceptions, and so our beliefs. The future is foreseeable, if we are willing to squint and adjust; this foresight can give us the power and judgement to affect real-world events in smart, even genius, ways. Take advantage of this to make your reality at least a little more as you’d like it to be (Pluto semi-sq Vesta, Saturn nov Ceres, Sun qnx NN and nov Saturn)

Setting the table for your year ahead. Art by Peter Ilsted {{PD}}

Happy Solar Return to those born with the Sun at 26 Aquarius! (this year roughly in effect late afternoon Pacific time of the 14th through late afternoon of the 15th–see your birth chart for your Sun degree!) Your instincts and sense of inner knowing are both your bête noire and your saving grace in the year ahead. If you can ignore that shadow right behind you, ignore that the past still lingers like a bad taste, and concentrate on willingly adjusting your Path so that the future you’re heading toward matches all the positives you sense it can be, you can make this year one of the most fortuitous and productive you’ve ever had–and you’ll end up going very much in the right direction, surrounded by what you need in the present, as a bonus.

14 February 2019 Shinier Then

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Wow, the past seems so much shinier than the present, doesn’t it? We make the mistake of thinking we can and should re-create a previous environment–but the problem is we do so under the impression that, since our past shaped our current outlook and values, we can ‘go back’, in a sense, and do ‘it’ so much better, this time around. 1) we don’t have this prerogative, and 2) this points out what we’ve forgotten: that in this particular period we are thinking of, we were not as empowered as we are today, and that we learned those valuable lessons because we had to deal with the totality of circumstances in effect at the time. Now our instincts scream at us not to alter the reality picture to more resemble a partially-understood fever dream, and we’d be smart to listen, rather than muffle the inner voice. Instead, concentrate present efforts on communicating power needs and in formulating plans to transform what’s unsatisfactory–much better than succumbing to a shiny but flawed revision of history.

(Vesta nov SN, Saturn sesq Juno, Mars enters Taurus and semi-squares Neptune, Merc semi-sq Pluto, Sun sq Sedna)

Setting the table for your year ahead. Art by Peter Ilsted {{PD}}

Happy Solar Return to those born with the Sun at 25 Aquarius! (this year in effect evening Pacific time of the 13th through evening of the 14th–see your birth chart for your Sun degree!) You may see crises around you this year, but have the distinct feeling they don’t really involve you–but do they? What you’ll observe is in anticipation of what you’ll soon experience a version of yourself–so pay close attention to what works, and what doesn’t as a response. If you’re willing to face the hard stuff head on you’ll gain considerably, and by the end of the year emotional harmony, and a refinement of the intuition as a conduit for information, will be yours.

13 February 2019 The Word

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Ambrosius Bosschaert 1614 {{PD}}

What is it about today that makes us want to act, all willy-nilly, in ways we know are impractical or unwise? We believe there are secrets to be discovered, bounty to be gained, and that answers may lie in the past–but what we need to see is that we are prone to treating ‘the word’ (whether that’s what’s been communicated, one’s faith, a promise given, or a thought we’ve defined as Truth) as sacred, and that puts us in a precarious position, as taking ‘the word’ as supreme puts us at odds with those in authority (who might otherwise help), alienates us from our own uniqueness and most original urges and ideas, and makes it incredibly difficult to pursue our ambitions and desires. So why do we elevate a thought, word, concept, or promise? We are convinced that’s where salvation lies, in connecting to the sacred within the idea. We’re mistaken, that’s all; we’re trying to particularize the general, as it’s a lot easier to see one thing as sacred, rather than seeing the sacred in all, and so having to behave with care in all things. Use the influence to see the sacred in the mundane, the every day, in each thing that comes before us; use the energy to acknowledge the sacred found everywhere and in every thing, rather than trying to invest the Universe in one ordinary comment, belief, hope, or thought.

(Perfecting today: Mars opp Pallas, Venus nov Black Moon Lilith and sesq Sedna, Mercury nov the South Node, conj Vesta, sq Ceres, contra-parallel Uranus and sesq Zeus, Sun parallel Vesta)

Today’s word image is bees. I think this one is personal, so consider what bees mean to you, what they bring to mind, what stories, images, activities, or entities (who use this as a symbol) that are significant to your life.

Setting the table for your year ahead. Art by Peter Ilsted {{PD}}

Happy Solar Return to those born with the Sun at 24 Aquarius! (this year in effect evening Pacific time of the 12th through evening of the 13th–see your birth chart for your Sun degree!) If you are seeking health, or are someone who is involved with creating it for others and/ or yourself, this year will see you bring forward some incredibly clever, unusual, and even revolutionary ideas for individuals to achieve optimum health in all its forms (which I might define as an optimal relationship with one’s environment and the other Beings one shares this with). The area where things might not go so well is the emotional one, where the ‘blind spot’ could hold any number of potential missteps, all of which can cause anguish. The problem is you’re struggling against your intuition, and if you continue, you’ll inevitably pay the price. Try to be up front and open with others; having no pretenses is the best way to avoid problems, and re-connect with your intuitive nature.

Julie Demboski's ASTROLOGY

Addressing the Individual Experience Within the Universal Truth

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