‘Landscape- Shinnecock, Long Island’ By William Merritt Chase c1896 {{PD}}

Nothing hits us hard, or if it does, it turns out it’s all about the more subtle aspects of things, so that’s really good news, right? We can pretty much ignore or not take too seriously what comes at us; it’s the little things we must pay attention to, largely because we need to be consciously aware of their influence. Things suppressed, forgotten, or rejected in the past may come back, claiming to hold the answer–they don’t. Communications and even our own thoughts are likely to run in pessimistic veins concerning our desires and ambitions–don’t accept them as valid. And attention may be unduly drawn to all the stupid things we’ve ever done or chosen–and since we’ve already learned from them, why are we giving them our energies? We shouldn’t. Allow the Dark of the Moon atmosphere to impart its subtle (and sometimes unconsciously delivered) wisdom–it’s the time of the month when the veil is thinnest, when we can access much of what’s unspoken–and then hold what you learn in reserve, for use later.

(SN nov Black Moon Lilith, Mercury contra-parallel Zeus, Sun qnx Pallas)

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

For those born with the Sun at 13 Taurus. Check your natal chart for the correct Sun degree (you may want to read both the degree number and the one that follows, if you have minutes on your Sun position–that offers a more complete picture of your year ahead). Wisdom will be yours this year, dear Taurus, if you can access the imagination and creative ‘juice’ without accepting the untrue and the misleading, the false and the deceptive. You will be offered a flow of inspiration, of genesis material, and it will be up to you to make the most of it. Of course, no one sets out to be deceived or misled, but too often we are complicit, willing to accept what we often, somewhere inside, know we should reject. Your other job, besides using the creative energy that will be abundant for you, will be to stay connected firmly to reality, to possibility, to the real-world material picture. If you can do both, you will shape your future–and even if you can’t do both, how you handle things will still shape your future. There’s no escaping the idea that this year is a fortune-determining one–so be aware of that, as you make your choices. Good luck!

Love the this poster from 1901 by Thomas Theodor Heine {{PD}} She looks bedeviled, right?

What we did in the past, the kind of thing that left loose ends dangling into the now, bedevils us with a quandary: how to process what happened then, and how to think of its effects now? Too, our state of mind is such that we may refuse what’s wise or practical, buying into a belief system or social construct, and in the process abandoning what we know to be smart. This is all about knowing what matters to us, what our priorities are, and what we honor. If we can center on that, a great deal of the static and noise of current situations (fed in no small part by our rebelliousness and the way it spurs the imagination) will fall away, leaving truer outlines of What Is, and so allowing us insight into our best course forward.

We enter Dark of the Moon late in the afternoon, Pacific time, and should be mindful of the way the Aries Moon may turn our attention, prompted by emotions, back onto ourselves. There may be a lot of Self-examination going on, and most interactions will be tinged with Self-talk–that is, what others say will apply more to them and the inner reality they’re dealing with than it will to you–just so you know.

(Uranus semi-sq Neptune, Jupiter contra-parallel Pallas, Saturn conj SN and Mars qnx both, Venus conj Vesta and opp Pallas, Mercury the arm of a T-square with NN opp SN-Saturn)

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

For those born with the Sun at 11 Taurus. Check your natal chart for the correct Sun degree (you may want to read both the degree number and the one that follows, if you have minutes on your Sun position–that offers a more complete picture of your year ahead). Dear Taurus, How long have you been waiting for a smart and practical way to show your skills and your power, to claim your place as an authority, even if that’s just as an authority over yourself? This year, through to your next birthday, you have the chance to do just that: claim your rights, your power over yourself and your domain (whatever that might be), by doing two things. One is by being open to cooperation with others you might not normally accept into your world. These others will be different than those with whom you normally want to create obligations or with whom you want to share duties. The second is to be unafraid of embracing ALL the facts in any situation. Those who are adept at shaping their lives will tell you that to ignore realities and the facts on the ground as they stand at any one time is a surefire way to fail–so don’t, welcome what all knowledge, and use it as a basis for knowing to whom and with what you should reach out, to fulfill your goals and steer your personal journey successfully. Good luck!

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