Julius Exter {{PD}}

It’s time to ask ourselves, in all honesty, what we’re actually putting out into the world. Are you a cheerful person? Do you choose the more positive take on any situation, the more negative (out of caution, perhaps), or the one that fits your beliefs? Are you realistic? Do you consider the psychic impact of what you’re saying or doing, beyond its veracity or the need to convey it? Are you a complainer, feeling justified in spewing your anger (sometimes dressed up as righteous commentary), not aware of the fact that you’re adding to, rather than alleviating, the garbage level? Just a thought, to make us all, myself included, more aware of what we’re really sharing with others.

Though I don’t usually take note of the apparent direction or retrograde motion of the asteroids (mostly because their meaning is so much a slice of other, major energies that we need to keep our eye on the big boys, instead–and since all bodies are only meaningful in relation to other bodies or points, a change in direction on its own doesn’t tell us much of anything–plus, there’s the whiplash factor with some asteroids, so that their apparent direction changes happen so frequently they become meaningless), today I want to make an exception, as we see Vesta go retro and Chiron go direct, as they form a sesquiquadrate to each other. Add to this that Saturn (parallel Hygeia) loosely fills in a Fist by square to Chiron, and we may see this: real-world ‘wounds’ or skills are required, through difficult circumstances, to manifest within the reality picture (that is, in concrete terms), and the result shows us just how our egos are aligning (or not) with those things we revere. This brings a reality check (a ‘health check’, really) on our support of our own causes, measuring how dedicated we actually are to the mate or the home life, and so offering a chance to course-correct, should we be weighting one side of the scales too much, either too selfishly, or too selflessly, for the overall good.

We also see a trine of two major players, Mars and Jupiter, in Air signs. Mars in Aquarius brings action and choice prompted by the intellect (positives: inclined to think before we do; negatives: we may be too disconnected from realities to make the best choices), and Jupiter in Libra promises an expansion of fairness (but possibly only after extremes have been swung between), the expectation of partnering with the social order (so that the individual may make the mistake of believing that the social sphere is in agreement with their personal agenda), opportunity through cooperation (though there is the danger we may acquiesce too much, trying to be fair) or through the partner, the Arts, the mate, and Jupiter in this sign invites beliefs to invade relationships, either supporting or clouding the interaction. The two planets trine implies belief-driven action but offers no guarantee as to how accurate the perceptions guiding our efforts truly are. Current conditions suggest we are more than a little susceptible to believing our own press, so that awareness of the skewed nature of the personal viewpoint becomes something we must embrace consciously, in order to both allow others plenty of leeway, and to navigate things as successfully as possible ourselves.

Vincenzo Cabianca c1860 {{PD}}

Today’s word image is a nun walking the corridors of a hospital. This seems to be a symbol of two things: submission to a greater power (subjugation of the ego) and dedication to service in the form of facilitating healing. We don’t have to go to such blatant lengths as entering a religious order to serve others or our God–but we do need to recognize and be consciously dedicated in this life to some variety of causes or commitments, in order to be living to the fullest.

For those born with the Sun at 10 Sagittarius: This year you may find yourself reaping the rewards of your creative or imaginative efforts, or your dedication to ideals–or not reaping them, if you’ve previously failed to put your all into action. You may have suffered under the illusion that you have plenty of time to make that dream a reality–this year will be a wake-up call reminding you that it’s your job to translate wants and fantasies into their real-life expressions. The good news is the mind and emotions are primed to go to work, and to see the most practical route to dream realization–so go for it. Good luck, Sagittarius, and Happy Birthday!