‘Jump’ Gemälde Zyklu Adam Marian Pete Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International
If today were a swiftly moving, bracingly cold river, the best thing we could do is plunge right in without hesitation–heck, without too much thought at all–especially in terms of what we do and what we choose (NN trine Sedna, Mars nov Saturn). Merc’s already retro, and typically that brings a lack of surety (or maybe reliability) to the thought processes, and this is doubly so when Mercury retrogrades in an Air sign, as it has done this time in Aquarius. We may not be able to connect yet with the old retro reliables, Venus and the Moon, so that we may feel our way through what we would normally meet with the mind, though what we receive through the senses and sensation can carry a kind of wisdom of its own (Venus semi-sq Pallas); and we may be far too easily mislead by appearances, mirages, or plain old lies (Neptune trine Juno) when it comes to our province, our rights, and our status and its privileges. That leaves us to rely on instinct, on impulse, to trust that somewhere in our store of knowledge or reflex lies the appropriate response–so jump in, the water’s just fine!
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Sure, women can be Plutonian, and it doesn’t mean she’ll devour you, either! John Collier ‘In the Venusberg Tannhäuser’ 1901 {{PD}}
Do you have any Plutonian people in your life? If so, do you find you’re able to understand (or maybe withstand!) the sheer energy they emit better than the average human? And do you notice they don’t seem to understand their own psychic strength? If you’re hanging around with Plutonians, you’ve probably got a strong Plutonian inclination yourself–nobody else could put up with the x-ray vision that burns as often as it’s insightful, or the ripple that runs through the Cosmos every time one of these Hadean natives gets upset. This came to mind when I was interacting with my very Plutonian husband; he entered this plane in one of those waves of Uranus-Pluto in Virgo, and he has the added bonus of Mars also conjunct this pair, with an Aries Sun like a cherry on the energy sundae, focusing an enormous drive and powerful persona through the individual identity. We were talking about effective communications, and I mentioned to him that the way he goes at interaction is highly Plutonian: he charges forward, bludgeons the unsuspecting with words, then dashes away to his (mental) cave. For him, every conversation is a confrontation, everyone else someone to be bested; he’ll drag you into his own special hell, if given half a chance. It’s not a bad place, it’s just the one he’s comfortable in, and if you can stand the heat, you can get a lot out of that kitchen. Luckily I have Venus in Scorpio; I adore this energy, and I’m absolutely not afraid of the dark, literally or figuratively. What about you? You might be a Plutonian if:
3 points and you can definitely sympathize, empathize, and understand the Plutonian viewpoint; 4-6 points and you find that shadow in you at times; 7-8 points suggests a Plutonian facet to your nature that is definitely a vital expression of who you are; and 9 or more points makes you the Plutonian others make way for.
Somebody searches me every day, and every day they spell my name wrong; they add a ‘w’ where there is none. I don’t mind the misspelling, I mind what it says about the person seeking help. They are bothering to search out what I have to say, but they aren’t observant enough to realize that, day after day, they are searching incorrectly. It implies they aren’t really seeing what’s in front of them, and that implies they aren’t really understanding the posts they find. Whoever you are, slow down and really look–it can only make things easier.
Mercury hit 29 degrees on the 31st and we experienced a cascade of equipment failures over the following hours: my camera and memory card died (after being lost all summer and then working strangely); our car battery died with no warning; and our phone didn’t stop working, but it no longer rings and the speaker function doesn’t work (to everyone’s delight, really, because who likes to be on speaker?); and the cable ‘disappeared’, taking television service but not the internet with it! By the time Merc entered Aquarius in the AM Pacific time of the 2nd, all was resolved, but with Merc going retro at 5:06 AM PST on the 5th, we may have been dealing with what amounts to material world electrical/ modern method chaos, shaped by the sign and degree placement, but spurred by the upcoming retrograde. Leaving Capricorn may have strained the physical components of what carries energy impulses of one kind or another, as if the components themselves were being dragged across a rough surface; drained and damaged, the stress is only cleared with Merc’s entry into the tech-aligned sign of Aquarius. Also of note is the way Merc retros only 2 minutes from completing a square to Mars, suggesting that during the retro period we may want to act, or express our energy or anger, but may not be able to, or may first try words–which may prove woefully inadequate.
But with the retro only days away, I’m anticipating we might have a recurrence of the situation we just saw when Merc once again moves into Cap. This happened between my Whole Sign 12th and 1st Houses, suggesting that what manifested may have been expressions of ‘me’ and my unconscious, specifically in the ways I wanted to change communications, especially communications that were personal (the 1st). Where did it happen for you, and what effects did you notice, if any?
3 January we may discover our active philosophy of life and our working beliefs clash somehow with our highest ideals. With Mars entering Scorpio, we’ll have the energy and drive to dig it all up and resolve the discrepancy–and that’s a good thing to do, as carrying that kind of dissonance disrupts everything. A lucky ‘shift’ in Love or Money is also on the agenda; it’s change you can embrace and enjoy, a kind of reward for those open to modifying the current arrangement (Jupiter contra-parallel Vesta, Venus nov Pluto)
4 January is the day to ‘do it’: we enjoy almost unprecedented internal harmony, a surfeit of wisdom, practical skills are on point or we receive required help within the social sphere, and thoughts vibe to Love, though for a few Money might be the mental tuning fork. What we seek is right in line with our deepest values, and honors what we truly care about (but be prepared to see what you or others really care about–we could find our emphasis is on Love, Money, Relationships, or Life Values when we thought it was on a different one of the four). This is a day with ‘Success!’ written all over it, for those who trust themselves and the Universe–everybody else just gets a nice little boost so really, nobody loses (Jupiter trine Pallas, Venus trine Vesta, Merc parallel Venus)
5 January is an important day, though it might not be an easy one. We see what needs to change, and we may have to answer for missteps made yesterday that were based on misperceptions, fantasies, or lies. As a result, tempers will flare, even if our touchiness is only within our own minds; we won’t like having to face matters we’d rather ignore (especially if we’ve been successfully ignoring them up to now!) but doing so will have the virtue of clearing up a lot of shadows and handing back to us wasted, stolen, or misplaced energy (Venus sq Neptune, Merc sq Mars–though it doesn’t perfect–and Sun conjunct Pluto, both sq Black Moon Lilith)
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Hmm, I titled this, ‘Ready to Act, Ready to Defend’, but it may actually be ‘Ready to Offend’, as on the 31st we have Venus sesquiquadrate Uranus, which may see relationships invite us to be our most erratic, irresponsible, irritating, radical, and original Self–or could tempt us to spend in unique and potentially regrettable ways. We may, inadvertently or even quite deliberately, sabotage interactions or acquisitions by ‘going too far’. Channeled well, we could earn through unusual means or create something of singular beauty, and Mars parallel Neptune gives us both the energy and the creative spark needed to manifest Love or Art in the form we believe it should ideally take (Venus in Sagittarius)–if, that is, we can hold it together under Uranus’ heady influence.
Thoughts run deep, and it may be difficult to consider something without assessing its potentials for power acquisition or significant change (Merc parallel Pluto); that could put us unconsciously on the mental defensive, should we be someone for whom power struggles are the very definition of power expression. We might do best to take our cues from this: whatever is spotlighted, whatever draws our attention, may be the most ‘natural’ venue for our effective individual expression, in part because our unconscious, our ‘blind spot’ material, and our instincts, will all be exerting their influence, and so tailoring our expression quite specifically to who we are. It’s a passionate, intense, and in many ways powerfully affecting atmosphere we ourselves generate on the run up to the New Year; then we have the 1st for sorting things out.
We may find a surprising amount of internal harmony in our New Year’s Day reflections, and the intellectual approach is most likely, so that any emotional impacts of our behavior are conveniently packed away for later examination. However, we may have to acknowledge something about our ambitions and desires, something that the past 24-48 hours or so has made abundantly clear. We’d best see this as a good thing, a chance to enter the next standard trip around the Sun with a more accurate understanding of our role and place in things, relative to what we want, what and who we care about, and what we hope to accomplish. Happy New Year, Everybody! (Vesta parallel Black Moon Lilith, Venus semi-sq Zeus, Mercury enters Aquarius)
With Venus’ entry into Sagittarius, we’re looking toward the horizon, as far ahead as we can, into the distance, if not into the future; what we need to know is that our outlook, though it seems focused on relationships and/ or finances, is actually influenced by those things we’re ignoring or denying, or those things about which we’re enraged, that are linked to relationships or finances. This has two effects: it makes us reactionary in thought and action, and it inspires us to think outside our usual box. Grab on to the inspiration–it can be truly original in the way it informs our more typical expressions, giving them real style–and separate (if possible) any thoughts or ideas from a sense of anger–anything that comes forward and is infested with outrage or vengeance will waste our energy and squander the imaginative energies that are ours for the tapping. Take aim carefully; at this time it’s as easy to destroy or be mislead as it is to create (Venus enters Sagittarius and is semi-square Pluto and Black Moon Lilith, Merc sq Mars and nov Neptune, Sun sxt Neptune)
Let’s sum it up: we have ways, with instituting wisdom and applying practical skills to real-life, and with melding relationship health or earning capacity with ambition and desire, that make today an excellent time for honed, precise application of energy. We get what we want, as long as we have, in some Universal way, earned it. Enjoy your day! (Perfecting today: Saturn nov Pallas, Venus nov Zeus)
The Full Moon occurs at 3:11 AM PST at 3 Cancer 19, with Vesta creating a T-square to the Sun-Earth-Moon axis, the FM in sesquiquadrate to Ceres, and with generous orbs the FM forms a Water Grand Trine with Neptune and Juno. A Full Moon, of course, concludes, brings to culmination, fruition, or end, completes, or designates a point when situations or circumstances cannot go on as they have, in effect taking a new tack or making it clear there’s no future in the current direction. We must always remain aware of the beginnings in endings, and the endings inevitably present in beginnings–a Full Moon brings a point such as this, without confining us to any particular form for the results.
The T-square puts us on notice that the highest values, the home situation, and/ or the situation with the mate will undergo a ‘stress test’–but this isn’t necessarily something that creates a tense mood or conflict. Rather, it’s a circumstance, situation, or event that brings into sharp focus the ways our actual behaviors or choices may conflict with what we find sacred, revere, or honor. It’s a chance to see clearly and bring to an end something that keeps us from truly honoring what we find important, or that keeps us from living our values–and it very likely involves something we care deeply for or about, or something that we nurture or see as our responsibility to protect and ‘grow’ (Cancer Full Moon). The contact to Ceres only reinforces this, probably pointing out how the pitfalls of holding or pursuing power, or of having it in an ‘overseer’ or parental relationship, creates difficulties which, with their acknowledgment, can be concluded at this Full Moon.
The Water Grand Trine is reassuring, telling us that balance can and will be achieved (but keep in mind, if we don’t willingly bring about a just measuring of circumstances and privileges, Nature, that is, Ceres, will do it for us!) Emotional clarity can be the result of judicious application of both ideals (especially spiritual ones) and exercise of empowerment through one’s ‘right status’. That is, using one’s current position and abilities to affect circumstances and change, and aligning this with the spiritual ideals, will offer a satisfying conclusion to a situation that may have been emotionally abrasive, that could’ve kept us off-balance, and that likely is the same situation that offers the ‘stress test’ through pointing out dissonance we’ve been living with but not noticing or possibly ignoring–and the Full Moon allows us to end that dissonant state.
The Sabian Symbol describes something telling for this Full Moon: ‘A Cat Arguing With A Mouse’. This suggests that whatever circumstance needs to come to an end, or whatever dissonance needs harmonizing, is something we may be generating ourselves, by taking a ludicrous position. The Water Grand Trine may also describe this pre-harmonized state, as our response to the empowerment situation is based on fantasy or misconception, rather than reality. In effect this says we have been operating under some untrue ideas about our own power position or ability to affect things, and the tension undergone at the Full Moon will show us exactly how much we really do hold the power, after all. It gives us the opportunity to align action (Cardinal placement) with ideals and express these through a more accurate understanding of our own power place in the Universe (Juno).
We typically also look at the Sun Sabian for a Full Moon, as this is the ‘source material’ for what we’re dealing with now. It is, ‘A Group Of People Outfitting A Large Canoe At The Start Of A Journey By Water’. This may imply that the emotional attitude that needs balancing and healing is one we received from the family/ group; we were outfitted with this emotional equipment early in life or in the project that brought us together (at the start of the journey), and now it needs modifying, so that our expressions accurately reflect our true position. We will no longer be the cat arguing with the mouse; that is, we will no longer fail to perceive the true power balance, or the true situation–and that will make all the difference.
The Full Moon ‘message’ is in line with the aspect situation for the 25th, with the added caveats that the social order may run mostly on hidden or ignored material (Jupiter contra-parallel Black Moon Lilith), so be prepared, and that instincts and ‘blind spot’ material will not aid smooth relationship or financial dynamics (Venus opposed Sedna)–so being aware that statements and beliefs won’t necessarily make ‘surface sense’, and that there’s too much roiling around beneath consciousness in relationship or financial matters will help us navigate what could be a rocky day. Knowing this, though, should predispose us to put our internal energy toward that Full Moon realization and re-making of our own power and position awareness, while in the social sphere we concentrate on sharing good feeling and leaving heavy relationship or financial matters for another day.
If you celebrate at this time, I wish you all the best in life–and if you don’t, I wish you the same!
We have a three day period when our thoughts may quite literally create our reality, with the results manifesting in slightly different ways each day. On the 22nd we see the mind and our internal wisdom meld in such a way that, if we think about something, we are unlikely to choose poorly (on the other hand, if we refuse to think an issue through, we could choose very poorly). The way to express our power and authority comes directly from those methods we’ve observed in the past (as when we saw how authorities or those in power conducted themselves); what we’ve observed as effective behavior in others becomes our guide to choosing our own expressions. That has all the pitfalls you might expect, though we should know that what we’ve done is intellectualize the power behaviors of others (Ceres in Aquarius)–that tells us that if we can register the feelings those behaviors created, or if we can understand the attitudes behind the choices we saw others in charge make, we can gain enough mental distance to modify the choices those lessons offered so that they suit the person we are now (Ceres novile SN, Merc conj Pallas)
By the 23rd we may find we’ve formulated the perfect combination of rebellion from those in authority and a means of aligning thoughts with the status quo so that our originality is fostered even as we find our ‘place’ in the current order. The biggest issue may still be getting our ideas of who we are to mesh with the ways in which we want to express our power and affect the world; this time, shaking up the power picture as it now stands, or surprising authority figures or those who assume they’re in charge, is the way to unblock anything stuck, specifically because that kind of activity shows us how marginal and Self-imposed most boundaries really are (Uranus sxt Ceres, Merc novile Saturn, Sun semi-sq Ceres)
On the 24th we may find that we must adjust actions more in the direction of instinct and farther away from a reactionary standpoint that allows ‘blind spot’ material too much influence. That’s tricky at this point, as our thoughts are (still!) focused on attaining and expressing power, and we could see things in a light that paints us as having proprietary rights in areas not our own, including trying to dictate conditions for others. This is a distorted but perfectly logical outgrowth from that state of pure intellectual wisdom we enjoyed two days ago; it persuaded us that the mind has all the answers, and the reality is, at least in raw physical situations, it does. The true key to dealing with things successfully today is to accept relationship and financial realities as they truly are, warts and all. As long as you can see these matters in a wholistic light, and remember that light and darkness need each other in order to be complete, you won’t just gain in the Love and Money departments, but will find those areas can expand in ways you didn’t expect, almost all of them positive (certainly, all of them enlightening). ‘I want to Believe’ should be our motto, as the application of Faith to those things we find most precious will elevate what goes on today from good to much much better than anything planned or anticipated (Mars qnx Sedna, Venus sxt Jupiter and novile Black Moon Lilith, Merc parallel Ceres)
Uranus has reached the degree and minute (16 Aries 33) where he’ll linger until direction evening of the 25th Pacific time. If you have placements within 3 degrees either side of this in the Cardinals, it probably feels like a weight on you involving the natal energy, a sense of uncertainty, a fear of surprise or shock, an intellectual heaviness from which you fear you’ll never be released–but you will. Give it a few days past the direction before declaring yourself out of alternatives; that’s a Uranian specialty, and by the 28th you’ll likely have come up with one or more exciting options involving what seems irredeemably stuck now.
Why are our ambitions and desires causing so much trouble today? We either think we don’t have the skills, or we think what we need to do to fulfill wants is unwise–but the actual problem is injured thought patterns, dysfunctional ways of thinking and processing info, and/ or thoughts that contradict desires, specifically by embracing the wound either out of a misguided idea it is in fact the reality, or because to heal would be to disrupt one’s life significantly. It may seem that it doesn’t matter what we choose–but it all comes down to this: do you want to be fulfilled, or do you want to remain intellectually comfortable? (Pallas and Merc sq Zeus, Merc sxt Chiron, Mars parallel Juno, Sun enters Capricorn/ Earth enters Cancer)
Henrik Weber – ‘Composer Mihály Mosonyi and his Wife’ 1840s {{PD}}
I know! It’s a minor aspect–but it may be the key to handling all the other aspects perfecting the 18th. It may be easy to feel stupid (Chiron sextile Pallas) and we may feel we must make significant adjustments in areas of Love or Money in order to express ourselves as thoroughly and uniquely as we like (Venus qnx Uranus); or, that feeling of lacking wisdom may come directly from a surprise in relationships or finances we believe we should’ve seen coming. Of course, the negative slant of these attitudes predispose us to give more attention and weight to what we’d normally ignore or deny for our own mental health and/ or effective functioning (Merc sq Black Moon Lilith), and could foster scrutiny of our own Path, a ‘Where Have I Been, Where Am I Going?’ question, or even an abrupt ‘Who the hell am I?” (Sun sq Nodal axis) that won’t currently be clear (or even intellectually accessible, considering the way our thoughts will be plagued by rage over injustices, or those matters usually dismissed–Merc sq BML–which means we’ll lack the objectivity we need to sort out these kinds of questions).
The novile, then, offers us a brilliant pairing between Water and Earth, emotion and the physical or material, between reaching out to connect or teach and reaching out to command, or in the social role enhancing our expression of our own empowerment, or vice versa, affecting our social role by flexing our muscles and showing our stuff. Jupiter and Juno reach out to each other and create a synergy that’s much greater than we might otherwise expect; it’s a case of two powerful entities (working together within the psyche, and/ or one played by ourselves, one by something external) acting so perfectly in concert that we don’t really have to think much about it–it just comes together on its own.
Though this marriage is natural, it won’t necessarily be without inequities or strife. This could involve us in an interaction of grossly uneven proportion, where one party holds the majority of power, or where one of the parties has status but lacks the respect needed to pull something off–that’s where the partner comes in, supplying the pull to make it happen, with the other supplying the backbone or needed judgment, without which the power expression might fizzle to nothing. So, it may be that negative currents today are handled by the kind of acceptance and cooperation typical of any partnership–not without problems or compromises, but in effect significantly more relevant than what either could accomplish alone.
The signs in which the two are placed (Jupiter in Virgo, Juno in Scorpio) suggest some sting, some criticism, but also a masterly eye for detail and depth of understanding–and who couldn’t use a little more of that? Enjoy your Friday!
Circumstances may make us feel the judgments within and without are almost this harsh–but it’s only our awareness of reality that’s unusually sharp. Master of Soriguerola – ‘Saint Michael Weighing Souls’ Early 14th century {{PD}}
We’ll be given the opportunity to weigh Self-expression with no boundaries against what we want, especially in relationships–and we’ll gain in exact proportion to two things: how easily we accept our own internal wisdom, that guidance offered by the voice within, and how thoroughly we accept the extent of our own power and our power to affect things, even as we acknowledge those authorities greater than ourselves. That last is a tricky balancing act, calling for some clear-eyed knowledge of who we are that refuses to shy away from both our actual ability to make change (immense!) and the reality that in some cases, others really do hold the power (and so exercise the options), not us. Of course, there are ways we can affect things even in the most restricted circumstances–but today may be all about seeing that withdrawal of our effort or energy just because things aren’t precisely as we’d like them to be ultimately only sabotages ourselves. Note especially those situations where something we value is in direct conflict with either Nature or the Powers-That-Be–and know that in that case, to exercise our want is, in some vital way, purely destructive (Perfecting today: Uranus sq Pallas, Venus sq Ceres and sxt Pluto).
Julie Demboski's ASTROLOGY 
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