‘The Discovery of Honey by Bacchus’ By Piero di Cosimo 1498 {{PD}}

On its face, that title seems a little contradictory, no? But that may be where we find ourselves today, taking firm and even daring steps forward, particularly toward ambition fulfillment, all in the name of not messing things up, of doing what’s necessary to secure our priorities and those things we find sacred. What we honor is an important motivator; it seems vital at this time that we commit our energies carefully, with attention to detail, to how and where they’ll play out. We see the world with a more discerning eye than we did just a day or two ago–and yet the smartest thing we can do with that discernment is to apply it to our own issues, and work to heal ourselves, while causing no harm to others.

(Perfecting today: The Sun and Juno enter Virgo, with the Sun and Mars parallel Vesta, Mercury sxt Zeus and sesq Chiron)

Good day to . . . Self-assess, Self-correct, and make commitments clear and orderly. Be bold, but don’t be slapdash.

For those born with the Sun at 00 Virgo. 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–together these offer a more complete picture of your year ahead). Dear Virgo, there’ll be some emotional dissatisfaction ahead for you this solar year, through to your next birthday–or will that simply be a time of clarity that reveals that you need to give more attention, and maybe more respect, to your own feelings and needs? In any case, there may also be some sorting around status, duties, roles, and empowerment options, and this could come out of crisis or a choice about whether to re-visit a past form or to strike out with a new one. There’s no one answer here that’s better than the other–it all depends who you want to allow to have authority in your life, who you want to love, and what you want to do on your own, beholden to no one else. A testing year, to be sure, but one you can come out of in much greater command of both your life direction and your emotional investments than you were when you started. Good luck!
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‘Weinernte’ By Dora Hitz, before 1911 {{PD}}

Venus enters Virgo, and all those with a conscience begin to take their own inventory. That’s a good thing, a useful tool, and one that shows personal integrity–and becomes especially important as we’re largely unable to connect to our instinctual nature at this time. Nothing feels ‘natural’, and we suffer a sense of ‘flying blind’. Luckily, though, we do recognize what’s smart, what’s practical. It all becomes a matter of using those qualities emphasized right now to their fullest; the key is focusing on assessment of our own situation, our own need for correction. Those who are for whatever reason refusing to look at themselves will show it by their criticism of others–because that laser energy trained on detail and ‘correctness’ has to go somewhere, and rightfully so, as it’s something valuable–so use it wisely.

Thinking takes a very particular turn, as well. We are massively optimistic, fired up to implement what we see as ‘the facts’, but we find real-world obstacles in the way of realizing our hopes. Are these insurmountable? Not at all; if we’ll just slow down a bit, we’ll see that if we’re willing to make adjustments we can do exactly what we planned. My only warning: don’t overthink (it doesn’t make anything clearer), don’t over-promise, and don’t exaggerate–and especially, avoid mentally biting off more than we can chew. Jot down really big ideas, for dissection later.

(Venus enters Virgo, Mercury qnx Saturn and trine Jupiter, Sun sq Sedna and sxt Pallas)

Good day to . . . put accounts of all kinds in order. See to the details, take care of the paperwork, know where you stand.

For those born with the Sun at 28 Leo. 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–together these offer a more complete picture of your year ahead). Dear Leo, you are fully empowered this solar year, through to your next birthday, sure of your status, capable of wielding power–so what is this crisis with Love and/ or Money? My guess is you are stretched on your tippy-toes, either pushing things way too far yourself, or feeling this same pressure from someone near and dear, or from some sort of issue with income/ flow. How to get a handle on this? Take a long hard look at what’s actually within your power to control (not admitting what is and isn’t your responsibility may have started this thing in the first place), and then get your emotional perceptions behind taking effective action. It’s the only way to defuse the crisis and simultaneously get the mind thinking in big, action-oriented terms, the kind that you may be, if all goes well in straightening out the crisis, supremely good at making the most of. Good luck!

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”–Ecclesiastes

“All of this has happened before, and it will all happen again.”― J.M. Barrie and BSG

By derivative work: Tom-b (talk)Time_Travel_Method.jpg: Original uploader was William lee0 at en.wikipedia – Time_Travel_Method.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5311985

Certain things in this Universe are constants, despite the way everything is ever-changing, ever-evolving. Perhaps that’s the ultimate paradox, that time expresses as a self-repeating loop, that no matter how the trappings change what happens is in essence a material and energetic reflection of what’s already been. That may be our sense of things today, as wisdom and instinct jockey within the psyche for supremacy, as Love and Money are shaped or even curtailed by some hard realities, as Art struggles to gain form and solidity, and as our own actions and choices seem an uncanny echo of what we’ve already done. Take comfort in the idea that one can never step into the same stream twice–and even if one could, we are ourselves changing with each moment, so that we’re not the same person we were previously, either.

(Pallas qnx Sedna, Mars sesq SN, Venus sesq Saturn)

Good day to . . . relax, take it easy. Really, the tendency will be to fret over circumstances, events, ourselves. Best to realize the mind is hyper-responsive to every bit of charge and static and every random thought in the air. Don’t take any of it too seriously–this isn’t the time to make judgments.

For those born with the Sun at 27 Leo. 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–together these offer a more complete picture of your year ahead). Dear Leo, this solar year, through to your next birthday, you may be straining to mesh the identity with the instinctual way of Being. Normally we assume those are in harmony, but for you, this year, smoothing out any dissonance between who you want to be and who you are will be required, before you can go forward. It’s all about establishing who you want to be known as, by role, publicly, and/ or in the career, and the only way to forge this persona is by eliminating both what insults the core instinctive nature and what doesn’t support the desired Self-image–and then these two must be in harmony as well. Not an easy job, but one that’s lining you up to make a massive splash no more than a few years from now. Good luck!

Street art by ‘Signs of Power’ for Waterford Walls festival 2017, Photo By Davebrny CC BY-SA 4.0

Really, today is about the power that we hold via roles or status; we see the value of it, and can appreciate where to ‘spend’ it. Utilizing that power fosters original thought and inventiveness, and what we learn/ create is easily put to work in service of our forward path. What doesn’t go so good? We’re alienated from our own instincts–they’re clouded by things we aren’t willing, yet, to acknowledge–and that can mess up thinking and reasoning. Funnel it all through the personal power viewpoint–seeing it from the position of ‘How Can I Affect This? How Can I Work This?’, you can’t go wrong.

(Venus conj Juno and both of them sq Sedna and sxt Pallas, Venus also parallel Uranus, Mercury qnx Black Moon Lilith, Sun nov NN)

Good day to . . . assert yourself through those positions and roles and any status that you hold. Own your personal authority, and don’t be shy about wielding it.

For those born with the Sun at 26 Leo. 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–together these offer a more complete picture of your year ahead). The way forward, dear Leo, may not be entirely smooth (or clear to you) this coming solar year, simply because you are trying hard to align the feelings and your Soul’s purpose, and having a helluva time getting them to sync. You’re still suffering from a recent emotional wound and, aware of it or not, it’s still affecting you, keeping you from gathering yourself and moving on. Here are some tips: this year, focus on improving your health–this is important; and examine actions and choices with a critical eye, before plunging in–that will definitely both benefit you and keep you from any egregious mistakes. Good luck!

‘Natural Lusitano Instinct’ Photographer: Julia Moll 31 May 2017 Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported

Spontaneity, originality, and the unexpected drive actions–and yet these moves will be in conflict with our instinctual nature, perhaps inspired by some restless material that resides in our ‘blind spot’. It’s a matter of what we don’t know influencing our choices and our way forward, and this not sitting well with our in-built sense of right and wrong, safe and dangerous, desirable and repulsive. There’s no easy answer to the dissonance between impulses and sensibilities–you can only do your best to exploit unique urges and creative ideas that come without completely ignoring the info provided by instinctual response.

(Perfecting today: Mars parallel Uranus and sq Sedna)

Good day to . . . noodle around with innovating, inventing, and creating. Make note of ideas, then step back and give those ideas time to breathe, which should allow you to sort out what’s a good, constructive impulse and what’s not worth using time or resources on.

For those born with the Sun at 22 Leo. 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–together these offer a more complete picture of your year ahead). It seems like you’re just now surfacing from some serious, transformative change, dear Leo, and this solar year, through to your next birthday, appears to deliver the pay offs, whether in Love, Money, assets, avenues for talent expression, or in the entirely necessary positive Self-image you must have in order to accomplish. Leos need Love, in all forms, and this year you should get it. What do you need to do now? Resist the urge to ignore values–it may be easy to forget these are what life is built on–and don’t turn off or de-value the emotions, or try to handle them solely through the mind–that won’t work, and will almost certainly create problems. Feel your feelings, and appreciate that they’re offering you vital information–and have fun! Good luck!