And in the run-up to tonight’s Full Moon, we should note a couple of minor trends, some of which have been around for awhile, such as the Pluto opposition to Pallas-Black Moon Lilith across Capricorn/ Cancer. That has given us an ongoing struggle between revealing the Truth and all hidden matters, and destroying the evidence for good–and both sides believe their choice is the wise one (and the one that will pay off, with Venus quincunx Pallas-BML). With Pluto trine and Pallas-BML sextile Ceres, there’s an element of displaying personal power in the mix, or possibly a sense of feeling responsible for revealing or hiding the Truth.
Hygeia trine Eris in Fire signs might move us to act on health matters–or may prompt us to nag others to do so–it certainly has me, as last night I pushed my husband to take a Covid home test to prove his cold was just a cold–and it was–or in a few rare cases it may be that those attacking, upsetting energies themselves prompts stress that affects health. Zeus in Libra is also opposed Eris, suggesting there might be a concern for the partner or some other ambition or desire behind willingness to rock the boat in the name of Health.
Jupiter at 29 Pisces is sextile Sedna at 29 Taurus turning our internal radar up to 11 but also prompting it to be a tad paranoid, to exaggerate what’s perceived (or worse, to only believe what aligns with our beliefs!), or to generally declare things unreliable, despite any supporting physical evidence that exists. *Sigh* Just relax–we not only don’t have to make declarations of the rightness of anything (even though that may feel like what we need to do), we don’t even have to form cogent ideas or judgements about things. This energy can prompt us to believe it’s ALL an emergency, or that we must ‘know what we know’ definitively and broadcast it to the world; neither is required, or even a good idea, at this time.
Shiny surfaces, figurative and even literal, will help you see what you can’t observe directly. ‘Reflection in the Mirror’ By Grigory Soroka c1850 {{PD}}
So Neptune has stationed at 22 Pisces and will officially begin apparent forward motion at 4:16 PM of the 4th–and it does so with the Moon just leaving semi-sextile and Venus square. It looks like a moment of peak emotional confusion: What or who do I love? What’s happening with my money? Am I victim of a delusion? Are the relationships or financial circumstances I thought reliable just an illusion? Is my idea or creation worth anything? Am I loved? Am I even visible? They’re the kind of nagging doubts that, even as we ask ourselves the question, we know we won’t have access to a useful answer. Such is the mystery Neptune swathes things, circumstances, and feelings with. Reassure yourself that coming head-first at such questions right now only invites frustrations; instead, let’s examine what else is going on at that point. We’ll use other conditions to read obliquely what we can’t see directly, like holding a shiny surface out to see around a corner: our view may be a little distorted, incomplete, or blurry, but we’ll get the gist–and that’s what’s important.
Jupiter’s poised to enter the 29th degree of Pisces, and Sedna’s already there. These define the most blatant stressors we’ll be under: the social order may pressure, the facts may unsettle our viewpoint or define our options, and it’s impossible to vet these against instincts, as what we need either lies in our ‘blind spot’ (those matters where we are unable to see one or more fundamental truths), or, when we turn to that inner knowing, we receive dead air instead of enlightenment. This can be especially true if we’re concerned with ways in which we’ve tried to expand our creative output or to put our beliefs into action–and considering the state of Neptune, what we know is that we won’t know! Not yet.
We also see the Black Moon Lilith point conjoined Pallas in Cancer, opposed Pluto in Capricorn, with Eris and Zeus filling in a Cardinal Grand Cross. No wonder we feel we must do something! It feels important, dangerous (both in the doing and the not doing), presenting a landscape littered with hazards (egos, angry others, ambitious or avaricious forces, ‘the Establishment’, not to mention the tension in confronting the sheer power, human and natural, that exists all around us). But there’s a saving grace in Pallas, if we are willing to allow those things we’ve denied, avoided, ignored, or been enraged over to inform our choices. It’s in acknowledging and facing those very things we’d like to forget that we find the wisdom to triumph, the sharp and just sword with which to fight.
The Sun will be trine Chiron at this point, making us far too aware of our own wounds and vulnerability–but remember, those items appear bigger than they actually are right now, and if we shift our vision, just a bit, we can change the focus to our most unique talents. These may have been undervalued of late or put to the side as irrelevant or impractical. Now’s the time to dust them off and apply them, for best results (check your natal Chiron placement for clues as to the nature and uses of your personal Chirotic treasure).
We’ll also have Mercury square Ceres, trine Eris, and quincunx Pallas-BML. Again, there might be a lot of pronouncements, orders given, and attempts to prove personal worth and right through exercising personal power. Silence, or at least a refusal to tangle with those who seem to want a fight, might be our best course. Beware the overly assertive, who claim a ‘natural’ right to tell you what to do–and take care not to act out that role yourself.
The apparent retrograde of any celestial body often reverses our sense of the flow of that body’s energy, or at least changes it, alters the presence of those related forces as we’ve come to know them. It’s the sometimes abrupt nature of those changes that disorients and disturbs—and when that body is Mars, one of the most personal energies we have, the ‘I Am’ that gives us the impetus to pursue what we need and want in life, those changes may feel threatening, messing with our heads and causing fractures to how we see the identity and Will.
The current Mars retrograde is in Gemini, prompting examination of how our thoughts have led (or have failed to lead to) choices and actions, and likely prompting re-consideration of the effectiveness of both our thinking and our efforts. That’s all good; it’s what a retro period is for. The problem comes when we externalize those energies we need to be dealing with internally. Projection can have its benefits: it allows us to gain some distance, look with a more objective eye, and so see what we need to do in a more realistic (and therefore more effective) light.
But our first impulse, almost always, is to see projected energies as belonging to the Other we’re observing them in/ with. They definitely play a role for the other party–nobody dances alone—but we must remember that Other is a mirror: what we’re seeing is a version of something we ourselves need to address.
We may be tempted to balk at that idea; we may be tempted to tell ourselves, “I’m not pushy, angry, aggressive/ passive aggressive, Willful, insistent, doing it for myself” and so on. And that may be true: the essence of the energy is where we have to look, being careful not to be distracted by the form or the subject matter. This is the retro effect, the reversal of flow, so that we may see our own flaws or misjudgments and the effect these have on others in enacting our own roles.
Remember, too, this isn’t all negative—it’s just that those less-than-positive experiences seem to jump out at us, to rankle in a way that’s upsetting—and that upset is our clue that what’s happening is that same energy in us, looking to rise to the surface, to be seen, acknowledged, addressed, and probably offering us the opportunity to employ it consciously in a much more useful form. Positive expressions are also meant to draw our attention, specifically to keep us acting and choosing in ways that harmonize with our Being. We can be shown how and where we’re doing it right—and that can be invaluable, when choosing how to allocate our ‘I Am’, ‘I want’, and ‘I Will’ in the future.
Mars is on its way to the halfway point in the retro cycle, occurring the 8-9 of December when Mars will oppose the Sagittarius Sun. This should bring illumination of our Martian-themed efforts, a bright light shone on all that we do and specifically on how our thinking guides our choices. This coincides with the Full Moon of the 7th-8th (depending on your location) which falls in Gemini conjoined Mars and Earth. Think of it as a delivery point for a number of messages, including how you feel about your environment and your efforts, giving a kind of education on what you think you need versus what you really do need, and pointing out the ways your outreach, incorporation of what’s new to you or foreign, or ‘the facts’ of a situation can be worked with.
At this same point Jupiter, recently gone direct, will be entering the 29th degree of Pisces, and in crisis mode, feeling around in the fog in anticipation of hitting the Aries point of manifestation and decisive action. The Mars retro cycle helps prepare you for this, for the expansion that’s coming to the concept of ‘I Am’—and if you deal with those projections of Mars, if you own and accept them, you’ll be more than ready.
Not all the time, just today. Venus sits at 29 stressful degrees of Scorpio, either making us feeling we’re missing something important in relationships or finances (and so worrying about loss), or that it’s our last chance to ‘dig deep’, to gain some essential truth, to grasp how to get that reward or to draw in that love or to finally feel materially secure. With that as the running undercurrent, no wonder most of us are feeling ragged! It doesn’t help that Jupiter is trine Venus, exaggerating our reactions to Venusian tensions, and Venus makes a T-square by opposing Sedna, also at 29, both squared by Vesta. That’s a picture of instincts under stress, being dogged by a sense there’s something we know but just can’t recall, and that it really matters, that what we care most about in the world is at stake.
Moon in Leo, as it is right now, tends to make all of us a little too Self-focused–hence we take ourselves a little too seriously–and with the Moon squaring Uranus and opposing Saturn, we’re just sure there’s a nasty surprise right around the corner. And the Sun in a Grand Trine with Neptune and Black Moon Lilith magnifies the uncertainty, the confusion, the sense of hopelessness fed by those things we deny or are enraged by.
Here are my thoughts: know that this is all temporary, more temporary than most conditions under which we operate. Venus will be out of Scorpio in hours, not even days, and the Sun moves at a clip that will dissolve that GT (Grand Trine, not Gin & Tonic!) in no time. For the most part, the tension will simply fall away, if we can just wait it out–and at the very least, we’ll see Venus enter Sagittarius (late on the 15th PST), where she’ll take action (Fire sign), either because she wants to know, or because of what she knows–and getting ourselves moving is half the battle, as anxiety is so often firmly rooted in feeling helpless, in believing that there’s nothing we can do. Venus will let us know that’s not true; trust her to make clear what it is you really value, and who it is you really care about.
‘Venus at her Mirror (The Rokeby Venus)’ By Diego Velázquez 1644 {{PD}}
On the 22nd, mid-afternoon Pacific time, Venus and the Sun perfect their conjunction, offering us a preview of what the eclipse may shake loose, shake up, or deliver an answer to. The question is, will you be asking questions about Love, Money, partnership, aesthetics, Art, or some other relationship or asset type? They conjoin in Libra, at 29 stressful degrees–this issue isn’t new, and may be at a breaking point, one we likely are just now recognizing–and we are faced with a single, telling aspect, a Finger of God that will, in slightly different form, be part of the eclipse picture in a few days.
Venus in Superior Conjunction to the Sun (that is, conjoined when Venus is direct) is symbolically brightly illuminated–even to herself. Our Venusian energies will be visible to our inner vision in stark detail; take advantage of that, in spite of the way Venus might lobby to be seen in a more flattering light. Venus-Sun receives as Finger apex the energy of Jupiter fresh in Aries (at 00) sextile Sedna at 29 Taurus. That’s a potentially volatile mix, probably out of naivety (the 00 placement in the sign of the ‘I Am’ with the significator of knowledge/ belief or the social sphere) combining with stressed instincts (so likely to be warped by other factors, such as want and wish, or what in Taurus probably feels like need) or an insistence on operating in an area where we carry a significant blind spot. The result is a statement about Love, Money, et al, that will be reiterated, possibly in a more stunning form, at the eclipse. Just after the eclipse, the Moon will catch up with Venus, giving us a look at how it all feels, what emotional conclusions we’ve reached–and that may be the point when we understand things, at least in the sense of how we feel, most fully.
It still feels like late summer, doesn’t it? ‘August Night At Russell’s Corners’ By George Ault 1940 {{PD}}
There’s a trine today between Venus at 29 Virgo and Sedna at 29 Taurus–and if we want to add the timelessness factor, we call it an Earth Grand Trine and count Pluto at 26 Capricorn. This suggests a vibe in our surroundings that’s been building, building, and now feels as if the matter (we think a material one) has reached a crisis point. What we’re really feeling, I think, is stress on assets (whether that be relationships, finances, or other things over which we have a sense of possession–Venus) and our attempts to ‘connect’ with those worldly matters via our instinctual knowledge, what we ‘know but don’t know’ (Sedna). We’re trying to feel our way forward, but the thing we may forget about Sedna is that it also holds our ‘blind spot’ material–hence the feeling that we’re stumbling around in the dark! And Pluto’s involvement doesn’t help–that makes it feel important to figure out, dangerous, and may make us think that if we don’t get things right, we’ll have permanently mauled or jettisoned them–and that can cause real anxiety. With Ceres square Sedna, all our appeals to Mother Nature to give us some insight are going unheeded (She’s in 29 degree crisis mode in Florida, right now! In Leo! So don’t bother her, she’s doing her thing!) And of course this is all during a Merc retro period, in Virgo no less, so there’s just no using the mind to sort this out.
I have a few suggestions. Mars and Saturn are in a neat little Air Trine–and if we add Zeus in Libra, an Air Grand Trine, we have a way to think things through that doesn’t take a beeline through the mind, but instead let’s us use somatic means to understand what we’re dealing with. This is the idea that some people learn best by moving–and with Merc retro in Earth, moving through Air may be the answer. Saturn in Aquarius asks us to take an intellectual or future-oriented approach–What would we like to see happen, best case scenario? Mars in Gemini says, Make thinking and doing simultaneous–one will act as a generator for the other, and round in a circle. It may bring some surprises, but is the most direct route possible to revealing to ourselves what we’re really thinking and intending. And Zeus says bouncing ambitions and desires off others, especially those with whom we partner, can give us clarity in a way that brooding or keeping everything squirreled away in our brains just can’t, right now.
Also of note: Uranus squares Saturn, and the Black Moon Lilith point is sextile Uranus, catching Mars at the midpoint. Remember how I said things might surprise you? It would be surprising if they didn’t! Some of what’s revealed will definitely be of the kind we’d probably rather forget, but remind yourself: even if unpleasant, what we learn will be useful, and should inform our choices and actions. And the Eris-Vesta sextile is slated to form a Finger of God with apex retro, and then direct, Mercury, over the next week=what disturbs our values (especially the ones we’re a little smug about, a little too Self-satisfied over) will be the final piece to the puzzle of how our thinking during the retro period has changed. That means you’ll be able to pinpoint the change much more quickly than usual, in the post-retro period.
Miniature painting, c1840, Artist anonymous {{PD}}
Here’s a question: How do you judge yourself? Or asking more broadly: do you judge some roles, jobs, interests, activities, commitments in life as more ‘worthy’ than others? And if you hold these standards (and who doesn’t, to some extent?) how does that kind of qualitative, hierarchical judgment end up blowing back on you?
The recent meet-up of North Node, Uranus, and Mars stirred up the energies around defining one’s role (Mars) in relation to the Group (Uranus) and how this is shaping the future (NN). It could’ve stirred unexpected anger or aggression, brought up unanticipated facets surrounding taking the initiative, surprised with chaos, intellectual assertiveness, or Willful theorizing unconnected to the reality picture, or brought chaos to the ‘I Am’, requiring definition: Who Am I, when I synthesize my actions, my intellectual perceptions, and my place within the larger whole? And what kind of path for myself are my choices building, versus what I believe intellectually I’m creating?
This sort of judging of our identity and what it means to the wider world is an ongoing thing; the meeting of the Lunar extremity point and the two bodies in Taurus, though, may have brought the intellect to the physicality, material matters, and to the surroundings, offering a clear picture on what the future holds, should we continue our current practices (another way of looking at it: we must weigh our responsiveness to reality against our Willfulness, against our insistence that we have our way, no matter what).
At this point Mars has moved on, allowing us enough distance from our own wants to gain perspective, and midday of the 5th sees the Moon pass over its own South Node point and oppose Uranus, then Mars, suggesting we get some emotional or intuitive illumination by way of memories or shocks, accidents, revelations–and this takes us another step along the ‘Who Am I, and What Do I Mean to the Group?’ line of reasoning.
The fact that we tend to judge ourselves and others in a way that estimates, according to our own priorities and values, our worthiness in the world, is at this point being given a reality-check: our value within the group isn’t what we think it is, and neither is anyone else’s. Our attempts to collate our observations and assess them in light of what we believe is important is a game of shadows, to begin with; in what Universe do we have the individual perspective necessary to evaluate the worthiness of anyone, including ourselves? It’s the quantum influence, the way we can’t know how action A affects the rest of the alphabet, all the way across the Cosmos itself. It’s pure hubris to believe we can know. The only thing we can do is to act according to our own conscience, to do what we find worth doing and know is right–all else takes care of itself.
We can trust the emotions, while Venus moves through Cancer, to let us know what matters right now. Too, we must acknowledge that we don’t need to judge ourselves or others–the world will continue to spin whether we have a settled opinion on our neighbor or not–and then there’s the matter of Mars approaching and conjoining Sedna in the final, tense degree of Taurus (roughly 13 August-21 August). At that point we’ll be challenged to understand and/ or deal with the material in our ‘blind spot’, the stuff we just can’t get into clear focus (the concept reminds me of the way the androids of ‘Westworld’, when confronted with something they’re not programmed for, say, ‘That doesn’t look like anything to me.’ That’s what’s in the Sedna blind spot). The trick there is twofold: to allow light reflected by others and their responses to illuminate that darker area within our own conscious mind, and to listen to the voice of instinct, or the things we think are instinct, which may, in the reflected light of others, reveal themselves to be bad programming, something we need to purge in order to function more effectively.
On the 21st Mars will have entered Gemini (linking actions and choices more cleanly to the mental processes), the Moon will semi-sextile Sedna and the Sun will square Sedna and oppose Vesta–that our window for enlightenment, when all it takes is a willingness to see, in order to perceive.
Currently working on some 5th House examples for the Moon book (it’s done, except for editing and adding examples through the Houses–already have some, but there’s always room for more!) Recent developments: finished AOC, now finishing Prince, next up Picasso, and Grace Kelly.Have a great weekend!
What I really want to talk about is the way the Sun, while still trine Neptune, will conjoin Ceres tomorrow (the 19th), while Earth, sextile Neptune, will conjoin Pluto, this happening across the Cancer-Capricorn axis. It presents us with at least two broad scenarios: one involves ideals, creativity, and ‘the Dream’, while the other involves delusion, illusion, or deception. We have been concentrating on, dreaming about, or enveloped in maya, from the Sanskrit meaning ‘magic’ or ‘illusion’, though it may be better defined as unreality–but that pertains to concepts still percolating within the imagination, the formulation of a dream or idea, the way energy will coalesce into a coherent picture and so invite a plan for realization. We’re speaking, then, in the most general terms of thought forms on the threshold of materializing–but what we must discover is whether those have the potential for becoming real, in the Capricornian sense of physicality, of becoming in the real world, or if they are in some core way illusory, whether that arises from the impossibility of what we imagine, or from the way we may be believing things are other than they are, which removes the potential for them entering reality.
How do we distinguish between the idea that holds promise, and the one that is a mere illusion? In this case, we examine Nature, what is ‘natural’ to us, we recognize our own dominion and power, what we are responsible for or hold dear and must nurture, and we accept the idea that there is a need to negotiate for what we want, specifically with the Powers of change, destruction, and resurrection (Ceres opp Pluto). The key to physical manifestation is in accepting the depth and permanence of Plutonian energies; the steps we need to take will be deliberate, will clear the way or alter what is forever, may end or otherwise destroy what was but is now outmoded, and may involve re-claiming something from the past–exemplified by the South Node (experience) trine Juno (empowerment) in Water signs=it’s through what we’ve learned on the Path, and the emotions it brings forth in the now, that we will know how, and why, Plutonian steps must be taken.
There’s the possibility that facing Pluto will cause things to be re-born, as much as it may eliminate–but in any case it reworks the present so that that Neptunian inspiration, and our genuine power position within the natural order, can be seen for what it is: either a dream or ideal we must strive toward, or an illusion that if pursued will disappoint.
Have a wonderful week, and if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, stay cool!
Just a few comments on the current scene: we have Mars in a Cardinal square with Pluto (again, or still? Feels like our Will has been colliding with the powers-that-be for, well, forever!) with Saturn sextile Mars and catching just retro but still stationary Neptune at the midpoint–and let’s not forget, involved in both aspects, is Eris still conjoined Mars. ‘Stirring it up’ is not an adequate descriptor for what’s going on–and yet, it is the most accurate, as doing is prompted by irritations, strife, rivalries we thought we could bury or ignore–or even eliminate the hard way (sq to PL)–but instead we may find ourselves in a balancing act that requires we sort fantasy from reality, dream from delusion, and ideal from unrealistic, in order to achieve in this world (Mars-Nep-Saturn). A stationary Neptune tends to make us believe we’ll be stuck in this delusion/ dream/ nightmare forever–but we just have to remember, it’s an illusion, magnified by a sense of being pressured to do, to change, to make things happen.
And how is achieving your dreams going for you? The recent New Moon offered a booster shot, but may have made us ultra-aware of our own feelings and sensitivities–and that can make us hesitate when maybe we should push forward, get to work, or ignore the implications we think we see in feedback and try it anyway. Right now we’ve got Venus in Gemini sextile Jupiter in Aries–that’s a recipe for valuing our own thoughts and ideas and acting on them optimistically, with an eye to unique opportunities only we can exploit. The Sun’s still square Jupiter, drawing our attention to all the ways we think things aren’t working–but that’s a focus issue, not a real-world one, more a test of faith than a genuine denial of more or better.
If we also note that the Black Moon Lilith point is currently conjoined the Sun, we might begin to suspect that a lot of our negativity, our insistence that we’re being ‘realistic’ when we’re really being pessimistic, is based on rage (and so a feeling of helplessness, ‘it’s just too big for me to do anything about!’) or on things we’ve been reluctant to acknowledge or face–and that’s the answer, the way to get our bearings: feel tender and sensitive and go forward anyway, by being completely willing to see what is, without insisting on covering it with a gauzy filter and a shower of glitter (though who doesn’t like a glitter-bath, once in a while? Well, maybe not Virgo or Capricorn–but the rest of us are down with it!) Knowing why we’re angry or despairing can help, and the instinctual nature is directly tuned in to this right now (Sedna at 29 crisis degrees of Taurus)–so if we trust our internal voice, and approach things with a willingness to see them as they are, it will be very clear what our next step forward should be.
Have a wonderful rest-of-your-week!Here at the blog the 2 million plus hits mark has been reached–never expected that!
‘Woman in Ecstasy’ By Ferdinand Hodler 1911 {{PD}}
Merc made apparent turnaround in the wee hours this morning PDT, the 3rd, and we may all be feeling just a bit freer, now–and you may have felt the Moon in Cancer form a sextile soon after direction, giving us a strong dose of emotion around what transpired during the retro period, and that may have been soothing or unsettling, but has probably been put into proportion, by now. What’s coming, though, is where our attention should be.
Mercury direct moves from a retro approaching sextile to Neptune to a waning one, with contact not having been made since Merc first passed in direct aspect, what feels like a lifetime ago (so, roughly a month!). This likely eases the mind as we feel more and more rational, less influenced by an overactive imagination or delusion/ deception–and this easing/ freedom feeling is even more apparent as Merc moves away from a some-time-ago square to Saturn–change and limits seem to fall away, boundaries no longer as defined or restrictive as they seemed.
So that’s all good. The question becomes: will these perceptions be accurate, in terms of our reality? The first two contacts Mercury direct makes tell the story: a trine to Pluto, followed by a conjunction to Sedna. This suggests that all the loosening and relaxing may lead to a surfacing of rage, an impulse to purge, a destructive desire, or a wish to transform or resurrect. This might apply to something one spent considerable time pondering or dealing with during the retro–suddenly, a big change might seem very positive. Judgments about the fitness of this conclusion can only be made in light of the natal scenario, but if things have been overall steady and positive, it may be just the thing to pursue, particularly if it has the character of attending to the long-neglected or the long-sensed but unaddressed. Use your instincts, and be honest with yourself–genuine honesty is the only way those instincts are worth a sh*t.
Saturn retrogrades on the 4th, and Neptune in just over 3 weeks, on the 28th. The former may lift even more restrictions, opening the way further, especially in intellectual pursuits, the new and the innovative, the original and unique, if you’re a Saturn retro responder– but, if the retro cycle tends to withdraw security or dependable supports in your world, then you’ll see the characteristic responses, concentrated in changes to your understanding of things, or calling into question what seemed unique, original and worthwhile just days ago, with the springing up, likely without explanation, of roadblocks and denials.
With Neptune we’ll be looking at a change in background noise, more than anything. Re-consideration of the creative, of ideas and ideals, may be on the agenda, and often this turnaround can prompt one to dig for the Truth of something, as we try and connect our conceptions to reality.
That’s our glimpse ahead. Have a wonderful weekend!
Julie Demboski's ASTROLOGY 