‘Wotan has summoned Loge to encircle the sleeping Brünnhilde with magic fire.’ By one of my favorite illustrators, Arthur Rackham 1909 {{PD}}

We know it’s smart to behave as if we are empowered, arbiters of our own domains, and yet old wounds make it especially difficult to do; we resist what’s wise, our attention fixed on all we’ve been denied, missed, or that we see as unjust. Misdirection is how stage magic works–we aren’t looking in the direction of the action, we’re looking where we think it will be, and by doing so we miss the origins of what seems miraculous. The same kind of thing happens today: wisdom we already possess holds the key, and it’s up to us to look in the right direction to see the opportunities presented, the ‘luck’ that manifests, or the knowledge offered that we need right in the moment. Hint: the social sphere may be the vehicle for our enlightenment, or it may be that taking an optimistic attitude in the face of what seems hopeless will bring benefits, and look to the skills offered by your natal Chiron placement for clues as to what you can best contribute to your own success at this time.

(Sun sq Black Moon Lilith, Pallas trine Juno, Jupiter trine Chiron and sxt Pallas, Chiron opp Pallas)

Part of the Byōdō-in Temple at Uji (Uji Byōdō-in no ichibu), from the series Souvenirs of Travel II (Tabi miyage dai nishū) By Hasui Kawase {{PD}}

Today’s word image is an individual meditating in a Buddhist temple, intruded upon by a politician who is busy campaigning and heedless of the atmosphere or surroundings. This is a symbol of glaringly inappropriate behavior, where someone ostensibly working for your benefit (even for you) is not only insensitive to what’s happening around them, they are so Self-focused they make it clear they’re really working for themselves, not you. Is there someone you’re counting on to ‘represent’ you, or to see to your interests, who fits this image? Time to dump them.

‘The Whisper of the Muse: Elizabeth Keown, G.F. Watts and Kate Keown’ By Julia Margaret Cameron 1865 {{PD}}

Expect the unexpected, especially from partners, mates, and those with whom we interact socially. Venus opposes Uranus from the 00 degree of Scorpio, then backs into Libra; the pattern suggests a reveal, a secret generated or held that prompts erratic, unusual, or desperate material choices, and in this mystery we may be the one with the secret, or we may be the one who acts precipitously in what amounts to a response prompted by things known by the Higher Mind but not the conscious one. Once that plays out, we see Venus back into that last, stressed degree of Libra, shunting all the tension into relationships.

We may see in others or experience ourselves the unhealthy need to dominate (Ceres qnx Hygeia), which exerts its own destructive influence, and thinking, too, may be erratic or, if we’re ‘tuned in’, groundbreaking or successfully drawing on Higher Mind to inform our decisions and attitude. Proof of an attuned state follows in the way we can easily bring ideas into the material realm–and proof of skewed thinking shows in blocked pathways or in ‘mental obstacles’ that leave us feeling stumped about correct procedure or direction. What we need to know, though, is that what occurs today is being guided by our Higher Selves; there are certain things the Soul requires to live out its mission, and without even trying, today we’re setting those circumstances up/ in motion (Mercury parallel Saturn, qnx Uranus, trine NN, Sun nov Pallas)

I’d like a little sliced tomato with that. Photo By Scott Bauer, USDA ARS {{PD}}

Today’s word image is a tomato. Do you think it’s a fruit or a vegetable? Are they delicious or disgusting? Do you love what comes from them (marinara, pizza sauce) but not the fruit itself? Consider how subjective (and sometimes extreme) each individual’s feelings are about the humble tomato–and take this as a prompt to consider how much you may be projecting onto someone or something. Our preferences or assumptions can so thoroughly color our perceptions that we may not see something as it is at all, but only as we’ve cast it in our minds, to the point where we may believe it’s something that it’s not (and we’re back to fruit v. veggie territory). Mother Nature, aka Ceres, is at 25 Libra today, and may help pinpoint what you’re applying the ‘tomato principle’ to in real life.

By Pieter Brueghel the Elder – Christian Vöhringer – Pieter Bruegel. 1525/30-1569 Tandem Verlag 2007 (h.f.ullmann imprint) S. 129 ISBN 978-3-8331-3852-2, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9483474

What’s wise is what we respond to instinctively, we act to fulfill ambitions and find a minimum of obstacles and barriers before us, and we feel knowledgeable and powerful. There is an internal harmony that all else flows from; our job is to make sure that what flows from us is a true and positive expression of our ‘best Self’. Simple, and yet a true challenge, for how do Will and the reality picture reconcile, where does our imperative stop and others’ rights begin, and how do we handle forces within ourselves or from others that are deliberately hurtful or destructive? Your mantra for today: follow the impulse but consider the impact.

(Pallas trine Sedna, Mars semi-sq Saturn and trine Zeus, Venus parallel Mars, Mercury trine Chiron, conj Jupiter, and parallel Pluto)

Today’s word image is a car that completely refuses to start, is in fact totally dead. How low is your battery? Re-charge, before you get to a point of no return.

‘Los pescadores valencianos’ By Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida 1895 {{PD}}

The 25th could be the day when what we don’t see could get us. Jupiter opposes Sedna and may suck all the oxygen out of the room; opportunities, chances to expand our world or get the word out, social roles, and unfettered optimism all threaten to ambush us as they distract from instincts and those things we ‘know but don’t know’, those prompts and internal pressures we would normally listen to and follow. We are invited to overdo, to ignore our internal warning system in favor of what we believe are ‘the facts’; the problem is that what we’re framing as facts are actually beliefs, a hopeful interpretation of what bare bones we are acknowledging.

We find a helpful guide at this time in the parallels of Venus and Jupiter to the Black Moon Lilith point. What appeals, promises Love or Money in some idealized form, those opportunities held out to us, will contain hidden things, traps constructed of what we have ignored or denied, or that harbor circumstances which, should we get our way, will only enrage us in their ultimate injustice. Knowing this, we can inspect what attracts with a keener eye, taking the time to really see what’s before us, warts and all. Resolve to notice what you might be tempted to brush aside, and to note all the components of a situation–it’s the only way to make effective decisions we won’t later regret.

Got squirrel? ‘The Squirrel’ By James Jebusa Shannon c1896 {{PD}}

Today’s word image is a squirrel that unsuccessfully tries again and again to get into a bird feeder. What are you relentlessly going after that is never going to pay off? Can you admit this, and put your energies elsewhere, or has this become so much a part of your identity that you’d rather continue fruitless pursuit, just to keep your idea of who you are intact?

See the Full Moon report here–

Charles West Cope ‘The Night Alarm’ 1871 {{PD}}

We are compelled to run into the dark recesses of the mind, the places we’ve been avoiding or in denial of, and we (probably wrongly) believe we can get in and out unscathed. Today we believe in the power of the intellect to surmount or address every issue–silly us! There’s something about those hidden, forbidden, or enraging topics that pulls us in, that makes us run into the burning building, and despite our hair catching fire, we still think we are at one remove, safe, unharmed. Beware the illusion of invincibility, even as you embrace the chance to right something gone very, very wrong (Mars conj Black Moon Lilith, Sun contra-parallel Chiron)

Morse Code receiver and recorder from the late 19th century. Photo By Rauantiques CC BY-SA 4.0

Today’s word image is a future where media–print, dvds, cds, film, video, all ways of recording picture, sound, thoughts–is scarce. For me that would almost be like losing language itself. What would you miss? Would your life be deeply affected, or barely touched, by the disappearance of such material? Now imagine that future world is your brain–are there ‘tapes’ you’d like to get rid of? Would your future be poorer if you were able to erase the painful things, or richer, freer? What ones do you want to make sure to keep, no matter what? Sort through them, and give yourself permission to discard the ones that are negative, painful, or no longer valid, just as long as you have nothing else to learn from them, or don’t need them as important reminders. (This image points me toward the Void Gemini Moon period, or perhaps toward Mars, SN, and BML huddling together in Aquarius, ‘acting to wipe out the past’, plus Saturn-Vesta in Capricorn: ‘What constructs and parts of the past are sacred, to be honored and preserved?’)