Константин Яковлевич Крыжицкий – Пейзаж
Constantin Kryjitski 1908 {{PD}}

The station of any body, as it prepares to take up apparent contrary direction to its previous path, fosters a lot of tension. Just as we must exert extra energy to stop something already in motion (extra, compared to what it takes to set it in motion in the first place), we find the same symbolic dynamic at work with a planetary station. We feel the drag and resistance, even though no such thing is physically occurring–we feel it grind on a particular natal spot and we wait, poised for the relief (because it will be relief, whether it’s considered ‘good’ change or not).

I don’t want to say we’ve gotten used to the monkey on our backs Merc retrograde has been over the past three weeks, but I think we have, as each day has felt like a week, courtesy of the Piscean placement that disconnects our minds from reality and plugs them in to fears, fantasies, deceptions, making it ultimately impossible to trace where messages and perceptions are coming from–and to be fair, hooking us into our creative potentials, as well. Now, we find ourselves asking, ‘What’s really the smart thing to do, the smart direction to go?’ Our answer involves some misdirection of our attention, a little contrary impetus of our own.

Will your unconscious choose the shock, the surprise, the revelation, to shake you out of your Merc retro doldrums? Or will it be the way relationships defy their usual contours, or finances take a sudden leap in one direction or the other? No matter, one of those options is what we need to jump start our minds, to put that creative energy under conscious control, to sort out just what the hell has been going on around here.

(Mercury stations direct, Pallas sq the Nodal axis, Venus contra-parallel and Mercury semi-sq Uranus)

John James Audubon’s “Carolina Parakeets” 1832 {{PD}}

Today’s word image is a boy who opens a parakeet’s cage, reaches in, grasps the bird, then removes it from the cage, closing the cage door, and releases it. Some might see this as an image of liberation–but how freeing is it to put something out into the world that isn’t equipped to live there? Everyone’s definition of what makes them free is different; just because it doesn’t look like it to you doesn’t mean that someone else’s ties, agreements, subjugation, cooperation aren’t exactly what they need to liberate some other part of themselves–and that suggests: withhold your judgment of someone else’s circumstances. Sometimes we cling because we want to, sometimes because we believe we must, but always in service to a genuine need, even if that need has become as distorted as a thoroughly domesticated bird’s, a creature concerned not about some nebulous freedom, but about surviving in an environment it can handle.

Setting the table for your year ahead. Art by Peter Ilsted {{PD}}

For those born with the Sun at 08 Aries (check your natal chart for your Sun degree!) Some tough emotional conditions this coming year, through to your next birthday, are slated, not to torment you but to shape you so that when the reality picture reshapes itself (which it will for you, relatively soon) you’ll be emotionally ready not just to handle it but to react quickly, appropriately, and to get a significant head start on others because of your newly forged, sturdy emotional nature. That doesn’t mean you’ll be hardened; quite the contrary, you’ll undergo some intuitive fine tuning that will offer you a distinct advantage in your chosen arena. The challenge, then, might be to get your head on straight about the reality situation in that arena, to sort illusion from the facts–a tougher proposition than the emotional one, but necessary if you’re to access the most ‘tuned in’, instinctively astute actions and choices possible.

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‘Diana and Actaeon (Diana Surprised in Her Bath)’ By Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot 1836 {{PD}}

We’re so determined to honor our own beliefs that we end up exaggerating the facts in service to them, or we outright shock, surprise, or spin a yarn out of a need to feel our own power, with that need superseding both common sense and what’s smart in the moment. What’s going on?? It may be that we’re not feeling rewarded or compensated for our originality; appreciation of one’s uniqueness is a human need, not a vanity project, and if we don’t receive that appreciation, it may be telling us one or more of the following: we may be hanging with the wrong crowd, one that doesn’t value what we offer (or that deliberately withholds that appreciation, in an attempt to tamp us down or control us); we may be offering the world something we’re really not very good at, that in some way we’re not meant to be pursuing/ sharing, at least not yet–and this leads us to the possibility that we’re trying to go in an inappropriate direction entirely, likely one that serves an image we want, rather than a Path that allows our best to flower; we may be ‘stuck’, (almost consciously) distracting ourselves from what we know needs doing; or it may be that ego is calling the shots–and when has ego every done anything truly beneficial for us? Once ego’s in the driver’s seat, there’s no giving it directions–it hijacks our lives. Handle any or all of these tendencies by reminding yourself of your values and goals, then listen for that inner voice, the one that’s only agenda is your well-being. Access inner wisdom, put things in practical (or health-supporting) terms, and very quickly what’s not genuine to your purest interests or expression will fall away, showing you what’s worth the effort, and what’s useless wheel-spinning. Look too to strong people from your past for the example they set; somewhere in there is something you can use right now.

(Ceres nov SN, Pallas opp Hygeia, Vesta sxt Sedna, Jupiter sxt Pallas and trine Hygeia, Venus sxt Uranus and contra-parallel Juno)

picseli – https://unsplash.com/photos/VxtWBOQjGdI Image at the Wayback Machine CC0

Today’s word image is the foam in a cup of freshly brewed coffee that forms a yin/ yang symbol. Balance! There’s nothing mystical about our need to find a middle point, an area not necessarily evenly centered between extremes, but one that allows sureness around Self-knowledge, and so offers a sense of centeredness that gives a sure platform from which to send our expressions out into the world. The fact that the image is of coffee may also imply that a little stimulation may go a long way–check your caffeine intake, if it’s interfering with finding that needed balance.

For those born with the Sun at 07 Aries (check your natal chart for your Sun degree!) Are you feeling a little bit out on your own as you begin your new Solar year, Aries? You may be blazing a trail this year, even if that trail is only within your own mind, and that may be a lonely place, especially considering that the emotional landscape may seem particularly harsh. The fact is, something unusual is happening; it’s almost as if the past is reshaping itself in order to support smart choices and opportunities for you that will manifest in the future, some of them showing well before your next birthday. How to prepare? Keep your mind clear, your thinking focused, and be on the lookout for unusual opportunities for love or money–in accepting (within reason) what you normally reject, you open the floodgates for prosperity or relationships that will be both fulfilling and out-of-the-ordinary for you.

John the Evangelist touches his mouth with the right hand – this is the symbol of the silence; the left hand of the apostle points to the text of the Gospel of John. The angel – the symbol of the Holy Spirit and the wisdom coming from God – is depicted on the right, above the shoulder of John. By Nectarius Kulyuksin – Varvar.Ru: Main page (in Russian), Pic, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26612656

Today Mars conjoins Sedna, and all else is noise. We’re still under the auspices of that Merc-Neptune meeting, but our experiences over the past two or three days inform today’s ‘Don’t Speak!’ policy–too many misjudgements led us down too many dead ends, and we don’t want to make that mistake again. So, don’t let the mind, messages, or communications of any kind dictate behavior–instead let actions be guided by instincts, by acknowledging what you ‘know but don’t know’, and by reflexes attuned to the primal Self–all else must be silenced.

‘Breton Girl Looking After Plants in the Hothouse’ By Anna Petersen 1884 {{PD}}

Today’s word image is washing the spring moss and pollen from a greenhouse. This suggests a periodic maintenance chore that’s vital to the functioning of something. Are you putting off something that needs doing? And really, who isn’t? This image implies a needed clearing away, one specifically to ‘let the light in’. See where you could let the light in, and remove all obstacles.

For those born with the Sun at 05 Aries (check your natal chart for your Sun degree!) What have you been ignoring or denying, what anger have you buried, what injustice have you had to live with? This is the year when you’ll right all this, relieve yourself of anger, attend to what you’ve neglected, see justice done–and that’s a good thing, opening the way for you to adjust the life direction and so make yourself available to opportunities you’d never have anticipated. That, plus the emotional harmony you’ll enjoy, will make this a year brimming with potential, and also holding the possibility of true, root-deep, freedom.

‘The Singer in Pink’ By Jean-Louis Forain {{PD}}

There are many vibrations, particular to the individual, that promote healing. We’ll be swimming in those today, with the many trines perfecting, and the Sun conjoining Chiron leading the way. Some things it would be smart for us to do: look into what you’ve been denying or ignoring; that’s where you find wisdom–and this is especially true in relationship and financial matters. Attune efforts to your highest values and commitments, because these shape the future. Act and choose only with a clear memory of the past and what you’ve learned from it; to sentimentalize or minimize negatives is an invitation to repeat a bad experience. The best thing is, it all fosters healing, even when we aren’t trying, and even when it hurts.

(Pallas trine Black Moon Lilith, the latter conjoined Venus, Vesta trine NN, Mars trine SN)

By Photo by CEphoto, Uwe Aranas or alternatively © CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33820078

Today’s word image is a butterfly, newly unfolded from its cocoon, letting its brilliant wings dry in the Sun. There’s something amazing about you, a talent, an ability, something to which you’re dedicated, a destiny, and it doesn’t need to be hurried. Pause, listen, become airborne when the moment’s right.

For those born with the Sun at 02 Aries (check your natal chart for your Sun degree!) The toughest part of your year ahead, Aries, may be the conflicted nature of it. Man-woman, stop-go, yes-no, with a hovering question: who to listen to? who to see as in charge? The best thing is that you have a fresh, or at least renewed, emotional perspective, and that can early in the Solar year (right after your birthday) inform partnerships, couplings, and help you find a circle where you can be yourself. Then, you get to the nitty-gritty, which brings, if nothing else, a ton of surprises. And that’s your cue to swing loose, see where things go, try something new, experiment, and be brave, all without demanding concrete answers, just yet.

By Yas Cherkaoui – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64657164

There’s a kind of magic in the air today, where the smart thing happens, the fortuitous thing, the thing that makes us better in some way for the future. That’s everything and nothing, isn’t it? Ideas are original (write them down; you’ll want or need them later), we find unexpected ways to work with or get along with others (and derive power from it), and our ambitions pay off, even if our goals aren’t reached. The one thing we can do to undo the sparkles? Speaking or otherwise communicating rashly–for every genius idea we spout, we’ll also spill the uncomplimentary beans, so keep it all to yourself (Juno nov NN, Pallas parallel Hygeia, Pluto nov Ceres, Venus trine Zeus, Mercury nov Uranus, Sun parallel Mercury)

Today’s word image is jealousy. I know, I’m surprised, too! Maybe we first need to be clear about what this is, as it’s often confused with envy. Envy is wanting to be what someone else is, to have what they have, while jealousy is the fear of losing something or someone’s attention to a third person. Is there something you’re afraid of losing, and if so, have you identified the third party you think is threatening the situation? Often jealousy triggers focus on that third person, but I’m thinking that it’s almost always much more about the health of the situation or relationship itself, as it stands. That is, if you fear you’re losing something you want to keep, focus not on the individual who came along and showed you the system’s weaknesses, but on what within the system/ relationship that needs to be revived.

Setting the table for your year ahead. Art by Peter Ilsted {{PD}}

For those born with the Sun at 28 Pisces (check your natal chart for your Sun degree!) You might not understand your own emotions, for a time; they might feel a little alien, focused as they’ll be on yourself and how well you ‘shine’ in relationships–but once that dark age of feeling passes, your year will ‘open up’, as you present essentially a ‘New You’ to the world. This mini-re-birth involves adjusting thinking to better serve ambitions, learning (and accepting) what really pays, and what doesn’t, and responding accordingly (this is something up to now you’ve been somewhat reluctant to do), and doing some (mostly unexpected) healing and re-connecting in relationships.