It’s hard to believe that Bridget Jones Diary—the film—is 21 years old!  In Saturn years, that’s a 3/4 return! I bring up the movie because it provides a timely illustration of our Lady Venus in Scorpio at the moment.  Like Bridget, Venus in Scorpio can struggle a bit to fulfill her significations of love, belonging, finances and self-worth.  Planets in Fall or Exile (Venus in Scorpio) can also take a more interesting path in finding fulfillment that builds unique skill sets and character.

Part of that path at the moment is navigating Uranus and Saturn. Venus in Scorpio opposes Uranus in Taurus on Saturday the 5th and then continues onward to square Saturn in Aquarius on the 7th. Hard aspects provoke us. They bring tensions to a head which often require us to step into resolution-mode.  In particular, this line up of Venus oppose Uranus square Saturn can bring up destabilization and upset (Uranus) that then has us seeking sustainable solutions we can rely on (Saturn) in the Venusian areas of love, friendship, intimacy and finance.

A good example is Bridget walking in on a cheating Daniel (Venus oppose Uranus) prompting her to liberate herself from a relationship with him. This eventually points her down the road to a stable commitment with Mark Darcy (Venus square Saturn).

What about us?

How might this play out for us?  Saturnian stories don’t pop up over night. Like Mr. Darcy, they’ve been around for some time. But the square creates pressure that demands action, especially during eclipse season. Something we might have swept under the rug has turned into an ugly hill of resentment, or pain. Perhaps we’ve grown so weary of a certain pattern, that continuing to do nothing becomes more painful than finally addressing the situation even if there’s an aftermath to deal with.

Some ways this square might express include but not limited to:

• Clarifying responsibilities
• Asking for commitment
• Erecting healthy boundaries
• Stepping away from love/friendship/community
• Tough Love
• Refusing to cooperate
• Reconfiguring partnership for a more sustainable outlook
• Ultimatum/request that demonstrates seriousness

We often think of Saturn as a negating principle. When we see it with Venus, we might conclude this is a time to close down and protect ourselves.  This can happen, especially with a square. Yet, it’s good to remember that Saturn-Venus also speaks to the long-term agreements we have in our relationships. Both Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward have Venus sextile Saturn in their nativity. They were married for 50 years! In the best of circumstances, Venus-Saturn energy encourages us to put in the work required for relationships, partnerships and commitments that stand the test of time.

Like everything else, your milage may vary. Whereas Venus square Saturn can point out the weakest link in relationships, it can also show us the dedication and service needed for longevity and long term commitment.

I’ll be doing tarot readings at my favorite store in town, Mixta!  See you in their courtyard on Saturday, November 5th, from 2pm-5pm.  To secure a spot, register for your 30-minute private reading at their front desk anytime this week.

October 21, 2022—November is just around the corner!  Here in Central Mexico, the Sun pours light across the horizon increasingly later as the Moon stretches her inky black sheets over the sky progressively sooner. I’ve been reaching for sweaters as the warm weather is beginning to leave us for other parts of the world. Markets sell bunches of fragrant marigold in preparation for Day of the Dead celebrations where families across the Country remember loved ones who now visit in spirit form, especially this time of year.

The current astrological weather suits the contemplate mood here. Mars slows down in preparation for his retrograde on the 30th, inviting us to root down and reflect on our motivations and desires. Eclipse season may have us changing course or making decisions now that have been sewn in the Scorpio terrain of deepest truth, survival and intimate bonding.

By the end of October, Venus, the Sun and Mercury will occupy Scorpio while Jupiter will re-enter Pisces. The strong emphasis on water the beginning of November spotlights transition, integration as well as the nourishing quality of our relationships. The end of November will feel more uplifting as water parts to fire and Sagittarius leads the way.

Here’s what the last part of October and all of November holds in store for us:

October 25, 2022 at 5:49am Central—We’re almost one year into the Taurus-Scorpio eclipse series which began with a Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Taurus last November. The story line that opened at that time receives its next installment with the upcoming Partial Solar Eclipse at 2° Scorpio on Tuesday.

Eclipses occur in pairs two times a year. The most recent pair occurred in April and May. If you reflect on last year, can you connect the dots between these times to reveal where life’s contractions are catalyzing choices that push you in a new direction? Eclipses usher in circumstances that ask us to make strong decisions.

The Taurus-Scorpio axis highlights themes around resources, security, comfort, survival, trust and intimacy. At the deepest level, we tap into our core needs of creating a stable relating environment and deciding who we want to be part of our inner sanctum.

This particular eclipse emphasizes Venusian themes of love, belonging, self worth and money. Venus is conjunct the Moon here. She’s also in Scorpio, a sign where she is said to be in exile. She’s a little hypervigilant in Scorpio, looking for proof of love and/or security and very sensitive to hairline cracks in the facade. Venus wants assurance of soul-deep truth in Scorpio as this is her sticky tape that binds her to commitments.

In addition, the tarot card that corresponds to this decan is the Five of Cups. When this card appears, there can be a deep layer of grief present associated with loss, betrayal, resentment and regret. The work of the Five of Cups is to fully acknowledge the trauma of whatever experience still takes up painful residence inside us; and then to begin to release it.

Co-present with the South Node, some of us may be releasing expectations around love, friendship, social groups or belonging. There may be a strong urge now to pierce through exterior levels to the heart of the matter with questions such as where do I stand? Am I sacrificing my self-worth to remain in this situation? Do I really trust this person or this job to meet my core needs?  Issues of past trauma can resurface now as the eclipse in penetrating Scorpio reaches to our very bowels to turn over the past, searching for evidence like lost coins that explain our triggers, resentment and pain.

The ruler of this lunation, Mars, travels slowly now as it prepares to station retrograde on the 30th. In Gemini, Mars churns the hamster wheels of the mind, especially as it stations. We may be ruminating over a situation is our mind, stuck on a story on repeat. Neptune can fill us with indecision, confusion and even self-deception. Yet, conjunct the South Node, the energy around this lunation is one of closure. Even if we aren’t certain which way to go at this time, we can let go of the mind turbulence some of us are experiencing by actively (Mars) accepting (Neptune) the present moment just as it is—squares and all.

Opposite the Sun, Moon and Venus beams Uranus. The next lunation, a Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Taurus, will be conjunct Uranus. We know that Uranus can bring sudden shocks and liberating breakthroughs in an attempt to bring us into true alignment with ourselves. We’re heading towards the next major move in the Taurus-Scorpio storyline that opens an exploratory path ahead of us.

For now, the best course of action is to sit with our feelings, thoughts and desires. If we need to get something off our chest, consider a slow Mars in Gemini squaring fuzzy Neptune and ask those three very important questions: is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? And then proceed with caution.

Eclipses occur when a New Moon or a Full Moon is within 18° of the nodes on either side. This is the time when the Sun is traveling through the sign that contains either the South Node or the North Node. Since November of 2021, those signs have been Taurus and Scorpio.

On Tuesday, the New Moon occurs at 2° Scorpio and the South Node is at 13°22′, within the 18° cut-off. The closer the lunation occurs to the node, the stronger it is.  Tuesday’s lunation is considered a partial eclipse. But the Full Moon in Taurus on November 8th will be much closer and stronger.
What are the nodes of the Moon?

The Lunar Nodes are abstract points in space that mark where the Moon’s orbit and the Sun’s path intersect. Like the chart angles, the North and South Nodes are not actual bodies; they are points on the ecliptic (the Sun’s path). When the Moon moves from south to north, we get the North Node. Likewise, when the Moon moves from north to south, we get the South Node.

The Lunar Nodes also precess around the ecliptic, completing one revolution every 18.6 years. This means every 18.6 years, the nodes return to the same place (nodal return) repeating the same eclipse cycle from 18.6 years ago.

Modern Astrology

In Evolutionary Astrology, the Nodes tell a story.

• The South Node is associated with past lives, the karma you brought into this life and your ancestral inheritance. We can think about the South Node as those classes in college that were your easy A. You took them because they came naturally to you. For me, this was Psychology.
• The North Node refers to what you are working towards. It’s your cutting edge towards growth and soulful evolution. These are the classes that were challenging, but you had to take them in order to graduate. My North Node was statistics.

The Story of Rahu & Ketu 

Vedic astrology conceptualizes the Nodes in a different way, illustrated by a myth:

At the beginning of the universe, the Gods began to churn the universe. Out of this churning formed a nectar of immortality. Gods and demons alike struggled to get at the nectar to achieve immortality. In order to distract the demons, Vishnu disguised himself as the most beautiful woman and began to dance. Meanwhile, whilst the demons gaped at the woman, the Gods lined up to drink of the nectar. However, Rahu—a clever demon—did not fall for the trick. Instead, he disguised himself as a God and stood in the nectar line. As he took a sip of the nectar, he was called out by the Sun and the Moon. Vishnu quickly severed Rahu’s head, but he had already drank the nectar and was thus immortal. Now he existed in two parts: a head (Rahu) and a tail (Ketu). He vowed revenge on the Sun and the Moon and in fact, to this day, he jumps to swallow the Sun. But because he has no body, the Sun passes through him.

In traditional astrology, we look at the South and North Nodes differently. There’s not the same emphasis on reincarnation as in Evolutionary Astrology. Rather, there’s a more Buddhist approach of that which causes suffering and how to spiritualize it.  For instance: 

• Ketu, the tail (South Node) is a place in our life that becomes a container for spirit. We experience life lessons here that ultimately diminish our attachments and desires.  This process often occurs through loss and letting go.  Surrendering makes room for wisdom and spirituality to grow. Katu points to the loss that awakens us to the truth of the spiritual nature we’re in.
  
• Rahu, the head (North Node) is where we can experience blindspots. Rahu points to our attachments and desires that perpetuate the cycle of suffering. Rahu was always hungry. Not equipped with a gut to digest his food (i.e. digest wisdom from life experiences), he was always greedily chasing his desires and indulging worldly obsessions. When we work with Rahu, we realize that achieving worldly success is not often what we thought it would be. This begins to open in us a spiritual dimension that understands the true nature of reality. 

Which Approach is Best?

For the most part, the ancients did not work with the Nodes in the way modern astrologers do. They considered the eclipses to be bad omens as the light was obscured. This idea falls in line with Rahu swallowing the Sun.  Enlisting the Nodes to talk about reincarnation and past lives is relatively a new thing.

Since there is a great deal to cover during a consultation, I usually avoid the Nodes all together unless the client specifically asks about them.  At that point, I will synthesize both points of views to the natal placements and see which better fits the client’s understanding of their personal experience. From doing so, I’ve repeatedly found that the client usually relates to both perspectives.

As Mars prepares to turn retrograde on the 30th, he’ll be slowing down and lengthening his contacts with planets.  This means his first square to Neptune on Wednesday October 12th will affect us the entire work week.

As I mentioned in the intro, four planets are changing direction this month. When planets station, their deceleration mirrors our own movements as we slow down, immerse and contemplate.  A Mars-Neptune square amplifies this feeling of moving in slow motion. Let’s take a look at some of the ways this transit can manifest.

Running in a dream

Have you ever dreamt of desperately trying to flee a situation but you can barely move? You’re getting nowhere fast and straining for one inch?  Mars squaring Neptune can feel like trying to run in a dream. A heavy mental fog sets in making it hard to think. A ridiculous dose of procrastination sabotages productivity plans for a day or two.  An inexplicable case of the blahs has you reaching for a bag, a bottle or the remote. We just don’t have it in us to give any more bandwidth to an irritating situation.  If mid-October finds your energy levels zapped and life feels bloated, it’s alright to put on your fat pants and chill. We’re meant to go with the flow at this time which for some of us will mean taking a time out.

Consecrated Action

A prominent Neptune is often found in the charts of spiritual teachers and artists. Here we find another side of Mars—Neptune: spiritual and creative vitality. Mars square Neptune can be an inspiring time of courting the creative muse. This can look like working on an art project, signing up for dance classes and/or immersing yourself in an imaginative space.

On the spiritual front, opportunities arise that allow us to be completely present. The prominent action becomes full awareness which unfolds in Karma Yoga, or the “yoga of action” where every moment is infused with embodied awareness leading to conscious action. Eckhart Tolle refers to this kind of living as “consecrated action” because we’re not treating this moment as a means to an end, but as an end in itself. Not unlike running in a dream, time takes on a suspended quality as each moment is witness and cared for. Great power comes from living in this heart space as we create from the deepest level.

Dates

Mars in Gemini will connect with Neptune in Pisces three times:

1. October 12, 2022 at 23°21′
2. November 19, 2022 at 22°42′ — Mars is retrograde
3. March 14, 2023 at 25°04′

Look to the topics of your Aries and Scorpio houses for an idea of where this transit might affect you. Whether this is an area of feeling burnt out, a willingness to surrender to what is, or a little of both: what arises mid-October will have a beginning, middle and end corresponding to the dates above.

Images found on flaticon.com

October 9, 2022 at 3:54 pm Central—American novelist Louisa May Alcott once mused: “A little kingdom I possess, where thoughts and feelings dwell; And very hard the task I find of governing it well.”  Sunday’s Full Moon in Aries might accentuate the challenge of managing our own little kingdoms.

Finalizing agreements

The lunation occurs on the heels of Mercury turning direct. Still in its shadow phase, we’re in the process of finalizing the negotiations and compromises we made last month in the Libran domain of partnerships of all kinds. As the Moon in Aries opposes the Sun in Libra, Mercury is in the final stages of nitty-gritty analysis of Virgo, preparing to re-enter fair-minded Libra the following day. Some of us are wrapping up a personal audit as we move forward in hopes of implementing more harmony and balance in our relationships. As we do, we should tread lightly, knowing that our perspective may not be shared. Only with complete self-awareness and willingness to see another’s viewpoint, can we hope for sustainable results.

Self-advocacy with self-constraint

A Full Moon in Aries carries themes of self-advocacy. At the top of our agenda might be explaining our POV or where our needs have been ignored. Yet with a sextile to Saturn in Aquarius, this lunation advises cool constraint for constructive results.  In addition, self-control is especially important as the ruler of this lunation, Mars, is in the Air sign of Gemini. Mars in Gemini can decimate with words, speaking quickly and too freely (#uncensored). Once the flying daggers have stuck, they leave a scar. The advice here is to pick our words wisely and from a place of responsiveness, not reactiveness.

Another piece of advice: do not overpromise. With the Sun in Libra, some will offer to do too much in order to come to an agreement or to win someone over. Yet when Mars turns retrograde the end of the month, those promises might feel over-inflated and impossible to meet. Better to underpromise and overdeliver than the other way around.

Chiron underscores the potential for past wounding coming up now as it is conjunct the Full Moon. Past traumas and hurts that have been festering away behind closed doors can be revealed now.  Yet Chiron itself has two faces: one side carries the injury while the other holds the medicine. This is where Alcott might find the hardest task of all: how do we manage our thoughts and feelings in our little kingdom when ancient wounds are being triggered in a current setting? If we can remember in the heart of every wound lies the vital seed of wisdom, we can employ current challenges to cultivate that seed and discard its fleshy trauma as compost.

A Venusian lining

Venus can help us. The planet of love graces Sunday’s lunation as it conjuncts the Sun and advances towards a trine with stabilizing Saturn. Venus in Libra desires harmony, beauty and goodwill. Even though we might not see it right now as Venus is under the beams of the Sun, there’s a spirit of benevolence despite some of the sharp thoughts and self-centeredness in the little kingdom.

In Talk Easy, critically acclaimed Vietnamese American poet Ocean Vuong observes: “Care is tied to anger. It becomes the aftermath of anger.” Perhaps Vuong speaks a peace-making truth from his Libra Sun and Mercury. Yet it strikes me that the topic of care following anger is truly fitting for a lunation conjunct Chiron and ruled by hot headed Mars in an Air Sign. This Full Moon in Aries opposed Venus invites us to graciously inject reparative care into people and situations that matter to us. If we can approach important relationships at this time with Venusian ideals, with cool heads and with the willingness to see the other’s point of view, healing and equilibrium await in the wings.

Gummy castle images found on Twitter @darylanselmo

A dispositor is the planet that rules the sign another planet occupies. For instance, the dispositor of any planet located in Gemini or Virgo is Mercury because Mercury rules the signs of Gemini and Virgo. If someone has their Sun in Virgo, for instance, we would look to the condition of Mercury in their chart to see how well Mercury can provide for the Sun who is staying in one of his domiciles.

You can think of it as if the planets are visitors staying in different AirBnBs, unless they’re in their own sign and then they are at home. Are the spaces comfortable? Well equipped? Sparse? Dilapidated? The answers to these types of questions depends in part on the condition of the dispositor and how well they are able to provide for their visitors. 

Visibility

One of our considerations is visibility: can the dispositor see the planet it is hosting or is it in a place of aversion? When the dispositor does not make a sign based aspect to the planet they are providing for, it’s as if they are absent or out of touch with the planet, like an AirBnB host that doesn’t respond to messages. Without visibility, the host planet isn’t as capable of providing for its hostee because they don’t have a direct line of communication. Another way to think about it is that the dispositor is like a boss who works in another city making it more challenging to pop in and float ideas by so that you (planet) can take action or ask for the things you need.

What are the lines of visibility? If planet and dispositor are in one of the relationships below, a line of sight exists between them.

• Trines share the same Element (Fire, Earth, Air and Water)
• Sextiles share the same polarity: + (Fire & Air); – (Water & Earth) 
• Conjunctions are in the same zodical sign
• Oppositions are six signs away
• Squares share the same Modality (Cardinal, Fixed & Mutable)

Dignity

How dignified is the dispositor? If the dispositor is in their own sign, they are better equipped and more resourced to provide for planets they host.  In addition, we can look at exaltation, detriment, fall, terms, faces, triplicities, phase, speed and position to fine tune a dispositor’s dignity, as well as the planet’s own dignity. I won’t get into it here as it’s a lot to cover; but this is an important consideration in determining the ability of a planet to manifest its symbolism. If you’re interested in learning more, I highly recommend Demetra George’s book: Ancient Astrology in Theory and Practice or you can read a three part series I wrote on this topic—Part 1, 2 and 3.

Two Case Studies

I’d like you to think back to the beginning of September. When Venus entered the sign of Virgo on the 4th, we had three planets in Mercury’s sign: the Sun and Venus in Virgo plus Mars in Gemini. Mercury is the dispositor of these three planets while they reside in the signs Mercury rules. Mercury stationed retrograde September 9th and provides for these three planets until the Sun enters Libra October 22nd, during which time Mercury will host just Venus and Mars.

Using the boss example (in the visibility section), let’s take a closer look:

• Mercury retrograde is like a boss who has been tasked to lead an accreditation team. Mercury is involved with a lot of review, reassessing, renegotiating and re-doing in the Libra part of our charts.
• The Sun and sign that the Sun rules, Leo, is affected by Mercury’s agenda as is Venus and her signs—Taurus & Libra—AND Mars and his signs, Aries and Scorpio.

If you add this up, half the signs are engaging a revisionist agenda at the moment. Have you been feeling a bit in limbo? Rethinking the past? Wondering if you should revisit a decision you’ve made? These are all examples of this influential Mercury Retrograde and its particularly long reach across the sky is playing out right now.

Second Example—Mars

The sign of Scorpio is preparing to receive visitors. Venus, the Sun and Mercury will enter Scorpio the last week of October. To ascertain the quality of time, we look to Mars, the traditional dispositor of Scorpio. We can see that Mars will be moving slowly the end of October as he gets ready to station retrograde on the 30th in Gemini. Mars turning retrograde in the cerebral air sign of Gemini reminds me of the little buffering wheel that appears when a webpage is trying to load but can’t due to overload. There’s a frustration of having to wait or restart in order to proceed.

In addition, Mars in Gemini cannot see the three planets he’s hosting in Scorpio. As a fixed water sign, these planets are motivated by intense connection, heart-to-heart truth and processing deep feelings. All this to say that the end of the month may feel turbulent as a buffering Mars can’t see the planets he’s hosting. The recent compromises, negotiations and peace treaties forged while planets occupied Libra can undergo emotional pushback at this time.

If we know what the quality of time is, we have a better understanding of when to advance our desires and when to allow a bit of flexibility for buffering.

Images from Flaticon

September 25, 2022 at 4:55 pm Central—Sunday’s New Moon in Libra has us waking up to the viability of relationships of all kinds. Where are we doing our part? Where have we dropped the ball? Are we compromising too much or not enough? Do we feel out of balance, perhaps trying to do everything ourselves? These are the kinds of questions Libra mulls over.

Core to the Libra archetype is balance and fairness. And when the Self-Other axis of Aries-Libra bears down heavy on the side of the scales, this Cardinal Air sign is more apt than most to set it right, even if it does so in a round-about way.

Further, the New Moon in Libra opposes a robust, go-get-em Jupiter in Aries. Some of us may feel like we’re vigorously trying to keep our cool, like a graceful duck on the water who is paddling furiously underneath where nobody can see the effort that it’s taking to stay afloat. Jupiter in Aries holds an enthusiastic vision that confronts the moderation this New Moon is seeding.

Do I say something or let it go?

The ruler of this lunation is Venus in Virgo. The planet of love, beauty, coin and connection is traditionally considered to be in fall in Virgo where she has a harder time fulfilling her significations.  Yet, this placement excels in tending to details with the intention to improve conditions. So the question becomes: do I say something or do I just let it go? Do I attempt more balance, fairness, understanding and ultimately connection or do I just let the situation play out?

On the one hand, a Venus ruled lunation prefers to indulge easy-going vibes and a sense of harmonious goodwill which would mean not ruffling any feathers. But Venus in Virgo has a hard time dismissing inequities that tend to build upon one another which threatens to erupt into inevitable confrontation. Further, in the New Moon chart, Venus opposes Neptune in Pisces. This energy can come across as ambiguous or self-sacrificing or compassionate—it depends on which of the many sides of Neptune we’re currently attuned to.

Communication that needs airing

Perhaps Mercury’s conjunction to Venus holds the key here. In the New Moon chart, Mercury has recently re-entered his home sign Virgo from Venus’s sign, Libra. Mercury will travel back to 24° Virgo, just one degree away from the spot Venus occupies during the New Moon. If we think of Mercury as the messenger, there could be an important piece of communication that needs airing; and since these two signs (Libra & Virgo) don’t have a direct line of sight to one another, this communication could come from a third party—like a mediator or a business deal—that’s able to bridge the practical needs of Virgo to the relational desires of Libra.

What’s the takeaway? Sometimes, the right conversation with the right attitude at the right time can go a long way in restoring feelings of goodwill that might have gotten buried under slights and unfairness. For some of us, October will open a desire to set the balance right in at least one area of our lives.

September 10, 2022 at 4:59 pm Central—If I were to leave you with a link to The Köln Concert performed by Keith Jarrett in 1975, it would sufficiently represent Saturday’s Full Moon in Pisces. After all, as a mute sign, music would be a more appropriate medium for a Pisces Full Moon than a written essay. But there’s much to say here about the richness, the magic and the longing of this Full Moon. So I’ll share the story of the concert and how it represents this lunation.

How a broken down piano and a perfectionist made musical history

I first learned of The Köln Concert from the Ted Radio Hour when I listened to an episode on how chaos can lead to creative breakthroughs. The example used was jazz pianist Keith Jarrett’s legendary performance in the Opera House in Cologne, Germany, in 1975.

The story goes that an ambitious Vera Brandes, a 17-year-old jazz aficionado and youngest concert promoter in Germany, arranged for the much admired pianist to play the Cologne Opera. 30-year-old Keith Jarrett appeared at the sold out show of 1400 seats exhausted from travel and performance. He was also suffering from back pain. Known for his perfectionism, when he found out the wrong piano had been delivered, he refused to play. For one, the piano was too small for the room and the pedals didn’t work. Further, the worn out leather made the high notes ring brassy, the black notes stuck and the rest were out of tune. What could you do with that?  Turns out a lot.

Brandes pursued Jarrett out in the rain as he made his way to a car. Soaking, she begged him to play. She must have been persuasive or he had a compassionate heart. Maybe it was both. But he came in and played.

The performance, punctuated by Jarrett’s moans and masterful hacks to bring out the best from a dilapidated piano, riveted the audience. From the first sprinkle of notes, everyone knew something astonishing was unfolding. Even as I write this, I’m listening to it and weeping. Jarrett spontaneously improvised the entire set, sacrificing himself to the music gods which liberally free-flowed through his broken body into a crippled piano and from there, auricularly into the souls of all within earshot. The music had found its vessel and it didn’t require perfection. It needed total connection and absolute commitment. The Köln Concert is a timeless phenomenon: it’s the best-selling piano album in history. Pure, acknowledged genius.

Full Moon in Pisces

When we consider the Full Moon, we understand that of all the signs, Virgo holds the highest standards. Like Jarrett, the Sun and Venus in Virgo demand a quality of excellence and always strive for optimal performance. This energy prefers to decline engaging a rickety piano; it would plan on an exit strategy. Yet, if they stick around, they are the ones that hold the key to hacking beauty out of chaos, like playing the middle keys to avoid a brassy sound. And with the Sun’s trine to Uranus, sticking around despite irregular conditions can bring surprising, even delightful results.

The Moon’s square to Mars speaks to agitation. Perhaps there’s an aggressive front to overcome or spikey communication. Yet sometimes, it’s exactly those tensions—like exhaustion or keys that stick—that provide the kind of work-around that delivers a brilliant result.  Additionally, given that over half the sky is retrograde at the time of this Full Moon, many of us are reviewing and integrating our recent past as we seek to negotiate next steps forward. Perhaps if we lean into the discomfort of Mars while relying on our discernment to strategically use it as well, we can surprise ourselves with excellence.

The Moon joins Neptune in Pisces, a signature of surrender, longing and union with the divine. In udiscovermusic.com, Charles Waring writes on Jarrett’s ecstatic improvisation. He shares, “Besides jazz, the piece draws on folk, classical, Latin, gospel hymnals, and even country music, all bound together seamlessly in what could be described as the musical equivalent of a stream-of-consciousness outpouring.” In Pisces-speak, when we surrender to the moment and go for it, we allow enchantment to move through us. The flow uses every part of us and the output is more than the sum of its parts. Like the Moon in Pisces, the creative force can feel as if it’s being channeled through us. Further, with the ruler of this lunation, Jupiter, in the heroic sign of Aries, this is a time to move boldly and with courage, because miracles can and do happen everyday.

Show a little faith

Another musical maestro and American treasure Bruce Springsteen once said in Thunder Road: Show a little faith there’s magic in the night. Our piano might be out of tune, our nerves frayed and our spine a shipwreck. Yet even in these circumstances, there’s a spirit of visionary boldness present that can beautifully improvise with our pain and our imperfections, taking us further into excellence than we’ve gone before. It’s ours for the taking. We just have to open ourselves up to it.  
 

One of the planets I take special note of when preparing for a client’s consultation is transiting Uranus. When Uranus aspects a personal planet or angle in the natal chart, the person is generally experiencing a catalyzing event and/or inner restlessness which results in breakdown, breakthrough or both in at least one area of life.

Uranus works with the tools of instability, chaos and experiment in order to create more freedom. For example:

• During Uranus transits to our Sun, we may feel as though time is running out to truly live our lives in authentic expression. So we might take a leap of faith and try something we’ve never had the courage to before.
• When Uranus transits the Moon, especially by conjunction, square or opposition, we may feel our systems of support are unreliable. Whether it be our refrigerator simply stops working or we lose the immediate connection with friends as we move away to a new city, these are times of change and instability. Our friendships with women, sisters and relationship to mother (and as a mother) may also be affected.
• Uranus crossing over our Ascendant or Midheaven can be one of the most pivotal times in our lives. We may completely make ourselves over (ASC) or step into an entirely new career (MC). These transits often correlate with getting married or divorced, becoming a parent or the children leaving home, and big changes in the way we see ourselves and how we move through the world in terms of our contribution to it.

Celebrity Example

Sadie Sink became a household name when she became a regular as skateboarder Max on Season 2 of Stranger Things. The season was released on Netflix on October 27, 2017 as Uranus was exactly conjunct her exalted Aries Sun. Now, Uranus is conjunct her Venus in Taurus as The Whale makes a major splash at last weekend’s Venice Film Festival.

As Uranus moves into Gemini, it will conjunct her Mars, Moon and Saturn. As a Cancer Rising, she’s ruled by the Moon. Mars rules her 5th and 10th houses while Saturn rules the 7th and 8th. Her life will continue to dramatically shift as Uranus brings creative breakthrough via her career, sense of self and significant other(s).

An 84 year cycle

Uranus takes 84 years to complete one cycle, moving about 4° a year, and spending roughly seven years in one sign. For instance, Uranus first entered the sign of Taurus in May of 2018 and will fully depart Taurus the end of April 2026 until it circles back again in year 2102. Because of retrograde motion, outer planets usually dip into the next sign and back out again before emerging all the way. It’s the same on their way out: dip forward, step backward, slide all the way in.  So the collective time Uranus is in any sign averages to 7 years.

Think about where Taurus lands in your chart. Have you experienced upheaval, surprise, shock, awakening, emergence, or a completely new way of being? Have the changes brought about more freedom in your life?

Uranus through Taurus

Let’s go through the 12 Houses using the Whole Sign system to see how Uranus might be affecting you since 2018:

• Aries Rising—2nd House
  Uranus has disrupted your flow of income and resources. You might be in the process of finding new work or ways to supplement your income. Perhaps you’re taking a break from work and making the appropriate adjustments or you’ve started working again. Uranus wishes to liberate you using 2nd house themes of how and what you do to resource yourself.
• Taurus Rising—1st House
  Uranus is here to awaken you! These may feel like years of major change or at the very least, inner restlessness. As a fixed sign, Taurus values consistency and stability, so change isn’t always welcome. The potential to switch paths to a life that feels authentic to you is strong now, especially as Uranus conjuncts your Ascendant. Your physical appearance can go through a transformation as well.
• Gemini Rising—12th House
  Uranus is here to liberate you from whatever has been swept under the rug or banished to the cellar of your inner landscapes. These are the years you can make a lot of progress by looking at the inner saboteur that has kept you from living your best life. People you meet during these years are especially talented at provoking your conditioned triggers so you can deal with them once and for all.
• Cancer Rising—11th House
  Friends that you thought were forever suddenly leave. Shocking developments occur in communities you find fellowship in. Alternatively, you may begin to understand that your dreams themselves are changing. What you once wished for so fervently is no longer as paramount to your happiness. Uranus is here to remind you that as those around you change, you can too.
• Leo Rising—10th House
  Big moves in career and your social reputation collaborate to unveil the emerging you! These are times of unexpected layoffs, getting fired, big promotions, hitting jackpot, walking away, starting over and taking bold steps forward. It can be an exhilarating ride for our mutable friends, but not as much for fixed Leo. Hang in there Leo: remember that Uranus works to connect you to your most authentic life and in the end, the roller coaster ride is part of it.
• Virgo Rising—9th House
  Virgo, your commitment to self-improvement can take Uranus through your 9th in stride. This is a time of finding greater freedom through learning, going back to school, getting in touch with your spirituality, travelling, perhaps living abroad, learning astrology and all the other 9th House topics that want to grow and nurture your Best Self.
• Libra Rising—8th House
  This can be a time of leaning on significant others for support while finding your own financial freedom. Your partner’s income might change. An inheritance may come your way. You may suddenly pay off debt, enter debt, or both. Loan forgiveness frees up finances to invest in a new way forward. Finally, this can be a time of deep excavation of letting things go while alchemizing suffering into peace.
• Scorpio Rising—7th House
  When Uranus transits the 7th, we need more space or our partner does. There can often be separations during this time, either temporary or permanent. Relationships begin and end during this transit. Surprises and instability will test the fault lines now, either making a significant relationship stronger or closer to its expiration date.
• Sagittarius Rising—6th House
  Uranus can bring disruptions to your schedule making it harder to plan your time. Sickness and injury are topics of the 6th and sometimes an unexpected illness arises and must be taken care of. Your work environment, the people that work for you or your colleagues can feel unstable during these years. A new pet might enter your life now or sudden issues concerning pets can surface with this transit.
• Capricorn Rising—5th House
  Uranus wants to liberate us sexually! This can be a time of experimentation. For instance, someone who has been celibate for years has their libido awakened. Or vice versa. Our children may go through great change themselves: Uranus acting to liberate them. Unexpected pregnancies can happen now. We might try our hand at art or theatre or some creative expression when Uranus transits our 5th.
• Aquarius Rising—4th House
  Disruption at home that leads to great freedom. We might move during this transit or renovate our current home. The occupants inside the home often change, whether that be a newborn, a grown child moving out, or another relative coming to live with us. Oftentimes, the external changes point to an internal need to anchor ourselves in the core of who we are.
• Pisces Rising—3rd House
  This is the House where the Moon has her joy. When Uranus transits here, there’s often a blossoming of inner self. We respond to learning new things that change the way we look at the world. We may pick up a hobby or interest that subtly liberates us from our conditioning. Additionally, our siblings might be going through major life changes as the 3rd House represents them.

Exchanges between planets

As Uranus transits through a sign, the planet will connect by sextile, square, trine, opposition and conjunction to our natal placements. These connections will bring the significations of Uranus—disruption, breakthrough, liberation, instability, etc.—to the themes of the natal planet. When Uranus squares Venus, for example, there’s turbulence around at least one of Venus’s topics: finances, friendships, love and beauty. The tension is stronger when we’re looking at a hard aspect (conjunction, square and opposition) and when Venus plays a prominent role in our chart, such as ruling an angular house or being our Time Lord.

We can go through all the planets and combine the significations of Uranus, the natal planet that is experiencing the transit, and the houses the natal planet rules to determine where area of our lives is going through its own Jenga moment that wants to reconfigure for more alignment and freedom.

Uranus will also make squares and oppositions to itself. The ages of 21, 42, 63 and 84 are times of restless reinvention as Uranus asks us if we are being true to ourselves.

Change is a part of life

Our lives aren’t static. Although it’s not easy, change is a natural part of life. Sometimes we keep driving on a road after we’ve missed our exit. It’s the same with our journey. We’ll stay in a role long after we’ve outgrown it. Uranus is here to remind us of our soul’s song so that we can keep humming in tune with it.

Image: Adriana Marco Remon found on Unsplash.com

Venus departs luxurious Leo as she steps into the devotional sign of Virgo on September 4th. If Venus were auditioning for a role, in Leo she might try her luck at RuPaul’s Drag Race while in Virgo it would be the noble housekeeper who is working hard to send her children to school while supporting her sick parents. She reads Dostoevsky on the bus ride to work and back because she’s always trying to enrich her mental palate.

Venus speaks to our relating style and how we attract what we desire. In Virgo, Venus turns the flash dial all the way down, preferring to let thoughtful acts of kindness, salt-of-the-earth practicality, and her attention to detail speak for her instead. If Venus in Leo is a full-lace human hair wig, in Virgo she’s a well made cotton apron with functional pockets. Rely on her to create order from chaos and make just about anything better. She optimizes because that’s how she shows you that she cares.

Even though Venus is said to be in Fall in Virgo, she does have strength by triplicity during the day and rules the terms between 7° to 16°. I’ve always thought Venus in Virgo is underrated. Who doesn’t appreciate systematic functionality and discerning tastes?

Mary and Martha, but mostly Martha

Venus in Virgo reminds me of Martha of Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus. Having grown up in the church, this is one of many Bible stories that made me scratch my head. The story goes that Jesus and his twelve disciples were in the town of Bethany so they decided to swing by the home of their friends: Mary, Martha and Lazurus. Martha immediately began preparing a lovely meal. She was probably cleaning up a bit too, making sure everything was presentable and up to her standards for the unexpected guests. As she whirred around cooking and cleaning, she noticed Mary sitting at Jesus’s feet, just listening. Not helping.

Now, as a first-born daughter, I totally get Martha at this moment. It’s so unfair! Why does she always get stuck doing the work while Mary (and don’t forget Lazurus!) get to have all the fun?!

So Martha asked Jesus to tell Mary to give her hand… the food is for all of them after all. There’s plenty of time to sit and listen afterwards. But Jesus told Martha she got herself all worked up over nothing and tbh, Mary made the better choice in how to spend her time. Jesus won’t take that away from her.

Who am I to disagree with Jesus? I’d like to point out though that the twelve disciples, Jesus, Mary and Lazarus would not have enjoyed a pleasant meal if it wasn’t for the thoughtful, service-oriented relating style of Martha who discerned what needed to be done and then did it which is very Venus in Virgo. However, Martha probably does miss out from time to time because her dedication to propriety means that her Venusian needs get placed last.

The takeaway here if you have Venus in Virgo natally—and your Sun is not in Leo to balance it out a bit—sometimes, it’s ok to be a little more like Mary and less like Martha. Jesus would agree.

Important dates

Venus makes quite a few connections during her passage through the earth sign of Virgo during September. Let’s go through them:

• 16th Venus squares Mars in Gemini at 14°23′
• 19th Venus trines Uranus in Taurus at 18°38′
• 24th Venus opposes Neptune in Pisces at 23°49′
• 26th Venus trines Pluto in Capricorn at 26°09′
• 26th Venus conjuncts a retrograde Mercury also in Virgo at 26°47′

A story we all know matches the energetic theme of these contacts. It’s Cinderella!

• On the 16th, Venus squares Mars in Gemini
  An invitation to the Ball! But Cinderella can only go if she performs an impossible amount of housework. Even then: there’s no dress.
• On the 19th, Venus trines Uranus
  Her animal friends help her with the chores and surprise her with a lovely dress!
• On the 24th, Venus opposes Neptune
  Dreams are dashed and sorrow sets in when Cinderella’s evil stepmother locks her in. But there’s a good side to Neptune as well, and that’s the fairy godmother casting a spell of transformative illusion. Cinderella is whisked to the Ball by a coach and footman wearing a mesmerizing dress and pair of glass slippers.
• On the 26th, Venus trines Pluto in Capricorn
  Can you say CHEMISTRY?! Wow, the Prince and Cinderella hit it off in a pretty intense soul connection!
• Also on the 26th, Venus conjuncts a retrograde Mercury
  The truth comes out as the glass slipper finds its rightful owner. Three days later, Venus slips into her own domicile of Libra where she gains a lot of dignity.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always loved the story of Cinderella. We get to know her as a humble girl serving her wicked stepmother and sisters. Yet, her sweetness remains intact whether she’s sweeping, riding in a pumpkin carriage or turning heads at a ball. It’s the same with Venus in Virgo: there can be a little bit of struggle to get the best of Venus from this placement, but it’s still Venus and sometimes, the struggle makes for a better story.

Illustrations: 1) Collage of Alysa Edwards (RuPaul’s DR) and Thony (The Cleaning Lady); 2) Jesus, Mary and Martha by Jorge Cocco; 3) Glass Slipper from flaticon.com

August 27, 2022 at 3:17am in San Miguel de Allende—Saturday’s New Moon in Virgo packs a powerful intent to begin straightening up at least one area of our lives. However, creating efficiency and peace of mind will require negotiation, compromise and navigating a surprise hurdle or two. In considering Saturday’s New Moon, let’s start with Mercury, the ruler of this lunation currently in the sign of Virgo.

Mercury Retrograde

Mercury will be turning retrograde in September giving us an opportunity to rethink and revise the most prudent way forward. As of August 21st, Mercury entered his shadow. He’ll return to the same degree—24° Virgo—when he stations direct on October 2nd. This matters because Mercury in diplomatic Libra is the ruler of the New Moon in Virgo. What begins during this time will most likely be baked into the DNA of the new beginnings being seeded at the New Moon.

Also on August 21st, Mercury opposes Neptune at 24° Pisces indicating we don’t have all the information we need right now. We may feel a little murky, uncertain or even deceived. When Mercury clears Neptune, the planet of communication will enter the harmony seeking terrain of Libra on the 25th and travel almost a third of the way into Venus’s sign before turning retrograde on September 9th where he trines Mars.  Moving backwards from Air (Libra) to Earth (Virgo) might see some of us changing our course of action or at the very least, considering alternatives. The harmony we sought at the New Moon in Virgo ruled by Mercury in Libra might go through a few reiterations before grounding into actionable compromise once the retrograde ends.

Once Mercury stations direct in Virgo on October 2nd, he’ll oppose Neptune again, but he’ll also be trining Pluto. So whatever precarious ambiguity that exists now will be met with the truth serum that is Mercury trine Pluto. We’ll be able to more confidently root out the reality of the matter so that our actions going forward accurately address what needs to be done.

 

The New Moon

Mercury’s movements and condition provide the context for the New Moon in Virgo taking place early Saturday morning. As we know, New Moons signal new beginnings in at least one part of our lives. In Virgo, this is a call for cleaning up and streamlining processes which in turn give us a stable spaciousness and a sense of order. At the heart of Virgo is a desire to be our best selves. With the New Moon squaring Mars in Gemini, we can be mentally preoccupied to clean up a situation. There’s a tension that’s not letting us rest. The desire to find a solution compels us to take action.

Word to the wise: wait. It’s quite possible that with today’s Mercury’s opposition to Neptune and subsequent retrograde, we don’t have all the information at our disposal right now. Additionally, with Uranus turning retrograde on Wednesday, August 24th, we could discover eye-opening insights that will be worth factoring into our next steps. It’s also helpful to remember that Mars entered Gemini just yesterday. In an Air sign, the entry of Mars can kick up mental agitation and reactivity. It would be better to sit tight if that’s an option to see how things play out.

The New Moon at 4° Virgo lands in a part of the sky that understands timing like a veteran editor. Rather than jump on an expose, the editor—like the first decan of Virgo—practices restraint until enough of the puzzle pieces emerge that undeniably tells a story.  As we work with the strong desire for a best outcome and a clean house, we can temper reactive impulses by remembering that all good things take time. Come March of 2023 when this New Moon becomes Full, our diligence will pay off.
 
Photo by Martino Pietropoli on Unsplash.

August 11, 2022 at 8:35 pm Central—When the Moon met with the Sun in Aquarius on January 31st, they were 3 degrees away from Saturn. Now, six months later, once again the Moon stands three degrees before Saturn, now retrograde. The Sun, however, shines with all its strength from his home sign Leo and in a tight square with Uranus.  Six months ago we may have been cultivating structure while committing to New Years resolutions. At this point in time, our responsibilities and commitments are up for review.

The Story of Siddhartha

This lunation reflects the story of Siddhartha Gautama, the man who would become the Buddha. Born around 520 BC in Southern Nepal, Siddhartha was a special child. He was born fully awake and able to talk. Lotus blossoms bloomed on the ground he walked on.

From childhood, he knew he was born to free the world from suffering. Yet, a diviner told his father the King that Siddhartha would grow up to be one of two things: a great King or an illustrious sage. Now the Father King wanted his son to follow in his footsteps as King. So he sheltered his son, never allowing him to leave the palace. Siddhartha was surrounded by opulence, beauty and health. He never witnessed sickness, death or suffering; and as such, had no reference point for these things which would encourage him to become a sage.

Siddhartha lived a life of ease and elegance. He married a beautiful princess at sixteen and had everything a person could wish for. Yet, there was a growing restlessness in Siddhartha as he longed to see life outside the palace walls. So one day, the King arranged a tour for his son. Long story short: for the first time in his life, Siddhartha witnessed illness, age, suffering and death. It was at this point Siddhartha knew he had to leave his life of luxury to pursue wisdom and an inner path. This is exactly what he did, which eventually led to his own enlightenment. For this reason, we have Buddhism, his teachings, which serve to alleviate and even end our own suffering.

The Full Moon 

How does Siddhartha’s story relate to us and this Full Moon? The lunation stirs a sacred restlessness which asks: how does sheltering and protection negate growth and wisdom? Do I need to readjust my commitments and duties to accommodate innovation and autonomy?

On the other hand, sometimes a recommitment to structure and duty give us the healthy boundaries needed to thrive. There’s a balance between the two and this Saturn ruled lunation is asking us to find the right amount of wiggle room within a structured and stable system so we can flourish.

I like Siddhartha’s story for this Full Moon as it illustrates the Aquarian-Leo axis where we find the Moon and the Sun. Siddhartha is following his internal spark that is always true to himself. This hero’s journey speaks to the regal Leo in us which has a mandate to blossom, to be all we can be. Yet there’s the counterbalance of Aquarius which seeks the greater good for the greatest number of people. How can we follow our heart’s desire as we remain interdependent with our friends, family and community in our own web of life?

Thursday’s Full Moon would have us take a look at how we are honoring our hero’s journey while also contributing to the groups we’re embedded in.

 

Six of Swords

The tarot card that corresponds to the Full Moon is the Six of Swords. In this card, we see a man rowing a woman and child. When this card appears, we’re often in the process of moving on, but we haven’t left completely. There’s the in-between state of not having everything figured out while we adjust to the new normal. In this Sword’s journey, there can be a lot of internal pressure as we fight the gravity that has held us locked into place. Meanwhile, we rock ourselves, back and forth with baby steps into a momentum that will catapult us into change.

Probably the biggest obstacle we find in this card is our own anxiety surrounding change. This middle decan of Aquarius is at the center of fixed energy which desires to keep the status quo. Yet, like Siddhartha, there’s an internal restlessness and a longing for authenticity. With the Sun riding his chariot through the sign of Leo, the call to authentic living is strong.

In true leonine fashion, we can take heart in the New Moon in Leo that took place two weeks ago. There was a seeding of triumph at that time that we’re being encouraged to earnestly cultivate now. It helps to remember that life is constantly changing. If we can be a witness to our own process and get comfortable with the not-knowing energy of liminal spaces, we can make the most of this Full Moon in Aquarius.

Images from Flaticon and by Tony Detroit on Unsplash

August 20th—Mars enters Gemini on Saturday, August 20th. Normally, Mars charges through a sign in six weeks, cycling around the entire zodiac in two years. Because of his retrograde beginning the end of October, he will inhabit the sign of Gemini for seven months!  If we don’t already understand the Gemini part of our charts, we will by the end of March when Mars finally packs up and moves on to Cancer.

Mars, the planet of action and assertion, brings focus, muscle and sweat to whatever house he occupies. This is a time when we’ll roll up our sleeves to pour energy into the topics of our Gemini house.

This can also be a time where we encounter frustration, tension and instability. For instance, with Gemini transiting the 6th House, Capricorn Risings might be motivated to pour extra time into their work or a special project; yet the overload could result in the frustration of having to deal with illness, injury or upset with co-workers. With Mars touring the 2nd House for Taurus Risings, money could be flying in, flying out, or both. Taurus should be cautious of overspending during this time. With their 4th House activated by Mars, Pisces Risings might be moving, renovating or dealing with tension in their home environment.

Mars can be useful in setting goals and then achieving them. I like to think of Mars as Popeye downing a can of spinach to power-up tasmanian devil style as he faces off with Bluto. We may not have a Bluto in our lives, but we can use Mars the next seven months to face challenges while we self-advocate and address long standing issues we just haven’t had the bandwidth for. Whether that’s making ourselves commit to an exercise routine (Gemini Rising – careful not to injure yourself!) or addressing trauma and repressed anger with a therapist (Scorpio Rising), there’s one area of life we’ll be stimulated to address.

Where is Gemini in your chart?

• Aries Rising: 3rd House
• Taurus Rising: 2nd House
• Gemini Rising: 1st House
• Cancer Rising: 12th House
• Leo Rising: 11th House
• Virgo Rising: 10th House
• Libra Rising: 9th House
• Scorpio Rising: 8th House
• Sagittarius Rising: 7th House
• Capricorn Rising: 6th House
• Aquarius Rising: 5th House
• Pisces Rising: 4th House

Find your rising sign to see what house will host Mars the next seven months. Locate the house using the numbers in the inner wheel of the image. The topics associated with that house will more than likely be an area of focus while Mars is in Gemini.

Dates

• Aug 20—Mars enters Gemini
• Oct 30—Mars turns retrograde at 25° GEM 36’
• Jan 12—Mars stations direct at 8° GEM 9’
• Mar 25—Mars enters Cancer

Technical bits

1. If you have Gemini on an angle—1st, 4th, 7th or 10th House—Mars through Gemini will impact you more strongly.
2. Likewise, if Mars is your Time Lord or if Gemini is your profected house, this transit will be significant.
3. If your Sun or Moon (especially your sect light) are in mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces), this will be an important time.
4. Finally, if natal Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter or Saturn are in mutable signs, as transiting Mars conjuncts or squares the(se) planet(s), it will tensely trigger not only the topics of the planet, but of the houses it(they) rule.

Mars in an Air Sign

Mars in Gemini is cerebral, good at wordplay, and can be high strung. More than any other placement, Mars in mutable air can disseminate their opponent with words. If Mars in Gemini was a show, it would be Deadwood. This is a strategic placement for journalists, those involved in social justice, lawyers, and anyone who uses language to defend, fortify and dissect.

For the rest of us, we’ll want to be cautious with our communication as we focus on how we’d like to respond rather than reacting from our reptilian brain. As Mars fences through Gemini, we’d be wise to watch our thoughts and ground our bodies as Mars can agitate mental processes making us feel uncomfortably wired. On the other hand, Mars in Gemini can give our communication a kind of candid precision, helping us nail our message mightily on the head while putting ideas into action.

Lastly, since Mercury will be hosting Mars in its diurnal domicile of Gemini, we’ll have several different versions of Mars as Mercury changes signs and dignity.  Mercury will go through two retrogrades and seven sign changes while hosting Mars in Gemini! The “healthier” Mercury is, the more it can provide for its guest Mars.

TLDR?

If this was a Western, there’s a stranger riding to town named Mars that’s getting ready to rile up at least one business. Truth be told, that business has needed a shakedown for some time. So the stranger is actually doing the town a favor. That’s not to say there won’t be bloodshed or a few tear-soaked handkerchiefs.

Take a look at the pie chart above to find what business the stranger will be exasperating in your life. Preparation is the best strategy. We can use the energy of Mars to activate some much needed improvements in our lives with hopefully a lot of healthy sweat and minimal tears.

Images from Chris Brennan’s Twitter account (chart), The High Road Design, and Flaticon.

July 13, 2022 at 1:37 pm Central—Wednesday’s Full Moon in 21° Capricorn 21′ highlights themes around power and responsibility as well as security and protection.

Origin story

Origin stories always help to contextualize current day events. The sign of Capricorn is connected to the goat-nymph Amalthea who fostered infant Zeus (Jupiter) in a cave. Afraid that Cronos (Saturn) his father would swallow him like his older siblings, Zeus’s mother hid him in a cave on the island of Crete where he was cared for by Amalthea. For her service, Amalthea was placed in the heavens as the constellation Capricorn.

The Capricorn-Cancer constellations originate from ideas of protection and service. You may remember the crab that aided The Lernaean Hydra in the unwarranted provocation by the Greek hero Heracles who blasted fiery arrows into her cave to draw her out for a deadly confrontation. In gratitude for answering her plea to help the Hydra in the unfair attack, Hera (Juno) swung the crab up into the heavens where it shines as the constellation Cancer.

In the Full Moon chart, Juno forms an exact trine to the Sun in Cancer and sextiles the Moon. We can ask ourselves, what sanctuary (cave) is being threatened? What inviolable right is at risk? Who are our allies that can protect, nurture and help us now?

Planets in play

Full Moons often bring a culminating event where we understand all the players and underlying motives in a situation we’re experiencing. Pluto’s wide conjunction to this Moon underscores power plays, deception and manipulative efforts to gain control of a situation. If we find ourselves pitted against our own flame-throwing Heracles, we might heed the advice of the Four of Pentacles, the tarot card associated with the last decan of Capricorn. Fours in the tarot seek to preserve, maintain and secure. In the Pentacles, we are stabilizing our finances and solidifying our values while we sit tight in protective mode.

What’s more, the last decan of Capricorn connects to themes of authority, power and “administrative intelligence” (Austin Coppock). In his book 36 Faces, Coppock gives us the image of a throne. But just as there is great power in that seat, there is even greater responsibility. As we know, “Heavy is the head that wears the crown”. This decan speaks to the right use of power as well as the mismanagement of it. There are karmic consequences to both.

The ruler of this Full Moon is Saturn. In Aquarius, Saturn does not have a line of sight to Capricorn. We can translate this as we don’t yet have all the information yet to make an informed decision. As the tarot card suggests, it would be wise to go into protective mode, like a snail into its shell or the Hydra sitting tight in her cave.

Help will arrive; perhaps it is already here. We can see this with the stabilizing trine between Saturn and Venus. Venus can represent friends, a supportive person, available funds or an inner peace that gracefully descends on us.  Whatever Venus signifies is also unrelated to the situation at hand for in Gemini, she also does not see the Moon in Capricorn.

I mentioned before that Pluto’s presence close to the Full Moon can denote power plays, deception, control and manipulation. It’s true. It’s also true that the force of Pluto works to transform. The rebirth process is not an easy one. The contractions that show up as sticky and seemingly unbearable situations work to push us down the birth canal of our own renewed selves. A self that has a deeper understanding of their own power. Sometimes, we don’t connect the dots of what led to what until we’re well past the endurance test.

Finally, I know that many astrologers will be writing political commentary that tie in to the problems currently evolving as hydra heads one after the other in the United States. In this essay, I wanted to write more directly to the archetypes and themes present at this lunation. You can overlay these ideas on top of current events of a country or to the landscape of your own life.

By now, most of us have heard of the Saturn Return, the cosmic Quinceañera that marks our official debut as a bonafide adult. It’s at this time, 28-29 years, that we pass a significant threshold that helps to structure our adult years. Maturation experiences during the Saturn Return often include getting married, getting divorced, starting a family, graduating from school, embarking on a career and so forth.

Yet not much attention is paid to the equally dramatic transits that occur through the mid 30’s to early 40’s. There are three events that work to deepen our sense of self as we continue our heroic individuation process.  They are:

• Pluto square Pluto—37 to 43 years
• Neptune square Neptune—40 to 43 years
• Uranus opposition—Early 40’s (varies on year born)

Timing

Different generations will go through these transits at different times. For example, previous generations went through them later in age.

Also, the outer planets are in retrograde motion for much of the year. They move forward, then move back a few degrees, and then forward again. This means that most of the time, we will have three exact passes of Pluto, Neptune and Uranus to our natal Pluto, Neptune and Uranus.  These passes usually play out as disruption, grappling and integration.

Let’s look at these outer transits one by one in the order they usually occur.

Pluto Square Pluto
Theme Song: I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor (or Cake)

As Lord of the Underworld, Pluto will often bring up issues we’ve been suppressing or have kept hidden even from ourselves. These issues arise from the depths accompanied by strong emotions such as the rage, fear, passion or powerlessness that have kept them in place. The Pluto cycle is one of transformation and rebirth. Pieces of ourselves that we’ve ignored up until now begin to demand our attention. This time can be very disruptive if we’ve lived our lives mostly for others or to fulfill societal exceptions while keeping a tight tourniquet around our own dreams, desires and healing.

Pluto can manifest as someone or something who takes us down into our own underworld. Manipulation, power struggles and deceit are commonplace during this time. Yet, in the end, Pluto wants us to own our own power and recognize our true drives and motivations. Along with the catalytic transits of Neptune and Uranus, Pluto takes us through a transformative process. Oftentimes, our lives—what we do, who we’re with and who we are—are unrecognizable on the other side of these transits.

Neptune square Neptune
Theme Song: Once in a Lifetime by Talking Heads

During this 1.5-2 year transit, we question our goals. Are we really interested in pursuing the life we were so invested in our early 30’s?  Many of us will look at the dreams we fervently believed in and feel disillusioned by our current reality. Maybe the kids never came or the ones we have don’t like us very much. Maybe our partner ran away with the Spoon. Maybe our jobs let us down some way. A fog can set in that we can’t really put our finger on, but we simply feel off.

It can be easy during this time to fall into some Neptunian traps such as escapism, martyrdom and over-idealization. One of the higher expressions of Neptune is spiritualization and surrender. At this time, many turn to meditation, spirituality and life affirming friendships to accept the present moment for what it is.

Uranus opposition
Theme Song: Dancing In The Dark by Bruce Springsteen

Meanwhile, during the Neptunian fog of discontent, many will also be experiencing their Uranus opposition. This revitalizing transit ushers in a time of reinvention and opportunity to do what is truly meaningful to you. Feelings of restlessness are common now. More than ever before, people will take risks and try new things outside of their comfort zone. The fleetingness of time is keenly felt now. The question becomes “If not now, when?”  The mantra embraced is “You only regret the things you didn’t do.”

Healthy experimentation is advised. But it’s wise to remember that these feelings are temporary and if someone blows up their life at this time, they’ll be picking up the scraps come the sobering Saturn opposition that occurs around 43-44 years.

On the other hand, the zeal, vitality and risk-taking that Uranus offers can help us step out of limiting life structures like a sleepwalk job, zombie marriage, or aversion-to-commitment we’ve definitely outgrown but haven’t been able to break free of.

Know thyself

Life gives us ever increasing invitations to know ourselves, heed our calling, and embrace joy. Some of our most transformative and revolutionary years occur between 37-44 as we accept these invitations. When we succeed, after 45, we move into some of the most powerful and creatively productive years of our lives.

June 28, 2022 at 9:52pm Central—It’s hard not to write about the New Moon in Cancer without addressing the upheaval occurring in the US at the moment.  Tuesday’s New Moon precedes the second installment of the US Pluto Return on July 11th. The first conjunction occurred on February 22nd of this year and the final hit will be on December 28th. When the Declaration of Independence was signed, Pluto was at 27°33′ Capricorn. And now, 248 years later—a full Pluto cycle—Pluto returns to the same degree.

Cycles

All planets have a cycle. The moon returns to its natal position once a month. Every year near our birthday, the Sun returns to the same degree it was when we were born. The further a planet orbits from the Sun, the longer its cycle. Around 28-29 years, we experience our Saturn Return and its lessons on responsibility and maturation, often through challenging circumstances. As individuals, we’ll never experience a Pluto Return. We’d have to live 248 years to do so. But a country can. During that time, plutonian themes become part of the Zeitgeist.

At 248 years old, the civil unrest, fight for sovereignty and control, violence and power issues currently center stage in the United States are all themes related to Pluto. The Pluto Return represents a time where a country takes its dirty laundry in for washing, exposing all its stains and stink. The toxicity we’re witnessing in the ever-increasing trauma that is the United States news reflects the transformative unraveling that happens during a transit from Pluto.

Cancer New Moon

It is within this context that we find our New Moon in the tender underbelly of Cancer. The astrology suggests that July, accompanied by the second touchdown of a retrograde Pluto to the US Sibly Chart on the 11th, will be tumultuous. At the moment, I can’t help but notice Mars and his sister Eris conjunct in the sign of Aries applying in a square to Pluto. If you remember your mythology, the Goddess Eris felt slighted when she wasn’t invited to a royal wedding because of her reputation for causing chaos wherever she went. She showed up anyway with a golden apple that was instrumental in starting the Trojan War.

When Eris appears in a tense configuration such as the one we’re currently experiencing, there’s a storm brewing that’s rising from the voices of the disregarded, passed over, suppressed and denied. Eris is the archetype of the ostracized rebel and in her square to Pluto with her warrior-brother Mars, she’s intent on taking down the power structures that have rotted from the inside out. Eris demands truth, accountability, and asks us to look at how our systems continually disenfranchise some while perpetuating privilege for others. At the heart of this square is a warrior’s demand for evolutionary change in an outdated structure.

Our most tender

The New Moon in Cancer seeds an area where we are our most tender. The themes we find here include home, family, roots, caretaking, nourishment and intimacy. Coincidentally, esteemed astrologer Austin Coppock calls this decan “Mother and Child”. He shares that originally, the personal image he envisioned for this decan to include in 36 Faces was of a pregnant woman whose unborn child had a baby inside it, and on and on creating a sort of nesting doll of babies inside of abdomens for generations.  This image speaks to the interdependence and connections we have with those we care for and with those who care for us in the circle of life. 

Further, the tarot card associated with the first ten degrees (decan) of Cancer where this lunation occurs is The Two of Cups. Called the “Lord of Love”, it can herald finding emotional resonance in a beloved. This first decan is also ruled by Venus which further underscores the connection to love, belonging and intimacy. When we pull this card, our hearts are hopeful in finding someone who truly sees us and reflects back to us the love we carry inside.

The New Moon in Cancer suggests this tender, intimate and caretaking part of our chart is being activated now.  It squares Jupiter in Aries (ruled by Mars which squares Pluto). The significations of Jupiter include the legal system, establishing order and dispensing justice. In Aries, this Jupiter is rash, reactive and somewhat reckless. We can see these signatures playing out in the United States as the Supreme court has overturned the constitutional right to legal abortion and a woman’s prerogative to make decisions concerning her own body. And if the comments by Justice Clarence Thomas to reconsider same-sex marriage and contraception comes to pass, we can see how this New Moon chart is quite a literal representation of personal intimate freedoms currently under threat.

A formidable seed sprouting in Cancer

We began with Pluto and we’ll end with it. 2022 marks a transformative year for the United States as it grapples with power issues and upholding sovereign rights of all its citizens. This New Moon highlights the arena where much of the civil unrest and appropriate rage is taking place: the right to decide for oneself if and when to bear children, whom to wed and love and finally the structure and timing of one’s own family. Although this is the most tender part of the chart, if provoked, there is no rage more formidable than Cancer’s when it is protecting itself and those that it loves.

Photo by Dima Pechurin on Unsplash

Venus in Gemini takes her seat at a speed-dating event.  If I were a betting person, I’d place my money on her as leaving the scene with the most contacts. Although Venus in Taurus, Libra or Pisces might be a more obvious choice at stealing a few hearts, Venus in Gemini is better equipped at these fast takes of making a connection.

For starters, she’s genuinely curious about her choices which in good lighting comes across as interest. Ruled by Mercury, she effortlessly keeps a conversation going. She’s got a gift for pulling out just the right anecdote she heard recently on a podcast, read in an article or overheard in a nearby chat. She also asks lively questions… not the penetrating kind that Scorpio would (which is why Scorpio would rather sit with one—maybe two people—all night), but the kind you’d find on NYT “36 questions that lead to love.” As she asks questions and answers them, she’s mentally making matches in her head of who here could pair up together. After all, it’s a game and she excels at games. And networking. And keeping up.

Venus entered Gemini on June 22nd and leaves for Cancer on July 17th. During her tour through Mercury’s domicile she’ll sextile Jupiter on June 28th, trine Saturn on July 12th, and square Neptune on July 14th.

Back to speed dating:

• • Venus in Gemini first meets up with Jupiter in Aries. It’s a fun match! They’re both benefics, good natured and in high spirits. Jupiter tells Venus his motto is “Go Big or Go Home”. She likes his passion and fiery faith. He likes her affability and verve.For the rest of us, June 22nd is a good day to make a first move, step boldy forward and/or just have some fun.

• • Next in line: A trine to Saturn in Aquarius. Saturn’s looking for a long term commitment. He asks Venus where she envisions herself in 2, 5 and 10 years. He cuts right to the chase.  Realistically speaking, he asks: Are you ready to settle down? Although most might be a little turned off by the cold logic that seems to permeate Saturn’s vibe, the actual trine is welcome to Venus. She doesn’t mind thinking about these questions and wondering about the accuracy of her answers as she hears herself speaking them.July 17th is an opportune time to pin down a commitment or realistically evaluate dedication, loyalty and responsibility towards a person, place or thing.
  • Last on our list: A square to Neptune in Pisces. Oh boy: Neptune’s had a little too much to drink. He’s got a slight slur going on and his eyes are at half mast. On the plus side: he has great taste in music and Venus likes the chip of teal paint under his fingernails and the mermaid scrunchie holding his loose ponytail. Adorable! Venus is drawn to these types of romantic artists, but in Gemini, she has no patience for the fog that accompanies them.July 14: Be aware of overindulging while wearing rose-colored glasses. That said, Venus-Neptune connections are a wonderful time to blissfully escape into Neverland.

Mars, Uranus and Pluto did not make it to this speed-dating meet-up so Venus does not have a sit down with them while transiting Gemini.  It’s just as well as she wasn’t sure what questions would work well for them anyway!

Illustrations from Storyset

June 14, 2022 at 6:51am Central—Yesterday as I was walking my dog in the evening, I heard music gently wafting out of the open windows of a neighborhood bar. The singer’s voice, soft and lyrical, billowed song clouds full of moody longing and sadness that abruptly changed the atmosphere surrounding the block. It’s as if I had walked into an auricular fog bank. I couldn’t help but lean against the building and listen for a while.

In a Mexican accent that changes “i” to “e”—river becomes reever—one nostalgic song after the other perfectly dropped into the expectant heart of sundown while comforting a responsive audience. And because the singer knew his crowd—Baby Boomers who had found a second life in magical Mexico—the playlist consisted of songs like Harvest Moon by Neil Young… “Because I’m still in love with you, I want to see you dance again…”, Against the Wind by Bob Seger:

The years rolled slowly past
And I found myself alone
Surrounded by strangers I thought were my friends
I found myself further and further from my home, and I
Guess I lost my way
There were oh-so-many roads
I was living to run and running to live
Never worried about paying or even how much I owed
Moving eight miles a minute for months at a time
Breaking all of the rules that would bend
I began to find myself searching
Searching for shelter again and again
Against the wind
A little something against the wind
I found myself seeking shelter against the wind.

And many more. Each of the songs held its arms out to a past that like an apparition in a dream, moved in a gauzy alternate dimension just out of reach. Yet the feelings were full of blood and beat and longing. How is it that music can bewitch us like this?

Tuesday’s Full Moon

Tuesday’s Full Moon in Sagittarius is a bit like these songs and their delivery (accent and all), especially with the square to Neptune and sextile to Saturn. Ruled by Jupiter, Sagittarius is the perennial hero/ine searching for meaning and purpose. If any epitaph goes with Sag it’s “S/he with the most stories wins!” Sag lives to run and runs to live, breaking the rules that would constrict them to any one person, place or thing as they search for a little something against the wind. A sign of mutable fire, you can’t contain Sagittarius: it’s always seeking the next adventure, moving eight miles a minute for months at a time.

But given time and experience, the sextile to Saturn tempers this believin’ moon a little bit. There’s history and the accumulation of wisdom that anchors the flights of fancy to structure and solidity. Maybe the knees can’t do the miles anymore, so the wildness inside becomes tempered. As the skin thins and wrinkles, the heart remains feral, fed by memory and sustained by adaptability.

The square to Neptune is a little more tricky as it could play out in a variety of ways:

• Songs in a bar and a little bit of a buzz that reconnects to a youthful core… in other words: nostalgia that transports to a liminal space where there is no time. Just feeling.
• Dissolution mixed with long-suffering knowing that the glory days have past.
• Outright denial of one’s circumstances and saturnian restrictions.
• Spiritualizing one’s path so that the present moment and tensions therein become the Jupiterian teacher, expanding perspective and evolving wisdom.

What’s the takeaway? Mine is to 1) look at where this Full Moon falls in my chart and then to 2) allow myself to feel and remember the enthusiastic person I once was in this area of my life and to recommit to the wise old lady I hope to grow into. There’s an honoring of self when we remember our past; but we can’t stay there if we’re to collect more stories to alchemize into wisdom.  And I suppose I’m giving myself permission as I age to keep running against the wind.

Venus left the blood, sweat and iron of Aries to return to her verdant fields of Taurus on May 28th.  After removing her suit of armor and laying down her sword—the accouterments we find in a Mars ruled sign—she slipped on her luxurious silks and lifted a glass of Chardonnay to her lips. Now at home, the planet of love, connection, beauty and coin is her own boss which allows her free rein to flourish according to her standards.

In the yin, fixed earth sign of Taurus, Venus values peace and serenity above all else. She finds it in nature, music and all things sensual. She can elevate touch, serving a meal, and pleasuring the senses to an erotic spirituality. She worships beauty not as something that is outside of herself, but as an expression of all life she creatively interacts with in her own generative landscapes.

There’s an inherent royalty to Venus in Taurus. She exudes a mesmerizing animal magnetism, turning heads and piquing interest wherever she goes. She knows her worth and won’t suffer fools for long. She values herself, gifting herself little luxuries that nourish her well-being just like a garden water drip attends to growing plants. Venus in Taurus teaches the rest of us how to honor and enjoy our soft animal bodies. It is, after all, our inheritance to live in abundance.

Connections while in Taurus

As Venus travels through Taurus May 28th to June 22nd, she makes an electrifying conjunction with Uranus on the 11th and then squares a retrograde Saturn on the 18th. Interestingly, her square to Saturn falls on 25° Taurus, activating last month’s powerful lunar eclipse when the Sun was at 25° Taurus and the Moon at 25° Scorpio. How might we break this down?

I like to think of Uranus as the impulse that wishes to set us free. Like a chick hatching from its shell, the process can feel disruptive, conflicted and a bit messy. Yet when we’re under the influence of Uranus, we’re encouraged to experiment and to try new things. Perhaps it’s nature’s way of asking us to hack into our code—our normal defaults—and overwrite it with a new script. This new script can offer us the kind of liberation that innervates our awakening selves.

Saturn helps us to alchemize our experiences into wisdom. The tools Saturn hangs in his shed include loneliness, isolation, introspection, melancholy, taking responsibility, aging, making a commitment and becoming a person of integrity.

With Venus in Taurus, she’s prioritizing peace, serenity and her own sense of self-value. With Uranus, there might be a relationship, job, or situation she has simply outgrown. Like the chick to the shell, she’s ready to break free of confinement. The push from Uranus is just the sort of impetus she needs. In her follow-up square to Saturn, she may be dealing with the fall out and a tension between wanting to belong, requiring love or financial security vs setting the boundaries needed for integrity and self-care. As the Venus-Saturn square activates the eclipse point from May 15th, the themes of our Taurus-Scorpio axis can reach a point where we must decide and take action now or events will do this for us.

Personal story

This line up reminds me so very much of walking away from an important relationship.  Since the event illustrates these two Venus transits, I’ll briefly share it with you.

I had been in a long term relationship that didn’t feel right. There was no lack of love; it’s just that the relationship itself felt dormant… as if we were sleepwalking through it. I was going through enormous, painful self-exploration at the time and, long story short, I ended up in the Peruvian Amazon for ten days, participating in seven medicinal plant ceremonies. These ten days were life-changing for me, especially in terms of a newfound self respect.

— Venus-Uranus: I returned and broke up with my partner. I also quit job with an abusive boss. A few months later, I had moved to another country and was living off grid in a tiny cabin in the California Redwoods working at a Tibetan Meditation Retreat Center.

–Venus-Saturn: I missed my partner very much. I left a chunk of my heart with him and in Mexico where we had lived. But I knew I had to commit to growing my nascent self respect and also, I had to take responsibility in earning a living/salary.

During this time, I wrote a reminder to myself. I share it with you here in case anyone is going through their own Venus-Uranus-Saturn hatching while also feeling very much alone.

A reminder to self on the nature of love and change…

It’s never easy to say goodbye to someone you love. When the time comes to travel along different paths, remember this:

⚜️ It’s nice to have someone to love who loves you back. It’s human nature to want this. But remember that you yourself are love. You are the essence of love. It already resides within you. You do not need a beloved to reflect the love you have inside. It is who you are. Practice letting love emerge from within and filling your presence with it whenever you can.

⚜️ When you come to the end of a relationship, you can choose to celebrate instead of suffer. Celebrate the time you had together, the lessons learned, and the love shared. Remember that your souls made a contract to serve the other in this life and to bring home lessons that could only be learned in the unique relationship you created together. It’s all good. Celebrate a job well done and a contract completed even if you must celebrate alone.

⚜️ Nothing stays the same. We are always experiencing change in one way or another. Those lovely times together, they graced us for a moment, and now they have gone. The separation that now exists, that will change as well because someday, there will be no separation. The only thing that remains and does not change is love. So embrace this moment where love exists within and around you. And give thanks.

Photos by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

I’ve had several people buy the Exalted Venus conjunct Fomalhaut Talisman who were either visiting San Miguel de Allende or live here like I do. When I handed them their talisman, I told them I’d love it if they let me know if they had any results. They have! I’m excited to share some of their stories with you.

Lastest Reports

⚜️ One woman was upgraded to the master suite at the hotel she was staying on the day she purchased the talisman. Talk about luxury! The room included a clawfoot tub, a perfect expression for Venus in Pisces!

⚜️ More than one person has reported receiving much more attention than usual, and from both men and women.

⚜️ A fifty-something woman was out to dinner with a male friend when an older man approached the table and advised the male friend not to let this one get away. The older man then proceeded to articulate how gorgeous the woman was. 🤭

⚜️ A person reported a swarm of bees appearing at the hacienda she was staying at when she bought the talisman. The bees only swarmed a few hours right outside her room’s window, vanishing as mysteriously as they had appeared. Bees correspond to Venus.

⚜️ One person was ushered backstage at an event when a person working the event looked at her and said: “You look like you belong here.” She did belong there, but this was the first time something like this happened. One of the benefits Venus brings is a sense of belonging.

I too have had results from wearing the Venus talisman. Like the others, I’ve received more attention and compliments than usual which feels a little strange and a lot of lovely. But the greatest result so far has been a deep feeling of serenity and inner peace. It’s very noticeable and welcome by me. In addition, my creativity is increasing! I often dream of Venus. In my dreams she gives me ideas for new projects which all relate to her. I’m delighted by this relationship to the Goddess of Beauty and Love.

I look forward to collecting more results when the talismans are delivered in June!