May 30, 2022 at 6:30am San Miguel de Allende—If I were to pair this New Moon in Gemini with a quote, it would be this one by Henry David Thoreau: “The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run.” 

The fence of indecision

The cost of a thing… it almost sounds like a mantra, doesn’t it? “The thing” refers to more than a new coffee table, plane tickets or a handbag.  The thing can very well be life decisions we all face at some point: Should I leave him? Should I have a child? Should I quit this job? Should I take that one? Should I enter this romance? Should I come out with the truth? And there are many others. Tomorrow’s New Moon speaks to being in the crosshairs of a choice and for a moment, being uncomfortably suspended as we sit on the disquieted fence of indecision.

Eight of Swords

The first decan of Gemini—where the New Moon occurs—is associated with the Eight of Swords. In the card, we see a woman loosely bound, blindfolded and surrounded by eight swords. At her feet we see the tide beginning to come in. Water symbolizes our subconscious and innermost desires. Here, she is connected to her private feelings, yet unable to move forward. She’s constricted by the bindings of any number of things: self consciousness, honor, responsibility, commitment and expectations not only of others, but of herself. The swords symbolize perceptions. These are the thoughts whirring in her mind keeping her on that fence of indecision. Her perceptions, formed by conditioning, is what binds her, even though at any moment, the cloth could easily be removed. It’s the same with our perceptions: when we allow ourselves to see our plight with compassion and understanding, our paralyzing indecision begins to remove its grip on us.

Signatures

The lunation is ruled by Mercury, currently retrograde in Taurus. Like a cow chewing its cud, there’s a mental agitation present. Some of us are reviewing past events, imagining future case scenarios while attempting to honor our values. There are paths opening and closing now, asking us to commit to one of them. The question is: can we be true to ourselves?

Mercury also squares Saturn, another indication of reevaluating responsibilities especially in terms of long term obligations. Do we want to put in the time and shoulder the responsibility of a commitment? Or should we free ourselves for something else? The relationship between Saturn and Mercury would have us look at the long term viability of a certain undertaking we’re in relationship to.  We can expect a shift to arise in the level of commitment the first week of June when Mercury turns direct (3rd) and Saturn stations retrograde (4th).

Mars will till the field of Gemini

One final consideration: Mars. The warrior planet turns retrograde about every two years. This year, Mars will retrograde in Gemini spending a total of seven months in diurnal domicile of Mercury! Here are the dates:

—Mars enters Gemini August 21st
—Mars turns retrograde October 30th at 25°36′ Gemini
—Mars stations direct on January 12th at 8°18′ Gemini, less than 1° from tomorrow’s New Moon
—Mars enters Cancer March 26 2023

Whatever seeds we plant at this new moon will certainly be tilled, hoed and invigorated the end of the year and the beginning of 2023.  We might very well be reminded of the cost of a thing at that time.

Patience with the unresolved

I started with a quote and I’ll end with one that speaks to the Eight of Swords and this uncertain Moon in Gemini: “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”  By the beloved Rilke.

Perhaps the cost of a thing, “the amount of life required in its exchange”, can be offset by the answers we finally live into.  💛

Everything in nature exhibits a cyclical rhythm. There’s the inhalation and exhaltation of ocean tides. Starlings rise and fall in their hypnotic mumurations as they form a moving tapestry across the sky. Trees and flowers reach out to the sun, blossom, bloom, and then fold back into themselves to prepare for regeneration once again.  Planets too have their cycles in their relationship with the Sun.

Reevaluate, remember and reset

When Mercury goes retrograde, we can give our minds a rest. Even though it can be challenging to move a bit slower in our fast paced, checklist informed, constantly moving culture, just like everything else, we are a part of nature. We function best when we attune to its rhythms. Mercury retrograde is a time of reevaluating, remembering and resetting. It’s a time where the fissures in our lives reveal themselves so we can reappraise where we need to take the pressure off.

Oftentimes, people return from our past and our paths intersect once again. Some of us can find closure now or revisit an issue that needs our inward attention.  The point is: we’re not meant to be constantly moving yonder and higher. Sometimes, we’re meant to bring our focus deeper and internally. Life is a dance: like starlings folding in on themselves only to reach back out again.

Key dates for Mercury

Mercury stationed retrograde on Tuesday, May 10th, at 4° Gemini. It will retrace its steps back into Taurus and station direct on June 3rd at 26° Taurus on the Fixed Star Algol. Mercury, now moving forward again, reenters Gemini on June 14th, the day of the Full Moon in Sagittarius. Mercury reaches the point it stationed retrograde, 4° Gemini, on June 18th. Those of us with important placements near 4° of the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces) and/or 26° of the fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Libra and Aquarius) will feel the stations the most. In addition, if your time lord is Mercury, the retrogrades will be more keenly felt. Pay attention to discussions and movements that began the beginning of this week. They will most likely wrap up in some form or other when Mercury clears his shadow in five weeks from now, June 18th.

Jupiter enters Aries

Another important shift on May 10th was Jupiter entering Aries. Sign placements speak to how a planet behaves. In the fiery, cardinal sign of Aries ruled by Mars, Jupiter—our hopes, beliefs and growth principle—is impulsive, enthusiastic and pioneering. Planets in Aries appreciate a challenge and boldly take a stab at them, to use some of Mars’s language.

This is the time some of us will grab the metaphorical rope in the jungle and tarzan our way through a new beginning with a whoop and a howl. Like Tarzan in a loincloth, we may be woefully unprepared for a change in weather or unforeseen circumstances. But Jupiter in Aries encourages us to dream big, vision boldly, and Make It Happen. “Focus on the NOW,” bellows Jupiter in Aries: “We can cross bridges when we get to them!”

It would be helpful to remind ourselves that we’re holding space for two very different energies at the moment. The slower, cautious and pensiveness of Mercury Retrograde and the high octane initiative of a possibly over exuberant Jupiter in Aries. We’d all be wise to give an extra look or two before leaping into anything, and perhaps bring more than a loincloth.

May 15, 2022 at 11:14pm Central—Sunday’s Full Moon in Scorpio ushers in the second episode of the series of eclipses unfolding along our Taurus-Scorpio axis. This story began last November and will close October of 2023 when the pair of houses containing Scorpio and Taurus receive a final eclipse. From now until then, the plot progresses every six months as a pair of powerful eclipses catalyze turning points in our lives that lead to times of discovery and change.

Anatomy of a lunar eclipse

A total lunar eclipse occurs during a Full Moon, when the Moon and Sun oppose one another and the Sun is within 18 degrees of the nodes. Full Moons bring a culmination of energy. They can offer deeper perspective and illuminated understanding. Issues and information surface now where we can see them. Oftentimes there can be a feeling of letting go and moving on during a full moon. This is especially true for eclipses when the Moon is conjunct the South Node like it will be on Sunday.

Examining the fault lines

The South Node represents release. The Moon in Scorpio dives beneath the surface to examine fault lines in our emotional connections. This powerful eclipse has the potential to bring up a swell of feelings connected to our deepest triggers around resources (including time and finances), loyalty, endurance and the preservation of power or the relinquishing of it. If we’re normally able to hold our feelings in check, the total lunar eclipse in Scorpio will feel like the flooding of the Nile: our riverbeds no longer ample enough to contain the emotional overwhelm connected to the turbulent issues coming to light now in our Taurus-Scorpio houses. For many of us, this time will prompt us to walk away as a form of self-preservation.

With a trine to Mars & Neptune in Pisces and a square to Saturn in Aquarius, it can feel like our energy (Mars) has dissipated (Neptune) over a certain responsibility we’ve held for a time now (Saturn).

This pair of eclipses at the beginning of the month and now at the middle, has us grappling with carefully concealed emotions that most likely have origins tracing back to our own ancient scripts. It’s worthwhile to remember that Scorpio has three representatives with three very different modes of operation: the scorpion, the eagle and the phoenix. If you find yourself needing to release this eclipse season, you might do well to consider the options that Scorpio presents:

1. Bring out the stinger and fight back.
2. Fly higher than any drama and keep yourself a safe distance from it.
3. Rise up from the ashes using the power released in letting go to transform.

Photo by Engin Akyurt from Pexels

April 30, 2022 at 3:28pm Central—Saturday’s New Moon in Taurus officially opens eclipse season. We can look back to last November when the first eclipse of the Taurus-Scorpio series occurred to see where a story line began emerging that now receives its next installment. Eclipses catalyze powerful developments in our lives that lead to times of discovery and change. We’re in one of these times now.

Choose your own adventure

The partial solar eclipse occurs at 10°28′ Taurus, just four degrees away from Uranus. Uranus serves as a celestial exclamation point alongside the lunation emphasizing the radically liberating energies available at this time. Another accelerant is the friendly push that action-oriented Mars makes from Pisces.

These energies can also feel disruptive and chaotic, especially accentuated by a nearby Uranus which signifies both breakthrough and “all hell breaking loose”. As in everything, it’s up to us to choose our own interpretation of our experiences.

Unearthing the Fixed of the Fixed

The second decan of Taurus usually represents a solid area of our life: the middle of fixed earth where we’re likely to rely on a certain status quo. With Uranus currently transiting this decan, the field has been plowed for us to bravely enter a new space in our lives.  This could be a time where things we thought would always be the same have undergone transition, opening up fertile ground for us to seed a new crop or at least pull a few weeds!  With eclipse season beginning, it’s likely that as some doors close, others will open. Will we witness our options with graceful presence or try to force things to remain the same?

Speaking of grace: we are blessed with a gorgeous lunation ruler, Venus, exalted in Pisces. We look at the ruler of the New Moon in Taurus—Venus—to evaluate the quality of time. Not only is she well resourced to miracle-grow our seedling intentions, but she’s conjunct a bountiful Jupiter in Pisces. Their union occurs every twelve years—and here it is to the minute! The conjunction of the benefics feels quite optimistic, as if some unexpected turn of events can result in a harmonious and fortunate surprise ending.

Worth mentioning is Pluto turning retrograde the day before the eclipse. Pluto spends nearly half the year retrograde, which is a lot. But the station marks an important time where Pluto’s significations of understanding hidden motives, regaining power or giving it away can surface. Pluto drills beneath the surface, dredging up toxicity, hidden treasures, and sometimes both. Those of us with planets or angles the last five degrees of the Cardinal signs—Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn—will feel this station the most.

Rhymes with the times

Finally, the last time we had eclipses occurring across the Taurus—Scorpio axis was 2013 to 2014. The nodes were reversed back then with the North Node in Scorpio and the South in Taurus. And before that: 2003-2004, with the Nodes where they are now. Look back to these times for a recurring theme that connects these years together.

April 26, 2022—Just like Rihanna captured by Annie Leibovitz for the cover of Vogue, there’s a lot to work with in an expectant sky at the moment. This week in particular is a notable standout.

The first week of April was truly a magical one. The skies offered elections for the Sun in its exaltation (Aries) the Moon in domicile (Cancer), Venus in exaltation (Pisces) and Jupiter in his home sign of Pisces.

What’s an election?

You might have heard of electional astrology. In this branch of astrology, an astrologer chooses a time to begin an event such as a wedding, business launch, starting a book, and so on to seed the beginning of that endeavor in the most auspicious celestial container possible. The unfolding of the endeavor will reflect its inception.  The election is the window of time the astrologer selects to offer this new undertaking the most favorable start possible.

What are magical elections?

Magical elections are a little different. They work with planetary magic. Here the goal is to bottle the energies of the planet we’re working with. It’s like capturing lightening in a bottle.

More love please!

Let’s say we’re interested in bringing more love and affection into our lives. We would identify Venus as the planet capable of helping us with these goals. To make a Venus talisman, we would wait until Venus is well resourced, such as in her own signs and located on the Ascendant or Midheaven. We would ensure that Mars and Saturn weren’t aspecting her. We would take a look at the Moon as well, to see if it were aspecting her or Jupiter next. We’d also want a Moon with plenty of light and in her waxing phase for this request. Ideally, we could also an election on the day of Venus and her hour.

All in all, there’s a long checklist we would go through to determine 1) if Venus could offer a window of time in which to bottle her and 2) if the rest of the electional chart was supportive to our aims, or at the very last: not harmful.  If we did find the right time and created a talisman, it would ensoul and transmit her energy.

I like to think of it as similar to pheromones. We can’t see pheromones, but they affect behavior, drawing certain kinds of experiences and people to us. It’s the same with the talisman: like attracts like, and in this case, those things that vibe with Venus!

Talismanic Photography

Award-winning photographer Holly Wilmeth and I are creating talismanic photographs!  The ancients believed in the power of images. They held that the image traveled via the eyes into the soul. Integrating magical elections, ritual and photography, we ask a person to represent the focal planet while wearing items that correspond to that planet.  Here are the images for the Sun and the Moon along with a few behind the scenes photos.

THE SUN

• Planet: Sun with rooster feathers and laurel leaves
• Ambassador: Designer and Model Estéban Betancourt
• Location: San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
• Election: April 6, 2022 from 7:23am-7:50am
• Request: May this talismanic photograph carry health, vitality & healing, success on all fronts, favors from powerful people, distinguished honor and heightened confidence. May the viewer be filled with a sense of joy and optimism.

Behind the scenes

Here are some behind the scenes images. I open each electional window by setting the incense to burn at the altar and then proceeding with a ritual plan. Once I’m done, Holly shoots. Afterwards, we gather together and thank the planet and its spirits for cooperating with us. These were taking at sunrise. Holly and I were so grateful that Esteban, who didn’t know either one of us, agreed to come at sunrise to be photographed in rooster feathers and laurel leaves!

THE MOON

• Planet: Moon with her correspondences of cabbage and owl feathers
• Ambassador: Marly Benedicto @marlybenedicto, Founder of Gaia Temple of Transformative Arts & Sound
• Location: San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
• Election: April 8, 2022 from 11:32am-12:18pm
• Request: May this talismanic photograph ensure safety in travel to all that view it. May it increase psychic power and amplify clairvoyant dreams. May it help the viewer gracefully adapt to change. May it improve relationships with women. May the journey with one’s own mother soften in tenderheartedness and understanding.

Holly is photographing Marly partially covered in cold cabbage in a little space made from my sheets! It’s been a complete joy collaborating with Holly. Especially delightful is watching her come up with the most creative solutions in the very limited time we have on these shoots!

VENUS & JUPITER TALISMANS

As exciting as it is to create these talismanic photographs with Holly, the metal talismans is where I feel most connected to a long lineage of astromages that have been doing this work for thousands of years.

I work closely with a master metalsmith in creating talismans. The day before the election, I go over and do a deep clean. This time, I was lucky enough to recruit my daughter Marly and my friend Kirby Lee. We mopped floors, scrubbed walls, wiped down ledges and the door. We purified and protected with flowers, copal and a cleansing ritual. When calling down the spirits and petitioning a planet, we want to show up as our best selves. It only makes sense that the room we receive our dignified guests is also at its best.

Before sunrise on Saturday, we set up a Venus altar and lit the incense. During the election window (4:59am—5:27am), my daughter performed the ritual. With her Sun conjunct the Ascendant in Taurus and Venus in Taurus in the first house, she carries a Venusian vibe.

When it came time for Jupiter (5:56am—6:27am), I performed the ritual (lots of Pisces + an exalted Jupiter) and we repeated all the steps again which goes like this: After the ritual, the metalsmith removes the flask from the furnace and pours molten silver (for Jupiter) into the mold. The silver fills out the empty spaces where wax molds have melted away creating a templated void. The metal forms the image of the talisman during the election window. Then the flask is thrust into water to cool down and allow the silver to harden. After a few minutes, the flask is removed to reveal a talisman tree covered in investment.

Next the newly born talismans are jet washed and then very importantly: passed through the incense during the election window. The smoke connects the celestial plane to the earthly plane and breathes the breath of life into the talisman.

It’s a beautiful process. One filled with reverence, responsibility, devotion and an enormous amount of preparation. The next step is to get them cleaned up and have a stone bezeled on the back. For now, I feel so grateful for how these have turned out. It was also a precious experience to have my daughter Marly and our friend Kirby involved in this!

• Venus $285 + first class insured shipping
• Jupiter $369 + first class insured shipping

April 16, 2022 at 1:54pm Central—Venus entered Pisces on April 5th, and when she did, she greatly improved her ability to bring about Venusian things such as harmony, love, peace, attraction and money.

Since November 5th when she ingressed into Capricorn, Venus has been through quite an endurance test. She spent five months in Saturn ruled signs which meant she had to abide by Saturn’s rules which tend to be more restrictive than her inherent nature. She went through her retrograde cycle which included three intense passes over Pluto. She hung out with Mars for a month as they were traveling at similar speeds which then brought her into a “malefic enclosure” with Mars in her rear-view mirror and Saturn up ahead. I wrote this was like being stuck at an awful party. It’s also like being wedged in front of a adrenalized driver that’s riding your bumper while you’re trying to pass a very slow 18-wheeler on a one-way highway with a bunch of curves.  Finally, relief arrives when you’re able to safely pass the truck and leave the hot rod behind!

Upgrade!

Everything changed on April 5th when Venus entered her sign of exaltation, Pisces. Now an honored guest, Venus could let her hair down and submerge into a rose petaled bubble bath. For some of us, the days around the 5th might have found us releasing a great deal of pressure we’d been carrying, like Venus having a good cathartic cry in that bathtub. After her endurance test, she finally had the luxury to examine the blisters, chafing and exhaustion the previous months of keeping her chin up had energetically cost her.

What does Venus have to do with Saturday’s Full Moon in Libra? As the ruler of Libra, she’s also the ruler of this Moon. We can look at her journey for symbolic insight of our own at this time. The Full Moon brings a certain topic of our lives we’ve been struggling with to a zenith at this time especially in relationships. Whereas we may not have have the capacity to deal with it fully until now, this Moon brings deeper insight and illumination. For some of us, we’ll be releasing some part of our lives now to promote greater peace, harmonious relationship and more balance in our lives.

Pluto squaring the Sun and the Moon indicates that events coming to light now can reveal hidden and/or subconscious motivations. For some, there will be deeper understanding of past behaviors and where we’ve disempowered ourselves. The Full Moon in Libra reminds us we’re perfectly capable to choose the option of greater ease and flow.

What if Cinderella was every character in her story?

• Her three ugly step sisters were simply manifestations of her own lack of confidence, procrastination tendencies and obsessive comparisons keeping her locked in meaningless routines and soul numbing drudgery.
• Her absent father: a lack of commitment to cultivate and nurture her gifts.
• The glass slippers: her innate promise.
• And what if her Fairy Godmother represented Cinderella’s own ability to midwife her fantastical potential to life if only she believed she could.

In this story, Jupiter conjunct Neptune⁠—otherwise known as bibbidi bobbidi boo—dissolves the narrative of lack and limitation to revel in an intoxicating imagination of a dream-come-true vision. Jupiter-Neptune asks, Why not me? What if I believed in myself so strongly that my inner conviction began building the bridges to opportunities and people that led me to my happily ever after? What if I understood the rules of this waking dream so thoroughly, that I could trip the system like a lucid Magician… and the first rule is BELIEVE?

Fool’s Gold

There’s a shadow side to Jupiter-Neptune as well: self-deception, aggrandizement and illusion. In The Archetypal Universe, Renn Butler sums it up as “fool’s gold”. But in the sign of Pisces where Jupiter’s at home providing for Neptune, the higher significations of this aspect have a greater opportunity to play out. Like a glimpse of nirvana gifted under entheogens or a spiritual dream: once we’ve seen what could be, we have a North Pole to guide us.

Faith

April 12th’s Jupiter-Neptune conjunction asks us to dream the impossible dream Fairy Godmother style. This is a signature of hope, unity and belief. On the heels of a heroic Mercury squaring Pluto in a soul-purge to empowerment, here’s to 100% trusting in ourselves and having faith in our vision. To know that someday soon, “rainbows will come smiling through” and that redemption is just around the corner.

April 1, 2022 at 12:25am San Miguel de Allende—The Moon begins a new cycle the end of the week at 11° Aries 31′ as she returns to the Sun. In a cardinal sign, the impulse is for brave beginnings and bold responses. Aries spans the part of our charts where we’re perpetually motivated to begin anew.  For instance, we can look to our Aries house to answer the question: “You’re never too old to __________________.” 

Signatures

Conjunct Chiron, themes of rejection, otherness and wounding are embedded in the DNA of this New Moon. Some of us may be opening a door at this time that invites bruised perspectives formed in the past to revive themselves in a present starring role. As Jung so eloquently said: “Until you make your unconscious conscious, it will direct you and you will call it fate.”  It’s only when we consciously work with our triggers and painful conditioning that we realize our power to rewrite the script.

Chiron holds the archetype of wounding and exile; but he also became known for his teaching, healership and wisdom.  Just like in life, our pain is often the doorway to our healing. The wisdom-making journey it takes us on often reveals the inherent power we’ve always held. Our potential was simply waiting to be activated by just the right experiences, people and time.  Life often reengages original wounding to give us the opportunity to acknowledge and release it. In the process, we renew ourselves.

Fools Rush In

Mars is the ruler of this new moon in Aries.  In the cardinal-fire energy Aries, the impulse is to act quickly and to take measures into our own hands. Aries is an energetic, self-starter whose actions can feel heroic.  But we should take note of Mars, the ruler of the New Moon chart. Mars is separating from a conjunction with a dignified Saturn in Aquarius.  So even though the first impulse may be to push forward, Saturn would ask that we take a few deep breaths before asserting ourselves.

Furthermore, Mercury is combust the Sun. When a planet is very close to the Sun like Mercury is now, they are compromised. It’s as if you or I were trying to work under a hot noonday Sun: the conditions weaken us so we can’t do our best. Since Mercury rules communication among other things, his diminished condition means that we may simply not have all the information we need to make an informed decision at this time.

As we open doorways and configure intentions during the next few months, the signatures in this New Moon chart advise us to monitor impatience and reckless action. Waiting, double-checking and reflecting until we can take mature and responsible action will serve us at this time.

Mercury ☿ changes domiciles three times this month. He begins March in the sign of Aquarius, zips through Pisces, and then enters Aries at the end of the month. Let’s look at Mercury through the lens of these three signs.

Mercury’s role

How do we express ourselves? Take a look at Mercury. In our charts, Mercury speaks to how we process, interpret and disseminate information.  I like to think that the Moon is akin to our reptilian brain, responsible for overall sense impressions and feelings of safety and belonging. Mercury is more like the frontal lobe, translating the Moon’s gut-sense reactions into decision-making, problem solving and communication.  If the Moon on-ramps emotions, Mercury finds the right cognitive lane for them to express appropriately.

☿ in Aquarius

February 14 to March 9, 2022—In the fixed air sign of Aquarius, Mercury is motivated by ideas of shared intelligence. This is a rational Mercury who prioritizes logic and facts. It’s also a “Renaissance Man” or woman who has eclectic interests in a variety of areas making them important contributors who excel in connecting the dots.  Traditionally ruled by Saturn, this non-conforming intellectual doesn’t back down from their opinions to pacify others. Mercury in Aquarius is a well-informed non-conformist.

Mercury in Aquarius plays best with people who can back up their claims with credible sources and understand intelligent references and subtexts in conversation.

Example celebrities include: Martin Luther King, Oprah Winfrey, Kate Middleton, Steve Jobs and Ivana Trump.

☿ in Pisces

March 9 to March 27, 2022—Mercury is said to be in fall and detriment in the sign of Pisces. Yet when planets are debilitated, their strengths can show up in other ways. Consider Maya Angelou and Björk for example with Mercury in Pisces (MA) & Sagittarius (B). Although not the best placement for number crunching or drafting a business plan, Mercury in Jupiter ruled signs—Pisces & Sag—tends to flex a powerfully creative and imaginative muscle.

In Pisces, Mercury can behave like a spider sensing vibrations in her eight legs as she plucks and pulls on her web like a harp. Her web might as well be another sensory organ she scries from.

Just like the spider receives information through vibration, Mercury in Pisces natives are more fluid in the way they know what they know: through gut feelings, emotions, psychic sensations and a big picture web of associations that rorschach an intuitive impression that’s often hard to explain. For this reason, the medium of art, poetry, divination, dream interpretation and music offers itself as a friendly vehicle of expression for Mercury in the mute sign Pisces.

Mercury in Pisces plays best with those who are genuine. Mixed signals confuse Mercury in Pisces as they can feel when what folks say isn’t truly what they mean, do or think.

Example celebrities include: Fred Rogers, Lady Gaga, Heath Ledger, Yoko Ono and Edgar Cayce.

☿ in Aries

March 27 to April 10, 2022—Want an honest opinion?  Ask Mercury in Aries. Ruled by Mars, these natives tend to be direct, precise and not pad their dialogue with diplomatic foreplay. Rather, they get straight to the point, bluntly articulating what others tip toe around.  “The emperor has no clothes!” must have been uttered by a fearless Mercury in Aries. Their clarity and straightforwardness makes them formidable strategists in emergency situations or any environment that needs quick thinking and execution.

Mercury in Aries plays best with those who don’t take their directness personally but see it for what it is: a no frills, straight-up, bold communication style.

Example celebrities include: Albert Einstein, Adolf Hitler, Elizabeth II, Mark Zuckerberg, Al Pacino and Victoria Beckham

End of the month connections

Mercury will be making some important connections near the end of the month:

• March 23: Mercury conjunct Neptune
  Helps us get in touch with our artistic and spiritual sides. Watch out for vague communication or not seeing things clearly.
• March 26: Mercury sextile Pluto
  Helps us find that needle in the haystack with intense focus. Great for a fact finding mission or getting to the bottom of things.
• March 27: Mercury enters Aries
  Now’s the time to put our dreams into action. If we spent Mercury in Pisces brain-storming and fantasizing, Mercury in Aries is ready to get down to deliverables.

Image: Drawing Knotted in the Manner of a Net (1920) by Paul Klee (☿ in Sag). Original from The MET Museum. Public Domain.

According to Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy, the image for Venus in Pisces is of a woman having the head of a bird and feet of an Eagle, holding a dart in her hand.

Images play a key role in talismans, a part of the planetary magic that I practice. The ancients believed it was through the eyes the image entered and affected the soul. My first step in creating one is deciding on the right image.

Three years ago, I found an artist to help me bring the images alive. Since I can’t draw, I needed someone who could translate the designs I had in my head to paper. I found Lena. Initially I chose her because she has my mother’s name and lives in the Ukraine, where both sets of my grandparents emigrated from. Later we discovered we had the same birthday: March 9. After creating magical images for seven talismans together, I’ve grown to admire Lena’s rare combo of skill, sweetness & strong work ethic.

In February of 2021, we finalized the image for Venus for the talisman I’ll create next month. Because of our Ukrainian background, we dressed the bird-woman in a Ukrainian dress and gave her a traditional vinok symbolizing purity. The roses symbolize love.

Recently, we began working on a Hekate design and were communicating regularly. Lena texted me from her home in Kyiv after the first explosion. She was scared, trembling, and like everyone else, didn’t know what to do. She wrote she believed in the Ukrainian army. I responded I believed in the tenacity and resilience of the Ukrainian people. She signed off sharing she would have her paper and pencils with her. I haven’t heard from her since. That was February 25.

I think of her constantly. I wonder where she is. Is she alright? Is she still in Kyiv? I think of all the other people like her, 1.7 million of them across borders with uncertain futures. I think of the courageous others who remain to defend their Country. Is she among them?

Amidst it all, birthdays arrive, babies enter the world and people comfort one another with tender hope. The human spirit endures. This timely image of Venus adorned in Ukrainian dress powerfully emanates that hope for me.

I’ll write more on this Venus talisman once it’s created. I’m making one for Jupiter as well.  But for now, I wanted to let you know about Lena who just had her birthday on March 9th. My wish for her is Peace and a safe return.

March 18, 2022 at 1:17am in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico—If the New Moon in Pisces on March 2nd opened doors to dream-come-true beginnings, the Full Moon in Virgo asks us where we’re going to find the time to nurture those precious seeds. As efficiency manager of the Zodiac, Virgo creates order from chaos. Virgo optimizes for excellence which often translates into less is better. This Marie Kondo energy would have us scrutinize how we spend our time and then consciously schedule for “what sparks joy” and sideline the rest. As much as we would like to do All The Things, this lunation helps us realize we cannot; or if we did, the outcome would not meet our standards.

In web design—as in all design—you’re taught not to cram everything on the page. Allow plenty of empty space. Replace paragraphs with bullet points. Choose action words. Wherever Virgo falls in our charts, we’re being called to practice good design by tidying up our lives, pinching back on excess and streamlining commitments. Essentially, the Full Moon asks us to optimize so that our “Call to Action”, like an effective homepage, becomes clear.

The ruler of the Virgo Moon is Mercury. In the Full Moon chart, we see Mercury in the mystical, magical and compassionate sign of Pisces. Yet, with a sextile to Uranus, there’s a sense of clarifying insight piercing through the nebulosity of Pisces. If we follow it, we find more freedom.

In addition, the Sun’s sextile to Pluto kindly reconnects us to our power source. Making time for what lights us up has the ability to revitalize and restore us. A good quote to wrap up the Full Moon Virgo energy is this one by Stephen Covey: “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”

When Venus enters Aquarius on March 6th, she’ll pull ahead of Mars. Given the way the planets are configured, this will put her in a tenuous situation called “malefic enclosure”, kind of like being caught between a rock and a hard place, or going from bad to worse.

In traditional astrology, when Saturn and Mars bookend a planet either by conjunction or by casting a ray by trine, square, or opposition on both sides of a planet, that planet is said to be enclosed by the malefics. This condition limits the planet’s ability to express itself. For Venus, that would manifest as challenges in relationships, finances, romance, social life, peace-making, attraction and beauty!  It’s a time when feelings of hopelessness, isolation and betrayal can crop up, especially if Venus is your time lord.

Stuck in awkward conversation

Consider this: you attend your friend’s birthday party. Even though there are plenty of people you’d like to talk to and catch up with, you’ve somehow become trapped by someone you really don’t want to be around. You look around the room, and the only other person you see is another individual you don’t care for.  Where is everyone else? They’re in other parts of the house: all places you don’t currently have a line of sight to. You can’t signal anyone to come over, and nobody sees the predicament you’re in. Since you’re a kind person most of the time, you don’t want to be rude and awkwardly extract yourself. So for the moment: you’re stuck, going through the motions and definitely not feeling your best self.

That’s Venus: once in Aquarius, she can’t see Mercury, Jupiter or the Sun in the other room Pisces. Even though Uranus could break up the enclosure, as a modern planet, we exclude him. This condition pertains only to the traditional seven. It’s not until March 28th when Venus conjuncts Saturn that she’s free of this hostage-like situation and can mingle with the other guests. The only relief she has from March 6th to the 28th is when the Moon throws her helpful glances as she threads between the signs, offering Venus a line of sight to her.

Times like this

I mentioned that malefic enclosure limits a planet’s ability to express itself. Yet, given the beautiful energies available to us this month with an expansive New Moon in Pisces and all the delicious and imaginative Jupiter-Neptune energy filling our hearts, it would seem that this would be the time for Venus to shine!  Wasn’t the planet of love and beauty made for times like this?

In Aquarius, Venus is more cerebral like Yoko Ono and Oprah Winfrey—both Venus in Aquarius natives who connect through the world of ideas and ideals. Traditionally ruled by Saturn, Venus in Aquarius functions best when enforcing her boundaries and personal sovereignty.

Perhaps the subtext for March is to keep a close eye and detached expectations on developments. March has the ability to catapult us into a euphoric Neverland. But before we put on our glass slippers and head to the ball under the intoxicating and magical skies of March, we might consider creating a safe word with our fairy godmother.

March 2, 2022 at 11:35am CT—If you enjoyed Mad Men ten years ago like I did, you probably can’t imagine anyone playing Don Draper besides Pisces native Jon Hamm. It’s as if Draper was created with Hamm in mind.  Yet, when Hamm first interviewed for the part, the casting team didn’t know him. In fact, it took Jon Hamm eight auditions to finally get the part.

Hamm keenly wanted the role. He could feel Don Draper inside of him and he knew he was right for the part. Excitement and tension rose as he was called back to read, often sitting next to a famous actor also trying out for the part. Behind the scenes, there was a female executive who didn’t think Hamm was right for Don Draper. In fact, she claimed he wasn’t sexy enough. Matther Weiner, creator of the television series Mad Men, thought otherwise. As the two went round and round on Hamm as Draper, Jon Hamm kept getting called back for auditions. Finally after eight reads, he was cast in the catapulting role as Don Draper.

Pisces New Moon 

Like Hamm landing the part, Wednesday’s New Moon in Pisces is a lot like being told you’ve secured your dream role in a bright new beginning. Conjunct Jupiter, it can feel as though after a rough patch of being rigorously tried, you’re about to hit Jackpot. Jupiter is the traditional ruler of Pisces. In his own sign and 2° apart from the lunation, he augurs an auspicious time to believe in miracles… a time to seed intentions that reflect your deepest desires. Plant magical beans now. At least one will lead to a gold laying goose in six months!

Planet groupings

The lunation has three groupings in it, each signifying something different.  If Jupiter conjunct the New Moon is hitting Jackpot, what about Mercury with Saturn in Aquarius and the dynamic trio of Venus, Mars and Pluto in Capricorn?

Back to Mad Men: Jon Hamm brought Don Draper alive during his auditions. He nailed the script every time. Part of landing the job was the masterful delivery of his craft.

This part reads like Mercury conjunct Saturn in Aquarius. We can dream big, but we better have the preparation, skill and knowledge to back it up. There’s a precision to this pairing, like muscle memory or the excellence that comes from 10,000 hours of practice.

Finally, the conjunction of Venus, Mars and Pluto reminds me of the butting of heads between Weiner and the executive who didn’t like Jon Hamm. There’s an art of negotiation here skirting around power dynamics and shadow politics. Our dream may be waiting in the wings, but we may have to audition for it eight times to prove ourselves worthy of it.

Luck, preparation & opportunity

To wrap it up: the New Moon in Pisces opens doors to magical new beginnings. Perhaps the quote to keep in mind given the configuration of the other planets is this one by the Roman Philosopher Seneca: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

I removed my Saturn altar today. It’s been over a year since I first erected it and dedicated every Saturday to honoring Saturn. This included fasting, wearing black, sitting in silence and planetary charity.

I petitioned Saturn for things he could give me. I asked to deepen in wisdom, to remove my ignorance, to not fear aging, to aid me in ancestral work, to connect with the right land and its spirits, and to truly “grok” the occult teachings I have dedicated myself towards. I also asked that I take responsibility to make the changes I wish to see in my life.

It wasn’t an easy year. Far from it. But I got everything I asked for. Saturn helped me move past my own self imposed obstacles—mostly fear—to grow into wisdom. From there, I began connecting the dots to everything else I had petitioned him for.

The ancients believed that as the outermost planet, Saturn was closest to Divinity. In addition, Saturn was slowest moving and therefore closer to perfection. Saturn brought me closer to god. The definition I like most for god these days is the platonic idea of the Monad as an “Infinite sea of luminous silence.”

If Saturn stirred up melancholy in my life, I learned to use it to bring me closer to the luminosity within. If Saturn swept in betrayal, he also helped me alchemize my angst into a meditation practice. If working with Saturn brought up themes of where I have habitually stood in my own way: I saw through the veil of my own ignorance and changed the habit.

Above all things, this year has securely anchored me into spiritual practice which cultivates wisdom, integrity, boundaries and maturation: all Saturn. The alembic in which this work was performed was mostly loneliness and pain. That’s ok… Saturn is Fall in my chart. I went into this experiment with my eyes and heart wide open.

Venus is next. I’ve gathered most of the items for her altar already. She becomes my time lord in March and I’m creating a talisman for her and Jupiter in April. I want to begin aligning with her energy. I look forward to deepening my relationship with her. But for now, I am truly grateful for this year of Saturn’s constant companionship.

February 18, 2021—The Sun glides into the chermerical waters of Pisces on Friday. In our charts, the Sun represents the gravitational force around which our lives orbit around and are structured by. For the Sun in Pisces, that underlying organizing principle is the dissolution of the ego through the exploration of consciousness. In other words, the inner compass for the Fish points to transcendent non-attachment and unity with The Divine.

Because there are various ways to follow that inner compass, we find a disparate assortment of saints and sinners among Pisces:

— Pisces Kurt Cobain sought transcendent non-attachment through heroin.

— Tammy Faye Bakker experienced bliss states with the divine through song, religion and compassion.

— Fred Rogers facilitated unity through kindness, empathy and profound connectivity.

— Albert Einstein explored consciousness through the “orderly harmony of the Universe”.

A liminal midwife

Pisces has one foot in the 3D matrix and the other foot in a timeless archetypal world, often wondering which one is real, and if it really matters.  In the heart of Pisces is the longing for union with The One, or whatever language resonates with the idea of God. For me, I love the platonic idea of the Monad as an “Infinite sea of luminous silence.”

Pisces can often feel out of step in this mundane world, seeking connection for more ethereal realms which siren-call the sensitive Fish back to their true home. Perhaps this is one of the reasons they make such wonderful artists, musicians and poets as they’re able to hear the creative expressions that exist in a diaphanous world where translucent forms ask to be made manifest. Pisces has the receptors to intuit these calls and to midwife them into existence.

Journey to the inner realms

Austin Coppock uses the word “confessor” to describe Pisces. Like the priest who hears all, Pisces takes the journey to the inner realms. This is the heroic journey of uncovering the layers, connections, emotional webs, ancestral karma, and all that lies within to create the magnificent collage of Self. Pisces not only does this for themselves but for others as they make excellent healers, listeners, counsellors, energetic practitioners, and guides.

Pisces Season

As the Sun brings his luminous healing rays through Pisces, he will sextile Uranus in Taurus on March 1st, join with Jupiter March 4th and then with Neptune on the 12th. These days can feel energizing (Uranus), lucky (Jupiter) and day-dreamy imaginative (Neptune).

We’re living through the poetry of a mutable season. As the Sun submerges in Pisces, I encourage you to get in touch with your dreams, your imagination and your compassion as they’re surfacing now and more available to you than usual.

February 16, 2022 at 10:56am CST—The chart for Wednesday’s Full Moon in Leo reminds me of the strong Saturnian environment my mother grew up in. With half the sky in Saturn ruled signs: that’s a lot of hard work, tenacity and nose-to-the-grindstone discipline!  Thankfully, we have a courageous and passionate fiery full moon in Leo and Jupiter in empathetic Pisces to balance things out a bit.

Back to my mom…

My mother was raised on a farm in Argentina. She was number seven in a family of fifteen siblings; sixteen if you count the one that died as an infant. As you might imagine: life was hard. My mother woke up before dawn to begin her chores, slept at her desk at school, and worked after sundown to do her part in keeping the farm going. Older sisters raised younger siblings as her beloved yet distant mother cared for the newest addition to the family. The lack of focused warmth from her parents was probably much more painful to the burgeoning brood of children than the severe amount of daily chores they were allotted. But they learned the value of hard work, discipline and self resilience.

Jupiter & Neptune in Pisces 

The family was bound by religion. My mother speaks fondly of how they used to ride the horses to church where her father held an important role. She reminisces wistfully about the family gathering together to read the Bible and sing Christian songs. The hearth of their home burned on faith and devotion, each one of them adding kindling to the fire that kept them warm and connected.

Venus, Mars & Pluto in Capricorn + Mercury, Saturn & Sun in Aquarius

When they were grown, some of my aunts and uncles stayed in Argentina. Their lives consisted of hard work, following tradition and dedication to their goals, not unlike the planets in Capricorn. Many others uprooted their lives to move to the US or Australia. As immigrants, they never quite fit in with cultural norms. There would always be fundamental differences that kept them from feeling 100% at home. I like to think of them as planets in Aquarius: cut from Saturn’s cloth and always on the outside looking in.

Whether it be tiredness from very long workdays on the farm or the terror of going for a driver’s license test in a new country: their faith gave them hope. Here we have Jupiter and Neptune in Pisces, providing a benevolent buoy for whatever harsh conditions arose. They were united in their belief which would superimpose upon whatever life experiences continued to differentiate them.

Full Moon in Leo

Where does the Full Moon in Leo fit in? That would be the generation I’m a part of. A generation that puts more emphasis on individuation and the pursuit of following one’s own path & passion (Leo) than the rules of responsibility and familial duty that my mother’s Saturnian upbringing prioritized.  It hasn’t been easy for those of us who have branched off in completely different directions—especially spiritually. It’s been like delicately dismantling a bird’s nest. In fact, stepping away from the rigid fundamentalist interpretations has been quite costly at times.

Seven of Wands

The tarot card associated with this last decan of Leo is the Seven of Wands. Ruled by Mars, this is a gutsy and assertive card where we see a person standing their ground. As a card of Wands, this person battles for their rights while holding on to their point of view which fuels their verve and spirit. When this card appears in a reading, it often indicates standing up for oneself. Despite the naysayers and criticism, it encourages boldness and holding true to one’s values. Dissension and criticism may cut and burn, but scars fade as character is forged.

Takeaway

My mother’s history is a part of my own. I know the value of hard work and discipline because of her. Like her, I’m also deeply rooted in my spirituality which is a guiding beacon in my life. It’s just a different spirituality than her’s. Perhaps my mother’s story gave me the courage to pursue a path I can stand behind.

The takeaway here is that we are all connected to our past that laid a foundation of tradition and expectation. This Full Moon in Leo encourages us to be true to ourselves and to fight for our right to feel lit up and animated about something. Look to your Leo house for clues on where that might be.

January 31, 2022 at 11:46pm CST—Depending on your location, the Moon will begin a new cycle as it joins the Sun on Monday or Tuesday. New Moons seed a packet of intentions in one area of life. In this case, it’s wherever Aquarius falls in your natal chart. In the following six months, some of these seeds will lay dormant while the ones cultivated may sprout. One or two may even bear fruit to harvest when the Sun shines upon the Moon from Leo, creating a Full Moon which will culminate the story we begin at this New Moon.

Fixed Air

Aquarius (Fixed Air) is a sign which knows itself. This is the part of us that’s encouraged to anchor down and maintain momentum (Fixed) as we allow ourselves stimulation and connection through the intellect and the world of ideas (Air). Aquarius is the watcher, not unlike an anthropologist who records social interactions but refrains from taking part in the group dynamics themselves. If they affect change, it’s from a more detached, outsider perspective.  Take a look at your Aquarius house: does this area of life sometimes feel like a foreigner learning the customs of a new country or watching from the outside in, knowing you do things differently… you are different here?

Dowsing the future

Although February will feel like finding our personal cruise control again, the days on either side of this New Moon see Venus stationing direct on January 29th and Mercury doing the same on February 3rd. The slow motion of these two personal planets create a breathing space where we can truly dowse the energetic structures that are inviting us into forward movement at this time.

Let me say that another way… Before any physical manifestation appears, there’s an energetic blueprint. The quality of time at this New Moon conjunct its ruler Saturn invites us to begin outlining the shape of that nascent architecture. As we define goals, make plans and lay down tracks, Aquarius would have us courageously honor who we are outside of any societal expectations.

I wonder what unusual fruit I will harvest when the Moon is Full in Aquarius six months from now? That’s a good question for February. The stranger, the truer: the better.

The month begins with six of the seven traditional planets in Saturn’s signs leaving only Jupiter in his own watery domicile of Pisces. This configuration emphasizes the quarter section of our charts containing Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces.

On the 3rd, Mercury stations direct. His three week retrograde saw him travel from 10° Aquarius to 24° Capricorn. He will have passed over Pluto three times while in Capricorn: December 30th, January 30th and once again on February 11th.  If you have any placements around 24°-25° Capricorn, or if Mercury is your Time Lord, you may be wrapping up an intense issue involving business matters, communication, contracts, power plays and getting to the bottom of things.

Mercury re-enters Aquarius on the 14th and will clear his shadow—where he turned retrograde mid-January—on the 24th.

Mars catches up to Venus on the 16th. The pair will be traveling closely together for the next couple of months. It won’t be until April where they are out of orb of one another.

Also on the 16th, the Moon will exactly oppose the Sun creating a Full Moon in Leo. If we don’t consider the asteroids, this playful Leo Moon will be the only element of fire in the industrious, saturnine sky.

Jupiter in Pisces provides some levity perhaps through faith, dreams, insight or a mixture of all three with a sextile to Uranus the following day.

The Sun enters Pisces on the 18th. As a mutable sign, we know the Sun is in a liminal space now and preparing to enter a new season the third week of March. The Sun in Pisces is a harbinger of change and courts transition.

Earlier in the week I asked my tarot deck, “How do I upgrade my vibrational placeholder?”

What’s a vibrational placeholder?

A vibrational placeholder is kind of like your energetic set point. The ever-grasping mind naturally defaults to the reptilian vigilance states of anxiety, worry and rumination. So even if we’re enjoying ourselves, once the enjoyment ends, we’re back to: “What was that thing again I was worrying about? Oh yeah… time to steep in that again.” This feeling state becomes a vibrational placeholder always waiting for us.

We’re at a point where we’re evolving past these set points into a more conscious affiliation with the creative life-force principle. A part of this evolution is replacing our low vibing placeholders of worry, anger and fear with higher ones like joy, peace, love and ease. It takes conscious effort to retrain ourselves out of a default that served an egoic purpose for so long. But many of us are beginning to understand we have a choice of what we focus on thereby creating life affirming energetic set points.

Upgrade the set point

Like everything, this takes practice. When I asked my deck how I can upgrade my vibrational placeholder, I pulled Awakening Reversed (also known as Judgement). Here’s the blurb I wrote for Faunabelle Tarot when I wrote the guidebook For Awakening upside down 🎧 :

Life is asking me to evolve, but I feel safer where I am. I don’t want to risk being sad or scared by leaving something I know, even if it’s no longer good for me. When Awakening Bears appear upside-down, they nudge, “Picture yourself in the future being confident and proud of the changes you’ve made. If you can imagine it, you can be it!” The hardest part of big change is the first step. Today I can begin inching towards the future I want to enjoy.

What great advice! To upgrade my vibrational placeholder I need to imagine the future I want to live and then become an energetic match for it.

Awakening corresponds with Pluto

It’s interesting that Awakening—called Judgement in other decks—is associated with Pluto. Pluto transits tend to correspond with times in our lives where events, people and circumstances conspire to purge away everything that we are not. It’s not an easy time for most; but the process offers a catalyzing opportunity to truly step into our power.

Pluto is the cosmic plumber, unclogging stagnant energy, clearing away corrosive obstructions and installing better piping so that our life force can express our truth with greater fluidity. The methods in which Pluto purges varies with what natal planet he’s aspecting, the aspect itself, the houses involved, other planets Pluto connects with and the native’s relationship to their own Pluto placement.

Soul searching leads to wholeness

Pluto transits often accompany two years of intense soul searching as the person goes through a healing metamorphosis which often includes tilling unconscious landscapes and finding buried trauma that was stored for safe keeping long ago. The work now is to realize how these buried parts of ourselves have been consuming our energetic bandwidth and how we might integrate it into our psyche to restore our wholeness.

The tarot card Awakening ruled by Pluto shows a mama bear and her cubs emerging from a long hibernation. This emergence of a waking Self signals the end stages of a successful Pluto transit. We’re renewed and revitalized.  In pulling the reversal, we’re asked to leave behind the carcass of the past and begin to envision the feeling tone we’d like to inhabit.  So when I asked how to upgrade my vibrational placeholder early this week, I couldn’t ask for a better piece of advice than Awakening upside down. ✨

Photo by Corey Dupree from Pexels
Tarot Card: Awakening upside down from faunabelle.com

Just as the Sun travels through a new sign every thirty days, the Moon journeys through a lunar mansion every single day. The 28 lunar mansions were thought to be the moon’s resting places as she moved across the sky for a full cycle. Just like the domiciles that host the Sun from month to month, Aries through Pisces, each Lunar Mansion has particular characteristics, themes and associated images that flavor the moon as she travels through the span of degrees associated with each lunar mansion.

Timing

When creating a lunar mansion talisman, we wait until the moon is within the span of degrees allocated to the mansion we want to work with. So for instance, with the Third Lunar Mansion, we would wait for the moon to be between 25° Aries 42′ to 8° Taurus 34′. At the very least, we would want the moon strongly positioned on the Ascendant or Midheaven and free from Mars or Saturn.

The Third Lunar Mansion is a very auspicious mansion. It’s a wish-fulfilling mansion, not unlike a genie in a lamp.  Once the lunar mansion talisman is created, it’s advised to pass the talisman through the incense smoke when the moon returns to the mansion. This revitalizes the talisman and connects us back to our purpose for creating the talisman in the first place.

I’m collaborating with the delightfully talented photographer Holly Wilmeth to capture planets and lunar mansions during their appropriate magical election windows.  This month, we began the mansion series with The Third Lunar Mansion.

Details

• Third Lunar Mansion 
• Name: Al-Thurayya  (The Pleiades)
• Spirit: Amixiel or Annuncia
• Properties: Acquisition of all good things. Safe travel. Success in hunting and alchemy.
• Boundary: 25° ♈ 42′ to 8° ♉ 34′
• Image: A seated woman with her right hand raised above her head.
• Model: Facialist Sophia Betancourt
• Location: San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
• Election: January 10, 2022 from 12:56pm-1:19pm
• Petition: May all who look on this talismanic photograph receive their deepest desire. 

January 17, 2022 at 5:49pm CST—Last week as I was walking my dog, I was listening to Tami Simon interview Jungian analyst James Hollis on the Sounds True podcast.  Hollis said something that made me think of Monday’s Full Moon in Cancer.  It went along these lines:

There’s something in us that always knows what is right for us. Whenever there’s a doubt or question, I put it inside of me. We have within us extraordinary resources. The resources of resilience, insight, adaptation and at times, courage. Where does real authority come from?  We’re born with it: instinct. Of the enormous traffic inside, which voices truly come from your own soul? It’s a discerning process. It takes time to find that voice. But when you live it, it will be the right path for you. You’ll recover a relationship to your own truth. That’s the rediscovery of personal authority. 

✨

The Moon opposite Pluto and sextile Ceres in this lunation taproots us to our extraordinary resources within. It’s an invitation to rediscover our personal authority by following our instinctual feelings. Like the person in the Four of Cups, the tarot card associated with this lunation, we have an opportunity to stabilize our inner world by examining the emotions that arise. More often than not, they’re connected to the still small voice that articulates our personal truth. Rather than push our feelings away at this time, deliberately sitting with them offers illuminating insight on our path.

In her new book Atlas of the Heart, Brene Brown writes: “So often, when we feel lost, adrift in our lives, our first instinct is to look out into the distance to find the nearest shore. But that shore, that solid ground, is within us. The anchor we are searching for is connection, and it is internal.”

With Mercury just having turned retrograde, it’s a time to go within and discern the signal from the noise and to feel the anchor of our being. Once we’ve clocked it, the path forward reveals itself like breadcrumbs shining in the nurturing moonlight leading us back home to ourselves. The advice for Monday’s Full Moon in Cancer is to sit with the feelings. Let them lead you to the resilience, adaptability and courage that nourish your personal authority.

Hello and Happy almost New Year! Let’s take a look at the astro highlights of January 2022.

• January begins with Mercury entering the Water Bearer’s sign on the 2nd. Mercury will make it one-third of the way through Aquarius and within arm’s reach of Saturn before turning retrograde on the 14th.
• Also on the 2nd, we have a New Moon at 12°20 Capricorn. Two weeks later, we’ll enjoy a Full Moon across Cap’s axis in Cancer at 27°50.
• The day after the Cancer Full Moon, Uranus will station direct at 10°49 Taurus. Uranus has been retrograde since August 20th when it stationed at 14°47. It will take until the first week of May to reach that degree point again and begin charting new territory in Taurus.  If you have any personal planets or sensitive points in the fixed signs from 10°-15°, you have most likely been feeling this retrograde strongly, especially with Saturn’s presence in Aquarius.
• Mars enters Capricorn on the 24th. One day later, Mercury moonglides into Capricorn from Aquarius making it a full house in Capricorn with Mars, Venus, Pluto and Mercury present in the Sea goat’s sign. Mercury will retrograde past Pluto on January 30th and station at 24° Capricorn on February 4th.
  Interestingly, Pluto also stationed direct on 24° Capricorn last October. And it was at 25° Cap where Pluto and Venus met on Christmas day. For those of us with sensitive cardinal points here, Mercury may be driving home the message we’ve been excavating and evolving into with more clarity now, allowing us to take action, especially with an exalted Mars getting ready to also activate this same area of the sky the end of February.
• Venus stations direct on the 29th at 11°.
• We end the month with a New Moon in Aquarius. Depending on your location, the New Moon will occur on the 31st or on the 1st.