Visibility is a big deal in astrology. When a planet’s visibility is obscured, its significations are debilitated, hidden or internalized. What are these conditions? Under the beams, combustion and cazimi.

Under the Beams

Whenever a planet is within 15° of the Sun, it is said to be “under the beams” of the Sun. You can’t see it. The planet is obscured by the powerful light of the Sun.

Under the Beams reminds me of the time my daughter and I saw Heath Ledger strolling down a sidewalk in downtown San Diego. Heath Ledger! 🤩 Our eyes and complete attention were laser focused on him. I couldn’t tell you if he had a companion or other people with him: all we saw was Heath. It’s the same when planets are under the beams: the Sun’s star power of light completely wipes out their visibility.

Combustion

As the planet approaches within 8° of the Sun, we have another condition: combustion. A planet is “combust” when it is within 8° of the Sun on either side.  This considerably lessens the efficacy of the planet.  When we have combust planets in our chart, they’re often our blindspots. For instance, Venus combust the Sun can manifest as someone who doesn’t see the red flags in a relationship and stays in it despite multiple warnings from friends who clearly see the person for what they are.

Cazimi

Finally, there’s Cazimi. This occurs when a planet enters the very heart of the Sun, at 17 minutes or less from conjoining the Sun. A planet joining the Sun goes through a purification process where the planet is reborn. A Cazimi planet is said to have the Sun’s ear, allotting the planet with a sort of super power genius. Oprah Winfrey’s Venus Cazimi is a clear example of a superior ability to connect with people and draw audiences to her.

I mentioned above that as a planet nears the sun, its significations are debilitated, hidden or internalized. On one hand, a combust planet may have a “blind spot” or lack of awareness on how it’s behaving. Another possibility is that the planet fuses with the Sun, becoming part of the person’s self expression.  The planet’s power doesn’t decrease; rather it is internalized. Another way of saying this is that the archetype of the planet merges with the Solar presence so that the very being of the person is Mercurial or Venusian or Martial, etc. We would look to the rest of the chart and the aspects this planet makes to other planets to determine how its close proximity to the Sun plays out in real life.

If you are considering a tarot reading, there are three things you can do to walk away feeling good about your reading:

Let’s go over the first half of July’s astro-climate, shall we?

July 1
We start off the month with a brutal Mars-Saturn opposition. Did the first few days of July seem intense of even aggro? Blame it on these two!

Mars in Leo can come off self righteous while pushing hard to get his way while Saturn—feeling strong and collected in  home sign Aquarius—keeps a cool head and a firm boundary. When these two go at it, it’s the hot blooded sportster stuck behind Grandma Moses on a curvy one lane highway.

Alternatively, you might have found yourself putting on the focus blinders to pour your energy and time into a deadline. Mars-Saturn transits can equip us with tenacious persistence, like an athlete enduring a Spartan Death Race.

July 3
Mars square Uranus… Grandma Moses pulls over to the side and let’s Speed Racer bluster by! Many times, the configuration of Uranus (Mars+Saturn) shows up as simply holding the tension until a solution or change arrives. An image that comes to mind is the Don’t Look at Me scene in Unbroken.

July 6
Venus in Leo oppose Saturn in Aquarius can feel like getting a cold shoulder from someone, a block in a relationship, and/or hard reality sinking in about a friendship or a romance. Alternatively, this transit’s high side investigates the ASK: what are my responsibilities in this relationship? Do I agree to them? Questions like this will see some people sealing a relationship deal, or stepping away from one with too many barriers to entry.

July 8
Venus will then square off with Uranus in Taurus just like Mars did earlier. If Mars found release through rupture, severance or battle—all part of Mars’ go-tos—Venus brings her soothing balm and mends fences. In Leo, she’ll do it with charm, creativity and passion.

July 9
New Moon in Cancer—finding our kitchen ally. See New Moon post above.

July 11
Mercury enters Cancer. In the sign of the crab, Mercury may not always speak their mind, but they feel things deeply and remember everything. As a Cardinal sign, Cancer is responsive and will address a challenge, even if they have to come at it sideways. This is a placement that processes from the belly of emotion but can speak fiercely if needed.

June 30, 2021—If you’re feeling a little frenzied this week, you’re not alone. The past couple of days have been kind of tricky.

As Mars applies to Saturn, we can feel the desire to express ourselves vs the caution to hold back taking up a lot of real estate in our mind while draining our reserves. The deliberation between standing up for ourselves vs playing it cool and detached until the timing is right is not an easy one, especially with Uranus and Chiron calling shots from the sidelines.

As the Mars-Saturn opposition perfects tomorrow, the Moon will trine Venus. Luna then carries this light to Mars and Chiron (in trine by fire), applying the anesthetic before pricking the skin. With Chiron involved, we know the wound addressed holds healing.

In Leo, Mars and Venus are rolling out the Sun’s agenda currently in Cancer. As the Moon joins the Sun July 9 for a New Moon in Cancer, perhaps the tension experienced now will clear up space so that new support and nourishment can take its place.

June 24, 2021 at 1:38pm Central—Today’s Full Moon at 3°27′ Capricorn is the accountability buddy we all need.  By now, many of us are quite familiar with this area of our life given the changes and decisions we made when the South Node, Pluto and Saturn camped out here in 2019 and the first five months of 2020. This soil has been tilled, over and over again. Yet, with Pluto still working to detoxify and cleanse Cap’s final degrees, the Full Moon today serves as a bit of a check in. What have we accomplished? How are we doing on the goals we had set for ourselves back in January when this space of our lives was seeded with New Moon intentions?  We’ll be revisiting these themes again the end of the year when Venus retrogrades in Capricorn.

Life in a pandemic brings twists to the plotline we could have never anticipated. As restrictions lift and life seemingly returns to a dubious-normal, the Full Moon in Capricorn reminds us of the things we told ourselves we’d do. How do we want to contribute in the world? How much time are we willing to invest building the structures of our own success?

The tarot card associated with this decan is the Two of Pentacles: the guy with a conical hat and amusing red tights. He’s balancing two pentacles, one foot up in the air, choppy waves behind him. In readings, this card often speaks to work-life balance, especially when one is re-entering work or taking on a new project. There’s a bit of juggling to achieve the homeostatic cruise control where time is spent more in presence and less on negotiating a viable schedule.

This certainly fits the vibe Saturn offers. As the ruler of this lunation, he sets the executive agenda. Having just squared Uranus for a second time, there’s a negotiation between structure and freedom, commitment and release. And then there’s Jupiter in Pisces, offering expansion—perhaps another pentacle—in a friendly and bountiful trine to the Sun in Cancer.

This lunation recognizes and confirms the full plate in front of us. It also knows we’re working to clean out toxic patterns around accomplishment that disempower us (Pluto wrapping up in Cap). Yet: we feel the drive. We understand the responsibilities we’ve signed up for. Most of all, we know there is much satisfaction in Right Work. So how to balance? We do our best, knowing that these questions are meant to be asked this year.

Image by Kay Sage, an American Surrealist artist and poet. She had her North Node in Capricorn with Sun conjunct the Midheaven in Cancer. She was active during the same time as Lonora Carrington, Remedios Varo and Leonor Fini.  What a magical time in the art world that was!

Short Answer

A time lord is a planet that takes prominence during a given period. During this time, we are more sensitive and impacted by its significations and movements.

Long Answer

Shakespeare penned:
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;

I like to think of the natal chart as a stage, with our years churning through like changing scenes. In this scenario, the scenes enter and exit in one of the twelve houses. Each year, the astrological house changes, which means the scene and the themes also change.

This visual works well for annual profections. Each birthday, a new house is spotlighted. When you’re brand new to the world, you are in a 1st House profection year. When you turn 1, you begin a 2nd House profection year. 2 years old: a 3rd House profection year. You keep going all through the 12 Houses and begin back at House 1 at age 12.

Here’s a helpful chart below. Let’s do a few examples:

27 years: 4th House profection—Theme of family, home
44 years: 9th House profection—Travel, religion, expanding knowledge
60 years: 1st House profection—Self, appearance, style, physicality

So What’s The Time Lord?

Once you know your profected house, look to the planet that rules that house. This is your time lord.  For example, if you are Aries Rising and you’re 39 years old, you’re in a 4th House Profection. With Aries on the 1st, Cancer would be on the 4th. The Moon rules Cancer. So the Moon is your time lord. Eclipses might be especially significant for you this year!

Let’s do another one: You are Libra Rising and are 42 years old. 42 is a 7th House Profection year. For Libra Ascendants, Aries is the cusp of the 7th. Mars rules Aries. Mars is your time lord.

Planning Ahead

Once you know your time lord, you can chart out when this planet will be making and receiving aspects to other planets. If Jupiter is my time lord this year, transiting planets aspecting my natal Jupiter—especially hard aspects of conjunction, square and opposition—will be more keenly felt. The same goes for transiting Jupiter making aspects or changing signs. If Jupiter is my time lord, I can maximize the time he’s well resourced which is when he is in Pisces this year and next (as long as he remains my time lord).  Perhaps I would use that period to teach a class, for instance.

If Mercury is your time lord, you’ll be more affected by Mercury retrogrades. If you normally sail through these times, you might find yourself subject to all sorts of mercurial hijinks during the retrograde.

Other cycles

Annual profections are one way to establish a time lord. There are others: Firdaria, a Persian timing method, and Zodiacal Releasing used by Hellenistic astrologers to name two others.  Astrology is very much like the kaleidoscopes you might have played with as a kid. The mirrors that reflect upon one another to create an image are like the different time cycles that come together to create a present moment.

Working with profections and time lords helps us understand the cycle, stage and themes were are dealing with for a certain period of time… the mere players that will have their entrances and exits.

Solstice marks the day in the Northern Hemisphere where the Sun reaches his zenith and begins his descent. The Moon’s reign begins to lengthen as the Sun enters Cancer, the Moon’s domicile. In Cancer, the solar self dims as we fold into kin. We remember the past, regaling stories steeped in nostalgia of another time. We carry the memories of our ancestors who continue to pour through our smiles, voices, facial expressions and gestures, literally immigrating through our bodies.

While in Cancer—June 20 to – July 21, 2021—the Sun will elevate and radiate the topics of home, homeland, family, loyalty, belonging, security and healing. We look to the Sun to see what parts of our life ask for visibility and prominence at this time. In a lifetime, the Sun suggests our plot line. As a transit, it speaks to what part of our charts step up to the spotlight. If the Sun happens to be our Time Lord, the spotlight dials up.

Another conversation

During this time, another planetary conversation is unfolding in the background: the gordian knot that is Saturn-Uranus. As Mars moves through the fixed sign Leo, he’ll trigger the tension between Saturn (structures and responsibilities) and Uranus (release, freedom and breakthrough). This tension will be keenly felt the first week of July.

Mars will again activate Saturn and Uranus when he travels through the fixed sign Scorpio in November. We can think of it a little like this:

Uranus is the child/colleague/partner/situation asking for release and freedom.

Saturn is the parent/boss/partner/situation requiring that rules be observed and responsibilities met.

Mars is the trouble-maker—person or situation—firing up Uranus to make a run for it!

As we know, astrology is a symbolic language. There are many ways we can put words to these energies. What comes to mind during Cancer season, is the urge to break free of constraints while prioritizing home, family and our requirements for belonging and security. This could be a time some of us—especially those with fixed placements from 10°-15°—will make key decisions around these themes only to revisit them in November.

After seven weeks of using lunar tools do to martial things, Mars is more than ready to depart the sign of its fall and enter the regal and iron-willed sign of Leo tomorrow. Mars in Leo expresses itself using solar tools such as creativity, visibility and generosity. Just like the Sun which rules the sign of Leo, Mars in the lion’s den radiates with charisma, confidence and presence.

As Mars moves to mid Leo, he’ll be making two important transits. July 1st, Mars will oppose Saturn. Two days later, he will square Uranus. The end of June until July 4th will feel a bit pressurized and even volatile as Mars uncomfortably faces off with Saturn only to encounter Uranus.

For those of us involved in a herculean effort, this could signal the last difficult push to the liberating finish line. For others, it will be wise to keep a vigilant check on any self righteousness that could arise at this time. Even though Mars in Leo comes across as self-assured, he also has a tendency to take things too personally which can find him lashing out against criticism or even worse: cutting off his nose to spite his face.

Mars energizes Leo until July 29th when he enters Virgo. Words to live by during this time: “Fortune favors the bold” by Roman poet Virgil who had his Mars in Leo.

The Image is a still from Lady Gaga’s Applause video. According to Wikipedia, Applause was inspired by the cheers of her fans which kept her motivated when she was in pain during the Born This Way tour. The song pays respect to the art of performance. The Sun—ruler of Leo—heals, as does the cheering spotlight!

June 10 at 5:53am Central—We’re in a liminal time right now as we navigate eclipse season. New moons signal new beginnings. But first—and especially with eclipses—they’re often preceded by a crossroads. Decisions, like highway billboards advertising restaurant choices for the hungry traveller, appear now. What are you in the mood for? Which choice best nourishes you? It doesn’t have to be forever. It’s just another step in the evolutionary journey towards home.

In 36 Faces, Austin Coppock refers to the second decan of Gemini as getting to know all the possible paths available. There can be a restless desire to juggle everything as we express our multitudinal self, especially when Rahu (the North Node) is present like it is now.

In another scenario, we try on every prom dress in the mall, each one highlighting another aspect of us, only to go back to the first one we knew was ours. How much evidence do we need before we know what’s right for us? When will we start to Virgo the Gemini by distilling what we already know and disseminating it in a practical manner?

14 hours after the eclipse, Mercury retrogrades into the heart of the Sun. Called Cazimi, this is a special moment for our lunation ruler and it happens in the next decan at 20° Gemini. There’s a new storyline beginning to form. Coppock shares we make judgement calls to go one way or another in Gemini’s 3rd Decan. Hard decisions take place. If the first two faces of The Twins are about trying on all the prom dresses, we decide the one we take home with us in the third.

Hidden by the light of the Sun and square to Neptune, the decisions—like Mercury—are beginning to constellate beneath a blurry surface. To take root and eventually blossom, they need the life force of our entrained attention, energy and resources. Perhaps now is the time we need to decide: what do we release back into the cosmic wild so we can better focus on our chosen path? If you’re unsure: which choice best nourishes you? It doesn’t have to be forever.

Venus leaves Gemini’s mental agility parkour to pick up her knitting needles and heart strings as she enters the sign of Cancer. In Cancer, the heart wants what it wants: steadfast, nurturing, remembrance and soul bound loyalty. Venus in Cancer has an enduring quality that could parallel the intensity, depth and long-suffering of any Thomas Hardy character

Do you remember the scene in Mad Men where Don Draper brings a room of ad exes to their knees with a nostalgic interpretation of the Kodak carousel? He’s talking straight-up, non-adulterated Venus in Cancer. He shares that “the public can be engaged beyond flash, if they have a sentimental bond with the project.” He tells the men that the word nostalgia comes from the Greek, meaning “the pain from an old wound… a twinge in your heart far more powerful than memory alone.”

As he speaks, he flips through photographs of an earlier, more innocent and happier time. “This device is a time machine, ” he says, “Round and around back home again to a place we know we are loved.” This is exactly how Venus in Cancer would pitch the Kodak Carousel.

Lately I’ve been thinking of the word querencia. It comes from the Spanish verb querer, which means to desire and to want. It refers to when a place has completely captured you, become a part of your bones and interior landscape. You might have been there during your childhood, for decades or even just a short time. But it never left you. It’s as though you left a piece of your truest self there, and that piece haunts you to come back. Querencia refers to wanting to go back to this place once you’ve grown old and death is near.

Venus in Cancer feels like it contains this word querencia and all the layers that create it: haunted by a longing, deep sentimentalism, ancestry, nostalgia for the deep past, lost innocence, instinctual, integrity of self and recognition of the fracturing of that same self when removed from a person, place or thing where you felt complete, your querencia. Venus in Cancer wants to knit herself whole again. So she’s drawn to and attracts with nostalgic sentimentality, such as food and family, that lets her do just that.

When I decided to work with Saturn, I can’t say that I was 100% comfortable with the idea of invoking his energy. For good reason, we get a little anxious when we see Saturn encroaching on our personal planets. Nobody willingly signs up for obstructions, struggle, delays, frustrations, isolation and depression. But I’ve always been more curious than cautious. I thought about the other sides of Saturn: wisdom, embodiment of occult knowledge, connecting with ancestors, stepping into responsibility and growing in integrity… and I went for it.

In March, I removed my Sun altar to construct an altar to Saturn: a photograph of my grandmother, uncomely country stones, sapphires, cumin, and Ficino’s Three Books on Life. I began attuning myself to Saturn’s energy so I would be ready to bring home six Saturn talismans in May.

It’s been three months of actively inviting Saturn through petitions and wearing the talisman. I’ve made decisions and responsible changes that weren’t easy, but were definitely in integrity. Saturn visits me in my dreams, showing me their different sides and the way their energy manifests long term over a lifetime. I spend much more time meditating now as I’m drawn to the stillness.

Probably the most significant result is finding a craniosacral practitioner who has been instrumental in helping me uncover blockages to my own happiness and light. It’s not what I expected. I thought new blockages might arise, but not a wise guide who would accompany me into my own underworld to find old ones to release from the self-sabotaging work they’ve been engaged in for decades. Saturn has its joy in the 12th, and that’s where I’ve found him: in silence, contemplation and in the self-undoing of archaic egoic structures handed down generation after generation until these blocks could be recognized and compassionately let go.

When I worked with the Sun for a year and wore the Sun talisman I made, it was truly a magical year of unfolding my Self in a project I poured my heart into. Saturn is different, but equally magical. I so look forward to learning, experimenting and pilgrimaging more this year with The Great Teacher.

May 26 at 6:13am Central—Once again, we’re stepping into the ping-pong match between the Gemini and Sagittarius parts of our charts. With Wednesday’s Lunar Eclipse, what began in June of 2020 and accelerated in Nov-Dec, might feel as if it’s peaking now. Wednesday’s eclipse feels momentous… like a movie scene where time slows down so we can fully register the drip of expression changes on the faces of each character.

The characters✨

🔸Saturn stands still in the sky, saturating 13° of the fixed signs with his significations for all of May and half of June as he waits for Uranus to catch up and square him from Taurus.

🔸Mercury slow-motions all the way to the middle of the last decan of Gemini before pushing off the 24° mark on Saturday. It will take him until June 22nd to station direct and then another two weeks and two days to leave his shadow.

🔸 The Moon and Sun can’t turn retrograde, but they are within 18° of the nodes which means we experience an eclipse at their conjunction and their opposition. Eclipse are accelerants. They bring us to cliff hangers, turning points, and places where we must decide.

🔸In Cancer, Mars is feeling deeply, sinking into his moods and taking the temperature of the responses around him before he risks a move.

🔸Jupiter is home! He does his best dreaming, visioning, and journeying to Best Possible Case Scenarios in Pisces. But is he being realistic?

🔸We could ask the same of Venus as she prepares to visit Fantasy Island with her square to Neptune on the 27th only to bump into Mercury on the 29th as he stations retrograde, beginning his process of rethinking and reevaluating. The timing of Venus meeting Mercury and then Mercury going back to his drawing board is notable.

Full Moons signify a time of illumination and release. An eclipse intensifies the force behind these realizations and culminations, prompting choice and action. With Jupiter in Pisces ruling this Full Moon, we can feel as though our dreams are coming true. But given some of the other signatures present, we may have to revise other parts of our plan or path to reach rainbow’s end.

May 20—The Sun drives his chariot through Gemini from May 20 to June 19. Gemini, like Mercury himself, is a tricky sign to fully grasp. Gemini Sun Walt Whitman captured it best when he wrote: “Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes.”

It’s as if Gemini’s remote is constantly flicking through its personality channels, looking for something to land their attention on. They’re free & inquisitive, like a playful wind that breezes between the nooks and crannies of every experience, bottling just enough of it to carry its essence in a story file. Geminis are the pollinators of the Zodiac. Their nectar comes from a field of conversations, a podcast they heard, the books they read, a class they’re taking, the library of curious facts they store in their heads. They tincture memories via photographs, journal keeping, and writing. The best networkers, Geminis pass on their tinctures to the people in their mental ecosystem pollinating ideas together.

With an emphasis in Gemini, our ability to adapt and take a meandering path will serve not only this month, but in the months to come as we experience the final eclipses across the Gemini/Sag axis and the next installment of the Saturn-Uranus square.

The image comes from Photographer Holly Wilmeth. She’s allowed me to use her image of Mullein which is ruled by Mercury (according to Agrippa) or Saturn (according to Culpepper). Put a leaf in your shoe to protect you while traveling. Drink it to help with lung ailments and breathing problems. Smoke it to calm the mind and clear up mental traffic jams. Lore says witches used mullen leaves as wicks to light their flames during incantations. Mullein safeguards against evil spirits that bring sickness and malevolent magic.

As I listened to @thisjungianlifepodcast episode on introversion yesterday morning, I thought about Jupiter’s two mutable domiciles: wanderlusting Sagittarius and mystical Pisces. In Sag, Jupiter is a more extroverted version of himself. The world is his oyster. The quest is OUT THERE. It’s different for the more introverted Pisces. There’s certainly a quest, but it’s a journey into interior space. Both signs orient around wisdom: one gleaned from what they’ve seen and experienced, and the other from what they’ve felt and embodied in the soul’s journey. It’s the difference between Kansas and Oz: both are real but occur in different realms.

The tarot card associated with the first decan of Pisces is the 8 of Cups. This card often appears during a spiritual initiation… when the job, relationship, opportunity, whatever+it+is wasn’t what we thought it would be. So we turn our back on that path and head into the darkness which leads us back home to ourselves. Doesn’t feel like Jupiter’s blessings initially, does it? But if we heed the summons to follow our truth, we eventually reap the reward of equilibrium studded with joy. It makes me wonder if Jupiter’s short pop into Pisces will present some of us with those 8 of Cups choices which always revolve around being true to oneself.

Jupiter in Pisces offers opportunity for soul growth, whether that be through 3rd House learning that expands our minds, a 7th House relationship that deepens our hearts or 12th House Wizard of Oz dream that reminds us there’s no place like home, Jupiter in Pisces lends itself to spiritual development through the lens of the house it transits. In keeping with the generosity of this Pisces & Jupiter, this is also a time of being charitable and giving back. In doing so, we compassionately strengthen pieces of ourselves in search of healing.

May 11 at 2:00pm Central—The second week of May delivers a cornucopia of delights, almost as if to fortify us for the upcoming eclipse season and the Saturn-Uranus 2nd square just around the corner. We have an adrenalizing Mars-Uranus sextile, Jupiter entering Pisces, a powerful Mercury making a stabilizing trine to Saturn, and this exalted New Moon in Taurus.

Today’s New Moon sextiles Neptune while trining Pluto giving it a transcendent feel that’s grounded in its own truth. This reminds me a bit of the African proverb, “When the roots are deep, there is no reason to fear the wind.” When we know who we are, have faced our fears, learned that we can depend on our own resilience, we continue to orient towards our vision despite the external turbulence that comes and goes.

A big part of knowing who we are is making space for humility. We can get into trouble when we don’t braid resilience with gratitude and fortune with devotion. Austin Coppock speaks of Decan III of Taurus as unfortunate as it focuses on the difficult parts of life. No matter what our position, we don’t have total control over everything. As the saying goes: Shit Happens 💩. We do better at navigating the vicisitudes of life when we recognize our place in its web: no higher or lower than anyone/thing else we share this planet with.

Decan III of Taurus is associated with the Seven of Pentacles, also known as “The Lord of Failure”. Even though this card can appear then we’re trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together again, more often it’s asking us to take a time out. What really matters? Where can I give thanks? How do I add meaning to my part of the world? Asking these kinds of questions ties us back into the regenerative potential of Taurus enabling the sowing of seeds that sink into our truth as they uplift towards our vision.

I recently came across this lithograph by Frida Kahlo entitled Frida and the Miscarriage. It’s part of the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation.

The accompanying text reads “The work is a wrenching reminder of how closely intertwined her work often was with her personal experiences. In a particularly poignant passage, the waxing moon in the sky weeps as it looks at a similarly crying Frida. Her falling tears are mirrored in the blood that runs down her leg, seeping into the earth and nourishing the plants that grow nearby.”

Frida’s Venus was in Gemini just 1° away from her natal Pluto. She lived this placement through her art which communicated the depths of who she was. I’m sure her Venus in Gemini expressed a love of curiosity, a whimsical and multi-colored fashion, as well as an intelligent wit that lured people to her. But this Pluto-Venus conjunction in Gemini is summed up in so many of her self-portraits, including this one.

Anyone who has adopted a street dog knows they need a little extra care, compassion and training. Having braved the mean streets as pups, they learned survival skills like eating dirty disgusting scraps off the ground, extreme timidity and/or being Extra Alpha so nobody will hurt them. Monday’s Full Moon at 7° Scorpio is a bit like a street dog. Ruled by Mars in Cancer, it’s viscerally attuned to any change, threat or offer in the environment. It’s got hair trigger reactions that all point towards survival. With a square to Saturn, the Full Moon spotlights our fears, sense of lack, restrictions and insecurities. There’s a strong self-preservation mindset present that is hungry for what it wants.

Austin Coppock notes this part of the wheel relates to hunger and offers The Jaw Bone as an image. He adds that Decan I of Scorpio is associated with deep and sometimes secretive desire… we want to eat it all up. Imbibe it. Make it a part of ourselves.*

If we take the hunger idea a bit further, the tarot card associated with Scorpio I is the Five of Cups, or “Lord of Disappointment”. We are often disappointed because we cannot satiate our hunger. Or if we have momentarily, even then it’s not enough and we’re left wanting more. This forever seeking maw rooting for more is a part of being human. But it’s also why we suffer. Buddhism teaches we remain trapped in Samsara because of 1) aversion and 2) craving. We suffer when we don’t surrender to what is. We suffer when we crave for more than what we have. It’s alright to want more, but not to crave it.

All this to say: We have a powerful opportunity at the moment to wake up (Uranus oppose the Moon and sandwiched between the Sun + Venus in Taurus). What if we creatively turned our hunger to causes, land stewardship, communal living and helping others? The mutual reception between the Moon and Mars creates a powerful channel for creative solutions. And if 2020 taught us anything, it’s that the world can flip at any moment and we’re more resilient than we think we are. We have the potential to redirect personal cravings onto other + planet. I’d like to think that’s the message of this Full Moon.

Venus leaves the boxing ring of Aries today for three+ weeks of forest bathing in her nocturnal domicile of Taurus. The last 23 days might have been rough on Venus as she socialized, beautified, related and attracted by Mars playbook which fundamentally contradicts her preferred style. Yet, Venus is Venus wherever she goes, and in Aries we might have witnessed dissension between people so that the ensuing examination of conflict could bring them back together.

IN TAURUS, Venus indulges in life’s little luxuries. She understands that life is to be enjoyed and that sensuality is a special kind of spirituality. There’s a sense of self worth here that attracts (and is attracted to) the good life. This doesn’t mean that Taurus is materialistic and a slave to hedonistic pursuit. Not at all. It’s just that quality matters as it’s a reflection of personal self worth. Why put junk in or on your body when you can feed and clothe it with nutritious food and luxurious fabrics? Taurus will splurge on high octane smoothies because their body temple is worth it.

There’s a sense of royalty as well… but the kind of royalty a pristine waterfall has, or a field in bloom. Just being itself engenders awe.

Venus will host Mercury and the Sun as they ingress into Taurus April 19th. We’ll be able to feel a mood shift as three planets change signs from the fiery “Let’s do it!” energy of Aries to the face-of-a-plant-following-the-Sun energy of Taurus. Perhaps we will have thrown enough kindling on the efforts we initiated the first half of April to set a big fixed log on them to slow burn the rest of the month. That said, Venus will have a quick 1-2 punch with Uranus then Saturn the 22-24th which could bring a social suprise/unrest followed by order and restraint.

Image: My favorite Taurus, my daughter Marlena. Born with Venus in Taurus as a morning star and the Sun conjunct her Asc in Taurus. She has taught me more about Taurus-Venus energy than any book or teacher could have. An artist, vocalist, Earth steward and embodiment of pure love.

Those of us with mutables around 19-23 degrees might feel as though our productivity has been hijacked by a hot air balloon. We know in theory what we would like to accomplish but it’s so. far. away. Hard aspects between Mars and Neptune are like trying to run while dreaming or reading a billboard through fog. The desire for productivity is bullied around by heavy-hitting procrastination and listlessness resulting in general bleh.

To top it off, we’ve got a soft and glistening Balsamic Moon in Pisces. It sits in a rocking chair like a gentle quaalude reading us a bedtime story that we are more than ready for.

Image from Brokeback Mountain which is also Mars/Neptune as Heath Ledger’s character has to Neptune his Mars’ drive to chameleon into a husband and daddy role.

Mercury leaves the House of the Undying tomorrow and enters Dragonstone. After spending the past 18 days with his scrying mirror and nebulous dream-talk, his communication style dries off enabling direct (if not sharp) speech, driving the point home. It’s the difference between warlock Pyat Pree and Mother of Dragons Daenerys Targaryen. The first hisses divinatory messages from blue psychedelic stained lips while the second declares liberation and rule of the Iron Throne.

In more relatable terms: Mercury in Aries thinks fast, their mental processing and subsequent speech doing a mental parkour around Mercury in Pisces whose preferred movement is a languid backstroke.

Now in mutual reception with Mars in Gemini, this well resourced Mercury will be moving fast and powerfully. The next two weeks opens up a window of time to attend to all matters of business, learning, communication and Mercurial themes. Just a warning though: Mercury in Aries can leap before looking. Make sure decisions aren’t rash and dangerously spur of the moment. If the opportunity for anger arises, think 4 times before reacting. Mercury in Cardinal-Fire can escalate from curious to enraged in 10 seconds, letting a torrent of dragon fire blast forth which they regret later.

What to do when Mercury—the fishing line cast out to hook some tangibles—delivers whale sound? Mercury in Pisces conjunct Neptune delivers the entire web of associations: the chairs on the Titanic, bottles and their messages, the musings of a 16th century fisherman. It can be challenging to extract the fish from the Neptunian haul. That’s Virgo’s job! But sometimes the net will offer achingly beautiful whale sound composed from the glass stained nebula of the totality of human experience.

I recently met with a Neptune/Mercury client who flatly shared her biggest fear is that people will think she’s crazy if she opens her mouth. I suggested she might take it as a compliment. But she said no… whenever she offers an insight, people lean out. So she has learned to keep her fantastical ideas to herself, which is a shame, because her imagination is Borgesian in nature.

Our conversation reminded me that the Water signs are considered mute. Sometimes, it will take a watery Mercury so long to connect with the fish, the moment to add to the conversation passes. The person knows that whale sound is not an appropriate contribution, so they say nothing. That is why people with Mercury in Pisces—Mercury aspecting Neptune in particular—can create gorgeous poetry and art if given a moment to arrange their impressions. They are the vessel through which feelings bubble forth from an inspired umbilical spring to be reinterpreted in words, melodies and canvas moods.

Mercury and Neptune join in a water waltz Monday the 29th (9pm Central Mexico City time). Allow yourself to fish for nothing and see what emerges.

Images: 1) A card I recently gave away and I don’t remember who the artist is. Google Image Search returned a Merc/Nep response of alien drawings. 2) John Muir’s quote. 3) Riz Ahmed on a Fresh Air interview. 4) Digital Creator KYLE @eyesboyzinsta
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Sunday’s Full Moon in Libra brings a certain amount of clarity around the viability of relationships. Where are we doing our part? Where are we compromising too much or not enough? Have we been self-absorbed and clueless to the hopeful expectations of others? Or on the other hand: have we felt out of balance, perhaps over-giving and under-receiving?

These are the kinds of questions Libra mulls over. Core to the Libra archetype is balance. And when the Self-Other axis bears down heavy on one side of the scales, this Cardinal Air sign is more apt than most to set it right. With the Sun beaming brightly in Aries, we begin to think of prioritizing our own needs more than we have been.

The ruler of this moon, Venus, has barely separated from her regeneration and purification process with the Sun only to be midwifed by Chiron, also at 8°. Fresh and Cazimi new, this baptism-by-fire lunation offers an emboldened perspective on love, self-love, friendship, community and belonging. Two days after Venus separates from the Sun and Chiron, she sextiles Saturn and then conjuncts Ceres on Friday. What do these encounters offer her? How can she use her suffering and alienation to point her towards wisdom and maturity? Perhaps the Full Moon asks us to caretake ourselves. Finding nourishment (Ceres) in autonomy (Aries) may be just the right action to bring the scales into balance.

March 20—The Sun officially announces the Equinox today from his exalted throne in Aries. The Sun in Aries is energetic, a natural born leader and a self-starter. Although somewhat impatient at times, there’s an admirable courage in Aries people. Their original and pioneering qualities speak to the cardinal-fire energy they were born under. Humanist Astrologer Isabel Hickey—who had all 7 traditional planets in the signs they rule in her natal chart—wrote that “Arians are never too old to start a new venture. The rest of the signs might wilt from stagnation, but not Aries.” We could take her sentiment one step further and look to the Aries part of our chart to see where we’re perpetually motivated to begin anew.

The very next day, Venus joins the Sun in Aries. Venus in Aries knows how to advocate for herself. Just like Maisie Williams (aka Arya Stark), Venus in Aries is independently oriented and driven to pioneer her own destiny. This placement uses martial tools such as mettle, sweat and confidence to do Venusian things such as unite people and/or beautify. The image that comes to mind is a steamy, energetic salsa dancer.

For the most part, conversations with other planets will be smooth as the Sun and Venus will form sextiles to Mars, Jupiter and Saturn during their sojourn through Aries. During the Aries New Moon on April 11th, Venus will square Pluto followed by the Sun square Pluto on the 16th, allowing us to dig beneath the surface to a layer of truth as we sow New Moon seeds.