Can you help?

Dear Friend,
So many of you have been kind to me and sent me emails or posted to me that you have found my column very helpful. For that I am grateful. As you know there is no fee with my column nor a tip jar. But if you could do one thing for me I would be so thrilled...
Over on Mothering.com community board is HOLIDAY HELPERS. Every year we try to help our Families in Need. We either send Gently Used items..or we send Gift Cards. If you have got an item you can send or if you can send a GC that would be great. I swear a $20 gift card can go very far for a Family In Need. It can make the difference between a terrible Christmas and a Tender Sweet one.

For example...One mom on disability has one 9 year old son and this is his needs..

Child #1:Age and gender: male age 9

Clothing needed (size, type): size 12 jeans and sweatpants,
prefers black or dark blueHats/gloves needed? yes, waterproof gloves for
snow

Shoes/boots needed? (size, type): yes, size 5 Sketchers
athletic shoes, wide width if possible to accomodate orthotics (Sketchers are
the only shoes we've found that fit his feet and orthotics well)

Toy preferences: legos, Nintendo ds gamesBook preferences:
Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, audio books

We have got a whole bunch of other kids with some basic needs. Anything going their way will be appreciated. Go to www.mothering.com and find Holiday Helpers. If you can't find it then post here and I'll get the data to you.

Thank you
smooch

Tracy

Venus Square Uranus--Saturday December 19

Saturday December 19 8:52pm (EST)

Venus in Sag squares Uranus in Pisces. Although this aspect is exact on Saturday evening I think we should start to feel it today. With Sag and Pisces we are dealing with matters of spirituality, religion and basically, "Where we fit in the Universe." With Venus and Uranus it is matters of love and money that go topsy turvy which then makes us question if the Univese is even our friend. The angels feel sad.
Perhaps we are invited to a party and someone says something to us that shakes us up (Uranus) or we try to buy a few Christmas gifts and find that our money set aside for the holidays evaporates before we get to store #2. A wave of sadness or ennui can color the day. BUT remember, this is a pretty quick aspect. It will be gone by Sunday evening.

Sagittarius New Moon---December 16

On Wedesday December 16 at 7:02 am EST --- will be the New Moon in Sag.

I gotta say I have a love hate relationship with the Sag New moon. First of all, even before I started writing New Moons and used to read them and learn about them with my old teacher Buz Myers, I used to get overwhelmed by Sag. It is such a busy time of the year and to focus on all that Buz had to say was often just too much for me. Which I have to say as a Sag made me a bit sad. There is so much value in Sagittarius energy but it can get overshadowed by the events of the day. People are running around, buying gifts, going to parties, making cards, visiting relatives.. it is just hard to squeeze in the value of Sag.

Having said that, I have written a lot about this moon. I am going to ask you to really take the time to read it all. It is just that important. A lot is going down and if you can only hear people when they shout at you then you will miss the value of whispered information. There are some whispers in this lunar cycle that I don't want you to miss.

As always you can find the whole article on Margaret Wendt's sight.

Here's a snippet:

The Big Picture

Sagittarius is the philosophical sign of the
zodiac. But left to roam without a bridle those philosophical passions and
desires can evolve into the most righteous sign of the zodiac. Religious
nut jobs can have pronounced Sagittarius planets (or crazy 9th house).
There need to be right is so strong that they must lay down the law on
everyone. (Anyone seen Bin Laden’s chart? Six words: “Saturn
in Sag in the 9th!”) But even when Sag is bad and righteous,
“My way or the highway” or good, “Let’s take a look at it from another
perspective”—Sag is THE “Big Picture” sign. This is the reason why Sag and
Virgo can have problems. Virgo sees the small and close up stuff
---The details. And they ask hard questions like, “How can that happen?”
or “How can that be accomplished?” While Sag is over there saying,
“I don’t know the ins, ands or buts ..I just know we need to look at the big
picture and figure out what we want. “ And if a Sag does not have
his or her arrow up in the sky zoning in for a target, he is then shooting off
his mouth to a fellow human. And that hurts! Not just the person who
is the subject of the comments but to the person saying it because they start to
become disillusioned about their fellow humans. Sigh.

Now on
this New Sag New Moon, The Sun and the Moon are in beautiful angles
(relationship) with Venus, the planet of love and resources, Neptune the planet
of spirituality and Great Mystery, Mars the planet of action, Jupiter the planet
of luck, abundance, expansion and Chiron ruler of Healing Old Wounds.

Look at that paragraph again. If you count, you will see
that the Sun/Moon are making music with four planets and Chiron. That is a lot
of good news. But that doesn’t mean you get to sit back, push the ON
button on your Margarita Blender, sit back drink to your heart’s content and
wait for the goodies to fall. It doesn’t work that way. Especially
with Sag who becomes totally useless and a detriment to society if he does not
have boundaries.

Remember, I said if “Sag is left to roam without
a bridle”. Quick history lesson----Next to harnessing Fire, one of the
other key evolutionary benchmarks for MAN was when MAN got on the back of the
horse. When Horses were harnessed people were able to move to
distant lands (Sag theme) and they were able to move timber, rocks, etc..Horse
driven power is still important in most of the world and even our cars are
defined by how much Horse Power they generate. Sag benefits by a
harness. Okay, so, where is the harness and bridle for this Sag New
Moon? The answer is URANUS.

So.... Tiger Woods.....

Schwwwwwwwing.

I was looking at my Scorpio New Moon which I posted about a month ago (way before Tiger's news) and I noted what I had to say about the Mars aspect for the scorpio lunar cycle.

Make mine Mars

Interestingly as we ping
pong between personal power and group activities we will also get a challenging
aspect from Mars. Mars is the warrior and he is extra snarky in loud mouth Leo
especially while he fights with lovely Venus. Venus in Scorpio is
sultry and sexy and she slithers along taking care of her orgasms and her
wallet. Mars in Leo who normally likes to get it on with Venus is not
digging her energy this cycle (square). Judging her sleazy and conniving
Mars is staying away from love. He would rather get his army together and
fight for a big dramatic purpose. Venus of course doesn’t get what the
hoopla is about and feels like a fish out of water when no one responds to her
usual tricks and so she gets sneaky. Since Venus rules money and values
(especially in Scorpio) we should expect some underhanded activities this month
due to her fight with Mars. But since Mars has all the dogs in this fight,
be prepared ---cheaters will be exposed! If you feel
like cheating, don’t do it. If you feel like going through the back door
on something with the thought it will get you to power or to money
quickly---here’s some help--- it won’t. Don’t believe me?
Watch what comes up in the news and you’ll be happy you listened to me.
Especially since Mars is also in Opposition to Jupiter in Aquarius.
Jupiter rules the internet and television so there will definitely be a public
brawl. And expect the same public scrutiny if you screw up.

No, surprise Tiger's news came out during this cycle.

The Weekend

As you all know I write about New Moons and their 8 phases HERE but on this particular blog I do not really focus on Lunar aspects.. "i.e. Moon moves into Scorpio, Squares Mars". I opt out of those postings because last time I looked there were about one trillion bloggers who do it and there is no way on God's green Earth I am going to offer anything remotely different in terms of a daily lunar voice. My emphasis is the planets outside of the moon... Give me a Saturn Square Mars and I'll talk volumes.
Having said that, there are no planetary aspects this weekend worth noting. All aspects are lunar but since I'm here, I will tell you that of those lunar aspects Saturday is a much more harmonious day than Sunday. Lots of crunchy aspects with the Moon on Sunday.

I would like to wish those who celebrate Hanukkah a Happy Holiday and may you receive an extra crispy latke (my favorite).

Sun Trine Mars

Thursday December 10-- 8:18pm EST

About twice a year we get a Sun Trine Mars and such is the case on Thursday, We should feel the energy bloom as the two planets tangle. Since it is taking place in fire signs you can expect a lot of sparks and fiery conversation. Not necessarily arguments, more like 'spirited debates." Our enthusiasm will run high. And as a Sag you know I am totally looking forward to Thursday.
Frankly, I think we all need a little boost. For the last year we have been dealing with Saturn and Uranus opposition which has rattled many of us to our core. What used to be up is now down, what used to be left is right. And adding injury to insult, starting in November Saturn began its long square to Pluto. Great, more Yuch on Yuch. So, given that environment, when we have a day like Thursday where the Sun and Mars are harmoniously aspected ---well, you don't have to tell me twice to have fun, get energized. Get proactive. Do what ever it takes to get up off the couch and be someone fabulous.
Oh, and you might surprise yourself with a funny quip or two.
Sag is known for her wit. Be witty and charm yourself somewhere glamorous.

Peas out.

This Monday--- We're a little Dorothy Parker-ish

December 7 Mercury Conjunct Pluto 4:12 am EST (Cap)

December 7 Mercury Square Saturn 9:35 pm EST (Cap vs Libra)

When Mercury gets on top of Pluto for its annual romp, there ain't much foreplay. Mercury's tongue is quick and Pluto is razor sharp. Does that sound like fun? Nope. But it is clever. (That's the Dorothy Parker part) Now for the good news. Your "business mind" is exact. Everyone will be cutting to the chase even when there isn't a chase. If there are any hurdles at work, they will be dissolved with one swift email. Of course, Capricorn is a bit of a downer so if you are feeling blue, just blame sour dour Capricorn. But if you have got shit to take care of and you have been dragging your ass...today is the day to take care of it. I, for one, will call the medical company that has sent me a bill, once a month for six months which I have deliberately avoided dealing with because the thought of calling their red tape circus has left me moribund.

But tomorrow, I will call them and clear it up for ever. That is what this energy is about.

"Great, I get it, I can lance the wound and clear out the disease. But what about Mercury Square Saturn?" Well, we may be a bit negative in the night. Perhaps the work we did in the morning exhausts us. If we get a shit phone call from anyone, blow it off. Saturn is so strict and stern and Mercury who likes to be light and frivolous can't get it's rocks off today to save himself. So, guess what---that is why god created phone machines. Phone Machine on? Check. Eat Dinner? Check. Pour drink? Check. Bed? Check.

Razors pain you; rivers are damp; acids stain you; and drugs cause cramp. Guns aren't lawful; nooses give; gas smells awful; you might as well live.

Dorothy Parker (1893-1967) U.S. short-story writer and poet.