Michael Lutin calls it like he sees it

If you have not had the pleasure of reading Michael Lutin---NOW would be the time to start. Holy, Moley he is on fire...and not a matchstick too late (if you ask me).

I am sure many of you may be familiar with his work when he was the astrologer for Vanity Fair Magazine. He broke free from Czar Carter a couple years ago and now in my opinion is able to fly without too many corporate chains.

I have been waiting for some snippets from Mikey on our changing energies ...ahem Cardinal cross... and my friend sent me the following link:


A dark tide is rising, and within weeks you're going to

see on TV or witness in front of your eyes

overt acts of hostility against a regime

people feel is unnjust and corrupt.

This will mark the beginning

of the Uranus Pluto square,

a period of social change

not seen since the 1960's.

It is a worldwide phenomenon
.....


it continues...a must read go to HERE for the rest of Uncle Mikey's take.

Stellar Insights--Solar Eclipse July 11, 2010

I don't spend a lot of time following Eclipse paths, not because I don't believe they have merit but more because I barely have time to bathe these days let alone look at shadows on earth. Anyway, since I'm not versed in Eclipses I am always pleased to find an article by someone who knows what they are talking about.

Such is David Crook's piece on his website "Stellar Insights".

Take a look at what he has to say about July 11th Solar Eclipse.







One of my peers has noted the linkage between current events in South America, and the total solar eclipse of July 11, 2010. This solar eclipse will be visible in Argentina, and Chile where the massive earthquake just struck. Currently, Argentina's relations with the UK are strained over disputed territory with huge oil reserves. Thus, the July eclipse seems to be casting a shadow in the area where it will be visible, over 4 months before it occurs. In fact, the chart Ascendant(18 Capricorn) for Chile's earthquake was opposite(-180-) the solar eclipse degree. But we must also note that the heliocentric Nodes of Pluto(20 Cancer-Capricorn) are now being triggered by the Moon's Nodes, and the activation of Pluto's Nodes are an indication of possible eruptions and upheavals.

The Eclipse and several U.S. horoscopes
The July 11, 2010 eclipse falls in the 8th house(death, debt, and losses) of the U.S. Sibly chart- while squaring the U.S. progressed Mars, and opposing President Obama's Inauguration Mars. These hard aspects to Mars suggest heightened violence and military conflicts.

The solar eclipse in Cancer also hits the U.S. First Continental Congress(9/5/1774) 8th house Mars(-180-Pluto); the U.S. Dollar(7/6/1785) Moon-Uranus conjunction(17 Cancer); and the U.S. Federal Reserve(12/23/13) Ascendant-Mars(18-20 Cancer). Therefore, there would seem to be some major financial implications of this eclipse for the United States, and it's probably not good news.


Go to link for the rest of the article. Very thoughtful!!!

Saturn Uranus Opposition

Saturn Oppose Uranus April 26, 7:23pm


Since November 2008, Saturn and Uranus have been on a teeter totter with each other. Those dates were November 4 2008, February 5 2008, Sep 15, 2009 and now we are on our fourth round.

We have been given a gift of Saturn transiting back one more time into Virgo and it is giving us this great opportunity to look at our daily activities and see how they support change (Uranus). Does our schedule look nuts? How do we spend our time? Do we run around taking care of others but ignore our own needs? How about those of us with OCD, is it on full volume? And what about diet? If you are eating three thousand calories a day are you really surprised you've put on twenty pounds? Now you should take this final passage of Saturn in Virgo to clean up the lame areas that is your daily life.

Of course some of you are probably saying, "Why and Why now?"

Because Pisces is where we dream. It is one of our visionary signs. It is the sign of great mystery. It is where we meditate and we find our new lives. And in this sign is Uranus, the agent of change. However, Uranus is wrapping up its time in Pisces and when it moves into Aries the changes we make will be based on something different. More like "have to" changes. So, while Uranus is in Pisces and under this aspect with Saturn try to connect to your higher self, (spirit or the great unknown) and see if you can uncover your true future you.

If you don't know, take a look at your life and ask what has been nagging at you since November 2008? You have probably all had some energy come up that you are processing that is a direct result of these two planets. If you are unclear, just ask a few friends. Ask them are there any 'catch phrases' you have been saying for the last two years. Because any venting you've been doing is probably where the change needs to take place.

We are under this influence for awhile not just today so start cleaning up your daily life so you can get to your dream life.

And remember the next time Saturn and Uranus do their last teeter totter (July) they will be doing it in Libra and Aries. Which is not about daily routines and dreams it is about personal identity and relationships. And it promises to start with a bang.

Chiron in Pisces

Chiron moved into Pisces on April 20 at 2:37 am EDT. I mentioned Chiron briefly in my new moon article:

Chiron’s big move

And then there is Chiron. We have spent a lot of the last few years talking about Chiron in Aquarius. To me it was exceptionally difficult because I have Chiron in Aquarius in my natal chart. As we know Chiron is the self inflicted warrior. He steps in the shit and then has to clean it off himself. While Chiron has been in Aquarius we’ve been working out much energy with our friends and associates and like minded groups. I have found this to be challenging in many ways. Just recently, I saw a friend who I have not seen in a year or so and on her car was a bumper sticker that read “Which are you drinking?” and there was an image of a tea bag and a pitcher of kool aid. Sigh. I found myself leaving my body as I muttered, “Must not say anything, must not say anything.” Anyway, that energy is going to shift on April 19 when Chiron moves out of Aquarius and into Pisces. * We will move out of groups and more into humanity. I know at first blush we all think that groups and associations are humanity. They aren’t. They are a consolidation people gathering to hatch ideas and percolate as a group. We bond and tell the world ‘Count this group as important!” But now with Chiron in Pisces the energy goes into group consciousness rather than groups. Ideas transcend individuals. The last time Chiron was in Pisces was between 1960 and 1969. Read those dates. Did the world change much? Can you say JFK? Can you say March on Selma? What about the arts? We went from “The Twist” to “Honky Tonk Woman” We went from “Please Don’t Eat The Daisies” to “The Graduate”. And what about the other stuff, Lee Harvey Oswald? Gulf of Tonkin? The Second Vatican? And of course, D*R*U*G*S . Chiron will be in Pisces for eight to nine more years. How is our life going to change? I dunno but start preparing for a new energy.
(*note: Chiron later in the year will retrograde back into Aquarius for one more round of group causes but then in 2011 it is back in Pisces for the long haul.)

Anyway, we are now going to have Chiron in Pisces for the next 8-9 years.

I see that

AstroGirl has her own take on Chiron's move which is very thoughtful

.

I believe we'll be talking a lot about Chiron in the next few months. More to come.

Stuff

A wee bit of housecleaning. Happy Late Earth Day (yesterday). I hope you had a green moment somewhere in your day.

Today Friday there was a hideous square between Venus and Neptune and I sure as 'eff felt it! Confusion and resources, no shit. Two days ago I purchased tickets to a concert for a friend's birthday and right about the time of the square I realized I got the wrong night!!!!! Now I'm trying to sell them on that freak show that is Craig's list. Argh.

I am happy to say that Venus sextile Uranus has at least made me laugh about this complete waste of money.

In the meantime tomorrow Venus will trine Saturn... I'm praying that when I wake up there will be an answer from someone to buy these tickets.
If not, at least I hope the charity event that I am coproducing brings in a bunch of dough.

I normally love Venus trine Saturn. Fingers crossed my energy shifts.

Sun in Taurus

Happy Birthday, Taurus

Yesterday, April 20 at 12:30am EDT The Sun moved into Taurus. Did you feel the energy slow down? Did you feel your feet go further into Earth? Did you feel yourself have more 'stick to itness" energy? Good, Taurus is is in the house.

Take care that your lazy side doesn't grow too much or you get too stubborn. Watch what you dig in about and ask yourself ...is this really important?

Now----those of you Taurus's who were born on April 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 ---are you feeling the big changes in your life? I would definitely say the April 21 and 22's are in the middle of it and know it. It starts subtle. A small change begins a new life.

Imagine the following:
You are on a boat tied to a pier outside San Francisco. The boat bow is heading Due SOUTH and it takes off, two months later it ends up in Tahiti. Now let's go back to that pier and the boat's bow is heading south but the captain sets the compass just two or three degrees SouthWest, you take off and three months later you end up in New Zealand.

Two completely different enviroments. But for the person on the boat heading for Tahiti and the person on the boat to New Zealand for the entire trip they are both experiencing the same thing----blue ocean, waves, winds, salt spray. All the same but at the end two different countries.

This is what is happening to Taurus. They are getting tweaked, snipped, moved, shifted in ways both internally and externally but in the end they will end up some place completely different...and good. The reason for this change is Pluto. Pluto is the planet of change and transformations. And even though, Pluto is making a Trine which in astrology is a beneficial aspect (god, astrologers hate saying something is good or bad---but I'll do it anyway) there is always a bump for Taurus when they have to make a change. Tauruses like sameness and comfort in knowing something will be there tomorrow that was there yesterday. Even when it is a positive change they can get agitated, "What do you mean we are staying in the Four Seasons, I always stay in The Red Lion?!"

These birthdates are put on notice, you are shifting and changing with the help of the Universe and even though it makes you nervous, I encourage you to release your fear and go with the flow. It will be worth it, I promise!!!

Iceland Volcano

Lynn Hayes at Astrological Musings has done a very nice write up on the Iceland Volcano.

Back in January I had mention some similiar thoughts about Saturn versus Pluto. But, Lynn brings up something very sharpeyed:


A look at the geodetics of the situation provides a clue to the location of this event. Geodetic astrology is the fascinating application of astrology to the geodetic map, beginning with the zero degree Aries point at the Greenwich meridian. Using this system, the Midheaven line of Reyjkavic in Iceland is located at about 9 degrees of Aries, in a close aspect to both the Saturn/Pluto square and the Aries New Moon.


Great research!

Perks

So, yeah, we have the launching of yucky mercury retrograde this weekend but we also have a nice Venus sextile Jupiter on Saturday at 4:43pm (EDT) and we have Sun Sextile Neptune on Sunday at 4:15am (EDT).

These are two nice buoyant aspects that bring in fun and play and camaraderie, although we have to be careful of too much--too much. And there may be a hand by Spirit on Sunday. See if something comes in from nowhere. It may be of bigger support than you know.

Mercury Retrograde this weekend!

4th April - 08:15:26 UT - Mercury shadow begins ( 2 ta 39'34")
18th April - 04:06:03 UT - Mercury stations retrograde (12 ta 37'54")
11th May - 22:26:35 UT - Mercury stations direct ( 2 ta 39'34")
28th May - 19:07:02 UT - Mercury shadow ends (12 ta 37'55")

And so here we are a few days into our lovely Aries New Moon and we have a big ol' fat Mercury Retrograde. Yeah, I know, can't get a break, can we? Oh, well.

On Sunday April 18 at 12:06am EDT which is Saturday April 17 at 9:06pm (PDT).......Mercury will retrograde at 13 Taurus.

We will be going over all kinds of issues and especially those issues that surfaced since April 4. It is not limited to that date but if something came up after the April4th, you will probably have to go back over it a couple times until finally when Mercury goes direct (May 11th) you are on the other side of the issue and in some cases it may need to be processed until the shadow is complete--May 28. For those of you who need more info on shadow dates go HERE read the part about the car.

With a Mercury retrograde in Taurus our brain really slows down. Taurus is an earth sign and it does not like to be prodded, it likes to take its time, it does not like change. I know very well what a Mercury in Taurus looks like since I have them in my family..."Hey do you want to ______?" the first answer is ALWAYS 'NO'. They like comfort and sameness. But if you can get a bit of a move out of them they are often very happy after they have done _____. It is just moving them that is the problem.

With a Mercury retrograde in Taurus I would expect that our own stubborness is going to surface. We also will have to take a look at our 'sticktoitness'. And we should expect a few whirlwinds of dirt in our eyes. There will be some kind of mess up, some kind of miscommunication but it will make us rethink our practical abilities. Perhaps this thing that flies in our eyes, makes us stop and rethink....maybe it will be things like: "I'm not longer throwing good money (Taurus) after bad." "I'm no longer throwing love ( Taurus) after bad." "I'm no longer paying (Taurus) someone to do something that I should be able to do myself (practical)."

We certainly will think at our resources and our skills.

We also will see concrete examples where we fell short on something. Where we should have taken it slower and researched it further before we said yes.

Watch any moves on real estate. I would REALLY encourage you to wait before making any big purchases---especially on this Mercury Retrograde Taurus.

Good luck, see you all on the other side of this Retrograde. I think it will be a bit stressful but I for one am interested to see what kind of skills I can harness.

Aries New Moon--Treasure Map 2010

Aries New Moon is upon us. Hurray! As many of you know on Aries New Moon we build our Treasure Maps.

I must say with the upcoming Cardinal T Square this Summer, I think this might be one of THE most important Treasure Map times to date. As hard as it will be for many of you, it is important to lay out a game plan as to what you want in your life. Not some airy fairy desires but real stuff that helps support your authenticity.

I just posted my article at Margaret Wendt's website.

Here's a snippet but go to the article for the whole enchilada.



Hurray! It is here

At the risk of overstating something that I consider totally obvious---The Aries New Moon is THE most important lunar month in the entire year. Yeah, I guess that is quite a statement but I stand by my opinion. After all, it is this New Moon that launches the rest of the twelve signs. We can’t get to them ---without being here first. Aries is the gate keeper and it is the catapult. It is the sign associated with spring and it is sign associated with sight. We start here to get there. All of us have desires and goals but in order to manifest those dreams we have got to SEE them. And so on Aries New Moon we build our Treasure Maps. Like I said, Aries is an important New Moon.

I am guessing if you check in on my New Moons with any kind of regularity you are already familiar with Treasure Maps. God knows I have been talking about them for years. But if you don’t know anything then you can start HERE for background information.

In a nutshell, in order to make a Treasure Map, you need to clear your brain from fear and judgment and open it up to what you really want. Not “sort of want” but what you really want. A great way to get an idea what you want is to sit down with a bunch of magazines and start looking at photos and captions, look for sentences, words, anything that catches your attention. There will be some images that really beckon you and I would encourage you to cut them out and consider putting them on your map. Or maybe you go to a store and pick out greeting cards. Perhaps there is a “Congratulations on your Wedding” card that has THE MOST perfect image for exactly what you want this year. Or maybe you see a travel brochure with images of fabulous vacation spots. Or you decide to go online and look for images of exercise because you want a full year of better health. And of course you can draw and paint what you want and type up affirmations. “I am happy and grateful that I am abundant.” Whatever images and affirmations that you land upon and they call to you--- put it on a poster board. This is your Treasure Map. This is your life that you want. Please make your Map on the New Moon which is between April 14 8:28am EDT and April 18 1:40am EDT. If you cannot make your map in those 3.5 days then you do have the whole waxing moon (between April 14 and April 28) but be forewarned on the 18th Mercury is going retrograde and I do not feel that is the most optimal time for a Treasure Mapping. But perhaps some of you will need that cuckoo energy to find your map. Go with what works best for you.


What else is going on with this Aries cycle?

Of course, every Aries lunar cycle is more than just Treasure Mapping. And when we look at this particular New Moon we see a special gift from Neptune. But before we get to Neptune lets familiarize ourselves (again) with the first sign of the zodiac.

If you know any Aries then you know they are tough. They have a lot of energy and they go, go, go. When they see something that they want they will drive themselves forward until they get it. They can be relentless. When you need something done and you need a lot of action---Ask an Aries. But if you need something done that is going to take a lot of patience and nuance-----skip Aries! Patience is NOT their strong suit. When something takes a long time, they start to shut down. They can be very short with people and god knows they always have a snappy answer for a stupid question. The problem is what they define as ‘stupid’ may not be stupid to the other person. As you can guess this can cause friction in relationships. No kidding. But if they just could learn a wee bit of patience they might find themselves working a little more efficiently with others and perhaps, just perhaps they won’t always be alone which is their chief complaint.

Anyway, during this lunar cycle we will be passionate and action oriented and we may be slogging it out there by ourselves in ways that we never thought. But we could break a lot of new ground and make real in roads in ways that have needed freshness for a very long time. Yes, we also could be short with others as we may express impatience easily--- so please take note if you hurt others feelings and apologize quickly. These are not the times to glob onto resentments or curry them. Fix it on the spot

A bit of housekeeping

I was so busy in the last week dealing with a bunch of stuff plus writing the Aries New Moon article that I didn't get a chance to comment on Russia.

Holy Moley what was that week all about?

Obama and Russian President Medvedev signed an agreement to reduce arsenals of strategic nuclear warheads on April 8.


On Saturday April 10, The President and pretty much all the top military, government and spiritual leaders of Poland were killed in a Russian built plane that went down in Russia. Specifically the forest where 20,000 Polish officers were killed by Soviet Police in 1940.

and on Friday we learned that an adopted Russian Boy was unceremoniously returned to Russia by his American Mother. Is there anyone on Earth that didn't hear this story? It reminds me of a twisted up 21st century version of Elian Gonzales who was pulled out of the drink off Florida ten years ago. Cuba? Russia? USA? Yikes.

One week and that much noise? WTF?

I went looking at the chart of Russia and learned a few things. First of all, it is not that old. Yeah, I know Russia has been around for centuries, but not THIS Russia, this one is only from 1991. After the Soviet Union was dismantled on December 8 (the Minsk agreement), the flag was raised for Russia a few weeks later and Russia was (re)born on December 25.

So, we're talking about a Country with a Capricorn Sun, Virgo Moon and Leo Rising.

Of course as all of us know Pluto has been hanging around the 3 and 4 degree of Capricorn since the middle of last year. It was close to a conjunction last year but didn't make it until January 3, 2010. It will make two more exact conjuctions on July 24 and November 2. What I think is of interest is that Pluto retrograded on April 6...which anticipated all the recent activity. I am too tired to go back and check the news for Russia in December and January when Pluto went over its Sun. But I am telling you the hair is standing the back of my neck when I see that Pluto will be over Russia's Sun right around the time of the July Cardinal T Square. Fingers crossed all of their missing suitcase bombs are not involved. Sigh.

Saturn in Virgo

Wednesday April 7 2:51 PM EDT

Today, Saturn which has been retrograde since late January is going to move out of Libra and trek backwards into Virgo. "Oh, boy, that again!" Here's the deal, we have been processing Saturn in Virgo issues for about two years and half year until late 2009 when we got a bit of a reprieve (if you can call it that) as Saturn moved out of Virgo and into Libra and immediately began beating up all our relationships. "How's that been going by the way?"

Now, today our relationships will get a bit of a break (sort of) as Saturn moves back into Virgo one more time where it will remain until late July. During this final round we should take full opportunity and work the energy as best as we can. This means, we are once again going to have to have a "come to jesus" moment about our schedules, our calendars, who we serve, who serves us, our hygiene, our health and most of all (in my mind at least) our time management! Also, how do we dot our i's and cross our t's. While Saturn was in Libra we were probably so busy putting out the fires in all our relationships (not just spouses but everyone whom we relate) that we were getting sloppy with all those Virgo traits. How's that diet? How's that weight? How's that calendar? How over committed have you been? And what stuff did you forget to do and how did it cost you? This is the shit that pisses Virgo off and Saturn is a stern taskmaster. Saturn knows he sometimes has to make us lose something to get our attention. Anyway, after these next three and half months we will not have Saturn in Virgo for 27 years. So, don't you think now would be the time to get your act together?

Also, on April 26, we will have the final pass of Saturn Oppose Uranus in the signs Virgo and Pisces. The next time these two go at it will be later in the summer when they are in Aries and Libra (Holy shit, watch the sparks fly with your 'realtionships then!") but for right now, we have got all this Uranus energy to be creative, dynamic and renegade in some vague Pisces, unknown, hard to qualify way. Basically, we are trying to break from ennui but can not put our finger on how to do it, while at the same time we know we need more daily structure and organization Saturn in Virgo. We long for a different calendar but don't know how to get there. Anyway, I am here to tell you, we will get there but like any birth, it will not be without a bitch of a push. Breathe!

And f course as every astrologer from here to Timbuktu has stated, this oppostion is the reason why we have been dealing with the Health Care Debate. Let's see what other drama comes up on this topic between April and July. It ain't over until the Fat Lady gets Insurance.

Pluto Turned Retrograde

Pluto turned retrograde yesterday Tuesday April 6 at 10:34pm.

First of all many apologies that I didn't get this post up yesterday. I was in wall to wall meetings yesterday and didn't have a second to spare. Sigh.

Anyway, Pluto spends half the year in retrograde motion every year. While it is in retrograde (and direct motion for that matter) we are working out the energy and focus of the sign. In the case of Capricorn (where it will be for many years), we are dealing with business, executive abilities, corporations, government, big brother, bureaucracy and responsibility-- among other things. While in retrograde motion you may be compelled to ask yourself, "Where do I need to step up and be a CEO?" I know that sounds silly, especially if you are working in some small company and feel so far away from being a CEO, but do not limit yourself to your career. Where do you need to be a CEO in your life? This is a time when the energy may beg for those of us who have real leadership abilities to no longer hide in the shadows. We must step up and take responsibility for ourselves and world. But at the same time, if we are corrupt, we will start to crumble down. Because Pluto can find the weakness in any sign. To put it in perspective, a few weeks after Pluto officially moved into Capricorn (November 2008) Bernie Madoff was arrested. So, liars and cheats beware, Pluto's stay in Capricorn (until 2023) will probably smoke you out. And those who have integrity and skills will be called upon to SHOW UP. See if you don't find your own inner CEO for the next five months (turns direct in September).

For more information on Pluto in Capricorn in general go here:

How is your weekend looking?

Of course, I wish you a Happy April Fool's Day..whatever that means.

Tomorrow on April 2 at 9:06a (EDT) Mercury will move into Taurus which will slow down our thoughts. Those high falutin' Aries thoughts that we have had for last few weeks will transition into thoughts that are far more practical. Suddenly our brains feel grounded. "How do we get things done?" Will be our focus. And because Mercury will Retrograde in the middle of the month, we are going to have Mercury in Taurus way longer than normal. It is not until June 10th that it will move into licketysplit Gemini. Until that time we will have six weeks where we focus on patience on practicality. Obviously, a lesson that we are in need of experiencing. See how it feels this weekend.

On Saturday April 3, 7:25am (EDT) Venus Squares Mars. Not great for resources or love since both will feel ganged upon. Everyone feels fat in THAT dress. The wallet looks holey and the hand that is stretched out in front of us asking for us to give it something---well, it pisses us off. Curb your tongue as best as you can (ah, maybe that's the patience lesson we are learning from Mercury in Taurus). It will feel a wee bit better on Sunday. Sunday April 4 at 11:12pm (EDT) Venus will trine Pluto. We only get this trine 2 times a year how nice it is happening on Easter Sunday. Talk about HeHasRisen! Pluto demands death and rebirth and Venus is all out love and money. Lots of us may wake up on Sunday feeling one way and by the time the day ends (and we're closer to the aspect) we will have a completely new handle on what we love. Love of things may be replaced with love of "Lasting Things". Disposable anything will be very unappealing.

Hallelujah

Happy Easter! There's a Peep with your name on it.