Revisit Venus & Pluto

Venus is a fast moving planet.  It goes through the signs at a clipped pace and therefore when it is in aspect it is typically in full force for only a handful of days.  Whatever lesson Venus is teaching is a quick process.    

So I was aware and wrote about it here that on Saturday August 24 Venus was in square to Pluto.   This happens twice a year so it is not what you call a big deal.  Yep, there are pressures on money, pressures on values, pressures on love and beauty.  And because Pluto is in the mix, the pressures are exaggerated because the darker side of love, values, money and sex are in the spotlight.  But again, we get it twice a year.    However, when I started to see clips from Mylie Cyrus’ performance on the VMAs and the public outcry, I thought.  Yep, there’s Venus square Pluto.   Apparently, Mylie decided it was time to publicly execute “Hannah Montana”.

 I then noted on Tuesday August 27 Lorri DiMaggio, the sister of James Di Maggio  the 40 year old man who had kidnapped 16 year old Hannah Anderson,  (What is the deal with the name Hannah?)  and was eventually shot and killed in Idaho (If the shootout had happened in Montana that would be too weird).    Anyway, Lorri suggested that Hannah is not all what she see seems.   If you read between her lines she was spelling out L-O-L-I-T-A.   Look up that in the astrological handbook and you will find a picture of Venus in aspect to Pluto. 

Then today my friend Michelle pointed out to me this story.  On Monday a 54 year old former high school teacher was convicted of rape of a 14 year old student who then took her own life .  He was given a sentence of 30 days in jail.      By the way, this happened in .... Montana.

So looking back we have got a lot of young women and underage women in the news.     I’m not even going to suggest I have an answer to any of these stories.  But,  I think you would have to be an idiot to not see there is pain in the middle of them all.  Where we have Pluto is where we have depth.  Pluto is pushing us to look at ourselves and where we fall on sex and youth and in particular young girls. 

As Venus and Pluto unwind from the aspect and we all walk away from the dust,   I will leave you with this article: The Myth of the Teenage Temptress  (Thank you, Michelle).   Very thoughtful piece.  

Something to wrap up the Leo Lunar Cycle

Apparently Kristin Chenowth (whom I think is great) was at the Hollywood Bowl last week and called for someone to come up and sing a duet.  Up from the aisles walked Sarah Horn who teaches voice.   No rehearsal, just a random opportunity.     Very inspiring and perfect as we wrap up the Lunar Leo Cycle.  

A sobering fact that speaks to Pluto in Cap

Richard Fuld, the former head of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., was among the 25 highest-paid chieftains for eight years in a row — until his company disintegrated

Many highly paid CEOs are failures report says (LAtimes)

By Walter Hamilton

August 28, 2013, 12:47 p.m.

Nearly 40% of the nation’s best-paid CEOs over the past two decades were either fired, forced to take government bailouts or in charge of companies that paid huge amounts in fraud-related claims.

That’s the conclusion of a report Wednesday that attempts to gauge the link between weak corporate performance and skyrocketing executive pay.

The study, “Executive Excess 2013: Bailed Out, Booted, Busted,” was issued by the liberal Institute for Policy Studies in Washington. It's the latest in a years-long line of reports by the IPS and other groups charting alleged abuses in executive pay.

Among other factoids, it cites an AFL-CIO study showing that the pay gap between corporate chieftains and regular workers ballooned to 354-to-1 last year from 195-to-1 in 1993.

“Our analysis reveals widespread poor performance within America’s elite CEO circles,” the report says. “Chief executives performing poorly — and blatantly so — have consistently populated the ranks of our nation’s top-paid CEOs over the last two decades.”

Who works the hardest? Jobs with longest, shortest workdays

According to the study, 22% of the highest-paid CEOs ran companies that either had to take government bailouts to survive during the 2008 global financial crisis or that collapsed altogether.

For example,.

An additional 8% of CEOs headed companies that paid whopping fraud-related fines or legal settlements. In some cases, the executives themselves had to pay penalties for their own inappropriate behavior, such as the backdating of stock options to goose their compensation, according to the study.

And another 8% of CEOs suffered the ultimate ignominy — getting the ax for poor performance, according to the report. Of course, the disgraced executives didn’t give back any of their enormous compensation. In fact, the average deposed CEO walked away with a $48-million golden parachute.

New Moon Virgo arrives next week

As you know I write a new moon article every month but I like to remind everyone, I'm not the only horse at the race. It is good to see other astrologer's perspectives on the lunar cycle.    Diana over at her blog  Libra Seeking Balance has put up her own take on next week's Virgo New Moon.   She is a smart astrologer, do yourself a favor and read her column regularly.  Here is a snippet go to link for the rest of the article.

The face off on this New Moon at 13° 04′ Virgo on 5 September  2013, 04:37 AM PDT is between pragmatic earth with support from water and idealistic fire backed up by air. This time there are far more planets in earth and water and that suggests taking a practical approach to problem solving is our best bet. Better put our more idealistic notions on hold.

The New Moon its self is trine Pluto in Capricorn and sextile Jupiter in Cancer. Virgo excels at handling the small stuff our daily lives are made of whilst Capricorn specializes in organization and management. Since providing for our families, no matter how large or small, is often what gets us out the door and off to work, Cancer may be considered a source of motivation. It has always made more sense to me to celebrate all the little joys we experience each day rather than living from crisis to crisis, and this New Moon in the perfect time to reacquaint ourselves with those joys. After all we only experience life one day at a time so let’s not waste those small moments.

Venus in Libra, the only air in this chart, is exactly semi-sextile Mercury in Virgo. This may work out OK because both planets are in the signs they rule. Resolving our differences through intelligent dialogue is a good possibility. Mercury in Virgo’s logical style to problem solving......  go to link for rest of article. 

"Is that my brakes grinding or is it just the square?"

As those images of dead children came out of Syria last week and stories of chemical warfare and  questions like who is doing what?  Who is not doing what?   Who is the good guy?  Who is the bad guy?   And what are we supposed to do about it?  Which made me realize the whole world is Chinatown and we are all Jake *  

I thought of course of our current astrological climate of Uranus square Pluto.   For those of you who are regular followers of TracyAstroSalon you know that I speak often of the big ass square that we have been experiencing since 2012 and will continue to process until 2015.    Right now of course Jupiter decided to get himself in the dog fight by moving into Cancer and activating Pluto opposite him in Capricorn and throw a punch or two at Uranus in Aries.   What is the old saying, the enemy of my enemy is my friend?   There you go, Jupiter making friends all over the place!   Anyway, I have been discussing Jupiter for the last couple of months but I think is valuable to hear other astrologer's take.   Lynn Hayes has written up something quite smart on her sight AstroMusings.   Give it a read and check out her other articles. 

Jupiter square Uranus, opening wide the doors of liberation

We are currently in the midst of a major planetary cycle: the square from Uranus to Pluto.  If this concept is new to you, please see the abbreviated explanation in the sidebar of this site.  

Jupiter formed an exact square to Uranus last week, the first of three exact alignments that will amplify the shifting tides in our personal lives as well as on the world stage that are creating the necessity for a complete overhaul (Uranus in Aries) of the very foundation of our lives (Pluto in Capricorn).  With a total of seven exact alignments spanning a period of nearly five years, this planetary cycle is like a hurricane of energy that will strip us of the aspects of our lives that are already in decay (Pluto) and encourage us to refine our lives so that they more authentically reflect who we truly are (Uranus).

Now here comes Jupiter, interacting first with Pluto earlier in August and now Uranus.  Jupiter brings confidence to one’s ventures; it dislikes restrictive boundaries and desires to  expand beyond them.  Jupiter and Uranus are both freedom planets but they behave differently astrologically.  Jupiter is a personal planet, so it represents the internal urge to grow and learn and to live a life that has real meaning for us.  As a transpersonal planet, Uranus inspires us to drop any artifice and react against restriction that keeps us from being authentic and true to ourselves.  When these two interact in the sky, especially in a strong aspect such as the square (90 degree) aspect, the pressure for liberation becomes powerful and impossible to ignore.

Warning: geeky astrological details ahead.  The next exact alignment between Uranus and Pluto occurs November 1 2013, but Jupiter will begin to “translate” that alignment in early 2014 when it first opposes Pluto on January 31st and then squares Uranus on February 26th.   On April 20th and 21st all three planets come together in an exact T-square alignment.

Back to the rest of my readers! The period between January and the end of April 2014 will be extremely significant and offer a tremendous portal for letting go of anything that is not working in your life.  Change is easier for some of us than for others – it requires a great deal of trust that the change will in fact be beneficial.  For many of us the old is familiar and feels safe – even though it may be horrific, it is what we know.  It is exactly  these situations that this kind of planetary cycle is intended for – to force us, despite our desperate attempts to cling to the rotting fabric of the past, to move forward into a brighter future.

   

Coming up this Week

We begin the week with disseminating moon.   In the disseminating phase we are sharing the knowledge that we gathered during the waxing moon.   Even if we don't think we have worked the energy in the last twenty days--trust me we have worked the energy.  Even if we were sleepwalking we  were working it.     Now at the disseminating we are bringing knowledge to others and we sound smart, heck maybe we are smarter than we knew.    

August 24

8:25 am EDT  

Disseminating Moon Phase

Focus on:  How are you sharing your natural leadership? How are you sharing your enthusiasm?  How are you sharing your independence?  How are others sharing their enthusiasm with you?  How are you a person others want to emulate?  How are you looking for someone you can emulate?

Special focus:

8/24: Sun/Mercury Inspired thoughts that illuminate new possibilities to get organized and improve diet and hygiene.

8/25: Mercury/Neptune:  Fuzzy thinking, not clear communication or not truthful communication.  Meditating may help.  Accent on ‘may’.

8/26:  Venus/Uranus: Abrupt changes in love and resources.  Partnerships involved.

8/26: Sun/Neptune.  Actions based on spirituality.   Deepening connection to source.

8/27: Venus/Jupiter.  Big money, big love…big tension. 

8/27 Mars in Leo http://astrology.about.com/od/thebirthchart/qt/MarsLeo.htm

Last Quarter Moon Phase

August 28

5:34 am EDT

Last Quarter moon:  Now we do the final adjustments to the seeds we planted on new. The final call, the final letters to send, we follow all the trails that came up that still make sense.  And we let the other parts lay fallow. It is a time of action but wise action.  It is a time for living  “The serenity prayer”

God, grant me the Serenity
to accept the things
I cannot change Courage to change the
things I can, and the
Wisdom to know the difference.

Focus on: What actions can you take open up your communication?  What can you take that improves relationships with siblings?  What actions can you take support your relationships with neighbors? 

Special focus:

 8/28:  Mercury/Pluto. Terrific mental focus.   Ability to think in a deep way.  Communication exact and to the point.

8/29:  Sun/Saturn.  Taking care of business and feeling energized by it.  

8/31:  Mercury/Jupiter.  Great thinking brings groups together.   Good collaborative aspect. 

9/1: Sun/Pluto:  Enthusiastic, regenerative.  Resourceful.  Peeling an onion and finding a new fresh layer. 

Balsamic Moon Phase

September 1, 8:29 EDT

Balsamic:   We let go.  By releasing we can prepare for the new. 

Focus on   We release our family.  We release our emotions.  We release our cloyingness.   We release our fears.

Full Moon: Aquarius Part 2!!!

Aquarius Full Moon
August 20, 2013
9:44pm EDT
28 AQ 10

And here we are again…. Our 2^nd Full Moon in Aquarius in 29 days!    About a month ago we had a full moon in Aquarius around 2 degrees.  Now because of things too complicated to explain we are getting our second full moon in Aquarius this time at 28-29 degrees of Aquarius.   This happens periodically and gives us another lesson on the same subject.  

In this case, the full moon is shining on our friends, and on our co-workers when we are not working, and the people that inspire us---basically in short---our community.    Get your head around this for a minute.    How would Hemmingway have written without his boozy friends in Havana?  How would Dorothy Parker sharpen her wit without that round table at the Algonquin?  And sure they fought and were HIGHLY competitive but don’t kid yourself, Monet, Renoir, Pissarro needed each other to fight and scrap and teach each other whether they wanted to or not.   Thank you, lord for putting them all in France at the right time so we can get misty  looking at their Impressionists paintings 130 years later.

This is the power of the Aquarius energy.  Groups matter. 

Even silly PTAs, which I could if I wanted to speak volumes, but won’t beyond four words:  Been there Done That.

This full Moon asks us to look around, who is our tribe?  Are we uplifting each other?  Or does grousing hold us together?  *   Are we Renoir but hanging out with guys who paint on velvet?   When our light bulbs go off in our head –whom do we  call?  Do they get it?   Don’t blame them if they don’t—instead start looking for someone who does ‘get’ you.    Remember as Uranus and Pluto duke it out for the next few years we are all morphing and many of us are getting new friends, new hangouts, and new groups.    It is important.   Directions are changing; the wind is blowing, find someone who gets that new direction which is calling you.   

Being stuck is the worst feeling.    Let your community support you as you get unstuck and head where you need to head.

Watch what comes up this full moon.  And of course keep your eyes out for  Who comes into your life.    Are they in synch?   Are they the future or the past?     Mull it over a bit.   Listen to uplifting music.   Especially groups that would not have been half the person they were if it were not for the other guys/gals who showed up in their life. 

* Seriously, are you still grousing?  Do you not read my blog regularly?   This is the era of dropping the grouses.   Stop wasting your energy and other people’s time with complaints.  For gawdsakes I thought I was raising you better!