Saturday, July 30, 2022

Astrology: August 1 - 8

 



Crescent Moon

August 1, 2022

10:32 am PDT 

 

 

 

Focus on: What are you learning about details?  What rae you learning about perfection?  What information are you receiving that ties up lose ends?   What info are you learning that supports health matters and protocols?  

 

 

Special Focus

8/1: Mars conjunction North node.  Smoldering tension.  Up rooted.  Ground shaking.  

8/1 Mars conjunction Uranus Disruptions to status quo.  That which looks grounded –is not.  

8/2 Venus sextile Uranus new maybe even odd energy inspires love, money & values 

8/2  Venus sextile Mars.  Helpful actions that support love, money and values.  

 

First Quarter Moon 

August 5, 2022

4:06am PDT 

  


 

Focus on:  What actions are you taking that tap power?  What actions are you taking that cut out dead ends?  What actions are taking that flush out debris?  What actions are you taking that need you ‘all in”?  

 

 

Special Note

8/7: Venus trine Neptune.  Gentle persuasion.  Values feel supported.  Humanitarian issues may be pronounced.  

8/7: Mars square Saturn.  Thwarted actions.   Practicality versus lofty ideals.  

8/8: Sun trine Chiron.  Dynamic creativity breaks new ground. 

8/8: Venus opposition Pluto.  Creativity and values are tested for their power.   

July 28-August 1

 





Bumps 

 

On the 28th, Mercury tussles with Uranus and the north node in Taurus.   Our big thoughts and big goals and big fun may hit a wall.    The North Node in Taurus wants things to work and wants to build stuff up from the ground.   However, our thinking may be grander than our skills set.  Look in the news for someone or something falling short.    Then on the 30th, Mercury opposes Saturn, and our thinking gets serious.   There is tension between a focus on self and what our heart wants-versus our responsibility to others (in particular groups).  

 

On July 31 we have a big aspect, the north node conjunction Uranus.    This aspect happens about every 15 years.   The last time the two of them joined up was in March 2007.   Back then the conjunction took place in Pisces.   Pisces can be weird and unworldly, aspirational, and illusionary.  Looking at the timeline near that 2007 aspect, there was unseasonable tornado that hit Alabama in Feb (weird) and Barack Obama announced his run for president (aspirational) then a month later there was a fantasy high, when the Dow Jones reached 1300 for the first time in history only to have one year later the housing bubble crash taking the stock market with it and setting off the Great Recession.   Astrologer Kelly Surtees points out that the last time Uranus and North Node conjunction in Taurus was 1855.   Obviously, that year was part of the run up for the Civil War where citizens and those people they elect had to decide if USA would continue to be a slave nation or not.  Earlier than that date, 1458 had a North Node/Uranus conjunction which per astrologer Dani Fankhauser was a year where Earth was recovering from a severe cooling caused by volcanic ash from a previous epic volcanic explosion.   As we head to these dates now, extreme heat is causing chaos around the world.    On August 1 Mars enters the melee with a conjunction to North node in the morning, followed by a conjunction with Uranus in late afternoon (PDT).   This is big energy.  Big actions.  Big disruptions.   Issues around money and resources get a shock.   Aviation, Internet, electrical grids, anything ‘modern’ could be tested.   Any failures speak to where we need practical changes (Taurus).     Obviously, how these aspects impact people in their personal lives depends on any planets in a chart that form an aspect with 18/19 degrees of Taurus.   Especially those people with planets near that degree in Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius.   I include myself in the group and can tell you I am feeling the energy zapping my Scorpio planet.   


Once we get past the first week of tension the lunar month unfolds with some drama but not nearly as potent as the first week.    Near the end of the 29 day lunar month Uranus will station  for its five month retrograde period.  

Jupiter Retrograde July 28- November 28

 





Jupiter Station Retrograde 

July 28, 2022

1:37pm PDT

16 Aries 26

 

Important Jupiter dates: 

May 4 Jupiter enters shadow (28 Pisces 48)

May 11 Jupiter enters Aries 

October 28 Jupiter re-enters Pisces 

November 23 Jupiter stations direct 28 Pisces 48 (Sag new moon)

December 20 Jupiter re-enters Aries 

February 14, Jupiter exits shadow (16 Aries 26)

 

In May two things happened to Jupiter.   On May 4th Jupiter crossed into its shadow point and on May 11th it moved into Aries.     Every planet that retrogrades has two shadow points; at the first shadow point, the planet puts a flag in the dirt and says— “I’ll be back”    Then when the planet turns retrograde which Jupiter will do on July 28, it puts another flag in the ground and says, “When I see you again, I will know a lot more”  and then the planet heads back to flag #1.   By the time the retrograde is done and the planet turns direct it will be standing next to flag #1.   Then it straightens out and moves forward again chugging all the way down the road again until it gets to flag #2 and then it exits that shadow, hopefully wiser. 

 

Jupiter the teacher planet, spends several months of every year in retrograde motion.   During this time, we learn stuff, we get taught stuff and we might teach others.     Evidently, we are all slow learners because from shadow point to shadow point it is usually a nine month process.   The last time Jupiter was retrograde in Aries was fall of 1999.    Questions to consider: What were you doing then?   Aries speaks to personal identity; did you make any changes then that set a course for a ‘new’ identity?  How did you take agency in your life for new beginnings? How did you break free for more independence?   How did you become a new student or a new teacher?   How did you expand your world?   Those same themes will come up during this retrograde especially between now and October 28.   Between October 28 and November 28 Jupiter will leave Aries and return to Pisces and we will be looking at our faith again.  How does our spirituality line up with our philosophies?   If we are lacking faith it may come up or if faith is strong we may lean into it.   Once Jupiter turns direct we have another month of Jupiter in Pisces until it re-enters Aries on December 20th and we get our fight for independence and breaking new ground again.    Jupiter is our Friar Tuck ,our Mark Twain or our Sacajawea.  Jupiter can make us laugh, can show us how to be a bridge between groups and worlds.  Jupiter shows a generosity of spirt.    Jupiter can also be righteous and fiery especially in Aries.  However, the power of two months in Pisces should help us tap self-reflection and soften the edge of zealotry.    

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Leo New Moon: Be You. July 28, 2022 10:55 am PDT

 


Foster Kitten pretending to be a Lion 


Leo New Moon

5 Leo 39

July 28, 2022

10:55am PDT 


This is a beautiful New Moon.   There will be opportunities.   Even if it starts off bumpy --there will be gifts.   In the meantime open up your heart and find your juju.   You need and we need it.   


You will find my article on my friend Margaret Wendt's website





Monday, July 18, 2022

Astrology the week of July 18 - July 25

 


The week of July 18 – July 25 

 

The Moon is Disseminating

 

Focus on:  How are you sharing your faith?  How are you tapping those who understand spirituality and can share their best practices?    How are your connecting to those things that can’t be explicitly defined?  How is your intuition being amplified?   

 

 

 

Special focus:

7/17: Mercury trine Neptune.   Gentle promptings from the universe.  Tapping into intuition and kindness. 

7/17: Venus enters Cancer 

7/18: Mercury oppose Pluto.  Sharp, tough thoughts and conversation.  Emotions point out where thoughts that block transformation.  

7/19: Mercury enters Leo 

7/19: Sun opposes Pluto.  Once a year we take a moment to lean into family, childhood, emotions and see how they impact meaningful transformation.    

 

 

Last Quarter Moon Phase

July 20, 2022

7:18am PDT   

   

 

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 are you taking that speak to your independence?  What actions are you taking that support your own agency?  What actions are you taking that connect to your own leadership? 

 

 

Special focus 

7/22: Sun enters Leo 

7/23: Mercury trine Jupiter.  Broad thinking.  Expansive judgements.   Philosophy that is in line with thinking and communication.  

 

 

 

Balsamic Moon Phase

 

June 24, 2022 

5:10pm PDT  

 

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

 

 

Focus on How are you releasing mental chatter?  How are you releasing nervousness?  How are you releasing the lack of commitment?  How are you releasing gossip?  How are releasing contrariness?  

 

 

 

Special focus:

7/24: Venus square Jupiter.  Money and resources feel pinched.  Love feels threatened by big actions, big opinions.  Abrupt actions can be too abrupt.   

7/26: Mercury square Mars.  Rough, snappy, short fuse thinking and communication.  

 

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Capricorn Full Moon: July 13, 2022

 

Wisconsin Capitol Wikipedia 


Full Moon Phase 

21 Cap 21   

July 13, 2022  

11:37am PDT  

 

Today’s full moon is the strongest and the third Supermoon this year.  Not only is this full moon closest to the earth pulling on the tides it is also opposing the Sun in Cancer that already has deep ties to water.   Emotions could feel extreme highs and lows these three days.    In astrology there is something to be gained when planets activate the opposing influences of two signs.   Cancer the water sign, understands the importance of letting something flow, Capricorn, an earth sign taps the value of construction.  In ancient cultures a river was the source of food and nurturance, irrigation ditches directed the water to crops or wells dug deep into the land tapped the valuable hidden water.    On the Capricorn full moon, we do well when we access our emotions, but we refrain from letting them spill all over the place.  

 

Emotions running wild are about as useful as the Nile River flooding and wiping out villages.   Only those people who got out of the way or climbed higher land could survive the tumult of flooding rivers.  On the Capricorn full moon, we tap our emotions, we let them guide us on some internal level or journey, but we benefit when we stay cool and get some distance.   

 

The full moon is close to Pluto which is asking for an overhaul of that which does not work.   Because Capricorn has an innate sense of responsibility, some of us may be feeling overworked.   During the 3-day full moon phase we could benefit by releasing something that we just no longer want to take responsibility.   This does not have to be forever but what does it look like to just walk away from something at least now and let others do their share?    Or the opposite could be at play, maybe some of us have been hanging on too long to childlike patterns and behaviors (Cancer) and have turned to others to take on our responsibility?   This imbalance of power and role modeling of parent/versus child may have grown wearisome.   Perhaps it is time for us to take a more leadership role in our own life.   

 

The Sun and Mercury are both in aspect to Mercury which suggests our thinking is critical to this three-day phase.   Thoughts that do not serve us could come up for us to process.   Saturn the ruling planet of Capricorn is forming a trine with Venus, leaning into art could be helpful.  However, the square between Venus and Neptune could cloud some of our reasoning and money and love could feel a little fuzzy.   Saturn in Aquarius, although this can be counter-intuitive, reminds us of the importance of pulling back from ‘group think’ in order to help more humanity.  Some  may need help with new thoughts that we can offer.  Observations from good friends can have meaning during this phase. 

 

Both the Sun and Moon are getting a nice spike of creativity and novelty from Uranus that could have practical applications.  There may be a moment where our emotions feel big and we need a practical solution and then out of nowhere we have a thought and think, “Why didn’t I think of that before?”   And from that a path to a solution opens.

 

This full moon is not easy.  But even if there are bumps there are gifts.   Pluto will only be in Capricorn for 1 ½ more years so we are wrapping up a period where the Capricorn full moons have had that added wisdom that comes from tough working Pluto since 2008.    Make the most of this full moon and of course seek higher ground when you need it! 

 




Monday, July 11, 2022

Astrology This Week: July 10-16

 


Gibbous Moon

July 10, 2022 

7:02am PDT   

 

 

Gibbous:

 

Focus on:  What is going on with judgments?  What is going on with philosophy?   Do they align with our feelings?  Do they align with our rooted values?  What are we learning from those who live in other communities?  How are we broadening our thinking?   

 

Special focus

6/11:  USA Pluto return 2nd date  (see separate post) 

6/12: Mercury square Chiron.   Tenacious need for independence versus old fashion thinking.  How to find the balance?   

6/12: Venus trine Saturn.  Love and responsibility.  Structured goals based on creativity, love and values.  

 

Full Moon Phase 

21 Cap 21   

July 13, 2022  

11:37am PDT  

 

 

 

Full Moon:  We make the needed adjustments on the things we planted. Usually, emotions are up and running and for those people who perhaps did not utilize the new moon and the rest of the waxing moon, this is when emotions can get the better of us.  There can often be a big emotional break, for no other reason than to get back on track.   Some partnership will offer up some balance.  The moon is bright and full and there is no room for shadows, what is reflecting on you?  

 

The full moon in Capricorn speaks to our place in the world and leadership and agency we provide to self and others.   The write up for Full Moon in more details will be up in the next day. 


Disseminating

July 16, 2022    

4:55pm PDT  

 

 

Focus on:  How are you sharing your faith?  How are you tapping those who understand spirituality and can share their best practices?    How are your connecting to those things that can’t be explicitly defined?  How is your intuition being amplified?   

 

 

 

Special focus:

7/17: Mercury trine Neptune.   Gentle promptings from the universe.  Tapping into intuition and kindness. 

7/17: Venus enters Cancer 

7/18: Mercury oppose Pluto.  Sharp, tough thoughts and conversation.  Emotions point out where thoughts that block transformation.  

7/19: Mercury enters Leo 

7/19: Sun opposes Pluto.  Once a year we take a moment to lean into family, childhood, emotions and see how they impact meaningful transformation.    

 

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Astrology This Week: July 4-9

 


Crescent Moon Phase

The moon moved from New phase to Crescent on July 2.   Between now and the 6th  We will receive information, we will research a bit more, perhaps get feedback on stuff that we planted on new.  Perhaps get some information that will help down the road on a seed we planted a while ago.  We can collect some data now.  Even if you think you are not getting information, stop, and re-look at everything.  Who called you?  Even the silliest things when they come up during Crescent are note worthy.  A parking ticket.  An argument with a spouse?  A refund check from the phone company?  All of it needs to be considered a message from the universe.  How can this information help you?

 

Focus on: What are you learning about your strength?  What are you learning about pride?  What are you learning about your boldness?  What are you learning about your creativity?  

 

Special Focus

7/4: Mars enters Taurus

7/4: Mercury enters Cancer  

 

 

First Quarter Moon 

July 6, 2022

7:14pm PDT 

  

 

Focus on:  What actions are you taking that bring balance?  What actions are you taking that lean into family and relationships?  What actions are you taking that require negotiations?  

 

Special Note

7/8: Sun square Chiron.  Family versus Independence.   How to find emotions and agency for self-interests, even in conflicts? 

7/8: Mercury square Jupiter.  Use caution for thoughts that are too big.  Conversations that are too loud.  Thoughts that take a bridge too far. 

Monday, July 4, 2022

July 4, 2022: Burgers and flags during the USA Pluto Return

 

Tulsa Kids Magazine 

July 42022:  During the USA Pluto Return 

 

 

For anyone paying attention, it is clear the USA is going through extraordinary times.  There are some Americans who see the events of late and are scared.  There are others who see the changes and are galvanized into action and then there are those who have a cynical ‘nothing-new-here’ attitude and just move on with their lives.  

 

I am an American and therefore not immune to the changes that are happening in the USA, but I see them through the lens of astrology and I understand that these extraordinary times are framed by the USA’s Pluto return.   And let me be clear:  There is very much something to see here.  




 

On July 4, 1776, a chart was drafted for the USA.   While there are some questions about the time of the chart and there are astrologers who make compelling cases for other charts, the one that is used often by the astrological mundane community is the Sibley Chart.    British astrologer, Ebenezer Sibley (1755-1799) drafted the chart at the time of the revolt.  I think it is interesting that he lived in England and never visited America but as a British citizen and astrologer, Sibley knew something big was going on with the American Colonies and their revolution and he drafted this chart.  There are plenty of articles like this one, that make the case that the Sibley Chart has held up through the test of time.  

 

Using the Sibley chart, we know that Pluto was at 27 Capricorn 33 on July 4, 1776.    When you look at the ephemeris for 2022 you will see that Pluto hits that degree of Capricorn three time this year (Feb 22, July 11 and Dec 28).  It takes 240 years for Pluto to go around the sun and end up where it started.  This is why humans can never have a Pluto Return.  We just don't live long enough.   But if a nation survives without changing its constitution and continues on for 200+ years then it can have a Pluto return.    This is the USA's first Pluto return. 

 

I was aware of the Pluto Return before 2022.  It was the early aughts and many of us were focused on the outer planet cardinal squares that would start up in 2008 when Pluto moved into Capricorn.   Astrologer Ray Merriman , who has a financial astrological perspective, coined the phrase “Cardinal Climax”.  We all knew this cycle would have a financial component and right on time, collapse of world markets happened when Pluto moved into Capricorn in 2008.    While I started to process the cardinal climax, the notion of Pluto returning to the exact place it was in 1776 was a bit vague to me.  Although I knew it would be big.  In 2006, Michael Lutin rang the Pluto Return bell as hard as he could when he wrote this piece for Vanity Fair.   I had an opportunity to talk to Michael shortly after he wrote the piece and I told him he was brave to post it since it is the last thing Vanity Fair readers would have on their mind.   He said, and I remember this quote like yesterday, “I had to do it. I had to let them know.”    

 

There are many articles that get into the gist of what it means for a nation to process a Pluto Return.   Over at Necessary Behavior there is this article,  “Everything You Need to Know about the Pluto Return.”     I point out this: 

 

“When a country experiences a Pluto Return, it can lead to critical transformations and some countries don’t survive it. According to astrologer Ray Grasse, the Roman Empire fell after its second Pluto return but Great Britain's second return led to a new era of development and prosperity with the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Unfortunately,, this kickstarted Britain's slave trade which was subsequentially disbanded only after their third Pluto return. “In the chart of a person or nation, Pluto is never just the destroyer. Power is unlocked, abused, taken and ultimately, relinquished.” Astrologer Lauren Ash says Pluto also, “rules things like interpersonal skills, power struggles, and shows the sources of your personal power” and “In astrology,  this celestial body signifies the death of old traditions [and] the birth of new ones.” 

 

So what does this all mean? 

 

Distilling it way down, a Pluto return is the death and rebirth of a nation.   


If we look at the sturm and drang of now, we see it can be traced back to 1776.   Whether we want to go there or not, Pluto points out all the areas that the founders of the USA got wrong.   It is not to say that some things aren't righteous from the 1776 USA inception, sure there are and those that are right can pervail.  But Pluto first says, "This is broken, this is corrupt, if you don't fix it I will and you aren't going to like it if I do it."   Since 2008, Pluto has been getting our attention of what needs fixing in the USA.  Each year amplifying the issues until now we get here in the intense period which will be churning a lot between now and 2025. 

 

Obviouisly, many people are talking about race and social justice inequities.  George Floyd’s death in the middle of a nation's Pluto Return was a loud bell ring.     People of all races were touched by the event.   For many, sitting on the sidelines no longer felt doable.   Even across the world people who felt racial injustice in their country marched, gathered and needed to be heard.    I wrote about my own experience and the things I saw in the middle of a protest in Los Angeles on May 30th.  

 

The sad truth is race was critical to the framers in 1776.  It was predominately white sons of Virginia who conceived and wrote the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.    These authors were all enslavers.   Between 1776 and 1826, except for 12 years, all the presidents were Southerners and most were from Virginia.   The Revolution and the birth of the USA was shaped by Virginia.  It was an old colony and the largest and wealthiest.    It was in Virginia that the first slave arrived.     The money that was generated in America and used to pay off loans that fronted the American Revolution were tied back to the free labor provided by slavery.   Tobacco, Cotton and later sugar are equivalent to oil, auto and cyber money today.   In the 18th century if you were born in the United States, you were not guaranteed citizenship if you were Not White.   If you were a woman, you were not given the right to vote and other inalienable rights.   Sadly, today there are disturbing forces that are pushing for the removal of guarantee citizenship in USA by birth.   In the last week SCOTUS reversed Roe impacting women's agency over their own bodies; decisions undermined the separation of Church and State, long held gun laws and  rendererd the EPA almost useless. All of this as we head into our next exact Pluto return date of 7/11/22.    

 

Even if you have a small understanding of our complicated history, then you know the twists and turns that the Supreme Court ruled to keep slavery alive, like Dred Scott or how Reconstruction was killed during the Compromise of 1877 making Rutherford Hays president only after he agreed to pull union troops out of former confederate states which then launched the Jim Crow south for the next 80 years.  If the Civil War seems far away, let me point out that slavery ended in December of 1865.   If a child was born into slavery in November of 1865 and lived to be 100 years old (and it is likely someone did)--who in your family was alive in 1965, breathing air the same time that a former slave was still alive?   Was it you?  Was it your parents?  Was it your grandparents?   Slavery's history and debris field is long.   Sundowner laws and redline communities exist in states that never had slavery.  I have friends who remember their dads who could not drive at night because of sundowner laws and that is in California.   

 

I watched as this journey of Pluto Return began.  It seemed all of USA history from 1776 until now was being put in the mill for all of us to process the grist.  The Economic crash of 2008, Global Warming with extreme floods and droughts,  the power of fossil fuel lobbiests manipulating laws and of course the endless shootings.  I remember watching Sandy Hook and thinking that the AR15 serves no one any good.  The NRA and all its power made sure there was no tightening of loopholes even though their membership wanted it.    The big money behind 18thcentury like slavery, tobacco and cotton is still alive and well and making sure rulings and laws protect the power and the money of the powerrful.  I thought of it all again after 19 school children happy in the morning and dead by noon in Uvalde, Texas.    

 

For astrologers, The Birther movement, Tea Party, lies perpetuated by on camera personalities and endless postings on social media speak to the USA’s Moon in Aquarius in the 3rd house (Sibley).   Currently, Saturn is conjunction the USA moon and will continue to be an influence this summer and will return to it again at the end of the year.   It is interesting that right now the Hearings on January 6 are informing a lot of Americans of  lies that were perpetuated by the Trump Administration.    Watching poll worker  Shaye Moss testify as to what Rudy Giuliani and President Trump did to her and her mother showed a level of cruelty that should make everyone quiver and it is on point for Saturn conjunct moon in Aquarius during a Pluto Return.    We as citizens in our country will have to decide what we want to repeat or lean into.  Is it truth?  Or is it gossip?  Or is it manufactured for a reason to give someone more power?   Are we going to forward an email? Or a meme?  Or ignore it?  We have a lot in front of all of us to think about when we consume ‘news.'  We should know better now.  

 

It is worth mentioning that soon we are not just dealing with Pluto return, we also will be processing Uranus in Gemini (2025-2033) Neptune in Aries (2025-2039) and of course Pluto in Aquarius 2023-2044 (when our Constitution has its return).    It will be bumpy period but what we decide to do with the bumps speaks to our character and our faith in self, others and something bigger than all of us.   I do not think it is an accident that we are all incarnate right now as Americans in this USA Pluto return.    What is your role?  

 

I celebrate the 4th of July 2022 by telling you we have a lot in front of us but never should we give up.   Our country deserves all Americans to go deep and decide what they want for our nation?  I also want to address the group who are choosing to check out.  Do nothing.   The ones who choose to do nothing because of their own cyncism.   

 

I will leave you with this thought.   On  Ezra Klein podcast on the NY Times May 17, 2022, Ezra interviewed Anne Applebaum a historian and journalist who has been a part of conservative think tanks and has written much on Putin and the power of corrupt propaganda.   In it she discusses cynicism and apathy.    As she points out, cynicism is close to nihilism and apathy, and it is created by autocrats.  An example given, Putin desires apathetic Russians.   By giving Russians multiple stories, like the crash of Malaysia Air, one news station says one thing, then another station says something else and then people think “We’ll never find out the truth” --- when it fact Malaysia Air was shot by Russians.  When people are cynical, they fear they can’t know something or create the feeling it is impossible to know.  It leads people to feel they are powerless.   This is popular with autocrats.   In fact it is a precondition for autocracy.   “Everything was possible and therefore nothing is true”  -- this is Putin’s Russian.     We in America must think long and hard about our own cynicism.    Who does it serve? 


I will continue to adovocate and fight for the things that are important to me.    Cynicism be damned.   I will now set up the grill and serve my family burgers and potato salad.    

 

Happy 4th of July In this year of 2022 in our USA Pluto Return.