Looking Ahead

Well how was that full moon for you? For me, I'm glad it is over. I felt burdened with more responsibility than normal. I longed for a sunny breezy week of summer I ended up with endless tasks, a tinge of loneliness and finding help only when I paid for it. Not what I consider a banner week but a perfectly lame full moon during a mercury retrograde. Glad that is fini.

This week we have disseminating and last quarter moon where we will have a Sun conjunct Mercury on Friday August 3 which should bring a slight a-hah moment (hate that expression but it fits) in the same vein when your mind thinks back upon something from the past with a new awareness. "Wait a minute, I think Dad was fired from his job in the 70's" We will get some insight on something that may be helpful or practical given Sun and Mercury are conjoining in Virgo. Of course since it is a retro mercury it will have a looking back feeling.


In terms of lunar aspects there is a Moon square Neptune on August 31 (2:39pm EDT) that will bring in something fuzzy or unclear. But it should not last long given a few hours later Uranus and Jupiter aspects will bring us something charming and unique

Pisces Full Moon

Full Moon Pisces

Tuesday August 24 1:04pm EDT

01 Pisces 25

Welcome to Pisces Full Moon. I apologize for not getting this up sooner but summer is crazy busy in a house with an active boy. ‘nuff said.

Well, it has been full moon for nearly eight hours and I’m sure you are feeling it. Emotions are up high with Pisces since it is a water sign but the Sun at 1 degree Virgo brings a sensibility to our powerful feelings. Pisces evokes pain and suffering and perhaps a feeling of “what’s the use?” But Virgo will not allow us to wallow, we are motivated by a sense, “Yeah, I guess it is shit but there is nothing I can do about it---and then Pisces responds, “Yeah, the only thing left is to release it----and then Virgo finalizes it with “let’s move on, it’s the only practical thing left.”

And that’s what the next 2.5 days is about. Some people might say, “let go, let God.” But that’s not accurate for this energy. It is just a feeling of finality or maybe more to the point would be the old expression, “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

If old issues come up and you are sick and tired of them then use Pluto’s sextile Moon/Trine Sun to release them. Just say it,”I give up” and stop fighting it. Go with the flow.

Neptune conjunction with the Moon (out of sign) will also provide some comfort with the out-of-control feelings. And anyway haven’t we learned “control” is an illusion 90 percent of the time?

Finally, the sun has a nice trine with North Node which always gives us some kind of gift. Perhaps an entre’ somewhere? A door to something we had never considered?

Here’s a novel idea, maybe the timing (virgo) works best when we get the eff out of our way and stop pretending we ware in charge (Leo).

There, you heard it here---go release now!

Moon In Capricorn--Pipe cleaning

Ouch!!!!

Yesterday around 2pm I had a moment with someone. The details of the moment are not important but what was notable was the feeling that hung around me. It felt murky, old, yucky, stuff from the past, an echo of an old wound so great that I felt helpless. This is not a position I find myself in often and raced home to check the moon. At 2pm PDT the moon was in conjunction with Pluto which is of course in square to Saturn. I love the eight phases of the moon and use them regularly in my life. Having said that I have gotten out of practice of utilizing daily lunar activity. I normally find it too overwhelming due to the speed which the moon moves.
However, checking back to July when the moon was in Capricorn I found myself once again dealing with all things Pluto. At that time I put the emphasis on Pluto but really when I think back on it, the wind in that sail was the moon's conjunction. It was that little 'push'. It was so stressful I took myself to a movie just to shift the energy. Unfortunately it was kind of a dark movie....lordy, I couldn't get a break.


Pluto is a plumber. He goes in deep and find the broken thing that needs to be fixed. Those deep buried memories or maybe even memories not so deep but still powerful---that is the territory of Pluto. A Moon in Capricorn is pretty darn practical which is interesting when dealing with something so profound as a miner or plumber going through your insides and finding some blockage. The moon is just pushing that plumber further down..'Go there, see if it there!" I felt like someone was saying, "Test her metal".

God, knows I felt like someone roto-rootered me.

Next month, the Moon will be in Capricorn on September 15 (6:52pm PDT). I will be all over it like white on rice. No matter how yucky.

What is bugging you?

I had not been able to poke around over to MountainAstrologerBlog in a few days and was happy to see a new posting by Mary. I haven't had a chance to click on her link to Marshall Vian Sumners but I liked what she said about his discussion of "appropriate discomfort." HERE's the link to TMA where you can read more. But here is a small tidbit.




I’m just going to offer a few thoughts about Jupiter and Saturn, then link to several astute bloggers on some of the week’s other topics.

My friend sent me a link yesterday to a New Dimensions radio interview, Preparing for Global Change, with a gentleman named Marshall Vian Summers. I thought his ideas were curiously in sync with the current Jupiter-Saturn opposition.

He spoke of the importance of really looking at your situation and noticing what is bothering you. He called this “appropriate discomfort,” which I thought a good image for the opposition. Summers spoke of stability and strength to weather change and the resiliency to absorb crisis. He also has an interesting idea on the “four pillars” that will bring balance into your life; though not exactly parallel, they do resonate with the four angles in the horoscope. (If you’re interested, you can listen to the interview for free until August 18.)

As astrologers we know that the opposition (180º) symbolizes the ability to contain paradox; it offers the gift of maximum objectivity. In this particular planetary pair, we could say it is the maximum tension between feeling remorseful and incomplete and feeling open and generous; between accepting reality as it is apparent right now and recognizing what is blossoming from this very moment.

In the Greek telling of the tale, Zeus (Jupiter) deposed Kronos (Saturn) as ruler and liberated his father’s imprisoned brothers, Poseidon (Neptune) and Hades (Pluto). Zeus escaped the fate of being swallowed and was rewarded with thunder and lightning. Zeus was gifted with the magnificence of thunder and lightning and became the God of the Sky; this story hints at the possibilities in our own Jupiter experience.This opposition is the culmination of the conjunction of the two planets in May 2000 at 23º Taurus. (If you’re feeling brave, look back to that time and see if you remember how much money you had then.)



I have been saying for awhile that there is no greener grass anywhere. This to me speaks to the saturn/uranus/pluto tension. Whatever is in front of us is going to be in front of us no matter where we go, unless we do THIS work now we will find it again and again. In my mind I do think that many of us have been asleep at the wheel in some of our choices and paths and now we are waking up---with an incoming mack truck headlights in front of us! Let's get out that speeding car!!!

Pluto & The Times

My good friend and astrologer Carol Tonsing and I were ruminating on Pluto's current journey when she pointed out something I had not even considered.

As you know, I 've been fascinated with this vampire phenomenon....it's been around for some time via the Anne Rice books, but the new vampire series are bringing this character very deeply into modern culture. Especially True Blood, which has vampires doing blogs, drinking synthetic blood, entering politics, demanding their rights. I noticed with the vampire's blogs that fans are writing to the characters just as if they exist. It has incorporated characters from ancient cultures: the maenad, the werewolf, the vampire itself and fantasized a dialogue between the supernatural ancient creatures and the modern characters.

Then there's the idea that vampires are buried underground, in crypts or coffins, that they are creatures of the earth...fossils, like fossil fuel! But the vampire fossils are feeding on us, instead of vice versa.

The whole detox craze now is about digging in our bodies.

Been listening to Plutonian old timers like Merle Haggard, a very Pluto/Neptune singer, spent time in jail, etc. Somehow I find that deep trailer-trash voice appealing now. I also love the TV show "Pickers" where guys roam the country looking for valuable junk in hellacious places ..... There's a whole lotta digging going on.


Once again, Pluto is going on everywhere....hidden in plain sight.

Countdown to Mercury Retrograde

I hope you have August 20th circled on your calendar because starting this Friday at 3:59pm * EDT---Mercury will begin its three week retrograde. Spend as much time as you can between now and then plotting your calendar and taking care of loose ends. Yesterday, I believe I sent at least 50 emails/letters/phone calls taking care of stuff. I need to book appointments so I'm calling now and booking them for on the other side of the retrograde. I had other pieces of businesses that I had to attend to and believe me I want it down now. And most importantly I have a big event I'm in charge of Right Smack in the Middle of the retrograde and I'm trying to organize as much of it as I can between now and Friday so that when the shit hits the fan (and it will) I'll be more prepared.

If you didn't get a chance to read about this Mercury Retrograde in my new moon article I'll repost here:

MERCURY RETROGRADE

And then just to make things extra cuckoo we have Mercury turning retrograde on August 20th at 20 degrees of Virgo. Since we are all seasoned pros we know the rules of Mercury retrograde. We do not make major purchases or sign important documents. And since this retrograde is happening during summer and many people have vacations planned, prepare plenty of extra time to arrive at your destination. If you normally get to the airport one hour in advance of your flight, plan to give yourself two hours. Call your hotel a week before and make sure your reservations are secured, same with the car rental. Do not take anything for granted. And for those of us who are not on vacation we should expect things to break, things to not work, things will go haywire and miscommunication will peak. Those of us who are smart will not over book our calendars because it will overwhelm us. On the bright spot, because Mercury rules Virgo (and Gemini) there is certain comfort that Mercury feels when it transits this sign which will take some of the edge off the retrograde--- meaning any bump in the road will be understood as just a bump. We will be less inclined (hopefully) to personalize the mistakes and hurdles as a cold, heartless god out to make our life miserable. Hurray for one perk! Of course, I’m a Sag so I find these retrogrades in Virgo (and in Gemini) to be a bit of a mindbender but still they are more tedious than emotional. The retrograde will last until September 12th but if you want a wider view you can take it from shadow point to shadow point meaning between August 1st and September 28th. But still the bitch of the time frame is during the actual retrograde (Aug 20th and September 12th ) we may just revisit stuff during the longer window.

* my apologies I had an incorrect time up for the last couple of day--i read my uranus retro notes by accident.

Uranus' return to Pisces

Back on New Moon we discussed Uranus' move back into Pisces HERE

URANUS IN PISCES

On August 13, Uranus which has been retrograde since last month will cross out of Aries and into Pisces where it will remain until March 11th. This will give our warring side a bit of a respite. Ever since the last week of May when Uranus moved into Aries we have been pissed off. Don’t believe me? Ask yourself what you thought of BP at that time? TeaPartyers have been blowing their top (no pun intended) and the warring rhetoric in general has been high. The angst we have been feeling both personally and globally is for change and a new landscape. Of course the change is not coming fast enough which makes everything all the more harder. But when Uranus moves back into Pisces we will calm down a bit and find out if we have the deep connection to spirit to really get the job done. Sure, people say they want this and they want that but do they have the mettle to do it? What do they call upon within themselves to persevere? Especially when things get really tough. It will be during this next six months while Uranus is in Pisces that we can strengthen our ties (perhaps in an unusual way) with our maker so that next spring when Uranus moves into Aries for the long haul (8 years) We will have the real skills to make real changes in our life and not just shoot off our mouth about what we want. Aren’t we over that now anyway?