Dateblog: May 2015

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So here we are at May 2015 ... Venus and Mercury are in Gemini prompting many a notion worth considering and while the Sun-Mars combination in Taurus we’re starting the month out with can be a wee bit stubborn (a wee bit?), the combination of all (Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars) also typifies the sort of inner core stability we’d expect in those who know where they’re starting from - and given that, what they’re willing to risk.

Or at least think about risking. (Sun and Mars in Taurus can be provoked, no doubt. But this is not a ‘hasty’ combination - just ask Ferdinand the Bull!).

There’s a lot of ‘this and that’ going on in life and the world - that we would expect as a reflection of the ongoing Eta Aquarid meteor shower - not that such ‘sparks of inspiration’ may not lead to something good.

With the Full Moon in Scorpio, it’s virtually guaranteed a few things in life will be coming to a head. They may be joyous, they may be testy - and without question they will in some way be prompting each of us to ask each of us (depending on where we are with our Self) about whether what we thought things were was really right.

That’s one of the things Full Moons are for ... astrologically, they’re all about our checking in our our Self and how we’re feeling about things - the everyday things of everyday life and all the people which go with that. A Full Moon in Scorpio, whether testing or terrific is about that which sticks with us or that which we feel stuck with. It raises the sticky aspects of interactions so we can wonder why things ‘have to be this way’ - or whether they really need to be as complicated as we all make them.

Depending on what we meet up with, we let go or dance our fandango. Then we simply move on, as Full Moons are phases - like days and moments and pre-memory selfies taken by our mind, some of which will last, and some of which we’ll by and by toss in the mental trash.

By the time the New Moon turns up in Taurus on the 18th (UT/+0), Mercury’s being on station to go  retrograde (on the 19th) with Lilith entering Scorpio two days later on the 21st spells reconsideration - or the necessity to do so. Something needs consideration (not that we want to think about it...). With Mercury in Gemini retrograde and Mars having joined the Gemini parade, there’s a lot of ‘noise’ - inside and out. Factors are shifting ... do we ‘tackle the job’ and count on adapting to input on the fly? Or do we continue thinking, talking and gathering data and ideas while wondering apace?

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Not that May is likely to ‘feel’ all that much like April. The spirit, the atmosphere, the general and elemental ‘feeling’ we get about things ... well, with all the emphasis on earth last month, that’s had us being (or becoming) much more aware of (earthy, tangible) realities in terms of what could (fire) happen on many important-to-everyday-life earth/earthy fronts. And now? By the time the Sun exits earthy Taurus for airy Gemini on May 21st (UT/+0) a lot of that earthy ‘drive’ (courtesy of Mars) will have turned into considering of and looking into options - which would be particularly apt, what with Mercury going retrograde on the 19th (UT/+0).

And since just after that upsurge of whatever which occurs around the time of the (Scorpio) Full Moon on May 4th (oh, do have fun...) Venus rolls into Cancer (date: late on May 7th, UT/+0) ... well, the net of all such, plus the Mars which entered Gemini on May 12th being in position to oppose Saturn (in retrograde) as Mercury goes retrograde ...

Expect some stoppages. Whether they are yours, or why they are yours (or aren’t yours or aren’t about you) is individual. But with Saturn opposing Mercury as Venus trines Neptune during Mercury’s (Gemini) station, the concepts of transit, traffic and ‘commerce’ would seem up for grabs ... in any and every form, whether that’s personal, professional, conversational, negotiable, insightful, enlightening, or of any and every other sort.

That much ‘Gemini as many’ we would expect. After all, it is that ‘many’ Gemini quality which forces us to think things through and then choose, which is exactly what Gemini’s about.

And it’s also what the whole process of Mercury retrograde - which means we’re getting a double dose of doubling back on our thinking ... which if you accept the idea that unbeknownst to us, the universe is unfolding as it should ...means we are not just meant to be facing and dealing with whatever we have on our plate(s) at the moment (some people having bigger life tables with more plates on them than others...), but that there is indeed something to be learned from present circumstances. No matter how the circumstance itself goes, metaphysics teaches that we have the option and some opportunity in the Now to be more of who we will ultimately like ourselves better for being - and how that’s the key to the happiness and security we’ve been all balled up about.

But no, it may not be fun - which I agree, is dislikable in the utmost (to put it politely).

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Yet whatever we’re up to, and whatever we’re doing, its hardly set in stone - or if something is, it leads to something so directly (and that may so directly lead to something else) that it appears that we know what we’re doing even though the whole of May is likely to be an endless series of moment by moment decisions - which may sound trying or complicated, but then again, may just point to that rather lovely quality we humans call awareness.

Some will skate, evade and never settle during May. Some will skim surfaces and never get beyond wetting their toes wet in glassy shallows.

Then again, maybe they can’t swim - would you have them drown in something they’re unprepared for?

And maybe all that skating is the performance of a virtuoso, the flawless tacking from point to point while virtuously sailing a metaphysical wind.

Being how all the teal (jade?) color in the chart represents mutable energy, we should expect things to change this month. Change can mean many things to every person, so all we know is that things will change this month, whether we’re the initiator, the participant, the onlooker or just someone hearing some tiny factoid which causes us to change our opinion on something.

That’s a prime astrological verb for May 2015: change. The constant isn’t constant - and if ‘it’ is constant, we aren’t. This can represent some sort of rebelliousness, but it may just represent differences neither good or bad. With Jupiter in Leo moving through Leo’s ‘teen’ degrees, there’s a lot of idealism going around - which might be just fine except along with the idealism is likely to occur an equal measure of hard-headedness.

And that hard-headedness? Though it absolutely feels necessary, it may be necessary ... and then again, we may just be feeling emotionally squishy deep in our innards. (You know, in those inner places we don’t even like admitting to?)

Surely we’re all going to be trying a lot of things and differing tactics this month. Once we get to Mercury retrograde (on the 19th), the better part of our ‘learning curve’ is internal in spite of however much is going on, with the astrological ‘why’ of that - the things which trigger that learning - probably being associated with (starting as) Black Moon Lilith enters Scorpio on May 21st, the day when the Sun enters Gemini.

That date - the 21st - is actually the end of a four (or five, depending on your time zone) day coagulation of events (which will probably be the next post here at the blog) and certainly the most astrologically notable recipe of the month. Between here and there is the Full Moon of the 4th (at 13 Scorpio), Venus moving into Cancer on the 7th and Mars entering Gemini on the 12th - which will be a big breath of energetic air for us all.

And yet ... just about the time that Gemini Mars gets to reflecting in life, revving us up and getting us thinking (if not going) in a hundred different directions, that’s when we reach that Mercury retrograde.

(Plus a few other things ... so stay tuned!)
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December Dateblog

Inti Raymi or The Festival of the Sun once marked the

beginning of the Inca year. Still acknowledged in various

parts of the Andes, it's a Southern Hemisphere 'midsummer'

celebration marked by the Sun entering the zodiacal sign of Capricorn

December is such a truly complicated month it can't be broken down very easily in simple, bite-sized concepts. We'll give it a try of course, but I'd really suggest reading the posts as they come up on individual days.

And no, I'm not just making that suggestion because I'm the resident astrologer...! Though of course it's based on the fact that I'm the resident astrologer, yes.

But I'm sitting here staring at the data...and I'm muttering 'oh gosh - wow...' and a bunch of other assorted commentaries. (No, we aren't going into more detail...!)

So here are basic December concepts. More details to come as days pass, blogs post...and it all makes more sense because we're in the middle of experiencing it! 

December 1 through 5: With Mercury beginning to slow down to go retrograde, Uranus about to go direct, Mars in Sagittarius and Venus one sign behind Mars in Scorpio, these days may well seem unfocused, scrambled and filled with conflicts of opinions, values and needs. Keeping focused on your priorities is probably the most centering thing we can each do, but minds will wander, hearts will yearn and feelings are going to be in fluctuation.

 

December 6 and 7: As Uranus goes direct, shifts of plan, opinion and necessity become manifest. In some moments, all we can do is cope. In others, we need to stop and think. This convergence of 'big and little' perspectives has the effect of forcing us out of our niches, and that's probably good, as this is a time to be reasonably flexible, if still driven by rational considerations.

 

December 8 and 9: Mercury coming to its station just as Mars enters Capricorn is a classic astrological recipe for strain - some of which will result in barriers broken, and some of which will result in simple breakage. For many, there is already an overhanging sense that things are changing...and for many, they are changing at a vital, inexorable and structural level.

December 10 through December 16: With Mercury retrograde in early Capricorn, the 'what am I doing in/with my life?' question is up for grabs - right alongside the 'how am I going to get everything done?' concept. And let's face it, these two are not happy mental bedfellows. There's a lot of input messages (needs, demands, requirements, parameters, schedules) coming from others and one's patience is tried, one's energy is sapped and with Venus back in Scorpio we're all saying 'do I have to?'.

Answer: no, you don't have to. But you do have to negotiate - and if you will consider trying to find solutions where everybody gives some and everybody gets some and nobody gets to have just their own way things are happier.

December 17 through 21: Emotionalism is on the rise - as is the general level of anticipation and expectation. If the latter is kept in check, the former can be positive indeed, but the separator is our ability to not have others manipulate our feelings of obligation - at whatever level. 

That this period ends in Mercury backing into Sagittarius plus a Lunar Eclipse is rather the icing on the proverbial cake; whether yours is too sugary sweet, just right or a big mistake where salt gets substituted for the sweet stuff and a huge disappointing letdown is more about you than 'them.' We never like hearing that, but it's pretty much the truth - especially now.

December 22 through 27: With the crossing of the Capricorn solstice point, everyone begins to focuse on doing what needs doing with a modicum of pleasure, a teaspoon of willing resignation and a half-ounce of put-upon obligation.

Recognizing what's necessary in reality against what we sometimes think is needed...? That's the hallmark of these days. Life is all about learning from what happens, no? So live, learn and on we go to the next thing!

December 27 through 31: Action/reactions aren't predictable at the moment, and with Mercury going direct - (in Sagittarius' most emotional degree, no less) - on the 29th or 30th (depending on where you are) gives us the image of a question of whether something is a 'feasible reality' coming to a head.

For some, this is a big deal. For others, it's just a matter of fact. There are some 'too late's and some 'better late than never's in the mix here...which side of the coin you and yours are on has mostly to do with where 19 Sagittarius (Mercury's station degree) falls along with whether 13 Capricorn (give or take an orb of aspect) is a vital point in your chart as that's the signature of the incoming Solar Eclipse.

Like I said at the top....it's a busy month with a lot of influences floating through.

Stay tuned!

 

October Dateblog

 Calendula officinalis - October's flower

October is the sort of a month when there's plenty to do, but we're not sure what of that we really want to see done. 

Does that sound conflicted? Well it is....But it isn't. We all want results - we're just not sure about the process required to get those results.

October 1 - 2: Sun and Saturn in early Libra indicate a period of focused activity. With Mars and Venus in Scorpio (the sign right after Libra), there is a strong desire quotient in the air and everyone has their eyes on their own particular goal. Where sides aren't in sync (where your interests don't mesh with those of whoever you are dealing with) progress begins to slow.

Mercury in late degrees of Virgo suggests a lot of 'will that actually work?' conversations, but that's just masking a far larger issue - an overhanging uncertainty which is growing by the day.

October 3 - 7: With Mercury moving into Libra and the Sun reaching Libra's more emotional 2nd decanate (degrees 10-19) a Libra/Mercury willingness to discuss and explore evokes deeper and more feeling-based comprehension of what everybody needs, wants and doesn't feel so sure of. Saturn's exit from the shadow of the retrograde it began back in January 2010 indicates finally laying to rest some real issues which have been hanging like clouds off in the distance, freeing mental space to focus on new concerns. 

With Venus slowing to take station and go retrograde in Scorpio, those concerns are multilateral and involve personal values, our willingness to risk our ego standing (with ourselves, most of all) and why or how we tend to make commitments to one thing, not another.

Intense interactions may well occur now; if challenged, don't fight, explore the facts of the matter, especially as the New Moon of October 7th opens new lines of investigation.

October 8 - 13: As Venus goes retrograde and the Sun moves into Libra's 3rd and most public decanate (degrees 20-29) feelings surface under external provocation. For good and difficult, this can be a highly reactive moment which some will face up to, some will exult in and others will react to by 'hiding out' and refusing to communicate.

If you have penetrating questions to ask, ask them now - just be prepared. You may hear the explanation of all time, the evasion of the century or something you couldn't have dreamed in a million years which either delights or dismays you.

 

 

"Road in Maine" by Edward Hopper 

October 14 - 19: A lot of reactions surface, reflecting Mars' move into Scorpio's 3rd decanate (degrees 20-29). Because Mars/Scorpio is all about 'choice,' this may indicate something as simple as a difference or validation of taste or some request - even demand - for some sort of revision.

Where approval and optimism are forthcoming (either on your part or from others) it's likely to be somewhat tempered by 'unknowns' and considerations of what yet has to be done. This may feel like 'wet blanketing' but especially as Saturn is moving into Libra's 2nd decanate (where thoughts turn to feelings) such hesitation is likely to be an expression of thinking something is good enough and worth enough that it merits whatever care is needed to "get it right."

October 20 - 22: Mercury moving into Scorpio indicates a new 'level' of conversation or communication with the theme being 'investment.' This may involve the risk, this may involve the process, this may involve the need to plan out how a goal can be reached in a step-by-step manner or the focus which will be required to take something from 'theory' into 'reality.'

Saturn moving into the shadow of the retrograde it will take during 2011 tells us that it's worth our time to pay attention and think things through. Those who are bothered by having to defer/postpone gratification may be tempted to push the envelope or overplay their hand now - Venus retrograding back into personal (1st decanate) degrees is now adding a sense of 'I don't care - I just WANT....' to all and sundry.

And let's be real...this may work just fine. But take care where your impatience may curtail or eliminate connections and opportunities. This is one of those moments when thinking long term is annoying, yet probably the best thing you can do. Not insisting on 'having it all' (at least today!) leaves doors open where having a tantrum may earn you a bad reputation and thus limited opportunities down the line.

October 23 - 27: The Sun moving into Scorpio clues us on why things suddenly feel more intense, more critical and yet (given Venus in retrograde) more of a bother, more of a drag and less fun all around.

Mars rolling through Scorpio's last degrees also suggest the source of all such 'necessities' comes not from us, but at some sort of external prompting - be that personal or just things in the news or such.

By paying attention and thinking things through in both the personal and 'greater' (group, societal) terms is  enlightening, though there's a trade off to be sure. The  greater your perspective, the less you're likely to gain and solidify in the short run. Yet the larger and more encompassing your parameters, the more what you plan and do today can pave the way to easier success(es) in months - maybe even years - to come.

Opal - here seen as veins of Australian Opal - is

the birthstone for October. (photo by Aram Dulyan) 

October 28 - 31: Mars entering Sagittarius is likely to manifest as the pace of life increasing on the whole. People becoming more willing to 'experiment' or at least consider options is likely - but as this is done, like as not some 'glitches' will show up, necessitating refinements of thought or methodologies.

With Mercury now in Scorpio's more emotional degrees (which is saying a lot, considering we're talking about Scorpio!) there may be debates and what amount to tug-of-wars for control. Or for the last 'say' on things. Remembering that all Scorpio situations are most profitably approached basing the approach on fact not feeling is difficult maybe...but still pays off, so be wise, not triumphant!

...and Happy Halloween!

 A Halloween Jack 'o' Lantern (photo by Toby Ord)