You Were Searching ... Generations Later

Galaxy of Galaxies from M-Set

(image credit: Jonathan J. Dickau, image created using ChaosPro 3-3 software by Martin Pfingstl)

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We’ve already had a Lunar Eclipse, Pluto’s station, Jupiter’s station, a New Moon (to go with the Lunar Eclipse Full Moon) and the Sun, Mercury and Venus all changing signs.

In short, if what you’re keeping up with is current astro-doings, that’s all the ‘major’ doings until Mercury changes signs on May 1st (UT/+0 time). (Which I’ll get myself to thinking about in time to write a post.) But in the meantime, it’s time to get out the ever-accumulating list of search terms sourced from a list which appears in the astroPPM digital ‘back room’ courtesy of Google.

There, under ‘Stats’ (subsection ‘Traffic Sources’) is a list entitled “Search Keywords,” in the fields of which are words you (and all your merry human friends)(the un-merry ones too) use when looking for the information which leads you to astroPPM.

For the record, I have no idea what other blog owners do with like information. But here at this blog, when Existence provides time (as it has this month) in the astro-schedule, I like providing a few words on such subjects.

You know, just in case you haven’t found an answer yet. And besides that, it’s always good to know someone is listening.

So here begins this edition of ‘You Were Searching’ - which I’ll start with a brief mention of Searcher Field Theory.

What’s that?

Allow me to explain: the following search turned up in the keyword list just yesterday:

APRIL 2015 + AQUARIUS + EVEN THOUGH...

That’s a line which sounds a bit like the beginning to a mystery novel to me (a timely mystery novel, yes...). But more importantly (to you, should you want to get your queries on the astroPPM search term board), it’s also very clear evidence of how much information gets delivered by Google.

Yes, even though.

So here’s the topic du jour...

‘MILLENNIAL GENERATION PLUTO IN SCORPIO’

This line has turned up a couple of times on the search list. And every time I see it (or anything like it), I think of two things. The first is how iffy society’s general estimations of start-and-stop dates seems if you’re used to using some sort of generation marker (astrology uses Pluto) ... and the second is about how much of the world’s current turmoil is to be expected simply because of our being at - and having to live through - the change of astrological ages.

To explain the Ages in short, have you ever watched a spinning top or gyroscope? As you’ve watched them, did you notice how that top or gyroscope ‘wobbles’ slightly as it spins, causing the point at its top to describe its own little circle?

What you probably didn’t realize at the time is how is that little circle is rotating in the direction opposite to that of the top or gyroscope’s spin. But it is - and the same thing happens with planet Earth as it spins on its axis...

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... a situation which means that though we currently call Polaris our ‘Pole Star’ because its district of the sky is the place an imaginary ‘stick’ stuck through Earth pole-to-pole currently points at.

And that means Polaris’ won’t be our pole star forever, as the following diagram of where Earth’s pole ‘points’ to (at given years) demonstrates.

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As for the length of time it takes for Earth to go through the whole of its ‘pole star’ cycle, that number (in years) is 25,920. And if you divide 25,920 by twelve (the number of signs in the zodiac) gives us 2,160 - the length of one astrological age.

And when we add in how the top-of-the-top (or gyroscope, or planet) cycles in a direction opposite to that the planet rotates, that tells us that  astrological ages rotate backwards.

So if we used to be in the Age of Pisces (more on that in a moment) and we’re now in (or moving into) the Age of Aquarius (the sign which precedes Pisces) that means we are moving not into our strength, but that our ‘forward motion through time’ (the Earth’s forward motion and its direction of rotation as part of that motion) we encounter or stir up 12th-harmonic things ... 12th derivative things ...

...in other words, every time the astrological ages change, they move us not into our strengths, but into those areas of life or towards those considerations which whether on a planetary, personal, societal, spiritual or ecological level are the difficulties, the vulnerabilities - all those things which we really would rather not have to deal with, which we have to deal with anyway.
Why?

Because it’s our planet and thus the basis (foundational) thing which support life on Earth.

Just as a full disclaimer here, there are a couple of notable astrologers who think we’re still in the Piscean Age and that we’re going to be in the Age of Pisces for another hundred-plus years yet. Their logic (as I understand it) is based on the length of constellations (constellation star positions) instead of Earth’s motion relative to its position in space plus the fact that astrology is a geocentric (Earth-centered) study.

Well, something close to 90% of it is. There is heliocentric (Sun-centered) astrology. I don’t practice it, nor do I know anyone who does ... but theoretically its possible to have Sun-centered astrology, Saturn-centric astrology or anything else-centric astrology. (And as soon as someone perfects that software... which has been kicking around in rough form for years now... the research will begin.)

Each to their own there. Meanwhile, back in the world of geocentric astrology, the bottom line on Ages is that everyone does indeed agree they cycle backwards - and whether we’re at the-crack-of-dawning-of or already fully encompassed by the Aquarian Age, its plain that things are changing radically from where they were as little as a hundred years ago.

Besides, given the nature of Aquarius (a sign which not only seeks integration but also sometimes supports the value of making objections for the sake of finding out what happens if objections get made) ... given that, we would hardly think the Aquarian Age would start without a quibble.

What, not even ONE?

Really?

That aside, astrological ages also don’t flip on and off like light bulbs. They’re more like the colors in a rainbow where hue by hue, degree by degree, the color shifts. There is a time when you look ahead and another moment in which you know you’ve arrived.

And until then, the fact that the Ages are changing ...? That can be tough - on an individual basis, a generational basis (changes of Ages are bound to affect parent/child relations in odd and head-or-heart-aching sorts of ways where the parent is born in the outgoing Age and the child is then born imprinted by different metaphysical patterns.

Such differences can leave both sides feeling  invalidated and unsuccessful - and it’s not that they’re flawed as human beings, but because these people happened to get their turn at parenting or being someone’s child in a moment when our time and energetic tides are taking a Age-driven turn.

It can be daunting, no doubt - even if you’re someone who believes we are never given challenges we are not also given the power to tackle, master and learn from, even if you’re someone who believes the great metaphysical treatise about how ‘unbeknownst to us, the universe is unfolding as it should.’

As for generations, astrological generations are a Pluto function; in every generation we see its drive - the ‘mass passion’ of a group of people born over a period of years.

 Pluto through the signs

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Most of us know Pluto generations by their nicknames: Pluto in Leo is the Baby Boomer generation, Pluto in Virgo equals Yuppies, Pluto in Libra is Gen X, Pluto in Scorpio has (somewhat mysteriously, which suits) come to be known as Gen Y and the Pluto in Sagittarius group - the group which was being born at the time of the millennium, they get the astrological title of Millennials.

We are currently living under Pluto in Capricorn, and that tribe doesn’t have a name yet. But then, that isn’t surprising ... there are some things in astrology we only understand once they’re over or past. Pluto and Saturn transits are both pretty well known for this effect - which makes a good deal of sense as we sometimes can’t know what something has been transformed into (Pluto equaling transformation) until the metaphysical hocus-pocus is over just as many of us are understandably hesitant to say what something is (or whether it is real) unless - per Saturn’s rule as definer of time and ‘structural’ reality - it truly is real, that being when its ‘reality’ solidifies in our mind as real.

But as for why Pluto functions as a generational marker, that answer would seem to be all about what some call an ‘over-focus,’ some call a ‘passion’ and others call an obsession, all of which are the hallmark of how Plutonic energies function in real time - i.e., how we tend to ‘act out’ our Pluto energies. This differs from Pluto’s traditional themes of direction - Pluto energetics tend to ‘aim’ at any of the keywords which describe how Pluto ‘transforms things’ - that being either through a process of creating, denying or destroying, the latter of which can be a simple elimination (a “wiping out”) or an eliminating of one thing as part of a process which allows something else to come into being with ‘denials’ being either a method of control OR a means by which one thing is ‘denied’ (or denied access) so that something else can have its turn.

In any case, wherever we see Pluto by sign (and house) in our natal chart that combination tells us the thing or things we are going to be passionate about and where or how in our lives we are going to operate while pursuing our personal passion(s).

And so dedicated are we, so passionate are we about that thing we love, crave, and pursue with such a Pluto passion that other people look at us sideways or wonder what we’re up to (or if we’re crazy to be wanting to be doing it so much)... well, eventually things happen.

And when those things happen, we are transformed.

Some of us decide the ‘thing’ wasn’t our aim (the pursuit was) while others find their Plutonic passion has so unbalanced their life (as a whole) that they now need to ‘re-transform’ things and bring them back into balance person for one’s own good.

In other words, Pluto really is the ‘outcome’ ruler of Scorpio, as Scorpio - among its roles as the zodiac’s fixed interactive sign - functions as a warning system to tell us where or how we are getting (or have gotten) out of internal balance by confronting us with perils we have metaphysically “asked for” by mistaking or projecting our vulnerabilities onto others - this being part of Scorpio function as the oppositional sign to security-loving Taurus, the other side of which we just jolly-trotted though in the recent post on Sun in Taurus.

-link to post-

Sun in Taurus

And yes - that would be one of the thoughts behind my picking this particular search term at this particular time. This Earth Day 2015 (the date of this post) with three personal planets (Sun, Mercury and Mars) in Taurus and (oh yes...) Pluto in Capricorn - another earth sign, so we are rooted in our reality at the moment and feeling our mortal earthly earthiness.

The whole of Earth is feeling its Taurus/Scorpio balance (and lacks thereof) at the moment.

Among other things, the net here is that the Pluto in Scorpio generation is likely to do many ‘extreme’ things - all of which are about this generation’s need to feel and find a balance within the Self. Some members of this generation will find it easiest to figure this out through others and challenges or opportunities presented by or in their society, and this isn’t shocking - its just part of the natural ‘vibe’ of a planet being in a sign which is public, interactive and connective by nature.

Scorpio learns by testing what makes it feel secure and what makes it feel not so secure, and not all of it is real: this is an emotional sign which feels its own vulnerability, often as an inner feeling of ‘lack of completeness’ which arises from the Taurus desire to feel secured trying to ‘complete’ its task through interaction with others.

At the time of the millennium, Pluto was in Sagittarius - the sign after Scorpio, otherwise known as the ‘2nd derivative’ ... and as of the end of 2008, Pluto moved into Capricorn - the 3rd derivative sign to Scorpio. Any third derivative sign speaks to the tone or notion of our thought pattern, which with the Pluto in Scorpio tribe is described as being Capricorn in nature, telling us that this astrological generation has all sorts of Capricorn-like mental blessings and banes. So on one hand we have generation fully armed with much mental determination, ambition and a powerful ability to see through veneers, whether that exposes the good, bad or merely foolish. And on the other hand this generation is also endowed with a singular potential for producing depression, fear and exclusion - in the Self or in others.

Currently on track to be sorting through life choices often through trying things out and learning how to define the Self through what doesn’t fit, the Pluto in Scorpio generation is currently experiencing a very long (Pluto in Capricorn) period of watching the world changing even as they try to decide what part of that world is worth wanting to feel challenged by (that being the process by which this generation defines personal-individual goals). This period, which lasts until 2023/2024 when Pluto sidles its way into Aquarius, is probably going to remembered as amazingly productive once Gen Y folks get a couple of decades down the line even if things don’t look entirely frivolous at the moment.

But then, should they? From the Pluto perspective nothing is simple, if only because we are feeling people. Pluto in Scorpio people know this - and unlike the several generations before them, this is a generation which lives and thrives on emotionality and all things which promote and provoke emotionality. To Gen Y, the world is about a connection which is not so much about what we connect on but why we connect. Initially they will center their feelings on those who are their nearest and dearest, but as this generation matures over the next couple of decades (of Pluto in Aquarius and Pisces) they will discover much about life as they define its worth being that which makes the world worth living for all. (And may the good Lord help those who try to tell this generation what they believe in!)

Once Pluto left the six 'private' signs behind as it entered Libra back in 1971-1972, a lot of focus moved out of the private life and into the public, worldly and interactive sector ... after which everything went 'social.'

In other words, when obsessive Pluto left the 'private' signs, society - led ultimately by those born under those born with Pluto in Libra (Gen X) and beyond - society also left the realm of the personal and personally private for all the reasons, results, notions and consequences good and bad.

There's a very large shift which exists between these two groups - those born under Pluto in a 'private' sign and those born with Pluto in a 'public' sign. The difference between them has ... and will ... create much friction and 'push.' And that, considering how members of generations born under Pluto in 'private' signs are still generally in charge of our world can easily be seen as a subtle if persistent astro-signature behind much now and yet to come which is and will be sincerely troublesome.

On top of which comes our global disorientation and all the shifts of perspective which go with the changing of the Ages.

It's all quite enough to cause members of Pluto-in-a-fixed-sign Gen Y members to choose carefully when it comes to allowing your Self to indulge too much in personal passions ... in spite of the urgent magnetism of this idea or that.

And yet this generation is destined to experience - over time and in many forms - how overindulgence in the intensity of obsession and one's will to control generates exactly the sort of thing which defeats either the aim ... or maybe just the reason you were aiming for it.

Which in the end ... well, isn’t that the very nature of Pluto and Scorpio? If so, the Pluto in Scorpio generation is destined to push themselves - and many around them to many a frighteningly powerful brink, that being the way this generation finds itself as something akin to, and yet separate from others. 
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Retrograde Stations: Mercury and Neptune

...From inside the reef on Grand Cayman Island

(photo credit: Ray Bodden, March 2009)

Four people close to those in my life have passed away since just before April’s eclipse. The last of them I found out about only some short time ago by logging onto Facebook - and that’s really not the way to find out someone has died. And even stranger (and somehow terribly ironic)...is how that one last person was someone I wrote about in an eBook put out just a couple of months ago.

It took me over fifty years to bring myself to tell the tale...and within a couple of months life itself echoed the closing out of that cycle with the finality of his death.

There’s a lot which is going on which feels cosmic, karmic and inevitable - a combination which rouses our desire to control through revealing how all control is in essence, essentially futile...and yet how the gap between futility and peace is less about what goes on than our ability to accept it.

The fight is ours...or not ours, as are the emotional vacillations and insecurities.

This is our primal and primary Neptunian lesson: we are only in control of anything once we surrender to whatever feelings come with accepting we don’t (and can’t) control everything.

We’re not superheroes, we’re humans. And with Neptune going retrograde on June 9th at 7:52 in the evening (UT/+0) after several long weeks of being positioned at 7 Pisces, we can expect the whole of this week and in particular the period of June 5th through June 11th to call upon our ability to deal with our feelings about control (and what we can’t control) with some degree of focus...if not precisely intensity.

Why so long a period? That, you’ll understand in a minute. But first, why not ‘intensity’?

Well...in the astro-sense, ‘intense’ is more of a Scorpio-Mars-Pluto word - a term which implies that singularly Scorpio sort of feeling connected to some situation, desire or focus which tests our ability to manage, maintain and find our way forward...all of which has to be applied to Self first and then to the situation to be productive and positive.

(A fact Pluto in Scorpio/Gen Y people are coming to comprehend thoroughly and viscerally.)

In any case, as opposed to ‘intensity,’ with Neptune there is ‘disconnection.’ Like the sign (Pisces) Neptune is so strongly associated with (and which it is currently transiting through), Neptune isolates anything and everything having to do with personal ego - and in the process forces us to face extraordinary possibilities as possibilities so that ‘in light of that (Pisces) enlightenment’ we can (Neptune) let go of our ego-investment or ego-driven priorities in favor of perhaps more humble, but humanly and humanely productive (in other words, integrally moral) overall choices.  

So with that said...a couple of nights ago I got up in the middle of the night (‘tis human to get thirsty) and because I got up I discovered a flood which had, in its own watery, seeping manner snuck into my personal space - which is not what I suspect anyone wants to deal with at 4 o’clock in the morning.
It was a soggy, soggy dawn.

But as I worked through the aftermath, it came to me how as I had gone to sleep I was thinking about a phrase used to describe Neptune - in particular, certain forms of Neptune connecting with Mercury.

The phrase was ‘flooded feelings.’

How quaint, right? And yes, how metaphysical. Making those connections is the hallmark of Pisces and Neptune, both of which are known as promoters and provokers of human instinct.

What that means is that since 2012 we’ve all been dealing with a continuing series of events (reflected by solar eclipses) along the Taurus-Scorpio axis bringing out all the many ways we balance our own (Taurus) interests and security against that of (Scorpio) others... into which now comes/has come a healthy dose of questioning/self-questioning which in being Neptunian (and therefore Piscean in nature) has caused insecurity where, and with regards to anything and everything which ‘touches on’ that Neptune/Pisces issue of not wanting to be scared by how we feel about something we now have to confront.

It isn’t the ‘thing’ which is the issue, though many (if not most) of us will have our moments of utter conviction that the threat is real and that our feelings are justified.

Well...maybe they are. That’s the astro-news of the moment. But we just can’t know.

No...that’s not you haven’t done enough to know, and it’s not you don’t care so you don’t know...that’s we can’t, don’t, won’t and (for those who are more metaphysical or spiritual) we aren’t supposed to know yet.

Oh...and did I mention Mercury’s going on station? That’s right - Mercury will be going retrograde at the end of this week. The date is June 7th, and the time will be 11:58 a.m. (UT/+0).

THAT’s the reason for the extended period of sensitivity.

With Mercury a symbol of all which goes into and gets processed by our mind (or doesn’t get processed, depending) plus all we are, and need to be mindful of - and Neptune a signal for the blurring of ego lines (and thus our feelings of discretion) all sorts of things are likely to get said now.

And revealed now.

How we react to what we hear depends on how ‘married’ we are (mentally or emotionally) to our ‘image’ - the ‘picture’ we imagine of how things are going to turn out. Again, the issue is not the ‘thing’ or the process - it’s the emotional investment we have in our “solution,” our goal and our aim, some part of which is likely to get challenged during the days ahead by some reality or fact we hadn’t counted on.

Reactions can (and will) range from disappointment to outrage, with the greater intensities of negative emotionality virtually surely a projection of inner hurt, disappointment or denial of some essential sort of reality - most commonly that which has us believing that ideal we hold so dearly in our soul can ever be real.

Pisces...the 12th house of the horoscope (and therefore Neptune)...was once aptly described to this astrologer as ‘the distance by which we will fail our own expectations.’

And the problem there would evidently be the ‘expectation’ part. When we ‘expect,’ we vest our ego.  When we ‘allow for what might happen,’ we are accepting reality as a whole.

That is - and will be a theme heard and well felt in the days which lie ahead.

Even more ironically, it is likely that those who believe these ideas the least will experience them most deeply.

(Life is just like that, you know.)

As for the degrees of station, Neptune is going retrograde at 7 Pisces - a first decan degree indicative of energies which are felt personally, physically or focused through our choices of action or pursuit. The Sabian image here - “A GIRL BLOWING A BUGLE” is a call - and by being expressed through Neptune the cause is truly human, something which we all would feel and understand regardless of our place in life, time or national society.

Pisces is akin to the Jungian collective - it’s the most human part of our mortality. The ‘girl’ here being metaphysical, this is an expression of response, willingness to respond or experiences/resources already gained which are brought to and applied to a given question.

With Neptune going retrograde, we’re questioning our Self...or that Self is questioning the validity, integrity, morality, wisdom and/or consequences of ‘plowing’ ahead without sufficient reflection.

That reflection would generally be defined (at least as a first stage) by the 21-day Mercury retrograde period beginning on June 7th.

But there is a bit of a quirk here - namely that Neptune-Mercury contacts are known for a quality most often typified as 'deception.'

Mind you, this doesn’t have to be a negative - and it doesn't have to refer to lying. As the momentary daydream distracts us from some form of tedium, as a motivational idea we keep in our head isn't 'real' but still spurs us on to greater effort...the movie which entertains us - that movie just isn't ‘reality' even when it's non-fiction as those events aren't taking place right there in that moment.

All such things are entirely typical examples of Neptune-Mercury connections which though not ‘real’ (in any everyday operational sense) are still real enough to our feelings.

You know...those messy Neptunian, Piscean, emotional experiences we all go through in our own personal and really 'unreal' way.

Such things can challenge...and reward. Sometimes in the very same (and ultimately positive) moment.

To all of this, Mercury’s going retrograde at 3 Cancer speaks to some ‘turn of thought’ - something which is as likely to arise spontaneously from within as to be generated from without. Again defined as a personal degree which applies most frequently to physicality or actions, 3 Cancer refers to basic emotional needs, loyalties, feelings, habits and wherever those reactions or tendencies to be reactive come from - our Cancerian association with, feelings about or allegiance to childhood, family, home, national identity, customs and traditions and all which that becomes in our day-to-day life.

Given that Cancer trends towards the historical and old (the ingrained, traditional, the comfortably understood) there is some very good chance that some long-held notions or beliefs (in particular about who we are in our own minds) are likely to become active at this time. And with transformational Pluto in a multi-year conjunction with charismatic star Vega, at least some of our ‘star notions’...things which have held us in their charismatic sway as well as  qualities in us which reveal/denote our personal relationship with charisma or our inherent power of charisma are in for a bit of a flex. Seeing as Mercury is so mentally-oriented, it would not be unlikely to have a ‘new thought’ come into being now, just as the Sabian image for 3 Cancer (‘A CAT ARGUING WITH A MOUSE’) may indicate the need to consider, reconsider or accept some (unexpected) consideration as part of the process or probable whole...and all the rationalizing we’re likely to go through with ourselves (and others, yes) either as part of the process OR in some effort to thwart the underlying (Neptune/Pisces) need to face why we don’t want to ‘go there.'
 

The 'Ring of Fire' produced by the May 2012 Annular solar eclipse at 0 Gemini

(photo credit: Massaru Kamikura)

 
Plus there is one other a little notice which comes with Mercury as it enters its ‘station allowance’ period on June 5th.

What would that be?

That’s just how, as Mercury goes into ‘station mode’ on June 5th, how that would be the date when Venus reaches 8 Taurus.

You remember 8 Taurus, right? The degree of the April 29th (2014) solar eclipse?

- link to -

April's 8 Taurus Solar Eclipse

(Pt. 3) Stars and Patterns

Venus being a symbol all about turning cause into effect, with Venus well-placed in a sign of personal expression we should expect some ‘push’ for concrete conclusions as well as concrete demonstrations of various types, especially where the kind of limitations and fears so clearly set off by the eclipse haven’t yet been ‘owned’ by each or all (as necessary). Venus will be in a sextile to Neptune at this June 5th point, indicating a good time for conversation, an excellent time for exploring topics of mutual interest (and possible mutual benefit) without any definite point in mind. This sort of influence favors friendship, business discussions and it can be helpful where misunderstandings have produced difficulties with best results arising where everyone puts their agenda aside (and checks their ego at the door).

However...not many astrologers would suggest you commit yourself to anything serious during this June 5-11 Mercury-Neptune station. There may be great hope, and this may be a time when great movements are seeded or arise through discussion - particularly those which express, air and explore vulnerabilities, ‘mysterious’ reactivity and various forms of misgiving.

Mercury retrograde has long been thought of as a time when we think things over, do our ‘homework’ (research) on whatever subject and when we attend to that which we can do as opposed to focusing on something which...inevitably...fails to proceed, conclude or come to pass until Mercury’s retrograde concludes, an event which will happen this time come July 1st, 2014 at 12:51 in the afternoon, UT/+0 time.

Whether we have or haven’t thought about, through, or in terms of something inclusive of where our feelings, choices and/or convictions on the subject come from - that’s where Mercury retrograde delays or denies forward progress, calling on us to look beyond the obvious....and perhaps it’s just the fact that no matter who we are in this world...from the highly placed and mightiest among us to those of the truly wayward sort, we’re all likely to find some slice, some sliver, some ‘gap’ which merits thought.

There are no ‘rights’ or ‘wrongs’ in any of these equations - only that we bring to our discussions, be they with others - or with that person we think we know so well, our one and only Self.

Maybe we do know what we want...but maybe we don't really know yet. Maybe we need to give ourselves time to be who we are - never mind anyone else.

Either way and whether we're thinking in terms present, past or future we now feel ourselves responding...not to others, but to our own emotionality. With that in mind...and with a little bit of luck, from there we will be able to discern and more fully recognize the difference between success and possible failure in purely human terms...along with how two totally different things can bridge a gap without producing a diminution of, or compromise of valuable, viable connections providing we walk our most accepting mortal path.
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Mercury in Capricorn

An English country lane in Autumn

(photo credit: Jongleur100, 2008)

 

From late September to December we all lived through the intensity of Mercury in Scorpio. Compared to that, the couple of weeks of Mercury in Sagittarius were a fling. A gallop. A blink and a flight and a chuckle and a time when time was doing one of the things time does best – flying by.

Of course there is the fact that during Mercury’s December 5th through 24th transit of Sagittarius Uranus also went direct. Uranus on station always requires flexibility and with this one all caught up in things Mars, that flexibility was in high demand (along with the need to direct your focus, lest your focus end up getting you into trouble, directly).

In that sense, Mercury in Sagittarius couldn’t have come at a better time – even if the down side of Mercury in Sagittarius tends to be overstepping bounds and things getting out of hand.

Maybe in the cosmic/karmic sense had we been any more confined or self-restricted than we were (if Mercury had still been in Scorpio, for example) we would have only made things worse. Life’s opportunities do tend to want to provide for us, we just have to be willing to avail ourselves of that ultimately good thing which may not be the easy thing.

And sometimes not even the likely-seeming thing.

So Venus went retrograde on the 21st – in Capricorn, setting the stage for six weeks of trying to get something better from ourselves, not others. This is support-of-self time – and considering Mars having moved into Libra (sign of relating through interactions) on December 7th we’re in for weeks yet of having to deal with people knowing they don’t know (and for some, care) what we’re all ‘about’ at the moment.

Is that true? Maybe or maybe not, but anything life can pull to get us to pull back to a place where we’re considering how we may need to change considering how everything in our lives has changed – of late and otherwise – that’s what life is going to come up with.

This Venus-Mars Capricorn-Libra square is likely to manifest in all sorts of things which bog us down, tie us up, totally bug us and otherwise force us to focus on things which well may need doing and which may even benefit us in time.

But it’s not what we WANT.

Venus and Mars both relate as ‘modifiers’ of our feelings and emotions, so to have them in square with one (Venus) in retrograde suggests having to put something which makes sense over personal preference.

So what do we stand to get from that? A whole grumpy planet. :(

And then Mercury enters Capricorn. The date? December 24th, which would be just as Mars and Uranus are nearing the crispy crackle of their potentially enlightening, perhaps invigorating and just possibly unnerving opposition. There will be some who react to this shift by getting serious – and it is to be expected that some odd ‘last minute’ Christmas/holiday maneuvers will go into gear with just hours to go before midnight.

Then again, this combination may mark travel difficulties. And for a few, depression – intermittent or otherwise – or depression’s far more manageable cousin, disappointment. The first days of this transit are likely to be the most difficult what with the working through of Mars/Uranus, but after that it may well simply be useful to think of this transit as the collected sort of ‘realistic’ thinking, communicating and/or organized efforts we need to be focused on now so as to make the best of Venus retrograde.

The positive here is that Mercury in Capricorn is a credence to us that we can make a difference in our own life and as pertains to our own goals – as ikky as we might think the process of reaching them may be. Throughout these weeks moments and situations and things simply become clearer than ever, for whatever reason.

With the Sun, Mercury, Pluto and Venus all in Capricorn that’s a lot of drive. Determination. Willpower. It’s all about getting down to whatever represents the structure, the idea, the construct upon which we can build and have what we build last. A good number of us will spend at least part of these weeks working towards ‘proving’ something (to self or others) while others will be waiting something out. Neither is right or wrong provided your aim isn’t manipulative. In other words, if you’re taking some stand because you believe in it, that’s fine. But if you’re taking some stand because you are hoping someone else will ‘see your point’ (or otherwise ‘see the light’), that’s not likely to go all that well; either the point won’t get made or whatever you will have done to make that point will set you back in your own life in terms of everything you need to do.

This whole period – meaning the eight long(ish) months that will see Mars through Libra (a sign ruled by Venus, let us remember) is going to be hard for many of us. By generation, the Baby Boomers (Pluto in Leo) are going to be hell-bent on doing what they think they need to do in the world – and please, don’t try to distract them, lest you hurt yourself in the effort. Under Mercury in Capricorn, the Baby Boomers are always likely to take on too much…and yet, since only that which works for everyone is going to work for them, that’s a bit of a problem. This is a headstrong generation which is fine when pursuing their own goals if a little short on the ability to see the issue when others see things differently.

And yes, they’re going to get a few opportunities to do some of that seeing over these next few weeks.

All this will be going on as Pluto in Virgo peopled are continuing an ongoing shift from the way they want things to work to the way they will work if one is willing to make a few changes. Like Pluto in Scorpio, Pluto in Virgo is a generation used to taking its cues from what goes on around them and in the world which Mercury in Capricorn certainly supports, even if the changing world denoted by Pluto in Capricorn and Uranus in Virgo is forcing this generation to rearrange their thinking and methodologies.

To Pluto in Virgo people, Mercury’s transit of Capricorn is a time to figure things out. With Venus retrograde in Capricorn, not only can hasty decisions can be wasteful but what is to be gained by thinking things through is not to be ignored.

The Pluto in Scorpio-Gen Y folks will also be having a time of things for this next while, but their challenge is less about changing who they are than it is about dealing with the actualities and realities of who they are…and perhaps some limit or constraint that puts on some plan.

(Or at least how you had thought said plan was going to work, that margin of error being your next little clue in the puzzle.)

Then there’s the Millennial Pluto in Sagittarius tribe – which is having a hassle of a whole different kind, namely the difference between their idea of how the thing should be and how they just plain are. Venus retrograding in Capricorn is likely to manifest in any number of momentary (or even protracted) struggles with ‘being satisfied’ along with frustrated ‘not liking this’ moments when said Pluto in Sag person isn’t satisfied.

The good news here is that these next few weeks of Mercury in Capricorn is going to have Millennials focused on their own business, which will be quieter, if not any less of a concern. Over the next few months this generation is going to for whatever reason and by whatever means begin ‘hearing’ some wider and broader concerns. How Millennials react to such information mirrors how well internally balanced they are when it comes to internalized security (the structured Self) versus a capacity to rely on those around them.

You may have noticed that I skipped Gen X, the lovely, airy, Pluto in Libra group. That’s because the next eight months of Mars in Libra is going to be a trial if a blessing to Gen X in which this Mercury in Capricorn transit brings a perspective on others which causes the native to reassess who they are (differentiation from the other) while (hopefully) processing the ‘why’ of the basic “attraction” whether the term ‘attraction’ is meant in the human/personal sense or the metaphysical like attracts like (and) what you put out comes back to you sense.

For the whole of this passage Mercury will be in what’s known as a ‘whole sign square’ to Mars with this particular square linking Mercury in earth (the facts) with Mars/Libra as the “desired/desirable aim” inclusive of any blessings or problems you have gone on at the moment.

This square – like any square – is asking us to bring these two factors not into “oppositional” balance, but dynamic balance. Mars is in an interactive sign (Libra) so the idea and/or means is ‘the idea’ of the thing involved and thus how it is expressed.

Or not expressed, of course. Just as in Gemini to not make a choice is to choose not to choose, in Libra not dealing with the other person or the issue is a valid relationship action. So whether we now choose to do or not do something – or anything – in, to, about or through the process of interacting with others (specific or generic others both qualifiy) that is what you are doing.  And just as dealing with our responsibilities and taking ownership of what we do and why we do it – or at least being darn certain that we know why we’re doing something in our own terms before we ‘go public’ whether in word or deed, so Mercury in Capricorn puts us into a mode and mood where we become highly aware of life in the Big World and indeed our life in the Big World as a matter of our ability and willingness to structure our lives not as an image, but as a reality.

A copper engraving of Mercury dating from 1597

Where we lack and where we are lacking – most of all as people – Mercury in Capricorn defines influences which will give us reasons to strive or deliver grief (of some kind) because we’ve so cut back on the reality of what we stand for in our own daily lives.

This Mercury/Mars square tightens to exact through the New Years Eve/New Years Day when in squaring Mars from 11 Capricorn, Mercury is also conjunct Pluto.

This is a potent and powerful moment. Pluto and Mercury will be at 11 Capricorn and the Sun at 10 Capricorn as the Moon enters Capricorn on New Year’s Eve at 6:02 in the evening UT/+0 time.

(Someone wrote to ask me what ‘UT’ is. For information’s sake it’s ‘Universal Time,’ a “+0” time zone designation outside of any jurisdiction and therefore not subject to any tinkering.)

All of this means yes, there will be a New Moon on New Years – it will be at 10 Capricorn with Klotho (beginnings, initiations), Kallisto (persevering through the worst of it and charismatic fixed star Vega.

That doesn’t sound like fun, does it? And then we add in Mercury-Pluto, which has a (rather notorious, actually) reputation for obsessive thoughts/thinking and persuasive or manipulative communications. Mind you, this could mean you’re Sherlock Holmes or a fabulous orator or something. And since 10 and 11 Capricorn both tend to refer to the ability to get things done, this Mars/Mercury square could be just that – getting something which requires a lot from you into gear. Or to fruition – something. With Venus retrograde, any ‘something’ is going to not feel right and you should not expect it to. At the moment the expectation of what you thought ‘would happen’ is taking away from the Mercury/Capricorn energy you could be using to understand what has happened or what you could make happen.

And that is just the thing. If you think things through you may well realize that while what’s on the table may not be your idea(l), it may well be…indeed you may know it is a path to the thing you want.

This brings us back to that Venusian issue of values and that conflict between the idea of the thing and what it is.

You know…Mars in Libra, Mercury in Capricorn.

Good luck!
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The Libra New Moon: Taking a Stand, Fighting Our Self

It will be just 36 minutes after midnight on October 5th in the UT/+0 zone when the New Moon occurs. This will be the last New Moon before November’s solar eclipse and the beginning of the lunation which will set off the ‘revving up’ which will lead to a Lunar Eclipse on October 18th.

That lunar eclipse will occur at 25 Aries, which is one thing we should consider here because Libra-to-Aries is a direct opposition. So this cycle – or at least the first half of this lunation cycle – has a distinct “I/thou” quality. You may experience that in relationships…or how you relate to someone or something going on in the world or your world.

Or in how you conceive of your world and how it works. Because this New Moon begins this experience in Libra, we know the essence of the issue is ‘how to get the results I want to get?’ whether from others or some situation…which is pretty much offset by ‘who am I in this transaction?’ – be that a human transaction, a business transaction, an emotional, financial or experiential transaction.

Yes, we’re in the wonderful world of ‘cause-effect’…otherwise known as what you put out comes back to you. Some would immediately think of this as karma, though your local (or not-so-local, depending on where you are) metaphysician tends to think karma differs from cause-effect. Cause-effect is pretty ‘directional,’ if you will – I talk to you, you talk to me. The actor performs for the audience, the audience applauds or boos.

One of the interesting things about Libra which doesn’t get talked about much…(and which applies not only to whatever house Libra falls on in your chart but also as something of an ‘undercurrent’ with regards to the 7th house of any chart no matter what sign is on its cusp)…is also the idea that Libra is not just about peaceful relationships. Or loving relationships. One of the keywords in the long Libra list is ‘open enemies’…so plainly Libra is not just a sign of cupcakes and roses.

My point about karma is that karma – which is associated with Scorpio (not Libra) doesn’t necessarily come from the direction in which you’re headed. Or which you are addressing yourself to. Karma is the emotive, the energetic side of experience. So you may do good or nasty thing (Call it “Act A”) in one place and the energetic of that emotional intent …which in true Scorpio style you may be owning OR you may be choosing to be in denial about…that will just come around through something entirely different.

With that said, Libra-Scorpio-Sagittarius is the full spectrum of the 3rd zodiacal quadrant. And that tells us that Libra – an air sign – is where we get into the idea of the thing BEFORE we commit ourselves emotionally, or commit ourselves through any of many means which in meaning something to us (or which has meaning to us) creates an emotional relationship.

And that’s what really is so tricky about Scorpio…in Scorpio the emotional relationship is complex where in the theoretical ‘idea of it’ Libra realm, things are pretty simplistic. I have a friend with major placements in both Libra and Scorpio who is forever getting in trouble because they don’t WANT to deal with the fact that the natural progression of any process…be it human or business or whatever…goes from the (Libra) idea of the thing and the talking it through into the Scorpio realm of ‘things at stake’ which they get all kerfluffled up about.

But that’s the process. Trying to avoid part of the zodiacal process…any part of the zodiacal process…by definition is limiting yourself to only getting as far as you’re willing to go.

So this person (who is one of my many Scorpio Moon friends) has a TERRIBLE time with relationships. No, they don’t have to be intimate. Anything personal…and that can be business personal or personal-personal gets them into a quagmire – not so much with the other person as their ability or willingness to take on their own feelings on the subject. And because they choose the Scorpio denial route, they end up creating no end of hassles for themselves and in essence, bogging themselves down IN the very sign dynamic they want to get past.

This is all really important to us now as we move into this Libra New Moon and this Libra-Aries New-to-Full Moon process. Since Aries is the sign of ‘I am’ and all things consciously ourselves, these weeks ahead are going to be full of situations and experiences which bring home to us (that would be the Libra-TO-Aries process) what the ‘who we are being’ (our Libra presentation, our Libra choices of who to deal with or prioritize or listen to, etc.) is…and whether that’s working for us.

Or even if we really like ourselves being that person.

As I say that, let’s keep in that Libra/Scorpio difference in mind, however. Why? Because this Libra New Moon of October 5th (or 4th, for those in the Americas) is the start of the process which is going to carry our Libra concepts and conceptualizations into the wonderful if catabolic world of November’s Scorpio Solar Eclipse.

Solar eclipses are fascinating, no question. And the focus of any solar eclipse is of major astrological concern – again, no question. But the way that solar eclipses tend to function in real life and our real world life involves an ‘eclipse-flavored’ lead in (which I tend to refer to as the ‘breaking down’ period) which through testing us shows up the weaknesses or the fallacies – or yes, the denials – which we have bought into in our lives. What the solar eclipse does is force us to relinquish the false front, the cover-up, the ‘making do’ and the compromises of Self we’ve bought into in order to bring us closer to being who we were born to be to begin with.

You know, before parents and life styles and materialism and corporate advertising and our peer group pressures – before any of that got to us.

The incoming eclipse is Scorpionic. So it’s seriously emotional. It’s evocative and provocative and no doubt people in your world are stirring you up even as they feel stirred up and everybody is going stir crazy under the pressure.

Ultimately the question is all about self worth of a type which asks whether you would respect yourself if you met you. Or would you say ‘that guy has such potential, but he’s selling himself short’ or ‘that woman has every opportunity to do good in this world and instead she’s just thinking of herself.’

(Yes, these two examples have leapt to mind for a reason in my world…but they’re entirely valid, nonetheless!)

Scorpio exhibits itself through power games – so wherever you’re trying to grasp power or exert power over others, that’s the place to look first.

And the reason why I say ‘over others’ is because this month’s ‘phase in the eclipse breaking down process’ is colored by Libra. So we know this is about the idea of who we are being to others – which given the eclipse, they’re likely to be letting us have an earful about!

Another note worth touching on, before we move right along: Libra is the signature dynamic of Gen X (October 1971-April 1972; end of July 1972-early November 1983; late May 1984-late August 1984)…and Scorpio is the signature dynamic of Gen Y: early November 1983 through mid-May 1984 (plus) end of August 1984 through early November 1995.

Gen Y – as a whole – is under an enormous amount of ‘strip-down’ pressure which is aimed at trying to get this generation to get more ‘real’ in a universal sense. Gen Y is challenged by the need to balance their emotional knowing-of-self with knowing and honoring others at THEIR emotional levels. Gen Y was born to live a long and full life of not just ‘power brokering’ or negotiating for what they want, but a life which embraces the ability and willingness to be vulnerable to others on a level which engenders respect.

Really powerful people are vulnerable because real strength knows it can survive no matter what is thrown into their court. This doesn’t mean strong people don’t express themselves. This doesn’t mean the strong person doesn’t say ‘ugh!’ or ‘I’m not having anything CLOSE to a good time!’…in fact, quite the opposite.

Real emotional strength is only present when we are able to own, display and share our weaknesses…and that’s an important step in the process of being human.

This lunation is bringing home to us either the challenges or the things we need to work on…or maybe some new insights on how we’re getting in our own way because of our approach. Through the Libra situation or the Libra interaction or the Libra ‘message from the other’ (business, personal or otherwise) we are being told where we need to look.

And yes, the easiest thing to do is to project and say ‘that’s their problem.’ That’s a classic Libra response – hardly anything is MORE classically Libra, as a matter of fact!

Let's be real here...‘they’ may indeed have a problem. In which case…what is stopping you from helping them understand that problem? That doesn’t mean yelling at them or walking out on them…that means exploring the (Libra) idea of the situation with them.

In the process, if you can get that far, you’re likely to learn a whole lot about yourself, too. That’s just the way things work – especially now. The fabric of time-space seems to draw particularly dense as we move through ‘eclipse season’ and because this season is about the combination of Scorpio-Aires (the Scorpio Solar Eclipse and the Aries Lunar Eclipse) these several months (September and October – leading into November) is all about the experiencing of the Self in a very vital, even primal way.

Or as a friend of mine puts it: profound…a word which strikes me as being the desire to be ‘pro-active’ about finding that thing which will make us feel ‘found.’

By whom? By our Self.

And back to that Gen X thing for a moment…above, I said this: through the Libra situation or the Libra interaction or the Libra ‘message from the other’ (business, personal or otherwise) we are being told where we need to look.

In a nutshell, that’s pretty much the core of the Gen X thing. Gen X (Pluto in Libra) creates a massive attraction to others so that through others Gen X’ers can learn who they are…and aren’t. The Plutonic tendency (which goes with Pluto’s association with Scorpio) to ‘merge’ and be ‘part of the group’ is generally the way this instinct functions. But successful Gen X’ers (which is to say, Gen X people who are successful as being their own person) in time discover who they are supposed to be as distinct from the group or as an individual which is part of some group (or profession) but who has their own very individual way of doing things which has to do with who they are as an individual and what talents and resources they bring to being who they are….that’s the Gen X ‘object.’ As Gen X’ers develop, they may or may not drift away from old friends and ‘the old group’…but as surely as Scorpio follows Libra, the Gen X’er who comes to be their own person and secure in being the person they are will in time find a group which is aligned with their inner energetic – not the sexual one or the societal one, the human one.

Learning how to be human and who they are as an individual human is a seriously Gen X thing.

The Libra New Moon

Oct 5, 2013 - 00:34 a.m. (UT +0) - Aries Wheel (Location not Specific)

So with that all now toodled and noodled, we’ll wrap up with a few astro-technicals. The degree of this New Moon is 11 Libra, a degree which by “decanate definition” (i.e., which ten degrees of the sign it falls in) is emotional. So the ideas of the moment are fervent. Or maybe really ‘important feeling.’ With the overhanging solar eclipse energetic in the air, even the most theoretical thing is going to evoke more feeling (and feelings) at the moment – so we can all expect more frustration, more elation, more dancing off on a whim and more calling people on their…um…stuff. (Yeah, we’ll go with ‘stuff’ here as the generic.)

That said, this is not a degree known for consistency, constant anything or steadiness of effort, conviction or ‘the ability to transmit.’ This last is particularly important as this New Moon also takes place  in opposition to Uranus (in Aries) – so the nervous system and “fits of nerves” (anxieties, flare-ups, etc.) are to pay attention to.

Given the opposition (Libra to Aries) that ‘flaring up’ may also signal ‘something in the air’ either literally or on a more philosophical level. Being thrown ‘off’ by something sudden or some sudden change would also not be unexpected.

This degree (11 Libra) is known to have an association with physical activities – particularly those of a sports or athletic nature. This may serve to be the venue through which other events happen (or other facets of the degree come to light) or it may simply be an interest you run hot or cold on during this period.

Responsibility – a concept often associated with Libra as a facet of “honesty” (with one’s Self as part of this world) is also stressed by this degree and problems having to do with lack of responsibility may well surface. Being that this is an opposition to Uranus in Aries, this may be your irresponsibility which is focused on, or it may be your realizing that someone else is being irresponsible.

Or at least not responsive (as a sidebar conjugation of ‘responsible’) to others. This is, after all, Libra we’re talking about, so very little is going to happen in true isolation here. Someone else is involved or implied or associated with everything, whether they’re in the room or conversation or actively involved in any specific dynamic or not.

How we treat others is also up for grabs here. By itself, 11 Libra speaks to the polarity not so much between good and evil (that’s more emotional and therefore more Scorpio-ish) but between kindness and cruelty as stemming from our regard for how we interact with others.

For whatever reason, I happen to like the Sabian Symbol for this degree very much. (And no, it’s not highlighted in my natal horoscope, so go figger.) The symbol reads like this: MINERS ARE SURFACING FROM A DEEP COAL MINE and its keynote is ‘The need to carry on at ever deeper levels the quest for knowledge which keeps burning the fires of the collective mind of a society.’

As I type that, I can’t help but think about how exactly I’ve been led to this time to be publishing my favorite manuscript of all time. It’s called ‘Reality and Mind’ and I expect it to be out in…oh….maybe a month or so, give or take. It’s ‘high’ (quest) fantasy, which a lot of you love, and it will be coming out as a series of four books – much like ‘Lord of the Rings’ is published as three books.

Ebook publishing formats having not yet caught up with what this manuscript requires, it will be out in print only – at least for a while. But that’s okay…who doesn’t like curling up with an engrossing book?

No, it’s not precisely astrological. But if you think about who wrote it, what do you think the chances are that it doesn’t have in its weaving a goodly measure of metaphysical thought?

Just sayin’…and yes, that keynote and the Sabian does remind me of this work.

More on that, later – as I get more information on when it will be available initially through Amazon and shortly thereafter through any bookstore near you.

In any case, this Sabian Symbol is plainly about ‘things coming to light’ and ideas which we have ‘dug out of the darkness.’ And yet, even while this symbol speaks to going within and digging ever deeper, it also refers to ‘surfacing’ – which is not just bringing whatever ‘jewels’ we have found to the light but our own ‘coming up for air.’

And that's a very interesting idea, particularly here at a Libra New Moon under the auspices of a Scorpio Solar Eclipse. If we understand the idea of a solar eclipse as ‘peeling away’ those layers or that part of our daily life which has hidden or prevented us from being who we really are inside…underneath…within…then this symbol makes a good deal of sense as part of a far greater metaphysical process. Astrologer Dane Rudhyar, in writing about this image, uses the term ‘EXTRACTION’ and in a sense, that’s exactly what a solar eclipse does – particularly when it hits our charts (or more exactly, points in our charts) with any exactness.

The eclipse ‘extracts’ us from the surrounding matrix of life details as surely as the miner extracts the metal or gem and brings that out – as the miner (as a person) is also extracted from the mine.

There are many layers, many facets implied here…rather like one of those sets of Matroyshka dolls where one doll fits into the next.

 Matryoshka dolls

(photo credit: Jeff BelMonte, February 2007)

Last thought…the opposition is not the only figure imaged in this Libra New Moon. That the opposition seems so vital may just be me. Or it may just be the most personal side of the configuration. But that opposition is merely half of a grand square (or grand cross) which comes with the founding of this lunation cycle.

That the Sun/Moon part of this (at 11 Libra) is conjunct Diadem (“the crowning glory”) speaks to our aims, relationships we care about and how important it is to care about the nature and quality of interactions along with who we choose to interact with.

Nemesis on the Uranian side of this configuration says we may now choose to stand up and embody some deep conviction which isn’t particularly popular…or that something we have been told or warned about comes to pass.

Industria-Pluto-Facies in Capricorn is a collage of effort and boundaries and restrictions and needs which can either frustrate us or which we can take on as the guiding principle by which we reach our goals.

And then there’s Black Moon Lilith plus Alhena/Lachesis in Cancer, a combination which starts with Alhena-Lachesis as a ‘duration of purpose’ or maybe even ‘biding our time’ against which Black Moon Lilith is a denial mechanism on a scale which goes beyond our Self. We may be doing the denying of others or society itself…or society may be ignoring us, even if we have discovered the cure for the common cold.

The trick is to hold all these thoughts in your head at the same time and to utilize them with balance and measured applications. Grand squares (aka grand crosses) are notoriously difficult – which in this month of heading into a Scorpio solar eclipse probably isn’t news to anyone. That this particular grand square is in cardinal signs (indicating action) makes this sort of a ‘taking the plunge’ sort of vibe, but being that the degrees are both in 0-9 first decan degrees (indicating something personal that we do) AND in early ‘teen degrees (indicating our feelings on or about some subject, effort, person, relationship, etc.)…that says we’re moving ahead at least with harnessing or understanding our motivations.

And then we add in a few 'other' points…

Chiron-Vesta in opposition (trine Saturn) speaks to the need to keep our commitments to ourselves…but most of all at a level which we can live with emotionally. So there’s a hint of morality, a hint of the need to care thrown in here. (As if we needed any more reminders?) But maybe even more to the point, Saturn and Vesta are each sitting in signs to either side of this New Moon’s position in Libra. And that adds a whole new layer of…well, maybe frustration. Or feeling offended… criticized… unappreciated. The semi-sextile between Saturn and the New Moon is very much about calling our priorities or values into account and considering that Saturn is very much tied up with the incoming solar eclipse, that’s likely to refer to something which is pretty darn uncomfortable.

Solution: feel your discomfort, grumble if you must - then cope with the reality. The long term reality...which is to say, the one which matters to you (honestly/Libra) as a human. 

You know, a person.

The same goes for Vesta’s semi-sextile relationship to the New Moon. Practicality is great. But who or what are you prioritizing – and is that working for you sufficiently that it ‘works’ at a level you can live with emotionally at the ‘way deep down late at night’ sort of level…never mind what anybody else says.

It’s a complicated time. But then, life isn’t supposed to be simple. If it was, we’d all be cardboard cutouts.

And we’re not.
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