Mars in Taurus + Venus, Mercury, Jupiter Conjunct: Who Am I Willing to Be?

 Carl Van Vechten in front of the figure of Mars, god of War

As Mars enters Taurus at 7:05am (UT/+0) on May 11, 2011…our outlook will shift. Subtly if surely, we will recognize that our focus has drifted from what am I going to do…to…is what I’m doing really worth my effort? and/or…is life what it should be? 

The symbolism of Mars is all about making things happen. Mars represents the very soul of courage and assertive, pro-active energy. It’s the get up and go – which now may feel a bit like it’s gotten up and gone.

But why so quickly? And what’s the point to feeling as hesitant or unwilling to change as we may feel at this point?

Aha! We have come to the thick of the issue – and so quickly! But then, we are talking about Mars…

Of all the signs in the zodiac, Taurus seems the most obvious (at least to this astrologer!) when it comes to showing up the internal cause/effect that this sign – and indeed every sign – projects, describes, portrays…however you want to put it!

In the case of Taurus, let’s remember that this is the second sign in the whole of the zodiac. So if we think of the zodiac as a ‘life cycle’ (real or implied) Taurus corresponds to half-past infant – the baby stage where the cute is cuddly and the wanting is obvious and the insecurity and vulnerability are sufficiently endearing to (as one psychologist put it to me) ensure that we continue to hold the baby near and dear, forging them their foibles.

And so it is with Taurus. But since we don’t all stay in our goo-goo, ga-ga stage, Taurus must represent something intrinsic to that age and yet applicable in all of life. And so it does: Taurus represents the finding of Self, and recognizing that said Self is worth something, resulting in self worth. As intrinsic partner to this, Taurus also embodies the native abilities which are part of our discovery – and indeed part of what we list when we list why we like ourselves (i.e., have self worth).

That’s the starting point. Through the fixed sign cycle (Taurus-Leo-Scorpio-Aquarius) we are challenged to develop (Leo) our talents and grow our self worth, put it out there for others to give us feedback on (Scorpio) and, by finally putting ourselves and whatever we’ve created of our abilities because we have self worth…by putting that out into the world we find our place in said world. We earn acceptance and ‘find our niche.’ We derive income (monetary, emotional and conceptual) from our efforts and standing as someone who was willing to invest (Scorpio) their (Leo) creativity in their (Taurus) Self.

The cycle is really a cycle…and when we complete the cycle, we get back to that place where we are satisfied with ourselves. Our self worth – our sense of satisfaction with our life and our Self increases.

Without doing the work, this desire to be satisfied and secure in/with life of course remains. And those who won’t do the work – for whatever reason they won’t/can’t find the motivation to develop their abilities and find a way to involve others or appeal to others in this world…these are the people we end up thinking of as selfish or self-centered – or in some senses, childish.

Not childlike – childish.

During the time when Mars is in Taurus (which would be now through June 20, 2011) we all get a chance to brush up on our ongoing self-development projects. Or the need for same. It would be very not shocking to want a lot now – and have little. And to feel very frustrated. Given the Taurus/Scorpio polarity, its easy to see our own side of things and not quite as easy to see why everybody doesn’t think as we do and that makes for a lot of projection. Even a bit of striking out at others.

But the issue really isn’t them. It’s about our inability to understand where they are coming from and to take what that means into account.

Think of it this way: you can be as right as right can be, but if you can’t convince others, what is that about? Sure – you can say ‘they’re just stupid!’ and get all self-righteous, but is that going to get you where you want to go? No! The real answer (duh!) is to explore with them where they are coming from and find out why they aren’t hearing you. Once you identify that, you can sort out what works and doesn’t work…and why all that is.

So your reluctance to do so? Your feelings of outrage or frustration? Okay, so you feel that way. Question: do you want to solve the problem or not?

Mars in Taurus tends to go with the outrage and/or frustration…or the equally unproductive mode we call martyrdom. Mars in Taurus can ….and is probably far better aimed at having enough faith in ourselves that we can weather figuring out why we’re not being heard. Or why we’re not getting the responses from others we really want.

So that’s the basics of the situation – and it’s worth noticing that Mars is only going to be spending about a month in Taurus this year. On one hand, that may sound like a relief. On the other however, that tells us that Mars – which having a 1.88 year-long orbital cycle usually spends closer to two months in any given sign – that Mars is really hustling along at a pretty rapid clip at the moment.

And that will result in a couple of issues, one of which we call ‘haste’ and another of which we call ‘pressure.’ Those who are well under way doing things may well experience this period as one when they’re really clipping and ripping along. But many of us will feel an urgency, a necessity – and a corresponding impatience (perhaps) with others.

To make this point – and maybe to all a little more (dis)tasteful and this point, this would also be the day when Nemesis is going direct at 9:01am (UT/+0) while poised at 21 Virgo – a degree which in itself has something of a ‘Taurus flavor.’ More to the point, lore on 21 Virgo refers to this as a degree which tests any sort of deep-seated issues we have with self-worth, with money, possessions and ‘ability to do what they want’ is held out as being “better” than satisfaction.

 Nemesis by Alfred Rethel (1837)

But the truth is, when you’re satisfied, you’re satisfied. If that means you slog all day and live a penniless life, and you’re still happy as the proverbial clam, you are. Money and ‘stuff’ and status means nothing if we don’t have security of Self on our side.

You know – all that Taurus stuff.

This is where we get to that old saying the love of money is the root of all evil. It’s not just ‘money is the root of all evil’ like some think…it’s the love of money which is at issue here – just as in Scorpio the issue isn’t lust, it’s the love of lust which becomes our downfall as the ‘love of lust’ tends to negate the value of whatever is being lusted after.

And that, in being part of the Taurus/Scorpio polarity, tells us why getting straight about our self-worth and the value of investing in our own abilities is so very important. And one without the other isn’t the same thing: ability without self value is what produces that love-of-lust…in the desiring is the conviction that ‘if I can only have that’ all will be well. I’ll feel satisfied.

Except that’s not how it works.

With Nemesis, the symbol of being told that you don’t want to hear which is true even though you don’t want to hear it, going direct now, our values are in focus. And with Venus, Mercury and Jupiter meeting up in this moment to form a triple conjunction in Aries’ 3rd decanate, this is not just about ourselves. This moment, this ‘setting of a trend’ which is going to carry us through the next month (and thus through the Gemini solar eclipse to come on June 1st) …that’s worldly. That’s about how we operate in the world and how the world reacts to what we do.

You may embody Nemesis now: you may be standing up to say to point out to someone that if they keep flying on the heading they’re currently on, they’re going to fly their (whatever) into a cliff.

Or you may now come to a point where you realize something someone told you which you didn’t want to hear, that that’s right…and that if you don’t avail yourself of a little sense you’re going to be pretty much stepping off a cliff.

Or you may be facing some sort of societal force or externally generated notification that your efforts need refinement. Perhaps correction. Or that they are simply not what will work at this time.

The opportunities for getting peeved now seem numerous. But so are the opportunities to learn. And to learn how to learn. Maybe you need to learn how to take criticism? Maybe you need to learn how to tell someone ‘no.’ Maybe you need to learn how to admit – even just to yourself – that you are wrong and were wrong and someone else knew better.

Whatever your challenge is (or whatever your challenges are) while the occasional grumble is certainly to be expected, the willingness to figure out what will work and why you’ve met up with problems is really at the core of much in these weeks to come.

Things are changing. This Mars transit of Taurus is actually setting a stage for even bigger changes to come once Mars reaches Gemini and hits the degree (11 Gemini) of June’s solar eclipse – a feat it will accomplish on July 6/7 (depending where you are) – and that will be just after another solar eclipse to occur on July 1st at 9 Cancer.

That, in itself, maps out the July/August period (Mars hitting each solar eclipse point in turn) as vital and possibly uproarious…or maybe simply confusing, convoluted and confrontational.

Now is the time to make sure our feet are not just set on our own path but that said path is paved not merely with intentions, but realistic understandings. Life is not what we want it to be; it is for us to accept life is what it is and that our life can, with effort and a willingness to accept ourselves, become something we are satisfied with.

And satisfied....IS...satisfying!

Mercury Exits Retrograde Shadow Tomorrow (May 11, 2011)

If Mercury is exiting the shadow of its March-into-April retrograde tomorrow, why talk about it today?

Simple: because today would be the day when in some areas of life we ‘wrap up’ matters which began back in March…and where in other areas of life we have our last chance to change things which have been hanging on – or which (frankly) we really haven’t wanted to deal with.

That this ‘final moment’ (aka ‘last chance’) idea is so very emphasized by Mars being at the critical ‘do or don’t do’ point of 29 Aries? Considering that means Mars is about to move into Taurus (a passage which typically makes personal change difficult to face, never mind do!) again underscores this Mercury moment as one to be aware of.

So what might this be about? What might you do well to take into account?

The first thing which jumps of the page here is Mercury’s transiting conjunction with Venus and Jupiter. Astrologically this would rather clearly point to discussions and decisions (or the need for) money, an exercise of one’s personal values or a confrontation at some level with how you really feel about who you are.

With Venus and Jupiter united, we have a clear indication of ‘expansion’ – or the desire for more. And with Venus emphasized by the fact it rules  asteroid Niobe’s 29 Libra positioning (in direct opposition to Mars) there is a note of disappointment.

But is that with ‘them’? Or is that with yourself – or what you have perhaps done, chosen or ignored?

This would be a classic sort of moment to expect an ‘I told you so!’ IF Niobe was direct. But Niobe (boastful pride) isn’t direct here. So this is a moment when we reflect. Or when the news comes home that we aren’t ‘all that.’ Or even when what we really need to do is stick our pride in a drawer and do something because it simply needs doing, never mind our blessed ego!

That others or some outside force is involved here – maybe just as a consideration, but certainly as part of the mix - is pretty well underscored by Mercury’s rulership of the South Node in Gemini and Jupiter as ruler of the North Node in Sagittarius. Considering this, the suggestion would probably be more about ‘learning better’ (maybe just ‘learning’) or putting out the effort to do the right thing.

An Aries chart of Mercury exiting its retrograde

shadow (location not specific).

Remembering that the Nodes move backward through the zodiac it’s also reasonable to take note of the idea that said North Node – currently at 23 Sagittarius – will in the tick of a celestial moment move back into 22 Sagittarius, the degree of fixed star Ras Alhague. Known as a difficult star the better side of which involves healing, Ras Alhague’s position in Sagittarius’ 3rd decanate implies some sort of news or notification which though uncomfortable is actually real or true or the way to solve some dilemma, whether we know it (or like it) or not.

Given that we all like the easy way out of things, we’re all likely to ‘want’ to do the South Node thing – which at this point is pictured as a South Node sitting between Arachne (entanglement) and fixed star Bellatrix, emblem of difficult communications.

Maybe the best way to think of this is that Bellatrix (and its neighbor, fixed star Phact) – in being respectfully at 21 and 22 Gemini extend their confounding, confused, often excuse-ridden influence to approximately 26 or 27 Gemini. Meanwhile, fixed star Betelgeuse at 28 Gemini (with an orb which stretches between 23 Gemini and 3 Cancer) overlaps that Bellatrix/Phact ‘district,’ giving us the picture of a period when the easiest thing is to try and avoid problems ‘out there.’ Or situations which would cause us to re-evaluate our relationship with the world. With the Nodes now at 23 Sagittarius and Gemini, a good many of us are going to be clinging to wanting things to be easy while others (and sometimes those self same people!) are also complaining about how nothing’s getting done. How nothing’s changing.

And how it needs to change. The North Node’s perfecting trine to Eris Discord at 22 – a trine which becomes perfected as the North Node solidifies its conjunction with Ras Alhague – that speaks volumes to the fact that our choice is social/societal disruption or renovation. It’s something we each need to think about. And though optimally we would each do our part, it can’t be ‘about’ us. We live in this world – the world doesn’t operate at our behest.

Confuse that, and nothing will change. It may even become something of an excuse to not try, which for some may be the object as the whole idea of looking in the mirror to get a grip on why your own world is so screwed up, messy or problematic is because of your decisions? Or maybe because you won’t stand up and do something about what you say you really stand for?

Complaining? That’s easy now! Mars at 29 Aries is all ripe for fury and Venus in Aries (which is going to continue for a few days yet) is notoriously a time when our difficulties with the world get translated as being about ‘them’ and not about how we have chosen much of what we have and in some measure the path we’re currently on.

Can we change that? Yes! That’s a whole other side of this whole configuration and it would be a great moment to commit – at least to yourself – that you indeed intend to dedicate yourself to growing or changing your life.

Tomorrow…as Mercury exits its shadow and as Mars enters Taurus, those who don’t have a thought or a plan or a handle on how their choices create their results. They’re going to be the ones who experience the classically Mars-in-Taurus ‘sticky wicket’ thing. Those who have a plan, who are working towards their goals, they will make slow progress. It won’t be easy, it may not be all rose petals, champagne and fun, but advances can get made and much depends on what you decide you are willing to do, become, and let go of.

That would be the contemplation for today and as we head not just into tomorrow, but into all our tomorrows.

May Dateblog

Spring Wildflowers in a Kings Park

photo credit: Alfeewusy

May is one of those months which has all the usual nuances and daily details but an overarching quality which will form a backdrop for our lives in the personal and global sense.

That quality comes from the fact that the weeks of May are leading up to the first of three eclipses (two solar and one lunar) which we are soon to be experiencing the full dynamics of.

Not meaning to offend anyone who’s loony for our local Luna Moon, but it’s really the solar eclipses which we’re concerned with here. Lunar eclipses have a very tight little build-up before and after the actual date of occurrence and events tend to go off like clockwork.

But solar eclipses? That’s a whole other kettle of pickles (gherkins, probably)! Solar eclipses are preceded by a six-to-eight week ‘breakdown’ period where things tend to get very mish-moshed and feeling destabilized; you probably felt this begin back around mid-April when suddenly everyone was so tired and confused and disorganized and wacky or out of whack.

That continues now. The effect is greatly mental and affecting the quality of clarity, sharpness, all that stuff because the first eclipse will be in Gemini. While the Sun remains in Taurus (which would be until May 21st, UT/+0) universal values and our feelings of worthiness or ‘is this worth it?’ will undulate like nobody’s business.

Around May 15th we can expect eclipse effects from the second eclipse (in Cancer) to begin surfacing in our lives. Think emotionality, think traditions, think habits, think home life and national pride (or lack of, depending)…think the way I feel life ought to be. 

Also (just for that being-in-a-pickle’s sake…), think nutrition, sleep habits, stomach aches, emotional tantrums and memory or memories.

This overlap gives us a message that the second half of the month is going to be particularly goofy, intense and maybe even filled with a sense of ‘unreality.’

What’s the underlying message? To stop thinking of life as it has been and as we have presumed it ‘should be.’ Eclipses are about eliminating our ‘excuses’ for making do instead of being who we should be.

Just bear that in mind.

May 1 through 6: Venus and Mercury running in tandem though emotional degrees of Aries symbolize a lot of fervency and feelings of urgency which may or may not be actually justified in the worldly sense, but which means quite a lot to us personally. We’re wanting to validate ourselves in some way, shape or form and though we can accomplish a lot it doesn’t quite scratch that itch.

In spite of that or despite that, people will either show a good face…or they won’t face reality at all. This is a period of emotional dichotomy when you shouldn’t trust that things are ‘all right’ just because you want to see them as being all right.

As this period begins, a New Moon in Taurus speaks to the necessity to get things done. Add in Ceres (thoughtful support) standing at 14 Pisces and we have a recipe which says the more we can work together, the better off we’re going to be – providing we’re realistic.

In opposition to this (at 14 Virgo) Atlantis is conjunct protective Juno, a combination which sounds very much like having to let go in order to get where you really want to go – and you may not have any assurances that things will be all right even if you do let go. That Juno is going direct here speaks to a ‘turn of circumstance’ or ‘change of direction’ with regards to (Virgo) efforts being made. Events which happen now will set a tone for some time to come and let’s remember, those solar eclipses unfold over a full 3 years!

Also – if you have a birthday either right at the end of April (say on the 29th or 30th) or the first few days of May this aspect, this effect, this dynamic is going to be with you for the whole of your ‘birthday year.’

One last note, with Echo going retrograde on May 3rd, its station effects begin on the 1st and extend through the 5th. Try to not just repeat what you've been told, even if it's by some authority. Think before you speak and consider all your options - and possible consequences (like, who you could alienate?)

May 7 through 10: Energy abounds now, as does a need for personal caution as Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter all line up in Aries. With the Sun one sign ahead in Taurus, things and people who mean a lot to us affect us emotionally; particularly as these days come to a close matters seem intensely personal.

And they are. So don’t expect anyone else to understand entirely where you’re coming from and don’t project: what you’re feeling and experiencing and thinking about is all about your learning about who you are. You may even remember being told the way life ‘works’ and how whoever it was that said whatever is/was actually right. Honor that.

May 11 through 15: Given how Mars is moving into Taurus now, impatience and not liking how things ‘go’ will typify these days to some extent. Maybe it’s traffic, maybe it’s trying to reach someone, maybe it’s trying to get something done and something always seems to get in your way. Or maybe things just aren’t working the way you want them to.

Life isn’t what we want it to be, but when we accept what it is and laugh at life’s foibles, suddenly we’re free. Try it – people around you (who are all grinding their teeth) may think you’re nuts, but once you start laughing you may realize how ridiculous it is to battle life’s tides. Then you can laugh some more! Silly people!

May 15 through 20: Everyone relaxes and things seem to come into more refined focus as Venus and Mercury enter Taurus and a purposeful and deliberate process begins getting things moving in on or another direction. However – don’t count on giant strides: TNO Orcus going direct now tells us there are new parameters to deal with which are ‘consequences’ of things already done.

This last is highlighted by a late Scorpio Full Moon tests whether we have taken others into proper account. If you haven’t, prepare for objections and to need to try, try again. This isn’t the end of the world but it may be a bit of a personal trial.

May 21 through 23: As the Sun moves into Gemini life’s tempo picks up and people get more abstract. The ‘idea of the thing’ gets more important, but with Mercury, Venus and Mars all in Taurus we can expect people to be anywhere between exacting to persnickety about details.

With Jupiter in the last degrees of Aries there’s a lot of prompting to achieve and get things done – we’re going to feel like we’re racing towards various goals, finish lines, benchmarks and the like. And this is a personal issue.

May 24 through 28: The drive is still there. The sense of abstract consideration is there. Tons of information will be coming and going and being buzzed about every which-way. But where the preceding days were personal, now the focus grows more interactive and finally into the realm of the impersonal ‘we’ and ‘they’.

Some people will feel a lot of pressure now. The deadlines (or whatever) may be true, but the real cause of the pressure is their sense of self worth. To whatever degree that is at a lack, so they will be doing the ‘I have to do xyz’ speech.

Take it as their confession. Yes, they may need to get something done…but the real issue is how they don’t feel entirely equal to the totality of what’s going on in their life.

If you want to earn points or salve a frantic soul, just be supportive. Just tell them you’re with them and that if they need you, to call. Right now that’s a magical sort of gift to give someone – your willingness to be there for them tells them how worthy they are and hey, how you have faith that they’re capable.

Sometimes the option of a resource is all we need to make us strong.

May 29 through May 31: As we close in on the Solar Eclipse of June 1st people are once again focusing on values and what they need to have in life, or get out of life, and part of that is going to be based on old expectations, standards and ways.

You’re going to feel tension now, though you don’t have to participate or catch it like some flu. The dividing line here is all about whether you recognize times are changing and that we all have to change with our evolving world. Both the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ are going to feel the shift now, and oddly enough change is likely to be harder on the ‘have’s than those who have little. It’s not some trick or nastiness going on, it’s like what was said in an old episode of M*A*S*H (the television version)…which I very liberally paraphrase: only those who have something to lose can feel in danger of losing  something. 

Don’t clutch – look ahead. Think long term. And whatever you do, don’t hold your breath…no one looks that good in blue!

Sun in Taurus/Tantalus in Gemini

The story of Tantalus is not a very…uh,….savory one. This is one of those stories about a ticked off grumpy human (Tantalus) who decides to get the best of the Olympians by serving them the ultimate illicit feast – call it a ‘family’ stew recipe best left to the cannibal set.

To say that the Olympians aren’t happy about it is putting it mildly. Faster than a Brit can brew tea Tantalus is summarily caught and sentenced to his own little hell-hole in Tartarus (the Greek Hell, thus the hell-hole.) For an eternity – and maybe more – from that day forward Tantalus was sentenced to standing in a pool of water beneath the boughs of a beautiful and prodigiously productive fruit tree. But he gets none of it. Burning with thirst, every time he stoops to drink, the water disappears. Every time he reaches for piece of fruit, a frisky breeze briskly dances the tree’s boughs just beyond reach.

Artful, those Greeks. They really know how to punish.

In astrological practice however, Tantalus isn’t all bad. It can be, mind you – but it doesn’t have to be. Depending on where its placed by sign and house, depending on how it’s aspected and by what, the astrological Tantalus can resent – and by its movement through the signs and chart time out how we reach to fix those dastardly “sins” we see in real life.

Like many metaphysical symbols, it’s all in how you use it. Or if you use it, rather than allowing it to use you.

That Tantalus is all about us is made evident by the orbital path of this Apollo group asteroid.

And just that, by the way, should say something. Apollo is the god of truth and enlightenment. Asteroids in the Apollo group thus speak to whether we live in enlightenment…or whether we prefer the darkness of denial and human corruption. And still yes, we would know. There are those among us who know right from wrong and who choose to do wrong. There are also those whose mental faculties are incapable of knowing or understanding…they have a true ‘diminished capacity.’ That’s a different thing.

But back to Tantalus. It’s orbit goes from just outside that of Mars (1.675 AU versus Mars’ 1.665 AU) to 0.904 AU, which in solar systemic terms is just outside Venus’s orbit…and right in there with asteroid Sisyphus at 0.874 AU – a fact I mention because Sisyphus and Tantalus are the two great Greek ‘bad boys’ who were each given very specific spots of dishonor in Tartarus.

Both, may I add, were at least partly held as being so despicable for being bad hosts. Back when it was the ultimate no-no to do anything wrong to someone when they were a guest in your home.

 Tantalus

by Hendrick Goltzius (c.1588)

When you were a guest in their home…? That’s different! But when you’re the host you’re supposed to play nice.

Emily Post and Dear Abby would have liked Greek hospitality (although I think it was allowed to put your elbows on the table in those times which would have irritated both Emily and Abby to the max!)

But I digress (I seem to be doing that today…) This Tantalus orbit, starting just beyond Venus and turning back just beyond Mars rather describes our desirous nature. And yet, it doesn’t ‘go’ anywhere. So it either empowers us - or it burbles around, eating us up from the inside out.

Given Tantalus’ nature, we would expect Tantalus in Gemini to give us a series of choices as to what to do – one about us and what we want, and one about what we can do to make things better. We should also like as not expect to hear various pieces of ugly information, including some things we have inadvertently “swallowed” without knowing how bad they really are.

Another interesting note for those into sky watching and calendar marking is that Tantalus will reach 11 Gemini – the degree at which there will be a Solar Eclipse come June 1st – on May 12th, a day after Mars enters Taurus and as a separate celestial act, Venus, Mercury and Jupiter all meet up at in Aries.

Speaking of which, (the Solar Eclipse, I mean) since we’re at April 20th, this would be just about the time to start feeling the ‘breakdown’ in matters having to do with the June 1st eclipse. That this times out to be when the Sun is entering Taurus? Well, that just adds a thoughtful note that our values, sense of security, satisfaction and self worth are now all up for…well, let’s just call them ‘flux fodder.’

Considering all eclipses rattle all cages (lives, sorry…) whether they distinctly aspect our natal charts or not, we all get a bit of a ‘check/cross-check’ now and going forward as to whether we’re on our right track. Have you done enough to sort out your ‘stuff’? We all have ‘stuff’ – have you ignored yours or dealt with it? Those who have dealt with it or are dealing with it are likely to weather this period more easily than those who have coasted, ignored or tried to skate by – especially if you’ve tried to get someone else to foot your bill.

Let’s remember the big markers on the wall, too. Pluto, Neptune and Uranus – the transpersonal group (meaning they pertain to events we don’t totally control) - are all in early numbers of respective signs. Pluto is in ‘life structural’ Capricorn. Neptune is in ‘pitting us against our emotional makeup’ Pisces. And Uranus is in Aries – a sure sign we’re supposed to change.

So with an eclipse coming up in Gemini, mental sign of choice and learning, what’cha think the chances are that as the Sun hits Taurus and tests our satisfaction and security that that’s exactly what’s going to get tested?

Maybe we need some new choices?

New priorities?

New attitudes?

With Tantalus hitting Gemini here, I’m willing to make one of those astrologer’s bets that we’re going to hear a lot of…(excuse the expression) mental masturbation going on. People are going to be working themselves up and wanting you to get excited too.

Should you?

Probably the best sorting mechanism astrology gives us right now is that of Neptune. In Pisces, Neptune tells us to deal with the real. Good, bad, indifference, reality is what we have to deal with at the moment. Neptune rewards us with elation when we deal with reality and accept reality and the people in that real world for who and what they are.

That means rich or poor, we’re all human. That means wherever you come from, nobody has the copyright on goodness or evil. We all make simple mistakes – even big mistakes. We are all capable of some pretty terrible behavior.

If what you hear passes the Neptune Acceptance Test, it may hold merit. I’m going to bet Tantalus’ ingress into Gemini is going to raise the level of rancid rhetoric like we have seldom heard.

And to those who dare say such things, I suggest we ask why they would say that. Understanding who people are is far, far more powerful than rejecting them out of hand. It helps us understand – and become more secure with ourselves.

And that’s what Sun in Taurus is ultimately about!