The 14 Virgo Full Moon

The Moon at dawn

(photo credit: Mike Lewinski, December 2012)

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There’s a Full Moon in Virgo this Thursday. Occurring at 18:07 (aka 6:07 in the evening), its position at 14 degrees highlights our ability to pay attention and focus on effect and detail with some emphasis on hand-done work, handicrafts and -given Virgo tradition - how we ‘handle’ things (or people). Yet this degree also speaks to lacks, most of which have little (or at least less) to do with what we do on our own and which surface when or where we deal with others. Traditions and that which is ‘traditional’ is held as important and virtually ‘clung’ to with this degree, emphasizing the known, the cherished ... all of the ‘comfortable’ (or comforting) feelings.

But of course, as with any Full Moon story, the Moon’s position is only half the story. The feeling half, yes. The half we will tend to react or respond to? Absolutely.

Still, there is another side to things here, and with a Full Moon, that ‘other side’ is the Sun - emblem of that life, that ‘light’ which the Moon, in coming to its Full phase, reflects.

Which yes, is worth reflecting on for a moment.

The 14 Virgo Full Moon (glyph chart)

March 5, 2015 - 18-07 (UT +0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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The 14 Virgo Full Moon (text chart)

March 5, 2015 - 18-07 (UT +0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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So with the Moon at 14 Virgo, the Sun is at 14 Pisces, a degree known for serving up a decent helping of fairly good luck which unfortunately tends to get dished out in simple (or simplistic) forms which may not be sufficiently sophisticated to get the job done ... for which reason (as one writer puts it) the luck associated with 14 Pisces often ‘runs out’ unless there is (in the case of a 14 Pisces placement in a natal chart) there is support coming from other parts of the chart (i.e., other attributes in the personality, other people in the native’s life, etc.).

And that idea in a Full Moon chart? That means the Sun of this Full Moon will trend towards positive or negative according to how it’s aspected, and for those living on the planet this Full Moon is going to grace (that being you, me and everyone/everything else on Earth) that starts with the Moon in opposition (not always the world’s friendliest aspect) and goes on from there.

Plus let’s not forget ... this is the last Full Moon before the March 20th total solar eclipse.

In case you’re curious about the lunar eclipse which goes with this solar eclipsing of 29 Pisces (and fixed star Scheat, which happens to be positioned at 29 Pisces), this season’s Libra lunar eclipse happens after the solar eclipse, telling us to expect the emotionalism which accompanies any eclipse season to occur after the 20th.

But enough about that - back to our March 5th Full Moon, one which it interesting in its own right as it happens to be occurring hours prior to  Neptune exiting and ending its 2014 cycle, an idea which fits interestingly with the idea that any Full Moon is, among other things, the end of a ‘waxing’  phase based in (or on) ‘increase.’

Does this mean that some things will now be shown to be an illusion? Maybe - although the combination of Neptune and Virgo would probably be more akin to the ‘dissolving’ of something, be it a notion we may have held onto ...some relationship, or some effort we have been determined to carry through on (or maintain).

Where Neptune’s ‘dissolving’ of some curtain or veil causes us to see something we had hoped would be otherwise, we’re likely to be disappointed.

We’re even likely to not want to do ‘that’ again - which despite the pain or frustration of the moment really is Neptune in Pisces representing the need to face our own feelings facing off against the Full Moon in Virgo as life demonstrating what reality (and realities) really are.

As for the Sun side of this Full Moon, recalling how the degree references speak of 14 Pisces as needing support from other parts of a chart in order to bring the degree’s good luck into play, that list only starts with Moon-opposition-Sun.

For one, the Moon is conjunct Black Moon Lilith at 10 Virgo with Lilith exactly inconjunct Mars and the South Node at 10 Aries ... with the Moon itself inconjunct Uranus and Venus.

Inconjuncts denote ‘adjustments’ or the process of ‘adjusting.’ So both of these connection denote something which ‘shifts,’ or some dynamic which we respond to by shifting or adjusting something. Uranus-Venus speaks to instability or changes (or the changeability) of values or qualities of liking which at the moment aren’t being fully met anyway - that coming as a note about Venus in Aries. Some of us will like ourselves for standing up or for doing things we aren’t comfortable with while Venus is in Aries, though this isn’t Venus in any truly ‘receptive’ or particularly giving mode.

The thing to understand here about our ability to get what we want to get, however ... (that being the Venus part of things) ... is that this doesn’t come from a position of self-assurance. Venus in one of the signs of its rulership (Taurus or Libra) feels rewarded when others prosper ... partially because when passing through those signs Venus represents the type of warmth of feeling which inspires gratitude and a bountiful return of (and on) good deed incarnate.

Yet while transiting Aries (as opposed to a natal Venus in Aries, which operates somewhat differently), Venus is more - even most often a sign of want and wanting. In other words, nothing seems like it’s ‘enough’ or the ‘right thing.’ It could be fine. Things can be going along with nary a hitch - and sometimes that’s what’s wrong, people are bored. They want excitement. Venus in Aries often manifests with a feeling that there’s no fun, no romance, nothing to look forward to in life - and in that, it prompts us to dislike that so much that we do something about it.

In other words, sometimes irritation, boredom and frustration are motivations.

Then again, sometimes they’re just energy wasted and opportunities lost.

Which is which is somewhat of the question here, and with these twin inconjuncts from motivation, action-oriented Mars and desirous-if-unpredictable Uranus/Venus in a tussle with a Virgo Full Moon conjunct Black Moon Lilith (with the Moon trine Pluto, which is a drizzle of obsessiveness stirred into the mix)... sense and sensibility aren’t always going to match - not yours, and not that of others you're interacting with or listening to out there in the Big World.

There’s a lot of disbelief (rejection, denial and flat-out refusing to listen and think things through) going around, and that's of every type on every subject possible. So something may get said or something may happen and you may be totally astounded ... and the person next to you may yawn ... and the person sitting beyond them may not be surprised at the idea, they're just didn't believe anything would ever really happen.

Things are going to be unpredictable. And surprising. There’s a lot which wants to get done, and much in the way of personal insight which will ultimately drive whatever choices come to be made.

Continuing on with aspects, one of our favorites (I’m being sarcastic here ...) is putting in a Full Moon appearance: Pluto (which is sextile and Sun and trine the Full Moon) is square Mars, exactly square Venus and one degree off that exactness in squaring Uranus.

In being conjunct fixed star Vega by degree, Pluto represents a transformative force coming through ... or operating on something which has, or which has had 'charismatic' appeal. Notorious for expressions of potency positive and negative, this conjunction represents the purging of internal shadows,  often through projection of whatever is considered most incorrect or unacceptable about the Self (whether real or dreaded) onto others with a passion which is far more about fear of and for that Self than anything else.

In square to Uranus, this process can be electrifying and fascinating - or exciting and the sort of real eye-opener you're happy you didn't miss. But then again, this square can be the very essence of trying to escape those changes and realities about one's Self which though not particularly appealing are both inescapable and (in all likelihood) not as terrible as we think except for what we think of, and about them. Our current time seems awash with this square; since its formulation (by orb) began back in 2010 life has been full of an inexorable, implacable challenge to change our Selves which being human, we’ve tried to foist on everybody but our Self.

It doesn’t work. It won’t work. But we seem determined to make everything as difficult (i.e., as 'un-charismatic') as we can before learning there are only so many structural members which can be created, denied or destroyed (those being the Pluto keywords) before karma comes home to roost.

That 'un-charismatic' part would be courtesy of Pluto-Venus connections, which whatever they may be and wherever they might surface would and will always be Plutonically intense. 

And with Pluto trine the Moon, there’s a lot of ongoing emotional energy going into efforts to achieve valued or valuable ends which are now being either set off or offset by forces unpredictable (or unpredicted) which, when we consider Pluto sextile Sun says we can change things ... or that this is when there’s that change of luck referenced by 14 Pisces. That change could be for the better or for the worse, with the good-or-bad of same being that the net of whatever happens is something we probably couldn’t have predicted, and how its something we don’t or can’t control - or influenced by something we can’t control, resist, do away with or ignore.

Of course there is that critical Pluto factor which is known as where you're starting from. What I mean is that Pluto is the energy of transformation, or that which transforms us - which means changing what you come into this period with, as, doing, thinking (etcetera) since that is your current status quo. So for some, Pluto/Vega indicates increase, where for others it will indicate decrease - or maybe disruption as opposed to harmony.

Then there’s one other little detail - namely the fact that Pluto and the Sun are not just linked by just any old sextile of opportunity, but by one which is part of a Yod.

And that complicates things yet again - at least for a lot of us. It brings things 'back around,' in some sense. How and why will be entirely individual - depending on your chart. But the Yod itself feels rather fateful as 'moments of Yod' (which sounds odd) are composed of two inconjuncts (two separate adjustments) which emanate from a single point, which in this case is Jupiter retrograde at 14 Leo.

From that point - which would be our opinion on how things are (or should be) - we regard or have to consider (or take into consideration) two things which we are going to have to deal with simultaneously (either internally or externally). And to do that, we’re going to have to undertake some (adjustment or adjusting) process which is either foreign as a process or which is bound to lead to something other than what we were thinking - which with Jupiter in Leo isn’t defined as our first, second ... or even third choice.

But still, if we want to get anywhere, we’re going to have to stop insisting that we are in control - especially in our own heads.

And that, nobody’s likely to love.

But there is some good news here, namely that Yods are one of the few astrological configurations (or ‘planetary pictures,’ as they say in astrology texts) which come with instructions on how to find their ‘solution’ point. That point - astrologically - is immediately opposite the joint ‘base’ of the inconjuncts (the Jupiter of it all here) and half way between the two points which are in sextile (the Sun and Pluto).

In other words, the solution here is found at 14 Aquarius - a degree known for unusually eccentric expressions (physical, verbal and otherwise) and challenges or challenging status quos which are not of one’s making. There are too many variables (and unknowns in your individual chart) to make any sort of predictions here, but if your chart has a planet, dwarf planet, node, axis or cusp point at 14 Aquarius, this Full Moon has your name on it - don’t shy away from your challenges!

With all this said however, let’s go back and remember Neptune’s little part in this play. No matter how seemingly insignificant the ripple through our life seems to be, Neptune’s motions and effects unsettle us from within ... not because we’re actually weak or endangered, but because once we adopt something as part of our life, even if it’s a negative we’re going to feel ‘different’ when it disappears.

At least for a little while.

And we’re not going to know everything ... at least for a little while.

And we’re going to vacillate back and forth between an excruciating awareness of others (many of whom seem to be in some fog) and being that person lost in some thought.

A Full Moon under every circumstance is an upwelling of feelings, an outpouring of fervency and whatever actions reflect our convictions, our hopes, our agonies and desires.

And yet ... it is a phase. Unlike the lunar eclipse which lasts three months - or the solar eclipse which evolves over a full three years (36 months) this Thursday’s Full Moon is a moment in time, a passage through our own feeling core, a chance to reflect on what is darkness and what is light, not only in our world or the world ... but in our own spirit, soul and human life.
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Venus in Capricorn

Named for the Egyptian goddess of truth and justice (Maat), Maat Mons on Planet Venus is an

8 km (5 mi.) high volcano situated at 0.9 degrees north  Latitude by 194.5 degrees east Longitude.

(photo credit: NASA-JPL)

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There’s something quiet... sometimes even somber about Venus in Capricorn. Some of that is no doubt due to the fact that the sign prior to Capricorn is Sagittarius, and under Venus in Sagittarius things can get wild and woolly, unpredictable and unexpected. That’s what Sagittarius is all about - the new, the growth, the testing of a theoretical limit (if not the limit itself). So while Venus passed through Sagittarius, results of various doings (results being the Venus thematic aim) while there were pluses and things to be happy about, there were also a lot of surprises and things which got out of hand in unexpected ways.

So part of the change we’re likely to feel once Venus is in Capricorn is just about comparison. After all, in comparison to Sagittarius, Capricorn can seem downright staid. Or slow, as the pace or frequency of things does seem to pick up under Sagittarius - which means that if they slow down now they may be simply be going back to what's generally our more 'normal' pace - but in comparison, there's a difference.

That means we shouldn't think things can’t - or won’t get done now. They can - Venus in Capricorn is often a very  productive time, especially where we need to deal with obligations to others... or even our Self. Venus being all about trying to produce the result/results which will make things easier, as it passes through earth sign Capricorn we're all going to be looking for, working with and seeing real results come to be in real-time, in-the-flesh life.

Will they be what we want?

Well, maybe yes... and maybe no (what else is new, right?). But seriously...ruled by Saturnine precepts (those being about hard work, having/taking direction, regard for others/the world around us and in general, The Responsibility Principle) Capricorn is a sign which is about what we earn as a person (or for a nation or company, as an entity). It's about the 'reality' of our 'standing' in life - never mind the money or the bank account(s), though this is a pairing of sign and symbol considered good for the conducting of business, if not specifically or directly as an indication of income.

Think of it this way... getting the job, the 'business of business' - the Capricorn part of the process - has to happen before you get a paycheck, which makes the receiving of income as something intrinsically Aquarian far more understandable: Capricorn precedes Aquarius just as getting the job precedes getting the income from that job. 

Under Capricorn, it's our reputation (being known for who we are and what our abilities and capacities are) or what we are thought of by others (and the world) which garners whatever 'response' we get in said world, whether that amounts to respect, money, accolades - a job offer - or anything else. And that means Venus traveling through Capricorn is all about who we want to be in this world versus who we are being or being seen as in this world (inclusive of who we may have been)...and how well all of that is working, or not working, in good, bad or iffy Venusian style.

And for those who have issues? This is also a good time to think about or work on seeing what you can do to improve things. It may take time (hardly anything we initiate under Venus in Capricorn yields instantaneous results) ... but if we started doing something some time ago, this may well be a time of stabilization.

There is a touch of 'let's keep the status quo status' with Venus in Capricorn (more than a touch, actually...) yet risks - though not seized upon with the glee one might see if Venus was in a fire sign - are still acceptable.

Well, maybe. Venus in Capricorn signals moments and situations which ask us how important something really is. We end up thinking about risks to what we have, and we'll tend to 'protect' or look at providing for things as they are first under this influence where at other times (read: while Venus is in a sign with less allegiance to less hard-core practicality) we might think the situation merits taking a risk in order to protect or provide for our 'status quo' as we go forward. And when we think of Capricorn in its 'what we are seen as' mode it's easy to see Capricorn as a sign of (or about) consequences in life... and life consequences, which in the sense that 'consequence' and 'result' are words which might be thought of as non-kissing cousins means Capricorn's 'style' meshes rather seamlessly with Venus as whatever situation, action or connection brings about some 'response' or 'result.'

Though granted, those results aren't always what we want them to be. Sometimes we get what we want under Venus in Capricorn, even though we always get what we've managed to earn - at least on a karmic level.

And why karma? How did karma get into this conversation? Answer: that very special 'karma' quality brought to this discussion courtesy of Scorpio, as Capricorn is - and ever shall be - the third derivative sign from Scorpio..

Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn show in terms of their position on

a 'natural' (i.e., unmodified) zodiac wheel.

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All third astrological derivatives equal the 'voicing' - the 'putting it out there' at least in theoretical form, which makes Capricorn - and transits of planets through Capricorn - times and indicators of situations which though totally Capricorn in nature embody something of a Scorpio 'voice,' that 'voice' being the heart of the challenge we all face as we achieve (the Capricorn thing) and through that achievement acquire power - or a powerful voice. Or the power to speak - and be heard.

This precept - by the by - has great implications for the next 2,000 years or so as Scorpio will be on the 10th house (the native house of Capricorn) for the whole of the Aquarian Age... and also why we are seeing - and likely to see - this struggle to maintain internal (Scorpio/Taurus) balance/s of worth in worldly institutions and on the worldly level appearing first in or through natively 10th house institutions. We're going to see the other side of this too - the 10th house professions which 'embody' or hold power over our mortality, the most obvious of which would medicine, food and anything connected to weaponry, war and/or the civil sector entities which embody a governmental power (tax, spy, policing agencies, etc.).

The wheel of any given Age has the sign of that Age (in this case, Aquarius) on the Ascendant

of the wheel, rotating the rest of the signs counter-clockwise from there. Because of that, Scorpio

is on the 10th house of the Age we're now in/moving into, which explains to a great degree many of
the problems we're encountering in our life and which we see in our world. During the Age of Pisces
(that which is now over) the great emphasis on learning, religion and the idea that there's an ethical
responsibility which goes with being in power or having power was tempered by what we might
think of as a 'spiritual-moral' clause. That clause - the Sagittarian clause - now moves to the 11th house,
meaning it now resides (and will reside, moving forward) in the hands of 'marketplace systems'
and various mass and social  movements, meaning that governments and those 'in power' (whether
embodied as corporations or as a household) will tend to 'act' from the Scorpio basis (whether
or not they are claiming to be acting from a moral (Sagittarian) position) until a new paradigm
about the relationship between power and security based on the needs of populations as opposed
to Scorpionic desire/will of those 'in power' is developed. This may take time and does not say that
those who haven't made the change are "evil" - merely that things are changing and that such
people or institutions (or some of the means through which they operate) are destined to change
even while we all move forward, together manifesting that beginning of Aquarian Age evolution
which over time equates the (Taurus) security of power, use of power and those with (or in) power
with the opportunity to learn how to (Taurus) value, develop and wield power in one's own mortal
and individual life in and as the whole of any global and universal (Aquarian) system.

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Venus in any sign is about whatever makes something plain, evident or obvious. We even have expressions which cover such times: Venus in an air sign 'brings things to light' and Venus in an earth sign like Capricorn 'makes things concrete,' none of which guarantees we'll like something, not like something or that it's even the end of a given process. Sometimes realities please us and sometimes they just prove how what we thought we would want isn’t what we really want at all.

That's also rather Venus in Capricorn, just as in 'solidifying' certain situations under Venus in Capricorn means we've been 'validated,' approved or given some go-ahead which we will begin working on now and see about capitalizing on once Venus moves into Aquarius (read: after New Years). For now we're looking for opportunities - and among those we will find some which give us a chance to turn disappointment into understanding in such a way that we are then able to change things.

You know...once Uranus goes direct and the 'changes' in life become more external than internalized?

How life works, and who we are in our life gets a bit of quality attention during this time. And because perseverance is another Capricorn trait, while Venus moving through Capricorn that path which needs long(er) term effort and the best our determination and patience can offer may not seem as annoying as it did just a couple of weeks ago.

Or rather, it may seem just as irritating, but also the path we need to take because we really do want to reach that personal goal. So don't be surprised if what you focus on now is something bigger, more substantial or more 'consequential' (read: full of potential) than what you've tackled up until now: Venus in Capricorn often stirs us to demonstrate our abilities and capacity - most of all to our Self.

Yet in spite of this, we shouldn't expect everyone to be in a nose-to-grindstone 'give it your very best effort' sort of mood - which isn't surprising, as it's holiday season. But maybe that's the point. Nothing we've said here says the period between December 10th (when Venus enters Capricorn at 4:43 p.m., UT/+0 time) and January 3rd (when it moves on into Aquarius) can’t be warm, wonderful, rewarding and well worth savoring.

It’s just that with Venus in Capricorn, success is more human - think less razzle-dazzle and more time-tested, classic or dignified.There's also a reflective sort of quality to Venus in Capricorn which tends to lead to quiet admissions - even if they're only to ourselves. We're aware of losses... and where we stand with regards to those things we want to achieve in life, whether that's a professional or personal aim.

As for the reputation for fiscal caution which goes with this combination. Under Venus in Capricorn we would expect less experimentation and risk rather across the board than that we’ve experienced of late...or what we would have more comfortably tolerated under Venus in Sagittarius.Part of this goes back to the essential yin-yang quality of the zodiac - a quality which we see in every part of life: we breathe in, we breathe out... the pendulum swings in one direction, and then swings back. Starting with Aries (an assertive and yang sign) the entire zodiac goes back and forth between this yin and yang, metaphorically hot and cold pattern, which is why we experience Scorpio’s tendency to try to hold onto things (or keep them as they are) which is followed by Sagittarian fervency which is again followed by Capricorn’s classically cool control.

And please note: that reference to control under Capricorn (or in the 10th house sense) starts and ends with control of Self - not others. As much as it is a sign of achievement, Capricorn is also the sign of governance and governments, both of which in this metaphysical sense are said to work well only  when the Capricorn drive to ‘structure’ durable things which provide what is needed so everything else about our human lives can function successfully.

Given this - and the Venus reputation for producing results, this Venus in Capricorn time is likely to show up/bring out how well (or not well) our efforts to reach our current goals is really doing.

Or not doing.

Whichever way things go, there's going to be some emphasis on maintaining a status quo even while needing to look forward with an eye to the lessons of history.

(Welcome to your next little exercise in unlikely balancing acts.)

Imaged by Venus in Capricorn and Mars in Aquarius, these next few weeks are a time when things may (and can) be sparked... or they can just fizzle, or even short circuit. Since the astrological Mars and Venus are also thought of as primary symbols of lunar/feeling 'modification,' even without anything untoward or specific going on, staying in emotional balance within the Self and with others is one of those places which will take a bit of effort. This isn’t necessarily bad and there's nothing Herculean necessarily indicated. Some of us will take some time off, some of us will pull back a little in some way and all of us will be thinking 'what next?' about something, whether we're in our career planning mode or standing in the kitchen thinking about when to put cookies in to bake considering everything else we need to do.

With Mars having changed signs (into Aquarius) a few days before Venus enters Capricorn, Venus (the faster moving planet) will do a bit of numerical degree catching-up for the first few days of its transit. Then as of December 14th, the real heart of the semi-sextile effect resulting from Mars and Venus being in adjacent signs increases. And though this semi-sextile won't last more than a couple of days (suggesting that only a small tube of mental anti-itch ointment might suffice), because those days are the specific dates which lead into the Uranus’ station-direct/Capricorn Solstice moment of December 21st, changes and challenges are likely to interrupt, distract or disrupt our focus.

Moreover, the degrees at which Venus and Mars will proceed in numerical (not sign) tandem start at ten and continue on through fourteen, we know that emotional drives and those motivating forces which lie below the surface are causing some of this, with that 'hidden' or 'unspoken' factor creating a lack of clarity, whether or not there's true insecurity.

Venus conjunct Pluto in Capricorn (glyph chart)

December 20, 2014 - 11:02 a.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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Venus conjunct Pluto in Capricorn (text chart)

December 20, 2014 - 11:02 a.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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Some want to act, some are dying to react. We know something needs to be done...but we also don't want to act in haste. With Venus conjuncting Pluto there's no question but that we're each being driven by what we want to happen (which is natural) and let's not forget: any astrological contact between Pluto and Venus indicates some level of passion... or for those prone to same, obsession.

And that's what's being tested about now through a configuration we know of as Uranus squaring Pluto from 12 Aries with Uranus slowing down to take its station.

That's a lot of pressure. Internal pressure which is seeking a way to 'break through' whatever is holding it back.

This transiting Uranus-Pluto square has been with us now for a while, and its many manifestations have not been altogether pleasant. Uranus first came into orb of square to Pluto (this time around the zodiac) back in June of 2009 - a fact which may ring a bell for you and which certainly will set off chimes in the heads of those who watch domestic and international politics and economics. Since then life and our times have ... with increasingly shorter breaks ... been trying to get us to change, and where we don't change (or where we don't flex and/or change) change - sometimes drastically dramatic change - has been thrust upon us.

To put this in Aquarian Age terms we all have been being challenged to move out of some ‘past’ - most likely personal and global - into a more present-and-future mode, and we’ve probably all done some of it, but then again... probably not.

And that part we would know because Uranus is still transiting Pluto. The active square having begun in June 2012 (June the 24th, to be exact) it remains with us with the next edition of exactitude occurring on December 15th at 6:15 in the morning (UT/+0 time) with March 17, 2015 marking the last such event we will experience for a while, though it will be early 2017 before this influence fully dissipates.

So what is Uranus squaring Pluto - and why do we care amidst a conversation about Venus entering Capricorn?

There are a hundred different ways (at least!) to describe Uranus square Pluto. But since they all seem to fall within one rather indistinctly succinct outline, we’ll just go with that: Uranus squaring Pluto by transit is the need to change coming into balance with the willingness to be transformed.

In this textual word equation, Venus conjuncting Pluto represents the attracting of the result (that being the Venus factor) which will prove transformational. Occurring in Capricorn, we know the nature of this Venus/Pluto coloration is a reality - maybe one we want, maybe one we have and want to keep. We want to have things as we want them, we are fully vested in whatever it is we’re convinced of our focused on.

And yet... we’re changing. Things are changing. We know it - and yet we are unlikely (at the moment) to show it - that being part of the nature of 12 Capricorn, a degree which represents the ways we (at least some of us) get so very clever that we sometimes outsmart ourselves.

Firmness is called for here, lore tells us - but with Pluto in conjunction with Venus, though some will fight to the (literal or proverbial) death for change, just as many are likely to be tenaciously invested against some change they feel is being ‘thrust’ upon them in such a manner as to rankle their (Uranus-in-Aries) imperatives.

Read: survival...and surviving our mistakes.

Not necessarily physical, though. No, thought this could refer to physicality it could just as aptly pertain to anything any one of us is ‘being,’ doing, aiming to do...or even that which we are known for, whether in our career or personal life. And with the Sabian symbol for 12 Capricorn being ... ‘A fire worshiper meditates on the ultimate realities of existence’ ... we also know that this Pluto/Venus contact is generating something we could ‘get’ and learn a great deal from. To have this conjunction occurring in Capricorn speaks to the basic nature of that we will consider and confront - and with fixed star Vega in orb of this conjunction there is a definite aura of something which had held 'charm' which now doesn't seem so all-fire important.

So...will we change? In the long run, yes.  Are we willing to be a participant in our own transformation at this very moment? That depends. Some will see necessity and rebel where others will loathe the necessity but see pragmatic (Venusian) value in changing our mind, our position, our aim, our priorities - or anything else which needs to be changed.

People tend to attach huge importance to the transits of Venus because we think in terms of what we want to be true - or valuable to others because we like it so much. Venus is all about that sort of energy - but it's not the 'thing' which always counts as much as the connecting, however and whatever that effects.

Venus isn't about what we get, have or look like, it's about that part of us which motivates this or that, learning about our own "Venusian attractiveness" through how things work, through how others react - and in the end, by how happy with our own estimation of who we are we end up being.

While in Capricorn, that experience comes through life, through our comfort and satisfaction with our world - personal or global.

Or our lack of same, of course.

And yet...sometimes we're happy enough with that. 
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Venus Direct

Act in Blues

by Antoni Karwowski (January 2009)

Of all the posts I write, without question those marking the end of a Venus retrograde or Mars retrograde are my favorites – if merely for the relief I know they will spell for so many.

So here’s the news we’ve all been waiting for: Venus will go direct on January 31st at 8 p.m. (UT/+0) at 13 degrees of Capricorn.

In going direct conjunct Pluto and in a semi-sextile to an Aquarius Sun everything isn’t perfect or probably even sorted out at the moment. Many of us are still uneasy or undecided about what has happened during the past six weeks. That the degree Venus is going direct in (13 Capricorn) points to where we stand at the moment in our own life as well as where we thought we were going has created a curious sense of separation…isolation…even alienation as we’ve tried to let go of certain things while preserving that which seems vitally important.

And not all those choices have been easy. Or “fair.” Venus in retrograde, so known for its ability to manifest as situational relationship dynamics which disappoint, fall short of expectations or which elicit feelings of compromise, rejection or lack of proper reward for our efforts. Focused through the Capricorn lens, this particular retrograde has been sobering. Apparently ‘aimed’ at our hard core, real life, ‘what it takes to exist’ sorts of Capricorn standards as applied to wherever we need to grow, get more realistic or consider the effort(s) being made – or which need to be made, this Venus retrograde has been uncomfortable for all and costly on a very personal and human scale.

Through others, through our experiences we have been forced to at least consider something about who we are and how we’re going about living our lives. And now that Venus is going direct, all those many things which haven’t been so straight-forward or obvious are facing us – at least as an undercurrent - going forward.

To toss in a little metaphysical history here, that Venus is going direct at 13 Capricorn – a degree which calls on the toughness it takes to make it on your own while making us wish things were ‘nicer’ all the way around – this is a degree hit by a solar eclipse back in January of 2011. At that point something about our ‘direction’ (or the directives by which we live our life) was irrevocably altered, sending us into a three-year solar eclipse rebuilding cycle, the results of which only really began to surface during early-mid 2013.

As those effects did surface, something else was revealed…something we could not have anticipated and which we would not have considered or undertaken to take on had we not been through that January 2011 solar eclipse.

Or more specifically, the two months or so before that eclipse. In some ways we could say that this Venus retrograde has taken up where the eclipse left off, echoing through our lives asking us who we really are – and what or who we want to be thought of as.

The most sensitive points affected by the January 2011 solar eclipse AND this

current Venus retrograde (which takes its station to go direct at 13 Capricorn)

are the Capricorn conjunction, the Cancer opposition (the 'confrontation' with

issues and ideas) and the two squares - one in Aries and one in Libra. Seeing that

all four of these signs are members of the cardinal (pro-active) modality, what the

2011 eclipse may have stopped now will have resurfaced as a check point.

All of these points have a five-degree orb allowance, as shown above.

    

The gaps between those two ideas or values or qualities were shown up in large scale back in 2010/2011 …now we’re at a checkpoint, asking ourselves what we have and haven’t done since then, focusing in particular on the human side of this equation: our satisfaction with life, the integrity with which we think we’re living our lives (and in that, how we feel about integrity as a necessity or option) and what it means to ‘win’ in your terms and survive only to recognize the cost to others…maybe to other things you actually value…and to our self respect, our feelings of self worth and whatever it is which makes us want to do whatever it is we do in this world.

Mind you, this is only Step One in a much longer process. Yes, there will be those among us who will shake off Venus retrograde effects and trot away like some puppy which has forgiven itself its latest transgression. But most of us still have a lot of work to do, the underlying qualities of which are going to remain Venusian and linked to this December 2013-January 2014 retrograde period. Seeing as next up on the calendar is a Mercury retrograde beginning in Pisces and ending in Aquarius we can expect an unusual combination of effort, contemplation,  investigation and rejection during the weeks ahead – all with a dose of wondering what we should take on or be in competition about.

Are we competing with them, with ourselves – or with some ghost of failings past, real, ingrained or imagined?

Then we come to Mars and Saturn retrograde – a pairing of stations which for some may well prove to be monumental on their own and which play into what we’re talking about with Venus seeing as Mars, along with Venus is considered a ‘primal’ sort of descriptor of emotionality – the ‘strength’ side of the feeling energetic - as opposed to Venus which represents a softer and more ‘receptive’ side of our emotionality. And though the natural tendency is to think of these emblems as good-or-bad and even masculine-versus-feminine, that’s not the issue here. This ‘Mars and Venus as Moon partners’ (and the corresponding ‘Jupiter and Saturn as Sun partners’) is not about social attributes, but about whether we are able or even willing to harness our abilities without getting in out own way.

Or maybe more to the point here, what with Mars being in Libra, whether our Mars drive to get things done/assert one’s Self is in harmony with your own intent or desire. And make no mistake, sometimes life knows better than we do…and no, we don’t tend to like it when life takes that tact.

Part of what we are dealing with now – and which we will be dealing with on an increasing basis as we move forward (towards the Mars retrograde and Taurus solar eclipse) is a subtle if ongoing awareness. Mars in Libra is an air sign which functions through the ‘idea of the thing’ – which in the case of Libra is all about who we are in relationship to others, personally and/or professionally. (And yes, sometimes both.)

Meanwhile, Venus in Capricorn (or shall we say, Pluto-Venus in Capricorn) can perhaps be typified as a ‘drive born of necessity’ which operates in a very Big Picture fashion – the ‘big picture’ part being all about the fact that the last four signs of the zodiac (Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces) are worldly and public by nature.

Some will spend the whole of these next few months trying to ‘balance’ the individual/interactive concern against their bigger or worldly concerns. Others will instead move towards the idea of relating to others (or what they learn from others) as a ‘microcosm’ of that ‘world’ in the sense that society is really just a collection of countless individuals, all of whom have pretty basic instincts, tastes and opinions.

Considering the sign aspect here is a square (from Venus to Mars) the first variation will tend to cause friction within us (as to how to use our Mars assertiveness energies) and that’s likely to surface as problems, tough choices and for many, hard scenes. With squares – whether by sign or degree – we always want to work towards integration, towards synthesis. That takes work, hence the reputation squares have for being difficult.

But the reward is an inner understanding we’ll never lose…and since this is Mars-Venus we’re talking about, what stands to be gained here seems likely to be self respect or confidence.

The ‘medium’ through which Venus operates may be anything - emotional or financial, something to do with a career you have or want…it may pertain to some physical necessity. Or simple survival needs. You may be grappling with the nature of some responsibility you’ve taken on and whether that really fits who you are.

But whether this time is about something you need to get done in order to move forward towards and into the new…or  whether you’ve determined that you need to put distance between your today and yesterday, this is just the start of a process.

A turning point, call it.

Given the Mars in Libra inconjunct to this April’s Taurus solar eclipse we can anticipate there’s something to be learned from others or experienced through some association or situation which is going to affect us on a substantially personal level.

As for when we’ll encounter such a moment, catalyst or insight…that’s individual. However, considering the fact that Mercury is entering Pisces rather in sync with this Venus turnabout, some of us will be making changes now which we will capitalize on or find out the true wisdom of come this April. Mercury in Pisces can represent indecision and insecurity…but it can also signify intuition and a grace of spirit which is often highly seductive. And because this ingress will occur in tandem with Venus’ station, we can expect an intense few days when relationships and our ability to relate to someone through relationship (be it business or personal) can become a matter of personal fascination.

The caution here is obvious: lest you fall prey to some own desire to be seduced into (or out of) something, know your limits.

It’s also entirely possible that you may now meet or become involved with a project or person who will change your perspective on something fundamental. If so, enjoy the positive but pace yourself. Venus/Pluto connections are well known for stirring obsessive feelings which, given the Mercury in Pisces cue, may be nothing but a mirage.

As always, there is a two-days-before and two-days-after ‘station allowance’ given here, and the usual astro-theories will apply: things which occur during the two days before the station have yet to play out and things which happen during the two days after the station are a playing out of situations already met.

Pluto will be moving into 13 Capricorn as of February 26th…which would be late on the 25th for those in the Americas or eastern Pacific basin. It will then remain at 13 Capricorn and go retrograde on April 14th under Mars retrograde - during the heart of eclipse season.

This 13 Capricorn Pluto sequence will recommence just before New Years 2015 and finalize in January, teaching us all a lot about what ambition really means along the way. 

This last six weeks has been difficult for everyone. No doubt it's been particularly hard on Gen X’ers (born under Venus-ruled Pluto in Libra) and Gen Y folks – the Pluto in Scorpio tribe. (My sympathies, absolutely.) But across the board, no matter what generation you were born into, as many times as we've all been told we need to learn to love our Self, most of us aren’t that good at comforting ourselves with the sort of support we need when we feel like no one understands us and we don't understand life, when it seems like our dreams are crumbling for no known reason, when nothing seems to be going our way.

This feeling...the odd malaise so many of us have been laboring under for the past month or so...will begin to pass as January gives way to February. But it will be slow. Any planet coming out of retrograde takes a bit of time to pick up speed again, and thus our lives - or in this Venusian case our sense that things are more or less back to 'normal' will take a bit of time. Some of this is individual. But even if your personal chart doesn't answer to 13 Capricorn (Venus' station point), 23 Taurus (the degree Sedna will go direct at on February 5th) or 3 Pisces (the degree Mercury will go retrograde at on February 6th) it will be mid-February before Venus motion is more or less back to normal - at which point we'll be under Mercury retrograde, an influence which is easier on the heartache but more prone to producing headaches.

That Venus won't be exiting the shadow of this retrograde until March 4th tells us we're going to be working with and through much of which we've been challenged by for a while yet. But that's natural. Some decisions haven't yet been made (or acted on) and many situations need resolutions. Relationships and financial issues are likely to take the longest to sort out and a few such matters (probably those which embody or test our personal sense of vulnerability as it concerns how to proceed) - will become part of Mars retrograde quandaries. 

Still, as of January 31st we can expect communications to warm and many a process human or situational to finally achieve some sort of ease. The combination of Venus going direct as Mercury motion slows can create great clarity, great confusion and a whole list of questions and choices all at once. So yes, we do evidently still have a lot to learn yet.

But at least we've gotten this far.
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Venus Retrograde Conjunct Pluto: January 18 - 31

Integrity

by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1876)

It's standard astrological theory how during the week before a retrograde begins (or ends) we all tend to feel a bit pressured. Maybe even frustrated. Or confused.

Then the object goes retrograde, marking a time of shifting perspectives, when whatever the attribute we associate with its energetics becomes the general ‘focus,’ prompting force or ‘framework’ for thinking things over.

Venus went retrograde on December 21 (2013) in the sign of Capricorn, sign of structure, leadership and commerce. Associated with everything ‘outside of who we (physically) are,’ Capricorn has a dualistic quality in that through all things Capricorn – our career, our social standing, our achievements, our reputation or whatever we are known ‘for’ or ‘as’ – through everything and anything external we get measured by others (or society).

Then as we reflect on that, we measure ourselves.

Under Venus retrograde (as a general concept) we’re likely to be not in an approving mood. Or maybe we’re not (as they say) “feeling the love” from others. Venus’ movements through the zodiac indicate the ‘directions’ from which we should expect to receive input and reward and right now the normal give and take between people (or in situations) feels forced. Or lacking. It’s like things aren’t working and we don’t know why.

Normally we would see Venus in Capricorn and think of the implied Venus/Saturn connection as a sign of stability, pragmatism and good business sense (corporate or the ‘business of life’). But with Venus in retrograde, finding a path through our lives has felt difficult and muddled. We have all tried to rely on who we are and the skills we understand ourselves having – and of late (since December 21st) – things haven’t been going that well. They’ve been sluggish. Or maybe people have been unresponsive.

Is it them? Is it who we are? Are we on the right track? Have we built the right life for ourselves so that we care not just about the ‘outer’ person and ‘outer’ life but the person we are ‘inside’ our personal world or individual life?

Businesses and efforts (personal or public) which have been or which are aimed at achieving some goal have been moving along slowly, if at all. A lot of us – and many a company or organization founded during the last ten days of December in any year – they’ve met up with setbacks and ‘support problems.’

Our Venusian feelings of being appreciated, fully responded to and properly reward is being exposed to a harder course – a ‘bigger world’ or tougher set of rules than we thought we’d have to face.

Or…is it that we’re just not capable? Personally and professionally, a lot of people have been asking themselves just that question.

And now Venus is moving towards its station-direct point at 13 Capricorn on January 31st – a date which we know (because Mercury is entering Pisces on the 31st) is going to cause us to feel something.

Something. What you feel is read through Mercury’s natal position (replete with aspects et al) plus where 0 Pisces is in your chart. (Check your solar chart as well.)

Plus 13 Capricorn of course – that being where Venus is going direct.

Normally the thing to do would be to think through was ‘Venusian results’ mean when we bring that ‘I cause the effect I receive’ Venus vibe to 13 Capricorn, a degree which is all about the ambition which when combined with standards of integrity presents us with tough choices and difficult situations which need negotiating. And learning from.

The durability and determination which we feel we have to use now we will also experience in others. The funny thing is though…in them the energetic looks like arrogance. It feels dismissive. And in our own lives this Venus at 13 Capricorn retrograde can feel like a rejection.

And the truth here is this: if we fail now it’s because we have refused to try or (given the Sun’s presence in individuality-oriented Aquarius) be present as our own ‘presentation’ of Self in this world. Plus the bottom line here is this: all of this is likely to be highly intense and productive…or destructive based not on who or what we face, but how we face it.

And that is about how well we deal with two other ideas: desire and reality – specifically, our emotional ability (or willingness) to deal with reality, or to deal with others in a manner which is realistic, given the situation.

The intensity of this period is likely to be very much ‘in our faces’ and/or virtually subliminal, depending on how we tend to deal with ‘the dream’ as a motivation and something totally apart from daily life. Both can exist, but only if we don’t try to…or even need to live in some sort of ‘dream.’

Some of our dreams are simple lacks of realism.

Some are reflections of that we are unable to deal with.

Knowing one from the other is vital now…and as we move forward into February (Mercury retrograde), March (Mars and Saturn retrograding on March 1st and 2nd) and the sluice of events which is likely to accompany the April 2014’s Libra-Taurus eclipse pair.

Venus going retrograde last December began a radical altering of our relationship(s) to others. This is what is now intensifying as Venus 'backs into' the Plutonic position. This is a transformative dynamic - and a highly intense one at that.

But will it evolve as something inside of us that we choose to do or be? Or will this be a time when external forces leave us no option but to change - or maybe just do something new?

As we pour over inner indecision, this is a time when we may be tempted - if for no other reason than to feel tempted...though by what is individual, and strangely enough, at this time the why we would be tempted becomes at least as strong as the temptation itself.

If Venus represents that which comes from us, which can be evoked by us or through us...and Venus is now functioning so that we can better understand ourselves and our lives and our potentials and what matters...that's the issue we are instinctively reacting to as something with deep and meaningful potential.

Is that a potential for good? It well may be, though with Venus-Pluto connections, best bets always consider the allure of the intense and those internal desires which, whether they're erotic or not, inspire cravings.

There is a power exuded during Venus-Pluto periods which feels pervasive. Mysteriously so. With Sun in Aquarius/Mars in Libra, much now has to do with our relationship to our world and thus this Venus-Pluto connector is likely to function as part of whatever we are going through right now which has to do with our ability to value ourselves...and whether we're doing that in such a way as to enhance our lives - or maybe just make things incredibly toxic.

Toxins - real or emotional, physical, financial or situational - are a large matter to deal with now. There is a need to protect or inure ourselves to effects even as we need to improve situations.

And still Venus is in retrograde. As this process evolves, as Venus edges ever closer to Pluto's zodiacal position impacts will increase. The evidence of what things 'cost' (or cost us) will become more manifest - most of all in our regard for ourselves, in the distance or dichotomy between what is and is going on and what we could be. Or could do. Or could become.

Or could perhaps learn, once and for all.

There are emotional outpourings yet to occur in April which will trace their origins back to now (mid-late January) and December – say, from the 21st until just prior to Christmas.

As for this next period ahead, January 18-31 is likely to be anything but dull. Even if you’re not doing anything out of the ordinary, something is brewing. It may feel like it is ‘about’ others but it isn’t – this time is about how we react to others based more or less on external interactions and ‘hidden factors’ which we are as fascinated by as wary of.

Why we are fascinated…and why are we so skeptical or perhaps even defensive? That’s the real question, and that’s all about us.

And if something affects us, we’ve been touched.

Eos (Dawn)

by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905)

How we deal with that is likely to be part of a greater step in our personal, hugely human evolution. It’s a theme we’re all living through and being subjected to – most of all by ourselves.

If we can bear in mind that things happen – good or bad – and people come into, and leave our lives for reasons which can be totally positive and entirely painful at the same time…then we stand to get a lot out of this time. That which feels most stable may in the end prove worthwhile (if less productive) than that which is undertaken with a willingness to take reasonable risks in the cause of overall growth.

Quality and quantity are not the issue here: we are. We can do all the worldly things the way the world says they should be done and end up hollow if we have not yet grown into the person we are inside.

Life will prompt us – as it is doing now – telling us to grow, to change, to liberate ourselves through connecting with whatever our strengths are, difficult or otherwise, within. To love ourselves as a generative force which can give is positive. To love ourselves as and for our own ends is to undermine our own ultimate goals. Some of the reasons why this last point will prove out over the next several months (probably about six months) are not evident from here and are hidden - in particular – whenever or wherever our passions are given too wide a berth or rein. Creative or not, well intended or not, the heat of any fire ignited now can be dangerously disappointing (at the very least) if not harnessed and utilized with a light if firm touch and a clarity of human – and humanistic – purpose.
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