WEEK OF MARCH 18: ARIES INGRESS/FULL MOON IN LIBRA

Spring Beauty by Viktor Mikhaylovich Vasnetsov 1885

Only 2 more days before the Sun enters the Cardinal Fire sign of Aries signalling the beginning of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere.

Upon entering Aries, the Sun will almost immediately start opposing the Moon in Libra. Late Wednesday night, the powerful rays of the Sun will illuminate the Moon creating a dramatic landscape to celebrate the first night of Spring. The Full Moon in Libra will be exact Wednesday night at 21:43 EDT and casts a bright light on the tension created by our inner and outer dualities. Partnerships will come to the forefront this week as freedom versus commitment battle for attention.

In Aries, the Sun shines willfully and illuminates a desire for independence and sovereignty. However, the Full Moon in Libra brings attention to the agreements and contracts that must be respected and the compromises that must be made in order to continue on a peaceful path and reach our aim. Dynamics within our relationships need to be weighed out in order to understand the exchange of powers and to make sure they are equal. The ”give and take” required and the compromises made by both parties will need to be revised. Inequalities that have become problematic or that are reaching a saturation points will need to be dealt with. The Full Moon in Libra highlights a need to recalibrate. This process can happen peacefully as long as both parties are willing to dialogue. Anything that feels unfair will most likely become very apparent this week and will need to be addressed.

Since the Sun conjunct Chiron at the moment of the Full Moon and the following day, it is likely to highlight where we feel most vulnerable and raw right now. Chiron is associated with woundedness and pain which in turn brings much knowledge and wisdom. Chiron is beginning its journey through Aries which will bring remedies and healing opportunities in regards to our ego, our identity, the masculine or yang qualities, our libido, our sense of power and potency in the world. Its important to be honest about our vulnerabilities during this process so that we find the proper medicine. A good opportunity to swallow the bitter herbs as “good medicine always tastes bitter.”

*Look at where Aries and Libra sits in your chart to zoom in on where these dynamics are more likely to play out in your life.

Wishing you a joyful and fruitful Aries season🔥

NEW MOON IN LIBRA: A TENSE EQUILIBRIUM

The New Moon in Libra occurs on October 19 at 15:13 EDT in the very last degrees of the Scales just a few days before the Sun’s ingress into Scorpio.

THE TIPPING POINT

The New Moon at 26º Libra will be in a tight opposition to rebel planet Uranus which is at 26º Aries. Uranus is often associated with sudden breakthroughs and shocks that serves to jolt us out of complacency. Uranus in Aries is like an untamed, wild and defiant teenager who will do exactly the opposite of what you ask him to do. Uranus in the sign of Aries doesn’t have patience for conventions and niceties; it forges ahead without foresight straight into the eye of the storm to challenge the Gods. Uranus is that voice that says: ”just go for it, try it and see what happens”. Acting on impulse, following a crazy idea, a revelation that brings a revolution, it’s the lightning that strikes the genius and the mad ones. It’s that impetuous urge to move against the docile heard to find a new direction, a new way of doing things; a different way.

Then, we have this New Moon in Libra which is all about fairness and compromises or at least finding the balance between ”what you want” and ”what I want”. Venus just entered the sign of Libra on October 14 and is at home here. Venus rules over the New Moon and accentuates the  themes of partnerships and agreements. The focus is on finding a peaceful way to remediate the disequilibrium we might be experiencing in our lives. The desire for collaboration is strong, we want to get along and both parties are looking for ways to reconcile their difference. The idea of harmony and balance is held high like a precious gem that seems to be just out of reach. We stretch our arms towards it, trying to catch its rare glow only to find a molten piece of poisonous  lead.

This New Moon points its finger directly at what is out of synch an unbalance in our lives. It’s the trigger that urges us to find new and better ways to deal with it. We could feel a sense of urgency in regards to establishing some form of harmony that would rectify the chaos and disorder. Partnership are especially susceptible to this at the moment as we weigh the pros and cons of our agreements. The grass always seems greener somewhere else and Libra loves to keep her options open. Uranus opposing the Sun and Moon in Libra could bring a sudden desire to break free from something that feels too restrictive. With the Sun, the Moon and Venus in Libra we must bow down to our current agreements and fulfill our part of the contract. Even though peace seems to be a complicated and elusive notion at this time it must remain a guiding ideal.

It is in this paradoxical landscape that this new lunar cycle begins. We will soon enter the Fixed season of Scorpio and descend even further into our commitments but also the decisions we make towards transformation. Now is the time to use the power of reason to decide what we want so that our attention and focus can be well directed for the month ahead.

 

Mercury Cazimi

Mercury’s superior conjunction is today at 16:42 EST

 

Mercury will pass very close to the Sun in the sky as its orbit carries it around the far side of the solar system from the Earth. If a planet is right at the core of the Sun, then it is utterly consumed and this is called being ‘cazimi’. Mercury going into the heart of the Sun means that for a small window of time Mercury is super powered while sitting on the royal throne.

Mercury briefly strengthened by its union with the Solar principle, gives us an opportunity to unite mind and spirit. Our thoughts can be purified, clarified and renewed in the Solar forge.

Mercury and the Sun together in Libra could give us insights as to where things might have gotten unbalanced, unfair, unjust and, the solutions needed to rectify the scales.

The Sun in Libra is considered in its ”fall” and pretty weak. It’s also the time of the year when things are dying as opposed to coming to life. With Mercury conjunct the Sun today I imagine realization and clarity will tend to be more around endings, death and decay as oppose to new beginnings and there is a definite liminal quality to this time of the year.

Mercury and the Sun will also square Pluto at the moment of their conjunction. This means that the unusual clarity we receive today could be combined with the urge to tear down and transform some of the existing structures in our lives.

Do not expect today’s sharpness to be long-lasting. The lucidity that comes with the Sun/Mercury conjunction will quickly vanish once Mercury leaves the Solar throne. Then, the real work of implementing what was revealed begins.

There is a long and arduous road ahead, but today’s answers can be kept in your mind’s eye to illuminate the path.

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Mercury conjunct the Sun @ 15º Libra and square Pluto @ 16º Capricorn

 

This week in Astrology: Sorting out the essential from your heart

Monday opens with the Moon in the last degrees of Taurus on the Fixed star Algol or the Head of Medusa; don’t lose your mind. We are building towards the Jupiter/Uranus opposition that will be exact on the 27/28 of September. This is a revolutionary aspect which is excellent for visionaries and artists and for people who have the ability to see the silver lining in chaotic  circumstances but also have the guts to do things differently. On a mundane level it can feel destabilizing if you are holding to the status quo at all cost or need predictable outcomes. Small and large shifts are happening in our awareness and in the world at large and intuition is at an all time high. Flashes of insights and new bold ideas are available if you adjust your vision. With Uranus in Aries closing in on its opposition to Jupiter in Libra there is an urge to liberate ourselves while also searching for ”the other” to reflect us. It can feel polarizing to oscillate between our need for freedom and liberation versus our need for feedback, fairness and equilibrium.

The Moon enters Gemini at 15:30 EDT on Monday which will accentuate the current Mercury/Mars conjunction building up in Virgo. The next 2 days are excellent for analyzing, editing, and cutting through the superfluous. The mind can have a tendency to race and anxiety will be higher than usual. Finding the right measure of applied diligence and focus is possible as long as we don’t scatter ourselves. Mindfulness and disconnecting from the media, the internet and the constant chatter is one of the best remedies for this kind of astrological weather. Difficulties with communication, getting our message across, misunderstandings and harsh words are possible with the Mercury/Mars conjunction building up and, so are fried phones and electronics.

With the last quarter Moon in Gemini we can feel stimulated, talkative, and curious but there is also the tendency to get lost in chatter instead of being productive. Basically, don’t fry your brain with coffee and stress and find the right balance of intellectual work and simple manual or physical work. We could have the urge to communicate in many directions at once but essentially we can only do one thing at a time. Give your brain the right intellectual food and remember that words and symbols can be very powerful in shaping our experience of reality; use them wisely.

The last quarter Moon in Gemini supports finalizing the details of a project or idea that began at the New Moon/Solar Eclipse in Leo on August 21st.

Venus in Leo trine Saturn in Sagittarius on Tuesday and this is a supportive but also sobering aspect in regards to relationship. We could feel serious and more realistic about our desires. Long-term commitments and maturity could feel more important at the moment and feelings could be reserved and controlled. Venus trine Saturn is beneficial for artist and creators who are looking to structure and give shape to their muse. This can be a productive time for creative work, social engagements, and public relations.

On Wednesday night the Moon enters her own sign of Cancer and this should help ease the mental tension creating a fluid and intuitive rhythm until Friday night.

Even though we are in the darkest of the Moon (before the New Moon in Virgo on September 20th) the weekend will feel quite dynamic with the Moon entering the Fire sign of Leo late on Friday night and Mercury and Mars perfecting their conjunction in Virgo on Saturday, September 16. Conversation around pride, identity, the need for acknowledgement and having  the courage to express oneself truthfully and courageously will all be aroused.

The Dawn of the New Moon in Aquarius

The Moon this Week

The Sun just entered the sign of Aquarius on January 19 where it will stay until February 18.

Before the New Moon in Aquarius on January 27, the Moon will travel through Sagittarius and Capricorn. We can expect the next few days to be full of heated debates and self-righteous dialogues as the Moon applies to a conjunction with Saturn. At its best, Saturn in Sagittarius can be about having faith in our convictions which help fuel our ideas and bring some structure to what we believe in. At its worst, Saturn in Sagittarius becomes dogmatic and fanatical, imposing its point of view in a one way preaching of its truth, testing the solidity and validity of our faith. Since the ruler of the Moon in Sagittarius is Jupiter in the sign of the scales (Libra) the debates and conversations will most likely revolve around equality and inequality, justice and injustice, right vs. wrong, relational issues and the delicate balance of it all.

The Moon will also briefly square Mars at 29 degrees of Pisces as it prepares to ingress in the sign of its rulership of Aries. Note that both the last decan of Pisces and the first decan of Aries are ruled by Mars – emphasizing the martial qualities of this time period.

The Moon moves into the sign of Capricorn on Wednesday January 24 at 17:43 EST and will make some lovely aspects mainly a sextile to Neptune in Pisces and a conjunction to Mercury in Capricorn which could bring some conversations around the topics of healing, compassion and mercy. Thursday promises to be a day filled with challenges as the Moon in Capricorn conjunct Pluto in the early morning hours and then square Uranus in Aries and Jupiter in Libra. Thursday evening the Moon sextile Venus in Pisces, applying a balm on the heat of the last few days.

With the Sun in Aquarius, the desire for freedom and independence is very strong. Freedom of thoughts, freedom of speech and the tendency to rebel against the existing structures while also wanting to reform and bring about new and better ways of doing things. Feeling left-out of the conversation and the impression of not belonging anywhere could permeate the next month while the Sun travels in Aquarius. Themes of exile and frontiers could set us apart which in turn could create a state of disillusionment and alienation.

Take a Breather

The time preceding the New Moon is called the Dark Moon and it describes the Moon when it is invisible against the backdrop of the Sun. It is the last phase of the lunar cycle before it begins again.

Astrologically speaking, the last 3 days before the New Moon represent a time of rest, of letting go, of sorting out and making space for what is ready to begin in the upcoming month. The days leading to the New Moon are best spent nurturing and resting the body in preparation for the month ahead. One of the best way to spend the next few days, is to seek space and get out for a hike, stretch and relax. Stretch the mind, stretch the body and seek openness. The desire for change is strong but judgmental and self-righteous behaviours might be even stronger, creating division and arguments instead of unity. This can be depleting or draining instead of being productive. Use this Dark Moon period to regroup, tie-up loose ends and finish things. New ideas and new ways of doing will naturally start emerging in the process and you will be fresh and ready to tackle February which promises to be a big month.

The New Moon on January 27 at 19:07 EST is in the sign of Aquarius and its ruler Saturn in Sagittarius will be square to Venus in Pisces. This indicate tension between certain structures in our lives, our beliefs, our values and our ability (or inability) to find sweetness amidst the harshness and difficulties of these times. Feeling limited and opressed while seeking or craving beauty and exaltation. Our ability to find what brings us together (Venus) versus what divides us (Saturn) will set the tone for the month ahead. Since Aquarius is linked to innovation, perhaps now is the time to begin applying new and better ways of doing things.

The best way to predict the future is to invent it.
-Alan Kay

Self-Worth, Values & Venus in Virgo

Today, Mercury in Libra goes direct. It can mean many things but there is certainly a forward motion and perhaps incoming messages. Projects, thoughts, communiques that were halted are now revitalised and infused with new momentum. We have been working backstage and we are now ready to bring forth some ideas/projects/dialogues.

Because the retrograde happened in Libra, the revision or internal dialogues of the last few weeks were coloured by the Libran themes. Partnerships, fairness and equality, beauty and maybe even establishing a better rapport with what we value and need within our relationships and re-evaluating our existing love patterns.

Christina’s world by Andrew Wyeth, 1948

Venus also happened to change sign yesterday after having spent all of summer in fiery Leo. Venus in Leo is warm, exuberant and loud. When the Goddess Aphrodite finds herself in a fire sign, her expression is quite dramatic. This summer was branded with the hot iron of our egoic needs. Venus spent a considerable amount of the summer going backward and so re-evaluating what our needs are, has been an ongoing process.

Venus is now in the sign of Virgo and in mutual reception with Mercury bringing much humility to the stage we have set for ourselves. The Goddess of Love doesn’t have the best seat in the earth sign of Virgo. Which brings her to kneel humbly in front of Love.

With Venus in Virgo until November 8, we might find ourselves looking for order while tolerating disorder. Virgo can be overly concerned with diligent mindfulness and there is an emphasis (and maybe some worries) on getting things right. *Watch for feelings of self-worth and worries around love and not feeling lovable.

Venus in Virgo will help artists and artisan humbly work away at their masterpiece. But she might also focus on the imperfection as she detects the smallest of flaws. No details are ignored and we get pleasure out of scratching off one more item on our to-do list, and there is a LOT to do!

So lets keep in mind that perfection is closely related to our acceptance of imperfection. And that our flaws (or the flaws of others) are an opportunity to get better but more importantly they are what makes the landscape of our soul so rich.

There is a New Moon in Libra on the 12th of October and I am hoping to write more about it in the next few days.

Peace

The Balancing Act

Mercury in Libra is square to Pluto in Capricorn:
No stones are left unturned.
From the Merriam-Webster dictionary:
To ”leave no stone unturned” is an idiom that means to do everything possible to find something or to solve a problem. It is often used to praise someone’s careful work, as in:
The researcher left no stone unturned in her search for the original documents.
★
The Moon is still in Leo and will conjunct Mars in a few hours and square Saturn in Scorpio by tomorrow morning. We are building up towards this weekend’s New Moon/Solar Eclipse in Virgo.
We have the fuel to bring some real structural lifestyle changes. Whether those changes are internal or external. Tension is high but the desire for renewal is stronger. You might need to make a monumental effort to keep your balancing act together. Keep your resolutions/goals in your mind’s eye.

Libra Luna

The Moon is in Libra applying to conjunct the North Node which represents a point of learning for us collectively. While there is so much going on in the opposite side of Aries at the moment with Venus-Mars-Uranus and the South Node pushing to be acknowledge and the impulse to be recognized as a unique individual, there is also the need to recognize how we can progress by teaming up with others.
Everyone has it’s own gifts but when we come together, ask for help, acknowledge others, considering new points of view we can actually progress faster. Finding the middle ground between your needs and what others need or want from you could come up this weekend.
We can think of Aries as the law of the jungle which is an expression that means ”every man for himself”. A necessary process for survival.
The opposite sign of Libra could be the image of John Lennon and Yoko Ono singing: ”Give peace a chance”.
In the first decan of Libra which is ruled by the Moon, we meet the courtesans, diplomats and artists of the zodiacs. Here Justice emerges, cutting through the subjective or selfish motives. It is the begining of social order and the building of societies through fair ethical judgments and laws.
So this weekend, with the Moon in Libra, we can play with images of US versus OTHERS.
♈When should I follow my own agenda in a (good for me) selfish way?
♎When is it ok to voice my discontent in a collaboration?
♎Where in my life am I giving up on myself to keep the peace?
♈Would I benefit by partnering up with someone or asking for help?
♎What does the word relationship means to me?