There’s a New Moon in the last degrees of Taurus on Friday (near Fixed Star Algol) and the collective is weary and susceptible from too much information, too much internet, too much algorythm, although it’s a really nice hopeful moment and new forms are emerging, projects are budding and starting to unfold; Venus in Cancer rules over the skies, birthing pathways towards greater pleasures and joys, inviting us towards compassionate care and connection with ourselves and with others.
There could be worries about money, about resources, about not having enough or needing more since most of the planets in the sky right now are concerned with ease and stability. Needing more reassurance and proof although Taurus knows how to take charge of itself and its world slowly and steadily. Taurus rhythm is nature’s rhythms but with Venus in Cancer ruling over this New Moon there’s also a need for connection, care and value.
This is not supposed to be a pity party but… …Mars in the very last degrees of Cancer and applying to oppose Pluto is like a dull blade; more dangerous than a sharp one, insecure about its position, needing to prove something, doubling down on efforts and requiring more pressure and force to do what it’s usually good at – which is making things happen without tearing itself up trying to prove something. Power and power imbalances are obvious now. Know how to distinguish between quiet strength and quiet rage within yourself; They don’t have the same effect on your body and your health. These acrimonious ‘’feels’’ threaten to blind the vision, the aims, and the peace.
This New Moon brings fertile opportunities but care must be taken to plant seeds in soils that offer steady growth and longevity; not just hollow gratification. Invest your powers wisely not just to curse strangers on the internet or people who’ve hurt you.
The Goddess is near, waiting to hear your prayers.
Michael Larrain left a Hollywood career in his mid-20’s to try his hand at writing. Larrain has been selling his “Flowers Not to Reason Why” from the back of his car on E. Cotati Avenue for nearly 50 years.
☿♀︎
Venus in Gemini and what we attribute worth to and what it’s actually worth:
Venus is now in Gemini in Mutual Reception with Mercury in Taurus meaning they are in each other’s sign and are assisting each other. Gemini has received much attention in the past eight months with Mars retrograde having occurred there. The themes related to the House where Gemini is located in your birth chart can now get a solid ‘’polishing’’ with Venus transiting there until May 7th. This is an opportunity to make adjustments, organize or get better at something you have been working on or thinking about that relates to the Gemini House in your chart.
With Mercury in the Fixed (stubborn) sign of Taurus ruling over a Mutable (changeable) Venus, there may be a tendency to grasp too tightly or not want to face the inevitable or, on the contrary, NOT commit to anything because you want to keep your options open.
Venus in Gemini is curious, restless and experimental and will have a lot of say over the upcoming Mercury Retrograde in Taurus which may highlight the contrast between where there is a need to secure things versus where you may be slowing down your progress by being too stubborn or attached to the status quo.
Although Venus in Gemini and Mercury in Taurus are in Mutual Reception – Taurus and Gemini are also in AVERSION – meaning these two signs do not see each other and are looking for and needing completely different things to thrive. Value and Worth come into focus via two very contrasting interfaces. It may not be about favouring one over the other but instead, mindfully adjusting your stance to acknowledge where you need stability and where you need change.
What happens when values and desires are at cross-purpose or when pragmatism gets in the way of creative flow? Can you pinpoint where you are bored with the status quo and need to bring fresh energy into your life versus where you are being too flaky and need more organization and stability?
Verbalizing or writing things down could be a helpful mode. Don’t underestimate the power of your voice and of your words at this time. Both Gemini and Taurus can be extremely persuasive signs. Just make sure you are pitching for something you actually want or care about.
The divide between luxury and scarcity is great indeed.
The House where Capricorn sits in your birth chart has been undergoing major renovations which may have involved a lot of demolition and management in the last 14 years; the length of Pluto’s transit in Capricorn.
Mercury turns retrograde in Capricorn on the 29th of December but I think this retrograde is like the last polishing stage of a long renovation project that has been taking place in the sign of Capricorn since Pluto first entered the sign in 2008.
The New Moon in Capricorn on December 23rd takes place on the 1st degree of Capricorn echoing when Pluto first reached that degree in March of 2008. However, Pluto is now preparing to exit Capricorn and the New Moon in the very first degrees of Capricorn, on the Solstitial degree, augurs renewal for that part of your chart. The New Moon in Capricorn forms a very tight square aspect to Jupiter in Aries also sitting on the Equinoctial degree.
This is fresh, new, initiating energy and although a New Moon is when the nights are at their darkest, particularly a New Moon near the Winter Solstice, I think the end of 2022 comes with a beautiful integrative influence.
Saturn which rules the New Moon has separated from its square with Uranus and its the third and last pass on these degrees (March and August this year) so we are really integrating the transit of Saturn in Aquarius and the lessons and work it brought and the timing is perfect because it is at the end of the year when we are compelled to take stock.
Mercury is about to turn retrograde in Capricorn (29th) where Venus was retrograde last year. The years before that we had Saturn transiting in Capricorn and the South Node Eclipses taking place here! That is a lot of demolition and renovations. If you have important Capricorn placements you most definitely know what that means.
Imagine you are sanding something in the Capricorn part of your chart:
First in the background there’s the coarse Pluto in Capricorn sandpaper (2008-2023-24): ‘’Unfair/corrupted/pain/rough/horrid/ugly problems’’.
Then the ”relatively coarse” Saturn in Capricorn sandpaper came (2018-2020): ‘’Depressing/harsh reality/no cake/all work-no play’’
AND the ”still coarse” South Node in Capricorn sandpaper (2018-2020): ‘’Must become a monk with no desires/let go/transcend’’
AND more recently the cherry on top: Venus retrograde in Capricorn sandpaper: Less coarse but still harsh (December 2021): Nobody loves me/must try to have no feelings’’
Which brings me to this year’s Mercury retrograde in Capricorn which I think will be polishing that same place in your birth chart to a near perfect shine.
I realize that things are far from being perfect but the end of 2022 is imbued with a mysterious light that shines in the darkest of night. Do not waste time on trivialities; let your heart be filled with this light and the wisdom acquired from your past experience.
“The public and private worlds are inseparably connected … the tyrannies and servilities of one are the tyrannies and servilities of the other.”-Virginia Woolf
Messenger planet Mercury is currently transiting in the last decan of Cancer and comes into a superior conjunction with the Sun today at 15:37pm EST.
This brief moment is known as a ‘’Cazimi’’ (from the Arabic word kasmimi) when a planet is said to be ‘’in the heart of the Sun’’ or within 16’ of longitude (16 arc minutes) from the Sun and is thought to bring illumination or clarity as Mercury speaks from the solar throne.
Since this conjunction is taking place in the sign of Cancer, the realization that come to you at this time may have an emotional/intuitive/creative/fertile undertow and have to do with what you need to feel nourished and wealthy on an emotional/spiritual/physiological/environmental but also collective level not only to survive but also to THRIVE.
Patterns of stagnation that relates to your emotional wellbeing are offered opportunities to flow now as stale fixated ways are dislodged.
Things that happened to you in-utero or when you were a small child still informs your ways of being in the world and this is some of what the Moon-ruled sign of Cancer relates to.
This brief aspect will have different degrees of importance and meaning depending on where Cancer is located in your birth chart and if you have any planets on the Cardinal axis (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn)
You can also look to where the Moon is located in your chart and the aspects it receives from other planets to gain a greater understanding of the ways in which you may have experienced nurturing as a child and the ways you go about fulfilling your needs.
There are no good or bad Moon signs fyi. The symbols in the birth charts represents dynamics at play and I have seen thriving Scorpio Moons and emotionally dysfunctional Cancer Moons. You are born within the patterns of a certain moment in time which is represented by your birth chart. The dynamics at work in your life and what feels familiar and intimate for you may be foreign to someone else. A greater understanding of your Moon sign, placement and aspects can allow you to find more ease for its expression and nurture yourself and others in the ways that feels the most fluid and integrative for you. I call it ‘’breastfeeding your Moon’’.
Albert Aublet (1851–1938), Selene (1880), oil on canvas, 144.1 x 115.5 cm, location not known. Wikimedia Commons.
The mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master. Energy follows thought, and which we focus on expands. We are all hard wire for this ability. Choose wisely.
Messenger planet Mercury rules over the Gemini New Moon and is still moving retrograde in the sign of Taurus which is helping us revise the ways in which we ground ourselves and embody our physical reality. More extensively, Mercury is ruled by Venus who just entered the sign of Taurus, enabling sensual pleasures to be experienced more readily.
Mercury is currently on Fixed Star Algol aka the Head of Medusa at 26 degrees of Taurus and will station direct here on June 3rd just as Saturn stations retrograde in Aquarius. There may be an underlying tendency towards worry, fear or negative thinking but things are truly not as bad as they seem. This may be a fair warning against losing your mind on something that won’t or can’t be changed atm. You can avoid getting petrified by redirecting your gaze onto the things that are productive for your well being.
What’s happening in the Gemini part of your chart may be possible because of what’s happening in the Taurus part of your chart. You may be preoccupied with building on pre-existing structures or looking for situations which offer you the most opportunities and resources to work with.
There are no planets in Water signs atm which means it could be easier to use common sense to make decisions although there may also be a tendency towards inflexibility or aloofness.
The New Moon offers an almost impeccable clean slate on which to write your intentions thanks to Mars and Jupiter in Aries in a supportive aspect to the New Moon. Take advantage of the mobility currently available to get stuff done and bring progress where there are openings.
Nothing is perfect in this world but your energy investments have a chance of being revitalized, clarified and distilled so that you can better focus on what makes your heart sing.
A special mention to the New Moon in Scorpio on November 4th which is exactly opposing Uranus in Taurus and ushers us into the new cycle of eclipses that begins on November 19th on the Taurus/Scorpio axis.
Uranus was discovered in 1781 and electricity was ‘’officially discovered’’ in the mid-1700. Astrologers often compare Uranus to the zapping shocks from electrical currents and the lighting strikes of genius.
‘’Innovative, unpredictable, resourceful, imaginative, idiosyncratic and experimental, Uranus also rules creativity and scientific genius. Uranus’ job is to break rules and demolish established patterns or structures, creating sudden-even radical-change. Uranus always works in sudden ways, and is called the Great Awakener.’’ (Susan Miller)
The New Moon in Scorpio signals the beginning of a cycle where we may be compelled to purge and radically alter the areas of our life where things have felt stagnant or stuck as there is now building momentum to do so. On a cultural and societal level, we are currently undergoing tremendous and irreversible technological-biological changes and it may be a good idea to contemplate your role and participation in these changes. You have a lot more power than you think and there is currently a lot of space for innovation, creative solutions and new structures to emerge; you can be an agent of change and not just a mere passive observer.
Stagnation is an important concept for the middle degrees of Scorpio as it is one of the most ‘’Fixed’’ and fixated places on the zodiac.If you have Fixed placements (Scorpio/Taurus/Leo/Aquarius) in your chart (Sun/Moon/Ascendant/MC/IC) you’re probably already feeling the winds of change because Saturn in Aquarius and Uranus in Taurus have been triggering the Fixed signs for the past year. The Fixed signs in Astrology are enduring and stubborn so change is usually a long drawn out process but when it finally happens it is usually irreversible.
The New Moon in Scorpio opposing Uranus is the disruptive agent of change and the epiphanies that may come from surrendering the need to control or to know ‘’the truth’’. Safety is at best illusory and death awaits us all. What do you have to lose?Soon, a new eclipse cycle begins on the Scorpio-Taurus axis that will usher us into next year’s themes. How well can you live with uncertainty? Moving with the changes and staying flexible will ensure strength and clarity. Find your source of strength and ground yourself in the power of your body.
**On a side note, I wouldn’t be surprised if Zuckerberg works with an Astrologer as the launching of the Metaverse seems pretty on point with the current Astrology.
The Sun enters Aquarius on Tuesday and the First Quarter Moon in Taurus arrives on Wednesday triggering the Mars/Uranus conjunction which is exact Wednesday evening in the East. We can expect this First Quarter Moon to highlight inherent tensions that have been building up since the end of 2020.
We are being challenged by the new forms and awareness emerging and it may be nearly impossible to reconcile our budding desires with our immediate restrictions at this time while we try to give our visions and obligations equal importance.You can look at the areas where Aquarius and Taurus sits in your chart to gain some perspective. Uranus in Taurus is pushing for new forms to emerge which requires freedom, independence and/or total liberation from the old forms, while the hyper-emphasis in Aquarius (because of Saturn, Jupiter, the Sun, Mercury and soon Venus all in Aquarius) highlights where you may be feeling like you need a solid plan for things to improve. You may feel blocked by circumstances outside of your control or need to spend time carefully planning. Things will take time. This tension will continue to be felt for the rest of 2021 but may be more present heading into this super concentrated Aquarius season.
On Saturday, the Sun conjunct Saturn in Aquarius which carries a sobering or realistic tone after the explosive and less compromising aspects of mid-week. You may need to temper your momentum or desires to break free at the risk of having to take sobering remedial measures down the road. On the other hand, you may need to break free of what is restricting you in order to pursue or evolve out of a stale situation.
Mercury is preparing to turn retrograde in less than two weeks and already transiting on the degrees where it will be moving back in a few weeks meaning that what we are itching to get done now, may realistically take a bit longer or we may be forced to revise again later.
This is a time of innovation when we can start to conceptualise new ways of doing thing but we also do not have much leg room so we basically need to find innovative ways to get the spaciousness that we crave while patiently biding our time.
The year 2020 comes to a close with a Full Moon in Cancer late on the night of 29th illuminated by the Sun in Capricorn. The opposition of the Sun and the Moon creates the Full Moon which may symbolize a certain level of tension between our conscious intentions and our ambitions (Sun) with our emotional reality and our comfort zone (Moon). The Moon fully illuminated in her domicile of Cancer highlights what sustains and nourishes us at this time which may be in high contrast with what we are trying to accomplish in the world. The Cancer-Capricorn axis often relates to growing up, leaving the protected envelope of childhood imagination to face reality outside of the safe cocoon and to build ourselves independently while birthing personal vision in the material world.
At this time you may feel like leaving material ambitions aside for a moment to acknowledge what sustains you away from the harsh realities of a world in transition. Your roots may be reaching deep down into the frozen ground to find the mineral nourishments that feel familiar. The Moon holds the memories of everyone who came before you, and every event that led you to this day. Your story is alive with symbolic and symbiotic meaning that weaves itself around the traditions of your ancestors carried through your own memories. More extensively, the land and nature can be a great source of comfort and grounding in uncertain times serving as a mother to us all. The Full Moon represents a culmination process and a time of illumination which may be filled with nostalgia as the year come to a close.
Saturn and Jupiter now transiting in the sign of Aquarius will usher us into very foreign territories in the year ahead. The Full Moon in Cancer at the end of 2020 has her roots in the past and offers us nourishment coming from our personal stories and the memories that make us humans, filling us with her milky light before we head into the unknown future. The space between the old and the new, between memories and anticipation where the sacred reside.
“I see that I’ve become a really bad correspondent. It’s not that I don’t think of you. You come into my thoughts often. But when you do it appears to me that I owe you a particularly grand letter. And so you end in the “warehouse of good intentions”: “Can’t do it now.” “Then put it on hold.” This is one’s strategy for coping with old age, and with death–because one can’t die with so many obligations in storage. Our clever species, so fertile and resourceful in denying its weaknesses.”
― Saul Bellow
The week begins with the Sun in Virgo and the Moon void of course in Libra until it enters Scorpio late Monday evening. Monday is a (parenthesis) before the week officially begins and an opportunity to sharpen our tools for the work that lays ahead of us. A necessary period of inner refinement, adjusting our compass and vision as we find ourselves oscillating between our instinctual-desire-nature and our rational-pragmatic-intellect.
Constructive actions in tandem with inspired insights permeates this week. There is a lot of juicy momentum and it could even feel as if things are moving waaaay too fast for you to catch a break. Productivity is high on the list right now, and as a result procrastination hangs like a shadow over our game plan.
The soul craves synthesis while the mind dissects every aspects of existence.
The Moon will travel in Scorpio until late Wednesday night/early Thursday morning when it enters Sagittarius. The Moon in Sagittarius all day Thursday (Jupiter’s day) applies to a conjunction with Jupiter. The First Quarter Moon happens at 13º Sagittarius this month when it squares the Sun at 13º Virgo.
The First Quarter Moon is a time of action or crisis when the plans that were laid at the New Moon in Virgo on the 30th of August are being challenged or are starting to gain traction. This First Quarter Moon brings attention to our big idea or vision and the execution of this particular vision or idea. We have to trust that we will get there but we also have to put in the efforts required to get there.
Perspective gets lost when we spend too much time on the details (Virgo). However it can also be hard to execute a big idea if we don’t delineate a practical way to get there (Sagittarius). You could feel overwhelmed by the amount of preparation necessary for the execution of your idea/goal, losing perspective on where you were going it in the first place. Or it could be that you are so taken by your big project that you totally brush over the details and neglect some important steps in the process.
The Moon in Sagittarius will be next to Jupiter at the time of the First Quarter Moon on Friday September 7th – giving us a huge boost of confidence and faith that ”everything will turn alright”. We KNOW what we have to do, but it doesn’t mean we have the discipline to do it. It’s one thing to know, it’s another thing entirely to repeat the process day after day to install a new routine, a new program that will lead us to a new helpful habit. There is a conflict between knowing and executing, between an idea and the implementation of that idea into a tangible process. Time and patience is required as nothing is born overnight and it’s a good idea to keep that in mind as you navigate Virgo season and find yourself going over everything that remains to be done. Be patient and be happy for the process, because every step of the process is what eventually leads you to the desired result.
The Moon enters Capricorn Saturday morning, and here we are again, back at the working bench, at the drawing table with our plans and our to-do lists, and the burden of all that remains to be done. Time is slipping away so fast, and there are still too many details to deal with. We are not quite as healthy, productive, efficient, and successful as we could be, and it could all be too obvious next weekend. The Moon travels in Capricorn next Saturday and Sunday, convincing us that there are vegetables to harvest and preserve, fire wood to split, renovations to do, and all kinds of work left to be done. Not the most relaxing weekend but a productive one I hope.
Most planets traveling in the Earth element (Taurus – Virgo – Capricorn) means it’s a great time to get stuff done, but terrible for anxiety around status, work, income, discipline, and habits. Don’t compare yourself too much. You are exactly where you are suppose to be; trust your process.
“You have to believe. Otherwise, it will never happen.”
― Neil Gaiman
He, who every morning plans the transactions of the day, and follows that plan,
carries a thread that will guide him through a labyrinth of the most busy life.
Victor Hugo
The week begins with the Moon in Aires. The Moon enters Taurus Wednesday at 00:38 EDT and will travel though Taurus until Friday morning when the Moon enters Gemini at 10:34am. The last quarter Moon happens at 0º Gemini, officially initiating the mutable Earth season with the Sun having just entered Virgo. The Moon travels through Gemini until late Sunday afternoon when it enters Cancer at 17:05 EDT.
This week, with 3 planets moving from Leo to Virgo we are getting a good glimpse of what the next month has in store for us. Mars left the sign of Leo for Virgo early Sunday morning and Venus follows suit on August 21st, leaving the brazen fires of Leo for the humbling pastures of Virgo. On August 23rd, the Sun leaves its domicile of Leo to enter Virgo, officiating the Mutable Earth season. However, with Mercury (ruling planet of Virgo) still in Leo, we are holding onto the golden rays and royal ways, and not entirely dedicated to the practical applications of our vision until Mercury enters Virgo on August 29th.
Mars →Virgo: August 18 – 1:17am EDT
Venus →Virgo: August 21 – 5:06am EDT
Sun →Virgo: August 23 – 6:01am EDT
THE PROCESS
With the Sun’s ingress into the Earth sign of Virgo, we begin the process of sorting out what needs tending. Virgo season brings our attention and focus on the many task that lays ahead of us, illuminating what needs to be organized, smoothed, resolved and eliminated for us to find proper footing. With the heavy influence of the Earth element in the next few weeks, our attention will be on the practical and tangible ways in which we can establish order in our daily lives and in our bodies. Simplifying, streamlining, and putting back the tools in their proper place, becoming aware of all the little ways in which we are not yet fully efficient, proficient and perfect. Anxiety is a shadow that looms large over Virgoan-type people, for there is always ways in which one can improve themselves, and this process is never done. Quality resides in the critical eye for better or for worst. Perfection is not a burden for the artisan, but a guiding principle informing his repetitive actions which over time becomes the perfect object. Practice makes perfect as they say.
THE MATERIAL
This year, we have a tight alignment of planets in the sign of Virgo which does not happen every year. This should greatly intensify the influence of the sign on our daily lives. Virgo is one of the three Earth signs considered in astrology to be primarily focused on the tangible and the practical necessities of material reality, the other two being Taurus and Capricorn.
Since we already have Uranus transiting in Taurus and Saturn/Pluto/South Node in Capricorn, the ingress of Mars, Venus and the Sun into the sign of Virgo this week will saturate the skies with planets in Earth signs. During the next few weeks, our attention will turn towards our material reality and how to improve it. We could find ourselves busy creating order out of the chaotic and disparate parts of our lives in order to improve it and be more productive. Productivity will be high on the priority list and you could find yourself overwhelmed with the work load while juggling all of your responsibilities. Procrastination will create more anxiety and I have seen many Virgo-type characters driving themselves mad with anxiety and stress while procrastinating. Don’t shy away from the work you have to do as this will surely release some of the inner tension.
This week, the transition of three planets from Leo to Virgo will be quite obvious as we find ourselves moving from the Fixed Fire season to the Mutable Earth season. In the Northern Hemisphere, Virgo season announces the end of Summer and the transition towards Fall. The preparation required for the return of the cold and the waning of the light prompts us to organize ourselves, and it is a time of movement and busy-ness. The structures in our lives will be vitalized and it’s a great time to organize your space and make it more functional. In the next couple of weeks, the emphasis is on our physical reality and tending to the smaller details of our existence like our body and our environment. However, the possibility of scattering ourselves through too many projects/avenues or being overly critical and preoccupied with perfection is a tendency to watch for during the next few weeks. It’s a good idea to temper the critical voice within you, and use this time to get ahead.
The Zodiac 1925 Ernest Procter 1886-1935
“If death meant just leaving the stage long enough to change costume and come back as a new character… Would you slow down? Or speed up?”
–Chuck Palahniuk
9th House 