Full Moon Eclipse in Taurus: Shifts in Washington DC, Hope for Our Planet

Full Moon and Partial Lunar Eclipse in Taurus, 27°14’, 12:57 AM, PST, November 19th, 2021

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“Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

HAPPY FULL MOON ECLIPSE in Taurus everyone! The Moon is at 27°14’ in the sign of the Bull very early morning, Friday, November 19th at 12:57 am Pacific time. If your life has been as crazy as mine, you know how important it is to take time for a deep breath, a sigh, relax and create some creature comfort. Find a way to calm down. The Full Moon in Taurus is about taking bubble baths, having a good meal, and enjoying the pleasures of life. I know for myself, a few days ago, I said “I’m going to take some time for me. I’m going to be still, breathe, drink a big glass of water, empty the chaos, before I go back to work.” Claim that part of Taurus now. And be patient, too, with others. Tension is high this month.

But under this Full Moon, there is a lot more on the plate that is worthy of consideration. It’s a partial lunar eclipse – and a very long one! - so it will bring about potential major changes for people directly impacted by the degree or by orb, roughly 24° Taurus to 1° Gemini. Look to see where late Taurus falls in your birthchart. U.S. President Joe Biden’s birthday is November 20th, so this solar return will be especially impactful for him in the months ahead, and undoubtedly for America as well, as the eclipse opposes his Natal Sun. Upsets, changes and power plays may challenge the President’s very solar self. I am hoping the difficulties may bring much needed changes to repair and heal our way of life and our relationship to our ailing planet.  

This is an intense Full Moon, playing into the current tension of Mars, very powerful now in Scorpio, and Uranus in Taurus in an opposition this past week. The partial lunar eclipse falls in the context of the ongoing square occurring throughout the year between Saturn and Uranus, making its final exact square right before Christmas. All of this cosmic stew is trying to put into action what needs to change in our Aquarian age.

 Mercury in Scorpio is also contributing its voice. Two forms of the Taurus/Scorpio polarity are at play now; one an old style, conservative, stubborn “lizard brain” mentality of being arrogant and fixed in one’s attitudes. Add some Mars in Scorpio to the mix and you see potential aggression. Just think about the recent events we see in Congress: a posted video so appalling in content it shocks our soul to the core. So much of this is about survival, about fighting, about dominance, about claiming what we think is ours. Such power struggles are the low road of Mars, with the intensity of Scorpio energy. The Sun, Mercury and Mars are all in the sign of the scorpion.

Mars

Then there is another manifestation of both Taurus and Scorpio now. One that wishes to transform humanity, Scorpio, and our values, to help save our planet, to make a difference. Some of the recent actions at the Glasgow Climate Change Conference come to mind. A higher state of consciousness, perhaps, where we recognize the connections we all share, our shared humanity, our deep bonds to our mother Earth. To be Earth-centered, to be Taurus. Body-centered, Taurus. To help heal our natural way of being. Not exploitation for pure profit. Haven’t we had enough already?

Ah, time for that bubble bath. Here’s to this Full Moon Eclipse…Many blessings everyone!

Full Moon Eclipse in Sagittarius: Sir Anthony Hopkins and the Wisdom to See Life's Full Journey

Full Moon and Total Lunar Eclipse, Sagittarius 5˚25’, 4:13 am PDT, May 26th, 2021.

“I love life because what more is there?”

— Sir Anthony Hopkins

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HAPPY FULL MOON IN SAGITTARIUS… happy total lunar eclipse everyone…happening at 4:13 am early morning, May 26th PDT. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the great actor, Sir Anthony Hopkins, in part because I was so moved by his stellar academy award-winning performance in the recent film, The Father. I hope when I reach my Uranus Return, when I am in my early 80s (when Uranus by transit returns to its natal position in the birthchart), like this year for Anthony Hopkins, that I could have the radical and honest wisdom he conveys on the silver screen. I am in awe at how he manages to reveal human frailty, through the process of aging. How interesting that he is also now approaching his Pluto opposition, an event we won’t all get to experience in this lifetime. I hope he does.

This eclipse conjuncts Sir Anthony’s north node of the Moon, at 4˚14’ in his natal chart, 10th house, house of career or public mission. The chart I post is a bi-wheel of Hopkin’s birthchart in the center, and then the current Full Moon eclipse chart in the outer circle. The north node is what our soul strives for in this lifetime, but it can be elusive and difficult to reach. His natal Moon is at 24˚ Sagittarius, 11th house, also conjunct a recent total solar eclipse degree, 23˚ Sagittarius, this past December, 2020. A Sagittarius Moon fills us with desires to reach into new realms of discovery, break into new paradigms. I so admire Anthony Hopkin’s willingness to venture outside of his typical movie roles, and take on such a taboo and difficult subject, like dementia and old age.

In January, 2020, when the film was released, both Saturn and Pluto were together, conjunct, on Anthony’s Capricorn ascendant; he masterfully exposed the realities of loss, decay, and death for all of us to see and to witness. The philosophical and wise spirit of his 11th house natal Sadge Moon seems to me to have touched a collective nerve; aren’t we all feeling more vulnerable now about how our minds function, our sanity, during the mental and emotional challenges of such a strangely unsettling pandemic? Sir Anthony Hopkin’s solar arcs, shown on the next posted bi-wheel chart, feature this year Chiron, the Wounded Healer, at 21˚ Virgo, conjunct his natal Neptune, planet of delusion, also 21˚ Virgo on his 8th house cusp, house of psychologically charged topics, including death and dying. Film, a visionary and Neptunian art, became a critical tool of analysis, Virgo, for Sir Anthony, serving as collective healer of a sensitive and relevant subject, the loss of our sanity, one we all so feel and need to process now.

Solar Arcs in outer circle - Note Chiron conjunct natal Neptune, 8th house cusp

Did Sir Anthony Hopkins address his Sagittarius north node?

Hoping this Full Moon eclipse, wherever it may fall in your birthchart, moves your heart to expand your vision, your Sagittarian horizons. Maybe now is a good lunar time to open to new ways of viewing and processing life’s complex journey, and, who knows, maybe through a little evolutionary astrology…wishing you all the best!

Saraswati: Divine Wisdom, a February New Moon and an Aquarius Stellium

NEW MOON in AQUARIUS, the sign of the water bearer, at 23˚17’, on Thursday, February 11th at 11:05 am PST. Jupiter and Venus form a conjunction at 12˚ Aquarius, along with Saturn, Mercury retrograde, and Pallas Athena, also all in the same air sign.

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“Why do you stay in prison when the door is so wide open?”

“Dance when you’re perfectly free.”

— Rumi

In India, every year around this time of February, according to the Hindu calendar, people honor Saraswati. Here is the goddess on her chariot, her white swan, in an Indian miniature painting. She is a river goddess, and, a little like Pallas Athena, she embodies Divine wisdom. I am not from India nor do I claim to know much about such a rich and vibrant culture. But, for me, Saraswati seems to embody what we need under this Aquarian New Moon at the moment – with all the planetary energy in the air sign. I thought, well, why not share about her, what she manifests… Learning and wisdom, music, art and speech.

In the kind of astrology I practice, evolutionary astrology, we try to see such moments as an opportunity to grow and expand in consciousness, to find a part of ourselves we need to claim – how to take Saturn’s obstacles, hardships, and challenges, and make them rocket fuel, to make ourselves stronger, under Jupiter, to learn and to gain wisdom. Mercury retrograde, to ponder all of it, and Venus to seek understanding in the dance we do with others.

Ask where do all these transiting planets fall in my natal chart? What part of myself am I wrestling with now, where am I seeking to be free, to be uniquely me, to be the revolutionary genius I was born to be, and where, too, might I feel blockage? Am I fighting from seeing opportunities that are available to me? And that I can manifest for my own personal journey?

It helps to turn to the goddess Saraswati. Try to ask for a little bit of her wisdom – make it my wisdom of the moment. Listen to the cosmic music and dance. Somewhere in our life - look to the house location of Aquarius in your own birth chart - we have to want to try, to take a chance. And when things do fail, take it as a teaching, insight into how we can mature into who we are becoming.

I keep thinking about my friends I know born in early February, 1962, when seven planets came together in Aquarius. The planetary lineup resembled now, in 2021, except that Mars was also in Aquarius that month in ‘62. This year, these folks are going through their second “Saturn Return,” when Saturn returns to the same position in the zodiac the planet was when they were born. Think Saturn in Aquarius in transit now hitting each one, each planet, in their natal stellium. With Saturn, there is some challenge, some hardship, some inevitable limitations. Meanwhile, a door of opportunity for them, Jupiter, is present, too, but they have to step through it. How difficult that must be. To claim a leadership role in your life, to become the elder. In 2021, we have also the current transits of Mars and Uranus in Taurus, in a square to the celestial lineup in Aquarius: To know that maybe you have to leave some things behind to be authentically you. We so often define ourselves around what others need or what others consider is success, even when it really isn’t our legacy, our path…how tough that must be to process now.

Imagine having a Saturn Return with all this energy in Aquarius – air sign of the genius, the humanitarian, the one who breaks free from the status quo. And with Jupiter and Venus together in the sky now, opportunity is there to open our hearts and make the most of our lives together.

Maybe we all need to ask: What path do I truly seek to be authentic? Maybe plant an intention for the New Moon…Wishing everyone the best!

Solar Arcs: A Poet's Voice Becomes a Warrior's Path of Compassion and Justice

“For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it
If only we’re brave enough to be it”

— Amanda Gorman

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Presidential Inauguration, Poet Amanda Gorman reads her poem, January 20th, 2021.

I’ve been thinking about the young poet laureate, Amanda Gorman, and how timely and emotionally moving her poetry is…I especially like the work she has done on the theme of our lives under Covid – the compassion we feel for others at such a lonely and isolating time.

Several people have mentioned her birthchart online, the natal planets, such as Sun and Mercury, that she has in Pisces, her emotional Cancer Moon and her creative, visionary voice (Noon chart, time of birth unknown, degree of Moon unknown). But I was struck by her solar arcs now at play in her evolving sense of self and the strong expression of her will through her words. In evolutionary astrology, we look at solar arcs to get a sense of how the person’s changing core identity is playing out in biographical events. They can be very noticeable in the life.

 Amanda was born when Jupiter, at 7˚, formed a conjunction with the south node of the Moon, 10˚, in Pisces. She brings into this life (Jupiter ruler of south node conjunct south node) an innate wisdom about the Divine connections we all feel, the collective pain, along with joy, of being human, and the subtle and sometimes psychic ways we communicate with one another. Just read her poems…

At this critical stage in her life, in 2021, by solar arc, Amanda’s south node has moved to conjunct her natal Mars at 2˚ Aries, her Jupiter now sits at 0˚ Aries, between her natal Mars and Mercury at 29˚ Pisces. What a powerful expression of both signs! The warrior’s assertion of confidence and strength of the knowledge she is here now in this lifetime to give (south node). A poet’s insight that touches us all to see connection, to feel united, when pandemic and ideological barriers keep us apart.

And all this while Amanda also feels strong transits, in the current sky, with Neptune, planet of spiritual consciousness and creative vision, conjunct her natal Sun; her presence as she speaks stirs the collective heart. Saturn by transit forms a conjunction with her natal Venus and Neptune in Aquarius in early degrees of the sign, where she recently felt the union of Jupiter and Saturn, making real the struggles of separation and fear by rendering passionate poems about Aquarian justice and Neptunian love.

From Amanda Gorman’s poem,  "The Miracle of Morning," about grief under the pandemic,

“While we might feel small, separate, and all alone,
Our people have never been more closely tethered.
The question isn’t if we can weather this unknown,
But how we will weather this unknown together.

Do not ignore the pain. Give it purpose. Use it.” 

Jupiter in Aquarius: Charles Dickens, Scrooge and a Christmas Transit in 1843

““Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, benevolence, were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!” ”

— Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

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Jupiter in Aquarius, 5:07 am, PST, December 19th, 2020 - May 13th, 2021, July 29th - December 28th, 2021.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, or happy holidays, to everyone!! Every year I watch ‘A Christmas Carol’, AKA ‘Scrooge,’ one of the many versions, on the night of Christmas Eve. I haven’t decided which one I want to watch tonight…

I was thinking how funny that Jupiter is now in Aquarius this year, just like it was during the months of extensive writing Charles Dickens did the fall of 1843. He published that famous novella that December. It sold out by Christmas Eve that year!

Last year, I shared the amazing story of the astrology at play when Dickens took the chance to work so hard on the book. It speaks a lot about Saturn and Jupiter. Given the planets are together now in the sky, I can’t help but ask, how can one best work with them in terms of evolutionary astrology, for personal growth and change in the New Year? I thought I’d post the story again:

Between October and December in 1843, when Dickens produced ‘A Christmas Carol,’ he threw himself into an intensive writing period of several weeks. Saturn happened to be in the sign Capricorn (like the planet was this past fall, 2020). During the 6-week period, the planet formed an exact conjunction with Charles Dickens’ natal Mercury on his 5th House cusp, house of creative expression, Mercury the writer. Faster moving Mars came through as well by conjunction, helping Dickens to focus his will and put into action creatively his ideas about moral and social reform, the higher octave of Capricorn.

Charles Dickens’ birthchart, A-rated

Charles Dickens

When the book sold the days before Christmas that same year, Venus by transit joined Saturn in the sky, again meeting Dicken’s natal Mercury. Jupiter and Neptune in Aquarius were also exactly in conjunction with his natal Sun, also in his 5th House, during November – the visionary writer as teacher of social justice and change.

It wasn’t an easy time for Dickens (Saturn conjunct his natal Mercury, Pluto in Aries by transit in an exact square) and he didn’t make much money despite the book’s popularity – he actually got into a legal scuffle over it - but in the long run…what a gift.

Set for noon. Note: This chart comes at the end of weeks of writing by Dickens and some of the transits mentioned above had passed.

Most cool I think is that Neptune seems to have this impact of moving the larger collective. And there the planet was sitting on his natal Sun, his solar self. When we consider the nodes of the Moon, we see a karmic pattern, like something needed to be said. The south node in the sky in the fall of 1843 exactly aligned by conjunction Dickens’ Jupiter in Gemini in his 10th House.

I often think about what a collective impact that story had and how its legacy is so enduring. Good ol’ Ebenezer Scrooge and his encounter with the three ghosts; everyone knows the story. Maybe now is the time for all of us to take such a chance, create a collective Aquarian change for the common good.  

This coming year, in 2021, Jupiter, with its 12-year orbit, will spend about one year, off and on, in the sign. In May, the planet briefly enters Pisces, returning under retrograde motion to Aquarius by the end of July, finally leaving Aquarius all together the end of December, 2021. Most people are a little familiar with the concept of retrograde motion, when a planet appears to move backward in the sky (most widely known today by the popularity, or lack thereof, of Mercury retrograde).

Because of this phenomenon, some people will experience the Jupiter transit through Aquarius impacting key areas of their chart more than once, and possibly more deeply, and with more opportunity to learn, through the transit later this coming year. Check to see where late degrees of the sign Aquarius, 22˚ and after, fall in your birthchart.

Those born under the sign Aquarius in late January and the start of February, or those who have planets in early or the middle of Aquarius, need to take advantage of this January, because it is one shot deal. Jupiter will have a strong punch for a brief period then and move on after. This is made especially so, because of Saturn present close by in Aquarius, and the planets will form a square to Uranus in Taurus, Saturn by February.

Saturn and Jupiter as seen through the Hubble Telescope, December, 2020

Some may want to check their own birthchart and be like Dickens next month. Dive in, do it, have faith and try hard. With the right intention, what do you have to lose? Effort can be a struggle, but always worth a try… 

Wishing the best for everyone in 2021 and many blessings for Jupiter’s passage through Aquarius!

December's Total Solar Eclipse: Reach for the Stars, Open Your Heart

HAPPY NEW MOON to you! A Total Solar ECLIPSE IN SAGITTARIUS, at 23˚08’, on Monday, December 14th, at 8:16 am PST.

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The Maya have a glyph they use to represent “divination” – the practice of trying to see God and God’s works. It looks like a hand clutching a fish. If you think about it, it works pretty well. One can’t quite grasp “God” (with a capital “G”) like a slippery fish; the more your claim you have God in your understanding, the more God slips away.

Mayan glyph for “eclipse,” note serpent swallowing the Sun

The sign Sagittarius is like that. If you freeze your mind, close your fist and your heart, in your self-righteousness and arrogance, you’ll only feel a little bit of that fish and it will escape you. You’ll limit your world and what your soul can do. But if you cradle that fish, and let it breathe, you can reach into higher realms of understanding. You can seek adventure and find what lies beyond. Expand into Divination with a capital “D”. Or at least experience life in a fuller, more multifaceted way.

Now Sagittarius doesn’t always signify the desire to seek higher knowledge, wisdom and God. And the sign Pisces may more adequately reflect mystical arts, such as divination. There’s a wonderfully exuberant, festive, fun-loving and fiery side of Sagittarius, too. Jupiter, of course, rules the sign! But being held up in your own overly confident ego, attitudes and beliefs, refusing to accept alternative possibilities, is like clutching the fish to hard.

Take Donald Trump, born on a lunar eclipse, his Moon at 21˚ Sagittarius. The current total solar eclipse is conjunct the out-going President’s natal Moon, within two degrees. Most folks know about the ancient Mesopotamian use of the eclipse as a sign of “the fall of a king.” Donald, do us all a favor and let go of the fish.

IMHO, to seize opportunity, to embody the centaur archer’s faith, you need to have more than a fiery gumption; you need flexibility of spirit, mind and heart.

Look to see where this New Moon eclipse falls in your own birthchart. Here you might see a hand and a fish. Have wisdom enough to soften your hand, have confidence in what you can do, but also open your heart and your mind, and try to see things differently. Shoot an arrow to the stars, learn a new dance, experience a different way of being, and try to see a little further.

A total solar eclipse is most noticeable as a time of growth and change when it hits a key degree or location in your birthchart. Watch roughly six months before and six months after. 

Wishing you the best!

Chiron Wound, Chiron the Healer: Some Thoughts on the First Presidential Debate

How can we help?

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Presidential Debate, September 29th, 2020

I was talking with a good friend – a fellow evolutionary astrologer – last night, following the previous night’s nightmare Presidential debate. I mentioned in passing the popular Hollywood film, “The King’s Speech”, when commenting upon Joe Biden’s obvious frustration over the obstacles to getting his words out on stage. King George VI, “Bertie,” you may recall, had a very difficult time working through an awful stutter, what in his birthchart is reflected, in part, by a Sagittarius 2nd house Mercury opposing his Neptune in Gemini, 8th.

King George VI

Now comparing the two charts of King George VI and Joe Biden is like comparing APPLES and ORANGES. The two men are VERY different and I have no intention of listing all the details of their respective birthcharts.

But, hear me out…there may just be something worth keeping in mind, and also perhaps of practical use, to what I wish to share here.

You see both men have planets in a square (90˚ aspect) to the nodes of the Moon and both involve the planet Mercury, communication and speech among other things. The south node brings us information about what a soul is bringing into this lifetime and what they are wrestling with, behaviors they tend to repeat, and ones they need to recognize and hopefully move beyond. The north node is the remedy; how we work to heal the past.

With King George’s south node in Virgo, its ruler is Mercury, while his Mars is in a tight square to his nodes, both planets in Sagittarius, 2nd house, suggesting Bertie felt trapped by his own words (square by south node ruler), causing him difficult blockage and a loss of self-confidence (2nd house) in fighting and presenting his views (Mars). King George’s chart has Jupiter, north node co-ruler, in Leo near the midheaven, the most public part of his chart; despite these challenges, he had the potential in this lifetime to shine as “King”, his soul’s intention was also to let go and heal his most inner self (his north node is in Pisces, 4th house, Neptune 8th).

Nodes of the Moon

Now VP Biden, on the other hand, has north node, what he is trying to reach in this lifetime, in Leo, ruled by the Sun, in his 9th house, with Chiron, the “wounded healer,” conjunct at 28˚ 53’ Leo. He’s here to heal his ability to take the stage in presenting his views and changing the current cultural and societal paradigms (9th h) we are facing now as a nation. In order to heal, he must grapple with his Scorpio, 12th house Sun along with Mercury, in a loose square to his nodes, Sun and Venus in a tight square. He is up against, in many ways, his own abilities to speak about the dark realities we so need to transform and face as we “rebirth” our country. These are Scorpionic truths of manmade destruction of our climate and planet, our need for radical lifestyle changes, along with fighting racism and white supremacy. For some, these are taboo, painful subjects, ones deeply embedded in the shadow work of America.

I don’t mean for this to be a political post. Obviously, in the case of the debate, the lack of any respect for rules or proper protocol on the part of the current President was the main issue. But I did notice that Joe stuttered at one point on stage. Then the day after, I heard him stutter again during a campaign speech.

“Vote!” That was the key point VP Joe Biden managed to deliver. Yes, let’s hope we all do. But maybe, too, just maybe, we need to help Joe be heard, to be that wounded healer – How can we give him a better voice?

October: So Much to Take On, To Process, We Need of a Little Peace and Calm

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“One does not become enlightened by imaging figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious”

— Carl Jung

“You know it’s gonna get stranger...so let’s get on with the show ”

— John Barlow and Bob Weir

This is my first day back to the writing desk since the terrible CZU fire hit our local community and forest. I wish, with all my heart, that everyone receives the grace and hope they need to face the ongoing challenges, and to have the strength and optimism to rebuild anew in this trying time!

October begins with a Harvest Full Moon in Aries, 9˚08’at 2:05 PM, on the 1st. Most notable is the conjunction the Moon makes with Chiron, the “wounded healer,” at 7˚04’ Aries, retrograde. Chiron, a minor planet, also called a ‘centaur object,’ orbits between Saturn and Uranus, occasionally moving inside Saturn's orbit and at other times getting a little farther out in space than where Uranus lies when the planet is as close to the Sun as it can get. Now with Chiron in Aries, we are collectively wrestling with who we are authentically and how do we define our individual rights and roles within the larger collective, a larger humanity attempting to shift in consciousness.

Most, I believe, want to build a better sustainable culture and save our planet. With Chiron now located close to Uranus and away from conservative, patriarchal Saturn, we have a chance to finally heal and create revolution.

Chiron by transit (moving in the current sky) is in early Aries throughout 2020, and when combined, as in this case, with a Full Moon, we are asked to bring to fruition some self-awareness of where we need to take the initiative, assert our own power and claim our own needs. Most importantly, we need to have courage, be willing to take a risk and be the warrior. Look to see where roughly 5˚ to 11˚ Aries falls in your birthchart.

Meanwhile, Venus moves into Virgo beginning on the afternoon of October 2nd . Key is not to be too overly critical of ourselves, as well as our relationships with others and the part we play in those relationships. We may continually raise the bar to perfect our work to ever higher standards. Building upon the New Moon in Virgo back in mid-September, now is the time to push ourselves with our partners to make our projects and dreams solid and real.

Mars continues to move retrograde in late Aries, conjunct Eris, planet of discord, at 24˚. Mars is in a tight square again to Saturn and Pluto, loosely to Jupiter. This square follows an initial square, made back in the third week of August, to Saturn, when Mars was moving direct. We all remember how difficult late August was.  The planet has been in orb (close in degree) from mid-August and this lasts through mid- October, so we face a rough time in general, with tension and conflict in the air.

On October 9th, retrograde Mars in Aries will form an exact square to Pluto in Capricorn (second exact square of three – first was mid-August, last will be in late December, 2020). When the Sun opposes Mars, October 13th, the planet will also be closest to the Earth and fun to find in the night sky as Mars will appear big, bright and red.

The fiery red planet represents our will, our abilities to take action and to protect and fight. In Aries, it is a call for us to have courage, assert our rights and make sure our needs are respected and heard. Mars won’t go direct until November 13th, after the Presidential election.

This is also a powerful time to reflect upon the subconscious ways we behave. These ways may become more visible, bubble to surface of our consciousness and offer us insight. On a personal level, we need patience. Power struggles or frustration may be the result of what we are trying to bring up – can I say bodily expel? - in order to face the shadow, let go and move on.

Why is it we react the way we do? What really is behind the anger, the resentment, the fear? And what about the principles we hold true? Are they more about the expectations we have, our childhood or karmic wounds, or are they truly worth a fight?

October 13th, Mercury stations and turns retrograde at 11˚40’ Scorpio at 6:04 PM PDT, moving retrograde until November 3rd. More of the same Scorpionic themes of what needs to be dredged up, processed and purged will involve turning inward and reflecting upon our darkest shadows.

October 16th is a New Moon in Libra, 12:31 PM  23˚54’, just a few hours after the Moon first opposes Mars, then squares Pluto. Just after the New Moon, the Moon forms a square to Saturn. Mid-month is a perfect time to reassess how we bring beauty, art, music, pleasure and balance into our lives as we restructure our almost post-Covid reality. What relationships bring me calm, relaxation and the peace of mind I need?

In orb throughout October, Jupiter in Capricorn forms a sextile to Neptune, retrograde, in Pisces, 18˚45’exact very early morning on October 12th. This sextile is a time to reimagine where we might go, how to make a new beginning. A rare moment to dream and seek a vision!

Jupiter in a sextile to Neptune. Time to Dream.

By month’s end, early evening of October 27th, Mercury, still retrograde, and Venus both enter Libra, again stressing the harmony and peace we desire at the New Moon. Then, on the weekend of El Dia de Los Muertos, on Halloween itself, another Full Moon, early morning, 7:49 am in Taurus 8˚38’, will tightly conjunct Uranus. There may be some sudden upsets in what we thought we were building, what we thought we held dear! Expect yet another upheaval. Perhaps best to see this time as a reconnection to what we really need to feel secure, stable, and at peace with ourselves and our world.

Wishing everyone a GREAT Halloween!

Halloween Full Moon in Taurus conjunct Uranus

Summer Solstice Eclipse: New Moon in Cancer

“Blackbird singing in the dead of night. Take these broken wings and learn to fly. All your life...You were only waiting for this moment to arise.”

— Paul McCartney

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Summer Solstice, 2:44 PM PDT, Sun and Moon at 0˚21’ Cancer, Saturn at 0˚40’ Aquarius, Mars at 25˚49’ Pisces, Pluto, 24˚19’, and Jupiter, 25˚07, conjunct in Capricorn, 11:41 PM PDT, June 20th.

HAPPY SUMMER SOLSTICE and New Moon eclipse everyone! Sun enters the sign of Cancer, June 20th, 2:44 PM PDT. Solstice is followed by an annular “ring of fire” eclipse that night, 11:41 PM. At 0˚21’ Cancer, the New Moon is asking what beginning do I see for myself that is nurturing and healing not only for me, but for my clan, my tribe, as summertime begins – a yummy meal in restaurant I love, a time of bonding with my family and friends, all while our collective voices call out for social justice and implementing REAL systemic change.

The Sun and Moon conjunction form a tight quincunx - 150˚ aspect – of creative tension with the reality check of task-master Saturn at 0˚40’ Aquarius. Saturn is retrograde and will reenter Capricorn soon for most of the remaining year. In fact, Jupiter and Saturn will be conjunct at the same 0˚ Aquarius in December, so what we are processing under retrograde planets at summer solstice will return.

But we all feel like we are at a threshold NOW, a taste of what is to come…learning how to be in a new world. The quincunx with Saturn in the air sign Aquarius, is helping us process these radical ways of being, new ways of relating, since the 2020 pandemic began. Activism of Black Lives Matter awakens in all of us a spirit of universal Aquarian love, duty and justice!

I love that this eclipse falls at 0˚ Cancer. It is like the cosmos is asking us how do we balance and honor the Cancerian needs of our home and hearth, our inner most sanctum, our own place within, while recognizing Saturn’s delays, frustrations, limitations and pure hard work in what feels like we are birthing anew. As always, it is critical to consider where in your birthchart early degrees of Cancer and Aquarius fall. Mercury now retrograde in Cancer underscores a time for reflection.

Meanwhile Mars, at 25˚49’ Pisces, is still in a waning sextile with Pluto, 24˚19’, and Jupiter, 25˚07 Capricorn, saying we CAN create a vision that will empower collective change. We can all be active players in building a just and compassionate new world – look to see where in your birthchart late Capricorn falls.

Wishing everyone a great Solstice eclipse and New Moon!

Full Moon in Sagittarius Square Mars in Pisces: "Divine Dissatisfaction" Walking in Light!

“Darkness cannot put out darkness; only light can do that.”

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Full Moon in Sagittarius, 15˚34’, at 12:12 PM PDT, on June 5th, penumbral lunar eclipse. Sun, at 15˚34’, and Venus, 12˚18’retrograde, conjunct in Gemini, Mars in an exact square, at 15˚52’ Pisces. Mars conjunct Neptune in Pisces, at 20˚53’, on June 13th, 7:13 am. Mercury, out of bounds, at 9˚05’ Cancer, on June 5th, then turns retrograde mid-June at 14˚ Cancer.

I was struggling back on Memorial Day to express, in words, what I saw in the upcoming sky under the June Full Moon. Memorial Day, the day we remember the people who lost their lives for our country, for our “way of life.” The day ended, as you all know, with the news of the tragic murder of George Floyd, a 46-year old black man, at the knee of the white Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin.

The late, great civil rights activist, Martin Luther King, Jr, used the phrase “Divine dissatisfaction” to describe ways in which we can address systemic racism and poverty, the social diseases of America, in his famous speech in 1967, ‘Where do we go from here?” In the speech, King declared,” Darkness cannot put out darkness; only light can do that.” With a natal Moon in Pisces in a square with his Gemini Mars in his birthchart, MLK took the personal power and initiative inherent in that square and put into action Gemini words and wisdom, a respect for black and brown, white and yellow – for all people – with the sensitivity, compassion and spiritual consciousness of a Pisces lunar soul.

We have a different square now in our current sky; one that equally challenges us.

We all know change has to happen in the spirit of non-violent activism. How can I be an ally in support of people of color and social justice, while doing what I can to keep my community safe and sane? 

You see I tend to see astrology as instructive, rather than predictive. The primary idea behind evolutionary astrology is that we can take the current moment, consider the position of the planets and the relationships between them, and try to grasp a higher potential – the best path forward – the sky offers us now.

Full Moon, June 5th, 12:12 PM PDT, Santa Cruz, Ca.

But try as I did, the Full Moon in early June looked ominous to me back on Memorial Day, back before the streets across America exploded. Both Full Moon and Sun form a tight square, 90˚, to the planet, Mars, at 15˚52’ Pisces. The Moon is in Sagittarius, 15˚34’, at 12:12 PM PDT, on June 5th; it is a penumbral lunar eclipse. Sun, at 15˚34’, and Venus, 12˚18’retrograde, conjunct in Gemini, follow the Venus Star point, the exact inferior conjunction June 3rd. The square between Sun and Mars began the last few days of May and will last until mid-June. The Full Moon triggers it at its strongest point.

The Moon in Sagittarius is a time of fiery passion and enthusiasm, whether fighting for justice in the streets or seeking a new adventure. We may desire travel and the joy of social interaction, with the need to see friends, and to experience all life grants us, especially now in springtime. A Gemini Sun and Venus wants to embrace life’s diversity, to have a curious mind open to all kinds of perspectives, to revel in the complexity of the human spirit.

So, I knew early June would be a time of letting down our guard, dropping our masks, and letting go, as Mars in Pisces allows us to do, losing our boundaries and freeing ourselves from shelter in place.

All this after the weeks of isolation and care we have taken. What can I say…it did look ominous!

The planet Neptune is a little further along in Pisces, at 20˚53’. Mars will conjunct exactly Neptune the following week on Saturday, June 13th, 7:13 am. Neptune can help manifest the highest of spiritual consciousness and self-sacrifice, but the planet is also eager to delude us, make us wish to escape and to perhaps seek solace in too much wine, too much pleasure, too much feasting in springtime bliss! Neptune and Mars in Pisces can also move us individually to join the masses in protest, to sweep us along and encourage us to let go of Covid-19 precautions with the collective wave for social change.

Neptune can sweep us under

During both weekends, the cosmic chemistry underscores the need to take the higher road of a Pisces Mars – act with caution, with compassion, not delusion. As King wrote, to walk in a spirit of light. What a relief to see many protestors wearing masks! It is important to keep in mind Neptune in Pisces is associated with the spread of disease and epidemics. Mars may trigger this now.

But I must say Mercury in Cancer gives me some hope too. Considered “out of bounds,” at extreme declination, Mercury is operating beyond the scope of the Sun, and can awaken in us radical new ways of relating and engaging the other; one that is emotional and protective. Think of the Cancer crab seeking protection in her shell or scurrying into her hole in the sand, finding comfort and safety in her nest, her home. By mid-June, no longer out of bounds, the trickster of communication and our guide to bringing in new perceptions, new ideas, will turn retrograde, at 14˚ Cancer.

Cancer, sign of the Moon, defends the vulnerable and feels the need to care for those close and in need. Following an out-of-bounds period of Mercury and retrograde in mid-June, how conducive a time to “think outside the box” in how we respond and care for those we love and how best to protect our community, our clan.

Despite all the tension, all the mayhem and uncertainty, we are in a season of rebirth. And it is such a fragile one. Most importantly, now is the time to reimagine our world and our part in it. All this while maintaining caution, finding connection despite isolation, and recognizing new spikes in the Covid-19 pandemic are likely. Whether in casual meetups with a few friends or in the streets marching for justice, the sky says - please, please - play it safe.

“Darkness cannot put out darkness; only light can do that.”  

Wishing you the best Full Moon.

Full Moon in Leo: The Venusian Dance with Chiron, Mercury in Pisces

““The wheel is turning and you can’t slow down,
You can’t let go and you can’t hold on,
You can’t go back and you can’t stand still,
If the thunder don’t get you, then the lightning will.”

”

— The Wheel, lyrics by Robert Hunter

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Full Moon in Leo 20˚00’, Sun Aquarius 20˚00’, Mercury Pisces 8˚06’ trine north node of Moon, Cancer 7˚45’Rx, Venus 1˚44’ Aries conjunct Chiron 2˚53’ Aries.

Happy Full Moon weekend everyone! And what a lovely Full Moon it is in the fiery, generous, loving sign of Leo! I hope everyone takes time for a little play, some fun, some joy and release. It’s been such a hard week for all of us, especially my friends here in the States.

It may seem like an odd quote from a song I choose to describe this moment in time. But it really seems to tie into what I want to say about how to use the current sky, to be a part of the collective change our world so needs and to bring out the strengths of the moment. You see this quote is talking about our duty, our place in the larger scheme of things - how we all help to turn the wheel. How our unique gifts have a purpose and they need to be seen and cherished. Leo is first and foremost a noble sign – the sign of the King or Queen! – and why is this? Because Leo has something to give, Leo needs to be heard, Leo needs to be seen.

All of us have Leo somewhere in our birth charts. We all have some place where we need to be recognized and cherished, where we are allowed to shine. Look to see where 20˚ Leo falls in your own birth chart.

Full Moons often bring to light what we have been nurturing in ourselves in the weeks prior. But they really are just a quick passage in time. Fast moving, they are one small facet of a much bigger picture in how we are all evolving. We can look at this weekend, however, within the larger context of the weeks of early February to help see better the grace at play. Mercury’s trine to the north node of the Moon suggests a potential for a creative response or inspiration to contribute to collective change. And I don’t know about you – but God(dess) willing, we so need a collective vision, a change in consciousness.

Mercury – our planetary guide to thought, perception, communication – is in Pisces now. Mercury is considered to be “weak” in Pisces (what in formal astrology we call “debilitated”), however this is somewhat of a misjudgement. If we are trying to tap into the Divine, to the underlying messages of the universe that come to us in the form of synchronicity or through dreams, visions and our imagination, omens let’s say, Mercury in Pisces is perfect. I would argue it is just what we need in early 2020. In the larger world around us, the planet’s current position reflects the nebulous and deceptive nature of the media, the confusion over the Iowa caucuses, THAT damn trial (which will remain unnamed – all of this has been reinforced in recent weeks by the square between Mars in Sagittarius and the planet Neptune in Pisces ).

But on an individual level, Mercury is blessing us with visions of how to see our thoughts – our mental selves – in ways that perhaps are less about our selfish needs and more about collective, compassionate and spiritual change.

Mercury will enter a retrograde period February 16th (PST).The planet has already been in its “shadow” since early in the month. Please remember that Mercury retrograde is a common occurrence and really its strengths lie in introspection – allow the mind and heart to ponder the creative, visionary expression of Mercury in Pisces, rather than concerning oneself with minor delays or inconveniences – things that carry no meaning in the long run. The planet turns direct March 9th (PST). Due to the slowing down of the fast motion of Mercury in the middle of February, we may see a heightened confusion at that time in general. But more importantly, this is a great time to meditate, seek visions, and reassess how we structure and use our minds.

Venus

There are a number of other aspects happening under this weekend’s Full Moon, but I focus upon one here: the meeting of Venus and the minor planet Chiron in early Aries. This is in play during the Full Moon and the few days following. Those with planets or luminaries (Sun and/or Moon) between 1˚-5˚Aries, as well as in the other cardinal signs – early degrees of Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn, may especially feel this dance. Venus is a relational planet – those one-on-one relationships we cherish such as our spouse or our lover, but also close intimate connections in general – for example, our close business partners or perhaps our bandmates.

Venus’s ingress into Aries is just days before the Full Moon and the planet will stay in the sign for about a month, until March 4th, bringing, in general, a kind of fiery passion to our love lives and blessing our creative expressions (nice for those who celebrate Valentine’s Day!) along with a possible competitive and defensive edge of the fire sign in our relationship encounters. (There are other current aspects in the sky that suggest power struggles between partners, and assertion of will potentially at the expense of the other, but for brevity’s sake, let’s just say they reinforce what I write here).

All of this plays into Venus forming a conjunction with the much slower Chiron (a 50-yr orbit). Chiron is working its way through early Aries this year. Chiron, the wounded healer, for some of us (those whose charts are being touched by the transit), may feel like a tête à tête of sorts between the power of one partner versus that of the other. Where and how to assert ourselves and how to have courage in the dance we do with others are questions worthy of reflection. What relationship counts the most for my own soul’s evolution? Passion comes through taking risks, loving the dialog and possibly heated exchange. Don’t be a coward. Listen and have patience as well. I can’t help but think of the old Motown song originally performed by The Supremes, You Can’t Hurry Love, “Love don’t come easy; it’s a game of give and take.”

Of course, not all of us are in “romantic” love. And despite the focus upon cupid’s arrow this month, I’d say all of us can benefit from reflecting in general about the intimate dance we do with others. Is there a wound in us that keeps us from jumping confidently in and acting with a spirit of the warrior? If we were born when Chiron was last in early Aries –most folks born between the years 1968 and 1971 –we may feel this most strongly. Folks past middle age may find more expressions of the healing energies as we have done our Chiron work in earlier years.

“Small wheel turn by the fire and rod

Big wheel turn by the grace of God,
Every time that wheel turn 'round,
Bound to cover just a little more ground.

Won't you try just a little bit harder,
Couldn't you try just a little bit more?”

Why mention Venus’s approach to Chiron? Why this Full Moon? I added a little more from the lyrics of the song I quote above. I believe that the dynamic play, the calling into question of how we relate one-on-one with each other, the ways we assert our personal power, help us with self-expression, with our own particular ways we shine. We make our small wheel turn and we cover a little more ground. Together, when we support each other, we bring – maybe, just maybe – some of that grace we need to make the big wheel turn – turn in ways collectively we sorely need.

Couldn’t you try just a little bit more?

 So, I think it is worth pondering: What visions do we see of our soul’s purpose? How do we shine under the light of this Full Moon in Leo? What requires defending with the other, what passions are worth fighting for? How best can we support our partners rather than wound them? How can we give them a voice and honor what they bring to the table?

And, yeah, let’s dance, let’s have some fun, let’s open our hearts to a good old dose of Leo’s generous wisdom – a wisdom of the heart!

Blessings on your Full Moon!

Saturn and Pluto Conjunction: An Historical Example - Making the Most of January, 2020!

When I was in London last August, I became curious about the biography of Queen Victoria and I fell in love with her birth chart – her astrological “horoscope.” I followed it through her life, her love for Albert, the various ups and downs of her reign, and I visited her monuments, palaces and gardens to get a feel for who she was.

Please – let me say this first: I am no historian of the Royal family! Nor do I know all the history about what really happened between Queen Victoria and the man she eventually called her “Munshi.” I also realize it was a relationship just begging to be deconstructed and analyzed within the context of colonial rule and all the nine yards of what that implies…But…

As synchronicity would have it, I noticed a similarity between the Queen’s story and the sky now in terms of evolutionary astrology. It just seems suggestive to me of what – maybe, just maybe - some folks might be experiencing, if their chart is being stimulated by the current sky – the middle of January, 2020.

Most of my astrology friends know that this week there is a rather rare conjunction, Saturn and Pluto, a phenomenon that happens about three times a century, happening now in the sign of Capricorn. Queen Victoria was born in 1819 during one of these rare occurrences; she has Saturn and Pluto conjunct in Pisces in her 11th House in her birth chart.

Now there is much one could say about Queen Victoria’s chart, yet alone about her long reign and what was happening in her life astrologically. Most telling is the fact the Queen was a “triple Gemini,” born on the New Moon in Gemini, when the luminaries (Sun and Moon) were just over the horizon, in the Queen’s 12th House.

Anyone who has ever been intrigued by the life of Queen Victoria knows she expressed many “Gemini” qualities; she loved to learn, wrote correspondence constantly during her entire reign, and had a natural curiosity (which she shared with Prince Albert) for facts and invention.

With a stellium (a bunch of planets) in the 12th House, and Pluto, Chiron and Saturn conjunct in the 11th along with Jupiter in the 10th, Victoria was clearly a lady defined by public duty that required a loss of self in her role within the institution of the monarchy.

Her Pluto, Chiron and Saturn together suggest a wound and blockage, a Piscean sensitivity, to her need to let go and abandon ‘self,’ due to her office and responsibilities, and with the difficulties she experienced with father figures (Saturn) early in her life. Given the conjunction is in the 11th House, perhaps, later in life, she might be able to claim that wound and make it part of her personal power.

Cut to 1887, the year of the Queen’s Jubilee (she was 68). Queen Victoria met an Indian servant, Abdul Karim, who eventually became her close confidant, advisor and teacher. Astrologers sometimes look at a technique called ‘solar arcs’ to help a person work with their evolving self – who they are becoming. The summer the Queen met Karim, whom she later called her “Munshi,” the Queen’s natal Pluto, Chiron, Saturn conjunction had reached - by solar arc, exact by degree in her chart – the Queen’s natal New Moon (Sun and Moon conjunction).

The Gemini heart and soul of Victoria were being given a chance by the universe to transform (Pluto) the wound (Chiron) and move her into a more mature voice of the elder monarch (Saturn), a Queen more openly accepting and respectful of India’s diverse and unique heritage.

The Munshi offered Victoria a chance to see the world differently, to embrace Indian culture, to try cuisine in the form of exotic curries, and to learn Urdu – a difficult task she apparently seemed to love. She was not only exploring what Indian culture had to offer, but was experiencing and growing into a new level of acceptance, an acceptance of a people very different from her own.

I must say my own Gemini Moon just loved seeing her lesson books filled with Urdu script – known as Hindustani at the time – in a special exhibition at Kensington Palace this past summer!

Needless to say, the Queen’s new understanding and open acceptance of what was seen as an “inferior” culture was not well received – by Royal family, staff, and essentially her whole household…

Eventually, a few years later, solar arc Saturn, Chiron and Pluto reached the Queen’s Gemini ascendant – her rising sign, how she “dawns on the world” - her close friendship with Karim Abdul created escalating tension, opposition, and stubborn resistance (Saturn) and power struggles (Pluto) from the Royal court. Even her own son, heir to the throne, questioned her sanity, refusing to see beyond the commonly-held perceptions of colonial subjects, the set notions due to the racism in British society at the time, of what most English people believed about the people of India.

Can we see such challenges faced by Queen Victoria as a lesson for our own times? Of course, the current Saturn / Pluto conjunction occurs in a very different sign – Capricorn – but perhaps we can take a look at these archetypes together as a moment of potential – approach it with a willingness to work hard and with discipline on personal transformation, despite the obstacles we may face.

Maybe it might help to consider how this conjunction hits our own birth chart. Because let’s face it; our friends and family so often don’t want to see us change. They like the picture of us they have come to know. The Queen met that power of resistance and she embraced Karim anyway. A relationship fraught with colonial overtones, certainly…But I sure do respect her courage.

Saturn and Pluto Together: Here's to Maya Lin's Story, Now Let's Take it On! January, 2020

Every year, at about this time of year, I teach about the great American sculptor, architect and designer Maya Lin – I’ve been doing it for twenty years. My students and I explore how she went up against formidable odds, first entering, and then winning, a national contest for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial commission in Washington, DC. in 1981-82. A Chinese American, Maya was only 21 years old when she won the competition as a Yale graduate student. Much of the difficulty Maya experienced occurred after she was granted the commission, when she was forced to deal with the anger of some of the veterans, the obstacles and the restrictions imposed by some of the opponents, who not only hated her design, but attacked her over her identity – her age, her gender and her Asian heritage.

As synchronicity would have it, it wasn’t until this year that I noticed Maya was responding to a Pluto, Saturn and Jupiter time in her life, and how she was learning (Jupiter) to grow and mature (Saturn) in her abilities to speak out and stand up for her beliefs (Her natal Mercury and Mars).

There is a lot of chatter on social media about these three planets and a current astrological event happening. Some of it is kind of scary or I guess I should say sensationalized too. I do think it looks to be a difficult time, but for each person a different journey, depending I suppose on how you respond to your birth chart. There is a conjunction coming up this winter of the planets Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn at 22˚. Jupiter will be in Capricorn too. The conjunction will be exact mid-January. The last time the two came together in the sky was in the early 1980s, in the sign of Libra.

I’d like to put a positive spin on it by sharing a realization I had this week about Maya – about this famous artist and her fight for her memorial – a story I find personally encouraging anyway.

Maya designed a simple, abstract site-specific artwork, one not quite like any other war memorial ever before. She envisioned two walls coming together at an angle, as they descend into the earth of the Washington Mall. Most moving, I feel, is to visit the monument and gaze upon the smooth, black granite, and see yourself reflected back on top of the names of those deceased. She transformed the collective’s notion of what a great war memorial could be. It has since inspired countless other examples of public art. Maya Lin’s work has left a lasting legacy, but it was her response to a challenging time – a time of Pluto and Saturn and Jupiter – that helped her evolve and transform into her soul’s journey as artist.

You see in 1981-82, during the height of the battles over the design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, all three planets were transiting Maya’s natal stellium in Libra. The day her design was chosen, April 30, 1981, Saturn and Jupiter were conjunct her natal north node of the Moon providing a time of grace in her life for both maturity and challenge along with opportunity to discover her soul’s path. Meanwhile, transiting Pluto was conjunct her natal Mars and Mercury. During the first major wave of criticism and outcry in October, 1981, Sun, Mercury, Jupiter and Pluto by transit formed a wide conjunction with her natal Mars at 19˚ Libra, Jupiter and Pluto both were at 24˚ Libra, exactly conjunct Maya’s natal 24˚ Mercury, while Saturn was at mid-Libra between Maya’s Sun at 11˚42’ and Mars at 19˚.

The most emotional and tense arguments over Maya’s design involved her now-famous public speech in defense of the memorial which occurred mid-February, 1982, with both Mars and Saturn conjunct her natal Mars, while Pluto continued to conjunct her natal Mercury. Phew! I like to watch an old news clip of Maya Lin as a young woman going up in front of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts in a room filled with members of congress, veterans, journalists, and activists. I am always amazed by her courage and determination to defend her design.

All of this occurring in Libra – the sign so much about negotiation and balance with others as well as aesthetic appreciation and finding harmony and beauty in life. Maya’s intentions were so Libran; to create a memorial that would bring a sense of peace and healing over the losses of war, rather than a grand statement of military victory. It is like the universe was asking Maya to reconsider her thoughts not only about art, but also about how to mature and learn personal strength, and transform her own voice in defense of what she cherished in art and held true.

Of course, this January, 2020, the conjunction of Saturn and Pluto is in a very different sign, Capricorn. And to make the most of understanding the time for you is to consider where and in what house the conjunction lies in your birth chart.

On November 10, 1982, Saturn and Pluto met up for the exact conjunction at 27 ˚ Libra; both planets had moved just 3 degrees from Maya’s natal Mercury. That day marked the start of several days of official dedication ceremonies of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial with much public fanfare and celebration.

Difficulties that truly transform. What can I say…I love Maya’s artwork and admire her artistic career, but most of all I respect her courage, along with the patience and endurance she had, to ride with Pluto and Saturn to get there.

Not everyone is a “Maya Lin,” but we all got our challenges and fears. Such transits bring them to the table for us to see, allowing us to work on ourselves so we can be stronger...nothing to be afraid of; more to accept and to claim, and, well, to try to make the most of.

A Full Moon Firing Squad!!!! Cancer and Capricorn in January 2020

Wishing everyone the best this FULL MOON in CANCER during the penumbral eclipse, January 10th, 11:21 AM PST. The eclipse will not be visible here in California. But this lunar time carries a lot of potential punch astrologically. It all depends upon where this particular area of the sky plays out in your own birth chart.

A Cancer Full Moon, in general, can be a sensitive, emotional time, a time to turn inward, heal, protect and nourish ourselves and our family; a good time to send healing thoughts to our Nation, to our world. Memories of what brought comfort or pain from years past can arise, allowing us to remember, so we can feel through the emotions, to restore or to release.

Somewhere in your life you have been wrestling with either a blockage or a necessity to work hard to mature, to grow through, and to transform into something new. Some people feel this quite strongly now if they have planets, Sun or Moon, or important degrees in their chart at 18-24˚, especially in the Cardinal signs: Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn. Look to see where the current Saturn and Pluto conjunction, at 22˚Capricorn, falls in your birth chart for guidance.

At this Full Moon, things may become particularly challenging. Try to ride with compassion, try to greet others with kindness and a spirit of patience and understanding, rather than falling into the possibly whiny or needy, side of a Cancer Moon. Try to support others, because remember they may need it too. Pluto can bring power struggles.

Some structures, some ideas, somethings need to come forward and die now in order to build anew. What makes this Full Moon emotionally volatile is the lineup of planets accompanying the Sun at this moment in time. While the Moon is in Cancer, the Sun is in Capricorn, along with Mercury (perceptions, ideas, communication), Ceres (what nurtures us and how we nurture others, mother child bonds, loss and grief), Saturn and Pluto, all tightly together, lined up like a cosmic firing squad –Mercury, Sun and Moon act as potential “triggers,” faster moving bodies, align briefly, pushing the longer, slower Saturn and Pluto transformations, which have been in play since before the Holidays.

Why not take some time and find the Saturn / Pluto conjunction in your own birth chart and consciously try to address it?

Where is your soul work calling? Synchronicity will make it play out. Better you try to claim it, rather than let the universe claim you…

Maybe making them conscious will make us stronger, make us better players in the larger scheme of things.

Eclipses, of course, are common phenomenon. Astrologers seem to disagree as to the impact of different kinds of eclipses – some choosing only to place emphasis upon total eclipses. But I think this eclipse is worthy of note, even if it creates only a subtle, shadowy effect upon the Moon, simply because of the synchronistic alignment with such a powerhouse in Capricorn. Eclipses can have lasting influence in the months ahead.

The sign of Cancer, with its natural tendency to protect family and clan, can lend itself to patriotic fervor and a desire to withdrawal into national – and personal - boundaries. Meanwhile, Saturn and Pluto come together in the sky roughly three times a century; the last time it happened in Capricorn was in the early 16th century during the Protestant Reformation, a notable time of societal change, a paradigm shift. Let’s pray for PEACE and do what we can to discourage war. Capricorn, as a sign, is associated with political structures and government, among many things. Let’s work hard (Saturn) to truly make the slate clean and to build again (Pluto) ourselves and our Nation, so to make a new world less concerned with “us” and “them,” boundaries and walls, and more concerned with a living, breathing, beautiful planet.

Hope you have a good Full Moon meditation!

Mercury and Sun in Scorpio and the Full Moon in Taurus: A Picture of What Lies Underneath and a Time to Calm Down

“The reason I will not exhibit this picture is that I am afraid that I have shown in it the secret of my own soul”

— Oscar Wilde, Picture of Dorian Gray

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”

— Harriet Tubman

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HAPPY FULL MOON IN TAURUS, 19˚52’, November 12, 5:34 AM PST, Mercury retrograde 17˚42’Scorpio, Mars 25˚34’ Libra, Jupiter 25˚39’ Sagittarius, Saturn 16˚18’ Capricorn, Neptune retrograde 15˚59’Pisces, Pluto 21˚02’ Capricorn.

I always get a kick out of comparing the writing of astronomers with that of astrologers. I can often see some common thread – how the two were once one. Then the vast difference becomes so evident, as the sky shifts from the spectacle I objectively observe to more of a personal reflection showing me how my soul fits in and connects with the cosmos. The Full Moon in Taurus in the early morning here in California, on November 12th, is less than 24 hours after the transit of Mercury crosses the Sun, the astronomical event set for Monday. The close conjunction of Sun and Mercury – the “transit” of Mercury in the terminology of astronomy – is called “cazimi” in astrology, referred to as “in the heart of the Sun.” Mercury and the Sun both will be at 18˚56’ of Scorpio.

NASA photo of the Mercury Transit, May 9th, 2016. The Transit this month occurs Monday morning, November 11th, 2019, PST.

 Mercury is also moving retrograde now, a necessary condition under the inferior conjunction, so in typical “mercury retrograde fashion,” I’ve been contemplating, reassessing, trying to reconsider what the sign Scorpio means in my birth chart – a good practice I suppose for anybody. What taboo events in my past, dark secrets I carry, undercurrents below the surface of my consciousness, influence my thoughts, my actions with others, and the perspectives I hold of myself in my mind and in my heart? Do they affect my assumptions about life? My abilities to trust others? Again, it would help to see where Mercury is traveling in your own birth chart to find the arena in your life where this plays out. Check planets and/or luminaries at 18˚ to 20˚of fixed signs – Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius for insights as well.

I went to see the movie, Harriet, about the famous abolitionist Harriet Tubman, the other day. The director, Kasi Lemmons and co-screenwriter, Gregory Allen Howard, stressed the strong intuition Harriet possessed, the visions that accompanied her on her journeys along the underground railroad and how God spoke to her through this inner voice. The film is set during a time when Neptune was in Pisces in the mid-19th century. This seems to me oddly characteristic of our own times, with Neptune also currently in Pisces. It takes Neptune 165 years to orbit the Sun and to move through the zodiac. It is impossible to know Harriet Tubman’s birth chart. We don’t even know for certain the year she was born. But she had strong water signatures in her chart undoubtedly, along with a healthy dose of Aries probably, given the radical courage she demonstrated throughout her life. Water signs - Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces – are known for their deep emotions and abilities to feel.

Our current Mercury retrograde in Scorpio asks us to be more like Harriet, to be cognizant of our intuition and recognize psychic impressions. How does the Divine speak to us in personal ways? What directions are waiting there in the omens, messages, and signs that we just need to see? During cazimi, what aspects do the Sun and Mercury make to my own chart? What messages do I need to hear? If you miss cazimi, this Mercury retrograde period, in general, offerings us such intuitive moments; all we got to do is listen.

It may be helpful to consider the Mercury/Sun conjunction and the following Full Moon at 19˚52’ Taurus (Sun then, of course, at 19˚52’ Scorpio) as a time to awaken in us what psychological muck and guck lies below the surface of our consciousness that we might still need to process, how do we bring it to light and how do we face it? How do we then calm ourselves and find some peace? Acting as our own inner detectives might just allow us to do the work necessary to become better agents of change and fighters for our planet, to claim whatever part we play in the collective struggle for a better more viable, more compassionate world. I can imagine this would be especially relevant to folks who may be wrestling with the current passages of Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn, breaking down structures and wiping the slate clean, the Scorpio energy now in a soft sextile, 60˚ aspect, and the Full Moon at a trine, 120˚, to the planets now in Capricorn. What power struggles, hidden agendas, psychological problems do we still need to face? I know I have a closet full of mine.

 Or perhaps we encounter these through others?

Then, again, if you think all the money issues, sexual games, jealousies, power issues, are coming from somebody else, maybe it IS time to do your psychological work. Insert a smiley face emoji here! Now might be the time to flip the coin and see the other side. All of this boils down to good, old fashion detective work exposing the truth in a Scorpio manner…Hmmm. And House Democrats announced they'll be holding the first public hearings during the week ahead in their impeachment inquiry of President Trump. Ah, Mercury in Scorpio.

November 13th, the day after the Full Moon, Mercury retrograde in Scorpio forms a trine, 120˚, to Neptune (this aspect also occurred October 15th and happens again November 28th after the planet turns direct). These are quick Mercury transits that offer Piscean creative vision in combination with the penetrating insights of Mercury retrograde in Scorpio. I couldn’t help but think of the Irish poet and writer, Oscar Wilde, who was born with Mercury in Scorpio in a trine to Neptune in Pisces (Yup, the same passage of Neptune through Pisces as occurred when Tubman encountered her visions. Wilde was born in 1854). Ok, it might seem a bit odd to put Harriet Tubman and Oscar Wilde in the same post, but see if you can follow my logic here…

 Wilde had such a skill at bringing taboo topics to the table – through story-telling, imagery, creative metaphor and, at times, a dark humor, that seemed to push the audience over the edge. One of his most famous works, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), is as much about the darkness hidden in the soul of a man as it is about the vanity of wanting to hold onto youth and beauty. If you are not familiar with the famous story, the main character Dorian falls for every dirty deed, a hedonist who manages to stay young while his portrait, painted by a friend, grows hideously old and decrepit. Oscar Wilde led a troubled life, caused, in part, by his open writing about taboo subjects and a countercultural gay lifestyle a 19th-century audience refused to accept. But his writing was visionary and it revealed deeper truths – not unlike the visions of Harriet Tubman – a path to freedom, in this case a freedom from what keeps us from being whole.

There is something in the sky right now that suggests it is a good time to tap into that same penetrating psychological insight, the truths that make us fully human. It is about that gut feeling, the inner voice in you, suggesting to you what needs to be processed, what needs to be let go of, what fears need to be taken on, in order to be whole. Our intuition may tell us about our soul journey, just like the visions of Harriet Tubman.

What skeletons remain in our closet – the dark, scary portraits of ourselves - do we need to embrace, bring to light, expose – if only to ourselves – so we can be healed, made stronger, made more aware of our inner truths and the truths of others? Mercury retrograde in Scorpio and then direct may give us some clues. The planet goes direct November 20th and remains in its shadow until December 7th. In addition to our own inner detective work possible now, other people and other peoples’ resources, jealousies and power struggles all may surface, along with intimacy, trust and sexual issues – all to help us process our “stuff,” our “baggage.” As usual, it is best to avoid any firm commitments or to sign any contracts, rather use the time to reflect upon what truly lies below the surface and what needs release.

 On a lighter note, Mars in Libra, at 25˚, makes a nice sextile, 60˚ aspect, to Jupiter in Sagittarius, 25˚, several hours after the Full Moon. The aspect is within orb, within play we might say, between November 9th through the 16th. People with planets or critical degrees in late Libra and/or Sagittarius might want to take action in terms of the expansion, opportunities or growth this Jupiter time has been for some folks, again look to the houses in your chart for guidance. Part of the beauty of working through the transformations of the Scorpio processes I described above is the way such cleansing might strengthen what we can do with a flowing aspect of Mars giving a kick, some juice, to Jupiter. Next week, the week of the 18th, Mars’ ingress (entrance) into Scorpio, the planet’s natural comfort zone, puts into more overt action some of the inner psychological work we’ve been doing this month.

 It is a gift to be wounded; it leads to something else. It makes us stronger.

 In the meantime, we can return to the Full Moon in Taurus, a lunar time to help us feel grounded and to acknowledge our creature comforts. As evolutionary astrologer Steven Forrest likes to say, “The Great God Taurus and the Great God Scorpio are sitting on a hill. Scorpio turns to Taurus the Bull and says, “It is all so complicated,” and the Bull sighs and responds, “And it is all so simple.”  Take time for the deeper revelations, the psychological truths – we all got our “baggage”! - then find a beautiful moonrise, take a deep breath, and make it all a pleasure to behold.

Happy Full Moon in Taurus everyone!

Full Moon In Sagittarius: Making the Most of Our Jupiter Time

“Life’s a show and we all play a part. And when the music starts, we open our hearts.”

— Joss Whedon

“Once in a while we get shown the light, in the strangest of places, if you look at it right.”

— Robert Hunter

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HAPPY FULL MOON IN SAGITTARIUS everyone - very early Monday morning, June 17th, 1:31 AM PDT, in Sagittarius, 25˚ 53’. Jupiter, 18˚38’ retrograde in Sagittarius, square Neptune, 18˚43’ Pisces. Mars, 20˚41’, Mercury, 19˚52’ in Cancer, opposing south node 17˚39’, Saturn 18˚48’, and Pluto 22˚32 Capricorn.

There are a number of very strong – potentially difficult – aspects in the sky between planets at the moment, but I don’t want to stress what might be “bad” or “stuck” or “angry” in this post. I had a great night last night dancing with my local friends and community under the moonlight with big, bright Jupiter. So, instead of focusing upon the heavy Mars and Mercury in Cancer opposing the south node, Saturn and Pluto energy, I’m going to write about the Moon in Sagittarius for the hope it brings and for its suggestion of what the current passage of Jupiter in Sagittarius offers us in the months ahead.

Last month I wrote about the current Jupiter / Neptune square, exact this Sunday, June 16th , PDT – Happy Father’s Day! The higher road to take with this square is to allow our minds to observe and teach us how life is an ongoing “movie” of our perceptions – always unfolding around us  - and realize our minds create the reality we experience, what we believe. We can, and continue to be, power players for social change and justice, but it is our thoughts, attitudes and reactions to the “movie” surrounding us daily that can open us to synchronicity and positive change. Enter Jupiter in one of his favorite signs, Sagittarius, giving him strength and us faith and gumption to see “the glass half full” -look to see what House Jupiter is traveling by transit in your birth chart.

Jupiter is at 18˚ 38’ retrograde at the time of the Full Moon, allowing us to retread and reconsider where in life the universe is granting us a chance to see what we can make out of that “half a full glass,” to reevaluate “What do we really want?” – again, refer to your unique chart for the best scenarios for you. Back on April 10th, Jupiter stationed and turned retrograde at 24˚ Sagittarius, close but just shy of reaching where the Moon is full this coming Monday, at 25˚54. This Full Moon gives us a meditation to manifest the ideas, plans, aspirations we hope for as Jupiter again approaches that degree in the zodiac mid-November, this coming fall.

Meanwhile, those with planets in the Cardinal signs, especially Cancer and Capricorn between 15-24˚, try to feel through this time and don’t put too much weight on what appears stuck or blocked. Try to embrace the higher road with the current Jupiter/ Neptune square to see life for what it really is – a series of movie stills – and how we have the power and freedom to control our reactions, our joys, our journeys.

Winds of Jupiter

Here’s a quick illustration of how you can use Jupiter by transit to guide you. It is a personal story, but perhaps it may help. Six years ago, Jupiter was moving through the sign Gemini and traveling through my own 3rd House, house of communication, teaching and perception among other things. My natal Moon is in the 3rd House and I wanted to be close to my mother at the time, because she was close to passing away. Moon is often tied in with one’s mom. Gemini is often associated with siblings, local travel and, as it is a sign ruled by Mercury, mental perceptions and again communication. Knowing the glass was “half full” in these realms, I sought out my brother, Jeff, a filmmaker, to work with me on making a film about African art, to use as a teaching tool in art history, a project that involved a trip to Ireland, and a rare chance to work closely on a collaborative film project with my older bro.

Because, in part, I took the chance to engage my brother, in Gemini fashion, in making the movie, synchronicity opened another door; my brother, it turned out, had done a film already, a few years back, with the very same community who happened to own that very same African art collection – but this time in Tenafly, New Jersey, just across the Hudson River from my mom’s home. This part of the film production with my brother gave me the gift of time and local travel to be near my family at such a critical moment. Synchronicity brought me closer to my mother when she needed me – she died the following fall in November, when the planet Saturn met my natal Neptune in the 8th House. I used the transit (movement of) Jupiter then and it worked for me. It was not “predictive,” so much as it was instructive and it was useful to know. The film, by the way, became part of a successful sabbatical time for me as an art history professor. I learned a lot by being involved with the film’s production. And all of this unfolded, well, just because I bothered to take a look at Jupiter in Gemini, in my 3rd House.

 What does it hurt to look?

Where does this Full Moon in Sagittarius fall in your birth chart? Where is Jupiter currently moving retrograde and what doors of synchronicity may open for you in the months ahead? Blessings on the Full Moon! Blessings on Father’s Day!

Full Moon In Scorpio, Upcoming Jupiter Square Neptune: It's Time We Stop, Hey, What's That Sound, Everybody Look What's Going Down

“I thought I heard a young man moan this mornin’
I thought I heard a young man moan today
I thought I heard a young man moan this mornin’
I can’t walk you out in the morning dew today”

— Morning Dew, folk song by Bonnie Dobson. Opening song by the Grateful Dead at the Human Be-In, January, 1967.

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Full Moon, 27˚39’ Scorpio, Sun, 27˚39’ Taurus Conjunct Mercury, 24˚24’ Taurus, Jupiter retrograde, 22˚12’ Sagittarius, Neptune, 18˚25’ Pisces, 2:11 PM PDT, May 18, 2019. Upcoming: Jupiter, 18˚43’ Sagittarius Square Neptune, 18˚43’ Pisces, 8:18 AM PDT, June 16th, 2019.

I love this old photo of hippies in San Francisco. It fits well into what I want to write and say about our current astrological moment. The light in the image gives me a feeling of the surreal; a sunny day of fun and laughter, but something lies underneath, something in the realm of a passing mood, an intensity of feeling.

You might be thinking, “What does all this have to do with a Scorpio Moon? Where are the scorpions? Where is the telltale sign of the zodiac?” I promise I’ll connect back.

Sometimes I find it intriguing to look back in time and compare an historical moment, what was happening in the sky then, and follow up in my mind with a reflection upon the current moment in terms of astrology. This coming June we have the second in a series of three 90˚ squares between the faster moving planet Jupiter, in Sagittarius, and the slower moving Neptune now in Pisces. Jupiter forms a square with Neptune about roughly every six to seven years, so it has a certain cyclical rhythm to it, though the timing of the exact aspect varies and several can happen in one year, as we have this year, because of retrograde motion. The square first occurred this past January, about two weeks after the start of the New year. Then in April Jupiter turned retrograde (perceived backward motion) and, as I write, the planet is four degrees away from another exact square that will occur on June 16th, Father’s Day. The third hit will happen just before autumn equinox in September, after Jupiter swings direct in August.

I decided to write about this square now, on the Full Moon in Scorpio, rather than when it happens next month, just before the June Full Moon, in part because I believe the historical comparison I make speaks to the nature of Scorpio as a sign – to help us with the feeling of this current Full Moon. But I also hope it helps us contemplate Jupiter’s retrograde passage leading back to the square. Better to have the information now while the energy builds! The stationing, slowing and stopping before moving retrograde, of the planet Neptune at 18˚ the week following the square, strengthens the tension of these two archetypal energies, Sagittarius and Pisces, to the eventual separation of the aspect later in the September. Also during our current Full Moon, Mercury, right now in opposing Taurus, opens us up to ideas and perceptions we might feel on an intuitive level about what this longer phenomenon might mean for us both on an individual and on a collective level.

The time in history I chose is the Summer of Love and then the following fall of the year 1967. The square in the sky between Jupiter and Neptune then shared signs in common elements as the current square in 2019, though the signs, Leo and Scorpio respectively, were, of course, very different from today’s Sagittarius and Pisces. The exact square occurred in early September in ’67. Jupiter had entered Leo briefly in late 1966, turned retrograde, and then when the planet was at 0˚ Leo again, Jupiter graced the infamous San Francisco Human Be-in of January 14th, 1967. Jupiter in Leo – a fire sign that embraces the joie de vivre and celebration of self-expression so characteristic of the moment, all the folks who flocked to San Francisco and embraced hippie culture, the passions of the times, the psychedelic play and performance of the era. Those of that generation, especially those with natal planets in Leo, many with Pluto in the sign when they were born, or those with Leo in their 5th House – must have reveled in enjoying the ride.

Meanwhile Neptune – planet of shared consciousness and mass spiritual sensitivities in the intuitive water sign of Scorpio – brought the intense feelings and awareness always under the surface of the thoughts and memories of those being sent abroad, those killed and maimed in Vietnam, the horrors of war, the suffering and fear and reality that you or those you loved could be next. What a deep, true feeling – so Scorpionic – embodying Neptune’s compassion through its passage through the sign. Somewhere deep below the play and revelry of Jupiter in Leo, demonstrative and heartfelt, if at times ostentatious and loud, wasn’t there always the underlying fact of it all being so fragile? Both pain and pleasure were real.

About a month after the square was exact, when it was waning, on October 6, 1967, the Hippies staged the now famous “Death of a Hippie” – a mock funeral through Haight-Ashbury neighborhood – declaring the media had “sold out” the concept of the Hippie – now a product of mass culture, the Hippie had been appropriated into the mainstream and became an empty shell of the very symbol of the countercultural. The Moon in Scorpio that day, October 6th, triggered the larger Neptune in Scorpio and the sextile to Uranus and Pluto in Virgo; all underscored “death” and truth as radical steps in maintaining the very power for social change embedded in that fun-loving, but in some ways very serious, certainly impactful, self-expressive spirit of a Leo generation.

So how does this relate to 2019? To the passing months surrounding the square now between Jupiter and Neptune? Jupiter currently in Sagittarius – like Leo, a fire sign – brings a passionate enthusiasm, in this case for Sagittarian truths we seek, our philosophical views, our opinions, our quests to understand, while also, at times, a push to adamantly make our beliefs known. Neptune in Pisces, like Scorpio a water sign, feels deeply, but with no boundaries, dissolves our understanding, brings about delusion and confusion – while nurturing a collective desire to connect with what is larger than ourselves, to escape (whether through the current episode of Game of Thrones or, of a more serious concern, through opioid addiction), to find the Divine, the spiritual in a world desperately in need of healing. Passion is muddled with Neptunian confusion and lack of clarity and creates tension with our set notions of what is right, with our higher ideals, especially if we remain rigid to what those ideals and beliefs are.

The timing of this past March’s retrograde passage of Mercury in Pisces and the unfolding dramas of what we learned, or even more so what remained hidden, in the Mueller Report, suggest the difficulties inherent in Neptunian and Piscean communication. The very day, March 24th, that Mercury made a transit to Neptune in Pisces, Attorney General Bill Barr sent his summary to Congress, writing that while the Mueller report "does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him." There seemed a shared frustration many of us felt over the lack of clarity around what is actually in the report. Deception seemed to abound. Donald Trump’s Natal Moon at 21˚ Sagittarius, opposing his Gemini Sun (the President was born on a lunar eclipse), ties him emotionally into proving “he is right” under this upcoming square. Now another critical issue angering so many Americans concerned in protecting a woman’s right to choose, we watch state after state rushing to pass radical anti-abortion laws that even some on the far right are claiming have “gone too far.”

There is such tension now in the world between what we hold to be true individually, among our closed networks of family, peers, neighbors, co-workers and colleagues, and what we need to feel and do collectively for true compassion and change in support of all beings “with a heartbeat” and for the survival of our planet.  

Thinking this way about the astrological moment, the Full Moon in Scorpio or the square between Jupiter and Neptune, in the realm of the collective, is mundane astrology. But I feel it is worth asking “How do we use this square productively in our own lives?” Consider where the square falls in your own natal chart. As Jupiter moves retrograde, can we wrestle with what this means for us individually? A Scorpio Full Moon may help us begin the process with a penetrating intuition into what our hearts hold true.

How do we dissolve ego and feel compassion for the many, while also holding onto our own truths and values? Does “my truth,” my “faith”, where in life I quest for understanding, need to be reevaluated? Or, even more relevant, where do I force my opinion or belief without honoring what others bring to the table?

In what arena have I been underestimating myself? Where do I need to question or expand upon my beliefs, my principles, and how can I act with compassion to make a lasting difference? To me, thinking of new paradigms and opening to ways more constructive to the common good sounds like a much higher road to take with Jupiter and Neptune!

Wishing everyone a great Full Moon!

Vernal Equinox, A Libra Full Moon, The Sun and Chiron: My Values and My Needs Are Part of The Balance!

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“Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It’s all right”

— George Harrison

“Don’t compromise yourself. You’re all you’ve got. ”

— Janis Joplin

Full Moon in Libra 0˚09’, 6:43 PM PDT, Sun 0˚09’ Aries conjunct Chiron at 1˚45, March 20th. Moon quincunx Uranus at 0˚42’ Taurus.

Sometimes life just seems to be about navigating that fine balance we create with others, while we also defend what we hold true in ourselves and what we value in our world. There is a lot going on in the current sky to suggest we are dealing with the raw emotions behind this basic premise – we are all in this cosmic balancing act with those we encounter every day. How do we hold onto and defend our truth, be the enlightened warrior, be our authentic self? Claim our right to take up space?

March 20th is a packed day this year. Vernal Equinox, marking International Astrology Day, occurs a few hours before the Full Moon in Libra, here on the West Coast at 6:43 PM PDT. And, yes, we also have the last of this year’s ‘Super Moons’ when the Moon is at perigee and close to the Earth. Sun at 0˚09’ Aries, the first day of Spring in the northern hemisphere, is conjunct Chiron at 1˚45’. Spring Equinox every year – when light and dark are “Equi” – equal – between “nox” - night and day, also begins the “New year” in the astrological calendar – the first day of the Sun in Aries, the first sign of the zodiac.

 Aries says let’s take action with a passionate, fiery expression of the soul! The Sun is in opposition, like a seesaw, a balance, a scale, with the Moon in Libra, a sign that seeks beauty, peace, and harmony between bodies and souls. At this lunar time, we feel this polarity. Chiron, the wounded healer, also in Aries, further offers us a look to see our own insecurities or hesitancies to put our “self” forward, when some “thing,” some part of our “self,” something we cherish, needs defending.

 What principles or parts of ourselves seek healing and protection? The Moon forms a quincunx – a 150˚ aspect – to Uranus at 0˚42’ Taurus when the Moon is Full, so it helps to look to see where 0˚ Taurus falls in your natal chart. The sign Taurus likes creature comforts that bring pleasure, peace and stability into our lives. Uranus wants to rattle these up and awaken us. And with the Full Moon’s quincunx to the planet, there is a little bit of tension in us that seeks integration of our fixed ideas of what makes us feel secure, comfortable and grounded -  what we value – and what ideas or values jive with happiness in our closest relationships.

 Want to wear socks with sandals, but your partner hates the fashion? Want to go nude in the hot tub, but roommate says cover up? Peace and balance come through relationship, but they also come through honoring self and the basic actions of simply being “me”.

Planets or critical degrees in early Taurus (or in the early degrees of fixed signs - Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius) may be up for release under the transit of Uranus this spring. For me, it helps to consider this part of my chart where Taurus lies and think: Where have I been stuck? Where do I need to be shaken and challenged? Then add the quick-moving Full Moon in Libra to wrestle with the dance we do with others – how is balancing the scales, the give and take with my close ones, feeding my individual needs? The “real” me? Or is it cutting or closing me down or avoiding the healing I need?

For example, with planets or the luminaries (Sun or Moon) in Taurus in the natal chart, one might revel in the pleasures of music. Taurus is ruled by the planet Venus and the sign often brings pure comfort and joy when creativity through music is part of the life. The Uranus transit may awaken a new passion or direction in musical expression, while the Full Moon in Libra adds to the mix the social dynamics we feel and encounter as we engage in innovation and work with our band mates to bring and embrace change - or failing to get our friends’ support, we feel wounded and stuck.

Recently, the slow-moving planet Uranus moved into the sign of Taurus. It changes signs about every 7 years. Last spring, Uranus entered Taurus for several months before appearing to move retrograde back into Aries, and then finally entered Taurus again March 6th of this year. This long, impactful shift in energy reflects a much-needed change of our personal and collective values. How in tune are we really to our physical needs, to our connection to nature, to our ability to just ‘be’? This shift also affects the way we see our resources and, hopefully, how we honor the Earth and approach our home planet’s gifts and blessings. How do we feel collectively about “material things” and what truly has meaning in creating the life we want?

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL ASTROLOGY DAY! Happy Full Moon in Libra –Wishing everyone a great SPRING EQUINOX!

Full Moon in Virgo, Pisces Season: RBG, the Divine in Becoming the Master Craftsperson

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“There’s a sense that time is precious and you should enjoy and thrive in what you are doing to the hilt”

— Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Sun Enters Pisces, 3:04 PM, February 18th, Full Moon in Virgo, 0˚42’, 7:54 AM, February 19th, Mercury enters Pisces, February 10th, 2:51 AM, Chiron enters Aries, 4:00 AM, February 18th, New Moon, 15 47’ Pisces, 8:04 AM, March 6th, Moon conjunct Neptune, 8:48 AM, Sun conjunct Neptune, 5:01 PM, March 6th, 2019. PST.

Happy Full Moon in Virgo everyone…The Moon is full at 0˚42’ Virgo at 7:54 AM, February 19th, PST, with the Sun entering Pisces the day before, February 18th. Like some of you, perhaps, I have been thinking about the upcoming Oscar ceremony and the various nominated films. A favorite of mine, RBG, directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen, has been nominated for the Academy Award, Best documentary. I am rooting for Ruth!!! I thought I’d mention her now because her birth chart reflects our current Pisces season, just beginning, and the beauty of the polarity between Virgo and Pisces – two signs opposing one another in the zodiac.

How perfect for the current Full Moon! The very beginning of Virgo suggests an awakening, an emergence, a fresh and naïve initiation into where we want to serve, where we seek to master our abilities and become the “master craftsperson.” The Moon moves quickly so the Full Moon in early Virgo is a momentary meditation on where our heart says “develop your skills,” so to become what the universe is asking you to be.

The Sun is in Pisces now until the next Full Moon in March on the Vernal Equinox, March 20th. Accompanied by Mercury, in the sign since February 10th, both meet up with slow-moving Neptune, Mercury on February 18th, the Sun and New Moon on March 6th. Also on February 18th, slower moving Chiron leaves Pisces and enters Aries.

Let’s take a quick look at Justice Ginsburg, the “Notorious RBG,” hardly a typical Pisces! Ruth was born March 15, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York; I don’t have the birth time. The last sign of the zodiac, Pisces, an emotional water sign, is about the dissolving a ‘self’ or ego, an opening to deep compassion and to visionary realms beyond boundaries, including a tapping into the larger collective consciousness. Justice Ginsburg’s Sun is in Pisces along with her natal Venus at mid-Pisces, where currently the planet Neptune is moving by transit. Neptune has such a way of connecting with the larger collective! Her popular appeal has never been greater – two films about her have recently been released (Neptune rules the artistry of film) and Venus attracts us to her – her compassionate gift of tireless dedication to hard work in support of justice, especially for women, but we could argue for all of those most vulnerable, and to her spirit as warrior. Enter Mars…

Why notorious RBG on a Full Moon in Virgo? Ruth has the planet Mars conjunct Neptune and her south node of the Moon, along with her Jupiter in Virgo, the sign opposing 180˚ to Pisces; this all resembles the mood we will experience this Full Moon. There is an old biblical story of Martha and Mary that so embodies the polarity of Virgo and Pisces. Martha, the ever-working spirit of service, in balance with her sister, Mary, who embodies the feeling heart of prayer; both equal devotees, both a worthy path.

When we have planets in the sign of Virgo, we strive for the best, we work hard with precision and develop analytical skill so, in the case of Justice Ginsburg, she is able to compose brilliant arguments with exactitude, that put into place laws in pursuit of what is truly just (RBG has a Scorpio natal Moon; she seeks truth with the heart of a passionate detective!). The writer, Malcolm Gladwell, coined the expression, “10,000 hours,” the effort it takes to master a craft. Like Martha, always servant to her Lord, Ginsburg hones in on the innate Virgonian-focused effort to put her will (Mars) and her visions (Neptune) for social change into action.

Jupiter, also in Virgo in her birth chart, allows RBG opportunities to question and wrestle with what we collectively value, our faith, in what is just and right. And Justice Ginsburg has Saturn in Aquarius – one of the co-rulers of Saturn, Aquarius strengthens the planet here – taking on obstacles earlier in her career (Saturn can be blockage), she claims the role of elder in radical social change (I would argue her Saturn falls close to her MC, her midheaven – the most public area of her chart - though I do not have her birth time). By the way, when she was appointed Supreme Court Justice in August, 1993, the planets Uranus and Neptune, together in Capricorn, formed a trine, 120˚ aspect, to RBG’s natal Jupiter, grounding her radical visions in a position of authority and power in the highest court in the country.

This February also marks Chiron’s entrance into Aries. RBG has her natal Mercury (conjunct Eris) and Uranus in Aries. The sign gives her the perceptions and voice (Mercury) of a revolutionary (Uranus) woman warrior (Aries) with the courage to fight on the frontlines. Collectively, now, we are all asked to combat our fears, move beyond wounds of doubt, and to be strong healing warriors (Chiron) in a world so in need of action and change. Those who are celebrating their 50th birthday this year may value especially this point most in their hearts.

Late February and early March grace us with a “Mary time,” a Piscean and Neptunian season of sorts, for our own meditations and reflections. But I say let’s use this Full Moon – seek how we all can “serve like Martha” or maybe, just maybe, with our 10,000 hours, be just a little bit of the “master craftswoman” of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Collectively, now and in the near future, we are confronted again with strong energies in Capricorn – as RBG encountered Uranus and Neptune in 1993, in 2020 it will be Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto  – time to hope, not fear, and create and transform ourselves so that each of us can be agents for change!

Many Blessings for the Full Moon!!!!

We Can Only Look Behind From Where We Came: Partial Solar Eclipse in Capricorn, January 5th, 2019

“And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We’re captive on the carousel of time
We can’t return we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game ”

— Joni Mitchell

New Moon in Capricorn, 15˚ 25’ 5:28 PM, PST, January 5th, 2019. Saturn, Capricorn, 11˚ 58’ and Pluto, Capricorn, 20˚ 46’. Partial Solar Eclipse.

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Life is funny sometimes; how it brings back the past, reconfigures it and then touches us to move ahead into something new. There is a partial solar eclipse this Saturday, January 5th, at 5:28 PM PST, a New Moon in Capricorn, 15 degrees. It is part of a set or family of eclipses occurring in Cancer/Capricorn through 2020. It won’t be visible here in California nor will it make much of a splash as the Super Moon lunar eclipse probably will later in the month. But it is a very special one for me because of the particular degree and area in the zodiac it occurs. Synchronicity and an old photograph, a slide, gave me a chance to learn.

Many years ago, I was an art history professor at a university and I was putting together a lecture with slides. It was a time of pre-digital imagery; finding good, clear pictures with proper color of paintings was always a challenge, something we take for granted today. I had a few slides of very good quality that my father had taken and had gifted to me before he died. 

I was working on a talk about iconography, subject matter, that included this painting below. It is a famous one by Georges de La Tour, a 17th-century French painter, a master of capturing light. It shows Saint Joseph as a teacher, an intimate scene of “father” - stepfather, mentor - and Son, Jesus. I really loved the slide. My Dad had taken it in the Louvre in Paris, where the painting still lives today. Old Kodachrome slides have dates printed on them and on the cardboard was stamped, “July, 1963.” I realized then in my heart, as I stared at the slide, that I was there that day with my parents, so close in that museum, in front of that painting. You see I was in my mama’s womb, about 4 months old, that summer. I heard my father and mother discuss composition, light and the beauty of the art they saw together as he captured it on film. I was born in December later that year.

In July, 1963, the same month as my “in utero” visit to the Louvre, the lunar eclipse was at Capricorn 14 degrees, one degree off from where the solar eclipse is this coming weekend. Both eclipses conjunct my natal 11th House Mars at 17 Capricorn, Mercury at 20. Both also conjunct my south node of the Moon, at 11 Capricorn, and Sun, 6, in the 10th House. The solar eclipse occurred later that month at 27 degrees of Cancer, the one that preceded JFK’s assassination. Considered my “prenatal eclipse,” the one closest to the time of my birth, this one fell in my 5th House, house of joy and creative expression. The sign Cancer embodied the nurturing love I received from my parents, who encouraged me to think, write and embrace who I am. Prenatal eclipses seem to amplify the part of our birth chart that they touch. Current eclipses can bring into focus something new or something not previously seen.

I loved my father and I loved art history…and his words infused me then and moved me to create the life work that gave my soul meaning. When I reflect back upon the eclipses, it helps me to feel my family is still with me and that they give me strength and support in what I do. With this weekend’s solar eclipse, I feel I am changing. I am finding a new voice, a new direction, a Mars one. Where does the eclipse fall in your chart? A New Moon grants us a time to set intentions, have hope, new visions. With Saturn and Pluto in conjunction with the Sun and Moon this weekend, we can make intentions real with hard work, effort and perseverance. We may feel alone and our goals hard to reach. Just don’t give up; challenges lead us to transform and let us align with who we are becoming.

Astronomers and astrologers alike seem to love the Saros - the period or cycle of roughly 18 years that can be used to predict eclipses, solar and lunar. But I am always surprised by how most of the general public has no idea about them. Even the word “Saros” is a bit of a mystery to most I meet. The cycles of eclipses, how they repeat, not exactly, but so close to degree and in geometry, is very old sacred knowledge indeed. I’m pretty naive about it all and I don’t know a lot. There are plenty of folks online - astronomers and astrologers - who can tell you much more. My examples – lunar and solar in 1963 and just one solar in 2019 do not correspond to the same Saros cycle. But simply knowing about eclipses, how they appear to repeat, and how they can touch your birth chart, can be very meaningful and helpful. You just have to look…or have someone help you see them. Awareness of the past, and where we come from, just might open us to new paths now and in the future. Maybe your prenatal eclipse has something to say?