Turning It Up to *Eleven*

A word from our Creatrix: 

Hello again. I have been busy dealing with Life on Life's Terms for a while now: a second wave of Long Covid, the death of a good friend, and other personal shenanigans. I will be posting the deets on my personal Substack blog shortly; in the meantime, I intend to get back in the metaphysical saddle here. Please enjoy this post.

The first harvest of this Harvest Season is coming in hot and heavy, with the planets weaving patterns that promise some intensity over these next two weeks, to go along with everything else that has unfolded thus far: Jupiter x Uranus in April! Jupiter entered Gemini in May! We had an astrological Blue Moon in Capricorn in July! We've witnessed the stoking of the Dragon's Fire throughout the Summer, and shall we mention our frenemy Mercury Retrograde, which helped kick off this month? 

Let us break down the upcoming movements into easier to digest pieces...

First: Mars (in Gemini) is going to get a boost in energy in a favorable meeting with Jupiter (also in Gemini) on the 14th; then it will have an "Irresistable Force vs Immovable Object" moment when it has a less than favorable meeting with Saturn (in Pisces) on the 15th. As the Sun is in Leo, and Mercury will be sliding backwards into Leo (also on the 14th), expect the blowhards among us to bloviate at high volume, especially this week and next week. Now is our time to go into Observation Mode: watching, listening, noting, but not initiating any new plans just yet. We measure twice before we cut once.

Moving to the 18th: Mercury (the Communicator) and Uranus (the Disruptor) promise to spark outrageous words that will be flung around the internet, just before Venus follows Mars' lead in meeting with Jupiter and Saturn consecutively. Here, we are well served to double down on those things that help spark Joy in our lives, and take everything we hear with at least a grain of salt, if not an entire salt block.

The 19th gives Uranus the spotlight in the Sun, along with a Full Moon in Aquarius. Our dreams will be wild, showing us grand visions of Utopia and Dystopia, perhaps alternating through the night. Jupiter and Saturn themselves face off on this day as well: wild and free energy clashing with well defined boundaries. Friction, much? This will be a great day for Airplane Mode, on our phones and in our lives.

Venus and Mars will engage in a "Lover's Spat" on the 22nd, but the sun will be entering Virgo that day as well. Look for cooler heads to start prevailing at last as we gather up all of the puzzle pieces dropped into our laps over the past few weeks and start putting them together. 

Our time of respite will only last through the rest of this month, though, because Pluto will retrograde back into Capricorn at the start of September and bring us our "Pop Quiz." Between September and November, the direction we choose to go in, especially in the United States, will determine the degree of difficulty we will be moving through in the next critical year. 2025 is going to be Significant. More will be revealed in due time...

Cosmic Whitewater Rafting

Personal Note: I was not expecting to be absent for so long, but Chiron (which is a key player in this post) opened a big door of healing for me this past February, and I've been taking extra care of my physical health. It wasn't anything apocalyptic or life-threatening, but some issues were brought to my attention, and I needed to find some solutions. All is on the road of improvement now, so without further ado, here is a look at current conditions...

Aries new moon eclipse! With a Chiron conjunction to the Sun! During Mercury Retrograde! Today (April 8th)! There is indeed a lot going on, so let's put aside the exclamation points and look at some of the details.

First, the solar eclipse at the North Node. When the moon reaches its northernmost point in relation to its orbit around Earth, and the pair's orbit around the sun, the moon will get in between the sun and Earth and appear to "swallow" the sun for a brief time. (When the Earth is between the moon and the sun, we get a lunar eclipse, where the moon can turn a dark shade of ochre, and perhaps disappear briefly from the night sky.) Solar eclipses allow us to see our Shadow Material more clearly, and in the case of an eclipse in Aries, there can be some extra drama in the Grand Reveal.

The Shadows revealed will be extra thanks to Pluto, when it opened up all the "Shadow Closets" last year in its retrograde journey through Capricorn, and we saw where all of the skeletons had been hiding. To our advantage, however, Chiron's conjunction to the sun (its cazimi moment) can give us vital clues about how to transform that stuck and fearful Shadow Material into something if not lighter, at least not as damaging. (I have the reading which discusses this more in depth.)

Mercury Retrograde contributes to the mix by providing a "wait and see" attitude to what rises to the surface following this eclipse. Normally, Aries is not a wait-and-see sign, but this is definitely a case of an Irresistable Force meeting an Immovable Object, both now (with the eclipse proper) and later, when Mars conjoins Saturn this Wednesday (April 10th). The key is to avoid spinning our wheels so much that we do damage to our overall mechanism, so downshifting and dialing back this week are very good ideas. 

Mercury will have its own cazimi on Thursday (April 11th), and if we can arrange to be in the eye of the storm, we might get a few insights and epiphanies as to how we can move forward, especially in our healing journeys. Acting on these insights might not be possible right away, but momentum will begin to build starting on April 20th, when Jupiter conjoins Uranus, then really pick up when Mercury stations direct on April 25th. For the record, Earth Day is on April 22nd, so be open to receiving new insights around addressing urgent climate challenges and healing our homeworld, especially between the 20th and the 25th.

April will end on a positive note, as Venus moves into Taurus on the 29th and invites us to remember the Creature Comforts. Mars will move into Aries on the 30th and shift from the inner dreamscape of the Shaman to the outer world of the Warrior, giving us much needed fuel to put some of our ideas and plans into Action. In this moment, have patience, be extra gentle with the Shadow Material, and dare to dream of kinder, gentler realities. Until next time...

Double Cazimi, Double Renewal

There is a significant astrological event happening on the 28th: a double cazimi with both Mercury and Saturn conjoining the Sun on that day. Let's break it down:

Cazimi means "in the heart of." It was once believed that the planets had an interval where they moved into and through the Sun, so they could be fully illuminated and cleansed by the Solar rays. While Mercury has a cazimi moment several times through the year, Saturn's cazimi is annual - and two planets having a cazimi moment on the same day is pretty rare and special.

Mercury is the Communicator, and Saturn is the Taskmaster and Boundary-Keeper. They will both be illuminated at the same time that Jupiter, the Amplifier, is going to be in a favorable position with both planets. Mercury's cazimi is first, then Saturn's, and these two will conjoin with each other in between. All some potentially powerful stuff going down during the season of Pisces, the astrological time when Dreaming and Intuition are strongest.

So...keep that dream journal next to your bedside this week. Be alert for snippets of overheard conversation or unusual animal sightings that might lead to aha! moments of clarity and insight. Cast a reading for yourself with your special method of Divination. Look over those creative projects that have been percolating on the back burner - is there one that's ready to be brought forward and worked upon until it's complete? Are you ready to commit whole-heartedly to something this year?

My intent is to post a special Double Cazimi reading later this week, so Watch This Space for that to arise...

Return of the Dragon and Meetings of the Minds

We have some primo "Reset Button" opportunities on tap if your New Year's revolutions have gone flat, or never really got off the ground in the first place.

First, we had the start of the Year of the Dragon (Lunar New Year) for many Asian cultures this past Saturday (2/10). Dragons, though they may be mythical, are high energy creatures. They are found in just about every culture on the planet. They are part of the Primal Feminine symbology of the Serpent, which also includes the Snake (and the Snake follows the Dragon in 2025 in the Asian lunar calendar). They are known for their great Wisdom (in Asian cultures) and great Power (in European cultures). 

The Dragon's energy gives the current astrology a significant boost. We behold Pluto sitting at 0 degrees Aquarius, aka the "gateway" position. The inner planets are also entering Aquarius at this time: Mercury entered last week, Mars entered yesterday, and Venus will enter on Friday. All three of these planets have made or will make a conjunction to Pluto; expect enhanced depth and truth telling around communications, ambitions, and relationships, respectively - all through the Dragon's eye. Previous Dragon years have been: 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, and 2012. Take a moment to consider what was happening historically and culturally during those previous years to get an idea of what might unfold for us this year. 

For an additional perspective on the energies currently unfolding, I did a New Moon in Aquarius reading recently. I can supposedly upload videos directly from YouTube to this blog now, so we'll see if this works! Special Dragon reading coming soon...

 

Pluto in Aquarius, Full Moon in Leo, and More...

Greetings to all! My apologies for the inadvertent "radio silence" over the last little while. I was sick almost all of December and have been sick for part of this month as well. I seem to be turning a corner at last, so please enjoy this update as I get back to a "normal" posting schedule...

To set the stage: Mars in Capricorn has been a cosmic "CEO," getting things done with precision. Venus will be joining Mars in Capricorn tomorrow to put her own precise spin on our relationships. Mercury stationed direct at the start of the year and communications are now clear and back on track. The Sun moved into Aquarius on Saturday (1/20), bringing a bit of "fresh air" to our Winter coziness. 

Just before the Sun moved into Aquarius, Pluto had its cazimi moment, when it appeared to move into the Sun and come out of the cold. Pluto then followed the Sun into Aquarius, taking up the plotlines that were started last year. Before we consider what Pluto might do, let us consider what it did...

With its first foray into Aquarius last year, Artificial Intelligence seemed to leap from the pages of science fiction into the Collective zeitgeist, provoking excitement and dread in equal measure. Then it retrograded back into Capricorn and had perhaps an even bigger impact. I mentioned last year that Pluto would be attending to "unfinished business." While it did not retrograde all the way back to its Return point in the stars (where it last was in 1776, the year the United States was founded), it did return to the same degree in mid-October - and then dug deep into the Collective Unconscious.

As Pluto traveled forward again, a ton of biases, -isms, -phobias, and prejudices erupted into the greater Awareness. If you thought people were less friendly and more snarly, and more ready to show their previously concealed bigotries, you are absolutely correct. With Pluto moving back into Aquarius, this significantly stuck Shadow material has now been dumped into our laps, and we are once again challenged: What are we going to do with this material?

Note that Pluto will be retrograde again in Capricorn September through November this year, as the 2024 American Presidential Election process reaches its peak. This feels like a "pop quiz" for humanity, especially those of us who live in the US of A. The choice we make here just might be one for the ages. As we get closer to time, we'll discuss this, and the other planetary influences which will make this one of the most interesting elections we've had.

Returning to current events: we have a full moon in Leo on Thursday (1/25). This moon will be flamboyant and loud, with the potential to be extra spicy. Expect some hyperbole and "Method Acting" to unfold in the days that follow. Personally, feel free to experiment with adding some va-va-voom! to your life at this time, even if it only goes as far as taking a selfie while wearing the most outrageous outfit in your closet and sharing the pic with your BFF.

Uranus stations direct on Friday, officially bringing an end to the previous year's Retrograde Parade and ushering in what I call the period of Go Time, when all of the planets are "moving forward" in the skies. The energy corresponds with the Quickening of Imbolc, as Winter begins to be thawed by Spring (and Summer begins to cool into Autumn below the Equator). Consider this a "reset button" opportunity if New Year's projects and/or resolutions have stalled out. 

This year, Go Time lasts until April 1st, when Mercury has its first full retrograde period of 2024. Before then, we will have the beginning of the Asian Lunar New Year, with the arrival of Dragon energy. Look for a new post around the start of February; in the meantime, to acknowledge the significance of Pluto in Aquarius, here is a bonus reading for your consideration...