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FULL HARVEST MOON TONIGHT!

How many ways can you say emotional? Tonight the Full Moon is in Pisces and is in conjunction with the wounded warrior Chiron. A Pisces Full Moon is always an emotional time as it occurs in the month when we go from the full bloom of summer to the dying process of autumn. While this is indicative of the entire birth-death-rebirth process of life, there is something sad to many of us when we see it materialize before us. Pisces is the dreamer sign and the sign that tends toward feeling victimized. It is easy to just pout and dream of the recently gone summer days then get on with life during this transit.

The Moon with Chiron, the asteroid of the wounded warrior, where we keep our deepest pain submerged from ourselves, creates a lot of stick our head in the sand and dream of a prettier world type of energy. Chiron in Pisces stirs up painful memories of the long ago and far away, that we would rather keep buried.

Those people prone to depression, drug dependency and other escapist temptations should be very careful for the next few days. This is a highly emotional time of balancing deep feelings and can be too much for those easily effected by this type of upheaval.

If you need to keep your eye on something for stabilization use that Virgo Sun. Virgo is the worker of the zodiac, the practical, Earth Keeper. Hey, there is a good idea, get out of your sadness and go do something good for Mother Earth. Harvest the last of your garden; go buy some winter rye to protect it this winter. If you do not have a garden then visit a farmers market, get some mums for your front door. Go dig up your mother’s favorite autumn recipe and balance the sadness with fond memories.

Speaking of a good and happy autumnal recipe check out my:

Zucchini, Chocolate Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen large cookies

1-cup applesauce

2 eggs plus 1 egg white

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups coconut flour

1-cup chocolate chips

½-cup coconut flakes

1-teaspoon baking soda

½-teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups grated zucchini

2 teaspoons nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray cookie sheets with cooking spray or line with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, mix well the ingredients except the zucchini. Once well mixed, fold in the grated zucchini. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

These freeze well!

Joan and Johnny - the Feud

With the sudden death of Joan Rivers, I decided to look at her battle with Johnny Carson that lives as one of the Hollywood's great feuds. The story unfolded when, after years of being his fill in host, Joan Rivers took a job with the new Fox Network to host her own late night show. According to Rivers, she had inside information that NBC would never give the show to a woman and her contract was ending. Whatever the details, Carson hung up the phone when she called him and never spoke to her again. 

Karma anyone?

Of course, I had to look at their charts to see what forces could have led to him first giving her career the boost it needed to take off and then almost destroy it. 

The biwheel of their chart tells me three things immediately - karma, power and jobs. Let's do the juicy stuff first - karma. Her retrograded Juno, the goddess of loyalty and partnership, is on his Mars, the warrior, in the 12th house. There is no more karma house that the 12th because it connects us to the universe and carries our karmic history. Hmm, it seems like this played out once before. She was in an inferior position (because of the retrograde) and royally annoyed him by defying his power. Mars is the leader, the epitome of male energy, so it seems Johnny just didn't like this happening again! I wonder if they are doomed to repeat the situation although she always said she appreciated what he did for her career and a good deal of pain over the whole thing. Has he moved on? Guess we will have to wait and see.

OK we had karma how about power? Look at the eighth house, the house of personal power. He had Pallas and Vesta there, ironically they are two female asteroids named for the goddess of war and the goddess of the devotion to a cause, respectively.  These two gals gave him drive and determination as Vesta gives us the desire to overcome all obstacles. However, right on top of these powerhouses are Joan's Sun, Mercury and Venus; her inner energy, her communication skills and her creative energy. That makes sense in light of the encouragement he gave her to reach her creative goals in the entertainment business. I do find it funny that they have their Vesta's in conjunction meaning they could have - and they did indeed- work together for a long time to overcome power obstacles. He boosted her career and she was a reliable co-host. However, playing with that much energy and that much power is a little bit like dancing with burning torches - you can get seriously burned at any time. 

Finally, Carson had a retrograded Chiron in Aries, the wounded warrior, in his 6th house, the house of day-to-day work. This accounted for his colossal temperament and touchiness when on the job. He was carrying an enormous chip on his shoulder in the workplace. Mars rules Aries and he was always looking for people who were threatening his power. Well along comes her Uranus, the rebel and it plunked right down on that wound issue. Uranus is the rebellious teenager of the Zodiac. Who better to stick a pin in Aries ego?

The stars show the battle that ensued. Why there was no kiss and make up between the two might have something to do with his Mars and Saturn in stubborn and vengeful Scorpio in the first house. Mars and Saturn in conjunction is not a good placement - it is warrior energy and authoritarian energy (see my recent blogs on the current Mars/Saturn conjunction and the havoc is it causing to the planet right now.) Johnny may have been the king of late night but he was a difficult man, a secretive man, an insecure man and a man of vengeance. She got on his wrong side and there was no going back.

Maybe now - maybe now - they can meet on the other side and put a stop to this. Maybe...

Robert Smalls from Slave to Member of Congress

In reading my “American History Magazine,” I came across the name of a man I am ashamed to say I never heard of before. Robert Smalls was born a slave on April 5, 1839 in Beaufort, South Carolina, although his father was likely the owner of the plantation. While we do not have his birth time, it is a small miracle that we even have the correct date and location, as such things were not bothered with much when dealing with a slave birth.

In May of 1862, Smalls commandeered the CSS Planter when the white crew went on shore. Using his skills as a seaman, he steered the boat past Confederate guards and toward the Union ships blockading Charleston harbor to freedom. He would be the first African American appointed captain of a military ship and would go on to lobby President Lincoln to allow black soldiers into the army.

With the Civil War over, Smalls served first in the South Carolina legislature where he was instrumental in establishing the first free and compulsory public school system in the United States in South Carolina and help found the Republican Party of South Carolina. In 1874, South Carolina elected him to the United States House of Representatives.  (Note that was when the Republican Party was for universal suffrage and freedom.)

A personal moment of great satisfaction came in 1863 he purchased the home of his former owner and father Henry McKee for his mother. Members of the Smalls family would live there for 90 years and the house is now part of the National Historic Trust.

Even without his birth time there is a lot we can learn astrologically about Robert Smalls. He was born with the Sun in Aries, of course; however, his Sun also makes a strong conjunction to Pluto. Pluto Sun conjunctions in birth charts are indicators that person must undergo change in their lifetime. This doesn’t mean everyone will – we have to take into account that pesky idea of free will – however, if one is attuned to that energy the possibilities for growth and change are endless.

I find his retrograded Mars in Virgo very interesting. Mars does not enjoy being in Virgo. It is after all the warrior, the fighter and Virgo is far too reticent for battling Mars. Add to that a retrograde, an inward motion and a karmic pause that often makes people unable to channel their anger. He could have seethed under slavery and given up but he use his Aries Sun and heeded the call of Pluto to make great changes for himself and his society.

This is an important point about retrogrades. Too often people use them as excuses. They take on an attitude of I cannot do anything about this situation because I have a retrograde and well it stops me. No! Retrogrades are meant to be overcome. Smalls’ master and father hired him out in Charleston when Robert was just 12 years old. Over the years, became a lamplighter on Charleston's streets and then became a stevedore and a wheelman. There is something very “Shawshank Redemption” in him using his Aries spark and that Mars in retrograde to control his emotions, learn the trades and build the knowledge he needed to utilize when the moment for freedom presented itself.

With a South Node in Virgo, Smalls had experienced service before. Not necessarily a slave in prior lives, he was someone who was honed skills of hard work and common sense. Someone with a South Node in Virgo is moving toward a Pisces North Node – going from service to a particular person or career to large, worldly and other worldly issues. It is moving from life of control over a small portion of Earth to letting go and taking a risk – reaching out and trusting the universe will protect you. He did that on that night in Charleston and his continued work on behalf of newly freed slaves showed his continued dedication to powerful issues of the time.

Robert Smalls died in Beaufort at the age of 75 in 1915.

August 25 - The New Moon - No More Excuses.

We have a new Moon coming up today. The New Moon is a good time for setting intentions and decide on ways we will manifest those intentions. This New Moon is in Virgo – the worker bee of the zodiac – and the health maven of the zodiac. Think of Virgo as the one who has control over how you feed, work and care for the body. SO – what a great time – as we head into fall – to make the intentions for better health – avoid winter overeating -- and better work habits.

Now here is the trick. We now have a very strong - Mars/Saturn conjunction in the very intense sign of Scorpio. Mars and Saturn is one of the true malefic in the zodiac because they bring about the intense force of Mars, the god of war, and Saturn, the cold task master. It is the classic smash up of hot and cold. If I see Mars and Saturn clashing in marriage charts I always have to raise the touchy question of abuse. Think militaristic task master! Yes, this is activating Issus, Ferguson – you name it.

Ah, but you know how I hate to talk about the negatives only and we can use this force for good! IF the tragedy of Ferguson leads to a constructive change in police tactics and the militarization of police forces and finally to some racial understanding – that we can make an evolutionary jump.

If Congress can stop bickering and help the President address Issus and Syria – well, I can hope can’t I?

For each of us personally – think of where you need to be a task master with your health, your body, your eating habits, and your work. Where have you been slacking off? Where do you need to make some hard decisions? Scorpio is the sign of going within and making deep and profound changes. Mars used to the ruler of Scorpio before poor beleaguered Pluto came into our view – as was Saturn long ago.  This is a time to make WONDERFUL changes that you have been avoiding. No excuses anymore.

Here is my Pluto in Capricorn note: I get so many questions about the world falling apart around us and keep having to say Pluto in Capricorn gang – so I decided to add a little periodic Pluto note to my blogs. Pluto in Capricorn brings changes to authority structures. We saw that with President Obama’s election and the subsequent Tea Party backlash. We saw it with the banking system collapse. Now we are seeing it with the police. Change is not always good – I don’t’ think any long term good has come from the banking collapse – we are still destroying the middle class. Will that be the change or will we adopt more populist movements in the upcoming years? That is up to us! 

Uranus Square Pluto Until 2015 - How Can We Forget?

A client recently sent me an email in which she bemoaned the rise of ISIS and the general nonsense in the world. She reminded me of a blog entry I made in April during the dreaded “grand cross” when I said we don’t know what evil is being brewed up now that will come to light in the near future. She asked me could this be ISIS. Yes, of course, it could. However, I don’t want to lose sight of the bigger issue here and that is the blasted Uranus-Pluto square that has been going on since 2012 and will continue until well into 2015.

Uranus is quick electric change – the desire to leap ahead and progress at all costs and Pluto is slow, grinding meticulous change. To say it another way it is radical vs. conservative, slow against fast. No matter how you put it there are two forces that don’t agree clashing up against one another. The last Uranus Pluto Square was in 1933 – 1934. Does anyone remember someone named Hitler – who rose from the German ashes of WW I and promised fast change and a new way? Yeah, it isn’t a pretty time. 

With Pluto now in Capricorn, the sign of government and authority, we are seeing the clashes. The clashes are in the middle East,  in the Ukraine and yes, in Missouri, where people are tired of the old way, tired of feeling marginalized and may jump at any chance to follow any movement, any person who promises a new way – now.

I refuse to predict the gloom and doom repeat of 1933. I hate astrologers who say everything must happen the same way again and again. That is absurd. We are seeing positive government changes here with the rise of the acceptance of LGBT marriages and hopefully the empowering via the voting booth of minorities and women to finally put an end to “fuddy-duddy” politicians. Perhaps out of the anger over more shootings of African American men we can see more people expressing their anger at the voting booth!

The US is in it's Pluto return - meaning Pluto is back where it was in 1776 when we broke away from England. That is something that always brings great change - we are transforming as a nation - and no matter what people want - we will never go back. By 2040 we will not be a white majority nation no matter what the Tea Party wants. This is adding to the tinderbox. 

The Middle East, the Ukraine? We are talking about centuries of tribal warfare. Will Iraq fall apart? Will ISIS take more control of areas? Will Afghanistan come under the rule of Taliban 2? Well those of us who predicted disastrous outcomes to our intervention in the Iraq kind of always knew falling apart would be a distinct possibility.

The key to remember is to keep your head together during this time and keep YOUR eye on the positive change you want to be and see. The more of us who are aware and remain centered the better we all have to get through this for the most part with positive, albeit painful, change at the end of the square.

Robin Williams - The Two Faces of Pisces Duality and Ultimate Triumph

Ah, another great talent and great humanitarian gone. I don’t know why great talent is hindered by great torment.

His addiction problems are evident to even the most neophyte of astrologers with his Pisces Moon, Neptune in the 12^th house. Neptune rules Pisces and vibrates to the 12^th house – that is just a lot of Pisces with all of its escapist, addictive tendencies, for one person to handle. Pisces is a sign of duality symbolized by two fish swimming in opposite directions. It is a tough sign to handle here on Earth.

The great ability to take on so many personas on stage and play so many varied roles is clearly seen in his Pluto Mercury conjunction in the ever “on stage” 10^th house. Pluto the change artist and Mercury the communicator together in Leo – the sign of creativity in the house that seeks societal approval was just one key to his talent.

What I find most poignant about his chart is his Pisces North Node. Robin’s past life indicator (his South Node) was Virgo in the 11^th house – meaning that he came from a life of service in which he sought to perfect himself. In fact, Virgo can be quite the task master, always critical, always demanding perfection to a person. He spent lifetimes managing his social circle (11^th house) – keeping them together, doing everything to keep his friends – his tribe – happy and functioning. You know the guy who always plans the birthdays, keeps everyone in touch.

In this lifetime he needed to learn the lessons of Pisces North Node in the 5^th house. The 5^th is the house of personal creativity and Pisces is an expansive sign. Moving from Virgo to Pisces one must broaden themselves – jump into the bigger world. These are the notes I made when studying this nodal placement. “This person must learn that all the world is a stage and everyone is a player. There is no need to stay in control of his little group but learn that personal, creative expression is the highest path to God. One way they can do this is to reach people with great art.”

For all of his Pisces demons, no one with a heart or brain can doubt that Robin Williams fulfilled his soul’s evolutionary goal in this lifetime and brought joy to millions by doing so. RIP.

Quintessential Leo Chart

I have a theory that people achieve fame in their lives because they have very sharply defined charts. They do not have any wishy-washy planets or aspects. On July 29, 1929, Jacqueline Bouvier was born with one hum-dinger of a pronounced chart.

With her South Node or karmic identifier in Scorpio in the first house she lived many lives addicted to drama, and passion – she saw the barriers of life – emotionally and sexually and insisted that they were there for her to break. Scorpios love living on the edge – and coming into life with this Scorpio memory, she was not interested in settling into a “normal” life.

Scorpio also sat on her first house, the house of personality. (Those dark glasses blocking out the world are a dead giveaway for someone who is trying to keep the prying world out - a very Scorpio trick.) Her life of intensity, life and death drama – and passion started with that South Node and Scorpio first house. In the eighth house, the one ironically linked to Scorpio was her Venus, the planet of love and Pluto, the planet of death and transformation. That she had a karmic relationship with her husband’s and they both ended with dramatic, Scorpio deaths was indicative of this placement. As I said, there was nothing wishy-washy about this chart at all.

Her need for money and security comes from her retrograded Saturn in the second house, the house of money and stability. Anyone with a retrograded Saturn has “daddy issues” – and she adored her wayward, womanizing father and we can say – married him twice. She needed old men with money to fill that retrograde.

With her North Node in Taurus – her goal in this life was to find inner peace and stability that I would argue she did at the end of the life – of course, with the help of her second husband’s millions but she did get there.

Mars Heading Into Scorpio

On July 26, Mars moves into Scorpio. Before Pluto made herself known to us, Mars was the ruler of the sign of Scorpio so Mars is very comfortable hanging out with Scorpio, although their plans of action are vastly different. Scorpio gets things done but in a subtle, some would sometimes say, sneaky way. Scorpio is a water sign, it grinds slowly and keeps pushing matters into the shape it desires, much like the ocean does to the shore. Mars, however, is all direct fire energy. He just burns his way through any obstacles until he reaches his goal. They are both creatures of action.

Mars is now hovering very close to Vesta, the asteroid that astrologically tells us where we have such a desire that we would climb over rocks to achieve. Vesta often throws those rocks in our place so that we can overcome them to ultimate success. Therefore, when the yearning of Vesta meets the drive of Mars in Scorpio there is no better time to defeat some roadblock that is preventing you from accomplishing some goal that has been on the back burner.

No excuses now – go for it!

Jupiter on the MOVE

On July 16, that enormous planet Jupiter that is astrologically the sign of expansion and growth is moving out of Cancer, the uber Mommy constellation, into the fire sign of Leo, the sign of creativity and self-expression. What a great time! Think of it – we are combining the sign of seemingly never ending growth and discovery with the fiery Leo energy. We should all be running around working on making our most creative impact!

A wee bit of caveat here folks. When I began my study of Astrology, many people thought that Jupiter was the most beneficent sign in the Zodiac – it could bring no shadow. However, all of that expansion – all of the bigness – does have a downside. When Jupiter was transiting my sixth house, the house of health, I was as sick as a dog. I even have a good friend who was born with Jupiter in the sixth and she gets every weird illness going and gets it longer and worse than anyone else. It is a classic case of too much of a good thing.

Jupiter rules Sagittarius, a fire sign, and it is now transiting a fire sign constellation – so there is a danger of too much, “me first, you later energy,” where every way is emoting and no one is listening.  Leo starts her journey in the ninth house – the house she naturally vibrates too – and in conjunction with the Sun (ruled by Leo.) The ninth is the house of foreign affairs – so hold onto your hats – that arena will get even goofier in the weeks to come.

As always, please remember we can use this energy for benefit too. Be creative, make those contacts, work on that book, paint that scenery, – go the extra mile to make the world a prettier, more creative place!

A Full Moon Rising – Tomorrow!

A full Moon brings what has been in the dark – your subconscious – into the light. With the Sun now in Cancer, the opposite sign, the sign of the opposing Moon is Capricorn. (For the Moon to be “full,” it must be as far away as it can be from the Sun.) Cancer and Capricorn are the “mommy” and “daddy” signs. Cancer is the epitome of traditional motherly, nurturing energy and Capricorn is more the authoritarian father energy.

This full Moon is a good time to balance that yin and yang energies – the male and female polarity that exists in everyone. This might be a good time to analyze where you are giving up to much of your power and energy taking care of others as opposed to nurturing yourself (having authority over yourself.)

Masculine and feminine is not really about sex – it is about balancing those two halves that need to be healthy in all of us. Are we compassionate and nurturing enough without harming ourselves? Are we self-assertive enough, can we express our anger properly? These are all questions we need to ask during this wonderful full Moon.

The Moon will be “full” at 7:24 AM EDT so you have the whole day on Saturday to balance that Moon energy! Enjoy

The Battle of Pluto and Uranus

Recently, I have written a lot about the Grand Cross, and the Pluto- Uranus square and the implications they are having on American society. Pluto, the symbol of slow change, is in the staid and authoritarian sign of Capricorn. This placement demands change to what we called in the 60’s “The Establishment.”  Remember wherever Pluto ventures she brings change – she absolutely insists upon it. Now she is bringing her change to authority structures.

Uranus, the rebel, the element of electrically charged quick change, has recently journeyed into the cardinal sign of the warrior, Aries. Where Pluto takes her time and grinds out her demands of change. Uranus is like hello I am here and this is what is going to change right now. Therefore, you can see how these two in disharmony can make us humans a little batty!

With these two squared or in disharmony to one another for a very long time (2007 -2020), we have seen unrest, uprisings, and some major hits to once formidable institutions. The banking system collapse, the abuse scandals in the Catholic Church, the election of an African American president and the subsequent rise of the Tea Party are just some examples of this.

This movement into Aries is most interesting to me right now. Uranus in Aries is like a teenager in a sports car. At any moment, they can put their foot down and take off at 150 miles an hour refusing to see any danger. Remember the song, that anthem of the 60’s, “The Dawning of the Age of Aquarius”? Well, Aquarius is ruled by Uranus.

Uranus is saying, hey Pluto I do not like how slowly you are changing. I am not thrilled with the “one percent” getting richer; I am not thrilled that the middle class is stagnating.  You toppled the banking system but no one went to jail. Now let’s move along…faster!

The beginning of the populism movement that is making Senator Elizabeth Warren (D.-MA) a very appealing Presidential candidate in 2016 is just starting to take hold in America. I expect that to grow. The energy is there – how we use it is another story of course! Remember, the Tea Party and the whacks running around with the guns are a part of this Uranus energy – they do not like any authority. They want to bring “change” that will bring us back a few centuries. It is up to those of who want to precipitate positive change that includes women’s rights and gun safety to name a few, to harness Uranus to forge a future of truly positive change.

OK IT IS ALMOST OVER -

I know - I heard it all and it has happened to me. My computer was so bad last Friday that I had to reboot ten times to get it to do anything and to do it all at once. This Mercury retrograde was long and ugly but today - YES TODAY- Mercury stations direct which means she stops her seemingly backward movement. Tomorrow, July 2 she starts heading in the right direction again. Send off the fire works. 

This year has been fraught with distant planet “battles” and we will have another skirmish in July. On July 4, the Sun opposes Pluto and then makes a square to Uranus on the 8^th.  This is the tail end of the Grand Cross of April that brought us the Malaysian plane and the Ukraine. June’s squares brought up Iraq again. What will July bring? I don’t know. However, I do not like crosses and squares to all of those change planets around a national holiday. Then again, maybe the disaster was the Hobby Lobby decision. It will only remain a disaster if we don't remember it on election day, however...the best way to change things is by getting thee to the polls, no?

:)

Remember Pluto is Still in Capricorn

I was having breakfast with friends a few months ago when I said, “I don’t think the 2014 senatorial elections will be as dreadful to the Democrats as they are all predicting.” The collective response was one of “your lips to God’s ears.”  I do not pretend to be a psychic nor do I believe it is going to be a necessarily pretty election cycle for liberals. However, with Pluto in Capricorn – you just never know and I believe 2014 will bring changes no one expected.

Pluto is the (dwarf) planet of change and transformation. Pluto makes us the “offer we can’t refuse.” She says, “Change or I will bring change about for you.” That little icy comet/planet packs the proverbial astrological punch.

Capricorn is the sign of government, authority figures – those structures that keep the glue of society together. When you put the two together, we get big time changes in that arena.

Of course, when the planet hit Capricorn in 2008, it did what we expected - it caused big change in the structure of society like the banking system, which almost came apart. In addition, secrets of the rich and powerful were uncovered (i.e. Penn State, Catholic Church, and WikiLeaks.) It also caused some other troubling changes such as the corporate personhood.  

Pluto Capricorn also introduced his to the first African American President of the United States.  In fact, on election night 2008 also saw Saturn standing directly opposite Uranus. Uranus is new change, Saturn is tradition all the way… we had the battle of the older white male and younger black male and, thankfully, Uranus won. Unfortunately, this ushered in the wave of the 2010 election: the revenge of the old white voter.

Planets sort of kick up their heels and make an impact three times during their transits, first, when they enter a sign, the second time half way through the sign and then just as they are leaving. Pluto entered in 2008 and will leave in 2023 so we are entering the midway point of this transition through Capricorn. So when Eric Cantor was defeated in a primary I said there we go – Pluto is acting up. Therefore, while I won’t pretend to know what will happen exactly, I know the 2014 – 2016 election cycle will not be what the “talking heads” foresee.

P.S. Oh and did I say Elizabeth Warren was born with Pluto in the 10^th house, the house that vibrates to the energy of Capricorn?

Everyone Breath!–

As my dear friend, artist extraordinaire, Arlene Weinstock, would say – breathe!  The Moon is in quixotic Aquarius right now. Aquarius is full of highly charged, changeable energy.  Right now, the Moon is conjuncting Neptune. Moon in Neptune regardless of the sign placement always gives me a little bit of start because high level of unreality that surrounds Neptune.

I always describe the effects of Neptune by asking people to think of a great whale in the ocean. In the water – the whale glides with grace and beauty through the water. Take it out and it clomps around – flaps and dies on land. Neptune wants to be in the ocean of the spirit. On Earth, it devolves into a web of illusion and escapism – it wants to go back to spirit.  

So when the Moon, our emotional barometer, is in hinky Aquarius and is next to confusing Neptune – well, you can see it is a pattern for blow ups, upsets, emotions being brought up that are deep in subconscious. So, therefore, everyone – breath!

Mars and Pluto - Starting in.

I wrote this back on May 28th. Iraq sadly is the point for this action now - and I am afraid more is to come.

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On June 14, Mars will make a square, a disharmonious contact, with Pluto. If one of these planets are in either retrograde or badly aspected in your chart – expect to be out of sorts for a few days. You might even be itching for a fight. Watch out for road rage and people acting out.

June 19 sees Uranus coming into the act. This Mars, Uranus Pluto T-Square – or three planet square – represent the tail end of the much spoken of Grand Cross that has been in play since April. If anyone has been planning some big disaster since the Cross started I fear they will make it happen now. (Not that missing plane and 300 missing little girls are not horror enough.) I hope all security systems are on guard during this time.

Full Moon Time!

The full Moon this month will be on June 13 at will take place at 22 degrees Sagittarius.   I love Sagittarius full Moons perhaps because my North Node is in Sagittarius. However, it is more than that. It is June, everything is in bloom, and everything is growing and expanding. Isn’t that the essence of Sag: growth, breaking our borders, reaching beyond our roots?  I always think about Sagittarius as a shooting arrow into the world – just like the flower and vegetable seeds are sprouting outward and upward.

If you have Sagittarius prominently placed in your chart – either North Node, rising sign, sun sign, use this time to feel that energy. Where do you have to get out of your safe zone? Where do you need to grow? Where are you stagnating?

The positive aspects of Sagittarius are optimism, adventurousness, generosity, and intellectualism. Use them!

It’s June, it is a Sagittarius full Moon – go for it! Grow.

Contact me for a review if you want to explore the Sagittarius aspects of your chart.

D Day

Seventy years ago this month Allied troops invaded occupied Europe in one of the greatest acts of bravery ever known. The leader of the Allied troops was Dwight D. Eisenhower. After he was President of the United States, he “rejoined” the Army because he said that in 500 years, no one would remember him as President but no one would ever forget D Day.

Where were the planets over Normandy on the amazing day? 

There are so many interesting things about this chart. Look at all of those planets in Gemini, the sign of communications and the flow of information, tucked away in the ultra-secretive 12^th house.  The false news reports fed to the Germans, the months of secret planning, the thousands of hours spent on reconnaissance all came to fruition on the day.

What really sends shivers up my spine was that tight conjunction of Mars and Pluto in the fire sign of Leo in the third house.  The third house is my community, my brothers and sisters, my close friends (yes, “Band of Brothers”.) Mars is the god of war and Pluto is the planet of change. This was a grueling, bitter, tragic Mars battle to rescue Europe – our brothers and sisters – from the horrors of Nazi Germany.

Anytime Mars and Pluto are together, there are fireworks. Mars with any of the external planets is a cause for worry but Mars and Pluto sadly foretold the horrors seen on the beaches that morning.

This biwheel with D Day in the center and the birth chart of the United States also tells a stunning story.  Look at our Pluto – yes Pluto again – in the eighth house right on the South Node! Pluto vibrates to the eighth house – it is the house of power and change. We were using our power to shift the balance of power and break the existing order in Europe. Not ironically, the South Node that day was in Capricorn, the stern taskmaster.

This is another one of those spine shiver-makers for me! Our Jupiter, Venus, and Sun were all in a tight conjunction in the sign of Cancer, the sign of motherly caring.  Jupiter is the sign of expansion and growth and international service with our life force, the Sun, and Venus, the goddess of beauty and love. COME ON.

We can thank our lucky stars for that day but we really should thank these men, thousands of whom gave their lives in this amazing fight for freedom. Soon that generation will be gone but their deeds should live on in history and it us to us to be sure that they do.

Pre Solstice Planetary “Hits”

The Solstice finally arrives on June 21 at 6:51 AM, Eastern Time. However, before it arrives we have a couple of planetary aspects to which you might want to pay attention. Actually, you will have to pay attention because none of these planets are shy, retiring little creatures.

On June 14, Mars will make a square, a disharmonious contact, with Pluto. If one of these planets are in either retrograde or badly aspected in your chart – expect to be out of sorts for a few days. You might even be itching for a fight. Watch out for road rage and people acting out.

June 19 sees Uranus coming into the act. This Mars, Uranus Pluto T-Square – or three planet square – represent the tail end of the much spoken of Grand Cross that has been in play since April. If anyone has been planning some big disaster since the Cross started I fear they will make it happen now. (Not that missing plane and 300 missing little girls are not horror enough.) I hope all security systems are on guard during this time.

What we have is a lot of testy energy – Mars, warrior, Pluto, slow change and Uranus demanding quick change – a rebel energy ---- going on at this time. So everyone please breathe and think of the Solstice to come!

The Joy and Healing Possibilities of a Mercury Retrograde.

It takes the Sun 225 million years to revolve around the Milky Way center. Keep that in mind because now I have to tell you that Mercury will retrograde from June 7 to July 2 this year. See now it is not 225 million years in retrograde so no worries! 

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you will know that I hate the doom and gloom energy that surrounds so much of astrological writings these days. Retrograde periods are a good time to go inward and explore that energy in our chart. We have an aversion to slowing down and assessing our talents in this society as we think we need to be always “on point.” We are so “go, do, move, be.” Instead of “think, assess, learn who you are and improve the inner self!” Retrogrades tell us to go within, assess and improve. As much as we moan about them, retrogrades are necessary evils. They are pointers to areas which need improvement in our lives. We have the choice of complaining or doing something about our issues!

With her permission, in fact, it was her idea; I am sharing the chart of Mari McCarthy, the dynamo behind CreateWriteNow, www.createwritenow.com.  Mari’s mantras are Create Your Life Write Now with Mari, and Journaling for the Health of It! She is a no nonsense journaling coach who helps motivated people who want to do to the work to get the most of their lives. She is a teacher who lives the lesson every day and has turned her Mercury retrograde around and now shows others how to do the same.  

Mari was born with her Mercury retrograded in her fifth house, the house of creativity and expressing our inner talents. With the Mercury in reticent Capricorn, an astrologer would immediately say this is a person with self-expression problems, someone who does not want her voice heard or cannot make it heard. That was the beginning of Mari’s story but not her current story. Through intense introspection, hours of journaling work – which she now teaches her client, and sheer courage, she has found the karmic and current life roots of that retrograde and has more than set that Mercury energy on a direct path again.

While as a child, she was afraid to express herself, always allowing others to be her voice Mari is now a fierce advocate for herself. She has literally found her voice – her singing voice - that she never felt had value and she has taken to the recording studio.

She didn’t stop there, however. Mari also has applied her journaling energy beyond “just" finding her voice and now is literally journaling her way back to physical health.  (Notice that Capricorn, ruler of her retrograded Mercury, opens her sixth house of health.) She wouldn’t let the health problems caused by this energy debilitate her and every day she is on a return path to wellness.

Mari has not only reversed her Mercury retrograded action, she has taken her lessons learned and paid them forward to people willing to do the work with her.  It is a classic case of karmic lemons into lemonades.

Mari and I became instant friends, having found each other through our work. One of the things that made me like her so quickly was that she didn’t give off the energy I see so often of “oh I can’t do anything because I have this retrograde here and that retrograde there.” Instead she was glad to see the retrogrades so that she could concentrate her energy on them. She had already been doing so much work on herself and now she said the chart was truly like a road map. Creative music to my ears!

So instead of complaining about the inevitable problems of a Mercury retrograde, use that inward energy to do that inner work necessary to correct your expression issues. While you are at it check out Mari’s website, CreateRIghtNow.com.

Where is Nine Degrees of Libra in Your Chart?

Finally! Mars will come out of his long retrograde! On May 19, Mars will find his way forward  and will assist you in putting new plans and ideas into motion. I have one caveat here – the retrograded Mars was part of the fabled “grand cross” of April. Anyone plotting malevolent deeds, not using the energies of the cross to advance themselves spiritually, will use this time to put their deeds into actions.

However, I am sure all of my readers are the most enlightened of creatures so this will not be an issue with you– right, right???

This will be a very slow movement forward for Mars, which is rare, because he is usually pretty speedy. However, this has been a year for weird occurrences. Mars stations at 9 degrees of Libra and will sit there for three weeks, from May 7 to June 1. Libra is a cardinal sign – a sign of action.   My next question to you is where is 9 degrees Libra in your chart?

For me, it is going to be a humdinger of a time! As you can see from my chart below, my natal Mars is at 8 degrees Libra. Therefore, for three weeks I will have transiting Mars sitting on my natal Mars giving me a double dose of Mars energy. With natal Mars in my 12^th house, the house that is our connection to the universe, this is a perfect time for me to sharpen my spiritual skills.

Don’t waste this time! Find 9 degrees Libra in your chart and discover  how are you going to use the Mars power!

Corn Planting Moon in Scorpio - May 14

Happy Corn Planting Moon (or Flower Moon.) I love these Moon names because they remind us of the days when we were really connected with nature and the energy of the Universe.

This Moon will be in the sign of Scorpio - the Sun, of course, is in the opposite sign of Taurus. A Moon is "full" when it is furthest from the Sun. If you have been following along with me in the past month when I spoke about the change that the "grand cross" brought to us, hopefully for the better, then view this Full Moon as the final brushstroke of that change.

Scorpio, ruled by Pluto, is the sign of change of transformation. Use this full Moon for a time to take the changes that you worked on during the "grand cross" for a test drive. What is working? What do you need to "tweak" and where are you falling back on your old ways?

The Moon will be at its fullest at 3;16 PM so while you won't be able to see it then you can still tune into the energy.

Happy Full Moon and get the rows of new habits planted just as you would your corn!

May Newsletter! Journaling, History and Mother's Day

GIVE THE MOST UNIQUE MOTHER'S DAY GIFT UNDER THE SUN! My astrological cookbook, "Signs of the Tines: The Ultimate Astrological Cookbook," makes a unique and fun gift. If you want me to sign it for Mom, order a copy at www.signsofthetines.com - and shoot me an email telling me how you want it signed. joansastrology@gmail.com. It is also available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.com. If you want an Astrological Gift Basket for Mom visit http://www.candcgiftbaskets.com/category_23.asp. DO SOMETHING WONDERFUL IN MAY- AND DINE OUT FOR HEALWELL! I am on the Board of wonderful nonprofit, Integrative Health Therapies, Healwell, www.healwell, org. Healwell combines education, research, and service to improve quality of life for people living with acute, chronic, and terminal illness.  We touch humans to reduce their pain, ease their anxiety, and introduce comfort into the experience of illness. If you are in the Washington, D.C. area come to the Curious Grape during the month of May, tell them you are eating for Healwell and they will donate 15 percent of the check to Healwell. The Curious Grape is at 2900 S Quincy Street, Arlington in Shirlington BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY INTERVIEW with Meredith McDonough,hypnotist and past life regressionist, owner of Operation Higher Vibrations ! Subscribe to my free podcasts and don't miss any! http://webtalkradio.net/internet-talk-radio/2014/04/28/astrological-cook-access-the-portal-to-the-past-and-your-subconscious-through-the-12th-house-with-meredith-mcdonough/   Are you a History freak like me? Then check out my blog entries on two historical figures who had May birthdays. President John Kennedy is featured here: http://joansastrology.blogspot.com/2013/11/president-kennedy.html If you are an admirer of Dolley Madison see why I call her a total Taurus. http://joansastrology.blogspot.com/2010/03/dolley-madison-total-taurus.html ================================================= Journaling Your Past Lives Awake We made it through the Cardinal Grand Cross of April. I know it was a rough time for many - and while I never bought into the doom and gloom that some astrologers predicted for this time, we did see the most mysterious loss of an airplane. I also believe Russia or North Korea are simmering something they will reveal later. People who are negative energetic creatures react unfavorably to that kind of difficult cosmic energy and there was just enough to kick them into high gear. On the positive side, many of my clients reported a feeling of being reborn. They used that vibrating energy to make massive changes in their lives and outlooks. I have the perfect way for you to continue your growth. As an evolutionary astrologer, I work as a cosmic GPS system reading where my clients’ souls are coming from karmically and what lessons are in store for them this time around. However, I recently learned how much more powerful this tool can be when coupled with journaling, especially when at the hands of the “master” Mari L. McCarthy. http://www.createwritenow.com/journal-writing-blog. Once you have digested the information from my evolutionary reading of your birth chart, take the opportunity to work with Mari, Examine the past life blockages that are still make your path rocky and learn how journaling can bring forth a better understanding of their roots and impact. Conversely, you will also be able to learn how to utilize the karmic benefits granted this time around. It is May! The time of growth – take advantage of these journaling “seeds.” You can order your evolutionary birth chart at http://joansastrology.blogspot.com/p/get-your-chart.html.

This Weekend Venus Enters Aries

We have been hearing so much about “cardinal” signs in April I thought I would just pass along another cardinal happening. Cardinal signs are the signs of action and they initiate activity. On May 2, Venus, the planet that best exudes the energy of the feminine dharma moves into the mother (or father) of all cardinal signs, Aries.

Aries, of course, is primal male energy and ruled by Mars, so when we have Venus meeting Mars – look out! From May 2- May 28 Venus will be in Aries so if you need to put that spark back into your romance there is no better time.

Don’t neglect the creative energy of Venus or the moneymaking aspects of Venus – remember women rule the purse! If you have stagnant creative juices this is the time to restart them. It is spring – it is May, what does that old song say, “The lusty month of May.” Be lusty, be creative, be invigorating, – be cardinal!!

In May, Come Help Healwell While Enjoying Wonderful food at the Curious Grape!

During the month of May have lunch or dinner at the Curious Grape in Shirlington Village and help support Healwell.

Enjoy a terrific meal and when your bill comes just tell your server that you are there to support Healwell and they will donate 15 percent of your bill to help us continue our work!  This isn’t automatic so don’t forget to tell them you are eating for Healwell.

Healwell provides massage therapy to adult and pediatric inpatients in area hospitals focusing on decreasing pain, managing symptoms and bringing greater comfort to people living with advanced disease and those at the end of life.

The Curious Grape is open for dinner daily from 5:00 pm to closing, for lunch from 11:30 am – 2:00 PM and for Sunday brunch at 10:30 am – 2:00 pm.

It is located in Shirlington Village at 2900 South Quincy Street, Arlington.

For more information on Healwell visit www.healwell.org.