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 Cardinal Grand Cross - Yes, Again!

Let me offer a little review of the concept of a grand cross since we are at the height of one right now. When four planets are 90 degrees apart in the sky, we have a Grand Cross. Basically, it is two oppositions and four squares. We are calling this a cardinal Grand Cross because the planets in question are in cardinal signs – they are the movers – the doers – the action signs. The planets in place now deal with very intimate changes – Aries – who we are; Libra – how we related to others; Cancer – our home and roots: and, Capricorn – work and duty

Right now - until April 24 the planets will be at their tightest – the Cross will be at it most distinct. A solar eclipse follows on April 29 in Taurus – the sign of stability and grounding.

I have railed before against astrologers who predicted the end of the world, our economy, and pretty much everything else during the Cross. No doubt, this is a challenging situation and but it does not have to be “doom.”  Change is always painful. I personally had a very painful emotional issue – come up just as the Cross activated – a family matter than came to a head. As painful as it was – it was also cathartic and finalized so many things for me that has allowed me to move upwards and onward.

We have seen the negative of the Cross – I firmly believe Malaysia 370 was the result of latent anger turned negative and destructive – someone with a hidden anger against some faction – and this is how they lashed out. There may be a big political shift in the ruling party in Malaysia coming out of this horror and I believe that is what the perpetrators wanted. Anger turned inward – the only change we can make is to lash out.

Since these planets are in cardinal signs – Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn, anyone with “personal planets’ natal planets in those signs, will be more likely to feel the pull of this grand cross more. For me, I have Libra rising.

Again, I urge everyone not to stick on the concept of the “bad possibilities.” Remember instead the kind of change that can boost us further to make major internal changes that reflect outward --- positive changes. What old patterns do you need to stop and what helpful patterns do you need to reinforce in your life? Use it - don’t complain about it and don’t fear it.

The Astrology Of Downton

The last episode of season four of “Downton Abbey” aired in the United States. (Darn those short British seasons.) Despite starting a bit slow for me it ending in full Downton splendor and it got me to thinking about the astrological makeup of the main characters. All great fictional characters have strong astrological characteristics. I mean, is there a more perfect Aries than Scarlett O’Hara?

So, who are those people of Downton? Let’s start with my favorite character and the matriarch, The Dowager. Shooting from the hip with all due and undue honesty yet able to be rather sneaky when needed, she is a good example of a Sagittarius rising with a Scorpio Sun.

Her son, “His Lordship,” being stubbornly stuck in the past and very much in love in opulence is a double Earth sign influence. I vote for Capricorn rising and a Taurus Sun.

Cora Grantham, his wife, the American who is very comfortable in English peerage has many planets, Sun and Mercury at least, in the 9^th house – the house that deals with foreign travel. That Sun is in Aquarius, which gave her the impetus to move far from her roots. However, what attracted her to Lord Grantham was that shared Taurus because that is her rising sign.  Her gentle elegance and her true love for the land has to be from Taurus! Cora’s mother, is another Sagittarius rising – which is why she battles the Dowager. However, she is all Aries sun – she never backs down from, in fact searches out a good fight.

Mary has got to be heavily loaded with Leo. Her regal haughtiness, her ability to be self-centered all point to Leo rising. That fuels her love of money but her love for Downton itself and her insistence on formality and rules makes her a good candidate to be a Capricorn Sun.

Her hapless sister Edith is so Pisces. She just doesn’t “get it.”  Living is so complicated and she is so good at being victimized she can be nothing but Pisces rising. With her self-doubt and self-criticism, Edith is someone with a strong Virgo Sun.

What about some of the more colorful servants. Mrs. Patmore is all Cancer – motherly, warm and a great cook – Cancer rising with a Libra Sun that helps her balance between the upstairs and downstairs so easily.

Mr. Carson – is nothing but Virgo. Come on! He is disciplined, persnickety, and organized to his Virgo core. However, I think his budding romance with another Virgo Sun, Mrs. Hughes, will bring out his softer side no matter how deeply buried. Carson may have Virgo rising and a Virgo Sun but I think he has a Libra Moon that makes him a bit human – sometimes.

Tom is a confused Gemini rising with a Cancer Sun. He is very good at being vocal about his causes but when he lost his heart after his wife’s death, he sought comfort in her family.

Oh and yes Mr. Bates, the self-admitted brooder who has a shady side despite being sexy as hell and often victimized by outside forces is Scorpio rising with Pisces Sun. Still waters do run deep and he is all water sign. His beloved Anna, Cancer rising, she needs water to appeal to Bates, and a self-deprecating Virgo Sun. 

Happy Birthday Mrs. Obama

I know I have done a riff on her chart before but several people asked me to review Michelle Obama's chart for her fiftieth birthday.

While she is a “late” Capricorn Sun person, you know how boring I find Sun energy astrology so let’s look at her rising sign.  Ah! Another it is another earth sign! Mrs. Obama’s rising sign (also called ascendant) is in Taurus. Symbolized by the Bull, Taurus is steady, stubborn with a kiss elegance of Venus. Because Venus rules her ascendant, it is the ruling planet of her chart.

Venus appears up in her 11^th house – the house of social and group activities – and is zero degrees Pisces and right on her Pisces Moon. Now, I wonder what artistic ability the first lady might be hiding from us.  Venus in Pisces is a classic sign of someone with some kind of musical, artistic, etc. talent. Perhaps hers expresses in her fashion sense and her elegance but who knows – we might be seeing some other kind of artistry coming from her someday.  (She has two retrogrades in her 5^th house – the house of creativity so it may take a while but it is there!)

Venus on the Moon in the deeply caring sign of Pisces expresses when we see her hugging people and meaning it. She does not give political hugs or handshakes! Her concern and her love of people comes innately.  I look for her to continue to work with groups of people long after she is out of the White House.

Full "Moonth" in Cancer January 15

“Every ‘Moonth’ the Moon travels around the Earth through the whole circle of the sky. The Moon’s Old English name was Mona from that name we acquired the word ‘month.” The Old Lady’s walkabout was 29 ½ days. If you have the patience to watch her journey night after night in a single month you will see that the road she travel is the same one she traveled last month and she will be found there the next and the next and the one after that. As she walks the Road in the Sky she stops to visit friends and family, i.e., she meets up with the stars that live alongside the Road. Her visits are brief for she has a long way to go – clear around the sky – so she must hurry on.”

I love that quote from Wendy Ashley’s “Paleoskies.”  Wendy is an astro-anthropologist who watches the planets (from the word wanderer) make their seemingly endless journey around the skies. She is part of wonderful movement to bring us back to the sky – to make us remember what is going on in the universe as we busy ourselves with our “important” Earthly work.

This week, on Jan. 15, the Moon will have “walked” furthest away from the Sun – and thus we will have a “Full Moon.” Freed from the Sun’s brilliance the Moon shows us her full light. This Full Moon will be in Cancer. The Sun is in the opposite sign of Capricorn. This is a typical Mommy – Daddy battle. Cancer is the sign of the nurturer – vibrates to the fourth house -typical assigned to Mother, home and roots. Capricorn is the taskmaster – the uber-father. 

This is a perfect time to work on the balance between how you are nurturing themselves – and others – and how much you are being too hard on yourself or others. I always say Capricorn is where we “should” all over ourselves. “I should be doing this – I should be doing that – I am not good enough.” Cancer is the active but nurturing Mom that offers us that other cup of tea to relax.

So at this full Moon time think of the balance you are or are not striking between those two in your life. We often forget that we can have the second cup of tea!

New Year's New Moon

We start 2014 with a New Moon in Capricorn at 6:14 AM Eastern Time. That alone is a powerful kick off to a new year - because the New Moon is a great time for manifestation. This year, however, the sky will be full of even more cardinal energy. There are three kinds of signs, mutable (the easy going sometimes easily coerced signs), fixed (the stubborn ones) and cardinal (the movers and shakers.) Get used to a lot of cardinal energy coming from the sky because this year is going to be anything but dull.

On January 1st, during that Capricorn (cardinal) New Moon, Mars will still be in Libra (cardinal) and  opposite Uranus in Aries (cardinal) and Jupiter will be in Cancer (cardinal) opposing four other bodies in cardinal signs, the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Pluto and retrograded Venus.

Those placements also make for a very combustible square between Mars, Uranus, and Pluto. This is nothing to mess around with - and do not be surprised if you hear of more road rage or violent acts. If people are unaware of how these energies affect them can just feel angry, restless, and ready to strike out. The amount of anxious energy is almost spooky.

For those more aligned with the universe it is a great time to use that power to constructive change. So where do you want to improve? Go beyond the silly New Year's resolutions and make a pledge to use this energy to make meaningful change in your life. Movement especially in the area of money and our values (Venus) and speaking our truth (Mercury) would be especially beneficial.   Use the energies to your benefit – they are powerful.

Happy New Year – Happy New You.

Pluto and Juno Together With the Sun Right Now

This holiday week we have a funky conjunction in the sky. Pluto, the Sun and Juno are all in conjunction in the sign of Capricorn. I said funky, I should have said a confusing conjunction. Pluto and the Sun together brings and energy to changing ourselves; to "focus like a laser beam" on making ourselves into the person we always wanted to be. Capricorn is a sign that is all about doing things by the book. Develop a plan and follow it to the letter is what Capricorn is good at. So you can see this is a pretty good placement to have at the end of the year when we are working on resolutions and promising to be better in the New Year.

Juno thrown into the picture is a bit odd. Juno and the Sun together is intense loyalty toward a relationship. Juno was the consort goddess in mythology. In the best of worlds this is a good time to work on your relationship with another person together - what can WE do to change to make this relationship work together. Of course, this could disintegrate into well I am doing this what are YOU doing? However, let's be positive about this and see it as a time to work together to make things work better for both.

Happy New Year.

Happy Solstice....

The Summer Solstice is here but what does that mean? Simply, it is when the Sun moves into the sign of Cancer, or Moon Child, if you are more PC. What does that mean exactly? Well let me illustrate this with a few charts. The symbol for the Sun is the circle with the little dot in the middle. OK, on the first chart, cast for 1150 AM Eastern time today shows the Sun 29 degrees into the sign of Gemini. (Each sign is 30 degrees.)

The second chart is cast for 2:00 PM Eastern today. Look! The Sun is now at 0 degrees Cancer. The Solstice will take place around 1: 15 PM - when the Sun moves into Cancer. Anyone born this morning will actually be a Gemini Sun person - this afternoon will see the birth of Cancer Sun people. This only happens on the Solstices and Equinoxes.

So, you ask, if there are twelve signs why do we get so involved in just the 2 solstices and 2 equinoxes? Well, because that is when the Sun moves into Cardinal Signs. Astrological signs are divided into Cardinal, the movers and shakers, Mutable, the more complaint -some say vacillating signs, and Fixed, the stubborn more stable signs. Cardinal signs, Libra, Aries, Capricorn and Cancer, because they are the more active ones - because they are leadership signs, if you will, contain a great deal of energy and thus give a boost to the whole chart.

So when you start to enjoy the summer remember that it all starts with the Cardinal energy of Cancer.

The House - the angles

As promised I am going to explore each of the houses of the Zodiac. Of course, I won't go in order - what fun is order? (The darned rising air sign always acts up on me.) However, I am starting with the first house because it is the first of the angular houses - 1, 4, 7 and 10. These are houses of high importance and actually act as anchors of the chart. For instance, yours truly here has NO Earth signs in her char. Not one planet was in an Earth sign when I was born. I am all air and water with a dash of fire thrown in. Now imagine a chart with no Earth to hold it down. I should always "out there" - never focusing - either in the depths of water's mysteries or just flipping around the atmosphere. (Another reason I hate to go in order.) However, if you look at the angles - the sign on the cusps of those angular houses you see that I have pretty good anchors. Thank the universe for small favors.


My rising sign - is in Libra an air sign, yes but a cardinal sign - a sign of leadership. The cusp* of the 4th house anchor is Capricorn - a cardinal Earth sign which vibrates to Saturn, the task master. My 7th house anchor is Aries - a fire sign but again it is cardinal. Finally my 10th house cusp is Moon Child - another cardinal sign this one in water. I have all 4 cardinal signs on my anchor (angular) houses. These keep me focused - give me a goal and give me the drive to succeed.

Fixed signs - Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius - are signs of strength and stubbornness and they vibrate to the second, fifth, either and eleventh houses. Mutable, more adaptable, less focused signs of Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces vibrate to the third, sixth, ninth and twelfth houses.

That is why it is important to look at the entire chart. Without strong angular houses my chart interpretation would be vastly different. Next time, I will look at one of the angular houses...maybe the first; maybe the tenth....depends on how I feel. :)

*The cusps are the signs that sit at the door of each house. Look at the small outter wheel on the chart to find them.

Ode to Betty White – and other solid Earth Signs

A few months ago during the Screen Actors Guild Awards Betty White, while introducing Sandra Bullock said, “I will be 88 years old next week.” I checked the calendar – mid January. Yup, she is another Capricorn. No surprise that the octogenarian is still at her performing best at an age most people have shuffled off to the shuffle board or beyond. She was born with her Sun in Capricorn – the longest lived of the Earth signs - her Ascendant in fixed Leo and both her Moon and Mid Heaven (the marker of our career and social status) in Virgo, another Earth sign.

At the risk of generalizing, Earth signs are the sturdiest – think of it - they plod the Earth and are not burning at both ends like Fire signs or swimming in seas of confusion and the supernatural like Water signs or bouncing around smashing themselves about like the Air signs. Capricorns because they are sure footed goats are the strongest of all. In fact, here is a little trick about Capricorns – they get younger as they grow older. Usually, Goat children are “little old men and women” – acting well beyond their years. As they age, the cares seem to drop off and they become more youthful in their outlooks and more playful.

Although Leo is a Fire Sign it is also a fixed sign. (See last week’s entry for an explanation of fixed vs. mutable and cardinal signs.) What comes to mind with the word fixed? Determined, stubborn, strong, right? Right.

I can hear the cynics now, so what about Angela Lansbury? She is 85 and winning Tony Awards on Broadway. Ok so what about Angela Lansbury? Yes, she has a Sun and Moon in airy Libra. However, look at the cusp* of her sixth house – the house of day to day work. Yes, that is the glyph for Capricorn! Move up to the cusp of the tenth house – the house of career and social status. Taurus the Bull sits there – sturdy Earth sign.

Astrology is not one sign fits all. We must look at the totality of the chart. Also, having a lot of Earth signs in the right places does not guarantee long life and long career. I had a Capricorn uncle who died at 54 but he was unhappy in most aspects of his life and suffered from malaria and other illness in World War II. However, both of these women indicate what can happen when you have fulfilling lives and a good chart!

I understand there is a new movement on Facebook to get Carol Burnett to host SNL soon. Why not? She is Sun in Taurus, Moon in Taurus and Midheaven in Capricorn!


*Cusps – look at one of the charts and note the outer rim where you will see glyphs for the various signs. That is the cusp and those signs have a very strong influence on the house they guard.

What's up with the Earth? Volcanos and Earthquakes and Sinkholes Oh My!

Since I am NOT heading to the airport to catch a flight to Stockholm as I thought I would be doing today thanks to a "friendly neighborhood" Icelandic volcano- I decided to take some time and ponder the question, "What is the deal, Earth?" From earthquakes in Haiti, Chile and Mexico (among others) to this volcanic eruption, it seems "terra firma" isn't so much these days. If you listen to Pat Robertson (and, why would you) he would say it is a sign of the "end of times." Why do these guys love the end of the world so much? Could it be it is all the better to control terrified people? But I digress.


If you are a beloved follower of this blog you will know that I have spent some time on the movement of Pluto in Capricorn. Pluto is a pokey, mini planet that packs a punch because it deals with transformation and change. Because it moves so slowly, Pluto has time to get into the "guts" of the sign it inhabits and really penetrate to the core making changes to long standing beliefs.

Capricorn is the sign dealing with the authority structures that keep society in place....the structure we live within.

In previous blogs I have talked about the changes Pluto in Capricorn is bringing to politics from the sublime - Obama - to the ridiculous - the Tea Party. (NOTE to the Republican Party, while you are trying to harness the power of the Tea Party while keeping them at arm's length, just keep in mind the last time we had Pluto here we had the French Revolution. It was the epitome of gang revolt that went too far and feed off those who brought it to power.) All things have a positive and shadow outcome - it is the yin and yang of life.

Pluto here also changed the monetary system and brought around failures to long standing financial institutions.

However, let's take this another step. What can be more "Capricornian" that Earth - the actual structure of the land on which we stand? Right now, Pluto and Saturn are making a "trine aspect" a flowing aspect of 30 degrees and both are in Earth signs. Saturn is now in Virgo. Because Saturn rules Capricorn - we are now in a period of double dose of change to our structures. What better time for earthquakes and volcanoes? Remember last week I spoke of "aspects"? This is a very powerful one - Saturn, ruler of Capricorn is trine to Pluto in Capricorn - that is whole lot of shaking up going on.

Pluto will remain in Capricorn until 2024, the Earth won't keep rolling the whole time but it will be an active time and when strong aspects like this come around we will be more susceptible to this kind of natural "disaster." I put that in quotes because while these things are devastating to the people in the area, the Earth changes it is the nature of the beast.





When Pluto was in:

Sagittarius 1995 - 2008 - the time of spiritual awareness - the shadow being fundamentalism.

Scorpio 1983 - 1995 - the time of the sexual revolution - the shadow being sexual prevision made more public.

Libra - 1971 - 1983 - the time when relationships and the ideas of romance changed - the shadow being our obsession with youth, beauty and cosmetic alterations.

Virgo 1958 - 1971 - the time of the rise of the women's movement - and environmental movement -
The shadow being the growth of "fast food" and environmental pollutants.

Leo -1939 - 1958 - the time when the "baby boomers - the ME generation was born." It was the time when the individual came into focus - the value of one person was learned but can you find a more self obsessed, ego centric group of people than we boomers?

Ted Kennedy - Capricorn Tenacity

When I heard of the passing of Senator Edward Kennedy I did what I always do - I ran to my computer and looked up his chart. While it may seem odd to some, death times in karmic astrology are as important as birth times. (More on that issue later, I promise.)

What struck me so much about Sen. Kennedy's chart was the high concentration of Saturn in his first house (the house which dictates how we present ourselves to the world.) The ancient Sumerians, who are credited with being the first known astrologers, didn't deal much with a Sun sign because when the Sun was up they couldn't see the rest of the stars. It was your first house - your ascendant - that was key to them.

Sen. Kennedy had Capricorn on the cusp of his first house and its ruler, Saturn, in the first house. That is a lot of Capricorn! At first it seemed bizarre. Capricorn is known to giving form and structure and being very much "within the lines" while Senator Kennedy had been known for - how shall I say this - living outside the lines for a long period of his life. I "credit “that to his heavy Piscean influence - the escapist. However, it was that strong Capricorn which gave him the courage to go on when things felt hopeless and which allowed him to prevail even over his fatal illness when he mustered the strength to speak at the 2008 Democratic Convention.

If it weren't for that Capricornian tenacity (symbolized by the sure-footed mountain goat) he never would have been able to face and ultimately triumph over life's traumas and his own self inflicted wounds.

Saturn - Uranus - The Past and Future of the Presidential Election

On election day 2008, Uranus and Saturn will be in exact opposition to each other. That is, they will be directly across from one another on their path around the Sun. The choice has been written in the stars - old and new across from one another. Which way will we go?

Saturn is all about tradition, and doing things by the book - all about form and structure. Uranus is new, electric and represents upheaval and change. I don't have to tell you which candidate is represented by each do I? The fact that we have the elder McCain, and the young, unique Obama as our choice seems to have been written in the sky!

To add some mystery to it all - Pluto is making a move in Capricorn. Actually Pluto moved into Capricorn briefly this year but quickly retrograded back in Sagittarius where it will remain until after the election. Pluto is the harbinger of slow but deeply felt transformations and because it moves so slowly around the Sun, it stays in a sign for years, sometimes decades. When Pluto was in Sagittarius we saw the rise of spirituality around the world - as well as fundamentalism. (To everything there is a positive and shadow aspect!) With Pluto moving in to Capricorn we will see changes in those structures that control society - government and the financial infrastructure to name two.

I saw one of the best albeit unwitting explanations of this Pluto-Capricorn placement in the commentary section of the October 7, 2008 edition of "The Nation" Magazine written by William Greider. "Our country is at a rare and dangerous juncture. The old order is crumbling, and virtually all centers of power that govern us have been discredited by events."

The last time Pluto was in Capricorn we had the American and French Revolutions... does that tell you something about Pluto power?

But Joan, you say, you told us Pluto has moved back in Sagittarius so what is all of that talk about Capricorn? Well, I did say that - but I said it was just retrograding back for a short time. In fact, I believe that dip back into Sagittarius manifested as Gov. Sara Palin being named as VP nominee by John McCain. It was a life line tossed by the McCain campaign to the religious fundamentalist groups who are currently in control of our government. Hopefully the rope will slip from the hands on both sides.

There is no doubt, Pluto will bring change to governmental and societal structure and change is always painful. We are going to have to fasten our seat belts tightly as everything we once believed in and trusted is shaken to the core. This won't be fun.The choice is ours - in our fear do we follow Saturn back to an even more restrictive and authoritarian government or do we hold on to Uranus and have it guide us to a more open, exciting and humanitarian government?