Yes Mercury Is Going Retrograde Tomorrow!

and will stay that way until March 17 - so get ready for the communication problems, the cell phone issues.
Also, this is a time to beware of signing contracts. Be sure to leave extra time to get to work and just slow down. Retrogrades are times to go within and examine issues. Mercury issues are communication, learning and exchanging information. How do we do that? Can it be improved. Make the retrograde work for you!

Do You Feel It? Axial Procession and Aquarius

courtesy of arlenew.com

It is kind of a funny shift - suddenly right wing wedge issues - like gay marriage and immigration are not wedge issues any longer. In 2004, the GOP put gay marriage on ballots to help defeat John Kerry because they knew the outcry against it would be great. Now, the President can openly talk about it and receive popular support. Yes, it is almost a decade later but tolerance among the general population for marijuana legislation, gay marriage and better gun control is rapidly increasing.  Could it be we are actually, finally at the dawning of the Age of Aquarius?

We have heard a lot about the shift - the end of the times - the new way - the Mayan calendar but what really is going on?  Hang on this gets “mathy.”  Each of the twelve signs designated by the ancients to have the archetypal energy that emits from the Zodiac has an age associated with it. This corresponds with Astronomy's axial precession. Due to gravity, there is a continuous change in the orientation of Earth's axis of rotation as it goes around the Sun on the ecliptic so that the equinox times vary slightly each year.  When I mean slightly I mean slightly - this change occurs at a rate of 50.27 seconds of arc a year. Basically the equinoxes shift in time and location on a westward movement until it all comes back to the original spot. It takes a mere 26,000 years for the equinoxes to go back to their original spot. When you divide the 12 Zodiac signs by 26,000 you get astrological ages that last about 2167 years.

Of course, like all linear time it is hard to pinpoint exactly when each one starts and stops. Some people say the Aquarian Age started in the 1800’s and some put it at 2160. I think it is a good bet that it is somewhere in between and we are feeling the effects now. Aquarius is all about acceptance, brotherhood, unity, equality. The shadow is detachment – I love all mankind but don’t ask me to get too touchy-feely with any one in particular. So it is easy to take up causes but I want to sit in front of my computer instead of talking to my family.

Aquarius is quirky, future-oriented, logical, technologically adept and intelligent.  However, ego and a penchant for dogmatism are in that mix as well.   Expect more acceptance of people and their foibles and a feeling of unity and brotherhood– sorry Tea Party – technology that makes us now look like we are  in the ancient Roman days but less one-on-one contact and more loneliness and loners.

It will be a mysterious new world that we are walking into but we should embrace the positive Aquarian energy and join together!

Hillary - Part 2

Several people commented to me about last week's blog entry regarding Hillary Clinton and the 2016 Election. In it, I said that with a North Node in Taurus it might not be in her best interests to run because that is the Node which is searching for peace, stability and calm. Of course, you could argue that she is the type of person who can find those things in the White House. Again, I don't like to pass judgement on this big soul issues. The question that was asked of me was basically, if she runs will she win.

We are hampered by not knowing the exact time of her birth. Some astrologers are using a time around 8 AM because there is some talk that her mother went to the hospital late at night and said Hillary was born around 8. That time gives her a Scorpio ascendant and a stellium (five or more planets) in Scorpio in the 12th and 1st houses. Hillary exhibits many Scorpio traits such as determination, secretiveness and strength.

So assuming that this is the correct time, how does election day 2016 look for her. In a word, not too bad although there seems to be some more spiritual benefits for her on that day. Saturn conjuncts her progressed Sun in Sagittarius and in the first house. That is a definite harbinger of spiritual awakening and awareness. Does that mean her presidency would take on a spiritual quest for her or that she will be sitting somewhere saying wow I am glad I didn't run? 

She will have progressed Mars in the 10th - a very good sign for a leader and Jupiter and Neptune in the 11th - which is good for leading large groups of people. 

Who knows - she could find more benefit in forgoing the presidency and lead a different movement. One thing for sure, with all of that Scorpio, she loves all of this intrigue and secrecy!

Should Hillary Run?

Okay, I know the frenzy about who should be the new president two seconds after the current one is inaugurated is silly but it did get me thinking about Hillary Clinton's chart. We don't know what time she was born and for my purposes today that is not all that important. What is so interesting to me about her chart is her nodal axis. You know that as a karmic astrologer I am a freak about the north and south nodes. The north nodes is where we are going toward in this lifetime - and the south node is where we are coming from in the past.

Regardless of what time she as born, Hillary Clinton has a south node in Scorpio and a north in Taurus. Someone with this axis is coming from a past life that was full of drama and pathos. Scorpios just love to immerse themselves in the deep intrigues of life. Life and death battles are the juice they feed on. Of course, she has seen her share of drama in this life too.

However, with a north node in Taurus, she needs to move away from the drama and find stability and security in the world. Scorpio wants the fight while Taurus likes to be in the pasture, carefree and peaceful. The big lessons Taurus north node people is how to find personal safety. They need to leave the drama behind.

Can you leave drama behind as President of the United States? I doubt it. I am not one to judge whether a person gets into their north node or how they should do it. However, I do know that if she decides not to run she will be heading the call of the universe instead of the call of her supporters. Is that a better path? Only she knows for sure.

Jupiter About to Go Direct

Jupiter has been in retrograde for a while but fear not - she will go direct again on January 30 in Gemini. Jupiter in Gemini brings about a spewing of words! Think about Jupiter is the expansionist planet - the big one that makes everything it touches large. Now combine that with Gemini the communicator and this is generally a good time to discuss issues, solutions  etc. However, when Jupiter turns retrograde it is like those words are not connecting, we are all talking beyond ourselves.

Jupiter will remain direct until June 25 so this is a good time for consensus building and coming to agreements with our words and not just talking to look smarter or better or to confuse with our words. I hope Congress uses this time to build consensus- they have no excuse to be flapping their gums just to spew discord now.

She will stay close to Vesta, the asteroid of dedication and Lilith, the rebel all in the 12th. All of this "girl energy" in the house of secrets and working behind the scenes makes this a good time for women to work together to further their causes.

This weekend I participated in the March for Gun Control here in Washington and there was a lot of talk about making gun control the next big woman's issue. YES - this is the time for that! Maybe the time is finally here for the woman to band together and force Congress to get assault weapons and body piercing armor off of our streets! Come on Jupiter - we need you.

Inauguration Day!

Okay, Mr. President you have the transiting ascendant in the third house in Taurus - I am expecting one kick-butt inaugural address! You can do it - we know you can so I am looking for a bit more zing than your last one. Frankly, you should deliver the speech you gave on election night when the results came in. That was an "Obama speech."

He will certainly have our heart in it - with Neptune in Pisces transiting his first house his emotions are close to the surface. I have heard that the Newtown massacre of babies has more deeply affected him beyond his uncharacteristic emotional expression at the news conference held shortly after the murders. His passions are close to the surface now.

I am happy to see the Mars and Uranus opposition that has had me so nervous for his safety is starting to pass but it isn't far enough away for me to relax yet. I want Uranus out of his second house - but that won't happen for months and months. 

More hopeful is the Uranus in Aries conjunct Pallas (the warrior goddess) in Aries opposing his progressed Sun in the house of power (8). Anyone expecting the conciliatory first term Obama better hold onto his hat! Yippee.

Good luck Mr. President and list to Truman - give them hell.

Uranus in Aries -

I was asked to expand on the meaning of Uranus in Aries which I mentioned in last week's blog. Uranus moved into Aries in 2011 and will remain there until 2018.  Uranus energy is quick and rebellious and demands change. Uranus also controls electricity and is very much energy on the "cusp of the future."  

Uranus has no time for now - it is always looking for what is coming down the pike.

Uranus - and the sign it controls Aquarius, is very interested in humanitarian activity. The irony is that Aquarians can be very detached from individual people but are great lovers of mankind.

The shadow of Uranus is unsettling change, uncontrolled rebellion and erratic motion. It is hard to control lightening in a bottle. 

Aries, of course, is the ancient god of war and the archetype is male, aggressive energy. Aries is a Cardinal sign, the sign of the leader and serves a necessary role in giving us our drive, energy and ego. However, the shadow of Aries is ego-centricity and even violence.

This period while Uranus is in Aries should bring us advances in humanitarian causes- people willing to really take up the causes of those less fortunate. I also predict that electronics will take off even more than they have been in recent years. 

Unfortunately, we will experience more violence like the shootings in Colorado and Connecticut and perhaps even some erratic dictators on the loose.

The last time Uranus was in Aries was 1927 – 1935 in which we saw the following events:

Rise of Third Reich

Depression

The Rise of Mahatma Gandhi

Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh