March 2017 – Joan Porte

America’s April Fools Chart

For some reason this year I have a strong desire to study the chart of the United States on April fool’s Day and believe I do not do it with any glee. I have written extensively about this countries Pluto return – which demands that we reevaluate the negative aspects of our relationships to money and values. Now Juno is joining the “party.”

Juno is the mythological royal consort whose domain was hearth, home and marriage. Known to the Greeks as Hera, she rules the area of one on one relationships, rituals, women’s rights and empowering the downtrodden.

She is now in a five degree conjunction with Pluto and when these two get together the energy is of deep personal and social transformation. This transformation takes place in partnership. Even if one person undergoes a change, it is change that another instigates.

This can be a time revealing dictatorial, power-hungry, or destructive forces. Combined with the coming retrograde of Saturn and Mercury we can be in for a year of startling even cataclysmic revelations. However, if Pluto is to do his work of ferreting out secrets and muck we need this type of catharsis.

That is no joke.

Happy Spring!

Happy Equinox all! This is the time when the Sun moves into the sign of Aries, the first sign of the Zodiac. It is no wonder that all of the major organized religions celebrate this time as a time of rebirth and renewal. Aries is the Baby of the Zodiac. It vibrates to the energy of the first house – the house of personality where we burst out and say hey world look at me. The Equinox brings forth the newness of spring – where we plant new seeds for change.

Plant the seeds now to burst forth with the person you want to be when the summer solstice comes around!

This year we have a stellium (five or more bodies) together in Pisces. They include a tight conjunction of the Sun, Mercury and Venus. On the positive aspect of this – these instill creativity, compassion and concern which I believe we are seeing in reaction to the draconian elements of Trump world. In shadow, all of this Pisces energy can give us the desire to escape harsh reality and live in fantasy. I hope we remain on the side of compassion.

Spring is a time for renewal – let’s hope we all understand the value and need for continuing emergence of spirit.

Happy Spring.

Venus Retrograde and the Trump Tax Return

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow presented with a bit too much hype our first glimpse at some of Donald Trump’s tax returns. It is no accident that this fleeting glimpse occurred during a rare Venus retrograde into the masculine sign of Aries. It is amusing that a woman (Maddow) revealed the tax returns of someone who fancies himself ultra-masculine and strong (Trump) during such a retrograde. It is very possible, in fact likely, that Trump leaked a tiny portion of his returns during a year that he actually paid some taxes as another distraction technique. Still it all happened during the retrograde of the planet ruling money.

Venus holds the purse strings of the Zodiac. Her domain is money, creativity and sexuality. During a retrograde period we should go inside ourselves and find where we need to correct areas that planet rules, with which we are unhappy or are causing you issues in your life.

If people are not shall we say enlightened, a retrograde can be a bad time, because secrets that we don’t want to face come to the surface. If Trump did release those returns he may have done it to distract from a larger issues but it did come back to bite him later.

During retrogrades, we need to take stock, review what is no longer working and plan new routes of action. On the other hand, secrets that we don’t want know can come out and make us face the music. It is up to us how we use and work the retrograded action. It can be a time or renewal or fear – as usual, it is all up to us.

Jupiter in Retrograde

Jupiter turns retrograde for a period of about four months every thirteen months. It is a long transit “backwards” for this planet deep in the solar system. The current Jupiter retrograde began on February 6 in the socially-oriented sign of Libra.

Libra goes to extremes and bring you to the point of co-dependence. Always seeking balance and peace among all people, Libra often loses herself to the demands of those closest to her.

Jupiter, so expansive in nature, also has a hard time in containment and can push us to do everything in excess and take unnecessary risks.

All retrogrades are a time rip for introspection and since both Libra and Jupiter deal with outward energy, it is a good time to pull in. Are other people influencing you too much, are you spending too much time and/or money entertaining or competing with them? Are you socializing and not working on your inner peace? Overeating, drinking and gambling are also areas that Jupiter can lead us to go overboard.

This is a time to pull in, reassess and scale down excess. Living with the lines and our means are not bad things. Use this time to learn how to do pull back and relax.