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!

The Moons of February – Get Ready for Pisces Energy

YES! There was a full Moon on Valentine’s Day and it was in Leo. I didn’t post that information and heard from a few people about that. Sorry! So for your planning  – there will be a new Moon on February 28th and it will be in Pisces. For those who do new Moon manifestations – this is a very spiritual Moon.  Not only will the Moon be in Pisces, but it will be conjunct with Neptune, the planet the rules Pisces. There is no better time to let the imagination and your spiritual awareness soar.

Jupiter, which in the days before Neptune made its appearance to us, was given ruler ship of Pisces, will be making a harmonious aspect to both bodies. Jupiter’s energy is one of expansion and reaching beyond our borders. Moon dreams, Neptune spirituality and Jupiter growth — it all sounds like a wonderful combination!

Yes, Jupiter will still be in retrograde for another month. So you will have to do a little more work to tap into that energy. Half the fun is in getting there isn’t it?

It’s only a Super Moon……

but it isn’t floating in a cardboard sky…. For those of us on the East Coast the Super Moon will be at its height at 6:32 AM on June 23 (of course to see it check it out on the night of the 22nd when it is dark.)
The Moon will be in Capricorn in the 6th house conjunct Pluto. This is an odd placement frankly. Pluto conjunct the Moon is a time for emotional changes – but the Moon is going to be in very unemotional Capricorn in a house that vibrates to Virgo – another tamped down Earth sign (at least for East Coast folks). I can see folks having this internal emotional explosions! Or, hopefully, people quietly working on their emotional issues.

The best advice I would give is to see how your emotions might be affecting your health (6th house) and how you can get them more in control.

In any case – enjoy the view – and let’s hope it doesn’t rain – or do anything else…you know how the Moon loves to mess with the tides and the weather….

Oh Stop Grumbling

I got a call from a friend yesterday. “What the heck is going on – it is a horrible day for everyone here?” Well calls like that send me right to my friendly computer to divine the answers from on high – yes, from Microsoft. Well there it was in black and white, sort of. The Moon is now conjuncting Saturn and it is “full” too boot.

Look to the left of the chart. See the crescent shape of the Moon sitting right next to the funky H, the symbol for Saturn? They are conjunct one another – meaning the influence of Saturn is all over the poor little Moon. Now is a “bad” thing but it does constrict things and can have a very depressive influence. So if the Moon rules emotions and Saturn is beating up on it – do you see where grumpiness can ensue? Don’t worry the Moon is a fast mover, it will be pulling away in a day or two. P.S. You can tell when the Moon is “full” when it is across from the Sun – the Sun is the circle with a dot in the middle. The further from the Sun, the more the Moon can “shine.”

That Funny Lunar Eclipse

Remember when I said that the Lunar Eclipse would cut across linear time? Well it sure did. Saturday I was scheduled to represent First Book (a great charity that gets books into the hands of kids) at a gift giving fare at a local church. I had known for weeks that my shift was 10a- 12 noon. However, when I woke up Saturday morning I was convinced that I had the whole morning to play around because my shift didn’t start until noon! I was enjoying the morning, drinking up the eclipse when I suddenly heard my blackberry sound the 15 minute alarm.

I couldn’t help but laugh – the eclipse was having fun with me. By making me forget the correct time for my appointment, the universe allowed me to have some eclipse time. Had I remembered the 10:00 AM start I probably would have been spending eclipse time getting ready – and while I had to rush around the house like a chicken with its head cut off – I was able to spend time with the moon AND get to the event in time.

How did you feel the eclipse?

Moon and Jupiter – Appearing Together Now!

There are many spots on planet Earth, including the East Coast, where you can get a good shot of a Moon/Jupiter conjunction. For the next few nights look to the right of the silvery Moon and you will see a bright dot – that is Jupiter. The Moon is now 7 degrees Taurus, and retrograded Juptier is 3 degrees Taurus. Now we know that the Moon and Jupiter are NOT right next to one another in the sky; four degrees of Taurus is a long stretch of  property. However, it gives you a good idea of what we mean by a conjunction.

You can see this conjunction on the chart above. Look on the right side in the seventh house. You see a quarter Moon and then slightly downward is the big 4 – that is the symbol of Jupiter.  Charts are snapshots of the sky at a moment in time!

Happy Solstice! What does that mean anyway?

It is the Summer Solstice! Yippee! Ok so what does that mean exactly? It is defined in astronomy as the time when the Earth tips on its axis and the Northern part becomes closest to the Sun. For those of us in the Northern hemisphere it brings the onset of summer. It is also the longest day of the year when we have the most sunlight. Astrologically, it is the moment when the Sun tips into Cancer. As you can see in the chart below – the Sun, signified by the blue circle with the dot in the center is in zero degrees Cancer. This will happen at 7:30 AM Eastern on June 21, 2010.

The word solstice comes from the Latin – sol – Sun -and sistere – to stand still and it does look from our vantage point on the ecliptic that the Sun is standing still in the sky. (Yes, I know it always stands still but they didn’t know that when Latin was all the rage.) We know now that because of the way we are tilting it appears that the Sun is static. The science has changed but not the name. For about three days it seems that the Sun has nothing better to do than pour a heavy concentration of its light right on our little heads. Summer is a time of fire, when the sun is growing our crops and providing the food that will nourish our bodies throughout the rest of year.

Cancer, however, is a water sign and tells us that it is the time for home and the enjoyment of friends of family. Summer is the traditional time for family picnics and reunions enjoyed under the warming rays of the Sun – usually by the water. The United States, a country “born” under the sign of Cancer – July 4, 1776 instituted a day of outdoor family celebration right at this time of sun and water!

Later, as the Sun moves into fiery Leo, we will experience the full intensity of the Sun as we move into the “dog days” of summer and finally earthy Virgo takes over in time of the harvest.

What is the “best” way to celebrate the Summer Solstice? Any darn way you please. However, if can incorporate water and fire elements into the day you will be very satisfied I am sure.

This year, Juno, the goddess of loyalty and partnership, will be in conjunction with the Sun as will Mercury. However, this Sun-Juno combination, which is normally of time of committing to someone else, is opposite a Pluto-Ceres conjunction. Pluto is the great transformer – the slow and grinding changer. Ceres is mother Earth. (HMMM Pluto and Ceres are in conjunction in the 6th house of health and physicality and the Earth is erupting toxic oil into the Gulf. Think about that one for a bit.) Add to this mix that the Sun-Juno sisters are in the 12th house – the house of the great cosmic unconsciousness – the house of karma. Can you see what is happening?

A Pluto opposition is a demand to change. Pluto is opposing the Sun – our life force – and Juno – loyalty and commitment and it has karma thrown in. So we will see a time when people are questioning their commitments to others and if it is a karmic commitment – people who came together “like magic” in this lifetime there could be some debt paying to one another. Ceres and Juno in opposition cause “female problems,” i.e. mothers and daughters questioning their relationships. Children particularly from other marriages will be chafing under the rules of the “new mommy.”

So while we are playing on the beach this summer, look out for the sharks. No, not those sharks – the ones that will crop up from the dance of the stars over head!

Happy Solstice all!

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Void of Course Moon

Sounds pretty spooky huh? Well it isn’t – not really. However, the reason I am writing about this today is because I got a number of comments from people feeling lost and confused on New Year’s Day. There can be a hundred different reasons why a person feels out of sorts – and most have to do with what is happening in their charts at that time. When the Moon is Void of Course – it can play havoc with all of our emotions regardless of what else is happening in your chart.

So what does that phrase mean? Very simply it is when the Moon is stepping from one constellation to another and makes no aspects to any other heavenly body. ANY heavenly body that is not aspecting another is running amuck – it has no aspect to hold it in check. So when the Moon is Void of Course, our emotions (because they are controlled by the Moon) are all over the place. It is a bad time to make important decisions, sign contracts or pick that fight with your spouse. It is a time to pull back, meditate and breathe!

Void of course happens often. The Moon goes around the Earth every 28 days… so it visits each astrological constellation once every month. When it is moving from one sign to the other it is Void of Course – and that is when the fun begins. On January 1, 2010 the Moon was moving from Cancer to Leo – it was Void of Course so many people felt out of whack. If your Moon is natally in Cancer or Leo or making an aspect to them, the effect will be amplified. So every few days when you feel like tossing your computer out of the window and the dog after it – breathe… the Moon just might be on its way into another sign. It will get there soon and all will be “normal” again!