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, Forgotten Women of History and Great Holiday Recipes Too!

HI!

Check out two sites today for some fun listening and reading. First, I am excited to report that we have a new podcast up on Web Talk Radio which is dedicated to my favorite planet Pluto and features a interview with the always-interesting MCV Egan. She talks about her fascinating book, “Bridge of Deaths” and how she is resolving this 70 year old mystery utilizing past life regressions among other modalities!

Listen to MCV and find out why I love Pluto at
http://webtalkradio.net/internet-talk-radio/2013/12/09/astrological-cook-producing-change-with-pluto/

Remember you can get downloads on your RSS feed by going to
http://webtalkradio.net/internet-talk-radio/category/podcasts/fun-food-pets-and-travel/astrological-cook/feed/

If you love History then you jump over to MCV’s blog “Is History the Agreed Upon Lie” and see my 7 part series on The Forgotten Women of History.”  – Remember there are 7 entries – check out all 7 women.

http://ishistorytheagreeduponlie.blogspot.com/2013/12/forgotten-women-of-history-hetty-green.html

Happy Holidays – remember there is still time to order a copy of “Signs of the Tines: The Ultimate Astrological Cookbook” for a unique gift! www.signsofthetines.com

PS! The recipe I talk about this week is my Sausage and Sage Stuffing (or Dressing) but below is a great egg and breadcrumb recipe my Mom always made.

Jean Garofalo Porte’s Egg and Bread Stuffing
Serves 6 -8
Note:  Mom had a bin full of stale bread and when full she would toast the bread and then grate it into breadcrumbs on the hand-grater that I still have. I sort of do the same although I don’t eat the amount of bread that we did back then. However, I grind up the toasted bread in the food processor – sorry Mom, time moves on as does technology!
1-tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium stalks celery, diced
5 large eggs
4 cups breadcrumbs
½ cup Italian flat-leaf parsley, minced
1-teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
½ cup – to 1-cup chicken stock.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a small sauté pan. Add the onion, celery, and sauté about 5 minutes until they are getting soft. (IF you are making turkey and want to dice up the giblets and add now – do so – they add great flavor.) Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl then add the breadcrumbs, parsley, salt, pepper, and thyme. Combine well. Add the onion, celery mixture and enough chicken stock so it is moist but not falling apart.  You want this to be almost cake like – not crumbly like other stuffing.
NOTE: If you have drippings from a chicken or turkey or are smart enough to save them from past meals add about 1 tablespoon of drippings now.
Turn the mixture into a greased 2 quart baking pan and bake for 30 minutes or until the top is lightly browned.

Mom would stuff this into a veal shoulder and serve with a brown gravy but it will work for any stuffing need. 

I Will Say It Again – Uranus Square Pluto

OK I haven’t a clue. That is my answer when someone asks me what is going to happen this week with the Washington mess. Astrologers are NOT fortune-tellers and if someone tells you they are, run away – run far away. All I will say is keep your eyes on that hard square between Retrograded Uranus and Pluto. Uranus is in Aries – the sign of unbridled male energy and warrior drive and it is retrograded meaning it is churning inward and misdirected – and OH LOOK where it is over Washington right now —- it is on the cusp of the second house – the house of money and resources. Uranus is the planet depicted rebellious energy – quick change, hard to grasp energy. (So yes, it would be the sign of people trying to disrupt the social order.) But wait there is more… It squares – or makes a disharmonious aspect to Pluto, the slow and grinding change planet. And – I could NOT make this up – Pluto is in the 10th house, the house of government and authority structures- and is in Capricorn the sign that vibrates to the 10th house. Who will win this tug of war and what is winning? Is winning destroying American resources – to some it might be?

I take some hope looking at the biwheel of American and the current transits. That Uranus is in our 4th house – so yes they disrupting our “family” but Vesta/Ceres – in Virgo is sitting on the cusp of the 10th house. Vesta, the burning heart’s desire, and Ceres, the planet of the mother, nurturer – can come together to provide a balm. However, Vesta does not make it easy. So we will have some “paying of the piper” for appeasing the lunatic fringe – the people who want to destroy our country. I hate to depress you further but Saturn is about to move into the 12th house for America – that is a time that forces us to face what we have been avoiding. It essence it makes us comes to terms with our secrets, our inner fears and the lies we tell ourselves. IF we use that time to be honest about what these Tea Party haters are then perhaps, – perhaps – all of this pain will be worth it. However, even if we win we will lose – something.

Download my Astrological Cook podcasts! http://webtalkradio.net/internet-talk-radio/astrological-cook/

Pluto Leaves Retrograde!!!!!

The long astrological nightmare is soon to be over… to paraphrase Gerald Ford. Our poor beleaguered little planet is finally pulling out of those big planet retrogrades – Uranus, Pluto, Neptune and the asteroid Juno. A retrograde is the phenomena that makes a planet look like it is going backwards in the sky. This is a trick of the eye because of where we are on the ecliptic and where they are. Astrologically, when a planet is in retrograde the energy that it is sending us is “garbled.” We have to search for it. If you are born with a planet retrograded, you need to go inwards, and rework that energy. Therefore, people with Mercury energy may not learn “normally” or have speech issues – they need to work that energy in a new way. We have all been under a retrograde of these “big guys” for several months and boy have we felt it…fighting, anger, feelings of being stuck…well hang on – the first one, Pluto, will station direct and start moving forward starting September 20th. Take advantage of this by putting some change that you have been contemplating into motion. Pluto rules the world of change – transformation and rebirth. So what have you been procrastinating about? Do it – do it now. Pluto will burst forth with energy on the 20th, which will help you. Be sure to check my new podcast on webtalkradio.com http://webtalkradio.net/internet-talk-radio/astrological-cook/

Pluto Return for USA

I have to admit I didn’t “feel it” this 4th of July…it was a pretty quiet day and I didn’t even think to put my flag out, something I do every year. Things have been in overdrive for me lately but there was something more. I just wasn’t in the mood to celebrate.
It got me thinking of our country and the general sense of ennui so many of us have. We can’t get anything done, the infrastructure is falling apart, we are at least ten years behind in cell phone technology, our immigration policy sucks, we are letting other countries beat us at renewable energy and all we hear about are fat old men talking about women’s bodies and people’s sex lives. 
Then it hit me. Pluto is in Capricorn. American was “born” the last time Pluto was in Capricorn, we are in our Pluto return which will hit its apex in 2020. Any “return” of a slow planet is big because that energy returns to where it was at birth and asks the question, what have you done with yourself since I last visited. People never experience a Pluto return unless they are Methuselah’s grandfather. It takes over 250 years for Pluto to walk around the Sun. Any return is a time of stress, of reassessment
Of course, when the planet hit Capricorn in 2008, it did what we expected – cause big change in the structure of society like the banking system. Secrets of the rich and powerful were uncovered (i.e. Penn State, Catholic Church.) It also caused some other troubling changes such as the corporate personhood.  Pluto brings change and Capricorn deals with authority, government – the fabric of society. 
So what does this mean for the country as Pluto grinds through Capricorn? Frankly I don’t think anyone knows. I have read several articles on the subject. There are the requisite number of “the sky will fall and we will all go back to a nature-based people: America will be no more” articles. I expected that. Astrology has its fair share of alarmists.
My personal take is that government secrets will continue to come out and there will be more scandals and secrets. While I don’t think America will be no more, I do think it will be a vastly different place in 2024 – aware finally that we wasted almost 2 decades appeasing the lunatic right while the world marched on and we will realize what most already know – we are no longer number one.
Pluto was retrograded when America was born – perhaps we will right that backwards movement. Maybe our government will be more responsive to the people not just the rich ones? Perhaps we will head into Pluto Aquarius with a real sense of what is important and work together to catch up what we lost when asleep. I can always hope….

Next time – what does Saturn in Scorpio mean to the US?

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.

OK Pluto Keep Your Shirt ON!

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2012/11/The-Shirtless-Pictures-and-Mysterious-e-Relationship-of-People-Related-to-Broadwell-and-Petraeus-But-Who-Are-Not-Broadwell-and-Petraeus

Hey guys I know that Pluto in Capricorn exposes the secrets of authority figures and topples the old structure of doing things but this is getting a bit much no?

This whole scandal has got a huge ewww factor and frankly I wish Pluto had kept this under wraps. I never did care much to learn the sex habits of leaders whether it was Clinton or Patraeus.

Akin and Armstron- More Victims of Pluto in Capricorn?

I have written before about Pluto and how it causes change and transforming by bringing out what is hidden into the light. As Pluto grinds slowly through the Zodiac moving from sign to sign it effects change on society in the areas dominated by that sign.  In 2008, when Pluto moved into Capricorn, the sign associated with authoritarian structures of society, we saw the positive and shadow effects of this change. The banking system collapsed but we also elected our first African American president.  Recently we have seen the secrets of the Penn State sports authorities whose horrible secrets finally came to light. The Wikileaks scandal is another example of Pluto and Capricorn in action.

This week when his ludicrous statements about rape went viral, I thought again about Pluto. Congressman Todd Atkins’ comments were not accidental slips of the tongue; he was honestly voicing the beliefs held by the far right which now has the GOP in a death grip.  These concepts of “legitimate” or “forcible” rape have been kicking around the GOP for years. Indeed, the current GOP Vice Presidential nominee cosponsored a piece of legislation using the words “forcible rape.” Their secret anti-woman agenda was now out in the open and ripe for public scrutiny.

A few days later we learned that once beloved Lance Armstrong finally gave up his anti-doping crusade and was stripped of his titles. Another icon falls due to secrets now exposed.

Pluto is going to hang around in Capricorn until 2023 so there will be a lot more icons and pillars of society that will see their secrets come out. How far this will go is anyone’s guess. The last time Pluto hit this sign we saw the French and American revolutions. The uprisings in the Middle East are current signs of this societal angst against oppressive regimes.

Revolution will not ferment throughout every society but these secrets will keep coming out and toppling the once venerated who are rotting from within.

Energy Energy – Uranus and Pluto Squares.

Between 2012-2015 when Uranus in Aries will square Pluto in Capricorn 7 times. This is the ultimate clash of unbridled change energy and slow and steady almost grinding change energy.

For those who like to keep track of such things here are the dates of the exact squares:

June 24, 2012
September 19, 2012
May 20, 2013
November 1, 2013
April 21, 2014
December 15, 2014
March 16/17, 2015

These transits are not always easy. The demand to change and rebel against old stuffy institutions will be intense. There can be even bigger revolutions that we are seeing now, corporate power struggles and even unexpected deaths of people and institituions.

This will also be a time for the further advancement of scientific and technological breakthroughs.

For indiviuals, you could see the end of old relationships.

Remember what I said when Pluto entered Capricorn – this is a time of big change to corporations and government. Well when Uranus throws it’s electical energy into that hang on kids becuase the ride will excilerating and very bumpy!

Solstice Time

I love winter Solstice  – it is a time of rebirth in the midst of stillness and “death” and is the ultimate of optimistic universal events. This year the Solstice will actually take place around 12:30 AM on the 22nd of December. That is when the Sun moves into 0 degrees Capricorn.  Looking at the Solstice chart I am seeing alot of unsettled energy around Uranus and Pluto (which will be hugging the Sun for at least the first week into the Solstice.)

Now I tend to be a wee more pessimistic than some – that is the Scorpio Sun in me. I had a discussion with another astrologer today who sees this chart as some kind of awakening where people come together and put aside some differences in a Christmas week sing around the Christmas tree like a bunch of Whos.  He actually said politicians may come together and do something good for America! Silly boy.

I see it is something “big” happening between the 26th and 29th – some group or person pushing the limits so much that more than just the “Occupiers” will want to do something. I see the Uranus square Sun/Pluto as a real explosive energy and the Neptune, Vesta, Chiron conjunction in Aquarius being the “birth” of a new cooperative energy but from the ground up not the top down.

So sit tight and see who eats crow just before the new year.

Happy Holidays ALL!!