Category: Evolutionary Astrology

The first Full Moon of 2015 comes storming in late evening on Sunday, January 4 as part of another – yes, sorry to say – a cardinal grand cross. The Moon is in Cancer, Sun is in Capricorn and “crossing” them are Uranus and the South Node in Aries and the North Node in Libra. All of these are cardinal signs infused with the energy of action and strength.

While these dynamic energies battling it out in the sky may trigger emotional crises, they are also another dose of good “change” energy abundant in the New Year. (See my blog last week about the Pluto/Sun/Vesta conjunction.)

Cancer is the sign of emotional attachment – think of it like the nurturing – perhaps too nurturing – mommy of the zodiac. Capricorn is the rather stern daddy energy. Use this energy to remove undesirable emotional attachments from your life’s baggage. Where do you have to be rather stern and say “no more?” Stopping your conditioned emotional response to a person or situation may cause upheaval. However, isn’t that better than continued suffering? Growth is never pain free. Freedom always comes at some initial pain.

To be “full” the Moon must be opposite from the Sun. With our current Sun/Pluto conjunction, the Moon is now also opposite Pluto. There is no better time to undergo a deep transformation (Pluto) regarding people and things that trigger deep emotional controls on you. Pluto wants us to be self- empowered. Who is sucking your emotional energy, or should I say who are you allowing to suck your emotional energy? Where do you not have control over your emotional responses?

With the North and South Node axis a huge part of this cross, be sure to work on breaking free from karmic patterns of emotional addiction.

There is nothing pussyfooted about this Full Moon. It is your chance to go deep into yourself, deep into your past, deep into the ingrained emotional responses that may be ruling you subconsciously and reset them.

This Moon will be making a positive aspect to Chiron, the wounded warrior. The pain evoked by your Moon work, while troubling, is coming to the surface for an important reason. Emotional healing and clearing cannot happen without the wound reopening a wound, no matter how old, and applying the necessary ointment.

We have two good signs in the sky this New Years to help us make plans for 2015. I am not a fan of “resolutions” because I feel we make them under pressure and therefore they are often unrealistic. However, if you are prone to make them this year would be the time because we have Pluto, the change agent, and Vesta, the asteroid that makes us overcome obstacles, on the Sun (our inner energy) on New Year’s Day. Therefore, we can focus on the changes that we need to make with intensity and the drive to put them into action.

The other good sign for change is a Saturn/Pallas conjunction in Sagittarius. As I said last week, two days after the Solstice, on December 23, 2014 Saturn left Scorpio and, for the first time in 30 years and moved into Sagittarius. It will remain there, after a short retrograde back to Scorpio from June 16 – Sept 18, 2015, until December 20, 2017.

Sagittarius vibrates to the ninth house of higher education, foreign affairs, international travel, publishing and personal spiritual and philosophical growth. Its planetary ruler is huge Jupiter, with control over ideals, education, religion and laws. Pallas was the goddess of both war and peace – of fighting the good fight and then reveling in the peace afterwards by building arts centers and hospitals. She takes up the causes of the underdog and makes us fight the good fight. That is a lot of energy in Sagittarius – the seeker, the wanderer the sign most interested in intercultural, inter-religious exchange. In short, it is a lot of energy of learning, growing and moving forward that I hope we all use!

Happy New Year and keep these positive energies in the sky in mind as we open the door to 2015

Merry Solstice, Happy Yule – yesterday was the Winter Solstice, also called the shortest day and longest night of the year. From this day forward, the light will gradually return until the Spring Equinox when light and dark are again in balance. As we emerge from the inward darkness energy into the light again it is a good time to reflect (no pun intended) on the inward light that shines from us.

Two days after the Solstice, on December 23, 2014 Saturn will leave Scorpio and, for the first time in 30 years, move into Sagittarius. It will remain there, after a short retrograde back to Scorpio from June 16 – Sept 18, 2015, until December 20, 2017.

Sagittarius vibrates to the ninth house of higher education, foreign affairs, international travel, publishing and personal spiritual and philosophical growth. Its planetary ruler is huge Jupiter, with control over ideals, education, religion and laws.

Saturn rules structure, authority and requires us to pay attention to rules while Sagittarius, although not one to mock authority, hates being hamstringed by outdated rigidity. This is a perfect time to re-evaluate religion and conflicts between extremist and hard right “religions” and true religions of goodwill and peace will be prominent. This will be most prominent in 2015 because Saturn will make hard aspects with Neptune, the planet of spirituality. Sadly, this could lead to some bloody clashes in areas where religion and violence doing a sorrowful dance.

New educational techniques will come to the forefront ad well and explosion in computer learning. I hope that we will take advantage of this passage to loosen the economic bondage now forced on students seeking higher education in this country.

Foreign boundaries can change as they did 1980’s. The recent opening of Cuba with the help of a progressive Pope is a perfect example of the energy of Saturn in Sagittarius. In fact, the whole idea of a Pope shaking up the bureaucracy is a Saturn-Sagittarius energy so expect some more surprises from Pope Francis.
We should see new forms of publishing and other methods for reaching the public that shake up the already shaky book industry.

Most importantly look for Saturn in your personal chart. What house is it in? What aspects does it make? Saturn brings worry and responsibility. For instance, with Saturn in the first you will put too much pressure on yourself and battle with depression or despondency. How can you use the expansiveness of Jupiter to lessen that burden, that constant pressure you place upon yourself to perform?

Remember Jupiter and Sagittarius encourage us to grow, seek, expand and explore!

With the recent attention on the problem of police shootings of unarmed African American males, many of them teens and young adults, many are questioning our system of law enforcement. While many people of color life their lives in this atmosphere of shoot first and interrogate later, the awareness of these actions and the anger they are causing to a much wider community are getting more media attention. What can be causing this astrologically? I attribute it to the slow but insidious work of Pluto as it moves through the sign of Capricorn that governs government and authority structures.

Pluto spares nothing when it comes calling. The planet forces us to go deep within and make changes as it transverses each sign. Now in the sign of Capricorn, the domain of which is authority, government and literally the fabric and formation of society. We have seen the banking system unravel, church scandals, sports scandals, etc. since 2008, when Pluto enter Capricorn. Now the dirty little secrets of policing awaken. Capricorn will host Pluto until 2026. Yes, we have a long way to go.

Pluto requires change but the changes made are up to us. Frankly, I think we have done a terrible job of it. We elected President Obama and then expected him to do everything to “change” the government. When the right wing yells we progressives retreat and allow them to have their way. The architects of the banking collapse received no punishment, the one percent are getting richer and the middle class is crumbling. If Capricorn rules structure well our infrastructure is also crumbing because no one has the guts to say we need to spend money.

We have a choice in the next 10 years to demand the real change the Pluto requires. This is especially true because The United States is about to undergo a Pluto return. Pluto takes 248 years to make a revolution through all of the signs and in 1776 on July 4; it was at 27 degrees Capricorn. It will make that return by 2020 back to 27 degrees Capricorn. This is a classic case of chickens coming home to roost. If we have all of this upheaval but fail to solve root problems then it will be a very difficult Pluto return for this country and one sadly we will not recognize in the very near future.

Today the Moon floats into fiery Aries and forms a grand trine with Jupiter in Leo and Venus in Sagittarius fire signs. While this can make tempers flare, it is also a perfect time to make plans for growth (Jupiter) and money (Venus). In addition, Mars is in staid and steady Capricorn and making a positive aspect to Capricorn’s ruler, Saturn. You can’t ask for a better time to organize, analyze and evaluate. All of those New Year’s resolutions, that we hear so much about, should be germinating in you now! There will be no better time before the New Year to take stock and make lists.

The December Full Moon takes place on December 6 and will be on the Gemini (Moon), Sagittarius (Sun) axis. (I love that axis is because that is my North and South Node axis.) Sagittarius is all about formulating ideas and Gemini is communicating those ideas. Hmmm, do you see a pattern here?

With the Sun conjunct Mercury, Ceres and Venus that day there is no reason for you not to start moving your new ideas into the public arena. No excuses – think it, believe it – do it!

On Thursday of this week, November 27, Mercury enters Sagittarius. Considering his speed, it is interesting that he will stay there until December 16. That is a long time for Mercury. This is a great transition time from the inward work that a Mercury in Scorpio transit asks to and outward expression of your thoughts and feelings. Along with the upward and outward searching aspect, that is such a part of Sagittarius, optimism and a thirst for knowledge is prevalent.

Ok here is the good and the bad of this ingress on Thanksgiving. On one hand, Sagittarius is gregarious, outgoing, and interesting in gleaning knowledge from every source. However, Sagittarius in overdrive is fundamentalism, righteousness and the tendency for people to see only their side of the truth. Can you see the makings of some interesting Thanksgiving discussions?

On Sunday, just as the Thanksgiving reverse rush ensues, Mercury squares Neptune. Not only is this a bad time for making contracts, it can also lead to last minute disagreements as people aren’t always as sincere with their word. So make an extra effort no look for last minute family slights.

Have a happy Thanksgiving and remember – the upside of Mercury in Sagittarius is warmth, fun and an honest exchange of ideas!

The Sun tips into Sagittarius this week, on November 22, and will do so with an abundance of energy. The Sun is in the house in which Sagittarius feels most comfortable, the ninth. This is the house of spiritual seeking and searching for our true beliefs. The Sun is sandwiched between the Moon also in Sagittarius and Saturn that will enter that sign in December. This brings not only emotional intensity but also a determination to achieve goals, which in this case are expanding, and spreading beliefs. While this can be dangerous when dealing with zealots, it is also a good time to reconnect with any religious, spiritual practices that may have fallen away. Think of it as a good time to renew and review last year’s resolutions before the year fades away.

With Mercury and Pallas closing ranks, expect a week of vitriolic words and outlandish statements and actions by those people more militantly spiritual. It is also a time to speak truth that you have kept hidden, Just keep your eye on the prize of growth and following your own path.

Today Mars and Pluto will be making another tango in the sky and will be involving that high-energy change artist, Uranus. The energies of Mars, of course, are aggression, leadership and in the extreme anger and war. Pluto goes to the root of all problems and churns up hidden secrets and buried fears. Together, they can lead to a combustible situation whereby deeply held feelings, angers, and concerns bubble up in an angry stew. This can apply to individuals as well as countries. It is a time for everyone to take a deep breath and allow emotions to come out in a more positive, more peaceful manner.

When Uranus jumps into the mix, the combustibility intensifies. Uranus contains impatient energy and he has no patience for Pluto’s slowness. Can you see how this is like a clash of the rebellious, angry teenager (Mars and Uranus) with old, sly grandpa who spends his days rooting out everyone’s secret diaries just to blast them all at the dinner table (Pluto)? This is not a happy family. Keep this in mind as we go through the next few days, please.

On a much brighter note, the Moon enters the sign of Cancer today and forms a water grand trine (a positive flow of energy) with Mercury in Scorpio and Neptune in Pisces! The Moon rules Caner and Neptune rules Pisces so they are very happy where they are. If you are one who prefers not to hang out in the arena of aggression and harm, use all of this mystical water energy to tame your emotions and hone your spiritual practices.
The energies in the sky are much like our own civilization – half trying to reach new heights of cooperation, goodwill and understanding and half myriad in racial hatred and myopia. You know I am rooting for the water signs to win out. How about you?

Fortunately, November looks to be less challenging than October. For one thing, Mercury is out of retrograde and that is always a good thing! While last month’s full Moon was in warrior Aries and conjunct that rebellious teenager of the Zodiac, Uranus, this month’s will be in creative and sensual Taurus. The Moon will be “full” on November 6. Prepare for this by working on the creative areas you want to expand, whether they be around food, artistry of some kind or sexuality. The Sun will be in Scorpio, the Moon will be in Taurus – get a little crazy!

If you do not have your fix for creativity and sensuality on November 6, don’t worry. Taurus’ ruler, Venus enters expansive Sagittarius on November 16. Sagittarius loves to break boundaries and shoot her arrow into the stars finding adventure and excitement.

If you can handle some more growth and creative expression, on November 22, the day the Sun moves in Sagittarius we will be under the influence of a New Moon, a perfect time for manifestation.

I suggest you make a list of your creative goals and use this wonderful energy all month to achieve them!