The Virgo Stellium


 We will have a stellium (five or more planets in one sign) in Virgo starting in early August. Mars enters the constellation on August 8, and then Venus jumps in on the 21st. Juno will join the Sun when it moves into Virgo on 23rd and Mercury follows the next day. With the exception of Juno, these are all “personal” or close in planets. Mars deals with our aggression (not always a bad word) and forward movement. Venus, is love, receptivity and financial acumen and Mercury, is our communicator, how we process and send forth our thoughts. The Sun is our internal spark. It is easy to see why these are personal planets as they all perform integral parts of everyday life. The outlier, Juno, an asteroid, is our loyalty barometer. 

Virgo is the worker-bee of the zodiac. Her areas of concern are feeding, caring and working the body. They are into perfecting – their work area, their bodies, the entire world around them. The downside to Virgo is a criticism – self-criticism.  If perfection is your goal – how can you not always fall short?

This is a good time to analyze each of these areas with an eye toward how you might always feel you (and your loved ones with Juno’s involvement) fall short. Where do you demand nothing short of perfection in a most imperfect world?

Tired of Capricorn? Well She is Still Going Full Charge – With the Lunar Eclipse

Today at 5: 38 PM Eastern which will have a partial lunar eclipse with the Sun in Cancer and the Moon in opposition in Capricorn. Sorry to say, if you are tired of dealing with issues of authority vs. emotions, responsibility vs. compassion, head vs. heart, you might want to hide for a few hours!

These are the themes of this eclipse. Cancer, ruled by the Moon, is now in the opposite and highly structured sign of Capricorn. All of those issues of where you are being too structured or perhaps not structured enough or too emotional or closing off your emotional side – are up for review. That is, if you are willing.

Yes, Mercury went Retrograde

Let the gasping begin! Seriously, few things cause greater consternation than little Mercury turning inward. I hate to fuel the fear but this one will be in Leo, a fire sign, and will occur when Mercury conjuncts Mars and square Uranus. As they used to say in the old Western movies, “them can be fightin’ words.” This is the time to be very careful of what you say – think twice, speak once.

This is a time when we can see wars of words or words causing personal wars. Use this time to study how you should be thinking before you act.

A Solar Eclipse this Week

Today we have a solar eclipse in Cancer which would normally not make a ripple in our cosmic awareness. However, this is happening in direct opposition to our retrograded Saturn and Pluto that are sitting on the South Node.

Those three powerhouses, now in Capricorn, put out enough energy demanding that we slow down, analyze and do some inner work surrounding self-authority and power. With the eclipsing of the Sun in opposition it is a great time to literally shed light on issues of emotion (Cancer) vs. authority (Capricorn).

One good task would be to see where your emotions are blocking you from taking control of some aspect of your life that you have given over to others. Where do you need to take over and “adult?”

Venus Squaring Neptune

This can create a problem between your dreams (Neptune) and financial reality (Venus). You may have to make some cold, hard decisions or realize that you have been limiting yourself by thinking you don’t have enough to take that leap.

Evaluate, adjust upwards and downwards as you need – and thank Venus for bringing some reality into your life.

It Isn’t a Paper Moon, It is a Sag. Moon

Time to prepare for the Sagittarius full Moon. This is a time that always brings to mind a very noisy dinner party. With the Moon full in Sag. it must be opposite the Gemini Sun, making this a time of constant exchange of ideas. With the full Moon, everything is “out there” – nothing hidden – so I just see a table full of people trying to get the other person to listen – just listen for one minute – what they have to say. Since they all think they are right, it can get rather loud!

So where are you sitting at that table? Are there people that you just insist are wrong and try to beat over the head with your “correct” facts? Take your seat away from the table and try to spend some time understanding why you have to be right and them wrong. You might even change your mind. Perhaps…

Uranus and Vesta in Taurus – containing the trickster.


Uranus is the trickster of the zodiac. He loves nothing more than to
stir things up and then go on his merry way leaving you to figure out the meaning of the turmoil. Often there is gift hidden in the dust but it takesa good deal of introspection to find the lesson and the meaning. Vesta is
female warrior energy giving a strong focus on a goal. 

One thing Taurus dislikes is either turmoil or intensity so when these two join there it is bound to cause consternation. This would not be the time to make financial risks- especially if your chart is heavy in either
Taurus or Uranus. Taurus loves financial safety- loves a safe place to
retreat. When Uranus tromps through he shakes those things to the core. 

On the positive side, if you are interested in exploring new creative endeavors – taking a painting class, getting your hands into some pottery or singing in places other than the shower, this is the time to go for it. 

This is the trick of Vesta. Because she has such terrific energy she can overwhelm you at this time – and make you go full steam ahead with
financial risks when it is better to be cautious. Instead of succumbing
to her in this arena – use her energy only when it comes to pursuing
creativity or cleaning your house! Since Taurus rules security – you can use this wild energy to clean out the pile of goodness knows what that has been collecting in the basement,

My best advise is be creative not daring!

Time to Take Your Heart Seriously

Venus is resting in one of the two signs she rules, Taurus. Those with a strong Venus/Taurus influence will feel a surge of romantic and creative interests as well as a concern for your financial future. (Venus does rule the purse-strings, you know.) However, a flowing trine to Neptune can bring a sense of unreality to these dealings. This is NOT the time to jump into premature relationships or gamble on your earnings. This IS the time to see where you are not being real about these things – what are you hiding under the rug? What are you afraid to face? Get serious.

Mercury Facing Off with Neptune

Mercury is now at home in Gemini. This enhances rational thinking and learning. However, today it starts to square off with Neptune. Where Mercury is rational, Neptune is fuzzy and Quixotic. How do they get along? Not usually well. The combination can raise issues of prevarication- whether we lie to others or lie to ourselves- we have to face those issues.

It is a great time to determine how truthful you are to yourself…and how honest those closest to you are to you. In short – where do your secrets lie?

Uranus Shaking Up Taurus.

The Sun and Mercury are in Taurus for a short time. However, I want to talk about big, slow and “far-out” in so many ways Uranus being there. While Taurus screams security and safety – Uranus wants to send electrical bolts of change to everything it sees. How do the two combine?

At its worse, this combination will shake to the core, “little things” like financial markets, 401 ks, home prices – all of those areas controlled by Taurus.

However, it can also juice up our creative skills – and invite those home-projects such as cleaning clutter and changing old, faded wall paint. It is like spring cleaning on steroids time.

So before the stocks go crazier – go buy some paint and some cleaning fluid and use the energy of Taurus to the most