Astrology by Lauren

November 16th ~ 23rd

Three things cannot be long hidden: the Sun, the Moon and the Truth. ~ the Buddha

The Nodes of the Moon are actually a point of intersection.  It is where the orbit of the Moon intersects with the path of the Sun.  Therefore, when New Moons and Full Moons occur within 18° of these Nodal Intersections, they are all aligned on the same plane.  This is therefore where the eclipses occur, since one body, the Earth or the Moon, are capable of eclipsing either the Sun or the Moon.  The Nodes of the Moon are seen to be such sensitive points, that they are almost treated like daemon planets of invisibility, although there is no actual physical planet at these points.  When a Total Eclipse occurs, as we experienced last week, the Sun is within 12° of the Nodal positions, which means that the Sun either already passed the Nodes, or in this case, will cross the Nodes within 12 days after the Eclipse.  The Sun will actually pass over the North Node of the Moon this weekend.

Coincidentally at the same time that the Sun passes over the North Node in Scorpio, so will Retrograde Mercury, which perfects its Inferior Conjunction... the point where Mercury is closest to the Earth and once again commences a new cycle of thought and ideation.  At the inferior conjunction of Mercury with the Sun, which occurs in the middle of the Mercury Retrograde cycle, seeds are silently being planted for the next several months.  Ideas are seen to be planted at this time that then have the capacity to lead us in a new direction.  In the sign of Scorpio this can be through some form of discovery, realization, enlightenment.. or through the solving of some sort of mystery or scandal.

In Scorpio season we will notice an internal need to purge, to recycle, to relieve ourselves of the accumulation of projects unfinished, of albatrosses that prove to be more expensive to maintain than they are worth to us, piles of clothes we no longer wear, habits, tendencies and ways of doing things that are not only inefficient and self-defeating, but can also be undermining our ability to lead healthy, happy, and productive lives.  Scorpio is a sign that is transformational, cutting old ties, moving on and moving out.  It is nothing less than embracing even revolutionary changes.. realizing that new problems require new solutions.  In this way we are preparing the ground for a New Birth, a New Paradigm.  

Many of us are feeling other shifts shortly after this enlightening Inferior Conjunction, since Mars, Venus and the Sun are all changing signs this week.  Mars enters the motivated and productive sign of Capricorn, Venus indulges her deeper, darker side in Scorpio, while the Sun emerges out of the depths of Scorpio, and addresses the broader horizons of possibility in Sagittarius.  Mars entering Capricorn is something of a mixed blessing.  More ambitious, more constructive and focused, this will help us to get things done.  However, be aware that tempers will be heightened, and people will be vying for power and control over the next few weeks.  Watch out for land mines and potentially explosive situations.  Here, in the U.S., we are coincidentally celebrating our Thanksgiving Holiday.  I say be mindful of a few launched drumsticks flying in one’s direction, especially if one’s disgruntled conservative relatives just watched their guy lose in the last election.  

All three planets are going to be engaging Neptune as they change signs this week.  And although this can be the planet of secrets, ulterior motives and deception, it is also the planet of conscience, compassion and understanding.  Sometimes silence is not only golden, but the wiser and more compassionate choice, especially during family gatherings!   

Also compatible with Neptune are myths and legends, which is what this American holiday is based on.  The idea of the original American Thanksgiving feast is actually a complete invention and propaganda created shortly after the First World War.  There was a Thanksgiving Day in the year 1637, but it was nothing like our present holiday.  That ‘Thanksgiving’ was to celebrate the safe return of a band of heavily armed volunteers who had just come back from massacring 700 Pequot men, women and children.  Some how that knowledge has been lost in the annals of time and replaced with a fairytale of blithe conviviality, and mutual appreciation that simply never existed.  

The first Europeans that settled in Plymouth were ill equipped.  They didn’t know how to hunt, fish, butcher, grow, farm or much of anything useful.  What they did know was how to pray.  They instilled a day of fasting and prayer, more out of necessity than faith, each week.  And sometimes that day grew into days.  And when they were blessed with a rare meal it was referred to as a “Thanksgiving”, which is the first written reference to the word.  There were no Wampanoag Indians at their Thanksgiving, there was no pumpkin pie or turkey.  But for them each meal was indeed a celebration of gratitude and blessing.   A fine reminder indeed, of the blessings that we receive each day, but may be taking for granted.  

"Today is a time of celebrating for you -- a time of looking back to the first days of white people in America. But it is not a time of celebrating for me. It is with a heavy heart that I look back upon what happened to my People. When the Pilgrims arrived, we, the Wampanoags, welcomed them with open arms, little knowing that it was the beginning of the end. That before 50 years were to pass, the Wampanoag would no longer be a tribe. That we and other Indians living near the settlers would be killed by their guns or dead from diseases that we caught from them. Let us always remember, the Indian is and was just as human as the white people.

“Although our way of life is almost gone, we, the Wampanoags, still walk the lands of Massachusetts. What has happened cannot be changed. But today we work toward a better America, a more Indian America where people and nature once again are important."

The photo of Mercury as seen by Mariner 10 is courtesy of NASA

The above painting “Freedom from Want”, is by American artist, Norman Rockwell (1943)  

For the week of November 16th thru the 23rd, be sure to read your rising sign as well:

Aries

With your ruler, Mars, moving into productive and ambitious Capricorn today, you will finally feel like you can get a handle on your life, which lately could likely have felt rather scattered and distracting.  Capricorn channels and is a sign of self-discipline and much welcomed determination.  And even as you begin to catch up with all those things you’ve been putting on the back burner and been ‘intending’ to get to... do be prepared for a flurry of distractions and ‘excitement’ after Monday.  The key to this week for Aries is to pace yourself, be patient so as not to act impulsively, and be flexible and prepared for unexpected changes in plans.  And watch out for any flying drumsticks!

Taurus

One of the keys of Scorpio weather is understanding the underlying meaning of the cycle of reciprocity.  Reciprocity is the artful dance of giving and receiving with an open heart, where one action, refreshes and invigorates the other.  We tend to think in terms of there being limited resources of time, money and possessions, and fear compels us not to share these as a result. But life is really more like a flowing river rather than a stagnant pond, and it is by allowing the channels to remain unclogged, through this dance of giving and receiving, that the fresh waters are then allowed to flow.  So it is with life.

Gemini

Something could be revealed to you about how you manage your time, your schedule, your diet, your activities, and how these impact on your own health and well-being.  Pay attention.  Sometimes even small changes can make all the difference.  See what habits, addictions, people or tendencies are creating toxicity in your life.  After Monday you could be feeling like you are traveling in a strange land, not quite sure what the expectations are of you, or yours of others.  You may find that your expectations may have been a wee bit unrealistic, or more difficult to achieve than you had thought.  Sometimes it’s best to just let some of those expectations go.

Cancer

This is an important time for Cancers to come to terms with those things that they truly are passionate about, what they really care about.  You are being given the power to set the tone for your own destiny in some way, which is why it is so important that you be honestly true to yourself.  Then when you come to terms with that, look at those things or circumstances or people that you have been tolerating simply because you are used to them, even though you have outgrown them, and they may, in fact, be preventing you from growing.

Leo

Leo, you are coming to terms with the way that your home environment and/or family obligations may have served as a distraction from fulfilling your own goals.  If there are situations that are standing in the way of progress and growth, or if there is some serious organization or de-cluttering necessary in order for you to move forward, then tend to these.  But also allow space to get in touch with those things in your life that are most meaningful.  Seek silence and peace, so that the truth can be revealed.  Release expectations.  Sometimes it’s best to just accept people and circumstances to just be who and what they are, rather than what you would hope or want them to be.  

Virgo

Something you read, you hear, you learn this week, could be very revealing, and perhaps change the way you view your immediate environment.  One thing becomes evident.  You have something that you want to say.  Mysteries, conspiracies and metaphysical conundrums have a special attraction to you any way, as you seek to unravel puzzles like so many skeins of tangled yarn.  And as you untangle the yarn, you have your own yarns to tell.  In order to make what you learn relevant, all information, all knowledge, must be shared with others.  Think of yourself as a truth teller or the town cryer.  

Libra

One thing becomes apparent for Libra, you do not need to fear those demons that taunt you from your places of insecurity.  You have possibly been in the process of building something that you care very much about and that instills you with a sense of passion.  But you are also trying to discover how to do this while maintaining financial and personal security.  And there are times like these that you realize how important that security is to you.  Something may be revealed this week and next in terms of creating that security in your life, but in the mean time be prepared for a lot of activity on the home front.  

Scorpio

This continues to be an important season for Scorpios.  Revelations about who you are, what you like, love and are passionate about becomes evident this week, and could be even enlightening.  From Monday on, your life is going to be both revealing, mystifying and moving at the speed of light.  Be open to the possibility that there are going to be sudden changes in plans.  Flexibility is key.  As is patience.  When things move quickly, as they likely will next week, tempers fly, and one feels overwhelmed.  Pace yourself, and be open to new options as circumstances require.

Sagittarius

There are times when it feels like one is a stranger in their own family, home, or country.  And trying to fit in, or adjust oneself, in order to fit in can prove to be something of a struggle.  Kind of like play acting, or putting on a show.  Rather than trying to be what you think other people expect you to be... think of yourself as a tourist visiting a new country, a new environment, a new culture.  And allow yourself to be fascinated rather than disenchanted or disappointed.  We all fantasize about the way that we think things should be, but reality rarely lives up to our expectations.

Capricorn

Something inspires you to make some constructive changes in your life.  This may mean a new diet, a new look, a new goal.  As the week progresses it will become more evident as to why and how you have to make those changes.  In fact some changes may be made for you this week, and it could just feel like you are trying to catch up with everything that is going on in your life right now.  Over the weekend, take some time for inner reflection, and think seriously about those things that you truly care most about.  What are those things that are most meaningful to you.  And what are those things that are standing in the way of you achieving your dreams?

Aquarius

It may be for many Aquarians that you are exploring how much you have set your goals around the needs of others.  This new cycle of Mercury is about you exploring goals specifically to fulfill your own goals and achievements in the world.  And even as you are being torn, ultimately your greatest fulfillment will be in realizing that you can best help your loved ones and fulfill the needs of your family members best by asserting your own independence.  A sense of impatient restlessness could accompany this week.  Patience and objectivity will allow you to see what changes really do need to be made.

Pisces

Although you are feeling quite motivated this weekend, what motivates you most is when your compassionate nature is stimulated, and you are given an opportunity to do something that will make the difference in someone else’s life, or for humanity in general.  Cooperating with others for some idealistic goal will be quite fulfilling at this time.  But even as you are being emotionally fulfilled, there is only so much that you are capable of accomplishing on your own.  If there is something that you can do, then do it.  If there are things that you are not able to do, then simply let it go.  All efforts and intentions make a difference. 

September 7th ~ 14th

The Moon’s Nodes are the planets that are not actual planets.  Rather they are sensitized points along the ecliptic that act as unseen planets.  Invisible points in space that are nonetheless of deep significance to individuals and humanity as a whole.  The Nodes are where the pathway of the Moon crosses the ecliptic (what appears to us to be the path of the Sun across the sky).  Where these two pathways cross, going North and South, are the Dragon’s Head and Tail: the North and South Node of the Moon.  All of the planetary bodies have Nodes as well, but the Nodes of the Moon have a more noticeable reference, not only to this lifetime, but to the cascading thread of lives and genetic history that led us to this present place and time, as well as where we need to go.

It is often new and unfamiliar ground that we are treading when we approach the realm of the North Node.  The sign of the South Node is much more familiar, and the way we are accustomed to dealing with things up until now, so we tend to easily lean that way.  However, it’s also where we have gotten ourselves into a rut, or undermined our effectiveness... it is our self-undoing.  With the North Node having just entered Scorpio, and the South Node in Taurus, we are being shown where we have undermined our development and growth through our attachment to Taurus:  being too complacent, too attached to material things, acquisition as opposed to sharing, too much emphasis on monetary values, ownership, possession, not sharing, dependency on others and things, too much baggage, too much stuff with an emphasis on excess.  When is too much too much?

The everyday kindness of the back roads more than makes up for the acts of greed in the headlines. ~ Charles Kuralt

With the North Node now in Scorpio, we will notice an internal need and desire to purge, to recycle, to relieve ourselves of the accumulation of projects cluttering up the shelves, tchotchkes, clothes that no longer fit and no longer wear, and that are cluttering up our lives.  Needing to clean house, to relieve ourselves of albatrosses, and situations or things or circumstances, that are proving to be more costly than rewarding.  Releasing bad habits, streaks of self-indulgence, and any tendency towards hoarding.  In society we will be directly confronting the issue of the wealth and power being concentrated in the hands of a few... even more than we already have.  Just wait until Saturn enters Scorpio in October, and adds his two cents.  The Nodes will stay in the Scorpio/Taurus axis for approximately 18 months.

Scorpio is a sign that is transformational, cutting old ties, moving on and moving out.  It is nothing less than embracing even revolutionary changes, as the old and outworn is burned away in a funerary pyre, allowing the new life, the new world, to be reborn out of the ashes that remain.  It’s the willingness to end, in order to begin anew.

One important key to the Taurus/Scorpio nodal axis is the cycle of reciprocity.  One of the underlying fundamental principles in the universe is the Law of Cycles.  And reciprocity is the artful dance of giving and receiving with an open heart within that Law, where one action refreshes and invigorates the other.  In an environment where we think that there are just a limited amount of resources, fear compels us to want to accumulate as much as we can for ourselves, lest someone else get it first.  But like a pond that is not refreshed by clear streaming waters, hoarding and miserliness leads to stagnation and decay.  We must release those clogged channels, and allow the waters to run freely again, so that we may all then be able to drink the fresh running water from the communal pond.    

Tze-Kung asked, saying, ‘Is there one word which may serve as a rule of practice for all one’s life?  Is not Reciprocity such a word?’ ~ Confucius

the above photo of Erawan Waterfall is by lkunl, whose work can be seen here.

For the week of September 7th thru the 14th, be sure to read your Rising Sign as well:

Aries

In the midst of extraordinary change, extraordinary connections can also be made, as people of common goals, ideals and interests converge.  There is something absolutely affirming and empowering about finding your own people, wherever and whoever they may be.  And there is also something incredibly inspiring when you meet people who actually walk the walk as well as talk the talk.  Open your heart, and you’ll be surprised at how much love will find its way in.

Taurus

For Taurus, home is where the heart is.  And with Venus traveling through the sign of Leo, she serves to warm some of those heart strings, and open up your heart and home to friends and loved ones.  Perhaps a little unexpected entertainment is in order as the week ensues.  But more importantly, see what you can do differently to spruce up your home, make things more spacious and open (maybe it’s time to toss out accumulating clutter), and then add those special touches, to make it more comfortable, more relaxing, and more enjoyable.

Gemini

You can only be in 3 places at once.  Although you are feeling more clear and organized than you’ve been for a while, even Gemini’s are unable to keep up with everything when they are super-multi-tasking.  Beware of biting off more than you can chew, or you’re bound to find yourself wondering if you’re coming or going over the weekend... Afterwards things will be less hectic, but a busy life and the desire to take on greater challenges is going to make your life feel very full for most of the week.  

Cancer

Be careful what you wish for, for wishes can indeed bring more than you ask for while the North Node is in Scorpio.  However it is more likely to make your dreams a closer reality over the next year, provided you truly understand this divine gift of reciprocity.  Remember to remind yourself often over the year ahead that abundance is the realization of this cycle circulating throughout your life, giving and receiving joy, wealth, peace, happiness, affection, love and kindness.  By giving, you initiate the cycle, through receiving with gratitude and affection, the cycle is complete.

Leo

You are optimistic and hopeful this week, especially this weekend.  And with Venus in your own sign, a desire to spruce up your wardrobe, or re-do your look in some way certainly is in order.  Who can resist?  But do make extra effort to pay attention (especially with the purse strings), or things could escalate out of control.  However, because of this grand feeling of optimism, even if extravagance or exaggeration can be a distraction, you are more likely to aim higher than you usually would.  As a result a very promising opportunity, meeting, or business arrangement can transpire.

Virgo

Let’s make this week all about you, no matter how distracted or scattered, or indecisive, you may feel over the weekend.  If you can get a moment of focus and concentration, this is a good week to initiate or implement plans.  Your mind is on bigger issues with longer range plans especially.  When negotiating or making plans, however, it would be a good idea to hear what others have to say as well, or you may miss some important details.  Because of your own enthusiasm you are more inclined to forget to read the fine print or study all the facts.  So pay a bit of attention in order to avoid costly errors.

Libra

Through your association with friends, or people with whom you share common goals or ideals, you are being given both the insight and the tools to not only heal your own wounds, but to create some sort of remarkable shift in your life.  It’s up to you to put all the pieces together, using whatever skills or knowledge that are being placed in front of you.  But it’s nothing less than being able to allow what was previously a wish or a hope, to grow into a greater possibility.  Be willing to change up the pace or routine as the week progresses, you never know what unexpected or interesting events will transpire, or people that you will be meeting up with, that could open up your world in some wonderful or exciting way.

Scorpio

That wonderful Pluto/Chiron sextile that we spoke about last week (the capacity to heal our wounds, as well as the wounds of others) is being channeled through Venus this week, which is just shining in the sign of Leo.  When we speak of reciprocity, Venus in Leo is the gift that keeps on giving.  Be willing to step outside your comfort zone just enough so that contrary to your usual tendency to hide your light under a bushel, let it shine just enough to let people know (at least the people that count), how special, talented and useful you really are.  

Sagittarius

You’re thinking about the future, and trying to make plans.  When it comes to creating a bigger, more abundant life, this is a good time, even despite the tendency to go a little overboard. You have a vision.  But first you must recognize what your resources and abilities are, and then allow your intuition to guide you to do the right thing at the right time.  And make sure that your enthusiasm is tempered by common sense and reality.  Then there will be no stopping you this week.  

Capricorn

The situation at home, or with family members, or people moving in and out, or some other shifts going on, will continue to feel somewhat crazy over the next few years.  But this week you are being given an opportunity to reach a détente, as you come to realize: a) that not everyone shares the same values, experiences and history as you do; b) that often people with differences complement each other and fill in each other’s spaces; and c) that when you share and pool resources with others, you can accomplish that much more.  

Aquarius

As the week wears on, revel in the fact that Venus is dancing in the house of relationships.  She’s flaunting her new tattoo, and just highlighted her mane in anticipation of your meeting.  Be prepared for a surprise gift, a token of their affection, a kind gesture, or a warm greeting that kindles your heart and serves as an inspiration.  Pay it forward.  This is a week for sharing the love, and communing with others with whom you share common goals and ideals.

Pisces

This is a week with good results, if not some interesting twists and turns.  However, this weekend could be a little over the top, as you are stretched beyond your capacity to fulfill all of your family and social obligations.  There is also a tendency towards extravagance, especially this weekend.  Or to over-indulge.  It will be hard to resist.  So just pay attention, and avoid over-committing, over-eating or spending... and this could prove to be a weekend of extraordinary prospects.

The world is changing in some sort of remarkable way.  And so are we right along with it.  There is no getting off of this wave.  It will carry us aloft whether we are willing to ride it or not.  It will be much easier if we ride it willingly.  The changes are occurring on many levels.  We will see their effects in the mundane world, through the politics, the economic instability, climate change and the realization that structures that we have been depending on are no longer adequate.  The ways of doing things the way we have in the past, are becoming antiquated, and perhaps even self-destructive.  They must change for the sake of our own survival.  

There is a river flowing now very fast.

It is so great and swift that there are those that will be afraid.

They will try and hold on to the shore.

They will feel they are being torn apart and they will suffer greatly.

Know the river has its destination.

There are internal changes as well which are unfolding in the wake of the Solstice.  The changes in the outer world could not and would not happen if there was not an internal shift to precede it.  Think of it as an awareness.  A shift in consciousness.  A realization.  Once you attain a certain level of enlightenment there is no going back.  

Uranus, the planet of change, is coming up against powerful and entrenched Pluto in Capricorn, which represents the structures that we have come to depend on.  The first of seven exact squares will culminate this week, even as Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn, stations Direct the next day.  When Saturn stations direct, you begin to feel a shift forward.  Where things may have been left lounging, perhaps on sabbatical, the shift of this massive planet forward again is adding that emphasis that there is no going back any more to the way things used to be.  

The elders say that we must let go of the shore, and push off into the river.

Keep our eyes open and our head above the water.

See who is in there with you and celebrate.

Venus is also stationing Direct while sextile Uranus this week, on the 27th.  With this comes all sorts of realizations, insights, and creative solutions.  Look about you, and take notice of who is riding this wave with you, and be joyous that they are riding it with you.  We need to do this together.  Add to this that Mercury moves out of Cancer on Monday and enters the sign of Leo from where he will nod first to Jupiter, now in Gemini, and then to Venus.  The cheerleaders are lining up, and getting into formation.  Can’t you just feel the excitement brewing?

At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally.

Least of all ourselves.

For the moment that we do,

Our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.

The time of the lone wolf is over.

Gather yourselves.

Speaking of Jupiter in Gemini: the exact square to Neptune and the conjunction to the South Node in Gemini also culminate this week.  People are seeking answers.  Not just political answers.  But moral, ethical and philosophical answers as well.  They are seeking a direction, but are confused as to which way to turn.  The path is misleading and difficult to discern.  Not the least of which is due to the fact that it is riddled with lies and misinformation, causing us to stumble and take wrong turns.  Or we are clinging to what we want to see and hear, or what we fear, despite the facts totally telling us another story.  This is an extremely Karmic story that is haunting us... the way out of this labyrinth is through the compelling and eager search for the Truth.  At all costs.  Ready or not.... the time is now.

Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary.

All that you do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.

-The Elders, Hopi Nation, Oraibi, Arizona

the above photo entitled “Mayan Pyramid, Floods and Sun” is by Victor Habbick, and is listed with freedigitalphotos.net.

For the week of June 22nd thru the 29th, be sure to read your Rising Sign as well:

Aries

There often comes a tipping point in life, when it becomes apparent that in order to implement the changes that you’ve been so enthusiastic about, certain other things will no longer be able to go on as they have in the past.  These can and probably will include certain career changes or goals, or even affect your reputation.  As has been already stated, if you know that certain changes are inevitable, they are usually easier if you are willing to implement them yourself.  Resisting them are futile any way.  And when changes happen to you, then they leave you scrabbling, trying to figure out how to adapt to them.  Be prepared.  Aries is the master and the commander.  Take the reins, and become the change that you would like to see.  

Taurus

Now that both your ruler, Venus, and Saturn, are stationing direct this week, it will feel like your life and your goals will be moving forward as well.  Anything to do with money, work, goals, or career, should begin to find a more stable footing and greater clarity.  And a sense that things are finally moving in the right direction.  Along with this is also this incredible sense of creative inspiration that presents alternatives that you might not have considered before.  Inner insights, or perhaps we shall call it latent genius, reveal themselves, allowing you to see solutions to problems that you hadn’t previously realized.  Or you may not even knew existed.  Even though they were there all along.  

Gemini

There is a tendency with Venus and Jupiter being in one’s own sign, to sit back and put our feet up, enjoying our pleasant thoughts in joyful reverie.  And in that reverie, we try to block out some of the less pleasant realities.  But with the Jupiter/Neptune weather, that reverie is being disturbed in some way.  It may be the realization that you’ve been perceiving the world through rose-colored glasses, or it may be that you hear the cries of those who are unable to help themselves.  And this raises all sorts of questions about how to help, when is the best time, the best ways to help without interfering or over-stepping boundaries.  It also raises the question about what sorts of resources you have to make a difference?  And whether or not you are in a position to make a difference.  But even a kind word at the right time, in the right way, can have an amazing effect.  One realization that will become apparent this Summer, is that we are all swimming in this river together, and that it behooves us to lift our heads out of the water and celebrate our community of efforts.

Cancer

And so we celebrated the Solstice on the 20th, as the Sun moved into your sign, and the first sense is one of profound connection, either to a sense of purpose, to humanity, or to a cause, or to a goal.  The first contact the Sun makes is to Neptune the planet of conscience, humility, social welfare and mysticism.  In this weather of impending change hold on to that image.  One can be both radical (even revolutionary) and still embody a spiritual transcendent vision.  This is compassion in action indeed.  There is the story of Tara, the “Mother of Liberation” in Buddhism.  The story of a nun who took a vow to always be born a woman, in order to achieve enlightenment in that gender, despite the fact that she was told by the male monks, that she would progress further as a man.  She did so to serve as an inspiration to all, to prove that gender has nothing to do with enlightenment, and to raise up the status of women within her community. One of the original radical feminists.

Leo

Take some time for yourself this week.  This is a time for you to be developing and paying attention to your inner world, to listen to the voice that is there, speaking to you.  Especially over the weekend.  Take time to get in touch with your inner muse, and pay attention to what your intuition is trying to tell you.  Allow yourself to be inspired and to develop a connection to your spiritual center.   This will serve as a bark of salvation as you come to realize that something can no longer continue as it has in the past.  That some sort of change is inevitable.  And it is this realization that change is necessary that is the first step.  The next is the resignation to the fact that certain things from the past need to be released in order for you to embrace your future life.  After that, the rest will follow like dominoes in an inevitable chain reaction.  You can only resist it so far.   

Virgo

The issue of ethics arises perhaps in more ways than one, in this Jupiter/Neptune weather.  Fact check everything that you are being told.  Do not assume anything.  Any attempts on your part to misrepresent or to use your position for personal gain will end badly.  There are no two ways about it.  But most egregious are having to rely on others who prove to be ethically challenged, or prove to be deceptive in some way.  Perhaps it was only the way that you were reading them, or what you were wanting to see, or what you assumed to be true, that led you down the garden path.  Seek truth this week, and make that your lodestar in order to navigate this misleading weather.  Maybe even do a little research and investigative work.  Always keeping in mind that the truth will not only win in the end, but can be incredibly enlightening if you realize it.  

Libra

This is where everything begins to move forward.   Issues surrounding your career direction, as well as your sense of motivation and direction.  Your ruler, Venus stations Direct this week, as does Saturn.  All systems will be go from here on in for some time to come.  For the past two years you’ve been exploring who you are and how you perceive your role to be in the world at large.  You’ve been trying different roles, or perhaps just one role, on for fit and comfort.  You are coming to know what suits you and doesn’t, and this is important... for you have been sowing seeds about who you think you are, and where you see yourself in the future.  Likewise, as Venus stations direct, you are privy to a renewed sense of inspiration, and creative activity that has been gathering steam during the retrograde phase.  Be willing to consider alternatives as they arise, or to try something new.  This will open doors.  The excitement will be growing.  Ride the wave.  Do not resist.

Scorpio

As we go into the weekend a gathering for discussion can be both inspiring and enlightening.  And you will probably come away feeling very motivated.  In the wake of the Solstice, there are opportunities to regain a connection to some of your more spiritual aspirations.  Try to hold on to these as the week progresses, and things begin to heat up.  We are entering a season with a huge potential for change, rebuilding, and reinvention.  Instead of resisting the changes that are inevitable any way, see how you can use some of this weather for implementing changes that you’ve been wanting to make yourself.  This can be a renewed health regimen, a diet change, or the relinquishment of a habit, or things that you cling to but no longer need, and that are preventing you from being effective and better able to make the changes that you need to.  

Sagittarius

In some ways Sagittarius has been feeling undermined even though things are looking pretty positive.  There’s this sense of unsure-ness, of whether or not you can fully trust and depend on even those who are closest to you.  That there might be some deception afoot, or that they are deceiving, or undoing themselves.  You cannot fix others, or enlighten them, even if it is apparent that they are ceaselessly self-deceived or delusional.  As Mercury the messenger moves into Leo later this week, you will have the opportunity to clarify some of the conflicting information you are receiving.  Perhaps a message from someone far away, or good news will either enlighten or inspire.  Either way you will be uplifted, and looking forward to making plans.

Capricorn

Things are finally going to be moving forward allowing you to be able to establish and achieve personal and/or professional goals.  During the past several months you’ve been thinking a lot about what you should or could do, and who you should be doing these with.  Now the time is coming for you to be able to begin to implement some of those ideas and/or changes.  Change is never easy.  Even good changes are accompanied by a sense of remorse for the way things used to be.  However, if it becomes apparent that you’ve been tolerating a situation, or depending on structures or people that are no longer reliable, or are incapable of sustaining you in the way that they need to, then it’s time to reinvent, rebuild or rehabilitate.  Purge those things from your life that are standing in the way of progress, and begin the awesome task of rebuilding the future that you would like to see for yourself.

Aquarius

Aquarius has been considering opportunities that would allow for some sort of credible and reliable advancement.  Now that your ruler, Saturn, is stationing direct perhaps some of those opportunities can be put into application and bear fruit.  They’ve been lounging on the back burner for way too long, so it’s high time.  But this is also a time of great changes, as your perspective is being altered, sometimes in dramatic and even mind-altering ways.  Over the next few years you are likely to see some of your old ideas, your old ways of viewing the world, being discarded, as new ideas, a new world view is being adopted.  Pay attention this week, as exciting and creative possibilities arise.  Really great changes occur on the inner planes, within the mind.  These are the catalyst for the big changes to come.

Pisces

With your rulers, Jupiter and Neptune, at odds with one another these days it lends this feeling of disenchantment particularly with an ethical or moral dilemma.  Perhaps related to home, or family or country.  You had such high expectations, and now you’re not sure what to believe, or what to hope for.  Especially as you see some of your ideals being compromised.  The important thing in Jupiter/Neptune weather is to realize the truth, honor your own resources, and respect what can be achievable now.  Just because something is not capable of being perfect, does not make it worthy of being totally discarded.  It just may be that the time is not quite right.  Any way, larger achievements are often made up of smaller achievements being linked together one by one.  

The Aries Equinox which heralds in the Spring in the North, and Autumn in the Southern hemisphere is overlaid with myth, tradition and celebration, in which are woven themes of conception, birth, death and rebirth.  The Orphic legend of the origin of the Universe has the Earth being hatched out of an enormous egg.  Demeter ventures into Hades to escort her daughter Persephone back to the Earth, where the lands rejoice with fertile fields and flowers bloom once again.  Many of these symbols are endemic to the Northern Hemisphere where people celebrated the rebirth of the Earth after having survived the bleak Winter months.  If we visualize the Winter Capricorn Solstice as the midnight hour, the start of the new day, the Vernal Equinox is like the Dawn.  The Vernal Equinox is the time of Ostara, the natural Easter, when we begin to act on and implement the resolutions and intentions we set at the Winter Solstice, but with a re-newed conviction.

The Aries Equinox is seen by astrologers to set the tone for the year ahead.  This year, as last, the Equinox is accompanied by unpredictable yet revolutionary Uranus.  We saw his work last year with the Arab Spring, and demonstrations worldwide that evolved into Occupy movements in the West.  These were a direct response to the apparent inequality of wealth and power, a common theme in Uranus/Pluto cycles.  A cycle that will become exact later this Spring and Summer when Uranus and Pluto will be exactly square, and persist for another few years.  

This year the Equinox is also attended by a double retrograde of Mercury and Mars in each other’s signs, where Mars is also closely square the Nodes of the Moon, and Mercury is sandwiched between the Sun and Uranus.  And it is this mixed energy that we will be feeling this week: a blend of chaotic lethargy, angst mixed with truths that can no longer be ignored, and coming face to face with our own core beliefs.  If our inner barometer and sense of justice is ignited, it can explode as anger, or it can be greeted as a moment of illumination... a realization that you don’t always have to do things the way you have in the past.  Especially if they haven’t been working.  Or that your view is not necessarily the only view.

Be willing to be open to revelation.  Mercury makes its inferior conjunction to the Sun this week (by the 26th it will begin to rise as a morning star).  As truths unfold over the next several weeks, they can change your point of view in a remarkable way.    Key thoughts for this week: new ideas are germinating; voices from the past illuminate; defend what you  truly believe in; walk the walk as well as talk the talk; do not waste your time worrying about insignificant details; wait, watch and unravel; be inspired; follow your own path; and do not allow old resentments, criticisms and anger to distract you from your path; rather have it motivate you.

Conflict is the gadfly of thought.  It stirs us to observation and memory.  It instigates to invention.  It shocks us out of sheeplike passivity, and sets us at noting and contriving. ~ John Dewey

For the week of March 16th thru March 22nd, as we awaken to the Vernal Equinox, be sure to read your Rising Sign as well (if you know your birth time, you can use the Ascendant Calculator on the Home Page):

Aries

With your ruler Mars taking an extended vacation in Virgo, many Arians are becoming quite preoccupied with their health and well-being: trying out different exercise regimens, changing, or eliminating things from their diets, and seeking techniques that help to alleviate stress and anxiety.  However, it can also mean an accumulation of stress and anxiety, or even inflammation which could lead to health concerns, if not addressed.  Do not be concerned if you are otherwise unmotivated and lacking your usual oomph....  See the next four weeks as an opportunity to continue to improve and perfect body, health, mind and organizational skills, and you will reap the benefits when Mars stations direct again.  

Taurus

Allow yourself to believe that things are actually probably better than you think they are.  If you’re going to dwell on the past, and what you should have or could have done, you’re just going to drive yourself all kinds of whacko.  Instead, allow yourself to see the good fortune that comes when you allow it.  This is a Taurus gift.  Often Taurus has more in their Karmic bank than they allow themselves to withdraw.  And it may be that lately there have been some financial issues weighing on you over the past year... try opening your wallet as well as your heart to the universe and see what drops in.  

Gemini

One of the gifts of Gemini is the capacity to recognize the gifts and talents in others, and bring these to fruition.  But lately it’s all you can do to listen to other people without absolutely having to tune them out so that you can tune in.  It’s probably because you’ve got so much going on inside of your own head right now.  You’re distracted by your own mind.  This week, your mind is like one of those 1950’s science fiction brain machines with all of the electrodes buzzing all over.  Lots of inspiration.  Lots of ideas.  Now if only you could channel all that in some sort of meaningful way.  All in due time Gemini.  Things are still merely in conception.

Cancer

Health does have a lot to do with what you do or don’t eat, or whether or not you exercise, eliminating bad habits, but it also has to do with finding some sort of peace and serenity in your life.  Yes, it is important to defend yourself, or to defend a principle that you strongly believe in, but if you cling to the anger, and the words said or not said, and you carry that like a badge of honor, it prevents you from achieving the one thing you really need now, and that is peace.  See what you have to do to achieve that in your life right now.

Leo

With the Sun entering Aries on the 20th (or 19th, depending on where you live), you will begin to feel like a chick that has just cracked out of its shell.  Conversations, connections, ideas abound in a myriad of ways.  Mercury is going to cross in front of the Sun, your ruler, this week, marking the mid-point of his retrograde jaunt.  Just be aware that it’s not for nothing that he’s known as a trickster.  What you think you are understanding may not be at all what people are telling you, or even what you are hearing.  So take heed, and listen carefully, or you may miss something truly important that’s being said.  New ideas are trying to spawn in an exciting and illuminating way, but alas, they are just in their incipient phase.

Virgo

You might want to ask what Mars clumsily marching retrograde through your sign is good for... well, we can start with what it is not good for.  It is not good for holding on to resentments, or clinging to old habits just because they feel familiar, or nailing yourself to the altar of self-denial because you feel that it’s good for you.  Hair shirts are both itchy and distracting you from your true purpose.  Mars Retrograde in your sign is very good for self-improvement projects, whether it’s diet, exercise or stress management.  Also pay attention this week.  Listen to what is being said.  Some illuminating news could come your way.  Be willing to look at things from another perspective in order to get at what is really being said.  A new cycle of information is about to unfold but it’s only in its infancy stage.

Libra

Inspiration comes through your interactions with others.  Nothing less than illumination can be yours, if you are only willing to pay attention and listen to what others have to say.  Allow the seeds to germinate.  They are still in their primordial form, but they need fertile soil in which to take root.  That means being open to what may even seem like radically new or even crazy ideas.  Allow yourself to connect with others.  Something truly meaningful could evolve.

Scorpio

Wanting to be accepted by the group, and yet not being willing to give up your own integrity in order to be a part of that group leaves you feeling conflicted, and feeling somewhat adrift.  You are left with an incredible amount of to-do lists that never seem to get resolved, and seem to grow ever longer.  Which leaves you wistfully pining for several more hours a day just to get things a little organized.  Shift in consciousness is in order here.  With Venus and Jupiter in your opposite sign of Taurus, people are just more than willing to come and help you out.  All you have to do is say the word.  But say it clearly, and make sure the wires aren’t crossed.  Mercury is still retrograde after all.  

Sagittarius

Oftentimes circumstances will cause you to fall back on yourself, to examine the values, the ethics and the beliefs that you hold to be true.  And whether or not these are worth fighting for and defending. One thing to examine in your relationships: trust vs. the assumption that someone is going to betray you.  It could be that they’re just trying to find their own way. Being accepting of other people’s quirks could be key.  If you give people their freedom to be themselves, no matter how odd that may seem to you, they will respect your quirks as well.  No matter how normal you think you are.

Capricorn

This should be a generally peaceful week for Capricorn, as the Grand Trine in earth winds down, and the planets begin to disperse after the weekend, leaving a sense of peace, sort of like one feels after having returned from a nice respite or vacation.  Try to draw it out as far as it will go.  Seek beauty, peace, and tranquility in your life, even as things may be getting a little hectic and unpredictable on the home front.  Dig in the dirt a little.  Go for long walks.  Plan a creative project.  Find beauty in small things.  You can get to the bigger things later.

Aquarius

Peace and love prosper on the home front and with family.  But it’s what’s either going on with the neighbors, or through conversations, or some new idea or information, that has you asking... “Wait a minute, can you run that by me again?”  It could very well be, that what you had previously thought to be true, may not be exactly what you thought it was.  Allow yourself to look at life in a different way than you are usually accustomed.  This is the sort of thing that can happen when you learn a new skill that at first leaves you baffled.  Yet it is the very bafflement that prompts new brain cells to grow.

Pisces

Distractions from achieving your own sense of inner peace come in the guise of other people.  Other people who seem to be quite grumpy, defensive and even angry these days.  Being challenged is not necessarily a bad thing though, unless they’re just down right mean, critical or abusive.  Positively, what it can do is compel you to really think about your own position, and how much conviction you really do have in your own core beliefs.  A firm and correct idea will be able to stand up to even the strongest of arguments and situations.   

the above Easter Egg photo is by “Idea Go”.  Their portfolio can be seen here.