Monthly Archives: April 2012

Weekly Forecast April 30: Full Moon in Scorpio

This week is the Scorpio Full Moon, which means it’s the festival of Wesak, honoring the birth, death, and enlightenment of the Buddha.

Wesak is a major “download” time, when a portal opens to higher consciousness. I don’t know how many more open portals I can stand. As it is, we’re marching toward an extraordinary alignment of the Sun, Moon, Earth, and Venus on June 4 and 5, which I believe will trigger a giant leap forward in the evolution of human consciousness. Then there are the solar flares and corresponding disturbances in the Earth’s magnetic field.

I have no idea whether this phenomenon is affecting our consciousness, but I’m fairly sure it’s having some effect. Several people I know are experiencing extreme fatigue, elevated heart rate, and hot flashes. Is it related to solar activity? In astrology, the Sun is associated with the heart, so it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that there’s a real correlation here. I just don’t know how we’d prove it to the satisfaction of medical science.

Dancing on the boundaries of parallel universes is disorienting and possibly dangerous. No one would entertain the idea of surfing the big waves before learning the basics of the sport, and yet we may be doing the spiritual equivalent. What I don’t know is whether everyone is experiencing this shift at some level, or whether those who are sensitive to these energies feel it, while those who aren’t remain blissfully ignorant. I pass no judgment on which is better. Someone has to hold down the fort while a percentage of the population stumbles around in a daze.

I strongly encourage you to keep a journal and record any strange dreams, visions, synchronicities, or other unusual events in your life. At the same time, try to stay grounded. Fortunately, the Sun and Jupiter in Taurus are helping in that regard. If you find yourself mysteriously craving meat and fattening foods, don’t fight it for now. You can take off the excess weight as soon as the cosmic dust settles. I’m definitely of a mind that we have to trust our bodies and higher minds at this point to know what’s right for us and not try to overpower them by force of intellectual beliefs. It’s a leap of faith, really.

To understand the connection between Taurus, Buddha, and Wesak, I suggest going back to an article Ruth wrote last year. The third eye, located between your eyebrows, is our portal to higher consciousness, the ability to “see” into the energetic realms. When this center is activated, we’re said to be enlightened. Ruth also notes the connection between Aldebaran, the brightest star in Taurus, and the third eye. One of the four Royal Stars of Persia, Aldebaran is known as the “eye of the bull.”

Chart for Full Moon in Scorpio

Click on image to enlarge

In this year’s Wesak Full Moon chart, the Sun is widely conjunct Jupiter, planet of luck and abundance. Otherwise, the chart contains several oppositions and squares (the red lines), which normally represent challenges. If you look more closely, though, you’ll see that these challenges each have a readily accessible escape route.

The most exact opposition (other than the Sun and Moon) is between Mercury and Saturn. Although a Mercury-Saturn opposition might normally be seen as somewhat negative in that it implies limited thinking, I like this aspect for two reasons. First, Mercury in Aries needs to have the brakes applied, or it flies off in a certain direction without any thought or purpose. Spontaneity doesn’t necessarily equate with creativity, but with retrograde Saturn imposing some discipline and thoughtful reflection, this pair could produce astounding creative work, especially if you’re a writer or work in some line of communications. Better still if you started your project at the New Moon on April 21, as you’ve now got something solid to show for your effort.

Likewise, if you made contact with someone in an attempt to communicate an important message, you should see some results around Saturday’s Full Moon. Attempts to repair broken relationships especially should benefit, as both Mercury and Saturn are at positive angles to Venus. Moreover, Venus is Mercury’s sign of Gemini, while Saturn is in Venus-ruled Libra. There is going to be plenty of opportunity over the next couple of months to go back over trouble spots in relationships to heal, whether it brings you closer or helps you close a chapter so that you can move on with a sense of closure. We’ll probably find that “going back” refers not just to this lifetime, but to other incarnations as well. It’s all part of the opening of the inter-dimensional window.

The second set of challenges is indicated by the opposition from Mars to Neptune and the quincunx (sometimes called inconjunct) from Mars to Uranus. Neptune is in his own sign of Pisces, so in a way this is an unfair contest. The petty ego that finds fault with everyone and everything will finally become tired of itself and either find escape through substance abuse or give in to merging into oneness with all being – a scary prospect for the ego, which fights to hold its ground. There may be a rude awakening of sorts involved, too. But, once again, there is an “out” via a positive aspect – this time a flowing trine from Mars to Pluto. There is tremendous will to do whatever it takes to accomplish your goals. Yes, you can suffer the idiots around you, if you know that putting up with them in the short term will pay off in the end. And it will.

Pluto rules this Full Moon by virtue of being the modern ruler of Scorpio, sign of death, rebirth and transformation. In the Full Moon chart, Pluto is within 3 degrees of a square with Uranus. The aspect will be exact on June 2. Uranus is sometimes called “the Awakener.” As more and more people awaken, society is in an increasing state of disarray. Systems are breaking down, and those in power are attempting to keep their positions at all costs. This is a long-term trend that will play out over the next three years.

Overall, the chart for this Full Moon indicates a tremendous force for transformation. With Mars gathering speed, we’re making up for lost time since January. I don’t know about you, but the activity is making my head spin. “Leap of faith” doesn’t even begin to describe life these days.

Much love and courage to all,
Aquarius, the sign of astrologyPat

Venus, Vulcan, and the Inner Journey of Taurus, Part I

Vulcan Presenting Venus with Arms for Aeneas, by Francois Boucher, 1757.

Taurus season is upon us once again, bringing with it the energy of desire as it works through form.

After the initial pulse of life in Aries, desire in Taurus becomes the driving force in shaping what form life will take. Will we forge ahead driven by our egoic desires and wishes? Or will we align with divine will and shape our primordial life-force energy into spiritual path and purpose?

Taurus, the sign of the bull, is associated with steadfastness, material possessions, beauty (especially in physical forms), art, stubbornness, security and even enlightenment. It is said that the Buddha himself had six planets and Chiron in Taurus and that the Buddha was born, passed and entered parinirvana all during the time of this auspicious sign.1 Esoterically, Taurus is associated with illumination and the opening of the third eye.

It is under the sign of Taurus that humanity is learning the deeper spiritual lessons of desire and the transformation of the energy of desire. It is through desire that we take a physical incarnation, and it is desire that also keeps us trapped in Samsara, the cycle of death and rebirth. Taurus teaches us about the nature of desire and what needs to happen so we can release our personal attachments and transform the energy of desire into spiritual realizations.

Humanity … is beginning to come under the influence of Taurus.
The great question is – Will this influence … produce the floodlight of illumination of which Taurus is the custodian, or will it simply foment desire, increase selfishness and bring humanity to the ‘fiery heights of self-interest’ instead of to the mountain of vision and initiation? ~ The Tibetan2

Taurus has two planetary rulers: Venus and Vulcan.3 Venus is the personality ruler, and Vulcan is both the soul ruler and the hierarchical ruler. According to Esoteric Astrology, both Venus and Vulcan are sacred planets, while Vulcan is a “hidden” planet. 4 Esoteric Astrology tells us that there are hidden planets that we are unaware of because we do not yet have the consciousness to perceive them or to be receptive to their energy. Once we have expanded our consciousness to the degree that we are more receptive and aware of these subtler energies, we will become aware of these planets. The fact that both ruling planets are sacred (and one is hidden) hints that the inner journey of Taurus is deeply hidden, mysterious, highly significant, and sacred.

The Soul is our individual link to the essential substance of the Creative Source … Astrology is a system that seeks to interpret the nature of the Universal Life Force as It moves, shapes, and creates human life and all events. The planets, signs, and houses, are not the causal elements of manifestation. They are, rather, the reflections of a transcendental synchronicity manifesting through the rhythms and timing of a cosmic clock. ~ Alan Oken5

When considering planetary influences from a Soul Astrology perspective, it is more appropriate to think of the planets as lenses or focalizers of divine energy rather than as causative agents. In Esoteric Astrology, the basic energies of creation are referred to in terms of Seven Rays. I will say more about these in future articles, but for our purposes here it is enough to know that there are Seven Great Rays, within which our universe aligns with just one, and then within our universe, there are seven sub-rays. Just as the sunlight contributes to the optimum conditions for life on earth to thrive, so divine energy, in the form of these Seven Rays working through planetary lenses, is contributing to the optimum conditions for the flowering of human consciousness.

Venus is the goddess of love, the powerful energy of desire, which translates as romantic love, when filtered through a human mind! She rules both Libra and Taurus. In Libra, she endows her subjects with a harmonizing aspect that manifests through the mind, in terms of conceptualizing or idealizing ideas of ethics, beauty, attractiveness and justice. Her work in Libra is more closely linked to harmony in the mental body.6 In Taurus the loving energy of Venus has a more sensuous, earthy, influence. She works initially through the physical senses to eventually bring awareness of the bliss body.7

As Venus works through desire in Taurus, she seeks to awaken the senses. She awakens our sense perception through the physical senses of sight, sound, taste, touch and smell. This has the potential to open us to an experience of bliss and awareness of the bliss body.8 Herein lies the danger of the Taurean path. If the individual is still centered in the ego-personality, the tendency can be towards grasping at more external objects to feed the bliss experience: clinging to possessions of beauty, beautiful people, music, a beautiful body, and losing sight of the spiritual journey. This is a symptom of the lower mind externalizing the bliss experience and projecting it onto outer worldly objects.

The ego-mind uses logic in the extreme. If one chocolate made me feel good, then ten chocolates will make me feel ten times as good, right? Yet we all know this is not so. Too much of a good thing leads to lethargy, dullness, weight gain and that uncomfortable (even painful) feeling of being over-full. Then we have the addiction effect; we begin to believe we need something outside of ourselves – the chocolate, new shoes or whatever our craved substance, possession, or person may be – to feel good. We begin clamouring for more of the object that we believe will lead to more pleasure (bliss). This leads us to pursue “worldly concerns” (objects outside of ourselves), and the sad part is that while doing so we are neglecting our inner spiritual path, which is the true path to inner peace, bliss, and beyond.

Next: How Vulcan takes over from Venus in guiding Taurus along the true path.


Ruth

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Footnotes:

1. Buddhist Astrology, by Jhampa Shaneman.
2. Esoteric Astrology, the wisdom of The Tibetan (Master DK) as channelled by Alice Bailey.
3. The term “rulership” is not intended in the commonly held sense of exerting force or power over another. In this context, the meaning is closer to nurturing-custodianship, in the sense of providing those conditioning factors necessary for divine seeds to ripen, grow and flourish.
4. See Footnote 2.
5. Soul Centered Astrology: A Key To Your Expanding Self, by Alan Oken.
6. Ibid.
7. See the bliss body and Patanjali’s “five bodies” in my previous article, “Mars, Mercury and the Inner Journey of Aries.”
 8. Ibid.

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Ruth Hadikin, Soul Astrologer

Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website. You can also request a FREE mp3 download, “The Energetics of Soul Astrology.”

Weekly Forecast April 23: Sun Trine Mars and Pluto

Spring Planting. © Osk Ingad Alden, 2012.

This week is mostly about the blossoming of last Saturday’s New Moon in Taurus. I hope you all remembered to write your abundance checks!

In the New Moon chart, the Sun was in a lovely earth trine with Mars in Virgo and Pluto in Capricorn. This week, the Sun’s aspects to Mars and Pluto are exact – the Sun-Mars trine on Monday and the Sun-Pluto trine on Sunday (April 29).

Each of these trines has its own correlations, but I think they should be read as a whole and not as three individual trines. To view this configuration holistically, we need to look all the way back to November 23, 2011, for the earliest developments. That’s when Mars made the first of three trines to Pluto. The second pass occurred on March 14, when Mars was retrograde. On the same day, Mars made an exact trine with Jupiter. So, essentially, the trine we have now is a reflection of the one we experienced in mid-March. The difference is that Mars is now direct – and that really is a big difference. Mars is the action planet, and when he’s in reverse motion (that’s what it looks like from our position here on Earth), we can end up spinning our wheels and not having a lot to show for all our energy and effort.

More importantly, the cycle is now complete. It’s as though the Sun’s trine to Mars and Pluto is the “seal” signing the deal. Your biggest clue about the effect on you personally is probably your own experience, so think back to the most significant event in your life in mid- to late November, and then look at related events in mid-March. You may have had even more than one major development, although they probably are related. For example, if the planets in the trine have been transiting your second, sixth, and tenth houses, you may have been promised a promotion and maybe even got it, but finally you’ll get the raise and a bigger staff that were supposed to come with the title.

As nice as all of this sounds, it isn’t coming without a fair share of turmoil. The metaphorical cow pie won’t really hit the fan until this summer, but we’ll likely get a big whiff of what’s to come mid-week, with Mercury’s square to Pluto. As you’ll recall from Mythology 101, Mercury is the Messenger, and in this case, he’s going to be bearing some announcements of what to expect when the Uranus-Pluto square makes its first exact pass on June 24. This is a Very Big Deal. And while it likely will manifest more on a societal and cultural level than in our individual lives, we’ll do well to sit up and take notice of events this week that involve political rebellion, cultural revolution, and backlashes against same.

For me, situations have been developing right on cue. With Mars recently retrograde in my ninth house, I dropped some classes so that I could devote more time to my astrology clients. Right as Mars was stationing direct, I was asked to return, and so I’ll be back to carrying a heavier academic load and lighter astrology schedule. On the positive side, my work in class is centered on an exciting astrology project, about which I’ll be able to say more in a month or two.

In the meantime, the StarGuide monthly forecasts for May are ready (please note that the StarGuide Spring 2012 forecast included the May report in its entirety, so if you’ve already ordered the spring StarGuide, you don’t need an additional report).

I’d like to end this week’s forecast with a stunning video from Ole C. Salomonsen in Norway, who spent all those dark winter months filming the incredible auroras generated by this year’s heightened solar activity. Indeed, I’m starting to wonder if we’re not feeling this phenomenon physically and psychologically. It makes sense. Solar flares disrupt the Earth’s electromagnetic field, so why wouldn’t they have an effect on our individual electromagnetic energies? As far as I know, though, no one has auroras like this streaming around their heads – even while listening at full volume to the suitably awe-inspiring soundtrack by Kai-Anders Ryan.

Celestial Lights from Ole C. Salomonsen on Vimeo.

Much love and courage to all,
Aquarius, the sign of astrologyPat

Weekly Forecast April 15: Mercury Enters Aries, New Moon in Taurus

Music to travel by. © Pat Paquette, 2012.

Get ready to hit the ground running this week, because life is suddenly moving again.

Mars, the action planet, went direct on Friday. Although I anticipated some major shifting last week, I also knew that certain activities might come to a grinding halt until early this week, when Mercury enters Aries, the sign Mars rules. For me, however, the bombs began dropping Tuesday night, and by Friday, life was taking a turn that, while not entirely unexpected (there are advantages to being an astrologer), was surprising nonetheless.

Developments this week could turn us on our heads yet again. It feels like the ground beneath our feet is swaying back and forth, and remaining steady is difficult, if not impossible. At least, that’s what it looks like from where I’m standing.

We start off on Monday with Mercury blasting into Aries. Mercury has been in squishy Pisces, where logic dissolves and you never quite know whether you’re tapped into extraordinary intuition or are wandering in the mists of la-la land. We’ll have more clarity with Mercury in Aries, and fortunately, Mars direct in Virgo ought to help control the impulse to do something, anything, as long as you feel like you’re moving. The urge will only get stronger as the Moon enters Aries on Wednesday, and Mercury conjoins Uranus on Sunday. By the way, this is the third and final conjunction with Uranus in this cycle, and it likely will play out as events related to the big shift that began for you in the summer of 2010.

All of the above notwithstanding, we should all feel more grounded once the Sun enters earthy Taurus on Thursday, followed quickly by the New Moon on Saturday. Venus, the ruler of this New Moon, is close to the degree at which she’ll transit the Sun on June 5, and she’s at the exact degree of the lunar eclipse a day earlier. I have to think we’ll notice a significant shift in the two weeks following this New Moon. Indeed, life already seems to be rearranging itself in preparation for what’s to come. Still, Venus is unaspected in this New Moon chart, so we’re not entirely ready yet for what’s ahead.

The Sun and Moon do make a lovely sextile/trine with Neptune and Mars. The latter is especially powerful, given that Mars has just turned direct. It’s as though he’s being urged to get up and get moving! The Sun and Moon also are conjunct Ceres, who gets my vote as co-ruler of Virgo. Some astrologers think her symbolism is closer to Taurus. I have to disagree, but there’s no doubt that her earthiness is compatible with Taurus, the most solidly manifested of all the earth signs (thus the stubbornness we often encounter in our Taurus friends).

Chart for New Moon in Taurus

Click on image to enlarge

Even the conflicting aspects in this New Moon chart have something conciliatory about them. Vesta in Aries is directly opposite retrograde Saturn in Libra. The ancients associated Vesta the Capricorn, which is Saturn’s home sign. The conflicts we have with others usually have something to do with our conflicts within ourselves. And it’s impossible not to be conflicted about something. Humans are complex organisms, and not every part of us wants what the other parts want. The best example is the constant battle between heart and head.

The inconjunct from Mercury to Mars is mitigated by their mutual reception. The inconjunct represents no common ground, and yet in these signs, this pair has everything in common. I say use this energy to the max to plough through problems that seem to have no solution. Communicate, brainstorm, and seek the areas of mutual interest. They are there.

Lastly, of course, we have Mars in Virgo opposite Neptune in Pisces – the harsh and accurate critic who analyzes every detail versus the vast, unknowable unconscious. Even this apparently irreconcilable opposition has a solution, represented by the New Moon itself. What we see with our eyes is an expression of the invisible energies underlying the material universe. This is a great time for any kind of energetic medicine such as acupuncture, homeopathy, Reiki, and so forth.

Before I end, I want to share the story of the photo. On Friday, I was headed into the city for an important meeting. Rather than sitting in the stuffy passenger cabin on the ferry, I went to the covered seating area. Even when it’s chilly, I prefer it to the interior. I can sit there in solitude, contemplating the sun on the water.

Just as I was settling in, a young man with a guitar case came out. “There goes my quiet meditation,” I thought. Before he sat down, he asked whether it would be OK with me if he played. “Well, that depends,” I said. “Do you play well?” He laughed, opened his case, tuned his instrument, and began strumming. The sunlight was hitting the space just right, creating a perfect photo op. So there was my choice: I could be annoyed that my solitude was disrupted, or I could take pictures. I asked his permission and joked that it was a fair trade. As it turned out, he played exceptionally well, and he chose a song with the perfect rhythm for traveling – whether physically moving over water or spiritually moving over waves of energy.

Sometimes we are blessed in spite of ourselves.

Wishing you much love and courage,
Aquarius, the sign of astrologyPat

Mars, Mercury, and the Inner Journey of Aries, Part II

In Part I of this article, Ruth explained the meaning of Aries in Soul Astrology. In Part II, she elaborates on the concept of Mercury as the esoteric ruler of Aries. ~Pat

My Aries son in flames. © Osk Ingad Alden, 2012.

Esoteric Astrology speaks of three stages of spiritual development known as the mutable, fixed, and cardinal cross.1

Those on the mutable cross are personality centered and have little or no awareness of Soul. Those on the fixed cross have some experience of Soul. They have begun awakening, but there is still duality: separation between personality and Soul. The individual on the cardinal cross has fully integrated Soul and personality. There is no separation. Such an individual would be a highly realized spiritual being like Christ or Buddha. Most of us on the planet at this time will be on the mutable cross, while a fast-growing minority are beginning to awaken on the fixed cross.

The majority of people on the mutable cross will still relate and be receptive to Mars as the ruler of Aries. Those on the fixed cross who are awakening and becoming aware of their Soul presence will begin perceiving the qualities of Mercury and its influence in Aries. When the Being is sensitive, and receptive enough to receive Mercurial energy, then Mercury takes over from Mars and begins the process of awakening, ripening, conditioning and developing the intuitive body.

Mercury is responsible for the development of the antahkarana, or Rainbow Bridge, by which we connect lower and higher mind.2 Aries is very much a sign of the mind, and it is through this ripening and conditioning effect of Mercury that Aries arises from his lower nature to reach his full spiritual potential. The effect of Uranus in Aries lies beyond the individual and is known only at the hierarchical level. As we awaken spiritually, developing our senses and deepening our perceptive capacity, we become aware of the more subtle influences of these energies. In Aries it is the effects of both Mars and Mercury that are creating the perfect conditions for spiritual development.

During the early stages of our spiritual journey, like tender vulnerable seedlings, we are very susceptible to the energies that condition our growth, but there is a reciprocal effect that comes later. Just like a fully mature forest gives back and sustains the environment which nurtured the individual trees, so we too as fully flowering mature spiritual beings will have the capacity to emanate beneficial energies, such as compassion, to nurture and sustain all sentient beings.

I cannot too strongly reiterate the constant necessity for you to think
in terms of energies and forces, of lines of force,
and energy relationships…
The whole story of astrology is, in reality,
one of magnetic and magical interplay
for the production or externalization of the inner reality…3
~ Alice Bailey

Soul Astrology is astrology of our inner world: our energy field, of all five “bodies.” The natal chart is our own personal mandala, showing us the energetic patterns and dynamics that were present at the precise moment that we came into incarnation and the planets that are co-creating the conditions for our growth. How much we grow spiritually and increase our capacity to receive and perceive the potential influences depends very much on us — on our motives, intention, motivation, and the choices we make. We must strive to expand our perception if we are to be aware of more subtle influences.

Will we recognize Mars as the benevolent father of life on earth, driving us steadily towards Mercury and the revelation of our Higher Self? Or will we continue to cast him down as a god of war? The choice is ours.

Next Month we will explore Venus, Vulcan and the Inner Journey of Taurus.


Ruth

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Footnotes:

1. This is not the same as having a grand square or cosmic cross in one’s own natal chart.
2. Esoteric Astrology, the wisdom of The Tibetan (Master DK) as channelled through Alice Bailey.
3. Ibid.

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Ruth Hadikin, Soul Astrologer

Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website. You can also request a FREE mp3 download, “The Energetics of Soul Astrology.”

Weekly Forecast April 8: Pluto Retrograde, Mars Direct

I wrote this post yesterday. Then, early this morning, my website went offline due to an accounting error by my hosting service. How’s that for astrological correlation? Apologies to everyone who tried to access the site, and especially if you got a security alert. As of 15:45 PDT, everything appears to be back to normal, although now I’m behind in my reports.

The MV Klahowya, newly returned from retrograde repairs. © Pat Paquette, 2012.

Last week’s Full Moon with Mercury stationed direct marked a turning point, but this week is when the shift hits the fan, so to speak.

Mars, retrograde since January 23, finally returns direct this week, unleashing the new growth and furious activity that should have come along with the New Moon in Aries on March 22. Some of you may have experienced those fresh starts, but from what I hear, that New Moon was a non-starter for most people. As I mentioned early on, the combined energies of Mars retrograde in Virgo and Mercury retrograde in Aries was great for revisions and repairs.

The Washington State Ferries perfectly illustrates my point. The agency is a Gemini and typically experiences more glitches than usual while Mercury is retrograde. However, WSF also has Aries Rising and so was particularly attuned to this combined Mercury-Mars retrograde. To cite just one example, one of the three boats dedicated to Vashon went to the yard for scheduled maintenance in January and spent more than an extra month there while engineers tore out worn drive-motors. It just came back into service as Mercury returned direct. However, the crew has been instructed to run the boat at a reduced speed from now on to prevent further damage. The order extends to other boats in the same class. Engines are ruled by Mars, and mechanical engineering falls within the purview of Virgo. I just love it when astrology works this neatly!

If you intentionally used this retrograde period to repair, revise, retrofit, restore, or any other “re” verb, you should fare pretty well this week. It might take you a little time to get back up to speed, but it will happen, especially once Mercury re-enters Aries next week. I also should mention that you may find yourself at a near standstill late this week and into the weekend, as Mars stations on Friday. With Mercury in dreamy Pisces, it might be difficult just to haul your sorry ass out of bed in the morning. If you absolutely must be somewhere by a certain time, you might want to set two alarms. It wouldn’t hurt to set them a little early.

In the meantime, Pluto turns retrograde on Tuesday. Part of me can’t get too excited about this. Pluto spends almost half of every year retrograde, so in some ways it’s not a big deal. However, around the dates when he shifts motion, you may notice some strange correlations, depending on where he’s currently transiting your chart.

The conventional interpretation is that retrograde Pluto is about turning inward and confronting the shadow. Feelings of jealousy, obsession, and the desire to overpower another may surface. Needless to say, these emotions can make us squirm, as we’d rather not admit we’re capable of such uncivil behavior. Well, we all are. It’s much better to acknowledge it and make peace to the extent possible – much easier for some people than for others. If your job or social position requires you to use power, then this is a good opportunity to examine your attitude toward power and to be more aware of how you use it – or, as the case may be, how you fail to use it.

Speaking of power, you may want to maintain your vigilance over the weekend, when the Sun opposes Saturn. The aspect is exact on Sunday, but you could feel it a day on either side. With Saturn retrograde in Libra, we’re going back over old relationship territory to learn lessons that we haven’t quite assimilated. The Sun in Aries, meanwhile, suggests confidence in who we are, what we’re here to do, and what we need. At his best, Aries is a strong leader and knows the difference between selfishness and enlightened self-interest. You can’t carry out your life’s work if you’re stuck in a relationship that is sucking the life out of you. Pluto retrograde in Saturn’s sign suggests an underlying power struggle that you may need to get to the bottom of in order to be on more equal footing with your partner. The back-and-forth could get mighty uncomfortable, but if you can go into those places fearlessly, you’ll come out with incomparable rewards.

Rather than taking this week chronologically, I’ve covered the dominant transits first. So now let’s go back to the beginning of the week and look at a couple of interesting aspects with Venus on Monday. First, she forms a sextile with Uranus. I touched on this briefly in my Full Moon post and added that past-life connections could play a significant role in any romantic surprises you encounter. As I mentioned in that post, Venus in nearing the lunar South Node, while Juno, an asteroid often associated with marriage and commitment, is on the North Node. On Monday, the Moon conjoins the North Node and Juno, amplifying this energy and possibly correlating to developments in your love life.

My story on this theme is a bizarre series of synchronicities over the past week that called my attention to the mythology of the Egyptian gods Nut and Geb. What’s curious about this pair is that the god symbolizes the earth, while the goddess is the sky. This is backwards from convention, where the sky is “male” and the earth “female.” I’ve given a lot of thought to what it means, why this image was so in my face, and why now. I still don’t have the answers and perhaps won’t find them anytime soon, but it appears to have something to do with the relationship between matter and energy (remember that Higgs boson from last week?).

Nut represents the unmanifest and the energetic universe, while Geb represents the manifest and material universe. In the myth, they are twin brother and sister and want to have sex constantly. Their father, Shu, decides to separate them by holding Nut up high over his head. He explains that this is necessary to create the space for the Sun and Moon to exist, and that if he allowed the lovers to merge into union, the world would be engulfed in chaos.

As much as we might like to know about “past lives” and to delve into the unconscious realms, most of us wouldn’t be able to function if we had total access. There’s a good reason that our brains have a protective mechanism to keep the conscious and unconscious apart. Nevertheless, we have a nagging sense that there’s something behind the veil. Many of us have seen glimpses of it, and more and more people are meeting others they recognize from other lifetimes. When that happens, we may feel a sense of separation.

Keep your antennae up this week, but try to stay grounded. It’s easy to become destabilized when you’re stepping into unfamiliar psychic territory. If you drink or use drugs, be very careful and monitor your response. A little goes a long way right now.

Wishing you all eternal love and courage,
Aquarius, the sign of astrologyPat

P.S. I haven’t forgotten Part II of Ruth’s post. It will be up soon…

Full Moon in Libra, April 6

The "Spirit of Progress" balances atop a building in downtown Chicago. This photo was taken in September 2009, but it's a perfect expression for the Full Moon in Libra with Venus in Gemini. Image credit: Paul Beaty for The Associated Press.

People have been so grumpy in the past couple of days. I attribute it to the effects of waking up out of a Mercury-in-Pisces slumber – like bears coming out of hibernation.

Friday’s Full Moon isn’t helping. Research has shown that the Full Moon affects our behavior, and usually not kindly. We might expect the Moon in Libra to be an exception, Libra being the sign of peace and harmony. However, the chart for this Full Moon is fraught with conflict.

The dominant feature of the chart is a tight T-square with Venus, Mars, and Neptune in the early degrees of the mutable signs. We’re adjusting to recent changes, and it’s not a smooth process. Change by definition is disruptive, and even positive changes can take some getting used to. If changes happened outside your control, then adapting will be even more unnerving. At the same time, the growing square between Uranus and Pluto threatens major shakeups in the collective that will have a ripple effect on our individual lives. (If you ordered the <a title="StarGuide " href="https://realastrologers.com/forecasts/starguide-monthly-and-seasonal-forecasts&quot;StarGuide Spring forecast, you’ve already got my take on how this planetary arrangement could play out for you.)

A couple of different things can happen at the Full Moon. A project or relationship that began at the New Moon can reach a critical stage, or an issue can crop up that is related to the house in your natal chart where the Full Moon falls. I’m betting that for most of us, it will be the first scenario. The reason I say this is that Mercury has just gone direct. The New Moon in Aries on March 22 was a real sparkler – or, rather, it would have been, if both Mercury and Mars hadn’t been retrograde. With Mercury now direct, developments that normally would have taken place around the New Moon may occur now. Or – sorry to say this – you may have to wait until the next New Moon, on April 21. By then, Mars will be direct again, too.

Since Libra is the sign of relationships, I expect that many of you will experience major developments in a close partnership. Again, these changes aren’t likely to be entirely comfortable, and in fact you may have to move through some conflict in order to restore the balance between you and your partner. Rehashing details is going to be a real temptation, but it will be hard to recall exactly who said what and when. What comes out of your partner’s mouth may be so inconsistent with what you remember that you wonder what they’ve been smoking. As important as details may be to your circumstances, they’re going to be difficult, if not impossible, to pin down, so you might just want to forget about them for now and move forward. Generally, I don’t think this is a good idea, as people tend to set things aside to avoid having to be honest and vulnerable. This time, however, it may be the only way to make any progress at all.

Chart for Full Moon in Libra

Click on image to enlarge

The only positive angle in this chart is between Venus and Uranus, which are in a sextile – not the most powerful aspect, but it can create some sparks, depending on where these planets are in your chart. The conventional interpretation of favorable Venus-Uranus combinations is an unexpected development in love or money. This could well be the case for many people, and I’d go so far as to say that “past-life” connections could be a major factor. I write “past-life” for convenience, since that’s how most people think of it. I actually prefer the term “other lives,” because it more accurately describes what I think is behind these connections. In any case, keep your antennae up.

The Sun and Moon also are in close alignment with Vesta, which I think is quite interesting, given that NASA’s Dawn spacecraft currently is flying by Vesta and sending back phenomenal images of the asteroid’s pockmarked surface. There’s no consensus among astrologers about the meaning of Vesta in the chart – or, indeed, any of the asteroids. I believe the attention we’re giving Vesta and Ceres through the Dawn mission will lead to clarification about their roles in astrology, both in the charts of individuals and in mundane astrology.

Since I’m discussing asteroids, it’s also worth mentioning that Juno is conjunct the North Node in Sagittarius – which means she’s opposite Venus at the apex of the mutable T-square. It’s often helpful to look at what’s opposite the apex to find the “out” in difficult situations correlating to a T-square. Named for the wife of Jupiter in classical mythology, asteroid Juno naturally is associated with marriage and partnership in astrology. Although I have the same reserve in assigning any particular role to asteroids until we have more empirical data, it’s probably safe to assume she has something to do with committed partnership. Moreover, it might turn out to be about soul mates and the concept of “sacred marriage.” Juno on the North Node opposite Venus on the South Node would seem to suggest that the way out of obsession and raging hormones is to understand the truth of how we’re connected with a soul mate across the boundaries of space and time.

When I come up with a plausible theory, you’ll be the first to know.

Weekly Forecast April 1: Venus Enters Gemini, Mercury Direct

I was going to write this week’s forecast as an April Fool’s spoof, but every joke I could come up with had too much truth in it. Life is stranger than fiction. As I’m so fond of saying, God is a comedian.

In astrology, the trickster is Mercury, who speaks so eloquently that he can fool anyone into doing anything. That’s why he’s so useful in business negotiations, not to mention political speeches – activities that can go very badly when Mercury is retrograde. Just ask Rick Santorum.

I hope you’ll pardon me while I go off on another one my tangents for a moment. I’ve been thinking about the race to find the Higgs boson, the so-called “God particle” – the Holy Grail of physics. Scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) say they think that 2012 will be the year they find it. Never mind that physicists have been searching for this puppy for 40 years, and after billions of dollars spent on particle accelerators taking up enormous tracks of underground real estate near Chicago and Geneva, they have only “hints” that the Higgs boson exists – evidence they concede could be flukes in their data.

The punch line of my April Fool’s spoof was going to be that physicists looking for the Higgs boson have discovered that it exists only in their imagination, literally turning the Standard Model of physics on its head. But that may turn out to be no joke. CERN itself explains the stakes with crystal clarity: “If it turns out that we cannot find [the Higgs boson], this will leave the field wide open for physicists to develop a completely new theory to explain the origin of particle mass.”

Well, there you have it. The currently accepted scientific theory of how the material universe exists rests on one subatomic particle that mathematical calculations say should exist, but that no one has ever seen. Ponder that for a minute. Maybe it’s not so much the Holy Grail but the Big Foot of physics. And these people dismiss astrology as a superstitious pseudo-science!

The second beat of my punch line was going to be about how astrologers come to the rescue of the Higgs hunters, but that’s not a joke, either. Imagine how our society would be different today if half of one percent of the money spent on searching for the elusive Higgs boson had been spent on researching the correlation between outer planetary cycles and human civilization. And here’s the kicker, and a question for physicists: Once you establish that such a correlation exists, then you have to search for the mechanics of how it works. And that puts us right back to the question of what bridges energy and matter – the same conundrum confronting physicists in their search for the Higgs boson.

Wouldn’t it be a fine joke, too, if it turned out that the Higgs boson existed but couldn’t be isolated under laboratory conditions? The entire methodology of Western science would be smashed faster than a proton in the Large Hadron Collider. Indeed, this is the main reason why astrology can’t be scientifically “proven.” The problem isn’t with astrology, but with the method of proof.

So, why am I bringing up all of this now? Believe it or not, there is a method to my madness. I’m only half joking about the Higgs boson being in scientists’ imagination. Somewhere along this line of scientific inquiry, we’re going to find out that thoughts are life-forms that may even have mass. And perhaps that will lead to the mystery of what binds not only matter, but the belief matrix, both individual and collective. Why are people’s beliefs so entrenched that they will ignore the truth, despite evidence to the contrary? My guess is that it has to do with brain chemistry – what makes people feel good. And that puts us solidly back in the territory of Mercury, the trickster. I wrote about this connection two years ago, as we approached the cardinal T-square.

Mercury currently is retrograde in Pisces, where he’ll return direct on Wednesday. Pisces is ruled by Neptune, which symbolizes the dissolution of boundaries. This is the realm of the imagination, and that’s why it’s so tricky. We don’t know whether what we see, feel, or believe is real. This is the place where we get creative inspiration, but nothing will come of it until we apply the critical analysis of Virgo. Luckily, we’ve got both right up until Mercury re-enters Aries on April 16. By that time, Mars in Virgo will be direct, too. In the meantime, we’re in primetime for research and revision. That applies not only to work projects, but to your entire belief system.

Two other major astrological events take place this week. First, Venus enters Gemini on Tuesday. This is a very big deal, because we’re in the final countdown toward the 2012 Venus transit, which will occur on June 5, the day after a lunar eclipse. My read on this event is that new information will be downloaded into the collective conscious. As I was researching past Venus transits, I noted that the transit in 1639 coincided with the beginning the so-called Age of Enlightenment. Some astrologers may consider it the Age of Endarkenment, seeing as how discoveries in science, especially astronomy, created a rift that relegated astrology to the scrap heap of superstition. That particular Venus transit was in Sagittarius, sign of organized religion. While the new philosophies that emerged were detrimental to astrology, the big breakthrough was that the stranglehold of the Church on people’s minds was broken, leaving humanity free to explore new ideas and independent paths to spirituality.

I’ll write more about the Venus transit in Gemini as the alignment approaches, but for now, I just want to point out that it could indeed herald a breakthrough in our understanding of how matter is formed out of energy. It just may not be what we think. And, for that matter, we may come to understand how what we think makes all the difference in the world.

Venus also is the star of this week’s Full Moon in Libra. I’ve been incorporating the lunar reports in my weekly forecasts due to time limits, but I’ll make an exception this week and write a separate post. I’ll also have Part II of Ruth’s new series on the planetary rulers in Soul Astrology. I thought I’d scheduled it for this past Wednesday and just realized this morning that I didn’t hit the right command. Happy Mercury retrograde.

Much love and courage to all,
Aquarius, the sign of astrologyPat