Category Archives: About astrology

Second Full Moon in Scorpio – May 19/20

Full Moon in Scorpio 
The Full Moon on May 19 (May 20 in the Eastern Hemisphere) falls at 29° Scorpio, just before the Sun leaves Taurus and enters Gemini. This is called the “anaretic degree” or “critical degree” and marks the ending of a phase. It is an opportunity to review our understanding of the lessons of the sign involved.

Scorpio has been the focal point of this last cycle from Full Moon to Full Moon, and hopefully most of us have had realizations about what we need to let go of or release to the highest good.

The Sun is still conjunct Venus in Taurus, emphasizing appreciation of what we have and the importance of being in the body. When the Sun moves on into Gemini and joins Mercury and Ceres there, air signs will be able to breathe more easily, whereas the earth signs will be reluctant to give up touchy feely Taurus. The fire signs are just happy to have Mars in Leo instead of Cancer! It is a bit dry now for water signs.

One of the more interesting patterns in the sky on this Full Moon is a wide fixed grand cross formed by the nodal axis, the luminaries, and the Chiron/Neptune conjunction in Aquarius. This particular pattern impacts my chart strongly and prompts me to feel the key here is to take advantage of pain to discern what needs tossing from one’s life. It’s a truism that humans change more readily when it’s too painful not to, and the conjunction of Chiron/North Node/Neptune looks very much like just the crew to do that. Aquarius provides the detachment to stand back and observe the source of the pain Chiron is pointing to, while Neptune provides the anesthetic (boy, is this going to hurt when it wears off . . .), and the North Node in Aquarius indicates the path we need to travel toward the greater good. The Scorpio Full Moon gives us the wherewithal to dig deep inside ourselves and haul what we need to review to the surface. May passing through this experience help all of us feel lighter and freer to truly be ourselves.

We are still working with Jupiter sextile Uranus, but in this Full Moon chart, Mercury conjunct Ceres in Gemini is square Uranus. This may be a clue as to why so many are feeling Mercury retrograde is casting a deeper shadow than usual. Once Mercury goes retrograde on May 26, the square to Uranus will widen and won’t begin to close until after Mercury goes direct on June 20. Uranus is essentially standing still now as it prepares to station retrograde on June 28, but we won’t cross that bridge for awhile yet . . . thankfully.

The next chapter following this Full Moon will unfold slowly due to Mercury’s change in direction. Perhaps the best course of action is to keep in mind Scorpio’s theme of rejuvenation and review, as Mercury retrograde is certainly a good time to continue with it. Life has been moving very quickly since the powerful New Moon in Aries, and a breather would do us all good!

Libra is learning Scorpio lessons posted by Neith . . .

Ask Real Astrologers: Midheaven in Synastry

                                             
Readers often write to ask us questions about their individual charts or specific situations, so we figured it’s just natural to start a regular Q&A feature.

Since we have two different approaches to astrology, we thought it would be fun if we both answered the same question. As we like to say around here, two heads are better than one!

Our first question comes from Bridget in Milwaukee.

Hey, I’m just wondering what your general take is on one person’s Midheaven conjoining another person’s first house/Ascendant (not necessarily conjunct the Ascendant degree). I am not finding much out there about this synastry aspect and would love to hear your take on it!

Libra ponders . . .

Neith’s answer:

This is a great question! There is definitely a public aspect to this partnership, because both the Ascendant and Midheaven are indications of how we project ourselves visibly into the world at large. In fact, this particular synastry aspect is one Pat and I have (my ASC and her MC), and we have gone into a very visible partnership via our website, Real Astrologers.com. That’s not to say it’s uncommon in personal relationships, just that there is a good possibility the relationship will have a public component.

Aquarius expounds . . .

Pat’s answer:

I concur with Neith that this aspect in synastry tells us something about how the two partners will interact in public. The first and tenth houses are angular houses and therefore action-oriented. The Midheaven person likely will be the one who initiates the action, brings the Ascendant person into the activity, or raises the Ascendant person’s visibility. Now, I do think there’s a possibility that these two could be competitive, but that depends on the sign of the conjunction and also on what else is going on in your charts. In a romantic relationship, if your Sun-Moon and Venus-Mars signs are compatible, then you should be fine. If competition does arise, it can be mitigated by agreeing beforehand on the “rules,” respecting each other’s opinions, and knowing yourself well enough to know whether underlying emotions are clouding your judgment.

Send us your questions! We will pick one or two a week to answer in this column. If your situation is involved, please consider a full reading by Neith or Pat, which will give you far more information than we can provide in a short Q&A format. Remember, Real Astrologers reports and forecasts aren’t generated by a computer but always written from scratch, exclusively for you!

Got a question for Neith and Pat? Click here to contact Ask Real Astrologers.

Real Astrologers Weekly Poll: Mercury Rx

Pat and I decided to have some fun with a weekly poll on astrology related matters. We would love for all our readers to take part in these. The plan is this: we post a poll early in the week and then we’ll post the results the following week with our thoughts and any comments offered from readers. Who knows? We may even learn something new.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

I am admittedly very fond of astro-data . . . but what can one expect with Mercury in Scorpio on my Ascendant and a Virgo Midheaven. :-D

Any feedback you may wish to add is welcome, especially related to your chart. Thanks! :-D

Libra is curious too posted by Neith . . .

Mercury Enters Shadow Phase (But You Knew That)

The antidote to Mercury RxMars in Leo definitely didn’t come in with a roar. Just about everyone I encountered over the weekend was exhausted and irritable.

I did get a boost Sunday from the Sun-Uranus sextile, and my bathroom is now free of hairballs. Thank goddess for small blessings. It’s Monday already in the Eastern Hemisphere, so you all get to start the week out on a positive note (at last count, Real Astrologers had readers in 37 countries on six continents!). The Sun trines Jupiter a few hours later, but the Big Guy just went retrograde, and the trine peaks while the Moon is void of course, so we probably won’t get much more from this aspect than a few hours of good feelings.

Then, that would be a blessing, too, given the way things have been going lately.

Mercury entered the retrograde shadow period at 1:42 p.m. Sunday on the West Coast of the United States, but many of you reported seeing the effects as much as a week earlier. Another blog author I know has been in communications hell. The pre-retrograde shadow phase, which lasts about two weeks, starts at the moment Mercury crosses the degree at which he’ll return direct and lasts until he turns retrograde. There’s also a post-retrograde shadow period. We’ll keep you posted in our Mercury Retrograde Watch feature, a Real Astrologers exclusive!

I’ve also had several reports of bureaucratic delays similar to my own. This no doubt was a reflection of Mercury’s square with Saturn last week, but with the Messenger now in shadow, it hardly matters what “caused” it. Delays are going to be the rule rather than the exception from now until the end of June.

I definitely have been seeing some powerful effects of creeping Mercury retrograde. I’ve had trouble getting through to the right people and missed the delivery of an important piece of mail. On Friday, I found out that I’ll be starting a new job on May 26 – the day Mercury turns retrograde! I tried to talk my way into starting a few days earlier, but no luck. The last job I started on the day Mercury turned retrograde was a total fiasco and ended disastrously.

On Wednesday, the Sun squares Neptune. This is another low-energy aspect and, depending on which houses in your chart these bodies are transiting, you could feel discouraged about a particular area of your life. It’s worth mentioning that the North Node recently crossed over Neptune and Chiron, and the three are still relatively close together. This is not a comfortable configuration, and it may be creating a certain amount of existential angst for many of you. I’ve been more focused on the subject of spiritual enlightenment than usual, and I’ve been questioning myself heavily about how I measure up.

The Libra Moon on Thursday and Friday should help us regain some balance. But then we get thrown off again on Saturday, when Venus squares Chiron. The angst may extend to your sexuality and body image.

She’ll more than make up for it on Sunday, though, with a sextile to Uranus and then a trine to Jupiter. Don’t be surprised if you react to unexpected good news by diving into a vat of caramel turtle ice cream. Some people eat when they’re unhappy, but many of us are just as likely to overindulge in a moment of pure joy. I haven’t quite figured that one out. Maybe it’s because we’re afraid the good feelings will go away, and we want to prolong the pleasure as long as possible. Entirely understandable these days.

So if you go for that triple hot fudge sundae, promise me you’ll enjoy the hell out of it, with no regrets on Monday morning!

Love and blessings with a cherry on top,
Sign of the FuturePat

If You Don’t Like What You’ve Got, Change It!

They don't call him the Big Guy for nothing!I’ve been fantasizing lately about a higher being of extraordinary intelligence picking me up by the scruff of the neck, like a giant bird of prey, and dropping me into a new life.

Poof! In one fell swoop, I’d have a bigger apartment with no highway noise, all of my bills would be paid, I’d have the resources to pursue my goals for Real Astrologers, I’d be 20 pounds thinner, and the love of my life would be sitting here next to me. And, of course, I’d be at the top of the enlightenment spiral.

As crazy as that sounds, it just might be possible – not thanks to some giant winged alien, but by taking advantage of an extremely rare astrological phenomenon involving a giant planet.

Jupiter turned retrograde on Friday and will be in reverse (that’s what it looks like from down here) until September 8. Not known as the Big Guy for nothing, Jupiter is larger than all the other planets in our solar system combined, which may be how he got named for the father of the gods.

In astrology, Jupiter represents good fortune and abundance. His retrogrades are relatively benign; we just don’t have his luck to carry us toward our goals. But in a weird sort of way, this retrograde period may be luckier than we could possibly imagine.

The degree of Jupiter’s station – 22 degrees, 22 minutes Capricorn – provides us with an important clue. In numerology, 22 is the number of the master builder, the architect of the universe. Capricorn’s ruler, Saturn, is the planet of manifestation on the physical plane. This tells me that we may be able to use Jupiter’s retrograde period to think about what we truly want and need and to change what’s not working for us.

Individually and collectively, our thoughts play a major role in what gets manifested in our world, whether we’re conscious of them or not. Indeed, unconscious thoughts and beliefs have a nasty way of getting in our face through people and situations that seem to come into our lives randomly. This is the effect of Saturn, who gets a bum rap as the planet of limitations and constraints.

As scientific researchers have learned over the past few decades, matter is energy. The more solid a material object appears to be, the slower that energy is vibrating. Fast and slow are concepts related to time, which in astrology is ruled by Saturn. Put very simplistically, your thoughts interact with invisible energies in the universe, which coalesce according to the blueprint you’ve created with your thought pattern, plus (and here’s the kicker) any related unconscious thoughts and beliefs you’re harboring. Once that energy is manifested on the material plane, it’s locked up and unavailable for anything else. That is the “limitation” of Saturn.

If we don’t like what we’ve got, we have to invest energy into changing it. The more locked in and stuck we appear to be, the more energy it takes to undo it and turn it into something else. It seems to me that Jupiter’s retrograde in Capricorn will be extremely handy for this. Retrogrades in general are good for going back and doing something over, but undoing situations we seem to be stuck with is a tall order. Who better to help us out than lucky Jupiter?

Give it some thought this week and start planning your strategy. I know I will be!

Sign of the FuturePat

P.S. Need a change of perspective? Don’t know how to get unstuck? This definitely would be a great time to get one of our exclusive forecasts!

What your Venus says about the contents of your underwear drawer

 Lilith by Rossetti  
With the Sun and Venus in Taurus now, this Libra person is thinking about all things related to love, beauty, and desire. And what does Venus like more than pretty undergarments? So I’m going to have a little fun with this . . .

Because Venus travels close to the Sun, she is usually in the same sign or one of the two neighboring signs. She represents our sense of aesthetics, our idea of fun and pleasure and is all about our personal style. Of course, aspects from other planets will affect her expression but that’s for another post!

Venus in Aries is not a patient shopper. If she can find a brand that fits and is easy to come by, she’ll stick with it. This Venus is my candidate for having a fire-engine red bra stuck in the back of her drawer that really looked hot in the store but didn’t fit well after she got home. She also goes for active sportswear undergarments. Even those with Pisces and Taurus Suns will be more adventurous with Venus in the sign of the Ram.

Not surprisingly, Venus in Taurus loves silk lingerie – smooth, soft, and sensual. If you want to make your Taurus sweetie very happy, buy her silk to wear against her skin. She is more concerned with the tactile than the visual, although she’ll love muted, earth tones. Earthy Venus in Taurus helps Aries and Gemini Suns tune into their sensual side.

Venus in Gemini, an air sign, is more experimental and willing to at least try on the latest and greatest fad. She will shop just about anywhere and pick up items because they are fun and catch her eye. Gemini has no problem with bright colors and synthetic fabrics as long as it’s new and different. Taurus and Cancer Sun folks will be far more willing to try something new with this Venus in their charts.

Venus in Cancer prefers comfort to fashion. If the climate is on the cool side, this one will go for flannel nightwear. Cancer likes to stay with tried-and-true designs, nothing fancy. She is likely to be the most comfortable with the idea of appearing matronly. A Gemini or Leo Sun will liven up Venus in Cancer considerably.

Venus in Leo . . . think Madonna’s bustier outfits and visible bras in bright colors. This Venus likes her undergarments to be noticed and appreciated and will go for drama and flair to draw more attention to herself. Having Venus in Leo will give both Cancer and Virgo Suns more pizzazz.

Venus in Virgo is more likely to get excited about having undies made using bamboo fibers. Bamboo is eco-friendly, very soft, and naturally deters bacteria – all of which appeal to Virgo sensibilities. Virgo is less likely to be concerned about style and color than Libra, for instance, but it darn well better fit. Venus in Virgo tones down a Leo Sun and has Libra Sun paying more attention to natural fibers over synthetics

Rose by Waterhouse

Venus in Libra is most likely to go for feminine frills with lots of lace on her sleepwear, but it has to be good quality and soft to the touch – Venus rules Libra, too. She certainly won’t turn down pretty silk lingerie or fine cotton lawn nightwear but will prefer softer colors – no fire engine red for this one. Venus is well placed in Libra, and she’ll give both Virgo and Scorpio Suns more feminine sensibilities.

Venus in Scorpio will pick up that daring garter belt to wear with thigh-high black stockings. She’ll also be inclined to wear silk undergarments under a ratty sweatshirt and jeans to titillate her lover’s imagination – or wear nothing at all. Ha! A Libra or Sagittarius Sun will qualify for HOT if her Venus is in Scorpio.

Venus in Sagittarius will opt for functional, if given a choice, because she just wants to put it on and head out the door. Keep the frills to a minimum please and forget the lace – it scratches. Pure organic cotton is on the top of this one’s list. Both Scorpio and Capricorn Sun folks will be willing to lighten up and fuss less for Venus in Sagittarius.

Ms. Venus in Capricorn not only prefers high quality silky lingerie, she also loves the idea of wearing sexy items under her conservative business suit. It’s a good idea to shop for high-end brands if you want to impress this choosy person, because she will look. If she is shopping for herself, Venus in Capricorn will wait for her favorites to go on sale, demonstrating Saturnine frugality. Sagittarius and Aquarius Suns both benefit from Venus in Capricorn’s sense of class and timeless styling.

For Venus in Aquarius, paying attention to what she wears depends on her mood and her lover. For the most part, undergarments are almost an afterthought, with comfort and good fit much higher on the scale than appearance. Like Virgo, she also will go for eco-conscious fibers like organic cotton and bamboo. This Venus will give Capricorn and Pisces Suns an eccentric edgier taste . . . electric blue lingerie anyone?

Venus in Pisces is the sweetheart of them all. Imagination is everything, and she prefers sheer fabrics in luminous colors that create an atmosphere of romance. Venus in Pisces is another who likes softness against her skin and the hidden beauty of lovely under-things that only she knows she’s wearing. This romantic Venus tones down and softens Aquarius and Aries Suns.

Venus rules Libra too posted by Neith . . .

Mercury in Gemini: Can You Just Hear the Twitter?

Wired and TwitteringThere’s no better image of Mercury in Gemini than twittering birds, and it’s no coincidence that we now have Twitter on Real Astrologers.

Mercury in Gemini is tailor-made for Twitter, the new way to keep track of friends and family. The messages are short, sweet, and not too deep. Think of it as a hybrid between blogging and text messaging from your cell phone. We think of it as a mini-blog and a perfect new format for astrology. Thus, Astro-Twitter was born!

You’ve seen it in action … and there will be a whole lot more action when more of you join! Don’t be shy. You don’t need to be an astrologer or even know much about astrology to participate. All you need to do is let us know what you’re doing and how you’re feeling, and we can compare that to what the planets are doing to see how they correlate.

This is also great if you’re from another country and feel a little challenged writing in English. The short Twitter format doesn’t require grammatically whole sentences, and no one will notice if subject and verb don’t agree. So please don’t let that stop you. At last count, Real Astrologers had readers in 34 countries on six continents! We’d love for Twitter to be an international flock, too.

It is very easy to sign up for Twitter, and it’s free. Once you have an account, ping me via e-mail or through Twitter messaging, and I will add you to our list. That’s all there is to it. All we ask is that if you plan to use Twitter for other purposes, please create a separate account and screen name for participating in Astro-Twitter. Otherwise, we’ll be inundated with so many off-topic messages that it won’t be Astro-Twitter. Do you follow me?

Join the fun! Add your voice to our fledgling Astro-Twitter community.

Sign of the FuturePat

P.S. If you’d like to add Astro-Twitter on your own blog, let us know, and we’ll send you the code.

New Moon in Taurus – Comfort Rules

 here's some of those May flowers!

The New Moon on May 5 is at 15 degrees Taurus, the midpoint between the two Scorpio Full Moons, making it less about new beginnings than most New Moons. This feels more like the time to evaluate progress and determine if we are doing business as usual or whether we have found better alternatives because if we haven’t, we need to. The atmosphere is conducive to transforming what is no longer viable with a certain degree of grace.

Venus moved into Taurus, where she is supremely comfortable, on April 30 and is still within orb of the grand trine in earth with Pluto and Saturn. For those of us who have been dealing with less pleasant Saturn and Pluto transits, the presence of a happy Venus will sooth the worst of the hurts for now. This especially favors those with lots of Libra and Taurus in their charts . . . Yay!

The Jupiter/Uranus sextile is still operating, and once Jupiter turns retrograde on May 9, the aspect will tighten again. Both of these planets interact favorably with the Taurus New Moon, supporting innovations for various business ventures out there. Jupiter will station at 22° 22′ Capricorn and will provide an opportunity to review what we’ve done since February this year. In numerology, 22 is the number of the master builder of the universe. Combine that with Capricorn’s ability to plan and execute and we have a great opportunity to lay some serious groundwork for where we want to go next.

Another event happening May 9 is Mars finally moving into Leo!  After months and months in watery Cancer, Mars is going to be one happy camper to be back in a fire sign, and all you fire-sign folks out there are going to get a big hit of energy. 

We do have to deal with the square between Mercury in Gemini and Saturn in Virgo, so the agile one will be still be feeling constrained, even though he moved out of methodical Taurus on May 2. Remember to allow extra time for handling communications.

Overall, this New Moon favors creative change, but in a far more tangible way. With Venus, Taurus’s ruler, dancing with Saturn and Pluto in earth, realistic planning and sensible creative solutions will carry the day. And if you have a chance to relax about now . . . Taurus says get a lovely massage with plenty of scented oils and quiet music. Oh yeah, don’t forget the chocolates and a glass of your favorite beverage, either.

Venus rules Libra tooposted by Neith . . .

Short Compatibility Report Sample: Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi

reach out with Love 

This is an example of a Compatibility Short Report looking at the natal charts first for an idea as to how each individual responds in relationships and moving on the synastry aspects between the charts. I’ve chosen Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi because a) they have been married for many years and b) this will show how much information is available using one good birth time and one unknown birth time. [I was not comfortable writting this report addressing Patrick directly as is my normal practice . . . weird but true] Here is a link to view this report:  Sample Synastry Report for Patrick Swayze & Lisa Niemi

The Relationship Snapshot Report will cover essentially the first portion of the Short Compatibility Report, the natal charts and shorthand look. This still can answer the question of whether the relationship is one worth pursuing, or why it isn’t. We can also figure out if relationship issues are best resolved by working on your own “stuff” too.

If you have complete birth data for both parties, then it may be worthwhile to go with the Full Compatibility Report which includes a discussion of the Composite chart derived from the mid-points of both charts. The Composite chart can be easily relocated to where you are currently living. When I calculated a Composite chart for my husband and I based on our location rather than birth places, the Sun, Venus, Jupiter stellium moved from the twelfth house into the first – a huge difference in how the relationship is perceived by others. In other words, it is obvious to all who meet us we are a happily married couple because it’s right there for everyone to see!

When I can find a celebrity couple with good complete birth data for both people, I will do a sample of the Composite chart section of the Full Compatibility Report. If anyone knows of such a couple, please point me in their direction – who they are doesn’t matter, good birth times do! [Now you know my priorities . . . good data!!]

Libra is all about the other posted by Neith . . .

patrick-swayze-natal-chart.pdf

lisa-niemi-natal-chart-unknown-birth-time.pdf

Family Power Plays and Pluto

 the view from Pluto 

In many ways families are the microcosm for studying the effects of planets at work in synastry, natally and by transit. I’m watching one unfold in my immediate family between my Aries SO and his younger daughter. She is currently in the early stages of transiting Pluto approaching her natal Capricorn Moon and is heading into the second pass of her Saturn Return. She also has Pluto in Libra conjunct her Ascendant and so far her reaction to that natal aspect is to attempt to dominate and control every aspect of her life . . . . [Yeah, like that will work in the long run!]

Her father and I are about the only people in her immediate family who will stand their ground and not allow her to have her way. Both her dad and I have Mars in Scorpio square Pluto in Leo and we both have a definite “don’t mess with me” vibe. Her Mars is in Taurus exactly opposing her father’s and mine, so the operative synastry aspect here is a T-square with Pluto in Leo at the apex! Her Uranus in Scorpio opposes her Mars and conjuncts her father’s Mars exacerbating the situation with the arbitrary quality Uranus brings to the table. Sure does sound like power plays to me.

The latest episode revolves around her civil marriage ceremony. Instead of opening negotiations and discussing the location with her dad, she announced she wanted to have it on the ex-law’s property at the last minute [Uranus in action] knowing full well he had stated in no uncertain terms he would never voluntarily set foot there again. The reason she gave was this is what her financé wished – like her Capricorn financé ever did anything she didn’t ask?!

The upshot is a typical Pluto power play result . . . no one’s happy, there are bad feelings all the way around and almost every one is “stuffing” their feelings. With Pluto, resolution is often only possible through deliberate disengagement and that is not happening in this situation due to other complicating factors.

Plutonians in the depth of control issues tend not to respond well to confrontation and most must hit their personal “wall” hard enough to choose the path to detachment and sanity. This is what my own experience with Pluto has taught . . . the hard way.

from Aries to Pisces

 

 

A note on helping Plutonians and those in the throes of a Pluto transit to the personal planets and Ascendant in particular – these individuals will not likely respond to offers of help. It’s comparable to dealing with addicts who have not acknowledged their addiction. Until the door is opened a crack by the Plutonian person (they request assistance and feedback), they may not react well to even the kindest, more sincere offer of help.

Libra offers perspectiveposted by Neith . . .