Sexual Tension and a Bit of Drama

hawk flies free . . .

Even though the Sun and Mercury are now in placid Taurus, unstable reactive energies continue to dominate this week, promising sexual tension, melodrama, and overindulging in what isn’t good for us. Or is it?

As I write, the Moon is gliding through the last degrees of Scorpio, and we’re still trying to determine what manifested out of Sunday’s Full Moon. It has been uncomfortable for me, and I sense that many of you share that watching-and-waiting feeling. I think we’ll have an answer by the end of today.

Mars in Cancer trines Uranus in Pisces today as well, and the Scorpio Moon completed a grand trine in the water signs yesterday. Among other things, you might have noticed a spontaneous outflow of feelings, in yourself or in others. Miracles can happen when you take a chance and tell another person what’s in your heart.

Enjoy it while you can, because the cardinal T-square between Venus, Mars, and Jupiter midweek could make you squirm. It’s interesting to note that all three of these planets are in the signs of their detriment or fall. In other words, they aren’t expressing their best qualities. Venus, the planet of love, desire, and harmonious relationships, is in demanding, me-first Aries. Mars, normally the initiator and macho guy, is in nurturing, tender Cancer, where he can get resentful and passive-aggressive. Normally ebullient Jupiter is in Capricorn, which puts a chill on his warmth and generosity.

All types of relationships may suffer under these astrological conditions, but especially ones in which sexual intimacy is an issue. If you try to get what you want through manipulation, it likely will backfire. And with Jupiter involved in this three-way, it’s likely to backfire in a big way. However, I think it’s more likely that this energy will manifest as overindulgence of some kind, be it sex, alcohol, or, most likely, comfort food. Running for chocolate or diving into a bag of chips may be your fix of choice for emotional discomfort, and you won’t stop at just one.

The best way to handle these situations is to state your needs and desires very clearly and let the other person respond as he or she wishes. Of course, we’d like the same honesty and directness that we’re putting out, but it doesn’t always happen, for one reason or another. The best you can do is to take responsibility for yourself. That said, the nature of this week’s convoluted energies may make it hard to do so in a way that makes everyone feel OK.

The Moon enters Capricorn, the sign of her detriment, on Friday, and she hooks up with Jupiter on Saturday night. Moon-Jupiter conjunctions are usually upbeat occasions, but I think there will be a lot of commiseration going on, probably over events earlier in the week. It may be hard to tap into how you really feel, but try. It’s the only way to make a heart connection.

On Sunday, the Moon opposes Mars and squares Venus. If the tension you felt early in the week didn’t find a release, it could happen at this time. Once again, keep in mind that others may not want what you want, and that’s OK for now. Conflict is not always a bad thing and is necessary for growth. If nothing else, events this week may help you understand your own wants and needs better, which is a needed precursor to getting them met.

Let me just add the usual caveat that I’m describing broad planetary energies. How they apply to you depends on where they fall in your chart. If you’d like to know that, Neith and I both do transit reports.

I’d just like to add a note to thank you all for dropping by. Neith just installed Site Meter, and it’s been great fun to see where you are located. We have readers from all over Europe, as well as Canada, Australia, Brazil, India, Singapore, and, of course, all across the United States.

Love and blessings,
Aquarius, dreads emotional conflict :-)Pat

This is one of Neith’s photos of the emerging spring growth. That speck at the top is a hawk. 

Taurus and The Hierophant

Pope Benedict in his Hierophant posePope Benedict’s visit to the United States just as the Sun is entering Taurus provides a perfect backdrop to discuss the meaning of The Hierophant, the fifth card of the Tarot and one that often elicits a negative response.

With a couple of exceptions, each of the 78 cards in the Tarot deck has an astrological correspondence. The Hierophant, called The Pope in older decks, is associated with Taurus. (How’s that for synchronicity?)

The creators of modern decks, in an attempt to avoid association with the Catholic Church, changed the name to Hierophant or High Priest, but retained much of the symbolism of the papacy, most notably the crossed keys. It’s no wonder, then, that many people have uncomfortable feelings about this card, which seems oppressive, intolerant, moralizing, and hypocritical – just as the Church has been for most of the past millennium.

Crossed keys on Vatican sealAmong the many ways the Church controlled the populace was to attach guilt to sex and to require intercession by a priest to talk to God. In other words, you couldn’t converse directly with the divine, but had to go through someone with more authority. The Pope had the highest authority on Earth and was seen as a “bridge” to God; thus the alternative name, “pontiff” (from the Latin root “pont”).

This wouldn’t have been such a bad concept if it hadn’t been enforced the way it was. In ancient cultures such as Sumer and Babylon, it was the job of the high priests and priestesses to interpret the signs in the heavens and offer divine guidance. It’s interesting to note that some of the early styles of papal headgear mirrored the hats worn by the high priests of Sumer.

The Hierophant, Smith-Waite deck. Notice the crossed keys at his feet.The true meaning of this card lies in the ability to communicate with the divine. It’s about intuition, especially through hearing the messages that come to us seemingly out of nowhere, but that we know are true and have come to us at the right time. Often, these messages help us decide what course of action to take, or they are the inner voice that stops us from doing something we’ll regret later.

Listening to your intuition can be tricky, because it’s easy to confuse with wishful thinking. Knowing that the higher voice you’re hearing is authentic requires a heavy dose of self-honesty and discipline. In that regard, this card does contain an element of a higher authority.

But we needn’t think of this as negative. Like any form of power, it’s only bad when abused.

Love and blessings,
Aquarius, associated with The StarPat

Leo and Gemini couple – What Happened?

  This request came from a Gemini woman about a relationship with a Leo man whom she met some time back online. Their initial meeting in person went very well, but things went flat after that.

They have good synastry between their charts, with both Moons in Aries and excellent Sun to Moon exchanges with her Gemini Sun sextile his Aries Moon and his Leo Sun trine her Aries Moon – all comfortable fire and air signs.

In fact, the overall compatibility between the two charts is strong with several intra-aspects (where the same planets aspect each other from both charts). There are Venus/Sun and Venus/Neptune aspects for fun and romance, along with Mars/Uranus and Mars/Pluto aspects for really great chemistry. The Saturn/Mercury intra-aspect is a little more challenging, because on some level, communications feel blocked and there may be a sense of not feeling understood by each other.

Another positive factor is having the harmonious aspect between their Ascendants. She has Pisces rising, and he has Capricorn on the Ascendant. This indicates that they have similar ideas about what a good partnership is all about. His Venus/Saturn/Jupiter stellium in Libra falls in her seventh house conjunct her Saturn/Jupiter – a lot of Saturn for durability, balanced with Jupiter’s optimism.

The difficulties may arise because of issues hinted at in the natal charts. His Sun in Leo is the apex of a T-square with Uranus in Scorpio opposing Chiron in Taurus. Uranus/Sun aspects make for a very independent personality, and whenever I see Chiron aspecting the Sun I suspect self-image problems – an uncomfortable pattern to learn to work with.

Also, his Moon in Aries opposite his Venus/Saturn/Jupiter stellium in Libra indicates a tendency toward emotional ups and downs and difficulty assessing how he feels about his partners. Her Saturn/Jupiter conjunction in Libra squares her Venus in Cancer. This parallel between their charts offers an avenue to understanding, but when Saturn aspects such as these are present,  it can take time to develop a level of trust.

They both have Saturn in Libra, so relationships are a serious business and, as I’ve noted before, this inclines a person either to avoid commitments or to embrace them completely. These two have a lot going for them from an astrological perspective. I wish them well.

(Libra Rules!)posted by Neith . . .

Visualizing Taurus

Did not! Did so!I got a kick out of this photo in the news headlines on Wednesday. Not only did it appear just as Mercury and the Sun were on the threshold of entering Taurus, but it perfectly depicts one of the most well-known keywords for the second sign of the Zodiac:

Stubborn.

It takes a lot to get a rise out of Taurus (or someone with strong Taurus in his chart). If you’re trying to get a particular action out of them or to convince them that you’re right and they’re wrong, good luck! Taurus not only is stubborn but has unlimited patience. Chances are, you’ll get frustrated and give up way before your Taurus opponent does — unless you’re a Taurus, too. Then you may find yourselves like these two, eyeball-to-eyeball and locking horns. 

Some other keywords for Taurus are artistic, creative, practical, dependable, short-tempered, argumentative, and materialistic.

Of course, keywords don’t apply universally across the board. They are learning tools only and a shorthand method to use in synthesizing the energies in a birth chart. You are far more than your Sun sign, as you know if you’ve had your chart done or if you’re a serious student of astrology.

Mercury enters Taurus on Thursday, April 17, at 2:07 p.m. on the West Coast of the United States. The Sun enters the sign of the Bull on Sunday at 9:51 PDT.

Peace and love,
Also a fixed sign and known to be a wee bit stubborn :-)Pat

Photo credit: Lee Jin-man for The Associated Press.

Reflections on the Full Moon in Scorpio

In many ways the Full Moon on April 20 at 0° Scorpio 43′ feels to me like an extension of the New Moon in Aries. The zero-degree point is obviously associated with beginnings and, of course, Aries is the starting place in the zodiac. We are being offered an opportunity to build on what was started on the New Moon in Aries.

Each Full Moon in fire and air is always followed by a Full Moon in earth and water, with the exception of the upcoming lunar cycle. We are going to be spending extra time with earth and water over the next lunar month.

Fire and air need earth and water to take something from a spark of an idea to actual manifestation. Watching spring growth unfold with great speed over the past few days was an excellent example of this principle in action. We had plenty of moisture (water) available in the soil (earth) for seeds (air) to germinate but had been lacking warmth (fire). Three days of temperatures around 70 degrees F was enough to kick-start all kinds of growth – truly amazing to watch.

The zero-degree Full Moon in Scorpio (water and earth) has the potential to take the seeds planted on the Libra Full Moon (air) and really make them grow. The New Moon in Aries (fire) provided the necessary heat. I know firsthand how this works because the partnership between Pat and I gelled around the Libra Full Moon, we went public on the New Moon in Aries, and now we are in the manifestation stage approaching the Full Moon in Scorpio. However we are both aware we need to continue to nurture the growth of our website with care over the next month or so in particular. I anticipate the second Full Moon at 29° Scorpio 27′ will find us well launched and hard at work responding to our clients.

A couple of patterns in the sky at the Full Moon supporting the growth of new ventures are the grand trine in earth (Pluto in Capricorn, Saturn in Virgo, Sun in Taurus) and Mars in Cancer still opposing Jupiter in Capricorn, but this time it’s Venus in Aries as part of the cardinal T-square. We also still have the delightful sextile between Uranus in Pisces and Jupiter keeping us flexible and open to revision. So we are well grounded in realistic expectations with our energy source in place, but this climate is better suited to promoting existing ideas due to the shortage of planets in air signs. The next time to come up with new ideas is on the New Moon in Gemini on June 3 . . . but that’s for another day!

(Libra Rules!)posted by Neith . . .

The photo is one I took showing the new growth of willow leaves against our old wood shed. Neith

Out with the Ram, In with the Bull

Sumerian BullThe Sun finishes its annual path through Aries this week and enters Taurus on Saturday, just in time for the astrological equivalent of a Blue Moon.

The go-go pace of Aries will slow down to a more leisurely gait with the Sun in Taurus, and we may feel somewhat lethargic with Jupiter and Saturn both stationing in earth signs.

The week starts out with plenty of fire, though, with the Moon in Leo and the Sun, Mercury, and Venus in Aries. Get as much done as you can on Monday, because the week will get progressively slower and lazier.

On Thursday, Mercury enters Taurus and the Moon enters Libra. We’re going to feel like starting the weekend early. Mercury’s trine to Pluto and Saturn on Friday is good for being productive, but there will be no mistaking the energy shift, which will be complete when the Sun enters Taurus on Saturday. This will be a great weekend for shopping, if you’re into it. Just make sure you leave plenty of time to linger over a latte with extra whipped cream.

The Full Moon occurs on Sunday at 3:25 a.m. on the West Coast of the United States. Neith beat me to the punch writing about this special Full Moon, which is one of two in Scorpio. It’s not exactly a Blue Moon, which usually means two Full Moons in one month, but it’s the astrological equivalent.

At just over 0 degrees Scorpio, this Full Moon represents powerful energy for establishing projects begun at the New Moon. We’re hopeful that it means the next level of success for Real Astrologers, and I hope it represents success for you, too! If you have planets or chart points near 0 degrees of the fixed signs — Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius — you will feel this Full Moon more than others. (I’ve got a fixed grand cross at 0-3 degrees. I’ll let you know what happens!)

The past week has been thrilling for Neith and me, and we are enormously gratified to see that regular readers of Neith.net, Neith on Synastry, and The Pisces Chronicles have found your way here. But we sure are looking forward to a breather before gearing up for the next wave of activity. We have lots of new ideas for the site, so check back often!

Love and blessings,
Libra may rule, but Aquarius rules astrology :-)Pat

P.S. My comprehensive transit report includes details of which lunations of the year are most significant for you.

Looking for a Sign of Love

Liza with a ZResearchers in the UK have just released the results of a study showing that facial features reveal whether someone you’re interested in just wants to have a good time or is looking for a long-term commitment.

“Lots of previous studies have shown that people can judge a lot about a person from their face, including things like health and even some personality traits like introversion,” says Dr. Ben Jones of the University of Aberdeen’s Face Research Lab. “But this really is the first study to show that people are also sensitive to subtle facial signals about the type of romantic relationships that others might enjoy.”

Well, Dr. Jones, a good astrologer could have told you that and a lot more! And we wouldn’t have drawn the same old gender-based conclusion that women look for a lasting relationship, while men just want a good roll in the hay (they actually pay people money for this?).

Your physical appearance is reflected in your birth chart, especially your Ascendant, also called your Rising sign, which can literally represent the face you present to the world. Does that mean that all Rising Leos look alike? Of course not. The interplay between your Sun, Moon, Rising sign, and planets near the Ascendant is complex and very individual. But there are detectable patterns.

I have a friend with a lot of Aries in her chart. Her profile almost resembles a sheep, with a straight, barely protruding nose. I met another Aries at a party once and immediately pegged him as a Ram. He had two spots on either side of his broad forehead where you could almost see the horns sprouting.

You can tell a Scorpio or Rising Scorpio by the eyes. They’re unusual in some way, whether by the size or color or by the intensity of their gaze. Pisces or Rising Pisces often has large eyes and “fish lips.” My all-time favorite example is Liza Minnelli (born March 12, 1946).

According to the University of Aberdeen study, men with more “masculine” looks are out for a good time, while those who are more feminine are more likely to want some type of commitment. They qualify that this applies to young people, implying that at some point, facial features are no longer a consideration. That certainly was true for Charlton Heston, the quintessential Hollywood manly man. As Neith explained in her recent post, his birth chart strongly indicated a preference for commitment.

A research project called Astrofaces is attempting to draw correlations between people’s Sun, Moon, and Rising signs and their facial features. Frankly, I put more stock in this research than in an academic study that attempts to quantify dating behavior and reinforces outdated notions that men want sex while women want love.

= tall, dark and gorgeousPat

Don’t know your Moon or Rising sign? Get Pat’s Bare Essentials Sun-Moon-Rising report!

Patrick Swayze & Lisa Niemi – Enduring Love

swayzes  When I read in the news that Patrick Swayze had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer earlier this year, I was saddened. He has long been a favorite of mine as an actor and as an example of a Hollywood celebrity whose marriage works.

He and Lisa Niemi met when she was 15 and he was 19, and they were married in June 1975. That will be 34 years this coming June – great by any standards and extraordinary by film industry standards.

Of course, being an astrologer, the first thing I did was track down their birth data and look at the synastry between their charts.  ::grin:: 

Patrick has both Sun and Moon in Leo, with Virgo rising and Saturn conjunct Neptune in Libra in the first house. I’ve observed that Saturn in Libra people either spend as little time as possible married or are faithfully married forever. Patrick falls in the latter category and describes himself as loyal almost to a fault. Lisa’s Sun is in Gemini with the Moon likely in Sagittarius. I don’t know for sure, because I couldn’t find a birth time for her.

A look at the personal planets by sign shows solid compatibility between them. His Leo Sun is harmoniously trine her Sagittarius Moon, and her Gemini Sun forms a friendly sextile to his Moon in Leo. Having the luminaries in compatible elements, in this case fire and air, is an excellent basis for understanding. They both have the Moon in a fire signs giving them an intuitive understanding of the other on the emotional level.

His Mercury in Leo (widely conjunct his Sun) is sextile her Mercury in Gemini (closely conjunct her Sun) making communications a snap! Because they both have Sun conjunct Mercury, there is a strong parallel working here, too. They have great chemistry, too, indicated by the harmonious trine between her Venus in Cancer and his Mars in Scorpio.

In synastry, Saturn is the planet we look to for determining durability in relationships. Patrick and Lisa have a set of Sun/Saturn aspects demonstrating how this works. Her Sun is trine his Saturn and his Sun is square her Saturn. They chose to marry (Saturn likes signed documents) rather than live together, and it obviously works for them. A couple more Saturn aspects in their synastry: her Saturn in Scorpio is conjunct his Mars in Scorpio and his Saturn in Libra is square her Venus in Cancer. These aspects both fall in the stabilizing category and show up with great frequency between couples in enduring marriages.

Jupiter graces this pair with a sense of fun and optimism shown by a matched set of Mars/Jupiter squares (a little over the top but who cares) and a powerful conjunction between her Jupiter/Pluto and his Sun/South Node/Pluto in Leo. The second synastry aspect was the first one that caught my eye. There is another nodal aspect – her Mars is conjunct his North Node – yes, her planets conjunct both ends of his nodal axis! Aspects to the lunar nodes in synastry indicate karmic forces at work.

In many ways, these two support and encourage each other (the Saturn and Jupiter aspects) and have a wonderful sounding board in one another (Sun/Mercury aspects). Here is an instance where the astrology of the relationship clearly supports the reality. I wish them well in their current battle with Patrick’s cancer.

(Libra Rules!)posted by Neith . . .

Importance of Birth Time in Compatibility Reports

Astrology for Evolving the Collective Mind

For a good time, call Neith!The Dalai Lama’s visit to Seattle this week has me thinking about astrology’s bad public image and what, if anything, can be done about it.

As an astrologer, I tend to hang around other astrology sites, where we argue about things like the correct application of the lunar nodes and whether Pluto’s entry into Capricorn means another American Revolution. I get a stark dose of reality when I wander to other sites, where discussions of astrology are marred by flames essentially accusing anyone who believes in astrology of being a stupid idiot or worse.

The two groups that seem to have the worst view of astrology are Christian Conservatives and the liberal Left. The first is predictable. The second is more puzzling, especially when intellectual types are so quick to embrace Eastern philosophy. It’s acceptable, if not downright fashionable, to be a Buddhist and to revere the Dalai Lama. Tickets to his appearance are the hottest in town.

But heaven help you if you believe in astrology, a “superstitious pseudoscience.”

This unfortunate view may be largely due to a gross misunderstanding of what astrology is – and what it isn’t – which is perpetuated by the Sun sign horoscopes in newspapers and magazines. I never attempt to “convert” anyone, but I’ve won over a few people simply by explaining what astrology is and how it is best used.

Neith and I made a conscious decision that, no matter how much traffic our site would generate if we offered Sun sign horoscopes, we will not do it. Yes, we are commercial, but we also believe strongly that astrology is an important tool for self-discovery, which in turn leads to evolution of the human mind. Sun sign horoscopes are not consistent with our mission.

Sun sign horoscopes are a relatively new invention, having been created in the 1930s as a marketing tool to sell newspapers. As a result, millions of people now identify with their Sun signs, and most people don’t know what a Rising sign is or why it’s a better forecasting tool. We may offer Rising sign horoscopes in the future, so stay tuned…

Meanwhile, millions of people who ridicule astrology do so with foregone conclusions more appropriate for a Baptist revival than for a gathering of rational, intelligent beings. These are people who pride themselves on being “open-minded,” and yet on this topic, their minds are slammed shut with frightening finality. Although we don’t want to be so open-minded that our brains fall out, expanding the mind does require additional space.

If any of you have any thoughts about why this apparent paradox exists, we would love to hear from you. (For those of you who haven’t registered, it’s quick and easy!).

Love and blessings to all,
~Pat

Charlton Heston: The Death of an Iconic Figure

c hestonCharlton Heston died the night of April 5, 2008, in his home in Beverly Hills, very close to the New Moon in Aries and, ironically, around the time we launched this website.

A fellow Libra, I realized when I saw his chart that he and I shared Scorpio rising and 12th house Sun, too. However, his mid-heaven is Leo with the North Node conjunct Neptune and Venus located in his 10th house, very fitting for a man who enjoyed a great deal of success on the silver screen.

His best-known role was in Ben Hur. I saw the film when it was released in theaters far too many years ago. My grandmother took all of us kids to see it and I still recall how long three hours of movie was for a small child.  ::grin:: 

Having Saturn conjunct his Ascendant in Scorpio played well for him on screen and lent a stern, authoritarian quality that blended well with the regal beauty of Venus conjunct Neptune in Leo. With his Libra Sun hidden in his 12th house, it comes as no surprise that the influence of Libra’s ruler, Venus, dominates. 

The ruler of his Ascendant, Mars, is conjunct the South Node in Aquarius, opposite Venus. He was also well-known for his strong stand on gun control and his involvement in the NRA.

His Moon in Sagittarius (the hunter) is the apex of a T-square with Mercury in Virgo opposing Uranus in Pisces, reflecting a willingness to speak out in no uncertain terms, dispensing with any vestige of Libra diplomacy on issues he felt strongly about. Pluto in Cancer squared his Libra Sun adding to the tendency to take a position and “stay the course.” With Neptune and Pluto the elevated planets in his chart, I believe there is little question he was a spokesperson for his generation.

This is my first post of a planned series on celebrities and celebrity couples. Just check the celebrity category for the latest.

Charlton Heston, born October 4, 1924, at 7:55 AM in Evanston, IL (USA)

(Libra Rules!)posted by Neith . . .