Tag Archives: Mercury retrograde

Weekly Forecast April 25: Venus Opposite Saturn, Mars Conjunct Jupiter

Stargazer lily. © Pat Paquette 2011

What a week it has been! Everyone I know was going through some kind of crisis, many of them relationship-oriented. Here’s an excerpt of an e-mail I received from a client on Friday:

“My plan for Easter brunch has turned into HELL!! SOS! My sister and her partner have been fighting like rabid dogs. She’s been saying for months that she’s leaving him but is STILL living there! She hurt his feelings by not inviting him to service on Friday or Sunday brunch … he’s never even been interested in church or God, he’s simply grasping at straws, at this point. I told them, that given the situation, I was uncomfortable with him coming down for Easter … that I wouldn’t sacrifice my family for his ‘hurt’ feelings. Harsh, but necessary. It looks like my husband and I will just take his mother out to brunch.”

The expensive ham she bought for the occasion is sitting in the refrigerator. I reassured her that things are going to calm down this week, and she can throw a party next weekend.

Amazon and Sony had a rough week, too. Both corporate giants had computer network crashes that affected millions of customers worldwide. Sony said its PlayStation Network was attacked by hackers. Mercury’s station certainly didn’t help. As I’ve noted many times in these pages, some of the worst problems happen when Mercury is at a standstill. I was at an information session on Wednesday that got a late start because the instructor’s assistant hadn’t shown up and there was no one to staff his office. Turns out she had a flat tire on her way to work. And on and on …

Violence in the Middle East is on the rise. What initially seemed like a sweeping revolution has turned into a bloody suppression. In an excellent article on CounterPunch, award-winning journalist Patrick Cockburn writes, “From Libya to Bahrain and Syria to Yemen, leaders are clinging on to power despite intense pressure from pro-democracy protesters.”

The increase in violence is hardly surprising, with Mars dominating the sky. The bigger trend is the approaching square of Uranus to Pluto. Many astrologers, myself included, have predicted rebellion and authoritarian crackdowns. The situation in the Mideast is just the beginning.

Before I get into this week’s forecast, I’d like to note that two greats left us last week, both as a result of multiple organ failure. Internationally renowned guru Sai Baba, whose followers include many celebrities, was 85. The man who invented CDs, former Sony president Norio Ohga, died at 81.

Overall, this week will be less frustrating, and relationships should fare a little better, too. The Sun in placid Taurus will help decrease the noise level, and Mercury’s return direct will go a long way toward repairing misunderstandings. That said, some relationships that ended in the past two weeks are over for good. If this is your situation, you likely are better off, even if it’s too soon to recognize it.

There’s not much going on in the sky on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, Venus squares Pluto. The usual warning with these two in hard aspect is that power struggles can erupt in relationships, especially regarding sex. Using sex as a means of control over another person is a no-no, and it likely will backfire. What goes around comes around. Depending on where Venus and Pluto are transiting your chart, you also may have to be mindful not to get dragged into jealousy and possessiveness.

Working with this aspect should be a little easier, thanks to an easy trine later in the day between the Sun and Pluto. You can express yourself directly and tell the other person what you want and need, rather than resorting to underhanded tactics. The challenge, of course, is that first you have to be honest with yourself. If you’re willing to do that, you’ll have cosmic support.

The only aspect on Friday is a conjunction between the Moon and Uranus in Aries, which might generate some emotional fireworks, but in general lunar transits are mild and fleeting. Good thing, because this is the day that Prince William and Kate Middleton will be married. Even if you’re not into all the hoopla, do check out Helene’s series on the royal couple. I found it surprisingly refreshing.

Another relationship will be in the spotlight on Friday. Gabrielle Giffords, the congresswoman who was shot in the head in Arizona in January, plans to attend the launch of the space shuttle in Florida. Her husband, Mark Kelly, is one of six astronauts who will be on the flight. The presence of Giffords surely will eclipse the event itself, although it’s doubtful she’ll appear in public.

On Saturday, Venus opposes Saturn. Usually this isn’t a happy aspect for love relationships, but it is stabilizing, especially with Saturn in Venus-ruled Libra. Of course, both also are square Pluto, and while the angle is fairly wide, it nevertheless counts as a potent cardinal T-square. You may need to insist on your boundaries, as my client had to do with her sister’s partner. Although it will be difficult, try to do it with love and kindness.

Sunday is exuberant, with a three-way conjunction between the Moon, Mars, and Jupiter. Get out and play! Throw a party. Take a long walk or bike ride in a beautiful natural setting. Taurus is the sign of beauty, including the beauty of nature.

Speaking of the beauty of nature, I leave you with this amazing video by Norwegian photographer Terje Sorgjerd. To me, there is nothing more breathtaking than the night sky. (For a larger version, click on the link below the image.)

Much love and courage to all,
Pat

The Mountain from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.

Weekly Forecast April 18: Sun Enters Taurus, Mercury Direct

The cardinal T-square continues to make itself felt this week as Mercury and Mars oppose Saturn.

I don’t expect many of us will face new issues at this point. More than likely, it will be more of the same old stuff. However, we may have to make a few difficult decisions in order to get out of circumstances that have been weighing us down. That includes difficult relationships.

I alerted you last week to this Monday’s Mars-Saturn opposition. Although it isn’t as vicious as the Mars-Pluto square we just went through, it’s the day after the Full Moon in Libra, sign of partnership and balance. If you’ve been in an unbalanced relationship, and especially if either of you have been sitting on a lot of anger, this may be the day you finally decide that enough is enough.

If you’re concerned that you may change your mind after Mercury returns direct on Saturday, then by all means hold off making a decision until after the weekend. I’d also advise taking a big step back on Tuesday, when Mercury conjoins Mars in Aries. The risk of saying something you can’t take back is too high. You might want to plan on being unavailable for the day.

In some cases, yelling and screaming might not be inappropriate. Sometimes it’s the only way to release pent-up anger and restore the peace. Fights – even the unfair ones – don’t necessarily break up relationships and can even move them forward, whereas not expressing anger or expressing it passive-aggressively can damage a relationship beyond repair.

Throughout the week, Mercury will be at a near standstill and in close opposition with Saturn in Libra. Normally, this isn’t an overly challenging aspect, as it favors critical thinking. As I always say, you can’t solve a problem if you don’t know what it is. Under this influence, you can pinpoint the problem and source, which will go a long way toward helping you resolve matters. The danger here is that you may think things are much worse than they are, and with Mars in close aspect, the frustration factor is high and tempers are short.

We’ll have Venus to help smooth things over until Thursday. After that, she’ll be in Aries, sign of her detriment, until May 15. In Mars-ruled Aries, Venus is less patient, kind and compassionate. It also means that we have a few more weeks of Mars dominating the sky. All of the planets will deposit to Mars except Neptune in his own sign of Pisces and the Moon when in Pisces or her own sign of Cancer.

The good news this week – yes, there is some – is the Sun’s entry into placid Taurus on Wednesday. Although we’ll still be under the aggressive Aries influence, we’ll get to catch our breath, and the frenetic pace will slow down a bit. The Sun’s first contact is an easy sextile to Neptune in Pisces. The pathway is open for inter-dimensional communications. Fleeting thoughts and visions may contain important messages. Pay attention to your dreams on Wednesday night.

On Friday, Venus conjoins Uranus. This one could go either way. It may bring you a pleasant surprise in love, money, or some other area of life, depending on where they’re transiting your chart. Conversely, there could be disruptive developments in relationships or finances. Whichever it is for you, I suspect that it will be related to events during last summer’s T-square in the early degrees of the cardinal signs. The Moon enters Capricorn earlier on Friday and moves through those degrees as well. I’m tired of all this heavy stuff and am going to remain positive that a happy surprise is on the way.

Mercury goes direct on Saturday, making for easy Easter egg hunting on Sunday. Just take it easy on the chocolate. We’ve got enough of a buzz from all this cosmic caffeine.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

Weekly Forecast April 11: Mars Square Pluto, Full Moon in Libra

Reading the news headlines this morning, I was struck by the number of words such as “angry,” “attack,” “hostile,” and “bomb.”

Maybe it’s just an average day on CNN and I haven’t been paying attention. But I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that we’re seeing manifestations of the Mars-Pluto square that began building up last week.

It’s not an overstatement to call this aspect violent. Mars in his own sign of Aries has his finger on the trigger and doesn’t need much of a reason to pull it, while Pluto just went retrograde and is at a standstill, making him more powerful than usual when the square peaks on Monday.

To an astrologer, it’s no surprise that police are shooting at protestors, while authoritarian rulers hole up in fear and international forces fire away at the wrong targets. When you’ve got this much angry energy surging through the collective, it has to have an outlet.

On a smaller scale, we’re at a higher risk of getting involved in power struggles this week, especially over money and control. It’s possible to channel Mars energy into physical work and vigorous exercise. However, with Pluto in the mix, it’s almost impossible to avoid getting caught up in anger and resentment.

Put another way, Mars in Aries might not be such a bad boy if he weren’t up against all these heavyweight outer planets. In a period of less than three weeks, Mars will have conjoined Uranus in Aries, squared Pluto in Capricorn, and opposed Saturn in Libra. Each of these aspects alone would be difficult enough to negotiate, but with all three together, it’s a wonder we’re not all killing each other. On second thought …

Mercury retrograde in Aries complicates matters still further. On Monday, right as he’s halfway through the retrograde phase, he crosses back over Jupiter. The previous Mercury-Jupiter conjunction was on March 15, while Mercury was direct. I recall having a lot of communications difficulties back then, too. Everything got worked out, but there were several issues going on all at once, each of which required several phone calls to straighten out.

When Mercury and the Sun conjoined this past Friday, I experienced a mix-up in connecting with someone that would have been comical if it was in a movie script. While I was e-mailing my contact afterward to find out what happened, my Internet modem suddenly went haywire, and I was without service for a couple of hours until my provider isolated the problem. I expect similar disruptions this week. By next week, when Mercury and Mars meet, matters won’t get resolved quite so easily or politely.

For the rest of this week, Mars moves away from Pluto and toward an opposition to Saturn, which is exact next Monday, right after the Full Moon in Libra. Relationships may be tumultuous. As intimidating as this sounds, there could be a silver lining. When anger builds up between two people and has no outlet for expression, the relationship is harmed, sometimes irreparably. As difficult as it is to deal with anger – yours or your partner’s – airing it could be just what you need to get back on track and become closer. The key is in being heard.

The Moon will be in Libra for most of the weekend. In the hours following her entry into the sign of balance and harmony, she’ll make contact with all of the planets involved in last summer’s cardinal T-square. She conjoins Saturn late Saturday evening, and then on Sunday opposes retrograde Mercury and, finally, the Sun – her last contact before moving on to Scorpio.

The Full Moon normally brings endings, resolution, and culmination. I’m hopeful that the troubled relationships so many of you have written to me about will indeed find some resolution, even if it’s an understanding that it’s time to let go and move on. Hopefully, you can arrive at a mutual decision that leaves both people feeling whole and OK about yourselves. If that’s not possible, do what you have to do to restore the balance in your own life, and let your ex worry about his or her own.

These are difficult times, but we will get through. By the end of next week, some of the pressure will be released, and we’ll get even more of a break when Mars, Mercury, and Venus enter Taurus in mid-May.

In the meantime, let’s do our best to remain open-hearted, kind, and compassionate.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

Weekly Forecast April 4: Neptune Enters Pisces, Pluto Retrograde

Spring explodes into bloom. © Osk Ingad Alden, 2011.

The Mars effect gets ratcheted down a notch this week when Neptune enters Pisces.

For the past few days, since Mars entered his own sign of Aries, he has dominated the sky. Right on cue, conflicts around the world intensified. Even Neptune deposited to Mars, which I have to admit I found hard to wrap my head around.

Hopefully, Neptune’s move into Pisces on Monday will be the chill pill we need to return from the brink of insanity. I can’t think of a better antidote to the overdose of aggressive Mars energy we received at the New Moon on April 3.

With his ego-denying qualities, Neptune could be considered the “anti-Mars.” Whereas Mars stands for war and lust, Neptune is about peace and love . . . well, maybe. It’s hard to know much of the time exactly what Neptune is about, but peace and love are in there somewhere.

Neptune is said to be a higher vibration of Venus, the planet of love, beauty, and harmony, so it’s better still that Venus in Pisces will feed into Neptune for the next three weeks.

The last time Neptune was in Pisces, from 1847 to 1862, the Transcendental Movement flourished in the United States, led by Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, and others. Spiritualism became a trend, with séances to contact spirits of the dead. Edgar Allen Poe wrote his most famous poem, “The Raven.” The first oil well was drilled. The first surgical operation using general anesthesia was performed. The Opium Wars occurred during this time, and while the conflict wasn’t entirely over the drug, it’s still interesting to note that there was a major war named for a narcotic while Neptune was in Pisces.

This time around, I expect there will be a widespread spiritual awakening. I know I sound like a broken record – I’ve been writing this for more than five years – but I do believe we’re getting closer and closer to understanding what “spirit” is. There likely will be major developments in the oil industry, too. Given current trends, it’s likely that we’ll have to find alternatives due to a declining supply. Maybe the new Opium Wars will be the Oil Wars.

Back to the here and now, we not only have been under the red sky of Mars, but the warrior planet is now moving through the early degrees of Aries, activating the cardinal T-square of last summer. The alignment isn’t as close as it was back then, but it’s still intense, with the Sun and Jupiter conjunct at 16 degrees Aries on Wednesday, in wide opposition to Saturn. We’re being pushed relentlessly forward, no breaks allowed.

On Saturday, Pluto begins his annual retrograde, which lasts close to six months. I haven’t observed any particular trends in events during Pluto retrograde. However, if Pluto is transiting a personal planet in your chart – especially the Sun or Moon – you’re about to get the second pass, during which a situation could reach a crisis stage. The third pass, which will happen later this year or early next year, will mark resolution. The pattern is similar if Pluto is transiting a chart angle (cusp of the first, fourth, seventh or tenth houses).

Lastly, Mercury is in his second week of retrograde and conjoins the Sun on Saturday. This aspect favors revising plans for the future, revisiting an unresolved issue to exchange facts (remember to listen) and to try to clarify statements that may have been misinterpreted. If you have an opportunity to clear up a misunderstanding, do it early this week. Waiting until the weekend will put you in a no-win situation as a contentious square builds between Mars and Pluto.

We’re going to need a lot of love and courage to get through the next couple of weeks. Wishing you all a bottomless well of both,

Pat

Weekly Forecast March 28: Mercury Retrograde, Mars Enters Aries

Monster solar flare. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this view of a powerful M3.6 Class solar flare during a 90-minute sun storm in February.

This week is potentially volatile. New doors open, with seemingly unlimited potential to move in new directions, but something or someone could get in the way, resulting in anger and conflict.

The overused cliché “one foot on the gas and one foot on the brakes” applies, but with the added complication of the person in the car behind us flipping us off and laying on the horn.

Some of us may feel a surge of electrifying energy so powerful we’re overwhelmed and totally disoriented – like overdosing on caffeine and sugar. This will be especially true the closer we get to the New Moon on Sunday, April 3. Do your best to stay centered and keep your bearings.

Globally, there are several ticking time bombs in the headlines. When you think about the circumstances that led to the past two world wars and the events that lit the fuse, it’s hard not to be concerned that we may be headed in that direction again. Regimes are failing in the Middle East, “allied forces” are bombing Libya, thousands of people are still missing in Japan, and the damaged nuclear reactor isn’t entirely under control. These events are so severe that other serious situations around the world are barely a blip in the news.

That’s the state of the world as we head into this week’s high-intensity astrological configuration.

On Monday, the Sun in Aries squares Pluto in Capricorn, just as Jupiter in Aries opposes Saturn in Libra. Although the degree between these two patterns is wide, they’re still close enough to constitute a cardinal T-square. That, I believe, is the signature behind the global turmoil. Outer planetary aspects like these are major considerations in world events, with Saturn representing government and military, Pluto representing wealth and the power it conveys, and Jupiter representing religious beliefs and banks. The Sun is associated with national leaders. With all of these quarters pitted against each other, it’s no surprise the world is such a mess right now.

In our personal lives, transits to planets in the natal chart carry more weight than aspects between transiting planets, but we nevertheless need to look at where these patterns fall in our charts, because if one planet in the T-square is transiting a natal planet, it means the others also are in hard aspect, and that changes the interpretation considerably. It also makes it extremely difficult to predict how things will turn out for you, because the range of possibilities is increased exponentially.

The one thing of which we can be relatively sure is that nothing is being handed to us on a silver platter. We’re all facing challenges of varying degrees, and even when these tests and trials are for the best – they build character, make us stronger, open doors, etcetera, etcetera – getting through them requires all of our strength and awareness.

On Tuesday, Mars at 27 Pisces squares the lunar nodes, which are very close to the Galactic Core. I wrote about this rare phenomenon in last week’s forecast. For the most part, I think it represented a shift in consciousness, a subtle but ultimately positive development. But no growth occurs without change, and change is disruptive by definition. When Mars reaches this degree, it could set off events that will bring you closer to your goals and desires – as well as the inevitable tests you have to go through first.

Mercury turns retrograde on Wednesday, at 23 degrees Aries. I’ve experienced events related to this retrograde already, which isn’t surprising, given the buildup of planets in Aries. As he moves backwards in the sky, he’ll make second passes with Jupiter, the Sun, and Mars over the next four weeks. Usually, the positive way to channel Mercury retrograde energy is to slow down, think things through, research and revision. However, I doubt those activities will be possible this time around, as we’ll be in a constant state of flux.

It’s hard to imagine how life could be moving any faster, but we’ll find out when Mars enters Aries on Saturday. I always like to point out the good side of Mars, which is a lot of energy to accomplish even the most difficult of tasks before us. I hope that will be the case, but I don’t think it’s realistic to think that there won’t be an increase in war and conflict, both globally and in our personal lives. Not only will Mars be in his own sign, but he’ll be “fed” by four other planets, including giant Jupiter. That’s a lot of anger and aggression.

Sunday is the highly charged New Moon at 13 Aries – very close to the Saturn-Jupiter opposition – and a conjunction between Mars and Uranus. I’ll try to write a post on the New Moon this week, but I’m still backlogged and am getting several new requests a day. (For those of you on the wait-list, please know that I’m working as diligently as I can to get to you as soon as I can.) For now, I’ll just stay that I see in this New Moon more potential for a giant leap in consciousness, especially among men.

Later in the day, Mars conjoins Uranus, a tense combination that in the past has coincided with literal explosions. Then, there’s so much of that going on already that it would be hard to attribute any increase in activity to a Mars-Uranus transit, not unless it’s something major and unrelated to current news.

Whenever there’s a lot of movement afoot, as there is now, it can be scary. Evolving as a species and birthing a new world is a turbulent business, requiring much love and courage.

Wishing you all plenty of both,
Pat

Right on Cue, Mercury Starts Acting Out

Right on cue, Mercury entered his pre-retrograde shadow period and immediately started wreaking havoc.

Between 6 and 7 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, just as Mercury hit the degree where his retrograde will end, a message appeared in my WordPress dashboard that there was an update for a plugin. These are fairly routine. Whenever they pop up, I select the automatic update option, which never takes more than a few seconds. This particular one was for Amazon widgets short code. I haven’t a clue what that means or what it does, but I went ahead with the update.

If you tried to access the RealAstrologers website from that moment right up until midnight, all you got was some funny looking code with error messages on a white screen. I’d swear Mercury himself wrote it; either that, or he was channeling through the programmer who authored it. I’d also swear I heard the mischievous laughter.

Fortunately, my web host does a complete backup once a day, so they were able to restore everything up to the point of the last save. It took a few hours, but at least I didn’t lose any content. Until the process was complete, I was totally shut out of the control panel and couldn’t even post a message saying we were temporarily down.

I was telling a friend about it this evening, and he said his Internet browser froze up right around 6 p.m. He had to reboot his computer. Did anyone else experience glitches yesterday with their computers, e-mail, or electronics?

If incidents like this are happening when Mercury is barely into his shadow period, what’s going to happen when he officially turns retrograde on March 30? Let’s consider ourselves forewarned and start now to take all of the necessary steps to ensure a safe and happy Mercury retrograde. Above all, get your backup plan in place!

Pat

Weekly Forecast March 14: Full Moon in Virgo, Sun Enters Aries

There's nothing like late-winter rain to clear the way for new growth in spring. © Pat Paquette 2011.

In light of the unimaginable devastation in Japan, it’s hard to write a forecast about the intensity of the next couple of weeks. One wonders how things could get any worse.

The one thing I find reassuring is that, as we saw during last year’s peak cardinal T-square period, events usually don’t happen on the dates when astrological aspects are exact. Often there’s a “trigger,” such as Mars passing over a critical degree, and events even can happen before the corresponding astrological signature. You’ll recall that I linked the mega-quake in Chile last February to an eclipse that hadn’t happened yet.

Still, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about what’s coming up, starting with this week’s Full Moon. At 29 degrees Virgo, this Full Moon is in a close square to the powerful lunar eclipse on December 21, 2010. Eclipse-related events can happen within a couple days but often are delayed by 30, 60 or 90 days. The 90-day mark is the square, 90 degrees.

A few hours after the December eclipse, the Sun entered Capricorn, the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. Likewise, the Sun enters Aries a day after this Full Moon, marking the spring equinox and the beginning of the astrological year. The transition from the last degree of a mutable sign to the first degree of a cardinal sign signals clearing away the old, outdated and unsustainable in order to begin a new growth cycle. This is especially true with Jupiter, planet of growth and expansion, in cardinal Aries.

Taking the week in chronological order, we begin Monday with the Moon in cardinal Cancer, the sign she rules. As she forms squares with Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn throughout the day, you may get a further glimpse into a new chapter in your life that began to unfold during last summer’s T-square.

Also on Monday, Venus and Saturn form a trine in air signs Aquarius and Libra. This combination favors coming up with solutions to old problems that are innovative – perhaps even radical – and yet balanced and realistic. If you’re facing a particular challenge in need of sound thinking and strategizing, this is your moment.

On Tuesday, Mercury conjoins Jupiter in Aries, bringing the message home that change not only is necessary but inevitable. However, it won’t come without some stops and starts, as Mercury enters his pre-retrograde shadow period on Wednesday in preparation to reverse motion on March 30. This means he’ll make two more conjunctions with Jupiter, on April 11 and then again on May 11. I don’t expect that issues you encounter on Tuesday will be new, but you may suddenly realize you have to change your approach.

On Friday, Mercury opposes Saturn, which injects a dose of reality into your thinking. Although this can be discouraging, it’s better to know what you’re dealing with so that you can plan accordingly. A solid plan might even help you get through the fits and starts of Mercury retrograde.

Saturday is the Full Moon in Virgo, which is going to be heavily laden with messages of letting go, cleaning up, leaving the past behind, and preparing for a new way of living, being, and doing. There won’t be time for long good-byes. The Sun enters Aries the following day, and again we head out on the next leg of our journey into new and unfamiliar territory.

Much love and courage to all,
Pat

Weekly Forecast December 27:Mars Square Saturn, Mercury Direct

The week between Christmas and New Year’s is typically pretty low-key, and that’s what we can expect this week, for the most part.

The only major planetary aspect in the next seven days is a square from Mars to Saturn. This is among the dread “big bad wolf” aspects, and yet I don’t think we’re going to feel any terrifying effects from it. There are a couple of reasons I say this.

First, Mars and Saturn both are in the signs of their exaltation and thus on their best behavior. Further, Mars in Capricorn “feeds” Saturn, Cap’s ruler, and so I don’t think the square is going to be a tense as a Mars-Saturn square normally would be. It might even be positive for some people.

It could, for example, get some of us off our butts and into action, especially regarding career and family obligations. For those who feel this effect, you may experience some discomfort with the initial push, but once you get going, you’ll feel the sense of relief that comes with accomplishing something you’ve been dreading and putting off.

Second, and more to the point, Mars has already crossed the early degrees of Capricorn, where he and Mercury reactivated the summer’s cardinal T-square. That effect occurred from the first week in December until the 18th or so. Those days were extremely challenging, and we’ve moved out of that. In my estimation, Wednesday’s Mars-Saturn square will be anti-climactic and perhaps have a “dust settling” or “light at the end of the tunnel” feel to it.

Mercury, meanwhile, will return to 19 degrees Sagittarius, where he’ll return direct on Thursday (Wednesday in Western time zones). It’s hard to determine which issues arose over the past few weeks in relation to Mercury retrograde and which were associated with events of a few months ago, at the height of the T-square. In all likelihood, you’ve experienced a combination of the two, which is why this Mercury retrograde was so harrowing.

As usual, when Mercury returns direct, we can expect communications and transportation to be at a dead stop for a day or two on either side. Once he gets going again, though, much of what stood in our way over the summer may begin to resolve, little by little. Real breakthroughs are still a few months away, but it’s encouraging when we begin to see answers, solutions, and results. A little success goes a long way toward restoring one’s faith and optimism.

All other aspects this week are lunar. The most significant are the aspects from the Moon in Libra on Tuesday and Wednesday to T-square points. These aspects could add some stress to the Mars-Saturn square. Again, I don’t see much of anything new here. Rather, we’ll be returning to issues that plagued us over the summer, with a greater possibility of resolution now. Even if the resolution you get isn’t in your favor or causes you some emotional distress, it’s resolution nonetheless, and it will allow you to move on to a better place.

The only other thing I want to alert you to is that we’re in the two-week period between eclipses, which sometimes can be a bit disorienting. That sense of inner chaos and lack of control can be disturbing, but it’s not necessarily negative. Often, it’s just a sign that we’re trying too hard or attached to a particular outcome. Many people I know have managed to truly give up control and ride the wave. The more you relax and let that current carry you along, the less stressed out you’ll be.

Friday is New Year’s Eve, and we’ll be blessed with a merry Sagittarius Moon to ring in 2011. Sagittarius is the party sign, and the Moon with be there for the entire weekend. Come Monday, reality will set in, and this could be depressing for some. So enjoy the good times while you can. Eat, drink, dance, laugh with friends, and revel in the camaraderie and joy of the season.

Wishing you all much love, prosperity, and good health,
Pat

Lunar Eclipse Hangover

We were socked in and didn’t get to see Tuesday’s lunar eclipse. Not that this is any big surprise in December in Seattle.

What is surprising is that the energy of this eclipse began unfolding before the event itself, and it’s still playing out. We can thank retrograde Mercury for that.

I’ve heard from several friends and clients that big things are afoot in their lives. But resolution hasn’t happened yet. It’s as though the eclipse is unfolding in slow motion. The final outcome likely won’t be apparent until Mercury returns direct at the end of the month and perhaps not until January 12, when he returns to the degree of the eclipse.

Incidentally, this is the first time since 1638 that a lunar eclipse has coincided with the winter solstice.

Meanwhile, Mercury retrograde is wreaking all sorts of havoc. One reader left a comment on this week’s forecast saying this has been “the most retrogradey Mercury retrograde of all time.” I just love that adjective, and boy is it ever true!

I’ve been scouring the news looking for events possibly related to Mercury retrograde and the eclipse. The trouble is, governments and politicians have been behaving so pathologically for so long, that it’s difficult to identify much of anything out of the “ordinary.” We might attribute the weather-related travel difficulties in Europe to Mercury retrograde in Sagittarius, sign of long-distance travel.

I did run across a news item about the launch of a new CIA panel to assess the impact of the release of thousands of diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks. Is it any coincidence that they came up with the name, the WikiLeaks Task Force – WTF for short – while Mercury was in bluntly honest Sagittarius? The trickster has got to be ROFL.

Now, will they realize the blunder and change the name after Mercury returns direct? I hope not. It’s one of the only opportunities they’ll ever have to get laughed at for telling the truth.

Pat

P.S. The clouds parted just enough right before sunrise for me to get this shot of the moon off my deck.

Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Gemini, December 21

Living on an island gives a whole new meaning to “missing the boat.”

If you arrive at the dock 30 seconds late, you may have to wait an hour for the next ferry. I’ve slept through the alarm a few times, and when I realized how late it was, I had to make a last-minute scramble to get my butt out the door – wet hair, no coffee, and makeup thrown in a bag for later.

That, dear ones, is how I see the Full Moon lunar eclipse on December 21 – the first eclipse in the new Sagittarius-Gemini series. As we awaken into higher consciousness, we may suddenly realize that our normal routine is useless, and we’ll have to make some very fast changes in order not to miss the boat.

Most of us have a pretty good idea by now where we’re going, or at least in which direction we’re heading. The challenge has been how to get there. Over the summer, under the influence of the cardinal T-square, we initiated new circumstances in our lives but then got stuck. To get unstuck, we had to expand our thinking or change our beliefs. If you managed to get that far, you may now find yourself in a chaotic blur as your inner being and outer world attempt to realign.

The Sun at 29 degrees Sagittarius and the Moon at 29 degrees Gemini form a mutable T-square with Jupiter and Uranus, both back in late Pisces after their brief foray into Aries over the summer. Whereas the cardinal T-square initiates new projects and circumstances, the mutable T-square favors change through adaptation. So, the way I read this is that we’ll need to scramble to make changes in order to adapt to events that came about during the cardinal T-square.

Several hours after the Full Moon, the Sun enters Capricorn and activates the apex of the cardinal T-square, which was occupied by Pluto over the summer. The lunar North Node, a destiny point, also is there, and Mars recently moved over this point. Needless to say, it’s a highly charged area of the sky. Be prepared for difficult issues to come to a head, but then observe closely. What transpires will give you a clue about what comes next and what course corrections you need to make, if any.

In a flip of energies, Jupiter and Uranus are at the apex of the mutable T-square at this Full Moon – yet another sign that shifting is going to occur. Uranus is unpredictable, but with Jupiter in close conjunction, whatever happens is sure to happen big. The open spot opposite Jupiter and Uranus, in late Virgo, is the pressure relief valve, so check to see where this point is located in your chart. That’s where you may see the most positive changes at this eclipse.

The conjunction of Neptune and Chiron form another release point, which is in a flowing sextile-trine pattern with the Sun and Moon. I’ve been writing about these two for several years and their influence in healing. We can’t expect to have healthy and supportive social structures when the individuals who make up our society are sick, asleep, and drugged into emotional numbness. How much shock is enough to wake us up? And will enough of us do the healing work to reach critical mass?

Mercury is the ruler of this eclipse, and he’s retrograde until the end of the month. While we may have to deal with a lot of frustrating delays and miscommunications, I’m hopeful that we’ll also have an opportunity to rethink our response to the summer’s events. Launching new projects while Mercury is retrograde isn’t advised, but research and revision can work out quite well. Mercury is closely conjunct the Galactic Center, and that tells me we could get more “downloads” from the Universe – important information we can use to help us comprehend what’s occurring and to work more effectively toward our new goals.

A few hours after the eclipse, Venus reaches the degree of her retrograde on October 8. Relationships enter new territory, and I think this will be mostly for the better. The problem, as I see it, is that with Mercury retrograde, going back over old ground may be necessary but not necessarily productive. Try it, and if you see that it’s not working, back off until after Mercury returns direct on December 30.

Saturn is unaspected at this Full Moon but is “receiving” from Pluto, Mars, and Ceres in Capricorn, and he’s also exalted in Libra. Whatever we manifest now, there’s a real possibility that it will balanced and fair. Among other things, look for news of environmental issues being addressed in a more fair and balanced way. Saturn will be the ruler of the next New Moon, a solar eclipse at 13 degrees Capricorn on January 4.

The Sabian Symbol** for the Moon at 29°21′ Gemini is, bathing beauties, with the keyword CHARM. We all have natural gifts and talents. They are part of who we are and what makes us unique, and as we develop them to their fullest potential, we become stronger and more confident. When we’re using our gifts as intended, we naturally want what is best for our “highest self,” and we can more easily let go of what doesn’t serve us. Since this is a Full Moon, there’s a strong possibility that many of us will have to let go of something or someone.

For the Sun at 29°21′ Sagittarius, the Sabian Symbol is the Pope, with the keyword SANCTITY. This symbol originally was meant as a testament to the special abilities a person develops as he climbs higher on the social and political ladder. In an era long gone, those who made it to the top were admired for their strength and leadership, and it was recognized that they sacrificed much to make it to the top.

There’s a flip side to this symbol, “inordinate love of self-display and surrender to a lust for power.” That hits the nail on the head in the context of mundane astrology. But there’s a personal message in it, too, which is that getting to the top – whatever that means to you – requires self-sacrifice and, above all, maintaining your integrity.

Pat

** From The Sabian Symbols in Astrology, by Dr. Marc Edmund Jones. The author, an astrologer, channeled this work in 1925 with the help of Elsie Wheeler, a gifted psychic. There’s one symbol one for each degree of the zodiac, and we can use them to gain insight into charts.