Tag Archives: Venus and Mars

Weekly Forecast February 16: New Moon in Aquarius, Sun Enters Pisces

First signs of spring. © Pat Paquette, 2015.

This is a week for sudden endings – some foreseen – leading right into unexpected new beginnings, as the overall pace picks up considerably.

Wednesday’s rare New Moon occurs in the last degree of Aquarius – so close to the end that the Moon enters Pisces seven seconds later, with the Sun another three minutes behind. It’s so close that I couldn’t get my astrology software to show the New Moon in Aquarius. It rounds up to the nearest fraction of a degree, which puts it at 0 degrees Pisces. I’ll discuss more about this unusual New Moon below.

Mercury is now moving steadily forward (from our perspective here on Earth), in brainy air sign Aquarius. Projects that were delayed Continue reading →

Weekly Forecast March 1: Venus Trine Mars

This week is all about Venus … well, mostly about Venus. And that means love, desire, and what makes us happy will be major themes.

As the week begins, we’re still in the wake of Sunday’s Full Moon at 9 degrees Virgo, and the Moon has advanced into late Virgo, opposite Venus and Uranus in Pisces. Moon transits tend to be fleeting, and many of us may not notice them at all. Monday’s lunar transits may be an exception, however, thanks to the impending Venus-Uranus conjunction on Wednesday. Take note of developments in your love and social life on Monday, as you may get some advance news of what will happen when the love planet pairs up with the planet of surprises and sudden change.

Also on Monday, Mercury enters Pisces — great for creative work and leaps of the imagination, not so good for clear thinking and concise communications. On Monday and Tuesday, Mercury is at the apex of a Yod with Mars and Saturn, a position recently held by Venus, Jupiter, and the Sun. The difference this time is that Mars is stationing to return direct on March 10, and that makes him a more powerful influence. If your thinking is confused, if you don’t know where you’re headed or how to get there, you’re not alone. You may be forced this week to think out of the box in order to resolve a dispute or to find the solution to a problem that seems not to have one. Sometimes, all it takes is asking the right question.

Speaking of Mars, I’d like to point out that he is out of bounds until March 15. Planets are out of bounds when they travel north or south of the celestial latitude of the Sun at the solstices, and they tend to “misbehave,” just as the term suggests. The last time Mars was retrograde and out-of-bounds, a tiger leapt out of her cage at the San Francisco Zoo and mauled a young visitor to death before being shot and killed by zoo officials.

Obviously, conditions are different this time, but an out-of-bounds, stationing Mars should be handled with extreme care, especially in the sign of the Lion! Avoid provoking anyone, and stay out of harm’s way to the extent possible. Err on the side of caution and consideration.

On Wednesday, Venus meets up with Uranus, which for the most part should bring pleasant surprises. Any unpleasant fallout may be from our own failure to stay in touch with reality. Should a bit of luck come your way, jump on the opportunity, but spend the next week or so doing the math. Admittedly, this will be harder with Mercury in Pisces and Mars slowing down to a halt. Fortunately, we’ve got calculators.

On Sunday, Venus enters Aries, and it’s a whole different game. No longer warm, fuzzy, voluptuous, and chocolate-loving, the love goddess is demanding, hard-bodied, and very active. Right away, she forms a trine with Mars, just as he’s waking up out of a sound sleep. It’s kind of a reverse Sleeping Beauty story. Instead of the prince gently kissing the princess awake, the sleepy guy gets a whack on the head and an order to get his sorry ass out of bed.

I’m hoping this energy will propel couples everywhere to wake up and smell the coffee. Love doesn’t just “happen” all by itself. You have to work at it, and it takes two. Apologies and promises go only so far. At some point, words have to lead to action.

Speaking of all words and no action, Mercury conjoins Jupiter later in the day. If ever there was an aspect for solving all the world’s problems over a bottle of wine, this is it! If you do come up with some great ideas, write them down and come back to them later, after the glitter has settled. In the meantime, just enjoy the feeling.

Wishing you all much love,
Pat

Weekly Forecast January 25: Venus Opposite Mars, Full Moon in Leo

Mars and Venus, by Sandro Botticelli, c. 1485. Although there is much symbolism in this painting, the simple message is that love conquers all.

Most of this week will be a build-up to Saturday’s Full Moon in Leo. It’s going to be especially interesting to observe the effects of a Full Moon so close to an opposition of Venus and Mars.

Venus and Mars sometimes are referred to as the “cosmic lovers,” and this week they are opposed – she in freedom-loving Aquarius, and he in commanding Leo. The Sun and Moon can also represent male and female, and in this case, the feminine Moon will be aligned with masculine Mars, opposite feminine Venus and the masculine Sun.

Saturn, the planet of commitment, is retrograde, and he’s in Venus-ruled Libra. I have a feeling that there’s going to be a lot of reassessment this week, and those who perceive they are in a confining relationship are going to feel like rebelling. The response may not be pleasant, but it will create an opening to discuss more fairness, equality, and personal freedom in relationships.

Still, an opening is simply that; it’s an invitation to discussion and negotiation, not a guarantee of getting what you want. And you’ll need to keep your ego in check. On one hand, it will be easier with Mars retrograde, but the Sun is an ego planet, too, and with Sun and Venus in conjunction, she may be a little too “self-oriented” for her own good.

On Saturday, I wrote a short post about choosing how to respond in situations reflecting conflicting planetary energies. If you choose to defend your ego – including your ego’s need for an ill-defined concept of freedom – you could end up shooting yourself in the foot. Stop to think about what you’re defending and why. Is it just a need to be right, or is it something on which your survival depends?

If you can get past the ego issues, this configuration of planets could be wonderful for love and romance. For some, it could be very sexy.

Diane will have a complete report on this Full Moon on Tuesday or Wednesday, so check back then.

The only other significant aspect this week is the square between Saturn and Pluto, the second in a series of three. The square is exact on Sunday, but we’ll feel it all week, especially on Wednesday, when the Moon in Cancer forms a T-square with Saturn at the apex. You may feel a sense of sadness or powerlessness for a few hours.

Saturn and Pluto are outer planets and thus the square between them applies more to the collective than to individuals. But the Moon in Cancer throws personal consequences into the mix. When titans collide, innocent bystanders can get caught in the crossfire.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

Weekly Forecast April 6: Full Moon in Libra, Venus in Pisces

Venus is at the forefront of this week’s astrological news, and already I’m seeing subtle signs of transitioning into a “higher vibration,” in New Age speak.

Venus, of course, is the planet of love. There are many kinds of love, some of which aren’t really love at all. True love is inextricably linked with higher consciousness, and with Venus heading back into Pisces this week, I see a huge opening for any of us who are ready to jump up a level. I’ll write more about this below, but first let’s have a look at the week’s aspects.

The Mars-Saturn opposition, which was exact on April 4, continues to reverberate in the first part of this week as the Moon conjoins Saturn in Virgo on Monday and then opposes Mars and Uranus on Tuesday. The headlines over the weekend were rife with fatal shootings. My bus never showed up on Friday afternoon because the driver allegedly was assaulted. Mount Redoubt, which had been quiet all week, erupted on Saturday. On Sunday, North Korea launched a rocket it says was for peaceful purposes but that the international community charges was for testing long-range nuclear capability. This event most certainly is going to have consequences, especially as Mars approaches conjunction with Uranus on April 15.

But perhaps diplomacy will prevail, with Mercury entering Taurus on Thursday, half an hour before the Full Moon in Libra. Both Taurus and Libra are ruled by Venus. Whereas Taurus represents the sensual side of Venus, Libra symbolizes peace and reconciliation. Fortunately, there has been a lot of that in the news lately, too. As usual, Neith will enlighten us further about the Full Moon, so watch this space for her update in a day or two.

On Friday, the Sun in Aries forms a dynamic sextile with Jupiter in Aquarius, with the Big Guy making his final approach to conjunction with Chiron and Neptune. Here we see more healing energy being channeled into the collective, with the potential for huge breakthroughs. Pay attention on Friday when Mercury trines Pluto, and you will see precisely how this background energy is affecting you personally. If you’re a fairly evolved soul, you’ll feel it internally more than externally, but often there is an immediate reaction in our outer world when we change on a personal level.

Also on Saturday, Venus re-enters Pisces, where she’ll remain at 29 degrees for nearly two weeks. During that time, she’ll conjoin Mars, who has another two and half weeks to go in Pisces.

I’m watching this conjunction closely, as 29 Pisces is the omega, the final degree of the zodiac, sometimes called the “weeping degree” (some astrologers refer to the last degree of any sign as the weeping degree). Despite the potential for suffering, I also see this conjunction as holding much potential for resolution, especially since it feeds into the greater energy pattern that has dominated the sky for weeks. As I’ve mentioned before, that’s the mutual reception between Uranus in Pisces and Neptune in Aquarius.

It’s generally accepted that Uranus represents individual freedom and remaining true to oneself at all costs, while Neptune is about dissolution of the ego and merging into the collective. However, Uranus also represents synthesis, and this is, I believe, the key to reconciling what would appear to be mutually exclusive goals. Not only can we fit seamlessly into the collective as fully realized individuals, but the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. There is real magic and healing here, and I’m excited to see where it’s leading.

Although she’ll be in the final degree of Pisces, Venus is exalted in Pisces, and she’ll be feeding into higher love of Neptune. Some see this love as spiritual and therefore unsullied by bodily desires, but this is unfortunate. It’s well-established that sex can be a vehicle to higher consciousness, and that is what makes it sacred. As I see it, the conjunction of Mars and Venus under current astrological conditions creates a huge window for a jump in consciousness through intimate love relationships.

Not to be neglected, Ceres turns direct on Sunday. For me, the jury is still out about the meaning of Ceres in individual and mundane charts, so I continue to observe and record. As always, if anyone has thoughts about this, please leave a comment.

Love and blessings to all,
Pat

Image: Sleeping Beauty, by Maxfield Parrish, 1912. In some ways, Venus will be “sleeping” as she stations for two weeks at 29 degrees Pisces. We might imagine a kiss from Mars waking her up as they both move forward into fiery Aries.

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