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2010-09-09T17:55:00.010+02:00

I brought my blog over to Wordpress — here is the address:

http://cosmicguidelines.wordpress.com

I will keep this blog up for a while, but the spam is starting to collect and it was time for a make-over. So please bookmark the new URL. Thanks so much for following me.

When Moon is in Virgo

2010-09-07T11:37:00.011+02:00

Virgo heals our soul with earth energy. This drawing, which I did in 1996, is my ex-husband while I was still married to him but before we tiled the entire kitchen together. When I did this drawing, I was thinking about the way high Virgo energy grounds us all, so there is a big accent on the floor, as it is a beautiful puzzle. In the floor maker's hands is a five-sided tile, the same shape as home plate in baseball, symbolizing the connection between home and ground. The mood is pensive - Virgos think a lot! There is a lot of "empty" space as I have never met a Virgo who did not appreciate open surfaces.

Ultimately ultimately ultimately ULTIMATELY.... Virgo energy is service. And I have something to say about the Jewish holidays this week. This is big because family holidays can make us nervous. Grudges may have built up from fundamental cracks, some teenagers may be wrestling with eating disorders and we have all just been through some of the most toughest astrology in decades. So the advice for sitting down to dinner with our tribe is service.

If you feel nervous to attend a dinner with your family, just think what can I do to help - and I mean really help. What does the host or hostess need? Not what do you think they need, but what do they think they need? Do they need you to bring light to the table? Then do. Do they need acknowledgement for bringing the family together? Then thank them with every gesture happily and peacefully. Do they need us to come over the day before and prepare? Do they need us to definitely NOT come over the day before? What does your partner need? Is you partner suffering? Does offering you hand under the table sooth his soul? You know what is best because you know your family. If family is not available, then finding someone lonely at a Jewish Community Center to share time with could be comforting for everybody.

There is almost always a way to rise above our fears! I wish all of my Jewish friends a lovely season with treasured closeness and security and with laughs and love. May the new Moon in Virgo assist us all with our soul healing so we can offer ourselves in service in this, our Book of Life.

When Moon is in Leo

2010-09-05T12:59:00.007+02:00

When Moon is in Leo I find it can make sense to put fun into even the most serious equations.

This drawing depicts a long-haired, jewel-crowned person seated upon a kind of a throne, holding a sceptre, symbolic of leadership. This sceptre is also a toy with bells for playing with a cat. This person has one foot on the ground and the other foot playfully kicking around a colorful ball. The sky is clear, the sun is shining and the atmosphere glows with warmth.

While the moon is in Leo, I continue the special, $75 for a reading, now for Leos. If you are a Leo or have a special Leo in your life, email me at design (at) deirdretanton (dot) com to set up an appointment for a reading.

When Moon is in Cancer

2010-09-04T12:46:00.004+02:00

Cancer often depicts a crab - an animal who lives by the water withdrawing into her shell when she needs protection. As far as I know, only one crab fits into one shell, and thus the crab is lured out of her safe world when she wants to cook, eat, nurture or protect her family or territory.

The home is of huge importance to a Cancerian. Her decor needs to keep her safe and the kitchen must be exactly as she wishes. The sense of home extends not just to architecture, but also to political boundaries, the countries where we were born, or the country that has nurtured us the most. A Cancerians' patriotic and political involvement is deeply, authentically and emotionally connected to the personal.

Many Cancerians can have extremely strong feelings about their families and extended families. The book on this woman's lap symbolizes a family album. The pages show a white and a black rose to symbolize the strong feelings around family members - there is often black or white feelings and not a lot of shades of grey in between.

When the moon is in Cancer, as it is today, we may be tuning into our shell, our families, our food and our security. This drawing is an image of a woman in a kind of meditation, sitting in front of her home at the sea side looking through a family album. On her home flies a moon flag, the ruler of the sign Cancer. This is an image of a Cancerian at home in her world.

While the moon is in Cancer, I continue the special, $75 for a reading, now for Cancerians. If you are a Cancer or have a special Cancer in your life, email me at design (at) deirdretanton (dot) com to set up an appointment.

The Gemini Moon and Movable Air

2010-09-02T12:58:00.010+02:00

Today the Moon is in Gemini, a sign which rules communication and siblings and it reminds me that recently my sister asked me if I had any symbols I had already drawn of the zodiac and I do. So while Mercury is retrograde, I am digging them out of my past and looking at them again. These symbols were also used by Planet Waves for their 2006 Annual. What a history!

I did this drawing originally in 1996. Still when I look at it I think there can't possibly be any other symbol for Gemini from me, although that probably means there are endless sets of symbols yet for me to born. The idea behind this image is that Gemini is about mutable air, or air that is always moving, thus the windmill. Gemini is also about two, which is why she has a mask, symbolizing an alter ego. The ruler of Gemini is Mercury, the winged messenger which is why she has wings on her ankles and is a delivering a message. I made this drawing with chalk pastel on top of gouache. The blue strokes in the background emphasize the idea of motion. Often to me Geminis have the energy and weight of a butterfly, landing from flower to flower, thus the bow on her shirt.

Gemini rules siblings like I said, and about the conversation with my sister, Pamela, who is a writer, we were taking about promotions, special offers and gift certificates, and for me to offer a special on astrology readings for each sign. So today because moon is in Gemini and there is a flow, the special is $75 for a reading for Geminis. If you are a Gemini or have a special Gemini in your life, email me at design (at) deirdretanton (dot) com to set up an appointment.

Virgo:The Mermaid Who Works 24/7

2010-09-01T09:41:00.004+02:00

It is September 1 and that means deep Virgo season. I have been looking carefully at the mermaid in the fountain outside of the cathedral in Amalfi Italy because I was commissioned to paint her.

In doing so I learned that at that time, in 1760 when the fountain was designed, the intention of having an eternal fountain was a dedication to the apostle Andrew who later became a saint. In essence this fountain symbolizes divine eternity.

And so this mermaid works eternally according to a divine plan and humbly in accordance with the divine. This speaks to me of the Virgo Pisces axis, and the connection between dharma and karma. The energy of Virgo is ideally humble, providing service as a role in the divine plan.

This is the first Virgo season in four years when we have not had Saturn in Virgo. Most likely we have all honed in on our tasks during these years, now being more careful about what we eat, say and do. This September we mortals can think of the mermaid working 24/7 in Amalfi keeping the trickle of energy going in her dharma. Maybe this can be inspiration as we get back to school, back to work and back to our lives.

Sign on a bridge as symbol for Cardinal Cross

2010-07-29T12:54:00.012+02:00

One of the ways to get from Baltimore to Chincoteague involves crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Looking at the pictures I took as I was crossing the bridge with my brother, I noticed how dramatic it seemed to have a Crisis Hotline sign posted to a telephone poll in the middle of the bridge. The next frame seemed so stable in comparison with the symmetrical, steel structure creating a stable path to the future. As I put these two images side by side, it occurred to me that this juxtaposition created a visual metaphor for this summer's historic astrology called The Cardinal Cross.

The Cardinal Cross is a rare and powerful square alignment involving slow-orbiting planets. The slowness of the orbits means that the square pattern holds and the window of time for an effect is longer. This can be compared to getting a medical degree, which takes a lot of time, patience and hard work, but then you have the doctorate degree for the rest of your life. Some people are in med school right now doing just that. Other people are in Afghanistan on a tour. Other people look like they are going to work like always, but they may have a lot on their mind.

Wherever we are, we may be noticing that the topic of shifts in the bigger picture, is like this image of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Change may be perceived as a crisis. Help is always available from somewhere. And the new steps we take can create powerful and stable paths in our future.

To see how The Cardinal Cross is taking shape in your chart, contact me through facebook or send me an email: design@deirdretanton.com to schedule a reading with me.

Truth Here Shift There

2010-06-29T10:07:00.004+02:00

I got an email today from a friend who said, "...my career isn't happening fast enough, I'm obsessed with why I'm not happy right now...". The chart of this friend is the cardinal cross. Can you imagine how much she wants her life to go forward!

Also, the lunar eclipse made a powerful contact to her 4° Cancer Moon, the ruler of her 10th house. So she is feeling fully frustrated. There were a number of other factors going on in her chart as well, but the point is now, while we are in the middle of two eclipses, she can alter her routine which will alter her consciousness which will create a shift, which will make some movement to get her out of a hazy territory which seems to feel so powerless to her.

Today as Mars conjuncts Vesta, we may find Truth sitting on our laps. Interestingly, Juno is making a positive aspect to the Mars Vesta conjunction. This is an opportunity to define our Truth with a partner or a consultant. And lets not forget, we are between eclipses, the time when we can alter patterns in all of our lives. Today we can define our truth in relationship and move toward it.

Rare, Square & Extraordinaire

2010-06-25T13:04:00.006+02:00

The astrology of now is rare. Early on the morning of June 26, on the East Coast, a full Moon eclipse was part of the extraordinarily powerful square alignment involving slow orbiting planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and dwarf planet Pluto. With this configuration, there is immense clarity and push for prioritizing what is important in our lives. In this astrology, Claiming Leadership + Pressing Forward + Not Giving Up = Happiness (Eventually).

The signs most effected are Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. Also if you have personal planets like Moon, Mercury, Venus or Mars in any of these signs you may feel a powerful surge of motion or energy in your life.

From now and for the next two weeks until the solar eclipse on July 11, it is important to take note of events happening in our lives. These are eclipse events. The events are in the news as well as in our personal lives as this planetary alignment is near the zero degree mark in cardinal signs, the astrology of where the personal meets the political.

In our personal lives, whether we meet someone new at a barbecue, find out about new projects at work or become part of a new team, eclipse events represent the hand of fate and we are put on notice to pay particular attention to how we direct the current changes on our path.

I am here and available to read your chart regarding how the eclipses and powerful square alignment are connected with you. Email me to set up a reading: design at deirdretanton dot com.

A Sense of Ease in Nature

2010-06-19T17:51:00.007+02:00

I did this illustration today thinking mostly of the intensity of the astrology in the moment and how helpful it is to find some inner peace in whatever way we can. I started out drawing a man and a woman kissing. The woman looked to me like Egyptian / Native American royalty and the guy looked like Joe Highschool, so I decided to just focus on the princess. To me the flowers in her hair were like the feeling of swimming with long hair and feeling it go back along your scalp and shoulders as you come up from the water. And then I imagined some sort of being who may be like an ascended master and the idea of an ascended master swimming in the Gulf of Mexico diffusing fears and thoughts as the shadow side finding some ease in nature.

For a personal reading, contact me through facebook or send me an email design@deirdretanton.com to schedule.

A Diagram of the Summer Eclipses 2010

2010-06-17T13:19:00.030+02:00

This morning I realized I had an image in my mind of a bridge as a way of structuring the upcoming astrology. I was picturing the two eclipses as towers supporting a suspension bridge, like The Tower Bridge of London. This bridge itself is such an event with a hodge-podge of elements and experiences. It seems you could be on one part of the bridge, like deep inside one of the towers, and forget you are on a bridge. Or you could be racing across in a hurry to get to the other side, and be oblivious to what's going on in the towers.

The bridge I have diagrammed is, from left to right in chronological order, made of the Northern Solstice, the Lunar Eclipse, and Uranus retrograde on the Aries point halfway through the eclipses.Then comes the Solar Eclipse and right after that Chiron goes back into Aquarius and Saturn goes back into Libra.

The Tower Bridge, because of its unique components and important location, has become an icon and a symbol. The astrology of 2010, as I perceive it here from our important location, Earth, could also well become an icon and a symbol in the future. We may look back and remember the summer of 2010, when we built a bridge to the next part of our lives.

To see how the specifics of your chart work with this summer's unforgettable astrology, contact me through facebook or send me an email to schedule your reading, design@deirdretanton.com

Unfolding the Wings of this New Moon

2010-06-11T18:05:00.007+02:00

When butterflies come out of a cocoon, their wings are wet and they hang there, suspended from their cocoon, attached to the underside of a leaf, vulnerable to the outside world. As soon as the wings dry, the butterfly can flutter around in its light way, looking like the social butterfly it becomes.

Today is the new Moon in Gemini. There may be a new beginning in the way we are in our neighborhoods, or in the way we speak, think, write, read or the way we communicate with relatives. The shift may feel heavy at first. As we get our bearings and let our wings unfold, we may feel vulnerable for a bit, but soon enough we'll be flying around collecting information and sipping nectar on our paths!

Today USA plays England in the soccer World Cup! I will go to the neighborhood bar and sip some nectar there. Hope I find some Americans.

The Aries Point: But I want it NOW!!!!!!!!!!

2010-06-06T21:00:00.032+02:00

Once a therapist told me, "Misery is wishing things were different" and that's true, isn't it? There can be different reasons for feeling miserable, whether it's from feeling lost, confused, disappointed, impatient, or not knowing what we want. Sometimes if we can just see a map and find out where we are this can be relieving and even interesting.
One way of finding some sense of a map in the cosmos is to track and compare time cycles among planets and other bodies. When slow-moving planets orbit into new territory, especially a few of them at the same time, this can create new a new era, which is what we are witnessing now. The marker in astrology which marks the beginning, is the first degree of Aries. When some of the slower moving planets pass over this point, this also marks a new era's beginning - and we are also witnessing this now. This is quite a shift from go-with-the-flow Pisces to the strong-willed, determined impulse of Aries. This energy demands us to find patience, although this may make us miserable! I find inspiration in the picture of the baby in this picture. He strains to hold his head up, eyebrows raised, fists clenched, a moment of pure will leading to action, progress and empowerment. Currently in the sky Moon, Jupiter and Uranus are all in Aries. Although in itself this is exciting, breaking news, historic astrology, at the same time it's just the beginning, so practicing patience in the same proportion as being impulsive may helpful. This may help us stay relaxed and content so we can see what we what, hold our heads up, eyebrows raised, fists clenched and then go for it!

Photo by Tinna Bessadóttir

To see how the specifics of your chart work with June's exciting astrology, contact me through facebook or send me an email to schedule your reading, design@deirdretanton.com

Water From The Asteroids

2010-06-05T12:02:00.008+02:00

I was talking to my friend Paloma about the recent articles about water and how its source seems to be from asteroids. This inspired me to do the image here as we were thinking we have the asteroids inside of us. This image is about what i was seeing as I was thinking about the birth of water and the journey it has made.

You can read more of Paloma's thoughts on the recent astrology here which is the Google translation in English.

I am going to the Baltic Sea today to put my toes in the water and read Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss (recommended to me by Yuko).

Deirdre's June Horoscopes 2010

2010-06-01T10:22:00.028+02:00

In June we experience the historic Jupiter Uranus conjunction which can be great inspiration to fulfilling our life's dreams. The new Moon in Gemini, the Northern Solstice, and the Lunar Eclipse is astrology which can help lead to the most positive changes we have ever imagined as the Cardinal Square moves closer to exact.
To find out how these cosmic patterns work with your chart, send me an email, deirdre@cosmicguidelines.com to schedule a reading for you.

ARIES: Your recent winter hibernation has officially melted and you are finally off and running! The completely new way of thinking, being and writing, which has everyone excited included yourself, suggests it is also okay to let go of an aspect of your role in the world. This letting go can make room for and bring focus to a significant other who wants to build a nurturing nest in a new and equal way.
TAURUS: At a certain point Marco Polo stopped traveling so the book of his journeys could be written. Your astrology suggests the fireworks in your dreams are calling you to do something similar. You have gathered the knowledge; you see the big picture. Never before has it been so important to express your dreams — the more details you see, the more stability you can create.
GEMINI: The new Moon in your sign this month suggests that the role you play in the company of new and different folk you keep creates a new phase in your life where you can sell isolation for personal profit. The ideas and sense of home you find in the lively community surprisingly strengthens your self confidence in ways that give you relief and independence for the first time in a long long time.
CANCER: You may understand one of Life's Big Secrets this month: that you are the angel who has manifested the power you experience with partners and significant relationships. This realization may be the source for the courage you find to define security in your terms. Opportunities in the world may present you with the need to finalize the spelling of your real name or to choose a pen name which keeps you safe as you share the secrets with a larger public than you imagined.
LEO: After a long winter, you are now sure of your great value and worth. The new Moon on the 12th, highlighting an inspired audience, can create a shift in your life plan concept. A new way of structuring your day supports your earning power and gives voice to your subconscious mind while all and far-reaching eyes are on you.
VIRGO: The power is in your humble court this month as opportunities which come your way are but a reflection of all the hard work you have done the past few years. You may find the resources of a group particularly valuable as you let go of an aspect of responsiblity you have held onto since you were a child. Make the new opportunity at work the stepping stone to long term goals becoming more and more real next month.

LIBRA: New, exciting, strange and helpful people show up in your life distracting you out of a comfort zone as shadows of the past may turn out to be paper tigers. Boxing your way through your fears opens up a big and fascinating new world which can nurture you as you identify with playing the role of hero in your elegant and lovely life.
SCORPIO: The new Moon on the 12th, seducing you into curious, previously unknown positions, inspires you to tame the rodeo which has burst onto your daily scene. The energy you expend in the community may make you think twice about becoming president of the neighborhood association toward the end of the month. Pace your self as bigger mountains to climb appear on the horizon beginning in July.
SAGITTARIUS: Fun takes on a new dimension this month as Jupiter and Uranus, now conjunct in your solar 5th house, unleash super pleasant surprises regarding children, artwork, dance and a sense that all of life itself is romance. A new aspect of your life as a partner inspires a compelling message you may want to send out to the world.
CAPRICORN: No matter how the deck is cut, life as you perceive it may not be what you want AND you have all the powers in your possession to make necessary adjustments. A new project could present itself at work this month which can bring excitement to your home, even if at first it's just in the words you are writing. A voracious appetite for any bigger picture may provide relief to aspects of your ego which may have gotten in your way.
AQUARIUS: Something about a new perspective in your little neighborhood may inspire you where you most want to be inspired, jostling fears that have prevented community barbecues at your house for the last substance of time. If you want to see your people jump for joy then cut a rug and jig across a neighbor's lawn. This may surprise you when a buyer makes an offer you never expected.
PISCES: It could be worth defining new goals in your life and letting go of a group which you thought was vital to your existence. The new Moon in Gemini this month suggests you may re-consider what makes you safe; a new domestic style could present itself. An exciting new sense of self worth may see you so busy with the reinvention of your personal commerce that a partner may resort to trying on the grizzly bear costume to get attention, but will you notice?
To understand how the details of your chart work with June's powerful astrology, send me an email to schedule your reading, deirdre@cosmicguidelines.com I look forward to hearing from you!

A First Last Reading

2010-05-23T16:06:00.009+02:00

In March I gave an astrology reading to a woman who was in advanced stages of an illness from which she had been suffering for nearly 10 years. She had read so much about her illness, that she knew exactly what the doctors were talking about at the appointment she had just had. She told my sister that she was going to die soon. When my sister told her that I was in town, she said she wanted a reading.

I am used to giving people readings about their lives before them. Usually we talk about relationship issues, family worries, or maybe power struggles at work. As I was preparing for this reading, I thought instead to talk about the meaning and purpose of her life. With her North Node in Gemini in the 7th, and her Mercury Retrograde in Pisces in the 4th, having a talk one-on-one in her home felt right and most likely we had done this already long long ago. When I looked up the Sabian Symbol for her ascendant, I wondered how this was going to work out. Sagittarius 1, was the symbol for her ascendant: Retired army veterans gather to reawaken old memories.

I knocked on her door and she took a long time to answer. I finally heard the chain slide and she told me to push the door open. I was surprised to find her in a wheel chair. I bent down and gave her a kiss and asked her if my sister knew she was in a wheel chair. She told me No, that this had just happened last night. She was pulling on some slacks, something gave way near her hip and she couldn't walk anymore. She told me it was impossible to stand and she was afraid of what it could be. She told the nurse that as soon as the astrology reading was over that they would go to the emergency room to find out what it was.

Normally people cancel astrology readings if something in their leg tears, but she was determined to sit down at the kitchen table and talk about her life. She had her paper and pencil ready to take notes. We sat down and looked at each other and we were both silent. I looked at her and she looked at me and so I began, telling her that I didn't use to understand past lives but it was something I learned about in astrology. I tried to make it sound like a casual by-the-by because I felt like I was taking a big leap.

I explained to her what it means to have North Node in Gemini in the 7th, with Mercury in Pisces retrograde in the 4th. I asked her if she enjoys having conversations with people and she said "Immensely." I told her I thought the contact she has had in her life of sitting down and speaking to someone in her home has most likely touched the lives and fascinated those she has spoken with. Most likely too they had learned a lot from her. This seemed to resonate with her whole heartedly and she ambitiously kept writing down each word I said. She also told me how happy she was that she always had such a good relationship with her ex-husband (7th house) and no matter what they cold always speak (North Node in Gemini in the 7th).

Then I told her about Sabian Symbols and how we all have one assigned to our ascendant which we get over and over each incarnation. She looked at me in disbelief and did not write that down. So I told her what the Symbol for her ascendant was: Retired army veterans gather to reawaken old memories, and she looked at me blankly. I asked her if anyone in her family had been in the military and then she lit up saying that her father had been in the military but just worked in an office and he looked so handsome in his uniform. She looked so happy to remember the image. I felt like we had invoked something important at least a clear and lovely memory of her father and we talked about him for a while.

But it seemed like what she really wanted to know was if her 33-year old son would be alright after she is gone. So I got out his chart, which we had also done last summer and I told her all the wonderful things about her son. I described his grand trine in fire and how that is like an eternity flame of spirituality and inspiration. She told me she was worried that he was lazy and he is always late to work. This really worried her natal Saturn conjunct Mars in Cancer in the 8th. I looked at his chart and remembered his Sun and Moon conjunct in late Taurus and the South Node in the 6th. I told her he didnt come to this planet to work like that, he had done that plenty in past lives. This time around he was here to enjoy life. She looked at me uncertain, but she wrote it down. I saw his Pluto in Libra in the 12th and his Venus in the 6th. I also saw his Jupiter in Gemini in the 8th. I told her it seemed like he would be more and more involved with spirituality the older he got and it seemed like he was going to inherit a nice sum of money. She told me her mother was extremely wealthy and she did not seemed to be shocked at what I said.

I looked at her son's Venus in the 6th trining Neptune in the 2nd and told her he likes to have a pleasant atmosphere at work and how this makes him feel good about himself. She told me that her son and his husband were planning to open a flower store and I told her how much he will love being surrounded by flowers all day.

At this point the nurse came into the kitchen and asked us if we were finished so they could get going to the emergency room. I got the eye contact that we were done so I leaned over and hugged her for a pretty long time and then got my things together. We had another hug, a nice long farewell hug, and she thanked me so much for coming by.

Driving back to my sister's place, I was thinking about the Sabian Symbol, the North Node and if I would see her again which I would not. I just heard from my sister that our friend has died. She was at home. Many friends came during the last days, including her childhood friends from camp. Her son was there too, of course. She, a strong-willed Aries, was determined to hold out for her Taurus son's 33rd birthday and she did. She died at home with the transiting moon in Cancer with family and women around her. Farewell friend.

Photo by Anne D., Rhode Island

Chiron in Pisces Impressionism

2010-04-28T12:15:00.006+02:00

Recently there was a shift in the sky which I think has an effect on the way we dream. Often times when we dream, like at night time, it can be hard to remember a part of the dream or make sense of it all. But the same can go for our dreams and ideals in our lives. We may want something but if we look closer, we may notice there can be a vagueness in exactly what we want.

Pisces can be the dreamiest of signs, we may simply want to live in a castle without considering the details of how to get there. When Chiron enters Pisces, as it did last week, we now have the possibility to look at the details in the dream. We can zoom in and look at the the pixels which create a larger impression. With Pisces there is no linear logic. Pisces works more like magic.

Chiron creates an indeniable awareness of detail in the dream. We can zoom in and zoom out and see the dream clearer and clearer with our awareness ever heightening to a kind of sensibility we may used to have described as silence or nothing. This could be why during the years when Chiron is in Pisces (the last time was 1961 - 1969) we tend to fight for our dreams more intensely - because we can see them and because we can.

Bikini Season Here I Come

2010-04-12T10:52:00.008+02:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, If there has ever been a good New Moon for getting our bodies ready for bikinis (or one piece bathing suits or hot pants or baby doll bathing suits with aprons), it is this New Moon this Wednesday, so start your engines! One hour per day walk, run, bike, whatever, but just do it. The New Moon will be exact at 9:29 pm in Sydney; 1:29 pm in Hamburg; 7:29 am in New York and 4:29 am in California. So we need to be starting our exciting new discipline on or just before the exact New Moon. Today is Monday, so this gives us a day to get the equipment we need, like shoes, and to psyche ourselves up.

P.S. This New Moon aligns with my 3rd house of communication, so THATS why I am writing about it - to strengthen my intention.

If you would like to find out where this New Moon aligns in your chart to support your bikini body, write to me either in an email or on facebook to set up a time.

Rainbow Bridge To Higher Ground

2010-04-10T11:36:00.012+02:00

Recently, I was talking to my friend Yuko, who brought up the 150° degree angle currently between Saturn at 29° Virgo and Chiron at 29° Aquarius. I had not been thinking about this quincunx at all, but I started to so I ran Saturn + Chiron + quincunx through my astrology program and noticed that we are currently in the 4th of a series of 5 quincunxes happening since Obama has been elected. This means that the quincunx has been running parallel to the Saturn-Uranus opposition. A quincunx is a connection that tends toward continual adjustment rather than a solid hunkering in, like a soup which is never finished where one minute we think the soup needs more salt and the next minute it needs more pepper, but then it needs more stock, and this keeps going.

The next quincunx between Saturn and Chiron will be exact on this coming Monday, April 12, less than two weeks before the next exact Saturn Uranus opposition on April 26. The Saturn Uranus opposition is the strong split opinions which have been dividing nations, parites, communities, friends and families since 2008. The upcoming conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus at the Aries point indicates quick, broad world incidents effecting us personally. The quincunx added into the mix may be asking for some fluidity in our opinions rather than getting so fixed on an issue.

As I started to think about this combination, Earth (Saturn in Virgo) and Air (Chiron in Aquarius) combined, I thought of the Virgo planet Mercury in exaltation in Aquarius, and how that (a detailed analysis for our future's solutions) may be a door to open to get out of the polarity. Yuko pointed out that Chiron, as ruler of Virgo, and Saturn, as ancient ruler of Aquarius, are in mutual reception until April 20 when Chiron will enter Pisces.

I also spoke with Paloma, who reminded me of Barbara Hand Clowe's Rainbow Bridge. Chiron, located between Saturn and Uranus, acts as a bridge between the inner planets and the outer planets, between the old and the new, the personal and the collective, the past and the future.

What this seems to emphasize is the importance of Chiron at the last degree of Aquarius pointing us to our personal and political futures. Many countries seem to be on the brink of extreme thought and change from Kyrgyzstan to Thailand to today's tragic accident bringing down an airplane with Poland's highest officials sadly now gone.

Saturn on one end of this quincunx at 29 Virgo is crying out for us to look into the details and heal on a soul level. The specifics in our health, our paperwork, and day to day life, often so tedious, may help ground us as we are crossing the rainbow bridge to a personal and collective higher ground. As this quincunx asks for adjustments in the way we think about our day to day practical affairs, it may be the nicest to structure the pondering during morning walks with the dog, or daily meditation. We may find fluidness helps while tasting the soup on our wild adventures on the bridge. ◊

Seeing and Being Seen; Transformed In Detail

2010-04-07T07:55:00.036+02:00

A few months ago, I was at the Wax Museum in Berlin...

...and saw these eyes in a tray which felt creepy as they were displayed in styrofoam compartments and seemed like they had a soul. This reminded me of Scorpio, in that Scorpio people can sometimes make themselves invisible or detached, yet maintain intense eye contact - creating a very deep observation system.

I thought of this today as Pluto, the ruler of Scorpio, has just turned retrograde. This deep, invisible way of observing is now active within our consciousness - not just for Scorpios, but for all of us, — in our psychology, our souls, our minds and obsessions...

...also as today, Saturn re-enters Virgo, letting us not just spy on ourselves inwardly, but to see details in sharp focus

and take action even if we don't want to.

This is a chance to get over ourselves

(with great effort, of course).

Luckily, to add some momentum, a New Moon is coming up next week on Wednesday, April 14. This will be a New Moon in Aries, which may point to the beginning of the beginning of something we may have been trying to birth for a while.

As the days before the New Moon are building, the Dark of the Moon can be a time when the pending beginnings, wishes and longings may feel bleak or out of our reach every time - sort of like what PMS can do.

This New Moon is happening just before a Mercury retrograde, so one tact may be to sort through something old, to birth what we have been wanting to birth and have been working with our intentions for a while...

...like the big pile of old toys, school papers, clothes, magazines, books and stuff to sort and give away. Because by doing this we can, for example, transform a huge part of our living space from a big messy corner or even whole room to a peaceful library. This can change not just our physical space...

...but also our outlook on life!

........................

If you want to schedule a reading to find out how to use this astrology to transform an aspect of your life, contact me either through facebook or email, deirdre@cosmicguidelines.com so we can set up an appointment for your Spring Cleaning reading.

This blog is dedicated to Meg Alexander.

Healthcare, The Aries Point, Go!

2010-03-21T08:24:00.009+01:00

The Go square, in the game Monopoly, is the point where the game starts. This corresponds to the first degree of Aries in astrology. As we travel around the Monopoly board, the Go square remains and feels like a second of respite, just past the drama of Boardwalk. Not that I find very much correlation between Monopoly and Astrology, but I was thinking today that The Aries Point has kind of the feeling, but not the exact function, of combining Go with Community Chest, Chance, Free Parking, The Electric Utility and Boardwalk all while if it were possible to put hotels on this conglomerate - hotels where we could sign up for our new Health Insurance.

The Sun has just passed by the first degree of Aries, so we are starting a new round. The Aries point is being activated more than usual by Pluto and Saturn from Capricorn and Libra respectively. The chart to the right shows Sun's ingress into Aries from the perspective Eastern Daylight Time. The four cardinal signs lign up on the angles, with Aries being at the Midheaven, Cancer rising. Today may be the day President Barack Obama and his team will get the historic health care bill passed.
In this chart, the ruler is the Moon solidly placed in the sign of its exaltation, Taurus, in the 11th house of groups, the future and dreams. This Moon makes a positive aspect to Uranus in the 9th house showing favor and eventual comfort with new solutions. Sun will oppose Saturn tomorrow evening. Saturn is at the bottom of the chart retrograde, while the Sun is high in the chart exalted in Aries and only gathering more strength as it trines Mars. This looks to me like an old tradition giving way to the new.
Whether or not you are a fan of getting the new Health Bill passed, my point is, this spring a LOT is possible, we can make a lot of headway in our lives. The astrology is unbearably exciting as Jupiter and Uranus are heading for Go at the Aries Point. This will be exact on June 8 2010, with all the optimism and confidence of Jupiter and at the same time the genius of Uranus meeting up both exactly on the astrological sweet spot, spelling another giant leap for peoplekind.

High Spirits; New Groups

2010-03-15T19:18:00.003+01:00

Today is the New Moon in Pisces, and the astrology is welcoming surprises and a big breath of fresh air - like for example going to Ikea and singing opera at the top of the stairs and falling into the arms of a gay lover who is in the guardianship of a dainty one.

Meanwhile the therapist just wants to hang some pictures on the office walls - penguins, sunsets, waterlilies, all in service to humanity, the artists giving their best advice on Ribba frames.

This is the New Moon in a self-less way but like a party, or a seminar or an un-defined free-for-all, planting seeds in motion for the coming high spirited next two weeks.

Mercury conjunct Sun Like a Line Drawing

2010-03-12T23:29:00.005+01:00

When Mercury aligns with the Sun in conjunction, we may hear a story like a clear line drawing, where the outline is defined, with the mass not yet filled in. And when Mercury conjuncts Sun like it will this Sunday in Pisces, the line may be modulated, having a dark to light quality indicating the fuzzy gray so familiar to Pisces yet the Mercury influence creates a predominately analytical and story telling effect.

In both astronomy and astrology, when Mercury is moving forward, the Mercury-Sun conjunction is called superior. And when Mercury is retrograde, the conjunction is called inferior. The inferior conjunction will take place on Wednesday, April 28 at 8° Taurus.

I plan to follow these two dates, Sunday March 14, at 23°Pisces, the Superior Line Drawing, and Wednesday April 28, at 8° Taurus, the inferior or interior mass, where the substance or insides may become more defined. These two points may help us understand some insights into the up-coming Mercury retrograde in April.

Love Triangle Pluto Square Venus

2010-03-12T05:56:00.003+01:00

My Capricorn friend talked to my Virgo friend and now my Capricorn friend wants to mention somthing. I talked to my Aquarius friend about my Aries friend who suggested we tell the Virgo friend. That Virgo friend suggested the Aries friend know the game is known. And that's just the tip of the iceberg I know in the Pluto square Venus triangulation.

Venus and Mars

2010-03-10T16:44:00.008+01:00

Here's an image for us, just as Mars stations forward and Venus squares Pluto. This painting, by Botticelli in 1453, shows a beautiful Venus observing an exhausted Mars while mischievous satyrs are playing with Mars battle gear. This Venus reminds me a bit of Kathryn Bigelow who just won an Academy Award for best director and her film happened to be a war film.

This painting may be about Love Conquering All or All Is Fair In Love And War. During the next few days, here is something to think about — that Venus can conquer Mars, but Mars cannot conquer Venus. So in whatever house Mars is stationing forward in our charts, we best approach with love!

2010-03-05T20:30:00.003+01:00

Nature is speaking louder and louder to us. I am thinking of the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile. There are lots of "smaller" examples too, like the wave that smacked the ocean liner on the Mediterranean breaking into the side of the boat this week. In these situations, people have come into intimate contact with survival. One topic which reaches people in a crisis is: where will we get our food?

It think it is a human right to have access to food. There is a point in the cosmos which speaks of human rights and that is the Galactic Center, located at 26° Sagittarius, the axis around which our galaxy is centered. Any planet or body passing by this degree addresses human rights and reminds me that we are born naked and when we die, although we may be wearing clothes, if we want a better outfit on, someone else has to dress us, not us. A large part of what we need to live is to eat.

Currently the dwarf planet Ceres is conjunct the Galactic Center. For Ceres as a symbol, I picture a lovely maiden holding an amber wave of grain. This may seem harmless enough, but somewhere in the innocence is the dark power of food. Sometimes we hear these nearly unbelievable stories of parents starving their kids - of food or sustenance, for many seasons, like in the storyline of Persephone and the underworld myth. In the Persephone story, Ceres is the mother - she knew her child had been abducted and in her depression, all the leaves fell off of the trees and it was winter. When Persephone was returned from the underworld, the world became summer. Ceres, in mythology, also symbolically embodies the seasons.

I was in the airport today and there was a long line for our economy flight with Continental. All of us average people were in the long economy line. There was another counter, called "Elite Access", which was empty. I noticed some people trying to get the chance to be in the elite line. One man flashed his shiny gold card, but the attendant shook his head "No".

I also had a longing for elite access - there's my stellium in Capricorn for you. I wanted to have better treatment, get through fast, painlessly with no boredom for me or my son. When I saw the man with the shiny gold card get rejected, I looked around and had a 180° shift, that I was already in the elite line, to just be normal and be on earth we already have elite access to have been born naked.

When I get my economy tray of food at my seat on the plane today, I'm going to lean into the aisle, look forward, and wink at the elite access trays of food in business class. Ceres passes over the Galactic Center is a like a big cosmic saying of Grace, being thankful for the food around us which we can have if we want in any season.

De-Friending Ghosts During Pisces Stellium

2010-02-27T18:32:00.017+01:00

Last night, While the moon was in Leo and a stellium of planets was surrendering to Pisces, I painted another fish. For days, this sketched out thing with a background sat on my drawing table looking like a ghost. I had started the painted in my own private 12th house. While the Moon was in silly ole Leo, that's when I got brave enough to move to the metaphorical 6th house artist studio in my mind, where I can actually get stuff done. I say brave because one can get criticized there. In reality, all I did was changed physical chairs, going from the ghost side of the table to the productive side of the table.

During the days when the ghost was spooking me I was noticing something totally on a different topic, but maybe still about Pisces. I noticed there was a lot of de-friending going on. My Leo friend wrote to me telling me he felt guilty for wanting to de-friend a someone he didnt know who was dragging in banter. Then I realized regarding someone else, that I had friended a friend of firend who I didnt know was abusing the friend so I quietly de-friended. Then another friend told me she was trimming her friend list, and that she did.

This de-friending was building to a critical mass and in the momentum, I decided to de-friend the ghost sitting on my table, and it's been a better life since. What I am not sure is, what purpose did the ghost serve. Maybe I will find out tomorrow, when the Moon gets full in service.

Marking The 2010 Calendar

2010-02-24T23:06:00.006+01:00

I took a look at my 2010 astrology time line today so I could mark where we are in the diagram. I added Past, Now, Future and Dreams. Here is my description of the diagram.

Peace Out, Inner Bully.

2010-02-23T09:55:00.008+01:00

In astrology, Mars, God of War, is what gets us what we want. If our teeth are brushed, Mars got us to the sink. If we are an Olympic athlete, most likely we have a pretty fantastic Mars in our birth chart with all kinds of will power (Pluto) discipline (Saturn) and talent (Capricorn) attached.
Mars is the ruler of the sign Aries, so Aries people often learn a lot about aggression, especially when Mars is noteworthy in the sky, as it is now. Every one and a half years, Mars moves forward; the next six months Mars makes no "linear progress" at all. This is termed "retrograde" in astrology. Mars has been in its retrograde cycle now since December 20. For all of us, and perhaps particularly for Aries and for Leos (because Mars has been retrograde in the sign Leo) we have been trying to get something and we may have been feeling blocked. This could be around a creative project, a love interest, career advancement, getting contact to a particular man or our physical health, for examples.
The purpose of the retrograde is for us to take a look at our aggression and own all of it. Aries can be so impulsive and is so good at taking action - sometimes too fast and too furious. This six-month retrograde period gets the Aries in all of us to regroup, slow down (much to the Aries chagrin) and get in tune with what we really want, and to develop the next year and a half instinctive strategy. How have I been pursuing my aim? What boulder have I been trying to push up the mountain all alone? Why does the boulder keep falling back on me? Why am I stuck at home alone on crutches and the only thing on TV is Curling?
On March 10, Mars, will go forward, and by May 17, Mars will be up to speed and back to making good ole "linear progress" for the next year and a half. Where we have been feeling blocked, wanting to express ourselves but have not been able to for reasons ranging from double blizzards to "accidents" to "he is an asshole", we can be looking forward to the spring to be out of the starting gate, Aries favorite place.
When Mars changes from retrograde to forward movement, this can be compared to a boy going through puberty and suddenly having the mature, male hormone rushing around in his body. As parents we want these boys to be doing sports, to channel their aggression in a healthy way. We dont want our kids to be bullies or be bullied either.
Over the next few weeks it may be as if we all have an inner child who is a hormonal adolescent. We can remember all the good advice and wishes we have ever given or projected on to our kids from "Go outside and play" to "Why aren't you on the football team". We can take these memories in stride on a small walk every day a longer walk as the days are getting prettier and the weather (maybe) nicer and our muscles stronger. I think the opposite of bully is hero, and that's what we are looking for here, ultimately to be the hero of ourselves.

Waxing Calm Dramatic

2010-02-22T12:07:00.006+01:00

The moon is waxing and will be exactly full this coming Sunday morning; this will be a full moon in Virgo. Full moons are culminations and Virgo is the ultimate housekeeper. This week the astrology supports clearing stuff out of our houses, like all that reading material, newspapers, magazines and piles of stuff which may be better off in the recycling bins. And because this full moon is aspecting Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system and all about exaggerration, we may want to bite off more than we can chew but find we can still do! On Tuesday February 23, Sun will make a positive aspect to Pluto, which can help us to have a strong will to tackle the details involved in rebuilding something that might have felt hopeless. We may find that when we initiate communication with our supervisors, car mechanic, doctor or handyman that we can get to the root of the issue and rebuild from the core. This coming weekend is a great weekend for finishing a home project, repairing anything the blizzards broke and dramatically restoring a calm to our homes. Virgo energy can heal the soul. The calm we create in our houses up through this Full Moon weekend can spread to our souls and improve our health. So cheers and thanks in advance to the city dump and bulky trash for our de-cluttered corners and ultimately our physical well-being.

Aquarian Message in Flight Spills Manifesto All Over Earth

2010-02-19T00:38:00.004+01:00

Yesterday, as the Sun moved from the sign of the water bearer (Aquarius), to the sign of the fish (Pisces), we surprisingly learned that the pilot who had crashed his plane into a building, was also the author of a manifesto. Not many of us were expecting that to happen yesterday.
An Aquarian can be a container for information, it is an air sign. Aquarians can be rebellious, charismatic leaders. The airplane yesterday was like a water bearer. Pisces can send information everywhere in an un-orderly fashion, much like a spilled glass of something. The crash happened while the Sun was in Aquarius; the manifesto is being distributed while Sun, Venus, Jupiter and Uranus are in Pisces. Through the internet, the entire world has access to the pilot's manifesto.
These are surprising times and the astrology suggests that surf is building. The local police chief in Austin stated that the plane crash was a "lone wolf" incident, not connected to a major terrorist organization. When Uranus, the planet of sudden surprises, moves into Aries, the sign of the lone individual, in early spring, the rage of the lone wolf may be howling even deeper into the cosmos.
This morning I got an invitation from another RISD artist living in Hamburg, Laura Honse, to an event called "MAN SON 1969. The Horror of the Situation" This exhibit, first shown at the Hamburg Kunsthalle in 2009 will be shown again in the Villa-Merkel in Esslingen, Germany. The aesthetics, politics, lifestyles, subculture and history of 1969 remains unforgettable for any of us who lived though it even if we were only nine years old and making beaded jewelry in our bedrooms. The astrology of that time, 1969, is back this year and what I found fascinating is that it exactly corresponds with the timing of the spring exhibit, "MAN SON 1969. The Horror of the Situation".

Happy Valentines Day

2010-02-14T05:02:00.000+01:00

2010, a Surge to a Point

2010-02-06T20:51:00.012+01:00

I heard a story today of a man who became a millionaire when he was 32 and then he kept on making money. He bought yachts, airplanes, a helicopter and a luxury home in Tirol on a lake. When he was 47, he decided to raffle his house off, let somebody else get it and then move to Africa and work in micro loans.
I am really interested in the point at which people make huge sweeping changes in their lives. Often huge changes can be traced to a place in our hearts where the political meets the personal and the personal meets the political. It is like a fire is lit, like a spark plug which gets our engines going.
This is a place where a huge emotional end leads to a hugely exciting beginning. In astrology this is where the last degree of Pisces meets the first degree of Aries. The last degree of Pisces is all fish aligning to one point. The first degree of Aries is like alchemy which can convert water, or emotions to fire which is inspiration energy and in the ideal situation expressed with love. All of us have this point somewhere in our charts. It is 0° Aries, or The Aries Point.
The day when the Sun crosses this point this year will be March 21, the first day of Spring, the day the Sun aligns with the Vernal Equinox, and this year we may see some mini-signs of what's up with our Aries Points, which could be helpful soon. I say helpful because don't we all want to be as liberated as the man who raffled his house and moved to Africa? We might not want to do exactly that but isn't it satisfying to move toward a big dream and align ourselves with our life purpose here on planet Earth? As Jupiter and Uranus are hearding all fish toward the Aries Point, there will be a historic convergence on June 8, 2010. We can check out our charts to see in which house the Aries Point falls, brainstorm about what can be invented there and most of all dream big.

If you want to schedule a reading with me, email me at deirdre@cosmicguidelines.com and we can look at where the Aries Point falls in your chart and see what the astrology of 2010 may be saying to you.

Fire and Flowers from the Dark Hours and into the Light with Ground Hogs, St. Brigid and Moveable Feasts

2010-02-02T08:02:00.012+01:00

Today is 40 days after Christmas, or half way between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. Today is Ground Hog Day, St Brigid's Day, Candlemas, and Imbolc, one of the four main festivals in the Celtic calender.

Regarding Ground Hog Day, I am not sure this weather prognostication works here in Hamburg because it is so dark and the winter long. However, if there are ground hogs here, they did not see their shadows in this classic Northern German flat grey weather. Yet the days are in fact getting longer, and there are some early signs of Spring in the sounds of birds I hear.

According to Gaelic folklore, it is time to gather firewood for the rest of the winter. The symbology behind St. Brigid is that she brings us light and power to carry us from the dark of Winter and into Spring. Also symbolic of this time is lighting fires or candles in our homes to bring in extra warmth as well as the image of flowers rising through snow representing the half way point between Winter snow and Spring flowers.

This year the exact moment of this celebration happens when Moon is in Libra, the sign of symmetry and balance. I made this image combining candles, flowers and the symbol from the Haitian flag with prayers that the energy of St Brigid helps carry the Haitian people out of a darkest hour into the light.

About Getting There after the Full Moon Shines the Light on our Issues

2010-02-01T13:18:00.010+01:00

When the Full Moon may have just lit up our "issues" (Saturn square Pluto) over the weekend (and for the last little while), then being motivated, as we are, may feel like the way a clothing hanger does (Moon in closet-organizing, all-hangers-face-north Virgo) riding a bike (mutable) on tomato wheels (exposed issues in Aquarius season) and going there anyway (Mars in Leo retrograde). Just a feeling.

Even shy ones are tooting their horns at the Full Moon in Leo.

2010-01-30T02:05:00.005+01:00

Its snowing in Hamburg, and although there are no Cardinals here, I still always look for them anyway, those nice red birds that fly away if you whisper. So, what if those good looking birds would just toot their own horns while the snow comes down?

Earlier a song was playing on TV, Coldplay, "I will try to fix you" and I had to fight back the tears, I was involved. A certain cardinal in the room had the pepper-changer in his hand and wanted to change the channel and I wigged out grabbed the pepper-megaphone from my maternal soapbox. Then my old chum from college in another context told me I was maternal. so there you have it. Sun 'n Venus vs. Moon 'n Pepper-Mars, while Saturn insists on squaring Pluto just a little more, just a little more, just say WHEN.

Seven Creative Blogs

2010-01-24T12:56:00.011+01:00

Once upon a time, when Pluto was in Sagittarius and blogs were new, I found Diane's site, which at that time was taglined a "knitting circle". As I sat alone in my kitchen in Germany reading her astrology posted from the West Coast of the U.S., I thought how true, this is our community. I marked Diane's site in my favorites and continue to read her evolving site still today. I have followed her life through the seasons of her Libra eyes, reading her posts on synastry, seeing snippets of her parter, her grandchild, her haircut or a new shawl. Yesterday was especially meaningful when Diane passed on one of her seven Kreativ Blogger awards to me. Thanks Diane, I am happy about our connection over the thousands of miles.

I did a little research on this award and have found it passing from blog to blog over months. One blogger, Simon Leong who writes about food, got the Kreativ Blogger in August of 2009. He blogged about the award when he received it, and it is from him I learned you can redesign the award if you want, so I did.

The next part that happens is to pass the award on to seven bloggers. So now, Ladies and Gentlemen, the moment you have been waiting for, presenting, the next seven Kreativ Blogger awards which go to:

1. Astrofix, This astrologer, Michelle, seems to write in a series of in-depth concepts. Sometimes she writes general astrology and sometimes very personal. The way she writes, shows her passion for the subject and how astrology runs through her whole life. This blog is fun, interesting, very organized and mysterious, too. Plus, I have never seen a blog look and almost feel like tactile paper, like an artists portfolio or scrap book, but this one does.

2. Serennu, There is really nothing like this blog and I recommend all astrologers to figure out this blog and this site. The author, Tracy, has programmed hundreds of minor planets so we can all cast our charts including the asteroids Child, Photographica, House and hundreds more. It's incredible, really. Just by casting your own chart, you can learn A LOT about all the other bodies besides the classical planets. Intuitive and original, Tracy comes up with striking insights with an unassuming voice, making super way-out information seem normal.

3. Karmic Relief, Shelley Ackermann is a New Yorker who has her finger on the pulse of the city. Each week Shelley connects current events with the astrology of the moment making it really fun to learn more of both. She includes savvy, right on, sign-by-sign astrology at the end of her weeklies. Each post at Karmic Relief is always a treat.

4. in2light Mark Krueger writes a completely unself-conscious blog. I am always struck by what seems to me as a complete lack of needing to impress anyone. Mark is just himself writing whatever is coming out of his fingers, which is usually a comment on the zeitgeist with dashes of astrology mixed in. Mark's play-on-words style keeps all topics up for questioning no matter how silly or serious.

5. Koreanish, Alexander Chee, a novelist, blogs about literature from the perspective of producing, teaching and living language. From research to artist colonies, from anecdotes about friends to including tarot cards in certain writing processes, I learn a lot about writing and a lot about paying attention to my life when I read his blog.

6. Bruce Mau's Manifesto, I re-read this manifesto every few months and each time I do I think every point is right.

7. vvvvovvvv, This blog is a wild card. I never know what will be posted here in what language. I have no idea who is behind it or how to contact them. I especially liked the link to the Spanish astrology videos, posted last year.

There you are folks, the Kreativ Blogger awards, I hope you have enjoyed this post.

Jupiter On the Last Degree of Aquarius and I Hear Billy Joe Armstrong of Green Day

2010-01-15T21:54:00.044+01:00

Jupiter on Sabian Symbol Aquarius 30:

Moonlit fields, once Babylon, are blooming white.

Jupiter is on the last degree of Aquarius and I hear the Green Day song, "Time of Your Life" playing. The lead singer of Green Day, Billie Joe Armstrong, is an Aquarius and he can really rally a crowd. I saw Green Day in concert in October and we the audience were so uplifted - I would go to another Green Day concert again in a heart beat.

I set up Billie Joe Armstrong's chart with 0° Aquarius on the ascendant, because he is an Aquarius. I used to put in 12:00 noon if I didn't know the time, but I find putting the zeroeth degree of the Sun sign on the ascendant works great for me.

Some Words on Billie Joe Armstrong's Astrology.

As an Aquarius, Billie Joe Armstrong understands the group experience, maybe that's why he is so into audience interaction when he performs. Check out his voice: Venus conjunct Chiron trining both Neptune in Sagittarius and Ceres in Leo. This is music that can heal a broken heart (Venus conjunct Chiron) because he knows what a broken heart is and because his voice is beautiful.When Billie Joe performs he runs around the stage the whole time (Mars trine Jupiter - lots of energy and enthusiasm). He is a fixed sign, and he has been in the same band since since 1989 and played with his base/guitar player, Mike Dirnt, since their childhood. That's fixed staying power for you.

Transiting Jupiter Just Conjuncted Armstrong's Sun. While Jupiter (long distance travel) is on the last degree of Aquarius, and just having conjuncted Billie Joe Armstrongs's Sun, Green Day is continuing their world tour in the Far East yesterday Singapore, tomorrow Hong Kong. According to the Green Day website, it seems this part of the tour ends on January 25, and they start touring again back to Europe in the beginning of June.

Transiting Chiron Conjunct Sun in March. In March, Chiron will conjunct Billie Joe Armstrong#s Sun. Maybe he will go back home to his family and have to assimilate somehow after having been on tour for months and months. He may be feeling wounded around his role in "the group" as we tend to do when we have been away from home for a while, or if we have Sun - Chiron contacts, or Chirion in Aquarius. As he is an Aquarius, and Chiron will be conjuncting his Sun, the theme of fitting in will be important.

Transiting Neptune Conjunct Sun April - May. Green Day's show "American Idiot" moves to Broadway. Opening night will be April 20, 2010 while Neptune is slowing down to a station and to conjunct Billie Joe Armstrong's sun - twice. If I can imagine how it would be to be him and listen to his own music sung by Broadway singers with Neptune on his Sun, I'd say he could well get swept away and feel something divine listening to the new voices. There may a chance of some disappointment or disorientation, but most likely he may go with the flow and let his own music wash over him in Neptunian transcendence.

Let' s be on the lookout for a possible new body of work inspired by the triple conjunction passing over the Sun of Billie Joe Armstrong, lead singer of Green Day.

A Complete and Utmost Energy Shift Opens the Energy for The New Moon Eclipse

2010-01-13T17:38:00.007+01:00

This energy shift happening at this moment is serious, intense and long lasting. The number and the way of the transits happening all at once now is absolutely historic. I am so saddened about the earthquake in Haiti. Yesterday I heard news that a girlfriend of mine from high school passed away suddenly in her home of an apparent sudden heart attack. She was 47 years old. These two incidents are tragedies.

Though tragedies are not all that is happening now. Many people will come to the aid of Haiti. Hundreds will attend the viewing of my friend in Friday and the funeral on Saturday. Hundreds of people will deeply connect, re-connect, hugging each other seeking comfort in their mourning and despair and finding human contact in community.

The New Moon Solar eclipse, happening at 2:08 am EST, Friday, January 15, is making a positive connection to Venus. This is an ideal, extremely positive and powerful time to set our intentions around personal love and manifestation, letting any bitterness or hardness be replaced with the outpouring of a serious kind of love available to us now.

Yesterday my father, who had written to me about my friend who died on Monday, at the end of his email he wrote to me:

"You never know, do you?
Enjoy the day, every minute of it.
Love, Dad"

Running in Place

2010-01-11T16:51:00.005+01:00

Sagittarius likes to run, and may run around a still life till Friday, when Saturn and Mercury station.

Favorite Places Medley brought to you by Retrogrades Between Eclipses

2010-01-09T02:17:00.007+01:00

Do you ever find yourself visualizing a non-narrative moment from your past? I do. I sometimes visualize the space between the stove and the sink where a light was attached to a ceramic tile in the kitchen where I grew up. I used to put my eyes on that space when we sat at the table, not the whole time we ate but it might have been a resting place. I have a string of places like this, like where I sat in front of the fan playing with dolls, the location of my desk in 7th grade study hall, or the pantry part of the kitchen in Providence.

These non-narrative visuals range in size from about 12 inches square to views seen from long distances. This drawing is a medley of parts of favorite places that have gotten stuck in my mind and parts of places I would like to visit, like the Charles River and the Thames River, or the Fort Point Chanel area and Dubai, Key Biscayne and Bodrum Turkey. This is also about how a river can divide a place, like Hamburg / Harburg, Boston / Cambridge and New York / Jersey City.

The moment now as Mercury and Mars are in retrograde and we are between eclipses can be like a non-narrative moment too. With the retrograde energy people, names and places are coming up from the past. The wheel of fate is turning but has not jet turned. We may be in the spot which is where our eyes may rest in the future when we will be in a different place.

Twixt Eclipses

2010-01-06T12:32:00.005+01:00

If you feel like you are living in a world of new and psychaedelic symbols recently, remember, we are twixt eclipses, one of two dimensions in the year when the wheel of fate cranks toward one direction or another. This is an excellent time to change course. Even if it seems to be the decision of your subconscious board of directors, take some kind of heed, and keep your hands on the wheel.

This course is about letting go of some aspect of security in favor of aligning with our life purpose here on Earth. I say this because the lunar eclipse (a letting go) on New Years Eve was in the sign of Cancer (security), and the coming solar eclipse (new orientation) will be in the sign Capricorn (life calling).

Pay close attention to the winds and the tides. This is our ship and this is our time.

Sign by Sign Astrology 2010

2010-01-02T08:29:00.009+01:00

Happy New Year one and all! Here are some short thoughts of mine on how the 2010 astrology will effect each sign. For a more detailed account of how the eclipses, the cardinal T-square, Jupiter changing signs or Pluto in Capricorn can work with your love life, family, school, work or heath, write to me, deirdre@cosmicguidelines.com, to set up a reading for you.

ARIES: Emotional stability colors your life, stabalizing your lightening impulses. Working with a partner may feel blocked, but with patience, the results can be real and long lasting.
TAURUS: Good friends are here to help - lots of them, too. You can achieve your goals this year, make sure to remember them often. A stricter diet of the healthiest foods could make you happier than you may imagine.
GEMINI: More people will know your work, your reputation and you, too. This is a year to work internationally, all across the globe - big. The more you honor your creativity as a strict discipline, the greater success in life and love you will have.
CANCER: Although you love your home, this is a great year to go far outside your comfort zone either in the world or your mind, find adventure and bring it home to rest. Relating to people has been intense; rising above unnecessary ego conflicts will keep the power in your hands.
LEO: The new year may be starting out on humble footing compared to your dreams. This year you can expand financially, carefully. Invest with others for others and by others.
VIRGO: Whereas you normally take up the slack for others, this is the year others can take up the slack for you, should you accept the offer — but please do! Investing as a group may catch you at your most innovative and genius moments. While your income may seem small, let its steadiness give you peace of mind.
LIBRA: You're at the helm, Libra, getting more done in a day than you have imagined in years. The more responsibility you take on, the better you will feel.
SCORPIO: It's been a lot of work, and you have built an exciting, solid and healing home base. Now here's to finding solitude, if you can, to hunker down and find the words to explain an obsession which can help your sisters, brothers and your mental hygiene too.
SAGITTARIUS: This year each inhale strengthens your self confidence; every exhale releases you from former negative thoughts which are no longer necessary or true. With this slow, steady and sure process, you are building your fortune. How new!
CAPRICORN: You are doing at least as much as you've always done, but the ante is much more dramatic, and your leadership style, although it is gleaming you success, the psychological part may be bugging you with a heaviness or intensity. As the captain, the fairer you manage your team the more satisfaction you will have in your home and your bank account.
AQUARIUS: You may remember days gone by, when you used to be the person who organized street festivals, neighborhood get-togethers and large back yard parties. This year you may happily and surprisingly find yourself in that role again — now with more wisdom than ever and a feeling for the collective pulse, you may feel more connected than ever.
PISCES: Although the good luck planet Jupiter is in your sign, it does not mean the year is the easiest or gets you success on cruise control. And indeed the new, and undeniable self confidence so unfamiliar to you may take you by surprise when you find setting goals may be worth while for the first time in your life.

Sign by Sign in 2010

2009-12-30T22:38:00.014+01:00

Happy New Year one and all! Here are some short thoughts of mine on how the 2010 astrology will effect each sign. For a more detailed account of how the eclipses, the cardinal T-square, Jupiter changing signs or Pluto in Capricorn can work with your love life, family, school, work or heath, write to me, deirdre@cosmicguidelines.com, to set up a reading for you.

ARIES: Emotional stability colors your life, stabalizing your lightening impulses. Working with a partner may feel blocked, but with patience, the results can be real and long lasting.
TAURUS: Good friends are here to help - lots of them, too. You can achieve your goals this year, make sure to remember them often. A stricter diet of the healthiest foods could make you happier than you may imagine.
GEMINI: More people will know your work, your reputation and you, too. This is a year to work internationally, all across the globe - big. The more you honor your creativity as a strict discipline, the greater success in life and love you will have.
CANCER: Although you love your home, this is a great year to go far outside your comfort zone either in the world or your mind, find adventure and bring it home to rest. Relating to people has been intense; rising above unnecessary ego conflicts will keep the power in your hands.
LEO: The new year may be starting out on humble footing compared to your dreams. This year you can expand financially, carefully. Invest with others for others and by others.
VIRGO: Whereas you normally take up the slack for others, this is the year others can take up the slack for you, should you accept the offer — but please do! Investing as a group may catch you at your most innovative and genius moments. While your income may seem small, let its steadiness give you peace of mind.
LIBRA: You're at the helm, Libra, getting more done in a day than you have imagined in years. The more responsibility you take on, the better you will feel.
SCORPIO: It's been a lot of work, and you have built an exciting, solid and healing home base. Now here's to finding solitude, if you can, to hunker down and find the words to explain an obsession which can help your sisters, brothers and your mental hygiene too.
SAGITTARIUS: This year each inhale strengthens your self confidence; every exhale releases you from former negative thoughts which are no longer necessary or true. With this slow, steady and sure process, you are building your fortune. How new!
CAPRICORN: You are doing at least as much as you've always done, but the ante is much more dramatic, and your leadership style, although it is gleaming you success, the psychological part may be bugging you with a heaviness or intensity. As the captain, the fairer you manage your team the more satisfaction you will have in your home and your bank account.
AQUARIUS: You may remember days gone by, when you used to be the person who organized street festivals, neighborhood get-togethers and large back yard parties. This year you may happily and surprisingly find yourself in that role again — now with more wisdom than ever and a feeling for the collective pulse, you may feel more connected than ever.
PISCES: Although the good luck planet Jupiter is in your sign, it does not mean the year is the easiest or gets you success on cruise control. And indeed the new, and undeniable self confidence so unfamiliar to you may take you by surprise when you find setting goals may be worth while for the first time in your life.

2009 & The Triple Conjunction's Rose-Colored Glasses

2009-12-30T10:05:00.005+01:00

Looking back on 2009, I think the astrological event of the year was the total solar eclipse from July 22, occurring in the last degree of the sign Cancer. This eclipse was about a culmination (the last degree) in the security of our private lives (Cancer), and what can be more personal than that. Especially for people whose birthdays fall near that date, both the Cancers and the Leos, their lives may be drastically different. One Leo friend, whose birthday is July 24, is now in a completely new life, living in two new cities with a job in one city and a new relationship in the other. The previous relationship of many years ran its course.

But even for the rest of us, whose birthdays are not near July 22, the shift may be more subtle, yet as powerful. There may have been a birth, a death, a new relationship, the loss of a job or another event, but whatever it was, our lives are looking different. We may have celebrated holidays in different groupings. We may find ourselves less patient with old behaviors around addiction or mental health. We may be more in touch with a sense of human authentic idealistic values.

As 2009 was approaching, we astrologers were watching three slow moving "planets" - Jupiter, Neptune and Chiron - converging in the sign Aquarius. The name for this became The Triple Conjunction. From the number of blogs posted on this topic, it seemed many of us thought The Triple Conjunction was going to be the astrological event of the year. My impression is The Triple Conjunction acted more like a pair of rose-colored glasses or like novacaine or a pain reliever or facebook!. As anesthesia can allow us to endure life changing surgery, that's what my impression is of how The Triple Conjunction acted. And because The Triple Conjunction was in the sign Aquarius, the rose-colored glasses provided distance on painful issues, a way of not taking things so personally, and a way of more easily connecting with friends and facebook friends.

While the Triple Conjunction lasted all year, but the solar eclipse "only" 6 minutes and 39 seconds (it was the longest total solar eclipse during the 21st century), I think it was the solar eclipse, in its bossy cardinal sign, that ultimately gave orders from headquarters encouraging us to get out of our fearful shells and be compelled to live more of our personal selves in our lives.

The 2009 Triple Conjunction has now run its course. The broad-banded anesthesia which friended us in 2009 served as an important tool helping us move through old fears which at other times stood as blocks in the road. For that we can be grateful as we embark on a new decade in our personal lives.

Necessary Chaos

2009-12-26T14:00:00.006+01:00

Impulsiveness may quickly kick up necessary and short-lived chaos today as, at 9:37 am New York Time, Mercury stations retrograde on the North Node at 21° Capricorn while Moon is void-of-course in Aries. When Moon enters Taurus at 3:26 pm, there may be noticeably less frenzy, creating the chance to unravel, settle and find the sense of stability in the situation.

These next three Mercury retrogrades, occurring in earth signs, are this current one, the next happening in May, in Taurus season, and then another one in September in Virgo season. During these three earth Mercury retrogrades, Mercury will not be changing signs to another element during the retrograde which makes it, in typical earth fashion, practical. The message is to pay close attention to what we can touch and have in our hands.

Specifically with this Capricorn Mercury retrograde on the North Node, we may feel compelled to control the larger, broad-brush strategies in our lives. During the next few weeks, something large and long term which may seem to be beyond the closest peak may come up for review. We may be wise to consider several ways to the top and if the peak at all is real.

My Little Mars Retrograde Station

2009-12-20T16:30:00.014+01:00

Weeks ago when I booked my flight to the U.S., I was surprised how much cheaper the flight was on December 20th than December 19th, so I booked it without even looking at the astrology. The price was right, the day was good - I thought. When I noticed that Mars would be turning retrograde while I would be in the airport in Hamburg to catch the first leg of the flight, I knew it looked fishy. Surely I would never consult anyone to fly at the very moment that Mars is stationing - why mess with that? So pack I did and went off into the retrograde, after first checking all the websites late into the night looking for a cancellation. It seemed that The Great Blizzard had not canceled my flight.

I have to admit, I was pretty flustered when I got to the British Air counter today, 20 minutes before the exact station of Mars, with them telling me in that classic, dead-pan style that the American Airlines part of my flight from London to New York was canceled. I am re-booked for tomorrow, flying through Zurich. And even though I need to pay three taxis instead of one, the December 20th flight is still cheaper than the one on December 19th.

When I got back to my apartment in Hamburg, my sister had posted this photo above looking out onto the woods behind where she lives in Baltimore. There it is, a picture of the Mars retrograde - so peaceful!

Photo by Pamela Tanton, Baltimore

To find out how these retrogrades and the astrology of 2010 are effecting your chart, send me an email, deirdre@cosmicguidelines.com so we can schedule an appointment. Looking forward to helping you do what you want to be doing with your life.

Eclipse + Mars Rx + Merc Rx + Saturn Rx = Balanced Checkbook x Heart + :-)

2009-12-18T13:43:00.023+01:00

Flag for the 2009-2010 Mars Retrograde in Leo

This time of year can be a lot of running around. There are tests in school, holiday programs, presents to get, places to go, and house parties office parties and New Years parties starting to back up onto each other. AND this is exactly the time when Mars and then Mercury will retrograde. Before I fly off into the Mars retrograde, here are my thoughts as they are brewing.

I wrote some posts on the Mars retrograde back in Summer while the Sun was in Leo. My sense is that the beginning of Leo Season 2009, nearly five months ago, the segment between July 22 - August 22, 2009, carries information for this retrograde. This is because the Sun at that time was shining a light on the 19-degree path of the Mars' retrograde, from 0° Leo to 19° Leo.

To refresh our memories, there was a Great Eclipse Kick-Off at 29° Cancer on July 22. Less than 24 hours later, the Sun shone on retrograde scenery sparking with eclipse flair.
Among some of the current events around that time were:

Harvard University's Henry Louis Gates "teachable moment" of being arrested for breaking into his own house which led to discussions on racial profiling and a "Beer Summit" at the White House.
Protests in 80 cities worldwide took place in support of Iranian protesters following the disputed presidential election.
In the U.S., Town Halls turned violent around the topic of Health Care.

If you look for a common thread of Mars aggression in each of those extraordinary topics, it's easy to find; rage was in the air. So, what was going on in your life? And what does that have to do with now, while Mars is traveling the degree now where the Leo Sun was then?

I was traveling then. I will also be traveling again now. In July I went to Turkey and visited friends. In August I went to the beach with my family. In a couple days I will be flying to the U.S. to see the friends I saw in Turkey and after that I will visit my family. My point is, this Mars retrograde is carrying over the July 22 total eclipse to right now and the next eclipse on New Year's, a Lunar eclipse in Cancer, this will help carry the accentuate the continuity as the Wheel of Fate works the Cancer - Capricorn axis strong.

And speaking of Capricorn, on December 26, Mercury will station retrograde at 21° Capricorn and being Saturn ruled, this will connect us to the Saturn station retrograde on January 13 and the station direct of Mercury two days later. What this says to me is, to really flourish in our life purposes or our life callings two aspects of this are being highlighted: with whom do we relate (Saturn in Libra) when we are fulfilling our life purpose, and how do we do business within our life purposes (Mercury in Capricorn). We may be finding ourselves going into our past financial records, and creating a new system which will help us relate better and perform better.

There may be former colleagues from another era, or from previous projects who will be calling us. We are going to need to be as financially sensible (Mercury in Capricorn) as we are creative. This will bring us further in our careers. If we want to get a head start, we can review our finances now as that will free us up to express our souls.

Recently, I have been thinking about when Saturn is retrograding, as it will again starting January 13, it may give us a vague overcast feeling that there is not enough time. This is another reason to start preparing finances in advance now. This will help calm our nerves and ease communication in all of our relationships.

To find out how the astrology of 2010 is effecting your chart, send me an email, deirdre@cosmicguidelines.com so I can schedule you in. Looking forward to helping you do what you want to be doing with your life.

On A Packed First House, The Triple Conjunction's Effect On School, Solar Wear 2010 & More

2009-12-15T10:51:00.014+01:00

I got a splash from Tuna asking if I would interview her for the AstroMeme. Having long admired her from afar, I was honored by her request to be interviewed, and pleasantly surprised at her enthusiasm for astrology. What I wasn't prepared for was to hear about her school's mixed-media 2010 Cruise Collection. Enjoy this 5-question interview, between a Pisces and a Tuna.

Deirdre: Please describe for us your ideal boyfriend chart.
Tuna: In fact, we dont survive unless we are spawned when Aquarius is on the ascendant. Personally, I also like Aquarius Sun, Moon in Aquarius, Venus in Aquarius and Mars in Aquarius, too.

Deirdre: Is this exhausting relating to a partner with so many planets in the first house?
Tuna: I suppose so, but we project Leo on the 7th house, so as long as we keep moving, relating is about us. Plus you may not realize it, but there is actually a lot of space between us in a school, our egos fit. Have you noticed our beautiful bodies?

Deirdre: Yes, how could I not, but hey I am the interviewer here, which reminds me, speaking of Aquarius, has the triple conjunction had an impact on your school?
Tuna: Triple conjunction? Oh yeah we merged with another school this year. We are huge! In fact I cant see anything but our school, seems to go forever. We are very afraid of hooks and nets — they can wound our cheeks, suffocate us, kill us even. See, right here on my lip? I got hooked, nearly died. Another Tuna mentioned something about Chiron, but we don't all use Chiron in our charts, that's new for us. But there is one Tuna who keeps ranting on that fixing the Chiron in our charts can alleviate extinction. Most of us freeze with trepidation at the thought of extinction. I think that's what stops most of us from using Chiron in our charts.

Deirdre: Will you be sad when Jupiter leaves Aquarius?
Tuna: Why would I be sad? Enough is enough already. Plus, a friend of mine told me humans will be investing more into oceanography research and clean-up, while Jupiter is in Pisces, which sounds like a smart move to me. This water can be disgusting sometimes!

Deirdre: How do you see the Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Cancer on New Year's Eve 2009 effecting the charts of all Tuna? It will be in all of your 12th houses and 6th houses.
Tuna: Is that right? Okay... 12th house... secrets... 6th house... work... well, I guess I can tell you. We are really busy putting together our 2010 Cruise Collection, called Second Solar Slime. It is an irredescent wearable technology which cleans water triggered to activate when we spawn. The more we spawn, the cleaner the water gets. We've learned to rely on ourselves and have fun on the way.

Thanks for sharing, Tuna.

Alecs summs up 2010, Virgo Men, An Ideal Boyfriend Chart and More

2009-12-11T21:34:00.013+01:00

In response to the AstroMeme, I interviewed Alecs. Alecs, with a natal Venus in Pisces, is a psychic and a palm reader and she has a solid intuitive approach to astrology. Among many qualities I love about Alecs, I love that she calls a spade a spade. I hope you enjoy this 5-question interview.

Deirdre: What is your take on "2012"?
Alecs: That we are moving towards a more spiritual way of life.

Deirdre: Please tell us three strange or maybe little known facts about Virgo men! Alecs: They are ultimately very selfish, suffer from constant superiority/inferiority complex, what you see is not what you get.

Deirdre: If you could design a perfect mate, what Sun, Moon, Venus and Mars signs would you order and why? Alecs: Sun in Leo because although they are tyrants their hearts is in the right place; Moon in Taurus because they would be good lovers; Venus in Libra because they would be fair; Mars in Aries because that's where Mars belongs.

Deirdre: Pluto has been in Capricorn for about a year now - do you think it has it changed the structure of or something basic about your life at all? Alecs: It has finally created the move forward.

Deirdre: Saturn has been in Libra for about 6 weeks now - do you notice a difference in your or your friends approach to relationships in the last 6 weeks? Alecs: Everyone is thinking commitment.

Thanks Alecs!

Tending the Pre-Solstice Fire

2009-12-05T14:23:00.017+01:00

It's dark over here where I am in Hamburg Germany. It only takes about an hour to get to Denmark from here, so it's dark and every day is still getting darker. We have candle light breakfast, lunch and dinner. The sun never rises over the house across the street. It seems to rain every day. Last week, during some nice Venus transits, I designed a calendar with images I have done recently. I have painted so many flowers this year, that it was easy to figure out the spring and summer months. But when I got to November I was stumped. November in Hamburg is the month everyone here fears all year. There can be a beautiful day in the summer and you can say to someone, "Isn't it a beautiful day?" And almost always they respond with something like, "Take it in while you can - you wont be seeing this in November." So I went through my sketchbooks, found this cat I had drawn in black line, scanned her, and colored her in. Finally to get the feeling of November in Hamburg, I surrounded the cat with darkness. Now she is in her private and cozy black hole. How pale she will be in Spring.

But now it's December and we are working our way out of the November black hole to the Northern Solstice at quite a fast clip. While Mars will soon retrograde, it's important to take stock on what we want. What I notice when Mars retrogrades is that projects can get put on hold, extended, our flame (Leo) can dim and the pace may slow down. If we don't keep our eyes on the prize, it can be easy for distractions to get in our way. Mars will be stationing retrograde on December 20, the day before the Solstice.

Regarding the Solstice, the theme is Relationship and taking responsibility for our success in this realm. Saturn is the ruler of the Solstice, still in square to Pluto and now Juno is opposing. These are tough conditions for a workhorse, leaving not much room for checking out. We may feel that time is running out. The challenge will be not to collapse into emotions. The solution is to think and be like an Aquarian as much as we can. The moon in Aquarius, conjunct the triple conjunction, gives us this signal. Aquarian thinking means to rise above, to distance ourselves from the emotional aspect and to be ready to troubleshoot in a flash - creating solutions for our future.

This weekend, while four planets are in fire signs, we can take some time to sit before the fire and focus once again on what we want.

My illustrated 2010 calendar,
which includes the cat, Miss November, is available here.

A Full Strobe Light Moon

2009-12-01T00:14:00.002+01:00

It seems like this year all the Thanksgivings were at least a little different than previous years. Either the dinner had always been held at a particular home but this year it was at a different home, or last year the person who arrived early was this year the person who departed early, or somehow we were all sitting there with some people we didn't know at all and hadn't expected that.I was thinking this was due the slowing down of Uranus ready to station. If you are Pisces, then you are probably used to the quirky energy of Uranus.

My Gemini friend is taking off for a trip for the Gemini full moon. My Libra friend is definitely noticing discipline required. My Capricorn friend is swamped in work, but that's not new. My Aries friend wants to decorate his office and my other Aries friend is sanding a floor. My Virgo friend still has physical therapy everyday. My Leo Friend got mono. My Aquarius friend played some music on a boat.

At this Uranus station, my impression is the full moon, which directly follows, will light up the Uranian blitz, like a flash or a strobe. Those kinds of photos are often interesting, funny but not necessarily becoming.

Sagittarian Nouveau Royalty & Flashy Golden Roots.

2009-11-22T08:14:00.021+01:00

When I started this cut flower series a few months ago, I was always thinking, How are these flowers living? But with the reoccurring element, the reference of a typewriter eraser in a psychadelic way, just as a reference that we can play Let's Make Believe, I think the flowers are living from that.

My initial idea was a kind of scientific botanical reference, a bit like they have donated their imaginary bodies to science, or art. When the composition became slightly symmetrical a Tyrolian / East European edge added a new layer to the botanical perspective. Meanwhile this series started at the height of Saturn-Uranus opposition, like Peter Max balancing Thoreau.

With imaginary botany, you can have mixed leaves on stems, a huge magnolia bud blooming from a colored jade plant, some princess elements and greens. Saturn still in Virgo at the time, the structure aims for perfect edging, resisting bouquet. Then Saturn squared Pluto. It became unavoidable to address what happens below the dirt line, and thus it was time to address the roots.
The life giving typewriter eraser morphed into a golden cornflower anyway, shimmering like nouveau royalty, and thus the idea of flashy, golden roots.

Acrylic on acid-free archival paper.
Sizes vary: 30 x 22 inches (76 x 56 cm); 26 x 41 inches (104 x 66cm).
Available for purchase.

Venus Squares Mars, And Keeps Aspecting - Like Cactus Flower

2009-11-18T22:21:00.009+01:00

A flurry of Venus activity kicks off tomorrow morning when Venus squares Mars in the early morning hours and may be like the feeling of the movies Cactus Flower, where the love subtitles are coming in sideways and the triangles are flying. Next week the vibe continues as Venus squares the triple conjunction - Monday Wednesday & Friday (Jupiter, Chiron & Neptune) with a trine to Uranus on Thanksgiving Thursday. Enjoy the show and see if you can find the Goldi Hawn, the Walther Matthau and the Ingrid Bergman in your local get-togethers during the next seven days - in other words, for best results, detach!

My Saturn Square Pluto Fantasy: School Bus Graphics for Michelle Obama

2009-11-16T07:04:00.007+01:00

JUST as Saturn was in precise square to Pluto on Sunday, I went in to a deep sleep afternoon nap (and I never nap) and dreamed that I was on a team designing graphics for Michelle Obama's cell phone. She specifically looked at me and said, "You're definitely doing the school bus." I was so happy and proud and psyched when I woke up. Such can be the fantasies of proud natal Venus and Mars in Capricorn.

I am wondering if anyone else felt an overwhelming wave of tiredness when the Saturn-Pluto square was exact. I felt something similar on September 15 when the outer planets Saturn and Uranus were in exact opposition, too.

Has anything mysterious happend to you today? Its the New Moon in Scorpio. My Gemini friend found some mysterious writing on her bathroom mirror saying hello to her today. This took her by surprise and scared her, like Scorpio spooky. My Libra friend has done some research on kissing over the internet. Topics like these may generate some deep, philosophical exploring into ourselves over the next couple of weeks as Scorpio season culminates and comes to an end and Sagittarius bursts onto the scene.

Notes on The Taste of Cardinal Up a Notch

2009-11-12T12:25:00.007+01:00

In a few hours, the Moon will enter the sign Libra. Normally I love being on Earth when Moon is in Libra, relating is so pleasant. I wonder how it will be today as Moon is greeted at the door by Saturn and squares Pluto. Well, we will soon see. Moon enters Libra at 6:23 pm in Hamburg; 12:23 midday in New York.

The last time Moon and Saturn were conjunct in Libra it was 1982 - and at that time Saturn and Pluto were conjunct in Libra. I was in my last year of art school and pretty darn nervous about life after art school and the future after that.

Above is a diagram of today's basic planets plus the Sun and Moon just as the Moon ingresses Libra. I set this chart up as a natural chart, which means 0° Aries is on the ascendant, or where 9:00 is located on a clock. This chart is so pure: Pluto is at Noon, Saturn and Moon are at 3:00.

The advice today, take action and mind The Golden Rule.

Regenerational Potential at the Cellular Level: A Note on the transit Pluto opposed Mars, or if you have Mars around 3° Cancer, this transit is now.

2009-11-11T16:46:00.009+01:00

If you or someone you know has Mars at around 3° Cancer, then this post is dedicated to you.

When Pluto opposes Mars in our natal charts, a wave of energy may have been building up, perhaps our whole lives even, which may seem to involve sorting out deep psychological issues in our closest relationships. Pluto brings us in contact with our deepest psychological issues, Mars activates aggression, whether active or passive, and in an opposition, these issues are active in our closest relationships.

One thing which is important to remember is, this is no time to work things out alone, no matter how difficult it is to work with other people, that is the whole point. Because both Pluto and Mars are rulers of Scorpio, this means we are sorting out our common resources. Mixed in may be a deeply psychological, secretive and sexual vibration. The best way to use this time is to accomplish a lot and make sweeping changes in our lives. The ideal is to include everyone – our whole "family" system. This energy is best used as a group so that no one feels singularly dominated against, or threatened, because when this much energy is in the dynamic, people may feel threatened or paranoid.

With natal Mars is at 3° Cancer, the first two of the three passes of this are already in the past. The first pass was earlier this year, building up starting in January 2009 and the apex was around mid-March 2009. Then there was another wave right at the end of April and the beginning of May 2009. Although the first two passes may have been shocking or abrupt, this last pass is all about effectiveness, now as Saturn is making a square to Pluto simultaneously. For the first two passes, there was no Saturn square, and now that there is, the element of karma is bringing our most pressing issues to the foreground.

Any group or relationship that we are involved with now has the potential to become a completely different entity. In the ideal world this can be the revolution that puts a halt to the non-functioning parts of the group dynamic, and converts the common psychology to the highest vibration. Each person in the group is able to change deeply into every cell of their body, into the nucleus of their cells which can activate new DNA expressions.

The biggest challenge may be for us to know that in the end, in the very end, we (I mean the persons with Mars at 3° Cancer) will be acknowledged as the leader of a revolution. When Pluto opposes Mars, we are the alchemist, changing not only lead to gold, but also turning lead weight into golden opportunities.

Saturn Square Pluto: Tread Lightly

2009-11-09T12:24:00.007+01:00

I remember in the 7th grade, it wasnt until the Vietnam War ended, that I realized it had been going on my whole life. Seeing pictures of guys fighting in the jungle, first in black and white, then in color, was a constant. I remember feeling a new, lighter potential in the landscape at that time - the protesting could finally stop. A few years later in the 11th grade we were studying the Vietnam War. I remember my history teacher saying, "We really missed the boat with Ho Chi Minh". In a 1967 interview with The Miami News and The Arkansas Gazette, Ho Chi Minh had this to say about Americans: "I don't understand how they can support their involvement in this war. Is the Statue of Liberty standing on her head?" His point was that The United States is made of colonies who gained independence in a revolution.

When I took a look at the chart for the end of the Vietnam War, a familiar Cardinal Cross popped into view. Pluto was in Libra at 7° and Saturn was at 13° Cancer. That means the last couple of years before the war ended there was a tight square between Saturn and Pluto. On the day the war ended, Moon was in Capricorn at 4° and Jupiter was in Aries at 10°. Each point of the Cardinal Cross was filled.

This chart seems like a close future relative of today. A Saturn Pluto square is nearly exact as General McChrystal requests 80,000 more troops to be sent to Afghanistan. The U.S. will probably send 34,000? Also as there was a tragedy at Fort Hood last week, aggression turned inward within the US Military on US soil with 13 dead and many wounded.

The advice this week is for us to tread so lightly. Irreparable damage is always so deeply regretted.

Astrology 2010: Eclipses Sorting Out The Material in Relationships

2009-11-06T18:46:00.014+01:00

To get the current sky organized in my head, I made a diagram of where Pluto, Saturn, Mars and Mercury are for the 12 months. In this diagram, the background space is Pluto in Capricorn like a broad brush. The purple and blue lowest bar is Saturn grounding the structure, the next bar up is Mars activity, and then the top vertical bars are the sign changes of Mercury. The lime green letters mark direct and retrograde movements and the pink symbols on the yellow squares are eclipses.

Mainly what motivated me to make this was thinking about how to prepare for April through July, knowing that Saturn goes back into Virgo and wondering how Mars, having been retrograde, will contribute. After making this diagram, I felt all signs are pointing to the eclipses, which I wasn't expecting.

The first eclipse of 2010, is a solar eclipse on January 15 at 25° Capricorn. This eclipse occurs two days after its Capricorn ruler, Saturn, stations retrograde in Libra on January 13. Mars will still be retrograde too at that time. Mercury will have been retrograde since December 26 and will station direct on January 15, the same day as the eclipse. This is a lot of movement in Capricorn. A Capricorn eclipse on a Capricorn Mercury retrograde just after the Capricorn ruler goes retrograde may suggest that the next authority may step up to take control. Perhaps ideally we can also look at this as what we had previously let others control, this can be a good time for an inner shift.

I noticed that next summer both Mars and Saturn will be in Virgo at the same time. This will give us a lot of harvesting kind of energy to resolve issues that have been hard work for us which may have come about in the Fall of 2007. As well, during the time when Mars and Saturn are both in Virgo, (June 7, 2010 until July 21, 2010) what makes this time period even more significant, is that there are two eclipses occurring as well — the lunar eclipse at 4° Capricorn, and the solar eclipse at 19° Cancer. We can set out intentions now on what we want to resolve and achieve. This is a period when we can create change and when great shifts are possible and will be happening.

Making a diagram like this one above reveals patterns I may not normally see, like that the first three Mercury retrogrades happen in earth signs and more uniquely, Mercury stays in that same sign for the stations. This seems to put a lof of emphasis on material, as does the much broader picture with Pluto in Capricorn being squared by Saturn.

Last years big eclipse in July was at 29° Cancer creating changes we have experienced in our emotions, with our families and in our homes. With such an emphasis on Earth in 2010 we may now look at resolving emotional issues in a more literal and material way looking at banking, finances and our possessions and all that we will be bringing into our Libran relationships in the future.

In Honor of Neptune: Sherri Bustad, American Painter in Greece

2009-11-01T22:37:00.037+01:00

In honor of the planet Neptune (because it is stationing forward in a few days) I decided to post this painting by Sherri Bustad, because the way she lives and paints is very Neptunian. On the day she was born, Neptune was conjunct the North Node in Libra in her 2nd house. Sherri grew up in the middle of the United States and did not see any ocean until she was 19 (the North Node return) when she went to California, which is where she began to paint. Sherri now lives on the Greek island, Naxos, in the middle of the Aegean Sea. She moved to this island so she could look out onto the sea and get her inspiration.

Sherri is a Gemini and her sun is in the 9th house. She lives far from the United States of America, where she was born. Mercury, the ruler of Gemini and her Virgo ascendant, is also in the 9th house. Sherri gets inspiration and feels grounded in foreign natural landscapes. With Mercury in the sign Taurus, before Sherri begins a new body of work, she rearranges her work space to reflect and organize her thoughts. Then, with the square coming from Uranus to Neptune, the image comes in a surprising flash. Sherri paints totally from her imagination.
Before she starts a painting, Sherri already has the image in her mind and then begins layering color until the image reveals what she has seen. This is a very Neptunian act. Neptune is conjunct Sherri's North Node - her life purpose is to create concrete manifestations of her imagination in a Scorpio way, which means reaching deeply into emotions. Neptune is not just about a pretty picture; Neptune is divine inspiration.

Whereas Sherri's life purpose is around expressing divine inspiration channeled from her imagination, her past life may have been more superficial, as Venus is conjunct the South Node. Earlier in this life, Sherri was a model as well as an interior designer. Jupiter is conjunct Moon in the tasteful and aesthetic sign Libra in her 2nd house - the 2nd house shows talents. Putting together fashion and arranging spaces is something that comes very naturally to Sherri, but painting is her life purpose.

Perhaps the most powerful aspect in Sherri's astrological chart, is the position of Chiron, which is retrograde and trining her Jupiter and Moon. A retrograde Chiron in the 6th is the sign of the master healer, and Chiron in positive aspect to Jupiter is healing with a good vibe. I have experienced this placement with my shiatsu massage therapist in Baltimore and now Sherri.
If you feel drawn to Sherri's work, you would probably benefit deeply from having her work in your life. This is the due the placement of the 6th house Chiron retrograde. Sherry attracts her clients magnetically (the nodes have a magnetic quality as do natal placements of retrograde planets). Many of Sherri's clients claim they have powerful experiences through the energy of the images — which serve as a kind of energetic mirror to reflect the soul. To me this makes perfect sense — clearly Sherri is channeling the divine, with a good vibration in the beautiful Greek landscape where she has made her home. To see more of Sherri Bustad's paintings see this site or contact her directly: sab3 - at - otenet.gr

Photos: Sherri Bustad

Chiron and Neptune Station in the Same Week

2009-10-31T14:47:00.007+01:00

The root of the word Utopia is based on the Greek ou "not" + topos "place. This is a word invented by Thomas More in the year 1516 and it became the title of his book about an imaginary island, the home of a perfect and ultimately unreachable society. This is like Neptune and Chiron stationing forward in the same week, emphasizing our longing for that which feels nearly imposssible to heal or obtain - knowing that - and trying anyway.

Walking Home From "Saturn in Virgo"

2009-10-30T00:02:00.007+01:00

With Saturn in Virgo behind them, and the advantage of wind at their backs, the couple continued on their journey into the future, stepping over the threshold of Libra. Both of their minds are on their futures, their jobs, where they will live, and they hope to be together as often as they can - yet all the issues are so important, putting positive pressure are on all sides. The last years beginning to disappear like even a well-crafted movie can.

In France They Kiss On Main Street

2009-10-29T01:11:00.005+01:00

Isn't it a kind of over the top Moon in Pisces? This partially means being really sentimental and collapsing into music without even being self conscious about being pathetic. I called a friend tonight who spontaneously flexibly had time and we sat in the living room and played old Joni Mitchell records. If you like this kind of thing it can continue well into Thursday. It got me thinking about all the concerts I want to go to, go to church, mingle, be invisible and reach out all over the world and get my feet massaged.

It's a party for Saturn who got a job at a company he finally likes - Libra - and the first day of work starts in 17 hours.

Photo: Ed Hahn

Moon in Capricorn, Good for Outlines

2009-10-26T20:44:00.005+01:00

STILL working on that painting, in the stuckness. Then yesterday, as the moon passed over my natal Mars, Ceres and Venus, I had the idea to outline EVERYTHING in pale lime green chalky pastel. This particular pastel really bit into the orange and lavender and green thing going on and damn if things aren’t looking up.

The Solstice Derby: A Run for Our Lives

2009-10-25T07:02:00.011+01:00

Saturn is still at 29° Virgo and will be there until Thursday night. The Sabian Symbol for this degree is "Virgo 30:Having an urgent task to complete, a man doesn't look to any distractions." If we think about a race horse going for the goal of winning a race, the blinders are used to prevent the horse from getting the bigger picture, to avoid being influenced from the energy of the crowd. For the next four days, we may want to apply some tunnel vision to our most important projects.

Moon will have been in Capricorn all weekend until today when it ingresses Aquarius at 3:08 pm in New York. Later tonight, Sunday, at 8:42 pm is the waxing quarter moon in Aquarius. This is the moment when Moon makes a closing square to the Sun. To refer back to racing, this is the last bend, a goal is now in sight. At this moment too, the US congress' health plan has been completely exposed and a level playing field is being discussed. As moon stays in Aquarius all Monday and Tuesday both chambers work on combining versions within versions of the health care legislation, this is the goal.

On Tuesday, Moon will finish passing the triple conjunction when it conjuncts Neptune in Aquarius at 2:11 pm. Overnight Tuesday, Moon will enter Pisces. Both Moon in Aquarius and Pisces are favorable for getting an optimum Public Option onto the level playing field. On Tuesday Evening, Moon, Mercury and Saturn will all be at 29 degrees, deepening the feeling of time standing still, or "void of course".

By Wednesday morning, Moon will have ingressed Pisces, and Mercury will have ingressed Scorpio. Moon will be trine Mercury in a water sign and both will sextle Pluto at 1° Capriorn. Deep in our guts, and based on a deep and authentic emotional honesty, we will all know exactly what we want. Just before 5pm, Moon will trine Ceres, which speaks of a deep nurturing healing. On this evening at 9:01 pm, Venus in Libra trines Jupiter in Aquarius, which speaks of a great and respectful generosity toward each other as humans.

On Thursday at 12:09 midday in New York, Saturn will ingress Libra. The need for fairness at all levels increases, as in one example, the U.S. attempts to reform healthcare. Saturn will leave Libra on October 5, 2012. This is the time to implement fair solutions in all of our lives on both personal and public levels.

President Obama still hopes to have a final bill to sign by Christmas which is about a sextile away in time from now. This tells me to look at the chart of the Winter Solstice on December 21 2009. This is the day when sun enters the sign Capricorn. The environment is similar to this week's astrology. Moon is in Aquarius with the triple conjunction, and Venus makes a closing sextile to Jupiter (related to this week's trine). This to me does show progress based on results made this week. Saturn will have already made the first square to Pluto in November. Sun is moving to conjunct Pluto. We may soon have a nasty scene behind us.

But first things first, and back to the present, which is Saturn still at 29° Virgo. The advice is to look at completing our "urgent tasks" while not looking up for distractions. Where are those blinders?

Feels Like Time Stands Still When Saturn is at 29

2009-10-24T18:28:00.008+02:00

I have been laboring over this painting for the last two weeks. That feels slow and it has been a slow time. I felt the same way when Pluto was at 29° last year at this time, and now this year Saturn is at 29°, the last degree in the sign Virgo. I am so anticipating Saturn's Libra ingress. I want to be in the cardinal energy now - in the future. As I stand back and look at this painting, it feels very much like I am wearing the blinders of of my present and past trying to break through to the future. The subject is two, looks like a beginning, a bit closed still - but opening, I admit - serious with the wish to be perfect.

This Thursday at 1:12 pm EST, Father Time, Saturn, will carefully close the gate and turn the latch at 29° Virgo and enter the pretty and new landscape of Libra. Then on Saturday which is Halloween, Chiron will station direct. If I were going to have a Halloween party, I would send invitations to all my single friends and tell them what to be. Then when they got to the party they would just happen to be all dressed up like for example, Scrooge, and run into for example, Tiny Tim. I would love to choreograph a whole room full of couples finding their mates, politely discussing equality issues in relationships.

Astrology, Always There For Us (even when it feels like others are not)

2009-10-22T09:34:00.025+02:00

A mother wrote to me about her daughter, Phoebe, who is 12 years old, asking me to do a reading for her. She said Phoebe has just changed schools and has a lot of change going on in general so she was wondering if there is anything I could see that will help support her during this transitional time. I wrote Phoebe's mother back and forth and got more of a sense of the changes. Then we agreed that I would write a horoscope directly to her daughter and this is what I wrote:

Dear Phoebe,
Your mom told me you are settling into a new school, and thought maybe this is a good time to do an astrology reading for you and look into the cosmos to see what is supporting you. What I want to do in this letter is explain some of your chart to you. I am including your chart with a list of the symbols so you can start to get an idea of how your chart is set up. There is a focus on a place in your chart called the 1st house, so I have included the same snapshot of your 1st house four times, so that while you are reading, you look at the picture for reference. I have also included a couple paintings to inspire your imagination.

An Introduction To Your Chart
In general, an astrology chart is a circle and if you imagine, the earth is in the middle and around the circle are the Sun, placed in Pisces where it was when you were born, as well as the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. I also include four asteroids: Pallas, Ceres, Juno and Vesta – because they are goddesses and it’s always nice to have goddess around us : )

Do you see in your chart how a lot of planets are bunched up in one place? Like if the circle was a clock, I mean right around between where 8 o’clock and 9 o’clock are? This is the part of the astrology chart that describes personality, first impressions of us, our physical body and our sense of our own identity.

It is rare to have so many planets squinched together at all, and when it happens, it emphasizes an area of life very much. As I explained, the area where all these planets are is about your personality your body and your identity. I have seen some charts where people have planets bunched up like this but in a different part of their chart - it could be about money, or food, or animals, or houses or books, but in your chart it is about your personality, your body and your sense of who you are.

This is why I have taken some time to write especially to YOU about this – because I think that you, Phoebe, can get a lot of understanding from astrology and it can be one of many tools to help you understand the wonderful mysteries of yourself.

What it means to have SO MANY planets where you do, Phoebe, is there is a LOT of Phoebe to discover, cherish, protect and honor! I mean for you, your personality has many, many levels, and a lot of depth. It may be helpful for you to know that with a chart like yours this could give you a natural sense of your uniqueness which other people do not have and helps you to always in your life develop a very unique Phoebe “Signature”. I want to emphasize it doesn’t make you more special than anyone else. I say this because we are all special – and it is a burden to think in terms of special, but I want you to know that a talent you may well have is that you have a very unique sense of style of being a person.

Each of the planets in the bunched up area have such different characteristics, and they are in the area of the chart which describes you. You have a lot of tools that you can quickly whip out when you need them – beauty, intelligence, humor, artistic-ness, creativity, compassion, story telling, general zaniness and more – I am sure you could surprise me, other people and even your self with all the tools you have at hand!

Phoebe’s Stellium of Planets in the 1st House
I will try to describe what I mean. I will list all the planets which are bunched up and describe how they can add to your sense of who you are. It’s a grab bag, but in this case you get all the bags. The word we use in astrology when all the planets are bunched up is called a Stellium. And the place where this is placed in your chart is called the 1st house. So the effect is a very sparkling personality.

Pallas Athena
At the moment you were born, the goddess asteroid Pallas Athena was right at the most sensitive part in your chart, called the Ascendant. What this means in astrology is, that you may give the impression to other people that you have the characteristics of this goddess. Who was Pallas Athena you might want to know? Well, she was a very strong, intelligent and very beautiful woman. She always had a Strategy for everything – for her life as well as for her thoughts, creativity and artwork. She had a special talent to see patterns – visual patterns as well as people’s patterns. Where this is in your chart means other people might see this in you better than you can see it in your self. Another very magical part of Pallas Athena is when she was born she was in a complete set of armor. If we look at the poetry in this it means she was born being able to defend herself. But again, just from the astrology perspective, other people may be able to see this better than you. The reason I write this is there may be times in your life when people see you as stronger than themselves (you may not know or disagree) and they might think you have the power in the situation. You may or may not know! The positive part of this is you have reserves of strength available to you in your life. You can nurture your ancient ability to defend yourself not just by learning self defense like martial arts, but also with crafts because Pallas Athena is also the goddess of weaving and metal work. If you were ever able to take a class in weaving I think you might feel very, very good. Probably in many past lives you were a master weaver, so this can be a way to tune into the lineage of you self confidence in your ancient past – even if its making potholders on a small loom or luxurious fabric on a big jacquard loom, either way, the thought involved (over... Under... Over... Under...) in this kind of creating could be very peaceful meditative and powerful for you.

With metalworking there is jewelry making, sculpture – or even stained glass because of the soldering involved in the metal around the edges. Anytime you can take a class or learn any of these skills from anyone I think it might be very fulfilling, good for self confidence and at the very least, very interesting for you. Plus it’s always good for us to make contact with all the selfconfidence we have built from past lives because this makes us strong – and in your case as strong as people see you anyway.

I am sure you know this already, Phoebe, but this is a very important time now in your life for you with all the arts, and creativity. I am curious what you like doing the best – dance? Watercolors? Writing poetry? I would love to know.

So far I have only mentioned the first asteroid goddess, Pallas Athena, in that bunched up area of planets. There are seven more! What a chart, Phoebe! Well here are some short meanings of the other planets whose energies you embody with your body and personality so beautifully:

With Neptune in your 1st house you may embody a dreamy romantic quality about you. Participating in something like dance, ballet, art, film, acting, music and poetry may feel very good for you. With Uranus in your 1st house you may enjoy being quirky, innovative inventor-ess who doesnt mind being a freak : ) With Jupiter in your 1st house you may be able to get very excited about stuff! you may be able to spread a lot of enthusiasm and tell and write terrific stories. With asteroid goddess Ceres in your 1st house you may well have the wish and talent to nurture other people. With Mercury in your 1st house you may have the talent to self reflect. With asteroid goddess Vesta - and this is a nice one – you have talent to be devoted to yourself. This is especially good for a Pisces. Pisces can be so dreamy, and give too much away to other people, but we can also use our thoughts and ideas in a creative way to stay strong in ourselves, too. The last planet in this bunched up pile-up is Venus and this give you charm and beauty – your long, elegant, slender proportions and your innovative sense of style. So those are the eight heavenly bodies in your Stellium in your 1st house which you can always learn a lot from. You can read about these planets and get endless inspiration.

So Many Planets in Aquarius!!!
There is always a lot to say about a chart but before I end this letter I want to talk about the sign Aquarius. You know you are a Pisces, Phoebe, but all of these planets which (except Pallas Athena and Neptune which are in Capricorn, as is your ascendant and your Mom’s moon) I spoke about are in the sign Aquarius. You can see this in your chart (6 times) because Aquarius is the symbol in pink that looks like two wavy lines. When someone is a Pisces and has planets in Aquarius, this is very helpful because it can give you another opinion besides a Pisces emotional opinion – it can help you be even more reasonable and make decisions with even more intelligence. What is also very important about Aquarius is friends and belonging to a group. So, all in all, about your Stellium in Aquarius in the 1st house, you may find in your life that you can belong in different groups and cliques and circles of friends and people – with nerds or with cool people or in churches, mosques or spiritual circles – even the grocery store — wherever you go, you may easily find a group where you can identify with at least some part of that group and where you can contribute to that group with your usual flair!

Well Phoebe, that is all for now. If you ever have any questions about your chart, feel free to write me!
All the best for you,
Deirdre

(The name in this chart was changed to protect her privacy.
The first painting is by Gustav Klimt, painted in the year 1898.

The second painting is by Rembrandt, painted in the year 1665)

Would you like to give an astrology reading to a friend as a gift? I have gift certificates available for such occasions as: the birth chart of a new baby, the birthday chart for grown ups featuring Whats Ahead, a written horoscope to empower the self esteem of teenage girls - possibly i.e. for a bat mitzvah or coming of age, or just your average What the heck is happening now and how can I let more of the good times roll in? Contact me deirdre@cosmicguidelines.com and I will schedule a reading with me for you.

Venus conjuncts Pallas: Beauty Strategy

2009-10-20T09:34:00.008+02:00

Around the corner from where I live is a dressmaker's shop which has such dreamy windows. Inside are very serious dressmakers working so concentratedly. They never wave. Every time I walk past this shop, which is a lot because it's two stores before the bakery, I always look in but try not to catch eye contact because it's awkward! I am such an American hillbilly in this way, and Germans tend to follow the rule "Only Say Hi To People You Already Know".

This speaks to me of the cusp between Libra and Scorpio. Libra is a social sign and highly influenced by aesthetics, too. Scorpio has a thing about eye contact, like if you are going to have it, you better win.

Sun will remain in dressmaking Libra until this Friday, so we have a few more days to catch the Libra dress for beauty success vibe, especially tomorrow, when Venus conjuncts Pallas at 8° degrees Libra. Venus in Libra can help us have better taste than usual and Pallas can help us with the strategy. Notice the weave of the fabric and how it drapes on your body. What jewelry matches to give us that cool and strong appearance. Late this evening Moon goes into Sagittarius. Tomorrow, Wednesday, the Sagittarian moon will sextile the Venus-Pallas conjunction. It will be a great day to spontaneously (Sagittarius) drop into a favorite dress shop (Libra) and see whats on the rack. If it looks fantastic, get it, because if you don't buy it, someone else will!

Would you like to give an astrology reading to a friend as a gift? I have gift certificates available for such occasions as: the birth chart of a new baby, the birthday chart for grown ups featuring Whats Ahead, a written horoscope to empower the self esteem of teenage girls - possibly i.e. for a bat mitzvah or coming of age, or just your average What the heck is happening now and how can I let more of the good times roll in? Contact me deirdre@cosmicguidelines.com and I will make a reading available to you.

Farewell, Mars in Cancer, See You August 3, 2011

2009-10-15T15:49:00.013+02:00

Mars, the planets that helps us get in and out of bed, over to the gym and fight for our right to party is changing signs and pumping up the volume tomorrow, and especially if you are a Leo, I think you will certainly notice, because Mars is going into your sign until June. We can be thinking of the way this will be playing out in three acts:

Act I - October 16 - Dec 19 - Full speed ahead!
Act II - December 19 - March 9, 2010 - Slow, Moe!
Act III - Mar 10 - June 6 - Go for Gold to the Finish!

In the mean time we can spend today feeling sentimental with Mars at the 29° water's edge. Also, Venus is now at 1° Libra, the square to Pluto is beyond peak and separating. It was a very active few days recently, wasnt it? Today I found this drawing I had done a while ago but it seemed to express today. There is that feeling of going to the beach at night and wanting to solve all the worlds problems. With Venus square Pluto what's in her bag? Why is she giving a gold coin to a bird? That's a Venus - Pluto mystery, a triangle with the fish. Off in the distance a sail boat reminds us that journeys begin and end. This woman has joy in her step dancing with her gold coin, nature and the stars.

You can read more on what I wrote about Mars' upcoming adventure in Leo. The first post describes the retrograde period, and the second post makes a connection between what happend for us in August 2009 and how it shows some foreshadowing of the coming Mars in Leo season. retrograde.

Painting Red for Venus and Pluto

2009-10-14T01:20:00.003+02:00

Series 5 Cadmium Red is very good at getting to Pluto. Even better, scan in and pump up settings until even a flower gets blood pressure. This makes me realize thick, opaque and more is better. Moon is in Leo, Venus has not yet peaked squaring Pluto. Mercury leaves his shadow this morning at 2:14 am New York Time.

Venus Freaks Silently

2009-10-12T15:28:00.003+02:00

I made some Venus guidelines for this week's freak out, in case you are freaking out. If we can just hold out till the New Moon in Libra on Sunday and not freak, but maybe that's impossible. Venus is conjuncting Saturn. My Gemini friend had to endure a relationship talk with out any wine and she was miserable. My Libra friend is boiling to get the house in her name. My Taurus friend wrote the world's most beautiful love letter. My Pisces friend wont turn on her cell and her Aries Sun Gemini Moon boyfriend is going ballistic. We are craving Form and Function! Can't we all just function reasonably ask Venus and Saturn deep in the heart of Virgo-ville. But we dont just want tidy structure damit, we will die for a titanium Yes. Dont just like my paintings, love them says the artist who is suffering for her commisioner. Die, I say, as Venus goes on to square Pluto otherwise known as Hades. Hades had a hat that could make him turn invisible. And that's good enough reason to freak. But will he find out?

Up on the Horizon: Saturn in Libra

2009-10-10T11:57:00.007+02:00

A new gigantic ring brought our attention to Saturn last week, just as Saturn is about to enter Libra on October 29, 2009. Saturn will make a brief visit to Virgo again this coming Spring from April 7, until July 2010, after which Saturn will stay in Libra until October 4, 2012, and then it will enter Scorpio.

Libra is a sign ruled by Venus and has to do with relating, looking nice, and being pleasant as well as avoiding conflict, a dislike of solitariness, and sometimes a not saying or not knowing one's point of view. Because Saturn is exhalted in Libra, Saturn will be able to function optimally in this environment for the next few years. This speaks of a new phase of clarity and justice in our relationships which could lead us to our ultimate relational tasks, of taking responsibility for how we relate. The new giant ring triggered my imagination and I saw a wedding ring - a giant wedding ring, one that symbolizes taking responsibility for the space we energize, no showing off here.

This week, Tuesday, October 13th, is astrologically eventful. At 6:34 in the morning Central European Time, Jupiter will finally move his big body forward in Aquarius after having been stationary since June 15. The Winds of Aquarius are now energizing us as a tribe, suggesting we look out for the little guy and the odd man out and strive for innovative solutions in our future.

Later on the same day, at 12:51 pm, Venus will conjunct Saturn at 28° Virgo. Today the advice around money and friends is to remember that fears can block out love and to label the glass half full. This is the day before the last day of Mercury's retrograde shadow period. We may get an important message that has to do with an unfinished topic that has been hanging since August or September.

Late Wednesday night actually just after midnight, Venus will enter Libra, a place where Venus loves to be. We can think of Venus as opening up Libra for the Saturn season.

During the two years that Saturn is in Libra, whenever Venus goes into Capricorn, Saturn and Venus will be in mutual reception. These may be times when we will find it easier than usual to define the forms of our relationships and we may want to remind ourselves of the giant ring around Saturn, the one about taking responsibility for the space we energize.

Venus will next be in Capricorn from December 25, 2009 until January 18, 2010.

To Heck With The Vase of Bondage by Deirdre Tanton

2009-09-08T09:37:00.005+02:00

I started painting again. I go in and out of phases of being more like a graphic designer, more like an illustrator and in the last few years sometimes the most like an astrologer. But when I was in the U.S. this time I got really inspired to paint which I hadn't done since the early spring when I abandoned a still life.

I kind of remember the problem being a lack of turquoise, my all time ever favorite color. So last Saturday I stocked up. I thought, if it was the turquoise that stopped me, let that never happen again. As I was spreading out everything to paint I found the abandoned still life about 50% done. My first thought was eek, get this out of my site and then, feeling empowered and confident from the turquoise I decided to reclaim the still-life, gussy it up and color it in. I knew full well, I would not be painting this now, if I hadn't started it in the spring and if I had drawn a new composition this weekend, it surely would have been different, but what?

The original composition was so much about the cut flowers being dutifully crammed in a vase. In the end, I thought, man, to heck with the Vase of Bondage! What I like about the composition is the made-up flower forms with curving stems against a solid graphic background, and so I have found my take-off point for my next series.

If you are wondering about the astrology, I stocked up on the turquoise during the Pisces full moon, which was Friday. During the Aries moon on Saturday and Sunday, I acted on my impulse and painted fast. Mercury stationed to a retrograde on Sunday, which takes messages and turns them inside-out or wet-side-dry or stem-side-up, or something. A Mercury retrograde, from now until October 14, is a great time for finding something unfinished, taking it up again and discovering something about it we didn't know before.

Astrology for my Friends

2009-09-03T12:36:00.004+02:00

On my summer vacation, I stopped in spontaneously to see a couple friends of mine as I was passing through Connecticut. I have known them for a long time and although we have always talked about astrology together, I was thrown off guard when, as we sat down to drinking coffee, I was asked what is going on in the stars. I am not sure if it was because it was a mix of people, only the minority of whom were into astrology, or if I was thrown off guard because I am more used to the privacy of blogging or the intimacy of a doing a reading over the phone or in person one-on-one.

I thought about the grand square in the sky, and I just didn't want to get into it so early on a pretty Saturday morning after not having seen these friends in 20 years. "Well, the Sun has just moved from Leo to Virgo," I said trying to condense all of the stars into a simple, humble moment, starting with just the Sun, so hopefully it wouldn't seem too freaky. My friends quietly waited for more. "So I guess it's time to start bringing in the harvest," I summarized, hoping our astrology talk would end there. I noticed my mind had started to click into astrology, but I hoped I wouldn't keep talking. I think I mentioned something vaguely about how we are coming upon a "period of unrest" and how the astrology from the mid to late 60's is currently activated, and then I left it at that.

Since then, I have spoken with another friend, who reminded me that while reading what I write about astrology may be interesting to read, the subject's technicalities are removed from her everyday life, and it is like reading about car engines, and I could definitely understand.

What brought me originally into astrology, was the sense of compassion I learned and felt when looking at another person's birth chart. I noticed in charts of people who had a lot of planets in Virgo that they were very aware of their bodies and health. I remember in college one friend on my floor was particularly sensitive to her body. She knew when she had a migraine or a cyst on her ovary and she felt it acutely. This was my first awareness to people who are very sensitive to their bodies. As I began to do charts and more charts, and I saw peoples charts with lots of Virgo or planets lined up right around where 4 o'clock (the 6th house) lands in a chart. I noticed that those people were very busy in their days and very sensitive to their bodies. I don't mean that they are any sicker or weller than anyone else, just more aware. I also noticed how Virgos who wanted to learn astrology learned it 10 times faster than I.

I was so fascinated that looking at a chart is a way of seeing someone as an individual with their own reality, and this kept me going for years in my study. A few years on I found The Theosophical Society in Boston who at that time met in the back room of a creaky book store in Back Bay. I was in my Saturn return, about 29 years old, and I found myself in a room with old people. Saturn is the planet of wisdom which comes from age. There were astronomers from MIT who were interested in practicing mundane astrology (the astrology of world politics and casting charts for countries) with applied asteroids, which was at that time for me like looking at car engines. It was 1989 - 1990, the beginning of the post-Cold War era; the Berlin Wall had just fallen and soon the states of the former USSR would be over thrown and the Soviet Union would collapse. As the astronomers from the Theosophical Society were putting the charts of the U.S, Germany and the USSR on the overhead projector, I felt an advent of new thinking and a sense of importance being part of the world.

My point is that astrology has taken me from the personal, to the relational dynamic, to the political, and back, inspiring me with the secure feeling of infinite knowledge. I write as a way of harvesting while personal and political opinions heat to a melt. I hope to explain things simpler, to involve a greater audience and to always keep learning myself.

Photos: Virgo as Urania's Muse, one of the cards in the Urania's Mirror deck, drawn by an "unknown lady", 1825; The Fall of the Berlin Wall photographer unknown, both photos courtesy Wikipedia Commons.

Want to know whats happening in your chart? I'd love to tell you.
Contact me: Deirdre at Cosmicguidelines dot com to schedule a reading.

Full Moon in Pisces: The Goddess and the Unicorn by Deirdre Tanton

2009-08-28T09:28:00.023+02:00

As I looked at the chart of the full moon for September 4, 2009, I was struck by a sense of melting and collapsing (Pisces) into an aesthetic world (Ceres and Mercury in Libra sextiling Venus in Leo), like a romantic dream (full moon disposited by the triple conjunction) woven (a Saturn in Virgo structure) in shimmering light. This feeling brought me into the world of tapestries and as I began to look at images from the Hunt of the Unicorn series, I noticed the theme of a woman in gentle embrace with a unicorn.

My sense is that the unicorn symbolizes Pisces imaginary healing energy and the woman symbolizes Virgo as channeler of good health. I thought about the guys in the tapestries freaking out over unicorns because their healing powers were a hot commodity.

"The unicorn is the only fabulous beast that does not seem to have been conceived out of human fears.” writes Marianna Mayer, author of The Unicorn and the Lake. She continues, “In even the earliest references he is fierce yet good, selfless yet solitary, but always mysteriously beautiful. He could be captured only by unfair means, and his single horn was said to neutralize poison."

This full moon in Pisces is at the tip of a yod centered over a sextile from Venus in Leo to Ceres in Libra which says to me Aesthetics, like a beautiful fashion show, flowing, swishing, flashy, pretty and tailored, while backstage and in the tension all around, the grand square tense by contrast to fashion's illusionary beauty. Mercury is barely moving, about to go retrograde on Monday, September 7, which is Labor Day in the U.S. when we pause and honor the Virgo in us all.

In the full moon chart, Sun is conjunct Pallas in Virgo. Pallas Athena was born in full armor and had a spear. She was born with a job which was to protect and bring luck in warfare and for the next couple of weeks this will be our job too.

The symbol I associate with this moon is a goddess embracing and protecting the powers and vulnerability of the unicorn. For the next two weeks in preparation for the new moon in Virgo, while Mercury turns retrograde in Libra, we can re-think how we embrace our own inner beast so sought after in the shadows of the hunt in our lives.

Tapestries courtesy Wikipedia Commons

Want to know whats happening in your chart?
Email me at deirdre@cosmicguidelines.com for a reading.

Fun in the Sun

2009-08-19T06:13:00.003+02:00

New Moon in Leo Thursday, here to remind us to appreciate fun, kids, our own inner kid, recreation and so... have fun.

The Memory of Everything

2009-08-17T01:26:00.004+02:00

The keywords that come up in my mind for today's astrology are:

1. Sun sextile Mars: Activity, motion, and low body fat. 24°
2. Mercury conjunct Saturn: The sober memory of everything. 21°
3. Sun opposed Neptune: An offer which could dissappear. 25°
4. Mars trine Neptune: Uncharacteristically, a double feature. 25°

When Mercury conjuncts Saturn, there is something to learn as in you can take the words and put them in your head. I have noticed in charts where people are born with Mercury conjunct Saturn, that they have extremely good memories. They archive.

With Sun in Leo and Moon in Cancer, this means the Moon is one sign behind and so hidden from the Sun, a 12th house aspect. Sun opposing Neptune is imagination at best. but I would say use the video function on your phone or get out your camcorder and make a movie of the day, its a way to document the illusion to turn it into "The Sober Memory of Everything"

Slip into Your Creative Director Shoes

2009-08-07T09:11:00.009+02:00

It may be hard to know exactly which transit has recently had the most impact on our lives. It could very well be the big Solar Sclipse of July 22, or the Lunar Eclipse from August 6, or all of this with the triple conjunction in Aquarius or that we are in shock at Pluto's being comparatively freshly new in reality-driven Capricorn. Or maybe it has been just one teeny tiny sesquiquadrate between two yet-to-be-discovered dwarf planets. In whatever case, for many of us, even in very subtle ways, our lives have taken on a new cast. We may be looking for a job or struggling to keep a job, we may be starting a new chapter outside of a relationship, or we may feel as if we are in a small row boat way out at sea reeling in a fish that is quite a reel of a project.

On August 10, there will be an exact square between Mars and Saturn. Mars is in Gemini, and Saturn is in Virgo. When two planets are in square, they are trying hard to make something or do (Mars) something which for some reason is not easy — will get done but not without sweat. There is also the feeling in a square of turning a corner, just as in a literal sense when we walk around the corner of a building for the first time in a new city, if we are curious (Gemini) we kind of crane our necks to see what the heck is around the corner of the building, so we keep walking.

When the Mars - Saturn square is exact this Monday, Sun will be in Leo at 19°, the degree on which Mars goes retrograde in December. What I find so important about this Leo Season (specifically July 22 - August 10 the first 19 degrees of Leo), is that it is a small sneak preview into a larger project. This winter we all have a lot of energy to move. Mars will be going retrograde in Leo, which may feel like no energy is moving at all sometimes. This corresponds to normal phases in a project when we can get stuck, need to re-meet, re-group, re-think and take a new strategy.

I think that what we are working on right now, is going to expand like a big accordion, opening space with many compartments. In the winter we will be creating (Mars in Leo) a new creative structure in our lives. If you have a calender, write down what you are doing these days, notice the common threads and be thinking like a fearless, creative, dashing director. If you are not naturally like this, think of a Leo you know who loves to be on stage and be cruise director.

Today as Moon slips into Pisces its a good day to slip into some one's shoes, so pick a Leo and if you don't know any, then pick a creative director from an agency who you admire, or pick a Mom who you admire how she is with her kids or pick an artist who you admire how they work. We can apply this energy to whatever we are trying to work out around the weekend and around the 10th of August. I think this will help for the winter when its cold and we are gathered around the fire wanting progress in creating our lives.

For more details, here is another post around the Mars retrograde.

Brothers and Sisters All Together, Letting Go; Lunar Eclipse by Deirdre Tanton

2009-08-04T12:36:00.009+02:00

What I notice as this week's lunar eclipse nears, is a different clustering among friends and associates. Strange that a lunar eclipse is about letting go, yet new friends are coming in, or friends who have always been meant to be are randomly shoring to the beach, landing on eachother's doorsteps and in eachother email boxes.

This lunar eclipse has a lot to do with letting go of our addictions or habits, whatever they may be. Friends may be coming together to help each other or support each other in this highly sensitive subject where nobody did wrong, it just is.

As Moon in Aquarius can tend to be distant, and intellectualize, it may be a good idea to remember compassion and withhold judgement. When we let go, it can be scarey and for that we stand taller with our brothers and sisters.

Look at this chart. Even if you cannot read a chart, know that the sensitive points are at 12 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock, and 9 o'clock. Planets are moving counter clock-wise, and so we can see that each of the o'clocks, or angles, as they are called in astrology, have a celestial body coming toward them. These angles are the place where the personal is political and vice versa. This is one sign that points loud and clear to: We Need Eachother! This is no time for isolation!

Another sign re-inforcing this coming together as partners within groups is the three planets you see up around 10 o'clock. That's Neptune, Chiron and Jupiter in Aquarius. If you don't understand what this means, just have a party and invite a few Aquariuses and see how the party comes alive, has an edge a vibe and an undertow and becomes unforgettable. Many Aquariuses instinctively know how to get us together. Uranus, the ober über Aquarian planet, is inching toward 0° Aries, (9 o'clock) the ober über most sensitive point on the chart. And Uranus is opposing Saturn, Aquarius's ancient ruler. This explains why tough personal-political issues are creating a festering in the folk.

I think this lunar eclipse is bringing us closer to our next community. During this time we may notice who is around, who is calling, who is showing up, where have we landed and who is missing. As the Saturn - Uranus oppostion tightens during September, lets try to notice what issues are dividing what camps and remember if we were camping on the moon during the eclipse we may see the Earth disappear - and at that point, how silly that the camps were ever divided.

Mercury Dials Up The Triple Conjunction

2009-07-29T19:24:00.011+02:00

On Thursday, July 30, just before 7:00 am Eastern Time, when Mercury opposes Jupiter, Moon in Scorpio will square both sides of the opposition creating a T-square. Seven hours later, when Mercury opposes Chiron, Moon will still be in Scorpio, still creating a T-square. Then early Friday morning, when Mercury opposes Neptune, Moon will have shifted from Scorpio to Sagittarius. When Mercury is involved, you can be sure there will be a lot of talk. And when Moon is in Scorpio I often feel a vibe. For example I can be in a car with my friend, but I may be very aware that my friend owns the car, even if we are laughing and being silly, there is a vibe and an undertow.

My impression of Mercury opposing this triple conjunction, is we have the chance to catch ourselves at telling lies, if we want to. I think this because of the secretive veil Scorpio can cast. As Mercury opposes Jupiter there can be a lot of talk, maybe too much talk, maybe even a fake kind of optimism. As Mercury opposes Chiron someones words may strike a chord. "Ouch!" When we notice what makes us flinch, this is when the moment of awareness opens us up for honesty. We may notice our own addictions and we may notice what we wish were not at the surface of our psychology.

On Friday when Mercury opposes Neptune, twe may sense a kind of fine-tuning to ourselves, to our partners, to our children and our friends. With the moon in Sagittarius, there can be a boisterousness which has a hard time masking lies, and the truth can be set free.

As we go into the weekend, we may feel heartened by our own honesty, when Venus enters Cancer and opposes Pluto. We may want to be with true, deep and honest company, to experience the richness of friendship, love and true connection.

Sign-by-Sign Mantras for the Eclipse

2009-07-21T12:05:00.005+02:00

Here's to security, belonging, care and nurturing during this eclipse for us Earthlings and a mantra for each sign:

ARIES - I belong.

TAURUS - I am understood.

GEMINI - I shine increasing confidence with every breath I take.

CANCER - I have everything I need inside of me already.

LEO - I am all love.

VIRGO - I have friends and community and we are a tribe.

LIBRA - I am important.

SCORPIO - I am weightless, free of heavy burdens.

SAGITTARIUS - I am in the light always (and I learned that in the dark).

CAPRICORN - I am an equal partner, relating to people, they relating to me. I am not alone.

AQUARIUS - I radiate excellent health.

PISCES - I am joyful.

A Sense of Home: Total Solar Eclipse at 29° Cancer July 2009 by Deirdre Tanton

2009-07-15T16:19:00.019+02:00

The second eclipse this summer is a total solar eclipse which will occur on July 21 at 9:35 am Eastern time. This eclipse path will cast a shadow over most of eastern Asia. The path of totality will pass over Gujarat, the western-most state in India, move on to Chengdu, site of 2008's Great Earthquake, later pass over Shanghai and then out over the East China Sea, and over Japan's Ryukyu Islands — a path which spans half of the Earth. This eclipse could last for up to 6 minutes all together which is very long for an eclipse. The next eclipse which will last longer than this one will be in the year 2132. What these specifications tell us is this is a solid eclipse, the kind which in the past has corresponded to major change and events in our lives.

The degree of this eclipse is 29°26 Cancer which corresponds to the 30° Sabian Symbol: "A Daughter of the American Revolution". I find it ironic that Supreme court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, a Puerto Rican American is at this moment getting grilled by Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee at her confirmation hearing. Maureen Dowd, op-ed columnist at the New York Times says it well: "A gaggle of Republican men afraid of extinction couldn't root out any sign that Sonia Sotomayor has emotions that color her views on the law." Novelist Alexander Chee noted: "Nothing reminds me more of what it means to be an American quite like watching a bunch of lesser qualified, old white men try to insist a woman of color is under qualified when she had to be perfect to get even half as far as they did, inside the same institutions."

The Daughters of the American Revolution, an organization based in Washington D.C., originated in 1890, and was founded for women who, as it states on the Daughters of the American Revolution web site "felt the desire to express their patriotic feelings and were frustrated by their exclusion from men's organizations." Admittance into the DAR society is lineage-based for women who can prove they are related to patriots of the American Revolution. This organization was founded after the civil war, when millions of formerly enslaved African Americans were hoping to join mainstream society as full and equal citizens. But Washington still practiced its "southern" segregated society habits condemning some Americans of color to second-class citizenship. Certainly the Daughters of the American Revolution was no place for a black woman, even if she was related to the thousands of black men who served in the revolution as soldiers, guides, messengers and spies.

Although The Daughters of the American Revolution do much good promoting literacy and awarding scholarships, the historic disregard for equality lingers. This is not uncommon to organizations and societies all over the world who still don't come clean around issues of race or creed. I am focussing on The Daughters of the American Revolution, because of the eclipse and its corresponding image in Sabian Symbology.

The degree, 29°26, is the last degree of the sign indicating issues which are or nearly are overdue. Cancer is the sign of patriotism, a sense of home, be it a small apartment or a large country, home is where we feel safe. This Sabian Symbol for 30 Cancer, A Daughter of the American Revolution, provokes us to notice where we belong. Who accepts us whole heartedly and unconditionally? Who offers us our rights stated in the Constitution or Bill of Rights where we live? Where in our lives is it absolutely overdue to maintain a daily sense of safety and for that do we need a revolution?

Photo above: Marian Anderson, world famous contralto and celebrated singer. Photo taken when she was 43 years old in 1940. Photographer: Carl Van Vechten. In 1939 when the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to allow Anderson to perform at Constitution Hall in Washington, D. C., first lady Eleanor Roosevelt resigned her D.A.R. membership. Next Photo: Marian Anderson receives the Spingarn Medal from Eleanor Roosevelt. Silver gelatin print. NAACP Collection, Prints and Photographs Division, photographer un-named.

Leo Season: Initiating Fearless Actions Now for Winter's Mars Retrograde by Deirdre Tanton

2009-07-13T20:08:00.025+02:00

Leo season is coming up and indeed when Sun enters this sign, it does so with dramatic flair. This particular Leo season will radiate greater depth than usual for several reasons:

— Sun enters Leo on the heels of a turning-the-wheel-of-fate solar eclipse on July 22, 2009.
— There will be a lunar eclipse on August 6, 2009.
— But mostly what I am thinking of is that from Fall 2009 to Spring 2010 Mars will be spending seven whole months in the sign Leo as Mars stations retrograde and then forward. We can get a head start now on taking action before the retrograde begins because re-acting works better than acting when Mars appears to be moving backward.

From July 23, 2009 until August 12, 2009, Sun will be passing through the first 19 degrees of Leo, one degree per day as usual. What is so extraordinary about this is that the Sun will be shining on the path Mars will be on from October 17 2009 - May 17 2010. What this means is we can pay close attention to what is going on this summer and align our intentions because the first 19 days of Leo can hold a microcosm or framework regarding the Mars retrograde. This is why I am writing about the Mars retrograde now, because fixed energy like Leo, is conducive to planning a pounce, the way a cat does so still until she has found her line of attack.

Although the sky is packed with rare events this summer, like the eclipses and the triple conjunction of Jupiter, Chiron and Neptune in Aquarius, there is no Mercury retrograde activity until August 18, when Mercury will enter the shadow of its retrograde. Cosmically there is clarity for us to imagine what creative actions we want to be accomplishing this coming Fall through Spring.

Just to compare, the last Mars retrograde period spanned from September 16, 2007 until April 4, 2008. As Mars dipped from Gemini into Cancer at that time, many people may have been concerned with family and housing issues. Some people moved far across the ocean during that time; others tried to. This year, as Mars passes through the degrees of its '07 - '08 retrograde, we may get some recall on some issues, and again we may work on them again during this coming retrograde. The upcoming Mars retrograde season will be solely involved with the sign Leo. Mars in Leo is about taking fearless, creative action. Mars enters its shadow on October 19, 2009 at 0° Leo and stations retrograde on December 20, 2009, at 19° Leo. As I said, it's much better to initiate actions now, compared to on December 20 when Mars may seem inside-out and backstage.

At this station, Mars will be opposed the triple conjunction. Actually, it will be a quadruple conjunction, because Moon will be there too -- at 13° -- which is the same degree as this next lunar eclipse on August 6, 2009, a clear link between the lunar eclipse and the mars retrograde.

There may be some issues around where we belong, if at all, in a group whether it be friends or family. I think this trigger will add more insight into how the Chiron - Jupiter - Neptune conjunction is playing out in our lives. Mars will station forward on March 10, 2010. MEOW! And when Mars leaves its retrograde shadow on May 17 2010, the triple conjunction will be astrological history, Jupiter will have left Aquarius and will now be conjunct Uranus in Pisces. Now that's a Lion of a different color.

A conjunction of Uranus and Jupiter is innovative, suggestive of an optimistic, forward thin king collective movement. It is as if Jupiter moves from the triple conjunction to resolve the Mars retrograde and the eclipses with Uranus in Pisces.

I will give you an example of how this can play out: If we take the sign Aries as an example, the Mars retrograde will be in their solar 5th house, which means this winter they may dealing with issues around children, and or creative projects. For Aries, their solar 11th house is Aquarius, where the lunar eclipse this August will fall, and where the quadruple conjunction will oppose Mars as it retrogrades in December. Because Chiron and Neptune are involved, a friendship issue, fitting into a group, or a reversal in the feeling of obtainable goals may come to the fore as Mars in Leo is saying MEOW at the retrograde station. When Mars leaves its shadow in May 2010, Jupiter and Uranus will be conjunct in Aries' solar 12th house, an optimistic kind of energy in the house of spiritual psychology. Group therapy or a new kind of therapy may have extremely positive effects on the original 5th house issue. This is a great chance for Aries to bring creative projects into the collective.

As Leo season is fast approaching we can all get a headstart planting creative seeds now which will come to fruition in the spring.

UPDATE: DECEMBER 18, 2009

Other Posts I have written on Mars Retrograde

Here & here.

Leo Flag Design: Deirdre Tanton
Photographs Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons;
Illustration of The Cowardly Lion
by W.W. Denslow who died in 1915

Sunday the Sun; Monday the Moon

2009-06-18T11:46:00.008+02:00

When a season changes from one to the next, the sun is passing over the angles of all of astrology. If you are an astrologer, have you ever met someone whose Sun is conjunct your Nadir? to translate this into non-astrology language, have you ever met someone where food, nurturing and a kind of parental taking care of each other came to light? This is the feeling of the northern solstice: when Sun meets the northern angle, security become a priority as does nourishment. Issues of parenting arise. What makes the solstices since 2008 so powerful is that Pluto is sitting on the southern angle. With Sun opposing Pluto, a reminder for the first day of summer is to be aware of our own powers and resources and to own them as they are the root of our security.

When the sun passes from Gemini to Cancer, this is the moment summer in the northern hemisphere begins. The climate changes from conceptual experience to nurturing safety, like the difference between analyzing a conceptual composition of the painter Morandi, to collapsing into comfort in the domestic still lives of Cezanne. This pair of paintings came to my mind as I thought of think of the change of seasons. As well, both paintings are constructed from clear lighting. Shadow, like in the Pluto opposition, is not denied.

On this year's solstice Sunday, Sun is conjunct asteroid Vesta both at 0° Cancer. At the moment of the Sun's ingress, Moon is in Gemini, and will trine the Jupiter - Chiron - Neptune triple conjunction later in the day. On New Moon Monday, Moon ingresses Cancer as well, creating a second triple conjunction: Sun - Moon - Vesta. Both triple conjunctions are in an out-of-sign trine. With intentions set on nurturing and being nurtured by community, this solstice ushers in a time when we can start trends we want to follow. The rituals of sharing a meal with people important to us may help maintain focus through the Autumnal equinox..

It is a good time to tend to the root of security in our lives. We can devote ourselves to our friends and family, protecting them from all threats and dangers and focus our intentions on providing emotional safety and robust sustenance. Over this coming weekend, have a happy first day of summer, the longest day of the year.

A Door Opens to Summer of Eclipses by Deirdre Tanton

2009-06-08T07:48:00.009+02:00

Although we have a month to go, I consider eclipse season to be in full swing now. The June 8 lunation opened a door to some specific geometry: 17°+ Sagittarius was the June 8th Full Moon. The July 7th full moon will be at 15°+ Capricorn and it will be an eclipse, too. Being so close in degree, these full moons will both effect charts sensitive at the mid-degrees, a port of entry for the first in a triplet of eclipses this summer.

Looking at a list of eclipses between 1980 and 2020, seventy-five percent of summers have one pair of eclipses on just one axis. This summer is now in the twenty-five percent and has three eclipses on two axes. From what I see, usually when three eclipses occur in a summer, this pattern will repeat every other year three times. This means the summers of 2009, 2011 and 2013 (when Pluto is in early Capricorn) will have have three eclipses each on two different axes, as did 1998, 2000 and 2002 (when Pluto was in early Sagittarius), as well as 1980, 1982 and 1984 (when Pluto was in early Scorpio). It started to be a tidy geometric package, and then I noticed 1991 was a irregular, isolated summer of three eclipses and it had the nodes freshly in a new sign. Besides 1991, the eclipse pattern I am diagramming seems to roughly parallel Pluto's ingress into a sign. As I stated in a previous post about eclipses, I notice that eclipses start to get clumped together during times of rapid and accelerated change.

The way I started to understand the feeling of eclipses was in the years 2006 - 2008, the years when the eclipses were spanning the Virgo - Pisces axis. I had heard about the eclipse dimension before, but it wasnt until the eclipses being in my sun sign that I got sensitive to it. Since then it doesn't matter what sign the eclipses are in, I look forward to the dimension like getting to read a new favorite book. Eclipses turn the wheel of fate and are integral to altering the general plot. On the days around eclipses, do what you feel comfortable and safe and enjoy doing, because what you are doing may start to be a big topic for the next six months or year. Lunar eclipses help us let go and solar eclipses help us open up. This summer, the pattern is let go - open up - let go. It's always good to let go of fear — a kind of clean sweep so we can open to love. The eclipses are in the signs Capricorn, Cancer and Aquarius. If your sun or personal planets are in any of those signs or in Leo as well, I wonder if you may start to feel what I am talking about. July 7 will be a full moon lunar eclipse at 15° Capricorn; July 22 will be a new moon total solar eclipse at 29° Cancer and August 5 will be another full moon lunar eclipse at 13° Aquarius.

Spring 2009 was a time of retrogrades. Relationships may have ended or at least been up for reflection, review, or a bit of chaos. This may now be firming up to some solid footing as Venus and Mars move toward conjunction at 15° Taurus (there's those mid-degrees again) on the first day of summer, the Northern Solstice. After so much deliberation all spring long, it's time to catch the waves of change in the coming summer of three eclipses. Stay aware, steer the course and enjoy the ride.

A Full Moon, From Suffering To Enjoyment by Deirdre Tanton

2009-05-08T14:21:00.015+02:00

A cosmic and spiritual highlight happening now is the Full Moon in Scorpio which will be exact on Saturday, May 9. According to the Farmers Almanac, the name of this full moon is Full Flower Moon, named originally by Native Americans. According to Buddhist tradition, this is the Wesak moon, which is celebrated as Buddha's birthday, enlightment and death. Featured are photographs of lanterns, incense, altars and shrines of Wesak celebrations from around the world.

I am not a pure Buddhist at all, although I like everything about Bhuddism I read and know. What I like about Wesak Moon is it helps to concentrate on this intense energy and keep ego to the side.

Posts ago I wrote about the different phases of the Venus retrograde. We are now at the end of the last shadow period. From February until now, we have been tuning in to our values, friendships and relationships. All kinds of people showed up! What is important and what is not? It feels different now compared with February, doesnt it? I think it is starting to get clearer around who is supporting us and who are we supporting, I mean energetically. It's interesting for us astrologers seeing that a Mercury retrograde is following right on the heals of a Venus retrograde. To me its like the cosmos opens a space for us to reflect — and reflect long, hard, vigorously and deeply. This full moon is like a big long comma between two long phrases, the kind of comma that really brings you to another place.

Mercury just did go retrograde yesterday in Gemini. During this week while Mercury moves so slowly, just one degree, look for signs leading us to support. Then for the following two weeks when Mercury passes back into Taurus, this will be the time to put the finishing touches on the spring season which has been all about planning an approach.

According to Buddhist tradition, one ritual for the Wesak moon is to release a caged animal. This ritual is a magical act to open ourselves up, to become psychologically or emotionally free of any clinging or dark thoughts that plague our minds and keep us gripping so tightly to the past. We can go beyond these perceived and limiting views of ourselves. A best kind of friend can hold space for these fears and witness us opening to solid, comfortable, self esteem and to trusting our lives. May this deep Full Moon in Scorpio shine the light on our transformations and move suffering energy toward an enjoyment which nourishes us.

Photos courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.
For readings and consultations contact:
deirdre (at) cosmicguidelines dot com.

Baby Girl New Moon

2009-04-28T10:27:00.013+02:00

Hi Deirdre,
Guess what — my brother and his wife just had another baby.
Will you please do the chart of his second daughter?
Thanks, Paul

Baby Girl New Moon
by Deirdre Tanton

On the day this baby was born, the Moon and the Sun were in the same place in the afternoon sky. This is called a New Moon. Those who are born right at the New Moon may love beginnings, such as birth, for example; here is a little girl who truly wanted to be born. And with a Sun and Moon Taurus, she will thoroughly enjoy cuddling, massage and lying in bed with the whole family — this is the first and foremost immediate reason for coming to Earth!

This baby is an individual born into an established group, a dynamic which may recur over and over in her life, in school and in work (North Node in Aquarius in the 5th). She may feel very much feel like an individual (South Node in Leo) who needs a team (all personal planets on the western side of the chart) and the challenge will be to adjust to different situations in the interplay (to balance the Node axis). She may especially talk with her father (Saturn on the first house) about "give and take" and she will strive to see and learn the fair (Mercury in the 9th house of justice) solution from him, although this may be serious (Saturn) and challenging (Saturn retrograde, karmic lessons).

Playing dress-ups will be very fun (Mutable Virgo Ascendant). Most coveted accessories could be a bridal veil (Sabian Symbol for 11+ Virgo Ascendant is the bride degree), transparent scarves and long pieces of material to wrap like a sari. She may really enjoy the difference between being covered with a veil and then revealing herself – much like peek a boo. Once she reveals who she is, she will experience being born again, and starting anew (New Moon in 8th house of transformation).

As a girl and later a woman, she may merge toward a pure kind of Jill Sander (Virgo pure minimalism) look in just whites or creams or black, but always the gesture of going from cloaked to revealing her inner self (the veil theme), will have great meaning with the timing (Saturn) carefully considered (Sun in Taurus in the 8th).

Shecould at some point be timid about her beauty (Saturn in Virgo retrograde on the ascendant), questioning and a little doubtful, although of course this has nothing to do with her appearance. Having a full-sized mirror in her room may help with confidence (Neptune-Chiron-Jupiter triple conjunction). You may want to remind her that it is perfect not to be perfect.

She is no doubt extremely and passionately creative (Venus and Mars conjunct in Aries conjunct Uranus in Pisces) with a love of getting out paints and crafts and energetically splashing around with warm, sunny (Venus and Mars in Aries) glowing colors. This is a force that must come out rather impulsively (Uranus) and quickly and she may not want anyone getting in her way (Pluto squares Venus, Mars and Uranus).

She will love it when her Mom bakes (Sun and Moon in Taurus). I think she will be a big, consistent fan of her Mom’s most conservative, least freaky recipes (Moon in Taurus). Try as much variation as possible, yet it could be she will have only a certain favorite repertoire (Moon in Taurus, also fixed sign).

I think she would love it if your household does big grocery shopping trips and a meal plan gets posted for the week (Moon in Taurus in the 8th, fixed, knowing in advance is security). She would love knowing consistently that Tuesday is chile, Wednesday is chicken, etc.

As she gets older her interest in food for its nutritional value (Saturn in Virgo) may increase. She may be very interested in grain (Ceres in Virgo in subconcious 12th house of dreams, pre-natal memories and experiences). A soothing day for her would be to go for a drive on a country road and see fields of wheat growing in wide fields (12th house meditation for a Taurus feeling good in abundance).

She may like a family vacation to a farm where she could work planting herbs and organic vegetables (Sun, Moon and Ascendant in earth signs especially Taurus). She will love the garden. Even this year while she is so small I think she will enjoy trips to go strawberry picking or being held standing in a garden admiring tomatoes, birds and nature in general.

Welcome to Earth, Baby Girl New Moon.

My Brother and his Ceres in Taurus Voice by Deirdre Tanton

2009-04-24T12:41:00.006+02:00

My brother Carter is in the middle of his Saturn Return and he is accomplishing a lot. As an Aries, he has just had his solar return during all this delicious astrology happening now with the Venus, Mars and Uranus part lining up in his 9th house. This is the part of the chart that has to do with going further than you usually go, learning beyond what you normally know and laughing along the way. Natally my brother has his Sun as well as Chiron conjunct Ceres in Taurus also in the 9th house too. Expanding his horizons is familiar territory for Carter.

Carter is finishing up recording his most recent album in Chicago, and then off on a world tour supporting his friend Marissa. Part of what makes this so nice for both of them is they are so used to having sound checks, performing, traveling, EVERYTHING all alone and now they are traveling together for a while.

Whereas I find Marissa's work reminiscent of Kate Bush and Stevie Nicks, Carter's direction is more toward a Townes Van Zandt and Leonard Cohen. I dont have Marissa's chart (yet) but of course I have my brothers. If you think about Chiron conjunct Ceres in Taurus in the 9th, that's a voice with authority, coming from the divine, Venus in Gemini lyrics wafting around mysteries of initiation, dirges and love.

I cant wait until Marissa and Carter are in Hamburg later in May. I went to Marissa's solo show last year in Hamburg and that venue was shimmering at the end of the night. The pairing of these two musicians, it comes to my mind is like the Jupiter, Neptune Chiron conjunction in Aquarius which is exact all during their tour. No wonder they havn't performed together until now.

29° Pisces: Ideal of Greatness by Deirdre Tanton

2009-04-11T12:44:00.008+02:00

The Planet Venus retrogrades back into Pisces and digs in her heals at 29° for the next twelves days until April 24th. Venus is associated with love, and things we value like for instance money, food and clothing. Venus can also be luxury, whatever that is to us. Venus is pleasant and in Pisces she is pleasant to everyone -- to the sick, to the poor to celebrities and their little dogs, too. Venus in Pisces is an open heart and especially after just having spent some time in Aries, Venus is naive. Venus in this mood is looking in the mirror tweaking her hair, her toe nails, getting her perfume just right and listening to her favorite music. There is a feeling of endless time so rushing is not necessary. If she wants her hair different there is surely enough time to wash it again, and plug in the curling iron to make one curl just so exactly where she wants it. On the 17th, Venus will give herself one last wink in the mirror and step out on the promenade feeling so comfortable and settled in who she is, and move forward. Here once again is the meaning of the degree 29 Pisces "A majestic rock formation resembling a face is idealized by a boy who takes it as his ideal of greatness; as he grows up, he begins to look like it."
Because it is Venus at 29° definately we can change the protagonist to a girl or a woman and imagine our ideals of greatness and then look like it. Greatness can be anything, it is what we value, like having our families be together, getting a pet, having a driver, recording a cd or designing an addition to our houses. It can be having command in our carreer, getting our ideal client or job or going into retirement, too. The sky is the limit. It is important to remember that an ideal of greatness is very individual. If we dont have a sense of what that is for us as individuals, meditation or stream of conscious writing can help and this is cosmically an easy time for that. Sometimes it's scary to imagine what we want, usually because it means other things would change and maybe someone would get mad, disappointed or laugh. Jump over that and include those other people content in their situations helping the change.
A lot of people have been having serious adjustments in their relationships. Some people have let go of an ideal and not because they wanted too, but because it was too painful to keep trying. Venus will re-enter Aries again on the 24th of April. The meaning of the first degree of Aries is: "A woman has risen out of the ocean, a seal is embracing her." My impression is we can know in advance that there are people who love us and will hold us in our fears. This is the reward for striving toward greatness.

For more details on 29° Pisces see an older post of mine here.

A Tense Sky Inspects The Strength of Security

2009-04-02T00:08:00.017+02:00

If you happen to see the moon in the sky later today, it is a waxing quarter moon in the sign Cancer. Let seeing the Moon remind you to be the designated driver in all senses of the word for the next few days. The sky is stressed — and considering "as above so below" we are stressed too. I find the image of a bridge inspiring. Some bridges seem impossible to make. But in the end, bridges can be so lovable and are a highlight in every journey "Wake up everybody, we're going over a bridge!" Imagine being part of the engineering team or construction team, I don't think every day went by like a dream. Same in our relationships. If you feel a crisis coming on ask yourself which bridge is being tested, look and see what you can do to make the bridge safer.
I am talking about the Venus–Pluto square, the Mars–Saturn opposition, Pluto about to turn retrograde, Venus about to turn forward and a quarter moon today which could act like a trigger for all of the above, but it doesn't have to. A waxing quarter moon may bring a turning point, but not yet a culmination, in what was begun at the new moon, which was last Thursday, March 26. Sometimes the turning point may bear a sense of working through a small crisis and in the sign Cancer we are particularly sensitive to our families and sensitive around security.
Venus and Pluto are moving so slowly compared to their normal orbit speed and it is because they are both about to stop and turn in two different directions. Venus and Pluto. Venus likes to be pleasant pretty and sexy and have her own money. Pluto likes to be powerful and sexy and have the say in what happens with everybody’s money. The aspect between them is a square which feels to me unspoken and grinding. If you find yourself in a hard talk about money or jealousy, I am sorry, this is a hard time for that. We may feel the other person is playing dirty, maybe they are or maybe we can't get out of a paranoid feeling or a stuck dynamic or power game. Even if you are a guy you may feel like a daughter trying to get a credit card from Dad.
The Venus-Pluto square hooks into the Mars-Saturn opposition because Venus is in Aries which is ruled by Mars and Pluto is in Capricorn which is ruled by Saturn. So the dispositors of the Square are in an opposition and may very well engage in an active face off. Don’t ask for a raise today or tomorrow. Yesterday the boss at the newspaper told me that his boss wanted to strike my part-time position and in the same breath he let me know that he fought for me, explaining that I am an integral part of the production. In this stormy energy I felt glad to have the position still, and I thanked him for fighting for my part. Now I know to follow this trail: a Mars-Pluto square on April 26, the next Venus-Pluto square on May 2. The first day of Summer looks interesting too because Venus and Mars are conjunct trining Saturn. What we are struggling with now may change into a completely different or more solid structure in three months. So it's important to keep picturing the bridge between ourselves and the people in our lives as well as between now and where we want to go.

This is why I suggest, when the stars are stressed like they are for the next couple or few days, "The Four Agreements" might help a little:

1. Be Impeccable With Your Word,
2. Don't Take Anything Personally
3. Don't Make Assumptions
4. Always Do Your Best

I think if any conflicts do come up this first week in April, their greater purpose is to work through overcoming any inertia or avoidance which may have been brewing. The feeling may be I am building a bridge and how can I do this when my budget is cut, or my team is sick, or we are fighting among ourselves. There are unknown possibilities on the other side of the bridge and in the best case we can use the potential for disharmony as motivation for solidifying structures which keep us safe and able to get to the otherside.

Photographs courtesy of Wikipedia Creative Commons

Remember that Solar Eclipse Conjunct Jupiter?

2009-03-31T21:08:00.004+02:00

Today's North Node position points to the last recent (and very inspiring) Solar Eclipse from January 24, 2009, when the New Moon was conjuncting Jupiter. The North Node tends to emit a mood or broadcast a zeitgeist. So right around now, the north Node is broadcasting from a very upbeatly charged ecclipse point reminding us positive thinking may help more than we'd expect.

When Venus Gets Hot In the Retrograde

2009-03-30T08:46:00.015+02:00

Beneath the swirly clouds which cover Venus the planet, it is actually really really hot there with a surface temperature of 863° F. If I didn't know this picture above was of Venus, I would have thought it was Mars. Mars rules Aries and as the god of action and war, a red moltenous surface seems more appropriate for Mars.
Now, as Venus is retrograding in the sign Aries, we get a chance to see whats below the clouds and experience another essence. Venus may be showing her more Mars-like side. The feeling may be that the sexy, gossamer robe has melted. I think we have the chance now to see where our love needs some balance, Libra is lacking balance now and therefore in a sensitized state of high alert.
I spoke to an Aries woman this weekend. Her boyfriend is a Libra. Suddenly Saturday morning when they woke up, he told her he does not want to be in a relationship with her; he is afraid of her rage. She told me her father had rage issues and she remembered being scared as a small girl. To hear now that her boyfriend wants to break up with her, she is motivated to raise her awareness and own her rage and anger. She wants to get the rage out of her body through physical activity. I saw no signs of a break up in her chart, but I saw some hard days ahead as Venus will retrograde past her natal Mercury-Saturn conjunction this week. I encouraged her to work on this immediately and I felt such conviction in her. What a perfect occasion to work through a relationship crisis when Venus is retrograde. This is a way to bring the relationship to the next level to greater intimacy and improved compatibility through awareness. I thought how brave her Libra boyfriend was to own his fears as a man and say he was scared. She was able to hear him and the moment resonated as a sobering truth.
Venus retrogrades for 42 days and today is day 25 of this retrograde, about two-thirds the way through the backwards part of the whole cycle, which I explained in this post and this post.
In the whole larger cycle which spans February 2. May 21, we are just a little past the midpoint. My friend got a wake up in her relationship on March 28. This day was the midpoint of the larger cycle, the day when Venus and Sun were conjunct. The geometry is present: at the midpoint, we got a message from Libra on how to balance. I think many of us may have gotten a whisper in our ear, like a seed was planeted to encourage love to grow and to increase our capacity to love. Surely by now we know which issues, relationships or friendships we are bringing to the next level. Perhaps relationships have really changed. We may miss our lovers or a friends in this new adjustment.
In eight days, Venus will be back in Pisces, put the swishy, gossamer gown back on as she stands and twirls in dreamy 29° Pisces, all seductive and soft in the days around April 17. Until then, we can keep our sensibilities open for more signs from our partners, friends, lovers and other people we cherish regarding how to vent rage and how to increase our awareness around loving fearlessly.

Image of Hot Venus by NASA
Image of Cool Venus by R. Nunes

The Hero in Your Chart is You

2009-03-27T20:41:00.011+01:00

Deirdre - I've always been curious about astrology, and know nothing and have been reading some of your posts/information. Does the exact day you were born and where the planets were at that time forecast your future? because of the energies of them, or what. How can you predict future events or is it just taking advantage of knowing what you should be taking advantage of at any one time. Is there a good beginner book? So confused..... But reading about it is so convincing.

Dear Lynn
I think of astrology as a cosmic science. When I am on a beach at night and look up at the stars, it's just breathtaking and beautiful and the moment feels meaningful. For me there is a feeling that we are one: me, you, the stars, the universe, yesterday and tomorrow, too. I know the Moon has an effect on tides and I know our bodies have a lot of water. Emergency rooms are busier at the Full Moons; people's sleeping patterns can change too. Here is another article which goes into a little more detail on the gravity and magnetism. I found this article through Elsa.
Like you, I have always been curious about astrology, so I have been reading a lot for about 20 years now and the topic feels infinite. The Moon's cycle is kind of mainstream for us Earthlings, and the Sun cycle is too as we make a big deal of our birthdays, a day when we shine. Most astrologers just push that a little further and look at the cycles of Venus, Mars etc all the way out to Pluto. Lots of astrologers are including new minor planets and asteroids, too. The connection between Greek and Roman mythology and the stars still today give insights on how the orbits of the planets relate to eachother, and so the myths live on.
Our birth charts are diagrams of exactly where the planets are at the moment we take our first breath of life. Often times you can see if the birth was difficult, you can see what talents and potentials are in the chart, it's really infinite what can be seen, and it is all potential and we have free will to use our talents or not. People often grow into and become more like their charts the older they get, even if they have never seen their chart or been to an astrologer.
A nice first book is Parkers' Astrology by Julia & Derek Parker published by Dorling Kindersley. This book has been next to my bed or on my kitchen table since 1991. The Parkers are a couple living in England. I have heard that large sections of their books are also ghost written by some very good astrologers, and this could be one reason the book is so rich and varied. Some sections as well do not resonate with me at all, but as far as first books go, this one provides foundation. Other astrologers also recommend: "The Only Astrology Book YouWill Ever Need" by Joanna Matine Woolfolk. I cannot recommend it because I have never read it but astrologers I admire say it's great.
A good first site is astro.com, because there you can cast your chart for free and print it out. Then as you read your first books, you can be referenceing the charts you print out and then the fun gets going. A really great second site is elsaelsa.com. She is a very dynamic, sharp, intuitive and driven astrologer who updates her site almost more often than cnn. Landing on her site is like landing on a moving horse, just to prepare you.
When getting into astrology, beware of the old fashioned astrology predicting doom and gloom. You can find tons of books predicting all kinds of wretched stuff and it's just not productive. I have read astrology books that scare me and I find that type of astrology these days as unprofessional. It is more modern to look at the person in the chart as a hero rather than as a victim and to look at timing, the way orbits intersect, as a wave to go out there and catch and take action. I think of astrology as sacred knowledge for empowering us in our free will to love fearlessly, and to give us strength to live and own our lives.
Have fun with all this, Lynn, I hope this gives you a start,
Deirdre

Photograph by Jose Suro,

Giddy-Up: Horsie's Movin' in Fits and Starts

2009-03-26T11:07:00.007+01:00

Looking out the window, there is a horse cantering down the street. I don't think, I jump. Horsie, take me to the corner of 8th and Maple street. There is no time to know there is no moon in the sky. I dismount at First Hatters and bust open the door. I need a hat I say. That red one. I throw down the cash and keep running out the door around the corner brushing people's annoying sleeves. You could say Excuse me I could and I keep running. I get a text and I cant believe anyone has TIME to text, what a BOTHER. I pass the school, pass the church, pass the grocery store, still no time, run, run, run. I see some people in the park waving at me because the contents of my purse spill out splat I have to stop stuff it back in and race, race, race, thinking about chilly peppers, keeping my hat on, getting the client, repairing that other problem and then this annoying sound it's my alarm clock:

Wake up its a new Moon in Aries. Exit Piscesland, Enter Aries. I quickly look at the real news on the real internet and find out a manager in France was barricaded in his office by 110 employees who are ANGRY he has MORE. In this energy a smokin' G20 meeting is around the corner in London, bankers vorwarned It's casual Thursday, Friday, Monday Tuesday and Wednesday. Wear casual clothing so no one slimes you.

Mars is still in Pisces, is the dream part, the struggle to wake, Venus fights backwards in Aries rules the head therefore the hatshop. New Moon sextiles North Node in Aquarius, therefore the helpful people in the park. Manager barricaded plays Pluto in Capricorn. The spur in the picture is the spark plug of all 360°. Baby it's impulsive outside but you can light my fire anyway. All systems are go.

Contact

2009-03-25T15:28:00.003+01:00

If you have not been reaching me, I am not sure why! Please email me at deirdre (at) cosmicguidelines.com or design (at) deirdretanton.com. Thanks.

More beginnings on tomorrow's New Moon in Aries. Stay tuned.

Illustration, Aries Bird Rises, ©2009 Deirdre Tanton

Sign by Sign for Spring

2009-03-19T11:57:00.008+01:00

On the first day of Spring, Sun enters the sign Aries, marking the time of new beginnings. One metaphor for endings and beginnings is packing a bag. What do we put back in the bag, what do we toss and what will we need for the next cosmic year? Whether you have the feeling you're a comin' or a goin' or a stayin' we are all in this together, and so, my cosmic packing tips:

ARIES - You won't be needing your ego in your suitcase, Aries, but you will be needing patience. If that sounds impossible, know that this is your success formula for getting the new job you want and creating a new public image. If you want people in your office to forget you can throw a fit, then you may find your self in a different public setting, having the chance to identify ego battles before they happen, shift gears and play a cooler roll.

TAURUS - In your bag for this trip, I'd say forget the wallet and live in nature and feel its wealth. Well seriously, a middle road may be a better choice. This season the Mall is not your Temple, just like coffee is not bottomless, but you knew that. You will need sturdy shoes and you will need your friends who will go to bat for you if you let them.

GEMINI - Bring anything light on your subconscious mind, but by all means pack your guts and get out a lot. The world wants to hear what you have to say. I am hoping you will be there when the man on the street asks you for an interview. If it's possible, practice what you'll say while you brush your teeth. You don't want to shock yourself when it all comes out — shocking the world, though, is fine.

CANCER - You can bring the cannisters and measuring cups from your kitchen if you want to. Fill your suitcase with empty compartments. Instead of Flour, Sugar, Teas, Grains and Spices, you may want to label the cannisters Receipts, Cables (for electronic items), Pens (100 of your favorite ones), and condoms if that's happening. As you are having powerful encounters and engaging deeply with partners, your power is your bottom line. Use this to nourish yourself first.

LEO - I wouldn't bother bringing sun glasses, but by all means, bring a good pair of reading glasses, the bi-focals if you need them, that way you can read the fine print, which will just end up adding to the confidence you have been building for so long. You may feel tugged and pulled in all directions by partners, families and close friends. Getting them all together in one time zone, and preferably in one room may not be as impossible as you think.

VIRGO - By all means pack the hurdy gurdy — that will get everybody's butt moving. As you are perched in the hidden nook of your humble construction, the music you play will be the songs that straighten home economics with an outcome no one is expecting, but straighted nonetheless. Your happiest moments may be when you find your hands were creative for what may have seemed like no purpose at all.

LIBRA - Cool as you are, you may leave the coquette, paper hand fan trick behind, but don't dare close the suitcase without including the folding director's chair. The "kids in the neighborhood" are making a movie and you are not there to sew the curtains, honey; you are the director. You have the eye, and the connection to each person bearing you the secret of getting the show on the road which may ruffle some feathers. The more you can go headfirst through conflicts, the more solid your foundation will be and the better you will sleep at night.

SCORPIO - What's that spy kit doing in the secret compartment of your suitcase? Spy kit out; barbells in. A six pack tummy is going to get you the power you crave to manage the unruly and motley individuals invading your spaces. Just as it seems there is no safe place, you may find yourself on the disco dance floor getting all the secret spy info whispered into your ear by your all-time, greatest detective, a first-love and fearless partner.

SAGITTARIUS - I don't need to tell you how to pack, Sagittarius. Wise man says: If home jacuzzi is noisy, wear ear plugs. Your astrology says, if you find yourself broadcasting live from the bubbly, then you may have found the ultimate home-office. You just happen to be in the tub and have something to say while the microphone is on. Creating airs of the rich and famous, although, not really all that important or your intention, ends up happening anyway.

CAPRICORN - How about packing a magnifying glass in your cosmic suitcase so you can concentrate on the tree instead of the forest. As a particular tree specialist, you may break through any blockade in the self confidence area. Speaking out of turn and getting your driver's license may help you discover that what you thought were rules are actually boundaries constructed in your favor.

AQUARIUS - Since we won't have peace if you are without it, do bring your favorite digital device to track projects, stay in communicado and have 24-hour access to banking needs. Being on top of the count and amount of your and anybody else's resources you manage is your best navigation device now. With all the trips you have made to the nurse's office the past years, you are now fully present with your most sensitive device, your body.

PISCES - There may be so much cosmic energy tapping your aura, that we'll be glad if you get outside at all, so just go. It is time to make an impact on the world AND let the world make an impact on you. I think this season you will feel quite at home with your community especially if everyone is migrating to the same philanthropical page. The world needs your energy now, so showing up will help everyone in the end, and may finally help make sense of your self worth and your bank statements.