Full moon Scorpio 5/10/17 Your Nether Regions

Scorpio is not just about the nether regions of your body or hell itself.  It's also about the nether regions of your psyche and your heart. At this full moon light is shed on the things we hide from ourselves and others. We have conversations about the things we never wanted to talk about. We face desires we wish we didn't have. But, there they are.

It's a time when we get stripped down and scrubbed sparkly—a big, sexy slough of old identities, fake smiles, and toxic secrets collects at our feet.

We step out into the world, exposed.

Personally, I like a good scrub. Inspect my bathroom and you’ll find all manner of exfoliant, loofah, and body brush. Once in a while I’ll treat myself to a microdermabrasion facial. It’s just a very deep exfoliation that’s done with a diamond-tipped wand (doesn’t hurt). This wand removes dead skin cells and makes microscopic cuts in the skin that cue the skin’s own regeneration process (it lives!). The removal of dead cells reveals brand new skin that can breathe and absorb whatever it comes into contact with more deeply (so hopefully you’re putting good, nutritious stuff on your skin).

I know, not exactly a conversation for the dinner table…dead skin, clogged pores, and all. But, that’s Scorpio. Scorpio has no use for anything superficial; it wants to know what’s underneath. It has the stomach for all the gory details, and always wants to “go there.”

“The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over.”--Hunter S. Thompson (Mars in Scorpio 8^th house trine Sun-Pluto conjunction, moon 8^th house. That’s a lot of Scorpio)

A Scorpio full moon is always opposite a Taurus sun and sheds light on this dynamic:

Taurus	Scorpio
Amassing	Sharing
Control	Release
My $tuff	Our $tuff
Accept at face value	Nothing is as it seems
Leave well enough alone	Intervene
Preserve	Transform
Holding	Elimination
Constipation	Diarrhea

Yeah. I went there. Couldn’t help it. It’s such a perfect example of the extremes between Taurus and Scorpio. Everyone can relate to these body functions, and the metaphors can go on ad nauseam. Poop is also fitting because Scorpio rules the waste disposal process and reproductive organs. Yeah, all that “down there” stuff. Most people think of Scorpio as the sexy sign, which it is, but we forget it also rules forensics, investment banking, psychology and death. Believe it or not, these things have EVERYTHING to do with the KIND of sex Scorpio wants to have.

There are a million ways to do sex that are healthy and fun, and may or may not involve physical penetration (jeez, do we as a culture get hung up on phallic penetration as the defining act of sex or what), and may or may not involve other people. There’s recreational (Leo) sex, sensual (Taurus) sex, affectionate (Libra) sex, animal (Aries) sex, and on and on. The kind of sex Scorpio wants to have is going to cost you something. Now before you get all proud of yourself because it’s so easy for you to share, chances are that if it’s that easy, it’s not actually costing you anything. When something costs us, we’re talking about loss, our sense of security—being vulnerable. Scorpio wants the parts of you that are hardest for you to part with.  The price is high because what Scorpio offers in return is new life and higher power. I think that’s fair. Except when it’s not. Unchecked Scorpio energy manipulates in the name of absolute power. It can become obsessed with power, and boy is it shrewd and ruthless.

There must be stakes or else Scorpio is not interested. If Scorpio doesn’t walk out of an interaction a different person with a whole new perspective on life---if they didn’t leave a chunk of their soul behind or take a chunk of your soul with them, don’t expect to see them again. Anything short of a religious experience won’t be worth the effort. The Scorpio sex-perience needs you to invest---give up a precious part of yourself in the name of a merger that’s transformative. Through this merger, Scorpio is scrubbed clean with diamond blades. It dies unto itself so it can regenerate with tender new skin and be penetrated. Scorpio sex is alchemical. It is the penetrator and the penetrated—the scalpel and the incision.

Scorpio also has x-ray vision and wants what you got. The psychotherapist needs YOUR deepest feeling/thought material to create new solutions, the investment banker needs YOUR hard earned assets to turn them into something bigger, and a detective would be out of job without YOUR secrets to uncover. In the wrong hands, this ability to work with other people’s stuff can lead to ttrademark Scorpio jealousy.

Hence, typical reactions to Scorpionic people and situations:

“You see right through me. It feels so good to be seen, warts and all. It feels so good to trust. I want to bare my soul to you. Tell you all my secrets.”  Or,  “You see right through me. Get the fuck away from me. That’s not for anyone to know but me. You’re intrusive and creepy.” 

Where might you fall on the possession/power axis that is Taurus-Scorpio?  Right around this time we’re likely to go to one extreme or the other. This full moon should reveal how much exposure you can stand (emotionally, financially, psychologically) and how close you’re getting to the edge. There’s no tightrope walking during a Scorpio full moon. You either jump into to the abyss or retreat into familiar territory. All or nothing. High stakes.

This full moon chart speaks to the closing of a chapter. The full moon (fruition) in Scorpio (death/rebirth) sextiles Pluto (modern ruler of Scorpio), and is accompanied by the changing of the lunar nodes on the Virgo-Pisces (final rest) axis. We’ve been exploring our capacity wake up-and-deal and retire-and-heal for 18-months. We’re sure to feel a palpable shift as the nodes move onto the Leo-Aquarius axis. The nodal shift and the apex of the full moon happen within 24 hours of each other. Something in you or your life is wrapping up. Can you feel what it is? And, no. You are not exempt from Scorpio. It’s represented somewhere, to greater or lesser degrees in everyone’s chart.

We’re all made of the same stuff…just put together differently. It’s YOUR job to find how your relationship to the world works. It’s YOUR job to uncover all the ways you’re similar to your fellow humans, animals, plant life, and cosmos.

That’s astrology.  It’ll cost you some effort---maybe a leap of faith and imagination. The rewards are plenty.

New Moon Taurus 4/26/17 Meditation/Manifesto: The Body Always Wins.

Preface: Before I go on to revel in the palace of the body, know that I include the mind. As far as I’m concerned the mind exists in the body. Living this concept is a constant practice. We’ve all had a lot of conditioning to regard the two as separate, contentious entities. I think the mind is the part of the body that connects it to the abstract idea of time, providing context and narrative. They’re always connected for better or worse.

The body. The meat. The corpo (body) REAL. The matter. In the earthy world of Taurus, only matter matters. The fire signs can keep their inspirations, water their emotions, and air their ideas. The world of Taurus springs from the soil. It’s WILD-life, not the brainchild of city planners and scientists. Taurus is the all natural, all sensing skin we live in. It’s the material…in every sense of the word. We can touch material. It’s 3D, and therefore real. Taurus likes “real” because it likes security—to feel solid ground with its body, luxuriate in the bounty of nature. Simple, right? How do we fuck this up so badly?

The body works best when it’s prioritized. We get into trouble when the body becomes a slave to our ideas about how we think it should be. The mind manufactures a million stories, the body only one: I survive. There is no one way the body should move, look, feel, perform, and it really has no meaning and yet it IS you. It’s how you’re recognized and how you recognize everything in your world. It’s your signifier and interface. You can do your best to outsmart it, hack it, whip it into shape, or beat it into submission, but the body will always get its way in the end. Like the bull, Taurus’ symbol, complicate and fuss with this sweet, simple animal at your peril.

Your body will always tell you how to survive, heal, protect, and nourish yourself. Touch is nervous system nourishment. Movement is tissue nourishment. Rest, food, and water nourish all of our combustive/electro-chemical systems.

A body's purpose is not to be trained, decorated, manicured, "fit," "well," disciplined, in service of the will, sacrificed for spirit, or strengthened to bolster a fragile ego. Your body is not an excuse, therefore it should not be loathed. It is not what's keeping you from love, happiness, or transcendence (btw all that magical stuff happens when we are most IN our natural bodies and closest to the earth). Most of all the body was not meant to be abandoned (Taurus stays put). And, we leave ourselves all the time; whenever we indulge in the numbing extremes of physical pleasures and pain, give our agency to others, and thoughtlessly follow rules we had no hand in creating. It happens every time we turn a coach, teacher, doctor, lover, advertisement, or guru into any kind of authority, and value their interpretation of our bodies over our own. We leave ourselves whenever we chase fairy tale carrots dangled in front of our big brains that promise greatness if we adhere to a system, alter our chemistry, or feel *this* feeling, but not *that* feeling. We’re wired to feel ALL the feelings. It’s how we know what to feed ourselves. A lot of us use chemicals and teachers to help us do this. No harm in that, though intent plays a huge role in how that works for you. If we’re working with a guide or a drug in an effort to inquire about ourselves, and further inhabit our bodies, that’s very different than using those aides to give us quick answers or take us away from ourselves.

So much has been designed to dismantle our connection to our body, feel shitty about ourselves, then try to sell us back our confidence, vitality, and sexuality. You can’t buy what’s already yours. We are able to outsource everything our body was meant to do...is hungry to do. Instead of using our bodies to navigate wilderness, we follow maps of routes that have been paved in cities designed for convenience and efficiency. Instead of physical play, lovemaking, and close combat, we go to gyms, watch porn, use weapons and snipe at each other on Twitter. When we don’t fight, play, and love each other with our bodies we stop recognizing ourselves, and ourselves in others. Then we feel separate. Taurus doesn't do separate, it’s ruled by Venus, the planet that joins.

This new moon is asking you to experience and demonstrate loyalty to your natural self. We do not need to master the body, undo all the “damage,” or fix what’s broken. We’re not broken. Worst-case scenario, we’ve unknowingly made some connections that aren’t working in our best interest. Big deal. Connect it differently. When we can feel our bodies, we can truly feel at home…wherever we happen to be. When we have access to our bodies, we don’t need access to the Internet (as much).

When we talk about the body and Taurus, we talk also about mother earth, Gaia. Like the body, when we mine it for resources and artificially amp up its productivity...we fuck it up. Body/Earth gets sick. Body/Earth is not a machine designed for maximum efficiency. It’s wild, intelligent, responsive, process. Your body doesn’t need to look a certain way, and neither does a tomato (have you seen heirloom tomatoes). The best we can do for all WILD-life is get out of its way, and feed it what it wants.

We will need the security of being connected to our safe stable Body/Earth these next two weeks. We have some radical, unpredictable energy zinging around. Some of it looks quite edgy. But, nasty or nice, there are some surprises in the works as retro Mercury gets right up in there with the Uranus/Eris conjunction in Aries. This is a firework-curveball. It’s blindsiding news, and that thing that came from outta nowhere…again, for better or worse. Invest in what you can touch during this phase. It will keep you sane.

New Moon Meditations/Questions:

For the next 2 weeks can you use your mind to serve and listen to your body more? Allow your body to be the boss of you.

Can you distinguish body needs from ego needs?

Do you feed your body based on what your senses tell you they want, or do you make decisions about what to do with your body, based on external goals or to fix psychological states?

Do you do things with your physical body that you'd rather not do to be polite, impressive, or to shut out feeling?

Do you only share caring touch with your romantic partner(s)? Do you forget to touch yourself?

Do you over fortify your bank account or body out of fear of scarcity? Do you under nourish body/bank account (guilt for abundance)?

Is the food you’re eating real food? Are you eating plants that have not been fucked with?

Do you have a stash of money saved up that makes you feel secure? Taurus loves a good cushion.

Do you have at least one space you can visit in your home or office that feels like a sanctuary?

Do you have routine (mindless) stories about your body? Are they even true? Are they as real as the skin you’re in?

READING LIST. SO GOOD. Further meditations on the bod.

https://thecreativeindependent.com/people/natalie-diaz-on-the-physicality-of-writing/

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/12/neoliberalism-creating-loneliness-wrenching-society-apart

https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/06/20/the-body-keeps-the-score-van-der-kolk/

https://aeon.co/essays/it-takes-neuroscience-and-poetry-to-map-the-tributaries-of-touch

Howling at the full moon Libra. 4/11/17 Call and response.

A fortnight ago the new moon in Aries made a call. How does this Libra full moon respond?

The lunar cycle is a call and response dialogue. The new moon puts something out there, the full moon replies. Sometimes a lack of reply is your reply. Sometimes your action is a choice to refrain from action. All forms of conversation are valid; some are more productive than others at different times. But, the tides turn on the regular. Our environment has a natural rhythm, and is in constant conversation with itself and everything in it, including you. There’s information in these interactions if you choose to participate.

Full moons are culminations. They illuminate, reveal, and sometimes give answers.

There are no “good” or “bad” answers in astrology. Just, “try again,”  “this needs more work, more time,” “change course,” or “congrats, here’s what you earned,”  “lesson learned, proceed to next experience.”

This Libra lunation is all about the transformative journey Venus (ruler of Libra) has been on since March 4^th (its station retrograde). Libra is Venus’ intellectual side (Taurus is Venus’ body). Libra rules the concepts of partnership, relationship, transactions, agreements, aesthetics, and decorum. Libra teaches us about give and take, balance, and harmony-- especially about the balance between call and response. The Aries-Libra axis is highlighted for the next 2 weeks, and will show where you’ve been “all call” or “all response.”

As mentioned in the last post, (it's a very retro time, so let's backtrack) I’m Aries through and through. Throughout my childhood up until college I’ve always had a Libra best friend, then it became all about Pisces, but that’s another story. Those close relationships had an Aries- Libra tension. Those of you who do a lot of work with me (my work is all about relationship and conversation…counseling, teaching, consulting) never believe how much Aries I have in my chart. I’ve built a couple of businesses based on my reputation for being rational and measured. Who do you think taught me how to balance?

All those Libra girls in my formative years taught me something about integration. All the times I got my wrists slapped for being crude, provocative, and contrary woke me up to the fact that if I want all the good that comes from collaboration, I’m going to have to check myself.  Oh, I’m still a disruptive motherfucker, and when I go unconscious, the instinct to dominate kicks in. But, I feel better equipped to choose when Aries is appropriate, and when I do choose it, to work it consciously. Again, finding the BALANCE between the two is key. Let’s take food for example: if its too processed, it goes down easy and tastes good, but all the nutrients and anything real gets refined to death. Conversely, if you don’t process some food, at least a little, no one will eat it.

Thank you Libra, for teaching me to cultivate.

Not that Libra is all roses. Here is a typical tiff (written from much experience) between Libra and Aries:

Libra: You’re just causing discord, for the sake of excitement. You’re always trying to prove how different you are.

Aries: Well it’s better than being a superficial phony.

Libra: Just because I actually care about someone other than myself, and want to make things pleasant?  That doesn’t make me shallow. At least people like me!

Aries: They only like you because you tell them what they want to hear. You’re too wishy-washy to take a stance on anything. People need to be challenged!

Libra: I’m not talking to you until you can behave like a civilized adult and show some respect. You’re being ugly.

Aries: PLEASE argue with me. This was just getting interesting.

--And scene--

Venus retro through Pisces (Venus exaltation), Aries (Mars) new moon, Libra/Aries (Venus/Mars) full moon, Venus conjunct Chiron in Pisces square Saturn, Mercury retro through Taurus/Aries (Venus/Mars rulership)…this spring is all about Venus on the therapist’s couch. Yes. We are still dealing with Venus-Mars issues as per last post.

This is an intense (not necessarily unpleasant) evaluation of who we need to be in relationship to others. The lessons, epiphanies, and urges to implement change are coming fast and furious. But, you don’t need to DO anything fast and furious right now. Best way to use this time is to take notes. Lots of planets are shifting into retro this spring. April is a good time for organizing the intel with your journal or your therapist. Keep the back-and-forth going.

And yeah yeah yeah, there is a Mercury retrograde in the mix. I did not forget. It’s just a contributor to this deep meditation on Venus and Aries. Some astrologers do attribute money to Venus’ influence. To put a finer point on it, I like to think of Venus as ruling commerce; the exchange, the trade, the deal. Not an awesome time for those things. Judgment is off and very subjective. Research now; conduct your transactions in May.

Kind of frustrating right now. We’re getting lots of cues to GO, but Venus needs you stop for moment. We’re not QUITE done sorting ourselves out yet. Keep asking the questions. They’ll be answered.

Quick look at Cory’s notes 4/11-4/25:

Full moon Libra conjunct Jupiter retro (This a big feeling aspect. Enjoy! Brimming with love for all mankind! Woohoo! Some of you are gonna get a big sloppy kiss from this full moon, others might be weepy.)

Cardinal T square that involves Juno (This is stressful, but not monstrously so. Totally workable. Curb the urge for aggro action. Go workout, have more vigorous (responsible) sex, go dancing, do live-band-punk-rock karaoke.)

Venus conjunct Chiron in Pisces, square Saturn in Sadge retro (ouch. Old hurts coming up for release. Self soothe, self-care, get thee to thy therapist. Painful reality checks.)

Mars-Ceres conjunction Taurus (Aggressive caretaking. Keep your eye on this co-dependent bug-a-boo. Co-dependency is a Libra watchword too. Feel free to aggressively self-care…especially your bod.)

Merc retrograde Taurus (re-think luxury purchases and new investments, still checking that Aries energy--aggression, impatience, self-interest. We are going to be so over hitting the brakes by summer).

New moon Aries. 3/27/17 Valuing the self without devaluing others.

(Spoiler alert)

No. I do not think Tyler Durden should actually be president. This was a bday present I received because I’m a huge Fight Club fan (movie and book). In fact, an ex and I used to joke that we should watch it once a month, sort of like going to church, to remember and pick apart the myriad spiritual and philosophical teachings the story offers. I think it’s a good illustration of the current Venus retrograde Aries situation amidst a maelstrom of Aries and cardinal energy in March/April.

For those of you who have not read or seen Fight Club, it’s not so much about machismo and brutality, as it as about the patriarchal gone awry, capitalism, and the consequences of sacrificing our animal-body nature to fit inside of man-made structures.

The protagonist, who does not have an official name, is your run-of-the-mill consumer. An unconscious go-along-to-get-along kind of guy who fits very nicely and quietly into society. He wants all the things he’s taught/programmed to want..all the things we assume everyone wants. His alter ego, Tyler Durden is an id-like character (Aries), who’s “free in all the ways you aren’t.” The mild-mannered protagonist and Tyler duke it our literally and metaphorically for control over their life. While Tyler will terrorize everyone that stands in the way of his desire for pure anarchy, the protagonist struggles to integrate the repressed wildness of his nature in a more socially acceptable form (Venus).

And they start a fight club, but that’s a whole other thread. But, I would definitely add this book to the dystopian reading lists that are being curated right now.

---

Be brief. Be brilliant. Be gone.

This could very well be the Aries mantra. Unfortunately, this post is long, complex, and messy…because that’s how this Aries season is barging its way in.

I have a stellium in Aries and a strong Scorpio signature. Basically, I’m a Martian. Mars-ruled Aries season is usually home for me. I get to wake up from the boozy haze of Pisces, and have a cup of fucking coffee and get on with it! For the most part, that’s what we’re looking at this Aries season…with a catch. In honor of Aries, here are some bullets:

• 3/4/17-4/15/15 Venus retrograde Aries/Pisces
• 3/13/17 Mercury ingress Aries
• 3/17/17  Final exact Uranus-Eris conjunction Aries (the last we’ll see in our lifetime)
• 3/20/17 Sun ingress Aries (Vernal equinox/astro new year)
• 3/25/17 Sun/Venus inferior conjunction Aries (midpoint of Venus retrograde)
• 3/27/17 New moon Aries
• 4/9/17-5/4/17 Mercury station retrograde Taurus/Aries

That’s a lot of Aries. That’s a lot of  “my way or the highway,” “I want it done yesterday,” “coffee is for closers” Aries. Aries gets in, gets out, moves on, and doesn’t look back. It rules surgeons, warriors, and the steel they use to cut. Let’s not be literal. There are many ways to perform surgery, do battle, and cutting utensils come in many forms. You want decisions made quickly and projects initiated? You call Aries. Aries is the immediate response to the primal. Fire signs operate at the speed of light because they’re motivated by intuition and impulse. Thinking (air), feeling (water), and sensing (earth) take time, and in the case of earth, matter (can I touch it?).

Instinct requires no conduit.

So, how do you think Venus feels, placed in the sign of its detriment AND retrograde?  Oh, this is awkward. Venus makes nice, wants everyone to get along, and it’s not enough for Venus to meet its goals…it must do so in a civilized manner, with much beauty. Venus is in no hurry. Consultation, consensus, and deliberation take time. Venus rules ambassadors, diplomats, farmers, artists, and culture. So, imagine that we put Venus in a suit of armor, machete in hand, and then push it backwards. THIS is the “fly in the ointment” of what should really be some straightforward, fire-under-the-ass, springtime, blast-off energy.

Venus-ruled folks in particular  (lots of Taurus and/or Libra) could feel especially irritable now, but this applies to everyone because we all have Aries represented somewhere in our chart, and Venus is moving through it. Venus is going through a process of questioning the importance of participating in consensus reality.

Venus is asking if all the little concessions and compromises we make to “grease the wheels,” participate in relationships of all kinds, and cultivate various forms of beauty are WORTH IT. A keyword for Venus is value.

Venus is not as concerned as it usually is to make things pleasant for you right now. It has increased awareness of animalistic stirrings, and less patience for dealing with protocol, ceremony, contracts and other social constructs. Venus is trying to weigh how much to “play the game” against going rogue.

This (very rare) transit often reveals where you may have compromised too much of your raw self in the quest for relationship, status, or comfort. It could also reveal an issue with

your ability to consider other people and the world around you. Aries AT ITS WORST does not consider other people when taking action. Most often, it doesn’t even mean to harm…it just doesn’t see you there. This energy has no time to be strategic, or conniving…or ask permission, or make things pretty. Which ALSO means that Aries AT ITS BEST does not consider other people when taking action. It has a direct line to individual needs and acts on them.  Therefore Aries is usually authentic and tells the naked truth. Peer pressure doesn’t work with these folks.

I could go on about this whole Venus/Mars thing, but this is the gist. It’s a time of weighing how much “you do you” vs. your efforts to fit in nicely. It’s about re-thinking the transactions you make with other people. Are you getting good value for your money, time, love, your soul?

Initiations at this new Aries moon can be made with heightened awareness around the actions you take based on your deepest values. Learning how to be unpopular in your own self-interest without de-valuing anyone else.

 

Full moon Virgo 3/12/17. Well-oiled intention (for “divine perfection”).

Y’all know that when full moons come around I like to talk about the whole axis. I often refer to the Virgo-Pisces axis as the healing-illness axis or the perfection-purity axis. Today I’d like to talk about it as the craftsmanship-artistry axis. Think about the sublime situations you hope to cultivate, and ask yourself if your craftsmanship is solid enough for the sublime to even be recognized.

That being said.

Shit shit shit! Aw man. It’s here. I already know this Virgo moon is going to call me out on not sticking to a writing schedule, staying out too late, and drinking too much. It’s going to nag me about squandering time, energy, money, and hanging out too long in chaotically blissed-out Pisces. It’s gonna get on my case about making a mess, leaving work undone, and daydreaming.

Well, this last Pisces eclipse WAS about letting go, but in Pisces it’s easy to lose consciousness and get washed away with the tide. Enter Virgo with a mop and a bucket.

Virgo irons its jeans, and has designated sleepwear. The pantry is stocked with high quality food, and everything is labeled. There are schedules and routines. Maintenance is regularly performed for optimal functioning. Virgo at its best is well-oiled intention.

On any given evening Pisces might sleep naked, or in their best suit. In the morning they’ll throw on whatever’s closest to them and hope they can remember where the clean underwear is. So engrossed are they with their telepathic conversation with the muse, they’ll forget to eat, but somehow manage to score an invite to a five star fete because someone found them deliciously interesting. Pisces at its best rubs shoulders with divine perfection.

These two are at it again! Yes, we saw the end of the Virgo-Pisces eclipses, but it won’t stop the moon’s visits. This time, life wants to you to get your Virgo on in spite of some heavy Pisces influence. This Virgo moon is going to make you work. Some of you will love this energy! You nerds know who you are. You may even get a gold star at this full moon for your hard work. As you can probably guess, Virgo is very difficult for me personally. But, I have made peace with, it. Nothing happens without it.

This Virgo moon comes with a fresh Mars in Taurus and Saturn squaring a party in Pisces (Chiron, Sun, Mercury). The hammer’s coming down this month. Expect to be shown the crevices you forgot to clean and the bills you forgot to pay (literally and metaphorically). It’s not fun, but we need these reality checks if we are to move forward with our magical enterprise.

Virgo gets a bad rap for being mundane and hypercritical. No, it’s not glamorous, but who cares?! It’s essential. It’s useful. Being useful is beautiful. Virgo is going to ask you if your romance serves a purpose. Are your projects sustainable? Do your dreams serve your fellow humans and your planet, or just your ego? Is your body, mind, or bank account healthy enough to support the activities you’re participating in? ACCOUNTABILITY. This full moon may hurt, but you will have no question as to what area of your life needs retooling.

Virgo cares. Virgo cares enough to get it right. It’s a tending energy (they love to tend to their plants, animals, and peoples). When Virgo loses its balance, that care turns to worry, perfectionism, and nitpicking. So, keep your eye on that.

If you get your ducks in a row this month and bring some of those Pisces visions down to earth, they’ll fly come spring-summer.

So, see you in the produce section, yoga class…at work.

I’ll say more about Venus retrograde next time along with the Aries new moon. X

Solar eclipse Pisces 2/26/17. Baptism by Fire.

I’m surrounded by Pisces. Pisces friends, exes, students, clients, collaborators…I really have no business being around them, being of an Aries persuasion and all. The two really have nothing to do with each other; Aries is individuation, Pisces is unity. Aries is frank, Pisces is occult. Aries is the beginning, Pisces is the end. But, there’s a door in the “other people” area of my natal chart that swings wide open for the slippery sign of the fish.

I’m perpetually enchanted, frustrated, and lost with this energy. It’s an intoxicating miasma. For those of you who aren’t generally beguiled by Pisces’ special charm, let’s see you swim your way out of this eclipse. It’s the grand finale in an 18-month run of eclipses on the Pisces-Virgo axis. So this is the end. The end. (For about a decade anyway). Everything must go! The Pisces-Virgo axis is about purification and healing.

Any relationship that’s been hanging on by a thread, old situations on life support, projects on their last legs will be dissolved.  And you can forget about getting too comfy on that fence. If nothing comes up for you right now, see what washes up on the shore in the next few weeks. Pay attention to intuitive hits, gut feelings, and odd synchronicities. This is how Pisces communicates. Pisces wants you to be emotionally lean, gracefully let go, and float…onto the next thing.

Now, here’s where it gets really weird: at the exact time we get this dreamy eclipse in Pisces (conjunct Neptune and south node, with Mercury and Chiron hangin in Pisces too), we’re getting an exact conjunction of Mars and Uranus in Aries. That’s Mars, god of war, in his own sign conjunct Uranus, planet of rebellion. This is fireworks! This is sudden departure. Traditionally it’s violence, and accidents that arise from unchecked anger. It could be accelerated actions and unpredictable impulses of all kinds.

So, depending on where these aspects fall in your chart and what you’ve been up to the past couple of years, you may feel one vibe more than the other. You may feel both; sort of like floating up from the bottom of the pool and drawing your first breath of fire. 

Full Moon Leo 2/10/17. Eclipse Season. Thoughts on Leo Leadership, and the Ego Axis.

Experiencing the Spectrum

Crazy times. Horrific times. Confusing, and amazing times.  Have you been able to locate yourself inside all of it?

That’s what this full moon in Leo is all about. You’ll read a lot about full moon energy that pits the sun against the moon, and see a lot of the abbreviation, “vs.” When I interpret full moons, I think of experiencing the full spectrum of one concept instead of pitting the opposite ends against each other.

You cannot talk about Leo without talking about Aquarius, and during a full moon, you cannot talk about the moon without talking about the light it reflects from the sun.

Leo	Aquarius
Authoritarian	Consensus
Nobility	Proletariat
Heart	Mind
Passionate love	Brotherly love
Emotional expression	Conceptual ingenuity
Creation	Innovation
Integration	Decentralization
Personal	Public

and so on.

Believe it of not, this Leo moon looks radiant. Auspicious. Full of love and heart centered creativity. It looks like catching your own reflection in the mirror by surprise, and, not only loving what you see, but, noticing something new about yourself; something you’d like to share with others.

It looks like the perfect weather for creation. It’s a fertile time. A baby boom. Children of the body, the mind, the heart, or, the earth. Making a unique contribution to the whole.

Of course, you know, astrology is only weather. If it’s not married to your free will and consciousness, it goes unnoticed. Leo energy that’s left unattended by an adult can just spiral into constant applause-seeking, pageantry, narcissism, and DRAMA.  Well directed, Leo energy is all about productive manifestations of love and leadership. LEADERSHIP, as in caring for your crew and integrating them. Leadership is not a rank. Leadership is not the top-down distribution of orders. Leadership is not making decisions on the behalf of others. Leadership is inspiring others to do their own work with you.

Fun astro homework for students: Our last four presidents have strong Leo signatures: George W. Bush, Leo rising; Donald Trump, Leo rising; Bill Clinton, Leo Sun; Barack Obama, Leo Sun. Do a character study.

Leo wants to interact with and permeate a given social order or structure with their unique expression. Aquarius wants the unconventional and anarchic, rejecting limitation from any established order. This is the ego axis. Along this axis we do everything from exulting the ego to sublimating it.

If you have a strong Leo or Aquarius signature in your chart, you can find yourself swinging from one extreme to the other this month. We all have Leo and Aquarius represented somewhere in our chart. Eclipse season can bring about much emotional intensity for everyone.

Eclipses are portals to new cycles, so they are extremely energetic. They usher in massive change. Clean breaks with the past, and startling new beginnings. They are cosmic ass-kickers.

How to survive eclipse season?  Instead of looking for comfort in an outwardly, well-defined extreme, go inward. Try to sit in the middle of this axis, and consciously observe (Aquarius) how your buttons are being pushed. Create a way (Leo) to hold the best principles of both extremes at the same time…it is one concept after all. Two sides of the same coin. Make something out of that.

All of that warm, loving Leo energy is meaningless without its implementation and usefulness by and to the group. All of the genius, groundbreaking Aquarian concepts will remain just that…concepts, without emotional relevance.

What will you do with your strong urges to create and be recognized?

What new things do you notice when you look in the mirror?

How will you change and/or cultivate these new aspects of self?

 RAWR!