April aspects, Building of the Grand Cardinal Cross

On Thursday, April 3, 2014, in the first days of the New lunar month ruled by Aries, the Sun  is at13/57 Aries. This is a very active month, and some of the major shifts and influences are already starting to be felt. Astrology reflects the energy that builds, changes, and moves us and all that is, in the dynamic birth, growth, and transformational nature of our Universe. 

The Moon is at 4/1  Gemini,  the Mercury  is at 23/36 Pisces, Venus is at 27/50,  Aquarius, and Mars is at 20/51 Libra.  Jupiter  is at 11/42 Cancer, Saturn is at 22/28 Scorpio retrograde, Uranus is at 12/33 Aries. Neptune is at 6/26 Pisces, Pluto is at 13/32 Capricorn, and the True North is at Node 28/24 Libra. Chiron  continues her transit at 1/16 of  Pisces.

Thursday the Moon enters Gemini after making a number of aspects (squares and semi-squares) during the night in the last degrees of Taurus. 

Waking up with the Moon in Gemini may spark some edgy, flighty feelings as the Moon in Gemini forms a difficult aspect to Mars in the morning, and then squares Neptune in the early evening. 

Friday, the Venus semi-squares Pluto in the morning, highlighting conflicts, challenges, and relationship tensions and issues. Look beneath the surface to sense what hidden motivations, wounds, and suppressed desires may be operating in  relationships and  perceptions. Whatever it is that we fear losing, raises up to the surface at this time, and the feelings and intensity have an effect on how we appear and relate to others. Any insecurities that we have not faced, characterize and color the way we experience this aspect. Along with the Moon in Gemini’s effect on our moods, this aspect makes for  a rather jumpy, intense kind of period.  Find ways to channel and use the energy, and avoid confrontations that are characterized by a sense of feeling out of control. This aspect affects attractions, romance, love, friendship-relationships of all kinds. It also has an impact on how we handle our finances. All these issues relate to how we value ourselves. Time to be clear about how our expectations do or do not fit with the reality of our relationships.  Notice where you may be fooling yourself, using your desires and expectations to manipulate or coerce others into doing your bidding.  Pay attention to where there may be a discrepancy between what you believe and desire, and how you are living. There may be some incongruity between perceptions and the reality of how you are living. 

The Cardinal Grand Cross.  This month is highlighted and energized by the Cardinal Grand Cross that is growing. Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn are the Cardinal planets. Each of these points in our charts/lives represents the seasonal turning points, and wherever they are positioned in your chart, indicate the major areas where this Grand Cardinal Cross has been building up. Aries represents  beginnings, the self (as it is conceived and projected to others) and represents self awareness, personality, the ego, and the anima. It also represents the masks we wear and how we are perceived. Cancer represents relationships, our sense of home and our need for security. Cancer is also the ruler of fathers, psychological foundations, home and family, heritage and abodes.  Libra, represents our search for justice, truth, and equity in relationships. Libra also represents marriages, partnership, contracts, and the animus. Capricorn represents established systems, and and all 10th house areas (career, life purpose, honor, sense of authority, direction and life purpose).  Look at these areas of your life to determine what issues, opportunities, experiences, and challenges are being affected by the Grand Cardinal Cross.

The planets forming the Grand Cardinal Cross also bring distinctly different energies and challenges to this major transit. Mars in Libra is the archetype of the warrior, and represents war, aggression, power strategies, desire, motivation, and action. 

Jupiter in Cancer rules abundance, faith, beliefs and spirituality, growth, learning, and intuitive and Divine wisdom. 

Uranus in Aries rules sudden and unexpected changes, shocks and disruptions, freedom and revolution, and transformative upheavals. Uranus is apt to be the planet and energy that wakes us up in sudden, unexpected ways.  Uranus is the awakener, and we may find that we’re awoken both figuratively and literally to major changes in our lives. 

Pluto, the Great Transformer, is in Capricorn, deals with transformation, use of power, transition and uprooting, elimination, intention, and will power.

At the time of the peak of the Grand Cardinal Cross, April 23-24, all four planets will be at 13 degrees of their respective signs. This degree represents change, transformation, completion, and use of energy/magic to bring harmony between the feminine and the masculine. This works within each of us, and well as between us. Whatever needs to break apart, be eliminated, or completed, happens within us as well as within our lives.

As the Grand Cross reaches its height, it coincides with Uranus in aspect to Mercury in Pisces and Juno--the breaking of karmic ties, contracts, and promises and vows that have ended. Notice also where Mars is retrograde and transiting Libra for areas where you may be feeling defensive or challenged. Look to see what needs to be acknowledged, faced, or acted upon now. And where Jupiter in your chart, is revealing the paths, calling for new plans, or raising hope for a new life, new direction, and promise that rises out of what has fallen apart. 

The effects of the Grand Cardinal Cross begin before it peaks, and last long after it.  Now is the time to observe how you have been learning to deal with these areas of your life, and how you are using your energy, making necessary changes, and how you are free to move in and out of the movement, challenges, and gifts of this transformative time. 

New Moon in Aries, Conjunct Uranus: Shocking Start to New Astrological Year

Threshhold                                                                                                      Catherine Al-Meten

As the astrological calendar begins its turn to a new year as the New Moon in 10 degrees of Aries peaks at 11:46 A.M., PDT on March 30, 2014, Mark Twain’s words capture some of what many of us may be feeling. 

“It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want—oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” 

Shortly after the New Moon peaks, it  conjuncts Uranus, the Great Awakener at 12 degrees Aries, setting off some major changes, unleashing some shocking events, and unveiling some mind-blowing awakenings.  Something quite out of the ordinary is likely to happen on some level in whatever area of your chart this New Moon is accenting.  However shocking, uprooting, or surprising the changes may be, nothing will be ‘as usual’ about this New Moon. 

The New Moon energizes and triggers the  t-square with Pluto in Capricorn and Jupiter in Cancer which is also moving towards the formation of a Grand Cross near the end of April. Mars in Libra forms a Grand Cross that is at the height of its energy and power between April 20-23. A new lunar eclipse cycle begins, the first of four occurring on April 15 when the Moon in Libra and the solar eclipse with the Sun in Taurus on April 28 kicks off a 6-week period of increased growth and change. This eclipse cycle will highlight the Aries-Libra cycle, with continued issues and growth taking place around our need for independence, freedom, and action (Aries) versus our need to connect, cooperate, discern, and move with intention, purpose, and harmony (Libra).

The Aries New Moon kicks off the astrological new year, with a need to be what you wish and appear as you really are. Any inconsistencies between who you really are and how you appear to others or how you present yourself in the world reveals any areas where cognitive dissonance is evident. Knowing ourselves, and then acting in our best interests according to who we are meant to be, is the key message of this New Moon in Aries. First house issues always deal with whether or not we are being our authentic selves, or simply mirroring what others project or expect of us. 

Time to look at who we know ourselves to be, and how we are telling our stories.  Listen to what you say about yourself, through your words, actions, thoughts, and relationships. Examine your relationships to not only those you are in contact with but also what it is you do and how it is you spend your time. 

Mars in Libra, currently in retrograde (March 1-May 20), has been taking us back on memory lane, recalling what we have recently experienced, decided, and explored in the way we relate to others in our closest contacts, and in how we have been able to maintain our own sense of independence and freedom while in relationship. Our relationships reflect in our outer lives, the desires, dreams, challenges, and fears we experience within ourselves (conscious and unconscious). 

Aries ruler, Mars is all about the  Element  of  Fire and the  Warrior Archetype. Fire represents the potential to use resources and energy wisely in our efforts to create peace, understanding, and compassion or to blast apart the world around us through force, violence, and aggression. With the Sun and the Moon in Fire signs, along with Uranus, we can expect to experience some fireworks and the release of pent up emotions and unresolved conflicts. 

How we resolve conflicts and use power is also represented by our reverence for the Warrior archetype. There are different ways we can interpret the warrior. “The Pen is mightier than the sword” versus “Might makes Right” illustrates the dichotomy in the philosophical perspectives of the extremes of the spectrum. 

Pluto, the Great Transformer, is also the great initiator, the pioneer, the explorer, the innovator, the great leader.  With the Mars in Libra, warrior archetype and the Pluto in Capricorn transformer, discoverer, change agent  archetype, we continue our journey within to confront not only what needs to be changed in the world around us, but also, and perhaps more importantly, what needs to be changed within ourselves. No real, lasting change happens until it happens on the micro-level. Society may agree to or be forced to change due to dictates, law, trends, or new information, but real and lasting change happens only when it happens within each person. This is a period when we are forced to deal with our shadow, the hidden elements and the unhealed and undeveloped aspects of our being. 

Our relationship with our value in society and our self worth. Pluto says, in Capricorn looks for equity not only between people, but within each person. Finding the paths to wholeness, integration, and individuation is necessary for authentic growth, change, and movement in our lives at this point. Examine how you are using your power, or turning it over to others. No one can take your power without your permission, but unfortunately, in our efforts to be self effacing and likable, we give away power and talent at the drop of a hat. There used to be a ploy used to catch someone’s attention-to drop a handkerchief, so that the other person, a potential suitor, would pick it up and return it to us. The goal was to allow for a proper way to make contact, show interest, or make a pass.  

Warriors use different tactics to achieve their goals. Ideas like  “killing someone with kindness” or “keeping your friends close, keeping your enemies closer” are both ways of maintaining control without resorting to violence.  There are other ways the warrior archetype works within us. Now is the time to examine the beliefs, behaviors, and hidden agendas that we have been operating on. Question everything, especially your motives right now, in an effort to sort out what is true, good, honorable, just, equitable, and worthy of you and those you befriend and love. Question the ways you use power, or abuse it. Question the way you allow yourself to be manipulated (an abuse of your power) or used, and examine how that prevents you from living as your authentic self. The more you get into the habit (and we all do that), the less conscious and aware we become. Remember to keep eyes fresh and responses in tune to who you are, what your needs are, and how your relationships, your life, your work, your sense of self is in tune with your real and felt needs, or not. 

The challenge for the Warrior archetype come is knowing who we are, and standing in that truth. It also comes as a challenge to know one’s own power and to use it wisely.  How do we allow the warrior archetype to change to promote health, wholeness, compassion, and peace? How do we choose to stand up for ourselves, to take care of our health, to live with the ability to take risks yet maintain healthy boundaries? 

This week’s dynamic alignment of the Sun, the Moon, and Uranus in Aries is likely to feature a “moment of truth” or an unforgettable reminder of what the cost of not paying attention to our true nature may result in. Surprising and shocking events may remind us all of just how important it is to be true to ourselves, and to live in harmony with others and the world we are part of. 

Near the end of the week Venus enters Pisces on April 5. The Aquarius transit of Mercury ends, and the more metaphysical, mystical, and imaginative transit of Venus through Pisces begins. Today, March 29, Venus in Aquarius forms a square with Saturn in Scorpio. Feelings of distance, isolation, abandonment, disappointment adds to a sense of malaise and depression in the area of relationships. At the least some strain, and at the most some outright cracks appear in areas where we feel we are not being heard, having our needs met, or feeling any type of satisfaction in our intimate connections and partnerships.  The strain of whatever has been building up for some time may rise up to the surface as we become more emotionally clear and psychologically and spiritually aware of our unconscious and conscious desires. For some, the sense of obligation and responsibility put a strain and damper on more romantic and idealistic ideas about love and marriage. Connections are strained when our lens is clouded by only our own expectations, and our inability to resolve our inner dissatisfaction or misgivings. 

As the week goes on, Venus forms a sesquiquadrate with Jupiter (April 1-2)  awakening us to a sense of greater pleasure and a desire to enjoy life more fully. Channel some of this energy into creating, enjoying, or immersing yourself in beauty so as to fully appreciate your own ability to find meaning and connection through your own heart-centered focus, activities, and understanding.  Later, on April 2-3, Venus forms a semi-square to Uranus triggers unexpected or out-of-the-ordinary types of emotional and physical responses to pleasure. Use some discretion and restraint. And on April 3-4 when Venus semi-squares Pluto, be wary of focusing only on the negative in how you view your relationships. The balance between the need for freedom and independence versus our need to connect and find meaning with others, can be the focus during Venus’ final days in Aquarius--we may become too critical or we may lack understanding of ourselves, of others, and of the growing process inherent in all relationships.

The North Node  remains in 29 degrees, the anaretic degree of Libra, until April 11. This remains a crucial time, particularly at this New Moon in Aries, for continuing in our reflection, discernment, preparation, and transition process between what we are releasing and what we are about to begin. If you haven’t already done so, take some time to rest, reflect, nourish yourself (body, mind, spirit, emotions) and do some psychological and physical house cleaning to prepare for the new life ahead.  Continue developing healthy practices, constructive and positive behavior, and manageable and authentic goals that a in line with your true nature, and your spiritual path and the Divine’s call for you. However you understand the sacred, this is the time to  use meditation, prayer, reflection, contemplation, and mindfulness to bring you into greater alignment for a new leg of your journey.  Prepare for the unleashing of energy, spiritual growth, and physical growth and activities meant to help you discover meaning, fulfillment, and connection. 

Mars, Saturn, and Venus are each at 22 degrees ( 22 is a universal power number), and though in different signs, all indicate increased power generated at this time of the New Moon launching the new astrological year. 

“It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.” ~Rainier Maria Rilke

Rainbow                                                                                         Catherine Al-Meten

From Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden: “Is the spring coming?’ he said. “What is it like?”...”It is the sun shining on the rain, and the rain falling on the sunshine.” 

And as Spring begins, that is exactly how the day has been.  On Thursday, March 20, the Spring Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the Autumn Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere occur. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, “at the equinoxes, the tilt of Earth relative to the Sun is zero, which means that Earth’s axis neither points toward nor away from the Sun. (However, the tilt of Earth relative to its plane of orbit, called the ecliptic plane, is always about 23.5 degrees.)

Mark Twain once said of spring, “In the Spring, I have counted one hundred and thirty six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours.” And that certainly is the case for those of us who live in the Pacific Northwest. At the same time that we celebrate the new spring, The Sun enters Aries

Today the day begins with the in Sun 29/4 Pisces. Then the  Sun enters Aries March 20 at 12:58 PM EDT/9:58 PDT, moving us over the threshold of the old year into the new. The astrological year begins with Aries, awakens our indomitable spirit in whatever area of our life/chart it transits. We feel capable, inspired, and motivated to achieve our highest goals, to reach our fondest dreams. Being the first sign of the zodiac, Aries also shines its light on areas where we are naive and a bit unrealistic of all that is required to reach those goals.  Getting things started during the Sun’s transit of Aries, is no problem; following through and completing them is another story. Aries, a Cardinal sign, is more interested the the thrill of the chase and the competition than it is in doing what it takes to reach the end result or  find fulfillment.  

The motivating spirit of the Sun in Aries is great for meeting challenges, motivating yourself and others, and competing in games.  It’s also a good time to consider what you need to develop in yourself to fulfill more of your dreams and to follow through on what you begin. The Aries-Libra axis is highlight for the next month, and this gives us time to find greater harmony, tame our exuberance with concrete action. Notice where you are filling your life with an overabundance of activities, pursuing paths that lead you from your goals, or piling on more to an already full plate.  

The Sun in Aries is a great time for launching plans for the next year, and it’s also a good time to become more disciplined in your communication skills. For those of you whose birthdays are in the sign of Aries, this is an excellent year for you to focus on love and fill your life with art and beauty. Focusing on growth and making your home a center for your life and enjoyment, is the keynote of the year ahead. As the Sun makes a conjunction with Uranus in Aries later about 10-11 days from now, some major change may highlight the new year ahead for you. In any event, everyone can watch for major changes and sudden, unexpected news when the Sun in Aries conjuncts Uranus. 

The week begins with the transiting Moon at  16/40 of Scorpio, deepening our passions, awakening our intuition and imagination, and intensifying emotions on a very personal level.  Some of your deepest feelings and most intense desires are now stirred. We understand the hidden issues or old emotional wounds that still affect us, and we have a strong desire to reclaim our own power and discover what it is that is keeping us trapped in emotional patterns that upset and keep us stuck.  It is a good time to work at understanding how issues related to intimacy, psychological and spiritual complexes and mysteries, and any other type of area that needs exploring and figuring out. When the Moon in Scorpio forms an exact conjunction with Saturn tomorrow when it hits 23 degrees, there may be a significant awakening or insight that emerges from the subconscious or from the time and effort we put into studying and exploring some area of our life or personality. 

Mercury 3/15 Pisces has a tendency to create a type of fogginess in all forms of communication. Mercury in Pisces lends an air of vagueness to what we are thinking, feeling, or trying to express. Non-verbal communication is favored. Keep in mind, what you see is what you get. Stay away from trying to figure out what someone may mean through their spoken words. Instead, depend on what you actually experience for that speaks volumes more than what someone says, promises, or sugar coats. Rely more on your own intuitive senses, and less on what others may say the want. Creatively and artistically, this is an excellent time to act on inspiration and move on the currents of imagination and dreamy visions. With detailed work, be careful, making certain to double check anything that is important. Use caution too in how you express yourself to others making sure not to attempt to manipulate or use others. Do pay attention to your emotional and psychological responses for you know what you need, you understand how you feel, and you are in touch with what is really going on below the surface whether it is spoken and acted upon or not. This is an excellent time to listen to your intuition and notice how your actions and words affect others. 

Venus is in 13/26 degrees of  Aquarius, making our ideas and views of love and compassion a bit unconventional if not a lot detached. We may need to tame our altruistic fervor to save the world a bit as we tend to neglect those relationships that are right in front of us for the sake of the greater good.  If that is what you mean to do, so be it. If you put principles ahead of compassion in your personal life, the result may not be as rewarding you would like. Venus in Aquarius is driven towards freedom, independence, and equity.  

Recognizing that pursuing our own freedom, independence, equity, or any other desire, at the expense of others, is no real freedom. With freedom comes the responsibility to use that freedom wisely. With independence comes the obligation to honor both the independence of others and the interdependence between those we love and are responsible for. In an effort to be selfless, sometimes Venus’s transit in Aquarius can manifest as extreme selfishness, disregard for the welfare and rights of others, and a fairly one-sided relationship as we may feel we only want to play if we can play by our own rules.  This is not true freedom nor is it true independence. Notice how this struggle might manifest where Aquarius rules your chart/life during Venus’ transit. 

Mars  at 25/15 Libra, in retrograde motion (traveling behind the Sun), has been in an extended stay in Libra. During this retrograde phase, actions are put on hold, plans are being rearranged, disrupted, or cancelled, and relationships can be a source of some depression or discomfort. Mars, the planet of action in Libra, the mediator and negotiator, creates disturbances in relationships. Mars deals with issues related to anger as well as action, and in Libra, anger is suppressed or blocked. This leads to issues around power, control, and freedom of expression, and the period can be very difficult if it is not understood that we have to face and deal with our frustrations, anger, disappointment, and fear. Pretending they don’t exist, exacerbates their harmful effects in ourselves and in our relationships. Notice where you or others may be struggling with how to express emotions, feelings, and other ambiguous thoughts and beliefs.   The positive side of Libra is the ability to harmonize, negotiate, mediate, and find balance. The shadow side is not being able to take a stand or not being able to discern your own feelings as you are too caught up in trying to understand and please others.  Notice where you are giving more than you are receiving, and notice how understanding of yourself you are. Examine what your expectations are, and pare back on any area that is not equitable, fulfilling, or mutual. Release the need to please everyone at the expense of your own health and happiness. 

Jupiter at 10/46 Cancer reminds us that we still have a number of planets in water signs.  Mercury, Neptune, Chiron in Pisces, Saturn in Scorpio, and Jupiter in Cancer, continue to form a  waning grand trine in water. Jupiter, a Cardinal sign, awakens our needs and growth for compassion, empathy, and understanding. Women are especially helpful in helping us cultivate stronger family and friendship bonds. Whatever area of our life Jupiter is transiting will continue to be increasing in areas highlighted. Growth, greater involvement, deeper commitment, and travel and learning in this area of your life continues to be heightened. During the first 10 degrees you have come into touch with what matters most, what is drawing your interests and needs, and you have begun seeking the call of Jupiter in Cancer. Your need to explore this area, develop, and learn is grounded in your own desire for home, security, and safety. Whatever you are exploring through the Jupiter transit is helping nourish your desire to create a peaceful and nurturing life and home. Connections are vitally important to you, making the Mars transit in Libra even more apparent.  Anything you find disruptive or disheartening, can be counterbalanced by Jupiter’s transit through Cancer.  Build within you, the home you seek. Build within you the life and relationships that nurture you most. Envision now the perfect home, work, relationship, family, or life path, and keep the vision alive by knowing you attract all you need into your life now. Practice gratitude and  forgiveness. Develop ongoing practices to ground, center, and feed yourself and your spirit. See that whatever your path is, is the one you have been led to, and the one that opens before you each day. Embrace what is within and around you, and pay attention to what gifts you have. 

Saturn  23/3 Scorpio, also in retrograde, continues to churn up and transform us deep within. Saturn, the Great Teacher, in retrograde takes us back over old territory, reminding us of anything that is still hanging on to block, challenge, or impede our growth and progress.  The more we can sit in peace with this transformative process, the greater the opportunity for us to absorb the movement and change that has taken place. Even when we think we do not understand, we are learning to listen to how our life teaches us from within and from each encounter, each day’s progress, each night’s dreams and rest, and each other’s connection, commitment, and shared joy. In April, Saturn’s transformation partner, Pluto, The Great Transformer, begins its retrograde phase, assuring that we will have some issues to revisit, lessons to resolve, and areas of our lives to go deeper into to learn how ways to deepen our life experiences, discover the roots of our art, or delve more deeply into the mysteries of life that puzzle us and call us to become more understanding of who we are and what our our greater purpose is . 

Earlier in the week Venus formed a quincunx to Jupiter, calling attention to where we are overdoing, overworking, and overloading in some way. We may feel exhausted, and wonder why. It is time to take a rest, to unload and release ourselves from too much of anything. As I plow away at one task after another, I forget sometimes that I need to give myself breaks, rest times, and vacations.  This week I have noticed the need for more sleep, for cutting back on activities, and for giving myself time away from all my duties, tasks, and obligations...When we work for ourselves, we sometimes get to thinking we cannot take a break. Especially those of us who love what we do, often forget we still need to take time off.  Now is that time for many. Avoid causing yourself accidents, illness, burn out, and disconnection from what really matters. Plan a break. If you can’t fly to Hawai’i, take a break on your couch. Get a pile of books (from the library or used book store), and catch up on your reading. Take long walks, go for a hike, and take some afternoon naps. In spring, I often forget that when it stays light for so long, I have to plan breaks even more conscientiously. It stays light longer and longer, and we have to stop working, take breaks, and balance our lives more fully.  Devote some time for meditation and prayer each day. Spend time exercising, walking, swimming, or dancing. 

Invite company for dinner, or pack a picnic and head to the river, the beach, or the mountains for the day. Go away for the weekend, or invite guests to come and spend the weekend showing them the town and catching up. Enjoy life.  

Venus Sextile Uranus Thursday is a transit that favors doing something out of the ordinary. A good time to attend events, get together with friends, it’s also a good time to treat each other with respect and understanding. Take risks if you would like, and embrace the new, unusual. It may be time to try something new, consider how you might like to live differently, and think about how you might want to change the way you deal with finances. Technology, electronics, and metaphysics---all forms of energy that we use and that shape our lives, have an impact on us now. You may seek a new way to use technology, or may want to explore an area of metaphysics that can enhance your life now. Pay attention to those quirky feelings or odd-ball ideas that just might be fun to consider. Not necessarily a time to take big risks or actions, but definitely a time when we allow ourselves to think outside the box. What begins as an idea to move us to a new place, out of an old situation or pattern, can lead us into a more open, healthy path or action. Dream up some interesting ways to spring into action while this transit is active today. This transit coincides with the passage of the Sun into Aries, and the first day of Spring. 

On Friday, Mercury will be conjunct Neptune making us more sensitive and aware of all forms of communication. We pick up sensations where we are, and we are very intuitive and imaginative. We may also be prone to misunderstandings if we misread or misinterpret communications. Again, this is a time when we benefit greatly from taking some time off, spending time relaxing more, and getting refreshed and nourished. Our minds need rest as much, if not more, than our bodies, and using our minds to enjoy life (read poetry, listen or play music) rather than keeping our nose on the grindstone.  Allow yourself to drift, dream, and play with your imagination and with the children in your life.  Be aware of your own sensitivity to what others say or what you think they mean by the different ways they communicate with you.  Avoid confrontations or forcing the issue in areas where you feel disregarded, dismissed, or misunderstood.  Focus instead on what makes you happy, and what nourishes your soul.

Time to take some time off, relax and refresh, and begin envisioning what you would like to let go of and what you would like to welcome into your life. 

On Friday, Saturday, and much of Sunday, the Sagittarius Moon will energize us. We may find that we are more engaged in activities and connections with those who value and enjoy our efforts, work, and style. Shared ideas, and community connections are highlighted. 

As we welcome Spring (or Autumn), 

Virgo-Pisces axis, and Full Moon in Virgo rising

Pink Blossom Time                                                                                             Catherine Al-Meten

"I live my life in widening circles that reach out across the world." Rainer maria Rilke, Book of Hours.

First Quarter square of the Moon in Gemini to the Sun in Pisces, occurred on Saturday, March 8 at 17 degrees. This affects the mutable signs, Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces most significantly. Notice in your chart, the houses where the mutable signs are and where your personal planets, the Sun, and the Moon may have received the aspects. First quarter squares give up the first indication of how plans and projects begun on the New Moon are shaping up. And a week from today on March 16, the Full Moon in Virgo peaks, so this will be a significant and powerful week for those of us with key planets, aspects, and solar and lunar energy in the mutable signs.  

The Pisces-Virgo axis is about uniting the infinite with the finite, the spiritual with the material, and the illusionary through mindful presence of the ordinary. Dreams that were making their way into our consciousness at the time of the New Moon in Pisces, now appear in our visions and imaginations in greater clarity.  We begin to see how our desires are meant to manifest in the course of our daily lives and in the way we go about living day by day. As the song Day by Day

from the Broadway musical, Godspell reminds us. 

At the first quarter square, the light begins to dawn on us that whatever we dream of being, doing, having, creating, and becoming, has already begun, and continues to take form in our daily activities, thoughts, behavior, intentions, opportunities, relationships, and experiences.  Our ability to stay mindfully present to what we are doing and how we are being helps us appreciate and learn to work with what is rather than living in a fantasy or illusion of our egos. We are gifted with both the spiritual desires, dreams, and understanding and the physical gifts, health, mental and emotional clarity to bring our dreams to fruition. Whatever area the Pisces-Virgo axis falls in in your chart, is the area of your life where this challenge and blessing is currently active and emerging as a point to be receive, resolved, and rejoiced over.  

The rulers of this Virgo-Pisces axis are Mercury, Neptune, and Jupiter. The natural house rulers of these two constellations are the 6th and 12th houses. Themes like order and chaos, control and trust, service and devotion, and pragmatism vs creative energy.  When the shadow element of Virgo is at work, our need to control the area ruled by Virgo is apparent. We become critical of ourselves, and tend to allow our perfectionist tendencies to rule and indeed, overshadow other creative and harmonious elements of our nature. When the shadow side of Pisces is active, we get lost in our own delusions and avoid seeing how ideas remain in the realm of the unconscious and non-manifested if we do not bring them into some type of physical or material form. For example, we may talk to ourselves and others continuously about the advantages and disadvantages of taking a particular action or making a certain decision, yet we may never get around to doing anything but talking about it. This is a time when we can become more fully aware of what has heretofore been unconscious or out of our capacity to change or act. We can also see more clearly how we have been prepared to take action, make changes, or do that which we have been dragging our feet on.  If we do not make the changes, the changes will happen anyway, and then we will have to deal with the consequences of not taking actions or making choices that are needed. 

We are learning that we need both the ability to analyze, handle the details, take necessary steps, and dedicate our time, energy, and resources toward that which feeds our soul and nourishes our life in the direction of our dreams, desires, and calling.  We need to maintain a vision, the ability to see the whole picture, the finished product, or the end goal while taking care to take one step at a time, maintain optimum health and clarity, and integrate the spiritual with the physical aspects of our daily life. Whenever we overdo on one end of the spectrum (Virgo’s need for control, ‘nose to the grindstone’ mentality, or self-defeating attitudes and behavior vs Pisces dreams and visions, optimism and tendency to overlook the basic needs, and ability to revel in the vision and never get down to work), we miss the opportunity to use the energy of both to create, grow, and live fully in the present.  If at any moment you were to stop what you are doing, what does your life, as you live it right now, tell you about what matters, what is vital to your health and well being, and who you truly care about? The call is to live fully now, the life you envision for the future. Live as if it were as it should be already. This is the message of the fully healed, evolved experience of the Virgo-Pisces axis. Trust in the idea that how you live is meant to serve both your own good and the lives of those who depend on and love you. Being fully evolved or enlightened means you are able to see how everything you do speaks to how you love and serve others. 

In your astrological chart the houses represent different areas in your life. There are six sign polarities, representing the natural oppositions in our lives. 

1st house/Aries- 7th house/Libra axis.  The first house represents the Self and how you present yourself and are seen in the world. The seventh house represents Other, or partnerships, or how you relate in your closest relationships and partnerships (including marriage). The natural ruler of the 1st house is Aries  and the natural ruler of the 7th house is Libra. If you are tired of the way others treat or see you, examine what it is that you are sending out by the way you appear to be. How does your physical appearance, your self talk, the story you tell when you answer simple questions, the incongruities in your life speak louder than what you  believe about yourself?  Notice how your relationships reflect your willingness, desire, or need for connection and love.  What is happening now in your life that need to get a make over? 

2nd house/Taurus-8th house/Scorpio axis. Form vs transformation. 2nd house matters deal with personal values, material goods and our beliefs and values related to them, possessions, matters of security and issues related to how we value who we are vs how we are in relation to others. The 8th house/Scorpio aspect relates to our value in community, our reputation and use to others, our views and experience of destruction, death, and transformation, and how we search for meaning within the experience of living. The play between both ends of the spectrum relate to how we understand and integrate our sense of who we are with our purpose and deeper meaning and life purpose. Why did we come here, and what are we doing about it? How has our sense of who we are developed to the point where we have a sense of our purpose and place within the world? When these areas of our lives are affected by the Virgo-Pisces transit, we have the opportunity of being more mindful of what we say we value and what we actually do. We may seek to learn more about some of the more metaphysical, ancestral, karmic ties that connect us to the lives we are now living. Notice  how you are both teachers and students in every relationship, in every role or interaction, and in every experience you have. Pay attention to values that may no longer fit with or be in opposition to how you actually live.  Look for areas of incongruity, and walk in greater harmony. Walk the talk, or change the talk, both how you talk to yourself and how you talk about yourself to others. Notice your patterns, and what that which is still not healed is manifesting defensive talk or challenging behavior towards others. Notice how you are spending your time, and judging yourself. What kind of steps might be needed?

3rd house/Gemini-9th house/Sagittarius axis. The 3rd house matters relate to all forms of communication, particularly those with people in our immediate environment (siblings, neighbors, community) whereas 9th house relates to the higher mind, and the world beyond our immediate experience. Gemini represents the immediate, the mental activities and thoughts of the now while Sagittarius represents the higher mental activities, the bigger picture, that which lies beyond our immediate experience or understanding. The 3rd house represents day to day communication and travel, and the 9th house represents communication, travel of long distances, cultures, times, and ages. The 3rd house represents logic, organization, detail, and facts; the 9th house represents the search for meaning, understanding, knowledge, and the quest for meaning that leads to one’s higher calling. The Virgo-Pisces transits affect these areas of our lives by raising our awareness of the connection between our inner growth and our external experiences. When we are more open to expanding in both areas, we grow in both, and we learn what we cannot when stuck at one end of the spectrum or the other. 

4th house/Cancer-10th house/Capricorn axis. The 4th house/Cancer represents the home, one’s private life, where and how we make and feel at home, and how we were and are nurtured. The 10th house pertains to what our calling or purpose in life is. It pertains to how we are called to serve in our lives. Often referred to as the house of career, it is more about what and how we are called to live out our purpose or calling. The private vs public axis is one which presents challenges to all of us, and when the Virgo/Pisces axis falls here, this is what issues and conflicts may arise. 

5th house/Leo-11th house/Aquarius axis. This axis deals with the pull between our personal needs and desires and the impersonal. The 5th house has to do with creative self expression, pleasure, connection to children, and romance.  The 11th house has to do with our relationships in groups, organizations, friendships-interactions.  This axis pulls us to balance between our time and need for personal pleasure, creativity, romance, and personal fulfillment, and our need to interact and engage in meaningful ways with others. When the Virgo-Pisces axis transits affect this house, we are called to weigh in on how well we are maintaining a healthy balance between these two areas of our lives, and how we are able to integrate the two in meaningful ways. 

6th house/Virgo-12th house/Pisces axis. Virgo and the 6th house both relate to our physical existence--how we live day to day. Our physical health, our bodies, our work, whatever it is we do with our time, energy, and physical being. And Pisces and the 12th house relate to our spirituality and our spiritual identity. The 12th house is about mystery, spirit, the mystical, the hidden and the spiritual ties that bind us to meaning, inspiration, and intuitive knowledge.  The 6th house is about daily life, how we live from our heart or not, and how we use our gifts, talents, abilities, and knowledge. Pisces provides the gifts, Virgo provides the tools for using the gifts. How, in your life, are you being called to use your gifts and hone your skills and tools? How are you bringing ideas, inspiration, and intuition to life in your life? 

The Full Moon in Virgo on March 16, 2014 will peak at 10:08 AM PDT at  26 /02 degrees. Before the Full Moon, some other major aspects occur that shape the way we understand who we are and how we are living. On Tuesday, March 11, Mercury in the latter degrees of Aquarius squares Saturn in Cancer (Saturn is also retrograde). Due to Saturn’s recent retrograde movement, we may find ourselves receiving news, coming to a greater understanding, or communicating once again how we feel or understand something that is hindering our progress. The lessons seem to be more of an internal nature, though we what is within is always reflected in some way, in our surroundings and in whatever we are engaged in doing. Taking time for ourselves now, to listen more intently, to the messages welling up from our heart and soul. Listen to the call from within, and honor the blessings in your life that are surrounding you now. 

Time also during this Mercury aspect to review projects, make revisions, finish up what needs attending to. Do the work even when you see no rhyme or reason. Trust that whatever you have to do is somehow teaching you something of great value that will help you be achieve what you need and want. We still need to take care of details, or at least show our willingness to take steps that help clarify or make changes that open doors to that which is calling you to do, be, or change.

Mercury also makes a seisquadrate aspect to Jupiter on Thursday, making for a period when the recent station direct of Jupiter had been saving up for just such a day as this. The flow of ideas, information, news, and communication may seem like a torrential downpour. Take steps to keep breathing and letting go of trying to control the flow or take actions. This is a time to allow the flow to happen, and to notice--simply notice what stands out as vital, significant, or unusual.  Trying to deal with everything at once is not helpful; observing and becoming more mindful of what is opening up before and within you.  Notice your emotional responses to what is happening, and honor your need to take care of yourself while still honoring the valued friendships that shape and fill your life. 

Later in the late afternoon or early evening,  the Pisces Sun trines Saturn, the Great Teacher, and we get a tremendous glimpse of how blessed we are by life we have chosen. We become more grounded, and more intensely connected to that soul-deep sense of who we are and where we are. We are here for a purpose, and we connect to that higher purpose in our daily life and in the awakenings that we now feel flooded with. We see ourselves and our lives as they are, and we embrace life as it is. We feel our capacity to live life as it is, and to enjoy being who we are. Especially if we have been learning from Saturn’s journey into our depths, do we now begin to appreciate the gifts in some of the garbage, toil, and challenging work of the past few years. 

On Friday, Mercury trines Mars (also recently in retrograde). Our work, communication, and life activities in general, are energized and moving. We now receive what we have needed, and are actively engaged in doing what needs to be done. We also feel the thrill of being active and engaged. It is a great time for productive work and energizing engagements. Events, plans, and activities work out beautifully, and our work is engaging and pleasurable.

Next Sunday, I will not be posting a weekly forecast. It is my birthday, and I plan on having a beautiful day under the influence and blessings of the Full Moon in Virgo....exactly where both the Sun and Moon were at my birth. Enjoy bringing the disparities, incongruities, and conflicts of life into balance during this week of blessings from Virgo and Pisces rulers, Neptune (currently transiting Pisces too), Jupiter (transiting watery, security, comfort-conscious Cancer), and Mercury ( in innovative, unconventional, airy Aquarius). Also Chiron in Pisces. This is a week of healing, integration, and uniting disparate parts of ourselves and our lives in the atmosphere of wholeness, blessings, and unity. 

From one of my favorite sacred scriptures, I wish you many blessings.

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my right hand."  Isaaih 41:10

Jupiter turns direct, Venus enters Aquarius, water signs trine

Rivulet                                                                                                                  Catherine Al-Meten

The last week has been a very eventful one, with the New Moon in Pisces, Mercury's station direct, and

Sunday, edginess due to Venus Squaring Mars, Saturn stationing to begin its retrograde journey behind the Sun.  On Sunday, March 2, t

he Sun Sesquiquadrate Mars, made for an edgy, tightly-wound kind of day. Mars also just turned retrograde.  If you were able to channel energy and feelings of ambiguity into constructive areas, you may have avoided some conflict or been able to release some of that anxious type of energy. Nevertheless, there is a sense of needing to do something without knowing exactly what that might be.  This is one of those times when it is best to break tasks, chores, and projects down into bite-sized pieces. Avoid becoming over-dramatic or anxious about a vast of array of issues that you cannot handle all in one day or week. Instead, get ample rest, nourish yourself well, take long walks, and honor your physical, emotional, spiritual, mental, and relationships needs. Again, break things into manageable pieces so you can achieve something. Honor your accomplishments, regardless how small or seemingly few they are.

Monday morning, the Moon in Aries square Jupiter, conjunct Uranus, and then square Pluto, may find you waking up in the wee small hours of the morning, with a sense of urgency, excitement, or the need to do or fix something that has suddenly gone wrong. In my case, my kittens decided to make up for the play they’ve missed while convalescing from surgery-at 5:00 a.m. and in my bed, with me in the bed.  A wild awakening, that forced me up earlier than I needed or wanted to be. In the afternoon, the Sun in Pisces will sextile Pluto, the Great Transformer, in Capricorn.  This indicates that it’s good to have a plan, a strategy, and a vision of the ideal way of doing something or behaving in a situation, even if the ideal is not always within reach.  Trust that you have the capacity to organize yourself, set ideas into action, and develop ways of tackling big problems. 

Be creative and artistic in the way you approach whatever is out of balance right now.  View challenges as gifts that require just the ingenuity that you can bring to transform the challenge into a gift. This is also a good time to hold your own counsel. There are times when it’s best not to share everything we feel, know, or wonder with everyone.  This is one of those times.  Whatever we are learning through transformation is now coming to fruition, and it is an important time to hold onto our ideas, thoughts, feelings, and questions trusting that we are being divinely led and inspired. When a project, a change, a development is gestating, it is important to leave the ideas alone to grow and develop on their own. It is also vital to listen to your intuition, trust your own sensibilities and knowledge, and allow your own sense of proportion to guide you. We are more likely to achieve what we have been searching for now by allowing things to unfold and develop of their own accord. Sometimes we have to trust, step out of our own way, and allow Divine order to fall into place within and around us. We cannot do this if we are using only ego-directed energy to try to fix, push, rationalize, or make things happen. What was lost, will be found, What was thought impossible, will now manifest. Step back, take some time to see what is appearing before you, falling away (as in issues that are disintegrating now), and working out better than you had anticipated.

On Monday evening, the Sun in Pisces conjuncts Chiron, making this a time when we can experience a major healing. We discover a greater sense of purpose, and can discover what it is that makes us feel we are ‘not enough’ or ‘not yet good enough’ to achieve our goals, to have our dreams fulfilled, or to find our place in the sun.  We each have a Divine purpose that unfolds continuously throughout our lives. Chiron, the Wounded Healer, awakens us to those areas deep within, that hinder us from feeling worthy, that make us doubt or fear our purpose and right to do what we feel impelled to do. You might want to ask yourself who or what are you measuring yourself agains? What stands in  your way of being what you feel your are intended to be or to do what you are meant to do? Are there old messages you keep replaying in your own thinking, or have you created a murky fantasy life that keeps you immersed in negativity, doubt, fear, or anger?  Examine how you talk to and about yourself, and see what wounds you may be using to define and govern yourself. And then see what you might do to change that thinking and behavior. 

That is what Chiron awakens in us, and when the Pisces Sun is in the picture, we get a much clearer idea of where we are meant to shine, and where we are hampering our own progress.

On Tuesday, the Moon changes signs, moving from Aries to Taurus. Mid-morning, the Moon semi-square Chiron in Pisces, tends to block our ability to see relationships as balanced and harmonious. The semi-square focuses our attention and emotional responses on our differences rather than on similarities.  It may be a difficult time to hear what someone else is trying to say or do, or for us to make ourselves understood. Instead of butting heads, focus on what is going well, or at least back away from pushing and obsessing over those areas where we are basically viewing the world from a totally different perspective than the other. This is a key point in identifying that area within ourselves, that we are struggling to overcome, improve on, or actually notice. Chiron, the Wounded Healer, helps us come to terms with that within us that hurts the most and that which we are afraid to examine. It is often that which we believe we have already handled. This aspect takes us to  a new level  of healing if we are wise enough not to get entangled in emotional and shadow-type reactions. 

On Wednesday, March 5, Venus enters Aquarius where she will stay until April 5. Relationships take on a more detached and less personal. Friendship becomes a valued aspect of all relationships, and the romantic relationships we form at this time may be very different from what we normally attract into our lives.  Aquarius helps us unite with others on the basis of out of the ordinary, unconventional tastes, interests, and lifestyles. Whatever relationships begin under this aspect, will carry some heavy weight and commitments.  The Moon in Taurus all day makes some nice aspects to (sextiles to Jupiter, Chiron, and the Su) and a trine to Pluto, making this a more pleasant day, emotionally.

On Thursday, March 6 we awaken with an early morning Jupiter stationing direct in Cancer, and with the Moon changing signs from Taurus to Gemini. With Jupiter’s station and movement in direct motion, we move from a time of deep introspection, inner awareness and growth, and issues of authenticity and honesty, to a time of more activity, expansion, discovery, and growth through the way we live life externally. We are buoyed by our growth during the retrograde phase, and if we made choices and were willing to face our true desires, our growing edges, and areas that require growth, healing, and attention, our actions will be influenced by greater growth and abundance than we may have experienced in the past. We step on our own shoestrings when we fail to face ourselves, and Jupiter has given us a gentle nudge, reminded us of our higher purpose, and unleased some appreciation for our innate and Divinely inspired gifts and opportunities. We are armed with what we require to fight off any challenges, break down any barriers, or surmount any obstacles that had stood in our way in the past. Due to Jupiter’s transit through Cancer, natural ruler of the 4th house, home, security, family, motherhood, and affection, we are more connected to that which we need to feel safe and comfortable in our own skin and in wherever we choose to make our home.  Additionally, Jupiter is favored in Cancer, and this transit allows for us to feel greater compassion for ourselves and others. We get support from those who care for us, and who appreciate us. And we in turn can express greater love, compassion, empathy, and understanding to others. We have been working on creating homes that are more supportive and nurturing of growth, inspiration, security, and our ideas about identity, belonging, and home. 

Friday and Saturday, the Moon remains in Gemini.  Early Saturday, the first quarter square of the Sun in Pisces to the Moon in Gemini is formed. The square is formed at 17 degrees, and affects all the mutable signs including Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces.  This week completes a major first week of the new lunar year--four planets have changed direction. We feel the strength of the energy, and will continue to feel deep-seated movement within and signs of movement and change happening around us. Both Neptune in Pisces and Jupiter in Cancer, support the new moon’s energy during this lunar cycle. Change is afoot, and the first signs may begin to appear at this time. Whatever effort you put into setting your intentions free, will net you wonderful rewards and a promising turn of events. Neptune, the higher octave of Venus, also brings spiritual, mystical, and divine love connections to us as we seek to connect to the energy of Jupiter, and on March 6 when Jupiter goes direct, this energy is doubled. Make a mark with your creative and literary projects now. Whatever seeds we plant now, will net us a great harvest. Jupiter also portends journeys, and this may be the time to plan for traveling to meet and connect with those from the past who share parts of your life. It is a beautiful time for collaborations of all kinds, including the romantic and mystical types. 

New Moon in Pisces: Opening to our depths

Big Sur Coastline and Bixby Bridge                                                                                                    Catherine Al-Meten

New Moon in Pisces on March 1, 2014 sets the tone for the final weeks of winter. Conjunct the imaginative Neptune in Pisces, trine  Jupiter in Cancer, and sextile Pluto in Capricorn, this New Moon inspires, motivates, and fills us with creative energy and ideas. We begin this week with the Pisces Sun in exact conjunction with Neptune. Our intuition, imagination, and instincts are sharp today, and we feel a strong infusion of enlightening spiritual and creative energy.  Listening to the stronger inner urgings, spotting signs and symbols pointing toward your true north, and feeling very much in touch with what you know to be right and perfect about who you are, where you are, and what you want characterize the powerful aspect.  Pay attention to whatever rises to the surface of your consciousness at this time.

On Monday, February 25, the Moon changes signs, going from Sagittarius into Capricorn. Throughout Monday the Moon makes aspects, in the late-afternoon and early evening  forming sextiles first to Neptune and then to the Sun, and then semi-square Saturn just before Venus forms a sextile to Saturn just before bedtime. Venus in the third decant of Capricorn forms an exact sextile to Saturn in Capricorn. This aspect tends to smooth out any wrinkles in relationships, helping us connect with the stronger elements that bind us in our intimate connections. Rather than living in unrealistic expectations, we recognize what drives us and what keeps us energized in our relationships and partnerships. A good time to consider some of the sound advice and reasonable opportunities that are within our reach now. Assistance now comes in tangible form, and we are aware of what what our needs and drives are.  We reconnect with those we may have lost touch with, and we discover the deeper ties that nourish and sustain us through love, compassion, and strength.

Also on Monday, Pluto, the Great Transformer in Capricorn, sextiles Chiron, the Wounded Healer, delivers great strength and deep healing by allowing us to see what means we have for coping with residual trauma and chronic problems that we have been dealing with for quite some time. Because of much of the hard work we have been forced to deal with during Pluto’s transit through whatever area of our life Capricorn has been moving, we have a better idea of what attitudes, habits, expectations, and patterns of behavior and thinking block our good. It is not that we have been able to change everything, but we are much better able to see what we are doing and when we tend to react in unhealthy ways. Chiron helps us heal through our woundedness. Rather than living out of our past traumas, pain, depression, illnesses, or anger, we are more consciously able to identify what no longer serves us in all areas of our lives, but particularly in the area of life the Capricorn transit of Pluto is. We have gained a greater sense of our own authority and power, and have become more willing and able to release what needs to be released as we appreciate trying on some new ways of behaving, perceiving, and responding to issues related to places where we feel vulnerable and receptive. Healing requires that we face the reality of who we are, and this aspect allows us a golden opportunity for making  breakthroughs in our own growth and healing. 

During the night on Wednesday, Jupiter forms a square to Uranus. While we may not all be awake for this aspect, we will certainly feel the powerful impact of paying attention to what needs to be changed in our lives. We all reach a point when the areas that need to change and transform force a decision.  One of my favorite analogies of how we relate to the process of change is the card table and the jigsaw.  We live our lives as if we were sitting at a card table putting together a huge jigsaw puzzle. Just at the point when we think we have almost completed the puzzle, someone walks by and kicks the leg of the table. The result is, our puzzle flies apart, and we either have to start over or we give up. Sometimes we get to a point in some area of our lives where we resist change or we sit too long on a decision, and something external happens that forces us to resolve an unresolved issue.  We don’t make a decision or choice, so we are at the mercy of someone else’s decision or choice. 

According to Professor Emeritus, Frank L. Lambert of Occidental College (Chemistry), “The second law of thermodynamics says that energy of all kinds in our material world disperses or spreads out if it is not hindered from doing so.” In other words, change happens, constantly.  It is the nature of the Universe in which we all live. We, humans, work very hard sometimes, to find our ‘balance’ or keep things the way they are, when in fact nothing stays the same. We live and work and have our being in the constant process and cycle of growth, development, breakdown, and rebirth.  This week, we may see that some area of our life (look to see where Uranus in 10 degrees of Aries and Jupiter in 10 degrees of Cancer are. This should be a significant area of your life for a major change.  Listen for those inner messages and watch to see how unexpected, sudden, and perhaps shocking actions and events bring about the change you need, make the signs clear, or force you into making changes you may have been resisting.

What we seek is freedom from something, and what we need is to discern the change that has already taken place energetically.  We want to avoid making changes in the mistaken idea that we have control over or the information necessary for changing the course of our lives right now. Change and energy evolve to meet the needs, the stages of development, and the desires that we have expressed.  Pay attention to the kinds of messages you are sending out and/or telling yourself about who you are, what you want, and what your story is. Our thoughts and words hold energy and the power. Now is the time to be discerning about what we are being called to do/be, what and who is guiding and protecting us, and how we are in alignment with the Divine’s energy and plans for us. Time to discern how we have attracted to us the circumstances, relationships, opportunities to help us grow, develop, serve, and live out our highest good.

The North Node retrograde in 29 degrees of Libra until March 14, is transiting in the anaretic degree. This is a period of time when we are reviewing what we have left behind and moving to complete and release whatever we do not want to take with us on the journey that lies ahead.   The shift last week from the axis of Scorpio/Taurus, now releases us to move in new directions. However, as in the case with all new periods of time, relationships, projects/jobs, roles we take on, there is a period where we may need to spend some time letting go of old viewpoints, habits, perspectives, beliefs, or patterns of thinking and behavior. This is one of those times. A good way to use this period of time is by releasing the ‘stuff’ around you. One of my yoga buddies told me how she and a friend were decluttering together, and how ‘all of a sudden’ they were discovering more time available.  I woke up yesterday at dawn and immediately cleaned out the refrigerator. Now I have to tell you, this is not my usual morning routine. Don’t think I have ever done that, but was compelled to get it done.  Working on cleaning and clearing your space is a good way to use this North Node energy. 

On Friday, February 28, the Sun in Pisces is trine Jupiter in Cancer.  Jupiter the planet that represents abundance, growth, good fortune, and the fullness of life makes this very favorable trine to the Sun in Pisces the constellation that represents imagination, intuition, creativity, fertility, children, pleasure, and art and artists.  Use this very creative energy to create, connect, flourish, and discover beauty within and around you. Nourish yourself, body, mind, and spirit, with the best use of this energy, and avoid squandering your energy and good will through addictive, extreme, or delusional behavior and thinking.  Discover the essences of this beautiful connection in using your time and energy to love and serve others, to create beauty, to nourish and feed your soul, and to communicate and express yourself from the place within your that connects to the Divine nature of all that is.

Also a major shift occurs today as Mercury stations direct. Ruler of communications, contracts, negotiations, and business, this shift opens the doors for movement forward that has been delayed since the last New Moon. The New Year of the Horse now begins in full force. Coming just before the New Moon in Pisces, we feel a release and surge of energy and clarity. 

On Saturday, the New Moon in Pisces is exact at 3:00 AM EST/12:00 midnight PDT. Completing the Aquarius lunar cycle, the Pisces New Moon brings us to the portal of an beautiful and mystical inner journey. The loose stellenium of water signs energy: Sun in Pisces, 10 degrees, Jupiter in Cancer at 10 degrees, Neptune and Chiron in Pisces 5 degrees for Neptune/12 degrees for Chiron, and Saturn  in 23 degrees of Scorpio, brings us a flood of gifts of energy, consciousness, and opportunities to become richer in compassion, empathy, humility, service, and creative discovery. Also, with the connection to Chiron, we can heal from whatever wounds are still keeping us from our highest good. An excellent time for meditating, retreating, praying, and for engaging in healthy, enriching practices and activities (yoga, hiking, kayaking, playing sports). Embrace the water in whatever forms it takes, and let yourself be cleansed, nourished, and enriched for growth and greater abundance.  

Within 24 hours of this New Moon. four major planets that have been retrograde, go direct. Just the day before the New Moon, Mercury in Aquarius goes direct.  Saturn and Mars  turn retrograde shortly after the New Moon, and Jupiter is slowing down to go direct on March 6. Four planets changing direction within 24 hours of the New Moon, make this a period of time when we may feel as if everything is coming to a screeching halt. This is a time to practice patience and seek inner calm amid whatever chaos is going on. With such major energy shifts, it is the time to discern, set intentions, and prepare yourself for major movement.  A square between Jupiter at 10 degree s of Cancer and Uranus at 10 degrees of Aries, has been pushing us to get things done, make major changes, and prepare ourselves for movement and clarity about what we truly desire and need.  This slow-down period caused by this square, is also part of a growing Grand Cardinal Cross in April. Between now and then, the energy is growing stronger and pushing us through internal speculation and discernment and external relationships and circumstances, to prepare for major change.  The planets moving toward that include: Mars now in Libra until March 11, Saturn in Scorpio until March 22, Jupiter at 10 Cancer until  March 24.

Venus in Capricorn’s waning sextile with Saturn in Scorpio finds us moving with grace, beauty, and intention. All this is done within the privacy and intimacy of our closest partnerships. We honor and respect the sanctity and privacy of our closest relationships, now more than ever. Mercury’s transit through Aquarius provides us with clarity of thought and mind. We gain the gifts of perspective and  discerning detachment with this transit. Allow yourself time to reflect, appreciate, and honor those aspects of yourself, your relationships, your roles and your work, your art and your calling that bring you into the deepest understanding of who you are and what you are here to experience in this life.

“Real intimacy is a sacred experience. It never exposes its secret trust and belonging to the voyeuristic eye of a neon culture. Real intimacy is of the soul, and the soul is reserved.”  From Anam Cara by John O’Donohue

Sun entering Pisces, North/South Node Libra/Aries Cycle Beginning

Last week culminated with the Full Moon in Leo, and found us standing at the threshold between the past and the present, being showered with ideas, new experiences, and impending change. This week, February 16-February 22, two of the key astrological shifts include the Sun’s movement from Aquarius to Pisces and the North Node/South Node shift.  We have now completed the Scorpio/Taurus cycle North/South Node cycle, and have begun a 19-month cycle of Libra/Aries cycle.  If you have noticed yourself and others being tired and a bit overwhelmed, this is a good indicator of where this shift is affecting you. Take what time you need to catch your breath (seriously, focus on doing some breath work), getting more rest, and making some changes that allow you to live in greater harmony-physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. 

At 6:50 A.M. on Tuesday, February 18, the North Node, the point of destiny, growth, karmic, and spiritual development in our chart, changes our focus for spiritual growth. 

The North and South Nodes are important parts of an astrological chart and of an understanding of how our lives are affected by Universal energies. The lunar nodes are points where the orbit of the Moon crosses the ecliptic aligning North and South points/nodes in direct opposition to one another and to the Moon’s respective alignment with the Sun and the Earth. The North Node represents that part of our development that is pointing us toward healing, growing, and developing spiritually through our physical experiences, relationships, and personal challenges. The South Node represents those gifts, innate abilities, and habitual patterns that come naturally to us, and those areas of comfort we fall back on when meeting obstacles, challenges, or growing edges. If we attempt to overcompensate for our weaknesses by depending only on our strength, without attempting to grow, change, and develop, we create disharmony, imbalance, and increased challenges. The nodes hold the key to our spiritual lessons and growth.

The North Node symbolizes and points us in the direction of our life lessons, growing edges-the underdeveloped and shadow aspects of our being that are meant to help us grow spiritually. The South Node symbolizes and points us in the direction of our gifts, talents, innate tendencies, and habitual patterns--the overdeveloped aspects of our being. The North Node is the soul messenger of your astrological chart, constantly a reminder of your soul purpose and mission in this lifetime. The South Node reminds you of the gifts you have to use for that purpose, and is where you need to focus your powers of discernment so you avoid becoming distracted by how those same gifts can keep you from soul growth. 

For example, if your North Node in Gemini in the 8th house signifies the need to learn to not exhaust yourself, your resources, and your energy by involvement with people, experiences, and relationships that drain you. This placement gives great passion, drive, and determination, however it requires great discernment to avoid soaring, crashing, and burning (not literally) from overdoing. Interest and passions need to be tamed, and doors need to be closed, to avoid always looking back and refusing to move on where it is necessary.

North Node issues and our spiritual, soul development depends on how we use our South Node abilities, gifts, and resources.  Take advantage of creating harmony between the North and South nodes by appreciating South Node abilities, gifts, karmic resolution, and wisdom. South Node is what we bring into this life. Enjoy the unshakable knowledge  of what you truly love and enjoy, and immerse yourself in it. Let South Node gifts feed your soul. Discover the highest potential of the South Node, and focus on developing and living out of that as you deal with the lessons of the North Node (and whatever that house holds for you). 

With the shift of the North and South nodes, we now observe and experience where both Libra and Aries are in your life/chart. These are the two areas where our relationships will go through the greatest transformation--relationships, partnerships, and other intimate connections--are now places where we learn to interact and learn to compromise, integrate, and love more deeply. 

South Node growing edges relate to our expression of anger, aggression, and other overactive yang energy.  Overactive yang may manifest as  selfishness, pushiness, and other forms of untamed aggressive angers (inner and outer directed). 

On Tuesday, at 9:51 AM PST the Sun  in the last degree, 29/59 of Aquarius forms a trine with the North Node at 29/59 degrees of Libra--both anaretic degrees. Anaretic degrees are critical and decisive degrees.  Our destiny and authentic self is aligned with intellect, and the direction for the next 19 months is set. This is a very powerful and potent moment. Play close attention to the insight and events related to close relationships that you have at this time.

At 9:59 A.M. PST, just a few minutes after the trine, the Sun enters Pisces. The creative, intuitive, and emotional depths of Pisces now brings us into deeper connection with our unconsciousness, dreams, and intuition.  The house where the Pisces Sun transits brings us to a place where we feel more compassion, sensitivity, and where we have an increased desire to serve and care for others. The unhealed and undeveloped aspect of the Pisces Sun--the shadow-- may manifest through delusion, naivete, denial, or addictive behavior. 

By 10:00 on Tuesday morning, The Sun parallels the North Node in Libra. It awakens our conscious self and ego desires and helps us envision paths of growth ahead. Look at this time as the lifting of shadows that enable us to see where the growing edges for our body, mind, and spirit are.  Time also to identify boundaries and to shift our focus to nourish and meet our own needs in areas where we have been focused too much on others (at the expense of caring for ourselves). For the next 19 months we walk the path of harmony, seeking and discerning to maintain a life lived in process of giving and receiving love. 

Mercury in Aquarius retrograde forms a semisextile  Juno, the Goddess of Partnerships and marriage.  With Pisces, our Highest Heart blends with Libra, our Highest Mind to bless the path that opens before us.  

Mercury also forms a square later in the morning, with Saturn in Scorpio.  This transit may trigger some tension, friction, limitations, and some struggles between the conscious mind and the intellect. We get a taste of how we attempt to learn about growing edges, and how limitations affect us. We may notice how what we feel and believe come into conflict with some of the patterns and habits our intellect has used to justify, rationalize, or judge ourselves and others. This aspect is the third of three squares between Mercury and Saturn. The first hit on January 25, and the third will come on March, 10.  Notice how this affects what you are learning about being in relationship and being able to give and receive love, without the boxes and stereotypes that have hemmed us in in the past. 

When Saturn is involved, we may experience hazy, cloudy, and fuzzy thinking, and we may feel stuck or blocked. There may be an inner struggle between that archetypal inner judge, critic, or task master (or in a more unhealed manner, we may project this on others ). Mercury in Aquarius makes us want to act in more unconventional ways. We feel like our thinking is ‘out there‘  and we experience ourselves in new and exciting ways.  This aspect may bring us to be more aware of how our thinking and desires are changing and releasing energy that is ready to go.  The battle between “what we should do/be” and “what we long for and need” is likely to become forefront with this aspect. when it occurs.

Transits Through the Week:

On Sunday, February 16, Mercury in Aquarius trine Mars in Libra in the middle of the night, brought sweet dreams and had us awakening to a softer energy than we’ve felt lately. The Moon trine Pluto and Venus later in the day, also made whatever lessons we had to resolve about relationships, seem easier. 

Later in the evening the Sun semi-square Pluto may make us feel a bit edgy and uncomfortable before going to bed. Areas that are reminding us of the tough work of transition, now rub up against us.  Do something concrete to release or identify areas that are causing any kind of friction, and change the energy from one of discomfort to one of action. 

Monday, February 17, Mercury in Aquarius, semi-square Uranus in Aries,  may mean we receive some jarring or interesting news or information. This information is generally related to something we have already been dealing with, and so we understand that information flow depends upon a consistent process of give and take, come and go, and requires that we continually integrate information, ideas, and thoughts into the changing landscape of our lives.

Tuesday, February 18, the Sun enters Pisces, and the Moon in Libra squares both Jupiter in Cancer and Pluto in Capricorn.  We feel the more personal and inner energy of watery Pisces and feel the Moon’s emotional tug for balance as it weighs against our desire for security, nourishment, abundance, and life-affirming resources and the ongoing, pragmatic lessons of change brought to us by Capricorn’s long, ongoing journey through this area of our lives. This is the day when the North and South Nodes also change signs (as discussed earlier in this article), and so we may be a bit more emotional about the major shifts of energy today than we normally feel.

Wednesday, February 19, Mercury in Aquarius squares Saturn in Scorpio, the Moon is in Sagittarius, and Venus semi-square Neptune in Pisces make for an interesting day, inside and out, as we begin adjusting to the shifts of energy.  We may meet with some challenges in communication based not so much on what is said, but what is sensed, felt, intuited, or remembered. 

Thursday, February 20, 2014 is a day when the Moon in Scorpio makes a series of favorable and pleasant trines to the Sun, Neptune, Jupiter, and Chiron. This is a day when we can feel quite romantic, loved and loving, and when emotional exchanges and experiences blend to allow us a beautiful day. Music, art, poetry, and all forms of beauty help us connect in ways that awaken the power of Love within us and our appreciation of others and the world in which we live. 

Friday, February 21, 2014, the Moon in Scorpio continues to form aspects starting with a square to Mercury in Aquarius, then a sextile to Venus in Capricorn. Then the Moon conjuncts Saturn Friday afternoon, connecting our emotions to our deep-seated subconscious and unconsciousness.  We feel deep connections in whatever areas Scorpio rules in our chart.  

Saturday, February 22, 2014, the third quarter square of the Moon to the Sun occurs. The third quarter square between the Moon in Sagittarius and the Sun in Pisces, is a time  we prepare for the period leading up to the New Moon next week.  Paying attention to details, revising plans, changing and altering projects can all be done during this time frame. By the third quarter of the lunar month, we have an idea of what is working well and what is not. We find time to sink into a deeper, more reflective period where we reconsider anything that isn’t working properly, meeting our needs, or fitting into the long-range plans. Since this week starts with some major new cycles, we may discover that we no longer feel as strongly about some things, and we are more interested in following our intuition and creative drives. 

This week we move into Pisces water energy, and into the archetypal energy of the Dreamer, the Healer, the Mystic, and the Artist.  Time to tap into and trust our creative imagination, our intuitive guidance, and the inner wisdom of our dreams, our senses, and the Divine connection that awakes and infuses us with spiritual energy for our spiritual journey and purpose. Time to be receptive and reverent, open to honoring and trusting how Spirit speaks and informs you.  Look for ways to slow down, tune into the different ways you experience Spirit’s voice in your life. 

“A sanctity hangs about the sources of our being, whether physical, social, or imaginary.” Santayana