On Venus Affairs

It is significant that we talk about Venus as she made her rare retrograde station in Gemini yesterday. As seen from the earth, Venus is in the western sky, brilliantly bright these evenings, but will now quickly disappear, move into the setting Sun, chasing him down into the underworld, catching up to the Sun in a rare transit across the surface on June 5th-6th and then will become visible again rising ahead of the Sun in the morning mid June.  Venus does this apparent backward movement only every 19 months, the last time being October 8th-November 18th 2010 in Scorpio to late Libra.  This time she stays exclusively in Gemini from April 3rd to August 7th, when her average stay in one sign is 4 weeks.

So what does this mean??? Firstly, those persons with Taurus or Libra rising, or Sun or Moon there, be on notice (we all have those 2 signs someplace in our charts); your ruler is taking a trip backwards to pick up money, values, friendships,self esteem, relationships, valuables, or possessions that you might have forgotten you had and need to be reminded of. Venus rules what we WANT, not with our heads, but what our hearts are telling us. We learn how to attract to us and receive everything we need with a well functioning Venus. When Venus connects with the Sun on June 5th at 9:10 PM EDT a new heartfelt desire begins to stir for each of us. This time of Venus' sacred journey to reconnect to the Sun gives us the opportunity to go inside to feel what that is.The connection between Venus and our physical bodies is strong and those who are in tune viscerally will have an easier time because our bodies know the truth that our hearts are trying to tell us.

Because it is happening in the sign Gemini, all Geminis will be affected too. Gemini is the sign of information gathering and communication. This signals that we have permission to take in information more selectively, with a care as to whether what we are choosing to think about is positive, to speak to each other in more warm and loving ways and to share with others only what feels right. We might find ourselves renegotiating a contract, running into an old love, reconnecting with a sibling, writing about values, justice issues or what it feels like to value certain possessions, one another and ourselves.

So much has been happening lately to highlight Venus' issues. Each of these events pinpoints a Venus theme in one way or another, what we value, are valuing, negotiate for, love to look at;  the crisis in the USA's foreign policy toward China with the dissident Chan escaping to the American Embassy, potentially embarassing China. We had to stick by our valued Freedom, without having the Chinese lose face and not harm Chan;  the painting "The Scream" sold for more money than any other painting before it, 120 million dollars;  JPMorgan Chase Bank revealed they'd lost 2 billion dollars on a risky bet, which could have been prevented by stricter regulations that the bank has vehemently opposed; the upcoming FB stock option opening which will net the 28 year old (birthday May 14th, with planet Jupiter (lots of, success) conjunct his Sun in Taurus) 18 billion dollars; the Edwards campaign financing lawsuit involving a 90 year old society matron; 2 European elections lost by the prevailing austerity minded governments; the defeat of the legalization of same sex marriages in North Carolina;  but the announcement that President Obama is supporting it, saying "treat others the way you want to be treated". Let us all raise a glass to Venus in her journey underground as she reconnects to the Sun and we all have the chance to acknowledge what our hearts tell us.

A Personal Taurean Story

In case any one missed the blog I wrote for The Mountain Astrologer Magazine last week about what having Taurus rising means to me currently I am putting the link here.  My sister Mary writes, edits and monitors their weekly blog posts which are terrific.  http://mountainastrologer.com/tma/a-personal-taurus-report

One Last Mars/ Neptune Reminder

People are always coming up to me and repeating what I told them, "Things will get better after Mars moves ahead again, right?"  "Yes" I say, but the question becomes," better for what?"  Mars stationed  last Friday the 13th at 3 degrees of Virgo, looked across the zodiac and  planet Neptune was staring back from 3 degrees of Pisces.  This means several things to a person interested in using astrology to move in concert with the times.

One is that any action we take from now until March 2014, the next station of Mars, will have to incorporate all that Neptune signifies. Neptune is the planet of spirituality, self sacrifice, dreams, false hopes, visions and artistic pursuits. There will have to be a spiritual or artistic component to our actions in order to be completely authentic, unless we succumb to Neptune's illusionistic tendencies (always possible).

If you are designing a health regime (Mars in Virgo) for your self, you will be motivated more from a spiritual place, that is to rid the body of toxins (Neptune), or gain more clarity (clearer visions). Yoga is a perfect Mars/ Neptune pursuit.  If you are pursuing a new creative endeavor, activities such as writing poetry, playing an instrument, starting an art class or joining a choir are perfect. If you are involved in work and an opportunity take on a new altruistic cause is presented that too is supported.  Any activity that needs a meditative focus (including meditation itself of course) or involves self sacrifice for the good of someone else is highly recommended.

It is also interesting to witness the events in the outer world that materialize over the time span that Mars and Neptune are conversing.  Last weekend was the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic;  the media was full of all the heartbreaking stories and scandals. If the You Tube videos, "Why They Sunk the Titanic" that astrologer Erik Francis brought to my attention, are to be believed it was actually her sister ship the Olympic that went down.  This is one of many mysteries surrounding the Mars/ Neptune event;  Mars (accidents, activity) and Neptune (oceans, sacrifice/ loss, frauds). We were enthralled in remembering that tragic event this past weekend as Mars and Neptune opposed one another in the sky.

Another event in the news this weekend was the Columbia women/Secret Service Presidential advance men alleged sex (Mars) Neptune (scandal). After a dispute over money, the participants turned the party into a scandal, which made headlines.  It is also in the news that our soldiers (Mars) coming back from the Middle East since 2007 are reporting a 35% increase in the number of psychological problems (Neptune). The VA has to hire more professionals to heal (Mars) the sick (Neptune).

From my own life, I went to the movies last night and saw "The Way" with Martin Sheen. A father takes his son's ashes to finish the 1,000 km walk (Mars) from southern France to the Cathedral Santigo de Compostela  in northern Spain to come to terms with the meaning (Neptune) of life his son had chosen.  It was a spiritual journey.  (Mars/Neptune).

One last thought-both planets are moving slowly so we have many examples from life of some of the many possible manifestations.  Please do not feel if you have not already decided upon your own spiritual journey, that you have missed the boat (Mars/ Neptune). Neptune has a way of making us indecisive as to what action to take. You have from now until March 2014 to come up with something.   If you do want to start this month -best advice- wait until Saturday when the New Moon occurs at 3:20 AM EDT.  Always better to begin any new adventure after the Sun and Moon have married, and the tide is with us.

Mid April

Seems like there is a lot going on-just past the Full Moon when things come to a head. Did you notice how bright the Full Moon was, and how big she looked?  That is because this Full Moon coincided with the Moon's perigee, that is closest pass with the earth. This past Full Moon, the one May 5th (especially) and the Full Moon in June will coincide with the Moon passing quite close to us. It is not unusual for the Moon to pass close to the earth, but it is not often that perigees coincide with Full Moons. We know that the Moon and Sun's gravitational pull affects the tides on the earth. A correspondence has been observed between the Sun/Moon placement, either at New or Full Moon, combined with perigee and earthquakes. The news of  one in Indonesia Wednesday and another in Mexico City yesterday is not altogether unexpected. We can anticipate news of others occurring at the next 2 Full Moons unfortunately as well.

This week has us coming off of a Mercury station.  I view these times when Mercury is apparently at  standstill as excellent times for me to standstill too. From the 31st of March until 10th of April the messenger of the gods only traveled 2 degrees.  Mercury's normal speed is over a degree a day.  So if you have noticed that things have been a little stuck lately, this will change.  Mercury affairs (buying, selling, writing, traveling) will start to pick up again especially by Monday the 16th in the afternoon, when he moves back into fast paced Aries-good bye dreamy Pisces.

A good lesson about the potential of what can happen in a retrograde period is the Martin/Zimmerman case in Florida. The shooting occurred February 26th, just as Mercury was stationing to go retrograde. It took 6 weeks until Mercury was going forward at that same degree for charges to be filed.  This is a very sad example of what can happen between the beginning and end of a Mercury retrograde cycle. Decisions made at first had to be rethought, with a different outcome by the end of the cycle.

Next we have planet Pluto stationing last Tuesday the 10th.  Pluto, the god of the underworld, or Hindu Lord Shiva, the creator and destroyer, has come to call.  Anyone born around October 2nd, March 30th, July 1st, and December 31st, any year, are already feeling the effects. There are others too, but you would have to know more details about your natal chart to know if you are having a Pluto transit.  You cannot miss it-if you are having one, as Pluto is not mild or subtle. Either you have to go with someone into the dark side or will be taken there yourself.  There is a sense with a Pluto transit that your basic survival is at stake.

The changes can come via a new person coming into your life or departing, or a situation or circumstance that has the same effect. Pluto rules the death of the old and birth of the new, demands complete honesty, and often gets us entangled in power struggles. Pluto will stay at 9 Capricorn for 3 months now through
the end of May. However, all that is being created and/or destroyed in your life will not be completely known until the end of 2013, when the transformation will be complete. There is a long grinding evolutionary process taking place. Then Pluto moves further along in Capricorn to bother other birthdays.

There's more this week with Mars stationing tonight at 11:53 PM EDT, but it will have to wait until next time.-maybe tomorrow..

Standstill

For the first time since I began writing this blog, today I felt at a standstill  about what to write.  Usually I have one or more ready ideas that just flow out .  But today I am stuck. Then as I am an astrologer, or cycles scientist as I have started to call myself,  I decided to find the meaning of this inertia in the movements (or lack thereof) of the planets.

When I look in the ephemeris I see both Mercury and Mars apparently slowing down to the place in the zodiac where they each will go forward.  Mercury is beginning to station at 24 degrees of Pisces today, will  move forward on the 4th, staying at 24 and 25 degrees until the 12th of April when he gets to 26.  These next 2 weeks are the standstill part of the cycle known as a station.  A station is where a bus or train is parked and does not move.  So with the planets.  Mercury rules communications, travel, writing, negotiating, contracting, selling, talking, moving from place to place and thinking. Mercury was the swift messenger of the gods.  His natural speed is over 1 degree a day when he is in top form, where he likes to be.

With Mercury's speed being slow, ours words and movements are apt to be slow to non existent.  Why? Well we are picking up information from one spot in the zodiac. Pisces is the sign of the poet and musician and dreamer.  The information gained from Pisces is of the more subtle kind;  seeing visions or images while walking, or listening to music, or evoked by feelings. If those 2 degrees of Pisces are important to you as seen in your natal chart, then this time can be quite significant in identifying an aspect of your self that you might have glossed over when Mercury is at the faster speed.  The dreamlike quality we are experiencing now will disappear, as Mercury slowly  picks up speed and returns to the sign Aries on the16th of April. So enjoy it while it lasts and don't try too hard to fight the natural course of things.

The same is true for Mars.  He is backing into 4 degrees of Virgo now, will gradually back into 3 Virgo, station there, and begin to move forward on Saturday the14th.  Mars does not get to 5 degrees until the last day of April.  This is another case of a planet at a station. Our energy, will and drive is at a standstill.  We might have a newly formed plan to fix an old unresolved issue with a male friend, or health regime program  that we have been wanting to try, but there has likely been little or no will force available to make it happen.  
Such is the case of the cycles of the planets.  Knowing what they are doing is meant to be an aid to us;  not as the cause of our adventures or misadventures, but as markers of phases of time.

Toward A Deeper Understanding of our Country

It has occurred to me lately that we can use this Mars retrograde time frame to help us understand these interesting times. In the chart we use for the birth of this nation on July 4th 1776, planet Mars is at 23 degrees of Gemini square the planet Neptune at 23 Virgo. Those 2 signs being mutable, that is those signs  that coincide with the change of seasons, means those 2 planets are at 90 degrees to one another.  Our planet of assertion and aggression and will forces will always have Neptune connected with it. Neptune symbolizes our delusions and idealizations that have no basis in reality. In the USA chart in August of 1995 planet Mars entered 18 degrees of Libra, became stationary within one minute from October 2004, turned apparent retrograde October 2007 and will not leave that one degree of the zodiac until April 2017, when it goes back to 17 degrees of Libra. That makes 22 years that the planet that symbolizes how we use our energy is in the same spot in the zodiac.  We are not moving forward.

As we are experiencing another time frame of Mars retrograde now, since January 24th, we can associate what we are going through now:  a lessening of energy and drive to move forward, initiatives started becoming mired in frustration and delay, old arguments and fights coming back to haunt us, becoming impatient and acting prematurely, with what is going on in our country in regards the use of the military.

In August of 1995 NATO began the bombing campaign of Serb artillery.  We began "Operation Enduring freedom" on October 7, 2001 when ground troops went into Afghanistan.  The 2nd Iraq war began March 20, 2003, with Bush declaring "Mission Accomplished" on May 1st 2003 and the end of combat operations.  We know that that war did not end until Dec 18, 2011.  Each year that went by from October 2001 in Afghanistan through March 2003 into Iraq saw Mars slowing in speed and apparent direction as our troops got more and more bogged down.  October 2007 saw Bush asking Congress for 189 billion dollars to support the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan, just as Mars was retrograding officially.

If we have any doubts about the effects of Mars retrograding in our country's chart we can look no farther than the 4th deployment Sargent who went from house to house on a killing spree in Afghanistan last week and the burning of the Koran by US soldier on February 20th.  These 2 grave acts of aggression occurred in the current Mars retrograde period starting January 24th,  directly at 23 Virgo right on top of our natal Neptune square Mars, the misuse or idealized use of aggression potential in our natal chart. We are in a critically dangerous period until Mars passes 23 Virgo again mid June.  We will also be in a critical period 6 months from now when our progressed Moon passes over that Mars.

So what can be the best outcome? We seriously need to consider alternative ways of solving problems other than invading foreign countries.  And when we consider that not only is Mars retrograde in the USA chart, causing us to reflect on the efficiency of our current use of force, but so are Mercury, Jupiter, Neptune and Saturn.  That makes 5 out of the possible 8 planets that can apparently go backwards are.  When they say we are a nation in decline that is why they say it. It is time for some self reflection.

What's Up???

I don't know about you but I didn't think things could slow down more than they already have with Mars in apparent slow motion, but now we have to add Mercury to the list of situations that coincide with stumbling blocks.  We look to the motion of the planets in signs as symbols, that give us meaning not causes, of the situations in our lives. As of tomorrow morning at 3:45 AM  Mercury, in the same degree of the zodiac since March 8th, will finally move from apparent standstill to apparent backwards motion. Astrology is about finding meaning in our lives, if one is interested that is.

The Mars retrograde period affects Scorpios and Aries individuals, making them less forceful and passionate in Scorpios case and less bossy with Aries.  When planet Mercury does its loop it affects Geminis and Virgos more strongly because they are ruled by him.   Mercury is apparently stopping at 6 Aries after having passed over the planet of upsets and surprise, Uranus, last week on the 5th.  Uranus is our planet symbolizing lightening strikes, sparks of genius, surprises, mental awakenings and lots of nervous energy.  The current retrograde motion of Mercury means that Mercury will back track and come back to Uranus again on the 18th-inciting that same nervous energy and then for a third time on April 22nd, after Mercury goes forward again on the 4th of April at 23 Pisces.  So watch  what happens in your life between now and the 22nd of April and see how your thinking has changed.

This will affect everybody in the part of your chart that holds 6 Aries to 23 Pisces.  Aries wants to start something and Pisces just wants to let things float and see what happens.  They are very different energies-but lie adjacent to each other.  Our need to be part of the collective in Pisces gives way to the Arian initiatives that are inspired by our Piscean meditations. Mercury as the messenger of the gods, is the only one who could leave Olympus and go into Hades and come back (very important!).  Therefore looking for symbolism-Mercury is going to bring up some new information that you might not have noticed before-or somebody kept hidden from you.  This will have to do with selling, buying, travelling,communicating, young people, teaching, learning, negotiating, thinking.  Do all projects with the words" re" in the beginning and finish up old projects before starting new ones.

One other thing-be sure to look up in the evening sky these nights and watch Venus and Jupiter come closer and closer together.  Venus is brighter and on the right.  Jupiter is on the left.  They will conjoin early morning on Thursday the 15th.  The combination can coincide with some over indulgence.  Venus is love and money and Jupiter is lots of it.  In spite of the fluctuations of Mars and Mercury, we will be able to focus in on our hearts desire and allowing for some extra time and renegotiating be rewarded with actually obtaining our hearts desires.