Spreading Self-Knowledge through Astrology
Take a gander at a few highlights drawn from the overall menu of Astro-events that will be coming our way this week… Mercury remains a busy little messenger-Planet, Chiron contacts offer opportunities for healing, and late in the week, we have both a Full Moon in Capricorn and a slightly intimidating Sun/Pluto opposition on the agenda.
Also, I reference a 50,000-word novel that manages to never make use of the letter “e”…
Tune in here, and prep for the week ahead:
Yesterday, I posted a video in which I nutshell some of the highlights of the astrological events that are headed our way this week. You can watch that video HERE.
One of those highlights: this Friday (June 16th), Neptune will go retrograde.
But what does that mean, exactly…? People seem to fear the retrograde phenomenon, but it’s hardly a “bad” thing. It means that from our POV here on Terra, a Planet seems to stop and then reverse its trajectory. Of course, we know that Planets don’t actually stop and throw their gearshift mechanisms into reverse like a driver who just barreled past a sweet parking spot — it’s just an optical illusion — but to astrologers, these retrograde intervals still carry real meaning.
And that meaning usually has to do with the Planet in question turning its focus inward rather than outward. That is, when a Planet appears to be moving in this retrograde fashion, then the forces that it symbolizes might tend to manifest less in the external realm of our shared consensus reality, and more in our own inner landscapes.
And you’ve actually weathered many a Neptune retrograde period in your life already, and probably didn’t really even notice. After all, Neptune spends about five months out of every year in this backwards-looking state. Neptune moves slowly through our sky, requiring 165 of our Earth-years to make a single complete circuit around the Sun. To us, it looks like Neptune advances along its orbital track much as the ocean moves up the beach as high tide looms: two steps forward, and then about one and a half steps back…
And when Neptunian energies are turned inward during these phases, we can generally expect that we can plug into our inner worlds even more intensely than we can when Neptune appears to be moving forward in its regular, direct motion. Messages may abound, and come through during meditation, altered states of consciousness, and definitely during dreams.
Here’s a personal example I experienced this weekend (and Neptune hasn’t even gone retrograde yet…but we may be feeling the effects already, as the Planet of the Sea-God does look to us like it’s slowing down even now in preparation for this big retrograde event)…
So two nights ago, I had a dream in which I stood inside a lofty aerial apartment with a sensational view through walls made of glass. As I admired the sweeping vista, two birds flew from out of the middle of the panorama and bashed right into the clear pane before me, and then just kind of stuck there like Spider-Man, shaking off the collision…
The next afternoon, back in the waking world, I sat in my girlfriend’s living room…and a Dove flew into the sliding glass door that opens onto the back patio there (thankfully, as in my dream, the bird was a bit dazed, but basically unhurt).
Then that evening, we were watching an old episode of “The Office” (US version), and in this particular episode…a bird flies into the outer glass wall of the Dunder-Mifflin Scranton building!
So I’m working on my own interpretation of what it might mean when a bird flies into a pane of clear glass…but the main point here is that I believe the concept was definitely being flagged for me. It’s an important message, as I see it, and if I can decode it properly, it will likely hold some real wisdom for me.
And this is the kind of thing that we may all be experiencing as Neptune appears to halt in its course, and then reverse direction. We’ll have until November 22nd — when Neptune resumes the more standard direct motion — to practice our message-deciphering skills. You might consider starting up a dream journal during this Neptune retrograde period, and listening to what the Other Realms and other planes of consciousness have to say…
This coming week, we’ll be on the receiving end of a whole lot of Mercury/Gemini communication-centric energy… Also: Neptune goes retrograde! Check out this new video to learn what all that might mean for you down here on the earthly plane…
Tomorrow — that’s June 9, 2017 — la Luna will be waxing full in the Sign of Sagittarius.
Ancient folklore and modern pop culture agree that the Full Moon can mark a time of wildness, emotions running high, animal instincts coming to the forefront of our experience, and even an undercurrent of madness. It’s no coincidence that another word for madness is “lunacy,” right…?
But so what, specifically, does it mean when the Full Moon happens in Sagittarius? Each Sign acts like a filter, so the energies of a Full Moon will always take on the characteristics of the Sign that’s hosting it. What might that mean in this instance?
Sagittarius is very expansive. It’s the Sign of the Archer, and this Archer has a serious case of wanderlust. Sagittarian energy likes to roam, to explore, to go on quests. Beginning astrologers are often advised to focus less on the Archer, and more on the far-ranging arrow, as it’s the arrow that really illustrates this Sign’s need to venture forth into new territory. And Sagittarius likes to take in the big picture – it will opt for the forest over the trees every time you give it that choice.
With the Full Moon occurring in this Sign, these same themes should translate into our lives down below here on Earth. How intensely you’ll feel this in your neck of the woods depends on the unique make-up of your own birth chart, but we may all get a general taste of that Sagittarian vibe.
We may feel drawn to roam in some fashion, whether that’s through literal, physical travel in the real world, or through metaphorical travel into fields of higher learning and complex thought (the law, religion, and philosophy can all serve as great terrain for the Sagittarian mind).
Sagittarius is also optimistic, generous, and often willing to take things on faith. You may feel some of those tendencies rising up within you at this time, too.
A word of caution, though… Notice that bright red triangle in this Full Moon’s chart above that connects the Sun, the Moon, and Neptune? It’s called a t-square, and it can often indicate some form of stress brewing. Neptune in Pisces is a very dreamy kind of placement, allowing us to tune in to parallel worlds and alternate states of consciousness where anything and everything seems possible. As the apex point of a t-square, combined with all that Sagittarian positivity, this could potentially be a recipe for unrealistic expectations. Leaps of faith can be fine and admirable things, but they’re not always the best way to go. Imagine, for example, you attempt one while walking along the edge of a cliff…
So during the next couple of days, it may be a great thing to embrace the bright Sagittarian outlook that wants to take hold in your psyche…but just be sure to add a bit of grounded analysis to the mix before you resolve to take any giant leaps!
Want to get the jump on reality? Here’s a new video that runs down the main Astro-events heading our way this week (June 5 – 11, 2017). Watch, learn, prosper!
Astro-Happenings: June 2, 2017.
Mars square Chiron.
“Ouch.” That might be something that you hear more than usual during the Astro-event known as a Mars/Chiron square. You might even have occasion to say it a few times, yourself.
Let’s break down why that is… Mars symbolizes the Warrior. It’s our drive to assert ourselves, to be aggressive, to feel anger and lust, to be brave, to conquer or defend as the situation might demand. When Mars fires up, we often go to battle.
Meanwhile, Chiron represents the Wounded Healer. This symbol has to do with the ways in which we take on our deepest wounds. These traumas can definitely be physical things, but they can also just as easily be intangible: mental, emotional, spiritual, karmic. Chiron describes our own unique vulnerabilities, and also how we can learn to heal ourselves and others from those wounds.
And the last piece of the puzzle is the connection between them. In this instance, that connection takes the form of a square. That is, Mars and Chiron will appear to be exactly 90 degrees apart today as we view the heavens from our vantage point here on Earth. And squares generally come with a distinct aura of friction. Planets linked by a square are trying to work together, and to merge their energies into some new concoction, but it won’t tend to happen all that easily, and the process will probably not be very user-friendly for anyone standing in the fallout zone.
It could be that the energies don’t communicate all that well. Watch out for any disconnect between your inner warrior and your inner medic. Warriors always run the risk of being wounded – that’s just the nature of their biz – and such occurrences might be a bit more likely to happen during a transit such as this one. Even great warriors can be momentarily clumsy, or distracted, or otherwise somewhat off their game…and even great healers can have off-days, and they of course always require accurate information about a given injury before they can have any positive effect in trying to treat it. The static-riddled connection of a square can disrupt the flow of that kind of accurate information, leaving the healer essentially working in the dark.
For the next week or so, then, it will pay to proceed with a bit of caution when heading into conflict zones. Pick your battles with extra care, and if things go bad, be open to receiving more healing care than you think you might need (because some of what you do get might not land all that well). And for future reference, catalog your experiences this week by journaling if you can, as this might help you to really nail down exactly what types of wounds are your own greatest recurring afflictions. Identifying these harms now can allow you to minimize their impact when they try to show up in new forms later on.
Venus and Uranus are getting cozy together in the far reaches of Aries. In a few days – on June 3, to be specific – they’ll form an exact conjunction. That is, from our POV here on Earth, it will look as though the two Planets are occupying the exact same celestial coordinates.
So what does it mean for us humans when the Goddess of Love plants a big cosmic kiss on the Lord of Earthquakes and Lightning Bolts?
Look for your relationship experiences, both romantic and otherwise, to be on the receiving end of a hearty injection of the weird. Uranus is all about the odd, the unique, and the unpredictable. Uranian energy fires up suddenly after phases of apparent slumber, and it has to do with forward progress, innovation, rebellion, nonconformity, and individuality. Infuse all that into your relationship function, and you have a recipe for some unusual dynamics.
These dynamics can manifest in a few different ways. It could be that during this conjunction period, you’ll encounter new people…or it could be that existing relationships with people you already know will undergo change in unforeseen ways. You may be drawn to people at this time largely because they’re different from the norm. You may also feel called to put your energy into those relationships that seem strange in some way. You may even look to new or existing relationships to help you bring out the strangeness and the genius in yourself.
We often fear change, and sudden developments that come with no warning can be even more unsettling…but change isn’t necessarily “bad.” If you find your relationship sphere taking a turn for the weird at this time, instead of resisting, it might be a wise move to try to embrace that weirdness. If your relationship experiences can help you to individuate further – to become more the unique you that you came here to be – then why not accept that as a great gift? For the next week or so, while this conjunction is in effect, you may find that your relationships with others are the gateway toward your own inner revolution of self…
