the weather inside me

UP: It's where we're at.

This picture so PERFECTLY encapsulates the current astro-drama, folks. You've got the old guy (Saturn) who finds his plan upset by the wild card stowaway boy (Uranus), on the way to his Dream of a Lifetime Great Adventure (Neptune/Chiron/Jupiter together at last).

The balloons, my god, the balloons. That's brilliant. Finishing up this last bit of Mercury Retrograde and sitting still on a couple of shifts in my life. Waiting for contracts and information to come through...still. Of course. This is truly of course in Merc Retro. But the balloons are calling us all, folks.

Big Adventure. Okay, maybe not hitching your house to a half-million balloons, but something big and different and dreamy and healthfully self-healing and affirming is on your horizon. Something in your world, believe me.

Last January some things popped into your world -- people, ideas, possibilities, dreams --  that for once seemed remotely possible, even if the circumstances weren't all in place. Now it's possible. Even if it's the possibility that you can rise from your self-imposed coffin of control-freakiness or deathbed of depression. Even if it's only the first steps in that new job, that new project you've been plotting.

Mostly likely you're plotting with others, or trying to haul others on board. Or plotting to ditch the old lot for a new lot. Whether they're co-workers or friends, they all have some connection to a new (or refined) set of values you've been cultivating for some time now.

This is because the astrology of the moment is about the peeps we hang with -- or don't want to hang with. You are making decisions -- or the decisions are being made for you. Count on it. Your future these next few years lies with the alliances you've been forming (or re-forming), particularly since January 2009. This vibe'll be with us until Feb. 2010. So keep forming and re-forming.

Now, have a look at the picture again. Do you wanna go all grumpy and stiff, stuck in the plans you HAD, stuck in the past projection of your Grand Plan -- like the old guy? Or are you rashly jumping into the plan, with inflated, romantic notions of your usefulness and appeal -- like our hapless youngster? Or are you riding the moment with panache, surfing the back/forth, past/future youwere/youare/youwillbe wave with the grace of a pro boarder?

More power to ya, if you're surfin' well. The rest of us are bumping along on balloons. But thank god they've come! And they're so plentiful...

Enjoy this new ride, folks. Hang on and have fun!

You're not dead?! (tragi-comic mercury retrograde in action)

Ran into a woman I know this morning, and I was grateful to see her. The last time we spoke, she was distraught because she'd received news that a dear friend had been on life support for a couple of months and this week they intended to take her off. She was young, only in her twenties. The friend was devastated and begged off work in order to pay one last visit to her dying friend.

So I wanted to know how my young friend was faring. "Did C tell you? The story?" she asked. No... "Oh, god. I spent about 15 hours crying and didn't get any sleep for almost two days -- and for nothing! She wasn't dying! Her husband's grandmother was dying."

I tried not to laugh.

"Not only is she not dying, she's pregnant. I asked her husband three times if L was on life support and he said 'yes'. Three times! How could he possibly misunderstand me? I could kill him. Both of them. My god; I'm just regaining my equilibrium after that scare."

I really, really tried not to laugh. But this is pricelessly Mercury Retrograde in action.

The Mercury Retrograde is standard stuff for those who follow astrology. Three times a year (sometimes four), the planet that symbolizes all things chatty (you, me, the phone, the 'puter) and all things business-y/commerce-y/exchange-y, appears to turn backwards. Of course, it's not really twisting against itself, but that's a good image -- twisting against yourself.

Throughout each Mercury retrograde period, we tend to get our thoughts in a twist. Mostly because we're not getting information we want, losing information we need, and generally feeling frustrated because we want SOMEONE to make a decision. Of course, if a decision gets made, it's often undone later with a surprise addendum that comes at the last page of a contract you signed during the Merc Retro weeks. "What a minute! We didn't talk about that point..." you find yourself saying sometime after the retrograde ends and you're thinking a bit more clearly. People leave out information, forget stuff, and reconsider major decisions a thousand times over during retrogrades.

Some folks who study astrology sometimes get positively superstitious about Mercury Retrogrades. The don't sign contracts; they don't contract electrical work; they don't email if they don't have to. This is Class A Nuttiness, people. Don't fall for it. Do, however, read contracts three or four times before you sign. If an email is particularly sensitive or important, follow it up with a phone call. Know that if someone's likely to change their mind, or particularly forgetful, they'll likely be less conherent/consistent now. don't jump to conclusions. Be chill. Use your good sense.

Be open to unexpected good things, too. Yes. Yes, yes. Particularly thoughts. Merc Retro is the perfect time to comb through old ideas, revise planse, edit that last chapter, or follow-up with sidelined projects. Don't plan to move ahead. Just review, revise, and rethink.

Early June will bring opportunities to move forward with whatever you've discovered since the first week of May. A month of re-think will do ya just fine.

Nothing you've put off since then is dead, yet.

photo credit: matt klein.

el diablo rojo: venus and mars in aries

Okay. The month's only half over --we've still got another two weeks of Venus and/or Mars in Aries-- and I'm exhausted already! Back in April, when Mars finally moved out of watery, dreamy, can't make a decision because I'm channeling my inner dreamer Pisces, I was sooooo relieved to finally dry my water-logged self in the fires of Mars in Aries. Now I'm begging those likkity-flames to give me a rest, for heaven's sake.

Don't know what I'm talking about? Drag your mind back into March/April range. Back then your inner-mojo might have looked more like this if you actually flowed with the moment. Balletic, graceful, spritually open and attuned.

Unfortunately I fought all that, and instead felt I spent a month doing this: underwater jogging. Feeling like I was getting nowhere, but building my aerobic capacity for General Life Endurance and improving my will's muscle tone. Didn't get much done except refine my attunement to the Serenity Prayer (God grant me the wisdom to know...).

Now with the Mars (and Venus!) in Aries. (Venus having dropped into Aries back in March for heaven's sake!) It's been non-stop a go-go in my life for, like, forever, and I've decided Mars in Aries is the Red Devil, for sure. With Venus in Aries alongside it's like the gypsy femme fatale, Carmen, came along for the ride, too. (I want what I want what I want what I want..!) Exhausting. Or liberating. Take your pick.

Here's my current favorite duo, Rodrigo y Gabriella, to give you the groove on this energy (in case you've missed it somehow) with their piece named for a roller coaster in the Netherlands, "El Diablo Rojo". In a former musical incarnation Roderigo and Gabriella were doing the speed-metal scene in Mexico City. The metal boys go crrrrrazy for Gabriella. And no wonder. If you stop to watch this performance, you can't help but say she's totally hot. The whole piece is. The footage is amateur, but the all-Aries energy is here. You'll catch it if you haven't already. (Hang in with the vid. About half way through it gets really crazy...)

El Diablo Rojo (y Roja!) -- Mars and Venus in Aries, folks.

keep those anxieties on a short leash

More about this later. But for now please keep those plumped-up, overstuffed and upholstered thoughts about where? why? how? when? on a short, short leash.

If you've been sorting through your head (and other cluttered spaces), you might find that as you purge you discover even more questions/ideas/connundrums beneath the ephemera of your life. Kind of like dutifully cleaning out the pantry only to discover mouse droppings behind the chili cans. And you think, now what? A mouse infestation?

Don't freak. Investigate. Consider the possibilities. Look at the situation from every angle you can imagine, and then try to find a few angles you haven't imagined. You know -- Maybe the mice are long gone. Maybe the problem percolated along last winter while you were none the wiser and surviving without this revelation just fine. Maybe the problem solved itself, and then maybe you do need to look at the wallboard and reconsider a home improvement project.

Now imagine that going on in your head. The little nuisances that run around and do their business while you go on living life. Maybe you've got a revelation about those nuisances.

Don't freak. Consider. You know, the situation may just be as over-blown and full of hot air as The Poofy Guy On A Short Leash. Keep your options and your mind open to a Full Review of The Situation until the end of May. Seriously. If you can.

Then you'll know better if it's all Baroque.

Peace,
Shanna

Artwork: Poofy Guy On A Short Leash, James Christianson

virgo moon is serious: clean and clear out!

We're in that Virgo portion of the Moon story each month -- perfect for itemizing, classifying, and clarifying your brain, body or pantry.

While is Saturn is in Virgo (through the fall), our Virgoan parts need serious re-vamping of health and wellness. Getting your brain and your bod in ship-shape, you know. And no messing around this time. Each month, when the Moon passes through Virgo, we get an extra dose of conscientiousness (and maybe a little finger wagging-naggin') to DO something about a mess in our lives.

So how 'bout the pantry? Closet? Office drawer? Anything will do. Clear your space and clear your head. Cleanliness (and orderliness) is next to godliness, yes?

And speaking of godliness, sorting through the stuff you don't need/wear/cook with and donating them to a local food pantry or shelter suits Virgo, too.

This is because Virgo is the sign of service. In esoteric Christian astrology, Virgo is associated with Joseph, the admin. government lackey who found himself well-placed and with the discernment to know when a famine was coming. Accordingly, he prepared for the disaster by forcing the government to hoard grain for the oncoming "lean" years. (I find interesting parallels to today's political landscape here.) He served others through effective administration of resources.

The Point? Save up, clear out, de-clutter, file the paperwork, and pay the bills. Prepare. It might save your butt.

Thought I'd post a few of these examples from The Perfect Pantry for a little inspiration. Utterly Virgoan, this is.