the weather inside me

Mars Direct: A Vision

A lovely essay on the potential hidden within the Mars Direct days ahead of us:

I envision a world in which we grant one another the freedom to love ourselves, and to love ourselves freely in the presence of others: an intention field of mutual self-forgiveness, for the sake of awareness, freedom and love; for happiness and existence. For relief from the unnecessary desperation that so many endure, and a gateway to something beyond.

This means holding the space open for others to forgive themselves (the opposite of judgment), and finding the space where it is possible to forgive ourselves: for all that we’ve denied that we wanted, all that we’ve refused that was true, all that we’ve done in the name of whatever, when we wanted something sincerely, that we knew we could have; wanted simple pleasure and denied ourselves; wanted to grant simple pleasure to others and denied them; when we wanted contact and denied that truth.

For the rest of the essay, click here to Planet Waves.

who's the cat? you the cat! (mars direct today!)

Could I possibly be feeling it already? Short post this early morning as I was out having lovely time last night and actually feeling a bit of the old flash. For now, just think "Who's the cat? YOU the cat!" a la Alex the Lion, and thus prep yourself for your moves.

venus, on point[e] and a royal game for you

The Aries Point, that is --where the personal meets the political. This morning in the US Venus has crossed over and is now a 0+ degrees Aries --the Aries Point.

In fact the astro news this week is all about Mars turning direct just two degrees from an exactly 120 degree angle from its cohort and lover, Venus. These two are absolutely primed for spring break.

But back to Venus at 0+ degrees Aries.

Just as I'm typing this, NPR is airing a story of the role of women in today's Iraqi parliamentary elections. Apparently 25% of seats in the Iraqi parliament must be held by women; they're saying that's a legal quota that might, just might, change that country's marriage and divorce laws. Okay. That's a Aries Point story with a Venusian theme. So, too, are the courageous hearts of the Iraqi people defiantly showing up to vote despite some terrible bombing meant to scare them away from polling stations.

I'm calling this a reflection of the Aries Venus-Leo Mars trine right now. Throw in the Moon in Sagittarius --un-aspected to Mars and Venus, but in a fire sign, nonetheless-- and you got serious sympatico fire, folks. Very harmonious and ready to blaze.

A few minutes earlier, a different Venus showed up on NPR, the Venus of resources (money, in this instance): Icelanders voted to reject the terms of bank bailout repayment. 

Several Icelandic banks collapsed in the fall of 2008, most notably an Internet bank called Icesave, which offered high interest rates and was especially popular in Britain and the Netherlands. When Icesave collapsed, the British and the Dutch governments compensated their angry savers to prevent riots on their own streets, but then billed Iceland for that compensation. The government in Reykjavik agreed to pay, prompting a citizen's rebellion that culminated in Saturday's referendum — the first in Iceland's modern history.

Again, the fire: No way, Jose!

Election days are solidly Aries Point activity. The Aries Point reminds us these moments have far-reaching consequences. Or will have as we approach the big Jupiter-Uranus conjunction at 0+ Aries this June 8th.

Here, it feels a lot like early spring fever. Even with the ever-present wind, we can feel a little warmth coming through and that's making a lot of people happier. 

There's no such thing as second place when you're dealing with fire energy, so don't expect folks to go cowering into a corner in the coming days. It doesn't have to be combative energy, though. It could be unspecified enthusiasm that misses the mark. Or, you could have a raging case of retrograde Mars that can't wait for the brake to release. Or you just be horny. It's nearly spring, after all.

Mark this feeling the next few days, and note what's setting off your own internal fires. This will be Clue 1 and Clue 2 about what Mars in Leo is teaching you this year.

And if that advice isn't specific enough for you, try this little mind game: If you were King/Queen of [insert name]-land, what would you decree?

RULES OF THE GAME:

1. You may not make decrees for anyone else. The rules are only for YOU. Again, this is all about you, not anyone or anything else. You lose the game if your decree is about controlling anything or anyone outside of yourself. Game Over. Bonk!

2. The decrees are just for you. If you do this in the right spirit, you'll find you're giving yourself permission to just be you.

3. They must be positive statements: "I decree that second helpings of mashed potatoes are good for me."

4. They must be personal statements: "Dang, I've got gorgeous legs!"

5: They must be specific: "I decree that I need one hour of playtime every day."

So. How 'bout it? What do you decree in the Land of Me?

Returning soon with the Mars goes direct (takes the brake off) report...

Photo: AFP.

Illustration: Kevin Woodson.

tense enough yet?

The Moon is in Leo and just rolled past that Mars in Leo who's stuck in reverse gear, spinning his wheels and so not happy about it. Frustration, impatience, and the general itch to get something started is likely on your agenda if you don't have something at hand to blow off that energy.

The Pisces Sun-Jupiter sextiles that era-defining Pluto in Capricorn, which is really productive, imaginative mind-expanding heart-enlarging stuff. Where are we heading? Let's pretend! They form a Yod to this morning's Leo Moon, so --errr-- there's probably something at hand that's still getting the squeeze in your ego structure --or yer heart. Something needs an adjustment; something's not yet ready for prime time. And you're probably feeling touchy about after that Moon pass over Mars.

Me? It's getting me, too. Just to show you that observing the astrology doesn't mean I don't listen to the lessons. I stepped into the fray at Planet Waves. I suppose I was polite about it, but one of my pet annoyances popped up, and like someone who can't pass by a Whack-A-Mole game without grabbing a mallet, I swatted. Not an especially wise move right now if you can't finesse it with uber-diplomacy.

Could our Leo president have planned the Heath Care Summit under more interesting skies? A Leo, with a Leo Mars in the spin cycle, under a Leo Moon? Dang...step back, jack.

Full Moon arrives in two days. I would encourage you to stay cool, but that may be just heaping one more frustration on your back. So I'll just encourage you to find healthy outlets for your energy. Will be back (tonight hopefully) with the Full Moon bill for you.

Illustration: prep sketch for Hercules Wrestles A Lion, Jun-Pierre Shiozawa

the story so far...the (long) late february 2010 overview

If you're just joining us, here’s a summary on the current long and mid-term astro scene:

Pluto-Saturn square: it’s still on --the hard realities, the call to courage, the fear, the projecting of shadows-- but Saturn’s moving back into the Virgo degrees, so we’re just getting a second look at relationship “stuff” that popped up since last October. Count it a second chance at important conversations and decisions.

Neptune-Chiron in Aquarius: the end of an era, or as Gawker proclaimed it, “The Fake Decade”. Finally, we're getting it. Chiron’s not done with his work here, but these past few weeks have certainly given me some unusual views into inconvenient “truths”. And talk about a wild dream life. Oy. I need a break.

Jupiter in Pisces: Connections, identifications, and professions with and of encouragement and hope are totally available if you want them. As are big creative possibilities. Can you be the bigger person? Sure you can. (As I type this, I’m listening to Alan Simpson joking it was time to hold hands and jump into the wine-dark sea --of the budget deficit. Poetic water imagery as political threat? Only with Pisces.)

Avoid the paranoid and the generally detached from reality. This is the dark side of Pisces and not a comment on Mr. Simpson. Uranus in Pisces (at the end of the sign, now at 25+ degrees), is pulling punches with those teetering on the edge of the Fear Abyss. A lot people are completely convinced this is the end of the world. No, it's just the end of the world as they know it, a fact that's microcosmically true every day of our lives. Still, we can't ignore the big, big challenges we face as a country. It's just that fear is not gonna get us closer to a sane deficit, safe highways, or decent health care for all.

On a related note: if you’re a Pisces or have personal planets in Pisces, take care with substances this year--right on down to caffeine, MSG, BHT and food coloring. I’m serious.

And finally, Mars, still retrograde in Leo: Mars is really slowing down now, and by the full moon on the 28th will have reached it’s retrograde direct degree. So if you feel some kind of gear grinding or stuckness, that would be Mars. Ditto big case of anticipation. This is all about going backstage and reworking your self image. (My original horoscopes on the retrograde are here and here.) What you're feeling could be a case of stage fright, or could be a case of retrenchment before the big advance come March. Circumstances vary.

If you know where Mars is passing through your chart, just ease up on yourself in that area. Strategize, visualize. Play with any new ideas that popped up with the Neptune/Chiron bingle last week AND the Full Moon in Leo in mid-January. What do you want to do with that new knowledge?

Strangely, if we’re not handling our own nervousness or irritation well, we seem to invite similarly nervous, irritating people into our lives. Not always true, but you could play with that idea and observe other people’s responses to your energy right now.

A note to men, or anyone who cares about a man: I'm not a guy, nor do I play one on TV, so I'm not gonna pretend I know what this feel like for you. My thoughts are based on my own reading, and the thoughts shared by men at other serious astrology forums.

Mars retrograde is especially challenging for men; after all, Mars is THE planet of the male impulse, the anima, the dude in you. Here’s the bottom line: the man in your life (could be you!) may or may not know what Mars retrograde is doing, but it's affecting him nonetheless --rearranging his ego, his self-image, his heart, his leadership instincts, his pride for his pride (or whatever substitutes for his creative output, progeny or no).

Mars retrograde is all backwards and inhibiting, frustrating and often confusing for many men. You could be angry, frustrated, scattered, inconsistent, or distant --really, really distant. Especially now as we approach the incredibly slow stationing direct motion. Imagine trying to save the damsel in distress who's stranded on the opposite side of a molasses pit. And the molasses pit is your expectations about what guys should do, could do, did do --starting with your dad and then every significant male authority figure you've known in your life. Now imagine how difficult this time could be if you never really had a solid male figure who taught you what to do when damsels lie on the other side of molasses pits. McGuyver never had it so bad. This "self" thing won't get fixed with a Leatherman, some chewing gum and three paper clips. Think about that for a moment.

If the man in your life doesn’t know what’s going on, or they’re resistant to introspection, you get a guy who needs to take on the world instead of himself. This might get internalized as heart problems; Leo rules the heart. As Leo practically grinds to a halt, Evan Bayh announced today that he’s lost heart in his work in the Senate and will retire. This is not good for the already straggling Democrat majority in the Senate.

The WORST example of this impulse also showed up in the news today: Andrew Stack, an enraged, suicidal man (badly managed Mars retrograde?) who’s sense of manhood and pride (Leo) was threatened by the limitations (Saturn) imposed by a government (Pluto in Capricorn) agency, the IRS, flew his personal airplane into an IRS office.

No doubt his actions were exacerbated by feelings of paranoia and doom emerging from those who’ve been embracing the end of the world (Uranus in Pisces) scenarios. He's not the first man who's wanted to take on the IRS with violence, but as we're revisiting a Saturn-Pluto alignment that last appeared fall of 2001, I'm saddened but not shocked that Stack chose to mimic the violence of that tragedy by flying his plane into an IRS office in Austin, Texas. Note --this was his own Piper airplane, and thus, he was not one of the huddled masses spewing underclass resentment. This was a wealthy guy by any standard. Do you have Piper small craft docked in your local airport hanger?

On that note, I looked at Glenn Beck’s astrology last week. He’s got Venus at 29+ degrees Pisces, the last degree of the zodiac, aka, the end of the world (sort of). In short, he’s in love with the end of the world. Yes. Have a look at his wiki and you’ll see a guy obsessed with eschatology. We'll hear much more about his obsession come spring. Bank on it.

Sigh. So play safe out there folks. You don’t have to be paranoid. You don’t have to push people around. I know so many people who are experimenting with huge new possibilities for their lives. Really big thoughts. I've got one friend who was making good money as a black-jack dealer, but she's leaving the industry to work at a raw-food retreat. She'd been wanting to walk away, but it wasn't until she broke her wrist in four places over the January eclipse that the decision was forced on her. A break like that is a career ender for a card dealer. But the end didn't start there: as she became mentally and emotionally more stable, her tips took a nose dive and she knew why --unhealthy people only reward their own kind. She's a Cancer rising, so Leo is working through her second house of money and self-esteem.

If you're moving towards healthier self-esteem, know that some people will find this a turn-off and not know why. They would prefer you functioning as their food source for whatever emotional, financial, or practical service you give them. And you're gonna catch some flak for this. For my friend, this translated into lost income. If you're hanging with people who pay you for being as immature, selfish, and needy as they are, you're going to face a loss of something --a contract, a contact? Or you may face losing old friends. These are not easy losses at first because they represent an old image you've probably carried with you for years. But this whole year is forcing all of us to rethink the old ways. Those who refuse to change won't be any fun to hang with anyway. Keep that in mind as you grow and experiment with the new you.

The time is also exciting because it presents the kind of risks that demand truly creative thinking and not a little paradigm shifting/shattering going on in that mix. But the risk doesn’t disappear just because the adventure holds happy possibility. So compassion is very much in need right now, too. Compassion that entends both ways --to you and to those around you-- and patience.

In that spirit, I’m taking a few days off from this blog to address some work at my side. One project is a revamp of this site, another some notes for the upcoming NCGR conference...and then daily ephemera and sticky fingerprints that come with motherhood. I need to shift my focus for a bit. Maybe I'll actually go for a walk. What a thought.

I’ll be back before the Full Moon to talk about the Venus-Uranus conjunction and early March events.

Until then, have a visit with any of the forecasters on my link list. They’re good people who’ll be happy to serve your astro needs.

Ciao.

Art: lisacongdon.com

Photo: seattlepi.com

All other photos: Philippe Halsman

go blow your horn

This Wednesday we have a lot of inspiring, exploring action in the sky. Aquarian Neptune and Chiron are in an exact (to the minute) conjunction, and a Pisces Venus and Jupiter are still hand in hand. Mars has moved past that strange but productive Dreamtime Yod, and the Moon is now in action oriented Aries ready to do something about the lessons we've discovered over the past two weeks.

Go blow your horn today. Where, when, or with whom is your choice. Blow it fortissimo or pianissimo. Just find the tune inside you and let it fly.

a flood just right of center in dreamland

Since the retrograde Leo Mars is still our major player --and we're still officially in Dreamland-- I thought I'd look up any exact aspects in the minor space stuff to our lion friend.

Turns out, there's a couple and they're interesting.

First, our Lion is quindecile to the North Node until Valentine's day. The quindecile defines a specialized, sometimes even obsessive, preoccupation in a chart. At 165 degrees, it doesn't quite make it as an opposition. Instead, it can feel like something off-center in your life that never confronts you and forces a discussion, like an opposition would suggest, but just hangs out in your line of vision always. A bit like a guiding star. This could show up as obsession or simple dedication.

So. Retrograde Leo Mars is making a long quindecile aspect to the North Node. The North Node is the doorway to the future. Capricorn is the current North Node theme. Thus, as we are pushed to reshape our Leo functions we will find ourselves encountering Capricorn themes or people --especially this coming week.

Leo functions: ego identity/heart expression/leadership/creativity and self-dramatization/children, childhood and play!

Capricorn functions: profession/family foundations/practical innovation/dedication to long-term growth/corporate identity (public groups)/government/skeletal structure/father

The quindecile aspect will keeps this Leo-Capricorn-Future dialog firmly right of center in your field of vision. Which could be inspiring or a little unnerving, depending on how you like bright stars.

However, Mars in retrograde makes unpredictable energy. So this "star" imagery could generate some unexpected responses. As Eric Francis pointed out in his Friday essay, Mars retrograde can uncover repressed or unexpressed internal anger. Certainly, as a nation, we have a lot of unexpressed anger toward our governmental and corporate institutions. Mars retrograde in Leo is helping us get in touch with our real feelings about this. Leo teaches us to say, "I matter." We could apply this to our public and private selves, equally. "I matter" matters a lot in relationships of any kind.

During this weekend in Dreamtime, our Leo Mars will make a square to the minor planet Deucalion, which is stationing retrograde tomorrow. Deucalion is the Noah story of a world deluged and nearly destroyed, Greek style. Flooding and water imagery plays a big role here. But in astrology, water imagery usually brings us emotional energy rather than literal floods. A retrograde point brings this emotional energy inward.

But the promise of grace, a kind of spiritual sympathy and fidelity to one another is also implied by Deucalion and Noah's story. For many, it is the story of covenant --and a plan for a better tomorrow. But, if you remember your Noah story, the situation demanded a total rebuild. The world, as they perceived it, was washed away. No buildings, no orchards, no flocks of sheep by night... There's a bit of Pluto in that image, y'know?

Philip Sedgewick suggests Deucalion stands in for

"...our understanding the flow (tides of life), manifestation ability, magical, resourceful, and seeing the talent in everyone." [or alternately] "Feeling overwhelmed, not able to tread water (keep up with life), being financially irresponsible, and feeling the burden of humanity."

Watershed. That's the word. An emotional watershed or awakening that brings us closer to an authentic voice, an authentic heart. Some part of our ego structure, or outward sense of identity, could find itself in a deluge of emotion that sweeps away the corrupted or false personality we don't need for the future.

The watershed could be as simple as a single revelation over a morning cup of coffee, or as challenging as a conversation you've put off for months. It could be a moment of enlightenment in prayer, or it could be the image of a beautiful child at play that inspires your work in a new direction. Likely during the Dreamtime, it will come in an unexpected moment that demands we adjust our expectation and assumptions.

My favorite part of the Deucalion story is this: after the flood and the land dried, Deucalion went out with his wife and whenever they found the bones of the previous world, Pryrra (Deucalion's wife) would pick them up and throw them over her shoulder; and thus, the new race of men were born.

The take-away here? Old bones make good soup. Even something new can grow from the dead parts of us. All we gotta do is toss 'em over our shoulder and keep on walking. Life will find a way.

More on Monday: The Finger of God returns as the Venus/Jupiter/Moon confab of lurv.

Have a good weekend, folks.

Top image: Can you find Polaris (the North Star) in the photo? It's just right of center.

Bottom image: Deucalion and Phyrra create the new world.

full moon roar under the world tree

Full Moon this Saturday at 10+ Leo, opposed by Sun at 10+ Aquarius. Building now.

Leos everywhere will finally feel a return of the inner fire because this Full Moon is conjunct the current Mars back-peddling his way through Leo. That should feel good.

The rest of us? I think this is about connecting with your emotional intent. What's driving your motor right now? Full Moons push our emotions to the forefront, so look for signs of what emotional and ego needs are really driving your intentions. They probably deserve your attention. And under these aspect, they'll probably demand your attention.

Here's a little image for you. A very, very simple but common picture.

 Picture a woman (or a man) sitting in her 6x6 parcel of the cubicle farm. She's a devote employee (to the extent that anyone can be devoted to the act of pushing numbers from one column to another) and a she's accumulated 243 friends on Facebook (that Venus retrograde last spring brought out half her high school, you know), and life is pretty cool. She knows where she came from and she still remembers her college fight song, her first Sunday School teacher and the high school haunts. She's got her co-worker lunch posse now, and the co-ed volleyball team that plays most Saturdays. She feels like she belongs. This is Aquarian group energy.

And yet, and yet and yet... Something is missing. And that something has been missing for a year now, or more.

Maybe she feels as if she's drowning a little in the global internet collective. It's a big stream. So she's been hiding more friends on her Facebook account and paring down the notices. Maybe she wishes she could have gotten that award for Best Accountant last year. Maybe she wishes her credit card company would stop misspelling her name. Maybe she'd just like to go somewhere different for lunch AND not talk about Sex In The City for once. And maybe she's wondering what's so wrong with that, anyway?

What she wants is a little recognition. Strike that. She wants a LOT of recognition. Some genuine props, or at least an acknowledgment that she's a real person with a real heart and her own dreams, not just one of the herd. This is Mars in Leo roaring.

If the she is a "he" in this story, multiply this drive by about 5x.

So I'm here to ask you: What's driving you to distinguish yourself from the crowd? What would you do or say that says, "YOU"? How are you pushing yourself away from the standard practices of your friends? Your townies? You homies? Your FeeBees? What's driving you?

This weekend should give you both insight into and an a opportunity to express this. But, because we're working with fixed or consolidating energy, think carefully about what you're fixing in place --especially if you have planets or points in the first ten degrees of Taurus, Scorpio, Leo or Aquarius. These degrees will be most affected.

Len Wallick at Planet Waves makes this point:

The trick for each of us will be to see the distinction between legitimate issues of autonomy and arbitrary stubbornness. In turn, any group in question will be challenged to balance its standards of conduct to allow individual expression. The outcome will depend on how open the flow of communication will be. This aspect will flow into and become part of the more powerful aspects at the end of the week.

Saturn in Libra will square Pluto in Capricorn immediately after this Full Moon. This demands cooperation, an eye to fairness and awareness of the power you're brokering.

Air signs value ideas and communication. Libra and Aquarius are Air signs, which means five planets right now want to exchange ideas and communicate. Diplomacy and detachment are helpful right now because they're going to balance that big emotional fireball heading our way. If we get the balance right, we could probably negotiate the recognition and contribution our hearts really want this week.

Finally, the Sabian symbol for the Full Moon degree is about a child swinging under a well-established and sheltering tree. This is about open expression and having fun --like Leo's playfulness. It's also about the big tree that was once a little acorn. It's about legacies left for all of humanity --a very Aquarian theme.

Individual experience within a larger communal stewardship are what this Full Moon is about. What's your inner fire burning for? Where do you want to make this investment? And with whom? Are adjustments (Saturn/Pluto) needed? Choose the high road --oh please, oh please.

I end this post with a quotation from William Blackstone, whose Commentaries (published when Pluto was last in Capricorn 250 years ago) are the backbone of western jurisprudence:

The public good is in nothing more essentially interested than the protection of every individual's private rights.

That's a lifetime stewardship right there.

whatever... the current venus/mars set-up.

Okay, this is NOT as snarky as it may seem. This is actually good. With the heavy-weight professors Saturn and Pluto working toward yet another square over the weekend, we all need a little emo-detachment and willingness to cooperate.

Venus in Aquarius is your friend right now, folks. She's a little geeky and so not into emotional dramas. Will love you from afar, and mostly because you'll let her be whatever batso, strange creature she needs to be for the sake humanity. Remember, she's into being whatever everyone else is NOT into. But she's got roots in tradition and history, so don't count her out as some fizzy Gemini type who's forgotten what you said before you even said it. She may not feel really warm right now, but she hasn't forgotten you.

So if you're feeling uncharacteristically detached from your usual emotional dramas, that's the current Aquarius energy.

And she's partnered well with Mars in Leo, especially retrograde. Mars right now is into his backstage rehab mode, figuring out what this new character is about anyway. If he seems a little moody or maladjusted, well, consider this: how fragile did you feel the last time you walked into a new job or faced a new boss? This rehab work is a lot about deciding what kind of creature you're gonna be when you make your big Colossium entrance next spring and go roaring for your crowd. What kind of lion do you want to be?

Space, in this scene is a form of cooperation, methinks. What do you think?

today: mars vs. nessus --taking responsibility for the abuse you pass on

From Len Wallick, over at Planet Waves:

According to the most prominent authorities that have written for Planet Waves (Eric, Philip Sedgwick and Kirsti Melto among them), centaur planets have to do with shadow material, the baggage of past traumas that can pull us down or lift us up depending on how we handle it. The sort of shadow material associated with the centaur planet Nessus has a common theme – abuse and taking personal responsibility for halting its perpetuation. For an excellent reference check out the June 29, 2009 Planet Waves blog by that gentleman-about-earth, Mr. Cam Hassard.

So, to pull it all together, we got each of us with our baggage. Some of that baggage involves abuse. Eric has averred that we all have been abused one way or another. It would seem, from experience, that he’s right. Some of that abuse (perhaps the crucial part) took place when we were children. Because we were not individuated at that point we may well have taken that abuse on and identified with it, become PROUD of it. And because we are proud of it we don’t want to let it go. Instead, we pass it on as an unhappy legacy.

Even more sadly, the collective is invested in this process and encourages it because that eases the collective conscience without having to take individual responsibility. Mars in Leo opposing Nessus in Aquarius is a chance for each of us, individually, to get hold of ourselves and negotiate with our pride in order to release attachment to the abuse we received. Then, the collective, accumulated negotiation will not tolerate or encourage such behavior, no matter the degree of entitlement, no matter the cultural or religious grounds. Hear that Abraham? Hear that Mr. Polanski? Hear that me? We can forgive. We can move beyond forgiveness to genuine compassion. It’s time, however, to be accountable in our actions. It’s time for the baggage to stop right here in Peoria, to be passed on no more.

That’s a tall order. Can we do it during the course of this aspect? Probably not. But if each of us can work inside and negotiate outside, we can clean up our own act in how we interact with others (especially those possessed of less power). If we can demand that our common institutions and processes reflect our own cleaned up act (a positive and hopeful possibility of Pluto in Capricorn), we can make a start towards a future when boys and girls receive only love to pass on to the next generation. Now, that’s a myth we can buy into without getting ripped off.