Waning Moon in Cancer

The Moon transitions now from bright, outgoing Gemini to Cancer, the Moon's home sign. As I write, she's between-times, having made her final square to Uranus at 6:37am EDT. With aspects to Neptune, Chiron, Jupiter and Uranus ushering the Moon into her reflective void-of-course, I'm looking for more reports of powerful dreams among the PsiberDreamers at the annual conference. Last night was the Mutual Dreaming event and I dreamt this morning of King Kong ... definitely something BIG!

Broadway Tower, England

The Moon will enter her Cancerian home at 9:46am, so don't be making key decisions or starting new projects first thing this morning. Sometimes when the Moon transits Cancer, we start baking, filling the house with warmth and the aroma of comfort foods like chicken soup and chocolate chip cookies. Today's aspects might make this transit of Cancer feel more like a time to retire to your tower in silent meditation. Once you're sure the family's safe and accounted for, you may even raise the drawbridge.

Pluto and Saturn make their presence felt today, and while the gifts they bring are considerable, they are not a light-hearted pair. The Moon's first aspect in Cancer is an opposition to Pluto, Cardinal Water and Cardinal Earth face to face. How do we balance the inner world and the outer? Our commitments to home and family, and our role in the world? Our need for safety and security, and the call to follow our star?

These weighty questions are emphasized as the Sun and Saturn reach conjunction today, in Libra, sign of relationships, creativity and balance. The Sun illuminates our Saturnian issues of responsibility, limitations, the need for hard work and patience. Saturn works hard but is not very social; associated with the archetype of the hermit, he can leave us feeling a deep need for solitary reflection, and a bit grumpy if we don't get it.

hermit crab

Even as the Sun and Saturn join together, they square the Nodes of the Moon, the karmic path in the sky leading from what we've already mastered to what we are called to do in this lifetime. By this evening, the Moon will join the South Node (exact at 10:36pm). The South Node and Moon together in Cancer may create a powerful pull to the past, or at least open wells of memory we haven't plumbed for a while. The Sun-Saturn square to the Nodes asks us in yet another way to look at where we are in our life path.

If you're sketching this pattern in your head (or looking at today's chart), you'll have realized the Moon is also squaring the Sun and Saturn, aspects that come exact at 11:40pm (Saturn) and 11:52pm (Sun). The Sun-Moon square ushers in the last quarter of this lunar cycle, the time when we need to assimilate what we've learned, fitting together the pieces of recent experiences and insights.

To channel these powerful energies into productive reflection, give yourself alone time today. If Saturn asks you for effort, clean up the garden, add to the compost pile, or make sure you have what you need to winterize the house. Today it will feel good to strengthen our foundations.

Waning Moon in Gemini

Today's note covers the Moon's transits today and tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Today, the Moon and Sun reach their waning trine, a time of understanding during the disseminating phase of the lunar cycle. This trine happens in Air, the Moon in bright, communicative Gemini and the Sun in balanced, harmonius Libra. Saturn in Libra is nearby, conjunct the Sun, lending his gravitas to the meeting.

Puck by Arthur Rackham

Connecting with energies of Air––thinking, planning, communicating––we have a bit of a reprieve from the intense emotions of last week's Full Moon. The Mars-Venus transit through Scorpio is still stirring the pot, revealing the hidden and bringing up issues for review, and here again today's Air trine can help keep things in perspective.

The Moon's trine to the Sun comes exact at 12:27pm EDT, the trine to Saturn at 4:16pm, so feel the fresh Air blowing the clouds away (metaphorically speaking ... it's pouring rain here!). Writing, networking, planning, talking, texting, blogging all have the potential to move you forward toward your goals.

The energy of communication continues Wednesday with a challenge in square to Mercury. This challenge is not the contest it might appear, as Mercury rules Gemini and fully supports communication in all forms. With Mercury in practical Virgo, this square is likely to feel more like an echo of Tuesday's trine with Saturn ... a reminder that our thoughts and communications can drift into 'airy nothings.' A touch of Earth gives them 'a location habitation and a name.'

Waning Moon in Taurus

As the Moon traverses the late degrees of Taurus, our attention is drawn to the Nodes of the Moon as they receive squares today from Saturn and the Sun in Libra. The Nodes of the Moon are not bodies in the sky, but points marking where the path of the Sun and the path of the Moon intersect. Yes, we know scientifically this doesn't happen, but remember astrology maps the sky from our point of view here on Earth. As we watch the Sun and Moon circle overhead, tracking the paths of the two luminaries, lights in our psyche as well as the sky, we see where they touch each other.

English garden path

The Nodes mark a karmic path from the South Node, skills, abilities and habits we walked in the door with, to the North Node, what we're meant to move toward in this lifetime. We each have this path in our birth charts, where the sign and house placements of each (always directly across from each other) tell us something about this life's meaning for us.

In the sky right now, the South Node is in protective, nurturing, home-based Cancer, while the North Node is in determined, outwardly directed Capricorn. What are we meant to bring from within (Cancer) to share with the world (Capricorn)? With these Nodes receiving a challenge from Saturn and the Sun today, this is the question being illuminated. What are we meant to do in this world? Are we walking our talk, manifesting our purpose? Libra is a sign of harmony, creativity, and relating ... how can we creatively move toward our goals, developing the relationships that allow us to be who we're meant to be in balanced and beautiful ways?

The Moon makes a square of her own, to the Neptune-Chiron conjunction in late Aquarius, that comes exact at 7:13pm EDT. Taurus and Aquarius can each be set in their ways, Taurus standing firm for patience and tradition, Aquarius pushing for speed and innovation. Perhaps the Moon and Neptune, planets of dreams, visions and intuition, can find a path of healing with Chiron that combines the best of the new and the old.

The Moon's final aspects in Taurus echo this theme, as she creates a flowing sextile with innovative Uranus and expansive Jupiter in visionary Pisces. These sextiles, exact at 9:27pm (Jupiter) and 11:03pm (Uranus), begin the Moon's time-between-times.

Digital image by Massimo Barbieri

Tonight will be an excellent night for dream incubation, with the influences of Neptune, Chiron, Jupiter and Uranus all present as the Moon enters her reflective time. She pops into communicative Gemini at 2:10am Tuesday, making connections and bringing messages from Hermes.

And the PsiberDreaming Conference began yesterday! Two weeks of online papers and workshops exploring the world of psychic dreams, with an amazing community of powerful dreamers. If you've ever had a lucid dream, wondered about dreams that come true, experienced powerful, visionary dreams, or simply want to learn more about the magical place of dreaming, this conference is a wonderful way to connect ... and Gemini is all about connection.

Waning Moon Moving into Taurus

Today's notes address the Moon's transits today and tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday.

Golden Gate Park, San Franciso

The Moon moves through the final degrees of Aries this morning, spending her last hours with this bright, pioneering energy. She reaches a flowing sextile with the Neptune-Chiron conjunction in innovative Aquarius at 9:12am EDT, energizing our healing, creative imagination, and intuitive connection. Another opportunity for illumination here!

The sextile with Neptune and Chiron initiates the Moon's time-between-times, although within that phase she will reach a semisextile with Jupiter (exact at 12:03pm) and then Uranus (exact at 1:14pm) in visionary Pisces. Perhaps this communication with the planets of philosophy (Jupiter) and revolution (Uranus) will make this void of course an especially powerful time for reflection.

At 4:17pm, the Moon steps into calm, steady Taurus. In this sign, we slow down, take a deep breath, and experience the shifting seasons with all of our senses. Autumn has a feel all its own. In the Western mountains, aspen leaves turn a bright golden yellow. Desert nights are cooler now. In temperate woodlands, leaves swirl from the trees in fall rainstorms, revealing the form and texture of branches and bark that were hidden under summer's cloak. The wheel of the year turns.

In this waning time, we become more aware of what we are harvesting and how it has transformed us. The Sun in airy Libra challenges Pluto the transformer today in square, offering the chance to think creatively about how we balance who we are with who we wish to become. The Moon is inconjunct the Sun now, highlighting perhaps a place in our lives where our best plans and intentions (Sun in Libra) need to be made real (Moon and Pluto in Earth signs). A flowing trine between the Taurus Moon and Pluto in Capricorn allows us to feel the depth and strength of Earth in our lives.

Autumn Woods in Germany

On Sunday, the Moon reaches oppositions with Venus and Mars in Scorpio. The Taurus-Scorpio dialogue seeks a balance between the world so beautifully manifest to our senses (Taurus), and the world of the unseen, the hidden, and the unconscious (Scorpio). With Venus and Mars in Scorpio, we'e been examining our relationships and actions with great intensity this last week or so. Perhaps the Taurus Moon brings a gentle reminder not to go off the deep end, to ground our Scorpio awareness in everyday reality.

An inconjunct between the Taurus Moon and responsible Saturn in Libra echoes the call to stay grounded in our thinking and planning. This Full Moon has been an intense, blazing energy. The Moon's shift into Taurus invites us to stop revving our engines. In fact, go ahead and turn the motor off entirely, take the key out of the ignition, and get your feet on the ground.

Smell woodsmoke and damp earth in the air. Hear the shushing sound of leaves underfoot. Watch ground mist curling in the hollows of the land in the evening. Listen to the calls of migrating birds. Pick up a few acorns and trace their contours and textures. Our Earth is a beautiful Mother.

Waning Moon in Aries

Jupiter and Moon

The moment of the Full Moon has passed and we enter the waning cycle ... except with Jupiter shining next to the brilliant Moon in Aries, it doesn't feel like her energy is waning! And indeed we are still in the Full Moon phase, the Moon and Sun only 12 degrees apart as I write this morning. So if, in the glow of Mabon festivals, celebration of the Equinox, and the excitement of a Full Moon in the fiery sign of the warrior, you haven't yet taken time to reflect on this Moon's message for you, you haven't missed it.

Within the lunar cycle, the Full Moon is a time of illumination, when attention is focused on whatever the Moon and Sun aspect in the sky and in our charts. Today, attention is again focused on the Moon as she moves through a yod. The yod is an aspect pattern that creates a compelling focus in the chart. The yod is sometimes described as "fated" although it's tricky to say what that means. The aspect pattern looks like an isoceles triangle (the tall thin kind), with planets linked in sextile across the bottom making inconjunct aspects to the point.

This yod puts the fiesty, impulsive Aries Moon at the focus with practical, analytical Mercury in Virgo on one side, and Venus and Mars in shadowy, depth-oriented Scorpio on the other. These are all personal planets, and combine some of the key energies we've been experiencing in a way that could bring illumination, or ignition.

Yoshitsuya The Fiery Dragon

Mercury in Virgo is grounded, realistic, and detail oriented, looking for ways to serve others. Venus and Mars in Scorpio share Virgo's focus on detail, but Scorpio could care less about day-to-day life, being focused on what is below the surface, hidden, or outside our conscious awareness. This last week, Venus and Mars in Scorpio have led us to examine our relationships and actions in depth, considering what's really going on. In some cases, unwelcome feelings and information may have surfaced, to be met with Scorpionic anger.

Anger can be healing or wounding, depending on how we use it. With the Aries Full Moon at the focal point of this yod, we may feel compelled to act on what we've learned. The Aries Moon can be impulsive, ready to shoot first and ask questions later ... or direct and courageous, connected with our heart center, aware of what we truly need and want, and ready to go for it.

If this Full Moon has illuminated something vital and compelling in your life, today could be the day to act on that realization. Breathe deeply, connect with your heart's desire in a place of integrity and inner truth, and act with love.

Autumnal Equinox Today, Waxing Moon in Pisces

Today, at 11:09pm EDT, we reach the Autumnal Equinox. Fall begins; the years pauses for a deep slow breath before turning toward the darker half.

In this natural chart for the Equinox, we see the Moon conjunct Jupiter and Uranus, all clustered at the end of Pisces, the end of the zodiac cycle, before crossing over into the new, bright fire of Aries.

This Moon placement for the Equinox calls attention to the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction--if additional attention is needed for such an enlivening, expansive pair!

Jessica Murray's insightful post links Jupiter and Uranus to our feelings of being overwhelmed by the large and the unexpected this year, and points to the opposition from Saturn as a balancing perspective, reminding us of limits and the need for healthy structure. (Thanks to Mary Plumb at The Mountain Astrologer for this link and recommendation.)

If we've felt swept up in events and energies larger than we could see, let alone manage, tomorrow morning's Full Moon may bring it home for us. As I study the Full Moon chart and read the reflections of fellow astrologers, I'm thinking about the role of the Sun and Moon as the key to our personal charts, the lights in the sky that link most closely to who we are.

As the energy of the Cardinal Cross begins to fade (moving the outer planet powerhouses into new positions of influence), the Sun and Moon meet in dialogue at exactly the same location. Look, they say, let us light this up for you. What has this meant for you? And, this is a Full Moon in Aries after all, what are you going to do about it?

Time to look once more at your birth chart, to see exactly where this Full Moon touches you. Where is the Aries-Libra axis in your chart? Libra rules my Third House and Aries my Ninth; this Full Moon brings new fire to my ever-present drive to learn and explore. My loaded Third House will make sure I think through, write about, and teach what I learn.

My Second House Sun, sitting at 0 degrees Libra, catches the full light of this Harvest Moon; my Solar Return (astrological birthday) falls a few hours after the Moon is Full.

Linda Hill offers her always intriguing, in-deep exploration of the Sabian symbols surrounding this Full Moon. Her title is Coming Ashore and Coming of Age ... A title I'd love to adopt for my rather startling Solar Return chart. The patterns in the sky point to interesting times to come. My charts suggest I'll be experiencing those interesting times up close and personal. I hope you'll come along for the ride!

The Autumnal Equinox and Full Moon in Aries

Underwater rainbow

Today's waxing Moon in Pisces trines Venus and Mars, close together in Scorpio, and also the South Node of the Moon in Cancer, creating a Grand Trine in Water that invites us into deep waters. Our emotions, body, actions, relationships, creativity, and our past, especially habitual ways of doing things that may keep us from our true calling, are all alive in us and enlivening each other.

And yet we are not meant to dissolve into a vast sea of feeling today. Mercury in analytical, practical Virgo opposes the Moon, as the Sun in late Virgo opposes Uranus and Jupiter in Pisces. Virgo becomes our grounding, the reminder to keep our wits about us so we can hear and remember the messages offered to us.

This is our chance to connect with where we are, as we enter a powerful gateway in this powerful year. Tomorrow is the Fall Equinox, which arrives astrologically when the Sun enters Libra at 11:09pm EDT Wednesday. At this hinge of the year, as night catches up to day, we are brought face to face with the limits of life. Celebrating the abundant harvest, we pick up our scythes to reap what we have sown. We dance our gratitude, and sing John Barleycorn Must Die.

Scythe against the hedge

Rob Tillet's post captures the spirit of this year's Equinox. Dana Gerhardt offers a magical ritual for the Harvest Moon, invoking its energies to manifest our heart's desires.

Six hours after the Equinox, the Moon is Full in Aries. This year's Harvest Moon comes with the Moon at 0 Aries and the Sun at 0 Libra, reprising the Cardinal Cross. This Full Moon includes aspects to all the planets and the Nodes of the Moon as well, linking everyone in a circling harvest dance.

How are we doing at this hinge of the year? In the light of this Full Moon, we check in to see how we've weathered the seas of change thus far, and how prepared we are for the time to come. As astrologer Maria Theresa Maggi asked in her lovely podcast series on the Moon, how full-filled are we in the the areas of life where this Full Moon falls for us?

With the Moon at 0 Aries, the beginning of the zodiac, we are called to take action on what we've learned. No more sitting on the sidelines, no more waiting on the fence, it's time to step onto the dance floor and claim our space. This Full Moon is not for the faint of heart, though ... CJ Wright calls this Full Moon the Dance of Fire, even more intense that last year's passionate tango.

Looking at the Full Moon chart, we see the intensity of the patterns: A Grand Cross anchored by the Full Moon. The Aries Moon conjuncts Uranus and Jupiter in late Pisces; the Sun conjuncts Saturn both in Libra. This Full Moon dialogue squares Pluto the phoenix, and the Moon's Nodes. Meanwhile, Venus and Mars in Scorpio are sextiling Pluto and the North Node, even as the Neptune-Chiron in Aquarius sextile Pluto and the North Node from the other side. Mercury, holding on to ordinary life by the skin of his teeth, trines the North Node and sextiles the South Node, while sextiling Venus and Mars.

This Full Moon is a moonlit courtyard full of flamenco dancers, whirling and stamping in perfect unison. So find that red dress, and get ready join the dance.

Waxing Moon Moving into Pisces

 Today's notes include the Moon's transits in Pisces for today and tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday.

The Moon reaches her final aspects in Aquarius this morning,  joining visionary Neptune and maverick Chiron. The conjunction with Neptune at 9:09am EDT marks the classic beginning to the Moon's void-of-course time, but I'm now including encounters with Chiron and the inconjunct as important Moon aspects (discussed here), and that moves this void a bit later.

fog over a lake

The Moon reaches her exact conjunction with Chiron at 10:20am, and is exactly inconjunct the Virgo Sun at 11:18am. Reckoning with these additions, the time-between-times begins at 11:18 and continues until the Moon swims into dreamy Pisces at 4:15pm. This puts the center of the work day in a time when beginning new projects is not advised, so use this Monday to finish up whatever remains from last week.

Opening the week with a few hours of quiet reflection may be a good thing, as the week ahead offers some intense astrological events. Emerging into Pisces, the Moon's first aspects highlight this intensity as she flows energy in sextile with deeply transformative Pluto at 9:56pm and incisive, focused (and possibly angry) Mars in Scorpio at 12:45am Tuesday. These connections between the Pisces Moon, and Pluto and Mars, can bring calm to intense situations if we align with the Pisces Moon's intuitive flow, but may create emotional confusion if we do not. Tonight is a time to invoke peace if anger arises, and look for intuitive guidance in deep, vivid dreams.

Tuesday's Moon aspects include a flowing trine with Venus in Scorpio (exact at 9:23am) and an opposition with Mercury in Virgo (exact at 2:42pm).

The Pisces Moon-Scorpio Venus meeting offers deep, intuitive insights into our key relationships, as long as we avoid slipping into suspicion and confusion. This Moon-Venus connection also creates an opening for messages from the Muse that infuse our creative work with depth and power. Remember the Moon communicates through feeling and memory; visioning techniques are likely to be powerful this morning.

girls carrying water in India

The Pisces Moon-Virgo Mercury opposition opens a dialogue between feeling and thought, the big picture and the small details, and cosmic vision and everyday reality. If we can dream universal dreams while keeping our feet on the ground, these two planets will be happy.

The Moon-Mercury opposition is emphasized by the Sun, who prepares to leave practical Virgo by opposing Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces. Uranus and Jupiter together in Pisces ask for visioning that is radically exuberant, dreams with revolutionary enthusiasm, and spiritual connections that take us on unexpected journeys. Meanwhile, the Sun reminds us to chop wood, carry water, and care for those around us. Another reflection of the challenging dialogue we find ourselves in these days, about staying grounded in times of great change!

Wednesday brings the Autumn Equinox, followed six hours later by the Full Moon in Aries ... but more on that tomorrow :)

Waxing Moon in Aquarius

Today's note describes the Moon's path through Aquarius today and tomorrow.

The waxing Moon shifted into revolutionary Aquarius at 3:34am EDT, bringing its eccentric trickster energy to transiting planets clustered in the early degrees. Aquarius is fixed Air, cerebral, looking to the future, and focused on the community. If you've spent these last Capricorn days with your shoulder to the wheel, working hard, today may find you looking up and outward to plan the next campaign.

The Moon challenges Mars with a square at 8:23am. If Mars in Scorpio has been too focused on uncovering the past, the Aquarian Moon offers a look at the future. If the Moon in Aquarius gets carried away with plans, Scorpio Mars reminds her that deep emotions affect even the loftiest of ideas.

A flowing trine to Saturn in Libra at 4:09pm offers steadiness and balance to the Moon, and a spark of innovation and breath of fresh air to Saturn's traditional approach.

flying upside down

Venus, also in Scorpio, receives her square challenge from the Moon at 5:37pm. If Mars in Scorpio tends toward anger, Venus can become sad when faced with the Shadow side of relationships and values. The Aquarian Moon can flip things upside down, offering a radical new perspective.

Today's Moon squares to Mars and Venus give us the chance to look again and see deep situations in a new way. With Mars in an exact flowing sextile with transformative Pluto now, we may be offered a chance to look deeply into the sources of our own anger, face some of our demons, and befriend them.

a gathering of kitsune

The energy of Aquarius is expanded today as Uranus, ruler of Aquarius, reaches an exact conjunction with Jupiter. Both planets are retrograde in Pisces, bringing radical enthusiasm, generous humanitarian impulses, innovative philosophy, and trickster energy on a big scale to our visioning, creativity, and intuitive connection with the cosmos.

Sunday is indeed the Sun's day. The Moon, having offered Aquarian sparkle to the early-degree planets on Saturday, spends Sunday alone, weaving plans for a bright future. The Sun provides a bit of a reality check, as he brings Virgo's practical focus on everyday details to visionary Neptune and Chiron in Aquarius. With all the enthusiasm for radical change in the air this weekend, the Sun helps keep our feet on the ground, reminding us to bring a few blankets and enough to eat as we head into the future.

Waxing Moon Moving into Capricorn

Today's notes cover the Moon's transit through Capricorn which continues until late Friday.

Many transiting planets continue to cluster in the very late and very early degrees, as each of us with sensitive chart points in these degrees know very well! The Moon brings her focus to this busy area of the sky today as she finishes her time in Sagittarius and moves into Capricorn.

The Moon sextiles Neptune and Chiron this morning (exact at 10:01am and 11:19am EDT), flowing Sagittarian enthusiasm to Neptune and Chiron's Aquarian vision of universal healing.

fractal flame

A little later, the Moon reaches a challenging square with Uranus and Jupiter (exact at 2:17pm and 2:51pm EDT). Neptune and Uranus are in mutual reception: Neptune in Uranus' sign of Aquarius and Uranus in Neptune's sign of Pisces. This makes a flowing sextile followed by a challenging square a bit of a contradiction. Why an easy flow when the Moon meets visionary Neptune in future-oriented Aquarius, and a challenging adjustment when she meets revolutionary Uranus in intuitive Pisces?

One way to understand this pattern is to realize that the paradigm shifts we're being invited to make contain both opportunities for new understanding and healing, and challenges when these new insights bump up against our entrenched ways of being and doing. Perhaps it's a bit easier to go with the flow as Neptune paints beautiful pictures of a golden future, than to make the quantum leap into unfamiliar territory Uranus is pushing for.

The Moon's square to Jupiter signals the beginning of her time-between-times, which ends when she steps up to the mark in hard-working Capricorn at 4:30pm EDT. Capricorn is the Cardinal Earth sign, ready to set his shoulder to the wheel and keep pushing until the goal is reached. During the next few days, you may find yourself ready to take on some tough jobs and get 'em done.

This afternoon's Capricorn Moon won't shy away from cleaning out the darkest corners, as a series of Scorpionic aspects lead her right to hidden trigger points. She sextiles first Mars and then Venus, both in Scorpio, at 5:44pm today and 2:53am Thursday. Right between the two sextiles, she joins transformative Pluto, ruler of Scorpio, at 9:52pm Wednesday.

Wednesday afternoon and evening, you may find yourself taking action (Mars) in your creative life or in close relationships (Venus) to transform patterns that no longer work for you (Pluto). Since Mars continues in an inconjunct (adjustment required!) with expansive Jupiter, be sure your actions are in line with your values, to avoid situations in which a challenging Jupiter-Mars combination fuels an explosion.

The need to take positive action, even in difficult situations, is highlighted by a square to Saturn in Libra at 3:58am Thursday. Responsible Saturn reminds us that actions have consequences, and the scales of justice do balance out over time.

time trial

A flowing trine from the Capricorn Moon to Mercury in analytical Virgo at 4:35am offers a chance to think through our situation from a practical perspective and make realistic plans. Thursday, the Moon moves steadily through Capricorn without impediments, supporting our efforts to take concrete steps toward our goals.

Friday, the Capricorn Moon makes her determined way forward, reaching a trine with the Sun at 5:19pm. This is a moment in the waxing cycle when we feel clearly committed to the goals we have set, and have those goals clearly in sight.

By Friday night, the Moon reaches the late degrees again, first making edgy semisextiles with Neptune and Chiron at 8:39pm and 9:57pm exactly. This transit through Capricorn closes with flowing sextiles to Uranus (1:04am Saturday) and Jupiter (1:13am Saturday) that initiate the Moon's void-of-course period.

The Moon will enter Aquarius, sign of the New, at 3:34am Saturday. Once again, as she changes sign, the Moon gets in touch with Neptune, Chiron, Uranus and Jupiter, who all invite us to listen to our intuitive guidance as we navigate these deep waters of change.

Waxing Moon in Sagittarius

Coldstream Guards

The Moon continues in Sagittarius, sign of enthusiasm, exploration, philosophy and grace. These are traits we can draw on today, because our wishes and intentions may be tested as the Sun and Moon challenge each other in square.

We have reached the point of the first quarter Moon. The Moon's light becomes more visible in the sky, and whatever changes we're making become more visible in our lives. Visibility brings a certain amount of risk.

We all live within systems. At home, among friends, at the workplace, within our organizations, we have roles we fill in coordination with others. Even when systems include conflict, the patterns created develop a stability that resists change. In fact, dysfunctional systems have the strongest bonds and the greatest inertia.

Free Hugs!

So any changes we make, even very positive ones, result in some "push back" from systems in our lives, including within our own psyches. Today, places where we're experiencing resistance may be highlighted, as the Moon enters the first quarter square to the Sun.

The expansiveness of Sagittarius can make any situation seem larger, making it (possibly) glaringly obvious where we're likely to stumble on our path of change. Luckily (and Sagittarius often brings good fortune as well), we're likely to find the energy and good humor to embrace areas of resistance and transform them.

Waxing Moon in Sagittarius

The Moon enters Sagittarius at 8:52am EDT this morning, emerging from Scorpio's depths into the warmth of Jupiter's welcoming embrace. This flexible Fire sign enjoys life, ready to celebrate with food, drink and lively conversation.

Artist's Books

Sagittarius is a genial host whose interests expand far beyond mere socializing: This is the sign of exploration, higher learning, and philosophy. Jupiter, ruler of Sagittarius, is called the guru in Vedic astrology. So along with enthusiasm and hospitality, today's Sagittarius Moon brings a desire for understanding.

Sagittarius is the archer, the centaur, moving swiftly towards his goals. The archetype of the horse-man combines base "animal" instincts with insight and self control. Out of control centaurs could be bestial indeed, and yet with self mastery become the wisest of mentors. So today's Sagittarius Moon carries the raw energies we bring back from Scorpio's depths. Our task is to integrate, to "tame" what we gained from our time in the Shadow, so we too become sages.

Blake's Centaur

The Sagittarius Moon challenges Mercury in Virgo in a square that is exact at 6:39pm. Flexible fire challenges flexible Earth. Mercury has emerged from his retrograde period, his own time in the depths, and the Sag Moon wants to hear all about it. What have we learned? How does it connect with previous experience? How will we apply this learning? What, now, is our philosophy?

At 7:02pm, this expansive Moon flows energy in sextile with Saturn in balanced Libra, another sign to ground what we've learned in the real. Saturn carries the energy of manifestation, and we are in the growing part of the lunar cycle. Now we channel what we've learned to support our emerging wishes and intentions, providing a framework so our seeds can sprout and climb.

Waxing Moon in Scorpio

Today, as the Moon transits the last half of Scorpio, a shift is taking place. The Scorpio Moon's awareness of hidden things, and her willingness to follow the thread to its ending, help us maintain focus.

The Eastern Gown by William Orpen

Yesterday's connections among the Moon, Mercury, Pluto and Venus offered a chance to look at ourselves, our relationships and our creativity in deep, possibly transformative ways. Today, Venus in Scorpio herself moves into a flowing sextile with Pluto in Capricorn, taking insight into action. Things we might prefer to ignore may become painfully obvious.

On the other hand, perhaps we faced whatever we saw in Scorpio's mirror, however uncomfortable. Now what do we do? The Venus-Pluto sextile can uncover the next steps for integrating and expressing what we've learned.

The Moon and Sun for their own sextile today (exact at 3:06pm EDT), another sign of increasing clarity. Now in the waxing crescent phase, our New Moon intentions take on a clearer shape. We understand a little better what we really asked for, and how our wishes might manifest.

Then, at 7:09pm, Mercury goes direct. Communications, thought, plans, and our relationship with technology begins to smooth out, moving forward again with greater ease. No longer forced into a time of reflection, review and reworking every step, let's not forget what we've learned but instead put it to practical use, Virgo fashion, as we work toward our goals.

The Scorpio Moon challenges the Neptune-Chiron conjunction in Aquarius overnight (exact at 2:57am Monday), asking for a dynamic balance between looking ahead to the new (Aquarius) and remembering the lessons of the past (Scorpio), planning for the greatest good for the greatest number (Aquarius) and realizing that the needs and drives of each individual are powerful engines of change (Scorpio).

A Mandelbrot set: Picture of the Day

The Moon and Neptune are both planets of dreams and vision. Tonight's dreams may remind us that however quickly we move into the Aquarian future, we still bring our Scorpio Shadow with us. The presence of Chiron may show us exactly where that Shadow is, and also how to heal its wounds.

The Moon's final aspects in Scorpio are flowing trines to Uranus (exact at 6:58am Monday) and Jupiter (exact at 7:53am). Revolutionary Uranus and expansive Jupiter are in Neptune's sign of visionary Pisces, and so this trine echoes the Moon-Neptune-Chiron square in a more flowing way. Having faced the challenge of the square, Uranus now offers a flash of intuition, a way out of our own box, so we can move on.

The trine to exuberant Jupiter signals the Moon's void-of-course period while initiating the Moon's new energy: She steps with enthusiasm into Sagittarius, Jupiter's home sign, at 8:52am EDT Monday morning, full of energy for the journey to come.

Waxing Moon in Scorpio

The Moon entered incisive, insightful Scorpio this morning at 5:21am EDT. Intense, shadowy morning dreams might be gifts from Scorpio's deep spaces. The Moon joins Venus, new in Scorpio, today (exact at 8:54am), bringing emotional focus to the unconscious aspects of our one-on-one relationships, creativity and values.

Delay

Flowing sextiles to transformative Pluto in Capricorn (exact at 9:59am) and Mercury, retrograde in Virgo (exact at 2:28pm) adds emphasis to Pluto-Mercury connection in trine. Today is the last day of Mercury's retrograde. The Scorpio Moon asks us to look carefully at what we have experienced during this time of reflection and review. What has really been going on? What have any delays, miscommunications, and mess-ups shown us? Part of the message is in our responses ... what are we projecting on the world that we expect things always to go smoothly?

This Mercury retrograde as been a difficult one for many. We rely on careful, practical Virgo to keep things in order. When Virgo drops the ball, we are given the chance to see where we take things for granted, where we expect (demand?) that life go according to plan with little effort on our part. If we found ourselves responding to retrograde glitches with frustration rather than adaptability, irritation rather than humor, today's the day to reflect on where that's coming from.

Dreadlocks

When we own and integrate our less-than-perfect qualities (an awkward and difficult process), we suddenly find new sources of energy and inspiration. Instead of using up energy stuffing down something we don't want to see and certainly don't want others to see, we have new drive and focus for living and creating.

Today's Scorpio Moon connects the dots: How can our thought and communication (Mercury) be transformed (Pluto) in practical, real world ways (both in Earth signs) so can we take back our Shadow (Scorpio) and bring new vitality to our relationships and creativity (Venus)?

Today, if we can face what we see in Scorpio's mirror, we find power.

Waxing Moon in Libra

Today's Moon notes will cover the Moon's transit through Libra, which continues through Friday night.

The Moon slipped into Libra at 5:01am EDT, bringing our New Moon wishes and intentions into a space of balance, harmony and beauty. The Moon needs her balance today as she joins the Cardinal Cross, squaring Pluto (exact at 9:26am), joining Saturn (1:09pm), and still opposing Jupiter and Uranus (exact last night). Mercury in Virgo is still retrograde, asking us to continue our reflection and review.

massage therapy

One of Virgo's gifts is precision, a vital skill tempered today by Libran balance. I'm privileged to receive bodywork from two excellent practitioners, one a massage therapist, the other trained in both Alexander and Feldenkrais technique, and Fitzmaurice Voicework. Each practitioner knows how to find exactly where I hurt with great precision, locating knotted muscles and tender points with uncanny speed and accuracy. They have Virgo's diagnostic skill.

In working to release pain and tension, Libra's balance and harmony are invoked. Once key areas of tension are located, they work around them, making space to allow locked up energy to flow again. They work with the opposite side of my body, aware that problems in one place are mirrored, and sometimes originate, in other places.

The desired endpoint for each session is a state of harmony, in which I feel myself as an integrated and balanced whole. Each practitioner offers healing, communicating through touch where I need to let go, adjust my position and perception, and find peace and comfort in my own body.

marula fruit

Perhaps this Virgo New Moon brought you face to face with some uncomfortably precise messages about where work is needed. You might be feeling like every tender spot you have has been vigorously palpated. Today as we move into the Libra Moon, look for harmonious ways to bring all things back into balance. The seeds we plant now, during this New Moon window, need to be nurtured and supported as they begin to unfold. We offer gentle, compassionate care to what is being born.

Tonight at 9:16pm, Mars, planet of action, flows energy in trine with spiritual Neptune, supporting gentle action guided by intuitive flow. Tomorrow, Friday, the Moon's only aspect is her own trine to Neptune at midnight. Then, the Moon joins Mars in Libra at 1:16am Saturday, which begins her time-between-times. These aspects guide us again to find flowing, calm ways to nurture ourselves and the seeds of our intentions.

Today and tomorrow, we hold our new intentions in gentle hands, offering support and healing in balanced, beautiful ways.

New Moon in Virgo

We are now in the New Moon in Virgo, exact at 6:30am EDT. Right in the middle of Virgo, at 15 degrees, in a wide conjunction to Mercury still retrograde in Virgo, this New Moon offers a concentrated experience of Virgo's analytical practicality, precise focus on detail, willing service, and healing skill.

Now we make wishes and set intentions, in the seeding time of the New Moon. Working with the Moon's energies, we focus on Virgo's values.

Look at your birth chart to see where this New Moon falls. Which house, and therefore which area of life, will feel the New Moon most strongly? Which planets and points are aspected by the New Moon? Orienting to your own chart gives your intentions the precision and focus Virgo loves.

You can find an introduction to wishing with the New Moon here. Possible wishes for this New Moon in Virgo might be:

• I wish to easily and gracefully take care of the practical details of living without resistance.

• I wish to easily find myself organizing those areas of life I most often avoid.

• I wish to naturally find myself choosing and enjoying healthy foods.

• I wish to easily find myself acting in ways I know are effective and practical for me.

These wishes address ordinary daily life, which Virgo never overlooks. At the same time, this New Moon invites us to look at issues of effectiveness and balance more broadly. This is a moment of transition in the sky: Within the next few days, Mercury and Pluto will turn direct, freeing up energy to move forward on the plans we commit to now.

Pythia Peay offers a Virgo meditation to connect us with who we are, alone, in ourselves. She urges us to work with this New Moon to recognize those things within us and in our lives of overmastering importance.

A Painter

When we know our true calling, we can use Virgo's analytical skill and practical dedication to master it. Auntie Moon reminds us that with mastery, comes power, and Virgo is the sign of the master craftsman.

Experts love practice. Studies of elite athletes show they enjoy the daily 5:00am workouts as much as the big competitions. The same is true of dancers and musicians. Yes, moments of perfect public performance are wonderful, but the experience of flow also comes in practice, as we work at our craft, hit our stride, and lose ourselves in the moment.

At this New Moon in Virgo, as we consider the details of our lives and where we need to focus, balance, and attain mastery, I wish that each of us find those sweet spots where we are most truly ourselves, where we know we are in the right place, doing the right thing. I wish for us, that we see clearly the pattern of our lives, and recognize its beauty.

Waning Moon in Virgo

The Moon entered Virgo at 5:53am EDT, in the last day of her waning cycle. Virgo Moons are often tough times for me, reminders of everything I should be and am not. This transit, echoing the balsamic relationship between my natal Moon and Sun, during this Mercury retrograde in Virgo, is especially, sharply poignant.

wabi sabi tea bowl

The Moon's key aspects today are a flowing trine with Pluto, engine of our deepest transformations (10:17am) and a conjunction with Mercury, ruler of Virgo (5:13pm). She reaches perigee, her closest approach to the Earth, at 11:47pm. This is an especially intense Virgo day, when we may feel achingly aware of everything less than perfect in ourselves and in our lives.

April Elliott Kent's New Moon post, Less Than Perfect, addresses this head on, reminding us that life itself is less than perfect, and that's not only ok, it's actually rather nice ... beautiful, in fact. This is the Japanese principle of wabi sabi, understanding and accepting the world in all its asymmetrical, anomalous, quirky glory.

Virgo is, after all, an Earth sign, with a practical understanding of the physical, manifest world. Virgo loves the world, and only wants to make it better. A desire to serve and willingness to work are Virgoan strengths. Perhaps it is her aesthetic that sometimes needs refocusing. Virgo can get so focused in analysis, seeing in her Mercury mind the very image of perfection, that she loses touch with another strength ... which is, literally, touch.

planting coconut trees

Joyce Mason at Radical Virgo reminds us that Virgo is often clairkinetic, the ability to feel things in the body. This can be experienced as an acute hypersensitivity to sounds, smells, bright lights or chaotic environments. When trained and balanced, it becomes the ability to feel energies as bodily sensations, a valued skill in many indigenous shamanic and healing traditions.

To find balance and love the world as it is, Virgo needs to use her hands. This attunes us to the Earth, rekindling our inborn awareness of life as it is. Laying our hands on the physical, the stuff of this world, cloth, brick, water, the bark of trees, and spikiness of grass, the pulse of life, we feel our connection and learn again how we are called to serve.

And yet, in this last day of the waning cycle, we are keenly aware of all we hold, but cannot hold on to. This is the time of releasing, acknowledging another key value in wabi sabi: impermanence. This is the deep paradox of the manifest world, so tangibly present and so quickly gone. It's not easy for Virgo, seeing the image of perfection so clearly, willing to work so hard to make it happen, and knowing that change comes as quickly as shifting tides.

Perhaps we need to let go of the very idea of perfection as a fixed state. The wisdom of Virgo is the wisdom of the hands, of the body, and of the Earth itself. To be useful, a thing need not be beautiful in some ideal way. Indeed, the beauty of things is in their usefulness. More than this, the beauty of things is in their thing-ness. Every manifest thing expresses the patterns that created it, and each is a perfect miracle.

Looking Toward the New Moon

Today's Moon in Leo was described in yesterday's post, leaving room today for a preview of Wednesday's New Moon.

The New Moon in Virgo continues this year's pattern of powerful Moons; this SuperMoon takes place with the Moon at perigee, her closest approach to Earth. As the Sun and Moon align, the electromagnetic effect is stronger on the Earth and on us. Wherever this New Moon falls in your chart, its impact is intensified.

Virgo is one of the practical, reliable Earth signs. Ruled by Mercury, this sign applies the mind to solving problems, excelling in research, analysis, and detail work. Committed to service, Virgo uncomplainingly takes on difficult chores, leaving the world a little cleaner and more orderly as a result.

The New Moon is in a wide conjunction with Mercury, still retrograde in Virgo, and to the Nodes of the Moon. We find Sun, Moon and Mercury in the sign of thoughtful analysis, during a reflective retrograde time, as the Moon comes as close to the Earth as she can, as if to see us more clearly.

Simone Butler describes Virgo as "our inner GPS, synchronizing body and mind." This New Moon happens at 15 degrees of Virgo, exactly in the middle of the sign. At this moment, in the midst of swirling energies of change, we find a brief time of stillness and reflection. What do we see?

There is a Taoist tale of a village experiencing a terrible drought. Nothing would grow, and nothing they did to propitiate the spirits seemed to help. In desperation, they begged an old sage to help them. He agreed, and they eagerly awaited his arrival. He came to the village and locked himself away in a small house, saying and doing nothing. With mounting irritation, the villagers waited.

Three days went by. Suddenly, on the fourth day, the rains came. As the thirsty earth opened to absorb the waters, the sage emerged. "How did you make the rain?" the villagers asked eagerly.

"I cannot make rain," the sage replied. "When I came here, I found all things out of balance. I needed to bring myself back into balance. When I was once again in the Tao, the balance was found. Then the rains came."

The Tao is the path, the way. When we are in balance, life unfolds gently before us, without striving or strife. The Virgo New Moon applies her practical analysis and points us to exactly where we are out of balance.

New Moons are turning points, an ending and a beginning. With Virgo, we are invited to look with great clarity and precision at where we've been, where we are now, and where we're headed. If we don't like what we see, we can slip into the shadow of Virgo's devastating self criticism, decide everything is a hopeless mess, and give up.

The balancing act with Virgo is to apply her mental acuity to locating the key issues, and then stopping. This can be difficult, as analysis, once begun, takes on an energy all its own. But Virgo's ultimate goal is effective action is service to practical goals. Realizing that criticizing our failings and the failings of other will not help in reaching a balanced solution, Virgo can stop, recalibrate, and find a better way.

Once there was a great ocean liner, ready to make her maiden voyage. All were aboard, the huge ship about to pull away from the dock, when one of the engines made an odd knocking sound. Clearly, things were not right; an immediate fix was needed.

hammer and chisels

The word went out, and the most senior engineer quickly summoned. The old man stood quietly, listening to the engine for a few moments. Then he took out a small hammer, tapped once lightly on a pipe, and the engine purred. All was well.

The captain was overjoyed until he received a bill for a thousand dollars. Summoning the engineer, he said, "Why are you charging so much? All you did was tap!"

The engineer took the bill, made some notations on it, and handed it back to the captain. The bill said: Tapping, $5.00; Knowing where to tap, $995.00. The captain paid the bill.

This New Moon in Virgo offers us the precise tools we need to analyze and understand our situation. Then, if we listen and are wise, we will know where to tap.

Waning Moon in Leo

Today's Moon Note covers today and tomorrow, Sunday and Monday, the waning Moon's transit through Leo.

The Moon assumed the mantle of dramatic, expressive Leo at 5:45am EDT, even as she entered her balsamic period, the last few days before the New Moon. How does a passionate Leo Moon feel about this waning time, when our experience is distilled down to its essentials and we release all that has been completed, preparing for the new cycle to come?

We can think of this as a Lion in Winter time, that marvelous, intense play about Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, two aging but still powerful sovereigns locked in conflicts personal as well as political. Or even Lear, monument to the depth of loss we can experience when we hold tight to the wrong things in life. There is plenty of scope for the Lion Moon in a waning cycle.

Let's consider alternate readings. This is the dénouement, the untying of the knottier aspects of our plot. If we've done the work of attention and reflection, we now see the pattern in the weave. This is the time when we experience catharsis, released from tension and anxiety, and washed clean. Now we see this play as a whole, understanding the arc of its action from beginning to its approaching end.

This balsamic time has is poignancy, to be sure, but need not be tragic. Endings can bring peace, insights, and the boon: We gather the gifts from this adventure, invigorated and strengthened for the road ahead.

The Leo Moon flows energy in trine with expansive, fiery Jupiter (exact at 6:31am EDT): This Lion wants the leading role. A flow of energy in sextile with balanced, hard-working Saturn (exact at 1:23pm) adds gravitas and depth to the portrayal.

Tomorrow, the Leo Moon time continues. Creative expression, passionate action, and living from the heart are all supported today. The Moon flows energy in sextile with Mars at 9:38pm EDT Monday, linking action and emotion. Use the balance of Mars in Libra to express yourself beautifully and harmoniously.

The Rainbow Portrait

The Moon reaches an opposition with visionary Neptune (exact at 12:52 am Tuesday) and healing Chiron (exact at 2:12 am), seeking the balance between personal creative expression and serving the community. Look for intense dreams and colorful visions this night.

The Leo Moon's last aspect is a flowing trine with lovely Venus (exact at 4:17am Tuesday), another link between expressing what's in our hearts (Leo) and love of creativity (Venus). The Moon enters her time-between-time with this aspect, until arriving in practical Virgo at 5:52am Tuesday.

With the Moon in Leo, we feel things strongly and want to express them. We yearn for an audience, ultimately because we long to be seen, heard, and felt as the unique and special beings we are. During this balsamic time, the last days of this lunar cycle, appreciate the adventure, creativity and, yes, the drama of the play we've been in. We are all kings and queens, the heroes of our own lives.

Waning Moon in Cancer

muffins!

The Moon continues in her home sign of Cancer today. After yesterday's challenging aspects, she's ready to pull on her most comfortable clothes and bake muffins this morning, enjoying the best of being at home.

Venus and Mars continue traveling together in balanced Libra, linking our values and our actions in harmony. With flowing trines from these personal planets to the ongoing Neptune-Chiron conjunction, intuitive guidance, healing, and creative inspiration flow easily as we relax into a secure and nurturing Moon-in-Cancer respite.

Connecting with this flow of creativity and intuition is good preparation for challenging squares the Moon forms with Mars (exact at 6:49pm EDT) and Venus (exact at 1:18am Sunday) later on. We again need to find that point of dynamic balance between heart (Cancer) and head (Libra), wanting to remain safe and secure within our refuge (Cancer) and reaching out to others (Libra).

Maslow's Hierarchy

The Moon's last aspect in Cancer is a flowing trine to revolutionary Uranus overnight (4:31am Sunday) that begins her time-between-times. If today, we feel deeply into our home place while accepting whatever creative and healing guidance comes our way, we may then be open to the outside-the-box messages from Uranus.

You might remember Maslow's Heirarchy, one of the underlying themes of developmental psychology: We need to have our most basic safety needs met before we can develop our psyches. Today we revel in the Cancer Moon's love of home, feeling gratitude for what we have and establishing that feeling of security, so that tonight when Uranus calls us to become who we truly are, we can listen and take the next step.

Waning Moon in Cancer

portcullis at Cahir Castle

The Moon entered her own castle in the sign of Cancer overnight. This is where the Moon feels most secure, most nurtured, and most connected. It can also be where she feels most embattled, prepared to raise the drawbridge, lower the portcullis, and deny entry to one and all.

At 4:06am EDT, the Moon challenged Jupiter in the warrior sign of Aries. Can Jupiter's expansive, pioneering spirit find a home today with a protective Cancer Moon? These two share a love of tradition and a connection to the ancestors, but one is off on a quest and one wants to stay home. Today you might feel like Frodo, given a journey when he wants only to sit by his fireside, or like Eowyn, forced to tend the home fires when she's ready to take up her sword and do battle.

At 7:46am comes an opposition to transformative Pluto in determined Capricorn. Once again, the dialogue is between the safe harbors of home (Cancer Moon) and the call to walk our talk in the world and face its perils (Capricorn Pluto). Pluto's challenges are ignored at great cost, so perhaps the Cancer Moon needs to think in terms of preparing a secure home base before striking out on the path to adventure and achievement. What do we need to have a safe place somewhere?

At 8:35am, the Sun and Mercury reach their conjunction within Mercury's retrograde time. This is the New Mercury, when we turn a corner in our thinking and communication, reconsider old ways, rethink past decisions, review our goals, and strengthen what is best and brightest in our mental habits.

By 10:34am, the Moon challenges Saturn in square. This is the last point the Moon touches today, within the Cardinal Cross still active in the sky. Saturn, planet of tradition, has much in common with the Cancer Moon. The challenge here is between Cardinal Air and Cardinal Water ... does thought come first, or feeling? Practicality and logic, or intuition and emotion? Head or heart? We need both, of course, but finding the dynamic balance here is not always easy.

A Priestess

Later in the day, the Moon flows energy in sextile with Mercury, retrograde in Virgo. Perhaps Virgo's practical approach, focused on service, can help the Moon channel emotional energy in healing ways. Mercury retrograde feels safe within the circle of Cancer's loving concern, finding a respite from the pressures of the world.

Today's last aspect is a sextile with the Sun at 10:44pm EDT. Nearing the end of the lunar cycle, this flow of energy in sextile offers a time of insight and understanding.

The Cancer Moon prefers home, establishing strong boundaries within which she can protect and nurture her family and her tribe. Today brings challenges from other planets reminding us that the world is always with us, and whether our challenges are outside or within, the call to adventure will come.

Waning Moon in Gemini, Moving toward Cancer

Today's Picture of the Day

The Moon continues networking in Gemini, the bright butterfly, making connections with a number of transiting planets. Gemini is the multitasker par excellence, so today's multiple connections feed this Moon's love of asking and answering questions. As we continue in the waning half of the lunar cycle, we look to understand and integrate our experiences.

The Moon flows energy in trine with Venus at 12:30pm EDT, with Mars at 6:46pm, and the Neptune-Chiron conjunction at 9:26pm. Since we begin with Venus, today you may feel the urge to communicate with those closest to you (Moon-Venus in Air signs), take action on what you learn (Moon-Mars), and gain intuitive insights about creating the relationships you long for (Moon-Neptune).

Venus and Neptune are also wonderfully creative planets, so as bright new ideas flow easily (Moon-Venus), take action to express them concretely (Moon-Mars), and the results may touched by the magical, numinous hand of the Muse (Moon-Neptune).

Oh, and Venus is also a money planet ... so if innovative business ideas pop up (Moon-Venus), do something concrete to figure out if those ideas have legs (Moon-Mars), and you might connect with a flow of intuitive guidance to take things to the next level (Moon-Neptune). Who knows? With a Gemini Moon, relationships, creativity and finances could all be part of your day!

Redon's Muse auf Pegasus

However you choose to work with the Gemini Moon, a challenge in square to innovative Uranus will push for one more view of the situation, something unexpected and outside the box. This square comes exact at 1:40am Friday, and sends the Moon into her time-between-times. She steps into her home sign of Cancer at 2:50am.

In Cancer, the Moon's qualities are intensified, so tonight's dreams may be rich and full of feeling. Place paper and pen close to your bedside, and a faint light, so you can record any messages from the lunar realms without leaving the Moon's embrace completely. Enjoying today's flow of bright Gemini energy will give you lots of new material for dreams, and closing aspects to Neptune, Chiron and Uranus open the way for intuition to flow.